Vigilant Silver Fox

I just finished, Cinderella Ate My Daughter, by Peggy Orenstein. This book looks at how marketers and seemingly benevolent "toy manufacturers" are cranking out images and concepts that formulate negative concepts in young girls (pre-school to pre-teens) minds. I couldn't understand why my daughter-in-law and son didn't want anything "pink" or "princess" items for my granddaughter.  Oh yes, it was a difficult pill to swallow, but I honored it and didn't argue.  After reading this book, I now understand how pink has become more than a color. It is marketing "blitz krieg."

Is "Prince Charming" really necessary for happiness? Does one need to be recognized for his or her looks and not for deeds? If we want to make a difference, we must be vigilant to the forces that are trying to manipulate our children's images of themselves. We as women have fought for years not to be classified by a "look," but to be recognized …

"Tax Time,"  those two words bring on a myriad of emotions from U.S. citizens across the country. There are those American who eagerly await their W-2 forms to file their taxes in hope of getting a refund to augment their family's annual income, plan a family vacation, or just pay off a few bills. There are those who make an early appointment with their Certified Public Accountant (CPA) because he or she gets booked up quickly and they don't want to have to file for an extension. Many Americans go to walk-in tax preparers with the hope that they have brought all their paper work and that they can get their taxes done.

Then there is a group of us that use a computer software to do our own taxes.  It is not that we don't trust the calculator, CPA, or the "walk-in" tax preparers. We happen to enjoy the thrill of watching the tax obligation go down as we go through the process of entering information. It is pretty cut and dry, if you are doing a straight 104…