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Author Archives: Traci
A Star Giveaway #3 UPrinting
Be a Star with UPrinting
So as my Universe has been growing, I have had wonderful opportunities come my way for which I am thanking my stars. (Sorry,,, you know I can’t resist a good terrible pun!)
Today, I have a great giveaway especially for all those stars out there who want to promote their businesses or blogs.
Drum Roll Please…
50 pcs Brochure Printing for One (1) Winner
8.5″ x 11″
100lb Paper Gloss
With Folding (Half Fold, Trifold/Letterfold, Z-Fold, Roll Fold, Accordion Fold)
Front and Back Printing
2 Business Days Turnaround *Free shipping
Pretty cool, huh? So here’s the nitty gritty…
· Visit UPrinting Brochures Page and leave a blog post comment telling me what you should the brochures for.
- Other entries, optional
- Like UPrinting on Facebook
- Follow UPrinting on Twitter
- Add UPrinting to your Google Plus Circle
- Like A Star in My Own Universe on Facebook
- Follow TracisStar on Twitter
Restrictions:
1. This giveaway is open to US residents only, 18 years old and above.
2. No prize substitutions allowed.
3. Winners are allowed to win once over a six-month period.
4. Only email addresses used for the giveaway will be eligible to claim the prize.
Not so bad, right? Good luck!
Disclaimer: You should assume that the owner of this blog will receive free print products in exchange for the post. Any and all reviews posted are based solely on my own experience and may be atypical. Please practice due diligence in making any related purchase decisions. Interested to hold a giveaway like this? Please sign up here.
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My Daughter Needs a Superhero that Doesn’t Suck
When I was a little girl, I wanted to be a Superhero. But as a girl of that seventies, there wasn’t a whole lot from which to choose. In 1975, Linda Carter brought Wonder Woman to Technicolor life. She had a golden eagle held aloft by her bountiful breasts, With red boots to match, the stars (if not the stripes) were represented on bottom as she ran, leapt, and sometimes wiggled her derriere across the screen. Basically, in ‘70s terms, she was a hottie but as a superhero, not so hot.
When you think of a superhero, you focus on the power(s) that defines his superiority. Superman was “faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings at a single bound!” He came from another planet and could fly. Spiderman had been bit by a radioactive spider providing Peter Parker with strength and web-slinging abilities that were very convenient for swinging around town. Batman may have had more earthbound powers but he had a great car and saved Gotham whenever his sign shined above the night sky. But Wonder Woman…
Wonder Woman could make you tell the truth. Sure her golden cuffs could deflect bullets but if she was unable to break any bounds put on her by a man. What kind of Kryptonite crap is that? Men make up half the population, this seems like a pretty large chink in her armor. So at the end of the day, she had an Invisible plane (which was never clear to me –pun only slightly intended – was she invisible in the plane or was just the plane invisible?) and her Golden Lasso.
Ah, the Golden Lasso. That sounds cool. What does it do? Capture super villainous Nazis like wayward longhorns on a cattle drive? Uh…no.
Well, does it have super strength that allows Wonder Woman to tie up Hulk-like creatures with ease? Well… not really.
Its sole power is to get nefarious individuals to tell the truth. I do that every day! Of course, I’m not doing battle with 1940’s German officers. I face a much more desperate enemy – a five year old girl and an eight year old boy! Give me Nazis any day! Once those two start the “he did it/she did it”, you would think brokering the Geneva Convention was like flipping a pancake!
So I want a Female Superhero that doesn’t suck! (Yes, I know that sounds like the set-up to a dirty joke, but bear with me.) Who’s in?
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In the Spirit of Moving…
I’m over here today.
Please check me out at my other home: DoctorSmiths.com. I am talking about dreadful things… like moving with two kids. See you there!
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Wordless Wednesday #24 — My First Bindi
My daughter learned about India at Pre-K and she loved it!
Happy Wordless Wednesday! Check out 5 Minutes for Mom for other Wednesday fun!
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Remember… that One time…
It is a well-established fact that if you forget something on behalf of your child, they will never forget it. And by never, I do not mean the metaphorical never wherein they remember for a a couple of days and then it has left their little psyche. No, I mean NEVER. This is true even if it only happened one time. In fact, it will be immortalized in six little words… “But there was that one time.”
