Veronica teaches respect for women

I have to say, I am impressed with Veronica. This woman is married to Berlusconi, Italy's Prime minister, and is 20 years the man's junior. But, she knows when her gender is disrespected and she doesn't mince words. After making flirtatous comments to several women, Berlusconi angered his wife who demanded a private apology. Failing that, she demanded a public apology. Her reasoning was clear:

"This line of conduct has a sole limit, my dignity as a woman," Veronica said. "Today for my female children, already adults, the example of a woman capable of defending her own dignity in her relationships with men takes on a particularly significant importance."

He made a public apology. Women, take note. She doesn't expect a man to defend her dignity. She can defend her own dignity quite well. It would be nice if all women realized that lesson.

Can't A Woman Go To Church Alone And Not Be Accosted?

I take it men think that churches are good places to meet chicks. Some of us are there because we are meditating or praying! Duh! Maybe the Muslims have it right and church should be segregated so we women don't have to sit next to men who have been trying to get our attention over and over. It doesn't matter that you move, they're there following you sometimes. It doesn't matter if you're downright nasty to them, they think you are having a bad day. No, I am not having a bad day! I am in church! Leave me alone!

You know, I made the mistake of going out with not one, okay, THREE men at one church, all at the same time. It was a ridiculous thing to do, I admit. I was just in a dumb mood, I guess - really stupid. Was it my fault they all asked me out the same week? I mean, I wasn't really going with any of them, so why say no to any of them? Well, I figured I had it planned out real good. You see, one only came on Wednesdays. Another only came for the 9 am service and the other came at the 11 am service. The one thing I hadn't counted on was that they might all decide to try to make the same service I was in. The day I walked in (after months of dating all three), I was late, thank god. I walked in and just about had a fit. I didn't sit with any of them because if I had, the whole thing would have exploded. When the service was over, I immediately rushed out and left. Then, I dropped two of them. Eventually, I decided dating men at my church was just a very bad move. I was there to be in church, not to meet men. And the whole thing was rather retarded anyways!

So, I have a new idea for diamond merchants everywhere. You know they put out these marketing gimmicks for people to buy diamonds to advertise different things. Here's one: A diamond ring that specifically says, "Do not approach me. I am NOT available." I mean, really, must I put my damn engagment ring from my divorce back on my left hand just so men can stay the hell away from me at church? Is there not some sort of temporary body tattoo I can get that will scare the bejeezus out of any man and keep them out of my space?

Men, sometimes when we talk we aren't looking for solutions!

I guess it was hopeless and I just didn't see it. I was hoping to connect, not to be told what to do. What exactly is it about men that they think that we women can't think for ourselves? Honestly, I'm pretty damn sick of men who can't just sit with me for a moment in silence without being uptight. Please don't open your mouth. Please don't tell me what to do. And please, don't think you know what's better for me for my own life than me. I have done pretty well without you for a long time AND I've raised a daughter to boot. I don't assume you need some advice from me, so why don't you just try to connect next time instead of offering some blanket solutions that really weren't requested?

If women talked to men the way men talked to women they'd all have their panties tied up in a wad. Stop discounting us, okay? We really are grown-up and we really do make very good decisions for ourselves. Men!

Do you like USWeb's Ads?

Some of the ads in this blog are sponsored by Blogitive. Blogitive is owned by USWeb. They are a company that helps people optimize their sites for search engine searching. They offer Search Engine Optimization, PPC Bid Management, and Trusted Feed services to target the Internet's major search properties and drive self-qualified prospects to their customer's sites. Many bloggers have liked using them to monetize their blogs but some people feel the advertising should be promoted as advertising, otherwise, it looks like blogger is promoting or recommending specific produces while they are being paid to do so.

Personally, I have no opinion. Some of their ads are good and some are not. The blogger decides which ads to add to their blog and no one is making them do so. USWeb designs, develops, and implements custom web systems and integrated online marketing solutions that focus on brand awareness, audience development, and customer retention. So, it is not unlike many different IT solutions but with a marketing and Internet bent. In the end, I suppose, you the reader decides whether an ad is effective or not. However, if these blog ads were not effective, people would stop paying us to do them.

