Mother Warrior

I'm sure that ten years ago, Jenny McCarthy would have never seen herself in a role that would require her to stand up and advocate for the rights of children, especially her own child. Following up her best-selling book "Louder Than Words" comes another book of mothers who followed a grass-roots movement to find a cure for autism. In her new book "Mother Warriors", Jenny documents the journeys of these mothers who found ways to eliminate the symptoms of a disease that robbed their children of the ability to communicate and connect with other people. Jenny herself has championed the fight to not only find a cause of autism, but treatments through diet and supplements, just to name but two things, that have actually put her own son into remission. She has gone from Playboy centerfold to one of the strongest advocates for children proving that she is no bimbo, but a smart and gifted writer who finally found her own voice through her son.

Mother And Child Union

There's nothing more precious to a mother than her new-born baby. There's nothing more important to a baby than to spend those precious few months as a baby, close to mom. With moms so busy and on the go, it's very hard to carry a baby, but now there's no reason not to with a very stylish Baby Sling. There's nothing new about baby slings. They've been around for years and are the preferrable way to carry a baby because it's not only comfortable for baby, but so much more comfortable for mom or dad and easier on the back. Best of all, baby slings come in many styles, you can find one for any occasion or outfit. These beautiful slings are not only practical, but they make great gifts for new moms or dads. They are also reasonably priced so you can certainly purchase more than one and may want to do so as your baby grows from an infant to a toddler. Our children grow up so fast and we want to keep them as close to our hearts as possible. You can certainly do that with a beautiful, comfortable and stylish baby sling. This post is sponsored by Pay Per Post.

Guilt-Free Shopping

Do you love shopping, but you're just too strapped for money right now? Not a problem! Now you can shop online for free and get great clothes, even designer duds, without having to whip out your plastic. You're problem wondering how, but wonder no more. The idea is nothing new and is based on the idea that someone has something they no longer want so they list it on Swapstyle, complete with photos and is up for grabs for anyone who may want it. Of course, you can swap your own clothes and it's a great way to purge your closet of all the things you no longer wear. It's a fact that women only wear a small percentage of the clothes in their closet (I know I do) and the rest just hangs there. This is not only a great way to get you to organize your closet, but you may actually get some great pieces to add to the clothes you do wear. It's also a great way to save your money for more important things like gas and mortgage payments. Also, check your local newspapers for swap meets in your area. They're becoming more popular now and you can get some beautiful gently worn clothes.

Time To Organize

It's been only three weeks since school was back in session, but already we are reminded about the importance of organization. I'm not only the parent of two school-age children, but I'm also a teaching assistant in a second grade classroom. Working in the classroom on a daily basis, I am taken back to my own school days of brand new pencils and pencil cases, lunch boxes and notebooks. Each item had to be carefully labeled since most looked alike and how else could we possibly tell them apart? Some things never change and what's popular is what most kids really want. It's so important to label each item carefully so little Nicholas and little Michael don't get into a fight over the Spiderman backpacks. Color labels would be so useful on backpacks, lunch boxes and bags even ziplock bags that carry snacks and toys that are carried to school with anticipation of recreation with best friends. It not only makes things easier for teachers, but parents don't have to wonder if their kids brought home someone else's notebooks or text books. It's also great fun for the kids to help mom or dad put labels on their newly-purchased items. They feel accomplished that they were able to help and they also get to practice their spelling. Also when labeling, think outside the box. Don't forget umbrellas, snow boots, gym bags, rain coats, snowsuits and anything else you can think of to help your child better organize themselves. School is stressful enough and young children especially need to learn the importance of organizing at a very early age as it will help them perform better in school. Once you begin labeling all items, you will get into the habit of doing it every year and you'll see what a difference it will make in your child's life, which is the most important thing.

High Demand For High End

More and more, discount stores are trying to reach out to all their customers by offering a wide range of products that span all price ranges. Years ago, discount stores offered discount items at discount prices, but the quality was sometimes questionable, underscoring the old saying that you get what you pay for. Not so anymore, Take Target for instance. They have been bringing in top designers for selective items, selling at a price point that is still attractive to discount shoppers. They began with clothing and eventually it spread out to home furnishings. Now you can shop for designer cosmetics since they've added three new make-up lines to their already expansive collection. Look for NP Collection by Napolean Perdis; JM Collection by Jemma Kidd and Pixi by Petra Strand. These collections which are exclusive to Target, include a wide variety of items, many of which are selling for under thirty dollars. They rival any other collection you may find at high-end retail and speciality stores and you will pay a fraction of the price for the very same quality. With the state of the economy right now, it's crucial that we all save money, but we don't always have to trade quality for low cost which is what's so great at shopping at a store like Target!

There's Someone Out There Just For You

Are you one of those people who believes that there is someone out there just for you, but you don't know how to go about meeting that special someone? Well, don't despair! Maybe you are a tattoo lover and want to meeting someone who shares your passion. Now, Tattooed Singles can meet online, chat and make connections. You can share photos of your ink and meet people right in the area where you live. Best of all, it's free. What could be easier? This post is sponsored by Pay Per Post.

All About Eve

Famed playwright of the "Vagina Monologues" had this to say about Vice-Presidential candidate, Sarah Palin:

Drill, Drill, Drill

I am having Sarah Palin nightmares. I dreamt last night that she was
a member of a club where they rode snowmobiles and wore the claws of
drowned and starved polar bears around their necks. I have a
particular thing for Polar Bears. Maybe it's their snowy whiteness or
their bigness or the fact that they live in the arctic or that I have
never seen one in person or touched one. Maybe it is the fact that
they live so comfortably on ice. Whatever it is, I need the polar
bears.

