Lela Davidson's Blog, page 32
March 2, 2012
Neil Young: Anthem for Sad Old People
Doesn't this picture look exactly like a Neil Young song? Or, every Neil Young song?
And how do you not love The Godfather of Grunge? Well, turns out if you're so young you think grunge is Old People Music, you have zero tolerance for Young.
The other day I was playing Prairie Wind in the car when my son got in.
Big dramatic sigh grunt, and then: "PLEASE turn off this Neil Old crap."
I didn't.
"When did you buy this CD anyway?"
"I dont' know. A few years ago. Why?"
"How did you feel when you bought it?"
"Admit it, you love it."
"Seriously, Mom, were you, like, depressed? Because this is like, suicidal. Or, were you just deaf."
That was the day I realized I could keep him in line with a simple threat to blast Neil Young with the windows open. Boys are so easy.
Image: Oslo In the Summertime, Flickr
February 29, 2012
Still Got That Loving Feeling
It's still February, and as long as my Valentine's tea towels are out, we may as well celebrate the season, yes? Birds are chirping, trees are budding, and the effects of everyone's New Year's resolutions are starting to play out on their biceps and abs. Not that I would notice, on anyone other than my husband, because I'm so happily married. I am so romantic…
Here's another lovely magazine that ran one of my favorites, "Top 10 Reasons to Date Your Spouse," this month. I love this magazine, and not just because they serve Milwaukee, home to one of my personal heros, Laverne DeFazio.
Thank you, metroparent!
Give us any chance, we'll take it.
Give us any rule, we'll break it.
Image Credits: metroparent; Englishsnow, Flickr
Oh, Canada!
This isn't the first time my words have made their way north of the border. I've been published in Calgary and Toronto, too, but it always feels special to be accepted so close to home. Thank you, BC Parent! I also adore the image of three stair-stepped blonde girl children. 
Could Be Worse is the story of one of the many road trips our family took in the quest of the ever-elusive youth hockey trophy. It appears in the February issue of BC Parent, and in the 5-star rated Blacklisted from the PTA. Which makes a great Mother's Day gift, for yourself ;)
February 27, 2012
Mother and Father, Thy Names Are Stoopid
Increasingly my children characterize my husband and I as the supporting idiots in their lives. Intellectually, I get it.
But it's hard to transition from the gods they once thought us to be, into these obsolete fools they need us to become in order to fully become themselves. So senseless are we that we must be tolerated and – more often – corrected.
Recently my husband upgraded the operating system on his iPhone. I'd rather iron socks, but to him this passes for an enjoyable Sunday afternoon. The task inspired him to extol The Cloud any chance he got.
Read the rest of this post on Brooke Burke's Modern Mom
February 24, 2012
Teens on Twitter, Believe It
While many parents are trying to keep up with Facebook's ever-changing privacy policies, their kids are quietly taking their private conversations to Twitter. They are using multiple and anonymous accounts to communicate unobserved.
Teenagers are increasingly using Twitter because, according to my own teenage son, "Adults aren't on it." A survey conducted in July 2011 by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, which explores the impact of the internet on families and civic life, found that the number of 12- to 17-year olds on Twitter doubled from 2008 to 2010.
Escape from parental monitoring isn't the only thing driving teens to Twitter. When celebrities adopted the micro-blogging platform kids followed. One can only hope all of Justin Bieber's 17 million+ followers are all teenagers.
Read the rest of this post on Today Show MOMS.
Image: Pink Sherbet Photography
February 22, 2012
Money Advice, Lightly Salted
I just finished pitching some new ideas to Chicago Parent magazine, which I love, and it occurred to me I've appeared in that publication almost every month for over a year now. That's a big deal. I have thoroughly enjoyed writing the monthly Your Money piece, and look forward to doing so as long as they'll have me. (Who said my accounting background was useless?)
I've written about everything from life insurance to teaching kids about credit cards while they're young so they don't run off and wreak plastic havoc on you later. So, if you're in Chicago, please pick up a copy of the magazine, and buy advertising–lots and lots of full-page multi-month ads.
Image: John Althouse Cohen, Flickr
February 20, 2012
Everyone Needs a Kick in the Ass Sometimes
Why do I love Christina Katz, and her persistent and occasionally painful ass kickery? (As captured in The Writer's Workout, among other places.) Because she pushes me, hard. She reminds me of this aerobics teacher I used to have–my favorite one EVER, who weighed about a hundred pounds and jumped around her three-stack aerobic step like a cheerleader dating Charlie Sheen. Her classes were always packed, even though she was–or especially because she was–a bit of a tyrant.
During a particularly strenuous class she paused, glared into the mirror, and said into her Madonna mic, "Oh, I'm bitch, huh? But your ass sure looks good, doesn't it?"
