I don’t want to sound too hippie but coconut oil is changing my hair/skin/life!

Stephania! says you Stephania! What on earth are you doing there in that picture? Why are you posting a picture on ye olde internets of yourself with no make up and a klassy ziploc bag on your head? WEIRDO.

Well, says I, the ziploc is the poor mans shower cap and leave me be! I am currently performing a hair miracle. 

Or rather coconut oil is.

So, last night I tweeted “people, I  don’t want to sound too hippie, but coconut oil is changing my hair/skin/life” and sooner than you can say Nathan Fillion is a golden god people were like tell me more, Minks, tell me more. Not being one to deny the masses my incredible wisdom (quit laughing, let me teach you how to bleach your hair cheap whore yellow! I’m an expert!) I have decided to blog it. Now sit back and be amazed…or at least mildly interested and slightly bemused.

I’m not quite sure how I first heard about the miracle substance that is coconut oil but I know it was years ago and then I forgot all about it. That is until I, you know, turned my hair into yellow straw. So I was playing on pinterest like you do, and oh! right! Coconut oil can deep condition your hair. So I immediately went to Target and bought some. Came right home and begun the deep conditioning process. And then I fell in love. I might marry it. I am now like the mom in my Big Fat Greek Wedding “Put Windex on it!” except I’m “Put coconut oil on it!”

HAIR: The thing about coconut oil is that it melts crazy super easy, like with the touch of your hand so you don’t want to microwave it. To deep condition your hair scoop out about 2 tablespoons of coconut oil into a ramiken or cup and place it in a bowl of hot water until it melts. Then slather it on your dry hair, really saturate it, get it on your scalp, get it everywhere. Then put a ziploc on your head, or it you’re a little higher class, maybe a plastic shower cap. I’m not going to tell you how I know this but Glad Press n Seal works well too. While I am slathering the oil on my hair I stick a towel in the dryer and then wrap the hot towel around my ziploc’d head. Not face. Don’t be a moron and put a ziploc on your face.  OR sometimes if I am able to I just aim the hair dryer on warm at my hair for a good 15 minutes or so THEN wrap it in the hot towel. The longer you leave the coconut oil in the better. If you can handle sleeping with it in, even better! Then a nice hot shower and wash your hair twice to get it all out. If I am not going anywhere (and let’s face it, I have two kids and rarely get out) I will only wash my hair once, which leaves it kind of heavy but keeps some of the oil on there ever longer.

You can also use just a touch of it on your dry ends if they are frizzy or you have fly aways. Coconut oil is extremely light, not like olive or vegetable oil. sometimes I will scoop out a dime sized amount warm it between my palms and then smooth on the ends of my hair.

SKIN: What can’t you do with this? First off, right before bed I smooth it over my eyelids, under eye and lashes and crows feet. Ugh, I hate those things. It may make your vision the teeniest bit blurry, so do this right before you go to bed. I let it soak in for about 10 minutes and cover my whole face in vitamin E cream. Since I have been doing this my lashes are thicker, my under eye bags less puffy and my wrinkles less noticeable. I use it on my lips right before bed as well and have even melted 2 parts lipstick to 1 part coconut oil to make a great gloss.

I slather this all over my legs right out of the shower and put it on my arms as well…it’s GREAT over self tanner. It gives your skin the teeniest shimmer.

Huckleberry had a vicious diaper rash last week and of course I slathered coconut oil all over his cute boot and BOOM! Gone. No chemicals. Boss has been getting bloody noses and so I’ve been putting a tiny bit in his nose and no more nosebleeds! Bonus, it contains anti-microbials so it’s even better shove up your nose than icky petroleum jelly.

COOKING/EATING: You can use coconut oil as a replacement for butter or oil in almost any recipe! The health benefits of eating coconut oil are vast. It contains lauric acid which is a natural anti-fungal, so if you frequently get yeast infections or athlete’s foot this will be incredibly beneficial to you! When you ingest lauric acid it is converted to monolaurin which is highly toxic to viruses and bacteria. Good for flu season! It can also help with weight loss as it contains medium chain fatty acids which is all scientific and schtuff but basically helps convert food to energy etc. etc. etc.

I don’t want to be over effusive but since including this in my diet/beauty routine I have seen results. Maybe you will too!

Oh, and in case you are thinking YAY! but do I really want to walk around always smelling like a pina colada? The answer is: you don’t have too. REFINED coconut oil has no smell or coconut taste. VIRGIN coconut oil does. So, I use virgin for baking and my hair and refined for everything else!

