'Miserable Men' Instagram: PHOTOS

Bahaha!

I saw this on 'The Today Show' a few days ago and thought... genius!

It's the new Instagram account called 'Miserable Men.'

And it's be-yond fantastic!

Behold, some examples, below.

But first, do you shop with your man?

My short answer is... NO.

Not now, not ever.

Okay... maybe once.

Just married, I said, let's go shopping together! Just for groceries, it'll be fun! In my shopping nirvana which is the grocery heaven called 'Woolies', I checked out the specials, I planned meals in my head, I stopped to feel up the fruit... and I looked over and saw the new husband looking bored. And decidedly shitty.

Right there and then I made a decision - which I expressed out loud - I will never grocery shop with him again. And I never have. These days, I STILL think a solo grocery shop is the highlight of my week. No, really.

A year or so later I STILL must not have learned my lesson, and I STOOPIDLY thought hanging out at the post-Christmas sales would be a kind of bonding experience.

Again, bahaha. WHAT A JOKE.

He was almost dragged along and not surprisingly, haaated it!

Again, have NEVER done it again. I mean, what for?

My greatest indulgence is shopping solo... for anything. Trying on clothes, not being rushed, just looking, being indecisive, or deciding super-quick... it's MY business, my thing, my pleasure. Who wants to be rushed through anything?

Just today I braved the sales with my six year old twins. It went okay, but yes, at times I WAS that mother you look at a tad horrified at the shops as I tried to reign them in/scold them for opening the change room curtain/ask them to give me a few more minutes before we were really, truly, definitely leaving (yeah, THAT mother you swear you will never be 'When I Have Kids One Day.' Feel free to get back to me on that when you do...)

And so, here we are, some examples of some very miserable men.

Feel free to LOL and share:

For more 'Miserable Men' fabulousness, and to follow them on Insty, click here.

So, what's your shopping style? With partner (willingly or dragged?), or solo?

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Kate Winslet Attacked by 'Defamatory' Fathers' Rights Group Ads

Wow.

Kate Winslet has been attacked by the 'fathers' rights' group Fathers4Justice, with this ad, below, following the recent birth of her third baby with husband Ned Rocknroll. She has two older children: Mia, with first husband Jim Threapleton and Joe, with second husband Sam Mendes.

(UPDATED: Kate has named her new baby son 'Bear').

This from an article in Jezebel:

Kate Winslet has threatened to sue fathers' rights group Fathers4Justice after the organization issued an ad campaign targeting her children's living arrangements.

Winslet has three children by three different fathers and the media absolutely cannot get over it. They do not know how to deal. And now, following an interview in October's issue of Vogue in which Winslet said, "My kids don't go back and forth. None of this 50/50 time with the mums and dads – my children live with me, that is it," Fathers4Justice has issued a special, festive, Christmas-themed ad that targets and attacks her as a mother. It reads, "Kate, every child deserves a father this Christmas." Happy holidays!!

I can easily understand how the statement "My children live with me, that is it" might seem troubling — but I'm nearly certain that no one in Fathers4Justice knows Winslet personally. Thus, they have no right to cast judgment on her personal life or the way she arranges her family. Winslet's lawyers have called the ad "misleading and defamatory," and her former husband Sam Mendes told the Daily Mirror, "I can happily state this has never been a concern for me or my son. It is inappropriate for this organization to involve my family and I when they know nothing of our personal circumstances." Yup. You have no idea what you're talking about, Fathers4Justice. Bye. [Telegraph]

For more, click here.

Thoughts?

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Widowed husband recreates wedding album with three-year-old daughter: PHOTOS + VIDEO

Have you seen this series of very moving father/daughter photos, where a widowed husband recreates wedding album in tear-jerking photo series with his adorable three-year-old daughter...

Here is a video backgrounder:



Ben Nunery, 34, from Cincinnati, Ohio, lost his wife, Ali, in 2011 to a rare form of lung cancer, just one year after their first child Olivia was born.

Here is the original blog post from Ben, on his blog called 'Rock Pink 4 Ali.'

On the post, entitled 'Saying Goodbye… Again', he says:

The last two years have been a rollercoaster of emotions to say the least.  There have been ups and downs to such extremes that it leaves me wondering how I’ve managed to piece together anything that resembles a normal and happy life.  But, hindsight being what it is, I can look back now and recognize the progress I’ve made as a grieving widower and a single father to an amazing little girl.  These past two years have had no shortage of emotional hurdles to overcome, some small and some large, but none as big as saying goodbye to the home that Ali and I built together.  The home we started our married lives together in.  The home we brought Olivia to after she was born.  The home we turned from a shabby little fixer upper into an award winning showcase property (according to the Price Hill Press!).  In many ways it felt like the last vestige of the life that we set out to build together.  It felt as though leaving that house would be the first step in a new life that Olivia and I would build together. . .without Ali.

