Happy Winter Solstice & Holidays!

More Fleece Skirts and Hats

I went ahead and ordered the long fleece skirt in the argyle pattern, and a hat in the leopard. I wanted the long skirt in leopard but it's no longer available. I didn't really need the hat, but then again, in Oregon, you can always use a warm hat!



They also offer short skirts, shown here, but I ordered the long. The hat looks a lot better in person; a co-worker was wearing it and it looked great; can't wait.

Fleece Skirts and Hats

A woman at work was wearing the greatest skirt; a long skirt made out of fleece. Very warm and comfy, but looked good too. I've also seen her in a great hat; fleece, leopard print.  They're made by a woman in Oregon; here's here website: fleeceskirts.com.

You can choose your color and pattern, or they'll do custom work. I'm going to order the blue skirt, though I'm torn between the olive and some of the prints. Hmm, wait, maybe I'll do the leopard print!

Do 3 year olds really need high heels?

I first noticed this trend about a month ago. I was at the grocery loading up my trunk and a family walked by with a little girl, about 3 years old and she was wear high heels. Suri Cruise in the photos seems to be wearing about a 1 inch heel, but that little girl's were at least 2 inches and the poor little thing was not having an easy time walking.

When I was a child we had cheap plastic toy shoes that had heels on them. You would wear them when you were playing dress up, but not as real clothing.

I can't imagine a woman wanting her small child wearing uncomfortable shoes. I am pretty sure these would be bad for feet that are still developing and also probably the spine. After all, they are bad for adults that are done growing. I can think of no reason a 3 year old should be wearing shoes like that. As adult women we sometimes wear high heels because they are pretty and sexy -- a 3 year old doesn't need heels to be pretty and should never be considered sexy.

A big thumbs down on this trend from me. :(

PS - I just enlarged and took a good look at Suri's skirt in the top photo. It seems to have hot air balloons and spaceships!

Christmas @ Sephora

Every year for the past 3 or so, I have ordered special b-day gifts for myself at Sephora. The reason being is that I love the Christmas gift packages they sell. You can get larger than sample sized versions of stuff that you have wanted to try, but have not been willing to pay for a full sized version. Often you can get the entire gift set for what you would pay for 1 full sized item. I think this year was the best so far!

I bought the two Sephora gift samplers in the top photos. They have great stuff including such awesome brands as DuWop, NARS and Smashbox and most of the samples are nearly full sized. I couldn't resist the Bare Minerals extreme glitters either! Those are full sized and a great deal!

They also make great gifts if you know some make-up whores!

Pole Dance Doll

This could be a really very incredibly stupid and poor choice of words and presentation in an otherwise innocent ballerina type little girl ballerina-dancer, or something more obvious and insidious. Personally, I can't see how this got past all the editors and proofers in the  marketing department before it hit the stores and the disco like ball belies any innocent Barbie ballerina stuff.Words like "up and down," "flashy," and "interesting" (!) appear on the box.  Internet bits question if this is a real product or not, but others say it is.

Another Threadless Sale

Threadless is having a $9 t-shirt sale. I got the 4 above because I can't be expected to work out in normal looking t-shirts. The second one down is called 2012 Disclosure. :)

Tessa Dick, Libertarian for Congress, 2010

My friend, Tessa Dick, is running for Congress in S. Cal. Stop by and check out her blog, especially if you are in S. Cal and vote.
Tessa Dick, Libertarian for Congress, 2010

Stating the obvious

If you pose for a photo you can't later say that photo is sexist, as though it is someone else's fault. You POSED for it bimbo!

What is rogue about her?

Ok, I just finished watching the Oprah interview with Sarah Palin, though I hate to admit it. I sat there watching and wondering -- what is rogue about this woman? She reminds me of many moms I knew when I was a kid. They weren't called soccer moms or hockey moms back then, they were PTA moms. I know lots women that are like Sarah now. Oh, most of them seem smarter, but basically they are working moms and not really any different than Palin other than they don't have Governor on their resume. Other than running for Governor of Alaska, I fail to see any "rogue" choice that Palin has made (not that running for Governor is really what I consider "rogue," but some consider it at least ballsy). She didn't choose to be McCain's running mate, she was chosen and not many people would say no to that. Many women choose to have down syndrome babies. Many women choose to work and have a family -- in fact, most women do.

It seems to me that a true rogue woman would choose to have no children and no real job. Instead they would live off the land with their lover (who might be female) in the back country of Alaska.

I don't really like to pick on other women, but when a woman considers herself some kind of rogue -- she should have at least done something a bit roguish.

How to tell when a woman is pissed

These have been going around for a while so probably most have seen them, but they are still fun.

Judging by those the only thing that really pisses a woman off is cheating. :)

A friend emailed me this today; pass it on!

