Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Why is it so hard to simply *not* eat chicken wings?


Just so no one's confused... this is a repost from the Net:
Old Bay BBQ Sauce
1/2 Cup Sweet Baby Rays BBQ Sauce
1 Cup - Apple Cider Vinegar (I only had white, so that's what I used, Apple Cider would have been better)
2 TBS - Old Bay Seafood Seasoning
1 TBS - Dehydrated Minced Garlic (Fresh can be used)
1 TBS - Dehydrated Chopped Onion (Fresh can be used)
2 TBS - Butter
Combine all ingredients and bring to a boil.

Monday, December 28, 2009

It's Almost New Year's! Time for a Royal Rebel Deb A**-Kickin'

My boyfriend and I just started a new, butt-kicking workout routine. It basically involves 30 minutes of me doing this...














While he does this...














Followed by another half-hour or so of this...


So I can, hopefully, end up looking like this...


So far, it's gone really well. We spent all day ice-skating in Central Park, followed by a trek to Whole Foods where we stocked up on whole wheat EVERYTHING, organic meats, yogurt, fruit and nonfat granola. Then, we hit the gym for our usual butt-bustin' (see above). All to try and burn off some of this thinking/writing/sitting on your butt weight we've both gained over the past two years.

Wish us luck! It's time to start our New Year's Resolution a bit early....

xoxo,
Rebel Deb

Saturday, December 26, 2009

10 Things Husbands (of Rebel Debs) Should Never Do...


By Diane Oatis
(borrowed from Yahoo news!)

"Guys, we love you, we really do. But as wonderful as you are, every so often you do something that makes us want to jump out the nearest window (or push you out first). Please, please, don’t ever…

1. Offer to “babysit” your own kids. When your 16-year-old neighbor does it, it’s called babysitting. When a parent does it, it’s called child care, and it lasts for at least 18 years. Get it?

2. Imply that office work is harder than housework. At the end of a hard day, there may be smoke coming out of your ears, but let’s face it: You’ve basically been sitting on your butt. That same smoke is coming out of our ears too—but we’ve cleaned the house, shuttled the kids around, run errands all over town and lugged grocery bags besides. When we say we’re exhausted, we are exhausted.

3. Give a home appliance as a gift. Forgive us if we can’t work it up for this one. A new washing machine? Really? Can we get you some new snow tires?

4. Buy us the “cougar” perfume. Under our crew-neck sweaters may beat the heart of an untamed vixen—but most of us don’t want to smell like one. (Nice try, though.)

5. Brag about your driving. This is supposed to let us know that ours isn’t so great. If my husband tells me one more time that he’s been “accident-free since 1978,” I’m going to reach over, grab the wheel and make the car swerve into something, just to shut him up.

6. Be unimpressed by a meal that took a lot of time and trouble. I don’t know whose fault this is (Food Network? Julie and Julia?), but every so often we get the idea that it would be fun to make stock and spend the day basting. If the result is less than earth-shattering, say something nice anyway.

7. Buy clothes without trying them on. We know that the second you get into a department store you start to feel faint, but do us a favor and take the extra five minutes. Otherwise, you know who gets stuck with the returns?

8. Know it all, especially in public. Oh, honey. While you’re going on at length about whatever it is, we’re taking the temperature of the room, and we know everyone’s starting to fidget.

9. Say anything remotely critical about our new haircut. Sometimes getting a new cut goes well; sometimes it doesn’t. Usually we know the difference. Don’t rub it in.

10. Expect a medal for doing a little housework. Umm…it’s your house too, right? For now, we’ll give you the bronze. Maybe someday, if you work hard enough, you can pick up a gold."

xoxo,
Rebel Deb

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Have a Merry, Zombie Christmas!

Watch out, kid... those brains look mighty tasty!

