Beautiful USA

Every breath is a 2nd chance.
To give your bad mood a makeover.
To stop checking your 401(k) balance.
To wean yourself from Wolf Blitzer.
To remember the cloth grocery bags instead of leaving them in the car.
To break out of an old holding pattern.
To cultivate compassion from the inside out – we all need a little Me Tenderizer.
To shrink your elastic waistband.
To become a dog person.
To read yourself around the world if you can’t afford a ticket.
To bail yourself out of debt.
To talk face to face instead of on Facebook.
To change the plot of your life story.
To do a somersault – how long has it been?
To give wings to your grounded dreams.

(taken from the December issue of Skirt magazine)

Kanye West amuses me.Seriously he does.
I like him more for his arrogance and rants than for his music.
Regardless of what you think of Mr.West,you’ve got to admit,the man’s a musical genius.
He’s also the master of the unexpected.

You never know what Kanye is going to say on any given day which is what makes him interesting and unique.This man knows how to keep himself relevant in a fickle music business.He understands that there is no such thing as bad publicity,all that matters is that the people are talking about you (and even better that they are buying your records).To that end,Kanye West is a journalist’s dream come true.He always speaks his mind regardless of whose toes he steps on in the process and he always provides really priceless sound bytes and quotes.

You can count on Kanye West to never give a boring interview ever.
His Vibe interview – you know the one where he ranted about the picture on the cover (google it) – didnt disappoint.I actually think its his best interview ever.
Its raw.
Its intense.
Its passionate.
Its Kanye West at probably his most vulnerable and yet defiant stage ever,both as an artist and as a person.
He’s unrepentant.
He’s blunt.
He’s arrogant.
And he’s definitely going to piss off ALOT of people!(but by now you already know Mr.West doesn’t care whom he pisses off!).
This interview will either have you hating Kanye West even more than you do now or it’ll make you love him even more.Either way,at some point as you flip the pages,you’ll be applauding Kanye because even through the arrogance and almost maniacal ranting,he does make some very valid observations and its very clear that this man is very serious about his music and always gives the best of himself to the world.

Here’s my fave quote from that Vibe article:

I am Rap.I AM RAP!
I am what people rap about.I actually rap for 30,000 people a night.I am a walking Hypebeast.
I am like Hypebeast,the guy.
I’m actually the human being version of a brand.
I’m like Nike,the human being

Yes,thats my Kanye…confident,full of himself,sure of himself,arrogant…just the way I like him.

Have you ever come across something so good that you absolutely couldnt wait to share it with the entire world?Well,well,well my dear book lovers,feast your eyes on Book Gift Baskets.

The idea behind Book Bouquet is so simple and yet so beautiful and thoughtful.I know we all know someone in our lives who is a total book worm…someone whose eyes are always glued to the latest best seller,someone who would rather give up a fun night on the town with friends just because she can’t pull herself away from a really good book…you catch my drift.

Well anyway,the next time you’re wondering what to get this book lover pal of yours,just grab her a Book Gift Basket.Trust me,she’ll love you for life.The gift baskets come with your choice of a paperback from a best selling author and goodies like nuts,chocolates or cookies so your book lover can have a little somethin’ somethin’ to snack on while enjoying her favorite books!!

Okay so its really a no brainer but you’d be amazed at how many people don’t use baby car seats when traveling with their babies.There’s probably a gazillion studies out there that show the importance of strapping your child in and there are laws about this very issue but for some reason,some people choose to endanger their babies’ lives and that makes me mad as hell.

No,I’m not talking about Britney Spears.I’m talking about the lady I drove by today who had 3 kids in her back seat all probably under the age of 6 and yet not a single one of those kids was strapped into a car seat or even a seat belt.Two of the kids were pressed up against the side windows and one was peeping in between the two front seats.I just wanted to scream at this woman..“lady,get freakin’ baby car seats for your kids”

Baby car seats aren’t expensive.Don’t believe me?You can do a bit of comparison shopping for yourself.When looking for a car seat,dont go for the designer ones,just choose one that you are comfortable with and one that fits your budget…at the end of the day,the only thing that matters is you strap your child in,not what seat they are strapped in.