Archive for » November, 2006 «

Wednesday, November 29th, 2006 | Author: Maryan Pelland

Here’s a quick link to the recall checklist at the National Consumer Product Safety Commission, one of our favorite watchdogs. Though toys, holiday decorations, lights and Christmas trees have gotten way safer in recent years, the NCPSC still cites over 100,000 children injured last year, and 13 deaths. So make it a Merry whatever holiday you subscribe to and keep yourselves safe.

Buy age-appropriate. What’s safe for a 6 year- old can severely hurt a toddler.
No small pieces, no sharp edges, no electrical parts for little ones under 6. Those charming Polly Pocket play sets that little girls adore were recalled after kids allegedly suffered internal injusries (some serious) after eating parts.
Look over and handle the toy you’re going to buy. If it seems like your grandchild could break off parts or crack plastic sections, choose something else.
Think about cords, streamers, or dangling ties on toys. Stangulation can result from a poor design.
IN general, electric (AC powered) or electronic plug-in toys are not appropriate under 8 or 9 years old. Yes, there are some designed for even 9 month olds- but choose carefully.
Buy only name brand art supplies - you can have more confidence in their ingredients. Look for a designation “ASTM D-4236″ — it means a toxicologist has evaluated the ingredients.
Read all labels carefully. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission requires toy manufacturers to meet stringent safety standards and to label certain toys that could be a hazard for younger children. Labels give age recommendation. Labels that say “not recommended for children under three … contains small parts,” may pose a choking hazard to children under three. Toys should be developmentally appropriate to suit the skills, abilities and interests of the child.
Never let children of any age play with uninflated or broken balloons. They can aspirate the pieces or the whole item.
NEVER buy toy guns or weapons that look like anything but a toy. Realism has gotten kids hurt and killed. Of course, there is the option of never buying toy weapons at all, isn’t there?

Category: Family Matters - What to Do Next, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

Creativity - Why It’s Important to a Women’s Well-Being

Monday, November 13th, 2006 | Author: Maryan Pelland

Do you honor your creative personality? Do you give yourself time and opportunity to explore and create without judgement? Learn why that’s important.

You multi-task. Everyone wants a piece of you.

Is it a mistake to ignore your creative side?
Quality of life goes up when you exercise your right brain - the part that handles creative sparks or day dreaming. Like your body, it needs regular workouts. Try a fifteen-minute right brain workout. Habitually tune in your muse; you’ll wonder how you ever ignored her. Stifle your inner critic (a left brain function). Don’t believe you can’t draw. Or paint, write, or dream. You can.Use it or lose itAs children, we all have an almost unlimited capacity to create. We draw, paint, scribble, make rhymes. We believe in them. They’re works of art. As we grow up, we learn rules, and begin to measure ourselves by certain standards. If you allow inner critics to prevent you from playing with art, you will lose the capacity.

Right brain exercise strengthens left, too.
It’s true. The left brain is usually more taxed than the right. It handles our daily loads and crises. You activate it for decision making, scheduling and planning. All work and no play makes Jill very tired. Give it a rest. Hush the pragmatic part of your mind and let the softer part take over.

Discovery fuels progress.
If you allow yourself lots of time to experiment for no reason but joy, you will stumble upon solutions to your deepest problems. You’ll come upon a new way to organize your clutter. Or maybe build a better mousetrap?

Longer, Healthier Life.
Some researchers are finding that providing plenty of creative opportunities to Alzheimer’s patients and even cancer survivors may bring more positive outcomes. The jury is still out, but can you imagine how easy it would be if you could improve your own health by scheduling pleasurable time every day?

Stress Goes Away.
Even if all you can manage is to listen to a motivational CD about how to expand your creativity, your stress level becomes measurably lower. Stress kills.

Anxiety Decreases.
Art therapy is used extensively with traumatized children, victims of violence and patients with mental health issues. Specialists realized long ago that refocusing the mind creates healing time. Even if you’re dealing with everyday anxieties, right brain activity provides a new perspective on reality and fosters an ability to communicate issues more clearly.

