"Michael J. Fox: Adventures of an Incurable Optimist"

Last night the T.V. special, "Adventures of an Incurable Optimist" aired on ABC. Michael J. Fox talked to people from all over the world about "the nature of optimism" and talks about his ongoing battle with Parkinson's Disease.
What an encouraging and upbeat special. It's a must see!
This special aired for an hour. We follow Fox as he meets a variety of doctors who discuss the traits involved in being an optimist.Michael J. Fox says that the past 10 years have been his best years. One of his special achievements is The Michael J. Fox Foundation and all of the money and research that has occured over the past years.
During the special he spoke with Lance Armstrong.Lance Armstrong overcame cancer and started the "Livestrong" campaign. The yellow bracelets with "Livestrong" embossed on it was inspired by his struggle with cancer. He then met with Bonnie Hunt at Wrigley Field where he discusses individuals passions for the sport of baseball and there non-ending support of teams even if they haven't YET made it to the World-Series! He then traveled to the Himalayan nation of Bhutan where there main priority is happiness! The photographers were seen taking pictures of families and friends participating in events together, all smiling, giggling and very happy! It was inspirational to watch. He mentioned that even though he was hiking he didn't seem to need as much medication as usual. It had to do with happiness and feeling optimisitic. Having a mom with Parkinson's I know how stress can affect her tremor!
It was amazing watching Fox golf with Bill Murray. With very obvious tremors he continued to hit the golf ball. It was even a struggle for him to walk the golf course. "I'm a terrible golfer! But it's just so much fun to get out there,", maybe summing up his feel-good message when he adds, "Optimism isn't about hoping for the end result. I'm content to enjoy the hope, without needing to be assured of the outcome."
"Fox was qoted as saying, "I just need to express myself, because that's what I do. It's the only way I can live my life: to embrace the possibilities, instead of fear the realities.
"We've been scared for a while," he says. "Before the economy, it was the war and terrorism. And we reacted fearfully at first. But I think we're trying something new, now: It's not about duct-taping yourself inside your house. It's about opening your windows and seeing what's out there.
"In my own way, I'm cheerleading that."
Take a look at the ABC website to look at a clip of the special. Hopefully it will be shown in it's entirety on their website.
As you may know, Fox is also a best-selling author. His first book, Lucky Man, was published in 2002. A new memoir of the last eight years, Always Looking UpI'm also looking forward to reading his new book.
I'm looking forward to reading his new book!
Smiling and laughing,
Robin

Free Shipping on Grandma Rocks CD

In honor of Steals and Deals travel theme month of May, Steals and Deals is offering a Grandma Rocks CD Give-A-Way! Our song, "Are We There Yet" fit perfectly into their theme! It is a fun song for both adults and children. Click on the car to hear a clip of the song.

This is an excert from Steals and Deals Review:

Let me introduce you to Grandma's Shoppe. This shop was created by a daughter and mother and has "unique and practical items". I had the opportunity to sample one of their CD's, Grandma Rocks CD. It has swing to rap! I played it in my van for my kids and my 9 year old stopped what he was doing and started to laugh and said, "this is funny!" I too thought it was a fun CD. I appreciated the wide variety and thought the rapping was great!

Fun Fact:Read here to see how an Emmy award winner was involved!
Buy it':$12.99 at GrandmasShoppe.com

Win It:*Comment at Steals and Deals and tell tem what you like at Grandma's Shoppe!
This giveaway ends on 5/14/09.

ONE MORE BONUS!! FREE Shipping on the purchase of our Grandma Rocks CD. Purchase a Grandma Rocks CD in the month of May and write Steals and Deals in the comment section we'll reimburse the shipping after the purchase has been made (must be ordered by itself!!)

Happy May!
Robin

Is Mother's Day a Hallmark Holiday?

