Laughs of the week

The only late-night shows I (loosely) follow are The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. After seeing these two clips, however, I might just add Jimmy Kimmel Live to the list. The first clip is Portia De Rossi's Prop 8 PSA, and the second clip, well, made me laugh until I cried and my stomach hurt. Enjoy!

A cause for concern?

What do you see happening in this video?



Do you see child abuse? Perhaps snake abuse? Many people commenting here and here certainly think so.

I would exercise caution before coming to those conclusions. I believe this all to be a matter of clashing cultures. In this video clip, I see a curious baby toying around with what seems to be a family pet. It is just a little difficult for those in western countries to watch, due to the wild difference in culture. I would even go as far as to compare this to my eldest daughter’s former habit of trying to pull our cat’s tail when she was still a toddler.

How appropriate!

This week is International Babywearing Week. According to an email sent to me by Beate Uhse online, it is also National Climax Week.

I find this hilarious! Participation in National Climax Week this year would likely cause you to join International Babywearing Week next year. =P


Only in Continental Europe would you have a week dedicated to orgasms. And maybe, perhaps, also in Japan.

Weekend Summary

I survived my first single-mom-marathon after the arrival of baby #4! Needless to say, I am very tired; hence I am tapping my inner list-freak to summarise my weekend.

What put a smile on my face this weekend:

• Pleasantly surprised concierges - I always make a point of saying thank you. I suppose that does not occur often to a hotel concierege.
• A shortened single-mom-marathon - Hubby surprised me by catching an earlier flight home!
• As is tradition, he brought me home some yummy cheese and foie gras from Pa-ree.
• Baby said "mama" - I know he still does not associate the word with me, but it still makes my heart melt.
• Hubby's mom and step-dad - Always good for a nice kaffeetrinken.
• We went out visiting museums and random exhibits in the city. Upon seeing a case filled with crowns and tiaras, our younger daughter proclaimed to anyone who would listen that they belonged to mommy and papa because they are a king and queen.
• At no point did the children become uninterested or impatient in the museums and exhibits.
• Hearing that Bush claimed his favourite childhood book to be Eric Carle's "The Very Hungry Caterpillar". (The book was first published when Bush was in his twenties.)
  

What did NOT put a smile on my face this weekend:

• The Eurozone officially entered recession.
• My stores of Tim Hortons coffee are now completely depleted.
• Hubby's horrible hotel experience - First the hotel left him waiting outside the airport for the shuttle which was going to arrive "in ten minutes". It took over an hour for the shuttle to arrive. Secondly, he was first placed in a smoking room - despite his request for a non-smoking room. This mistake was very reluctantly rectified. Thirdly, there was patch of mould, about 75cm in diameter, right next to his bed. (All this at a four star hotel!)
• Dishonest people who cannot read - Upon hearing that he might be able to catch a delayed flight back home a day early, he spent between five and ten minutes away from his hotel room, at the front desk, to negotiate a free cancellation of his second night in person. He made sure he hung the do not disturb sign on the doorknob before leaving. When he returned, his bed was made up, and a 50 Euro note that he left on his bedside table was missing. The housekeeper was no where to be seen. Unfortunately, hubby could only place a formal complaint by risking losing the courtesy late check-in window that the airline offered him as an exception, so he left it as such.
  
• I forgot to recharge my batteries and had to leave my camera at home.
• The weather - I do not mind cold weather, but I do despise strong gusts of wind with spitting rain.
• An arrogant waitress - I do not care if you are having a bad day; you NEVER let it show to a customer!
• Hubby's aunt - She is completely oblivious and/or condescending to everything that does not interest her or conflicts with her priorities.
  
• CNNI - Enough with Tomb 33 already! It was interesting the first two times it aired, but that was weeks ago and it now seems to be aired with increasing frequency. Wait another six months and I will happily watch it again.
  
• Our planned road trip to the Harz Mountains - We had to postpone it for mid-December.

(Photo from AP)

Missing Hubby

Hubby is often away on business, and even though we’ve been married a while, we still have a hard time falling asleep alone. Yes, we are a cheesy couple.

Today, for the first time since our youngest was born in May, our home is Papa-free for more than his usual working hours. I have been feeling a little down all day, which is silly because he is flying back in two days.

Even when he is not out of the country, he still spends a lot of time at work. He, however, usually manages to be here for either breakfast or dinner, and he helps out around at home as much as he can. Now that our little army of rugrats has increased by one, there is so much more housework to do. I have not properly appreciated that fact until today, when hubby is not here to give his helping hand.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and makes our home seem bigger.

