Small town doc.

Photo credit: http://www.sxc.hu/profile/iwanbeijes

My friend Lisa has been talking about how she wanted to be like a small town doctor since I’ve known her. I am so excited for her and for our community as she launches her new business:

I wanted to let everyone know that at the end of this month I will be happily going back to my career as a pediatrician. I have been searching and waiting for the opportunity that felt right for me. I am excited to have found that now. I am joining a friend of mine from high school named Zee Beams who is also a Pediatrician in Columbia and together we are hoping to create a unique practice with a small “hometown” feel. We plan on restoring the personal touch, which is too often lost, back into medicine. I will be doing my own scheduling and taking phone calls from patients directly, with no nurse triage system or answering service. I will be available by phone, text or email 24 hours a day for all of my patients, including evenings and weekends. I plan on doing home visits for newborns and others as needed. My office will be nearby on Cedar Lane, and I plan on doing all of my urgent care visits myself when at all possible. My hope is that with easy access to my office on weekends and in the evenings, I will be able to avoid visits by my families to urgent care clinics, emergency rooms, etc. I am excited to have a chance to practice medicine the way I have always wanted; please feel free to pass along my name and contact information to anyone you know who might be looking for a pediatrician.

Lisa Laborwit, M.D. can be reached at 410-905-1941 or via email.

If you’re in Howard County and looking for a pediatrician, you’ll love Lisa. She’s amazing.

Spread the word. I hope this is the beginning of a wonderful trend.

No one has softer hair than I do.

I know that headline might make me sound conceited. Okay, fine. It does make me sound conceited.

But I’m not. Conceited, that is.

Read on.

My hair is the longest it has been since about 1967.

I have to add that I’ve had shorter hair than I bet 99% of you have ever had.

But for most of my life, it’s been up and down – short, shoulder length, short. And somehow, I never really learned how to ‘do’ my hair. Well, not really, anyway. In fact, it was only last year that I learned how to blow out my hair and make it smooth.

And still, I have a pretty simple routine. I don’t buy extravagant product (though I did buy Moroccan Oil on the advice of Rebecca and loved it – though it’s pricey.)

Fast forward to 2011 – I became a BirchBox subscriber. I love getting the samples.

A few months back, they sent some hair care samples and I loved them. My favorite was an oil, kind of like the Moroccan Oil, that gets applied after washing. It made my hair so shiny! But, alas, I ran out.

So when I saw Moroccan Argan Oil Treatment in the store (reasonably priced, I might add), I bought it. Great substitute, I imagined.

Last night, I washed my hair as usual. But before blowdrying, I applied a quarter-sized (or more?) dollop of this great new product on my hair. It smelled divine!

As I dried my hair, I was horrified at the texture. It wasn’t exactly frizzy. More like straw. Yikes. Horrible.

So I used my trusty olive oil sheen spray to calm it down. (Did I mention that before? It is great for a quick smooth-down or shine-up. And before you tell me that I’m not the intended customer for the product, I do know that. But it’s 5 bucks a can that lasts a year or more and, anyway, who cares?)

But back to the point. (There was a point.)

I can’t read jack without my glasses. Seriously, nothing.

But after this unfortunate incident, I got my extra pair of readers out of the bathroom vanity drawer and read the container of Moroccan Argan Oil Treatment. Because, you know what? This product sucks and I might just call the toll-free number.

The directions read:

Scoop a small amount of Organix Moroccan Argan Oil Renewing Treatment into palm and evenly distribute with a wide tooth comb from your hair’s roots down to the ends. Leave Organix Moroccan Argan Oil Renewing Treatment in hair for 3-5 minutes. Product performance is enhanced by placing a shower cap over hair and wrapping cap with a hot, wet towel. Rinse with mild to cool water. For best results, use with other Organix Moroccan Argan Oil products.

So, I didn’t call customer service.

Instead, I vowed to try the product again. And to rinse it out this time.

New tricks.

Photo credit: Vea Avernalis http://www.veave.prv.pl

I’ve never been a big make-up girl. Sure, I use mascara and bronzer and sometimes even some tinted moisturizer. Oh, and pencil eyeliner. In moderation.

But I’ve always wanted to use liquid eyeliner. I just love the way it looks.

So sophisticated.

And I’m here to tell you that I’ve tried. Many, many times.

It’s not that big a deal when you get eyeliner all over your face and have to wash and start over. Well, that is if you’re not running late for a party. Or a meeting. Yup. Been there.

The other day, I went to Nordstrom with my mom. I mentioned to the woman at the make-up counter that I had no skill for eyeliner.

And she told me

THE

TRICK

I bet you all knew. But I didn’t.

Now, I do.