You fit this description so this is for you!

Today is International Very Good Looking, Damn Smart Woman's Day, so please send this message to someone you think fits this description. Please do not send it back to me as I have already received it from a Very Good Looking, Damn Smart Woman! And remember this motto to live by: Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, wine in the other, totally worn out and screaming 'WOOO HOOOOO what a ride!'

To the Women !!

Inside every older person is a younger person -- wondering what the hell happened.

~ Cora Harvey Armstrong
HA! You'll get your turn, oh yes you will!

Inside me lives a skinny woman crying to get out. But I can usually shut her up with cookies.

~ Unknown
Yes, she can be a noisy little thing, can't she?!

The hardest years in life are those between ten and seventy.

~ Helen Hayes (at 73)~

I refuse to think of them as chin hair. I think of them as stray eyebrows.

~ Janette Barber~

Old age ain't no place for sissies.

~Bette Davis~

Thirty-five is when you finally get your head together and your body starts falling apart.

~ Caryn Leschen

If you can't be a good example ~ then you'll just have to be a horrible warning.

~Catherine
Good way to turn things around, lol.

I'm not going to vacuum until Sears makes one you can ride on.

~Roseanne Barr
Hell, I just got rid of all my carpeting! But the riding vaccumm does sound like fun.

Behind every successful man is a surprised woman

~Maryon Pearson~

Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission.

~Eleanor Roosevelt~

Send this to five bright women you know and make their day. (Five!!! You've got to be kidding.... Every woman on my email list just got this one...)

When life hands you lemons, ask for tequila and salt and call me over!!!

Old Guy 1, Lesley 0

So there I was at the gym for my nightly work out. I go to the upstairs room I like to exercise in and as normal almost nobody is there -- just an old man. I think to myself how cute it is for someone his age (at least 70) to be there at the gym. He is a tall man, but he doesn't look to be in great shape, not really fat, but a beer belly for sure. I like to work out on the precor machines like the one above because they don't cause me as much back pain as treadmills or running on pavement. I am feeling kind of tired and think to myself that I will just do a mile rather than the 2 miles I have been doing lately. So get to a mile and I realize the old guy is still at it and he is going way faster than I have been going and I don't know how long he had been there before I arrived. So I am thinking to myself that I can't quit before this old guy -- I should be able to hang in there longer than he can, right? I keep going and even speed up to try to be as fast as he is. At about 1.5 miles my legs start feeling sore and I get this little pinch like pain in my tummy area, so I slow way down and eventually the pains go away. Later I make it to my normal 2 miles and he is still going at it, really fast too. Finally, when I am at about 2.10 miles he leaves!

Yes, I am now paying for that. Obviously I strained some muscles or something (I don't claim to know about sports injuries) in my right thigh all the way down to my knee and although my knee is better today, Tuesday night it was rather painful.

I am not normally competitive, but I guess I was hoping that there was someone that I was more athletic than and I thought the old guy would be the one -- I guess not. :)

Dealing with Trolls at The Bird’s Brain

This comment left at Dr. Kiki Sanford's blog is right up there in the top ten most sexist blog comments I have ever read. Quite possibly #1 and not just sexist, but also racist.
Dealing with Trolls at The Bird’s Brain

Fall Closet Cleaning

Most of you (unless you live in Florida or somewhere really warm) know that this is the time of year that us girls clean out our closet and try to remove all the summer stuff and replace it with sweaters, jackets, jeans and so on. Winter is a bitch for my closet. Not only do winter clothes take up more space, but there is a lot of summer stuff (like tank tops, t-shirts, yoga capris, work-out type shorts) that I need all year. I literally have already removed 2 large yard type bags of clothes that went to charity (too small or just one of those things that you wonder whatever possessed you to buy it) and 1 bag of summer clothes to storage and I seem to have only a little more room than when I started and that has already been filled with sweaters that I brought in from storage. One of the things that bothers me is that I never know how winter will be here in New Mexico. Sometimes I need my cozy sweaters and some winters they get almost no wear. There are always at least a couple weeks that are miserable cold, but some winters that is it. Other winters it seems like several months of that. Don't get me wrong, there are few things that I love as much as a cozy cable knit sweater or some soft cashmere, but they do take up a lot of space. I guess I am saying all that to motivate myself to finish the 1/4 (or there about) of the closet that I haven't finished with yet. There is no sense in having great clothes that you love if you can't find them under everything else.

Swooning over my new Dyson Vac

OMG, I have a new Dyson vac!

It is the little 10 lb model. I was skeptical that it would work as well as the full sized, but it does! Oh, and it is soooooooooo much easier to carry up the stairs. As if that wasn't good enough -- all my attachments from my other Dyson fit it, including the coveted power brush! It is also one of the new "ball" models that actually can turn. It is the most fabulous cleaning machine ever invented!

