Little Betty Crocker

Barbie Dolls

What is the deal with Barbie dolls today? My daughter has a few, but she has little interest in playing with them. When I was a kid, some 30 years ago cough, cough, Barbie was a big part of girlhood in my neighborhood. With my mother being a feminist of sorts, my two sisters and I were not allowed to have baby dolls or to play house. But we were allowed stuffed animals and Barbies. Mother was all about consistency wink, wink.

My girlfriends and sisters and I would play for hours with them. We made stuff out of shoe boxes if we didn't have the right Barbie furniture. We lost lots of little shoes. We ran over Ken in the Barbie Corvette because, well, we didn't see much point in having Ken around. We made a school, fashion show, pool and house- all sized for Barbie. We took the dolls to the beach, to the pool, on car trips, to grandma's house. We even had some of my aunt's Barbie stuff from when she was a kid. We traded Barbie stuff. We got each other Barbie birthday gifts. We tried to blow dry her hair and paint her nails. Never turned out well. We popped off Barbie's head and switched her body. We got a Cher doll and were disappointed we couldn't swap her clothes with Barbie- wrong size.

At the time, I didn't think much about the impossible body proportions she had. I just wished her shoes stayed on better. Finally at the age of 12, I decided I had outgrown Barbie and I sold all my Barbie stuff at our family garage sale.

Do girls still play with Barbies? Did Mattell ruin it by making specialized Barbies and cheap accessories to zap out any imaginative play? Read this interesting article. I did notice a change when I ran across Dentist Barbie. I don't see much Barbie action around my daughter's circle of friends. This may be good or bad, depending on how you look at it.

Barbie's website is awfully sparkly, but she does say "I love to play sports. It's a great way to get fit and have fun."

So in conclusion, I think the smart girl can have fun with Barbie and keep a healthy body image for themselves. It will be interesting to see where Barbie goes these next few years.

Dare to be a Smart Girl

I go back and forth on whether or not I want my four year old daughter to grow up faster. We can't go out all day (shops, galleries, museums) yet, because we still have to do "snack" and there is the "dragging her around" stage that inevitably happens. Not looking forward to hug and kiss rationing for mom or the all day phone-a-thons about nothing with her girlfriends or gasp! boyfriends. But to see a hint of the woman she will become is exciting, yet her doe-eyed innocence is to be cherished. Yesterday, on the way home from a friend's birthday party she asks me in the car "Mom, what do you think Sara's life will bring her now that she is five?"


Anyway, maybe I want her to grow up a wee little bit to do some of the more daring things in the fantastic book The Daring Book for Girls by Andy Buchanan and Miriam Peskowitz. BTW, Miriam was nice enough to email me back and support my work here on the smart girls blog.

I will list some chapter titles and you will see how much fun this book will be for me, I mean for dear daughter! I think even the adult smart girls (you know who you are!) would love this book too. Hayley- there is a section on short-sheeting beds on page 194 ;) There are so many great chapters, didn't want to leave any out. So I will post the second half sometime later.
I hope to use the book a lot this summer!

The Daring Book For Girls

CONTENTS

Essential Gear
Rules of the Game: Basketball
Rules of the Game: Net Ball
Palm Reading
The History of Writing, and Writing in Cursive Italics
Fourteen Games of Tag
Spanish Terms of Endearment, Idioms and Other Items of Note
Daring Spanish Girls
Pressing Flowers
Four Square
Princesses Today
How to Whistle with Two Fingers
Chinese Jump Rope
Double Dutch Jump Rope
How to Tie a Sari
Hopscotch, Tether ball, Jump Rope
Queens of the Ancient World I: Wise Artemisia
Knots and Stitches
Rules of the Game: Softball
Caring for your Softball Glove
Playing cards: Hearts and Gin
South Sea Islands
Putting your Hair up with a Pencil
Cartwheels and Back Walk-overs
Weather
Lemon Powered clock
Snowballs
Every Girl's Toolbox
Going to Africa
Bandanna Tying
Five Karate Moves
The Daring Girls Guide to Danger
French Terms of Endearment, Expressions and Other Items of Note
Joan of Arc
Making a Willow Whistle
Periodic Table of Elements
Vinegar and Baking Soda
Rules of the Game: Bowling
Queens of the Ancient World II: Salome Alexandra of Judea
Secret Garden
Friendship Bracelets
Slumber Party Games
Making a Cloth-Covered Book
Pirates
A Short History of Women Inventors and Scientists
Sleep-Outs
The Sit-Upon
Lamp, Lantern, Flashlight
Explorers
Campfire Songs
Abigail Adam's Letters with John Adams
Clubhouses and Forts
Daisy Chains and Ivy Crowns
God's Eyes/ Ojos de Dios
Writing Letters
Reading Tide Charts
Making a Siene Net
Women Spies
How to be a Spy

Now I do have some lemons and could use a new clock. Going to see if dear daughter is available for some daring adventure............

