Category Archives: Wild Cards

Succeeding and Failing at Being an Adult

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couch

Last Thursday evening, I went to the book launch for the author of Adulting Blog, for her new book How to Become a Grown-Up in 468 Easy(ish) Steps. It was SUCH a lovely evening! Free beverages courtesy of tumblr, a gorgeous book café setting and a whole host of hilarious speakers. The guys and gals that led up to a speech by Kelly Williams Brown herself told funny stories about moments when they realized they were either A. Succeeding wildly at being an adult, but mostly B. Failing miserably at being an adult, and the lesson they learned from it. One woman told about how she learned to seek medical attention sooner by neglecting a really funny problem (a sore butt) for way too long. Another told how she learned she shouldn’t really swear around babies, while a third got lots of laughs telling how she learned to afford the amount of cereal she likes to eat. All important lessons! All recounted with a hint of irony and, a sense of I really should have known that without having to learn the hard way. That’s the beauty of Adulting stories. They’re usually funny because they’re things that you would think adults should already know through their life experiences and good old common sense. BUT for most of us, they are the things that we just don’t figure out (even though they might be glaringly obvious to others) until we muddle through the situation on our own.

Fast forward to this week, when I had a classic Adulting moment of my own. I have known my current roommate was planning to move out for about a month now with well, pretty much all of our furniture. I was pretty proud of myself for quickly and easily handling finding a new roommate, signing the new lease, transferring bills, and all the little details while planning/attending social events and bridal showers. While I was planning to buy a couch, I figured I would wait until I had some free time, and then just go pick one out. Living in Manhattan where everything is instant gratification, I was relatively certain I could simply go to the store, pick out a couch, and have it delivered that day. So, I waited until after my roommate moved out to even think about the kind of couch I wanted/where to buy it. And it turns out, there’s a lot more variety out there than I realized. Attached cushions or loose! Different fabrics! Tufted!

After deciding the styles I was into, I forayed out into the world of furniture stores one Sunday, planning to have a couch in my apartment that night. Which, as it turns out, is completely impossible. Unless you’re into the earth tones they carry on the showroom floor (I’m not), or are willing to buy a sample model, the minimum wait time you’re looking at is 4-5 days for delivery. If you tend to be a little on the picky side about your housewares (I am), and want anything in a warm color palate, you’re going to need to special order that bad boy which takes anywhere between 6-12 weeks (a fact that it seems most adults who have purchased furniture before would know). Whoops!  Looks like I’ll be purchasing some bean bags to tide me over for the next month and a half until my adult-furniture arrives.

Have you ever had a moment when you realized something like this, much much too late?

The Benefits and Risks of Growing Close

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loveSo I may be a little biased, since Dr. Jennifer Tomlinson is my sister, but I think this article and the accompanying podcast are pretty awesome. Basically, they summarize the work of the illustrious Dr. Tomlinson and her collaborator Dr. Arthur Aron in a fun and clever way. In their research, they found that when two people are in a close relationship, they tend to internalize interests or pieces of their partner’s self into their own. For example, you love eating out and trying new exotic foods. Your partner has a bland palate, and only eats a few things. Then! After dating for a while, you notice that your partner has begun to try new foods, and enjoy a wider variety of cuisines. This is simultaneously a signal that your partner feels close to, and cares about you, and an indication that your partner has begun to internalize pieces of your self with his/herown.

Dr. Tomlinson and Dr. Bjarne Holmes of Champlain College discuss the risks and benefits of being close with another, and talk about how this research can help people in new relationships gauge how satisfied their partner is in the relationship, and how close they feel. While you’re at it, you might as well download the whole paper (for free) here!

What helps you feel close to your partner when you’re in a relationship?

Crafty Ladies and New Businesses

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crafty

In college I took a class called Sociology of the Arts. After a semester’s worth of learning how sociological trends influence art, it led me to write a final paper on knitting and it’s renewed popularity among young women (and sometimes-though less frequently– young men). It was a novelty back in 2007 that hip ladies in their 20’s and 30’s were starting to knit again when it was still largely considered something grandmas did when they were expecting new additions to the family. This was way before the advent of the crafty hipster, and maybe the beginnings of the movement towards its creation. After reading the (somewhat surprisingly) substantial body of literature available on the subject, I came up with three main established theories about why knitting  and crafts of that kind were becoming more popular. Number 1, in a post-911 world of danger and instability, people turn back to traditional activities as comfort from the threats of modernity. You could sub in unstable economy, or the current event of your choice, and this argument is still applicable. The second linked body of theory supposed that in the face of this instability, there is a return to the traditional roles of the past (including gender roles) in which women care for the home and family. Third, it was a taking charge of a traditionally female thing, and making it subversive and edgy instead of tame and ladylike. This was in response to the sudden abundance of skull crochet patterns and kits for making your own knitted bikini tops rather than the typical baby clothes and pastel shawls of yore.

