Marie Claire on "Fat" People: Belligerent or Brilliant?

I just happened to stumble upon an interesting debate today while casually glancing through my Twitter feed. I happened to notice that Marie Claire was a trending topic. I thought to myself, "That's weird - do people even read that magazine anymore?" And more importantly, "What's going on there that's such big news?"

It appears a blogger at Marie Claire posted an article titled, "Should 'Fatties' Get a Room?" Sure, even at first glance of the headline this article is already pissing off readers. Well, I don't want to get into that. Agree or disagree, this could turn out to be one brilliant stunt. Sure, Marie Claire may still have subscribers, but are they as in as Elle, Glamour, or InStyle? I don't even know if I've noticed Marie Claire in the checkout aisle at the grocery store in recent months. This really got the internet marketer in me thinking...

One of the tweets that stands out in my mind in particular is one that read, "Who the heck was still reading Marie Claire anyway?" This is what makes this ploy (if it truly is one) brilliant. Think about it... the title itself is controversial in and of itself. Using the term "fatties" definitely catches attention. Then after you read on, and are inevitably infuriated over the blogger's insensitivity and judgment, you (well maybe not you specifically, but enough of "you" to start the buzz) tweet about it, protest on the mag's Facebook wall, and create a media frenzy over one poorly thought out article.

Can you remember the time you last saw even one of your favorite brand's as a top trending topic in the world on Twitter? Just in the time I've spent writing this post (about 20 minutes) the mag's Facebook page has gained 15 fans. Even if they only "liked" the page to be able to protest on the Wall - they're still "fans."  Imagine the gigantic spike in traffic their website is seeing today. Just think, if they're selling ads on their website based on impressions the page gets- Marie Claire may have hit the jackpot.  Sure the brand will have to bounce back and spin it "PR style" but I know one thing for sure... Marie Claire magazine isn't dead...

Again- NOT condoning the content or point of view of this article. I just want to wait and see how this faux pas can affect their overall brand and reputation. In the age of Twitter where news is instant, the brand really needs to step up to the plate and address the situation before it gets really out of hand and they can't recover from a reputation perspective.

I challenge you to think beyond the content of the now infamous blog post - What's your take on this? Not on the hatred and disgusting display of insensitivity, but if it truly is just a PR stunt - brilliant or belligerent?

Let's Talk Boobs by Cali

When I found out I was pregnant with my first child I was overwhelmed with what I had to do! Take
prenatal vitamins, find a Dr., go to said Dr., A LOT, find a pediatrician for your baby, register for baby
items you are unfamiliar with and have no idea what you need, go to baby shower, get the rest of the
things you need. Can't forget dealing with the things that happen to your body, whose boobs are these?
Where is my baby bump? THERE it is! Why are my boobs leaking? I need nacho cheese Doritos at 2am.
Why can't I sleep? No I really wanted cooler ranch Doritos? What do you mean you can't find
peppermint stick ice cream at the store? I could go on for weeks! So hard to prepare yourself
emotionally for what is about to happen.

Eventually it crossed my mind "oh my gosh I am going to have to feed this being!? Now I get to my
point. I knew breastfeeding was best. I knew that I wanted to do what was best for my baby. So why
not? Well from the very beginning of my son's life I ran into SO many "booby traps."
Booby trap number 1 for me, formula! I had more cans of formula than I knew what to do with before my son was even born! Samples, checks you name it, they gave me even more IN the hospital too! Other road blocks included a total lack of support and advice. After my son was born we were thrown into a breastfeeding class that had at least 15 other moms and their own new bundles of joy and ONE lactation consultant, with a half hour to help us all.

That was no good! We got a quick once over and I was told he had a great latch. Well okay then, this
will be smooth sailing! Then the melt down came, my first night home, no milk had come in, baby was
crying, I was crying, my boobs hurt, chaos! What do I do? Oh yeah, all that formula they gave us (see
how that works?) Then it happens, for me the most crippling blow to my attempt to breastfeed...
Nursing. In... PUBLIC!? Going out was scary, leave the house? What if the baby gets hungry? What if I
have to feed him in public? What if someone is offended and says something rude to me? I was so sure
I would crumple into a pile of tears that I resigned to staying home. But that got old fast as my father
came to town a few weeks after my sons birth and we were off to the races, lunch out, shopping, visiting
family, and it felt GREAT to be out and about, except for that cold sweat panic when the baby got
hungry, so formula it was (again, see how that works?). I felt so much guilt as my milk supply decreased,
and his formula intake increased, what a slippery slope.

