Happy Mother’s Day
Today may be a day that is really driven by the card companies and flower shops but you know what…I’ll take it! Happy Mother’s Day!
Whether you are a mom or you have one that is patiently waiting for her breakfast in bed, a hug and a card or a longed for phone call – we all can relate to the whole notion of motherhood.
For me motherhood was like Christmas. Something I waited for and something that I knew was going to move me beyond anything else I had experienced in my life.
The first time I held my child I couldn’t believe this warm bundle looking up at me had come about because of the love I had for the fellow next to me. I remember waking up at night just so I could go and stare at her breathing being ever so thankful that I was blessed with this child.
The experience was just as sweet with my second child. Yesterday he reluctantly showed me a cut on his thigh that he had been concealing from this week’s rugby game. Instantly I wanted to go tend to it. But you know he stopped me because he had followed all the steps of cleaning and tending to it already. Yes they grow up fast.
Thankfully I also have my own mother to go and give some love to today. The picture above is shot of her peonies I took last year. They remind me of her.
This has been a week for emotion. Yesterday my daughter showed me a black and white photo she had taken recently of my mom for her photography class.
That brought me to tears. The picture is beautiful and captures her in mid conversation with my daughter. She’s not dressed up (as she is usually is) – it is one of those very natural pictures that you want to lock in your mind. Her expression has that tender look that comes on her face when she is talking to her grandkids. It is hard to explain but I know it when I see it. Perhaps you know what I mean. It’s that look of special, endearing love.
Whether your mom is with you today or not, I hope you have her near you in your heart and mind.
Eat Local Save the Family Farm, the Environment
By now most of us know that North American agriculture is for the most part industrialized. What more folks are talking about now is the impact on our health, the environment and the economy because of all this industrialized farming.
Machines are used to do everything from remove freshly laid eggs from the mama chicken’s living compartment (prison) to feeding and slaughtering animals.
Industrial agriculture also involves a tremendous amount of chemicals used as part of the process to control the ripening of our produce so they can stay ”fresh” during their long trek across country and borders to households around the nation and the world.
There is, of course, a cost associated wtih all this industrialized food production. It takes fuel to run all this machinery and ship produce. Currently a barrel of oil costs $120 U.S.
Did you know it takes 35 gallons of oil or the equivalent of a barrel, to raise a steer to go to market? Recent media reports indicate that 25% of American petroleum is consumed in the producing and transporting of food.
Green living advocates across the country are advocating for a solution to this dilemma that is quite simply focused on encouraging people to eat locally.
When we eat food grown locally not ony are we eating food that in all liklihood has less (or no) preservatives (because it’s not travelling far) but we are helping our environment and our local economy and farmers.
Industrial agriculture is not environmental friendly. It uses too much fuel. There are also ethical issues involved as industrial farming uses mechanized methods of slaughtering livestock that many consider to be inhumane.
Thousands of family farms have gone under in the last few decades. Farmers haven’t been able to make a living for their families given the high costs associated with farming today and the relatively low prices of agricultural goods in our supermakrets. Farmers just aren’t making enough to cover expenses.
Many are calling for policies and legislation to help the family farm to produce products for local markets.
You can do your part – try to eat products from your local/regional farmers. Some school boards and restaurants are making a concerted effort to purchase products from regional suppliers/farmers. Raise this issue with your local stores and community organizations. Let’s help to save the family farm and support our regional communities.
EDITED TO ADD RESOURCE: Thanks to the great readers on this site I was reminded to add one of the best resources for information about eating locally. The website www.localharvest.org should be on your favorites tool bar if you want to learn more about eating locally. Locally grown food is healthier and CSA’s or Community Supported Agriculture groups are springing up all over to help more of us benefit from this lifestyle change. Read about CSAs on the Local Harvest website.
Higher Gas Prices May Mean More Local Business For You!
With gas prices on the rise more people will be making the decision to take vacations close to home this year. If you’re a business owner, and depending on the business you have, this may be good news for you.
When your neighbors vacation close to home that may mean they’ll be supporting local businesses more – from restaurants to museums to golf courses – anything recreational in your community will benefit from a rise in local vacationers.
Those firms will in turn be inclined to spend more with the suppliers they depend on for business – from the local designer who updates their website to the virtual assistant or marketing consultant who helps the business to operate.
So if you’re looking to expand your client base think about how your business serves the recreational/hobby/tourism market in your community. This could be a good season for you!
Show#5 – Buying A Home in Today’s Market
The current mortgage crisis has many of us concerned about real estate. Is this a good time to get a deal on a house? For those renting, is this a good time to enter the housing market? To help us examine the pros and cons of buying or NOT buying a home today, is real estate agent, Carole Cohen with Howard Hanna Smythe Cramer.
