HI HO HI HO TO HABITAT FOR HUMANITY GLOVES ‘N I GO!

They say one pix is worth a thousand words. Well I have many pix to share with you which will speak volumes for four words in particular:  Community, Empowerment,  Women and Humanity.  And, together these words speak volumes on how Women coming together form an amazing and Empowering Community that truly (and literally) makes a difference building better lives for all Humanity…What can I say :“WE WOMEN ROCK”.

Ok, so why am I so personally jazzed?  See last weekend I had the honor of spending two amazing days hosting events in NYC and NJ/Paterson for Habitat for Humanity and Lowe’s Fifth Annual National Women Build Week.  It’s an initiative they’ve partnered on that takes place the week leading up to Mother’s Day.  The 411 is it challenges women to pick up a hammer and join fellow women at construction sites across the country to help build affordable homes alongside  the local family for whom the home is being built.  So here are some of my 1000 plus word pix-

PLEASE NOTE; Doug my trusty photographer aka Beau the Builder took many more pix which will be posted later in the week so if some of you terrif peeps who participated aren’t seen here you will be and deserve to be!

 Day One:  I was in Paterson ‘spreading the glove’ with hardhat, hammer and fellow jersey gals:

Just like a Chorus line!Go ladies…wall’s up!

Givin’ new meaning to hitting the nail on the head!

Joinin’ hammers w/BUILD GENERATION-gals 18-24! Love her red locks!

Day Two:  I was in NYC at the New York city Housing Authority’s (NYCHA) Taft Houses Youth Chorus Center celebrating a ‘brush with kindness’ with paintbrush, shovel,  Lowe’s Heroes, local volunteers, 

And my new best BFF WNBA”S five time Olympian/gold medalist, Teresa Edwards… whom I challenged to a 1 on 1 match and beat gloves down…NOT!

My new BFF, wonder woman Teresa Edwards

OOPS! Accidental me

NYC fam partner Dimitrea Tokunbo, Hab-by volunteer, moi ‘n Teresa brushing it up!

Hi ho! Hi ho it’s off to dig i go!

She gave me one…backwards LOL!

That’s all for now…just want to say thank you thank you thank you to all my Habitat for Humanity Paterson, NYC and national buds for inviting me to host…gloves are packed and ready to go whenever you need me xo 

PS;  One mo’ thing that I’ll just tease here…at the NYC event I was blown away by the NYCHA Youth Chorus who gave an amazing and inspiring performance. 

Joyfull Noise from NYCHA Youth Choir that made us all smile:)

And, they ended it with my new fave song SMILE by Kirk Franklin…but that’s a blog for another day…But for today remember “you look so much better when you smile”  Spread the glove!

MARTHA STEWART, MARC ANTHONY ‘N I WANNA KNOW: DOES UNCLE SAM SPEAK PRADA?

I confess I have never done my taxes…not as in didn’t file them which will have the IRS  knocking on my door in about 30 seconds ‘n moi perhaps learning how to knit with my cell mate a la Martha Stewart‘. Nope, in years past I chose to have ‘professionals’  figure out how to give Uncle Sam his fair share of my hard earned income.

And, when you think about it many famous folks like Marc Anthony; Willie Nelson; The Osbornes; and Ja Rule  Slide10.aspx have tried to decide what they think is fair and have not faired well. But, as one of my all time fave performers James Taylor reminds us “You can run, but you can not hide” : 

And, though he was talking about love, the IRS -damn them-eventually finds us whether we’re in New Jersey, Beverly Hills or sippin Pina Coladas on a beach in the tax-free Caymans.

Anyway, this year I’m doing most of the work since like 99.9% of us, I’m trying to cut back on my expenses.  So no more lawyer like accounting firm with 15 partners letting the meter run even when they’re boasting about THEIR kids. Yup this year it’s mostly me.  As a result, I now understand why so many accountants are bald as I’m pulling my hair out and rubbing my head simulaneously trying to  figure out where the hell my money went and how to organize all this s…t  

It’s truly a humbling experience and made me feel a bit like Rebecca Bloomwood from the best selling book and fun albeit silly movie: Confessions of a Shopaholic which I coincidentally watched last weekend.  The movie starred Isla fisher.  For those who’ve neither read nor seen it, the title pretty much says it all…’cept for girl meets very rich handsome boy whom is her boss, they fall in love, girl lies to him then joins Shoppers Anonoymous, and boy recounts cause afterall love conquers all particularly in the movies…The End.

