So Close

What is it with you Americans and bacon?

I have been meaning to ask you this for AGES, but keep forgetting.  What is the deal with you Americans and bacon? I keep seeing blog posts and twitter updates talking about bacon and how lovely it is. It is almost as if it is either a special treat, or something you aren't supposed to eat or ... I am not sure what actually. It has intrigued me for a while.  Because here bacon is something you have with your eggs and that's it.  Nothing to get excited about. I see Heather from Dooce mentions it sometimes. About loving bacon.  And Stephania from City Mama also mentioned in a tweet the other day.  "at MOMocrats brunch. mmmm bacon" What's the deal with bacon? Enquiring mind wants to know.

Edited to add: Funnily enough, just bought bacon at the shop. I never eat the stuff as I am not a big meat eater. But Marko and Rose eat it. This is what our bacon looks like (before we cut the fat off) Oh and we don't often make our bacon crispy, it is mostly soft.

PS Your bacon must be VERY very good in order to justify bacon flavoured ice cream.

Edited to add again:  What a brilliant article!  A commenter linked to this brilliant Salon article that explains America's love of bacon. So funny. I had no idea it was such a big thing there.  Fascinating actually. Such an interesting insight into your culture. Very well written article.

PPS I can't believe I have done an entire blog post about bacon. I've never even thought about the stuff before. See! You're never too old to learn.

In which she spills the beans

Speaking of babies - guess who has a brand spanking new one!! Go on, guess! I have the most wonderful news for you.  Someone we are very fond of (even though she is an even bigger asshole than I am, and MUCH, much older than me) has a brand, spanking, absolutely GORGEOUS (I've seen pics) new baby!  Guess who! I am going to tease you a little longer. The news is too delicious to just throw out there. 

AND THE ANSWER IS.......

Calling all mothers of teens

A friend of mine has started up a fantastic new blog aimed at mothers of teens:

"a group blog for parents of teenagers and young adults. It's the first ever blog that is focusing solely on high school, college admissions, kids in college, and parenting young adults. We want to be THE place to talk about parenting teens, doing the college entrance thing, the empty nest syndrome, and parenting young adults. We're brand spanking new in this niche and we want to be the foremost blog in the world devoted to teenagers."

Sounds fabulous, check it out!

Blogging is bad for friendship

Sister Mel and I were at a wedding recently (not our own) and we were chatting non-stop to each other. The guy sitting next to me (not my husband as I had put him next to Mel’s husband so they could bond while we yakked) asked if we saw each other often and we said ‘no, but we read each other’s blogs to find out what is going on in her life' 

The good thing about having a blog is that my friends and family (and several thousand strangers) know exactly what is going on in my life. They know when I am sad; they know when exciting things happen. They sometimes even see pictures of my new fake boobs.

The bad thing about having a blog is that unless those same friends and family have a blog, I have absolutely no idea what is going on in their life. 

Which is really, really bad! If blogs weren’t around, we would be calling each other, or emailing with updates and news, but because they know what is going on in my life, I hear nothing from them. Which means I have no idea what is going on in their lives. Every now and then I will send an email begging for some news, but otherwise I hear nothing. Bad friends, bad!

So, the bottom line is if you want to be my friend, you better get a blog. Or at least send me a weekly email with latest news and updates. Or else I will have to break up with you.  No blog / email / updates = NO MORE BFF!!!

The mental connection

For the handful of nasty troll-like comments and emails I occasionally get, I get many, many more wonderful comments and notes from people from all walks of life. It is so affirming, and it makes me feel so connected to the people who read my blog. I love them all, but there are some people with whom I feel a very strong connection.

I got one of those emails recently from a woman who said that she had been through a really tough time lately, having been through in her words “what is loosely and incorrectly called a 'breakdown'. She writes (so beautifully) “Your trials and travails, joys and disappointments, have been a solace, a source of empathy and have offered a 'connection', no matter how remote. Thank you for walking (unknowingly) beside me.”

