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I am excited.  Very excited.  For the last 9 months, I have been blogging on www.grlpwr.info regarding issues related to working women.  I’m passionate about that topic.  Sometimes too passionate.  But, you know what?  It started to feel like work.   I have spent years trying to make the workplace better for working parents, advocating for alternative work arrangements and providing guidance, when asked, about taking the next step in one’s career.  However, when one’s hobby begins to feel like a chore – it’s time to recalibrate.

What better day to start anew than Friday the 13th!  Nothing I do is ordinary.  My blogging rebirth shouldn’t be an exception.

I started to think about my brand.  My Twitter profile says it all.

  • I’m a mom
  • I’m an information and social media junkie
  • I care about women’s issues
  • Laughing keeps me sane
  • I love music
  • I’m the original kitchen nightmare.  Ask my husband about the chow mein.
  • I need to stretch every dollar I make
  • I’m a rabid recycler, animal adopter & suburban farmer
  • I love a good, oaky chardonnay with nice legs

If you’re interested in any or all of the above, you can grab a glass of wine, or a cookie –whatever your vice and join me once a week for the Friday Debrief.  This is what you can expect:  Knee slappin’, head scratchin’, toe tappin’, tastebud ticklin’, penny pinchin’ news from the front line of life.

Knee Slappin’

I am part of the BlogHer network, which reaches 92 million women each month.  One post that so made me laugh this week was by tattedmom.  She hit the nail on the head with 13 Songs My Parents Shouldn’t Have Let Me Listen to as a Kid.  It’s not that this article is such a knee slapper…that is, until you start to remember what the writer (tattedmom) is describing – how we were oblivious to the lyrics when we danced to those songs at the middle school dances.

Head Scratchin’

This week, I read and watched a couple of things that jarred me.  The first was an article on Huff Post Women:  23 Things You Should Never Say to A Childfree Woman, including doozies like:  “What’s wrong with you?”, “you’d better hurry up and give your husband a child before he finds someone who will”, and “you don’t know what real love is”.  Wow.  Just wow.  As Sheldon Cooper would say:  “I cry, because others are stupid, and it makes me sad”.  Stop being stupid, people!

Cosby Idiot

The second item was a 17 minute film from the Toronto Film Festival, which plays out entirely on a teenager’s computer screen.  It is an eye-opening peek into the ADD, multi-app world that our kids live in – where there is so much opportunity to misinterpret the unspoken word.  You couldn’t give me a new iPhone 5S to be a teenager today!

Toe Tappin’

I’m a cool mom.  I have a teenager.  I listen to her music.  I can understand what she’s saying, most of the time.  However, even I have put the brakes on the Whistle Song and numerous creative works by Bruno Mars.  Seriously – that guy makes up for in libido what he lacks in height.  What’s up with the Gorilla Song?  Really?  Any song that starts with “I got a body full of liquor with a (cold cold – this is the G-rated word) ticker and I’m feeling like I’m 30-feet tall” will not be listened to in my electric car!  Doesn’t Bruno Mars know that Prince has already done the short-guy-sexy-song-singing thing?  Seriously – check out this selection instead by one of my Friday Jamz song experts:  Primitive!   I’m a closet Latina, so my choice for this week is Pitbull’s The Anthem ft. Lil Jon.   My second choice is Eminem’s Berzerk even though he had the most awkward moment of the week during his interview with ESPN on Sunday.

Tastebud Ticklin’

To know me is to know that I’m a Trader Joe’s groupie!  After Disney World, it’s like the happiest place on earth.  The employees are so happy…and friendly.  I heart Trader Joe’s.  This week, I created a tasty treat using a Wendy’s frosty (290 calories/3g fiber/8g protein), Trader Joe’s dark chocolate nibs (1 calorie per piece), and Trader Joe’s honey roasted sliced almonds.

Penny Pinchin’

Almost a year later, I have really warmed up to my iPhone. I’m an app fanatic, especially when it comes to shopping.  To date, the app that I have been most excited about was introduced to me by a friend.  It’s called Key Ring and it takes all of those plastic tags off your key ring and puts them in your phone!  Love it!  However, to be courteous to other shoppers, might I suggest that you pull the appropriate store up before you get out of the car, not while you’re in the line with people behind you.  I have my Kroger card on Key Ring, but also have the Kroger app.  Every Friday, they offer a free Friday download.  If you have an account online at Kroger.com, the FREE product will be downloaded to your shopper’s card and applied at checkout.  Bonus!

News from the Front Line

We had to say goodbye to our dear dog Buddy (below), three weeks ago.

DSCF7034

We have since acquired a new puppy.  We have named her Luna.  I’ve only had rescue pets, so have never had the unique experience of raising a puppy.  It’s very much like having a baby.  A 25 pound baby with razor sharp teeth at 12 weeks old.  We continue to remind ourselves, that she doesn’t know any better, it will take time, etc.  This week she started her puppy classes, and I see a glimmer of hope.  However, I did find it entertaining when my husband completely confused the vet’s office.  She asked him the puppy’s name, and he responded:  “do you mean her real name, or her given name”?  The lady paused and then asked him what he meant.  He responded – “well, her real name is Luna (below).  Her given name is Beelzebub”.  So went a week in our life.

Luna