Top 5 (completely shallow) things that made 2012 better.

Featuring vacation pictures of 2 precious boys who make my life better! 

(Shopping buddies)

1. Jeggings from Hollister. I KNOW! Once I got over the fact that a.I was shopping at Hollister for myself while most everyone else in the store was shopping for their teen children and b. omg it made me miss California. Will that ever stop? I don’t know… But this tip came from Style Twin Kel (aka Auntie Keek) and dear God I am ever thankful for it! I have skinny jeans to wear with boots, but I hated the way they looked with flats, heels or wedges. Then Kel was all you must possess these you will live in them. Correct she was. The price is right and they are so comfy! I’m living in these, big warm sweaters and my moc slippers. The biggest problem with them is I only bought one pair and I need more. Bonus! They are on sale for 25!

(Batman chooses greeting cards wisely at USPS)

2. Yellow concealer. This is actually a shallow re-deaux from 2008. I had forgotten. Huck has been getting tooth after tooth after tooth (side note his molars might be the size of a brontosaurus’ molars. They are roughly the size of a gobstopper. Possible exaggeration but holy crap are they massive. I can feel the orthodontia coming!) and teething seems to be a lot harder on him than Boss, so we are up a lot. While I personally adore middle of the night snugs and another chance to get high from huffing his noggin; getting high always has a price. This time the price is dark blue bags for days in the under eye region. If I am being honest the eyelids are a lovely bluish as well. Basically I look like I got punched. If you’re looking for a cheap-o fix I can’t recommend Physician’s Formula Concealer Twins in yellow/flesh enough. I am also using the yellow as an eye shadow base and it’s a God send.

 

(you’ll put your arms down when you get to school)

3. Gel (shellac) manicure. Where has this been all my life?? I have both old looking hands and weak nails. I feel a lot better about my claws when I have a mani but my nails bed and polish is pointless….enter gel manicure. Again; I have Style Twin Kel to thank for this. 2 weeks no chips? Even when I am wrestling small boys into car seats. It’s expensive but whoa nelly is it worth it. Considering trying an at home kit, has anyone tried this?

(I tell ya, these encyclopedias will pay for themselves!)

4. Long Tanks from H&M- I honestly don’t know how to get dressed without these. They are thin but long so they give you that nice long layered look without being bulky. I wear them with almost everything including the aforementioned beloved Hollister jeggings. They are like 5 bucks a pop and I buy them in bulk. Cannot have enough.I have been wearing these for years and  I went a size up while pregnant with Huckleberry and if I get to have another I’ll just be praying that H&M never discontinues these.

(Hey! That’s MY batman costume!)

5. My new Michael Kors bag and the matching (from Target) make-up & diaper bags to put in it. I might marry this bag. I might live in it. I might sleep with it at night all snuggled up to it and whispering sweet nothings into it’s many interior pockets. I am in love. I miss Filene’s Basement but hooray for TJMaxx getting all the good stuff since they went out of business and thank you to whoever hid it in the way back just waiting for me to see it, God Rays to hit it and the choir of angels who sang as it floated on the back of a brilliant white pegacorn who flew it right into my waiting arms. Special thanks to my in-laws for the gift certificate.

 

There you have it. The top five utterly shallow things that made 2012 better for me. Life changing? No. But fun! What are your 5 things? Anything I am missing out on?

It’s possible…

It is possible that this last birthday has thrown me for a loop a bit more than I’d care to admit. Well, not so much MY birthday, but Sister Dub’s has just pushed me right over the edge. Some how her joining me at, shall we say, a certain age has made it really real. Because my own birthday wasn’t enough.

The fact of the matter is that at this age I am totally, really, and truly an adult.  One would think the marriage and the two beautiful children might have driven that point home, but nope.

It’s possible that at this certain age I may have had a little pre-mid-life crisis and gone blond. Ish. Blondish. It’s a word, spell check says so.

And you know what? I dig it! I’m going to stay blondish for a while. It’s just hair, right? And for now it makes me feel sparkly and happy…which is how I feel on the inside and how I want to look on the outside. I don’t know about you guys, but I swear on a stack of Seventeen Magazines that I was just 17 myself. But then my junior bridesmaid goes ahead and turns 18 this week. Eighteen. WTH? I still feel about 22…albeit smarter (let’s hope) so how do I go about making the outside match the inside without channeling Amy Poehler in Mean Girls and more like, just Amy Poehler? Because Amy Poehler kicks ass.

