Guilty Shoes

Community or Traditional College?  There have been so many negative posts about how expensive and unnecessary college is. I'm weighing in, because while I love a sale (shoe sale, to be exact), college provides an intangible value for kids who feel a little queasy about the price of tuition. The latest advice for prospective students is, forgo the 4-year institutions and hit up the community college option. While this makes sense for some students, it’s not good advice for all college-bound kids. Ask yourself: How well did I like high school? If you hated it, couldn’t stand the classes, teachers and most of your classmates, punishing yourself with another 4 years of the same (on steroids) is counter intuitive. What you need to do now is creatively think of ways to get yourself out into the world to find what you love. If you already know what you’re good at—get in the door through part time volunteering or shadowing a mentor. A 2-year

I will say goodbye to 2018 with mixed emotions. I can't say it was a great year. I lost my job. It's terrifying no matter what you are or how old you are. To be dumped suddenly, without warning or compassion is jarring at the very least. I recovered from the shock and sent out resumes. I thought, the economy is good; there's got to be something for me.  Well, there was plenty out there--and still is. Problem: nothing fit. Nothing full time, adequate pay or  of commutable distance.  In order to grab some gainful employment, I applied for a substitute teaching position. The training program was intensive. I've never worked so hard to for a position with such low compensation and such high expectations. I landed in a multi-disability class with autistic and intellectually disabled children under the age of 10. Nothing I had ever done before (even working in a trauma unit) prepared me. And yet I love it. I never thought I would be in a place wher

More Factchecking Revenge  Where are the facts? In my previous blog I discussed a magazine ( Fall Harvest Hoffman Media) that while lovely, had no photo credits, resources, DIY instructions or list of where to buy items shown. What little info they did impart was faulty or inaccurate. The only saving grace of the magazine were the 80+ recipes. In Martha Stewart's Living or Williams-Sonoma Entertaining magazines, I'm practically Ubered to the store where the items were purchased. Exhaustive lists and crystal clear instructions are in every issue. This is important as it shows care has gone into the production of the magazine--attention to fact and details. And they care about the vendors being promoted. It makes me want to copy the style (with my own spin) of the table setting, decor or interior design.  Please do not buy eye candy that won't provide some sort of Where to Buy index. Do not buy magazines that don't label items correctly or

FALL HARVEST FAUX PAS there's one life lesson that has gone unheeded for decades: Never tick off a fact checker. they can mess you up something awful. Well...maybe not. but without them you're apt to look a wee bit foolish. Take Fall Harvest magazine by Hoffman Media (the same folks who do Paula Deen and Victoria ), I bought the well-photographed magazine, spending a hefty $15. I quickly noticed there weren't any photo credits, no links, of how or where to find the decor, plates, flatware, stemware or flowers. Nothing to help my Thanksgiving become special and more gracious. In their defense, they had a photo credit and a resource on p.145. Just one. One. Seriously? I reached out via email to gently point out what was missing, and also that they had mislabeled butternut squash as acorn squash. (p.10) Guess what? They don't care. I was dismissed and without any sort of acknowledgement or  hey thanks! So that's it. I went full on fact check to find

to be invisible... Jason Bourne and I have a lot in common--we're both trained to be invisible. In the movie, The Bourne Identity , Agent Alexander Conklin tells Bourne: "I don't send you to kill, I send you to be invisible. I send you because you don't exist." As a server at catered events (weddings, parties, award ceremonies, etc), I too, am sent in to be invisible. My manager could as easily said that to me (except for the kill part). I wear the same uniform as the other men and women who serve food and drink. Nothing bright in my hair, face or nails. I'm blending in...faceless, nameless. Think about it. Do you remember the face or the name of the person who handed you a cocktail or an hors d'oeuvres at a recent event? Or did you think: Who just took my napkin? I'm also trained as a substitute teacher. Talk about invisible. Ask yourself, what substitute do you remember? None. I don't even remember my substitute teachers. Whether

Hershey Park flooded Here in the Eastern part of the U.S. there's been rain and flooding in nearly Biblical proportions. The amount of water falling from the skies is breaking records and ruining people's fun--vacations, travel, weddings, jobs, etc. It's gotten so bad people are actually praying for the rain to stop! Recovering tomato plant  I feel as though I need to apologize. In the beginning of the summer, I purchased tomato and pepper plants that were basically dying. I planted them and thought of the 44, only a dozen or so would make it. I prayed they wouldn't die--whatever it took, I asked, make it happen. So about a month and a half, crazy humidity, and 8 inches of rain later, every single plant survived. Even the ones that were stunted recovered and sprouted new leaves. Happy tomatoes While someone is praying for sun, someone else is praying for rain.  Now, after rained-out beach days and soggy weddings, I'm offering my apologies