The Oregon Women's Report - Women's News from Oregon

by Elisha Joyce
Fully Mulched

by Sandy Coughlin
The Reluctant Entertainer

“Do what you’re good at and everything else will fall into place.” -Willnett Crockett

Sometimes you see interesting signs when in public.  Story here.

Moments for Mom
By Elisabeth K. Corcoran
Author of He Is Just That Into You

My daughter, who I’ve been writing about in this column for over ten years now, just got her drivers’ permit. I took her to the DMV yesterday and watched her take her written test. We high-fived and jumped up and down when she passed. And then we went driving around a parking lot. My baby is not a baby anymore.

My son, who I’ve also been writing about for over ten years, just got mad at me for the first time for walking into his basketball practice to pick him up. Apparently that embarrassed him. Apparently I should’ve waited in the car even though practice had gone fifteen minutes over. My baby is not my baby anymore.

Just be Awesome
by Jen Rouse
The Short Years

So here is my goal for the year: just be awesome.

Sign courtesy of my moms’ group: our meeting today was about dreams for the new year, and we all had the chance to make these beautiful signs.

By Erika Weisensee
Milwaukie writing mom,

“Society is getting ruder.” Every now and then, I hear someone say those words, and it always makes me sad. Clearly, there is some truth in that statement. I see people texting and talking on cell phones in all kinds of inappropriate places; handwritten thank you notes are becoming almost as rare as letters; and it is just amazing how many people don’t RSVP. But, what I dislike about the statement “society is getting ruder” is that it just sounds so inevitable—so absolute. When, of course, we have the power to buck the rude trends of the 21st Century and be models of modern politeness.

Here are some common etiquette mistakes and how to avoid them:

If you’re like a lot of people, you have a room in your home that could really use a makeover, but you haven’t done anything about it because you don’t know WHAT to do about it. You need direction, but don’t know how to find it.

The simplest way to set things in motion is to use something you absolutely love as your inspiration. This could, literally, be anything at all. Maybe you have an area rug with some great style.  Maybe you have a souvenir from an unforgettable vacation. It could be that flirty, floral party dress in the closet.  (One of my favorite commercials featured a woman who loved her cat so much, she took some fur to the paint store to have it matched!)

This video made the most popular on the Today show as it shows the most acrobatic canine you will ever see (no exaggeration). Enjoy.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

By Evergreen,
Oregon writer

Here we have an ordinary mom, Adele Enerson, who turned scenes of her sleeping baby into fun and creative dreamscapes. She created a blog for her friends and family, called Mila’s Daydreams and that is when it all went viral. Now Adele has a book of her photos.

more below

Old Rules, New Rules
by Lani Grass
Backstage with Lani

Let’s face it, many of us think we already know a lot about fashion and have heard it all before… But no matter how much we think we’ve learned about style in the past, if we keep using all the same fashion information, it’s definitely going to outdate us.

Let’s compare!

By Erika Weisensee

My husband and I have a favorite Mexican restaurant—a place so warm and family friendly and reliably good that we go there all of the time. The owners know us by name and our son is always happy there, munching on their delicious tortilla chips. About a week ago, we stopped at our place (Cha Cha Cha in downtown Milwaukie, Oregon); we ordered take out at the counter and sat down to wait for our food. But, the restaurant was different that night. The chairs and tables were pushed to the sides to make room for a dance floor in the middle. People were dancing. They were dancing the Salsa, and it was a joyful scene.

Next thing I knew a friendly man was asking us if we had ever danced the Salsa. Next thing I knew he was taking my hand and leading me on to the dance floor. Next thing I knew my husband was smiling and encouraging all of this. He looked relieved that he wasn’t being pulled on to the dance floor, but then a woman took him by the hand and we were both getting a little lesson in Salsa dancing basics. It turns out our restaurant has started Salsa Sundays, a social event for people of all ages. I attended a second time last Sunday and had a great time, not to mention a really good workout.

Valentine’s Writing Contest — $150 in prizes
By Oregon Women’s Report

Oregon Women’s Report is hosting an exciting Valentine’s Day writing contest with three $50.00 cash prizes for the three top winners. The contest theme is “love” and covers a wide spectrum of ideas from family, kids, relationships, advice, romance to friendships. Articles can be about life lessons, memorable family moments, acts of kindness, friendship, calls to community service and other love related topics. Original or previous written material is accepted. Poetry is also accepted.

Now is the time to dust of that great article you never submitted , re-open your old college creative writing papers or peek at that journal entry that recorded an important life moment perfectly. Turn your thoughts into something that can be seen and appreciated by others while earning $50.00 to splurge on whatever you wish. Most of all, you will have fun expressing yourself.

by Shannon Ables
The Simply Luxurious Life

What does an accomplished life look like to the outsider? Oodles of cash? Multiple homes? Being able to send each child to an esteemed college? Or is it something more intrinsic? Something less discernable by the naked eye?

As you might imagine, I would wholeheartedly defend the latter definition of an accomplished life. Unlike what much of the media, music videos, pop celebrities would have us believe, an accomplished life if one that is in step with the values each of us believe is most important, being able to successfully live up to our true potential which is different for every single individual and the ability to create a legacy that contributes to the world each of us will someday leave behind.

With that said, below are the six essentials for living a truly accomplished life:

Your Personal Trainer:
By Olivia C. Rossi, RN, MSN, ACSM

The long-term goal of exercise is to make it an integral part of your life. The challenge after getting started is to keep going and to stay motivated. Regular exercise should become a routine, but not routine! Varying your workout not only leads to physiological improvement, it can also help to stave off boredom.

Last week, I introduced the F.I.T.T. Principle (frequency, intensity, type and time) as it applied to beginning an exercise program. Whether you are just into the second or third week of your New Year’s resolutions or are a veteran exerciser, this principle applies to you. As a new exerciser, instead of looking at the whole year ahead, think one month at a time and renew your resolve each month by adding or changing an exercise. As a veteran exerciser, renew or invigorate your routine if it’s been the same for awhile. Here are some reasons why and some tips on how to make some changes.

Good Morning America held a photo contest showing kids and technology, and here are the top winners. The top prize went to the photo showing a father stationed overseas being linked up to his son in their living room. A sign of the times.

By Evergreen,
Oregon writer

This Target advertisement above (and Nordstrom ad) featured 6-year old Ryan (far left) who has Down Syndrome. This ad broke barriers and turned heads. It also caught the attention of a father who has a Down Syndrome son and more dangerously the dad has a blog called Noah’s Dad. The father promoted the Target ad and it went viral. His story story below.

by Sandy Coughlin
The Reluctant Entertainer

By Erika Weisense
Milwaukie Writing mom,

Since first introduced in 2001, Apple’s iPod has taken the world by storm, occupying a huge share of the portable music device market. As an iPod owner myself, I can attest to this modern Walkman’s wonderful qualities: It is amazing to create and carry your own music library with you wherever you go. Listening to music can be inspiring, relaxing and motivating. iPods can hold thousands of songs, audio books, movies, TV shows and Podcasts, giving you an array of entertainment all stored in a pocket-sized device.