scimommy

I tend to read all about the movies that are coming out and watch the trailers, but hardly ever see the movies themselves. Kids, work, blah. Just watched the trailer for Thor. Looks like a nice two hour chunk of mindless entertainment. If I had two hours to kill, and Lev was up for it, I would totally go see it. The only problem? Natalie Portman is in it, and I kind of hate her "acting". Then watched another trailer - Cowboys and Aliens. Looks pretty awesome. Another potential two hours of mindless entertainment, and this one might even have a sense of humor to it, plus an original idea. Oh, and I *know* Lev would enjoy it. The only problem? Olivia Wilde is in it, and I hated her on House (back when I watched House). Damn, why did they have to pick these particular gals to play the love interests in these particular movies?!

After musing on this fascinating topic, I realized that when I watched the Green Lantern trailer recently, I liked everything (particularly Ryan Reynolds!) - except Blake Lively as the love interest. As far as I can tell, the gal can't act to save her life. Is there a pattern here or something?

Что-то я последнюю неделю всё время влезаю в какие-то дебаты в ЖЖ. Дурная привычка, пора прекращать.

Ha-ha-ha! I mean, sob.

Gwyneth Paltrow has a website, GOOP, where she gives advice on life. Some people find it, and her, super-annoying, but I don't. It's her prerogative to be a little full of herself. I mean, she is beautiful, talented (not only can she act, but she can sing, too?), and mega-rich. She also has good taste in men. Well, at least it has improved dramatically after she broke up with Ben Affleck. Her husband is (a) British and (b) has an amazing voice. Best kind of celebrity husband ever, as far as I'm concerned (although Natalie Portman is giving her a run for her money with the French ballet dancer, but I digress). She does give her kids really weird names, but they will be ok because, again, mega-rich. And if they are not ok, it won't be because of their names, it'll be because of drugs.

Ok, so what is this about? Well, some news outlet said that Gwyneth aimed the latest GOOP newsletter at working mothers and managed to offend said working mothers with said newsletter. Well, I am a working mother, and I like to be offended as much as the next person, so I decided to read it. She has asked two other "working mothers", such as herself (Stella McCartney and some other woman I never heard of but equally rich if perhaps not equally famous) to describe their typical day and share some secrets of how they manage to balance successful careers and motherhood. And guess what - I read them and I am not offended. I am jealous. I want to have a personal trainer who makes house calls, a nanny, a personal assistant, a stylist, etc. I want to have organic groceries delivered to my house weekly. I want to have a weekly blow-out (what the heck is that, anyway?). And what I really want is to have the glamorous lifestyle they are advertising with these "humble" descriptions of their day. That was the real point of the newsletter, wasn't it? Well, let's consider it a success then. Also, from these descriptions I would say that out of the three this less-famous woman is the biggest b*tch, Stella McCartney is the nicest person, and Gwyneth Paltrow has the best life.

Jealousy aside, those descriptions were actually quite interesting. I am always curious about mundane details of people's lives, even if those people are not Gwyneth Paltrow or Stella McCartney. And their pointers about organization and multi-tasking are something that I already do in my life as well, though perhaps not on such a grand scale. Also, I am realizing that if I were to do a similar play-by-play of my day, it would probably read self-congratulatory to other working mothers who don't have live-in grandmothers, supportive and involved husbands, and interesting jobs.

 В поисках рецептов нашла сайт good-cook.ru. Много симпатичных рецептов, буду пробовать. У них почему-то перед каждым рецептом "лирическое отступление", или, попросту говоря, анекдот. Вот этот - как будто подслушали нас со Львом.

Из разговоров в чате:
Она: - ...А сладкое?
Он: - Сладкое долго делать. хотя мой последний торт был очень даже хорош!
Она: - Как звучит, а! последний торт... у меня и первого-то не было!
Он: - Это не сложно, особенно в общаге. Берешь батон, берешь майонез...

God, how I love Mad Men! I wish I had someone to watch with, so that all of my oohs and aahs and deep thoughts spoken out loud during the episode could be directed at a live person instead of into thin air.

Although, come to think of it, maybe this is for the best - watching MM with me could be pretty annoying.

And I wish I could write up an episode recap or something to summarize all my conclusions, but there are too many themes and issues and it would take too long... So I end up reading other people's recaps instead.

Ok, just a couple quick comments on the latest ep. One: a Don voiceover?! I could get used to that. Two: I was happy he did show up to the birthday party. And then Betty was acting like a mature adult for once? And looking wistfully at Don with the baby? I almost cried. Hmm, somehow all of my crying during MM (twice so far) comes courtesy of Betty. The first one was when she glammed up and broke into Italian during their quick trip to Rome. I wonder why that is.

Tonight Maya beat Lev at Set (which is a really fun game, by the way). She had 13 sets and he had 12. In related news, I am too concerned about my kids' achievements. They have to be brilliant at something or else I will feel like a failure. Somebody help me see the light.

Had a dream last night that had "work-related anxieties" written all over it. In it, I have to have a meeting with some big shot Princeton professors who are going to evaluate my progress. First, I keep getting side-tracked on the way there, so I am (almost?) late. Second, as we are all sitting there and reading the report I have supposedly prepared (but do not remember preparing), I am wondering in mild horror why I have apparently been studying the differences between salmon and turkey sandwiches. They seem puzzled, too. I try to explain how it originated from my interest in metabolism and how it will eventually lead to understanding of some legitimate biological questions, but I'm making no sense. I think this was the point when I woke up, completely freaked out. Lovely, huh?