Breaking The Marble Ceiling

Nancy Peloski was elected Speaker of the House. She is adamant that she will not be the last woman to hold this position. Read here for a feminist take on that news. Although, I agree it is a huge step forward, I would still like to see a woman president. I'd vote for Hillary Clinton any day. I think she's got what it takes, and I think she's got enough connections to bring in a lot of good people with her.

A Mother's Influence Is For Better Or Worse

We know mothers are cherished everywhere for their ability to give of themselves. But, recently I heard of a story of a little boy whose mother got angry at him and sent him out to sleep in the shed. It was the dead of winter and very cold outside. This was the second time she'd done this to him. I kept thinking to myself: "What did he do to deserve this treatment?" It's hoped that when we look at our children we see the best in them and treat them with dignity. When mothers teach their children their own inherent dignity then they are more likely to turn around and treat other people with dignity. When they treat them improperly then our children are scarred for life and, sadly, it influences all of society. Are there reasons someone can ever treat their children with so little human kindness? Is this a case of tough love or child abuse? The children on this planet are all our children. Is this mother in such difficulties that she hasn't anymore love to spare, even for her own children. The whole thing is very sad, but as mothers we are still responsible for the influence we have on our children. In turn, they will carry that with them for the rest of their lives either as a testament to your kindness or signpost for the errors of your ways.

Sponsored Post: Charles Brown, DDS

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Top 20 Professions For Women

Yes, this list is old (from 2003) and I hope things have changed, but I doubt it. No wonder women make only 77cents to every dollar a man makes. How can one really make a living being a secretary or a teacher? Nursing assistant? Where are the engineers, the lawyers, and the doctors? Well, I got trained as an engineer but I didn't particularly like the profession. Now, many engineers are unemployed. It really doesn't matter that you are blue-collar or white-collar. So, did these professions become poorly paid because there were women in them or is there something inherent about the professions that make them poorly paid? Interesting question.

Reconstructing Herstory

This site is a project to reconstruct women's role in history. It takes a look at some of the factors in oppression of the history and the structure of women's lives throughout history. It is separated into categories for countries, continents, and ancient empires. It also talks about the agency of women, which appears to be the way women functioned even in times of high oppression. If you are interested in several different views and highlights of women's history, this is definitely an interesting website.

Educating Your Teenagers About Driving Risks

Information is crucial to keeping your kids safe. The more information new teen drivers have, the less likely they will be to make common mistakes that can cause injuries and death. As parents, we are taught to tell our kids about sex, drugs, but very little is told to us about what we should tell our kids about driving. While we might want to be good little consumers and make sure we do our car insurance comparison when our kids start driving, more importantly is knowing what to tell our kids about safe driving habits.

That's why GEICO added "Teens and Trucks" to its online library of safe driving materials for teen drivers. The brochure, developed with the American Moving and Storage Association, includes valuable information for teens on how to safely share the highway with large trucks. you can get the information online through GEICO or they also provide the same information cost-free to families, driving classes, law enforcement officials and state agencies. This information is brought to you by CarInsurance.com too. You can receive additional information at Carinsurance.com as well as compare rates for different policies. You might even be able to buy your car insurance online if your state regulations allow it too.

Christmas: A Racist, Classist Holiday

Just check out Craigslist for all the people with not enough money to get presents for their kids and yet they've been told they have to and it has to be done on December 25th. Since rich people are better able to meet those social expectations, I now proclaim Christmas a racist and classist holiday. For one, Jesus is always portrayed as a white caucasian when we all know he was darker-skinned or olived complexion like most jews of his time. But, it doesn't matter! We've been commercialized to believe that Jesus would have liked his birthday being used to promote more hardship on the poor and downtrodden. As I thought about it, if it were my birthday being used for this type of oppression on other people, I'd have a fit and demand that no one celebrate my birthday! Enough is enough, folks...

Yes, I still hold that Christmas sucks...

