Marilyn Monroe was NOT a size 16!

In my unpopular opinion, Marilyn Monroe was NOT a size 16....at least not by today's standards.

I have always been skeptical of the myth "Marilyn Monroe was a size 12."  I've heard anywhere from 12-16.  I mean...look at her.  You can tell she isn't overweight.  She's obviously curvy and beautiful. 

I will add a disclaimer here: in my opinion, size isn't a determiner of beauty.  In fact, I'm very wary to call anyone "unattractive."  The only time I would call someone "unattractive" is if they simply did not take care of themselves at all.  Beauty is very subjective, and ultimately comes down to a matter of personal preference.  Therefore, I am not referring to any kind of judgment of what is beautiful or attractive in this entry. 

According to one of her dress makers, Marilyn Monroe was 5'5''.  Her measurements were 35, 22, 35.  I don't know anybody today that can boast a 22'' waist!  Her weight fluctuated between 115-120.

However, Marilyn probably did wear a larger numbered size back then because sizing was different.  Today's sizes for women's clothing have changed. 

In the 1960's, women were on average 5’4'' and 120 lbs.  Their waists were on average 24-25 inches and their BMI's were on average 20.59. The average size for a woman was 8.  Today, that is more like a size 4.

The average woman today is 5’4'' and 166 lbs.  Their waists are on average 37.5 inches and their BMI's are on average 28.49.  Today, the size of the average woman is 10-14 depending on the brand.

I do know plenty of beautiful women that are the average size.  I'm not going to tell them they should lose weight.  I'm not even going to tell them to "be healthier."  I'm not a doctor or a nutritionist.  I don't know the diets of any of these women, so who am I to judge whether or not they are healthy, simply based on their dress size?

The one thing I can say is that Marilyn Monroe was MUCH thinner than the average American woman today.  If she were walking the earth in 2013, she would be wearing approximately a size 4. 

I'll come out:  I am 4 feet, 11.75 inches and 126 pounds.  My BMI is 24.8 (which is on the high side of normal).   I wear a size 6 (although I can wear anything from a 4-8).

Marilyn and her 22 inch waist

(For more on Marilyn, read "Today I Found Out")
(For more on average sizes, read "Paging Jane Doe")

Love Being a Woman

It is absolutely a huge, major pet peeve to me when women diss other women just for being women.  You know what I mean; when you hear girls or women saying "I prefer to hang out with guys because women have way too much drama" or worse "Women are just so bitchy; guys are chill."  This grates on my nerves so bad. 

Offensive generalizations aside, most people you meet have the capacity to do good and the capacity to do bad.  Therefore, men are equally prone to having undesirable characteristics.  I could now use examples by naming characteristics men stereotypically have, but I am under the impression that individuals are different from one another and am not comfortable with profiling, stereotyping or generalizing all men into one sweeping, ignorant assumption. 

The most annoying part of women making these generalizations about one another is that I sense they are doing it to seem "cooler."  Seriously.  Like their mind-set is that, "I will seem more appealing to men if they believe I'm not like the stereotype of the way most people perceive women to be.  Therefore, if I let men know I am more like them, they will think I'm cool."  Whenever I hear women calling their own gender "bitches" or "dramatic" what I am hearing is "I'm insecure." 

It's wrong to generalize a large group of people.  That is why racism is wrong.  That is why sexism is wrong.  Just because you are dissing your own sex doesn't mean that makes it okay. 

Furthermore, I think it is important to love yourself.  If you are a man, I'm sure there are many things you love about being a man such as not bleeding every month, not having to bear children, having a higher income potential.  I hope that men will love themselves just as well.  But guys, being a woman is pretty awesome too and I'm really happy I was born one.  Women get much MUCH more freedom of dress.  Women can dress in pretty much anything and it will be socially acceptable (as long as it covers everything).  Men have very limited wardrobe options.  For women, it is socially acceptable to work a full time job, or stay at home, whereas men have much higher expectations to be the primary break-winner, and while some men can choose to stay at home it is not the social norm. 

My favorite thing about being a woman is feeling my unborn baby moving inside me.  Nothing can match that. 

I'm sure there are things you love about yourself.  Take pride in those things.  You don't have to hurt others or tear others down in order to feel better about yourself.  You can feel better about yourself by being confident in who you are.