The Quest for the Perfect Blog

According to Wikipedia, "The modern Mother's Day holiday was created by Anna Jarvis as a day for each family to honor its mother and it's now celebrated on various days in many places around the world.This holiday is relatively modern, being created at the start of the 20th century,"

"In 1912, Anna Jarvis trademarked the phrases "second Sunday in May" and "Mother's Day", and created the Mother's Day International Association..."She was specific about the location of the apostrophe; it was to be a singular possessive, for each family to honour their mother,

not a plural possessive"commemorating all mothers in the world"

For some reason I always felt that Mother's Day was an invented Hallmark Holiday. Everytime there's another holiday my husband always remarks that it must be a marketing ploy created by Hallmark Cards, They must have needed another reason to sell cards!

I'm glad to see it is a real and deserving holiday. I always appreciate a reason to spend time with our family. It makes us slow down and appeciate each other. We usually spend the day with my parents. Most of the time is centered around eating and socializing.

I came upon a blog called, Briefcase Diva. It is written by Kelli Cllaypool and explores the joys of being a mom. Kelli has three children and can't imagine life without her children. ( I can relate to this completely!)

"The last 21-years have gone by so fast since I brought home my first babygirl.... I’m not supermom and I’ve certainly made mistakes along the way, however I’ve enjoyed every trial and error along the way. Plus, all three of my kids have turned out to be pretty good, so I’ve must have done something right."

She contiunes to discuss fun things to do with your children.
Every Mother’s Day, have a picture taken with your kids
Do something special with you and kids
Bake something together
Watch movies together

She ends with: "The best part of being is a mom are the hugs and the “I love you’s” for no particular reason other than just being Mom!"
Kelli, I totally agree,
Robin
http://www.grandmasshoppe.com/

Celebrate Mother's Day with Grandma's Shoppe

Pillbox $9.99

Mom Made That Give-A-Way Results

This Mother's Day Grandma's Shoppe has been busy! We've teamed up with some of our favorite blogs to help them make their Mother's Day Contests fun and successful. Mom Made That just ran a fun give-a-way and it was a huge success.

We donated a cute Grandma Rocks onesie t-shirt. The lucky winner is Leslie from Georgia.
Congratulations Leslie!!
Robin

Painter Mommy Teams up with Grandma's Shoppe for Another Great- Mother’s Day Giveaway

Giveaway Rules:
(Be sure to follow the rules!)
Main Rule - Go visit http://www.grandmasshoppe.com/ and let Painter Mommy know what your favorite item is from the store and why.

Here are several ways that you can earn extra entries, Leave a separate comment for each one.
1. Email 3 friends about this giveaway and comment about who you sent it to.
2. Subscribe to this blog (right sidebar)
3. Add my Button to your sidebar.? Here’s the code: (go to Painter Mommy for Code)
4. Go to my Nursery Murals and More Blog and subscribe via email (upper left sidebar) and come back here and comment that you did.
5. Twitter about the giveaway (copy & paste) @PainterMommy is giving away a matching T’s set for mom and baby from @grandmasshoppe http://tinyurl.com/ce2cha Comment to win! Pls RT

To receive a 10% discount on your purchase, enter “Painter Mommy” in a comment when you place your order and you will receive a 10% reimbursement after you place your order (not including shipping).

This giveaway ends: Wednesday, May 2nd

GOOD LUCK EVERYBODY!! And Happy Mother’s Day!

Grandma Rocks CD Review and Give-A-Way

Grammy Janet's Place reviewed our Grandma Rocks CD and is offering one as a give-a-way~

ENDS: 5/7
Open: US
One winner will win a Grandma Rocks CD!!


HOW TO ENTER: Visit Grandma's Shoppe and let Grammy Janet know what item is your favorite. You may enter once a day by doing this, but please pick a different item each time.Additional Entries:Make a new comment post for each additional entry.

1. Subscribe to Grandma's Mailing List here - 2 extra entries, leave two comments
2. .Subscribe to Grammy Janet's Blog by feed or email
3. Grab Grammy Janet's button and post it on your blog, please post the link
4. Blog about this giveaway and post the link
5. Send a tweet to Twitter (include the link in your comment) - can be done daily
6. Follow Grammy Janet's Blog. Please make sure that you leave a working email address.I f you post anonymous, please remember that you must leave an email. Grammy Janet will use Randomizer.org to select the winner and will notify you by email. The winner must claim prize within 3 days.

