Photo by ARISTIDE ECONOMOPOULOS/THE STAR-LEDGER

Check out the Video: http://www.forbes.com/video/?video=fvn/balancingact/hj_bact072308

 Ok, call me a hater if you want, but I am thinking why Forbes chose to do an article on the CEO, Ann Acierno, of Bill Blass for her ability to balance successfully her home and business life. WHY?!

She should be able to balance easily 3 children who by now at the ages of 18, 14, and 13 can feed themselves. At the age of 5, I was at least making Cup O' Noodles and toast. She lives in New Jersey and travels up north to New York. She starts her day everyday at 4:30am, goes for a jog, and then she is able to think clearly.

My question then becomes, "When does this lady interact with her children?" Oh, no worries, the interview continues. She mentions the help of her nanny and her husband, who by the way, owns a transit company! I am all for success and prosperity. And one day I aspire to have a lifestyle that would afford me the opportunity to have a housekeeper, cook, nanny, husband, millionaire status, and a picture perfect environment. However, I am wondering all the while...What makes YOU so special to be interviewed by Forbes for the segment titled "Balancing Act"!

She uses, excuse me, her nanny uses Outlook to manage the kids schedules and she mentions that she does not regularly attend games...so...why is Forbes doing an interview on a woman who successfully DOES NOTHING in her family's lives? How does this warrant being recognized by a reputable magazine as being one who balances? If she doesn't do anything but delegate, she ISN'T DOING ANYTHING!

HELLO?! Am I the only one out here that thinks this way? There are women in the world who have less than 5% of what she has, with NO husband, NO support system, more children, AND THEY have to do it all! THAT to me, is AMAZING!  I love my nieces and nephew, but it was challenging for me to manage one day with feeding and watching them play.

There are women in this world that have no one but them to take their children to ALL of their activities and even take their kid's friends home! AND they have to sit there and pretend to be alert and interested at all times regardless of how long and how boring the activities are.

It amazes me the audacity of denial that would acknowledge a woman who does nothing but work and eat with her children. By the way, I know for a fact that she only sits to eat with them...if at all together...and does not cook the actual meal that they are eating because she is busy commuting back to New Jersey after work.

I made that trip with my cousin once from New York to New Jersey. I was exhausted after traveling.

This is a blatant disregard for the balancing act of the average woman and I am appaulled to say the least. LOL!

I would say to Forbes...I love you, but this mess is a DO-OVER. Please redo this. I would rather see successful business women who ACTUALLY balance home and work because of something that they do, other than delegate. I think it is a copout to claim that you are too busy to interact with your children in a meaningful way and to ACTUALLY balance by doing something.

I know of successful women doctors who are great examples of how to do it. So it can be done.

JSC

I'm not so different from her.
I can multi task too.

I can wipe a snotty Thing 5 nose while taming a Thing 4~gone~wild, filling a sippy cup from a gallon of milk bought at Sweetbay, listening to a chattering Thing 3 AND making the appropriate mmmhhhmmm sounds at all of the right places, silencing an argument over ~whatever~Thing 1~&~Thing 2~are~currently~bickering~about with just a look, finding the biggest Thing of them all boxers & a towel so he can take a shower because he can never seem to find them even though they are always in the same place, all at the same time. At which time I am also burning dinner & not baking anything.

How's that for talent?

I think I've just had an epiphanot. Okay not really. But I do think I'm addicted to that site. & I really really like that word. Aaaand I just wanted to use it.

If you happen to see that other mom, let me know. I'm hoping she will show up one day to help me with my laundry.

Sometimes I think I shouldn't be hatin on the laundry so much. But then I look at the overflowing hampers and ... well... it's just not loveable.

Oh and speaking of snotty noses. Or just snot in general. For the record. Rebecca, the much anticipated answer to your question ~ apparently I am *indeedy the queen of snotland and I am so feelin it this week. But don't worry ~ my crown is not made of the ordinary paper & crayon variety, but instead appears to be made from a nice cheeto/drool paste.
You've been on pins & needles just waiting to hear that haven't you. SO happy to provide you with the visual. Don't thank me. It's what I do.

