Feminist that I'm Not

When I was hired to work at KMA, I was asked if I was easily offended. Of course, I said, "No." But what I really meant was "No." Because the types of things that it turns out could be offensive, are not. At all.

That's because I'm not a feminist.

You see, I work with a bunch of contractors and subcontractors. Which means, invariably, I work with a lot of men. Men are funny because they are casual and laid-back and low-key. And funny. They burp and talk about farting, but then again, so does my roommate. They like to talk about women. Whether so-and-so is hot in real life because her voice and her name totally are or who was on the cover of Victoria's Secret weekly e-mail. They also call me "beautiful" and "honey." (And sometimes Kevin calls me "Fingers" because of my amazing typing ability.) And I think some women would be offended by things like this. I don't understand it, really.

It has made me sit back and think of all the other non-feminist ideals I have. I love the idea of being a stay at home wife and mother. I don't mind sitting back and letting the head of the house preside over the family. I like when my home teachers come over and I can turn everything over to them. I loved being an FHE mom and turning the conducting over to Colin, as "head" of the family. I like the idea of a strong provider who goes to work while I cook and clean (and write, spend money, play with babies, etc.). I have never been one to oppose traditional gender roles.

I'm not against Stephenie Meyer because she wrote Bella a a co-dependent, weak-minded female that couldn't exist after Edward disappeared.

I don't resent guys who think that just because I'm female, I'm bad at math. I AM bad at math. I also can't find my way to save my life - and I'm a geography major. My sense of direction is just bad. I also love gossiping. I love to shop. I love chocolate. A perfect day is sitting in a bubble bath or getting a pedicure. I know more about Hollywood than sports. I don't get offended when I hear sexist jokes - even though I like to pretend that I am. If guys call girls "skanks" or "sluts" sometimes it's because I think they actually are.  For some reason derogatory statements aren't really that offensive to me - maybe they should be?

I do think that women deserve respect. And I am very much against the abuse of women. I don't think that the wife is property to be owned...though the whole ownership thing does have a sort of appeal to me. As long as the husband isn't infringing on his wife's agency and controlling EVERYTHING, then I don't mind a little domineering. Maybe that is too strong of a word, or maybe I don't really know what I'm saying because I'm not married/in a relationship. I know that God reveres us and has give us a very special role in this world. But I embrace that. I like to develop my creative, nurturing, homemaking skills. Still pretty much, I am your average female dip. And I don't care. I like it.

I like that God gave us men to balance us out. That's why I need a man who is good with money (and math), makes rational decisions, thinks about the future and isn't as impulsive as I am.

The Seven Deadly Sins Survey

WRATH
1. Who did you last get angry with?	Stats - it's always stats
2. What is your weapon of choice?	Pen
3. Would you hit a member of the opposite sex?	Sure - if they deserved it
4. How about of the same sex?	Probably not
5. Who was the last person who got really angry at you?	Probably Becca.
6. What is your pet peeve?	What isn't? Smoking mothers. Bad drivers.
7. Do you keep grudges, or can you let them go easily?	Both. It depends.
SLOTH
1. What is one thing you're supposed to do daily that you haven't?	Read my scriptures. Clean my room.
2. What is the latest you've ever woken up?	4:00 p.m.
3. Name a person you've been meaning to contact, but haven't?	My cousin, Simon.
4. What is the last lame excuse you made?	I was tired!
5. Have you ever watched an infomercial all the way through?	Yes.
6. When was the last time you got in a good workout?	Ha.
7. How many times did you snooze your alarm clock today?	Hahaha. Like 6 times.
GLUTTONY
1. What is your overpriced yuppie beverage of choice?	? I like water
2. Meat eaters: white meat or dark meat??	White
3. What is the greatest amount of alcohol you've had in one night?	0 oz.
4. Have you ever used a professional diet company?	Nope
5. Do you have an issue with your weight?	Yup
6. Do you prefer sweets, salty foods, or spicy foods?	Depends - I like Thai. A little bit of everything in there.
7. Have you ever looked at a small house pet and thought "lunch"?	Oh, false!
LUST
1. How many people have you seen naked:	Assuming that myself and babies do not count... 0
2. How many people have seen YOU naked:	I should hope, no one. Though, there would be no way of knowing...
3. Have you ever caught yourself staring at someones chest/crotch?	Uhhh... no?
4. Have you "done it"?	IT! No.
5. What is your favorite body part on a person of your gender?	Um?
6. Have you ever been propositioned by a prostitute?	LOL. I wish. No.
7. Have you ever had to get tested for an STD or pregnancy?	"Congratulations. You aren't pregnant." I've heard that a few times. Phew!
GREED
1. How many credit cards do you own?	2
2. What's your guilty pleasure store?	Any book store
3. If you had $10 million, what would you do with it?	Travel, and get conned into spending it somewhere dumb
4. Would you rather be rich, or famous?	Rich
5. Would you accept a boring job if it meant you would make megabucks?	I don't know if I could... a boring, easy job? Sure.
6. Have you ever stolen anything?	Nope (I don't think so)
7. How many MP3s are on your hard drive?	Zero - they are stored somewhere else
PRIDE
1. What's one thing you have done that you're most proud of?	Finished writing a novel
2. Whats one thing have you done that your parents are most proud of?	Nearly graduated college - and I'll get there, so they'll be proud then for sure!
3. What things would you like to accomplish in your life?	Get published. Make some money from it.
4. Do you get annoyed by coming in second place?	Depends - but yes
5. Have you ever entered a contest knowing you would win?	That's the only time I enter
6. Have you ever cheated on something to get a higher score?	Of course not
7. What did you do today that you're proud of?	I haven't fallen asleep on my desk or under my desk
ENVY
1. What item does your friend have that you want?	A husband
2. Who would you want to go on "Trading Spaces" with?	Amy - because she hates that show
3. If you could be anyone else in the world, who would you be?	I like being me
4. Have you ever been cheated on?	That would imply...nevermind. No.
5. Have you ever wished you had a different physical feature?	Every day
6. What trait in others do you wish you had for yourself?	More motivation
7. Do you wish you'd come up with this survey?	No

