Ugh. I've got "yacht hair."

You know that feeling when you navigate your yacht back into the slip and now that you're no longer sailing in the breeze you realize your hair is a complete mess? Me neither. Until last week.

You see, Lands' End brought me, Dawn from Because I Said So and Lisa from Lisa's Thoughts and Ramblings out for a sail on a yacht on Lake Michigan to give us a taste of the Race to Mackinac. Lands' End is the title sponsor of this 260-boat race across the lake.

It was a lovely afternoon and I really meant to post on it before last weekend's big race, but as of this writing, there's still no winner from the race that began last weekend. Check here for up-to-the-minute details.

Amanda from Lands' End PR gave us a water bottle and a Land's End bag branded with the Race logo. I laughed when I took a good look at the bag and realized it's not just their standard bucket bag, but a zip top version. I had to laugh, because I carried one of these around for years!

When my boys where about 3 and 5 and I became serious about writing, I carried a large journal with me everywhere, and this was my sturdy go-to bag. I think this new version is going to be my "BlogHer and beyond bag."
Photo credit: Dawn Meehan. She's on the left, Lisa is in the center. I'm the one on the right looking like an old lady and our fearless Captain Randy is in the rear.

We Dared to Stand Out

Dared to Stand Out on the Ledge- you know that glass enclosure sticking out of the 103rd floor of the Sears Tower? Oh yeah, Smartypants and I were there!

I was pleasantly surprised to receive an invite to the Media Preview Day for the new Sears Tower (Willis Tower) ledge. I was able to bring along my oldest and might have tried to bring the youngest as well, but the boys have been fighting like cats and dogs lately.

And look: our shoes are famous! And my 11-year-old was quoted in the Washington Post.

Earlier this year he and his orthodontia were front and center in the New York Times. That kid is quite the media darling.

We give the Ledge a thumbs-up and dare you to Stand Out on your next trip to Chicago.

Marketing to Mom Bloggers: Influence, Power and Responsibility

I'm going to try something a little different this week: crowdsourcing a blog post. I've been mulling over a few thoughts on blogger influence, power and responsibility, but this week I'm pressed for time. Also, I'm continually impressed by the thoughtful comments you leave here, so I thought I'd throw out a few questions this week and use your answers (always giving credit and sharing links, natch) and mine to put together next week's post.

As mombloggers, we're offered treated like divas- showered with coupons, product samples, trips and other goodies. Have you ever gotten carried away a bit carried away and crossed the line from blogger to blogwhore*?

Do you think the diva treatment has swelled up some egos and perhaps created a bad name for mombloggers? Explain. (Answer in the sense of the community as a whole. I will not post comments that call out any specific bloggers.)

How has your relationship with swag changed over time?

Whether you have 10 readers or 10,000 followers, describe the responsibility (if any) you feel toward them

I hope this little experiment works.

I'll be spending my day sampling chocolate and other fine confections as well as enjoying lunch with an interesting new group of bloggers and writing about it on Scrambled CAKE. If I return to find a bunch of comments here, it will be the icing on my milk chocolate filled Lindt Truffles. And if there are no comments, well, I'll drown my disappointment in those same truffles. They don't really need icing, anyway.

Cleaning where the sun don't shine

I've spent the last two days in the fog of a relentless headache, but it's finally clearing. Speaking of clearing, I've been doing a lot of clearing out and wiping down at Chez Moldofsky.

For some people Spring Cleaning means wiping the windows and waxing the floors, but for me it means digging deep into the spaces nobody sees. Which is odd that I'd spend my time that way, especially considering the improbable blob of bird poop stuck to the picture window outside of the living room. (How did it get there? Its placement seems physically impossible. Like this guy in the suit doing a trust fall.)

I'm cleaning out closets and junk drawers. I'm stowing away the mittens and scarves and breaking out the beach towels even though summer, like the bird poop, seems a physical impossibility given our recent weather.

I've amassed piles of clutter, some of which I might try to sell via Craigslist. We sold my car that way last year. I'm going to do a guest ClutterCast soon, but likely I'll drag much of the stuff (some of it's good) over to the resale shop, the path of least resistance that pays in its own way because we get a tax deduction for our donation.

I'm also digging into my old work files. Oh, my precious files. I used to develop programs- training programs, not computer ones-and I have loads of files on listening, goal setting, communications, team building, you name it.

Sure I've culled them over the last decade, but this week I looked at them and knew they no longer serve a useful purpose. And if I do need any of the information contained within, chances are I can find it online.

That said, a few bits and pieces caught my eye, caused me to reflect on where I've been and where I'm headed. A few of the papers I came across made me think and might even provide good fodder for this blog.

Still, I must have recycled a tree's worth of paper today. And I think about what Oprah's clutter-guru says. When we clean out our clutter, we make room for something new in our lives. I can't help but wonder what's in store for my family with all this space I'm creating.

Along with all those papers, I have a good number of team building supplies, or props. I cleaned out a bunch last fall and gave them to the PE teachers at school. This week, I decided to whittle down my collection even more. However, I still felt compelled to keep two dozen squishy balls, half a dozen Koosh balls, five 20-foot pieces of webbing, and two parachutes. After all, if a bird can poop on a vertical surface and the Mother Nature can deliver summer, maybe I'll be facilitate another team building session some day. (It was fun work. These pictures are from my long-defunct corporate teambuilding website.)

