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The Style Page: What’s appropriate?

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Today Melanie objected to my criticism about Michelle Obama’s choice of a light teal suit and the infamous boob belt for the wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. How appropriate that Melanie posted her comments on Remembrance Sunday (as it is observed in the UK)!

I do like the decorum that Brits show on Remembrance Sunday, and I wish that we have more of the same.  To me, it’s a sign of respect.  Melanie came around to my point of view after I explained it.  Below Tony Blair’s wife Cherie came under flak for wearing a purple trench coat to Remembrance Sunday services in 2009:

Source: The Style Page: What’s appropriate?

Finding Mr. Righteous

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Finding Mr. RighteousFinding Mr. Righteous by Lisa De Pasquale
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I discovered Finding Mr. Righteous through the conservative web site PJ Media. Initially I submitted a request to Fairfax County Public Library to carry it, but there was no follow-up: strange, because I had thought that FPCL would support a local writer (Ms. De Pasquale lives in Northern Virginia). I had to wait the mandatory 6-12 months after publication to submit a request through Interlibrary Loan.

Finding Mr. Righteous is about Ms. De Pasquale’s search for God in the context of the men in her life: Chris the Atheist, Joe the Catholic, John the Evangelical, etc. I looked forward to reading this book, as I thought there would be a spiritual component to the book, but most of the book is about Ms. De Pasquale’s attachments to men who have other women in their lives and won’t commit to her. I wonder why Ms. De Pasquale didn’t go in therapy to try to break this pattern. The spiritual component comes at the end of the book when she has an epiphany about her relationships and her role in them. I won’t give away the ending: that’s for you to read.

This book dredged up my unhappy experiences with men and my feeling insecure and that no one would love me. If Ms. De Pasquale ever revises her book, I could contribute a chapter on Ali the Muslim.

Altogether, Finding Mr. Righteous is a quick read. As I said, the spiritual component comes at the end of the book, and I’m glad that I read it to the end.
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Happy 4th of July!

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An oldie but goodie here: my post for the 4th of July from two years ago

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We recognized Canada Day; we would be remiss to not recognize our very own Fourth of July.

American Flag American Flag

We associate the 4th of July with parades, barbeques, and fireworks, but let’s take a few moments today to reflect on The Declaration of Independence.  Read the Declaration of Independence on the National Archives web site.

The Declaration of Independence closes with these words:

And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

Indeed, several signers suffered for the cause of independence.

It surprised me to hear a man from Eritrea and a man from Pakistan say that they had memorized the Declaration of Independence in their home countries.

The Declaration of Independence is housed at the National Archives in Washington, DC. I was privileged to see the Declaration…

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A snowy Tuesday afternoon – and Rush Limbaugh

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It’s Tuesday afternoon, and it’s snowing here in the DC metro area.  The Federal Government offices are closed.  I marvel at the people who are obliged to go out and do their work as the snow continues (anywhere from 6 to 10 inches is expected); in fact, UPS delivered a parcel to me today.

My husband and I went out today, nonetheless, to get some lab work done. We were the only ones at the lab, along with 2 technicians.  Lately, my husband’s been in the habit of listening to Rush Limbaugh, although he supports the Democrats.  Believe it or not, this is the first time that I’ve listened to Rush.   He’s obnoxious, all right, but he can be entertaining and funny, particularly when he skewers celebrities (Neil Young and Madonna were his targets today).  He gives voice to many who wouldn’t otherwise have a voice.

Rush is a flunkie.  He comes from a family of lawyers – in fact, his grandfather had the distinction of being the oldest practicing lawyer in Missouri at age 101 – but he flunked out of Southeast Missouri State University.  It boggles the mind that he’s become as wealthy as he is – you should see pictures of his spread in Palm Beach.

My money or my life, Part 2

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In last week’s post, I wrote that I’d discuss my end-of-the-month evaluation of my spending.   I was to review my spending and answer the following 3 questions:

  • Did I receive fulfillment, satisfaction and value in proportion to life energy spent?
  • Is this expenditure of life energy in alignment with my values and life purpose?
  • How might this expenditure change if I didn’t have to work for a living?

Life energy is yet another YMOYL concept. Life energy is the unit of time you trade for earning money. YMOYL recommends deducting all work-related expenses (commuting, clothing) from your pay to compute your real pay; at the same time, it recommends adding hours for activities such as getting ready, commuting, decompressing after work to your actual work hours.  The results are pretty depressing, aren’t they?

I evaluated my spending by answering the three questions, and here are my findings:

  • There’s not a lot of wiggle room with respect to housing and utilities.
  • My spending on what I call “adornment – beauty” is about where I want it: to account for my monthly visits to the salon
  • My spending on eating out is out of proportion to the amount I trade my life energy for.  I’ll work to reduce eating out expenses this month.

My husband and I went on a Labor Day weekend road trip to visit Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater in Pennsylvania.  We had also made reservations to see Kentuck Knob, another Wright home.  However, we discovered that Shanksville was nearby, and skipped the trip to Kentuck Knob to go to the Flight 93 National Memorial.

It is said that people get more happiness and satisfaction from experiences than from things: although my husband might disagree, as he loves to spend money on decorating the home!   I derive happiness and satisfaction and memories from travel and shared experiences.

My money or my life, Part 1

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Can you believe it? I have gone 4 weekends without buying makeup to add to my stash, or better put, my closet.

I kept buying makeup, with the intention that I’d review them for The Style Page blog. Didn’t happen.

I decided to track my spending by embarking on the Your Money or Your Life program. One of the YMOYL concepts is the “gazingus pin.” Gazingus pins are items that we obsessively spend money on: for me, they are food out, Starbucks CD compilations, and makeup.

Here are some gazingus pins that I would have spent money on:

  • Pati Dubroff Aquatint lip gloss set from Costco
  • Vincent Longo Pearl-to-Matte eye shadow trio in Untitled (Soft Rose, Sable, Cherry Brown)
  • Revlon nail polish in French Roast
  • DHC eye shadow palette

That’s nearly $90 that I didn’t spend! I decided to reallocate that $90 to enroll in an online course on Understanding Hindu Identity from the Oxford Center for Hindu Studies, something that would give me more satisfaction (see the Bahu of Bengal tab).

The YMOYL calls for tracking every penny spent and developing your own spending categories. At the end of the month, you tally your spending and evaluate each expenditure category by answering the following 3 questions:

  • Did I receive fulfillment, satisfaction and value in proportion to life energy spent?
  • Is this expenditure of life energy in alignment with my values and life purpose?
  • How might this expenditure change if I didn’t have to work for a living?

It’s nearly month’s end and I’ll share with you my answers to the three questions early in September.