Big Little Wolf's Daily Plate of Crazy

Posture Perfect

Posted on May 26, 2012 by BigLittleWolf

I love a slouchy sweater, for any season. I love a slouchy hat, with its pliable brim or soft fabric.

But a slouchy stance? Posture imperiled?

Slumping is not attractive, and it’s anything but admirable.

Don’t we perceive those who stand up straight as more confident, and those who slouch as indifferent, insecure, or at the very least – tired?

We all know that body language is important in projecting who we are. But what if our unconscious slouching carries more impact than we realize – on health, well-being, not to mention – professional performance?

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Posted in Health, Language, Lifestyle | Tagged body language, chronic back pain, communication, confidence, Elle Magazine, self-care, speaking up, speaking your mind, women and confidence, women's health | 6 Comments

Regression Depression

Posted on May 25, 2012 by BigLittleWolf

One college student home, the other not.
A teen plus fridge plus car keys equals what?
He sleeps ’til two then eats, then since it’s hot,
He’s schmoozing, cruising, sitting on his butt…

However I have told him it’s okay,
He’s weathered countless pressures many months.
I know he needs the sleep he stores away;
I try to wake him; all I get are grunts.

But grades are in, he did his part; I’m thrilled.
His academic scholarships? Intact.
He showed himself responsible and skilled,
At getting through Year 1 of 5, in fact.

I thought he’d party harder once returned.
But all that eating and those zzzs? He’s earned.

* * * *

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Posted in Language, Lifestyle, Parenting | Tagged bad poetry, cost of raising children, empty nest, lost keys, Parenting, parenting college students, poetry therapy, psychology, silly verse, Single Parenting, sonnet, teenage driving, teenage parties, terse verse | 12 Comments

The Makeover Mentality

Posted on May 24, 2012 by BigLittleWolf

You know I love my Dior shadows and lip gloss. You know I love my fabulous footwear. And if someone offered me a fancy trim for my neglected locks and an afternoon with a professional stylist – gratis? Like most women, I would likely say yes.

But what’s up with the makeover mentality? Why do we always feel a need to do something to our appearance – as if we’re never quite good enough?

What has my feathers ruffled is a seemingly innocuous article on making over inspirational women. They all seem happy with the process, so why should I care?

Here’s my concern. We never feel spiffy enough, updated enough, attractive enough. Why can’t we consider inspirational women laudable, and focus on that?

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Posted in Fashion and Style, Language, Lifestyle, Sexual Politics | Tagged beauty, daily plate of crazy, definitions of beauty, Fashion and Style, Language, life events, makeover tips, makeovers, personal style, psychology and language, rant, women and self-esteem, women's issues, women's roles | 18 Comments

Jane on Jane, and the Value of YES

Posted on May 23, 2012 by BigLittleWolf

Thank you, Women’s Voices for Change, for the shout-out to Emmy Award-winning actor Jane Lynch and her 2012 commencement speech at Smith College.

It’s a funny and inspiring twenty minutes (see below), filled with humor and smarts from this multi-talented dynamo. I strongly recommend that you watch and listen, not only enjoying Ms. Lynch’s wit, but the plentiful lessons from her own life – and how things changed as she began to embrace all of it.

Her words are important for women now more than ever, in this political climate. But her message is important when any of us is struggling with situations we neither anticipate nor know how to manage.

We are reminded that life is a roller coaster, and the ups and downs will form us, motivate us, strengthen us, and embolden us.

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Posted in Culture, Morning Musing, Other Stuff, Sexual Politics | Tagged ageing, aging, aging gracefully, celebrities, change, daily plate of crazy, fear, planning, taking risk, women over 50, women's issues, women's lives, women's roles | 9 Comments

Sleep Over Sex, Money Mess as Cause of Stress

Posted on May 22, 2012 by BigLittleWolf

According to a recent report in the Wall Street Journal, if you want to wow a woman into bed, offer her sleep before sex.

According to a Time Healthland article, three out of four women are “somewhat, very, or extremely stressed.” In case you’re wondering, they’re stressed over bucks – and not the kind that afford the pleasures conjured by the prior Wall Street Journal mention.

Yes, you heard it here – and surely not first. Zzzzzs before we please – ourselves or someone we love. And as it turns out, money mess (as if we didn’t already realize) is as a major factor in female stress.