Speaking of long defunct, after six months of unemployment, DH starts a new job tomorrow. Can I hear an "Amen?" Sadly, it's only a temporary gig, but it seems like a great fit and it will be nice for him to get a proper paycheck, if only for a few months.

And speaking of cleaning where the sun don't shine, I don't want to disappoint you if you came here with, you know, certain expectations, so check out this scary/funny post at Red Dirt Woman. Two clues: 1) Lysol, 2) douche.

Can I make horseradish from scratch?

Amy over at MomAdvice writes up what she calls a weekly notebook experiment where she often tries making this or that new food. I channeled her as I decided to whip up a batch of horseradish for this week's Passover seders. Horseradish is the condiment of choice for gefilte fish, which itself is the traditional Passover appetizer. If you click on this link, you will understand why I chose to try the condiment, rather than the fish.

When I Googled for a recipe, I found one from my blog sister Andrea from Andrea's Recipes. I know she knows food, so I gave her recipe a try. I noticed that she made hers outside, but from what I learned on Google, sensed I could try it indoors without overwhelming my senses.

Unlike what you see on her blog. I began with one long, firm horseradish root. It was so huge, it resembled a femur (but feel free to insert a phallic or dildo joke in the comments if you're up for it).

In my kitchen, I chopped it by hand into 2 inch bits and tossed it into a blender with water and cider vinegar, per the recipe. I'd also roasted a few pieces of beet and added a handful of those to the blender. It gives the prepared horseradish a nice pink color and adds a hint of sweetness.

I decided to run the blender on our porch because I'd read that this is where the smell can start getting unbearable. A few minutes later, my pink condiment was almost ready. I lined a colander with paper towels and drained my mixture.

After draining it for a minute or two, I spooned the mixture into storage containers. That's when the fumes became intense. My eyes stung and began to water as I scooped up the prepared horseradish.

I called DH in for a taste test (I'll wait to eat it at seder). It didn't make him cry, but I don't know if that's good or bad. He likes intensely spicy foods that give him a near-death experience. Me? Not so much.

On a related note, do you include a Miriam's Cup as part of your seder? Click through for ideas on how to incorporate this. After all, a little Girl Power is a good thing. Unless you ask my niece (just click).

Also, you don't have to be Jewish to love this amazing Passover dessert that's good all year long.

Cross-posted to Scrambled Cake.

I've been canned!

Last Tuesday I dropped my unemployed husband off for an interview (freelance opportunity, nothing full-time with benefits that would leave me shouting from the rooftops and running to the nearest mall or Target if he got it) and headed out to kill an hour. On my way from my parking spot to a coffee shop I found a lucky penny.

Call me hopelessly naive, but I've never lost my youthful outlook when it comes to finding pennies on the ground: Find a penny, pick it up, all day long you'll have good luck.

I picked up the change and, as is my decades old habit, put it in my shoe. That's what you're supposed to do to bring on the good luck.

Anyway, about an hour later I got a call from my editor at BabyCenter's Momformation blog telling me that I was being let go on account of the economy. They dismissed 75% of the probloggers. Me. And her. But not her, which I mean in a good way.

I was thrilled to get the pro-gig at the popular national parenting blog. It took a good deal of discipline and time for me to post five times a week, something I did for over a year. After I'd reached the year mark, though, I felt I was losing my mojo. Plus, my youngest boy aged out of their target group. I started cutting back there and focusing on this blog as well as working on consulting projects...and Twitter.

In January I put myself on Momformation hiatus and have since debated whether to end my relationship with them, jump back in, or just continue in my self-imposed purgatory.

So the call from my editor was liberating and lucky in that he gave me the answer to the question I'd left lingering. Sort of. If there's something I want to cross-post there without compensation I'm welcome to do so. And that's fine.

I'm all for leaving the door open, not so much because I'm a wimp and can't make a decision to save my life (though some may argue this), but until I find a crystal ball that can predict my future, I'm all for leaving my options open.

My role at Momformation opened up great opportunities. Shout-out to Vero for hooking me up with the site and a hearty thanks to the excellent bloggers and friends I made there!

Best Birthday Gift Ever

Alas, the best birthday gift ever is not one I received, but rather one I gave. Make that one my boys gave and have been giving since we stumbled onto its simplistic awesomeness: a box of golden coins.

Last winter, I hadn't braved the snow to make it out to buy a game or gift card for a friend of one of my boys and the party date was rapidly approaching. When I realized we had some gold-like Sacajawea dollar coins left over from Hanukkah, I ran to my craft cabinet and pulled out a lovely velvet-lined cigar box I'd picked up at a garage sale (for $1) and dumped the coins inside.

Like the inspired pairing of peanut butter and chocolate, the coins and the old wooden box with velvet lining made a striking combination.

What tween doesn't like money, Especially when it looks it looks like golden ancient treasure?

And with concerns about stores closing and gift cards losing value, cash is a great way to go.As I said, this is a gift idea we've been repeating. I've gone through my stash of old-fashioned cigar boxes, but I can pick up new wooden boxes at the craft store and possibly even convince my boys to decorate them.

What's your go-to gift?