Daily Dose

links for 2008-10-13

Daily Dose /
  • Soup in the Crockpot When You Get Home From Work is a Beautiful Thing | BlogHer
    So maybe you're one of those busy people who hasn't fully embraced the idea of crockpot cooking? Maybe you need just a little more information to convince you to use a crockpot. How's this for encouragement: Dinner. Is. Ready. When. You. Get. Home. From. Work. What could be better!
    (tags: soup recipes crockpot kalyndenny)
  • Breast Cancer Awareness Month 2008: The Best of the Worst Marketing | BlogHer
    I loathe Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Don't get me wrong – the idea of promoting breast health is fantastic. I am in a high risk category for breast cancer. When she was 33 years old, my mother noticed pus oozing out of her left nipple. She immediately went to the doctor, and a biopsy indicated that it was breast cancer. With a five year old and an 10 month old at home, my mom was rushed into surgery for a radical mastectomy. This saved her life, and she has been cancer-free for almost thirty years now. I want all women to have the same success rate as my mom, but what October has turned into is a free-for-all profit center for corporations that exploit women's fears and often even sell products that contain cancer causing chemicals.
    (tags: breastcancer pinkwashing pinkribbon marketing)
  • The Shift of the Mommyblogger | BlogHer
    There's change in the air for the first wave of mommybloggers. They don't complain about their kids much anymore. In fact, they don't write about their kids as much as they used to. Have they lost interest? Lost their edge? Or are their kids just old enough to read?
    (tags: mommyblogging parenting)

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links for 2008-10-10

Daily Dose /
  • Overwhelmed moms confess | BlogHer
    If one of the names you answer to is "mom," chances are good that you live a decent portion of your life feeling overwhelmed. As if the responsibility of caring for another person's (or people's) every need isn't enough, you most likely also have a house to maintain, bills to pay, perhaps a job to go to or a business to run, a blog (or two or three) to keep up, a partner to cheer on, organizations to volunteer for, classes, activities or meetings to attend or to shlep kids to, and the list goes on and on and on.
    (tags: mom parenting stress)
  • Are You Depressed? Do You Know Someone Who Is? | BlogHer
    There is a difference between feeling depressed, and being clinically depressed. We all feel depressed from time to time. But, how do we know when our feelings of anxiety or sadness, has crossed into something more serious? That's what Depression Screening is all about, and October is Depression Screening Month.
    (tags: mentalhealth depression depressionscreening)
  • How Much Do You Tell Your Kids About the Financial Crisis? | BlogHer
    there has been considerably more economic sky-falling. Parents are having dinner-table discussions with their kids about what this means for them. Instead of just steering kids away from designer clothes and purses, many parents are considering cut-backs of a more drastic nature, ones more noticeable to kids. So, parents wonder, how much information is too much? How do you paint a realistic picture of the situation for your children, without creating fear?
    (tags: parenting economy money rocksinmydryer)
  • Need Advice? Ask the Internet! | BlogHer
    Often when I speak to friends and they pour out their heart to me, I try to remember to ask if they want advice or for me to just listen. My natural inclination is to try and fix things but that is not what everyone wants. Others do and sometimes it is easier to get advice from an impartial stranger rather than from a friend. That's why newspaper syndicates created advice columns. And now that tradition carries over into the blog world.
    (tags: advice internet)

links for 2008-10-10 Read More »

links for 2008-10-09

Daily Dose /
  • Foreclosure Pets: Furry Victims of Financial Crisis | BlogHer
    As capitalism implodes, a related item in today’s Denver Post caught my eye. Apparently, Greeley resident Paula Harding could no longer afford the vet bills for her sick 15-year-old dog and, after trying OD him on anti-anxiety pills, she shot him. (Ironically, The Humane Society offers euthanasia starting at $35 and Harding is being held on a $5,000 bond.) This sad story is yet another facet in this desperate financial crisis and a new term is born: "foreclosure pet."
    (tags: pets economy foreclosurepets)
  • October 11th Is National Coming Out Day | BlogHer
    Saturday, October 11th, is National Coming Out Day. National Coming Out Day has been celebrated every October 11 since 1988, as a way commemorate the first March on Washington for Gay and Lesbian Rights, which was in October of 1987. The primary goal of National Coming Out Day is to gain visibility of GLBT people in the communities we live in, and to promote awareness of GLBT issues. Cities across the country are holding events to celebrate the day.
    (tags: glbt nationalcomingoutday HRC comingout)
  • Another Way to Get Your Brown Rice: Gluten-Free and Nutritious Brown Rice Tortillas | BlogHer
    On Sunday I wrote about how brown rice has been added to the list of whole grains and urged BlogHer readers to eat more brown rice. Today I'm back with another idea featuring brown rice. Brown rice tortillas are a lower-glycemic index alternative to corn or flour tortillas, as well as being a perfect idea for anyone who needs to avoid gluten in their diet.
    (tags: brownrice glutenfree kalyndenny)

links for 2008-10-09 Read More »

links for 2008-10-08

1 Comment / Daily Dose /

links for 2008-10-08 Read More »

DonorsChoose Blogger Challenge

3 Comments / Community Chest, Daily Dose, Family Funk, Kid Talk /

You may have noticed the new widget in my sidebar, or maybe you saw my post on BlogHer on Wednesday? The DonorsChoose Blogger Challenge stuff? Maybe I even sent you an email about it?