I'm not going to be able to post a Project of the Day for a while, because I'm working on an extended project, making a blanket for my son, Peter who will be arriving in November.  I am knitting this blanket, much like one I posted about a few entries ago that I made for a friend.  I apologize for the lack of a project of the day for a while.

A Personal Decision

The decision to either stay home or put your children in childcare and go to work after having a baby (or a few) is a personal decision a couple must decide on themselves.  But if you are struggling with this decision, let me help you out on the benefits and disadvantages or each decision.

Going to Work:

First of all, if you don't mind going to work, you have to do some calculations first.  Will the money you make be profitable to you after you deduct the cost of childcare? That is the #1 question to ask yourself before going to work.

In the case that going to work is profitable to you, there are some benefits.  Obviously, one of the benefits is having extra money of your own without having to constantly as your husband for some. The biggest benefit is the feeling of having your own life and accomplishments.  Stay at home moms can at times feel as though even though they are working very hard, they have no appreciation from others or personal accomplishments of their own.  Working can restore that feeling that you have your own life.  A huge disadvantage associated with working is that it can actually feel like you are living two full time lives, or that you are working two full time jobs instead of one.

Childcare can be very beneficial for children.  Children learn social skills very early and receive an education at this crucial time when their brains are developing most.  Children who wait to even go to preschool later (at age 3 or 4) or kindergarten have a much more difficult time in school.  As a former childcare worker, I can tell the children who are just beginning preschool and the ones that have been in it since a baby or toddler.  They end up doing very well in school.

Staying Home:

Staying at home has its advantages, where you simply choose to or realize working will not be profitable enough to make it worth it.  The biggest benefit with this is that you know that your children are in excellent care in your own arms and not in the arms of strangers you only sort of know.  You get to spend quality time with your children. You may not even worry about your child getting a good education, because you are their personal teacher and tutor.  Children of stay at home moms have the potential of doing excellent in school as long as the stay at home mom is educating them in the home.  Also, as a stay at home mom, you have more time to keep your home in order.  Working moms may have chaotic, messy homes, and if they don't, it is probably because they are sacrificing sleep to take care of it.

There are disadvantages such as having to rely on your husband's money and not your own.  As I mentioned earlier, some stay at home moms can feel like they don't have a life of their own. But truly, many stay at home moms feel lucky that they can be with their children when their children need them.
Please comment and let me know what decision you have made regarding this, and how your decision is important to you.  My mom was at times a stay at home mom and at times a working mom.  At times, she did both and worked from home.  I hope to stay at home, but also to work on the side whenever I become a mom. 

For my project of the day, I have made soap!  This soap is white glycerin based with red dye, and cinnamon scent.  Glycerin is very good for your skin, and the dyes I use are safe for the skin too. 

Here is my soap in the mold after melting it down and mixing in the ingredients.  It is hardening.

Here is my finished soap.  Smells awesome.

Playing Joan Rivers with History

Yes, the role of “Joan Rivers” will be played by me today.  I am going to talk about different fashion for women over the centuries, in an “E Network” kind of way.  :D

The awards go to:

Worst Dressed:  Women in the 1980’s and aristocratic women in the 1700’s.  I don’t have to explain the 80’s to you, because most of you know why that is.  But let’s talk about 1700’s fashion (European/American aristocracy).  The corset has come along, but for some reason, women are wearing it on the outside of their clothes.  White, powdered wigs are enjoyed as well.  Women would actually cut their hair off and wear these on a daily basis.  They not only powdered their wigs, but also their faces with a washed out, chalk white powder.  Don't forget the frilly sleeves!  Also, it seems like it was popular to make it look like you have “box hips.”  Instead of the beautiful southern belle hoop skirt to accentuate your hips that will come later, or accentuating your natural hips like pencil skirts of the 1940’s, 1700’s “Georgian” women make their dresses stick out to either side, creating a “box hip” look.  Real flattering….

