Women and Super Bowl Sunday
February/08/2010 09:02 AM Filed in: Women | Friends | Sports | Life of a Rock Star | Nicole Hanratty
Women and Super Bowl Sunday
by Nicole Hanratty
For women, Super Bowl Sunday is never just about the game. Of course there is the food and the friends--don't forget the commercials and silly betting pools--but aside from what is happening on the field there is off the field drama as well. I'm not talking about the tear jerking mini-dramas that are played throughout the day about players beating the odds to make it to the Super Bowl or the personal challenges they endure that glue you to the couch in anticipation of seeing these individuals be rewarded for their endurance and perseverance. I'm talking about the drama that is unfolding in the living room.
No- the myths that Super Bowl Sunday see a spike in domestic violence are not the drama I'm referring to either... FYI, these have seem to be rebuked for the most part. [See Super Bowl Sunday, Domestic Violence & Your Health By John M Grohol PSYD]
It's the relationships and bonding, the rivalry and fun, the conversations that happen in the dining room far away from where the game is even being aired. Women have an amazing ability to ease through a testosterone filled room with a smile--showing interest in the game when appropriate--but otherwise huddling together to share their stories, heartache and laughter.
Read More...
by Nicole Hanratty
For women, Super Bowl Sunday is never just about the game. Of course there is the food and the friends--don't forget the commercials and silly betting pools--but aside from what is happening on the field there is off the field drama as well. I'm not talking about the tear jerking mini-dramas that are played throughout the day about players beating the odds to make it to the Super Bowl or the personal challenges they endure that glue you to the couch in anticipation of seeing these individuals be rewarded for their endurance and perseverance. I'm talking about the drama that is unfolding in the living room.
No- the myths that Super Bowl Sunday see a spike in domestic violence are not the drama I'm referring to either... FYI, these have seem to be rebuked for the most part. [See Super Bowl Sunday, Domestic Violence & Your Health By John M Grohol PSYD]
It's the relationships and bonding, the rivalry and fun, the conversations that happen in the dining room far away from where the game is even being aired. Women have an amazing ability to ease through a testosterone filled room with a smile--showing interest in the game when appropriate--but otherwise huddling together to share their stories, heartache and laughter.
Read More...
Date Night
February/04/2010 10:23 AM Filed in: Humor | Husbands | Couples | Nicole Hanratty | Life of a Rock Star
Date Night
By Nicole Hanratty
When it comes to date night, I feel just like the kid in Sixteen Candles whose parents are pushing him into the high school dance as he’s resisting, “I wanna go home. I wanna be with you guys!” Only in our scenario, it’s the kids pushing us out the front door because the babysitter is way more fun, as is our house without Mom and Dad. But it is the one night of the week when my husband and I know we get to walk away from the house, leave our concerns behind—hypothetically—and enjoy an adult dinner at a nice restaurant (sans the overpriced penne pasta with butter).
Ironically, dining alone seems to produce record speed service in even the finest of dining establishments. The beverages, bread and appetizer seem to appear within minutes of us being seated and the waiter stands eager by our tableside to take our entrée order. If we bring children to the same restaurant, it could be twenty minutes before we see a morsel of bread or a sip of water, which produces grumpy, hungry and restless kids. Likely the entire ordeal will take a full two hours—I have always postured that they must have to run to the market and buy the mac n’ cheese to make for the kiddies—with us paying $25.00 per bowl of cheesy noodles and wishing we had just gone to CPK which the kids were begging for in the first place. However when the hubby and I show up alone ready to relax and enjoy a fully pampered three-course two-hour meal, we are in and out in fifty-five minutes flat. Read More...
By Nicole Hanratty
When it comes to date night, I feel just like the kid in Sixteen Candles whose parents are pushing him into the high school dance as he’s resisting, “I wanna go home. I wanna be with you guys!” Only in our scenario, it’s the kids pushing us out the front door because the babysitter is way more fun, as is our house without Mom and Dad. But it is the one night of the week when my husband and I know we get to walk away from the house, leave our concerns behind—hypothetically—and enjoy an adult dinner at a nice restaurant (sans the overpriced penne pasta with butter).
