What I'm Diggin'

Websites that allow you to collect and organize articles, recipes, etc. My favorites are the New York Times, Martha Stewart Living, Real Simple, and Allrecipes. There are some really innovative ideas sprouting forth from the fertile minds of web developers.


The best part of all? They have been modeled after the public library system. All articles on the above sites are offered free. This has not always been the case. The New York Times introduced Times Select a few years ago, depriving me (and thousands of other cheap bastards, I'm sure) of columns by my favorite opinionists. Recently the powers-that-be changed their minds and reversed course, proving they truly don't have anything in common with the President.

Flylady's "Rubba Scrubba." It is my new must-have tool, especially with two pooches. The thing cleans everything. I have not ordered it yet because the shipping is almost as much as the tool. If I wait too long, though, it will sell out again.

An Aussie lass wrote about the rubba scrubba on her blog, I Want That Dress. I would like to believe that she would view my writing as more sassy than cutesy but who knows? She is a cat person (in other words, inscrutable). I got a great idea from her though: she posts on her blog twice a week, on designated days. Clearly, a Flylady idea and perhaps one that I can adapt to The Jolly Mama.

Green living. There are some great ideas out there and a lot of discussion right now. The top tips I found today have been to 1) buy frozen, condensed juice at the grocery store 2) unplug chargers after cellphones, laptops, gaming systems have been juiced up 3) stop idling - one to bring up with Griffin's nursery school. ?? 363.738 DAV is the call number for Laurie David's Activist's Guide, available now at my library.

Community. Elizabeth Edwards wrote about it powerfully in her book, Saving Graces, and just recently I found an online movement, Playborhood. Their mission is to get kids out in the street, playing with each other. I like it and have been sharing it with others, which I suppose is the whole point, isn't it?