I suppose another reason that I feel crummy, other than the gloomy weather we had today, is that I wish I was in Paris with him. It appears I have adopted the need to travel several times each year – a trait integral to the collective German mentality.

I probably will not have the time to do much more than read a few blog posts and the news headlines as this single-mom-marathon continues. What is keeping me sane is our family road trip to the Harz Mountains on the 22nd. That and the cute little number I picked up for hubby’s visual pleasure; my way of saying thank you for all the help and support he has given me this past turbulent year.

Making money by not having any sex/babies

No Sex

In Georgia there is currently a marriage contest in progress. An engaged couple can win $10,000 provided they open their wedding ceremony to the public, live separately before getting married and undergo premarital counselling. Oh, and they have to abstain - as in no premarital sex. Supposedly the goal of the contest is to promote marriages which will "really last a lifetime". That some people actually think preventing premarital sex is preventing divorce is beyond reason.

The contest is run by a non-profit organisation called MATURE - Marriage Appreciation Training Uplifting Relationship Education. (I wonder how long it took someone to come up with that?) Since 2006 they received yearly federal grants of $455,510, which will continue until 2011. What a preposterous way to spend tax revenue. Given a choice of having their tax dollars spent on health care or teaching abstinence, I believe most Americans would choose health care.

So how many couples have signed up for the opportunity to replace premarital sex with premarital counselling?

Zero. Shocker.

No Babies

A Louisiana legislator has suggested paying $1000 to women on welfare and food stamps if they have themselves sterilised. This is just WRONG. Never mind the fact that this is a lawsuit of discrimination against the poor waiting to happen. Dangling money in front of the poverty-stricken is not the way to go. They will make the decision based on the fact that they need the money, not thinking of possible future consequences.

Again, this is potentially a waste of tax revenue. $1000 is not going to take the destitute off of welfare or eradicate the less fortunate. This money is better spent on education.

I. WANT. THIS. BRA!!!

I have had four babies in nine years, and in all that time I have not found a nursing bra that exudes sexiness and sophistication. Until now. Gourmandise is a French lingerie company. But of course it took the French to manage catering to the raison de femme - practical AND sexy. English and French speakers can find the bra here, but only the ivory version. German speakers can find both the black and ivory versions here (they are launching their English site soon).


I normally refuse to spend extravagant amounts of money of items of clothing that will serve its purpose for a relatively limited amount of time, but this is worth every cent. Thank you Christina G.! Now I know what I want from my hubby for Christmas.

And now from one form of practical to another, here is the cleavage caddy:

I would never wear one of these, but the idea is funny.

Giving Birth to the Republican Ticket

Oh. My. Goodness. The poor child never had a chance. Behind his wife's back, Mark Ciptak did not enter the name agreed upon, Ava Grace, on the birth registration form. He proudly named his daughter Sarah McCain Palin. Seriously.

Leaving this insane decision aside, can you imagine what the wife's reaction will be? He changed their daughter's name without consulting the mother. The parent who carried the child for nine months. The parent whose hormones are all over the place. I foresee major drama in Ciptak's near future.

(photo from Baltimore Sun)

Pee-Pee Teepees and Other Odd Inventions / Pee-Pee Teepees und andere komische Erfindungen

I recently read an article on Strollerderby that included the following as an advantage of having a baby girl as opposed to a baby boy:

No Pee-Pee Teepees.

Did you just have a WTF moment? So did I. I immediately googled “pee-pee teepee” and one of the first entries to catch my attention was this list (I told you I’m a list freak!) at cracked.com. Be prepared for more WTF moments… trust me.

As cruel as it may seem, #7 and #19 seduce me. Don’t hate me – if you have kids you might just agree with me.

Vor kurzem habe ich einen Artikel bei Strollerderby gelesen, der u.A. folgendes Vorteil auflistet, ein kleines Mädchen im Gegensatz zu einem kleinen Jungen zu haben:

Kein Pee-Pee Teepees.

Wart Ihr gerade verwirrt? Ich auch. Deswegen habe ich „pee-pee teepee“ sofort bei google gesucht, und habe diese Liste (Hab’ ich doch gesagt, daß ich einen Listenfreak bin, oder nicht?) bei cracked.com gefunden. Sie ist auf englisch geschrieben aber ich glaube, daß die Fotos sich selbst erklären. Ihr seid vorgewarnt – mehrere „Was zur Hölle!“-Momente folgen.

Obwohl die Ideen von Nr. 7 und 19 vielleicht ein bißchen gemein sind, ich finde sie irgendwie verführerisch. Bitte seid mir nicht böse – wenn Ihr Kinder habt, werdet Ihr mich genau verstehen.