Just when you thought I was done with posts about vacuums

A couple months ago, Britton decided to give my Dyson to the handy man we had working at the house to see if he could "fix" it because it seemed to have a clog. Now handing a Dyson (or probably any vacuum) over to this man (or maybe most men) is like handing a computer hard drive to a caveman. It is something foreign to them (unless it is a shop vac) and they don't understand it. Somehow this person managed to pry off the canister without actually using the release knob, he then took apart pieces that were not suppose to be taken apart and cleaned them. Probably needless to say, but that totally destroyed my already sickly Dyson. Since then I have been stuck having to use the horrible, very heavy, many filtered Bissell Pet Vac. When the filters aren't clogged the suction is pretty good, but the filters clog every few minutes when you live out in a desert dusty area and have several pets. That alone is frustrating beyond belief, but earlier today I apparently didn't snap in one of the filters right, which for some reason took nearly a minute for me to notice and I ended up with a room full of fine dust particles. This caused the worst asthma attack that I have had since I was a child. So I threw the Bissell out the backdoor, well, so much as I could throw that heavy piece of crap while having an asthma attack.

Not having had an asthma attack bad enough to require medication since I was a child, I had no inhalers or any type of med in the house. I made a hot pot of coffee and although I have heard you shouldn't take it for asthma (not sure why) -- I took allergy med. Luckily that seemed to work and I was back to breathing pretty normally within about 30 minutes.

It has been due to my cheapness that I didn't just buy a new Dyson. Well, also I thought that I wanted or needed the animal vac version, which is like $600. However, after checking some sites on the internet I found the only difference with that version is that it comes with 2 attachments that not all Dysons come with. I already have those attachments, assuming they will work with a new model, but even if they don't they really aren't that important. Anyhow, it means I can buy the much cheaper, smaller and lighter (easier to lug up the stairs) version of the Dyson! I will likely have to empty the canister a lot more often, but emptying a Dyson is a breeze.

So first order of business tomorrow will be shopping for my new Dyson. I doubt I will ever again be as happy to spend a few hundred dollars on a cleaning tool. :)

Just some girlie links

I came across these on Networked blogs today:

Herbs n' Oils

The Holistic Diva

Cathy's Natural Remedies

Vintage + Goodness = Happiness

Now back to networked blogs to add this blog.

Green Living and Clothes Disposal

I do give my unwanted clothes to places like Goodwill, but have to admit I'd never thought beyond the impact of clothing and recylcing, etc. Here's some good info
NRDC: Natural Resources Defense Council site about this topic.

The Hair Styler

I tried out The Hair Styler and I was pretty disappointed. The site lets you upload a photo and then try on different hair styles and colors. The first problem was that it was hard to get my head to fit right into the template (maybe I have a weird head?). Second and worse is that none of the hair looks like it does in the photo you click. Often times the color is different and it looks more like a drawing than actual hair.

Anyhow, I won't be choosing a new hair style or color using that. I looked horrible in every single one!

My latest thrift store bargain

How could I resist that adorable ceramic cup set for $3? I couldn't.

Kind of girlie stuff

For those of you from other parts of the country and world -- that is a Navajo Taco. That one is fry bread with beans, lettuce, tomato and cheese. Normally they also contain ground beef and red chili rather than green, but I prefer no meat with green. Fry bread is a wonderful thing. Luckily it is not something you find everywhere, not even in NM. Aside from the tacos it is yummy with just honey. If you have ever had a sopapilla, it is like that only not as puffed and much bigger.

Anyhow, we spent part of the day at the Wild West Antique Show, at the fairgrounds. That is kind of a girly thing, but plenty of men like antiquing -- including mine.

Normally I like to buy trade beads at this annual show, but since I haven't beaded in ages -- I bought nothing other than food. Oh, I still would have bought beads if I found any really unique trade beads, but I didn't. A couple years back I bought a strand of rattlesnake rattles and I still need to make those into something because they are awesome!

Britton talked me into sitting on a bull to have a photo taken. Actually, I am glad he talked me into it because it was fun and I can now say that I have rode a bull. :-)

Exercise -- an excuse to shop!

So after almost a week away from "the spa" (due to the dog bite) I went back on Sunday. Any weight I had lost that previous week I had managed to gain back. Not that it was any surprise. On the bright side, my neck and back still feel great from swimming.

I swam enough laps last night that my arms are actually a little sore. I am going to see if I can lose those few pounds again this week.

Something I discovered now that I am "working out" -- sports bras are wonderful! Much more comfortable than most regular bras. I have been wearing them everywhere lately. I didn't know that some come with actual cups. Seriously, I love them!