So yeah I feel and want to look happy, youthful, and sparkly but not…delusional. I’m not Forever 21 (although hello? I do get certain things there) but I am not Chicos yet. Ever. Whatever.

Yeah. So Blondish. It is happening people. And it’s fun.

 

(p.s. I’m wearing Stella and Dot necklace and earrings. I’m having an on-line trunk show and you should get some. Because they are awesome, I am rapidly becoming a Stella and Dot hoarder.)

A Perfect Metaphor for Motherhood. Or something.

Remember the days when “Me” time was whole day spent doing…well, whatever it was that you wanted? For some it was the spa (well, for me), or shopping (also guilty as charged), or camping (not on your life, but more power to ya!), or running (Gerlock, I am looking at you…with amazement!). Then we had kids and “ME” time became a trip to the grocery store or hallelujah, Target ALL BY OURSELVES? I feel I can state this with a fair amount of certainty due to the insane frequency of excited tweets regarding this whenever any one of us makes an escape from our oh-so-beloved minions and makes our way out into the world unincumberd by tiny hands reaching out to grab whatever it is we happen to pass by.

Chances of having some food, or kid residue of some kind unnoticed upon our clothing as we walk through the world? High.

My in-laws got me a metric ton of gift cards this year for my birthday. Starbucks. Nordstrom. H&M. To name a few. They know me so well. Zach and I had an errand to run so we loaded the kids into the car and headed out. And ooooo. Nordstrom Rack was right.next.door. Luckily for me, my darling man likes to shop almost as much as I do…or maybe not luckily. Whatever, his conference was coming up and he needed clothes.  So into Nordstrom we went. I bought Huckleberry some kicks. He looks fly #forawhiteguy.

Then the choir of angels sang and the God rays hit a bag…I have a real problem with purses, and addiction really, and Mumsy will tell you that it started early. I went through several school bags each year.

Because, reasons.

It pained me, pained me to walk away from this bag. Calvin Klein, which I don’t believe I’ve ever bought one of his…but this bag. It spoke to me. Probably because it’s a total knock off of a Micheal Kors, but whatever. I love it, and it loved me and I had to leave it there. So I did what I always do. I put it on hold. Sure someone might buy it, but not while I am in the vicinity. Then I remembered…GIFT CERTIFICATE! It was then that I used my terrible math skills to make deals in my mind. I announced to Zach “I’m going to get a big paycheck today and go back and get that bag.” Then the mail came, and my paycheck came, and I went back and got that bag.

Oh, I love it. It carries everything and I feel like a million bucks carrying it. It made me happy to my toes. A glimpse of my former glamorous no need to worry if I have wipes or fruit snacks life, and yet it is big enough to make sure that I do have both wipes and fruit snacks at all times.

Then sweet Super-fly Huckleberry decided that the perfect place to dump out his milk was-you got it- my bag.

I may or may not have cried a tear or two. Or a hundred. Poor bag. Not even three days old and already baptized in the ways of baby. Through the power of twitter people rallied to support me and tell me how to save my bag. She is saved. A tiny bit worse for wear, but certainly not smelling of old milk, thank God. Now she is just like me….she may look good at first glance, but look closer and there is definitely some left over baby residue of some kind.

It adds character, and let’s be honest, happiness.

Just Sitting here on the corner of Awesome and Bombdiggity.

{via Pinterest}

Yup. Today is my birthday and  have decided that in this, my thirtieth (again) year I shall simply be awesome.

Oh, I don’t mean that suddenly my head has exploded with ego…no, no. I am still the same insecure wreck I was last year. My brain is still a constant cycle of negative self talk and anxiety. I’m telling you it is a par-tay up in cabeza de Stephania.

However on this, my thirtieth (again) birthday I declare that this year shall be spent letting GO of at least some of that self doubt. Go Dog GO!

