WCAV CBS-19 Blog of the Week: CASPCA

July 1st, 2009

This week’s featured blog is the Charlottesville Albemarle SPCA blog

Special thanks to Suzanne Kogut, John Dove (the Web master), Frank Haar and Willis Logan, driving forces behind this fantastic nonprofit blog. The CASPCA is a collaborative, community effort providing information on resources for pets, pet fosters and pet adoption.

Dog and cat fans, the CASPCA needs your help to foster animals now more than ever; people are having a hard time paying for medical care for their pets and many pets are ending up at the shelter, needing a new home, foster care and the organization needs financial help, too.  If you’re a dog and/or cat lover, consider a donation (every little bit helps).

Gratuitous Clover Shot

Gratuitous Clover Shot

Watch the video clip.

Tags:
Posted in CBS 19 Blog of the Week, Charlottesville | 2 Comments »

Charlottesville WORKING mom

June 29th, 2009

I’ve been working a lot lately. More than is reasonable. More than is healthy. (Mom, a long weekend is coming; try not to worry.) It’s just one of those times when I need to work a lot of extra hours and some other parts of my life, (you know, those pesky extracurriculars like eating and sleeping) have to take a backseat.

But that’s not what I’m blogging about (you don’t need to be another in a long list of people hearing me whine). Today, the girl was home while I worked and she, recognizing that I’m barely coming up for air these days, surprised me by making me a very nice lunch and delivering it to my desk.

It was very sweet, and just a little bit heartbreaking.

I knew she was up to something because first, she closed the door to the basement. I could hear dishes rattling around upstairs so I figured she was getting something to eat. A few minutes later she appeared with a plate for me; a turkey and cheese sandwich, chips, cubed watermelon in a small dish, two Oreos and a Diet Coke in a glass — with ice. It was all rather adorable.

She said, “I knew you were forgetting to eat again and if I didn’t do something, you wouldn’t have lunch today.” She was right.

It’s wonderful to have a girl who knows when sometimes, her mama needs taking care of, too.

Posted in The Girl | 4 Comments »

WCAV CBS-19 Blog of the Week: Family Hack

June 24th, 2009

WCAV CBS-19 Blog of the Week Video: Family Hack

I look like I’m having a lot more fun when I’m featuring a blog that I really like, don’t I?

This week’s blog of the week, Family Hack, authored by Michael Davis and Hannah Russell Davis (with appearances by their three adorable kids) – read the delightfully snarky bios) is popular (over a million hits a month) for good reason.

It’s FUNNY. It shares USEFUL content, including, one if its most popular categories, Household Tips. It APPEALS TO A BROAD AUDIENCE. It offers visuals and video, when video is helpful. It’s not preachy and is irreverent enough to annoy some puritanical folks. (The blog, as Michael pointed out to an offended commenter, is for adults, written by adults. This is not Hints from Heloise in your local newspaper.)

This is how you do a successful mainstream blog, people.

Thanks to Michael, (whom I secretly adore. Oops, guess I let that one out of the bag) Hannah and the kids for being available and willing to be featured in the blog of the week segment. I’m sure it didn’t do much to juke your stats (one million and ONE!) but I know readers of THIS blog will love www.familyhack.com

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in CBS 19 Blog of the Week, Charlottesville | 2 Comments »

So You Think You Can’t Dance?

June 23rd, 2009

A little bird told me that Clifton Inn is offering free dance lessons tonight, June 23, provided by Steve Shergold of Shergold Studio. A special dining package offered by the executive chef is $38 — a nice night of dinner and dancing — I call DATE NIGHT! (Maybe Barack and Michelle will be there?)

If you’ve been meaning to visit the Clifton Inn, this is your chance (and you can learn to dance). Call 434-971-1800 to make reservations, and put on your dancin’ shoes.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Charlottesville | 1 Comment »

My Take on the FTC’s Plans to Regulate Bloggers

June 22nd, 2009

I reprised my role as the social media expert for the Newsplex today, commenting on air about the FTC’s plans to regulate bloggers who accept compensation (in cash or products) in exchange for reviews or information on their blogs. I’ve not made this practice a large part of this blog but have reviewed products I purchased and liked, resulting in the receipt of products to give away to readers. I have been offered products to review, but have not often taken advantage. I’ve never been offered anything seriously cool (like a car or a trip to Europe). I am pitched by PR people from agencies or from companies themselves several times daily and receive offers for free giveaways or products to review regularly. I believe my experience to be common amongst bloggers, particularly those of us identified as “mom bloggers.” The thinking, of course, is that we moms make the majority of household buying decisions.
When I blogged as a journalist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, I was a compensated freelance writer, just as a columnist would be. I wrote about shopping and therefore showed up on the distribution lists of PR firms representing cosmetics, clothing, skincare products and the like. In this role, I was given LOTS of stuff to try and to write about. IF I felt like it.
I have never seen a conditional pitch. I think that people are smart enough to take product reviews with a grain of salt. I agree that bloggers as well as journalists should be transparent about the receipt of goods or compensation HOWEVER, it’s not the bloggers that need be regulated; it’s the companies.
For example, if it were to come to light that companies were making conditional requirements of online content and essentially buying positive blog posts about their products, then, it would be the company’s ethics and practices that should be called into question. Product review bloggers are just trying to make a living.