That one time will haunt you eternally. You can explain that you do x or y every single day with a consistency that would make OCD look sporadic and yet they will remember the one time you did not. “Remember that one time, Mommy?” “There was that one time, Mommy.” “You did forget once, you know, Mommy?” Elephantine in this specific memory, these arguments can appear years later. (They can even arise from a different sibling than the one to whom such a crime was committed. In fact, second-hand “one time”s can carry far more virulence in the argument as the sibling has undoubtedly expanded the pain, harm, and destruction caused by the offense in the retelling!)
This is all despite the fact that they can forget an instruction given within the last thirty seconds. Instructions made with eye contact, repetition, and follow-up inquiry. You may have asked them to brush their teeth ten times in the same number of minutes, but they will look at you as if this is new information. Should, however, the subject come up, they can recall with crystal-clear accuracy that “one time” when you included yogurt in your son’s lunch and broccoli in your daughter’s.
This is clearly a sin of such epic proportions that it will surely by immortalized by Bob and Larry for Veggie Tales. Bob will read the letter and Larry will start the episode with “But there was that one time…” Six words that cut through years of proper care, lunch successes, happy trips to the park or any other notch in your parenting “Win” column. Six words that send a mom’s brain googling for any other way to say that yes, she remembers and she as never forgotten since. Six words that make me want to throw my hands up in the air and give up. “Yes, baby. I remember that one time…”
I wrote this as a part of a short story project for school. I chose to write about a blogging mom… I wonder where I got the inspiration?!?!
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Sundays in My City #27 — A View From Inside
I wanted to post this last week but I was afraid of jinxing it. It’s official now so I can share. This is the view from inside my new home.
This Sunday in My City looks pretty beautiful to me. Check out others over at Unknown Mami.
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Five Reasons I Am a Lousy Blogger
There are great resources out there on how to be a better blogger; get more readers, keep them, get sponsors, etc. this is not one of those resources.
Traci’s Top Five Reasons Why I Am NOT a Famous Blogger:
(Why Five? Because I am not a good enough blogger to come up with ten!)
5. I do not fit into a set category. Sometimes I am Mommy Blogger, sometimes a Review Blogger, and sometimes I’m just plain Weird.
4. I write what I want (see above) when I want. Some weeks I write everyday, some weeks, I write only once or twice.
3. I do a lot of memes or I do none at all.
2. I get lost in my blogging life until my real life demands me again whereupon, I ignore my blogging life.
1. I am inconsistent (see #2-5!) but I love my blog and while it may never make me a Star in any other Universe, it makes me happy.
So thanks for putting up with my lousy blogging ways.
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Shining the Star-Light #8 — Clear Point Wellness
In my first What’s Happening Review, I spoke about my experience with Clear Point Wellness. Well, it gets better! Not only did Dr. Amanda Gibson provide the opportunity for me to try out her services but she and Clear Point Wellness are offering a discount to military families. And you know how much I love companies that support the military!
The first two appointments are grouped together and include an assessment. The price for these two appointments is a flat rate of $220. The follow-up appointments, however are discounted 15%. Please call the office (512-416-7700) for details. You can also check out the website here. Please mention that you saw my review of Dr. Gibson’s service and the 15% offer.
As I noted in my review, I thought Dr. Gibson was lovely, genuine, and very skilled. I believe that she focuses on the whole person, both emotional and physical, and therefore, her services could be especially helpful to military families.
I am proud to shine the Star-Light on Clear Point Wellness. Thanks to Clear Point and Dr. Amanda Gibson. You are stars in my eyes!
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Posted in Military, Service Review, Star-light, What's Happening
Tagged Star-light, What's Happening
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What’s Happening Wednesday #5
Welcome to the fifth edition of What’s Happening Wednesday. And yet again, I have had awesome opportunities that I would like to share. Priscilla from The Wheelchair Mommy (and her new blog, The Stylish Gimp) is a brand ambassador for Stoneyfield Yogurt. Stoneyfield offered a chance to see “The Lorax” and a Lorax themed yogurt-tasting party. Thanks to Priscilla for inviting me to join in.
