My partner and I were driving to the pharmacy this morning; he has been coming down with a cold and it finally settled in this morning and when I woke up I have been battling being incredibly cold, a runny nose, sore throat, bad headache, ear infection and other aches and pains. There’s no doubt about it, it’s definitely cold and flu season! So we were driving to the pharmacy this morning to stock up on cold and flu medication, and while we were driving I was talking about how beautiful it is outside now. Fall is my favorite season of the year–the leaves are changing into vibrant colors, it is absolutely gorgeous to be greeted with when you wake up every day, pumpkin spice candles, cake mix and coffee creamer have hit the shelves (have actually picked up some of these myself) and people are gearing up for Halloween.
Halloween will be here and gone before we know it and afterward, the holiday season will be upon us and with the holiday season comes the maxed out credit cards. But a season of holiday cheer in the middle of an economic recession is very difficult for families everywhere. Money is already tight; there’s a rent/mortgage to pay, food to put on the table, bills, heating costs, fundraising and dues for extra-curricular activities your kids are involved in and when you throw some gift-buying into the mix, it’s easy for families to hit the bottom of their bank accounts and go broke before they know what’s happening. That is why it is very important for families to save money throughout the year whenever they can for the holiday season, although I will definitely be the first one to say that saving money is difficult and I honestly am not able to save money at the moment because of how tight money has gotten around here.
There are many ways to cut corners to splurge on gifts for your loved ones for the holidays. Many people shop throughout the year for holiday gifts while items are cheap because prices are already starting to rise for many hot ticket items in hopes of catching people who are picking them up closer and closer to the holiday season. Cheap presents are available through many great retailers who want to save families money and for families who want to give their children and loved ones a holiday of some sort, even with severe money limitations are looking into payday loans, which offers people the ability to receive a loan in as little time as possible, most of the time at low costs and the leniency for people to be able to pay back as soon as they can. A great deal of families are resorting to payday loans to get them through the upcoming winter and the additional financial burden the season puts on families and then pay back that money when their heads are sufficiently above water.
Many families are doing all they can to survive the impending holiday season and with financial services and help reaching out to families not sure if they can make it will do tremendous amounts to relieve a great deal of stress those people are feeling this time of year.
One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime. Dr. Kristi Funk, celebrity breast cancer surgeon is helping Yoplait spread the word about their Save Lids To Save Lives initiative to help in the fight against breast cancer.
There are annual events that benefit breast cancer research all across the country, but if you don’t have time to take part in these events or the money to donate to the cause, you can still make a huge difference, and there’s an easy way to do it!
For every pink Save Lids To Save Lives Yoplait lid that is sent in (don’t forget to rinse them off!) by December 31, 2009, Yoplait will donate 10 cents to Susan G. Komen for the Cure, up to $1.5 million, with a guaranteed donation of $500,000. That is some serious breast cancer research cash!
Log onto YourLidMatters.com, where you can print tools for your lid-collecting and you can also start your own lid collection team and inspire your friends, family, co-workers and anyone else you think would love to help Save Lids To Save Lives. You can also download a $1.00 off coupon for YoPlus or YoPlus Light with pink lids and jump start your collecting!
This is my first week participating in Monday Mingle, which was created by Eighty MPH Mom. So glad I could join other great bloggers out there who are mingling it up!
Now it’s your turn! Go get your camera and join in on the fun! Eighty MPH Mom has her linky up all week so you can record your video for Monday Mingle any day of the week. It’s a great way to meet other great bloggers out there and also get to know a little more about the people you’re reading.
Here are the questions for next week:
1. What would you think about having our spouses vlog with us one week? Would yours make a cameo appearance?
2. Do you have pets? Tell us about them!
3. What are your favorite sayings or movie quotes?
4. What is your favorite kind of music? Favorites bands/artists and songs? Best concert you ever attended?
5. What are your favorite drinks (alcohol or non)?
We are ending September with a bang by joining Warner Bros. in celebrating Hispanic Heritage month with Baby Looney Tunes and renowned health expert Dra. Aliza, who have partnered to create “Happily Healthy,” an initiative to promote healthy, happy babies. This partnerships will provide new and expecting mothers with fun, engaging and educational ways to best care for and nurture their babies; happily and healthily. This partnership and happy and healthy baby initiative will continue throughout 2010 and is also chock-full of great and useful information especially for moms.