Anyway, trivial as the movie was it did make me realize how we can easily let things get out of control with our finances…And, in her case with her credit cards which launched her path to becoming a shopoholic at the ripe ole age of 7…

Fast forward 20 years she takes a job at a place where she is asked to help other people save money by writing a financial column.  Clearly in over her head, she decides to relate buying investments to buying shoes…quite an analogy but one that works and her column becomes a huge success…as i said this was a silly albeit fun movie/book.  So as I have been working on my taxes all well and about to loose it, I decided to take to writing this blog hoping it will help me sort through all this stuff.  And, in the spirit of Rebecca’s debut column, I am going forth and approaching doing and organizing my taxes as I would do my closet:  One line item and one pair of shoes, pants and shopping bags at a time labeled: ‘Drop 10′ (as in pounds and bills); Discard (cut the excess) and Donate (an always tax deduction)!    So there I confess and hope Uncle Sam speaks Prada too!  Spread the glove! 

STEAMIN’, PREENIN’ AND ALL THINGS SPRING CLEANIN’

Happy 152 Pony Express Birthday!  Who’d have thunk horses would some day by left in the postal dust n dirt for email and tweeting!  Speaking of dust and dirt here I am rehearsing for a TV tour tomorrow with some terrific companies I’m working with to help us get rid of dust and dirt like:

• Stanley Steemer whom I’ve now got on speed dial since I’ve also discovered they not only deep clean and sanitize carpets but also hardwood floors, upholstery, tile and grout,
• My buds at TIDE and their oh so cool new single unit dose Tide Pods which are idiot and mess proof and can be used in a HE or non HE washing machine
• LG and their new LG TurboWash Washing Machine which will save us 20 minutes per load EVEN on large loads …and with us averaging nearly 400 loads a laundry per year think about all the free time we’ll gain…LOVE THAT!

And, Chase’s Freedom card is gonna help us earn 5% back on up to $1500 through June when I shop for my spring cleaning supplies or anything else I buy at the grocery store.

Oh, yeah I’m also gonna get a makeover…Mobile Makeover that is courtesy of Radio Shack…where you can trade in your old working phone for anywhere from $30-300 instantly for store credit…Think it’s time to pony up and express myself with a new iPhone 4S!  … Hope you’ll tune in!

Spread the glove!

MARC ANTHONY, WILLY NELSON ‘N I WANNA KNOW: DOES UNCLE SAM SPEAK PRADA?

I confess I have never done my taxes…not as in didn’t file them which will have the IRS  knocking on my door in about 30 seconds ‘n moi perhaps learning how to knit with my cell mate a la Martha Stewart‘. Nope, in years past I chose to have ‘professionals’  figure out how to give Uncle Sam his fair share of my hard earned income.

And, when you think about it many famous folks like Marc Anthony; Willie Nelson; The Osbornes; and Ja Rule  Slide10.aspx have tried to decide what they think is fair and have not faired well. But, as one of my all time fave performers James Taylor reminds us “You can run, but you can not hide” : 

And, though he was talking about love, the IRS -damn them-eventually finds us whether we’re in New Jersey, Beverly Hills or sippin Pina Coladas on a beach in the tax-free Caymans.

Anyway, this year I’m doing most of the work since like 99.9% of us, I’m trying to cut back on my expenses.  So no more lawyer like accounting firm with 15 partners letting the meter run even when they’re boasting about THEIR kids. Yup this year it’s mostly me.  As a result, I now understand why so many accountants are bald as I’m pulling my hair out and rubbing my head simulaneously trying to  figure out where the hell my money went and how to organize all this s…t  

It’s truly a humbling experience and made me feel a bit like Rebecca Bloomwood from the best selling book and fun albeit silly movie: Confessions of a Shopaholic which I coincidentally watched last weekend.  The movie starred Isla fisher.  For those who’ve neither read nor seen it, the title pretty much says it all…’cept for girl meets very rich handsome boy whom is her boss, they fall in love, girl lies to him then joins Shoppers Anonoymous, and boy recounts cause afterall love conquers all particularly in the movies…The End.

