Fashion Forms Lingerie Laundry Bag
Fashion Forms – an Austin, Texas-based company – is a leading producer of specialty bras and accessories in the US, Canada, and Europe so who better to make a Lingerie Laundry Bag to protect fine washables?
Made of durable fine mesh to allow soap and water to flow through easily for optimal cleaning, the Fashion Forms Lingerie Laundry Bag has a zipper closure to keep the lingerie securely in the bag during the washing machine cycle. To prevent the zipper from opening, the corner of the bag has a piece of material to keep the zipper in place. Read more 
Have You Thought About Aluminum?
For decades I never gave much thought to aluminum beyond the rolls of aluminum foil in my kitchen drawer. Then several years ago, I was reading a cookbook (Vegan Chocolate..the ultimate chocolate baking book for chocoholics available at www.amazon.com and at bookstores nationwide) by Fran Costigan that recommended using aluminum-free baking powder which made my curious as to what the difference was between baking powder with aluminum (double-acting baking powder) and aluminum-free baking powder. Read more
Schmidt’s Natural Deodorant: It Really Works!
We heard natural deodorant never works. So we made one that does.
Most antiperspirants/deodorants contain aluminum – a metal that temporarily plugs the sweat ducts and prevents you from perspiring. Although there is definitely an upside to not perspiring at times, there is also a downside to rubbing aluminum-based antiperspirant under your arms every single day because our bodies can absorb the aluminum. We don’t need aluminum to nourish our bodies and recent studies suggest a link between the amount of aluminum absorbed and retained in our body with cognitive decline. Read more
Delta Airlines, American Airlines: You Suck
I used to have a lot of empathy for the airlines because I saw firsthand how difficult passengers could be: demanding wheelchairs to board the plane ahead of everyone else and then miraculously walking off the flight when the plane arrived at the destination (because passengers who want a wheelchair have to wait until the other passengers disembark) or carrying 3 or more suitcases, duffel bags, shopping bags, purses, and backpacks. The most brazen would be asked to check their bag at the gate only to tear off the ticket and walk on the plane with their extra baggage and then ask others to help them hoist the 40-pounder overhead. It was enough to almost make you feel sorry for the airlines. Read more
Where does $100 to the American Institute for Cancer Research Go?
The American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) has a very impressive name with the four key words – American, Institute, Cancer, and Research – that draws prospective donors to make millions of dollars in contributions annually.
A 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization based out of Washington, DC, AICR “educates the public about the relationship of nutrition, physical activity, and weight management to cancer, interprets the scientific data and funds research.” In other words, AICR does not do research; they read and interpret the research to educate the public and they provide grants (less than 6% of total revenue collected goes to grants in the USA and Europe, according to the IRS Form 990). Read more
A Wake Up Call for Sheryl Sandberg and Elizabeth Alexander
Most people know who Sheryl Sandberg is (the COO of Facebook) by virtue of who she works for but not everyone knows who Elizabeth Alexander is (a poet, essayist, playwright, and professor) although she taught at Yale for 15 years and is currently a faculty member at Columbia University.
Both women are middle-aged, successful, and role models for the younger generation. Living in opposite corners of the country (Sandberg in California; Alexander in New York) with vastly different careers, these women appear to have little in common although both were widowed young: Sandberg two years ago at the age of 45 after her husband, Dave Goldberg (at age 47) sustained a traumatic head injury possibly caused by heart arrhythmia while running on a treadmill; and Alexander in 2012 when her husband, Ficre Ghebreyesus died from heart failure at age 50 while exercising on the family’s treadmill. Read more
The Outliers in the House of Representatives
Many people identify with either the Republican or Democrat party but in reality, most voters fall somewhere between the conservative (Republican) and the liberal (Democrat) spectrum because there are so many issues – economic, environmental, education, healthcare, transportation, and more – affecting people and their beliefs.
We may be fiscally conservative and socially liberal or socially conservative but liberal in our views on education or healthcare. Whatever the combination is, the reality is that the closest the votes are to the center, the easier the compromise because both sides don’t have to give up too much. The further the votes are to the right or left, the harder it is to reach agreement because there is too much distance to bring opposites together. Read more
Why the Salvation Army Should File an IRS Form 990
The Salvation Army is an international group of Christians who claim the Salvation Army is a church. The funny thing is I can’t remember the last time I drove down the road and saw a church with the sign “Salvation Army” in front of it although I see signs in front of other churches identifying the property as Methodist, Evangelical, Presbyterian, Catholic, and more. In fact, I don’t recall ever seeing a church with the words “Salvation Army” on a sign in front of a church. So, where is the Church of the Salvation Army? Read more
DIY Fruit and Vegetable Wash
There are all kinds of fancy and beautifully packaged fruit and vegetable wash products on the market that make all kinds of claims pertaining to effectiveness of removing pesticide residue but the best, most effective, and least expensive wash can be made at home by simply using vinegar, water combined with white vinegar, water combined with salt, or just plain tap water. Read more
Hey SC: It’s Time To Widen I-95
According to Betterroads.com, South Carolina is the second deadliest state to drive in – nearly 1,000 people (3 per day) were killed in 2016 and this is not sitting well with South Carolinians or the people traveling through the state who blame road conditions.
People in South Carolina have been making their views heard in a variety of creative ways including hiring planes to fly banners that say “Fix the Damn Roads” over the State House to forming alliances (Fix South Carolina Roads) to address the poor conditions of the roads. But, it’s not just potholes and deteriorating asphalt, it’s the inability of the highways to handle the amount of vehicles on the roads. Read more
Paddock Post 