My return to work also yielded many issues for me. Working in the food industry as a server provided
many pitfalls. Long shifts often, what we refer to as "doubles", left no time to pump, when can a server
stop and breath, let alone sit down for 10-15 minutes and pump? It was the end of the end. I would be
lying if I said sometimes I don't feel pangs of guilt about not breastfeeding him longer. However I
learned a lot from that first attempt.
With the birth of my daughter I felt ready, I was prepared with support groups and more knowledge than
the first time around. While I took the diaper bags that the formula companies used for marketing, I hid
away, gave away, threw away the samples, keeping the bag and even the occasional convenient cooler
bag. This time around the hospital I delivered at had changed things around; instead of one class with
many moms and one lactation consultant, they had a lactation consultant that came to my room to
help. I had people to call when I got home and realized, oh yeah this hurts! I came to realize, well yes, it
hurts at first (only the initial latch, not the entire time), and about two weeks (if even that) later it didn't
hurt. Wew! I made it through, with no formula. Then the big hurdle... Nursing. In... PUBLIC! Maybe it
came with a little bit of age, maybe it came with a little experience, but this time around I figured, I really
didn't care what anyone else though, I would not put someone else's needs in front of my child's. Armed
with a few nursing bras and a few nursing shirts, I was ready to take on the world. I did it! Here we are,
five months into breastfeeding and I feel like a superhero!

Two great "movements" that have come around since I had my first child that I would like to give credit
too are, Ban the Bag and Best for Babes. I was very happy to see that the hospital I was delivering at was a participant in Ban the Bag. I feel that it's really setting mothers up to fail, "breastfeed because it is best for the baby."

But here is some formula for when you fail". It would be like a doctor sending you home with a prescription
for chantix to quit smoking, and a pack of cigarettes, what good is that? I can't say enough great things
about Best for Babes, they are doing a great thing, and I recommend that site to any mom that is
breastfeeding, wants to breast feed, or is struggling with breast feeding. If I can do it, you can try! But
importantly, if you don’t suceed, do not beat yourself up over it. Because while breastfeeding is good
for your baby, having a hapy healthy (phsically, mentally and emotionally) mama is really what matters
most!

Have any mama’s here run into any “Booby Traps?”

Easiest Easter Ever

My husband and I decided to have our first holiday dinner this Easter. Sure, we've done the big holiday feasts with family but we wanted to have a quiet meal together with our son this year. But, since we were planning to skip dinner, that meant we'd have to visit our families and come home to prepare dinner. That chaos usually calls for a fast food run or whatever you can find in the fridge.

After some searching, I found a super easy recipe (which I slightly tweaked) that helped our holiday be the Easiest Easter Ever! You can never go wrong with a crock pot meal! I prepped everything Saturday night so all I had to do Sunday before we left for the Easter Egg hunt was to put it all together and push the "Start" button!

Ham and Potato Au Gratin
- 4 lbs peeled, sliced potatoes
- 1 - 1 ½ lbs cooked ham sliced into ¼ inch strips (size of matchsticks) 
- 2 cans of Cheedar Cheese condensed soup
- ½ onion, minced
- 1 cup of milk
- 1 tsp pepper

Peel the potatoes with a mandolin slicer to easily slice your potatoes. Chop the ham and mince the onion. Throw them all in the crock pot and give it a good stir so everything's evenly distributed. Combine the two cans of soup with the milk and pepper. Pour the soup mixture over the potatoes. Set the crock pot on 6 hours and enjoy your Easter!

This meal went great with fresh rolls and green beans! It was truly one of the most relaxing and non-rushed holidays we've had in a while! One little variation you may want to try if you like the potatoes crispy like I do. Once everything's done (and provided your crock pot is oven safe), Add some shredded cheddar cheese and a little bit of bread crumbs (dampened with butter of course) on top and put the entire pot into the oven under the broiler.

