The Books of 2015

Fates and Furies coverSo many books, so little time—part nine.

My son started keeping a reading list in third grade, so I did too. This is the ninth year we’ve done this.

My favorite books of 2015 were probably The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt (which incidentally, won the Pulitzer Prize), Girl on a Train, by Paula Hawkins, and Fates and Furiesby Lauren Groff—all of which are widely-praised fiction, so nothing too original in my suggestions for this year, unfortunately. I don’t read a lot of non-fiction, but I did really enjoy Quiet (about introverts) by Susan Cain and I Am Malala, by Malala Yousafzai.

Anyway, I’d love to hear about other people’s favorite books this year.

2015 Book List
title author first author last
Amber Beach Elizabeth Lowell
Pegasus Danielle Steel
A Grown Up Kind of Pretty Joshilyn Jackson
Love Anthony Lisa Genova
Shopaholic to the Stars Sophie Kinsella
Small Victories Anne Lamott
The Quality of Life Report Megham Daum
The Best of Us Sarah Pekkanen
Delicious Ruth Reichel
Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda: 60 Endings, 2 Happily Ever Afters Tara Lee Reed
The Rosie Project Graeme Simsion
The Heiresses Sara Shepherd
Yes Please Amy Poehler
Sweet Salt Air Barbara Delinsky
Then Came You Jennifer Weiner
The Last Anniversary Liane Moriarty
The Last Letter From Your Lover JoJo Moyes
14 Peter Cline
Night Road Kristin Hannah
Flight Behavior Barbara Kingsolver
Lift Kelly Corrigan
Family Ties Danielle Steel
Lock and Key Sarah Dessen
Littlebee Chris Cleave
The American Heiress Daisy Goodwin
Big Little Lies Liane Moriarty
Spring Fever Mary Kay Andrews
Julie and Romeo: A Novel Jeanne Ray
Let’s Just Say It Wasn’t Pretty Diane Keaton
The Rosie Effect Graeme Simsion
Laura Rider’s Masterpiece Jane Hamilton
Glitter and Glue Kelly Corrigan
Dirty Daddy Bob Sagat
A Tale for the Time Being Ruth Ozeki
The Goldfinch Donna Tartt
Funny Girl Nick Hornby
The Precious One Marisa de los Santos
Wife 22 Melanie Gideon
Summer Island Kristin Hannah
Jane and the Genius of Place Stephanie Barron
Marry Kiss Kill Anne Flett-Giordano
Let’s Explore Diabetes With Owls David Sedaris
Single, Carefree, Mellow Katherine Heiny
The Summer Hideaway Susan Wiggs
Along for the Ride Sarah Dessen
Scandal in Spring Lisa Kleypass
Me Without You JoJo Moyes
The Man Who Loved Books Too Much Allison Hoover Bartlett
All the Light We Cannot See Anthony Doerr
Mine Till Midnight Lisa Kleypass
Pretty Much Screwed Jenna McCarthy
From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess Meg Cabot
You Won’t Remember This Kate Blackwell
The Nightingale Kristin Hannah
Finding Audrey Sophie Kinsella
The Beginning of Everything Robyn Schneider
The Vacationers Emma Straub
The Girl on the Train Paula Hawkins
This I Believe Various
Life’s a Beach Claire Cook
Blueprints Barbara Delinsky
Breakfast at Tiffany’s Truman Capote
Then Again Diane Keaton
Friends Like Us Lauren Fox
Circle of Wives Alice La Plante
China Rich Girlfriend Kevin Kwan
Smart Blondes Sonia Koso
A Fine Romance Candice Bergen
Mermaid Out of Water Randy Gross
Quiet Susan Cain
A Wonder Story: Pluto R.J. Palacio
The Julian Chapter: A Wonder Story R.J. Palacio
A Window Opens Elisabeth Egan
Luckiest Girl Alive Jessica Knoll
Red Summer Fran Davis
I Am Malala Malala Yousafzai
After You JoJo Moyes
Arcadia Lauren Groff
The Woman I Wanted to Be Diane Van Furstenberg
Crystal Walter Dean Meyers
We Were Liars E. Lockhart
Being Committed Anna Maxted
Dietland Sarai Walker
Cross My Heart Carly Phillips
My Fair Lazy Jen Lancaster
Movie Star A Novel by Lizzie Pepper Hilary Liftin
Everybody Rise Stephanie Clifford
Fates and Furies Lauren Groff
The Bee Cottage Story Frances Schultz
Killing Monica Candace Bushnell
Modern Romance Aziz Ansari
Ladies Night Mary Kay Andrews
Does This Beach Make Me Look Fat? Lisa & Francesca Serratella Scottoline

 

Doing the math on divorce

Divorce360.com

Divorce360.com

“Divorce is contagious, be careful,” warned my friend Emily, who recently split from her husband, following the no-longer-rose-petal-strewn paths of three of her bridesmaids. Where weddings–and vodka shots–once encouraged romance and marriages, divorces can also ripple through groups of friends faster than a case of head lice in a classroom of kindergarteners.

Fortunately for me, the vast majority of my friends’ marriages are still intact. Though I may be playing with fire by writing this column as my husband and I prepare to move out of the place we’ve lived for the past eight years, when this wacky invention called “The Divorce Calculator” (www.divorce360.com) showed up in my inbox, I couldn’t resist the temptation to do the math.

Not just my own math–I calculated the odds for all of my friends as well. It’s not that I’m nosy, but Emily’s words were still ringing in my head. Did I dare to find out the odds of our beating the odds? Fortified by a triple latte, I took the test.

Given that 43 percent of first marriages in the United States end within 15 years, and Zak and I will hit that 15-year mark in March, my results were actually better than I expected.

The Divorce Calculator found that 14 percent of people with similar backgrounds to mine are already divorced and that three percent of people with similar backgrounds who will be divorced over the next five years.

That doesn’t sound so bad, right?

According to the site, for the five-year divorce prediction rates, those with less than three percent are at lower risk, three to seven percent are of average risk and more than seven percent are at higher risk.

So my results were average. They were on the low side of average, practically less than average. Average-ish. I was sure that if I ran my friends’ calculations they would help to bring our score down.

I scored my sister, my best friend from college and my best friend from high school. Then I tried my three best friends in town. Astonishingly, they all had the same results as I did: the chances that people with similar backgrounds will be divorced over the next five years are three percent.

Could it be that I hang out with a bunch of statistical clones? Or it is just my 97 percent happy marriage is contagious?

Three percent chance of divorce isn’t so bad, right? I can live with three percent. Those are pretty good odds. Plus, at least three percent of my friends are already divorced, a few more than once. But if that doesn’t count, then for a three percent bump in my stats I would be willing to make a few new friends and let them get divorced.

I could even throw them a party, like the divorce party I read about in Las Vegas, where each woman invited the most attractive single man she knew to come meet their girlfriend–and none of the other women were allowed to wear makeup or cute outfits, so the honoree would feel great about herself. Or if they’re not quite up for dating yet, I could throw them a party like the one in New Jersey, where they gave the marriage a eulogy, bought a wedding ring coffin, and feasted on a beautiful three-tiered divorce cake, which had the original wedding cake’s bride and groom perched on top–minus the groom’s head.

Not that I would wish a divorce–or a divorce party–on any of my friends, even my fictional new ones.

I remember rejoicing the summer that oversized wedding and wedding-related party invitations stopped clogging my mailbox.

Not that all the weddings weren’t fun–but doing the Hora and the Hokey Pokey can get old when it’s every single weekend.

Not that it wasn’t fun to drive around State Street in stretch limos and sipping cosmos from veiny, plastic, glow-in-the-dark, disembodied penis straws–but bachelorette parties can get old too.

Not that it wasn’t fun to ooh and aw over china patterns and linens at bridal showers–although, come to think about, those were never that much fun.

But I am 97 percent sure I would happily sit through hours of bridal bingo, creating wedding gown couture out of toilet paper and giggling at lists of “things the bride will say on her honeymoon” if I never have to go a divorce party–especially one where I can’t wear makeup.

When Leslie’s not obsessing about divorce statistics, she’s reading email at email. Originally published in the Santa Barbara Daily Sound on January 9, 2009.

Time Is On My Side

Daylight Savings TimeThis Sunday is my favorite day of the year.

There’s something magical about the day we “fall back.” Think about it. How often do you wish you had an extra hour of sleep, or an extra hour to pour over the Sunday Times, do the crossword puzzle, or linger over brunch, or even an extra hour to think about what you would do with an extra hour if you had one?

I yearn for that extra hour when my @#$%&* alarm clock goes off every morning of every day. I’m not exactly a morning person, or even a mid-morning person, or really that much of a life-can-be-worth-living-without-caffeine person, so I think about what I’ll do with that extra post-daylight-savings-time hour every single morning during the 364 days of the year that we don’t “fall back.”

I have my hour all planned out: I would spend 37 extra minutes under the covers, 6 extra minutes under the shower head, and 17 extra minutes actually sitting down to eat breakfast, drink coffee and read the newspaper. Or there’s plan B, when I would spend 23 extra minutes under the covers, 7 extra minutes shaving my legs really well, 25 extra minutes finishing my novel, and 5 extra minutes translating my novel into Chinese, a language I would have mastered by listening to tapes during my 7 extra minutes in the shower. Then there’s plan C, where I wake up next to George Clooney and spend my extra hour calling, emailing, tweeting, texting, and sending telegrams to all of my friends dishing about what it was like to wake up next to George Clooney.

The reality is every time we “fall back” for daylight savings I sleep right through my extra hour and then some. Sweeeet.

Those 25-hour days rock. When I actually get that extra hour, once a year, it’s like my own personal floating holiday. I spend the whole rest of the year trying to recapture that wonderful feeling of waking up and finding that I have a 25-hour day ahead.

Sometimes I try to fool myself by setting my bedside clock ahead 15 minutes and knowing I have time to hit the snooze bar-twice-but it’s not really the same thing as having a 25-hour day.

Often, setting my alarm clock forward just reminds me of a childhood spent waiting for everyone else to arrive. Unlike most sane people, who long for their days to be longer, my mom did everything in her power to cut our days short. If school started at 8:15 a.m., she would insist we had to be there by 7:30 a.m. and tell us it was 7:20 a.m. and we “better hurry or we’d be late” when it was actually only 7 a.m. and we could have stayed in bed another *&$#@! * half an hour and still made it to school by the first bell.

I can’t tell you how many parties I’ve been to with my mom, where the hostess hadn’t even showered yet, or weddings we’ve gone to where the couple wasn’t even engaged. The woman is obsessed with being early. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if she’s already blocked off some seats at Stanford for my 12-year-old son’s graduation.

The consequence of those 40-some-odd years of premature arrivals thanks to my mom, is that my dad, my sister and I now wildly overcompensate by lagging and therefore making other people wait for us as often as possible.