Do you fight fair?

Photo credit: http://www.sxc.hu/profile/Sauerkraut

No couple agrees all the time. Nor do all friends see eye-to-eye on everything.

Frankly, sometimes we piss each other off.

But I’ve been wondering lately. What is fair game? Can you loop back around to an old issue if it illustrates a pattern? Or is that dirty pool?

How do you choose words that aren’t hurtful but that don’t make you sound like a loser and a doormat?

I hate fighting.

But, as hard as it is to admit, I hate having my character and/or judgement challenged more.

So, tell me. What constitutes fair fighting?

Go.

I’ve been thinking.

I’ve always been a volunteer and a donor. I’ve made time in my life to work for some causes that have meant a lot to me. Causes like helping to get healthy food to homes where there wasn’t enough to go around, like helping to get warm and pretty hats to women who’ve lost their hair from chemo, like pitching in with community groups to help families make their rent, pay their electric bills, change their situations to safer ones. I’ve supported the homeless shelter with my family and helped raise money to provide seeds and gardening training to people who could only afford fresh vegetables if they grew them.

It’s not that I have so much. It’s just that some have so little.

I’m a lot like you. We just want to do something to help.

But I have a bone to pick. And this has been bothering me since I don’t remember when.

So I’ve been thinking about this. How many times have you heard people and organizations talk about helping the poor? About reaching out to underserved populations? About helping the needy?

Now, imagine that you were the one who needed a hand. You see the ads, read the articles, see the pamphlets, receive the donations of time and money – often given in your presence. Needy. That’s what they call you. In front of you. About you.

Needy.

As if it’s not hard enough to be in need.

I think there must be a more gracious way. It would be so much more generous to be a little less demeaning.

Loyalty cards. A misnomer?

With every change of season, I feel the need to catch up on my filing and clean my desk drawers. I’m fairly organized most of the time, so it’s not that big of a job and it makes me feel oh, so happy.

As I neatened up the stack of loyalty cards, it got me to thinking. But before I go on, let’s look at the count:

Music Store – 1
Grocery Store – 9
Pet Supply – 2
Drug Store – 2
Books – 3
Auto Repair – 1
Points – various retailers – 2
Greeting Cards – 1
Sports Apparel/Equipment -2
Office Supply – 2
Restaurants – 2
Clothing Store – 2 (but that doesn’t count the credit cards from various clothing stores…)
Transportation – 2 (but that doesn’t count all the frequent flyer accounts)

That’d be 31 cards. Clearly, I need a bigger wallet. Some are on the keyring, but I never take that keyring, so… In fact, I never have these cards in my possession when I shop. Who needs them anyway? They’re all tied to a phone number. Sure, you can get the app and type them all in. But why bother?

Okay, back to my point.

Loyalty.

CLEARLY I am not loyal to NINE grocery stores. That’s just silly. These are not loyalty cards where I’m rewarded to frequent the store. These are discount cards so I don’t feel like a LOSER by not being able to get the SPECIAL price just for cardholders. Seriously. How aggravating is it to see a price on the shelf but not get that price? Well, not me. No sirree. I get the member price at every store. And the cost? Being in their database.

Let’s look at that, now.

I’m in NINE grocery store databases. (And Costco, but I’m not counting that here. It’s a paid membership, so I view it differently.)

Of those stores, four are within reasonable driving distance. Another is a bit farther and another is almost an hour away (but one is coming soon to our area.) Two of the stores aren’t within 150 miles of me. I got them on extended trips.

Of the nine stores, I get mail and/or email from one. ONE. The store that is one mile from my house. It’s not my favorite store and not the one we choose for big shops, but it’s definitely the one where we stop and pick up milk or few things. Often. They send me offers. They use their database.

The others? Nothing. So from their point of view, what is the benefit to me having a loyalty card? So I can get the discount when I happen to be in their store? Are they selling the data and that’s the big score? I’m not getting mail from the manufacturers either, so I don’t think they are. At least not in a big way. So I’m thinking that these programs cost money to administer, reduce the profit margin for the store, and don’t increase loyalty. Well, at least in my focus group of one.

And looking at the other cards – say pet supply. I have the two big competitors and whichever is on my way or has the better price is the place I stop. Loyalty. Right.

In fact, looking at all the cards I have, I’d say the only one I’m really loyal to is the auto repair shop. And lookie there – I only have the one card. Interesting.

I’m not implying that I’m not a loyal shopper. I’m loyal to many brands. But no store has me.

I’d be very curious to see if I’m alone in this. Hey grocery store marketing folks, I know a great social media research firm who could study this for you.

Pencils all sharpened and no place to go.

No first day of school today because of all the power outages.