The Daily Grind of a Work @ Home Mom...

My "Never Again" Moment

I was inspired to write a "never again" post by one of my all-time favorite people, Sharon, who is on day 29 of a 31 day letter writing campaign to her grandkids, as part of a 365 Days of Literacy for Kids project.  But I'm writing this post for my readers, my grown-up readers, because what I'm about to show you is not something I want my kids to see.

Ever.

You see, while Sharon's "never again" moment came in the form of a haircut, mine came in the form of style.  Dresses to be exact.  Short dresses.  Very short dresses.  Dresses that were not necessarily appropriate for me (or anyone for that matter).    With no further ado:

This was just one of the lovely dresses that graced my 16-year-old body in 1991.  The style was short, tight, and cheap.  And by cheap I mean in dollars and cents.  This beauty was on sale at an otherwise lovely boutique on Montreal's Laurier Street for under $30 (can't imagine why!), which was part of the appeal.  I remember the day like it was yesterday.  My shopping companion, still a BFF even today (and many horrible dresses later), begged me not to buy it.  But I wasn't having it.  I had hit the jackpot!  It was perfect and it was inexpensive enough so that I didn't have to ask anyone.  I thought I looked hot.  (and yes, those are braces peeking out from under the gobs of red lipstick.)

I got home and modeled my new acquisition for my family.  My highly entertained family.  My family, who within minutes, dubbed this number the "garbage bag dress."  Appropriately, might I add.

Ne'er to be forgotten, the "garbage bag dress" (which was probably made of a combination of mylar, plastic, and pleather) still comes up in "best of" conversations.  And those long black satin gloves that I sported as the accessory were the icing on the cake, weren't they.

So there it is.  My "never again" moment, forever marked on this blog, my legacy to my family and to posterity.

Although there were those pleather pants I wore until they literally gave out one late night on the scene in Montreal, circa 1994.  A story for another day... maybe.

A Doll that Breast Feeds = All Kinds of Wrong

I caught a headline on a Twitter feed today.  It read, "Is the world ready for a baby doll that breast-feeds?"

Oh ma gad.

I read on to learn that a couple of years ago, a Spanish toymaker released a new doll called "Bebe Gloton", that came with a nursing "bra" for kids.  When the doll was put up against the "flower" (cleverly placed where a nipple would be), it made suckling noises.  The doll is apparently making its debut in the US as "The Breast Milk Baby" and well, you can't make this crap up:

Need a visual?

Now I'm well aware that there are plenty of moms out there who find this perfectly acceptable.  And while my general attitude about things is live and let live, this is just totally unbelievable to me.  A LITTLE GIRL SIMULATING BREAST FEEDING??  While I don't associate nursing a baby with anything sexual, I do associate it with a very mature activity, one that comes much later in life, after a series of events have occurred bringing us to the stage of life where breast feeding is, in fact, natural.  And this does not happen when a girl is 7-years-old.

I mean, would you buy your little one a doll called "Change My Tampon Baby", or "Let's Try On Bras Baby?"  No?  But both are so natural!  So normal!  So... what's that I hear?  Mature? 

Right.  I thought so.

If the Breast Feeding Baby is your thing, it an be yours for the low, low price of just $99!  I'd provide a link, but I think I have to throw-up now.

Disclaimer: I have two daughters.  I am pro-breastfeeding and pro-formula feeding (which just makes me pro-feeding your baby however you so choose).  However, I still feel nauseous...

SEO, how I love thee (not)

I have a love/hate relationship with SEO.  When I built my first website, I could have cared less about keywords and optimizing the site for search.  I had little experience and was in a big rush to get up and running.  I figured that the love of my friends and community would get me going and keep me in it.  I was wrong.  Within a year, it was clear I needed some new tactics (and a new site consultant).

I got both and things improved for me.  I engaged in tons of blogger relations, got myself out there as much as possible, improved my keywords and re-saved my images so they would get caught in Google's web.

But not everyone uses these standard techniques to increase traffic.  Last month, retail behemoth J.C. Penney got nailed by Google for using black hat SEO tactics and was subsequently penalized for the under-handed methods in search. In other words, they were seriously busted.

