The Great Age Divide And Great Magazine Giveaway

I can't wait to sit down at the computer this weekend and post something other than the dribble I've been doing this week - by the time I get home I have been so fried that a typical post sounds something like brzzzthpfft and all I can think about writing about is maybe the turkey sandwich I ate for lunch.

I have been working on some more Air Force Wife Pieces and some other projects (Jamie - I swear I'll email you this weekend!) so please bear with me.

I do have one funny tidbit. The other day at a hospital meeting with several different units a young social worker came and sat next to me. Did I say young? I meant to say fetal. Seriously - she was like twelve. Am I so old that the new college graduates look like my children now?

Anyway - as I sat there feeling withered and ancient she tapped at the table and looked around. Her eyes rested on me and she said, "Hey. What up?"

What up? This simple salutation had me feeling like Ma Ingalls or some school marm from a Turner Classic Movie. It froze me. I think I actually straightened my spine and cracked a pathetic smile and said, "Hello. My, lunch surely smells divine, does it not?"

I need to work on my assimilation skills.

For your patience with my bloggy-loserness (and lack of visiting all of your blogs which I promise to remedy) I am giving away a magazine subscription today. I'll pick a commenter to receive one year of Real Simple (or other if you already have that) this Sunday. So please tell me you're still reading even though I suck and then I can send you something even more fun to read!

Is Your Name Jen? Jenn? Jenny? Jennifer? Well, You All Won

Happy Sunday!

Flutter

Jenn C.

Jenn

Nancy

SPJ

Fantastagirl

Andi

Jen T.

Amanda

The Dragonfly

Jenn at Juggling Life

Jennifer...

You guys won an art card! Head on over to Katie's site and contact her and let her know you were picked from Get in the Car's blog to win a card.
Thanks for playing!

Art is Grand - Free Art is Sublime

I love the internet. Because of this crazy web, courtesy of Mr. Al Gore ;), we can connect, re-connect, and support each other in ways we couldn't just a few short years ago.

We've had give-aways here at Get in the Car for face masks, books, purses, lip gloss, and jewelry. We've sold diamonds and turned over the proceeds to Habitat for Humanity. All of this is possible because of the great network we have, and all we have to do is turn on our computer. Now, I'd love for you to turn your attention to a talented Pacific Northwest Artist, Katie Berggren.

Please visit her site. Not only is she a true talent, she's a mother, and she even designed the web page for Muddy H20, the people who gave several of you free chocolate and French clay face masks!

As an incentive to toddle on over and peruse her great work, which celebrates womanhood and is affordable, she is giving away TWELVE FREE ART CARDS to readers of this here blog. I love her work, because she celebrates motherhood in a unique way, and even though I live in one of those artsy southwest towns, I haven't seen anything like her style - and that's saying quite a bit. We have as many art galleries as the Bible Belt has churches and Waffle Houses.

What are you waiting for?? Leave a comment, go on and enjoy some beautiful images while you enjoy your morning beverage, and maybe you'll win something pretty to hang on your wall above the computer that connects us all.

Lady Luck

Some people really must be born under a lucky star. You hear about people who win Powerball and then go on to win other things, and then there are people who can't win a drawing to save their lives. When I had the kids mix the names up in a bowl and pick a name, they picked two people in a row who had recently won something! So, since I've never said it before, you can win more than once, but not in the same month. How's that? I really get a kick out of doing this, so it will be a regular feature this year, I promise. Once or twice a month is what I'd like to do, with great give aways, so don't get discouraged.

It's my way of saying thanks for reading.

We picked, on our third try, Magpie. So shoot me an email by the end of the week or it's back to the drawing bowl!

I am off to take the kids into school before I start to chew on some shoe leather. It tastes roughly the same as the frozen entrees I have been consuming, anyway.

Another Give Away??

I just mailed the face masks earlier this week, yet the siren call of a give away is too much.

That, and I'm already spring cleaning the house - I'm not much of a winter girl. After Christmas, snow on the ground stops looking like a Currier and Ives postcard. It's more of a subliminal message telling me to take my family to Mexico until summer. That, or rock in the corner of my kitchen in the fetal position until the temp rises above 25.

