Happy Friday!
Also, I babysit for an extremely talented hair stylist who gave me a trim and blowout last night after she came home! Best gig ever.
So, this has been quite the eventful day for me.
Go past the following essay on name changing to get to the best hummus recipe ever.
Ben and I have been married for four months now and I've been procrastinating on the whole name-change thing. Lots of reasons, mainly laziness and a little because I'm kind of freaked out with the change concept.
When you're engaged, you're suddenly made aware of the drama behind the patriarchal last name tradition, and the choices seem endless. Hyphenate? Keep maiden name? Change? Change socially only? Make maiden name middle name? Merge last names into something completely new? Make husband take maiden name (is it weird that this is not culturally acceptable)? Also, changing your name on every single document, account, card, and address in your life is a big undertaking and let's face it-- a complete identity crisis.
My maiden name is Vandervlugt, because my dad was born and raised in the Netherlands. Obviously Dutch culture has been a huge part of my life, and being the only Anna Vandervlugt in North America (that Google is aware of, anyway) is pretty awesome. However, I do really like Ben's last name and think it's important for us to share it as a new family unit, plus he's the last male carrier in his immediate family. On top of that, I always knew Ben wanted me to take his last name and I have no problem with that.
In conclusion, I decided a while ago that I'd take Ben's last name but not delete my maiden name. In other words, I'd have two "legal" unhyphenated last names. That way, I could slowly transition into being Anna Locke socially but still be Anna Vandervlugt professionally if I wanted. Yes ladies, you CAN do this!
My drivers license expires on my birthday in two months, so this week I decided to take the plunge and undertake the process so I only have to make one trip to the DMV (smart, right??) The first thing you have to change is your name on your Social Security card and I read somewhere that 9 am on Friday is the best time to do that in terms of the line, so this morning I took an official copy of our marriage license, every ID I could find, the Social Security application from
here, and hit the icy streets of Chicago in search of the nearest SSA office.
After waiting for only 15 minutes, my ticket number was called and I went to the counter with all my documents. At this point, you need to know that my middle name has been Maria my entire life...until the lady at the counter told me I've been on file with the government as Anna Marie since 1988. Whaaaa????! Cue huge confusion. So now my name is Anna Marie alias Maria Vandervlugt Locke.
I called my mom and she verified that my birth certificate does say Maria and some Social Security person in 1988 made a mistake that will take another trip to the office with birth certificate to correct. Sigh. I might just let it go since it hasn't been an issue for 25 years...
So that was a fun adventure. If you've read this far and if you're a hummus fan, I'll reward you now with a life changing discovery!
You know how Sabra hummus has that amazing smooth texture that is impossible to re-create if you've ever tried to make hummus at home? And also, you know how Sabra is always like $3 more expensive per tiny little tub than the other inferior hummus brands?
The DIY secret to that lucious creamy consistency is to PEEL THE CHICKPEAS.
It takes about 10 minutes to peel a can, but it's well worth the time to achieve amazingly smooth hummus for less than a dollar. I discovered this technique via
Deb at Smitten Kitchen (click link to get the recipe) and it has rocked my world.
So make hummus and have a great weekend!
I'll keep you updated re: the journey to becoming Mrs. Locke.
