Book review: The Elegance of the Hedgehog

The Elegance of the Hedgehog
by Muriel Barbery

OK, so I actually read this book almost a month ago. But the point is: I read a book. A real book, not a magazine. I was very proud of myself. We will not discuss how long it took me to read this book, though.

I really liked this book! I thought it was neat how the 2 characters from whose perspective the book was alternatively written would philosophize about the deeper meanings behind their seemingly ordinary lives. I enjoyed the "light philosophy" and the storyline. I enjoyed the inclusion of some Japanese culture. And the ending was completely unexpected! At first I was kind of shocked and sad, then I realized it was kind of beautiful, just like the book.

I will tell you what I should not have done, though. I should not have gone onto GoodReads or Visual Bookshelf and read other peoples' reviews. When I did that, I found that most people were saying negative things about how improbable it was that a 12 year old girl and a concierge would have such deep thoughts, and that the deep thoughts were actually just pretentious babble. I started to doubt my impression. I started to think they were right, why did I find the voices of these characters credible?

My overall thought about this book is: those people can shut up. I liked this book.

Writing prompt: Age

Question: "Think of your real age...then think about how old you feel. Write about why the age you feel is older, younger, or the same as your real age."

I am 32, as I recently mentioned in a comment to a post on Adventures in Babywearing and on Twitter.

Do I feel 32?

If I saw it as "old" then yeah, sometimes I feel old. Especially having a newborn and getting so little sleep. I can tell that it's harder on me at this age than it would have been if I had become a mom when I was in my 20's. But if I had become a mom in my 20's I would have been a much more neurotic and less capable mom. I am able to put things in perspective and take care of myself more at 32 than I was able to at 22. I know if my husband reads this he would disagree - I'm sure he can't imagine me being more neurotic than I am now, but he also didn't know me when I was 22. Probably a good thing, he probably wouldn't have been attracted to me then!

Truthfully, I don't see 32 as old. I don't see 40 as old, or even 50 or 60. To me, old is only when your body starts limiting you, to the point where it starts affecting your mind. Which is unavoidable, of course. I do not know when it will happen - but it hasn't happened yet.

I don't feel younger than 32, because I have already been all the ages younger than 32 and I know how those felt - I don't feel that way anymore. I have not yet been an age older than 32 so I couldn't tell you how those would feel.

I guess I feel exactly how old I am.
Wherever you go, there you are.
And all that.

Aveda Institute Dallas

Although I admit I was plagued with guilt, I "cheated" on my hairstylist of 3 years to get my hair cut on Saturday at the new Aveda Institute Dallas.

This was almost 100% a financial decision, because the Aveda Institute is SO CHEAP! Of course, you are also allowing a student to cut your hair, which is why I deliberated and procrastinated for so long...my long-time hairstylist is expensive but he is also really good.

I have come to realize over the years that if I invest money in a good haircut, I can feel yucky about myself, feel like my skin is doing badly, my clothes are not fitting right, and then, out of nowhere, someone will compliment my hair and I will feel better about the whole thing. Good haircuts are important.

So it was with great trepidation that I went to the Aveda Institute for a $15 haircut, but also a lot of resolve. I am resolved to save some money if it kills me. Plus, I am growing out my hair right now, so I didn't need anything complex - just a trim to continue to grow out my layers.

First of all, the lobby is very relaxing. You feel like you are in any Aveda spa/salon - they offer you the water and you have the comfy chairs, everyone is dressed in black, etc.

In the back where you get your hair cut, there are many very bare cutting stations very close together and instructors are roaming up and down mingling with the stylists and giving them advice and examining their work.

The student who cut my hair was very nice and personable, even though she was only 19. I loved her hair, which is always a good sign.

Before she started cutting she called her instructor over and they discussed what kind of cutting she would be doing. I thought this was the most interesting part and probably why I am going to go back! They had a brief discussion of "long layers" versus "rounded layers" and how that would work with my thick-but-smooth hair. I know absolutely nothing about how hairstylists do their magic stuff so I thought that was fun.

The blowout I got didn't really work for my hair, but that is pretty common when I go somewhere new because my hair is weird and also it goes into shock for about 3 days after I get it cut each time.

I think overall, it's a nice cut. Not anything special, but I didn't ask for anything special.

The Aveda Institute also offers facials, mani/pedi, massages, and all other Aveda services by students at greatly reduced rates. I am looking forward to trying out more of their services soon. I would recommend this is a good way to save money!

UPDATE: Since this post was originally written I have written a follow-up post on my experience with a pedicure and waxing at the Aveda Institute as well.

Blogging with Integrity, Part II: Business 2 Blogger

Almost a year ago, I took the Blog With Integrity pledge and wrote a post about how I didn't accept PR freebies at the time. I wanted to do an update post today re-defining my current PR status.

Recently some bloggers here in DFW founded a great little company called Business 2 Blogger, which connects businesses looking for PR reviews to bloggers who are looking for free stuff to review. I have signed up to receive their emails and should be posting my first review sometime in the next month.

