You Light Up My Life

Other than the time I sat in on, well... a sit-in in UCLA's administration building with Woody Harrelson, Ron Kovak, and a bunch of fellow Bruins to protest the Gulf War -- and then bailed out after 20 consecutive hours because I had a ski trip planned with my fabulous roommate and the bus was shortly leaving for Lake Tahoe and I had to pack -- I'm not really a political person.

Sure, I have certain beliefs about how life and our country would best be run and I make sure to exercise my civil rights by voting accordingly in each and every election. But I tend to not pay much attention to the minutiae of political intrigue from day to day or week to week; in my opinion, shenanigans and machinations by those in public office are as old as time and are, frankly, part of the job. I'm astounded when people are surprised and outraged by this, as if it's a new discovery that politicians are slippery.

Politicians do bad and they do good, depending on where you're sitting. Hopefully, when all's said and done, they end up doing more good than bad for everyone involved.

All that aside, one news story caught my eye today that made me genuinely excited for the work of our federal government. Not surprisingly, I consider it a good one, although I can imagine certain people are calling poppycock from their bleacher seats. Here it is:

"Daylight-saving time (DST) will begin at 2a.m. Sunday, March 11, and will end a week later than usual, on Sunday, November 4. The change, thanks to a massive federal energy bill passed in 2005, adds extra hours of daylight with the hope of decreasing national energy consumption."

Four. more. weeks. of. light. than. usual.

Holy crap.

This is certainly one of the most exciting pieces of news to pass my monitor in years. This means extra playtime outside, longer walks in the neighborhood, babies sleeping in later, and sunnier dispositions all around in Casa DDD.

I'm sure there are plenty of energy moguls out there crying into their halogen bulb boxes, but this Mama's jumping for joy at the thought of more light in her daily life.

Let the sunshine in! Well done, Uncle Sam!

All A Girl Really Needs

Pumpkin costume? Check.

Light saber? Check.

Purple marabou pumps? Check.

Focus

Heart-Shaped Pout

If Ophelia Was A Four-Year-Old Boy

Our Brush With Reality

Have you had the chance yet to view the fabulous disaster that is "The Real Housewives of Orange County?" This "reality" television show, now in its second season on Bravo, profiles the lives of five ridiculously privileged Coto de Caza housewives. (Well, technically, it's two housewives, one single mom, one engaged mom, and a nubile concubine.)

Like its spiritually bereft brethren programs, "The OC" and "Laguna Beach," the show basically plays as a video catalog of conspicuous consumption and privileged process. Gordon Gekko would blush at some of the ideology on this program. And for me, it's television crack. I know it's bad --really bad -- but I'm unable to resist its delicious vapidity.

Technically, I'm one of them, you know. Aside from the $20 million+ difference in our bank accounts, I'm an honest-to-goodness Orange County housewife. By definition, at least. I'm a housewife, I live in Orange County, and, despite some lingering existential ennui suffered in my early 20s, I've finally accepted that I'm real.

I've even managed to rope John into watching a few episodes with me in recent months. You know, under the whole guise of "Hey, check out this train wreck!" So you can imagine my delight when, while dining at this newfangled restaurant for his birthday dinner last week (I had a coupon. Seriously.), we spotted dining nearby not one, but TWO of the show's "star" housewives.

As we were leaving the restaurant, we had to pass by their teppan table, as it was nearest the front door.

As we did, this Real Housewife smiled kindly at me:

...while this Real Housewife salaciously and unapologetically checked out John from top to bottom as he passed by:


Which made me realize that they may have all the money in the world, but they don't have my husband.

I haven't felt that rich in a long time.

Well, Shucks

Would you believe that Double Duty Diary has been nominated for the annual Share the Love Blog Awards in the "Happiest Blog" category?


No, really! Despite all my whinging and whining, I guess there are a couple of people out there who think of this as a happy place.

And by that I am charmed and flattered.

Many thanks go to Shannon at Zokai for the sweet nomination gesture, and to Heather at One Woman's World for organizing the whole fun shebang.

You can check out other nominees and cast your votes in all categories here. There is much goodness to be had.