INC bloggers

This Is Your Life (Because I am a Woman...)

Sun, 05 Sep 2010 22:15:31 +0200

Simple, powerful, uplifting. via Holstee Love it!

The First of Italy 2010 (Because I am a Woman...)

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 00:25:15 +0200

Hi all, As previously stated–I’m in Italy. I arrived August 2 with my mom and nonna (grandma) and we had a fabulous time traveling from Rome to Florence, Venice and finally to Milan, with day trips to Pisa, Viareggio and Murano. It was an amazing two weeks and I am very grateful for my good [...]

Hi all,

As previously stated–I’m in Italy. I arrived August 2 with my mom and nonna (grandma) and we had a fabulous time traveling from Rome to Florence, Venice and finally to Milan, with day trips to Pisa, Viareggio and Murano. It was an amazing two weeks and I am very grateful for my good fortune.

I made a video of our time here together which was just my first two weeks (there are many more weeks to come!) There are hundreds of pictures but I tried to narrow it down to some of the best. Hope you enjoy!

Probably the number one thing I’m thankful for is that I was able to go on my dream trip with not only my mom, but also my nonna. She is 78 years old but don’t let that fool you, she can practically run laps around me. One of the strongest women I know, she is who I give credit to for my mindset that created this blog. She had four daughters and it was in this atmosphere that I grew up, watching the women of the family plan events, cook amazing meals, have careers and families and keep our family together. I love family get-togethers and find myself admiring these women every time we have one.

Who are the women you admire? What have you noticed with the women in your family? If there are negative things don’t worry, there are in every family, including mine. The important thing is how we work around the tough stuff. How we help each other, react to situations beyond our control and learn from the women around us. I’ve learned a lot from the women in my life, and I’m glad I was able to learn from them in a totally new and amazing atmosphere.

Buona giornata!
~Gina

A Homemade Concoction (Sarah Grothjan)

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 05:48:53 +0200

A tasty concoction of fresh orange juice, cool yogurt, sweet honey and a ripened banana will seem a bit silly splattered across your face…until you see the healthy effect it has on your skin. A facial is in order, and it is as easy as it is cheap. The ingredients include kitchen staples like fresh fruit and snacking foods. To make it, simply mash half a ripened banana and mix with fresh juice squeezed from an orange, a tablespoon of greek yogurt and as much honey as you have room for. It can get a bit messy so putting the feet up and hauling in cucumber slices is recommended. Give your body a dose of R&R for about fifteen minutes, then finish up the facial by wiping clean with a warm cloth. The only downside? You may be more inclined to eat the ingredients than to actually apply them to your face. Enjoy the results of a fresh-faced look and healthy skin.

To add to this spa-like treatment, whip up the concoction in a bowl and let chill overnight. Treat yourself to a morning of pampering to refresh and revive.

What happens when you wait (Legible Bits)

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 05:13:41 +0200

I received an e-mail this afternoon, one that made my heart stop for just a second as I read the subject line and first few words. The e-mail was sent to inform me that Herman Leonard died yesterday. Herman Leonard was 87, a famous photographer known worldwide for his black-and-white photos of jazz legends taken [...]I received an e-mail this afternoon, one that made my heart stop for just a second as I read the subject line and first few words. The e-mail was sent to inform me that Herman Leonard died yesterday. Herman Leonard was 87, a famous photographer known worldwide for his black-and-white photos of jazz legends taken [...]

Water & Oil (Because I am a Woman...)

Sun, 15 Aug 2010 08:54:36 +0200

It was April 20th when BP’s deepwater oil well exploded in the Gulf of Mexico and effectively started the United State’s largest oil spill. We have all watched, nearly helpless, as estimates of 4,200,000 gallons of oil poured into the sea daily. Now barely four months later, Vogue Italia’s August Issue features an oil-inspired spread [...]

Now barely four months later, Vogue Italia’s August Issue features an oil-inspired spread among its glossy pages. Covering 24 pages, the controversial photo spread titled “Water & Oil” are being discussed internationally. The images show model Kristen McMenamy in outfits made of net and feathers draped over rocks and covered in oil, lying prone or even choking on water.

The Today Show asked viewers to leave a comment on their opinion of the “Water & Oil” photo spread. As can be expected, people range from: “The “fashion” world has always gone to far….but this is ridiculous! I am cancelling my subscription NOW!”-Luna0316. To: “It’s art and it makes a topical statement. Art is meant to be thought-provoking and sometimes angering. I wish it was Vogue US, not Italia.” from “trivia.”

