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Home > Blogs > Women's Life > Archives > 2009 > July
July 2009
Tractor Supply fans?
Do I have any readers who are fans of Tractor Supply?
Need to talk to you about a story.
Contact me at kmargolis@coxohio.com
Thanks.
Want quick tips on getting organized?
A short seminar on organizing households and businesses will be held Saturday, Aug. 8 at Borders at the Village at Dayton Mall.
Encore Professional Organizers will hold a session at 2 p.m. aimed at helping offices and business with organizing solutions.
Then, at 3 p.m. the focus will go to organizing homes.
A personal organizing tool developed by Encore, called The 25th Hour Binder and an audio CD “TheTop 10 Organizing Mistakes People Make in the Workplace” will be given away in a raffle.
For more information, go to EncoreOrganizers.com or call 937-619-3181.
Parents need code word to keep kids safe
I read such a sad story on the MomLogic website, which was based on a Los Angeles Times story on the murder of a teen girl.
Lily Burk, 17, was abducted and later murdered. Before she was killed, her attacker had her call her parents twice to ask how to get money from an ATM using two different credit cards.
Her parents had no idea she was in danger.
MomLogic talked to their expert Robin Sax, who is a former Los Angeles County District attorney, who has written books on keeping kids safe.
She gave a lot of advice, but one struck me as a very simple thing all parents could do and could institute by having one short conversation with their kids.
Sax said it’s important for there to be a secret code between parents and children.
“Every family needs to have a code word of ‘Call the police; I’m in danger,’” says Sax on MomLogic. “That was the communication opportunity.”
So parents, pick a codeword tonight. Maybe spouses too. Or anyone you care about.
Magnetic jewelry deactivating bank cards?
After a trip to the Ohio State Fair, I came back with a purchase.
I was showing off my magnetic bracelet. It’s pretty and it attaches to itself forming allegedly nine different styles. I really have found four practical ones, but for $8 I’m happy.
However, two friends cautioned me that their magnetic jewelry and magnetic purse closures have deactivated their bank cards. One said a cashier told her even having a bank card near someone else’s magnetic purse closure could deactivate it.
So I’ll be careful, but does anyone out there know about this?
Do you put your kids on restaurant countertops?
Before I say anything, I need to admit that I allow my cat to walk on my kitchen counters, so I am not perfect.
But I was at a take-out area of a restaurant yesterday and a parent did something that I can’t forget.
While she waited for her carry-out, a mom placed her two-year-old on the counter.
You know, the counter where my food would be soon set down. Once his toddler butt was gone, my food and the food of others would soon go.
While I am certain the toddler has impeccable bathroom hygiene, I still thought it was a little odd. I mean there is even a sign at my veterinarian that asks us not to place animals or even pet carriers on their counters.
What do you think?
A tan is ‘very Rock of Love’
It’s July and it’s tempting to get a little sun and perk up your skin color.
We can hear years of reports that sun worship leads to wrinkles, premature aging and skin cancer, but we often don’t listen.
Perhaps the following quote from Simon Doonan, creative director of Barneys and author of ‘Eccentric Glamour: Creating an Insanely More Fabulous You’ wil help.
He said the following to the Skin Cancer Foundation: ‘Tanned skin is very ’80s porno star. The connotations are all negative. It’s unhealthy and kind of sleazy. Very Rock of Love!’
Sure, Brett Michael would find that flattering, but not me.
Do you like Michelle Obama’s new haircut?
Here’s something that will undoubtedly cause discussion.
First lady Michelle Obama has a new haircut. Shorter and bouncier than her previous style, she showed it off at a Tuesday White House event.
The Internet is abuzz with opinions.
Tell us what you think about her haircut.
Local woman to be on ‘Today Show’
A local woman who lost 142 pounds will be featured on ‘The Today Show’ on Monday, Aug. 17.
Jennifer Powell, 36, a mother of two from Lebanon, will be inducted into the NBC morning program’s Joy Fit Club, which honors those who have lost weight through good old-fashioned diet and exercise. Her segment will air during the 8 a.m. hour.
“It’s amazing,” she said. “I’m just in awe and counting my blessings.”
She also was recently featured in Women’s Health magazine in the “Success Story” feature.
In 2005, at 312 pounds, Powell decided she had to change her ways after she saw a large reflection and was shocked to see it was herself.
The weight piled on the way it does on a lot of people. Powell said she was always the largest in her family and at school. Then after having kids, she ate what they liked such as macaroni and cheese and drive-thru hamburgers. At a family gathering at a buffet restaurant she noticed she was piling food on her plate while others were not.
“I needed to do something,” she said. “I was out of control.”
First, she walked and simply cut back on food. After a month, she lost 15 pounds, but knew she needed more support so she joined TOPS, Inc. TOPS stands for Taking Off Pounds Sensibly. She flourished with the support of other members and lost 90 pounds.