But J.C. Penney is hardly alone in their foray into attempting to cheat the web.

The latest comes in the form of CSN Stores, an online conglomerate of 250 different shopping sites with individual names, and they are up to the same type of practice, only they are involving bloggers.

To continue reading this post, head over to Blogger University...

TJ Maxx & Marshalls Knock Spring Out of the Park

Aaah, shopping.  Which of us doesn’t wish they had armfuls of green bills with which they could go on a shopping spree at a favorite department store?  Especially with spring just around the corner, I can almost smell the leather of the new sandals I have conjured up in my mind.

Key to making our dreams come true are TJ Maxx and Marshalls.  Neither do we need the armfuls of cash nor do we need to store-hop; the fabulous folks at TJ Maxx and Marshalls have scoured the market to bring fashionistas the best and brightest in today’s fashion, all at a fraction of the cost of those department stores we so hate to love.

Having attended a TJ Maxx/Marshalls spring preview fashion event last week, I can attest to the fact that the buyers at these two discount stores really know their stuff.  With items ranging from dresses to shoes, and luggage to accessories, no department goes ignored inside this dynamic duo of stores.  The fashion I witnessed at the preview was so right on, I considered asking if they 
would take my money right there on the spot.  In fact, the whole vibe at the event was so contemporary and fun, testimony to the brand’s “cool” factor.

My favorite spring pieces included a colorful tunic that was $19.99 (I know!), approximately 60% less than the regular price, as well a lace tunic that would make the perfect four-season piece.  Bags from designers like Michael Kors and Cole Haan lined the room, and Calvin Klein looks dotted the racks.

Make no mistake about it - nothing about TJ Maxx or Marshalls is ‘less-than’.  The looks are today, and at up to 60% off designer and brand-name price tickets, everyone can afford a shopping spree.   

I attended a Spring Preview Event, and received a gift bag and a $50 gift card as a thank-you for participating.

Dealing with Brands on Twitter

When brands first starting infiltrating Twitter about a year to 18 months ago recognizing it as a integral part of their customer service/marketing efforts, I'll admit to feeling annoyed.  As a very active member of the Twitter community since April 2008, the social media platform was my connection to other bloggers, to prospective opportunities, to news and as a means of "meeting" others with similar interests.  I felt like I was part of something that was sort of undiscovered because three years ago, your neighbor, your high-school boyfriend, and your mother didn't know what Twitter was.

Man, has that ever changed over the last three years.

Suddenly, my Twitter steam was filled with re-tweets from giant retailers, car companies, and every other company.  I knew then that the game had changed.  Little did I know, the change was for the better.

"About 18 or so months ago, I had an incident at a large retail store. In short, my credit info was stolen by a cashier and used to make the employee’s family members happy on Christmas morning. After receiving a bill for over $2,000 in my mailbox in January, I spent A LOT of time on the phone with the credit card company trying to get to the bottom of it, as well as to dispute the charges.

It was a lot of time spent on something I had no part in creating. And I was mad. Mad enough to take to my blog. Several times.

And then I started seeing more and more bloggers using their blogs as stomping grounds, and I have to admit it made me kind of uncomfortable. It sort of felt like when a friend starts bad-mouthing a mutual acquaintance, going off and becoming all crazy aggressive and sounding a tad insane."

Read the rest of my story about dealing with brands on Twitter at my post on Blogger University.  Come back and leave your thoughts!

An Evening of Chocolate & Wine at Boston Chocolate School

Chocolate and wine.  Like yin and yang, these two indulgences do in fact count as a dynamic duo, at least in my book.  So when I was invited to the chocolate and wine tasting course at Boston Chocolate School (be still my beating heart, I know), I was ALL IN. 

Held at the beautiful College Club in Boston's Back Bay, the setting for the evening of decadence is elegant and sophisticated.  I actually toured the charming property prior to the event, and was surprised to find that it's also home to a lovely bed & breakfast, with clean, New England style rooms at affordable rates.  