Capturing people’s attention was one goal that has clearly been accomplished. Photographed by Steven Meisel, the pictures are haunting yet capturing. Journalists, bloggers, readers are debating it’s message/motivation.

Franca Sozzani, Editor-in-chief of Vogue Italia, said the shoot reflects the magazine’s effort to “find an idea that comes from real life. … There is nothing political. There is nothing social. It’s only visually. We gave a message but in a visual way.” -according to Lisa Orkin Emmanuel – Associated Press.

Deputy Editor Dodai Stewart of Jezebel, a sight frequently mentioned here on becauseiamawoman, disagrees. “I didn’t feel it made a statement,” she said in an interview. “I felt that they used the oil spill as a backdrop. There was one picture that had feathers. … What makes a stronger statement about oil-slicked birds is an oil-slicked bird.”

I don’t know the true motivation of Vogue Italia, if it is to sell more issues or to raise an important environmental issue. Still, I think Stewart is wrong. It is easier to ignore something (sometimes even someone) who doesn’t look like us. Forcing people to think of themselves in the same position millions of animals are currently in, covered in oil, choking on oil, drowning in oil, will perhaps help them realize the sincerity of the Gulf Oil Spill.

Check out the entire slideshow here and let me know what you think!

3 hour tour: Trapped with Twister on the side of the Road (These Streets)

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 19:03:00 +0200

Dearest Readers,

Don’t worry, I’m giving myself a proverbial slap on the wrist for my bad blogging behavior. (isn’t proverbial a great word … it’s a current favorite this summer alongside adulation … I always have favorite words that I am obsessed with using so nerd alert). Anywhoo, so I am currently at work (oh snap rebel), but I have a few minutes of down time (which I normally never have here), so I am using them to my blog-ticious advantage. So on with the promised saga of broken down cars and twister boards.

Background info: I have nine close friends from high school, who I love dearly, and this summer we went to Ocean City Maryland for a week-ish-er. We went last year, because one of the boys has a house there, so we decided to return again…cause it’s fab and fun and sunny and hilarious.

Okay, so five of us, who left a few days early to get back to work, were on our way home from the beach (approximately a 7 hour drive) in my friend’s 109-year-old (slight exaggeration) Subaru—I named it Babu cause if you shorten Subaru to baru it’s kind of close. Thanks to bad luck it took us 9 hours to drive down to the beach, so we were bound and determined to make it home faster.

The drive was smooth and thanks to some left lane driving we were set to make it home in 6.5 hours … isn’t that always when the problem starts; just when you think you are in the clear … sigh. We were an hour and a half from home, it was 3:30 pm, when the driver at the time, who I will call Athletiman, noticed the car was making odd noises, we pulled into a parking lot of a middle school on the side of the highway and sure enough, smoke starts billowing out of the hood of the car. As images of the car exploding into a fire ball and the headline “Teens die in tragic fire incident” leapt to our minds as we sprang from the car in a high-pitched, scream-y panic. Little did we know this was just the beginning of a 3-hour-saga … which I kept dubbing the ‘3 hour tour,’ a line from the theme song of Gilligan’s Island.

While my friend who owned the car, who I will call Lobsterfilm, was on the phone with his dad trying to figure out what the problem was, the 4 of us called our parents to tell them we would be delayed. No end in sight. We called triple A and were told it would be a half hour before they were with us. No biggie. We all peed in the woods by the middle school … marking our territory I guess. 45 minutes passed of sitting by the road…no triple a. We call again and find out they are the wrong road…how reassuring…the people sent to rescue us with the best navigation devices around are lost. This is when the creativity began. We have no clue when Triple A will come rescue us considering we are 5 teenagers who sound like we have no idea what we are doing (because we don’t). We remember that twister, the board game of fun, is in the trunk and Athletiman pulls out his portable i-pod speakers. We bring out all the snacks we brought, set them up picnic style, and party it up. As we awkwardly stretch around the board, very confused cars pass us on the highway … a lot of them beep—no one stops to help—I guess the beep was supposed to be like a “good luck don’t die” beep…moreso it just pissed us all off because it was like they were saying “nah nah nah boo boo we are driving and you aren’t.” An hour and a half later, just as we were putting our left foot on green (and tangling up to a whole new level of awkward), triple a pulled in. I have never been so happy to see a tow truck. They tell us that the car can’t be fixed today, and we can’t drive it home. Well good. We had to call someone’s parents to come drive us home … while we waited another hour and a half, we peed in the woods more, and ate all of our provisions (since it was dinner time at this point). Around 7 they pulled in and I swear we all nearly cried, I wanted to kiss their champagne colored mini van (my loyalty to babu was totally severed now that the car had officially failed us) and we clambered in to watch Toy Story on their dvd player, eat more junk food, and drive home. After getting lost on the way home (of course), we finally made it home by 9:30. It was an 11 and a half hour car ride. 11 and a half hours. Just let that sink in. It’s not that 11 and a half hours is that long, it’s that we had only mentally prepared ourselves for 6 and a half hours. That’s not a fun mental transition. At all.