Which is probably why I get so irritated when I have to hurry my son to get ready for school in the morning. His lagging skills are even more finely honed than my own. “I can’t go any faster mom. This is my pace,” he said, the other morning, when I tried to rush him out the door after patiently waiting through a full 13 minutes of brushing his teeth in super high def slow motion.

“Hurry up dude, my time is precious, and we only have 24 hours today,” I said. It may have been my caffeine deficiency, but I couldn’t help thinking that I could have spent that lovely 13 minutes tapping my snooze alarm instead of tapping my feet while I waited for him to stop lagging.

What would you do with an extra hour in your day? Tell Leslie@LeslieDinaberg.com. For more columns visit www.LeslieDinaberg.com.

Originally published in the Santa Barbara Daily Sound on November 4, 2011.

In a lather

MV5BMTg1NTc4Mzk1N15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwMjc4NjY4MQ@@._V1_SX214_I have a really, really, really embarrassing confession to make. I hope you won’t think less of me, but I’m trying to come to terms with something I’ve kept hidden for far too long. I’m addicted to teen soap operas.

Gossip Girl,” “One Tree Hill,” “Privileged,” I’ve got the whole CW oeuvre on my DVR.

I haven’t been a teenager for more than two decades and I don’t even have a teenager to watch these shows with–or a tweenager for that matter–but that doesn’t stop me from obsessing about these shows.

I wish I could blame my family, but my son would rather kick a ball or read books or even do homework than watch such ridiculous TV. And my husband, well, let’s just say that watching any of these shows with my husband would be opening myself up to a level of ridicule far greater than a combination platter of split ends, zits, and the wrong kind of hair band.

I blame it all on Jason Priestly and his sparkly blue eyes. If it wasn’t for that innocent-but-not-so-innocent twinkle, I would have never become addicted to “Beverly Hills 90210,” and then “Melrose Place” and “Dawson’s Creek” and all of those painfully captivating shows. Forget the fact that I had already graduated from college the first time I laid eyes on Brandon Walsh. Here was the nice, smart guy I’d been looking for, the one who has no idea how incredibly good looking he was.

Forget that I was way out of high school and shacking up with my husband in “Beverly Hills 90210’s” heyday. If Jason Priestly could still play a high school kid at age 27, then I could certainly ogle him.

That’s what got me hooked and has kept me hooked for all of these years. If it’s a soapy show set in a suburban high school, I just can’t stop myself from watching it.

After all, every single one of those shows has a Brandon Walsh character, which means I just can’t look away.

Over the years there’s been “The OC,” “My So-Called Life,” “Party of Five,” “The Secret Life of the American Teenager,” “Hidden Palms,” “Roswell,” “Felicity“–an irresistible lineup of interchangeable shows with semi-riveting plots about bullies, foster kids, teen pregnancy, shoplifting, back stabbing girlfriends and the underlying theme that life is rough for adolescents, especially the affluent ones with $500 purses and $900 shoes.

The quality of the shows even got better for a while, not that it was ever about quality–and for a time there was “Veronica Mars” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” which my husband would actually watch with only minor mockery.

Despite the varying levels of quality in teen soaps, there are always a few constants I can rely on: a bunch of pretty, stylishly dressed people living out a make-believe existence in which high school kids reside without parental supervision, except for the one intact family with a telegenic kitchen where “the gang” can gather for holidays and special episodes.

Watching is a guilty pleasure but it feels good to come clean.

I haven’t missed an episode of the new “90210,” where a few of the original characters are still hanging around West Beverly High and the Peach Pit. It’s not fabulous television, but it’s fun and reliably entertaining and a great way to decompress after a long hard day of trying to be a grown up.

Plus I hear Jason Priestly’s going to direct a few episodes.

Share your guilty television pleasures with email. For more columns visit www.LeslieDinaberg.com.
Originally published in the Santa Barbara Daily Sound on October 24, 2008.

Keeping the chore score

Photo by Stuart Miles

Photo by Stuart Miles

I’m writing this column to start fights between husbands and wives, at least that’s what the husband of one of my friends claimed. An informal survey of friends verified what social science research confirmed about what goes on in the average American home. Any way you measure it, very little has changed in the roles of men and women–there’s no such thing as “halving it all,” women still do about twice as much around the house as men.

Of course that ratio used to be four to one (and that was pre-microwave ovens), so we are making some progress. According to a recent article in the New York Times, no matter how you construct and deconstruct a family, “Working class, middle class, upper class, it stays at two to one,” says Sampson Lee Blair, an associate professor of sociology at the University at Buffalo who studies the division of labor in families.

Even in households like mine, with extremely low housekeeping standards, the ratio is about two to one. I do a little and my husband does very, very little. So little, in fact, that rather than take part in my informal survey and account for his chores like all the rest of our friends did, he had the bad sense to say, “I’m quite sure that I do everything while you eat bonbons.”

OK, I admit that I may fortify myself with the occasional chocolate, but it’s just to make sure I have the energy to keep the refrigerator, pantry, gift closet and sock drawers filled with enough supplies to brave those Santa Barbara winters.

Since research has found that the best predictor of the division of labor is how it breaks down amongst your friends, I decided to dig in for some details from mine.

I’m not sure what it says about my voyeuristic tendencies, but I found it oddly interesting to hear about who did what around my friends’ houses. You would think they were sharing Penthouse letters, the way I ran to check my computer every time my email chimed in with a new message. I couldn’t wait to see who was weighing in with their chore score.

In general, guys seemed to have a few areas of expertise, mostly car maintenance and yard work, while the house and the social life fell into the wife’s wheelhouse.