The class offers a reasonably in-depth look at chocolate and wine pairing.  If you have an affinity for either of these treats and a sense of adventure, the wine and chocolate class is for you.  We learned about different wines, as well as the all-important five C's of wine tasting (see, swirl, smell, sip, and savor) and about the pairing of each wine with each chocolate.  The gourmet chocolate was El Ray made in Venezuela, and is the highest quality chocolate known to me man.  Seriously, it was GOOD.  While each variety (we tried six types) tasted different depending on their cacao content, it was really fun to note the pairing.  Being encouraged to indulge in chocolate is definitely something I need more of in my life!

As a person who is an admitted chocolate addict and a rookie wine enthusiast, the interactive lecture was a blast.  Both the wine guy (new to Boston, Harry Silverstein) and the chocolate guy (Boston Chocolate School's own Tim Brown) were engaging and knew their stuff.  I promise you, you didn't know there was SO MUCH to know about the intricacies of chocolate and wine!  And even if you are not a huge wine and chocolate aficionado, the evening offers such a great break from the norm.  It would make an awesome date night (talk about unique!) or a great gift for outside-of-the-box thinkers. 

For more info, visit here.

"I was treated to An Evening of Chocolate and Wine courtesy of Boston Chocolate School to facilitate this review.  All opinions are mine."

 

Grey's Anatomy is a re-run and I'm pissed off

Every week I look forward to Thursday night.  I don't even realize that it's Thursday until I get home from work and remember, hey!  It's Thursday!  But once I remember, I get really happy that it is indeed Thursday because Grey's Anatomy is on Thursdays and so is Private Practice and both of these shows make me really happy and provide the perfect distraction from the less-than-perfection that is my life at the moment.

Then I check out what's in store for me and see that it's a re-run.  Which makes me really irritated.

I'm irritated because it's been a long day and I'm embroiled in a "life event" that I didn't invite and my days are full of a little when is the future going to be here mixed in with a lot of OMG these little girls are perfectly perfect (but man, why do they need so much of me!) and all I want is to get through the day and enjoy a meal with my kids, lay with them before they drift off to sleep, then retreat to my sanctuary (AKA my bedroom) and watch a little Grey's.

But I can't.  Because it's a re-run.

And this pisses me off.

Making Time For Me

Thanks to Crystal Light for sponsoring this post. To learn more about how Crystal Light can flavor your day with 30 refreshing flavors, visit http://www.facebook.com/crystallight.

Like most of my readers, I'm a busy person.  First, I'm a woman.  I'm a mom, a daughter, a sister, a friend, and an employee.  As a result of being all these things, I'm also (by default) a taxi service, a therapist, a person who needs therapy, a short-order cook, a Jill-of-all-trades (no pun intended), and so much more.  While I wouldn't change a thing, I can admit that life can feel thankless at times, and this is exactly why I take time to thank myself.

True story: I went to a "girls night in" last weekend to celebrate a friend's birthday (private chef, fabulous cocktails, good food, great convo) and upon arriving, one of the moms was saying how she was missing her kids as she drove over. 

'Is she nuts?' I thought.  'Or am I because I don't?'

I know - selfish, right?

Confession - I'm a BIG proponent of "me" time.  I absolutely ADORE my kids but just as I crave their sweet smell at the end of a day at work, so do I require adult-only outings to stay sane.  To be fair, I do have a good childcare system in place even without family nearby, which makes getting out reasonably easy.  This relieves me of any guilt I might feel about being out, just knowing my kids are well taken care of and having fun.  Also, I can't imagine how anyone can do their jobs well without taking some time out for themselves. 

Some "me time" activities I plan:

• dinner with a friend once a week
• a relaxing mani or massage or something just for me every few weeks (thanks to those daily deals sites for making this otherwise indulgent luxury more accessible)
• kids to bed by 8pm so I can relax (a no-brainer!)
• annual (or more) adult-only weekends (Vegas, anyone?)

You know what else I do sometimes when it's been a long day?  I take my kids out to dinner.  They happen to be well-behaved and love restaurants, but I feel like it's a treat for me as well as for them.  Built-in dinner dates.  It's usually a good time for all of us.

Remember, visit http://www.facebook.com/crystallight to learn more about how Crystal Light can flavor your day with 30 refreshing flavors. I was selected and paid for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective.