Do You Have a “Bossy” Little Girl? Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg Says “Bossy” Today is Just Another Word for “Executive Leadership Skills” Tomorrow. Bravo!!! MOTHERHOOD PART TWO

“The next time you’re about to call your daughter BOSSY, take a deep breath and say, ‘My daughter has Executive Leadership Skills!"

-Sheryl Sandberg, BlogHer’13

I speak from experience.

I have a little one - she’s eight years old - who would be running the household, her classroom, and, frankly, the world if she were given the leeway.

I find myself frequently reminding her: One day YOU will run YOUR OWN household and you will be able to do it YOUR WAY then. But today, my sweet, you need to follow mom’s rules…

Garrrr!

Deep breath.

And the down-to-earth S. Sandberg, COO extraordinaire of Facebook, who watches brain-mush TV to kick-back the same way we do and probably sneaks-in a bag of Lays Potato Chips once in a while because you can’t really just have one, has hit the nail on the noggin.

As sometimes, as hard as it is to manage a little one with these strong, my-way-or-the-highway qualities, give that same little one 15-20 years......... 

And, if nurtured with care and flexibility and a big dollop of patience, that same little girl may some day be leading a company, solving a world crisis, or bringing up the next generation of girls with fire and equality like we’ve never seen before.

Bravo, Sheryl Sandberg for speaking out and continuing the dialog.

Let’s keep talking.

Tell me what you think...

Namaste & Three Cheers – OM

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Hot Outdoor Gear: Sazzi Shoes, Swoob Bras, Siesta Hammocks, FrozenPeaz and a Straw For a Water Filter. Totally Cool at the Outdoor Retailer Show in Utah.

Pockets for your phone, keys, candy in a sports bra! What???

While rummaging around online on websites instead of rummaging around (and cleaning) the bottom of my daughter’s soggy and odorous backpack from camp last week, I found myself happily cruising around the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market’s site.

And, specifically, poking around on the "Product Showcase", which is fancy for: all the cool, new gear that’s out there that we just might want to own!

While doing so, my eyeballs were drawn to these fascinating, fun outdoor goodies, practical or not. And let’s be clear, I don’t own these nor have I tested them, so do your homework! But it’s fun to discover new gizmos and solutions for our outdoor adventures. Read on.

Light as a Feather Travel Hammock – Oh, yes. This worth checking out just for the video. How I want to be that dude setting up his blue, parachute hammock all over the world. Beam me over to him, Scotty. @ La Siesta Colibri $68

Finally A Sports Bra with Pockets – Ok, ladies, this one’s for us. Swoob (love the name) and the rest of us have declared that “purses are overrated” – enter, as I call it, the Pockety Bra, or as they call it, their Chandi. Phone in the center, keys to one side, ChapSitck (or, uh, candy) on the other. It’s in design right now, so we need patience, people. Swoob Chandi Adjustable High Impact $50

Hot and Cold Packs Named After a Bag O’ Peas – A+ for sense of humor in just the name: FrozenPeaz. I mean, someone finally had the guts to just go with it!! As how many of us have sat with a bag o’ Trader Joe’s petite, green peas on our knees, elbows, boo-boos. Non-toxic. And the PeazPod (again, love it) comes in 6 different shapes. FrozenPeaz $30 and up.

Just Like a Straw –Put this in your mouth, lay down next to a river, and slurp, as if it's a Big Gulp. Enough said. 1,000 liters of clean H2O in your pocket! Fantastic. LifeStraw Water Filter @ $20

"Sandals Suck" so Try These Instead – Love their slap in the face marketing: sandals suck! Apparently, these zapatos have cozy little toe-holders so that each digit feels, well, special. (Unlike your barbaric flip-flops.) They look a little like those lizard barefoot shoes we’ve seen before – Land Of The Lost people – or a little Jurassic Park-y. See what you think. Sazzi DecimalSandals @ $80

Have a voice in this story. Tell us what you think!

Namaste & Three Cheers – OM

The Wonderland of Lake Tahoe in the Summer – Our New Favorite Summer Playground

Summer in Lake Tahoe, California

Picking up our (not ravaged by a forest-fire) son from overnight camp this past weekend near the south end of glorious Lake Tahoe, California, we decided to spend an extra day and night there to explore more before the drive home.

Emerald Bay State Park

Now that the kids are all of “adventure age” – which means they can jump on a bike and keep up, strap on their hiking sneaks and keep up, clip on a line and climb faster than us – we’re looking at the Tahoe area as our new backyard playground.

Leaping into refreshing Lake Tahoe!

As we zipped by the sparkling water of Emerald Bay State Park, we salivated at the paddleboarders and kayakers playing in the brilliant green waters. As we hooked a left entering Tahoe City, we got giddy watching the rafters floating the Truckee River. And as we stopped for a lunch break, we whipped off our clothes, down to our suits, and plunged off a city pier into the surprisingly NOT freezing Lake Tahoe. So unbelievably refreshing. So much fun!

Summer at Squaw Valley

Alpine Ski Resort was boxed up for the summer? But former Olympic host Squaw was bursting with energy with a Wanderlust Yoga Festival and free scoops of Ben & Jerrys and peaceful thoughts for all.

A little hike here. A ropes course there – check out the one at the funky, old-school Granlibakken Resort’s Treetop Adventure Course for kids age 5 and up. (Book ahead!) We’re ready to load up our bikes – bike paths everywhere – and do this again!

Namaste & Three Cheers – OM

For more excellent info:

Map of Lake Tahoe

Treetop Adventure Course

Squaw Valley, Lake Tahoe, CA

Lake Tahoe Visitor Bureau

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Gear Review: The Mega Family Bike Rack – We Found It! Thule Apex 5 Fits Five Bikes Safely & Securely To Ease Bike-Rack Stress Disorder

Wild Modern Sculpture or Fab New Bike Rack?

I’ve written about this image before – my wide-eyed childhood memory of watching my gold, 10-speed bicycle fly off the back of our Powder Blue Volkswagon Rabbit and bounce mercilessly in a wild and passionate fashion into the rushing traffic of Highway 89 in Northern Vermont.

Ack! The horror. The bouncing...

Clearly the rickety bike-rack of yesteryear that my dad kept together with duct tape and some swearing didn’t cut it then. And, today, with five of us now on bigger bikes, I’m prone to avoiding that kind of disaster again for the sake of my Post Traumatic Bike-Rack Stress Disorder and our fellow motorists.

Cut to a modern miracle in the family bike-rack for convenience, “ease” (as “easy” as it can be to stuff 5 bikes onto a small metal bar), safety and peace of mind for everyone involved.

Somehow Thule’s Apex 5 manages to store all of our bikes, lock them in, and hold them on without a nervous wiggle or a jiggle that has us munching on our fingernails the whole drive.

For soccer moms and busy family carpooling, the hitch can also stay on all summer and easily clicks out of the way when you need to open the trunk of your family truckster. So it’s super easy to maneuver around and tucks nicely away, flat against the back.

The only issues that have come up are fitting our smaller bikes onto it is more challenging but can be done (note wild and fabulous photo of floating-bike sculpture!) and overstretching a Ripple Strap, which are replaceable and it comes with extras.

Big Bonus: Comes with a heavy duty lock so you can go eat your In & Out Burger in peace!

What a difference having this on the back of our Beast has made for us. No more stuffing the bikes into our 2^nd car, no more leaving the bikes at home. Much more fun!

Namaste & Three Cheers –OM

For more technical info & to do more homework:

Thule

How to chose a hitch-mounted bike rack

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