MUSEUM PASS

I am still getting the hang of this whole parenting gig, and I don’t believe I have much advice to give with complete confidence, except for this: buy a museum pass. 

This past January, I bought a family pass (which is really just two adults because Jack is young enough to get in for free) and it has been a lifesaver. On days where I know if I spend one more minute in the house I’ll explode then I can take him to any of the four museums in our area that are included in my membership (the Carnegie Museum of Art, Museum of Natural History, Science Center and the Warhol). 

At first I worried that, at 14-months, Jack would be too young, but I haven’t found that to be true at all. He always enjoys our trips, but even if he does get fussy, I don’t feel bad that we might leave after 20-minutes because I didn’t have to pay $15 to get in for the whole day. In the number of times since January that we’ve used the pass, the membership has already paid for itself. And I am in NO way being paid to say this, I just really love my museum pass and felt like sharing! 

For the most part we’ll spend about 3-hours in the museum. I usually bring the stroller, but sometimes it’s easy to just carry him in the Ergo. His favorite is the Science Center and I’m sure it will remain that way as he gets older. It’s nice to watch him interact with everything and explore. I’m really looking forward to getting a pass every year and introducing Jack to all the culture and learning that is housed in these places. 

This is the pass that I have in Pittsburgh, and it does work at over 300 places outside of city. 

THIS MOMENT

Standing at the door, waiting for Dad. 

FASHION CRITICS

So this is just going to be a rant. I’m angry. I haven’t felt great in my body since I stopped breastfeeding, but continue to eat like I never stopped. So when I found a t-shirt dress at the Gap that I felt incredible wearing…it hid my flaws, I didn’t have to worry about sucking in my stomach and I felt pretty…I was really excited. I wore it on date night and to a happy hour, no issues. So I just picked up another one (on sale this time!) in grey. I wore it to work yesterday and last thing before I leave to go home after a long night my coworker laughs and says “Just a sleep shirt kind of day, huh?”. Well, that really pissed me off. Like, whatever, man. Have you seriously never heard of that old saying, “If you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all.”??? Sure, I pick on people’s outfits ALL THE TIME, but I would never dream of saying it to someone! How was I supposed to respond to his comment? Obviously this is what I picked out to wear today, why should I have to explain it to you? 

Then it got me to thinking about online trolls or those Fashion Police type shows…how do celebrities do it? I can remember 3 times in my working life that someone has said something hurtful (or what I deemed hurtful) about my outfits and I can still remember every detail of the scene. I couldn’t imagine dealing with it on a daily basis. And people wonder why celebrities are all addicted to some kind of drug. I admire the celebrities that continue to take risks in their style choices and just be themselves. Or fashion bloggers, who get the trolls without the million dollar paychecks. 

Clearly, I’m not taking the high road and ignoring this guy’s comment, but I hope that by getting out my feelings I can move on. And I think this was kind of a wake up call to just say “Fuck you, I’ll wear what I want”. It probably shouldn’t have taken me 27-years to figure that out, but better late than never, I guess. 

(This is similar to the dress I was wearing, BTW. And OK I don’t look like the model, but I felt like it and that’s what really counts.)