Of course, I had to buy more yoga clothes and I have ordered a couple more swimsuits. Now I just need some new shoes. I am not a big fan of athletic shoes, but surely I can find some that I like. After all, they are shoes and I have never had a problem finding shoes that I want to buy. :-)

Love Your Thighs

Searching for vintage ads and images for my
Pulp Jello blog (nice plug, huh?) I found a blog I like called Formerly Fun. I really liked this post:
"> Ode to Thighs, with great vintage pics as well as a terrific poem.

Trapped at home

As some may know from Facebook or one of my other blogs, my dog was not feeling well Sunday night and I was messing around with her and ended up with a nip right on the face. Really was totally my fault, she went without eating for two days and I should have known how bad she felt. She is now better, but I have a couple teeth marks and a swollen face. Since it is right below my eye, it looks (to those that don't notice the teeth marks) like someone hit me. In fact, I even received an email from someone on facebook that was concerned that the dog story was a cover. That is why I haven't left the house since Sunday -- people automatically think things like that and I don't want to have to explain to everyone I meet what happened. I certainly don't want people to waste time worrying about me when there are women out there in abusive relationships that actually need people to be concerned about them. It is very irritating because normally I don't care what people think, but I do care that they might think I would put up with a relationship like that. Not sure exactly why, but it really bothers me that someone might think that.

Anyhow, so I have been trapped here at home and it sucks! I told Britton to bring back some food when he went out earlier and he brought back TV Dinners. I know he was trying to be nice, thinking that way I wouldn't have to cook, but I would rather make a 12 course meal than eat that crap! I didn't eat it. I had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich instead.

I miss the spa and swimming too! Surely my face will look good enough by Friday to swim a bit and be around for happy hour. :-)

Free eclairs at the health club!

So after 5 days of swimming a few other activities I finally weighed myself again. I was happy to discover that I had lost 3 lbs! However, I then stayed for the "tennis party" and probably gained it all back. Yes, there at the health club they had trays of fattening food. Seafood salad, chicken salad, veggies with ranch dip and so on. Worst of all though, they had these fabulous dessert trays with one of my favorite things - eclairs! I had a chocolate one and a caramel one, oh, and a fruit torte too. Mind you, they were about 1/3 the size of regular eclairs and tortes (maybe even smaller), but likely I should have only had one. Did I mention the wine? Bottles and bottles of it. I probably drank down 3 glasses before we left. No, I didn't bother to weigh myself again. :-)

The miracle of swimming!

I didn't join a gym (health club or whatever you want to call it) for anything other than hoping to lose a few pounds. Yes, there was that day when I got dressed, looked in the mirror and asked that age old question (to myself), does this make me look fat? Well, immediately I realized that it didn't make me look fat, it merely didn't cover where I am fat well enough.

That was probably 2 years ago. I have quite a lot of exercise equipment here at the house and thought I would quickly work it off. The problem with exercising at home is that there is always something to distract you and keep you from actually doing it. So I ended up doing it for a few minutes, maybe once a week or not at all.

So last Monday, we joined a very nice - I would even say swanky - health club. This health club is right at the base of the mountains, with a beautiful view and a huge outdoor pool. As hot as it has been we were immediately attracted to the outdoor pool. So for the past 3 days I have been swimming. Well, swimming is really an overstatement. I have been paddling around for about an hour a day. Just from 3 days of that (though actually two because I noticed it yesterday) something miraculous happened. No, I didn't lose the extra 10 - 20 lbs. What happened is that the constant pain in my neck, that I have had since a car accident several years ago, has totally disappeared. The pain in my back, that I have had for even more years, has decreased by at least 70%.

Seriously, I have been taking 2 -3 Advil tablets at least 3 times a day for years. The past two days I have taken 1 dose and that was when it was pouring rain and really super humid -- which totally freaks out my back. I can even turn my neck without it sounding like I just poured milk on a bowl of Rice Crispies! Truly, I am amazed!

OK, now if I can just lose a bit of weight I will be even happier. However, even if I don't lose a pound I will be there, paddling around. Exercise really does do a body good!

A Totally Girlie Day

Today was a totally girlie day, and it was great! My friend "Lola" who lives fifty miles from me, is a full time student, works, a mom and wife -- we don't get the chance to see each other like we used to. But today was a fun, totally girlie day. She was in town, visiting with a relative from out of state. Lola has been trying to get us to meet all these years, and I can see why; as soon as we met, it was like we've known each other forever.

So Lola gives me a call this morning, tells me they're getting pedicures at the mall, and for me to join them.

