A place for me to focus on creative writing, using prompts I love but not related to my larger work in progress. Any prompts from outside sources are linked in the post in which they are used.
This is our nativity set. The building is new, I got it last year, but the characters are older than I am. My parents got the set their first Christmas after they were married, 42 years ago.
When I was a child, my favorite thing was to set up our nativity, and then it was my favorite toy until it was put away for the year. When my husband & I were married, my parents passed it along to us.
When E was small, she'd play with the characters just like I did. Now, Sophie plays with it. It is still my favorite Christmas decoration.
These are the "Baby's First Christmas" ornaments for the girls. There are others, too - the Hallmark ornaments with trains, the baby alphabet block with a photo, fun ones like that. The one on the left is pewter and has been hanging around since 1998, E's first Christmas.
I tried to find another like it twelve years later for Sophie's first Christmas, and the silver teddy bear was the closest I could find.
I love our Christmas decorations. Many of them are old, and almost all have their own story.
This ornament is one of my favorites. My husband and I bought it on our honeymoon. We spent that weekend in Chattanooga playing tourist- Ruby Falls, Rock City, Lookout Mountain, Chattanooga Choo-Choo, and the Tennessee Aquarium. I found this ornament in the aquarium's gift shop and loved it instantly. Every year it is carefully packed in its box, and thankfully after sixteen years it still is in perfect condition.
K-Mart has caused quite a stir with their new holiday commercial for Joe Boxer. Television viewers are up in arms, saying it's indecent, inappropriate, and should be banned. Personally, I thought it was funny.
Is it suggestive? Certainly. Are the men covered? Definitely. Has the brand been known for being tongue-in-cheek? Always, especially before K-mart purchased it. But there are so many ads that are just as suggestive and even more sexual in nature. Why the fuss over this one?
This commercial is for perfume.
It is far racier than the Joe Boxer commercial, which is at least advertising underwear.
The Joe Boxer commercial is being called brash, distasteful, offensive, and vulgar. Many of the general public are outraged! Comments on Kmart's facebook page say "Pull this ad, it has no place on public television." "What is wrong with you people? This is uncalled for!" "Kmart your new commercial sucks and is disgusting! I will never shop at your store again!" "Think of the children who will see this!"
But no one is outraged over the Victoria's Secret commercials, the Hardees/Carls Jr commercials, the GoDaddy commercials, the various beer commercials. So why the double standard? Is it really okay for women to be portrayed as sex objects in advertising but not men? What are people afraid of?
The toy commercials are out in full force. As a result, I am SO thankful for Santa Claus. Why? "Ask Santa" prevents this conversation from happening a thousand times a day:
"I want a Loud Crappy Toy!" "No" "Pweeeeeese! I want it!" "No" "But I neeeeeed it! Can I have it?" "No" And tears.
Instead, this exchange happens:
"I want that! Can I ask Santa?" "Yes" "Yay! I'll ask Santa!"
Because I KNOW that 99% of these things she's asking for will be forgotten. I feel no guilt at all with Santa being a type of scapegoat. She doesn't get that piano? "Sorry, sweetie, Santa couldn't carry it on his sleigh."
Today was spent at home, mostly on the couch on a heating pad. It seems Sophie is getting too big for me to carry to bed when she falls asleep in mine.
So today, I'm thankful for flexibility. I'm thankful for cell phones and internet connections that let me do my job from the couch. I'm thankful for ibuprofen and heating pads, Disney Junior and Netflix. I'm also thankful for little imaginations and cuddles and kisses.
I am thankful for 72 degrees in November, and eating lunch outside in the sunshine with one of my oldest friends.
I am also thankful for friendship, for good friends who know all of you - the good and the bad - and love you anyway. The friends who have seen me at my worst and supported me, and who are always there for each other no matter what.
I fully support blaming the rapist and not shaming the victim. No is no, and men should be held responsible for not respecting that. I do NOT think that men cannot control their urges, nor that seeing a provocatively dressed woman will cause them to lose their minds and attack her like dogs chasing one in heat. Humans are separated from the rest of the animal kingdom by our intellect, and our ability to control ourselves.
However, having a teenage daughter makes me not so comfortable with the opposite extreme, either. Should women be able to walk around in however little clothing they choose without fear of getting raped? Absolutely. But should they?
I've been torn about this. But, I'm not just a feminist, I'm an equalitatist. Men should respect women enough to not rape, and women should respect men (and themselves) enough to expose their bodies so much. How respectful is it to dress up in ultra-sexy clothes, and parade around men basically saying "You can't have me?" It isn't at all.