Anger Dissipates.
Art therapy is used extensively with traumatized children, victims of violence and patients with mental health issues. Specialists realized long ago that refocusing the mind creates healing time. Even if you’re dealing with everyday anxieties, right brain activity provides a new perspective on reality and fosters an ability to communicate issues more clearly.

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Category: Careers - Get What You Need, Creativity - How Women Express Themselves, Spirituality and Spirit, Uncategorized | One Comment

Close-Up Profile of Michigan’s Governor Jennifer Granholm

Monday, November 06th, 2006 | Author: Maryan Pelland

Jennifer Granholm is called brainy, blond and ready to rumble. She sees herself as a gutsy broad. She is a married mother of three and governor of one of America’s largest states. In her 2006 bid for re-election, as governor of Michigan, she garnered help from big profile people like Bill Clinton and half a million voters put her in office for the second time. I think this woman bears watching. Her head appears to be screwed on pretty straight. She lowered flags all over her state to honor fallen Michigan soldiers. Brava.

Early Life

Born in Vancouver, B.C., Canada on February 5, 1959 to Civtor Ivar, a banker, and Shirley Alfreda owden), a stay at home mom. Granholm lists her nationality as “American.” From age 3, she grew up in San Fancisco’s Bay Area with one brother, and graduated from San Carlos High School, 1977.

As a Young Adult

Hoping to become an actress, she relocated to Los Angeles after high school. In 1978, she worked with an independent candidate’s presidential campaign and was seduced by the lure of politics. She applied for American citizen ship that year and earned it at age 21. With a bachelor’s degree from UC Berkley, she headed for Massachusetts - and Harvard Law School. She was editor of their civil rights law review publication and received a JD. She moved to the Midwest after graduating.

Early Career

Granholm’s first career stop was law clerk for U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Damon Keith (Detroit). Admitted to the Michigan Bar, she worked for Wayne County and for Michael Dukakis’s 1988 campaign. She was 1990 U.S. prosecutor in Detroit, with 98 percent convictions, then corporation counsel in Wayne County, 1994 and general counsel, Detroit/Wayne County Stadium Authority. In 1998, a political unknown, she was elected attorney general, a lone Democrat in a Republican administration.

Family

Jennifer Granholm is married to author, public speaker and professional fund-raiser, Dan Mulhern, whose primary topic is leadership. The couple met at Harvard, marrying in 1986. They have three children, Jack, age 8, Cecelia, 14 and Kathryn, 15.

Principles and Accomplishments

As a young woman, Granholm opened her personal vision to encompass world issues. She traveled to the former Soviet Union to advocate for a displaced Jewish population known as “refuseniks,” who were denied permission to emigrate abroad after the 1967 Six-Day War.

She threw her energy into boycotting companies doing business with South Africa. Granholm makes you think of Barbra Streisand’s Katie Morosky in [i]The Way We Were.[/i] She typically spread herself around in her younger days, as she held firm beliefs in what seemed right and did what she could against what was wrong. Passion was not an unknown idea to her.

After deciding America meant more than Hollywood, she was full-steam down the political trail, with strong values and unflagging energy, carrying a tight connection and solid commitment to her constituents.

On election as governor she said, “The values that drove me were integrity, inclusion, excellence, creativity and engagement.” Her political agenda encompasses environmental protection, anti-tobacco, senior advocacy and the problems of health care. She instituted a bulk-buying pool for prescription drugs and discount programs for uninsured families. She incepted educational incentive programs in Michigan. A healthy economy is high on her list of to-dos.

Managing to balance career and family life, Granholm is a lector in her church and serves her community. She’s active in her children’s lives and says she only asks they leave the world a better place. Supportive and openly admiring of her husband, she calls him her role model. Committed to equality of sexes, she and her husband use each other’s surnames as their middle name.

One senator quipped he wouldn’t mind a change in the requirements for presidential candidates to allow foreign birth, so Granholm could run. Perhaps that’s in the cards.