It's not all about menopause and women's humor!

Dear Reader,

At the moment, The Rebel Housewife is somewhat of a hodge-podge portfolio/archival site, and in transition. Please bear with me during renovation-- you never know what you might see!

I do want to let you know there is a NEW ARTICLE posted on Rebel Reviews (good, solid Literary Review-- nothing to do with Menopause, kids, or women's humor!)--
You should definitely check it out:

Mamet - When Books & Theater Collide

Here's a preview:



ATLANTA: There are a dozen reasons why you should check your calendar, get online, and reserve your seats immediately to see David Mamet’s American Buffalo LIVE, performed by Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theatre Company at the Southwest Arts Center in Atlanta, February 9 – March 6, 2016.

The most important reason: It will make you a more interesting person. I promise. You will have something new and different to talk about -- the experience of live theatre, this play, by this theatre company, in particular -- Impress your friends, your colleagues, your boss!

What: Live Theatre - David Mamet's American Buffalo
Who: Kenny Leon's True Colors Theatre Company
Where: Southwest Arts Center - Atlanta
When: February 9 - March 6, 2016
More Info: www.truecolorstheatre.org

Do you know Mamet?... continue :)

Happy Mother's Day! $25 & Under

Happy Mother's Day! $25 & Under - Part One

by Sherri Caldwell - The Rebel Housewife®
http://www.rebelhousewife.com


As a Mom, I could easily rattle off a dozen ways, and more, in which I could be fabulously gifted on Mother's Day for under $25. (In response to a challenge from NerdWallet -- this is probably not what they had in mind, but there you go. I appreciate the great suggestion and motivation to do a Mother's Day blog post this year!)

Here's a Quickie: FIVE Best Gifts Under $25 For Mom:

1. A BOOK (my most-favorite thing!) or gift card to Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble. Specific suggestion? Shameless plug: Rebel Housewife Rules: To Heck With Domestic Bliss! or anything by Erma Bombeck -- trust me, she'll love it.
   
2. Lunch at my favorite restaurant. You do know Mom's favorite restaurant, right? (This Mom's is La Fonda Latina - Atlanta).
   
3. Candles/Flowers (preferably plants) - so many choices! Check this out:
   Candles (BBW) -- Ooh, how 'bout them candles? (LOVE those flameless ones for outside!)
   
4. CHOCOLATE -- and not the cheap stuff you can buy in the check-out lane at the grocery store; at least go to the candy aisle and get some decent truffles. Look for Lindt LINDOR Assorted Chocolate Truffles. Yum.
   
5. Jewelry -- watches, earrings, bracelets/anklets, oh my! -- Amazon Jewelry Sale.
   My top picks -- and, coincidentally, Happy Mother's Day to ME:
   
   

There you go...easy! Now, if you want to go super-special, under-under $25, check Part Two for some other thoughts and ideas:

Happy Mother's Day! $25 & Under - Part Two

Mother's Day: Thru the Years

As a new mother, 18 years ago, for my first and five-or-so subsequent Mother's Days, I needed nothing more than TIME -- for myself. The greatest imaginable gift for those early, blissful, exhausted Mother's Days would have been a coupon book or certificate of offerings from friends, family, husband, neighbors...anyone...TIME: an offer to change a diaper; baby's hour out; nap-time for Mommy; Date Night w/Daddy; 15 minutes to go to the bathroom or take a shower; a delivered meal. All free, or nearly so, but of inestimable worth to the new Mommy. (Of course, jewelry is always appropriate, especially birth-stone jewelry or mother's jewelry -- or diamonds, always perfect! Not necessarily under $25, or under-under, but I digress...)

Five years later (noting I had three children, age five & under, at this point), I treasured every toddler and kid-made arts & crafts symbol of love: the macaroni necklaces, handpainted plant pots; "stained glass" paper creations, thumbprint-decorated cardstock photo frames, ceramic handprints in clay. If my kids slapped glue and glitter paint on a stick, I loved it. I can still visualize those precious gifts, wrapped in simple tissue paper, so eagerly given by those little hands, the super-big-hugs. I still have many of those wonderful, priceless gifts.

As the mother of teenagers, 13 years later, there is a cat's-in-the-cradle aspect to everything, and the ideal gift is TIME -- with my kids. Appreciation. "I love you, Mom." A family dinner at home (without having to cook or clean up after) -- "you take it easy today, Mom." A kid who might pick up their own dirty clothes, turn their own stinky socks rightside out, even run a load of laundry -- woo! Another excellent idea for teenagers: help Mom with the TECHNOLOGY! Set up a ringtone for her; show her how to download and listen to music she would actually like, or a cool app; figure out for her why it's making that noise, or that light keeps flashing, or why it won't do what I want it to (whatever it is).