We said goodbye to Ali two years ago but her presence has remained undeniable in that house.  Every square inch of it was carefully and thoughtfully decorated by her and it was as if she had never left.   I remember, in the days and weeks after she died, it was impossibly difficult to live there day in and day out with constant reminders of the loss we all suffered.  I walked around the house with blinders on just trying to avoid looking at every little item that she left behind.  And slowly those reminders of the pain turned in to little moments of comfort.  I knew she was gone but I could look at her things, all those untouched little artifacts, and know that she was there with me.   I found comfort in bottles of shampoo and drawers full of socks and jewelry still neatly organized.  But always in the back of my mind I knew I would eventually have to say goodbye to the shrine that I was building up in my mind just like I had to say goodbye to her.

Ali and I bought our house on the day before our wedding and we thought that having some of our wedding photos taken in the empty house would be an appropriate and memorable way to commemorate such a big step in our lives (see the original wedding day session here).  As wedding days go, it all happened in a blur, but those images represent some of the happiest moments in my life.  It was the beginning of what we planned on being a long and happy life together.  And so, when it came time to pack up the house and schedule the movers, I struggled with the thought of saying goodbye and walking away without something to commemorate such a big step in mine and Olivia’s life.  Havingworld-class photographers in the family is a nice perk that I try not to abuse, but I managed to sneak into Melanie and Adam’s busy schedule and we set out to once again do a photo session in that empty house.  Only this time I would have a different partner, although one just as beautiful.   It was fun and strange and sad and comforting and just about every other emotion you can think of.  And, it wasn’t until I drove away that the significance of what we had just done hit me like a ton of bricks.   These would be the last memories in that house.

I did it for me.  I did it for us.  I did it so I would have something to show for the love and beauty that occupied that house for a short time in our lives.  I wanted to be able to show Olivia the place where her mother and I started our lives together and dreamed of raising children.  I thought it would be much harder to say goodbye in this way, but as I sat in the driveway, ready to drive away for the last time, I realized that it’s just a house.  The memories of Ali don’t live in that house.  They live with us, in our hearts.  We take them with us wherever we go and they will live with us in our new house too.  A house is just a house.  Yes, I will miss it but I still have the memories of Ali and I still have Olivia, the most precious evidence of the love Ali and I shared and still share.  Since Melanie posted the photos on her blog, many people have asked me how I felt while doing that photo session.  What I want them to know is that this isn’t a story about grief and loss and hurt.  Yes, I’ve gone through those emotions and still do but that’s not what I want people to see in these photos.  This is a story about love.  The pain is nothing compared to the love that I feel for Ali and Olivia and that’s the story I want these pictures to tell to Olivia in the years to come and anyone else that sees them.  The pain will subside little by little but the love never will, no matter where we live.   Our lives will continue down a curvy and uncertain path but Olivia and I will be able to look at these photos and know that for a short time there was a place where I was the luckiest man in the world, even if just for a little while.

- Ben

The photos are below. But first, here are is a photo of Ben and Ali with Olivia as a newborn:

Here is another pic of the couple with their baby daughter Olivia, taken from Ben's tribute website to his wife.

Ali, who worked as school teacher, was 31 when she discovered she had a rare form of lung cancer called Sarcomatoid Carcinoma in March 2011.

She had a tumor and the bottom third of her right lung removed and started weekly chemotherapy treatments. However, the inoperable tumors returned and she passed away nine months after her original diagnosis.

Ali's sister-in-law Melanie Pace, who works as a professional photographer, was called back to stage the shots she took of the newlyweds four years ago.

She recreated all the images of Ben and Ali, with Ben and Olivia, with stunning, emotional results.

Ben says he will hang the images from his and Olivia's recent photo shoot around their new home.

'[Now I can] show Olivia the place where her mother and I started our lives together and dreamed of raising children,' he concluded on his blog.

Here are all the photos:

 

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Idina Menzel, Taye Diggs Separate After 10 Years of Marriage

Idina Menzel and Taye Diggs have separated after 10 years of marriage. The pair has one son, Walker, 4.

"Idina Menzel and Taye Diggs have jointly decided to separate at this time," a rep for Menzel tells Us Weekly. "Their primary focus and concern is for their son. We ask that you respect their privacy during this time."

The former couple, both 42, met while costarring in the original Broadway production of Rent in 1995 and later reprised their roles in the 2005 film adaptation.

As recently as October, Diggs told Us, "We're doing good!" when congratulated on his milestone wedding anniversary at the Men's Health 25th Anniversary Party in New York City, despite the cheating rumors the couple had faced this past summer.

To read more, click here.

