Jen Mann's Blog, page 25

The Hubs' Ego

One morning the Hubs and I were watching the news and there was a story about a family fishing and as they were reeling their fish into the boat, a shark came out of nowhere and bit the fish off the line.  They showed the video and the Hubs said, "Ha!  Forget the fish, I'd go after that shark!"

"What?" I said.


"I'd go after that shark!  I'd catch that shark."

"What are you talking about?  You would not."

"Yeah, I would.  I'd catch that sucker!"

"You do know that...

People Who Post Annoying Things on Facebook

There are a lot of annoying posts on Facebook. I know we've all done these, but somehow they're not annoying when WE do them, right? Ha. Let's see if I can cover the basics:


1.  Anything to do with vomit and/or diarrhea.  WTH?  Who shares this stuff?  Why did you think we needed to know this?  At least it's usually it's kid-centered - I can handle that a lot better than I can hearing about YOUR diarrhea!  "Guess who woke up early from his nap and spread his...

Open Letter to Rob Lowe

Rob Lowe has an interview in the New York Times Magazine titled Rob Lowe on the Problems With Being Pretty. Rob feels like no one took him seriously when he was young heartthrob because he was too pretty and I don't think that was the case at all. I've written him a letter.

Dear Rob,
Hey, gorgeous. Come sit by me and let me stroke your beautiful, glossy hair and gaze deep into your dreamy blue eyes. I read your interview this morning and I know you're feeling a little a down because you feel...

Goody Bags that are Nicer than the Gift My Kid Gave

We all know that birthday parties have become outrageous and ultra-competitive - that's yesterday's news.  The new frontier is the dreaded goody bag.

The goody bag has always been the bastard of the birthday party.  It's a throw away.  An afterthought.  Because it's the bastard it's always been full of cheap junk or teeth rotting candy.  It's a small token that says, I just paid about twelve to fifteen bucks for your kid to come celebrate my kid's birthday and we...

The Dads at Science City on Saturday

Saturday was a great day around here.  We had beautiful weather and the Hubs didn't have to show houses so we were looking for something fun to do.

Luckily, I have good friends that I can call at a moment's notice and say, "What are YOU doing today and can we come too?"  That's pretty much what I did to my friend.

She told me that she and her family were going to go downtown and visit the new Kansas City Ballet studio that just opened.  It was a supposed to be a big party with...

People Who Text and Drive

I have had it with drivers who text.

This week I am noticing an epidemic of people who are texting while driving.  One of these days I will be hit by a texting driver and I won't be happy about it.  I'm not talking about those people who text and drive 80 mph down the highway.  We've all seen those commercials that are meant to scare the shit out of us with their half finished text messages and a family member saying, "This was the text Julie was sending me when she ran up the...

Qualities We Want in Our Future Son-in-Law

I've been thinking about Adolpha a lot lately. She's growing up very fast now and before I know it, she'll be bringing home some young man and telling us she wants to get married. I'm hoping it's still 20 years from now, but you never know. All the more reason to start training her now, so she doesn't bring home some asshole that no one wants in this family. I need to make sure that she's got a good list of qualities she needs in her future husband.

The Hubs and I sat down and we came up with...

Conscious Uncoupling

I woke up this morning and learned a new phrase: "Conscious Uncoupling."

Do you know what that means? For the rest of us plebeians it means "divorce." However, for my favorite tree bark indulger, Gwyneth Paltrow, it also means divorce. But because she's Gwyneth, she has to call it something deep and spiritual and meaningful. She's not just getting a divorce like the rest of you, pond scum. She's Gwyneth and she does everything in her life with purpose and integrity ... and a PR team and a hair...

PIWTPITT's How To Be a Good Wife

I've been married to the Hubs for 12 glorious, ah-may-zing, and wonderful years. OK, they haven't ALL been glorious, ah-may-zing, and wonderful, but they've been pretty darn good. I'd give them a good, solid B+ in my book, maybe even an A- if I'm feeling generous.

My marriage has not been an A+ though. I look around the blogosphere and I see that there are a lot of happy wife types out there offering their pearls of wisdom about how to be a good wife. Since my marriage isn't an A+, I decided...

Top 10 Tips to Reuse Lint

You all know by now that I have a cheap bastard for a husband. He is always following me around the house turning off lights leaving me to work in the dark, making our thermostat so cold our pipes freeze, taking me out to eat at buffets and any place he has a buy-one-get-one-free coupon. Because of this, I'm always looking for new frugal, money saving tips to keep my marriage strong and healthy, because I'm a good wife.

My friend Ellen at Sisterhood of the Sensible Mom recently brought a pin...