So in my spring cleaning I have unearthed something that really needs a home. Yes, I'm giving you something used. Don't go! Because it is really a good used thing, to some of us.

I have *cough* a bit of a Kate Spade addiction, and although I pretty much only carry the black diaper bag these days, I may have a couple other Kates lounging in my closet.

One, in particular, hasn't seen the light of day in a looong time. It's my first Kate, the one I went to Neiman Marcus and bought while Bob fainted in the background (men do not understand the thrill of the chase with great purses). Yes, she's used, but she really is in excellent condition.

So, do you want a black Kate Spade Sam bag? Because if you don't, I'm sending her to Good Will.

Don't make me do that to Kate.

The Wrinkle Rexic Shares

Oooh! I have another give-away!

So soon, you ask? Yes, because I just can't wait on this one.

I recently tried a new face mask my mom sent me made entirely from natural and organic ingredients and it knocked my socks off. Was it because the mask had cocoa powder and made me feel as if I were making out with a Ghirardelli bar? Um, maybe.

But also because the moment I rinsed the mask off, Bob happened to walk by. Normally, the man notices nothing. Really. Once I dyed my normally blonde hair (of course it's naturally that way. cough.) auburn for a trip to Paris and I bounced in front of him and asked him how he liked my new hair. He had to wonder, hmmm, was it maybe shorter?

So Bob walked by and stopped. He looked at me and squinted his eyes and said, "Wow. Your skin looks really, really good."

Game over. I was hooked. So without further ado, let me introduce to you to my new favorite face mask in the entire world, ever, Muddy H2O. This stuff is fantastic, and contains really cool ingredients like cocoa powder, natural french clay, organic calendula, comfrey root and ground chickpea powder. There is nothing artificial in these wonder masks and after using the chocolate mask my skin was soft, smooth, and glowed like Jack's bottom. Before the rash.

I also used the French Clay mask, and mixed it with some pureed pumpkin like I read on their website. Holy small pores, Batman! I had considered going to my local day spa for their pumpkin enzymatic peel (for way too much money) and now I think that would be a waste of time and money.

Want your own? I'm giving away SIX natural face and body masks for you to try. Three French Clay and three chocolate. But seriously, these things are so inexpensive that you would all be silly, big-pored fools to not rush here or here and get yourself some chocolate blueberry amazingness.

Today and tomorrow all who comment are open for the draw.

Philanthropy Thursday

"You must be the change you want to see in the world."--Mahatma Gandhi

I was in the grocery store tonight. I needed some light bulbs and thought I'd shop for the dinner we're hosting tomorrow night. My cart was laden with wine, good cheese, organic fruit, chicken, and ingredients for dessert. As I stood in line at 9:30 in the evening, I waited while a young mother ahead of me struggled with her purse. Her two children were beside her, their eyes heavy looking and I wondered if it was past their bedtime. I looked at her items. White bread, a gallon of generic whole milk, and a five pound bag of russet potatoes. My reverie was broken by the curt words of the checker. "Your card's declined."

I froze. What could I do? I wanted to offer to pay for her paltry fare, but the last thing I wanted to do was embarrass or shame her. In those few wasted seconds, she hesitantly took out what was clearly a credit card and handed it to the checker. It went through, and she was on her way.

This happens all the time where I live. Maybe it does where you live, too. We're just a few miles from the Navajo Reservation, and the poverty there is astounding. It is a third world. And it is a black mark upon every American citizen, if you ask me. There are people everywhere struggling to feed their families; sometimes it's obvious, and sometimes we have no clue. There are probably women blogging today about some funny thing their kid said and failing to mention their need.

What should I have done? How can I quickly face a situation like that in the future? How do I avoid coming off as an over-privileged asshole who is showing off and expecting thanks and instead more like a woman who simply wants to lend another woman a hand? What do you do in situations like this? If you suddenly were handed the keys to a large charitable foundation, how would you disperse the money? Why?

If you would humor me, and help me out, I would be really grateful. So grateful, that I'll enter you in a drawing to win a beautiful "Be the Change Cuff Bracelet"(winner to be announced this weekend). With the purchase of the bracelet, The Hunger Site funds 25.0 cups of food. More importantly, it is a lovely reminder that in order for our world to change, we have to change. I want to. Do you?