These statistics on women are so stupid. Ooh, half of Aussie women are uninterested in sex? We’re sedentary and have negative body issues? Is this a surprise to anybody? The real wonder is why they didn’t go on to point out that those percentages basically apply to women in Western countries across the board. They’re making it out like the women here are some sort of exception, when in my experience that’s just not the case.

As the Aussies knitters are well-aware, the poncho craze has finally landed on our shores. I’m so over it already. The poncho is officially this year’s Feathers scarf, mark my words. The only fun left to be had is in mocking the people who wear really daggy ones. Gadgetgirl has found an example of one of the rarest (and ugliest) breeds: the Man-cho. Good grief. Could that poor male model look any more like Derek Zoolander? Actually, thanks to me, he can. I should so make the Snook one of these and embroider “Blue Steel” on the front.

Bookmarking for Later: Great AskMeFi response about getting the Snook a U.S. green card someday…

The Snook is the resident Italian cooking expert, but since I have Fridays off and he doesn’t, I figured it was my turn to treat him to a nice dinner of risotto. So I found a recipe for Asparagus Risotto and headed to the shops. I decided to add a bit of protein with chicken breast but otherwise I pretty much stuck to the recipe as written. The Snook was dubious about the addition of cream and rosemary but he became a convert in the end. It was delicious. I was worried that I’d added too much broth and it was too soupy, but ultimately it glommed together just right into the perfect melange of blessed, blessed carbs. Yum. Highly recommended.

The sight of my own dear husband darning his socks this morning prompted me to take action… by asking MetaFilter for advice. Are there any socks he can’t put a hole in?

Congratulations to Kirsty, who just gave birth to a beautiful baby girl named Miranda. Bloggers are gettin’ married and havin’ sprogs all over the place!

You know what’s funny? Flipping through your Wedding Guestbook to discover that your cat signed it. Bwa ha ha! (Thanks, Helen.)

Mama’s Got a Brand New Bag
Remember when I ordered my new handbag? Well, it finally came! How cute is this? The album is “Standing Up for Love” by the Three Degrees (but it has a zipper so I can change it later). It’s so nice and roomy; it fits all my daily stuff plus a book comfortably! Two big thumbs up.

How Dirty Are You? (No, this has nothing to do with that vibrating “Eye Massager.”) I initially thought the link was a “answer-as-applies-to-you” type quiz, so I answered all the questions with regards to our house in hopes of getting some type of Dirtiness Quotient. But really, it’s just a quiz to see how much you know about germs. It cracked me up when the results came back and each one was like, “WRONG!” Because seriously, we’re filthy. The only ones we “got right” were closing the lid when you flush (mostly just because we got in the habit of keeping it closed when we got the cat), and not using the dish scrubber to wipe down the counters (because the Snook gets grossed out by it). Our mattress probably weighs five times what it did when we got it. But hey, aren’t we doing the rest of you a favor? We’re getting exposed to all the superbugs and helping build up the gene pool’s immunity. It’s the neat freaks with Lysol fixations that are the real worry for humanity. (Link courtesy of Ron, the dirty toilet sprayer.)

Roger Ebert has learned that there’s a possibility that Marshall Field’s will be bought out and turned into a Macy’s, and he’s spitting mad about it. I wish somebody in Sydney had organized a similar protest last year when Grace Brothers turned into Myer. Grace Brothers had a history in this town, and I don’t care how much Coles Myer saved on advertising costs by rebranding. You shouldn’t mess with local history.