A Mama's Rant

Sleep Is for the Weak: a book review

Sleep Is for the Weak: the best of the mommybloggers including Amalah, Finslippy, Fussy, Woulda Coulda Shoulda, Mom-101, and More! (a BlogHer Book), from Chicago Review Press, was edited by Rita Arens, who blogs at Surrender, Dorothy.

I saw Rita talk about her struggles to get this book published at the What We Do: Blog to Book Redux session at Blogher 2008, which was lived blogged at Semi-Charmed Life. I admire the hard work it took to get Sleep Is for the Weak out there, and was thrilled that someone finally got a bunch of mom bloggers together to do a “best of” book and put the BlogHer brand on it. It seemed like validation that yes, we mom bloggers are worthy of a printed publication rather than just getting mentioned in the Style section of the New York Times. After hearing the powerful writing that was shared at the BlogHer Community Keynote address the day before at BlogHer 2008, mom bloggers (and some dad bloggers, too) had finally arrived in the realm of serious writing. I’m sure Virginia Woolf and the Bronte sisters would send their regards.

The Best Parts

I started reading it when I got home after the conference. There’s some amazingly good writing in Sleep Is for the Weak. First the fun stuff. I loved Miriam Kamin’s “Mama, Who Invented the Speculum.” The first time I read it on her blog, Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda, the tears were streaming down my face from laughing. And “Corn on the Cam” by Birdie Jaworksi of Birdie’s New Mexico Time Machine was sheer genius. How I wished I was on that adventurous culinary car trip with her and her children. She made it sound like so much fun.

Then there were the powerful posts. Rita sharing her struggles with anorexia and self-hate in “Nicole Ritchie Has Nothing on Me.” Jen Satterwhite of Mommy Needs Coffee sharing “You Can Never Out-Love Your Mom” about her mother dying. And “The Menopausal Hut” by Grace Davis of State of Grace discussing a woman’s need for a hut of one’s own. (In my opinion we all need such a hut, menopausal or not.)

Much of the book contained the type of writing I have trouble creating, the type where the writer bares it all and is very open about her marriage, childhood, children, and herself via her blog. I admire people who can do this, but I can’t because I don’t want people – even the ones closest to me – to know how I’m feeling much of the time. It makes me feel too vulnerable, and my writing suffers for it by being too middle of the road.

My two best bargain finds EVER

Nexgrill Stainless Steel Gas Grill

Three years ago, we got the steal of the century at Target and the best bang for our buck cooking-wise we've had in years. For $250 (including tax) we bought a Nexgrill Stainless Steel Gas Grill that normally sells for $549.99. First, it was on sale. Then because only a damaged model was left (and they had to sell it before they could sell anyone the floor model), the manager gave us an an additional 30% off the sale price. He told us that if we weren't able to put it together because of the damage (which didn't look that bad to us in the store), he'd give us a full refund. Then we got an additional 10% off for opening up a Target VISA account.

When we got it home, we realized on the back panel was bent but all of the damage was on the inside. After bending it back into shape, Big Bad Dad was able to put it together with no problems. We’ve used the rotisserie a few times with mixed success. Still, we mostly use it to grill several times a year. In the three years we’ve had it, it still looks and works great.

Navigon 2100 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator

A more recent bargain is the Navigon 2100 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator I got for my husband for Father’s Day. It normally retails for $199, but was on sale at Staples for $119. (It’s usually $135 at Amazon.) I had a $25 off coupon for purchases over $100. And because it was over $50 I got free shipping. Also, the nearest Staples is a 40-minute round trip. So not only did I save time and gas buying it online, I also paid my local sales tax, too (6.3% vs. 8.025%).

Ironically, Sony sent me a their the Sony nav-u™ portable navigation device (NV-U83t) to review a couple of weeks later. (You can read my write up at Sony gets you where you want to go: the Sony NV-U83T portable navigation system.) It’s a much fancier product that retails around $400. Still the features that make it more expensive - Bluetooth hands free communication and a traffic messaging channel – are features I don’t use. Trying out the Sony GPS made me realize that you don’t need a fully loaded $400 GPS – the cheaper units are just as good. However, getting one for around $100 was even better.

Some Great Shopping Sites

One of my recent finds is the Box Tops for Education Marketplace. It’s a great way to earn cash for your school. I also like using FatWallet.com, which pays you a percentage back on your purchases (months later though).

A new place I found through The Parent Bloggers Network is Couponers.com, a coupon and deals shopping website that averages over 100 new coupons and discounts daily from hundreds of your favorite stores. What’s cool is that each section (like office supplies, travel, or sporting goods) comes with an RSS feed. So instead of checking the site daily for bargains, you can put the section’s feed into your feed reader. How smart is that?

You can also search the site by store. Finally, they’ve teamed up with SmartSource to provide their users with printable store coupons. This is definitely a service I can – and will – use.

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How many hours until school starts?

We've been sharpening pencils all day. And the car is packed with school supplies to take to today's open house. But as Staples likes to remind us, It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year. (Thanks to Wendy at SparkPlug CEO.)

After Lucie broke a vintage 50's lamp this week and Nathan knocked a vintage figurine off the bathroom wall and shattered it, I'm more than ready. Aren't you?

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Olympic Volleyball Sexist?

Have you noticed that the women's volleyball teams practically play in bras and panties - much to the delight of my eight-year-old son who loves tall, older women - while the men wear shorts and tank tops?