Ironically, dining alone seems to produce record speed service in even the finest of dining establishments. The beverages, bread and appetizer seem to appear within minutes of us being seated and the waiter stands eager by our tableside to take our entrée order. If we bring children to the same restaurant, it could be twenty minutes before we see a morsel of bread or a sip of water, which produces grumpy, hungry and restless kids. Likely the entire ordeal will take a full two hours—I have always postured that they must have to run to the market and buy the mac n’ cheese to make for the kiddies—with us paying $25.00 per bowl of cheesy noodles and wishing we had just gone to CPK which the kids were begging for in the first place. However when the hubby and I show up alone ready to relax and enjoy a fully pampered three-course two-hour meal, we are in and out in fifty-five minutes flat. Read More...
2010 Hot Topics
2010 Observations (So far...)
By Nicole Hanratty
1. It's now easier for a women over the age of 40 to find a husband than it is to find a job.
2. The "Good Life" has been sent a notice of abandonment, (even by those who can still afford it).
3. Dear Mr. President, Vegas is on our "Not Giving Up No Matter What" list, along with our hairdressers and home shopping network habit. Sincerely, The USA
4. Celebrity glamour is what it used to be.
5. Everything everyone says can be you-tubed, tweeted, facebooked, and blogged for all eternity to remember, unfortunately. (Our poor kids.) Read More...
By Nicole Hanratty
1. It's now easier for a women over the age of 40 to find a husband than it is to find a job.
2. The "Good Life" has been sent a notice of abandonment, (even by those who can still afford it).
3. Dear Mr. President, Vegas is on our "Not Giving Up No Matter What" list, along with our hairdressers and home shopping network habit. Sincerely, The USA
4. Celebrity glamour is what it used to be.
5. Everything everyone says can be you-tubed, tweeted, facebooked, and blogged for all eternity to remember, unfortunately. (Our poor kids.) Read More...
Garage Tells All
February/01/2010 11:35 AM Filed in: Humor | Women | Storage | Life Stages | Life of a Rock Star | Nicole Hanratty
Garage Tells All
By Nicole Hanratty
The vast majority of us all start out in the same place post college--renting an apartment and dreaming of the day we will sign our life away to a mortgage and have shelter we can call our own that includes our very own garage. In these youthful and optimistic days, we see a white sparkling clean well-organized space that perfectly fits our car, bicycle, washer and dryer, along with a cabinet that can be used to store a few mementos.
Within days of having the coveted keys to the new front door, we surrender and designate the garage for all of the boxes of things we have accumulated over the years and have no idea what to do with, yet we begged our parents to save. The tennis racket circa 1980s, soccer trophies, the art work from first grade, the notes we passed back and forth to our best friends in junior high school--back when they still called it junior high--fill boxes that we forgot even existed until the day Mom and Dad showed up with them in lieu of a house warming present. They muttered something sweet like, "Here's all your crap," then pulled away faster than Mario Andretti. Read More...
By Nicole Hanratty
The vast majority of us all start out in the same place post college--renting an apartment and dreaming of the day we will sign our life away to a mortgage and have shelter we can call our own that includes our very own garage. In these youthful and optimistic days, we see a white sparkling clean well-organized space that perfectly fits our car, bicycle, washer and dryer, along with a cabinet that can be used to store a few mementos.
Within days of having the coveted keys to the new front door, we surrender and designate the garage for all of the boxes of things we have accumulated over the years and have no idea what to do with, yet we begged our parents to save. The tennis racket circa 1980s, soccer trophies, the art work from first grade, the notes we passed back and forth to our best friends in junior high school--back when they still called it junior high--fill boxes that we forgot even existed until the day Mom and Dad showed up with them in lieu of a house warming present. They muttered something sweet like, "Here's all your crap," then pulled away faster than Mario Andretti. Read More...