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'Marriage Isn’t For You': Seth Adam Smith

This is Seth Adam Smith and his wife, Kim. They’ve been married a year and a half, and Seth just realised: marriage is not for him.

He also realised so much more than that. This is a recent entry from his blog. Have a read of this soon-to-be-viral post.

Marriage Isn’t For You

Having been married only a year and a half, I’ve recently come to the conclusion that marriage isn’t for me.

Now before you start making assumptions, keep reading.

Seth Adam Smith and his wife Kim

I met my wife in high school when we were 15 years old. We were friends for ten years until…until we decided no longer wanted to be just friends.  I strongly recommend that best friends fall in love. Good times will be had by all.

Nevertheless, falling in love with my best friend did not prevent me from having certain fears and anxieties about getting married. The nearer Kim and I approached the decision to marry, the more I was filled with a paralyzing fear. Was I ready? Was I making the right choice? Was Kim the right person to marry? Would she make me happy?

Then, one fateful night, I shared these thoughts and concerns with my dad.

Perhaps each of us have moments in our lives when it feels like time slows down or the air becomes still and everything around us seems to draw in, marking that moment as one we will never forget.

My dad giving his response to my concerns was such a moment for me. With a knowing smile he said, “Seth, you’re being totally selfish. So I’m going to make this really simple: marriage isn’t for you. You don’t marry to make yourself happy, you marry to make someone else happy. More than that, your marriage isn’t for yourself, you’re marrying for a family. Not just for the in-laws and all of that nonsense, but for your future children. Who do you want to help you raise them? Who do you want to influence them? Marriage isn’t for you. It’s not about you. Marriage is about the person you married.”

It was in that very moment that I knew that Kim was the right person person to marry. I realized that I wanted to make her happy; to see her smile every day, to make her laugh every day. I wanted to be a part of her family, and my family wanted her to be a part of ours. And thinking back on all the times I had seen her play with my nieces, I knew that she was the one with whom I wanted to build our own family.

My father’s advice was both shocking and revelatory. It went against the grain of today’s “Walmart philosophy”, which is if it doesn’t make you happy, you can take it back and get a new one.

No, a true marriage (and true love) is never about you. It’s about the person you love—their wants, their needs, their hopes, and their dreams. Selfishness demands, “What’s in it for me?”, while Love asks, “What can I give?”

Some time ago, my wife showed me what it means to love selflessly. For many months, my heart had been hardening with a mixture of fear and resentment. Then, after the pressure had built up to where neither of us could stand it, emotions erupted. I was callous. I was selfish.

But instead of matching my selfishness, Kim did something beyond wonderful—she showed an outpouring of love. Laying aside all of the pain and aguish I had caused her, she lovingly took me in her arms and soothed my soul.

I realized that I had forgotten my dad’s advice. While Kim’s side of the marriage had been to love me, my side of the marriage had become all about me. This awful realization brought me to tears, and I promised my wife that I would try to be better.

To all who are reading this article—married, almost married, single, or even the sworn bachelor or bachelorette—I want you to know that marriage isn’t for you. No true relationship of love is for you. Love is about the person you love.

And, paradoxically, the more you truly love that person, the more love you receive. And not just from your significant other, but from their friends and their family and thousands of others you never would have met had your love remained self-centered.

Truly, love and marriage isn’t for you. It’s for others.

What did you think of Seth's piece? Does it mirror your approach to marriage and/or relationships?

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The Australian Women's Weekly: Ultimate Guide To Divorce

I often scour the local newsagent to see what's new. And this came across my magazine radar… The Australian Women's Weekly: Ultimate Guide To Divorce magazine.

Dilvin Yasa, the editor of this new magazine told 'Josie's Juice': "Basically, a couple of years ago it occured to me that there was a magazine for every life stage - getting married, pregnancy, parenting, renovating and nothing for the dissolution of relationships. 

"Considering our divorce rate is 43%, I made it my mission to create a magazine that would provide support to these women during a very difficult period of their lives.

"We cover everything from working to save your marriage and couples counselling to the nitty gritty of applying for a divorce to life post-divorce (dating again, shared parenting, etc) so it's a worthwhile read for those who are considering ending their marriages, as well as those who have begun the process."

Here is the cover of the special edition publication:

Dilvin's editor's letter further explains the magazine's purpose and content:

"No one walks down the aisle expecting their marriage will have an expiry date. For one in three marriages (tipped to soon hit one in two) this is the sad reality. The truth is marriages end for all sorts of reasons , but no matter whether your split is acrimonious or amicable, suddenly finding yourself without the person you thought you were going to spend the rest of your life with can be devastating, bewildering and more than a little lonely.

Enter The Australian Women's Weekly: Ultimate Guide To Divorce, the magazine version of a 3am "I'm here for you" phone call from your best friend (but one who just happens to know a hell of a lot of divorce experts)."

