Maternity Leave

I'm currently writing a paper on maternity leave. I set off to write about how it's important, how it stinks in America, and how it needs to be changed. The articles I have read have all affirmed my suspicions: maternity leave is undeniably vital to families and our country. It's an important message for women like me who have large ambitions and also want to be mothers. I'm not sure what both of these things will entail, but one thing is sure: I'll be taking a mean maternity leave.
One of my favorite articles on the importance of maternity leave:
http://healthland.time.com/2011/07/21/study-why-maternity-leave-is-important/

Princess Kate's Fashion 'Evolution'

A collection of pictures of Kate Middleton highlighting her fashion.
Although I know nothing about her, and hardly anything about fashion, these are really fun to look at.
They also reveal to me that:
a) Kate Middleton is stunningly beautiful.
b) Kate Middleton looks especially stunningly gorgeous in creams and silvers.
c) Her husband is ugly. (I guess that's the king. Prince. Anyway, he's not very attractive, especially compared to his wife.)

http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,2065084_2313170,00.html

Ice Cream Fans Rejoice

It's all here. Every flavor. New New Years resolution? Try every flavor of Ben and Jerry's ice cream. (While everyone else is trying to lose weight...)

One thing that is especially noteworthy is that they now have greek frozen yogurt. That is revolutionary. I absolutely love frozen yogurt, and greek yogurt, so I absolutely have to try this. I'm starting to think I should have a blog about greek yogurt. I have a recipe for fettuccine alfredo using greek yogurt on this blog that is really good.
Anyway, if you need to enjoyably waste some time, check out the web site for ben and jerry's.

http://www.benjerry.com/

A Much-Needed Reminder

This is a blog written for the New York Times in which a mother looks at the humor of the college search process. If only I could see things from  her point of view. I've visited two colleges, and I've got three more over spring break.
 For some reason, it's beyond stressful. Maybe it's missing school constantly. Maybe it's straining to know every detail about a school. Maybe it's the pressure to live up to expectations, or 'reach my full potential', or whatever you want to call it. Maybe it's that this is the first very real, very large decision I get to make. It's about my future, and my money, my education, my faith, my friends, my life.
Okay yeah. Maybe I do need to chill.

http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/20/momu/

Photography Exhibition: Domestic

This is a really interesting photography exhibition. Catherine Opie is a very artistic photographer who captures pictures from the stillness of icehouses to the adolescence of high school football players. Here,  she photographs domestic life. While edgy at times, what makes it most shocking, perhaps, is that it's probably very close to reality. My favorite picture is the eleventh one.

http://www.regenprojects.com/exhibitions/1999-04-catherine-opie/

Wendy's > Burger King

I've always been a fan of Wendy's, and I always have been somewhat grossed out by Burger King. Turns out, the rest of the world agrees. For the first time in history, Wendy's is second place in the burger restaurant industry. While it has always been McDonald's, Burger King, and then Wendy's, now Wendy's is in second place. This article explains that over the past several years, Burger King has focused on it's advertising, while Wendy's focused on it's food. Wendy's has come out on top. Go frostys!

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/03/dethroned-how-wendys-slayed-burger-king-in-the-fast-food

Maaike Mudde? I'm screwed.

Make Mud. Mickey Muddy. Mike Moody. Life is hard with the name Maaike Mudde. (Micah Mooduh) I say that with a smile, but in reality, not many people understand what it's like to have a hard-to-pronounce name. And it's one thing to have a unique first name, or a weird last name. But Maaike Mudde? It doesn't get much worse than that.
Unfortunately for me, this article reports on a study that reveals that people with easier to pronounce names are more favored and leave better impressions than those with hard to pronounce names. The study was of 500 lawyers around the country, and found that the lawyers with the most pronounceable names, not the ethnic origin of the names, were more likely and quicker to rise to superior positions in their firm.
I can understand why this is true. I can see why people subconsciously look more positively on names that don't give them trouble to say.
I've seen the wrath of having a bizarre name play out already. Recently, I emailed the president of a health clinic to inquire about a volunteer position. When I went to the clinic to interview and tour the facility, the president made a comment like, "wow, I have to say I wasn't sure what to expect, but I'm really glad you're joining the team!" I wasn't sure what she meant or how to respond. "I mean... your name...." I realized that all she knew about me before this interview was the email I wrote and, most importantly, my name. She had judged me by my name, and the foreignness of it had made her completely unsure of me as a person, even before she had met me.
Yeah--it's a hard life with the name Maaike Mudde.



http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/03/having-a-simple-name-is-good-in-the-workplace/253555/