Rebecca said...

1. You are a very talented mommy.
2. If you find that perfect mom don't send her my way. After she left I'd feel like a complete failure.
3. Yay! You have a crown!
4.Oh man, I was crackin up. That video was fun-ny.
5. I'm glad he has a sense of humor to deal with his family's opinion.

Sunday, April 22, 2007 1:08:00 PM EDT

Heather said...

I never considered the failure I'd feel like when she left. Thanks Becca. Now I have to do my own laundry.

To show you that I hold no grudges ... YOU can borrow my crown anytime you want ;)

Monday, April 23, 2007 2:14:00 PM EDT

You can see it in her eyes said...

HAHAHAHAHAA !!

You put bo on there !
That`s hilarious .
It`s on my myspace btw .
So i listen to it every day :]

I love it . And him :] AND YOU !

Monday, April 23, 2007 11:48:00 PM EDT

LeAnne said...

Those perfect moms just get me everytime. I'd love to have that perfectly clean house, but by the time I get home from work, the only thing I can do is eat supper, feed my son and get him ready for bed. Then I'm pooped. I have a ton of laundry that every now and a blue moon I can get control of - sorta.....

Thursday, April 26, 2007 10:42:00 AM EDT

Heather said...

Leanne ~ I know mee tooooo. except the kids are the work. but I feel ya on the laundry.

Brit I love u TOO.

Saturday, April 28, 2007 3:38:00 AM EDT

Fabulous Mag, an online magazine featuring fashion, celebs, dating, and beauty, surveyed several thousand people--both women and men--to determine what their idea of the perfect body was.

The results were fascinating.

Apparently, women and men have very different ways of judging the perfect female body.

“While women yearn for the waspish waist of a size 8 model, men hanker after a curvy size 12 with hips.”

Surprisingly, when men were asked about what they would most want to change in their partners, the majority said “they were perfectly happy, thank you very much.”

In fact, the men just want us to love our bodies as much as they do.

Surprised? I was.

Not as surprising is the fact that 56% of the women chose their breasts as their most attractive body part, while 45% said their stomach is their least liked body part.

Inversely, 77% of men said they wished women were more confident with their looks.

From the Survey:

79% of the women surveyed want to lose weight

37% want to lose 1-7lbs.

If you’d like to see all the results of the survey, click here, but be warned, there is a very discrete photo of naked women on the homepage.

What do you think the perfect body is?

Personally, I don’t think there is a perfect body. Health is the name of the game, because

After all, it’s about a healthy lifestyle!

© Iowa Avenue

Photo courtesy of SMN

How to get the perfect shave @ timesonline.co.uk

The book is a fiction story by Richard Bach, one of the great writers, world has ever produced. The first time I read the book, it started a thought process in me; it made me think beyond my life style, my daily routines. It made me think the purpose of this life. It made me realize that there is so much to live, so much to find, so much to explore. The book added lots of efficacious and dynamic words in my vocabulary. Some of them being:

Experiment, Explore, Experience - The perfect E's
Practice, Perfection - Best P's
"The more you learn, the more you grow, the more you grow, the more is the joy in living, the more is the joy, the perfect your life is".

It really helps us visualize living a perfect and immortal life.

Some of the great punches from the book which inspired me most are given below:

"I don't mind being bone and feathers, mom. I just want to know what I can do in the air and what I can't, that's all. I just want to know."

"His thought was triumph. Terminal velocity! A seagull at two hundred fourteen miles per hour! It was breakthrough, the greatest single moment in the history of the Flock, and in that moment a new age opened for Jonathan Gull."

"Do you have any idea how many lives we must have gone through before we even got the first idea that there is more to life than eating, or fighting, or power in the flock?"

