Becky's Greatest Hits Vol. II

I'm picking up and putting this book down in spells because I think that's how it's meant to be read.  And it is WONDERFUL!  Filled with survey questions and answers, short prose pieces, interviews, photos, and so much more it delves so far into women's fashion and the way women think about fashion that I'm just not sure I can describe it all!  Discussions about make-up, jewelry, lingerie, how you feel about yourself, what you learned from your mother, your friends, the kinds of rings you wear, your sandals, your bras.....everything!  I really do think it is a must-read for all women.  So glad I learned about it from Elle magazine!

This book is about as good as any on the true stories of what it's like working in restaurants.  Less chefy like Anthony Bourdain but every bit relatable for anyone who's ever done anything in an eating joint!

I've always felt certain that if I ever met Richard Linklater I would probably fall instantly in love with him.  This film cemented that notion. Not only is it a cinematic wonder in featuring all the same actors over a 12 year period, it touches on so many people, things and events that mean something to me: ~Ethan Hawke rocking out to Wilco with this kid ~Mason talking about his love of Vonnegut while everyone else is reading Twilight ~A living room sing-a-long to Wish You Were Here ~Mason describing his reasons for deleting his Facebook page ~Ethan Hawke describing the importance of The Beatles both singularly and as a group, falling in love, timing, contraception, and voting for Obama all the while driving an American classic muscle car ~Patricia Arquette being so smart in life and so dumb at love but still an awesome mom ~And reliving the decades......no matter which ones......Linklater knows how to do that Luckily, my husband understands my love of Linklate

This was a particularly appropriate gift since this book and I both just turned 40, and it is another check off I can put to the list of great books I didn't read as a kid.  And it's a good thing too because I don't think this would have meant as much to me as a child.  Never growing old?  Never dying?  Pretty heady stuff for a kids book but also really beautiful.  And it goes really well with an experience I had over my birthday/Valentines weekend. I was in a quiet used bookstore browsing and listening, not eavesdropping, to a conversation being had by an older couple of friends.  A woman probably in her 50's was chatting with a man at least in his 60's about all sorts of topics from flying small planes to working in a coal mine.  The woman asked the man if he had worn glasses back when he was flying small planes to which he replied "oh, no....I was a young man then.....just in my forties......" Now I haven't had a lot of qualms about turning

I saw this film years ago and have always been intrigued by the life and story of Ron Kovic.  The book was good, but I was sad and not surprised to see that Oliver Stone really Hollywooded the story up quite a bit.  I guess seeing awful things in Vietnam and then being debilitated for life wasn't interesting enough to make people want to buy tickets.  Tom Cruise really had to suffer to make it screen worthy?  Anyhow, the memoir was good and only fueled the fire I've always had against a war that still makes no sense even all these decades later. 

Favorite online FB birthday greeting with its nod to my veg lifestyle from another veggie! Favorite throwback gift from my Big Sis....a friend describes it as the smell of 13...... A nod to one of my favorite novels from the only man in this world who truly gets me.

A cute little indie flick where nothing too terribly bad happens, people and events are pretty predictable and all turns out well in the end.  It won't change your life, but it's not a bad way to spend a Wednesday night at home either. 

I have always been one for enjoying lists, but many of the ones I've run across online are geared to the 20-somethings.  You have to look to O and more mature women's magazines to find the list for my set, so I decided to do my own.  I'm also annoyed that other lists seem to mainly focus on body issues and financial solvency.  Not that those issues aren't important, but isn't there so much more to consider with a  milestone birthday?   So here we go with: Everything I've Made My Peace With as I Approach Age 40......   1) I'm okay with not being "where it's at".   I blame social media for always making me feel like everyone else is out doing these fabulous things while I'm at home watching Elmo on a loop, folding laundry and reading a book.  I used to really care and feel left out, but now?  Not so much.    2) Being healthy matters. I can no longer eat and drink whatever I want and I need more than 5 hours of sleep a night to

"I am drawn to women who are independent and creative, which is problematic because it's a struggle, a competition of careers. There's jealousy." Marilyn Monroe     "Moral indignation is jealousy with a halo." H.G. Wells     "I have never been jealous. Not even when my dad finished fifth grade a year before I did." Jeff Foxworthy