Don’t pretend like you haven’t heard about this. You have. Now it’s time for you to DONATE and BLOG about it yourself. Or maybe even created your own giving page for the challenge.

I created a giving page that features five projects, from five schools, from five cities where our kids have gone to school.

There’s a school in Fairfield California. Jenn and Chris both went to school there.
There’s a school in Burlington NJ. The actual school Jenn graduated from.
There’s a school in Anderson SC. The actual school Michelle attended.
There’s a school in Gainesville Fl. The actual middle school Michelle got suspended from – twice. Hah.
There’s a school in Evanston Il. Prince J, RJ and Liz attended Evanston schools now.

Donate – even $1 will help these classrooms, these teachers, these kids. And in most cases, kids who attend those schools in years to come.

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links for 2008-10-01

Daily Dose /
  • Eight Year Old Girl With Anorexia Stalked By Paparazzi | BlogHer
    Shortly after her eighth birthday, Dana’s eating habits changed. At first she ate a bit less. Then she gave up sweets and then junk food. But soon she was eating so little that her parents had her admitted to a pediatric ward. Then she is admitted to Rhodes Farm Clinic for a 12 week treatment program…where she was stalked by cameras tracking her recovery. What’s wrong with this picture?
    (tags: eatingdisorders paparazzi news reporters privacy kids)
  • Optimism, Pessimism or Realism: How Do You Look At The Economy? | BlogHer
    I think I cycle through the three states. At times I am optimistic that for all our faults, problems, mistakes and folly – the American experiment, still young, remains resilient and we will make our way through. At other times my cynicism about the havoc wreaked by politicians of both parties in cahoots with greedy corporate overlords and the dire straights we as citizens have allowed them to put us in by not exercising our right to provide oversight means that we deserve every ounce of hurt that is coming our way. Neither view, however, is realistic or terribly helpful so I too try to chart a middle path. This is a wake up call that we must all work harder to be involved, to understand the situation, to push our representatives to act in our interest and to prepare to deal with the real consequences of what's ahead.
    (tags: economy optimism pessimism realism)
  • In Search of Cinematic Spinsters and Unmarried Women | BlogHer
    I never intended to be a Spinster. I thought that I would get married. I never for a second thought of myself in the image of an "Old Maid." Hair in a bun, sucked up cheeks and bifocals. I'm older and a wee bit wiser. I have removed the last of the illusions of finding Mr. Right or "the one and only." I have even moved pass finding a somebody to love. I accept that it may or may not happen.
    (tags: spinsters unmarriedwomen movies)

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links for 2008-09-30

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links for 2008-09-29

1 Comment / Daily Dose /

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Cursing my mother…sort of

2 Comments / Daily Dose, Family Funk, Friends & Family, Kid Talk, Memories /

Liz has this thing for the vinyl record player. She constantly turns it on. Constantly. Drives me insane when I’m trying to work.

Today, she turned it on and somehow Barry Manilow (Or Barry Man-hole-cover as my brother and I used to call him when we were kids) came on. Aye yi yi. I’m now cursing my mother for giving us all of her albums.

It’s very troubling to me that I know every damn word to every damn song. Also troubling because I have some burning desire to find a couple of decks of cards and play canasta or kings on the corner.

Cursing my mother…sort of Read More »

It’s official

1 Comment / Books in Bed, Daily Dose, Day to Day, Library /

Last week TW and I went to the Illinois DMV in Niles and got our Illinois drivers licenses. We had to take a damn written test. And when I say written test, I mean written – as in using a paper and pen. No computer generated tests for us here in the big city suburbs, sheesh. TW missed two multiple choice questions and I missed two road signs. Thank goodness we didn’t have to take the threatened driving test (Threatened because the Illinois DMV info says “possibly a driving test”.)

We walked out with our new licenses and felt a little ill about the whole thing.

To shake off that queasy feeling of being “official” Illinois residents, later the same day we went to the Glenview Public Library and got our new library cards. Having those in our wallets really does make our residency here official. And, it makes us feel like we’re settled (even with boxes still left to unpack.)

I’ve got YA books for the Printz Award challenge waiting for me to pick up at our new library. TW has a pile of books by her bedside and the pressure of having to read most of them within seven days due to a less than liberal check out policy. I can now happily check my library account every day like I used to do in Gainesville. Life is more normal now than it has been for months.

Yay for normal. Thank GOD for libraries.

It’s official Read More »