More blog posts about the FTC and its plans to regulate blogs.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Charlottesville | 1 Comment »

CBS-19 Blog of the Week: Late Bloomer Bride

June 17th, 2009

This week’s blog was a big hit and a favorite of mine, too. Suzanne Henry’s Late Bloomer Bride is amusing and thought-provoking, and as a collection of short essays about being married for the first time after the age of forty, is appealing to anyone whose ever been in a relationship. In other words, this bride’s blog isn’t just for brides!

Prior to the piece, I asked Suzanne some questions about her blog:

Who is reading your blog? Any surprises?

Believe it or not, many men read my blog religiously. They even comment, which you can find in the comments section. I have had several (older) men tell me they call it “research.”

What does the Late Bloomer Groom think of the blog?

He doesn’t read it much, but he said so long as I don’t make him look bad, he’s okay with it. ;-)

Your posts are so universally appealing to anyone familiar with the trials and tribulations of relationships. How are you attracting more than a core audience of other LBBs?

I think what we LBBs find surprising in marriage is different from people who married young or not at all. We do all deal with a lot of the same issues, but our perspective on everything is so different.  This “pointing out the differences” could prove to be interesting to anyone.

I have found, again, that men seemed to be attracted to it, because I’m giving them an “inside” peek at how we women feel about being married. I also have several single women who are also finding it interesting – it’s also research for the future!

I am always trying to point out how an LBB might feel about XYZ issue, but also how ANY woman might feel, too. And, I try to do it with some humor. Laughter beats a temper tantrum any day (though I don’t always win that battle).

What’s the best part about being new to marriage over 40? The worst?

The best is the companionship and the fact that we have all these little rituals, traditions and inside jokes. It makes me feel like I’m an insider in a secret club. It’s comforting knowing someone is “in it” with you. (Other than that…well, I won’t go into anything else that isn’t PG, if you know what I mean.)

The worst is not knowing if all this compromise is for the good of the marriage or are we chipping away at who we are/our dreams? The other day, I passed on a buying a chair I really liked because I knew Husband wouldn’t like it. If I was single, I’d be sitting in it right now. So that “checking in” thing can be quite tedious. (I also don’t like not having complete control of the temperature!)

What kind of advice do you get from those of us who married when we were children? Do you pay attention to any of it?

I do pay attention to any and all advice. But, I am acutely aware that people who got married early also may not know what they are missing, which colors their perspective. Singles get used to a level of control and autonomy – being able to make decisions by yourself without consulting another. (See chair reference above ;-) )  Suddenly having someone care about (and have opinions about!) your every move can be disconcerting.

What advice do you have for brides at ANY age?

Never underestimate the power of saying “I love you” to your spouse every day. Also, try to find the humor wherever, and whenever, you can. Laughing can really blow off some steam. Beats slamming doors.

Anything else you want us to know?

I would love to have more LBBs to comment or even guest blog with their own advice. I’m just giving my viewpoint, but I’d really like to hear from women in similar situations – to see who they are dealing with things. I certainly don’t have all the answers – just lots of observations. ;-)

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in CBS 19 Blog of the Week, Charlottesville | 2 Comments »

Call Me Mauijean

June 16th, 2009

I was gone. Unplugged. Totally relaxed and sans stress for an entire week on the island of Maui.

It was, in a word, GLORIOUS.

Enough gloating from me, I know.

I won’t even tell you about how, flying first class for the first time in my life, I clapped like a four-year-old when the flight attendant served ice-cold milk in real glasses and warm macadamia nut cookies. Nope. I won’t tell you that.

I’m back in the throes of picking up where I left off and resuming my blogging, Twittering lifestyle.

Didja miss me?

Full set of only slightly obnoxious vacation photos here. No bikinis; promise!

Posted in | 8 Comments »

Clean

June 2nd, 2009

My mother sends me handwritten notecards in the mail. Sometimes there’s a clipping from the newspaper included. Lately, she’s added one cryptic line, “Have you gotten any help, yet?”

Someone else, reading that might think of psychiatric help. Or maybe she means additional staff support for the one-person Charlottesville office of Standing Partnership. But no, I know that’s not what she means.

