My heart goes out to the family of the beautiful young woman who was tragically killed at SeaWorld.

My problem is this..the animal is called a Killer Whale, and, this particular Killer Whale has lived up to his name… Therefore, I find it astounding that people who are supposedly trained professionals in this field get into the water with these animals strictly for entertainment.

 I get the whole “educating the dumb public about endangered animals” thing, it is how we justify taking wild, magnificent animals out of their habitats, locking them in “artificial environments” and making them do tricks for our entertainment.  My question is this, how many “wild animal trainers” are going to have to be stung, eaten, drowned or mauled before we come to our senses and realize that these animals are best left in the wild?  If they don’t survive, oh well, dinosaurs didn’t make it and we are none the worse for that.

Before you shell out some obscene amount of money to visit one of these Captive Animal Exhibits, keep in mind that you are playing a part in condemning these animals to an unnatural existence and contributing to the endangering of the handlers. If this doesn’t trouble you..think about the fact that you may come back as a Lion condemned to a zoo!

During the most recent snow storm I noticed dozens of squirrels scurrying about, racing up trees, digging for a morsel of anything that was not frozen, seemingly as happy in the snow as they are sunbathing on the roof in the summer. I though to myself, what a great life a squirrel has…no stress, no responsibility, they seem to be happy running joyously with no particular place to go…and then it dawned on me, where do squirrels go to die?  I began to think of all the squirrels that live around my house and realized I have never seen a dead one!  Do they, like elephants have a special place they go to die? Somewhere so remote that we don’t stumble on it while running, hiking or shopping? Or do they bury their own in your backyard while you sleep? Perhaps they all commit suicide by drowning in local waterways? Or maybe the reason there are so many little happy squirrels running around, it that they NEVER die!   

I don’t want to age myself but I do long for the days when your female ice skaters wore beautiful, flowing, feminine dresses and their partners (no matter their sexuality) wore sensible black jumpsuits! When “our” skaters glided across gracefully to classical music…ahhhh

I long for the time when I could just relax and enjoy the beauty and grace of a lovely synchronized pair twirling and “whishing” around the rink!  Now I must first get past the circus costumes, the screeching music and the over the top “themes” to watch males and females lifting and twisting each other like human pretzels, engaging in so much complicated “side-by-side footwork” that I’m exhausted by mid-performance!!

And..don’t get me started on those Blue Snowsuits with the little Stars on our Ski Team. WHAT is this about?? How can these talented men possibly feel medal-worthy bundled up looking like a toddler on a bunny hill. I get the edgy street look worn by the young snowboarders, that’s the culture, but strapping, strong men jumping 50 feet in the air flipping and twisting down a hill deserve a sleek, sexy ski suit…don’t you think?

Finally, when is the Olympic Organizing Committee going to choose beautiful beaded badgeholders for the athletes instead of those ugly fabric ones?

What is up with this need to follow or be followed by total strangers? Didn’t that used to be called “stalking’? Honestly, who really cares what you are doing minute to minute? I don’t know about the rest of the population but my daily life certainly doesn’t warrent sharing with anyone I’m not related to!  Even my loving husband doesn’t really care if I found a bargin on Avacados at Acme..

What do all of these people do that have enough time in their day to report to unknown masses their every move?? Do they work?  If so, is their employer paying for “Tweeting” time?  Do they sneek off to the bathroom and secretly “Tweet”? Or perhaps they don’t work, in which case what do they have to “Tweet” about? What they ate for lunch, carpools, the gym???  Maybe they just sit home and read everyone else’s “Tweets”!

Does anyone else feel as though this “Tweeting”, Facebooking and for that matter even Blogging is just a tad self-indulgent?  Is this the metaphor for 2010.. The Narcissistic Generation???

So if you are an “old friend” who I haven’t spoken to since high school and you can’t find me in the 30+ pages under my name on the Internet…you don’t need to reach me.

They could be doing your job!

While you are preparing the hundreds of resumes you will need to send out to hopefully get a few responses, think about this.

My jewelry company, Moonbabies has been in business for 15 years and much to the chagrin of all of my business advisors I have insisted on having all of our products made in the USA.  Over the years it has become more and more difficult to survive as my competitors have their products made in Third World countries.  I understand wanting to save money, time are very tough, but in order to pay our employees a decent wage, provide benefits and produce a quality product we cannot compete with workers (many children) who are paid $1.00 a week! 

 So, next time you have the choice, buy American Made so they won’t be doing your job in the future!

Anyway, the first MOONBABY was conceived during the Blizzard of 1996 with the intention of keeping my 2 children entertained. I was the most creative at-home mom with the most abundant “craft room” so I became the designated “foul weather shelter” for every stray child in the neighborhood..In an effort to keep the little shavers busy, I whipped out some wire, and beads and set about creating “mini me’s” for the kids, stuck a pin on the back and sent them on their chilly little way…Family and friends began calling to request the little “people pins” for gifts. When a local store contacted me to make 100 pins for Christmas, I knew I was on to what would become my life’s work!

Almost 11 years later, MOONBABIES has grown into a vibrant, dynamic company with a very extensive product line! The foundation of our mission has remained the same; produce high-quality, fashion forward accessory items exclusively in the United States by a very loyal and dedicated team of “MoonMoms” who can work at home and care for their children. Now, get a good night’s sleep and drink a few Red Bulls and tune in tommorrow for more about this facinating company and it’s truly interesting Chief Poobah!