Justin and I traipsed through the snow last night, schlepping from the East Village of Manhattan into deep, dark Prospect Park, to attend my good friend, Katie's, holiday party. As if the promise free booze, food and friendship weren't prize enough for our travels, this delightful invitation made us committed to the trek:

"I was going to write a long explanation of why we all could use a party, and how we haven’t seen some of you for too long, etc. etc. But you know all of that already. Instead I’ll just include this mash-up of us, Little Women, and zombies:

"CHRISTMAS won't be Christmas without any presents," grumbled Kevin, lying on the rug.

"It's so dreadful to be poor!" sighed Katie, looking down at her old dress.

"I don't think it's fair for some zombies to have plenty of brains, and other zombies nothing at all," added a little zombie, with an injured sniff.

"We've got father and mother and each other," said Peter contentedly, from his corner.

The four young faces on which the firelight shone brightened at the cheerful words, but darkened again as Katie said sadly, —

"We haven't got father, and shall not have him for a long time." She didn't say "perhaps never," but each silently added it, thinking of father far away, where the fighting was.

Nobody spoke for a minute; then Kevin said in an altered tone,—

"You know the reason mother proposed not having any presents this Christmas was because it is going to be a hard winter for every one; and she thinks we ought not to spend money for pleasure, when our men are suffering so in the army of darkness. We can't do much, but we can make our little sacrifices, and ought to do it gladly. But I am afraid I don't;" and Kevin shook his head, as he thought regretfully of all the pretty things he wanted.

"But I don't think the little we should spend would do any good. We've each got a dollar, and the army wouldn't be much helped by our giving that. I agree not to expect anything from mother or you, but I do want to buy Undine and Sintram for myself; I've wanted it so long," said Katie, who was a bookworm.

"I planned to spend mine in new music," said Peter, with a little sigh, which no one heard but the hearth-brush and kettle-holder.

"I shall get a nice box of Faber's drawing-pencils; I really need them," said Kevin decidedly.

"Mother didn't say anything about our money, and she won't wish us to give up everything. Let's each buy what we want, and throw a party, and have a little fun; I'm sure we work hard enough to earn it," cried Katie, examining the heels of her shoes in a gentlemanly manner."

I love having witty friends, who love to nerd-it-up in literary fashion... with appropriately-timed zombie references... just like me!

xoxo,
Rebel Deb

Sunday, December 6, 2009

The Jackasses of 2009...



reposted from Yahoo news...

"Condemning the rich and famous for straying from the public persona may be a ruthless spectator sport, but the urge to forgive the penitent also runs deep. In 2009, the crimes and concessions kept coming, from the relatively mild to the straight-out bizarre. Below, in chronological order, the apologists which drew lots of Web attention in 2009.

Michael Phelps. One moment, you're a record-breaking Olympian manfish. The next, you're a fallible fellow caught in a misdemeanor. His Feb. 2 apology came swiftly after a British newspaper posted party pics of Phelps with a cannabis pipe. A South Carolina sheriff seemed out to get him, but the gold medalist got away with a three-month ban and losing a Kellogg deal.

Christian Bale. Foul-mouthed rants seemed so 2007, but the actor cussed out a director of photography on the "Terminator Salvation" set for ruining his concentration. The tape leaked Feb. 2, which inspired a week of remixes and parodies. Bale manned up the old-fashioned way: by calling into the radio station that played snippets all week. As to who owes apologies for the movie's lukewarm reception—that's still unclear.

Rupert Murdoch. The Post's published apology following its infamous Feb. 18 chimp cartoon (meant to tie together headlines about a chimpanzee attack and the Obama stimulus package) didn't appease many. Chairman Murdoch gave it a go, and got better results.

Michael Steele. In the March scramble for the title of de facto lead of the Republican party, the RNC chairman agreed that Rush Limbaugh was "incendiary...and ugly." That didn't sit well with the radio host, and within two days Steele clarified his "inarticulate" comments.

