LOW-Carb, Thank You Very Much!

Dearest DomestiGal Sue,

Well, between the new season of Gossip Girl (Missing another episode tonight! The horror, the horror!), the broadcast of Stand Up to Cancer, and Britney's triumphant return to hotness last night on the VMAs, I am really going through some mayjah USofA withdrawal. Sigh.

But we have a lot to cover here. I'll get right to it and try to stay focused:

1. My bum. Tighter and tighter every day, baby.

2. My vitamins. Colossus currently has me on a regimen of vitamins, supplements, and protein shakes... a little intense, but I am seeing results (bye bye 10% of my love-handles in one week!) so I can't complain. I am currently taking multi-vitamins; a capsule that contains fenugreek, bitter gourd, and gymnema leaf (yeah, I didn't know what they were either); and my personal savior, fish oil. 

Seriously Sue? Can we have a moment for the wonders of fish oil? You're the one who first turned me onto it, if you recall. Amazing stuff. Deserves its own "DomestiGals Heart..." post, methinks!

3. My diet. Is LOW-carb, not no-carb. Low-carb, high-protein, Nutella-free. That's me! So torture me all you want with descriptions of your decadent NYC meals, missy. I'm gonna go have me some sushi WITH rice! Aw yeah! How do you like THAT?

(Really how depressing is it that when The Lawyer and I go out for sushi it's a treat to eat the rice. A twee pathetic, eh?)

As for your latest jewelry ideas, I must say I was disappointed to see a total lack of sparkle (were you scared by my last reaction? Probably.) but those are lovely designs. Waaaaay too alterna-bride for me, but you could pull them off quite well.

So? Does this mean you have relented? Has The Doctor won? Are you going to get and - gasp! - actually wear a ring???

Do tell!

xoxo,

DG

Engagement Ring Feedback Required

Sue,

Big engagement news! No, not mine. It may still be in the wee hours of the morning over there in NYC, but rest assured if The Lawyer had popped the question with the Ring of Dreams, you would have heard my shrieks of joy from here.

But big news nonetheless: a fellow lady of leisure friend here in London just got engaged to her beau! Very exciting. They are currently away on vacay in a romantical location perfect for question-popping, so I will have to wait to hear all the details. The Lawyer and I have very different guesses about her ring - and in fact we took a bet on what it looks like. Questions abound. Did he surprise her, or had they discussed what she wanted? Trendy or classic? Mayjah bling or refined rock? Super-sparkly (i.e. round brilliant or cushion cut) or geometric elegance (i.e. emerald or asscher cut)?

Seeing as you have um, undeveloped taste in nice jewelry, Sue, I thought I would pose a couple of questions to our readers. 

Gals out there in the blogosphere! It is time to let your blingpinions be heard!

For those of you DomestiGals who are happily engaged or married, take a lingering look at the rock on your finger and tell us: how much say did you have in its selection? Did you decide to aim for current trends (micropavé, vintage/retro, non-traditional center stone, etc.) or stick with a timeless design (round solitaire)? 

For those of you Domestic Divas who are dating, dominating, and maybe thinking about your own Ring of Dreams: how much do you want to participate in the engagement ring search? Do you already know what you want or will you leave it up to your man? If you had to choose, what would be your Ring of Dreams?

Please, ladies, share your thoughts. We all know Sue is just not up for this sort of dialogue, and my friend's engagement has me going girly-girl ring crazy over here!

xoxo,

Jen

Domestic Goddess Takes on Teenagers

Dearest DP,

Rings!  Fabulous!  I must admit I do hope you see the light - no, not the glorious rays of light emanating from my future Ring of Dreams, the metaphoric light - and decide to show your commitment to The Doctor by wearing a gorge engagement ring - oh no wait - partnership ring on your ring finger.  Did you find any you like?  Moissanite?  Mokume Gane?  Details, woman!