Because listen, I am not a size zero. I am not 6 feet tall. I didn’t turn out to be a super model. But I am pretty blessed. First and foremost; my boys, my babies,are here and healthy and just for reals the bombdiggity. Second: I gots me a hubby who is a good honest man and as an added bonus he makes me laugh till my eyes water. Third: Mumsy is awesome. Forth: we live with my in-laws. I know, not normally a blessing, right? But mine are pretty cool and we get to save money to move (soon we hope) and hey! free babysitting! Fourth: I am blessed to love The Boss’ preschool. Even if he doesn’t right now. Sad panda. Fifth: I am resilient. I beat an eating disorder just before it beat me. I moved across the country away from my home and friends and have slowly made a life for myself.My once much abused body rallied and built not one, but two beautiful babies. I’ve struggled with postpartum anxiety and am winning the war. Sixth: super awesome bombdiggity friends. Dub, WWJD, Miss Katie, and all my others. I am so very lucky. I include you, my ‘make believe in the computer friends’. I am grateful for each and every one of you.

For my birthday I declare that you are awesome too. BTW you look great today! yes, you!

My ability to lose something is directly correlated to how much I like said thing.

My ability to hold on to something I like, say a pair of earrings for example, is directly correlated to how much I like that something. Yesterday I searched high and low for a lovely little pair of earrings I bought in Hawaii. A carved flower holding a drop jewel. Oh! I love those earrings! They are like a tiny bit of heaven draping from my ears! Or rather EAR as I can only find one. I tore my jewelry chest apart. I looked high and low in all the little spots where I tuck things, and all the spots where others in the household do the same. Nothing. Just one lonely little perfect earring, handmade in Hawaii. Sigh.

So, I reluctantly chose what are perhaps my 4th favorite earrings. Little gold dangley branches. I love em. I got them from a commercial I shot in LA, the costumer telling me they suited me so well I must keep them. I was not going to argue at all! They are junk jewelry but I love them.

Sadly apparently today was like the Earring Thunderdome. Two earrings entered, one earring left. How? HOW???

Earring.

 

No earring.

 

And yet the ones that I don’t love, they seem to multiply.Two earrings become four then six then eight…they are like bunnies.They are everywhere I look, constantly earring blocking my attempts to get it on with my faves.

 

How do they know? This same principle applies to my favorite lip glosses,sunglasses and shoes. And yet the ones that I don’t adore seem to stick around just to make me mad and miss the ones I love even more.

They taunt me.

Am I crazy? Are you buffudled by this Bermuda Triangle of accessories??  Just me?

Zooey Deschanel and Winner Winner {vegetarian} Chicken Dinner!

Perhaps you may have heard we live with my in-laws? Oh yeah. The deal is that it is total awesomeness 99% of the time, but that other 1%? We can make each other nutty. Mostly because I am used to being in charge of my own household and since this is THEIR household they do things their way and well….I was an only child. What can I say? Also sometimes I get jealous of how much The Boss loves his Grandma. Plus she gives him oodles of candy, as is a grandmother’s perogative…except we live with them so he gets it A LOT. But I digress.

Quelle Suprise.

Far and away I do love living here with them. The Boss is surrounded by people who love him and everywhere he wanders there is someone to love up on him and munch on those glorious cheeks. ANYWAY….This last week they went out of town and I decided that it was time for me to take matters in to my own hands and re-do the kitchen table and eat in area. One of the things my mother in law and I bonded over is a love of flea markets and country living magazine. She kept saying I want it to look like Country Living! She got this beat up table at a garage sale last year and I decided The Boss and I were going to work to surprise her! I just wanted to do something nice for her.

Now what on God’s green earth does this have to do with anything? Well remember when I asked you guys to prevent me from cutting bangs??? You’re all fired. Perhaps it was the many screening of Yes Man (p.s. I watching Date Night. Yes Man just kept coming on after it.) that came on while I was painting away that I decided {again. delusionally.} That Zooey Deschanel and I were twins.

Is it me? Or is it Zooey?

I guess it’s all good as kinda figure I don’t like my wrinkly forehead more than I don’t like me with bangs. After 4 years no botox and many sleepless nights my forehead is looking more like WWJD’s Mugsy:

{yet another testament to the talent of Maya.}

I’m kinda digging the bangs. Although it would be great if someone could come over here and teach me how to style them cause I tried to use a curling iron on them and that was HIGH-LARIOUS!

Now what was I doing…..hmmmm oh! That’s right! I was so pre-occupied with my newly Deschaneled Fringe hair that  I forgot about the giveaway! Perhaps that’s why you’ve stopped by this lovely monday morning?

Random.org was employed. It was easy, although I know you were looking forward to a Boss video. I was too, but someone was too busy playing with his new guitar that his grandma brought him and couldn’t be bothered. So…yeah.