By visiting the official Happily Healthy website, you will be able to access videos from Dra, Aliza about keeping your baby safe at home and outside. You will also be able to ask Dra. Aliza questions you have about your baby’s health and wellness which will be featured in weekly Q&A segments. You will also have access to fun and educational activities to enjoy with your child, like games great for young children, downloadable coloring pages, growth charts and desktop wallpapers featuring your favorite Baby Looney Tunes characters.
Giveaway
To properly celebrate Hispanic Heritage month, we have the opportunity to give 3 lucky moms the all-new health and safety book, Healthy, Fit and Fun! featuring Baby Looney Tunes signed by Dra. Aliza.
To win a signed copy of the Baby Looney Tunes Healthy, Fit and Fun! book, all you have to do is leave a comment with a tip on how to keep your baby safe and healthy. [REQUIRED]
For additional entries:
Put the Baby Looney Tunes Happily Healthy widget on your website
To get the widget for your site just click on ‘grab widget’ on our widget above or go here.
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This contest ends Wednesday, September 30th at 11:59pm. EST
This is a guest post by Bill Hardekopf, CEO of LowCards.com.
Congress passed the Credit CARD Act in May but gave issuers and banks almost one year to implement the major provisions of the bill. Since then, issuers did exactly what they threatened to do–raise rates and fees on a broad group of cardholders. Consumers and elected officials are not happy about this, and members of Congress plan to introduce a bill to accelerate the effective date of the bill from February 22, 2010 to December 1, 2009.
The CARD Act is not the first governmental attempt to make changes to the credit card industry. United States lawmakers and judges have had mixed success in using laws, regulations, and court rulings to change the industry and protect consumers. Have these been helpful, or have they caused more harm than good?
Here are some of the governmental laws, regulations and court cases that have shaped the credit card terms that we have today.
Truth in Lending Act (1968)
Requires uniform method for calculating the cost of credit and publicizing credit terms, including the APR, so consumers can compare credit offers. The advertised terms must actually be available. It bans the unrequested issuance of credit cards, restricts cardholder liability for unauthorized use, requires fair and timely resolution of credit card billing disputes, and puts a $50 limit on cardholder liability for unauthorized charges. (Prior to this ruling, credit card issuer mailed active credit cards out in mass mailing. This created problems with identity theft and fraud for consumers.)
Fair Credit Reporting Act (1970)
Protects consumers against incorrect or misleading information in credit files maintained by credit-reporting agencies. Credit bureaus must investigate disputed charges and correct the incorrect charges. If the disputed charge cannot be resolved, the consumer can request the inclusion of their side of the story. Amended in 1996 to regulate collection, dissemination and use of consumer information.
Fair Credit Billing Act (1974)
Gives cardholders the power to fight improper credit card charges. Mandates how creditors are to respond to billing errors. Accounts must be handled promptly and fairly.
Equal Credit Opportunity Act (1974)
Prohibits discrimination in credit transactions. Requires creditors to grant credit to qualified individuals without a co-signature by the spouse. Credit histories on jointly held accounts must be maintained in the names of both spouses. Requires that issuers must provide in writing the reasons that credit was denied. Credit card applicants must be notified within thirty days if the loan has been approved or not. If the application is not approved, the issuer must give the applicant reasons for the decision in writing.
Fair Credit and Charge Disclosure Act of 1988
Requires that applications that are solicited by phone, sent through the mail or any other way made available to the public contain the key terms of the contract. These must include information about rates, fees, grace periods, etc.
Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act of 2003
Created to address the growing problems with identity theft. Credit and debit card receipts may not include more than the last five digits of the card nor the expiration date. Gives consumers the right to get a free credit report each year from the big three reporting agencies. Increases the accuracy of credit reports and established national standards in regulations of credit reports.
Credit CARD Act of 2009
Provides better protections to consumers by prohibiting some unfair practices used by credit card issuers. Also improves disclosures that cardholders receive. Protects against unexpected interest changes and unfair payment allocations, forbids two-cycle billing, mandates that cardholders must receive a reasonable amount of time to make payments, and limits the fees of sub-prime cards.