I've never had a pedicure! Not ever. I always thought they were too bourgeois or something. But I went and did it and got the manicure too. It was great! Soooooo relaxing. Now I'm hooked and plan on doing this all the time. Naturally we had to get more girlie and take pictures of our feet. (I'm the one with the green nails.) Then we had lunch. Then we browsed a few antique stores -- earrings and a Dean Koontz book -- and then we went back to the mall and shopped. Not only did I do something I've never done before; the pedicure, but bought a ridiculous pair of Fossil "Reesa" style sunglasses with rhinestones and metallic glittery things in the tortie frames for five bucks (usually retails around $35.00) I love them!

A perfect girlie day in every way; good friends, pretty feet, silly shades.

Lesley's Potato Salad Recipe

Well, not exactly a recipe because there are no precise measurements, but I never measure and do it by taste, as I do almost all my recipes.

This is the potato salad I grew up eating (except for a slight change I have made over the years) and I have never had another potato salad that I likely nearly as much. It was taught to my grandmother by her 2nd husband who immigrated to the US from Germany. My grandmother would have never given out this recipe, she was really secretive about her recipes. However, it is likely that this or a similar recipe in already on the internet somewhere. :-)

I thought maybe I just liked it because I grew up with it, but several years back I made it and my guacamole for a party in Hawaii and they both disappeared within the first 15 minutes and everything else was nearly still full, so apparently others like it too.

What you will need -

Potatoes, I prefer the red or yellow variety, but Russets work fine too.
Eggs
onion, any kind works, but green onions are not as good
Vinegar
sour cream
miracle whip, mayo or plain yogurt
mustard
paprika
salt and pepper (optional)

Peel and chop potatoes. You don't have to peel them, when I am lucky enough to find bags of baby reds or yellows, I don't peel them. Some people hate the peel though. Boil your potatoes and also enough eggs to chop into the salad with 2 left over for garnish. Boil your potatoes long enough that they are cooked through, but not mushy. Hard boil your eggs. Your eggs will finish first so slice two and put aside for garnish. Chop the remainder for your salad. Chop as much onion as you want in your salad and anything else you may want to add, like bell peppers, celery, apples or whatever. Drain the potatoes when they are done and mix in the chopped eggs, onion, salt and pepper to taste, and anything else. Pour in some vinegar while stirring so that you likely get a bit on each potato, but don't soak them in it. Really just a couple quick dashes of vinegar will do. Any vinegar will work. I have even used malt vinegar and it works well, but my fave to use is the same my grandma used - cider vinegar. Set that aside and in a cooking pot combine sour cream and either miracle whip, mayo or yogurt. First decide how much you will need to coat your potatoes and for every cup of sour cream add about 1/2 a cup of miracle whip or yogurt. My grandma always used miracle whip, however, I tried yogurt instead a few years ago and I think I like it better. Then add mustard - to taste. For me, to taste is until the sauce turns a pale yellow color. Add at least a tablespoon of whatever vinegar you are using - taste it and add until it tastes good to you. Cook on a low setting until it boils, then let it boil just a minute or two and then pour over your potato mixture. Once you have everything mixed well, arrange your egg slices on top and sprinkle with paprika. It is best if you can refrigerate for at least 3 hours, but overnight is even better.

You can use low fat sour cream, yogurt, or miracle whip if you wish. I personally don't use products that are not naturally low fat, but it is up to you.

RIP Farah!

We love you! Not because you were beautiful on the outside, but because you were beautiful on the inside and never gave up.

1930s Futuristic Fashion Predictions

Breaking Rules!

Just some thoughts on Regan's post below:

No white after labor day -- I grew up with this rule. The closet was cleared of white after labor day. Although, I often break this rule and know that it is silly, I still never put on a white skirt in the winter without the thought that I am doing something horribly wrong flashing through my mind. Then again, that makes it more fun!

I also grew up with the rule that you don't mix gold and silver jewelry. That one didn't stick either. I am a total jewelry whore and want to wear as much of it as possible and all different metals. Hell, I will even throw in some copper with the gold and silver!

I don't wear much or any black in the summer. That has nothing to do with fashion rules, rather that I live in NM and it is hot here and black makes it more hot.

Thank God I am no longer expected to be tanned! As a child I was always tanned because I was outside pretty much every moment of daylight. However, as an adult that would require me actually laying out in the hot sun. I have never understood what people like about that. It is boring and causes skin cancer.

To be honest, I never knew your bag and shoes were suppose to match. Mine rarely do and if they do it isn't on purpose.