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Posted in Health, Lifestyle, Politics, Sex, Surviving Recession | Tagged daily plate of crazy, effects of unemployment, emotional eating, gender roles, health care, healthy eating, jobs, money worries, post-divorce life, Relationships, Sex, superwoman myth, Surviving Recession, women and body image, women and self-esteem, women's health, worry | 6 Comments

Mad Men Season 5 Episode 10 Christmas Waltz

Posted on May 21, 2012 by BigLittleWolf

Christmas Waltz?

Some fancy footwork, maybe. But who’s doing the dancing?

No tender two-step for Megan and Don. She seems peeved, and Don is… Well, what and where exactly is Don these days?

He’s not in sync with his winsome wife – or himself. He’s out of sorts, uninspired, and feeling attacked. Counter culture is beginning to point its accusatory finger at the Establishment, and no more clearly than in a play the Drapers attend. And what’s more establishment than men in gray suits on Madison Avenue?

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Posted in Entertainment | Tagged 1960s, AMC TV Mad Men, Christina Hendricks as Joan Holloway, D A Wolf, Jessica Paré, Jon Hamm as Don Draper, Mad Men, mad men recaps, Mad Men reviews | 7 Comments

Your Best of Times, Your Worst of Times

Posted on May 20, 2012 by BigLittleWolf

Attitude. Integrity. Big picture objectives. These subjects came up recently in the context of a discussion on divorce. Likewise, the conversation raised the issue of adults acting badly, usually from a place of deep hurt or anger.

As stories were shared, I couldn’t help but reflect on those times that test us and how we respond – you could say “the best of times and the worst of times” – which may well describe the journey from marriage through divorce.

Naturally, divorce isn’t the only challenge that adults face, but it can be one of the most complex to maneuver.

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Posted in Lifestyle, Morning Musing, Other Stuff, Parenting, Relationships | Tagged breaking rules, change, divorce, effects of unemployment, Marriage and Divorce, perspective, post-divorce life, Relationships, Single Parenting, whatever life dishes out | 5 Comments

Found Letter to a Lost Lover

Posted on May 19, 2012 by BigLittleWolf

Monday night 8 February 1988

Cher Jean-Marc,

Though I write that it is Monday night, it is Tuesday morning now, but hours before dawn. You’re no doubt up and about your business on the other side of the Atlantic. Here, it’s another of these long, sleepless nights of closing my eyes and my brain is unwilling to slow down, jumping up to put the television on, only to turn it off again, tossing under the layers of couvertures and never warm enough in winter, staring out the small window at the yellow brick façade next door.

You remember, don’t you? You remarked that even the view of Parisian walls was better, and we laughed because I admitted that you were right. Then you tested me on my memory of metro stops along Ligne 1: Etoile, Georges V, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Champs-Elysées Clemenceau, Concorde.

Then I was stumped and you teased me. And we made love.

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Posted in En Français, Language, Love, Other Stuff, Relationships | Tagged amants à Paris, daily plate of crazy, France, love letters, paris, writing, writing from life | 9 Comments

Help Line

Posted on May 18, 2012 by BigLittleWolf

When I had a question about my hosting service recently, I picked up the phone and called the Help Line. Ten minutes later, I had my response, and knew exactly how to accomplish my goal.

But when it comes to asking for help in life, that’s harder.

I was raised to offer help and to give it, but I wasn’t raised to ask for it, much less to take it.

In fact, many of the women I know experience a similar reluctance. They respond to requests for assistance constantly, but struggle with asking for help themselves.

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Posted in Business, Culture, Lifestyle, Morning Musing, Relationships | Tagged asking for help, daily plate of crazy, definitions of success, differences between men and women, family, friendship, people pleasing, Single Parenting, superwoman myth, superwoman syndrome, team player, well being, women and self-esteem, women's issues, women's roles | 12 Comments

Jumping for (Java) Joy

Posted on May 17, 2012 by BigLittleWolf

I drink more coffee than I ought to, but… this recent report confirms what we’ve been reading lately. Coffee risks may be offset by coffee benefits – at least, in some instances.

In an article titled “Coffee Drinkers May Live Longer” on the New York Times Health Blog, Tara Parker-Pope reports:

While coffee contains caffeine, a stimulant that may temporarily increase heart rate and blood pressure in some people, coffee also contains hundreds of unique compounds and antioxidants that may confer health benefits.

So what are we to make of this? Haven’t we heard for years that coffee poses risks? That it makes us jittery and restless, is terrible for our sleep cycles, and unhealthy for any number of reasons?

Confused?

I know I am.

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