I don't like raging at women. I am a Feminist and have spent my life
trying to build community, help empower women and stop violence
against them. It is hard to write about Sarah Palin. This is why the
Sarah Palin choice was all the more insidious and cynical. The people
who made this choice count on the goodness and solidarity of
Feminists.

But everything Sarah Palin believes in and practices is antithetical
to Feminism which for me is part of one story -- connected to saving
the earth, ending racism, empowering women, giving young girls
options, opening our minds, deepening tolerance, and ending violence
and war.

I believe that the McCain/Palin ticket is one of the most dangerous
choices of my lifetime, and should this country chose those candidates
the fall-out may be so great, the destruction so vast in so many areas
that America may never recover. But what is equally disturbing is the
impact that duo would have on the rest of the world. Unfortunately,
this is not a joke. In my lifetime I have seen the clownish, the
inept, the bizarre be elected to the presidency with regularity.


Sarah Palin does not believe in evolution. I take this as a metaphor.
In her world and the world of Fundamentalists nothing changes or gets
better or evolves. She does not believe in global warming. The melting
of the arctic, the storms that are destroying our cities, the
pollution and rise of cancers, are all part of God's plan. She is
fighting to take the polar bears off the endangered species list. The
earth, in Palin's view, is here to be taken and plundered. The wolves
and the bears are here to be shot and plundered. The oil is here to be
taken and plundered. Iraq is here to be taken and plundered. As she
said herself of the Iraqi war, "It was a task from God."

Sarah Palin does not believe in abortion. She does not believe women
who are raped and incested and ripped open against their will should
have a right to determine whether they have their rapist's baby or
not.

She obviously does not believe in sex education or birth control. I
imagine her daughter was practicing abstinence and we know how many
babies that makes.

Sarah Palin does not much believe in thinking. From what I gather she
has tried to ban books from the library, has a tendency to dispense
with people who think independently. She cannot tolerate an
environment of ambiguity and difference. This is a woman who could and
might very well be the next president of the United States. She would
govern one of the most diverse populations on the earth.

Sarah believes in guns. She has her own custom Austrian hunting
rifle. She has been known to kill 40 caribou at a clip. She has shot
hundreds of wolves from the air.

Sarah believes in God. That is of course her right, her private
right. But when God and Guns come together in the public sector, when
war is declared in God's name, when the rights of women are denied in
his name, that is the end of separation of church and state and the
undoing of everything America has ever tried to be.

I write to my sisters. I write because I believe we hold this
election in our hands. This vote is a vote that will determine the
future not just of the U.S., but of the planet. It will determine
whether we create policies to save the earth or make it forever
uninhabitable for humans. It will determine whether we move towards
dialogue and diplomacy in the world or whether we escalate violence
through invasion, undermining and attack. It will determine whether we
go for oil, strip mining, coal burning or invest our money in
alternatives that will free us from dependency and destruction. It
will determine if money gets spent on education and healthcare or
whether we build more and more methods of killing. It will determine
whether America is a free open tolerant society or a closed place of
fear, fundamentalism and aggression.

If the Polar Bears don't move you to go and do everything in your
power to get Obama elected then consider the chant that filled the
hall after Palin spoke at the RNC, "Drill Drill Drill." I think of
teeth when I think of drills. I think of rape. I think of destruction.
I think of domination. I think of military exercises that force
mindless repetition, emptying the brain of analysis, doubt, ambiguity
or dissent. I think of pain.

Do we want a future of drilling? More holes in the ozone, in the
floor of the sea, more holes in our thinking, in the trust between
nations and peoples, more holes in the fabric of this precious thing
we call life?

Eve Ensler
September 5, 2008

Make Searching Easier

There comes a time in everyone's life when they need to search public records for information. Now, you can easily perform a public records search right on the internet. If you need to search marriage, birth or death certificates or if you need to do some research into unemployment benefits, now you can do it easily and for free. You may not need the information right this minute, but it's nice to know that you can search with ease right from your own home. This post is sponsored by Pay Per Post.

No Words

Hurricane Sarah

Please don't tell me that this woman's family is off limits when it comes to discussing her capabilities as a suitable running mate for John McCain. She has been preaching abstinance only as the only suitable form of sex education for children and she has publically called parents of teens who find themselves pregnant, failures because they didn't teach their children not to have sex. Well now she's in the very same boat so who's the failure now and how well did that abstinance only education work in her own home? She's nothing more than a backwoods, redneck, hockey mom who probably pushed all the other mothers around at the PTA meetings way back when and she bullied her way up to the top of government in her hometown of Alaska in a town that has more wild life than people. She's the most scary person in politics right now. She's totally unsuitable and she's facing charges that she used her power abusively to get someone fired that she didn't like. Shame on anyone who actually supports this bitch.

First Women

I'll come right out and say that it totally disgusts me that Cindy McCain came out at the Republican Convention dripping in thousands of dollars worth of diamonds ans pearls and dressed in a haute couture outfit. Her husband, John McCain, is supposed to be representing the common men and women of our country. How can anyone relate to a woman who not only flaunts her wealth, but picked her husband up in a bar, knowing he was a married man at the time. I'll talk more about his choice in running mates, but don't expect Cindy McCain to be a first lady of the people. Give them woman a crown and maybe then she'll be happy.

My Daily Strength

It's been a while since I've posted here. I've been dealing with some medical issues and frankly I've been consumed by it on a daily basis and everything else, including blogging had to take a back seat for the time being. I won't go into details, but basically I'll be fine. One thing that got me through this very anxious period was a website simply called Daily Strength. This is a social community dedicated to supporting both women and men in all kinds of medical and emotional need. The board is staffed by both doctors and therapists who voluntarily give of their time to answer personal questions and give group support where needed. I found this place to be very comforting and I've met some incredible people there. If you are in need or know someone in need, please let them know about this wonderful website that helps bring support and comfort to those in need.