As Janet put it, “in our house we have committees and chairpersons. Dave is the chairperson of the automotive maintenance committee, the waste disposal committee, the structural engineering (i.e. handyman) committee, etc. I am chair of the social engagement committee, the food procurement and preparation committee, and the health maintenance committee. Somehow the titles make us feel a little better about our chores.”

Having titles isn’t a bad idea. Almost everyone I talked to admitted to bickering with their spouse about housework–or knowing they’d just get in a fight if they brought it up–which is why, in the interest of domestic harmony, all the names in this story were changed.

Kids were the biggest area of shared responsibility. Although we seem to follow our parents in many regards, this generation of fathers is definitely not second-class parents to their wives. Sure, there are exceptions, like Amanda who said, “Pete needs a manual to operate the children. When given specific instructions, he is usually able to follow them. … He is allergic to the children’s belongings and couldn’t possibly put them away.”

But most of the responses were more along the lines of: “Ernie supervises the kids homework (I gave up math in second grade), takes them to all of their sports activities, and makes sure their teeth don’t rot.” Or “Doug picks up the kids from school every day, and is almost always the one to stay home with them when they’re sick.”

Cooking also didn’t fall under one gender or the other, although I’m convinced that our friends play a big part in the fact that Americans now spend $26 billion more each year on restaurants than grocery stores. As Kathy said, “Joe does about 25% of the cooking, I do about 25%, and someone else does the other 50%.”

Author Neil Chetnik, who interviewed about 300 husbands for his book, VoiceMale–What Husbands Really Think About Their Marriages, Their Wives, Sex, Housework and Commitment, found that almost every level of happiness and positive feelings in relationships is related to housework. “I kept seeing the parallel between housework and sex in the interviews. Men said the happier their wives were in the division of housework, the happier the men were with their sex lives. We even looked at the numbers and found that there’s more sex in the relationship if the wife is happy with the division of housework.”

Did you hear that, honey? Might be time to work on improving your chore score.

What’s the chore score at your house? Share your stats with email. For more columns visit www.LeslieDinaberg.com.
Originally published in the Santa Barbara Daily Sound on June 27, 2008.

A moan to Lisa

Image by Stuart Miles

Image by Stuart Miles

I never thought I’d see the day, but it’s finally happened: Lisa is on the endangered species list.

I knew so many Lisa’s growing up that it’s one of the few names that doesn’t conjure up any specific imagery for me–other than a girl who’s about my age. There are lots and lots of 40-something Lisa’s around. So many, in fact, that when people recognize me on the street as “Lisa Dinaberg,” I just smile and say hi. Most of the Lisa’s I know don’t even turn around quickly when someone calls out their name. It’s like yelling Mom at a soccer match, you could be one of dozens, and so you may as well wait for the second yell.

If I introduce myself to someone who’s hard of hearing, nine times out of ten they’ll say, “Nice to meet you, Lisa.” I just smile and nod.

It’s hard to fight the power of Lisa. I’ve been answering to her my whole life.

I just about fell off my chair in shock as I read about Lisa’s fate this week when the Social Security Administration came out with its annual list of most popular names.

All of the headlines were full of the fact that Emily was #1 for the 12th straight year (snooze), while Jacob took the lead for the 9th time in a row (snore), but they missed the real story. What about the demise of Lisa’s?

Sure, Lisa had a good run. She was the most popular girl’s name in the United States from 1962 to 1969–hence all the soccer moms named Lisa running around–and she stayed in the top ten till 1976. But her numbers have declined steadily since then. Last year she hit a record low and was ranked 573rd.

She was ranked 573rd!

Take a deep breath and consider the significance of this. In my kindergarten class, there were seven Lisa’s, which using Leslie Math translates into 70 gazillion Lisa’s now walking around on treadmills to avoid getting varicose veins.

Now, there are more girl babies named Nevaeh (#31), which is “heaven” spelled backwards, than Lisa. Spiritual names like Destiny (# 41) Trinity (# 72), Serenity (# 126) and Harmony (# 315) also beat out Lisa last year. I guess heavenly names are big these days.

The green movement is also inspiring names, with Jade (#113), Ivy (#301), Autumn (#91), Aurora (#317), Skye (#475), Summer (#158), Violet (#231), Hazel (#361) and Amber (#146) outranking Lisa.

While the heavenly and earthly trends follow fashion in other areas, “for reasons likely to puzzle baby name experts around the world, American parents have become infatuated by names, particularly for their sons, that rhyme with the word ‘maiden,'” says Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security.

For boys there is Jayden (#18), Aiden (#27), Aidan (#54), Jaden (#76), Caden (#92), Kaden (#98), Ayden (#102), Braden (#156), Cayden (#175), Jaiden (#191), Kaiden (# 220), Aden (# 264), Caiden (# 286), Braeden (# 325), Braydon (# 361), Jaydon (# 415), Jadon (# 423), Braiden (#529), Zayden (#588), Jaeden (#593), Aydan (#598), Bradyn (#629), Kadin (#657), Jadyn (#696), Kaeden (#701), Jaydin (#757), Braedon (#805), Aidyn (#818), Haiden (#820), Jaidyn (#841), Kadyn (#878), Jaydan (#887), Raiden (#931), and Adin (#983). This startling trend was present, but less pronounced, with girls names: Jayden (#172), Jadyn (#319), Jaden (#335), Jaiden (#429), Kayden (#507), and Jaidyn (#561).