I think the men should be shirtless at least, don't you? Speedos could be, er, interesting, too. So could a mankini.

What do you think?

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Sony and Operation Smile

This month Sony Electronics is helping more children smile through its support of the worldwide children’s medical charity Operation Smile.

Sony’s retail promotion for Sony Cyber-shot® cameras featuring Smile Shutter^TM technology at Sony Style^® Stores, Sonystyle.com, and other participating retailers. Through this effort, the company will make a $100,000 donation to the organization. The funds will be used to provide free physical examinations and reconstructive surgeries for children suffering from cleft lips, cleft palates and other facial deformities.

Sony is also donating Sony Cyber-shot digital cameras to help Operation Smile volunteers capture smiles at more than 30 mission sites around the world. Equipped with Sony’s distinctive Smile Shutter technology, the cameras automatically capture a smile when the feature is activated, without having to press the shutter button. The result is snapshots with natural-looking smiles and expressions.

I have the Sony Cybershot DSCW170. (See Forget that Soccer Mom Crap - Just Call Me Sony Mom! to learn how I got it.) It has Smile Shutter technology, which I never use because my children are such hams. But if you have a “reluctant smiler” in the family, the camera can detect that brief moment when your child smiles – and quickly takes the picture. I’ve seen it in action and it really works!

Bravo to Sony for doing helping Operation Smile and giving us moms an excuse to pick up a great camera. Don’t need another camera? Then make a donation to Operation Smile instead.

The best reuse of BlogHer swag goes to…the Momocrats!

The MOMocrats are holding a raffle - the Help A Mama Swag-rama - to earn money to go to the Democratic National Convention.

It’s the best use of BlogHer swag that I’ve ever seen! (Swag, for the uninitiated, is all the free stuff PR people send bloggers and that pick up at conferences like BlogHer.)

Since I’m on the same mailing list as many of the MOMocrats, it was hard choosing which gift bag I wanted to bid on. No I don’t need another copy of The Maternal Is Political: Women Writers at the Intersection of Motherhood and Social Change since I got a free signed copy thanks to the folks at Mom Central. But it’s such a terrific book, that I know I can find a terrific mom or two to give it to.

So what to bid on? There are 27 gift bags in all at the Help A Mama Swag-o-Rama site to choose from. (I’m not going to tell you what I big on except that it involves chocolate, dresses, and booze.) Each bid is $3 and there’s a minimum $6 bid.

It’s easy to bid, too. Just choose the prize packages you want to bid on, put them in your shopping cart using the Paypal widget on the sidebar, and check out when you're done. The contest will close on Friday, August 8 at midnight PST. The winners will be notified on Saturday, August 9. 

Proceeds go toward helping the MOMocrats pay travel expenses to get to and from the DNC. I’m glad to help as I’m getting reimbursed by the folks at MOTHERS and the National Association of Mothers’ Centers to get into The Big Tent. Did I mention that I’ll be blogging there via the MOTHERS Book Bag and on the MOTHERS main website?

You can have fabulous hair without paying a fortune

Laura from LaLa Girl Reviews did a round up of all the fab women she met at the Sony Blogger Event last April. What she said about me really cracked me up:

Someone from my ‘hood! Anne Marie...also has that sort of hair where you can just take a shower and show up somewhere with a wet head and your hair looks fantastic by the time it’s dry. I hate her. No, I actually love her, despite the fact that she has perfect hair and I don’t.

First, I'd like to thank Laura for the compliment, then my parents. It's because of genetics that I have the hair I do - thick and slightly course. I also have a ton of it. Unlike my sister, who also has a head full of thick hair in a rich dark brown, my hair is "yucky brown" and white. (Thanks, Dad. Geez.)

Luckily, my stylist, Karen, does a fantastic job coloring and cutting my hair. If Laura knew what I paid Karen, let alone driving an hour roundtrip to see her, and spending an additional two hours in the salon, she probably fall down. Good hair ain't cheap and takes time, well in the salon that is.

At home, I try to save money on my hair. First, I only get my hair cut and colored every six to eight weeks. Sometimes this means dealing with long bangs and gray roots for a couple of weeks. I also don't blow dry or curl it, which cuts down on electricity and saves time. Also, I use inexpensive hair care products, and only buy brands of shampoo, conditioner, and styling gel that I have coupons for.

One of my favorite brands of hair care products is Suave. Not only is it inexpensive, it's good!

Back to school office supplies for writer mamas

As a writer I'm obsessed with finding the right notebook. It can't be too big or I can't carry it around in my bag. And it can't be too small, because you can't write in such a notebook. Instead, you can only take notes, which is why I have a sparkly pink mini notebook perfect for fitting in the smallest of purses when I go out to parties or events.

I’ve even posted about creating the perfect notebook - twice. First, there was Journal Ideas from Lessons from the Scrapbook Page about Tasra Dawson's scrapbooking blog had terrific idea for dressing up a plain notebook into a fabulous journal.

Then at Writing the Summer Away with My Readable Feast, I wrote about finding the perfect notebooks at Office Depot. Ironically, the women in my writer's group also love these notebooks, and each own several sizes and colors. And the last time I saw them at Sears, I bought all the pink and green ones I could find.

So when I had the chance to review these notebooks for Mom Central I jumped at the chance. (Mom Central CEO Stacy DeBroff is also a big fan of these notebooks. Great minds think alike, I guess.