Significant Court Rulings
Before 1978, 37 states had usury laws that capped rates and fees on credit cards. At that time, the rate for most cards was about 18%. Two court cases invalidated these usury laws and opened the door to the highest rates and fees that we have today. These rulings have given issuers the freedom to charge default rates that can be over 30%, $39 late fees and 5% balance transfer fees.
Marquette National Bank vs. First of Omaha Service Corp in 1978
Marquette held the national banks could charge credit card customers the highest interest rate allowed in the bank’s home state, instead of the customer’s home state. As a result, major banks moved to states such as South Dakota and Delaware because these states had no usury ceilings on interest rates and they could export these rates to the other states.
Smiley vs. Citibank in 1996
In 1996, the Supreme Court ruled that credit card companies could lift the cap on fees which, like interest rates, used to be regulated at the state level. Late fees were $16-$20 before Smiley. Now, they are as high as $39.
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LowCards.com simplifies the confusion of shopping for credit cards. It is a free, independent website that helps consumers easily compare credit cards in a variety of categories such as lowest rates, rewards, rebates, balance transfers and lowest introductory rates. It also gives an unbiased ranking and review for each card. The LowCards.com Complete Credit Card Index is the most objective and comprehensive resource on the Internet which allows consumers to compare rates for all 1260 credit cards offered in this country. Created by Hampton & Associates, the company has been analyzing the credit card industry and supplying objective websites on various consumer expenses for eight years.
Mark Fast, a fashion designer known for his tight-knit dresses used both typical, stick-thin models as well as curvier (also known as normal) sized women for his fashion show at London Fashion Week.
Hayley Morley, age 21 and a size 12, Laura Catterall, age 20 and a size 14 and Gwyneth Harrison, age 25 and a size 12-14 appeared on the catwalk during London Fashion Week. The decision behind using normal-sized women in his show was not a publicity stunt, nor was it politically motivated; it was because Fast and his team “wanted women to know they don’t have to be a size zero to wear a Mark Fast dress-curvier women can look even better in one.”
The decision to use these models sparked a controversy, even causing Fast’s creative designer and stylist to quit just 3 days before their London Fashion Week show. Luckily, two freelancers stepped up and helped assist in putting the show together.
I think that this is such a great step in the right direction and hope more designers in the future pick up on Fast’s mindset and accept the fact that not just size zero women are interested in fashion. The fashion industry has been criticized in recent years for glorifying thinness and parading extremely thin models. Psychologists and health experts have spoken out about the fashion industry, saying that they are pushing a dangerously slim image and that women and younger girls could (and have and will continue to) try to emulate the images they see being glorified in the fashion industry.
This isn’t the only thing Mark Fast has done to move past the thought that good fashion is only for very thin people; he has also been involved with the exhibition All Walks Beyond the Catwalk, which featured models from age 18 to 65 and from sizes 8 to 16.
Thank you Mark Fast for spreading the much-needed message of a woman’s body is just fine and beautiful the way it is and that women who do not fit into the fashion society’s very stubborn mindset can still look great in one of your dresses. I hope many other fashion designers adopt this way of thinking, and soon.
Malawi is one of the world’s least developed, and also most densely-populated countries. The people of Malawi are not expected to live past 44 years of age and 89 of every 1,000 births in the country result in infant mortality; this is because Malawi is a country of extreme poverty.
During the Clinton Global Initiative Fifth Annual Meeting, Bill Clinton introduced a very unique commitment between General Mills and CARE, which have partnered together to create Join My Village, an innovative online community that is dedicated to fighting poverty in Malawi through the empowerment of women and girls. But Join My Village will accomplish nothing without the help and the dedication of caring and generous people, which is why you should check out Join My Village.
How it works:
Visit Join My Village and join one of ten village teams that will benefit approximately 75 villages in Malawi.
As a village team member, you will get to know the women and families in Malawi through frequent updates, photos and stories.
Through simple online activities like answering a quiz questions, telling a friend about Join My Village, or joining a village team, $1 will be unlocked by General Mills and will go to CARE’s poverty-fighting programs in the Malawi villages. (There is a limit of 3 activities per person per day and $15,000 per online village team, or $150,000 in total.)
General Mills will also match persnal contributions dollar-for-dollar for up to $50 per donor, $15,000 per village team, or $150,000 in total.