As a Mom, I can tell you-- Mother's Day does not need to be expensive or extravagant -- truly, it shouldn't be -- to be special. How these 18 years slipped away so quickly, I don't know. Everyone said they would, and they were right.

So relax.

The happiest Mother's Days are completely free: "I love you, Mom. Thank you."
I need to go get a nose-wipie (Kleenex) now...
Happy, Happy Mother's Day - Make it Special.

Live Blogging Adventures: Big Data Week

In a week that includes my 7th grade virtual school student going to a very real-world testing location every day to take the Georgia CRCTs...AND my crazy mother packing up and moving from Georgia to Washington State...AND my 10th grade daughter conquering the world with power smashes and aced serves, playing high school varsity tennis as a sophomore -- and winning! -- in the state championship preliminaries...all this week...

It's also BIG DATA WEEK:ATLANTA!!!
Hosted by Emcien Corp, a company with which I am intimately involved.
[Disclosure: My husband is a co-founder and the Chief Technology Officer of Emcien.]

This is a Very Big Deal, on a level that I, as a non-techie, could not have expected, in terms of international scope, big-corporate participation, the calendar of activities scheduled, and the number of people involved and so very, very enthusiastic about the Next New Thing in Technology: Big Data.

Big Data is everything, from the location & use of your cellphone, to online transactions, to what you put in your shopping cart at the grocery store, to healthcare, to your social media activities. It is mind-boggling, and in many ways downright creepy, how much information is out there, the extent of our individual & collective digital footprint, and how that information can be used.

So, in the midst of CRCTs, State high school tennis competition, and my crazy mom, counting down the days to high school graduation (exactly 30) and my oldest son's departure to the Navy (OMG, exactly 60 days from today)...I am visiting the World of Big Data and live blogging my experiences as a non-techie writer in the techie world. Adventures indeed:

Big Night Out at Big Data Week: Atlanta Kickoff, Live Blogging tech for 1st time...experiment:rebelhousewife.com/bdw13atlKICKOFF #bdw13ATL

— Sherri Caldwell (@rebelupdate) April 23, 2013

Literary Rebel & New Rebel Review - Aug 2012

August 2012 - Atlanta

The kids are back to school already in Georgia, as of August 6th, so The Rebel Housewife is back at it (even though I still have one at home in virtual school with Georgia Connections Academy).

I am pleased to announce I am writing a new blog IRL for Midtown Patch - Patch Media, part of the Huffington Post Media Group, is an AOL company:

Literary Rebel - The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

"Literary Rebel, Sherri Caldwell, blogs about books, reading and literary events in Midtown. This week, Midtown Book Group ventured forth on a field trip, in search of HeLa cells at Georgia Tech."

While RebelHousewife.com is not all about books, all the time, sometimes it is, especially on Rebel Reviews, so check out the companion piece (it's different than the Patch article):

Rebel Review: BOOK GROUP REVIEWS: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
"Fascinating Science - Tragic Biography"

Literary Rebel & Book Group News

In Real Life, as we say, your Literary Rebel coordinates the long-running Midtown Book Group in Atlanta at Barnes & Noble/Georgia Tech. Book group is one of my most-favorite offline commitments and something I look forward to on the 2nd Wednesday of every month -- for the last SIX YEARS, come September 2012. I love my book group!

In honor of Six Years of Reading Together in Midtown (and a new blogging gig - Literary Rebel), I am posting The List of Books We Have Read here on RebelHousewife.com in Rebel Reviews for bibliophile reference and consumption(!).

Over six years, our very diverse group read winners & losers, stinkers & the sublime, books we loved & books we hated. Way back in September 2009, the group started rating each book, so I include those Midtown Book Group Official Ratings, as well, and update them each month for our members and The List.

If you are looking for book possibilities, for yourself or your book group, check it out:

Midtown Book Group: Books We Have Read

Furthermore, for your biblio-fanatic pleasure and temptation...

Midtown Book Group: Upcoming Selections

August (08/08/12) - The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Sept (09/12/12) - Atlanta's Ponce de Leon Avenue: A History by Sharon Foster Jones
October (10/10/12) - The Snowman by Jo Nesbo
November (11/14/12) - Fahrenheit 451: A Novel in honor of the late RAY BRADBURY
December (12/12/12) - POETRY - Native Guard: Poems by Natasha Tretheway

Happy Reading!