Lastly, I am not a big fan of patent leather, but I once worked with a lady that sounds very similar to the snotty bitch that told the writer of that article that patent leather in summer was a no-no. I was about 24 years old and I worked at a high end retail store. The assistant manager there who was probably near 60 would always give fashion tips in a rather snotty way. She would say things like: You could make that dress look less cheap if you replaced the buttons with expensive ones. Which was her way of saying that she didn't like my cheap clothing that did not contain designer labels. Since getting older and having more money to spend on clothes I have looked closely at the buttons on designer clothes and they are pretty much exactly the same as on cheap clothes. That same woman would also judge every single person that walked into the store by what they were wearing. If they were wearing something that looked "cheap" she would totally ignore them except for watching to make sure they didn't steal anything. If they were all dressed up in designer clothing and bags she would fall over herself gushing at them and offering assistance of any kind. That woman still disgusts me and it raises my blood pressure to even think of her, so enough.

10 Summer Fashion Rules You MUST Break, Dahlings

Really! Wear white whenever you want, and black too. Patent leather is always in, and please, I don't care if you're 5, 15, 50 or 92, do NOT match your purse and shoes. Oy, such a doofus!

Read more rules here.

The Brassage and Breast Cancer

The brassage is promoted as being a benefit to "the girls" and possibly preventing breast cancer. The idea behind this is that toxins become trapped, and that's one cause of cancer. By wearing the brassage, which massages the breasts, toxins are released.

A news clip takes exception to this; they interview promoter Christina Erteszek, daughter of Olga, the famous bra designer. At one point Erteszek becomes upset and walks off the set, but returns later. They show a clip of a woman who had breast cancer ten years ago, who is very angry with the idea of the brassage, saying it "exploits women." Female doctors are also interviewed; one says the brassage is "crazy." The promoters of the brassage insist they don't say it will prevent, or cure, breast cancer, just that it might help keep breasts healthy. Erteszek says, when asked if the bra will prevent breast cancer:

"Yes. Of course." But, she went on, "I say, 'help to prevent.' I'm making no medical claims that it does prevent."

The news clip calls the brassage promoter "angry," (this before she walks off), derides the inventor as not being a "real" doctor but a chiropractor, then moves on to the next clip, which talks about more cancer: young people are getting it, and drinking hot beverages can cause it.

All very interesting in its juxtapositions, and blatant marginalization of anything remotely alternative, such as the idea massaging the body can help rid it of toxins.

My point here isn't whether or not the bra does what it says it does but the slant the media put on this. According to the news clip, the bra is no longer being manufactured. In this context: the juxtapositions, the marginalization, the slant on alternative ideas, no matter how low key, the segue into cancer alarmist "news," the use of women as spokespeople in the appeals to authority,and pointing the finger at money making makes for a Big Pharma, medical infrastructure propaganda campaign; under the guise of being informative and pro-women's health, there seems to be another agenda behind their disingenuousness.

Commercial and Symbolism

Update: I'm not kidding, after I posted this, I turned off the computer, put it away, went back into the bedroom, turned on the TV, and a commericial was running, one I hadn't seen before. The commerical? Yes, that's right! This very one!

The Geekologie blog brings us this commerical clip for the Shick Quattro For Women TrimStyle with Bikini Trimmer. wQuestionable Women's Razor Commercial I'd say this was in your face heavy handed Freudian symbolism, but that could be taken the wrong way...

"We Must Take Away Your Boop-boop-da-boop"

Clip of Betty Boop sexuality, hidden drawings in the cartoons:

How to clean the house

1. Open a new file in your PC .
2. Name it 'Housework.'
3. Send it to the RECYCLE BIN.
4. Empty the RECYCLE BIN.
5. Your PC will ask you, 'Are you sure you want to delete Housework permanently?'
6. Calmly answer, 'Yes' and press mouse button firmly ...
7. Feel better?

L'Oreal's HIP Duo Metallic Eyeshadow

I read recently in a magazine article that the metallic gold eyeshadow is a good one to use for women over forty. Okay, over fifty. I'll try almost anything, well, kind of. No plastic surgery or injections but I will have fun at the local Rite Aid playing with the make-up. So I tried L'Oreal's HIP Duo Eyeshadow and I love it! It really lasts all day, looks great, and it's cute. Comes in a little compact round container, with two sides; one is the shadow, one holds the applicator and has a mirror. I think I'll try their green shade next.

Moroccan Sunrise Palette

Probably I have written about my love of Sephora before, but I really do LOVE Sephora!

Last week I ordered the Moroccan Sunrise Palette, seen above. Not only do I love the colors, but the compact is made of actual metal with enamel and is even more lovely in person!

Strange thing is that we actually have a Sephora in town and it isn't very far from my house, but I still shop from the online catalog. However, I have decided that ordering online does not work for lipstick. I ordered what I thought was a light pink and it turned out to be a bright pink. I haven't tried it, but I am pretty sure it will look crappy on me.

Aside from the eye shadow and icky colored lipstick I ordered a bunch of lip glosses that were on sale and in vintage looking tins.