Social Security spokesman Mark Lassiter says that the agency will resist any legislative efforts to standardize the spelling of these names. Imagine the bureaucracy associated with that.

Lisa’s never had to worry about whether their name would be spelled with a random vowel combination or an extra “y” in the middle, which might be part of the reason they’re on their way to Extinctionville.

Poor Lisa. It’s tough for me to enjoy such a hollow victory dance, but I feel journalistically obligated to tell you that Leslie (spelled the right way) was ranked 127th.

I totally kicked Raiden’s butt, too.

Share your thoughts with Lisa, we mean Leslie, by emailing email. For more columns visit www.LeslieDinaberg.com.
Originally published in the Santa Barbara Daily Sound on May 16, 2008.

Oh my, Miley

Miley Cyrus as Hannah MontanaAuthor’s Note: If only Miley’s parents had read this column when I first published it back in 2008.

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Cyrus,

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Montana,

To the parents of Miley Cyrus (a.k.a. Hannah Montana) or whatever the heck you call yourselves,

You’re breaking my acky breaky heart.

Have you learned nothing from the examples of Dina & Michael Lohan, Lynne & Jamie Spears, or Kathy & Rick Hilton?

For those of us who are parents, this troika provides us with a deliciously devilish opportunity for judgment.

Welcome to the club.

I can’t tell you how many nights I’ve comforted myself with the fact that, no matter no matter how many times I’ve yelled at my son, or laughed insensitively at his mispronunciations of words, or written about them in my column, no matter how grotesque his table manners are or what my other parental failings have been–I can always take comfort in the fact that these people are more irresponsible than I am.

So Tish and Billy Ray, welcome to the elite group of celebrity scandalette parents who make me feel better about myself.

Are you really, honestly, expecting us to believe that you’re so clueless that you didn’t think “Vanity Fair Magazine” might possibly try to take pictures of your daughter that would make her look a little, oh say, slutty? Have you ever seen the magazine before? I’m pretty sure that Annie Leibowitz convinced Caspar Weinberger and Henry Kissinger to pose naked with the globe painted on their butt cheeks. Did you really think your little Miley could resist her charms?

I’m not buying it.

Could you really have thought it was a good idea to let your 15-year-old daughter–who up until recently was greeted by millions of parents with a huge sigh of relief for the simple reason that she was a famous little girl who didn’t leave the house without her underwear–pose topless in a magazine that is known as the holy grail for publicity-hungry stars who want to promote their movies, music projects or television shows in the nude?

Whether you are her parents first or her managers first, it’s time to catch a clue. You can’t blame the photographer, who isn’t exactly known for taking prom pictures. You can’t even blame the evil media empire for this one.

She may be both Hannah and Miley on your TV show, but in real life you can’t have it both ways.

Either the G-rated empire that you and Disney have built around Miley is ready to go PG-13 and we’re all going to have to face up to the fact that your little girl is not so little anymore, or you made a major public relations misstep with the Golden Goose of an empire that, let’s face it, is the only thing keeping Billy Ray from two-stepping onto “Dancing with the C-List.”

So what’s it going to be? In an article in the “New York Times,” a Disney executive is quoted saying, “For Miley Cyrus to be a ‘good girl’ is now a business decision for her. Parents have invested in her godliness. If she violates that trust, she won’t get it back.”

With Miley stumbling off of her squeaky-clean Disney pedestal, are there any Hollywood child stars a parent can trust not to pose topless–or sheet-full–these days?

This is not just any 15-year-old girl we’re talking about. She is just about the only non-animated role model marketed as being “appropriate” and G-rated for little girls–unless you count the American Girl Dolls, and so far, they’re not selling out concert halls and movie theatres like little Miss Montana. (Although I did hear that 1974’s Julie was hooked on Valium and had shacked up with 1764’s Kaya.)

The “Vanity Fair” article author asked Miley point-blank if she felt a lot of pressure with a billion-dollar Disney brand resting on her shoulders. Doesn’t she have to watch herself constantly?

Miley’s response: “Not really. That’s what my parents are for. They’re there to take care of that, and I can just do what I love.”

My point exactly. Somebody needs to be an adult around here and it’s not your 15-year-old daughter.

Originally published in the Santa Barbara Daily Sound on May 2, 2008.

Keeping it Green: Cozy Charm Meets Environmental Friendliness

Photo courtesy Allen Associates

Photo courtesy Allen Associates

Combining cozy quaintness with modern conveniences was the goal when Linda and Jerry Gutterman decided to remodel their 1930’s cottage. As much as they loved the homey feel of their tiny, 1,086 square foot abode, they wanted more room, and used their remodel as an opportunity to create a greener, healthier and more energy efficient living space.

It was important to Linda that they maintain the cottage’s cozy feeling. “I wanted a real cottage feel when you came up the driveway, “ she says.

Located on a cul de sac off of Schoolhouse Road, the cottage has a long and storied history that Linda and Jerry wanted to make sure they preserved. The property, which runs alongside a creek, originally belonged to the family of Burr and Beverly Barker, Linda’s former husband and his sister.

Photo courtesy Allen Associates

Photo courtesy Allen Associates

Their grandfather, William Barker, purchased the five-acre property in 1895 and it became known as Barker Ranch. William had eight children, six sons and two daughters, who lived in the original farmhouse down the street.

“As they grew up he decided to give his children property on the farm so they could build their homes with their spouses when they married,” says Linda. So the property was divided up and Burr’s father Fred built the original cottage with his brothers in 1932.

