Reaction to Amy Chua’s excerpt from her book Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, continues to reverberate around the blogosphere. Sigh. Can we move on already? But I do feel like I have to share the below via Cactus Kate, which I think sums it up perfectly and explains why, despite many problems in the past with excessively strict parents, to say the least, I’m now at peace.
The true path to happiness is getting to a state where you are so independent financially and emotionally from your parents and others that you no longer care what they or other people think.
Amen.
And as I type this, it’s 9.42 on Sunday night. I’ve just had two entire days of relaxing and sunning with the boy, and look forward to the same tomorrow (happy birthday Auckland!) It’s ridiculously nice having a weekend to myself; I look forward to the day when I can return to a more normal schedule.
It is blissful.
MONEY
FruGal has some excellent tips for saving money on the run (hint: being organised is key).
Via Living Well on Less: How much is your laziness costing you?
Frugal Traveler gets burned by a rental scam (thing is, bank transfers are very common here; in fact, we paid for our last holiday by BT).
Financial Samurai reckons a lot of people make more money than you think.
Newlyweds on a Budget also has a separate fun money account just for her husband (holler!) and here she explains why and how.
WORK
Holland Banks guest posts on Ms Career Girl on how to be taken seriously as a young woman in the workplace.
A Lotta Lettuce contemplates a potential dream job, complete with nightmare paycut.
Serendipity gets the work day blues – every job is tough and it’s not as easy as it may look!
Carol Tice argues that what freelancers should really fear is having a job.
Kevin at Thousandaire explains how to tell if your position is expendable.
Kyla Roma shares a truly inspiring account of how she quit her day job and found her path.
Alexis Grant explains one great way for aspiring writers to get their foot in the door.
Aloysa always has great anecdotes – her latest is on doing business Mob-style.
FOOD
Stonesoup’s 7 ways to enjoy your food more and lose weight.
Officially intrigued and want to make it: Soda bread, via the $120 Food Challenge. Oh, and here’s how to get velvety stirfry chicken!
Some sad truths about meat and cheese from Penelope Trunk.
LIFE
Sing it loud. Hang On Little Tomato on the backlash we get for being young but not wanting to party it up all the time.
Who knew cornstarch was such a superstar? Here’s some handy household uses for it via DIY Life.
I’m trying to soak up all the wedding tips I can for future reference; this week Jessie shares how she saved on invitations.
Speaking of marriage: “Don’t try to find a person that’s perfect because you’ll always be disappointed. Don’t settle either, but do your best to find a person who has flaws you can live with.” Fabulous stuff from First Gen American.
Also love this post by Tall Brunette on femininity and identity.
Dating and being a flirt is hard. It’s even harder in a foreign country, as Jamie finds out.
This brought tears to my eyes – Molly at These Little Moments reflects on the power of a mother’s love.
A few months on, Chelsea Talks Smack looks back on her last relationship – so powerful, a must read, and I’m sure most of us can relate.
I love your roundups because of the diversity of things you read. Thanks for pulling this together and the mention. I’ll be sure to check some of the stories out in the life section.
Great links! I agree 100% with the “Cactus Kate” quote above. I find that for generations X & Y that is in many ways more difficult than ever before to achieve. We’ll keep trying though!
Great list of eclectic reads! I’ve added a few of the blogs from these posts to my Google Reader.
Hi there. I’m so glad you enjoyed my piece enough to link to it. I’m hoping to do a follow up soon, but of course have to make sure and keep managing my own site too! So look out for it on either site.
I also wanted to tell you that your blog is absolutely beautiful. Not many take the time to include visual aesthetics like yours.
Hope you’re having a great weekend.
Great links! Glad you’re enjoying the great southern-hemisphere weather while we’re being hit with ice & snow constantly!
I need some serious money tips, so thanks for the links!
I’m broke. Boo.
Thanks for the link love! Your right, sometimes the job isn’t as easy as it looks and I’m learning the hard way. But as much craziness as I’m going through, I’m pretty excited to get back into my building and can’t wait to shine! My monthly reports are suppose to be me patting myself on the back showcasing all the good stuff I’ve done at work. I really need to step it up! It’s one thing I haven’t fully taken advantage of and I need to!
Serendipity