Almost Halloween...

It's almost Halloween...I wanted to be a fortune teller/gypsy. Everyone is dressing up at work, I couldn't find the right stuff to put this outfit together. So, I went to http://www.mallatts.com/ in Madison, Wisconsin. They have a lot of stuff, jammed into a small space, at great prices! I like going there because they've been around forever, and they're real people, not a huge corporation like Walgreen's. No offense to Walgreen's intended...but you know, gotta help the little guy. Plus the people at Mallatt's are super nice. Highly recommend them!
So, I'm going with the Nun costume. No, not the pregnant nun, just a regular, run of the mill catholic nun with a ruler. I went to Catholic High School, so I figured it's okay:-)
My son doesn't want me to dress up at all. He's afraid I'll embarrass him. So I'm dressing up anyway because, 1. He has embarrassed me plenty and 2. He doesn't get to run my life.
So...I'm hoping it won't be too cold this year, or raining!
Cross your fingers!

Things I like about Madison, Wisconsin

So, my hometown is Madison, Wisconsin. I went to the Saturday morning farmer's market in Madison this weekend, and it got me to thinking about how much I like Madison, and how much it has to offer. It was a beautiful fall day,tons of people out and about. There were stands with these huge vegetables that I had never seen or heard of before, that was bizarre. We bought some Wisconsin honey, and would've liked to buy a lot more, but then we would've had to carry it around all day. After we walked around the square, by the capitol where they hold the farmer's market, we walked down State Street for a while. There's a really great popcorn place that we used to always go to. They have this multi-colored, multi-flavored popcorn that's really good. It's hard to explain, it's bright blue, orange, yellow, etc, and almost tastes like caramel popcorn (it has that texture), but there are weird, fruity flavors. Very good, though. The Madison Children's Museum is downtown, we used to go there all the time when the kids were little, great memories. There are a lot of street vendors selling bags, clothes, jewelry (really pretty jewelry), recycled art, sweaters, and more than I can remember. But it's fun to look, and I enjoy the free samples, and there are always great baked goods and food stands. Madison has lots of unique stores and restaurants. I enjoy the unique ones more than the "chain" restaurants. My absolute favorite restaurant in the whole world is Paisan's. They've been open for many years, and recently moved to a new location right near the Monona Terrace Convention Center. I was a little worried things would change, but the location over looking the lake is fabulous, and the food is still delicious. If you ever go there, you must try the pizza (don't get the large, it's not always cooked as evenly as the medium), and the SPICEY CHEESE BREAD IS THE MOST DELICIOUS THING IN THE WHOLE WORLD! Also, the Madison Museum of Comtemporary Art is fabulous...and a really fun building to visit.
Anyway, I could write volumns on Madison, it's a great place to grow up. The lakes aren't as clean as they used to be, and it's getting more crowded (lots of urban sprawl), but it still has a lot to offer.

Friday, Oct. 19, 2007

The latest news story I've heard that blows my mind is this...
in the state of Oregon, they are handing out condoms to middle school kids. That's 11, 12, 13 yr old kids. Condoms. And they say it's up to the kids if they want to tell they're parents or not. Ug. Are you serious? Where is the good sense in the world??? Planned parenthood has infiltrated our country and our youth. It's one thing to be a "responsible adult" but at the age of 12, you just don't have the emotional maturity to know what's right and wrong as far as life defining decisions, like having sex. Plus, the raging hormones get you confused. I just cannot believe it. Glad I don't live in Oregon.

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Dove, Real Beauty campaign?

So,


I just got this email from the "Campaign for a commercial free childhood." Which seems like a funny thing to talk about on a blog, but I'm going to link to it here...

http://www.commercialfreechildhood.org//

You'll want to check it out if you find the following article interesting(reprinted from an email they sent me).


"Last week, as part of its much lauded Dove Campaign for Real Beauty, Unilever released "Onslaught", a video that examines disturbing images of women in beauty-industry advertising before ending with the message, "Talk to your daughter before the beauty industry does."

It's an important message, and the campaign has received many accolades for challenging the standards of the beauty industry. But there's one big problem: Unilever is the beauty industry. When it comes to promoting sexualized stereotypes and marketing an unhealthy body image in order to sell girls on the idea that they need products to improve the way they look, Unilever - the world's second biggest advertiser and manufacturer of diet aids, cosmetics, skin whiteners, and other beauty products - is a major offender.

Unilever also makes Axe, a brand of male grooming products whose marketing promotes the objectification and sexual humiliation of women (see, for example, http://www.theaxeeffect.com/axevixens.html). Even as Unilever is celebrated for its Dove campaign, it markets Axe to boys on the Internet, through advertising in magazines with large youth readership such as Maxim, and on MTV where its sexist and degrading ads are seen by girls and boys of all ages. On MySpace and other Internet sites, Axe is promoted by an all female singing group, the Bom Chicka Wah Wahs, whose suggestive theme song and video is all about how the smell of Axe makes women lose control sexually (sample lyric: "If you have that aroma on, you can have our whole band").

"Real Beauty" from Unilever's Axe

Please take a moment to tell Unilever that its time to ax the Axe campaign.

Unilever marketers claim that the Real Beauty campaign is designed to promote girls' self-esteem "and help free ourselves and the next generation from beauty stereotypes." If they're serious about this goal, they'll begin by looking in the mirror and end their degrading Axe campaign.

Tell Unilever: "Bom Chicka Wah Wah" is not "Real Beauty."

Thanks,

The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood
http://commercialfreechildhood.org/ "

Tuesday, the nothing day..

Tuesday, seems like a nothing day. (Makes me think of the theme song to Mary Tyler Moore show...who can take a nothing day, and make it all seem worth while...) I love Mary Tyler Moore, back in the day, my friends and I would argue about who was More Mary, and I'd say, I'm more Mary than you, because I have a studio apartment and sleep on a fold out couch!
But I digress...
Mondays are Blah, Fridays are great, everyone loves the weekend...what about Tuesdays? Just a good day to have left overs for dinner and try to rev up for "hump day" (see, even Wednesday has something!) Oh, and Thursday nights usually have good tv. So, I shall search the refridgerator and see what I can come up with.
Hoping to get some new designs on my tshirt website, I really like creating the t-shirts, I get to be a little creative every day...I think everyone should try that!
Alright, gotta run...You can visit my store on CafePress here! Trying to figure out SEO, and Stat Counters and all this other online stuff, I like the creative side more than the techanical side, that's for sure.
somebody's gotta heat up the can of soup!