Mark Sanford. How the South Carolina governor's tale of infidelity unfolded over Father's Day Weekend was odd, and so was the tearful and meandering press conference on June 24. Once he started, he couldn't stop talking about his "soul mate" and "crossing the line." The 2012 GOP hopeful may still face ethical charges. His estranged wife? Book deal.

Chris Brown. The singing/acting prodigy became a villain in a domestic-violence dispute with celebrity girlfriend, Rihanna, on Grammy night (Feb. 8). Brown's posted apology on July 20 received mixed reviews, and the incident inspired dueling albums. Brown—sentenced to a five-year probation—plans to tell all in a Dec. 11 "20/20" interview. For her part, Rihanna has rebounded.

Kanye West. Slamming a president is one thing, but trashing an ingenue's first VMA Awards moment is another. The hip-hop artist got booted after he interrupted Taylor Swift's Best Female Video win on Sept. 13. His chain of apologies began on his blog (twice), continued on Jay Leno, and concluded with a direct phone call.

David Letterman. The "Late Night" host had to issue multiple mea culpas: The first was for a poor joke directed at the daughter of then-Alaska governor Sarah Palin. The whopper came in the fall, when he 'fessed up to workplace affairs after an alleged blackmail scheme. The Oct. 5 apology came four days later, reportedly at some urging.

Steve Phillips. An affair with an obsessed a 22-year-old coworker, a divorce filing from his wife of 19 years, and an October firing: No wonder the only thing left for the ESPN baseball analyst, 46, was to be "deeply sorry" on Oct. 21 and hide away in rehab for sex addiction until the next act."

Friday, November 20, 2009

The Rebel Debutante on "Mad Men"

Here's what the Rebel Deb would look like, if she were a character on AMC's "Mad Men":
An ounce of Joan with a POUND of Peggy... a gutsy, determined, intelligent go-getter... with a (not-so) secret sexy side... :)

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

"Liger Dog": Probably the Coolest Pet on the Planet.

This Shit Has GOT to STOP.

Check out a picture of the 15-year-old victim of a recent San Francisco gang-rape... this poor child was sexually assaulted, beaten and taunted by as many as 20 different men and boys -- ranging from 15 to 20 years old! WTF, people? Is rape considered some kind of sport?

According to Jezebel.com...


Brace yourself for the most stomach-turning story in a long time: on Friday, a 15-year-old girl was brutally gang-raped after a homecoming dance in a suburb of San Francisco, while as many as 15 teenage boys stood around, doing nothing.

The victim was leaving the dance in Richmond, CA — a suburb of San Francisco, not too far from Antioch, where Phillip Garrido held Jaycee Dugard — when a classmate invited her to drink with him in a secluded area near the school. She agreed, becoming so inebriated that she fell over, at which point as many as seven young men raped her, beat her, took photographs, and stole her jewelry. They assaulted her for two-and-a-half hours, injuring her so badly that she had to be flown from the scene in critical condition.

A gang rape always has the added awfulness that the rapists are comfortable enough with their crime to commit it in front of others. This case is especially bad because the girl's attackers continued in front of multiple witnesses, assuming that they would do nothing. That assumption was correct. In fact, it was someone hearing about the assault at a local house party who called the cops. Richmond police lieutenant Mark Gagan said, "What makes it even more disturbing is the presence of others. People came by, saw what was happening, and failed to report it."

At first I thought this was a Kitty Genovese situation, in which indifferent bystanders failed to help a crime victim. In fact, it's worse. CNN's Nick Valencia writes that, "as many as 15 people, all males, stood around watching the assault, but did not call police or help the victim." Gagan adds, "As people announced over time that this was going on, more people came to see, and some actually participated." This isn't a case of people turning their heads away and saying "none of my business." It's a situation in which 15 boys and men (one suspect in custody is 19, the other 15) treating public, brutal assault as a form of entertainment.