Good Luck!!
Robin

The Quest for the Perfect Blog

Administrative Professionals Day is April 22, 2009. It used to be known as Secretary's Day. According to Wikipedia, it is observed on the Wednesday of the last full week of April. This "holiday' was created to honor secretaries and encourage individuals to consider working in this field. The first holiday recognizing the importance of Administrative Assistants goes back to the year 1952.

I decided to sift through my unorganized "saved blogs' on my favorites page. Not an easy task! My goal, find a fun blog that is created by an Administrative Assistant. After scrolling up and down on my favorites, I came across a blog that is both humorous and rich in content.

"Laughing All the Way to Work: A Survival Blog for Today's Administrative Assistant" is written by Patricia Robb. She has been an Administrative Assistant for approximately 30 years and recently was promoted to an Executive Assistant position.(She's also a grandmother!)

Patricia's blog gives useful suggestions that administrative assistants can use throughout their work day. Her articles also apply to everyday work experiences and employees working in different job capacities will also be able relate to this blog.

In her article,"Keep your Inbox running on Empty", she discusses ways to create folders and a few sub folders of incoming e-mails in order to organize incoming e-mail. For instance, she has a folder designated for her bosses e-mails so she can keep them all together.

The articles have amusing titles such as, When working isn't fun" Ho hum, ho hum, it's off to work I go and How to get Office Fat fast. They are easy to read and offer lots of great advice.

Please acknowledge your administrative professionals with a gift or card. Feel free to e-mail grandma@grandmasshoppe.com and we'll help you put together a special gift or gift basket.

Robin

The Quest for the Perfect Blog

I have extensive files of saved, unread blogs that I can't wait to look at. Yes, I'm a fan of Twitter and at times find myself lost in Twitterland. I enjoy reading conversations and continue to click on each person to check out their blog or website before I decide if I want to follow them. (Feel free to follow me at Grandma's Shoppe). Since I'm not able to read all of the saved blogs immediately, I start "collecting" them! That of course has led to my huge assortment of blogs waiting to be read.

Not only am I a fan of twitter but I also read HARO reports, religiously, three times a day. I recently responded to a query sent from Rena at the Soul Salon. She is starting a blog called "What's Right With Kids Today". She asked individuals to write her and give examples of how our children are helping out others and making a difference in the world.

Rena explained that there are too many negative stories circulating in the press about children and not enough positive articles. When she googled What's Right with Kids Today, she found only a handful of uplifting stories relating to the accomplishments of children. This became a turning point for Rena and she at that moment decided that she would become a child advocate, supporting children and inspiring them to do positive acts of kindness. This blog will spotlight kids 0-21 years of age who have great stories to share.

"Kids are awesome. They are full of surprises, great ideas, amazing energy, big hearts

and the best thing---The desire to have fun. We could all take a lesson from kids on how

not to take ourselves so seriously much of the time and have more fun"

I submitted two stories for her inspirational blog. She loved my submissions and will be posting our personal stories shortly. I'll keep you posted and tell you when they are running. E-mail Rena with your stories at rena@mysoulsalon.com.

Another exciting find this week was Grammy Janet's Place, a blog, written by a grandmother, filled with articles, product reviews, give-a-ways, coupon specials, and inspiring stories. As the owner of an online boutique called Grandma's Shoppe we always love connecting with Grandmothers!

Obviously an animal lover, Janet's most recent article is about Going Orange for Animals.

"This year, the ASPCA’s inviting animal lovers across the country to spend the month of April ‘Going Orange for Animals’ to raise awareness for ‘Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’ month. From creating grassroots fundraising events to getting the buildings in your

town to light up orange, the possibilities are endless!"

Please visit Grammy Janet's Place. Janet is going to run a review and give-a-way of our "Grandma Rocks CD".(make sure your volume on the computer is up!) We'll keep you posted with the details.