Lesson to be learned: Anything can be hilarious and a fun experience when turned the right way. We took advantage of the time spent on the side of the road with a little flair…and a game board. So even when you find yourself in the worst pickle yet, just make pickle-ade I guess. I’m not trying to say it won’t still be an un-fun situation, but hey, it makes for a kicking story … or maybe, just a kicking blog entry.

Twister-ly Yours,
Adorkable

ps. like the new layout??

Dearest Readers,

Twister-ly Yours,
Adorkable

ps. like the new layout??

Dual It Out: What is Chic or Just Plain Weak? (Sarah Grothjan)

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 07:50:35 +0200

Chic High-waisted shorts Weak Highly inappropriate cutoffs Chic Rompers Weak Footy Pajamas (Don’t push it) Chic Accessorizing to create more outfits Weak Over-accessorizing one outfit Chic Two-tone nails Weak Claw-like acrylics Chic Revlon Just Bitten in Twilight Weak Team Jacob … Continue reading →

Chic High-waisted shorts
Weak Highly inappropriate cutoffs

Chic Rompers
Weak Footy Pajamas (Don’t push it)

Chic Accessorizing to create more outfits
Weak Over-accessorizing one outfit

Chic Two-tone nails
Weak Claw-like acrylics

Chic Revlon Just Bitten in Twilight
Weak Team Jacob T-shirt

Just Bitten– Revlon’s Stab at a New Lip Stain (Sarah Grothjan)

Mon, 09 Aug 2010 23:53:41 +0200

Day trips and late-night outings call for a bit of primping, but no girl wants to indulge in touchups when out for the night. A drugstore beauty find that keeps touchups at a minimum is Revlon Just Bitten lip stain- a mere $8.99 at drugstores (bonus points if you buy at Kroger’s & save $2). Though a tad pricier than most lip gloss staples, Just Bitten minimizes the hassle of fussing with reapplication. It sweeps on with similar adherence as a marker on skin and lasts throughout the night without feeling caked on. For chap stick enthusiasts, Just Bitten includes a lip balm on one end to add on pre- or post-application.

Ciao Tutti! (Because I am a Woman...)

Sat, 07 Aug 2010 18:44:46 +0200

Ciao Belle!!! Okay, so here’s the deal. Most of you know that I’m currently in Italy right now. As a result of the traveling, eating, drinking, and just generally enjoying life I’m doing so much of there hasn’t been an update in awhile! I just wanted to let everyone know that BecauseIamaWoman will continue and [...]

Ciao Belle!!!

Okay, so here’s the deal. Most of you know that I’m currently in Italy right now. As a result of the traveling, eating, drinking, and just generally enjoying life I’m doing so much of there hasn’t been an update in awhile! I just wanted to let everyone know that BecauseIamaWoman will continue and I promise to update with many more interesting and informative posts once I’m in a more stable position!!!

Expect a return around September readers! I only hope you’re willing to keep reading!

~Gina

Crazed with the love of light (Legible Bits)

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 05:21:57 +0200

For the past few days, whimsical thoughts have been bouncing around in my head. When that happens, I find it almost impossible not to write about whatever whimsy might be plaguing me at the time, no matter how innocuous it may be. So, today, you get to read about sunflowers. This certainly isn’t the first [...]For the past few days, whimsical thoughts have been bouncing around in my head. When that happens, I find it almost impossible not to write about whatever whimsy might be plaguing me at the time, no matter how innocuous it may be. So, today, you get to read about sunflowers. This certainly isn’t the first [...]