Social Media May Be Hazardous to Your Health

I went to the doctor this week and learned a rather interesting lesson about social media.

When the scale reflected the fact that I had GAINED and not LOST some weight, my doctor wanted to know what kind of activities I was involved in. I told her I was spending a lot of time on my computer these days. Sometimes I spend more than half of my day between Twitter and Facebook.

Not good, according to my doctor. She says spending hours at a time at a computer can create havoc on the body. In addition to the middle age spread, one might also develop knee, back and vision problems.

Another point she made was the stress factor. If you're looking to your computer as a means of financial support, you may find yourself with many frustrating days---especially if money is slow to come your way. That frustration, she says, can lead to high blood pressure and depending on heavily involved you are, it could also lead to something more serious.

So while many folks are busy singing the benefits of social media, a least one health expert--my trusted physician--says social media, just like alcohol, should be used in moderation.

Bank of America, Are You Serious?

Today I received my bank statement from Bank of America. Why I'm still a customer is a direct result of my laziness to go to the bank and close out my account.

The statement I received today has become new motivation to get off my behind and make my own statement to Bank of America.

Here's what I received:

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR ACCOUNT:

Recently we informed you that we were raising our Overdraft Item and NSF: Returned Item Fee to $39. After careful consideration of the many factors currently impacting the economy, our business and our customers, we have made a decision to change our overdraft Item Fee and NSF: Retuned Item Fee to $35 per item. Visit Bank of america.com/pricingchanges.

Now here's what gets me about this: The fee used to be $12. They raised it to $39 and now have decided to give us a break by shaving off $4.00. Why not just keep it at $12? Didn't that bailout money help them at all?

Burn Baby Burn Takes on a New Meaning

When I hear burn baby burn , I'm thinking of a disco inferno, but, for some folks, this phrase has them thinking about death.

According to The Cremation Association of North America, more and more baby boomers are considering cremation as their last rites over a ground burial. Although many Baptists view cremation as an unacceptable destruction of the body, some 37 percent of Americans say they would like to be cremated after they die.

Research also shows that people who would prefer cremation tend to be well-educated, earn higher-than-average incomes, and reside in Western boomtowns and Sunbelt retirement communities far from their birthplace. Psychographic surveys show that they share a socially progressive agenda, supporting issues like doctor-assisted suicide and the legalization of marijuana. Most choose cremation for the convenience, the lower cost, or to help preserve land.

Some Funeral Home Directors say they are finding that many people now live away from their family and they feel it's easier to be cremated and have their remains sent to another part of the country. With people living longer, they have more time to direct their children as to what they want to do. And they consider that cremation involves fewer decisions for their family.

But even in cremation--you can go out in style. At one funeral home in Raleigh, NC a family can sit in a softly lit viewing room and watch through a window as their loved one enters the cremation chamber. If relatives want to, they can say prayers and scatter flowers over the body before the metal door closes, or even push the button to move the body along.

So what do you think? Have you decided whether you want to be cremated or buried after you die?

Shame on You Wal-Mart

It should come as no surprise to anyone that women are the reason businesses like Wal-Mart are managing to thrive in spite of a weak economy. Women are always shopping for great deals and Wal-Mart has gone out of its way to convince us it is the place to: "Save money. Live better."

But the question here is are the women who work at Wal-Mart really living better? Maybe not---according to an article in BusinessWeek---which states that women account for nearly 80 percent of all shoppers but more than 70 percent of its senior leaders are men.

To add insult to injury, in 2001, six female Wal-Mart employees filed a sex-discrimination lawsuit in U.S. District Court in San Francisco against Wal-Mart Stores. The suit, Dukes v. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., gained class certification in 2004 as the largest such suit ever filed against a private employer, affecting more than 2million female employees. In the suit, female employees alleged that they were denied opportunities for advancement and paid less than men doing similar work.

This is an image the Company's new CEO is hoping to change. At a shareholder's meeting today, Mike Duke pledged to work on developing female leaders by launching a "global women's council." This 14-member group aims to increase the percentage of women in management roles at Wal-Mart.

Sadly, Wal-Mart isn't the only Company who has a poor track record when it comes to hiring top female executives. But until women start speaking more with their pocketbooks, behaviors like this will continue no matter how many "global councils" are put together.

The Weak Job Market Hits Home

On Friday, my husband got the telephone call we hoped would never happen--at least not now. He was informed by his Employer that his employment contract as a Computer Security Analyst with the Department of the Treasury was being terminated immediately.