Don't listen to the hype

Gold is a woman's best friend, not diamonds. Gold has appreciated substantially over the years, whereas diamonds seem to fluctuate wildly in value. Gold is actually a very conventional way to diversify your financial portfolio. It may not be as easy to liquidate, but in the event of a market crash, gold would retain its value. That's why people who have a lot of money often put it in gold too, not to mention the fact that it does appreciate quite well.

For over 30 years, the Monex companies have been America's gold and precious metals investment leader. One can get gold in coin or ingot form. Ingots are generally gold ingots of pure bullion cast in a convenient size and shape. Coins have a currency value or they are actually defined as ingots. You can get them delivered to you or have them stored for you at an independent bank or depository.

Check out the Monex site for gold.

How many days until Christmas?

Do I care? No, not really. I'm not celebrating Christmas this year. I'm tired of putting up trees, taking them down, going on a mad hussle for the perfect present and buying Christmas cards and signing them. I'm officially bah-humbugging Christmas this year.

My daughter is delighted. She said she always wanted to find out what it was like being Jewish for Christmas and she heard they go out for Chinese food on Christmas day. She finds this a very novel and fun idea. So, she asked if we could go eat Chinese and watch a foreign film and pretend to be Jewish on Christmas. I thought it was very multicultural of her!

So, we did go to our favorite Chinese place and they had this BIG FAT SIGN saying they were doing a special Christmas buffet. Who would have known? I never knew Chinese restaurants had buffets on Christmas! And to think, I get all those after-Christmas shopping specials too. I think I'm on to something here.

Women and Home Businesses

As I go forward with my own freelance writing career, I find more and more women who have taken the jump into home businesses. Today, someone came to my door and wanted to sell me some coupons or something. He wanted to know when my next paycheck was. I said I was self-employed. So, he asked what I did, and I said I was doing freelance writing. He was pretty interested in that because he knew someone also doing the same thing - another woman.

It doesn't surprise me.

Many women are finding they have unique talents and circumstances that make a home business a good idea. The more I do my own business ventures, the more I network with other women in business. It's amazing the networks we women can build and I am just now getting exposed to them. Too bad I didn't start sooner!

Sponsored Post: Safety Shelters

I've heard of taking care of your family, but some people are taking this to the maximum. I suppose if you lived in Oklahoma's tornado alley, you might want an above ground storm shelter and that would make a lot of sense. Apparently, if you have the money, you can buy storm shelters or instead a safe room from FamilySAFE in case you ever need one. It might come in handy if global warming brings those tornados to other areas. I suppose they'd be great for hurricanes too, like we get here in North Carolina, but I'd have to check to know for sure. One thing FamilySAFE does offer is very high-grade steel safe rooms. They try to maintain their quality understanding that price is important, but not the main criteria, when you are trying to keep your family safe. They are proud of the advancements they make every year with the aid of the HILTI anchorage company and Texas Tech research all while maintaining a competitive cost. Please visit them at FamilySafeShelterms.com to get more information about what makes the FamilySAFE storm, tornado and saferoom shelter the best of its kind.

Men like to separate, women like to unite

Sexist? Maybe so. It's just something I noticed lately. Most men like to separate things into distinct territories that they can divde and conquer. They don't like to get too close to anything because then they can not separate themselves from it and have some form of control over it.

Women, on the other hand, have been taught to unite and blend energies from the day they're born. They seek to make connections and to establish less boundaries and more unity of purpose.

I think this is all changing as we become more aware of stereotypes and our own inner task masters that deign one model of existence to be better than another. In Buddhist teachings, for example, it's taught in Shambalha tradition that to be present with that which discomforts you is more brave than to fight what you don't want to accept in your life. However, we always come across people who don't want to sit with their discomfort and who have built empires around the idea that they are separate from everyone else and somehow better. That's when women who notice this must learn to put their energies towards areas that do not support this type of creation. If we want our world to change, we have to change our own world first.