Anyway, trivial as the movie was it did make me realize how we can easily let things get out of control with our finances…And, in her case with her credit cards which launched her path to becoming a shopoholic at the ripe ole age of 7…

Fast forward 20 years she takes a job at a place where she is asked to help other people save money by writing a financial column.  Clearly in over her head, she decides to relate buying investments to buying shoes…quite an analogy but one that works and her column becomes a huge success…as i said this was a silly albeit fun movie/book.  So as I have been working on my taxes all well and about to loose it, I decided to take to writing this blog hoping it will help me sort through all this stuff.  And, in the spirit of Rebecca’s debut column, I am going forth and approaching doing and organizing my taxes as I would do my closet:  One line item and one pair of shoes, pants and shopping bags at a time labeled: ‘Drop 10′ (as in pounds and bills); Discard (cut the excess) and Donate (an always tax deduction)!    So there I confess and hope Uncle Sam speaks Prada too!  Spread the glove! 

LIFTIN’ N LIGHTIN’ UP WITH LONG LOST DEBBIE BOONE

There I was earlier today, lying in bed not having to rush off since it was Saturday and my son’s at his father’s for the weekend so no ‘mom’ what’s for breakfast nor business calls to make.  Nope ‘twas just my remote and me.  So after watching the news, which is always filled with uplifting stories NOT, I decided to surf the channels and find something to lift my spirits given my ‘free’ time.   And, who’d have thunk that I would stumble upon a cable show called Lifestyle Lift!  Seemed like just what the doctor ordered since I’ve been going through some challenging times lately, re-examining what I want to be when I grow up and where since this fall my son’s off to college and for the first time in my life I will be truly all by my lonesome.  Just ‘lil ole me to tend to 24/7 since sadly my parents passed away in the last few years as did my pooch…Yup, I’m gonna be an empty nester which actually is very exciting and given me a new lift on life.  In fact, I’m making a major lifestyle change:  this Momma bird is flying South and into a new nest once I sell my hacienda up yonder…that or I’ll be driving a taxi at nite to pay two mortgages.

Anyway, back to the scheduled paid program Lifestyle Lift…I thought it was going to share how to deal with life changing events like mine or things like a new baby, divorce, financial stuff etc. No sirree!  There on the screen was a pix of a woman that looked like those always flattering driver photos we take that make us either look like a convict or 20 years older.  And, to really create the mood, in the background was this familiar oldie but goodie song playing that I couldn’t quite remember.  That was until I saw the host whom looked faintly familiar and then her name below:  Debbie Boone!  I thought she had gone into Witness Protection.  And, now there was Debbie, front and center asking me “Do you want to turn back the hands of time” …Hell yes! She had me; so I raised the volume up a bit to listen as she talked about wrinkles, frown lines, chicken neck and all things in between.  Then there was that song again only this time she began belting it out live: “You Light Up My Life”. 

I felt like I had tuned into an evangelical meeting! And, to complete the scene, sitting next to Debbie smiling from ear to ear was the woman in the pix, with a halo like glow about her looking 20 years younger (of course).  I was sure any moment she was going to jump off the couch and embrace Debbie shouting, “I believe! I believe! Look at me! Look at Me!

I gotta admit the ‘believer’ looked amazing as did the other woman and men who had what they claim is a non-surgical, no anesthesia required, affordable procedure (does that mean they have an easy payment plan like the As Seen On TV stuff I buy plus shipping and handling of me J).  So I took down the number 1-877-512-6665 (btw not sure it’s toll free) and as soon as I lift myself outta bed I’m gonna call it (yes I’m still in bed writing this!) and will share what I learn…Hmm I wonder if when I’m put on hold they play “You Light Up My Life” or they’ve changed it to “You Lift Up My Life”… could be a comeback for Debbie whom by the way looks terrific…. wonder if she’s seen the ‘light’ and had it done too.  I’ll also let you know if they do butt or boob lifts LOL. Spread the glove!

