Speaking of...

As stated earlier this morning, there are certain words out here in New England such as pocketbook and cellar that drive me nuts. Other words, like wicked, I have embraced whole-heartily.

Along similar lines, when my cousin Greg and his wife and friends were out here we went for lunch at 11:30 a.m. When he told the hostess we were there for dinner I think that really through her for a loop. She laughed and said "I think you're here a little early for dinner." Actually, as opposed to supper, we were there right on time.

This morning's conversation with Lincoln got me thinking about the different lingo that I've picked up (or been bugged by) throughout my life living in Iowa, Washington, Arkansas, Minnesota, and Massachusetts. Here are a few of my favorites and my biggest pet peeves.

Iowa/Minnesota: Supper and Pop. After 21 years away from Iowa I use these less and less but they still come up in conversation every now and then. The funniest story I have about this is when we took Lincoln's brother, sister-in-law, nephew, and niece back to Iowa with us for summer vacation a few years ago. When we got to my parents house in Wisconsin they offered them pop and cheese curds. Wha??? I think they were so stunned and confused by the word pop they didn't even hear the part about cheese curds at first.

Washington: Honestly, I can't think of a single thing that I picked up in Washington State other than soda (vs. pop).

Arkansas: Ahh....Arkansas. The land of y'all and fixin'. Y'all was an easy one to pick up but I swore I would never use fixin' until it just slipped out one day and then it was all over but the crying. I love that one. I don't use it as much as I used to but I still enjoy a good "I'm fixin' to go to the store. Do you need anything?" every now and then. One I never did like....and will never embrace....is the use of the word buggy for a shopping cart. A buggy should be something you push your baby in, not your groceries. The other one that made me laugh is coke as a word to cover all soda (Washington), pop (Midwest), or tonic (Massachusetts). As in, "I'd like a coke please." "What kind of kind of coke?" "A Sprite, thanks."

Massachusetts: As previously stated, pocketbook and cellar drive me nuts. So does bureau for a thing you put your clothes in (that's called a dresser in my opinion). I actually don't mind packie so much, it just doesn't come naturally to me. I have, however, fully embraced the word wicked. You can really use it in just about any situation. For example, "This post is wicked random, what the hell is she rambling about?"

Yes, these are the thoughts I have when stuck on my long commute. Similar to my "Ode to Massachusetts Weather" the other day. I really need to find a job closer to home.

Unexpected bird watching

Today I got a chance to do a little unexpected bird watching when this hawk flew into my office window at full speed. He scared the living daylights out of me as I was talking on the phone. I dropped the phone and screamed which was actually pretty hilarious.

After he hit the window he laid there with his wings out and I thought he was dead at first. Then he popped up and sat on the ground for awhile. After a co-worker tried to open the window he ducked under the fence next door but instead of leaving he then hopped up and sat on the fence outside my window and just sat there looking at the building and starring at me like "What the hell just happened? How do I get in there too?" He finally flew up into a tree outside my window and just finally flew off an hour and a half later.

After studying the body print that he left on my window I realized that I had seen it somewhere before. I went upstairs to Reception where an even clearer bird print could be found on the window. Obviously this bird is determined to get in our office one way or another and he hasn't learned his lesson yet.

Deep thoughts for a Saturday morning

By design a pencil is to be used if you think you may need to erase something. Yet the capacity of the lead to write far outstrips the durability of the eraser to erase. You could write for days and days using the same pencil and yet if you have to erase a few things all of a sudden you're stripped of the sole purpose of the pencil.....to be able to write AND erase.

Very frustrating when you're working on compiling budgets and financial plans.

The wonders of modern technology

I don't know if I'm disturbed at how all encompassing technology has become in our lives or upset that this hasn't been around longer: www.RunPee.com Apparently it's an application you can download to your iPhone that lets you know the best times to run to the bathroom during a movie. Genius!