And the WINNER IS:

{You know you dig my iphone screen shot, I know there is a way to do a screen shot on aPC, just not how! I told you….LUDDITE!}

Anyway comment #3 is RACHEL from Sol and Rachel do a Blog! She’s got a crazy cute blondie named FINLEY and another baby due any.minute.now. So Maya? Get ready for some CUTE!

If you aren’t Rachel, please check out the amazeballs discount Maya is offering to you for a shoot in April orMay. Just mention Minky to get $75 dollars off the session fee plus some bonus extras!

Thank you all so much for entering. 

I’m Like Holly Go Lightly, but without the prostitution. Part 2. The last.

Oh yes, a grand time was had at the BlogHer Expo.

I must say my very favorite parts of the Expo were meeting Danielle Smith {if you want to vlog then she is the gal to see. Her tips helped me immeasurably. Plus, she is very kind and sweet in person and that speaks volumes} and then seeing Kevin and the Huggies team again. A few months ago one of our Montgomery County police officers was killed leaving behind a toddler son and a pregnant wife- pregnant with triplets. The babies are here now and healthy but the mother is in need of help and the Huggie corporation really takes their Every Little Bottom campaign seriously. The moment I mentioned it to him, Kevin pledged to help and as we speak coupons for diapers are headed to Banana Blueberry who has been spearheading and coordinating the relief effort for the widow. Bless her and bless Huggies.

But the real pinacle for the trip was, for me anyway, the opening keynote. Susan from Toddler Planet had invited me to be her guest and watch her speak. I am proud to call Susan friend. A new friend, but a friend nonetheless. Her very being just wraps you in happiness and I am pretty sure her voice is made up entirely of alpha waves of awesome. I adore her and when a snafu left me waiting at the gate desperate to get in my DC moms Leticia and Jessica saved the day without having to stress Susan. {I always joke ‘forget Jesus, Leticia-TechSavvyMama is my personal savior’. And she saved me yet again when my phone died, she whipped out that IGo charger like Johnny on the Spot and charged me right up.}I would have been hysterical if I had missed it.  In case you weren’t blessed to hear it, give it a read will ya? It will move you to your core, I promise you. I took many videos and pictures of her, but this one is my very favorite. One should always be this blissfully happy and laugh from your belly after conquering something like sharing a personal story with 1000 or more people.

Following the keynote it was time for a little refresh and then…then I got to meet one of my best internet buddies in real life for the first time. Lissy and I have known one another on one message board or another for probably 8 years or so, and even though she lives about three hours from me it took BlogHer in NYC to get us together! We met up for the Voices Gala and she brought the lovely Jules from Mommy Ramblings along, who I recognized from the boards. You know when you meet someone and it’s as if you’ve always known them? It was like that. After some snacks and karaoke we decided to blow that pop stand and hit Times Square.

We were on a quest for pizza, although we quickly dismissed Sbarro {apologies to Michael Scott} and eventually found ourselves where you would expect three moms out on the town with no kids to end up. No not a club.

Toys R Us.
Naturally.

They almost called the Toy NYPD on us!

I’m no country mouse, but the ferris wheel inside the store blew.my.mind. Also? Barbie house. We spent about two hours in there buying gifts for our little ones…never mind that we had gallons of swag for them.
After ToysRUs I was famished, and hallelujiah an organic pizza place in Times Square. Ummmm, I wish I’d written the name of that place down because I am still dreaming of that mushroom pizza. Delish!Eventually it was time to head back to the hotel- what with it being almost 12:30! I planned to crash, but instead I stayed up giggling with my roomies way into the night. That Thien-Kim is one funny chick. And my God it felt good, just laughing and chatting and being ME.

BlogHer rejuvenated me. It reminded me who I was. It helped me define the kind of blogger I am, and what I want out of it. I might never be Dooce, and ya know what? That’s a-ok. I’m just a story telling, shopping, love-my-kiddo kinda blogger. And I am happy to be that. In fact, the best compliment I got the whole conference wasn’t about my clothes or shoes, or even that I was funny {although don’t get me wrong, I loved those compliments all the way to my tippy toes} it was being told that my readers could really tell how much I love The Boss. That my love for him reaches through the internet and comes across to you well, I can’t think of a better thing to be told. Because he is the bees knees, you know.

1997 called…

I got my hair cut. I did. I totes dig the chick who cuts my hair, but somehow inbetween when she styled it and when I styled it, well let’s just say my hair time travelled back to 1997.