CARE will distribute all funds raised directly to Malawi to provide economic opportunities for women and increase access to quality education for girls.
I think it’s always amazing to see heavy-hitting companies that can truly make a difference, like General Mills, stepping up to the plate and doing what they have the power to do in order to make a difference in the regions less fortunate than most. The Clinton Global Initiative pairing General Mills with CARE was a great idea and I hope you all take part in Join My Village, especially considering it isn’t going to cost you money in order to help the villages of Malawi; all you have to do is participate in online activities you’re most likely participating in anyway on other websites, like answering quiz questions. This is truly an initiative that everyone can participate in, so go participate and unlock funds needed by Malawi’s women and girls.
Melissa Joan Hart danced the Viennese waltz with partner (and two-time champ) Mark Ballas on Dancing with the Stars. During her interview segment she stressed that she is now grown up, with a family and can appear feminine and grown up and would like her fans to know that her Sabrina the Teenaged Witch is gone and she is no longer that teenaged actress anymore.
While I can appreciate the fact that actors want to move on from the roles they are most known for, especially when you’re known for a show that was beloved by tweens for seven seasons, going on Dancing with the Stars is not what I would deem a career move. Love it or hate it, I believe that Dancing with the Stars was created to give washed up, has-been actors a place to show their faces after sometimes years of unemployment where they can relish their limelight for a good 5 minutes and ultimately die. That should actually be Dancing with the Stars‘ tagline: The Show Where Actors Come to Die.
If you didn’t catch Melissa Joan Hart and Mark Ballas on Dancing with the Stars, you can watch it now:
When we’re baking, sweetening our coffee or tea, or even sprinkling our morning cereal, it’s very easy to reach for the big bag of regular sugar we have sitting in the cupboard. Even when you’re shopping for sugar, it is much easier to find the big, five-pound bags of sugar rather than even realize there is an organic option available.
Organic sugar has many benefits:
Organic sugar doesn’t have any harsh side effects on the planet. A potent herbicide commonly used on sugarcane crops is Paraquat. While it is still legal for restricted use in the United States, it has been banned by the European Union since 2007.
Organic sugar contains no harsh chemicals; for instance, it is completely free of ingredients like sucralose, which is made with chlorine and has been linked to digestive issues.
Organic sugar is less processed than conventional sugar and it retains more moisture and molasses for a nice caramel-like taste.
A dust storm swept across Australia, turning Sydney a very dramatic red. International flights were diverted from Sydney, ferries were suspended, and motorists were warned to be very careful while on the road due to visibility being dramatically reduced. Health authorities were also put on alert for widespread respiratory illness.
Via DailyMail, several images have been taken of the red-hued Sydney:
Australia is currently battling one of its worst droughts and weather officials say that a periodic change in the atmosphere and ocean is slowly developing which will mean drier conditions for the eastern states. While people are speculating that Australia’s dust storm, which is said to remain until winds cease, is linked to climate change, scients are reluctant to directly link global warming with extreme weather events such as storms and drought.
One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime. Dr. Kristi Funk, celebrity breast cancer surgeon is helping Yoplait spread the word about their 
To win a signed copy of the Baby Looney Tunes Healthy, Fit and Fun! book, all you have to do is leave a comment with a tip on how to keep your baby safe and healthy. [REQUIRED]
Hayley Morley, age 21 and a size 12, Laura Catterall, age 20 and a size 14 and Gwyneth Harrison, age 25 and a size 12-14 appeared on the catwalk during London Fashion Week. The decision behind using normal-sized women in his show was not a publicity stunt, nor was it politically motivated; it was because Fast and his team “wanted women to know they don’t have to be a size zero to wear a Mark Fast dress-curvier women can look even better in one.”
Malawi is one of the world’s least developed, and also most densely-populated countries. The people of Malawi are not expected to live past 44 years of age and 89 of every 1,000 births in the country result in infant mortality; this is because Malawi is a country of extreme poverty.
Melissa Joan Hart danced the Viennese waltz with partner (and two-time champ) Mark Ballas on Dancing with the Stars. During her interview segment she stressed that she is now grown up, with a family and can appear feminine and grown up and would like her fans to know that her Sabrina the Teenaged Witch is gone and she is no longer that teenaged actress anymore.