Most Practical/Comfortable Dress:  People these days talk about “practical and comfortable” dress in the form of jeans and a t-shirt, but I disagree.  I think jeans are pretty far from comfortable (what’s comfortable about stiff pants that make your thighs look huge?).  If you want to talk about real comfort and practicality, look no further than Biblical times (specifically Jesus times).  Men and women wore robes.  Do you have to wash your hair?  No, just wear a veil.  Now, fashionably speaking, these look like giant mumu’s to us, but still, you can’t argue that mumu’s are comfortable.  Some would have been made of wool, which isn’t so comfortable, especially in the deserts, but I’m speaking of the ones NOT made of wool.  If you want to get this look, but in a much prettier way, look to general traditional Indian dress.  I mean the country, India.  Women wear/wore robes and veils, but much more colorful, and the robes are a tighter fit, decorated with jewelry. 

Most Scantily Clad:  Believe it or not, the answer to that question is not in the past 40 years, although, there have been some scantily clad…many in fact….it is not our “in general, acceptable, everyday fashion.”  I also exclude tribal fashion, because it does not count under “widely and popularly worn.”  So the winner for most scantily clad goes to ancient Egypt.  Sleeveless tops, dresses that go down to your feet, and nothing under it.  Sounds like I’m describing lingerie.  To make it more enticing...it was popular for a while for women to wear transparent linen.    

Most Modest:  To go from who wore the least to who wore the most, the award for most modest goes to Victorian women.  Queen Victoria herself set a very modest fashion for the 19^th century.  No low-cut tops or short dresses in this time period.  We have long-sleeved dresses, cinched slightly at waist, and dresses flowing to the ground, puffed out by layers of petticoats (and at times in the 19^th century a hoop skirt or a bustle).  Some of you may argue that 17^th century (1600’s) fashion was more modest because you’ve seen a picture of Queen Elizabeth where she has a frilly turtle-neck, which would be more modest.  This was not the fashion of all, just the queen.

Best Fashion of Now Times:  I don’t hate everything that comes out in the modern age (although I feel like fashion has become rather careless since the 1960’s, and also boring and ugly).  It’s funny, even though I said I hated the 1980’s (and yes, most of it was a terrible time for fashion) my favorite modern fashion came out of it.  It is a fashion that is popular now, once again.  This is the big shirts (pretty ones) with tights underneath it, cinched at the waist with a belt.  This look can be done with flat shoes, but I think it looks better with heels.  It is a flattering look to women was long as the big shirt (or better, short dress) covers you past the butt a little.  As long as it does that, it is wonderful to flatter your waist, your upper body, and your legs, as well as accentuating curves.   

Best Dressed:  Fashion is all about opinion, so in my opinion, the best time for fashion was the 1950’s.  1.)  You get to wear short sleeves, and even sleeveless for once.  2.)  Your dresses and skirts don’t need to go floor-length; they can go to the knees.  3.)  These are the most flattering to a woman’s figure because typical dresses are cinched at the waist, then flow out to the knees.  4.)  Hairstyles and make-up are meticulously done, but not overdone.  5.)  The whole look is pulled together with elegant, understated pearls, which were very popular.  The downside of this fashion would be that you still wear petticoats underneath, but I don’t think it’s as big of a deal when they are knee-length (they don’t get as hot).   

1950's style from etsy.com

"Runners Up" that are Well Dressed:  Even though I’m not a modern historian in the least, I prefer 1900-1950’s dress the most.  In the 1900-1920’s, we have some Victorian leftovers, but the fashion of this age mostly goes toward a more fitted look.  Your skirts still go to the floor, but they are flowy with less layers underneath and more fitted to your body.  Short sleeves become more popular and acceptable.  In the 20’s, you can dress in skimpier outfits and cut your hair off and look absolutely adorable.  The 30’s and 40’s are about jackets with big buttons to the side and knee-length skirts with a mere slip underneath, however very dark and neutral colors.  The pencil skirt starts to come along in this period, although many women still wear long skirts.  Another separate period I like is the 1500’s nobility.  You get the big dresses, but you can also enjoy low necklines, and tighter tops, so your natural figure is still in view.  Also, everyone loves the southern belle look of the late 1850’s, early 1860’s. 

Today's Project of the Day is another very simple one for everyone.  It's what's for dinner!  :D  Something very simple for busy moms or generally busy women (like me).  If you want something really fast and easy that is also delicious, try cooking rice, and separately cooking a can of vegetable soup, then pouring the vegetable soup over the rice.  It's very yummy, filling, and easy. 

Progresso Vegetable Soup over rice