When Fred and his wife Jeanne passed away in the late 1970s, Burr (then married to Linda) and his sister Beverly inherited the cottage. They bought Beverly’s share and held onto the property.  In 1994 the property was deeded to Linda and she moved into the family cottage.

Four generations of Barker children have played among the oak trees that frame the backyard of the cottage, which butts against the grounds of the 11-acre Casa del Herrero estate. Designed by the area’s premiere architect, George Washington Smith, Casa del Herrero is noted as one of the finest examples of Spanish Colonial Revival architecture, listed in the National Register of Historic Places, and has been in the hands of its original owners, the Steedman family, since it was first constructed more than 75 years ago.

Photo courtesy Allen Associates

Photo courtesy Allen Associates

“What we wanted to achieve with this house remodel is to make it feel like it’s always been here,” Linda says, citing her love and appreciation for the older home styles found in Montecito and the Upper East Side of Santa Barbara.

Both of the Gutterman’s like traditional style homes that feel like they have a history. They have a special affection for the cottage, where Linda took residence in 1994. She married Jerry in 1999. “I married her for her cottage,” he jokes.

“I loved the cottage and I enjoyed living in it very much. It was very cozy because I had added all my touches. But the house was single wall construction, and it was cold. The windows were single glass paned…the nice leaded glass windowpanes that came from the old Parma Estate, and neat windows, classic leaded glass windows … but it was just drafty,” says Linda.

Photo courtesy Allen Associates

Photo courtesy Allen Associates

“They weren’t very energy efficient,” adds Jerry.

“We were burning gas like mad just keeping the house warm,” says Linda.

In addition, the house wasn’t well built. “It wasn’t a home that you could save and remodel. It wasn’t built well enough structurally, because it was built by the kids, by the boys,” she says. Plus, it is located right next to a creek and they had problems with mold and mildew.

“It was almost like it was becoming uninhabitable for health reasons, and so we decided we would build a whole new home. (There was) almost like an underwater lake that was developing under the foundation of the house when you dig down underneath the property,” says Linda.

Jerry explains that the Jell-O-like substance under the house was subsurface water, which had to be excavated in order to rebuild the structure. “We did not want to build over that because we would continue to sustain the same problems,” he says.

Photo courtesy Allen Associates

Photo courtesy Allen Associates

Working with Allen Associates, a local building contractor that specializes in green construction, the Gutterman’s decided to install a French drain system that collects all of the water runoff from the back of property and the roof and then drains it into the streambed for reuse.

While the Gutterman’s decided to remodel in January 2006, they didn’t actually begin demolition until April of that year. They worked with several architects to come up with a design that would preserve the look and feel of the old cottage while using new materials and technological innovations to go from a 1,086 square foot home to 2,900 square feet. Linda’s father, architect John Roberts, did the initial layout and floor plan.

But because we changed our minds so much, “her father fired us,” laughs Jerry. “Her dad does drafting the old-fashioned way with a pencil and eraser, and with the way Linda and I change our minds, until we figure it out, it was a lot of erasing for him.”

“We became known as Mr. and Mrs. Change,” says Linda. The next architect hired was Melvin Hemmer, who unfortunately passed away before the project was completed. Sophie Calvin took over at that point to complete the plans and get the design through all of the necessary approvals.

While the new home is more than twice the size of the original, from the curb it still looks like a small cottage. “We tried to keep the feel of this home from the front when you drive up to be similar to other homes on the street, to keep that same cottage sense and feeling,” says Jerry.

“When you drive up, it doesn’t look nearly as big as it is,” says Linda. “I kind of like the element of surprise. That is really what I enjoy is coming in to a home and seeing the charming little touches.”

Among the charming touches she preserved are the fireplace mantel from the original cottage, which now graces the master bedroom, and the door of the original 1900s farmhouse from Barker Ranch, which is now the entry to a new garden cottage in the backyard.

“That was important to us to try to keep the traditional integrity as best we could,” says Jerry.

There’s always a concern in older neighborhoods when people hear that there’s a new home going up, says Linda. While she understands the need to update older homes, “what I want is for this street to stay charming as it always has been. ”

Some of the biggest updates were in the area of energy efficiency. Improving insulation is one of the easiest and most cost effective ways to improve the energy efficiency of a house, says Allen Associates Green Resources Manager Karen Feeney. In the Gutterman’s case, they used recycled content non-formaldehyde fiberglass insulation in all of the walls.  They also used energy-efficient windows and ceiling fans to improve circulation. An “on-demand” hot water heating system also improved efficiency, as did new Energy Star appliances.

The Gutterman’s selected innovative structural materials for their remodel as well. They used faux stonework for the outside fireplace, which is less expensive and easier to work with because it’s much lighter than real stone. Their backyard deck is a product called EverGrain, made from plastic and recycled wood fibers. This type of decking is extremely low maintenance and not prone to damage from termites or weather.

Linda says she marvels at the many high substitute materials available now instead of wood.

Fire is also a big concern in Montecito, and the Gutterman’s took this into consideration when choosing the EverGrain decking, which is Class A fire-rated, meaning it has a high resistance to fire and a lower probability of combusting during a fire. They also chose to use fiber cement shingle siding manufactured by CertainTeed and a fiber cement roof product called Firefree to address both their environmental and fire safety concerns.

“They were able to achieve both goals, the green goal as well as putting in materials in their home that were not going to be susceptible to fire, so there’s a win win in both areas,” says Feeney.

