I went shopping and didn’t buy anything for myself!  It may sound trivial but to me it’s a huge deal.  I am a borderline shopaholic.  When I go to the mall with the intention of buying a particular item I leave with everything else BUT the thing I went in to buy.  I can’t help it.  I’m drawn to the cute new fashion trends.  To the sales racks… I hate digging through them but I have to at least look otherwise I’ll feel like I’m missing out on something.

Today I went to buy a bridal shower gift, mind you the shower is tomorrow morning so I don’t have much time.  My girlfriend is registered at Macy’s so I parked right in front of the Macy’s entrance and went straight to the bridal registry.  Well, I forgot that Macy’s has a home store and a clothing store.  So of course I subconsciously parked at the entrance of the wrong one.

The minute I stepped through the door the sales racks were calling out my name.  I tried on a few pair of sunglasses.  Looked at a few cute summer dresses and found myself trying on shoes.  But… in the end I walked away…pulled myself away.

I came home with nothing but a $40 salad spinner.

Ok don’t take offense if you are an only child, I’m just putting it out there.

Do guys who are the only child in the family tend to be more spoiled and selfish? Are they good marriage material? They after all have never really been forced to share their parents’ attention, or asked to give their toys to their younger siblings.   No fault to anyone, but for their entire life it’s been all about them.

My friend’s BF is a very nice guy, but a bit of “me, me, me” person. I honestly don’t think he even realizes he’s like that. It doesn’t help that his mother calls him “perfect” her one and only “baby”.

So the question: How do you “retrain” a guy like this, or is it a lost cause?

I’m trying to get my friend and her BF on the air with us tomorrow morning to talk about it.

But for now…leave me your thoughts and I’ll pass them along.

I don’t even remember how we got on the subject of it this morning during the show but it’s driving me nuts…how unbelievably sad our country is when it comes to maternity leave.

The United States is one of only 5 countries that does not provide or require employers to provide some form of paid maternity leave.  The Family and Medical Leave Act  set in place in 1993 allows new moms to take up to 12 weeks leave but it is unpaid leave.  How is that going to help? When you are growing your family that is the when you need money the most.  So you are forced to choose: bonding with your newborn or go to work to make money to put food on the table.  How sad.

I’ve heard in Vancouver, Canada mothers go back after 14 months of paid maternity leave, same for some European countries.

When I was pregnant with Leah I worked for a company that had great benefits, I guess I just took it for granted and didn’t even realize how good I had it. (I’m not sure what the current policy is)  I assumed the majority of the larger companies in Rochester provided full pay for 6wks (8 for C-section).  Wow was I wrong,  I’m discovering it is just the opposite.  The majority of companies if anything offer a % of pay?

Crazy, just crazy!

Somewhere I read that back in the day in Europe, feminists emphasized special treatment for mothers, including maternity leave and child care. On the contrary, “The American feminist movement didn’t want to hear anything about mothers, they wanted equal rights for women and didn’t emphasize special treatment.”

What can we do?  Just deal with it?

We’re forced to spend the majority of our life at work in order to survive instead of spending quality time raising our kids. Nannies, daycare providers and teachers are raising our kids.

I just got back from one of the most inspiring events, “Lose the Training Wheels” is a camp hosted by UNYFEAT (Upstate NY Families for Effective Autism Treatment)  The camp teaches children with Autism Spectrum Disorder or other disabilities, ages 8 and up, how to ride a conventional bike without training wheels.
It’s funny how we take the little things for granted, like riding a bike.

I had a such great time. These were the sweetest kids, full of determination and energy.  My job as a “volunteer” was to walk or I should say run alongside my new friend JJ as he rode his specially designed bike.  Man, he was kicking my butt!

Isn’t it remarkable, the number of children diagnosed with Autism is on the rise, yet no one has a definite answer as to why?  It really is a miracle to have a baby.

If you have someone close to you who has ASD or if you want to help a great local support group check out the website UNYFEAT 

Before I get into the PDA let me 1st describe our studios. We are in the High Falls Studios, one of the coolest studios I’ve worked in.  Our other bldg was very cool too , but it was more of a corporate style cool with the white walls and grey carpet, glass wall in the conference room.  We used to be on the 17th floor with an unbelievable view of the city not to mention a breathtaking view of the sunrise.
Our studios now, has more of a trendy, warm, Starbucks like feel.   There are several other radio stations in our Entercom group and all of our studios are lined up next to each other with a window as a divider.  We’re on the 1st floor with one full side of the studio being windows, big windows. Since we’re street level, our view is of the abandoned brick bldg across the street, the guy who walks by every morning around 7:00am with an eye patch and now…the unbelievable view of the best PDA ever.

A message to the couple who were getting into their big silver SUV this morning around 8:30…Can you not see us? 3 studios in a row full of people.  It’s not like we have tinted windows.

When I 1st noticed the unassuming couple walking to their SUV I didn’t realize I was about to watch a scene from a hot romantic movie.

They looked into each others eyes, her left hand on his broad chest.  She was telling him something, with every word she drew herself closer and closer until their lips met. At that point they could not help themselves.  He wrapped his arms around her thin waist, she grabbed the back of his head and worked her fingers in his dark hair.

A quick peck is ok but this was PDA at its best.

That poor couple didn’t even realize that not only Scott, Moose and I were laughing and describing it all on the air.  So was everyone else in the adjacent studios.
I guess they did figure it out after Moose started banging on the window and giving them a thumbs up.  How embarrassing! She did not look amused.

I don’t know about you, but no matter how much in love you are…save it for when you are alone in private.  Not in the middle of the street downtown infront of an office bldg.  Too funy.  I wish I had video to show you.