Pet Peeve

Contrary to what Hannah Montana would have you believe, you cannot have the best of both worlds. It drives me absolutely insane when I go into Whole Foods and everything is "Vegan Steak Quesadillas" and "Vegan BBQ Chicken" and "Vegetarian Liver". As a meatetarian I do not go around demanding that my salads and baked potatoes be made completely of meat but taste like vegetables. If you're not going to eat steak then you don't get to have steak quesadillas. You can't save Bessy the cow and eat a fake one at the same time. That doesn't make you a vegan....it makes you a hypocrite. Now, if you can't eat meat for religious or medical reasons then that's one thing but if it's just because the thought of a nice, juicy steak served up from the farm makes you queasy than go eat your tofu and edamame and leave the carnivorous activities to the rest of us. I think what bothers me even more is that in general (and no, I'm not saying all of them.....just many of them) vegans and vegetarians tend to have a "better than thou" complex. They look down their noses and say "how can you eat that living creature". Well, for one thing....it's not living anymore. Meanwhile they're apparently sneaking off to Whole Foods and getting fake steak and chicken fixes. And I'm sorry....any vegan/vegetarian who eats Vegetarian Liver is just a wacko. The only place liver can come from is INSIDE AN ANIMAL. It is a functioning organ that produces BILE. To eat a real liver is disgusting....to want one so badly that you eat a fake one is just beyond my mental capabilities.

Momversations

There is a website out there in Internet land called http://www.momversations.com/ and it's pretty interesting. It is full of these short (approx. 5 minute) videos done by "mommy bloggers" that discuss every possible topic you can think of (breastfeeding, keeping your marriage fresh, disciplining your child, etc.). I don't always agree with what some of the women say but it's pretty interesting to listen to the various points of view. There are three women per video and while many of them appear in a lot of videos it's never the same three women in every video.

Anyway, I was just watching one on the "Mommy Wars" which is basically the idea that women are constantly battling each other on topics such as stay-at-home moms vs. working moms or breastfeeding moms vs. formula feeding moms, etc. I definitely think that there are Mommy Wars out there to a degree. I definitely feel like I get some grief for being a working mom and while I respect stay-at-home moms tremendously I do sometimes catch myself wondering what they have to bitch about when they say they're so busy. I mean, I have two kids, a long commute, a full time job, and I still find time to do the PTO....what the heck do they do all day? But I think of myself as a rational human being and so after the initial defensiveness passes I admit to myself that they may not get paid to work but by staying home with their children they are essentially working a full-time job that I pay someone else to do but they're doing it for free. And God bless 'em....I could NOT be a stay-at-home mom. Been there...tried that for a few months....hated it.

Anyway, my point of this post is that I wanted to disagree with this comment (and the woman who made it is actually one of the bloggers that I usually like to listen to and often agree with):

"I think that our tendency as a culture to take what are essentially hecklers and label them as part of some movement is really damaging."

Heckling is defined as "somebody who insults, makes fun of, or teases". I may occasionally have the defensive reaction that I'm a better parent then someone who makes a different parenting choice than I do but I openly admit that I'm not perfect. I disagree with this woman dismissing parents who don't agree with her as hecklers who aren't part of a Mommy Movement (whatever that movement may be) because who is to say that she is the Mommy Movement instead of them. Or even on the correct side of the argument.

So in short, I have no point to this post other than the fact that yes, Mom's secretly (and sometimes openly) disagree with each other and yes, I think there are Mommy Wars to a certain extent and yes, I'm guilty of it too but no, I don't think any of us are wrong for it...it's just human nature...and therefore we're all on the right side of reason at least in our own minds and we're entitled to our opinions. Of course now I've just argued that she's wrong to think what she thinks and I'm therefore invalidating my whole argument. Or am I confirming my argument that I'm entitled to disagree with her without being labeled a heckler?

Okay....it is seriously time for bed now. And no, I'm not drunk. I actually write some of my most insightful posts when I'm under the influence but this is not one of them. I'm just way over tired.