Their Isokern fireplaces in the living room, the kitchen, and outside on the deck were all designed for energy efficiency. “A lot of times you’ve got your fireplace and three-fourths of the heat is going up. The way that these are designed is that they are much more fuel-efficient and they radiate the heat back out into the rooms so they are more effective,” says Feeney.

In order to improve the air quality and therefore their health, the Gutterman’s—who had custom dining room and office cabinets built by John Willis and purchased their kitchen and bathroom cabinets from Jack’s Kitchens— used formaldehyde-free shelving and cabinet materials, as well as non-toxic sealants, adhesives and oils and zero/no VOC (no emission) paints and coatings throughout the house.

They also installed PEX plumbing, which is made from cross-linked polyethylene. In addition to the cost saving advantage over traditional copper plumbing, this material is more flexible so it doesn’t require welding, it’s more durable under temperature extremes, and there are no chemical byproducts to get into the water supply. “It’s definitely a cost effective green alternative,” says Feeney.

The Gutterman’s were thrilled to be able to move back into their cozy cottage last April, exactly one year and one week after demolition day. They had a hard time picking a favorite room. Jerry says he had a special affection for his office, the bedroom and the living room, while Linda says she loved both the kitchen and the master bathroom, in part because of their beautiful, park-like views, and of course the memories.

“There’s so much memory here of all our family get-togethers under these trees and of all our picnics and all that, so it’s really a very nostalgic thing for us,” says Linda, whose daughters Bryn and Leah now visit often with their own babies.

The structure may be new, but the rumble of the creek, the swish of the trees, and the history of the house still remain.

Originally published in Montecito Magazine, Spring 2008.

 

 

The Boob Business Boom

Photo by Ambro

Photo by Ambro

The economy may be tanking but there are some bright spots on the horizon–when it comes to new plastic surgery-related products, our cups runneth over.

Love it or loathe it, plastic surgery is here to stay–at least until products like Zoft Breast Enhancement Gum and Max Enhance Natural Breast Enhancement Cream actually work–and a whole cottage industry of related products is developing around the boob business.

There is “My Beautiful Mommy,” an illustrated children’s book written by Florida plastic surgeon Dr. Michael Salzhauer, to help children deal with mom’s new enhancements.

“Mommy, why are those truck drivers ogling you?” is not one of the issues covered in the book.

As reported on “Newsweek’s” website–the book, which features a bright pink cover of a perky-breasted mom sprinkled in stardust, and “blessed” with Barbie’s waist-to-hip ratio, apparently didn’t warrant the dead tree treatment in the eyes of discerning “Newsweek” editors–is the story of a mommy explaining to her child why she’s having the muscle-bound superheroesque Dr. Michael perform plastic surgery. Of course they live happily ever after: mommy winds up “even more” beautiful than before, and her daughter is thrilled.

Why write the book? Plastic surgery is big business–$15 billion big to be exact. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS? Did they think that through?), breast augmentation was the most popular cosmetic surgery procedure last year, with 348,000 performed (up six percent). I guess it’s no surprise that there’s been an increase in the average bra size from 34B to 36C. Then there are the 148,000 tummy tucks–up one percent from the previous year.

Clearly it’s a growth industry–except of course when it’s a stop the girth industry. Why not jump on the bandwagon?

If you’re plastic and proud, you can show off your enhancements with a University of XXL Plastic Surgery sweatshirt from Opinions R Fun Inc. or a t-shirt that proudly states, “Just got ’em” or “I believe in making mountains of molehills” from CafePress.

Then there’s my personal favorite, Lift Me Up stationery. A Texas woman named Camie Dunbar designs this line of get-well-soon, post-plastic surgery cards. After searching in vain for cards to send to her newly sculpted friends, she decided to fill the void with cards that cover all the basics: face-lifts (I thought you needed a lift. … But it looks like your plastic surgeon already took care of you), liposuction (I thought we could sit around and chew the fat. … But since you just had liposuction that’s probably not a good idea), nose jobs (Your nose looks great! … You picked a good one) and, of course, boob jobs (Congratulations on the twins. … They make a good addition to the family).

These cards are perfect for whenever you care enough to send the very breast. If nothing else, their illustrations of wildly well-endowed stick figures will augment the healing process and bring a smile to the recipients face–unless of course, she had a Botox treatment.

Pop culture is also getting into the act with a host of websites devoted to celebrity plastic surgery speculation. Television shows like “Nip/Tuck,” “Dr. 90210,” “Extreme Makeover,” “A Plastic Surgery Story” and “I Want a Famous Face” and magazines like “Skin Deep,” “New Beauty” and “Elevate” are all devoted to cosmetic surgery. There’s even a brand-new world of plastic slang, like “lipo-lizards,” for people who have had so much surgery that their skin looks reptilian, “kabuki mask,” for a face so expressionless that it looks like a lacquered mask, and “trout pout,” for fishlike, overly plumped-up lips.

And finally there’s the perfect gift item for those of us who are still hoping to age gracefully. With the voo doo doll woman by PlumParty.com, you can transform any bulge or sag just by pushing a pin in the appropriate spot (double chin, pot belly, sagging boobs, etc.). At $22 it’s a bargain worth trying.

Originally published in the Santa Barbara Daily Sound on April 25, 2008.

Leslie Dinaberg Sits Down With Gayle Beebe

Gayle Beebe, courtesy Westmont College

Gayle Beebe, courtesy Westmont College

When Gayle Beebe is inaugurated as the eighth president of Westmont College this weekend, he’ll speak on a subject dear to his heart: Global Education. But prior to that, he spoke to us about life at the college, his family, how he’s adapting to Santa Barbara, and Westmont’s facility upgrades.

