Now, normally, I’m very much a cat person- up until about a year ago. (Don’t get me wrong, I still love cats) but recently I started thinking that maybe I would like a dog. I mean, they’re definitely more energetic that any cat I’ve ever had, and they can fetch, and they don’t relieve themselves in the house (usually). However, once I started thinking about actually getting one- I realized that I had no idea how to go about raising a dog. So, I did what any normal mid-twenties, independent, working class girl would do– I asked my mom.

Talking to her made me realize that when I thought about it, I really did have some good ideas on how to raise and train a pet. I grew up with a dog, and generally I thought that my mom did most of the training, but I guess when it came down to it- we all helped out a lot.

Now, the way I see it- is there is more than likely a fairly big difference between me (a single girl on her own) raising a dog, and a whole family raising and training one. So- since summer is a great time to get a new pet to enjoy the weather with- here are a few tips and tricks own raising and training a pet, weather you’re on your own or you have a group of people helping.

- The first thing everyone needs to know, is that puppies grow up FAST. They can go from a cute little fur ball of a baby to an angsty teen in like 3 months. So, while they’re nice and cute it’s super important to teach them their manners and how to behave in public. Think of it as teaching your little kid to say “I have to go to the bathroom” instead of “I need to peeeeeeee!!!”.
-Also, make sure that you balance their time indoors and outdoors. Too much time inside can lead to bad habits like chewing and scratching, whereas too much time outside can lead to digging and too much barking. If you’re raising a dog on your own, think of it as good exercise for the both of you to come home on your lunch breaks and take a walk instead of eating out.
-Another thing people need to remember is- there isn’t a single breed of dog that will %100 never bite anyone. Dogs attacks are primarily caused because the dogs feel neglected, they weren’t properly trained, or they haven’t been fixed. If you have more than one person raising this dog, be sure that everyone pitches in playing with the dog, and allowing him to be around lots of people from a very early age. If you’re raising the dog on your own- try finding a group of people who also have dogs and doing group walks, that way your dog can get used to being around other people as well as other dogs.

I hope everyone who is looking for a dog finds this helpful! I’m still trying to decide what kind of dog I want, and also trying to persuade my landlord into letting me have one! Happy summer!

I hope this has helped everyone- I know it may seem weird to do a post about grammar, but trust me, in this economy, everyone (especially women) need every advantage they can get!

I am sharing my favorite pet holiday memory as a part of the Holiday Dog Love campaign sponsored by DogFenceDiy, the invisible fence alternative. DogFenceDiy is committed to keeping dogs safe and warm this holiday season.

Hey everyone! Sorry for the hiatus, but I’m back! So check this out- the other day I was visiting a friend and her family still gets the American Girl doll catalogs in the mail! So of course, Little Katie popped out and was like “OMG! I haven’t seen these in years! I have to look at this!” Let me just say that Little Katie was the MOST upset.
Here’s a little background for those of you who don’t know what exactly American Girl dolls are. The Pleasant Company first introduced the dolls in 1986. Originally, they were an array of historical characters that all overcame some sort of odds while growing up that ultimately made them a better person. These dolls included, Felicity, Kirstin, Addy, Samantha and Molly. Felicity was a tomboy during the Revolutionary War, Kirstin was a Pioneer from Sweden, Addy escaped slavery with her mother, Samantha befriended a servant girl during the Victorian Era and Molly was volunteering for the Red Cross during World War II.
They might sound a little petty now, but growing up, everyone wanted an American Girl doll. Each doll had six stories that detailed how these girls overcame certain obstacles that were facing the entire nation at the time. As cheesy as this sounds, they were role models. I remember reading these books in the dark after bedtime- they were fascinating, and always portrayed the girls as semi super heroes. They were the epitome of cool.
So, as I was flipping through the new magazine, I was pretty upset, to say the least. FIRST OF ALL: Molly and Addy are the ONLY original dolls that even exist anymore! Everyone else has been scrapped- like CHOPPED LIVER! What is that about? These girls were awesome! And the girls that have replaced them are the most ridiculous! They have been replaced by “look-a-like” dolls! Ok, maybe when you’re young you think it would be cool to have a doll that looked like you, but honestly, it’s pretty creepy if you ask me. All of the new dolls in the collection are just silly. I get it that times are changing and there are more eras and time periods that need to be represented, but from what I gathered in the magazine, these new girls don’t even have cool stories! They’re just like “growing up in the ’70′s and being a flower child!” Yeah. Right.
And the new products! These little girls can now buy basically everything a mother would want for an actual child! Did you get that? ACTUAL CHILDREN. The original American Girls were about independence and friendship, now the magazine is all about what faux baby products you can buy to pretend like your doll is real. Cool. I get it. Pretend like your doll is real. But what happened to the adventures? Now all of the products you can buy are there to teach your daughter how to take care of babies? That’s ridiculous! We should be teaching these girls the importance of oh, I don’t know, getting a job? Finishing school?
Needles to say, I was pretty disappointed in American Girl. I, personally, had Samantha, and during the age when I played with dolls, I thought she was the coolest. Yeah, she had cool clothes and accessories, but the stories are what I remember the most. It’s sad to think that this generation of little girls won’t have the same.

