April Fools! My life... lately

We may be fools but we look happy! Rest assured, all this amazing, fantastic, CRAZY news-of-me will be true, no jokes here... this really is my life. Scary huh?

The family of penguins... what can I say? I love Penguins. The biggest one (in the middle) is my latest purchase, found him with Ainsley at the Minnesota zoo. That was a great trip. We met up with David who was in town for basketball and he went to the Mall of America with us. He waited ever so patiently while we tried on every pair of clothes-- ever! David really is the best male shopping buddy, either that or bottles all his annoyance and seethes on the inside.

After spring break, I had a hard time getting my butt back in gear. I had enjoyed my break so much. Mostly, I slept until 11, read books (not required for any class) and took walks. I also spent two days back in Bismarck, visiting summer friends and speaking to the League of Women Voters. That was a great experience. I forgot about the nerves of public speaking, but it was a relatively small group and they were so much fun! For 20 minutes afterwards, they asked me questions about women, politics, culture, college financial aid etc. I felt like I was at a press conference -- oh the power! :) Afterward, one woman insisted I should run for state legislature... te he. Sorry, the idea of me wielding political power just makes me giggle. But I was very flattered all the same.

Speaking of books I read over break, one that I must take a time-out to recommend is:

It took me only a day or so to get through this book. It's non-fiction but reads more like a deeply personal journal entry from a woman who describes herself as feminist, but ponders what has happened to our culture.

She interviews the cast of Comedy Central's "The Man Show," rides the elevator of Playboy Enterprises with women auditioning to be Playmates in the 50th anniversary edition. She walks a Florida beach where women are urged to flash the crew of Girls Gone Wild. She interviews businesswomen, teenage women and lesbians and it's really fascinating.

This book was a major light-bulb moment for me. How I wonder, do we live in a time of MTV's "Date My Mom," "Girls gone wild," thongs being sold at JCPenny's and yet I still feel so...un-liberated. Levy shows us that our culture is not "pursuing the confident, self-determined, powerful, free ideal the women’s liberation movement would have dreamed for its daughters. Instead, our icons are porn stars and strippers and prostitutes. Paris Hilton and Jenna Jameson."

This book is a great read for anyone- man or woman -- who has found our culture's representation of sex not only raunchy but at the same time, very limiting. An interesting enigma but think about it... Conservative culture sells us: sex for married man and wife ONLY-- anything else is immoral and ugly. Where Hollywood packages sex: fake boobs, bleached hair, legs splayed on the pages of Playboy. Neither of those images is all that liberating is it?

Anyway... enough. I was just so mentally pumped after reading this book. I'm desperate for someone else to read it so I can talk about it more :)

BACK TO ME :)

I can't believe it is already April. Mom and I will be in Palm Springs in 6 days and after that in Eureka (oh yeah, don't tell me you've never heard of it) for the Easter extravaganza egg-dye that my aunt puts on. I love April! Hopefully we'll see less showers. I think it's rained enough in March to satisfy the spring quota. The Red River Valley is once again resembling a bath tub and I need a canoe to make my way around campus.

Tonight not much exciting is on the menu. Right on schedule, I have caught my spring cold. Nostrils are useless, ears are plugged and swallowing is a bitch. Tonight, I along with my Vicks Vapo Rub and my "Puffs plus lotion" tissues are going to relax on the couch... God willing the boys upstairs quit partying. I've already seen them puke off the balcony enough for one year.