New Decade, New Style
New Decade, New Style
By Nicole Hanratty
Ring in 2010 with these hot new “Skarlettes” (reversible capes with a scarf attached) from Zuriz Dezinz. Handmade and in many cases, one-of-a-kind originals, these gorgeous wraps will warm you or your daughter in style this chilly January winter. You’ll have to drive into the suburbs (or call and beg a store to ship one off to you) to get your hands on one of these gorgeous capes, but it will be well worth your efforts. As one storeowner put it, “The only other place you will find these, is in Italy.”
Hipster Kid
2903 Agoura Road
Westlake Village, Ca
(805) 494-0900
http://www.shophipsterkid.com
Glen Kids
2944 Beverly Glen Circle
Los Angeles, Ca
(310) 474-9966
Pas de Deux
5853 Kanan Road Agoura Hills, CA
(818) 707-1425
Ballet Arts
31308 Via Colinas Suite 101
Westlake Village, Ca
(805) 495-7940
Price Range: $65.00 to $200.00 (Depending on size and style)
Children and adult sizes are available.
For more information email: zurizdezinz@aol.com
Meet The Designer
for herself, made from cardboard and fabric scraps. Living through hard times and wearing clothes donated to charities left on the front door step of her home, Shawna rifled through the bags for things that would fit her and pulled out a dress that she slipped into for church one Sunday morning. While at church, a girl recognized the dress Shawna was wearing as one that she had donated to the “needy.” The girl—too young herself to realize that Shawna’s family was in that category--called Shawna out on it and embarrassed her. Shawna vowed never to let that happen again. She taught herself to sew and began altering the donated clothing in her closet to such an extent that no one would ever recognize what she wore again. Read More...
H1N1 Vaccine
November/02/2009 10:16 AM Filed in: Satire | Humor | Health | Moms | Nicole Hanratty | Life of a Rock Star
by Nicole Hanratty
As a world community, we are up in arms over H1N1. We don't know if we should brush it off as an over-hyped media blitz reminiscent of the Richard Heene story, a government hyped political story to get health care reform passed (as Rush Limbaugh would argue), or whether we should just follow along and line up for the vaccination. Either way you slice it, the mounting number of young people from H1N1 this fall flu season is--without question--alarming.
Throwing paranoia to the wind, I admit I found myself in line. The benefits seemed to outweigh the risk with my family full of underlying conditions. (Everyone will handle this crises differently and opinions seem to get heated when you bring up the topic for discussion, so I am not in any way suggesting that any one should get this vaccine. Consult your doctor, your priest, your personal guru or your mother but do not interpret this as advice in way, shape or formation.)
For three hours I was entertained by the countless number of cameras, photographers, reporters, news vans, satellite dishes, radio djs, and personalities, including the man in front of us who listened to me quiz my child for a history test then explained a little more that we should know and told us about the book he wrote that he was promoting while in line. (Here's another plug for his book: Jacob's Rescue by Michael Halperin.) Hundreds of people, mothers with toddlers, pregnant women, health care professionals, teachers and critically ill patients were all brought together for one common cause: to fight the flu (or to report on fighting it).
Read More...
Histerectomy
October/27/2009 09:03 PM Filed in: Satire | Humor | Health | Women | Husbands | Life of a Rock Star | Diane Bittiker
Written by Diane Bittiker
Edited by Nicole Hanratty
Hysterectomy: removal of part or all of the uterus. Derived from the Greek word hystera (womb) with the former notion being that hysterical women were suffering from disturbances of the womb. (Hence removing the uterus was believed to relieve a woman's hysterical behavior.)
The ancient Greeks may have been masters at throwing the javelin, but when it comes to trying to pinpoint the cause of a woman's hysteria they were way off the mark.
Having just had a hysterectomy--I can tell you first hand--my hysteria is still going strong drumming right along side the Duracell bunny. If hysteria was supposed to be removed with my womb then my doctor didn't get the memo.
My hysterical condition was diagnosed a few months back. My physician said my uterus had seen its' days and I would be better off without the old plumbing.
Telling my darling husband (here on referred to as DH*) went well, (I suppose), if you consider "Isn't that an ol' lady surgery" a positive response. He is very funny that sweet man, maybe even hysterical. Read More...
