On Sheryl Sandberg, Lean In and Critics (In GIFs)

When I heard Sheryl Sandberg was writing a book all about her "lean in" manifesto I was all:

I thought, hey, this will start an intelligent conversation about women and men and their lives at work and at home! Apparently that was a lofty idea...

Because it didn't take very long for people to start criticizing not only Sandberg's book, but her education, career path, decisions and well, everything about her. They were basically like,

Including high profile women like Maureen Dowd, Melissa Gira Grant and Deanna Zandt. Some claiming she's too self-serving, simply out of touch, doesn't get to the real problem, is blaming women or just a plain 'ol bad feminist. Which at first made me like,

But then I tried to talk to people about it, which just made me all,

Cause funny enough...a lot of folks HAVEN'T EVEN READ THE BOOK (um, it's not even out yet) and are jumping to conclusions about what it says. Which made me wonder,

And then Gloria Steinem posted this on her Facebook page:

Having read "Lean In" by Sheryl Sandberg, I can testify that it addresses internalized oppression, opposes the external barriers that create it, and urges women to support each other to fight both. It argues not only for women's equality in the workplace, but men's equality in home-care and child-rearing. Even its critics are making a deep if inadvertent point: Only in women is success viewed as a barrier to giving advice.

and I was all:

Seriously ladies, lets not be so defensive and ridiculously critical. Wait for the book to come out and react to it then. In the meantime, have intelligent discussions about what we know and what we believe.

Unless you'd like to purchase a jump to conclusions mat, and then we can talk.

Weekend Reads: Snark Is Out, Sweet Is In

This week kicked my ass. Am I alone in that? My hermit-ish ways continue and were completely at odds with a bustling after-work social schedule. This weekend I'm looking forward to a some napping (wish it was by a lake, see: above), some brunching and an Oscars party with Jenna, Nikki and Tammy. What are you guys up to? Here's some links to check out while you don't want to get out of bed on Saturday:

I adore my coffee shop, and I can't function without coffee first thing in the morning. If someone paid for my coffee, man, I'd be a pig in shit! There's a coffee shop where everyone pays for the next person's cup of coffee! I'm seriously considering doing this now...a little good karma...a little cuppa joe. Can't go wrong, right?

People are always talking about work/life balance, and I'm kinda at the point where I think it's hooey. At least for the profession I'm in. Brazen Careerist has three handy tips for achieving real work/life balance...and it has nothing to do with putting down your iPhone/iPad/Kindle.

Mmmmm RyGos. That hey girl shit never gets old!

It was just a few weeks ago that DC was named the 9th Drunkest City in the US by Daily Beast. A noteworthy honorific if I've ever heard one, so when my friend told me about the NIH's "how close are you to being a bonafide alcoholic" quiz, I was intrigued. Me? I can quit whenever I want!

Grant McCracken over at Harvard Business Review thinks snark is out and sweet is in. Kinda interesting to think about. How might that trickle down to the average person, say, on the internet, a notoriously snarky, acerbic place?

Fiery, looping plasm rain on the sun. 'Nuf said.

Last but not least, The Beyonce Sandwich. It's a thing, and I want to eat it.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJ_ZhB-N28I]

Photo credit: Alejandra Owens (me!)

Weekend Reads: Chewbacca Edition

This week got away from me, man! Each day went faster than the day before it and when I woke up this morning I actually thought to myself, "Is it Saturday?" I wish! As I type, I'm snuggled up on my couch with a big 'ol french press of Intelligentsia coffee and a bowl of greek yogurt with homemade granola and local honey drizzled all up in that piece. This weekend will be packed with tons of fun, but I'm committing to carving out time for a couple workouts. It's the most bang for my buck because it's both healthy AND it's alone time where I can do some thinking. Do you guys crave alone time? I'm such an extrovert, but lately I need more solo time than usual.

Before I bid you adieu, here's some of my favorite links from the week (share yours in the comments! I'm always looking for great new blogs and stuff to read.):

Stuart Freeborn, the guy who designed Yoda and Chewbacca, passed away at 98. To honor his great work, I'll be working on my Chewie impression all day.

8 words you should stop using in your food writing. We've officially moved beyond "yummy" but some of y'all are doing this annoying stuff...a lot.

If you don't see the genius of dogs, well then, we just can't be friends.

Do you know more about the news than the average American? Take the quiz. (I got 13/13, proud to say!)

The Best-Paying Cities For Women included DC at the #1 spot! Go DC! And go ladies!

Not to get all political, but I'm gonna get all political. My friend wrote a spot on post about what's really wrong with the Republican party. I'd really like my party to get their "shiitake mushrooms together," as it were.

CBS has guidelines for what you can't wear to the Grammys, chief among them: side boob. Here's 6 more things.

Design*Sponge is holding monthly Instagram challenges. This month's theme: declarations of love! Tag your loving instas with #DSLoveLetters to participate.

Photo: me! Alejandra Owens.

Weekend Reads: You're Gross Edition

I've been thinking a lot about what blogging means for me. Last year was my first full calendar year in my role at work - managing editor of AARP's blog - which was an intense ride with emotional ups & downs. I jumped in head first (the only way I know how) and emerged on the other side with huge successes, lessons learned and slightly less sanity. I'm proud of the work I did, but that crazy focus and intensity on the work blog took me away from blogging, oddly enough. At least, the kind of blogging that made me fall in love with blogging to begin with.

When I started blogging it was about food I made. I never really wanted to write about restaurants, but then I found myself writing about restaurants for Borderstan. And then City Eats! And I loved every minute of it. By the end of 2012, between work, a relationship, friendships and the ending of said relationship I didn't have much energy left...for anything. A 30 day break from writing ended up being a 90 day break from writing which left me feeling stifled and outlet-less. (Is that a word?) So now I'm thinking about what will get me excited about writing again. I'll continue to write about restaurants and recipes, food feeds the soul after all, but I'm going to start sharing other things too. I'm positively obsessed with the topic of women in business (a close, personal issue at the moment), I'm having fun with make up and beauty products and sharing all this crazy information I'm absorbing just seems like fun.

So I'm switching things up. If you follow me on Twitter, you know I'm a multidimensional person with plenty of interests - I'm simply going to make sure my blog reflects who I am now! If you come for the food stuff, stay for the rest for a little while. I hope you'll find it interesting! And now, here's some cool shit I read this week:

Pappy Van Winkle shipments arrived in DC a few weeks ago reigniting cries of passion for the stuff (myself included). Bourbon is totally having a moment, but how long will it last?

Brag alert! I was featured in Refinery29's round-up of local ladies, our New Year's resolutions and how we're keeping them. I'm in good company too, with friends like Nikki Rappaport and Meg Biram up in the mix! How are you guys doing on your resolutions?

Thought Catalog can be a tich whiny for me, but sometimes there's a hit-the-nail-on-the-head post that has me screaming, "YES!!!" at my computer screen. It would be great if (some) men would stop being giant pussies, indeed! Cause no, seriously, you're kinda gross.

Did you know Chinese food take out boxes unfold into plates? No dishes #ftw.

And finally, In honor of February, the month of love, here's the best six minutes of YouTube watching you'll do all week! Have a fabulous weekend guys! [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTLySbGoMX0]

Photo: carpe nocturn via Tumblr