The Midlife Woman

Le Creuset, Girly Cookware?

Can Cast Iron Cookware be considered girly? I remember the first time cooking with my mother’s Le Creuset pot. It was a brick red Dutch oven and OMG sooo heavy. I asked mom why she chose such heavy pot… I said, “Oh my gosh they weigh a ton!” She said Le Creuset was known to be among the finest of pots and she treasured the deep color. She smiled and said something to the affect of, Yes Kath they are heavy but so beautiful, definitely made for a woman who loves to cook. You know, she went on, cast iron pots, pans, and skillets are called generation pans. I expect that one day you or your baby sister will be cooking with this pot, passing it on to your children as well. Fast forward to 2011, my baby sister has that red Le Creuset pot. It is obvious to me now why my mother chose le creuset cookware....

Paper Culture|Whimsical Baby Invitation Review

Whimsical is defined as fanciful, imaginative and impulsive, amusingly odd or playfully humorous in an endearing sort of way. Whimsical is the perfect word association for babies in both creating them and experiencing their arrival. The opportunity to review Paper Culture, an invitation design business, brought about more than simply a review. It brings into play my midlife view of childbirth, which is an endearingly whimsical experience, especially now that thirty years have passed! whimsical adj 1. spontaneously fanciful or playful 2. given to whims; capricious 3. quaint, unusual, or fantastic Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003 Whimsical and babies – A midlife view Oftentimes the creation of babies is the result of a whim, a spontaneously playful act. My youngest son, we believe, was conceived on Valentines Day. Very enchanting and whimsical event and, as I recollect, the holiday included pink roses and strawberries. How about a capricious...

Oh boy do I detest purchasing and managing insurances, as many people do. However, buying auto insurance is a necessary part of driving and car ownership in most cases. This is a list of auto insurance discount tips to inquire about when buying auto insurance. After all, everyone could use a discount on auto insurance, right? When purchasing a new car consider insurability. Be modest, choose a car that is not a rated a sports car and has a full complement of safety features. Premiums for flashy sports cars can be costly so check with your insurance agent before buying. Have your insurance re-evaluated after getting married, buying a condominium or house, or opening a business. All of these can affect the amount of auto insurance necessary, and with the right combinations of coverage, a saving could be realized. Bundle insurance whenever possible. Buying different insurances, such as home and auto or boat and auto, from the same company...

On March 31, 1929, Bertha Hunt strode down Fifth Avenue in New York’s Easter Parade puffing a Lucky Strike cigarette alongside nine other hired young women. The secretary to Edward L. Bernays, the Father of Public Relations and creator of the marketing campaign, stepped into the throng of pedestrians in their Sunday-best clothing, as stated in a pre-announced press release in support of a woman’s right to smoke cigarettes. According to theformofmoney.com, Miss Hunt issued the following: “I hope that we have started something and that these torches of freedom, with no particular brand favored, will smash the discriminatory taboo on cigarettes for women and that our sex will go on breaking down all discriminations.” The Torches of Freedom made headlines across the nation and without doubt, the cigarette manufacturers were smiling. The electronic cigarette manufacturers should have learned from Mr. Bernays. They too have freed people from a discriminatory practice of sorts – The odor and harm of...

Shopping Alert – Urban Wear Holiday Sale

This Weekend Karmaloop is having its first ever Spring Showdown. Get 90% off Rare and Unique products at Karmaloop.com. The only thing more unique than the products on sale is the sale itself, so get the word out before it’s too late! This offer is good from Friday, April 22nd to Sunday, April 24th. KARMALOOP SPRING SHOWDOWN – 90% OFF! Rare & Unique Products Related articles what to wear: spring dresses for every body type trim down with adapexin-p and be stylin’

The Dangerous Chef

My friend Tony was a chef, and a merchant marine. Crazy combination I know. I had the job privilege of driving him to and from the Philadelphia ship yard for each sea assignment. Boy did he have stories to tell, scary and dangerous stories. I know it is hard to imagine a chef position being dangerous, so let me give you a little insight. Tony worked mostly on tugboats. Their purpose is to rescue large ships from tight spots, perhaps turn them about, or tow them out to sea. Tugboats also assist work barges in troubled situations. Can you envision this, cooking for a crew of men while the vessel is rolling over waves and thrusting large ships about? Scary thought. After a particularly rough trip he would return weary, bruised, even burned, and liquored up a few times too! According to wikipedia.org, Under the Merchant Marine Act of 1920 Seaman’s rights are covered as stated:”The U.S. Congress adopted the Merchant Marine...

Eyeglass Prescription Facts

Did you ever wonder what the letters and numbers in an eyeglass prescription represent? I found these eye facts while browsing the cheap eyeglasses under the Frequently Asked Questions at greateyeglasses.com. My youngest son was fitted with his first pair of eyeglasses at fifteen months, it was a sad and joyous occasion. It took a great deal of coaxing to convince him to actually put the glasses on his face. However, once accomplished it was as if a completely new world was exposed to him. From that point forward, he didn’t want to take them off, not even when he slept! I felt very sad about his vision problems. Sounds silly to be sad when he was so overwhelmingly happy I know. What made me sad was knowing my baby boy wasn’t physically perfect. Even with that amount of vision experience, I still had no idea how many technical measurements were required for an eyeglass prescription. No wonder they ask so...

Colon Cleansing – No Crap, Grandma was Right Again!

Did you know the idea of natural colon cleansing dates back to ancient Greece? Cleansing the colon, which is the large intestine, became popular in the 1920s and 1930s in the United States. At some point, the theories behind it lost support and it fell out of favor. As you may have noticed recently, colon cleansing has experienced rebirth by the use of teas, enzymes, and/or colon irrigation. Because researchers have devoted little study to colon cleansing plenty of questions remain such as, is colon-cleansing good for you? In addition, does anyone really need it? To a certain extent, medical judgment has yet to be finalized on the subject. What is natural colon cleansing anyway? WebMD states two main colon-cleansing methods. One involves buying products like enemas, laxatives, strong herbal teas, powders, and antiparasite capsules such as colonetix. The other involves seeing a practitioner to have colon irrigation. Natural Colon Cleansing One of the core theories behind colon cleansing...

Carpet Cleaning | Mother Knows Best

Growing up, our family room flooring was deep red, plush carpet that was vacuumed every day without fail. Mom said it was an age old, long-standing carpet care fact that daily vacuuming and proper cleaning results in extended life of the carpet. If we groveled about having to vacuum she asked in a soft, serious tone, “Do you know how much money this carpet cost your father and I?” With that, we commenced vacuuming without argument. I remember how my mother swore by the dry cleaning method for carpets. Her simple common sense theory “moisture was not proper for wool fibers,” diminished with the development of nylon, olefin, and acetate carpets. Additionally, in the 1970s the growing popularity of Scotch Guard led to steam cleaning being a better-chosen cleaning method. Carpet Cleaning Methods The dry cleaning method involves applying special solvents to carpet and extracting via a dry vacuum system. Carpet manufacturers claim that oftentimes traces of these solvents...