I dislike being a housewife: My struggle with being financially dependent on my spouse
Many women dislike the word “housewife” because of implications of feminism and the stigma of gendered domestic roles. I dislike the word “housewife” because I am one. Well, I don’t dislike the word itself but the actual role. I dislike being a housewife! My husband is not to blame for this; he even tries to mitigate the situation. Its all in my head. But I can’t be the only who feels like this. Whether you prefer the term “housewife/husband,” “homemaker,” or another term entirely, how do you deal with the discomfort of financial dependency on a spouse?
Shift work: Learning to love our offbeat schedules
My fiancé is a police officer. The biggest hurdle this job presents to us as a couple is the schedule. He works afternoon shift and his “weekend” is Wednesday and Thursday. I work a regular daytime Monday through Friday job. After a few years of living together we’ve worked out a happy situation and even found positives in the shift work shuffle.
Killing my potential: I have a fear of success
I looked at my list of life goals and realized that most of my dreams were still just dreams. I was crestfallen and, quite frankly, furious with the world for doing this to me. I spent a few years becoming more and more frustrated with the world. One day I realized something, it wasn’t the world; it was me. It was actually all my fault. I knew from the start that it wasn’t going to be easy, but I had the talent, the passion, and I had those damn dreams. I also had something else though: fear.
Beating Impostor Syndrome
One of the fantastic commenters of Offbeat Home recently referenced “Impostor Syndrome” in a comment that Ariel then picked up on. I felt the need to share. This is a concept that has recently become a big part of life — because of these two little words, I feel I’ve come to understand how I was relating to my work a million times better, and this understanding has genuinely changed my behaviour.
My husband’s boss is coming over! Should I hide the zombies and naked ladies?
My husband just informed me that in a few weeks, his boss has so graciously picked our house to hold their monthly “briefing.” Our two front rooms, where everyone would be for this little get together, are full of my husband’s zombie and macabre paintings, and pin-ups. I don’t want to make anyone feel uncomfortable or weirded out. I’m wondering if I should take some of the paintings out, get lots of flowers to distract from the gory goodness, or just let it be? How do you make such an offbeat space into a crowd-friendly one?
How do you mix tattoos and careers?
I am getting a tattoo on my right forearm, and am very proud of what it is. However when I go on a job interview, my could-be boss might not appreciate it. How do you mix tattoos and careers? Should I cover it up with a long sleeve shirt, be honest about having it, or just walk in and let the chips fall where they may?
I hate my career choice. Now what?!
What do you do when the career you worked for YEARS to break into turns out to be the wrong career choice for you? Quit? Work while you search for something else? Resign yourself to your fate? Our Homie needs your career advice!
Work clothes that aren’t made by little hungry children putting in 18 hour days
Good news, Homies! I just acquired my first white collar job in a while. My wardrobe is almost completely unprepared for this, and I really feel strongly about not buying sweatshop-made clothing.
I am normally a big thrift or vintage shopper, but as everyone who does this knows, it’s kind of luck-of-the-draw on whether you’ll find anything. I’m a mediocre seamstress, but not good enough to produce my own clothing en mass. Combing the internet for non-sweatshop goods, I find a lot of men’s bike clothes, a legion of organic hemp t-shirts, and a variety of beautiful things which are way too hippie to be my regular style, and not a lot I can wear to work.
If non-sweat shop clothing is also a priority for you, how do you make it work?