What does this mean? All it means is that in some of the posts where I review goods or services, I might have received free goods or services to try out in exchange for the review. I will always fully disclose whether I received anything free. In addition, I will only tell you my honest opinion.

You might feel that all my reviews are positive and think I'm a total sell-out.
This is because I am actually unlikely to review anything that
1) isn't related to my goals of being a conscientious consumer and citizen, and
2) I have not been satisfied with.
If I am not satisfied with a product I am going to work with the company to discuss why and how. If the issue can't be resolved, I am either going to forgo posting or, if I am required by contract to post, I will be honest in the nicest way I can.

So, that's the plan. Now, anybody want to send me an Ergo Baby Carrier to review??!!

One Minute Writer catchup

I know I signed up for the One Minute Writer writing prompts, but I will tell you what I have been doing with them: I have been watching them pop up on my Google Reader, making sarcastic remarks about them to myself, and then hitting "Mark As Read".

Let me say this is definitely not the fault of the writers of these prompts - they are good prompts! I am just lazy and sarcastic. And also I am not a very good blogger.

I thought I would just write down the prompts that have popped up lately and what kinds of remarks I made in my head when they popped up. Just because, you know, this catches me up AND creates a blog post, as useless as that blog post might be.

• "Acceptance Speech: You've just been given a Best Actor or Best Actress award. You know how short acceptance speeches need to be for these televised shows.... Take one minute to write your speech."
  During the Oscars last night I just kept thinking it would be totally amazing if Sandra Bullock or Gabby Sidibe would actually do what all of us who were rejected as weird/ugly/nerdy in high school always dreamed of doing, and say something really specific like "And I would just like to tell Jessica to kiss my Oscar-winning @ss!". I know that sounds mean and spiteful, but wouldn't that just be awesome!?
• "Dining: Write about a memorable dining experience you've had."
  When I read this prompt I started worrying about what we were going to have for dinner that night, realizing I had no idea, and trying to think of something I could make that would prevent having to buy food at a restaurant.
• "Dance: Write a brief bit of fiction using the prompt "Dance.""
  I'm pretty sure I just laughed at this one because everyone knows I can't dance. However, if I have a glass of wine and I like the music I will sometimes try. There are no good stories that have resulted from this. Well, there is the one about the red candle wax which ended up on the floor in my last apartment when I was single and that is why I lost my deposit.
• "Perfect Fit: In your life, what's a perfect fit?"
  Not my clothes AHAHAHA!!! Cause nothing I own really fits right anymore.
• "Troublesome Goal: Write about a goal you've had trouble achieving."
  Blogging every day, or even every week. I am FAILing. BIG TIME. This just made me feel guilty.
• "Diary: Write a diary entry, dated March 2, 2020."
  I can't even write an entry dated TODAY.
• "March: Fill in the blanks: "I'd like to march right up to ______ and say, '_____.'""
  I don't really have any unresolved conflict that I feel the need to air.
• "Old friend: Write about an old friend you've lost touch with and would like to talk to again."
  The people I have lost touch with, I have lost touch with for a reason. Like we had nothing in common and it was too much work. I hope they are having great lives but I don't feel the need to add some high-maintenance friends to my life right now.

Well that's it for today, now I have a blog post. Hooray!

Here we go again

Well I figured that if it has been Twittered, then it is fair game to share: Christian is no longer employed.

Yes, we suspected it was coming. No, he does not have another job lined up yet.
And yes, he did have to give back his amazing almost-brand-new MacBook Pro
* sob *
That part has been a crushing blow because it was so awesome. Well, I say that, but I never actually touched it. It looked awesome, though.

We are super thankful that they gave him a severance-type package. We have a little less than 3 months to find other employment.

Since we both work in technology, this isn't the first time for either of us. This is the second time for him since we've been married.

I don't write about this for sympathy (although maybe for a little bit of publicity in spreading his resume!).

But I'm not going to lie to you, it's not the most fun. I know I'm not supposed to worry, God will provide for us. We have seen it happen before, not even 4 full years ago.

Despite what the feminist agenda might claim, I don't relish the position of being the only one working. I know we need to save money, and as the person who does the grocery shopping and the cooking, I should be the one to figure out how to do that. But it is very difficult for me to figure out how to do this while still working full time. I have been trying to get back to my pre-baby menu-planning and coupon-shopping ways and I've done pretty good so far, but we've still had to resort to buying food 2-3 times a week when I just run out of food and/or ideas. Obviously, this needs to stop. I'm thinking of making a list of easy meals and just keeping the ingredients in stock and rotating them. Maybe I'll make a list of them here on the blog.

I'm also on the lookout for more vegetarian crockpot recipes. So if you have any of those, pass them on!
Also, jobs. You know.

BlogHer 2010!!

I am so excited to be registered to attend BlogHer 2010 in New York City in August! We've also already got our hotel reservations. Christian is coming with me and bringing Little Sir, and we're staying 2 extra days to sight-see together as a family! I'm so excited!!

If you are going to be at BlogHer, let me know so we can meet up!