Ok, so sorry this is a little delayed, guys, but I’ve been on the job hunt all week, so I’m just now getting around to reviewing a book. This week I chose “Are Men Necessary” by Maureen Dowd. At first glance, I had my suspicions about the book. The pupl-fiction-y cover coupled with the title made me a little nervous. HOWEVER, on the first page of the book, Down explains that this book is not to be seen as a tool to eliminate men, but just as a collection of her personal experiences and observations dealing with relationships.

No offense, but I think she could have found a better title in that case.
The book basically revolves around the confusion of postfeminist dating, and how some women believe that we dug ourselves in a pretty deep hole when we demanded equal rights. She explains that many women found that after the whole surge of women’s rights died down in the sixties, women were stuck with men refusing to pay for them and not treating them like “women”. I’m going to be honest right away, I thought this book was completely pointless. Yeah, she’s funny, and witty and a very good writer, but this book was so dumb! It’s just page after page after page of her name dropping (oh, my friend was was on Sex and the City…oh, my friend who was in several movies…) LAME. Like, I get it, you know famous people- cool. Drop it.

Here’s the thing. If this book would just focus a bit more- it would be great. Some of the topics breached are really thought provoking, and well researched. She’s a good writer, she just doesn’t display her talents in this book. The little stories about her mother and ex boyfriends are cute, but ultimately pointless. One of the only things that was running through my head while reading this was “isn’t it kind of pointless to write a book on how ultimately feminism still has a long way to go, while peppering your writing with silly stories about shoes, thongs and baked goods?”

Sooooooo, don’t read it. Or, read it if you want to waste a couple hours of your life. I’m definitely not recommending it though.

Know anyone who needs to be recognized?? Let me know!
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A few years ago I wrote a speech (with a lot of help) about the misrepresentation of women in the media, particularly politicians. The speech was about the different ways that the media scrutinized women as compared to men and the different types of coverage they got, and how that influenced the way we viewed them. The speech was pretty good, but it was just a start. Recently, my good friend, Maggie turned me on to a new movie that came out at the Sundance Festival called “Miss Representation.”
Check out the trailer here:
Miss Representation

The film looks really cool! Here’s the gist of what it’s about. According to MissRepresentation, In one week American teenagers spend 31 hours watching TV, 17 hours listening to music, 3 hours watching movies, 4 hours reading magazines, 10 hours online. That’s 10 hours and 45 minutes of media consumption a day. That sounds like a lot, huh? But think about it- it’s totally true. The film is basically about understanding how much media we are taking in every day, what kind of impact it has on us and the ideas that are being put in our heads. Some of the ads are almost subliminal, and some of them are just outright sexist.

Miss Representation uncovers how American youth are being brainwashed to the idea that our power lies in our beauty and sexuality, something that needs to be nullified- immediately. What I really liked about this website was the inclusion of men. A lot of people stumble onto these and think that it’s a “women only” territory- but Miss Representation has several posts on how men can work on this project too, for the common good. It’s not just a man-bashing-girl-power website, it’s about equality.

Go to the website. It literally takes 20 seconds to pledge your voice (free) to speak up against this brainwashing. Just look around, it’s a pretty interesting website with lots of character and something for everyone to relate to.

The premier of “Miss Representation” is on Oprah’s network OWN, (typically I hate Oprah, but whatever) on Oct 20th at 9/8c. What’s the harm in watching?

My speech was pretty good, but this film and website takes it to the next level. Isn’t it cool when you see something you believe in come to fruition? I didn’t have the drive to take my mission any further but huge ups to these women for saying enough is enough and doing something about it.