“ME TARZAN, YOU JANE” MEET WE HOUSEWIVES :)

As the legendary  comediene Phyllis Diller once said, “Housework can’t kill you, but why take a chance?” Brilliant words indeed.  And, it’s how i approach the level of attention I give to it which in part led me  to embracing and admitting that i am an accidental housewife vs. Martha Stewart or Suzie Home-maker. I’m all about doing just enough to keep my son from starvation; my home looking terrif with minimal upkeep; health inspectors away and lest we not overlook: my sanity and manicure in tact.   That’s why whenever I discover something that also saves me time, money and the environment it’s a tri-fecta and I’m all over it…

Which leads to a new carpet that my buds at Carpet One Floor & Home sent me to try out.  It’s called Tigressa…love the name-somehow conjures up images of ‘me Tarzan you Jane’ lying on the carpet getting wild…or in their case lyin on a Leopard skin:

Okay well maybe that’s a stretch , must be my imagination going wild with a mild case of heat stroke courtesy of the record-breaking warm weather here in the NorthEast!  So forgive my di-gressa from Tigressa  

Lots of companies send me products to try out, and having worked with Carpet One a few years back and their commitment to Breast Cancer Awareness, I was happy to oblige when Terri Daniels, their head public relations guru, all around terrif person and fellow Dirty Martini lover reached out to me.  That, and two other reasons:

1. I am a humongous slob and notorious/repeat red wine spiller…another reason for my ‘accidental’ moniker!  And, why God created my favorite carpet cleaning service Stanley Steemer whom i now have on speed dial!

2. I am thinking of refinishing my basement and want to be sure I put in carpet that looks good, is soft on my feetsies, durable, affordable and mega stain resistant for my many ‘accidental’ spills…( a reason i am thinking of drinking only clear libations …long live my ‘Tini LOL!)

And, dare I say Tigressa is the besta:

• Looks terrif-love it’s black since it doesn’t show most any dirt or stain!
• Soft on my feet and comfy to lie on solo or …
• Passed the Accidental Spill Test: Though i didn’t do this accidentally, I did spill my fave dirty tini on the rug and to my delight it pooled up making it a housewifely dream to blot and quickly clean up.   That also means moisture won’t get trapped below and possibly cause mold to grow–major sanity saving plus!  
  

  OMG! There goes another accidental housewifely spill!!!

  

  Look mom! No gloves required...Love that! Back to 'tini time!

• And, just in case that glass of red leaves a  mark, Tigress comes with  a Lifetime Stain Warrantee (20 years) which means they’ll replace it gratis…love that!
• Oh one more thing too–it’s eco-friendly!

So my friends, if you’re in the market to do some Spring Freshening of your floors that is also terrif if you’ve got messy kiddies (duh! is their any any other kind) and pets,  visit a Carpet One store (www.carpetone.com/tigressa), take your shoes off, spill some water (or wine if you have your sippy to go cup but don’t tell ‘em i told you to!) and see all the 1000 colors and textures Tigressa’s avail in…Not to mention it’s on sale now….BTW, imagining yourself as Tarzan ‘n Jane will be your call…of the wild. Meow!  Spread the glove!

CELEBRATING ST. PADDY’S DAY ‘N YOUR FAVE BREWS MANY USES

Top of the morn ‘n Happy St. Paddy’s Day!  

Lucky's St. Paddy's Tip!

Another stellar day here in New Jersey for a parade, bike ride, finding a four leaf clover, and indulging in some corned beef ‘n cabbage, shepard’s pie, and/or beer of any shade! So in the spirit of the day, I wanted to share some unusual ‘n money-saving uses for that ole pint of brewsky should you not trade it as “Lucky’ has or have any left over tomorrow!

1. Brass Pot Cleaner- Use an old soft cloth and rub some onto the pot.  Let sit ‘no have a brewsky if you like then return, rinse and buff with another soft clean cloth.

2. Wood Furniture Polisher-Actually this is perfect for any flat beer you have left from celebrating. Dampen a microfiber cloth and gently rub some on your wood furnture to bring back the luster.

3. Gold Cleaner-If you were lucky enough to find that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow or have some dull looking gold jewelry just put it in a bowl with enough beer to cover it.  Let sit for a bit, rinse then polish with a dry micro-fiber cloth. 

4. Red Wine Stain Remover: If red wine is your drink of choice and ye miss your mouth, first sop up as much as you can with some paper towels then dab with a light colored beer.  Steam clean when finito and then switch to white

5. Skin Softener: Rub a dub dub not as in have someone pour it over your head but in chilling and taking a real bath in your tub.  The yeast and other ingredients in beer are terrific for softening, exfoliating and cleansing your skin.