Best one yet: Pistachio Cheesecake

 

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup ground almonds
• 1/2 cup cold butter
• 6 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
• 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
• 2 packages (3.4 ounces each) instant pistachio pudding mix
• 5 eggs
• Chocolate syrup
• Whipped cream and chopped pistachios, optional

Directions

• In a small bowl, combine the flour and almonds; cut in butter until crumbly. Press onto the bottom and 1-1/4 in. up the sides of a greased 10-in. springform pan. Bake at 400° for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a large bowl, beat cream cheese, milk and pudding mixes until smooth. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined. Pour over crust. Place pan on a baking sheet. Reduce heat to 350°. Bake for 55-60 minutes or until the center is almost set. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer. Refrigerate overnight.
• Remove sides of pan. Slice cheesecake; drizzle slices with chocolate syrup. Garnish with whipped cream and pistachios if desired. Yield: 12 -14 servings.

In August I spent a week in Kentucky working for my Uncle Ivan. While there, my cousin Quin and I went to Baskin Robbins or some such ice cream place and I got pistachio ice cream. It was delicious. And it made me think of how awesome a pistachio cheesecake would be. About a month later, I went to Barnes and Noble and contemplated buying a cheesecake recipe book - mostly because there was a recipe for pistachio cheesecake.

So I've been craving this for a while.

In a previous post, you read that I auctioned off my amazing cheesecake-making capabilities at our ward service auction. Having done so, I bought the cream cheese while it was on sale and waited to be told what kind and for who exactly. Only, I haven't heard anything, so I decided to make the above recipe for the guys at work. They've been showering me with presents and treats and sveets (read: sv-eets) all last week and this morning so much that my blood has turned to syrup, so I thought I would make it up to them.

The recipe is pretty good. I would change only two things. I did not like the almond crust. It was way too chalky (probably my fault) and actually too thick (also, my fault). I usually like a thicker crust, but this wasn't the best. In fact, I would change it to be more like the crust my mom uses for her barber shop dessert. It's basically the same thing, only pecans instead of almonds and probably more butter. Or, a graham cracker crust would be good too.

The other thing I didn't like was the fact that the pistachio flavor is so subtle. You could probably add a third package of the pudding, or some pistachio extract (do they make that?) or something - maybe put some chopped nuts in before you bake it. Make sure that you mix the ingredients really well, because there isn't a lot of liquid (zero liquid, except the eggs) and it isn't as runny as I've had before with baking other cheesecakes. That kind of frightened me, so I added an extra egg, which caused it to bake about two inches out of the pan. It didn't make a mess, just made it rise a lot higher and baked the top. I sort of over cooked it, but I took the time to cut that part off, so the inside was good.

I did not put chocolate on it - it would have killed me. But I did put a thick layer of cool-whip on before I put it in the fridge over night and garnished it with chopped pistachios and maraschino cherries. Which were both an excellent idea.

I think this is my favorite cheesecake to date. If your daughter isn't allergic to nuts (sorry, Mom) I would recommend trying it!

Christmas Pictures

After I did my Christmas card, Becca and I decided we'd one up it and actually do Christmas cards. So we "hired" our friend Laurel - who is trying to start up her own photography business - and had her come and take pictures. We went to the Marriott hotel in Provo and took some pictures by the tree and in front of the fireplace and felt like complete dorks in front of all the guys working the night shift on a Sunday. So here are some of the pictures that we liked:

This was a good one.

 

I love this picture. I feel like it is the epitome of what Becca has to deal with sometimes. My scheming ways, my little excitements over small and juvenile and really ridiculous things...and her response. I'm an idiot. Ha.

  

And THIS is the masterpiece that happens to be the focal point of our Christmas card - which quite perfectly says, "Sending you holiday hugs and kisses." If you don't get it, you're slow and I'm disappointed. Just look again, I was completely tickled! I would put a picture of the actual card, but then I'd have to scan it, and that's not going to happen.

Twilight Years

HAHAHAHA. I love it.

Twilight Years from Tom on Vimeo.