Formula Follow Up

Someone sent me a couple videos in response to the Formula Case. I thought I'd share :)

No-Bake Cookies: Haystacks

There are about a million different variations of this recipe out there, but I thought I'd share anyway. This recipe has become my new favorite no bake cookie! So easy that I can remember the recipe without ever writing it down! Here's what you need:

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup peanuts

1 bag butterscotch morsels

7-9 cups corn flakes cereal

Directions:

Melt morsels and peanut butter in the microwave for about 30 seconds or just until the morsels start to soften. Stir the mixture until the morsels lose their shape and blend with the peanut butter. Add peanuts and cereal and toss until evenly coated.

Cover baking sheets with wax paper and place scoops of the mixture on the sheets. Let set in fridge until "solid." Enjoy!

This is a quick and easy treat that's sure to please! Plus it's easy enough to leave as a last minute plea to Santa! Don't forget the milk!

Tis the Season for Some Chili!

Tailgaiting, chilly night in, no matter what you're doing, a hot bowl of chili in the fall warms you right up! I made some super yummy chili last night and thought I'd share the recipe. But don't tell my dad! ;) It's a favorite of mine and so easy to make!

What you'll need:

• 1 - 1.5 lbs of ground meat or turkey (cooked and drained)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 package of McCormick's Original Chili seasoning mix
• 2 cans of chopped tomatoes with green chilis (undrained)
• 3 6 oz. cans of tomato sauce
• 2 cans of red kidney beans

All you need to do is throw it in a pot and turn on the heat! I like to get mine up to a good bubbling simmer with higher heat in the beginning then, after a few minutes turn it down to low heat and just let it go for a while. Mmmm I can't wait to get home and eat some more!

Try this recipe out! When you do, come back and let me know if you made any changes and added your own flare! I'm always looking for something new! Do you have any recipes your willing to share?

Letter From the Cook

Dear Husband Who Will Never Read This,

I am 99% certain you will never see this post that is why I chose to vent here, to my beloved readers, so I don't explode in your face over something seemingly small.

When I cook dinner, please at least give me some inkling of a hint that it was appreciated. I know that you don't mind that I don't cook everyday, but when I do it would be great if I could get a "thanks, that was good." Even if it wasn't. Just lie. Lie through your teeth.

When you come home from work in the evening and Joshua is screaming his little head off because I'm preparing your meal and not playing with him, please feel free to take him up to bed. You get home at 8:00 from work, which is perfect timing for a trip up to bed. You're going up to shower anyway, can't you take the baby with you?

I'm yelling "Joshua, no!" for a reason. This is because he likes to play in the coffee filters, canned goods, pots, pans, etc. He's even been in the potato bag today. When I'm running from the counter to chop the onion then washing my hands to grab the baby before he puts a dust bunny he found somewhere in his mouth, please say "it's time for bed, don't worry, I'll take him up." That would be grand.

When I yell up that dinner is ready (which is honestly 10 minutes before it's actually ready because I know you will do this), please respond audibly. So I can hear you. If you're upstairs, don't shake your head. Don't wait 3 minutes and then answer because by then I'll have forgotten what I asked you when you say "ok."

Five minutes later when I tell you that dinner is ready, please come down. Please make the effort to remove your eyeballs that are seemingly glued to ESPN and pry your buttcheeks off the couch to come devour my fabulous meal I worked so hard on.

One minute after that, please don't get an attitude with me when I get pissy because I've been telling you that dinner is ready four thousand times.

I don't cook dinner because I feel like I have to. I cook dinner because I want to do something for you. Please take a second to consider that.

There will be a quiz. No open notes.

Love,

The Cook
aka Your Wife

Ode to Fingerfoods

Bananas are in my hair.
Bananas are on my chair.
Bananas are on my blouse.
Bananas are on my couch.
Would you like them everywhere?
Whould you like them in your hair?
Will you eat your bananas with your hands?
Instead of flinging them around like rubberbands?
Scraping bananas off the floor.
Scraping bananas off the door.
Nap time now so go to bed
While I scrape bananas off my head.