When we talk on the phone, inevitably the same question comes up. “Have you gotten any help?” and what she means is this: a person or team to clean the house, someone to help me stay ahead of the mess, to keep our surroundings at a certain level, so I don’t get overwhelmed and fall apart. She’s right, of course. I’ve needed help. I just can’t spend the time when I’m not working, cooking, taking care of my family and doing laundry to adequately keep up with keeping my house clean. It means sacrificing volunteer work, writing, reading and, frankly, the relaxation I need to re-energize for the week to come. I’ve spent many weekends trying to cram just a bit of cleaning into the gaps between doing the shopping and the mountain of laundry. I just don’t have it in me to get it all done.

So today, Gail comes to clean my house. She comes with the perfect reference from my friend, the Late Bloomer Bride who came to my rescue when I finally Twittered my cry for cleaning help.

Mom, I’m getting help. Just thought you’d like to know.

Posted in | 4 Comments »

A Letter to the Bride

May 30th, 2009

Dear Anna,

When I married your cousin at the ripe old age of 18, you weren’t allowed to attend. Your parents feared that we (irresponsible teenagers that we were) would set a terrible example for you and drive you to repeat the same mistakes. I’m delighted, on this occasion of your wedding, at the ripe old age of far-beyond-eighteen that you elected not to follow in our footsteps. Since this year, ironically, marks our 20th wedding anniversary I wish only this: that you follow our example in having a long, loving marriage.

I’ve grown to understand your parents’ point of view, as now I have a 19-year-old of my own.

I want make sure that you know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that we’re not coming to your wedding (in Memphis!) because we failed to budget, in time and in dollars, for three long-distance family trips this year. Mark and I are going to Hawaii, to have the honeymoon we didn’t have when we got married, and we’ll travel to the Midwest to be with family for Christmas this year. That’s it. It’s tough to live on the east coast, so far away from the people you love.

We will be with you in spirit! We love you and hope your wedding day is everything you’ve dreamed.

As an old married lady, I want to impart the advice my next-door-neighbor, an old married lady, gave me in the days before my wedding. She said, “One day, you’ll be sitting on the couch watching TV and you’ll look over and catch him picking his nose. You’ll think, ‘Ugh. What have I done?’ Just remember, you will come to love him even through times like these.”

She was right.

Much love,

Marijean

Posted in | 1 Comment »

Lifeguards

May 27th, 2009

I spent six summers in love with lifeguards. One, of course, in particular, but they were ever-present in my summer life and therefore, the subject of numerous seasonal crushes. The crushes stayed with me through the school year, the absence of the lifeguards and the pool like the aftertaste of strawberry soda; sweet and long to fade.

One lifeguard was a constant. I’ll call him Edward. I knew him first when I was an obnoxious, skinny kid, all ribs, elbows and knees, getting in trouble for running, dunking and goofing off in the diving well. Each summer we returned to the pool, he a bit older, with stories of college and his plans to attend seminary and me, a girl growing into a teenager, with insignificant high school concerns. My thoughts at that time went about as deep as the baby pool, selecting my brand of pop based on whether the color of the can matched the day’s swimsuit.

We had, however, long conversations over an empty pool on cloudy days or just before the pool closed for the day. He was four years older; why he put up with me hanging around, I’ll never know.

The summer I was sixteen, a girl I remembered only as chubby Emma from the dance classes we both took in elementary school, approached me at an event away from the pool. “Stay away from my brother,” she said. It took a minute for it to click; they had the same last name. She was Edward’s sister. I hadn’t put them together in my mind until that moment. “He’s got a girlfriend, you know.” In fact, I did know that, although he didn’t talk about it; I didn’t even know her name.

“You have no idea what you’re talking about,” I told her, and walked away. I wondered what she knew, or thought she knew. Edward and I had never done anything but talk, and yet, I’m sure everyone who belonged to the pool saw my schoolgirl crush on the lifeguard, plain as the zinc on his nose.

That summer ended; the pool closed. He was leaving and I was returning to a life of other, real boyfriends and books. He showed up at my house; a shock to this day. Even though we’d known one another for years and knew where one another lived, our relationship was confined to the pool; he’d never been to my house, I’d never been to his. We were saying goodbye, without really saying it at all.

Before he left, he kissed me, and although it makes my heart ache to think of it, I know I kissed him back. It was a moment I’d dreamed of summer after summer. A fantasy that got me through the winter, longing for warmer weather and the serenity of the pool. It was, I knew, a first kiss, and a last. The saddest kiss I’ve ever had, the last few seconds of the final time I ever saw him.

I suspect I was some kind of one-minute bachelor party; a last fling of a man who would go on to be a husband and a father. I don’t know what went through his mind as he drove to my house, some need for closure, or a test to find out if in fact, there was something between us that he shouldn’t ignore. I don’t know what it meant to him to this day, but for me, it was a loss of innocence, the end of a childhood baked in Coppertone, marinated in chlorine.

It was more than twenty years ago, but the memory of those summers, of that last kiss, returns to me each year as I pull on a new swimsuit and take my first dip in the pool.

Tags: ,
Posted in Memories | 11 Comments »

« Older Entries