Then finally another group of researchers supposed that modern post-feminism allowed young ladies the freedom to engage in activities traditionally associated with female roles without fear of being labeled anti-women. Simply put, after the feminist movement, women didn’t have to prove they were equal to men by entering into traditionally male spheres like the upper echelons of the workplace. They could instead follow their interests and do what makes them happy (even if it was a traditionally feminine activity). While some will always say any activity that reinforces traditional gender expectations is bad, I just don’t see the same scrutiny applied to men who enter traditionally gendered occupations or hobbies because they like them (hello professional athletes?).

This article on The Daily Beast got me thinking about these sociological trends all over again in the context of small businesses popping up pedaling handmade goods. While some will always say it’s due to women’s preference to be in the home, and love of homemaking activities to me, it looks more like enterprising people who choose to take a difficult road to do what they love when the alternative isn’t making them happy. If this happens to coincide with a craft that gives them more time for their families, and may be a gendered activity, so what?

What do you think about the crafty hipster trend?

p.s. if you happen to be a crafty hipster, the cross stitch pattern pictured is available for purchase here!

Eggs- Good or Evil?

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eggs

In the constant back and forth about whether eggs are good for you or bad for you, we’ve heard it all. They are bad for your cholesterol! They are good for your cholesterol! They’re a healthy source of protein! They’re an unhealthy source of protein! Eat the whites! Eat the whole egg! The scientific community has taken both sides. And now, a recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine (that I read on The Scoop) is back on the anti-egg campaign with new research showing that eating excessive quantities of eggs (I’m looking at you Paleo dieters) may increase your risk of heart disease and stroke even if you don’t have any of the other more traditional risk factors. Here’s why!

In the past, eggs were demonized because we thought the cholesterol they contained directly impacted our cholesterol levels, driving them up the more eggs we ate. However, it looks like the real culprit may be the lecithin contained in the egg yolk. When the body breaks down lecithin, it becomes choline (the vitamin you get from your bacon egg and cheese that some say reduces hangover symptoms) in the intestine which releases a substance the liver converts into the compound trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO for short). This TMAO can make plaque and cholesterol build up more quickly in coronary arteries which ups risk of heart attack and stroke. However, avoiding the yolk where the lecithin lives, can reduce your risk. Looks like it’s back to egg white omelets at brunch until the researchers say otherwise!

13% of Adult Calories= Added Sugar

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sugar

A recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report (that I read about on The Huffington Post) found that between the years of 2005 and 2010, adults in the United States consumed 13% of their total daily calories through added sugars. While this is technically within the recommended 5-15% range recommended by the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, this span is supposed to include all sugar and all solid fat. If 13%, already near the top margin, is solely sugar than it seems most adults are getting out of the healthy zone and into the danger zone with their diets.

The report breaks it down, and nearly 70% of the sugar came from food sources with only around 30% attributed to beverages, with the majority coming from food consumed within the home rather than from eating out. So, it seems that Mayor Bloomberg may be able to knock it off with his war on soda. This new data may explain NYC’s shift from anti-soda campaign to the subway packaged/processed food ads. Additionally, men tend to consume more sugar calories than women, and there is an association apparent in which people of lower income brackets consume more sugar.  It’s important to note how much sugar you are consuming, and if you’re in a higher risk group, because eating too much can lead to diseases like Type 2 diabetes, or increase the risk of obesity. Key an eye out for the sugar content of foods in your pantry, checking labels and watching out for processed or pre-packaged foods.

Links!

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links

Well hello! I have had a busy few weeks, seeing the cherry blossoms at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, learning the flying trapeze, watching a performance of Fleetwood Mac, doing a run for elephants in the Bronx Zoo, watching Scandal from the start of the series, and feeling quite fancy drinking expensive cocktails at the Top of the Standard. Here are some of the articles I’ve read in between.

If you’ve ever been a server, this article will probably crack you up.

Turns out, strangers probably think you’re prettier than you do. And if that was too sappy for you, check out this parody and and have a good laugh.
Just a couple more reasons to love Mr. President: this and this. And while we’re on the presidential theme, check out the red carpet dresses from the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
I don’t know about you, but this lovely weather has me ready to put away my jeans and boots for a long couple of season’s hibernation. Check out 50 dresses under 50 that will spice up your spring/summer wardrobe.
What have you read lately?