I loved those tins and can use them for various things even if I don't like the lip gloss, though, all the lip glosses were yummy!

My favorite thing that I bought on sale also contained lip gloss, but it is a larger case about 4" x 3" and has Mickey and Minnie Mouse.

Mostly silly things, but I liked them. They are fun and who doesn't love fun, especially when it is on sale?

Dyson vs. Bissell Pet Vac -- Final conclusion

I am sure that overall the Bissell pet vac is fine for people that have a small fluffy dog, short haired dogs, a few cats, or vacuum daily, but it isn't for me.

There are good things about the Bissell pet vac, which I think I covered in previous posts. However, when I got to the really hairy and dirty part of the house (the living room) I quickly began to not like the Bissell so much.

Not only do I have lots of dog hair, but also my dog rolls in plants, dirt, pine needles and so on and she carries a lot of that into the house on her hair. The Bissell not only has a hepa filter, but also some other filter than I have no idea of the purpose. When the other filter clogs, the suction stops. It clogged every couple mintues for me and I finally just removed it. Likely that will eventually cause some other problem, but I don't have the time to stop and clean that out every few minutes.

The Dyson never loses suction is what the commercial says and that is pretty much true. There are some extreme things I have vacuumed that caused my Dyson to almost lose suction, but it isn't an easy thing to do. The Dyson also has no fiters to cause problems.

I do not like the canister emptying on the Bissell either. It is a far more dusty job than the Dyson.

As I said, the Bissell pet vac is not for me and I imagine that in a couple months when I have some extra money I will spring for a new Dyson -- the pet vac model.

Sometimes things are expensive because they are trendy, but Dyson is expensive because it is the best and I will gladly pay the expense again. Vacuuming is not a fun job, why make it worse by having something that doesn't work as well as you really need?

Vermont Teddy Bears must DIE!

I am sooooooooooooooo sick of this commercial. It is ridiculous! The worst part is that they must be selling A LOT of these bears because they can afford to show this commercial a zillion times per day.

Men -- don't fall for it. I can't imagine any woman that would want one of those for Valentines Day. For $70 you can come up with something much better, even if it is just a romantic dinner somewhere.

Some fun comments here -- http://jezebel.com/5148173/what-do-women-want-for-valentines-day

Update on things that suck -- vacs

Yesterday being Superbowl Sunday kept me from doing any major cleaning (thank you football gods!). I actually was curious about my new vac though and decided to take it out of the box and give it a try before the superbowl.

It went together fairly easy, but that was no real thanks to the instructions which I did not feel had enough diagrams to show me which part was which.

The first test is what I call the big step. I think a landing is the right term for it, but I am not really sure. Anyhow it is just 3 steps below our bedroom and the dog sleeps there most nights so it is completely covered with hair most of the time. The new Bissell vac did great on it! Much better than my near death Dyson. It was also on the stairs that I tried a new tool -- the contour brush. By far the best tool for stairs with carpeting that I have ever used! The wondrous attachment is shown in the photo above.

Nobody without carpeted stairs and a big fluffy dog can quite understand how hard stairs are to clean. I have often times had to spend 30 minutes or more just on the stairs. The regular vacuum head is pretty useless because it is so much bigger than the stairs.

After that test I vacuumed the bedroom and it worked as a vacuum should.

Later today I will try the turbo brush. I was never impressed with my Dyson turbo brush, we will see if this one is any better. Also, I will give it another test -- the downstairs near the front door where Pooka not only sheds hair but also shakes off leaves, sticks and other outdoor stuff that easily can clog a vacuum hose.

A couple more good things about my Bissell pet hair vac -- Unlike my Dyson it has a light. I don't know if the new Dysons have a headlight but mine didn't. Also, the attachments actually fit into the holders on the vacuum and don't fall off while you are vacuuming. I think this is the first vac I have ever had where the attachments actually fit in their storage spaces and don't fall out.

So far so good, maybe I won't miss my Dyson as much as I thought I would and maybe not at all.

Things that suck -- vacs

For the past 5 years or so I have had a lovely Dyson vac, similar to the model in the photo. However, the past several months it has been obviously near complete break down. It has like half the power it used to and the motor sounds wrong. None of the hoses are clogged, so that isn't the problem. After that many years of sucking up tons of dog and cat hair it seems to have had enough.

It took me months to admit to it, but I needed a new vac and I just can't put out the money for a new Dyson. Yesterday I finally replaced it with a Bissell pet hair vac, which was less than 1/3 the price of the Dyson animal vac.

