我家後院的大遮陽傘下~~ YA. 人家說家有鳥兒來築巢會有好運到, 我也這樣期盼著!!! ^ _____ ^

 

 

雖然不是美國人, 但是住在這, 關注這歷史性的一刻也成為我生活的一部分!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This Fall, I let "Child Care" into my life.

我選了2門課, 一堂 Lab 實習課. 還有 Pre-school Mandarin Instructor 訓練也陸續展開.

日子添加了不少的童言童語~~

看著一個個長得像洋娃娃的外國小孩,

雖然不能像他們的爸媽一樣, 可以將小寶貝一把攬入懷, 疼愛的親吻,

但能這樣貼身親密的在他們身旁, 跟他們輕聲細語的說話也很幸福!!!!

Dr. Scott Haltzman, author of "The Secrets of Happily Married Women," says stay-at-home wives constitute a growing niche. "In the past few years, many women who are well educated and trained for career tracks have decided instead to stay at home," he says. While his research is ongoing, he estimates that more than 10 percent of the 650 women he's interviewed who choose to stay home are childless.

Daniel Buccino, a Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine clinical social worker and psychotherapist, says stay-at-home wives are the latest "status symbols."

"It says, 'We make enough money that we both don't need to work outside the home,'" he says. "And especially with the recent economic pressures, a stay-at-home spouse is often an extreme and visible luxury."

June Cleaver, minus Beaver and Wally

Davis says her life isn't luxurious. "Tuesdays are my laundry day," she says. "I go grocery shopping on Wednesdays and clean house on Thursdays." Mondays and Fridays are reserved for appointments and other errands.

But her schedule also allows for charity work and leisure: reading, creative writing and exploring new hobbies, like sewing.

It's a lifestyle, Davis says, that has made her happier and brought her closer to her husband. "We're no longer stressed out," she says; because she takes care of the home, there are virtually no "honey-do" lists to hand over.

Stay-at-home guilt

"If you told me years ago that I was going to be a stay-at-home wife, I would have laughed at you," says Catherine Zoerb, 27. Yet after the Wichita, Kansas, resident finished graduate school in 2005, she found herself unemployed, childless -- and strangely happy. With her husband's support, Zoerb decided to just stay home.

"I was able to clip coupons, do all the chores and make nice dinners," she says. "I was much less stressed and tense."

But she was concerned, too -- about not using her master's degree in English and how future employers would view her work history. "I worried about gaps in my resume," she says. And there was something else: "I thought about the feminist movement -- all those women who worked so hard so that I could go out and have a good career, and I was kind of saying 'no thanks.'"

Recently, Zoerb took a temporary job at an engineering firm. It will boost her resume, and although the Zoerbs don't need the money, it will help pay down their mortgage. Still, she hopes to return to stay-at-home wifedom soon.

"I'd never say that a woman shouldn't work," she says. "But I don't see what good it would do to work in a job that I couldn't stand, and if I have the choice not to, why wouldn't I take that opportunity?"

Retro marriage, 21st century-style

"Everyone seems to be OK with women staying home when they have kids," says Davis, who currently doesn't plan to have children. "I've actually heard people say that women who don't work are a drain on society."

Don't be too quick to judge, says Haltzman. Women might give up a job to focus on an advanced degree, pursue artistic or creative goals, or deal with health issues.

Surprisingly, though, Haltzman says the biggest draw is homemaking itself. "Many women I talk to take care of the household seriously, and they want to focus on caring for the home, whether or not it involves children."

Sometimes a wife's desires don't align with her husband's. "I hear frustration from men whose wives choose not to work," Haltzman says, "but only if there are financial stresses. One of the realities is that few men appreciate the scope and difficulties of managing a household."

Kirk Zoerb is an exception: The 27-year-old engineer says he's happiest when his wife is jobless.

"When Catherine stays at home, I feel the house is more together because she has the time to do things like in-depth cleaning and can be more attentive to the garden," he says. "She also has more time to find good deals at secondhand stores, garage sales and at grocery stores." As a couple, he says, "we have more energy and are generally emotionally healthier."

Still, "I don't believe that the woman has to be the exclusive cook, cleaner or shopper, and I don't believe the man must be the breadwinner. I wouldn't mind staying at home while Catherine works!"

 

 

 

  (photo from: American Idol 官網)

 

 

現在 Weather Bug 顯示 San Diego 32度 C.

天空很藍, 太陽熱情卻一點都不躁熱!

就像這兒的天氣, 此刻我感到非常的幸福, 平靜, 喜悅!!我坐在新家 Dining Table 無線上網, 面對不算太大, 但意氣盎然的後院, 享受我跟Allen 的小窩!!

回想這幾個月有苦有甜, 充滿意外的經驗, 在美國買房真是件很大的學問, 收穫滿滿!!多虧幸運之神眷顧我們, 讓我們在人生地不熟的國家中能有個開始! 感謝熱心100%的仲介伯伯, 幫我們找到5年新, 有木頭地板, 可愛backyard 的小condo; 感謝鄭家爸媽、范姜爸媽的金援, 讓我們付得出20% downpay; 感謝perfect timing, 讓我們比一般買家少花一半的時間就成交, 不用煩惱是否要續租那快成為印度村的小公寓; 當然特別感謝房子的另一主人Allen, 我的情人, 我的handy man, 雖然我們時有爭吵, 意見相左,  我們仍是一路手牽手, 一點一滴 DIY, 打造滿是IKEA 家俱, 屬於我們兩的真正愛屋!!!!  

 About 我跟Allen 的新家:

-- 位於 San Diego Conty, 近I-15 ,  離太平洋約末15分鐘的車程

-- 2 房, 2.5 衛浴, 2 層樓小condo / 雙車位 + 後院 (不含車位約38坪)

-- 純住宅區, 走路就可到 Top 10 San Diego 的小學, 附近有個大超市

 一切都在適應中, 都很美好, 雖然東西還是亂糟糟, 今晚第一名訪客就要從德國飛來……歡迎親朋好友將San Diego 放在vacation list 中, 跟我與Allen 享受這聖地牙哥的溫暖陽光!!