I guess she's looking to live the simple life like all of us hahaha.

Wouldn't it be nice if we all had choices like her?  I can't actually picture her in the muck of a garden with compost and all that.  

I particularly like the part where she says that she wants to be a "productive" stay-at-home mom by growing her own food and starting that compost heap, because I guess taking care of three kids wouldn't be enough to qualify as productive.  

Because I'm sure she would fire her multiple nannies when she achieves her dream of living off the land.

I'm sure she meant well with this, but it's Monday and I'm grumpy.

Our local paper had a feature about someone who did just that.  SAHM and organic farmer.  I admired the woman in the article but it sounds like a very difficult living.

And I think she's well meaning and probably a lovely lady.

But I agree with y'all: if she really wants to do it, there's nothing stopping her but herself.

In fairness, though, this would be a permanent choice for her. The reality for female actresses is that she would have to make the decision, not just for a couple of years, but for the rest of your life. It's very hard to come back from a hiatus. I don't know how much money she really has, but I can understand not feeling comfortable throwing away your earning power forever.

and wrote a book about her life while doing just that....along with 12 other books too.  Has anyone read her new book, titled "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle"?  

The articles and interviews I've read and heard about Julia seem very real and down-to-earth (pun unintended)...If I remember correctly, I thought she took quite a bit of time off when she became a Mom.  I think it's great that she says her dream job is being home, growing her own food, etc....Don't we all have dreams that we sometimes fulfill and others that we don't?  Sheesh.  Give a gal a break...just because she has money doesn't mean she deserves a lot of slapping around...she's worked all her life.

to be sure. I'd love to be a SAHM with $20m per picture, personal assistants, trainers, housekeepers and probably some form of childcare on tap, too...

Hey, if that's what her dream looks like, then Julia, baby, live the dream. Good for you. But I still feel snarky!

I can sympathize, really.  We're far from movie star rich here but I dream of living more simply too.  We could move out of the city and away from our city jobs but we just haven't/most likely won't.  It doesn't stop me from fantasizing a bit about it.

As for 'silly' needlework she may have been being self-depracating.  I know that knitting isn't 'silly' but mine sure is ;-)

She actually does this and it doesn't sound too glamourous on a daily basis. She was a single mom with a dream, worked really hard, got a little lucky with land, etc. and has built a farm, magazines, etc....

She seems like a nice lady. Plus, we have the same birthday (though I am ever so much younger!).

Lots of people have dreams we'd never choose to fulfill. One of my dreams is to have a hobby farm with miniature goats. I love miniature goats. DH, alas, does not share this vision so it will remain just that--money issues aside. Another dream I have is to become an OR nurse. But the reality of going back to school? Bleck. So I give full permission to Julia to have dreams she never chases. It's fun to have a fantasy life.

Also, I do a lot of silly crafting, like beading and painting. My craft work is silly because I am not very good, it's just an outlet. Other people do much better work and it is definitely not silly.

No need to get bent out of shape.

Seriously, there are some funny comments on this site, and I'm just lurking and rating at DailyKos these days. Rating is sort of short cut commenting, I'm finding.

If I was a wealthy movie star, it'd be nice to play SAHM once in a while, but only when I feel like it.

When you have young kids, the idea of focusing on motherhood for at least a few years and not having to clutter up your life with earning a paycheck is incredibly appealling, or at least has been to me. But for most of us, this is an unattainable fantasy.
Julia Roberts can definitely afford to be a SAHM, and if that's what she want to do -- and who could blame her, with three little ones in tow? -- more power to her. Yeah, she'll go back to making movies and big money in the future, but she will be able to do that when she's good and ready, and not be forced by economic necessity back to the workplace way too early, crying as she leaves her kids at the child-care center and getting flak from supervisors about paying attention to our kids, like some of us have done.
In a way, she's lucky. But also in a way, she's made her own luck. I'm sure she's worked really hard on her career, and is now reaping the well-earned benefits.