Things I've Learned Recently...

1. When you hurt a part of your body, if it doesn't feel better in a few days, go to the doctor and have it checked out. For example, I hurt my wrist. I left it alone, took alot of Advil, and within a week, it felt better. Then I went and played tennis for two hours. My wrist hurt again, but an Ace bandage and Advil pretty much cure any pains. Four days later, I went and lifted weights at the gym, and found that my wrist isn't healed, and it hurts...alot. Finally, two weeks after my initial injury, I go and have x-rays dones. I haven't broken my wrist, but I have messed it up pretty badly--badly enough to be stuck wearing a monstrosity of an arm brace for a week to see if the swelling around the nerves subsides. If not, it's off to see a hand specialist.

2. Whole-grain pasta tastes REALLY good. I mean, you wouldn't think so, but it's really good. I personally like Barilla Plus. Try it--maybe you'll agree.

3. I can live without Mickey D's, BK, Taco Bell, and Wendys. It has been six--SIX-- weeks since I have had any fast food. This is no small feat, especially since I have to drive by each one of these places on the way home from work, or from the gym. Everyday is a struggle, but both my bank account and my heart thank me. :-)

4. Im a pretty good left-hand only typer.

The new 20...

Why should we be in such desperate haste to succeed, and in such desperate enterprises? If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Henry David Thoreau

There comes a time in every girls life when she realizes, “OMG, I’m going to be 30.” That happened to be on the advent of my 25th birthday. There, five years distant, the big 3-0 was glaring at me, quite like the much maligned silvery white hairs that I began to notice more and more of. Thirty. 30. What is it about this number that invokes such fear and loathing into the hearts of 20-something single women everywhere?

I remember the day my mom turned thirty. I was one day short of turning four, and was excited for my birthday and the presents I knew were coming. My mom, though, sat down in a booth at Hardees and cried. I remember seeing all of the old people in their booths, drinking coffee, the air hazy with cigarette smoke. I didn’t understand why she cried—and in fact, I still don’t quite understand it.

In two months, I will turn thirty. To be quite honest, I’m really quite indifferent to it. A year ago, the thought of being thirty and single scared me. Recently, though, I’ve come to accept it for what it is—nothing more than another day passing. It’s true, I’ll be older—I’ve come to accept that, too. It’s also true that I haven’t accomplished what so many of my peers have. I don’t have fame, or fortune, a husband, or kids, or even a house…yet.

Had I been born twenty years earlier, turning thirty may have brought me to tears, also. The prospect of facing life alone, wearing polyester pants with a mélange of kitties for company is enough to make any girl shudder. Of course, the Newsweek article, The Marriage Crunch published in 1986, probably wouldn’t have helped things much, either. This is the famous piece that reported a 40 year old single woman was, “more likely to be killed by a terrorist,” than to ever marry, (Newsweek, 1986). It also stated that if a woman remained single past the age of 30, her chances of snagging a husband dropped to a mere twenty percent, and if that same woman was still unwed by the age of 35? The possibility of marriage was less than five percent.

However, the odds are looking better for women who choose to marry later in life. The more recent article from Newsweek, Marriage by the Numbers show that both men and women are waiting to wed later in life: age 27 for men, and age 25 for women, (Newsweek, 2006). More women today choose to pursue education and careers before pursuing husbands and kids. And first time marriage for a woman in her 40’s is more likely to happen—40.8% more likely!

So, what does this mean for myself, and for other women facing the same issue? I don’t know about you, but it makes me feel better to know that life won’t end after thirty.

Since I haven't had much to say lately...

I decided to make this nifty You Don't Know Ruthie quiz. Care to play?

The winner of my quiz (ie-the person that knows the most about me) will get some sort of really kewl and/or cheezy prize. The rest of you get my undying love and gratitude for taking the quiz.

So, go on! Take it already!