And thanks to Kristin from Two Cannoli for organizing and hosting the tasting party. We met at one of my favorite Austin locales — the cow statues at The Arboretum.
Stoneyfield offered a great selection from which to choose…
Look at those. Yum! Yum! Yummy!
Here is my son trying it. He is not a yogurt eater but he was willing to try…
My daughter, however, fell in love with the Greek yogurt with chocolate stir-in.
We went home with a couple of samples and they were eaten within two days! She has reminded me of the coupons several times since. Up until now, she has only eaten super-sweetened, super processed smooth yogurt; I can’t believe how crazy she is for this yogurt!
Besides samples and coupons, there were coloring books…
And we won a beautiful hard-cover copy of The Lorax. Look at these happy kiddos…
Some days, I feel really blessed by the friends and opportunities that this blog has brought me. This is one of those days — my kids thought I was a rock star that day! Thanks, Priscilla and Kristin!
I also got to try a lovely new tea from 11:11 Emporium. It came in the mail in a pretty package…
Inside that package was a aromatic Green Tea with Citron.
And most importantly, it was delicious! Thank you, 11:11 (my favorite time, BTW!). You have a fabulous new product on your hands.
So that’s what’s happening this Wednesday. What’s Happening in your Wednesday?
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Ashley Judd is My Hero
Last week, I spoke about a few hot topics. I almost wrote about Ashley Judd then but I really wanted to highlight how AWESOME I think this woman is. So often women in the media capitalize on their beauty and never speak to the ridiculousness of a system that tells us that girls in their twenties need Botox and airbrushing. A system that seemingly requires plastic surgery and fillers for celebrities yet creates derogatory terms like “Frozen Brow” and “Trout Mouth” when the results are less than perfect.
So Ms. Judd spoke the truth.
She called out the fact that she was being compared to pictures of herself from 14 years ago. She pointed out that the fact that if she looked too good, it was attributed to plastic surgery but on the same note, if she looked bad, it must be surgical. But mostly she pointed out just how insane the whole thing is and that women are not just the victims, we aretoo often the perpetrators. (You can read her full piece on The Daily Beast.)
And I am so guilty of this.
First, I buy into it all. I have drawers filled with products each promising to “fight” aging. A fight that I am destined to lose unless I die too young. Not a very good trade-off. I have a cream to fill my smile lines. I have a cream to keep my jawline taut. I have one for my heavy lids and another for the crows feet. It is all too much.
Now, I like makeup and creams. I am not suggesting that we all go cold turkey but I know I could be more aware of the time and money that I invest in this process. What if I spent just a tenth of that time and money on food that made my body healthier? What if I used another of those moments in the mirror telling myself that I am beautiful to start not just after all the products? Finally, what if I invested in changing this dynamic for my daughter?
But it goes beyond that. I have played the bad celebrity plastic surgery game. I justify my meanness with humor. “I’m only being snarky.” “They can’t hear me so it doesn’t hurt them.” I am perpetuating the idea that they owe it to me to be perfect.
And why? Jealousy. I didn’t have the success in acting that others had. And sometimes I act a bit like a “hater”. I never think of myself that way. “I’m nice. I’m kind. I’m everybody’s friend.” But the truth is I am being a mean girl.
And the ridiculousness of this came home to me when my beautiful Little Diva shared some of her wisdom. She was talking about a young girl who bullied her last year. I saw them playing together this year, so I asked about it. LD explained that they played together now.
Me: Does she play nicely now?
LD: Yeah. She’s nice now. She doesn’t bully me anymore.
Me: (skeptically) Well, that’s good… Why do you think that is?
LD: Last year she was jealous when I cam to the class. And that’s why she was mean. And now I stand up for myself. She changed and I changed.
If my daughter at the age of five can come to that big of an understanding, I think I can do a little better. Well, a lot better.
So thank you, Ashley Judd for speaking up. You are heroic but my real hero is my five year old Little Diva. Because she speaks the truth.
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Posted in 40, Acting, Beautiful, Getting Older, Perfectionism, Power of Words
Tagged 40, Acting, Beautiful, My Words, Perfectionism
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