What a gorgeous email! Aren’t those just the most wonderful words?

And you know, I totally get what she was saying. I emailed her back to say that isn’t it strange how we feel such a strong connection to others who seem to have walked a similar road to ours, who seem to have the same type of ‘mental issues’ we have.

Like with my stalker / impostor. So many people berated her, calling her ‘mentally disturbed’, which perhaps she is/was, but I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. As I only half-jokingly said to my sister, as a “mentally disturbed” person myself, I can’t help feel sorry for her. I don’t agree with what she did and I certainly don’t ever want to hear from her again, but I don’t hate her, I just feel sorry for her.

Not that I am ‘mentally disturbed’ of course! Look how sane I am! *evil grin*

I think that unless you have been close to that place, whether it be depression, anxiety, having a breakdown, being ‘mentally disturbed’ or whatever, it might be difficult to understand what it feels like. No one chooses to be ‘mentally disturbed’, or depressed etc. It is a horrible place to be. It doesn’t excuse your actions or exonerate you from your wrong-doings, but I understand.

And like it was with infertility, there seems to be a kinship with those who have or are suffering from mental maladies. There seems to be a special place of understanding, a connection. Oh look, there is someone who also doesn’t always have their shit together either. Perhaps being ‘abnormal’ in a ‘normal’ world (what is ‘normal’ anyway) creates a bond, a sense of shared understanding.

And isn’t it funny how, like with my infertility, I have chosen to be totally public about my (depression / anxiety / anal tendencies / paranoia / therapy / antidepressants / SID / general craziness) when so many chose to be private about it. I wonder why I am like that. I suppose, like with infertility, I am not ashamed or embarrassed of who I am, how I am made up. You either like me as I am, or you don’t. No apologies, no shame. This is me, warts and all. I quite like me, useless ovaries and crazy mind aside ;-)

To all the manic depressives, bipolars, OCD’s and anal, control-freak mentally disturbed infertiles out there, I love you!

Calling all Cape Town Geek Girls

Max and I are having a girls lunch on Thurs.  Would love you to join us.  RSVP on Facebook

A blogger honours her mother

A dear friend in the computer today honours her mother who died two years ago due to lung cancer.  Read more about the The Debra Angelo Leave No Mom Behind Fund on Debra's blog.

V v (VERY!!) exciting news!!!

Which famous, damn sexy and completely G&D blogger recently left our computer screens, leaving us all sadly refreshing her page, dying to know how her life has turned out now that she finally got her very happily ever after with that gorgeous daughter of hers? 

Yes!!!

It’s the Naked Ovary herself and she will soon be doing a guest post on my blog updating all of us on what on earth she is up to nowadays. Soon. V soon. 

Watch this space!

(I am so excited, I feel as if I should be organizing wine and a few snacks or something. Wine!  Definitely the wine!)

 

For Snickollet

From a fellow blogger:

Hello all,

If you read the same IF blogs that I do, I’m sure you’ve heard about my friend Snickollet (http://snickollet.blogspot.com) and her husband’s death last week due to cancer. We’ve been Internet friends for the last 18 months or so and I had the good fortune to meet her last summer when I was visiting family. She is as warm and open and clear-eyed in person as her writing also expresses. Several of us have gotten together to raise some money for her as a way to offer some more practical support and we will use the money to buy a grocery store gift certificate. So far we’ve raised about $200. Since my blog is password-protected and I have a fairly small audience, Tertia graciously offered to post something on her blog about it.

If you would like to contribute, please go to www.paypal.com/us and then click on “Send Money” and then enter my email address: leggyp at verizon dot net. I will wait until next Sunday (4/22/07) and then send her the combined contribution.

For more information on me, you can see my public blog: http://mymeanderings.typepad.com/shamrock.

Thanks Leggy for doing this for Snickollet.  I wish there was more we could do. 

Looking for a fat Canadian lady

My friend Jennifer has written yet another excellent piece for her Literary Mama column, about meeting a man who is looking for a fat Canadian lady.  Have a look here.