Energy Drinks May be Worse for You than You Thought

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energy drinkI went through a phase when I was really into energy drinks. Like, I had a complex rating system just in case the convenience store was out of my favorite. I would always go for Diet Rockstar because it tasted delicious, then the Mountain Dew Amp because I figured if the soda had a lot of  caffeine, the energy drink must be a mega dose. After those two, I would drink pretty much whatever was in stock (except the Sobe energy drinks-those are gross). I was working full time during my summer off from college,  and still maintaining a social schedule like I had all day free. There was more than one party that I feel asleep on the couch in the middle of  a room full of people. Then one day I picked up a guy friend of mine, and he commented about the creatine in my energy beverage, noting that people on his football team took that to get big, and that’s when I realized maybe I should cut back on the caffeine and factor back in a few hours of sleep instead. Looking back, I laugh about how obviously unhealthy my choices were.

Yet energy drinks remain popular, even in the face of lawsuits alleging they cause serious cardiovascular problems, and even death (we all remember how popular Four LOKO was, no?). I mean, a simple scan of the nutrition label will reveal sugar counts that are through the roof. And now The Scoop reports that they may be even worse than you thought. The beverages may contain ingredients not listed on the label, and not approved by the FDA. They may have compounds known to clog arteries, or linked to cardiovascular problems. And their claims are typically exaggerated or false. So next time you’re looking for a quick pick me up, think twice about the can claiming to improve your focus or stimulate your metabolism, and maybe just reach for a coffee instead (especially since it may even make you live longer).

Do you drink energy drinks?

American Girl Retires the Classic Dolls

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kirstenWhen I was growing up, I owned a Kirsten doll and her accompanying stories about the trials the Swedish immigrant girl faced living on a farm after many of her friends died during the voyage to America. She made me actually care about tensions between Native Americans and settlers through her friendship with Singing Bird (a feat I can’t say that history class ever accomplished). My sister owned a Samantha doll, and we both read the series for most of the American Girls that addressed issues was wide ranging as living in the American Revolution (Felicity), and learning through her friends about poverty and class struggle while living in an affluent childhood (Samantha). While the dolls and all of their matching outfits were a fun complement to the novels, the books were the real stars, taking me through different historical periods, and embedding life lessons into the back stories that went along with my toys. Sadly, American Girl has decided to “archive” the classic dolls in favor of a new line.

Anndddd the new line comes with new story lines. The fresh “Girl of the Year,” and “My American Girl” dolls are designed to be more relatable to modern children. They are modeled after their images and the characters, living in present day, face challenges like not making the gymnastics team rather than navigating the complex social landscape of cross-class friendships during the industrial period. Additionally, the brand has cut back from the previous 6 books for each character to a measly 2, suggesting that these American girls? Well, they just don’t read as much. While it’s always sad to see a classic toy from your childhood retired, I’m not the only one who was saddened by the changes in the brand. Check out the opinions on The Daily Beast, NY Mag The Cut, and The Atlantic.

What do you think about the changes America Girl is making?

4 Easy Ways to Revamp Your Diet

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foodIf you’re looking for an fast, simple way to make your diet a little healthier, Self’s Andrea Bartz recommends 4. When you’re shopping for pre-made or packaged foods, make sure that they don’t contain the following:

  • Sodium or Potassium Benzoate: These preservatives often turn up in baked goods, and they may break down into a carcinogen.
  • Potassium Bromate: This compound can be added to flour to make it rise higher, and is often used up in the baking process, however, its been banned in Europe and Canada for potentially carcinogenic properties.
  • Phosphate: It turns up in soda, packaged baked goods, frozen food, and condiments. When you consume it in high amounts, it can knock pH off balance and leech calcium from your bones.
  • Partially Hydrogenated Oil: These are also known as trans fats, a compound not found in nature. When they are added to some spreads, cheeses or junk foods, they can increase the risk for cardiovascular disease by blocking circulation.

See how easy that was?

Go Ahead and Take that Afternoon Coffee Break

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coffeeIt just might make you live longer. A study I read about on The Huffington Post found that women who drank 6 or more cups of coffee a day reduced their risk of dying young by 15% when compared to people who abstained completely from the glorious beverage. The benefit goes up the more coffee you drink. Scientists credit the caffeine and antioxidants as having a protective effect on health similar to small doses of aspirin. Your morning cup of joe can reduce your risk of dying from heart disease, stroke, respiratory illness, diabetes, and infections. So stop feeling guilty about that mid-afternoon Starbucks run (as long as you’re not buying sugary frappacinos and pastries), after all, it’s good for your health!