6. Hair Lightener  & Conditioner – Simply soak your hair in beer and lay in the sun to both lighten and condition…think of the money you’ll save vs going to your hairstylist!

7. Stuff the Bugs Us Trap-With springtime upon us and for those who love to garden just put some in an empty jar and ‘plant’ the jar leaving the open rims at ground level.  Slugs ‘n snails love the smell so they’ll ‘drop in’ for a cocktail  BTW also works to get trap mice who will simply get drunk and then you can set them free outside.  Roaches too, but you’ll have to put a thin coat of Vaseline around the rim so they so they can’t escape.

Spread the glove!

KARIM RASHAD, BUBBLY IN PINK ‘N ENJOYING MORE W/LESS

Happy Over the Hump Wednesday!

Went to the launch party last night for uber hip and talented English/Egyptian designer Karim Rashid at one of the Bo Concept stores in NYC.   As an accidental New Jersey housewife, Karim and my world don’t meet often these days but when I was invited by my good bud and coincidentally their fab publicist Dolly Hiller I had to go.  For my fellow suburban moms, Karim is THE NAME in interior design, furniture, lighting and art with  permanent collections in 15 museums world wide including MoMA in NYC…So attending this soiree was a no brainer and a perfect excuse for a nite out!

Ok, so let’s begin with the man himself, Rashid…there he was standing around 6’4′ give or take an inch or two in a pink suit..yup pink…

Rashad loves pink cause he loves it’s energy, beauty and it’s positive sense/love of life.  And, how could I not immediately bond and love the work of a person who’s fave colors are the same as mine…pink and apple green!  Just wish i had know cause i would have worn my signature pink gloves and brought a pair for him!   

Rashad  loves pink so much he’s designed a loveseat for Veuve Clicquot Rose Champagne…

And, a limited edition chandelier cooler. My personal fave 

For any of my loved ones n fam reading this and wondering what to give me as a housewarming gift someday wonder no longer …BTW: Worry not, I’ll provide the bubbly and “D” studly handler for the cooler…LOL!

Now to last eve and his newest design tour de force “The Ottawa Collection”.  It celebrates his 30 years of design. Sleek, chic, affordable and oh so easy to maintain is the best way to describe this clearly urban collection that would have been perfect way back when I was a NYC working gal. Rashid described it to me as ‘sensual, calming and pleasurable without excess because at the end of the day less is more”  which is how i’m trying to live my life these days and what my whole “Living the Rid Life” (www.juliestips.com ) is all about. Here a few pix from the collection and you can learn and see mucho more by visiting his site http://www.karimrashid.com/ 

Jigsaw vases...how cool!

The Man in Pink 'n his rug that look's terrif n won't show dirt...Love that!

After chatting with Rashim, the clock ticking and my free time running out,  I decided to enjoy the moment, feel the calm, the sensuality and pretend I was that NYC single working gal from days gone by.  So I kicked backed, put my feet up and enjoyed a glass of bubbly  because as RAshid said ‘at the end of the day less is more’ …Got that right! Spread the Glove!

ALL I WANNA DO IS NJOY SHERYL CROW, SURI, VUE ‘N BREWS

As moms, wives, working women or just over-scheduled and over-worked peeps in general, we rarely have the luxury or feeling that someone is there taking care of us.  I guess that’s why folks at Apple now feature Suri–our very own personal assistant on their new Apple 4S.  And, god knows we could all use someone to remind us of our kid’s dental appointment: call, email or text our significant other when we’re running late or maybe if I can find time sched a hair coloring appointment before those greys over populate! 

This is where and why technology is truly a good thing making me life easier, and not something that confuses the heck outta me since in addition to being known as The Accidental Housewife, I am also known as The Queen of Technological Darkness!  Nope Suri has made me feel special.  And, a few weeks back I shared another techy ‘good thing’: my new LG Hom-Bot which stays in its little charging station on call to vacuum my house without me lifting a finger.  Plus, it can bring me a martini or cup of coffee…Life is good!  

And, now I found my latest ‘make my life easier and tastier’ techy must have… 

Enjoying a cup of fresh VUE-brewed cappuccino with Michelle Stacy, Pres of Keurig!Mmmm Mmmm Yum!

