@sensitivitycop: Really? Then why do we yokels on the West Coast know who she is?
@CassandraSays: I'm not sure it's "common," but my friends who had IVF also had counseling on what is called "selective reduction," i.e. aborting one or more fetuses if a high number of blastocysts successfully implant after transfer, or if the twin pregnancy has a shared placenta that leads to a high-risk pregnancy and complications for mother and/or fetus(es).
@♥ dosido☮: To be fair, your problem of how to manage your estate is entirely of your own making. Nobody forced you to buy the big house with the big lawn; you did that to yourself.
As for not knowing how to handle your too-big house and your too-big yard: If this is your job, then treat it like such and do your research.
As for not knowing how to handle your too-big house and your too-big yard: If this is your job, then treat it like such and do your research.
@NefariousNewt: When I read "Game Change," I was gobsmacked at the chapter where Halperin and Heilemann write that perhaps Sarah Palin was going off the rails in 2008 because of "thwarted maternal need." And it was totally unmentioned in any of the book's reviews. Misogyny = like water for political fish. They just don't notice.
@thekidscallmemom: Yes, because then you're vomiting flowers and gems. It turns the L&D ward into a wedding facility!
@GatsbysLover: I love "The Snapper" for so many reasons. When she's exhausted afterward and just looks at her baby before sleeping ... I was like, "Great, I don't have to stay awake glowing beatifically!"
@emaline: We may be due around the same time.
And the thing is, there is not a damned book/article/blog/whathaveyou out there that even acknowledges what you and I are feeling is at all legit. Instead it's all "You're so excited to be a mommy-to-be!" and all I can think in response is, "Do NOT obliterate my personal identity in addition to my physical autonomy. Just. Don't."
It's like when you decide to carry a pregnancy to term, you're supposed to cede EVERYTHING to the role of mother. But as I am fond of pointing out, the only thing "mother" and "martyr" have in common are the first and last letters of each word.
As someone who IS pregnant right now, I totally appreciate Jillian Michaels' self-awareness to know what she can or cannot emotionally handle when it comes to her body.
One of the more unpleasant surprises of being knocked up was having to realize exactly how much I had subconsciously valued my physical autonomy, and ceding control ... dealing with that temporary loss is actually more emotionally trying than the "Will this make me gag?" guessing game I get to play with every meal or the feeling of total and utter exhaustion I had to battle through every day for 13 weeks running.
I do wonder if this "Fuck! I'm not in charge!" panic is a result of being a Gen-X feminist who grew up absorbing and living the idea that control = empowered, and not knowing what's coming up makes me feel less in control. Like, if I were coming at this pregnancy (which was very much wanted) from a less feminist perspective, I wouldn't be so riled up over 2010 being The Year I Had To Share My Interior With Someone.
@dcdulce: Thanks for that article, but man, I'm now dealing with the fury and compassion waves. WTF is WRONG with people?
I do not get bigots. Not one bit.
@drunkexpatwriter: The best thing to do to that town is let it die. Cut it off, give it no money, give it no future, force its children to leave if they want anything other than poverty and boredom. Because once those hateful people are forced to leave, they'll be exposed to actual humans. And that'll help kill this sickness.
@RosieComeOutTonight: But you are, because you're behaving like belief is not a choice. You may believe what you believe, but you're believing in a church that has made it clear that pedophiles are more valued by its leadership than either gays or women. And you choose to continue doing so.
@Kristinkles Ingabogovinanana: The Church could care less about losing members like me, because they have judged me as insufficiently faithful and poorly educated in what it means to be a good Catholic. For more on this, read InsideCatholic.com's roundup on why prominent American Catholics think we're leaving: [insidecatholic.com]
@Ojun76: On the other hand, that's four times as many pieces of junk that now have to be disposed of. And the resale values on the Bug are pretty good, so you come out ahead in terms of $$$ and materials impact.
How fortunate for Madison McGraw that someone's kid died! How else was she going to get her chance to bloviate on a national cable network? Shellie Ross's loss is punditry's gain!
@traezer: If it's the double-l, it was probably pronounced Va-yay-ho.
Ben and Maria were my model for what I wanted my marriage and subsequent domestic life to be like. Ben was my template for a husband in 6th grade.
The part when Meg comes over, weeping, and passes on that Molly asked that the baby not come until she's home from the hospital, then Ben passes on the message via shouting through Maria's belly and says, "Maria and I are determined to have an obedient kid" -- that, to me, was everything I wanted in a husband during a difficult situation.
(And I'm happy to say I found him.)
@Merkin: Wow, so the two brands THIS over-35 relies on for everyday staples -- Banana Republic and J. Crew -- are "frumpy" and "dowdy." Good to know. It's awesome how, in a discussion over whether or not there are clothes out there for women that acknowledge a wide variety of ages, social situations and tastes, we can so confidently blanket a few brands with pejorative aesthetic qualifiers.
Shit, I can see where the WSJ lady's coming from now.
Yeah, Elizabeth's doing the press tour, but it's not her kid and she's not the one who has to account for why she is or isn't claiming responsibility for the child. I wish she'd just say, "You know, that's John's problem to work out. Not mine. My problem is being married to a man who apparently has the morals of a tomcat, and I'm working on that privately." Throw the Breck Girl under the bus for once, Lizzie.
Also: I hope like hell she's got a good lawyer working in the background to ensure that Catherine, Emma Claire and Jack all inherit assets that cannot be touched by any claims Rielle Hunter makes later. I'm guessing this book is going straight in the "You don't get a red cent of this, JOHN" fund.
@icingsugar: At the risk of sounding unsympathetic -- as a performer, part of her job is to connect with the audience, and the way you do that is by playing the songs that they came to hear in the first place. I mean, we all get bored at work. So what? Suck it up and do your job, or go back to Wales and write songs about making marzipan animals for the faerie quene or whatever.
I just love the part in the NYT article where Stevie vetoes Lindsay Lohan playing her.
