That title my friends is a direct quote from 'Gone with the Wind' courtesy of Rhett Butler. While he was talking about the Civil War and the South, I am talking about clothes.I give away a lot of stuff. I belong to Freecycle. I donate to Goodwill, Purple Heart, my church and to the Vietnam Veterans Association. If I have something to give, I will give it. I buy second-hand items too. If we no longer need it but someone else might then I am happy to offer it up. I don't like waste. It is not good for us or the planet. Therefore, I just cannot understand this type of behavior from H&M or any other company, even the evil W. When I first saw the article (tweeted by @jodifur and @amalah), I was aghast. Surely, there had to be some good, plausible reason that bags upon bags of … [Read more...]
Civics 101, Please.
Come closer. Closer. That's it. Now, let me school ya on something. Obama? You know, that man that was elected President? He's been in office for a little over 320 days now and he hasn't accomplished ANYTHING, has he? Geezy-peets! No, he hasn't. It's all I hear, all the time. It makes me "smash your forehead into a hard surface" angry. I want to ask them if they thought Obama would pay off their mortgage or car loan too when he was elected into office. Oh wait. They didn't vote for him. That's what it is. Fine. That's fine. That doesn't bother me. To each their own. What gets me it is that no one seems to remember Civics 101. Like I said in 'I Am Not Un-American', things do not happen over … [Read more...]
I Am Not Un-American
I've been hearing a lot about the erosion of family in this country lately and how it's due to all the "changes" our nation has gone through in the last few decades. When this subject of erosion arises it is typically followed with the reasons being gay marriage, pro-choice or women working more.I'm sorry but I fail to see how two men or women getting married and possibly starting a family to be an erosion of any sorts. If anything the erosion is that we simply lack the selfless behavior and feelings of charity and goodwill towards other human beings who think differently than we do. We used to have them. We are so busy filling our homes with items that we want other people to see us having that we have become too preoccupied and fail to see and converse with the people who share that … [Read more...]
My Take on Review Blogging- Good or Bad
Most of you know that I also write a review blog, Mummy's Product Reviews. Initially, I didn't set out to write product reviews. It all started right here back in 2006 when as a weekly feature I did 'The Product of the Week'. People were always asking me about places to go, brands, beauty items, I could go on. As a self-admitted "product whore" and advice columnist wannabe, it seemed a likely fit. 'The Product of the Week' was simply my take on a product I tried, loved and wanted to share. That's all. Nothing was sent to me, no one pitched me. Nada. Zilch. Zip. Just items from my house. Review bloggers didn't hold much world wide web space if any back then. Over time things have obviously evolved. An Arbonne consultant sent me a slew of stuff and I joined the Parent Bloggers … [Read more...]
Fat Camps and Obesogens and Greening- Oh My!
Remember when you were growing up and there was just one overweight kid in your class? Yeah, that's right I'm going to talk about childhood obesity today and more. Why? Because it bothers the heck out of me. That's why. Gone is the one child with a weight problem and now we have classrooms full of them.When I'm at the gym and I see the British governments initiative being pooh poohed (OH NO! The government is trying to think healthy! They want kids to have a longer, healthier life! Back off you meddling government! How dare you!) because it wants to create "fat camps" as Fox News called them (Don't get me started on that network.) and people are up in arms. You know what? Maybe we need those camps because so many schools no longer have the funds for gym classes anymore. Recesses are not as … [Read more...]
Blogher 2010, I’m Talking to You!
Blogher 2009 had the theme of "Blogher09 is People". Every time I heard that phrase all I could think of was a quote from the Muppets Take Manhattan, "is frogs, is pigs, is chickens and stuff... is New York!" Oddly, Blogher 2010 is New York. Now that I am home, sticky with teething biscuit crumbs and out of the bubble that is every Blogher conference (I swear the world could implode on itself and the only way we would know is if it was on Twitter.) I can see beyond "BlogHer is going to hell in a swag bag..." and the bad and the ugly that happened. I see the mistakes that were made and all I want to do now is to fix them. I want to help in any way that I can. I want to make Blogher 2010 even better than it has been in year previous. If all I contribute is the much-needed start to this … [Read more...]
McCafe is What is Wrong with America
Have you seen the most recent McDonald's McCafe commercials where they take your ordinary humdrum words like commute and shuttle and add an accent on the 'e' and suddenly it makes everything all better?That commercial right there is kin the Dunkin Donuts tagline, "America Runs on Dunkin'", which just screams at me so much that is wrong with our country. We are all about the quick and dirty, easy peasy instant gratification way of doing things. We want it when we want it and we don't want to wait for something that might be better for us. I see commercials like the McCafe ones and not only do I want to hurl something at my television for butchering our language but I just groan with how Americans think we can just keep going like this always looking for a shortcut and cheaper … [Read more...]
Angry Woman Kicks 1,4-Dioxane to the Curb
I'll admit I'm a bit cantankerous today. I was up all night with TD who has a hellacious cough and the poor kid is just not herself. Combine that lack of sleep with an issue that just generally gets me riled up anyway and you've got one angry woman on your hands.That must mean it is time for a SOAP BOX RANT! I've climbed up. Attention please! Let me begin.I love my kids. I want what is best for them in every possible way. I want them to feel safe and secure at all times. Their welfare and health is at the tip top of my list on a daily basis. So that is why I get so steaming, hell-fire breathing mad when I read that companies that many parents have trusted for generations, companies that love to court us mommy bloggers, just really don't give a shit. There. I said it. They don't. … [Read more...]
Paging Gordon Gekko
Apparently the people over at Modern Alchemy and Bloomingdales did not get the message about the global recession. Nope, just in time for the holidays they have introduced their Seven Deadly Sins candles.Who doesn't want the oh-so-necessary Pride and Gluttony candle to adorn their soon-to-be foreclosed on mantle? You can light up that Envy candle as you watch your neighbors without the sub-prime mortgage stay toasty warm this holiday season too. Perhaps you can be a touch evil and give that Envy candle as a not so subtle gift to those who can't even afford food and are going to be going to the under-stocked food pantries this winter. Ooh watch out for that Wrath candle when it gets hurled at your head because someone just realized that your dumb ass just spent $45 on each of these inane … [Read more...]
I Want My Two Dollars!
If only it were that simple or even that insignificant amount of money. However, it is not. Here's the problem- some months ago I was hired to be a blogging consultant to launch a particularly new (and by new I mean, having no idea what the heck they were getting themselves into, all very obvious now) scheduling company to the DC Metro area. I was ecstatic. I completely believed in and loved the product. The company is woman-owned and family friendly too. It was proof-positive that going to BlogHer can get you work too. Rates were negotiated. Plans outlined. Contracts were signed. Work officially began.Then things started to go awry. Emails were missed and bounced back. Contact was a bit hard to make. I tried to hold to it all together and make the campaign as successful as I … [Read more...]