Rednecks vs. White Trash?

The other night while awaiting the opening act at the DC Improv H and I got into the discussion, "Is there a difference between being a Redneck and being White Trash?"

Initially, I thought no. I'm a Yankee with a side of WASP thrown in for good measure so what do I know? I don't talk through my jaw or anything but I've been known to get all in your face in the nicest most conflict-free, passive aggressive way about manners, the importance of thank you notes and general day to day etiquette.

H, who admits to having a nice chunk of Redneck in him (the man cleaned his shot gun twice this week.) says White Trash can technically be anywhere location-wise (W.T. goes global!) but Rednecks are typically a southern only thing. White Trash constitutes a lack of manners and is prone to fighting. So wait, what was the movie Road House about then?

So you tell me? Are all Rednecks about Nascar, gun racks and hunting? Does all White Trash live in trailers like we often hear in jokes? Am I perpetuating a stereotype and really pissing you off?


Win a cute reusable shopping bag! Sure! Why not- they're global now too! I'm giving one away this week at MPR.

Three Pairs of Pants. One Day.

I know, I know. You say, "Mummy, you are so cool! How can I be more like you?" Well, here it is folks. If you want to live like me then here is a tip from me to you. It's called, "How to wear three pairs of pants in one day."

1. Volunteer to watch your friends 10 month-old. When baby throws up on your leg, lift him off one leg only to realize that his diaper has leaked and he has peed on your other leg. Now with both legs covered in bodily fluids ask your two year-old to go get your khaki pants. Clean up as best you can while changing baby and putting on second pair of pants. Thank toddler/maid for actually knowing how to get your pants.

2. Later in the day, while wearing khaki pants, let morning/all day sickness overcome you and wretch so hard into the toilet that you pee yourself. Enough to need new pants. Sigh. Cry out of shame and embarrassment over this new incontinence and being in your early 30's. Clean up, change and try to get on with your day wearing black Capri pants. Capri's that don't fit because you aren't in maternity pants yet but can't quite fit into your old Capri's either. Cry over this a bit and move on.

And that my friends, is how you wear three pairs of pants in one day. Don't you wish you were hot like me?

I'm Suzy Homemaker?

I had a thought last night as I was drifting off to sleep. OK it was more like a series of thoughts that built up and whirled around in my brain with me alternately writing a post in my head and then falling asleep mid-sentence and forgetting the verbage for this morning, but nonetheless it was a pertinent thought.

My friend once told her husband that he needed to understand that while he goes to work each day and then leaves his boss when he comes home she as a stay at home mother never does. Her boss wakes her up each morning, blows through her "office" all day leaving a wake of destruction in her path, and continuously yells at her for reasons that we don't always understand. Would he like it if his boss did that to him? No. So some understanding needed to happen on his part.

Can I relate? ShippyMcflippyshadippy I can! It's been almost a year since I decided to make a go of this work from home/staying home with T.D. In this time my salary has obviously dipped below what it used to be. I never thought I was one to base my worth on my earnings or my job. Lord knows I did not view what I was doing for Company A as a career choice. It fell in my lap when I needed it and it was a good run while it lasted. It wasn't hard to give it up. It simply was not something I wanted to be do anymore or saw myself ever doing. In the last year though I've felt, to my surprise, that I fell I have less room to make decisions. Less of a right.

I sometimes feel that I live in a world with two bosses. My job well done is reflected on such 1950s type items some days that when dinner is not met happily it is like I'm getting a bad review at the office. It can be crushing. It can suck. OK it does suck. I'm not saying that H thinks he is my boss, I think I project that on him. T.D. does dictate most of how my days flow at this point and there is no way around it. I have no desire to drag a toddler to meetings or make her watch tons of television just so I can work a few minutes more. I made this choice to wake up to my bosses each day and sleep with one of them. I just never expected to feel that I have less say simply because I now earn less.

It makes no sense really. I have always earned less than H. Maybe it is that I never expected to feel so traditional? I'm traditional in that I like pearls and little black dresses and toile, but to feel that I'm the number one cook and cleaner now and that it is less of a joint effort blows my preconceived mind. H helps out but it is simply in a different way because I am home first and it just makes sense for me to do these things. I do however, miss those days when we would cook and clean together. I see myself doing too much for both of them sometimes too. I had to stop myself from putting a spoon in H's cereal for him like I do with T.D. each morning. I wanted to vomit in the sink when I realized that I almost did this. When did I become such a Suzy Homemaker? Should I just cash it in and enter a bake-off and start wearing aprons? Maybe today when I vacuum I'll wear pumps and pearls!

Is it really all my own doing? At this point I'm trying to get over this feeling of relinquished power. Am I alone in feeling this way? Do other women who have made this decision feel this way too? It leaves me with such a feeling of discontent and I don't want it to be a winter of that.

Squeee!

WELL! Look at that! Isn't she pretty? Isn't she divine? Do you not love the gorgeous blue background, the stylized and organized new me?! I DO!

All thanks to Izzy Designs! THANK YOU IZZY! I simply love the whole damn thing!