My husband has been with the DOT for several years--was great at his job--but now is forced to join thousands of other baby boomers who are being forced to re-invent themselves.

The good news is he will finally be able to officially move to North Carolina. We've had a commuter marriage since we got married three years ago. Not having an official job is bad news, no doubt, but we are refusing to focus our attention on that.

Here are some tips we hope will help others in the same boat:

1. Don't Let Fear Control You
Some people opt to do nothing when becoming unemployed and instead just worry. It's appropriate to be concerned, but we know we have to start making the necessary moves to ensure our comfort and survival.

2. Never underestimate the power of networking
My husband is not a social networker but he has started a Facebook and Twitter page. It's important to talk with people who may be able to help you and follow any leads that come your way. Connecting with others will help you to get another job. Send out resumes, and keep your contacts alive.

3. Find emotional support
There are numerous groups for the newly unemployed, many with counselors and job coaching. You don't need to tough it out alone.

4. Don't spend too much time alone
You will need time to grieve to move on, but you can't find a new job if you remain isolated.

5. Consider starting your own business (my personal tip)
This may be the perfect chance to reinvent yourself and start a small business. But if you're going to go from being an employee to being an entrepreneur, you must be sure your heart is in it--meaning you have a passion for what you want to do. Also, you have to ask yourself where is the money going to come from for your initial business investment.

In my husband's case, he has been dabbling with real estate investments so now might be a good time for him to take a closer look at how he can make this a full-time endeavor.

We will survive!

Summer Break

My daughter has officially completed her first year of college. Now she is back home for summer--but it will be ME who will be taking a much needed break.

That's right. After acting as primary caregiver for her two-year-old son, I have relinquished my duties so she can step back into the "mommy" role. That means I no longer have to get up in the middle of the night when I hear my grandson cry out that he needs to go potty. I can sleep later in the morning without having to worry about making sure he gets to daycare before 9:30am. And I won't have to rush to pick him up by 4:30--especially if I'm in a meeting that ran long. I'll be able to spend countless hours on Twitter if I want to and more importantly, hubby and I will get to spend some quality "we" time, which has been next to impossible with our grandson hanging on to our every move.

Are you a grandparent who has given up your retirement or your own plans in order to take on the diapers, daycare, teacher conferences, and everything else that comes along with raising children? Many baby boomers, like me, are stepping in to raise their grandchildren when the children's own parents are not able or willing to do so. According to the U.S. Census, over 2.4 million grandparents have responsibility for their grandchildren. I consider my contribution as an investment in her future.

Taking care of her son has become my daughter's summer job. Nope, there is no pay involved but the rewards she and my grandson will receive will be more valuable than all the money in the world!

Has the True Sentiment Gone Out of Mother's Day?

Mary Baldwin College alumna Anna Jarvis was the driving force behind the creation of Mother’s Day. But she would not be pleased at all with Mother’s Day as it is celebrated in 2009, according to a source at her alma mater.

“Miss Jarvis thought Mother’s Day should be a day you spend with your mother, or a day when you do something special for her like fix her dinner or repair her broken stairs,” says William Pollard, archivist at Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, VA. “It was not supposed to be a day where you buy her something.”

Pollard says Jarvis wanted to keep Mother’s Day non-commercial--a battle she knew she had lost by the time of her death in 1948.

To understand how the day became nationally celebrated it’s important to know a bit about Anna Jarvis. She was graduated from Augusta Female Seminary, which is now Mary Baldwin College, in 1883 and moved back home with her parents. In 1905, Anna’s mother passed away. After her mother’s death, Jarvis spent years sending letters to public officials urging them to set aside a day to honor mothers.

In 1914, that day came. President Woodrow Wilson, whose birthplace was just across the street from Mary Baldwin College, signed the proclamation formally establishing Mother’s Day.

Over the years, however, Anna Jarvis became bitter with the commercialization of Mother’s Day.

She has been quoted as saying: “Mother’s Day has nothing to do with candy. Candy is junk. You give your mother a box of candy and then go home and eat most of it yourself, or else you give her hard candy that breaks her teeth or dentures.”

“Flowers are about half-dead by the time they’re delivered,” said Jarvis. “It’s really a shame to waste flowers for Mother’s Day. Florists have made millions of dollars out of my idea and they don’t deserve it.”

So what do you think? What is the best way to honor our Mothers on Mother's Day?