Ahrgg!

So, there has been a hiatus.  Here is the reality in which I am trying to function

• Bunny has started to crawl, which means nothing gets done.  In addition, she has an abiding fascination with electrical outlets and anything else that is likely to maim her
• Maj. C's stuff arrived from CA (yeah!) which as meant endless laundry (boo!) and unpacking (boo boo!) and re-packing (for his pied a terre up north) whilst keeping baby safe.  Although he downsized, 12 years of stuff is still a lot of stuff, especially for a clutterphobe like me/us.
• Work, which actually keeps me kind of sane
• Mangled ankle (the saga continues) 
• Birthday party planning (nothing elaborate, but still stressful)
• Enough yard work to keep from looking like "that house"
• Etc.

The other day, while unpacking and multi-tasking I watched "I Don't know how She Does It" which is based on a novel by Allison Pearson, which I read years ago.  Yes, the book is chick lit, and bad chick lit-- but it is also exactly the right sort of mental bubblegum that one needs every so often.  (As an aside, I think its worth stating that books about women should not denigrated as "chick lit," but hell's bells, this book has a pink cover).  At the time, I rather liked it as it sort-of-kind-of described my work-non-life in the financial sector.  There were more than a few details that resonated me: endless lists (I still do that), buying everything at duty-free, endless, far from glamorous business travel.

The movie, with Sarah Jessica Parker, did a Fever Pitch (The Nick Hornby's book is another fun frothy read, which I'll classify as "lad lit").  That is, the movie moved the story from London to Boston-- utterly unnecessary, except that that one can cast American actors.  And grossly simplified the story/changed the ending entirely.  And SJP doesn't really do "ungroomed".  The cliche is true: "The book is better than the movie" (which isn't saying much).

That said, while the movie was annoying and grating in it's first world problems, I found it refreshing that the SJP character loves her job and doesn't dump everything for her kids.  Work defines some women as much as it defines some men.  Some of us love to work, it doesn't make us selfish or bad mothers.  It's just the way some of us are wired.

What happens if I take my eyes off her for 20sec.  Yes, I know the grapes are a choking hazard.