Techno-frugality grows in popularity

Written by Shelley Plett Tuesday, 09 June 2009 14:28

“In reality I knew that moms are the power consumers who make many purchasing decisions for their families. But I am happy to see the tides are turning, the age of the "power mom" is upon us.”

—Beth Blecherman, founder and CTM (Chief Technology Mom) of techmamas.com

 

Frugality is the word of the day for my generation. When our determination to spend less is combined with our tech-savvy natures, I have to say, I think we have those other generations beat.

I’m not going to count the up-and-comings (our kids) who will no doubt surpass us all in accomplishment and ingenuity. For my kids’ sakes, I hope I’m right about that.

But as I see it, today’s 30- and 40-somethings are set up to do pretty well, even...

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You don’t need a calendar to recall

Written by Shelley Plett Tuesday, 26 May 2009 14:03

“You tell this very, very simple, specific story about this guy and this kid and this one journey; then, hopefully, people start to think about the bigger picture of the families and the loss of life and the sacrifice.”

— Actor Kevin Bacon



By the calendar, I’m running late with a story about Memorial Day. Having a date to circle for barbecue and camping is handy, but it’s not necessary for the purpose of the holiday. So, in the same spirit that allows Christmas in July, I’m going to stretch the spirit of Memorial Day out just a little longer.

There are some things that every American should do. One is to barbecue something, anything over Memorial Day weekend.

Another is display a flag during at least one patriotic...

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What would you do if you could?

Written by Shelley Plett Tuesday, 12 May 2009 13:29

“Meticulous planning will enable everything a man does to appear spontaneous.” —Mark Cain



It’s been a week of spontaneity. Walking across the world, participation in a “rescue” to help children caught in the middle of a foreign civil war, planning a missions trip to a remote part of Asia and contact duck-duck-goose.

I couldn’t personally fit all these into my schedule. A couple came into town on a cross-world walking trip, stopping by the newspaper for a quick interview to make it to their bed and breakfast before nightfall.

At the same time I heard about a couple of local college students taking part in a rescue mission in efforts to saved abused children, traveling only by the kindness of strangers to get to their...

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Exploring other beliefs can be helpful

Written by Shelley Plett Tuesday, 21 April 2009 13:30

“The mind is like a parachute—it only works when it’s open.” —Lily Tomlin

 

How many times have you had it all figured out and then realized you didn’t? Instead of having everything spelled out for us from the get-go, we sometimes have to learn it the hard way, or at least the slow way.

It’s the reason movies like “Big” and “17 Again” are made. “If I had only known then what I know now....” we would have done things differently. Who wouldn’t!

But it doesn’t work that way. We all have people and experiences that move in and out of our lives leaving new tidbits of knowledge. It’s the processing of getting older, maturing.

The truest things I’ve learned have come from being tested against my...

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