See last eve I attended a launch party for the new Keurig VUE single cup coffee maker.  Now, i don’t know about you but my day just doesn’t quite start off right without that first cup of coffee which i generally have to reheat 2-3 times since i’m too busy focusing on getting my son up and fed for school.  Needless to say over-reheated coffee with the milk forming a thin waxy-like top isn’t exactly that yummy, ‘get my day going’ cup of java!  And, then if i’m running late which is just about every day, I  try to take a cup with me as I shuttle myself or my son in days gone by before he got his license (yeah chaufeur duties relieved!) and it be cold.  Yuk! 

But last nite I met Suri and Bot’s ‘new take care of Julie’ mate Vue…Now, please note i have tried several single cup coffee makers and generally have been disappointed since the coffee tastes weak, cools off too fast when i add my 1/2 and 1/2 and though I’m no Sheryl Crow  when it comes to being green (whom i love by the way as an artist and performer)–she had suggested we portion  toilet paper which for those of us with kids might save the forest but not the amount of laundry we’d be doing and thus not water nor energy conservation…The point here is I try to do what I can and if it fits into my everyday lifestyle all the better and the VUE pods  are recyclable so it’s mindless mother earth friendly! Love that!

So my fellow overworked, overscheduled housewives, check it out,  coffee, tea, hot, cold Keurig’s new VUE has a brew for you so as Sheryl sings “all i wanna do’ is enjoy a yummy cup of brew along with Suri and Bot! Happy weekend all…Spread the glove…

JOHNNY CARSON, GARY KASPAROV AND WELLS MOVIN’ ON

Did you know it was 16 years ago today that world champion Chess Player Gary Kasparov lost  the first game of six to Deep Blue—I didn’t either or if I did things from 16 years ago have long been forgotten unless they’re now my 6 ft. 1 inch 17 year ole son.  But the big news about the loss was that Deep Blue was an IBM computer which could figure out over 200 million moves per second.  Nowadays that probably wouldn’t surprise many peeps with all the video games and advances in technology but way back in 1996 it was big news.  In the end Kasparov showed man over machine still ruled and went home with the $400,000 grand prize. 

"Where's the Great Carnac when I need him!"

A brief aside: For those who have never seen any Johnny Carson reruns, The Great Carnac the Magnificient was a character Carson created during his late night reign.  He was an all-knowing mind-or rather closed-envelope-reader offering incredibly funny (and silly) answers without knowing the questions.  Thus why I referenced him since Kasparov could have used his ‘clairvoyance’!

Kasparov and Deep Blue met again in 1997 but this time Deep Blue won in the sixth and final match,  taking home the grand prize of $700,000.  That made me wonder how he spent it…new platinum hard drive, custom fitted, signature corporate IBM garb of white button down shirt and stripe tie?…diamond studded compressed air blower for his chip-mate?  Guess we’ll never know…

 But, I guess you’re wondering why the heck this Accidental Housewife is reminiscing about a chess match with a computer.  Well, today I had my own ‘match’ with a computer. See this morning I went to visit my trusty Wells Fargo ATM.  I put in my card which Wells (he and I are very tight) always readily inhales, then punched in my security code, amount of moula I wanted and par usual, promptly received my card and receipt back.  So off I went…Then as I was driving home I had one of those feelings where you know you’re missing something, but dismissing it as another sneak peak at the memory loss i’ll be experiencing as the years tick on…That was until I went to pay for my bagel and coffee and realized my bud Wells hadn’t given me any money!  Of course I doubted myself over Wells since I often forget things or where I put them,  and after all he is the latest and greatest in technology.  No way he’d make a mistake and not give me my money.   Right?  Wrong!!! I quickly returned to the scene and had the bank stuff abuzz –they even opened Wells up and sure enough my bank mate tried to pull a fast move on me!  Who’d have thunk!  Guess part of the moral here is even what we think is Mr. Smarter then I computer, is fallible so my advice to all of us is: always check…mate! –Wow that is a really really bad pun forgive me, it’s been a really, really long week.

And, hey I do realize this is a truly riveting read- NOT, and how the heck did I make the connection—dunno!   Perhaps like Deep Blue my brain’s capable of going off and connecting more moves then I thought which I know a certain special Scruffy D would more then agree!! Happy almost weekend…Spread the glove!