But then she had a setback: She had full cardiac arrest. In cardiac rehabilitation, Powell, who had started running, was slower than a lot of people a lot older than her.
She was depressed, but one day she drove past a church with a sign that said, “Count your blessings and not your problems.”
Now at a healthy 170 for her 5-foot-8-inch frame, Powell is changed in every way. She gets up at 4 a.m. to exercise at the gym four days a week. Because of her heart condition, she can no longer run, but now she uses the elliptical machine, a stationary bike or the star climber. If she misses the gym, she uses her Wii Fit at home, with step aerobics a favorite.
She cut out full-calorie soda and then even diet soda. She eats an occasional donut instead of a previous three at a time. She eats ground turkey, not red meat. Side dishes are steamed vegetables, not potatoes or macaroni and cheese. She says trying different foods is key. She used to never eat squash or zucchini, now they are favorites.
She points out she was not “going on a diet” but making a change.
“It was more like an adventure,” she said. “If you’re heart is not in it, you’re not going to do it.”
Kids to buy and sell goods at public market for Kids Day
DAYTON — Kids will be buying and selling on Saturday, July 25 as the National City 2nd Street Market will host Kids Day.
It will be the second year the vendors at the market turn over their tables to their grandchildren, children or young relatives, said Peggy Collins, program coordinator for Dayton MetroParks.
The children already help their family members by unloading trucks and taking money from customers, Collins said.
“These kids and grandkids are a tremendous help,” Collins said. “You see them unload trucks and sell products and are right in the thick of it. So we thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if those kids had their own market geared towards kids.’ “
The children will set up their tables in the pavilion and sell kid-sized loaves of bread, flowers and other items. They will be kid-priced as well.
Adults are also welcome, Collins said.
Also available for sale that day will be produce grown by teenagers in the MetroParks CityBeets teen program.
Children also can visit with farm animals from Possum Creek.
New this year will be a cooking demonstration by 8-year-old Larashia, a cook who focuses on healthy eating for kids. She will do a pizza demonstration, Collins said.
Kids Day
Where at National City 2nd Street Market, 600 E. Second St., Dayton
When: Saturday, July 25 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Cost: Free
For more information, call (937) 275-PARK or go towww.metroparks.org
Teen starts group to help other paralyzed people
Ten years ago, Cody Unser was diagnosed with transverse myelitis. Part of her ailment included being paralyzed from the chest down.
At the time, she was only 12 years old.
Cody, the daughter of race car driver Al Unser Jr. and granddaughter of Al Unser, Sr., eventually went on a scuba diving trip. The weightless feeling in the water made her feel liberated, she told Reader’s Digest. And it made her want others wtih paralysis to experience the freedom she did.
So she started Cody’s Great Scuba Adventure, which organizes diving trip for people with disabilities.
Now at the age 22, having lived and matured more than most of us, she recently graduated from University of Redlands in California with the school’s first-ever biopolitical degree.
Chip-free manicure for a month is possible
If you’re like me and even the most perfect, professional manicure chips in the first few hours, you’ll love this.
You could have a chip-free manicure for a month.
OPI is offering Axxium Soak-Off Gel Lacquer System, starting at $40.
A technician will apply one of the 12 shades. Removal is easier. You can remove it yourself at home.
Go to opi.com to see what salons sell OPI products and then contact that salon to see if they offer this specific item.
Martina McBride has balance
Country singer Martina McBride is a cover girl on Shape magazine this month.
Looking lean and fantastic in a gold bikini, McBride, 42, sits in the middle of two women in their 20s, LeeAnne Rimes and Julianne Hough.
In the article, she talks about trying to cultivate a good relationship with food in her daughters.
“I’m always telling my girls, ‘As long as what’s on your plate is healthy, you should eat, eat, eat!’ And they should be able to have treats, too.”
She admitted eating very carefully before the bikini shoot, but also reveals a love of hot fudge sundaes.
Chocolate shortage? Better not be!
The Ivory Coast could lose one-third of its cacao tree crop this year due to a virus, according to New Scientist magazine.
Here’s why you should care: Chocolate comes from the cacao tree.
Seventy-percent of the world’s chocolate comes from west Africa.
Scientists are working to find genes in the trees which are resistant to disease and find a way to use those to create disease-resistant trees.
Those scientists better be working feverishly.
Honor Michael Jackson on baby’s onesie
Companies are having rushes on items relating to Michael Jackson, of course.
One company, CafePress is being flooded with fans wanting to purchase tote bags, T-shirts, and reproductions of images of Jackson on magazine and newspaper covers.
But one really sticks out to me.
Shamon!
If you don’t get it, here’s a hint: It’s from ‘Bad.’
To purchase, go to http://shop.cafepress.com/michael-jackson?src=hph2