As for me, well, you may not be hearing from me for awhile.  I am preparing my biological clock for an attack of a most gruesome nature: teenagers.  In my house.  For two days.

That's right.  The Lawyer and I offered to host an expat family friend's two teenage daughters for a couple of days.  And they arrive in approximately 90 minutes.

Now, I have known these girls since they were babies.  I lived over here in England with their family for a couple of summers, so I am kind of the big sister they never had.  Or at least I was.  I haven't seen them for a few years so I have no idea what the dynamic will be now that they are adolescents.  Ack!  I mean I was a terrible little witch when I was in middle school, and an insecure mess in high school (well, at least for the first year or so, until I embraced my nerdiness and gained a little fabulous and became quite cool, actually).  I know I will be able to handle anything that comes my way.  But I cannot speak for my biological clock.  For her, I fear the worst.

Which is probably a good thing, since I'll soon be starting grad school and all.  Not exactly the time to get knocked up.  Oh, and before you remind me yet again, I am also neither married nor engaged.  Right-o!

Ok, I'm off to rev up the Dyson before the girls arrive.  Wish me luck!

xoxo

DG

DP Gal Gone Mall Wild

Dear DG,

Ug.

I really hate shopping. I mean, really, really hate to shop. The Doctor and Sister #2 tried to take me shopping today, as they're horrified by my uncreative wardrobe. If I ever had a day where I wore something other than a tank top and jeans, I think I'd be unrecognizable. I did, however, take a break from squirming my way out of trying things on by wandering by the ring section.

Yes, it's true. We tried on rings. Again.

The first time we tried on potential partnership rings was in Chinatown. When I told my mom -- my Asian mom -- she was absolutely horrified. "Why would you ever be looking for rings in Chinatown? Don't be disgusting!" Said like a true Taiwanese woman.

Today, I decided to class-it-up a bit, by making Ring Trip #2 in a suburban mall.

Sigh. Darling Domestic Goddess, could you and I be more polar opposites?

* You shop for rings at Tiffany's, and I look for rings 50% off at a strip mall.
* You want to get married at this exquisite country mansion, and I insist that my domestic partnership "ceremony" be at the bank.
* The Lawyer pays for you; I pay for The Doctor.

Yes, this is a friendship made in DomestiGal heaven, no doubt. Forever and ever, my dear friend.

Love,

Sue, DP

PS: I just love how hot the Design-her-Gals made us look. But, I have to ask, am I cupping your ass in the photo? No doubt due to how sculpted Colossus has made it become!

Olympic Hormones?

DP,

WHAT is my problem?!  I mean it was one thing to get teary watching that cute octogenarian lesbian couple tying the knot in San Fran a couple months ago.  But I just flipped on the Olympic Opening Ceremony while I eat my sushi for lunch, and I seriously almost choked on my salmon nigri.

I don't know what it is!  It's gotta be more than the whole ring theme, right?  I suppose it's just the thought that these athletes who are parading around are the best in the world at what they do - which is phenomenal enough in itself.  And also that their entire lives have led up to this moment, to these games.  Huh.  Uh-oh... as much as I would like to believe that not everything in my life makes me think about my wedding, the idea of one's life leading up to one big event... uy yuy yuy.  This is getting embarrassing.

Speaking of embarrassing, this is why I heart the BBC:

You know I could not be less into politics, but I must describe this a to the mazing moment that just occurred.  So all the teams are coming out one by one, being announced, waving to the crowd, etc.

Then Iraq comes out - with only about six athletes - and the crowd goes wild. Like, bananas, cheering.  While the announcers are talking about the "challenges" these athletes have had to "overcome" to get to the Games, the camera cuts to W and Laura sitting in the stands, awkward grins and blank stares plastered to their faces.  GENIUS.

Anyway.  I should probably turn this off before the Americans make their entrance.  I might lose it, and we're having company over for dinner tonight so I really can't have puffy bags under my eyes.

Have a great weekend, hot stuff!

xo

DG