"Plenty of fish in the sea", according to one Fish

I stumbled upon this great blog post by a woman calling herself "Fish." I think her blog tagline is from a quote that goes "A woman needs a man, like a fish needs a bicycle." In this article, poor Fish recounts the story of her last horrendous breakup (which was a year old by the time I got to it). She makes some great New Year's resolutions, but the best was that she vowed to say the word "Next" when she realized a man or relationship was no longer working for her. This applies to all relationships. Empower yourself to take a discriminating look at what relationships are building you up and which are simply in place because you are allowing abuse and mistreatment in your own life. If you don't clearly say "Next!" you are allowing that energy to remain and victimize you.

This is where many women go wrong.

We've been taught to be the caretakers of a relationship but because of this we often end up abused and mistreated. Fish learned the hard way that being present in a relationship takes two people, not one. That the relationship has to be beneficial to both and that her happiness is no less important than anyone else's. I am so proud of many of us women who are starting to come into their own self-esteem, regardless of men, relationships, or being discriminated against for years.

How To Keep In Shape At Home

Many women have difficulty getting in shape after the children are born. It's tough to schedule time for yourself to run or bike while having no one to watch the kids. Or, you may come home from a full day at work and find the kids need your attention and you feel guilty taking time away from home.

Some families try to alleviate this dilemma by having a home gym area in the house. But, the equipment can be dangerous for little children who are crawling around on the floor or trying to touch everything they can. Some women are finding that boxing can give them just as good a cardio workout than treadmills and other fancy machines. Setting up a punching bag doesn't require a lot of know-how and is not as unweildy as large machines.

BoxingDepot.com has a standing punching bag that can fit just about anywhere in the home then be rolled into a closet or corner to put them away. Think about getting some Boxing Equipment for yourself or a workout partner on your Christmas list. BoxingDepot.com is offering a $2.95 delivery if ordered by December 12th. They even have a desktop punching bag for the arm-chair boxer. Their brands include Everlast, KD Elite and TKO.

Tattoos And The Divine Feminine

Okay, I've been writing up some articles on tattoos. Yes, I get paid to do this. But, one thing that I discovered in my research of the ancient art of tattoo is that many women of ancient cultures used them to signify their allegiance to the Divine Feminine. The symbols used for that were snakes and geometric figures, amongst others. Butterfly are seen to be very feminine tattoos, and I like them. But, apparently they're neither male or female.

Well, I was looking up some stuff on Asian cultures, in particular, of tattoos. And came upon this hilarious prank a bored Americanized Chinese person played on a woman who got herself a tattoo of a Chinese character. See, he has a point. People are getting themselves tattooed and they have no concept of the ritual, mystery, symbolism, significance, religious and spiritual overtones this art has. Instead, it's used like some "Grade A" stamp on our exposed hindquarters. So, he's asked "Where's the beef?" Too funny!

Despite this rather mean prank, I think if you're going to get the tattoo, why not do it the way it was meant to be done? You should understand the entire significance of what you are doing. It isn't just a cheap emblem that's permanently applied to your skin. Heck, tattoo rituals were often used by shamans to get people into ecstatic trances and altered states. It's all very fascinating!

Beautiful Female Traits of Gay Men

Okay, I'm going out on a limb here. I like gay men. What can I say? I adore the fact that men who are gay have a soft female side. Why shouldn't all men have soft female sides? Nowadays, I've heard of a few of the younger generation (men) say things like: "That appeals to my gay side." And, they're serious. All, I can do is sigh. Why was my generation so stupid about men having feminine traits? I don't know. I think they're adorable.

So, I once knew this gay man at work who was closeted. It was one of those odd things that I ended up finding out he was gay. Is it my fault I thought he was rather special after that? Okay, honestly, he also had many more characteristics that made me want to be good friends with him. But, alas, the man was too invested in pretending to be straight that I just had no choice but to play along. And there is the death of a beautiful friendship. We can't have a friendship without self-disclosure. It's like being friends with a mime. We never get to see the real person behind all that face paint.

So, if you're out there, gay man: I still want to be friends. But, I don't want to get slapped again for just wanting to be friends. That's no fun. I have my sensitive side too, you know. You got to let me know it's okay to talk to you now. Otherwise, I don't want to go where I'm not wanted.