The question remains, is there a perfect blog? In order to have a "perfect" blog one needs to know exactly what a blog is. I decided to consult with one of the most trusted sources I know, the Webster Dictionary I looked up the definition of blog:

blog
Pronunciation:
\ˈblȯg, ˈbläg\
Function:
noun
Etymology:
short for Weblog
Date:
1999
: a Web site that contains an online personal journal with reflections, comments, and often hyperlinks provided by the writer ; also : the contents of such a site
— blog·ger noun
— blog·ging noun

With that infomation in hand, I decided to research, "What makes a good blog post"? I traveled over to 43 folders for some answers. An article written by Merlin Mann describes in a list form all of the qualities needed for a "good blog".

"Good blogs have a voice, Good blogs reflect focused obsessions, Good blog posts are made of paragraphs, Good “non-post” blogs have style and curation, Good blogs are weird,

Good blogs make you want to start your own blog".

Click on the above link for complete descriptions and additonal information. It's a very detailed and an informative article.

Lots to think about. My journey for the perfect blog continues...I look forward to hearing what your favorite blogs are. Have you found the Perfect Blog?

Happy blogging, Happy Passover and Happy Easter,

Robin

Grandma's Weekly Specials

10% off all purchases for the Month of April!

Grandmas' Shoppe supports the Parkinson's Unity Walk. We would like to offer a special 10% discount on all purchases from now through - April 30th. We will reimburse the amount after the purchase has been made(not including shipping). We will then donate that amount to The Parkinson's Unity Walk.

Happy Passover and Happy Easter

Robin

The Quest for the Perfect Blog

The quest for the perfect blog. Is there such a thing? Originally when I started searching for the "perfect" blog I was hoping to find a blog filled with everything that interests me. I had no idea how many blogs were out there in cyberspace.

Some blogs have wonderful articles that are business related,others teach how to blog, many talk about the advantages of using twitter,twitter etiquette, some mention colleges, others keep us up to date on the latest fashions and make-up.

How would I find the right blog/s for me. I began my journey by looking at each person's blog on twitter before I would decide to click on the follow button. I then realized that the person I was following was hard to find so I began saving lots of blogs onto my favorites in hopes of reading each blog when I had time.

At the same time I began checking out blogs that were attached to retail websites. Again,clicking and saving. Because many blogger's list their favorite blogs on their blog I began clicking on their button and traveling over to another blog. Again saving these blogs onto my favorites.

With mouse in hand, I've begun clicking onto all of my saved blogs. The mouse acts as my GPS and directs me to information about the writer,their passions, the focus of the blog, photographs,and personal stories. Each week I hope to organize my saved treasures and will share the results on Grandma's Blog.

I mentioned that blogs often talk about twitter and how effective twitter can be in meeting interesting people, possibly connecting for business purposes, or supporting someone in need. If you're unfamiliar with Twitter. It's a service that allows friends, co-workers,and businesses to communicate with each other through quick one line responses. IE. What should I make for dinner tonight?

I enjoy going on to Twitter to tell about Grandma's Shoppes latest updates and to tweet about our specials and new products. I also enjoy keeping up with all of the conversations that are going on at the same time.

Yesterday "The Adventures of Kitchen Girl" sent out a tweet requesting donations for a Mother's Day gift basket.She wanted to put together a fun basket filled with gifts for mom and offer it as a give-a-way around Mother's Day.

I contacted Jo and told her about Grandma's Shoppe. We decided that a fun give-a-way for her gift basket would be our I Love Grandma Bear.

I'd been on the lookout for a blog filled with great recipes, simple instructions and beautiful photos"The Adventures of Kitchen Girl"was exactly that.

Jo is a featured publisher with foodbuzz.com and has had many recipes published in several newspapers in conjunction with blogburst.com.

On the right side of the blog is a listing of Jo's favorite food blogs. By looking at the length of the list I will no longer have the excuse that I don't know what to make for dinner!

By scrolling down and looking on the right side of the blog, all of the recipes are listed so that you can easily find a recipe for sandwiches, seafood, soup, beverages, etc. Along with the recipes are a listing of all of the give-a-ways.

Take a look at The Adventures of kitchen World and tell us what you think.


I'll tell you when our give-a-way is up and running.

Happy blogging!
Robin