Also included in this weeks show is a list of Mother’s Day gift ideas to help you determine which hints you’ll leave around the house!
Site references mentioned during the show:
http://www.clevelandrealestatenews.com
Not Zuzu’s Petals but Suri’s LadyBug Shoes
If you’re not a fan of the classic movie “It’s a Wonderful Life” then the “Zuzu’s petals” reference in today’s post title will mean little to you. But if you are even partially conscious and watch television then you know all about Tom Cruise’s little girl Suri and his recent appearance on Oprah showing Suri’s little “Ladybug shoes.”
If you’ve got a little girl in your family who might love to wiggle her toes in these shoes or if you ‘d just like to get some great fashion items for boys or girls, then you’re in luck.
I’m hosting a prize give away courtesy of the mom owned boutique that sold those little lady bug shoes and other items to Tom Cruise’s family. The store is called Skimbaco. It’s a wonderful boutique in Colorado owned and operated by young mom of three Katja Presnal. Katja is giving away $30 Gift Certificates to a few lucky readers so they can choose from among her fabulous selection of products and fashions for the whole family. Whether you’re interested in purchasing the “Monkey-Toes Little Ladies Ladybug Mary Janes” or something else from the wide selection of boys and girls and mens and womens fashions and products, you’re bound to find something to your liking.
The great news is the New Urban Mom blog is one of the few blogs selected to offer this give away!
To get your name entered into the Skimbaco $30 Gift Certificate Contest being given away on this blog simply visit Skimbaco to view their amazing products (added bonus: they are having a sale right now). Come back to this blog and leave a comment listing your favorite Skimbaco product.
That’s it! Easy as pie!
I’ll announce the winner on May 15
Edited to add: The boutique, Skimbaco will only be able to ship to U.S. residents – so you won’t be able to win unless you’re in the U.S. Sorry!
UPDATE: WE HAVE A WINNER – SEE THE MAY 15TH POST UNDER “CONTEST”
The Sunday Recharge
We’ve had rain the last couple days and like most mornings following a rainy evening, it was slightly misty and very quiet and still outside. Usually the birds are up with me (5:00 a.m.) but this morning they seemed to be sleeping in. By about 5:45 their chirps became a little more frequent.
For an old neighborhood with a lot of mature trees that attract many birds, I was a little surprised by the relative silence this morning. It was like everyone, including the birds, was recharging.
Thank goodness for Sundays. I know many people still have to work and hopefully they have other days off in the week. But for the majority of us Sunday is a much needed day to connect with our families and enjoy a day without tight schedules and appointments.
Any of you who took English 101 in college may be familiar with the following spring poem by William Wordsworth. I thought I’d share. (See kids you do end up having some use for the subjects taught to you in school!)
Daffodils
William Wordsworth
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills.
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a boy:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance
The waves beside them danced, but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay
In such a jocund company;
I gazed–and gazed–but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
Shopping and New Urbanism
One of the many things I like about new urbanism is that it helps us to shift around our notion of the suburban or urban shopping experience.
OUT – is the long, environmentally un-friendly trek in the car to the big boring mall.
IN – is a walk, stroll or bike ride to the nearest “lifestyle” shopping area or urban market. Translation: shops, markets and offices located on streets and in areas close to where we live and play.
OUT – is the enclosed warehouse shopping “experience” with all the indoor rubber plants and skylights to simulate the outdoors.
IN – is the “old fashioned” outdoor experience of shopping. Once I leave a store I like to breathe in fresh air (that’s usually because I really don’t like shopping – shhh). The picture at right is a pedestrian mall – part of the newly developed lifestyle shopping destination in Charlottesville, VA. Great for people like me who love to stroll and sit outdoors 
Take a look around your neighborhood and region. You just might find one of these new “lifestyle” shopping centers or cool urban markets. What a great opportunity to shake up your shopping experience!
Remember – don’t ignore your cities! Sensitive development or re-development is not just happening in the suburbs but in cities too. Around the country visionary entrepreneurs and enterprising developers are reshaping older parts of cities to make them more inviting to residents and visitors.
It’s the urban re-developments that I find really exciting because of the energy, life and resources they bring to old city neighborhoods in need. Ultimately schools and recreational facilities for city families, students and seniors benefit when the tax base increases with this influx of new business and residents.
Cleveland, Ohio is one city doing a lot with its urban neighborhoods. The picture at the top of this post is 
from the city’s West Side Market (a farmers’ market for city dwellers) and here is a picture from Cleveland’s popular Coventry neighborhood.
If shopping is in your blood you might also want to visit my friend Chele Neisler’s site Moms Love Shopping for all things shopping, all the time .
I’m Also Here…