Yes, It is a Cookie

See post below for more cookie info!

Smart Cookie

Isn't this cookie fabulous?
I am lucky enough to know her creator. CeRae has her own cookie business Sweet Dreams here in California. Lucky for everyone out there, she can ship her cookies just about anywhere. We are cooking (well, she is cooking) up something for my daughter's upcoming birthday. Will show ya later ;)

Here are a few more examples of her incredible creations:

I love to see creative women start their own businesses. Great role models for our girls!

So I decided to ask CeRae a few questions about how she got her business started. Please share with any smart girls in your neck of the woods!

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Where did you grow up?
My Dad was in the army, and my parents were divorced when I was six. So my sister and I moved A LOT. I was born in California, but we also lived in Germany, Texas,Florida, and Oklahoma, with a few other stops in between.


What was the first kind of baking you did?
I didn’t start baking until I was a grown up, but I do remember my Aunt teaching me how to make scrambled eggs when I was 8. I stood on a stool at the stove, and she helped me step by step. I was very proud of myself and thought it was the neatest thing to be able to make breakfast for my cousins, and I’ve loved scrambled eggs ever since!


What did your parents do to encourage you to succeed in life?
My Mother is a very smart girl! She worked very hard to work and go to nursing school when we were kids. She also loves to read. She encouraged my love of reading and always encouraged me to work hard in school and to go to college.


What education do you have?
I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Sustainable Agriculture and Entomology from The Evergreen State College in Washington State. I also went to art school for one year in Philadelphia, PA. I love science and studying the natural world. I see beauty, color,and art in everything around me - from an insect under a microscope, to wildflowers blooming in the spring, to COOKIES!


How did you learn to decorate cookies so beautifully?
Experimenting!
I was invited to a Holiday cookie exchange party in 2006 and decided to decorate some
snowflake cookies like ones I had seen on a magazine cover. I read some directions on
basic cookie frosting, mixed up some colors, and experimented until I came up with
some of my own designs that I liked. Each cookie I’ve done since then is basically the same process.


When did you start your cookie business?
Since everyone at the cookie exchange party liked my cookies so much, I thought I might be on to something. So, around the spring of 2007 I decided to start Sweet Dreams.


What is the best part of your job?
Being able to express myself creatively, spending time in my kitchen, and making people smile!


What part do you find the most difficult?
Finding enough time to do it all.


Have you had any huge kitchen disasters?
During this past Christmas season I had a lot of cookie orders to fill. I was working around the clock to make sure that I had enough cookies. One morning I found my 3 year old hiding behind a chair in his brother’s room. He had taken one of my cookies,unwrapped it, and was nibbling away!!
What I learned from this was to always try to be prepared - since then I make sure
to decorate a few extra cookies (in case some get broken... or eaten :)


What kinds of cookie activities would you recommend to smart girls?
Let your imagination go wild! Any idea can be made into a cookie. There are hundreds of cookie cutter shapes out there. And if you can’t find the shape you’re thinking of,you could get a grown up to help you make a cookie cutter (there are kits available online). I make a lot of my own cookie cutters. Think of the cookie as a piece of paper,and the frosting as paint - it really is a piece of artwork that you can eat when you’re finished!

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I would like to thank CeRae for doing the first official Smart Girls Fun Interview. As you can see, I know a smart girl when I see one :)

Starring in Your Own Fairytale

I drew this fairy yesterday. My first real art contribution to my graphic design collection. I put her in a few designs in my smart girls store. Anyway, I think she turned out pretty good ;) And I like the frog prince design. I hope you can check it out. Don't miss the mother earth section- one hidden in there.

Keeping it short and sweet today because we are on our way out. Going on our last ski trip and the darn cabin has no wireless. Boohoo I will be blogless!

Speaking of sweet, I hope I will have a sweet surprise for you all next week.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Warding Off Bad Dreams