ThePlanetMom.com

I love Beets

I was going to post about the Business of Blogging.  Because I was talking to someone this morning and his company is eager to promote their products utilizing mom bloggers.  I'm a former brand marketer for a Fortune 500 company;  our research department espoused that advertising dollars were better spent on young adults, particularly young adult males.  So it just tickles me that brands are clamoring for the mom blogger seal of approval.  A delicious turn of events.

Anyway, delicious, yes, BEETS.  I'm from a large family and the only one of all my sisters and brothers to like beets is me.  We had a sizable garden out in the way back, and besides the usual carrots, corn, cucumbers, even rhubarb, we had beets.  And I was the only kid that ate them.  I like to categorize people, not to exclude, but because it makes them more interesting.  First we start off with all Girls, then narrow the group to Girls who Sewed Their Prom Dress, then further still:  Girls who can Throw a Baseball but not like a Girl.  Toss in Girls who Can Launch a Mom-centric, Irreverent Apparel Business with a College Friend and Girls who Like Beets, and now I'm the only girl standing.

Turns out they're awfully good for you, too.

In my 20s and 30s, my beet consumption was limited to store bought, in cans - sometimes whole, sometimes sliced, but never salted - until this year.

There's a 200 year old, 23 acre farm in our town.  It was a working farm but in 1999 had become protected open space with historical buildings.  Then, last year, the trust that manages the farm hired a farmer.  What used to be sheep pastures turned out a glorious harvest of beans, kale, heirloom tomatoes.  And beets.   The farm stand is open on Thursdays and Sundays, and I bike nine miles round trip to buy those beets.  Just enjoyed the most recent batch before I typed this post.

And guess what?  My daughter is the only one who will devour them with me.

White Wedding

I had to go to a wedding recently, and because I have limited occasions to really dress up, I put some effort and thought into this one.  I had two options: a lovely dress, several years old, that I had worn before and seemed suitable for a September evening wedding in New York City, and a brand new, stylish dress that I had bought over the summer that was white. 

I wrestled with this decision and consulted a number of friends.  There were two camps:  those who felt it was unpardonable to wear white after Labor Day and certainly not to a wedding (!) and my business partner, Eileen, who favored the white dress.  Eileen backed up her philosophy that white was OK after Labor Day with a link to a New York Times article that declared the same, and she didn't think wearing white to a wedding was in bad taste.  My other friends said, "You don't want to take attention away from the bride!"  Meanwhile, my other dress was long and light green with huge fuschia colored flowers on it, so if anything would draw attention, it was that. 

I equivocated for a while and then decided that, although I value Eileen's opinion greatly, I didn't want to incur my husband's umm.. wrath... when he saw me in a new dress.  (For some unfortunate reason, he has developed a keen awareness of what clothes I already have in my wardrobe and therefore what is a new purchase.)  Plus, I decided that people might indeed think it was a fashion faux pas to wear white to a wedding. 

Well, as it turns out, I made the wrong decision.   The bride was of Pakistani descent, so almost all of her family members were wearing brightly colored dresses with bead work that made my green and fuschia one seem dull.  And, the bride wore a red dress, as is the custom apparently.  If only I had googled "Pakistani bridal colors" ahead of time, I could've gotten some wear out of that nice new white dress. 

Want to work from home?

In these difficult economic times, it just might be a good idea to start your own at-home business.  It doesn't necessarily take a lot of capital, and it's a way to supplement your other spouse's income.  Or, maybe you're one of those truly unfortunate people who've recently been laid off.  Now's the time to think about being your own boss. Or, perhaps you'd like to leave the office and work from your home instead.  With today's gas prices, you'll be saving bundles by not commutiing! 

With that in mind, I have a very good book that can help you get started.  It's called "Will Work from Home" by Tory Johnson and Robyn Freedman Spizman.   It's available on Amazon.com for $11.20-- and it's well worth it.  Tory Johnson is the workplace contributor on Good Morning America and she runs her own successful business called "Women For Hire."  She and consumer advocate, Robyn Spizman, have collaborated on several books that help women in the workplace. 

The book includes stories from people who've made the leap to working from home and/or starting their own at-home business. (See page 101 for Planet Mom's nod!)  The book addresses how to take the job you currently have and turn it into a job that you can do from your home.  It also gives you a number of ideas for jobs that you can do from home, whether or not you're currently in the work force.  And, it talks about people like us, who've started their own at-home businesses.  This book is a great resource.  There are step-by-step instructions on what to do, and it lists companies that are open to employees working from home.  Tory and Robyn address the legalities of at-home work and businesses, too.

Let me also add that I know Tory Johnson, and this is one woman you want to listen to.  She is an amazing success story.  She has the midas touch, and you'd be silly not to read this book if you have even the slightest notion of working from home.