"Heaven is not a place, and it is not a time, Heaven is being perfect."

The book has still occupied us in thousands of shades of our lives and will keep us occupied eternally.

http://books.google.com/books?id=C19aAAAAMAAJ&q=jonathan+livingston+seagull&dq=jonathan+livingston+seagull&pgis=1

My definition of perfect:

the obsessive need to have things done MY WAY

You see, perfect is rather subjective. What is perfect to me may not be perfect to you and my compulsion for perfect usually only matters to me.

Here are some examples of how the disease attacked me today:

1. I was trying on clothes to figure out what to wear tomorrow and couldn't find the perfect size heal to go with my jeans that would make them hang at the perfect length. When I did find the perfect size heal it didn't match my shirt perfectly and so we went round and round trying to perfectly match the heal, the jeans, and the shirt.
2. While I was cleaning up the kitchen today I discovered that I have a precise way that all the dishes go in the cabinets perfectly. Even mismatched dishes have a perfect order. And of course there is a perfect way to load the dishwasher so as to perfectly fit everything in there!
3. The laundry is also subject to perfect. I have strong opinions on the perfect size load and what colors and fabrics should be washed together. But perfect really comes into play for the folding. Towels are folded perfectly in half and then in half again and then two folds from the outside in so that the folded towel is the perfect size for the cabinet when it's put away. The same holds true for every stitch of clothing INCLUDING underwear, yes underwear are perfectly folded... each and every pair!

Yes, I do believe I am borderline OCD but my disease of perfect rears its ugly head inconsistently.  There are some things that I'm sure I'm not so obsessive about... but I can't think of them right now. :)

What crazy compulsions do you have?

It’s All About the Brushes

When it comes to applying makeup like a professional, using the right tools can make all the difference. High-quality brushes can help you achieve a smooth, even look. Here are a few makeup artist tips and techniques you can use every day to get a polished look. It’s all a matter of using the right brush to get beautiful results.

A Powder Brush is a full, fluffy brush designed to evenly distribute powder to the face. Sweep brush across pressed powder or dip into loose powder; tap gently to remove excess and apply to the face from forehead to chin using long, light strokes.

A Cheek Brush is used to accentuate bone structure or add a healthy blush to cheeks. Use the tip of this soft, angled brush to apply color to the apples of the cheeks and stroke upward along cheekbones, stopping just below the temples, then blend. This brush is also a great tool to use for applying bronzer. Apply across the bridge of your nose, temples, cheekbones and shoulders for a gorgeous, healthy looking glow.

An Eye Definer Brush has bristles that are tapered and rounded at the end to shape and define eyes and blend color evenly. Sweep color softly across the eyelid and then lightly above the crease for a natural, yet polished look.

As human beings, we have a sinful nature.  We are all sinners.  Jesus said that.  The Bible says that.  We are doomed to die and keep dooming ourselves even more.  Why would God come down in human form to save us?  If you really think about it, why would He want to be one of US?  Why?  Jesus came down to earth to show us how to live and we killed him for it.  How humiliating.

He lived a perfect life.  His life was meant to be a guideline for the lost.  For everyone.  Look up, and you'll be staring up into the face of love.  Pure love.

Love these days is rare.  It turns to hate so fast.

This world is lost.  The nations of this world are going to kneel before God in the days soon to come.  They will be crying out for salvation.  The eyes of the nations of this world are going to open.

"In the last days," God says, "I will pour out my spirit upon all people.  Your sons and daughters will prophesy.  Your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams.  In those days I will pour out my Spirit even on my servants-men and women alike-and they will prophesy." -Acts 2:17-18

I believe this has happened, it's still happening, and it will happen even more.

God has called His people to ritcheousness. He has called His people to seek and find and save the lost.  God has called His people to spread the Word and to live according to it.  To set an example for the others watching.

I hope the Lord comes soon, because the world is falling fast and hard.

The King is near, and he's come for His kingdom.

Are you part of it?