Just like my old aerobics teacher, Christina makes your ass look good.
February 16, 2012
Entertaining for Dummies
I love to entertain. Rather, I love when people bring wine to my house. Sometimes that's the end of it. I sneak off to the bathroom with a bottle opener and my husband feigns death until the guests leave. That's on a good night. Usually I enter into some charade of hospitality wherein someone generally says, "You do realize you're hosting this thing, right?"
Here's the thing, having friends over should be fun, and friends don't care if your dishes match or there's crumbs on the floor, or the mushrooms in your risotto grew on your picnic table. And if the people at your house aren't friends, why in the name of Nigella did you invite them? Regardless, here are my rules for stress-free and easy entertaining that puts hosts and guests alike at ease.
1. Experiment with Recipes – Nothing brings friends together like a sharing a delicious meal, expertly prepared. Equally bonding: shared immediate onset food poisoning. (Think Bridesmaids.)
2. Put the Lazy Bastards to Work – People always get along on communes, right up until the asteroid is due. So always recruit someone to dress the salad and someone to mix the Koolaid.
3. Liquor, Booze, and Hooch – Seriously. People just get along better under the influence. And they think they're funnier, which of course makes them funnier. And if your friends get ugly when they drink, buy them wife beater tanks and trucker hats. And get new friends.
Do you have entertaining tips? Let us know here, and then join the conversation over on BlogHer, where the other participating bloggers have likely posted advice that is actually helpful.
And be sure to enter to win a Kindle Fire while you're there!
February 15, 2012
Podcasting From iPhone to WordPress
No studio required.
I may not be using the right word here, and I'm cool with that. But for our purposes here we are going to call recording something on your phone and then posting it to your blog a podcast. Mmmkay? K. And, lest you think I'm going to start becoming overly useful, trust that I'm not. But after spending an hour to figure out how to the the a second time, because the first time I thought, "Well, of course I'll remember that!" so I didn't write it down, I thought I'd save myself the sixty minutes next time around. And because I am super nice and generous and I know some of my blogger buddies can't get enough of their own voices, I thought I'd share.
If you think the sound quality will be lame, you may be right, but check it out here before you decide. I think it's not bad at all. For free, it's kick ass.
How to Record a File on iPhone and Podcast to WordPress
By the way, did I mention this is for Mac? If you have a PC, this may or may not help. Sorry [image error]
1. Record your file on the phone. I use the Voice Memos app, which I think came loaded on my 4G, but if not it's free because I'm usre I wouldn't have paid 99 of my hard-earned cents to hear my own voice.
2. Send the file to your email or get it onto your computer some other way. Apparently, there are clouds for such things. I'm not quite there yet.
3. For WordPress to play your file, it needs to be in mp3 format. Now, maybe you have some squizzy app that does that for you, but if you're like me you have a m4a. Don't freak out, it's easy.
4. Open your iTunes. Go to the iTunes menu, Preferences, Import Settings. Make sure Import Using is set to MP3 Encoder.
5. Import the file into iTunes by choosing File, Add to Library, and then grab it from wherever you saved it.
6. Once it's there in your library, right click and choose Create MP3 Version.
7. Open WordPress and Add New Media. Grab the file and then after it loads, view it. Once there, click on the title so it takes you to a screen where it actually plays. Hit pause quickly before you have to hear the sound of your own voice. Then, copy the URL.
8. Open up a new post and write some clever words to introduce your spankin' podcast, or whatever it's really called. Then paste your audio file URL.
[image error]
This is what it looks like in your post, and it plays!
9. Here is the cool part that puts a little play button in your post and plays the file right there from that screen.
Edit the the URL to read like this:
[ audio URL ] – (But with only with a space between "audio" and the URL. I had to put the extras in there to show you.)
Seriously, that's it. Just adding the word audio and the brackets gives you the goods.
10. Play, enjoy, tweet, repeat.
A lot of steps, right? Enjoy your hour.
February 13, 2012
Does Sam's Club Count as Date Night?
With Valentine's Day looming its terrifying head, I thought I'd encourage you all to go on a date night. And yes, I'm going to say Sam's Club counts. Well, actually, not my Sam's Club because they don't sell liquor and I like a little hooch with my romance.
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Date Night at Sam's Club
While Sam's Club might make a decent date night on any other night of the year, I wouldn't try to get away with it on February 14th. You could go for the usual gifts, but why not make her laugh instead? Order Blacklisted from the PTA in paperback or Kindle now.
Like This? Try These:
How My Husband Got Kicked Off My Sales Force
Match.com's Got Nothing on This
Holiday Baking Disaster
Audio: Lela Davidson
