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My husband and I live a lifestyle of role reversal — I go to work full-time while he stays at home with the kids. Most people balk at this. “But HE should be going to work and letting YOU stay home!” Each time I craftily change the subject, avoiding confrontation for the benefit of both parties. Yet I find myself lately resenting how other people seem to perceive our arrangement. Who are you to tell me how to live my life?! I find myself thinking. This is between my husband and me, and you’re not a part of the arrangment!

We have chosen this lifestyle for many reasons, although specifically because I hold a Bachelor of Arts degree. Who do you think is going to earn more money going out to work? Should he get a job so I can put the kids in daycare and/ or after-school care to let a perfect stranger watch my children? Should I let him get a lower paying job than I have so I can stay home and figure out what expenses to cut from our budget? So many more questions present themselves. I have spent far too much time accumulating job experience to increase my net worth to back out on it now. I am forging a career in the field of writing. This is what I choose to do. My husband is waiting out the poor economy until people are willing to pay for his graphical and designing talents. In the mean time, my children have something very critical at home — their father. He keeps the house together while I bring home the money. What’s so horrible about the man doing “woman’s work” while the woman does “the man’s job?” Honestly? This is the year 2009. This is not 1959. I refuse to become June Cleaver.

Now, if you want me to stay home so desperately, you’re going to have to offer me a good chunk of change in exchange for my writing talents. I strive to obtain that lovely lifestyle where I can walk to my laptop and call that my “morning commute.” For the moment though, I am not quite far along enough in my career to establish such a wonderful lifestyle. If you don’t like how I live my life, I have a great recommendation for you — don’t choose to follow my path.

Each year, I dread the beginning of the Floridian summer. The days of ninety degree weather seem to sneak up on you, slapping you to the ground as if to push you into an oven. For months, you bake daily. The air conditioner never seems to stop running, and the electric company eyes the meter greedily. My energy costs go up by about 50% each time, and each time I cringe upon viewing the damage. I much prefer the sort of weather that allows you to freely open your windows and enjoy the fresh air in your lungs. In Florida, I don’t think I get enough of that.

So settle in with your lemonade, watermelon, ice cream, and bathing suits — it’s summer in Gainesville.

A little over three years ago, I came to the gut-wrenching conclusion that I would not be making it on to vet school. I began my final year working towards a Bachelors degree in English and left behind a fifteen-year-old dream. I knew the day would come when I would have to think about the future that could’ve been — the prospective vet school graduation date. On May 23rd, I could have become Dr. Meredith. I could have been in the same job hunting boat as one of my friends (who I have chosen to live vicariously through). I could have been on my way to living and realizing the dream that started within a seven-year-old girl’s cheerful mind.

I found myself wondering, “what would I have to do in order to go back and try again?” Foolishly, I caved to that whim today. 22 classes. 60-61 credit hours. The probability that UF no longer offers second degrees to postbaccalaureates. I scour the list, trying to determine when and how I could manage to complete this. I quickly remember why I tucked my tail, reviewed my strengths and weaknesses, and took shelter within Internet Literature. But this small part of me still wishes I hadn’t given up on the dream. It was grueling. It was like running into a brick wall head-on repeatedly. But I couldn’t let go of the past. I had something to prove. I wanted to save all the sick and injured animals. Even after three years of giving that up, it’s still a painful scar lingering.

Of course, one cannot look to the past for the future. If something isn’t working, you don’t go back and beat yourself to death running into the same brick wall again.

I’m very pleased to share with you that Morgan and Milo shoes and Dinosole shoes are working to put shoes on children’s feet. The 21-year-old entrepreneur who started out as a sales associate decided to set a goal to donate 1000 shoes to impoverished children in third world countries after visiting the Dominican Republic (more information can be found in the press release). As a mother of two children, it brings me joy to see this young woman giving back to those who need help the most. We take for granted the fact that we have shoes to protect our feet and our children’s feet from injury and diseases that can so easily occur when outside barefoot. These poor children could live much more comfortable lives with something to protect and cover their feet – not to mention the plethora of health benefits that comes along with it. I encourage you to check them out. The shoes are adorable and definitely worth the cause.

If you’re like me, you’re a very inquisitive individual by nature. You have questions, and you expect answers. Living in the age of technology and Google, you often search for the very answers you need. Sometimes even search engines don’t measure up to your needs. When it comes to parenting, I tend to have a lot of questions, usually the sorts that aren’t something to make the pediatrician drop everything and cater to your current whim. I’m also of the informed consent movement, so I tend to search for personal enlightenment on a regular basis. As a mother, I definitely like the idea of having a hub to pull all the information I could want with just a few clicks of a button.

Enter the parenting Brigade, a website affiliated with Nickelodeon. I don’t know about you, but I grew up with Nick and readily pass on the Nick Jr. tradition to my own children. The website boasts several selects to feed your questions. Want to know how other women coped with nausea during pregnancy or a unique name for your special little bundle? Check out the pregnancy boards. Want to talk about adjusting to life with a new baby or get tips on how to juggle everything? Check out the baby boards. Haven’t got a clue what to make for dinner? They have a recipe database – something I personally would love to use. Check out the Parenting Brigade and decide for yourself.