Anyone who went to a big, rough high school has seen this happen with a fight — everybody in the school rushes to the scene, cheering, booing, and even joining in as kids beat each other up. This practice is bad enough, exposing teen bloodlust and lack of compassion, but adding sexual assault to the mix makes the onlookers' situation all the more heinous. That all said onlookers were male seems important here — were they so afraid of having their masculinity questioned that they couldn't say anything? Or, more disturbingly, were they enthusiastic about the event, participating, however vicariously, in some kind of conquest? Whatever the case, not one, not two, but fifteen young men watched a gang-rape take place and essentially chose to side with the rapists — as Yes Means Yes would say, "that's rape culture."

xoxo,

Rebel Deb

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Oh, Those Crazy Kardashians!


Nothing says lovin' like big, wax lips... Check out this Yahoo news report! (or don't. I mean, aren't there more important world issues you could reading about? Like health care? Or abolishing the death penalty? Yeah... didn't think so... so keep reading!)

"In photos posted on her blog, Khloe Kardashian Odom revealed that she and husband Lamar Odom received matching tattoos to commemorate the lifelong love they sealed by exchanging marriage vows last month.

The "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" star and the Lakers forward inked each other's initials onto their hands. The "KO" on Odom's hand reflects the bride's announcement that she was changing her name to Khloe Kardashian Odom, while the "LO" on Khloe's hand could possibly double as shorthand for "Lo, this is a terrible idea."

For any young people who would like to model their lives after celebrities, you can follow the Kardashian-Odom model of love in four quick steps: (1) Meet. (2) Announce wedding plans one month later. (3) Realize belatedly you need a prenup and sign it three weeks after the wedding. (4) Get tattoos!

(Please note that this model only works if the bride has her own reality show.)"

xoxo,

Rebel Deb

Even Porcupines Have Mommy Issues

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Alien Baby!

...or, at least, a kid with some kick-ass parents, who happen to remember mega-hit sci-fi horror movies from the '70's. I totally think this should be my choice of Halloween costume:




xoxo,
Rebel Deb

Monday, October 19, 2009

The Hunt for the Perfect Halloween Costume Begins... NOW

I haven't dressed up for Halloween in quite a while:


So, yeah. I'm thinking I may need a new costume.

So far, it's between...

1) Slutty nurse

2) Slutty maid

3) Slutty cheerleader (are we seeing a pattern emerge?)

4) Joel McHale from "The Soup"

5) Jodie Foster. (I get a lot of "you look just like her"'s! Being compared to an uber talented, yet 50-something, hardcore lesbian isn't exactly great for my love life. But I can't seem to beat them, so I might as well join them. And Halloween may just be the perfect time to become a total conformist.)

6) Slutty "Grey's Anatomy" character (but which one?? There's sooo many.), or...

7) Slutty reality TV star. (Aka "Heather" from Rock of Love, John Gosselin and/or anyone from "The Real World" Las Vegas)

The hunt continues!

xoxo,

Rebel Deb

Friday, October 9, 2009

Only in North Carolina...

ROBESON COUNTY, N.C. — Cumberland County detectives found a trailer full of stolen ladies lingerie Thursday and connected it to a 2005 theft.

Authorities said the trailer, found off Mabe Road in Robeson County, had been reported missing from the Maidenform plant in
Fayetteville four years ago. It contained about $400,000 worth of bras and other undergarments.

Detectives connected the stolen underwear to sales on Craig's List. They are trying to determine who is responsible for the theft and the subsequent attempted sale.

In the meantime, folks have been making do with this handy-dandy replacement...



xoxo,

Rebel Deb

Congrats to Our President, Who Deserves His Nobel Prize!



Never before has any American President inspired so many who, for so long, never bothered to vote because they believed (rightly) that the government had overlooked them. That, because of their race and class, our system had given up on them.

Thank you, Obama, for helping to inspire and give hope back to so many Americans. You make me proud to count myself one of them.

xoxo,

Rebel Deb