LD: How did you end up in Santa Barbara?

GB: Years ago I was a consortium exchange student here … I really liked it and it really gave me a great vision for what my life could be. I never dreamed I would come back in this capacity, but quite a way down the road a position opened up. I was in a presidency at Spring Arbor University in Michigan. … I have always been kind of intrigued with Westmont, so it was just a great opportunity to serve others.

LD: Have you always felt you were called to academia?

GB: You know, not initially. I actually started out in ministry. I went to Princeton Theological Seminary after I was a student here and I was a pastor for five years …then did a dual degree in philosophy of religion and theology and business administration and strategic management at Claremont Graduate University.

… In 1992 I started working with Azusa Pacific University (as dean of the graduate school of theology) … that’s when I starting thinking academics and really enjoyed it a ton and then went from being a dean to being the president of Spring Arbor in 2000 and just enjoyed that kind of work.

LD: It’s interesting hearing about your background because it seems like a perfect fit for where you are now.

GB: Westmont has so many great strengths and first and foremost …it’s been a great experience, wonderful faculty, great students and a strong financial base. We need to strengthen the endowment but it’s strong. It’s a beautiful campus, with phase one construction coming, we’re excited to have an even more beautiful campus, great location, you know every constituent really loves Westmont. The community does, the board of trustees does, the alums do. … It’s just neat.

LD: So you’re in phase one of the construction?

GB: The beginning of that. We’re hoping to start construction this October and you know, there’s been litigation. We have a group that’s opposing us and we’re just working through all of that.

LD: Is it basically a facility upgrade as opposed to an expansion?

GB: We are not allowed to add any students. It is truly an effort to get a state-of-the-art campus. It’ll be marvelous but there is no interest, no conversation about raising the enrollment to above 1,200. I would like to long-term see us strengthen our global program because we have had some really unique distinct global programs and I’d just like to see us build those out more, but in terms of what happens in Montecito, we have 1,200 students.

LD: Assuming the lawsuit gets resolved, what visible changes will we be able to see on campus in the near future?

GB: We would like to get Adams Center for visual arts, our art program and studio. There will be a new chapel, the observatory, and a hall for math and science. Those will be additions. And then we’ll also be adding a dorm. We have a couple hundred students right now in triples and so we want to build an additional dorm so that we can have students housed in more conventional two to a room.

LD: Do all the students live here?

GB: Yes, they do. It’s one of our five planks in the mission statement … That residential piece I think is just so critical, it’s really important that the faculty live near the students so that they can have not just the contact during class but the informal contact with them away from class.

LD: Since you’ve taken over at the college, what’s been your biggest surprise so far?

GB: You know there’s no earth shattering surprises. The biggest surprise has been all of the conditions with phase one construction. I believe there are 116 conditions and it’s the way that they work out with each other. …They didn’t all get negotiated at once; they got negotiated over a seven-year period. I mean it’s a true act of perseverance that we got to this point.

LD: Do you have is there a facilities manager that oversees this?

GB: Yes, Randy Jones is our campus architect. The people who were here, Stan Gaede was the president and Ron Cronk was the VP of Finance. Ron really ran point on this and really shepherded it. Cliff Lundberg, the executive vice president has been deeply involved in it and Cliff is still here, and then my new VP of finance, Doug Jones, has really taken major responsibility for the operation of phase one. Doug came with me from Michigan. He’s just a brilliant, guy, great judgment, really hard worker.

LD: That’s a big project to take on.

GB: It is. We did a ton of building at Spring Arbor, we added 14 new buildings and remodeled 11 others and Doug oversaw all of those.

LD: Other than this the construction, what do you see as your biggest challenge?

GB: Every place has unique challenges and I think that there’s no reason to overreact … I think what we have to do is figure out how we’re going to space this so we have enough time to give us the biggest opportunity of raising the money we need and not for so long that one of the problems with building is you get inflation. If you don’t start building, eventually you lose so much from year to year that you will never catch up.

LD: It sounds like you’re very busy working, but what else do you like to do when you’re not working?

GB: Well I love being with my family, my children and being part of their sports and their academics, along with my wife. We enjoy going to the movies and I enjoy golfing. I enjoy going to the beach. … If I can find an excuse to drive Cabrillo along the beach from downtown I will, because I just love driving even that little stretch of East Beach. It’s just so inspiring.

LD: Is there sort of a first lady role for your wife at Westmont?

GB: There is and she helps and is the presence of the college at different events and on boards and committees. That hasn’t started in a huge way yet, but by the time we were done in Michigan that was a huge part of her job. I know her time here will continue to become more and more committed. It’s been great to have her more available this first year. She does a great job and to my benefit she just loves family and she’s great with people. People just love her and she’s great with them.

LD: If you could pick three adjectives to describe yourself, what would they be?

GB: Energetic, fun loving and determined.

LD: If you could be invisible anywhere in Santa Barbara, where would you go and what would you do?

GB: I would probably go to East Beach and read a book

Vital Stats: Gayle Beebe

Born: Born and raised in Eugene, Oregon.

Family: Wife Pam; children Anna, age 15; Elizabeth (Liz), age 13; and Richard (Ricky), age 9.

Civic Involvement: The Channel Club, Santa Barbara Partners in Education.

Professional Accomplishments: President of Westmont College; former President of Spring Arbor University; former Dean of the graduate school of theology at Azusa Pacific University.

Little Known Fact: “I played the cello for seven years, I also play the piano.”

Originally published in Noozhawk on April 7, 2008