While I rent my apartment, I do have an opinion of lawn care and how it impacts the environment. I also dream of some day owning a small farm, particularly because I’d love to grow and harvest my own organic produce. So when I read this opportunity to write about Ringer Lawn Restore, I was quite excited. Seeing as how I’ve got two small children with a third on the way and absolutely adore animals, I’m adverse to putting down toxic chemicals on the ground in order to promote grass growth and deter weeds. However, with an organic fertilizer I would feel much safer knowing that my kids and pets could frolic outside without worries of harmful chemicals interfering with their nervous systems. Biologically speaking, the same chemicals that we use to kill bugs and weeds can harm our neuro-pathways as well – leading to a host of negative health issues. I hope to someday give Ringer Lawn Restore a try as part of a green lifestyle.

After finding a couple of opportunities worth a nice amount (see the below two posts), I figure I should add a substantial post since I’ve been a little lax in my writing lately. I don’t intend to add to my recent blog series this afternoon — I’m feeling a bit low on energy and short on time. Instead, I think I’ll opt for the tamer posts I usually write. Get ready for more weather!

Earlier this week, we had some pleasant “open window” weather, which essentially means it was comfortable enough to open the windows and let in fresh air. We generally follow the 68-78°F guidelines, so “comfort” to us denotes temperatures outside allowing our internal home temperature to fall within that range. Yesterday, we started to break 80°F, meaning it’s getting hotter. Currently, we’re sporting 88°F — where did all my lovely “open window” weather go? Sadly, this is only going to continue as it’s the end of April in North Central Florida. We’re lucky we still got those temperate days as late into the month as we are. Now, we’ll have 90+°F weather to look forward to, along with daily thundershowers and hurricane season. In fact, we have a little over a month to begin compiling our hurricane kit. I wonder when the canned food sales will start this year.

In keeping with my love for Elizabeth Arden’s Sunflowers perfume, I’ve elected to review another fragrance website. This time, the website is fully operational and stocked with hundreds of scents – including my absolute favorite. The site itself is also inviting. The layout is crisp and easy-to-read, the menu and links are straight-forward, and the prices look reasonable. They also offer men’s fragrance, make-up, candles, skincare products, hair care products, and aromatherapy items. My Fragrance Room looks like a very good option for purchasing your favorite perfumes and colognes, as well as other beauty products. Check them out to see for yourself.

Throughout my childhood, I enjoyed dancing – tap, jazz, ballet, lyrical, etc. Given that biographical bit, I can proudly endorse Capezio dancewear. Capezio is a name I’m familiar with because they make quality dance shoes. Many of my ballet slippers and tap shoes were made by Capezio. They even make these extremely awesome “dansneakers,” which have the appearance of a sneaker with the flexibility of dancing footwear. Also, they offer specialty shoe making, “Special Make-Up.” Considering how important fit is when it comes to dancing footwear, I think this is an excellent option. I personally have small, wide feet, so it was hard trying to find a good first pointe shoe.

Of course, you can purchase more than shoes from Capezio. You’ll be able to find leotards, warm-up wear (if I could, I would own several pairs of adorable leg warmers), totes and duffle bags, and accessories. You’ll also be able to find Capezio products stocked in dance stores near you because Capezio is such a well-known dancewear brand name. I encourage you to check them out.

Yesterday was free scoop day at Ben & Jerry’s. My daughter had a doctor’s appointment (read: a shot), so we planned on getting ice cream regardless of her reaction — she either needed a reward or a consolation prize. It turned out to be a reward, so off we went for her reward. I had decided beforehand that I wanted to get a cone of Phish Food ice cream. Phish Food is reminiscent of rocky road — chocolate ice cream, swirls of marshmallow and caramel, and fish-shaped pieces of chocolate. I really have no idea what the band Phish sounds like, and I really don’t think I’ll really ever take the time to try. However, I really love that flavor of ice cream.

My daughter and I got to the shop just in time — we had virtually no wait. I ordered my Phish Food cone and her strawberry cheesecake scoop in a cup. As the woman handed me my cone, I immediately noticed she got the order wrong. For starters, the ice cream was definitely not chocolate. Not wanting to seem ungrateful on FREE scoop day, I accepted the mix-up, feeling relieved that they at least got my daughter’s ice cream correct. I tasted my ice cream and realized a very cruel trick had been played on me — it was oatmeal crisp. Excuse me? I have a box of oatmeal crisp. It’s a cereal in my cabinet. I eat it for breakfast. When I eat ice cream, under no circumstances do I identify the frozen treat as a “healthy” item. We sat down, and I reluctantly began the odious task of eating said ice cream. I helped my daughter spoon mouthfuls of her luxurious strawberry cheesecake ice cream in between horror sessions with my free cone. Thankfully, it included chocolate chips to make up for the non-chocolate-y flavor I had been cursed with.

When we left, the line stretched out the door. My daughter was content with her free scoop, and I discovered that ice cream can come in awful flavors.