I am not in the least happy about replacing my Dyson with something that isn't a Dyson, but I don't want to pay $500 and really can't afford to. I haven't even taken the new one out of the trunk of my car yet. I will later today and give it a go. At the very least it will have to work better than my half power Dyson, but is it also possible that it could work as well as my Dyson did when it was new? That is my hope -- that I will be very pleasantly surprised. I have sworn for the last 5 years that Dyson is the best vac ever invented, but I would be happy to be wrong.

I will update after I try the new one.

Even her own mother doesn't like her

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090131/ap_on_re_us/octuplets

LOS ANGELES – The woman who gave birth to octuplets this week conceived all 14 of her children through in vitro fertilization, is not married and has been obsessed with having children since she was a teenager, her mother said.

Angela Suleman told The Associated Press she was not supportive when her daughter, Nadya Suleman, decided to have more embryos implanted last year.

"It can't go on any longer," she said in a phone interview Friday. "She's got six children and no husband. I was brought up the traditional way. I firmly believe in marriage. But she didn't want to get married."

Nadya Suleman, 33, gave birth Monday in nearby Bellflower. She was expected to remain in the hospital for at least a few more days, and her newborns for at least a month.

A spokeswoman at Kaiser Permanente Bellflower Medical Center said the babies were doing well and seven were breathing unassisted.

While her daughter recovers, Angela Suleman is taking care of the other six children, ages 2 through 7, at the family home in Whittier, about 15 miles east of downtown Los Angeles.

She said she warned her daughter that when she gets home from the hospital, "I'm going to be gone."

Angela Suleman said her daughter always had trouble conceiving and underwent in vitro fertilization treatments because her fallopian tubes are "plugged up."

There were frozen embryos left over after her previous pregnancies and her daughter didn't want them destroyed, so she decided to have more children.

Her mother and doctors have said the woman was told she had the option to abort some of the embryos and, later, the fetuses. She refused.

Her mother said she does not believe her daughter will have any more children.

"She doesn't have any more (frozen embryos), so it's over now," she said. "It has to be."

Nadya Suleman wanted to have children since she was a teenager, "but luckily she couldn't," her mother said.

"Instead of becoming a kindergarten teacher or something, she started having them, but not the normal way," he mother said.

Her daughter's obsession with children caused Angela Suleman considerable stress, so she sought help from a psychologist, who told her to order her daughter out of the house.

"Maybe she wouldn't have had so many kids then, but she is a grown woman," Angela Suleman said. "I feel responsible and I didn't want to throw her out."

Yolanda Garcia, 49, of Whittier, said she helped care for Nadya Suleman's autistic son three years ago.

"From what I could tell back then, she was pretty happy with herself, saying she liked having kids and she wanted 12 kids in all," Garcia told the Long Beach Press-Telegram.

"She told me that all of her kids were through in vitro, and I said 'Gosh, how can you afford that and go to school at the same time?"' she added. "And she said it's because she got paid for it."

Garcia said she did not ask for details.

Nadya Suleman holds a 2006 degree in child and adolescent development from California State University, Fullerton, and as late as last spring she was studying for a master's degree in counseling, college spokeswoman Paula Selleck told the Press-Telegram.

Her fertility doctor has not been identified. Her mother told the Los Angeles Times all the children came from the same sperm donor but she declined to identify him.

Birth certificates reviewed by The Associated Press identify a David Solomon as the father for the four oldest children. Certificates for the other children were not immediately available.

The news that the octuplets' mother already had six children sparked an ethical debate. Some medical experts were disturbed to hear that she was offered fertility treatment, and troubled by the possibility that she was implanted with so many embryos.

Others worried that she would be overwhelmed trying to raise so many children and would end up relying on public support.

The eight babies — six boys and two girls — were delivered by Cesarean section weighing between 1 pound, 8 ounces and 3 pounds, 4 ounces. Forty-six physicians and staff assisted in the deliveries.

Family: Octuplets' mother has 6 other children

Stories like this REALLY bother me.

In general, fertility treatments bother me when there are so many children in need of a good home. However, I do realize that for some reason people want to have a child with the same genetics as they have. For someone who wants to have 1 or 2 children, I suppose it is somewhat acceptable, but why on earth should someone that already has 6 children be eligible for that type of procedure?

This story bothers me on many levels -- there is no mention of a husband and the woman lives with her parents. Now, I have no problem with single women having children, so I am not saying it in that sense, just pointing out that this woman is living with her PARENTS, not on her own or with a husband or SO of some sort. Why on earth would someone in that situation need more children?

I can't imagine what type of woman -- single or not would want even 6 children, let along 14. Frankly, I believe this woman must have some sort of mental illness. You know, like those people that horde pets -- only she hordes babies and children.

I personally believe that there needs to be restrictions put on who can have this type of treatment and that someone that already has SIX children should not be eligible. Is that mean of me? I don't think so.

Family: Octuplets' mother has 6 other children - Yahoo! News

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