I am not even sure if this would go under the cultural studies tag but I thought it encompassed some interesting case studies pertaining to the myth of normalcy and family. I am leaning more and more toward this topic of what is "normal"  not only in regards to family but as a student, as a school, as a curriculum and what is represented in the media as normal for my doctoral research. The article is from USA today an was written in 2001 but it is still very relevant 7 years later. If anyone is interested in reading and giving me some feedback that would be great. Thanks.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1272/is_2668_129/ai_69698407

Last Friday, while visiting my parents in New York, I made a quick stop at my favorite clothing store (Ann Taylor Loft) while I was waiting for my folks to get home from work. Luckily, ATL was having one of its fabulous sales, and I found a beautiful, turquoise, empire waist dress that fit me perfectly AND had been marked down from $79.99 to $29.99. What a find! I brought it up to the register, the sales woman rang it up, and to my wonderous surprise, the dress rang up at only $11.19—BONUS!