Continues Dilvin: "A highlight for me was interviewing the four inspiring women for 'We're Better Than Ever' (page 132). When we first had the idea for this magazine, our ethos was based on the idea that while your marriage may be finished, you are not and these women are the embodiment of that sentiment."

There are a brilliant range of really helpful articles - but it's not just about the ladies.

'It's Tough on Men Too' (one man's journey through divorce) is one such man-centric piece and other features include: 'Introducing the new man in your life', 'Home is where the ex is' (on living together post-separation), 'Relocation, relocation' (is moving your children away ever a good idea), 'Six ways to sleep better', 'The custody question', even the opening article: 'Can your marriage be saved.'

Such a clever title from The Australian Women's Weekly/Bauer Media stable - so very relevant for our times. Bravo!

The Australian Women's Weekly: Ultimate Guide To Divorce is on sale at all newsagents now.

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'Insight' SBS: Kissing Cousins

Again, the SBS show 'Insight' has delved into a world we're curious about. This time, a show on the taboo of cousins in love.

Here is a preview clip:

Across Australia, cousins are having relationships with one another, marrying and having children together. It’s legal in Australia but remains a taboo for many people. In various cultures however it's acceptable.

However, children born to blood relatives are more susceptible to various health problems and there can be an increase in infant mortality and stillbirth rates.

'Insight' host Host Jenny Brockie brings together cousin couples, their families, doctors and geneticists to find out why cousin relationships are both celebrated and scorned.

Guests for the show include:

Kirstie and Lyle Fisher Kirstie and Lyle Fisher initially kept their relationship a secret. They mistakenly thought it was illegal as they are first cousins. When they eventually told people, the family was shocked. Lyle’s sister says she was initially disgusted and still thinks it’s wrong. Kirstie and Lyle now have two children together. Kirstie says there’s nothing wrong with their relationship, it’s just different.

Burak Haliloglu
Burak Haliloglu says he’s feeling under pressure from his mother to marry a cousin back in Turkey. Burak’s parents are first cousins once removed. Although Burak says he respects his parents’ relationship, he doesn’t want to enter a relationship with a blood relative. Burak’s older sister is disabled and he says many people incorrectly assume that it’s because of his parents’ shared blood.

Hythem and Leena Damouny Hythem and Leena Damouny are first cousins and have been married for almost thirty years. Even though they’re happily married, they don’t want their adult children to follow in their footsteps. They say they have been advised by a doctor that their children should not marry their cousins because it could create genetic problems for their offspring.

Alan Bittles

Genetics Professor Alan Bittles from Murdoch University believes there has been a major overstatement of the ill effects of cousin relationships and it’s created an unnecessary stigma. He says generally, a couple who are not related by blood has a three to four per cent chance of having a child with a congenital abnormality. When it comes to couples who are cousins, that rate rises three to six per cent.

Greg Jenkins

Dr Greg Jenkins is an obstetrician at Auburn Hospital in Sydney where he treats many cousin couples. He says there are significant increases in the risk of detrimental outcomes for the children of cousin couples. They include birth defects, still births, miscarriages and pre-term babies.

'Insight' is hosted by Gold Walkley Award-winning journalist Jenny Brockie and airs every Tuesday at 8.30pm on SBS ONE.

To be a part of the conversation, use the hashtag: #InsightSBS

For more on 'Insight', click here.

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Kim Kardashian and Kanye West Engaged

Kim Kardashian got a birthday surprise tonight, on her 33rd birthday.

The E! reality TV star is engaged to her boyfriend - and father to their child North West - Kanye West, with the singer popping the question in front of their friends and family at AT&Park in San Francisco.

Kanye rented out the stadium for the occasion.

Here are more details. from NY Daily News:

“It was absolutely like a military operation. The ruse was so great, a real class act,” the 'Girls Gone Wild' founder Joe Francis said  on Tuesday.

“She was so shocked and so happy ... everybody got choked up.”

Joe Francis and Kim Kardashian have been friends for years, and he said all the guests were contacted three or four days in advance and sold the story that they were flying up to San Francisco for her surprise 33rd birthday party."

Adds Joe: "They pulled up in a car right in the middle of the field, around second base,” he said. “She was blindfolded, and there was crowd noise over the speakers, so when she got out of the car, it probably sounded like it was packed with people. The sound came from all around, it was really cool.”

Joe said Kim looked “stunning.”



To read more, click here.

For more details on Kim and Kanye's surprise engagement, tune into 'E! News' tonight (Tuesday) at 7pm and 11.30pm, on Foxtel.

For more, click here.

Updated: the proposal video:

  Kim and Kanye -- First Video of the Proposal
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Updated: here is the ring:

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