Finding a great hairstylist is quantum physics hard and every once in a while I still weep for my LA love guru/ hair magician Hunky Paul. Sigh. So when I found this chickadee out here I was happy. I mean, she might not be as nice to gaze at and gossip with as the Hunk but she’s good.

Except ya know, this last time.

I always bring in a photo. Hunky Paul drilled this into my little medium brown colored head.

This would be what I brought in:

This would be what I looked like after I ‘did’ my hair today.

{The boobs didn’ t come with the haircut. sads.}

I asked TOTT what he thought and he said ‘oh honey, you look sooooooo cute. In 1997. Where’s your backpack purse?’

Then he called me Rach. I told him that made him Ross and he better get to gelling that hair up and practing saying Hi in that mopey Ross way.

So I did what any self respecting gal with an immediate gratification problem would do. I grabbed some scissors and hacked off the bottom.

I no longer look like this:

I’m now sporting something more like:

{Shelby was right. It does look like a brown football helmet.}

I kid, I’m such a jokster! It doesn’t look like that! No,  I’m not rocking a mid 80’s mom do now. I’ll be heading in later this week to have her her thin out the heavy top layers and *gulp* I’ll probably have to go a little shorter. One of my super powers is super fast hair growing so I’m not too worried. Super fast hair growing super power is way cooler than say, the power to move things with your mind.

Oh wait. No it’s not.

 more like this:

and less like this:

{*Note to Target. Garden decoration fail. I am 12 and I giggled about this ahem, mushroom for 10 minutes and took a picture. I was not the only one to do so. Several grown adults were observed mimicing my awesomeness}

But for now….at least, I can leave the house without anyone singing I’ll Be There For You.

Everyone has a theme song.

Dub was a big Ally McBeal fan, me notsomuch, but I loved the idea of everyone having their own theme song as I myself have frequently found songs that don’t just speak to me, but define me.

I’m pretty lucky that my mom had some great musical taste when I was growing up, Gordon Lightfoot not withstanding, and I am stunned to see how much of it has crept into my daily life. I hope Max gets the good stuff too. A little from Grandma and a little from me and Daddy before he starts listing to whoever the Kellis and Justin Beiber of his day will be. (How often are Kellis and Beiber mentioned in the same sentance ya think?)
Right now, as I type this, we are cruising iTunes buying James Taylor, Simon & Garfunkel, Judy Collins, Joni Mitchell…no need for the Beatles because we already own everything and have it set up that the second anything is released it is automatically purchased. 

Max loves him some Beatles.

(good boy.)

I asked Zach to see if they had Bread and Roses by Judy Collins. I remember dreaming of getting all the women in my choir in high school to sing it, but ya know I never did. Boo on me.
Zach quickly purchased it and it is still as moving to me now as it was then. More so, because now I am a mother.
I feel motherhood on a cellular level and every child is mine. The thought ‘that could be Max’ floats through my brain almost daily on hearing of any tragedy befalling a child.

That could be Max.

The melody was written by Mimi Farina and the words were written by a John Oppenheim in the  1920s to support the suffrage movement but it is a song about womanhood, about motherhood.

As we go marching, marching

In the beauty of the day,

A million darkened kitchens,

A thousand mill lofts gray,

Are touched by all the radiance

That a sudden sun discloses,

For the people hear us singing:

“Bread and Roses! Bread and Roses!”

As we go marching, marching,

We battle too, for men,

For they are women’s children,

And we mother them again.

Our lives shall not be sweated

From birth until life closes;

Hearts starve as well as bodies:

Give us bread, but give us roses!

As we go marching, marching,

Unnumbered women dead

Go crying through our singing,

Their ancient cry for bread.

Small art and love and beauty

Their drudging spirits knew.

Yes, it is bread we fight for,

But we fight for roses too!

As we go marching, marching,

We bring the greater days.

For the rising of the women

Means the rising of the race.

No more the drudge and idleness

That toil where one reposes,

But a sharing of life’s glories:

Bread and Roses! Bread and Roses!

Our lives shall not be sweated

From birth until life closes,

Hearts starve as well as bodies;

Bread and Roses! Bread and Roses!

You can listen to it here.

It starts with just her, singing. Lightly and delicately. Then voices join her. The voices of women for a common cause. It’s incredibly powerful.

I think honestly blogging can be a bit like that. How powerful are we when we band together rather than tearing another down? I do believe it takes a village. In all things. The power of one is great, but the power of many can move mountains.