In 1985 Dr. Richard Gardner (M.D.) coined the phrase "parental alienation syndrome (PAS)". Dr. Gardner defines PAS as "a childhood disorder that arises almost exclusively in the context of child-custody disputes." Primarily it is the child's campaign of denigration against a parent without justification. What is unique from Dr.
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It?s an emergency! A new client, Mr. Stayput, telephones you in a panic. His former wife, the custodial parent, has threatened to leave the jurisdiction with their child and relocate to a distant state by the end of the month. She plans to marry and become Mrs. Gogo.? Unless you can restrain her from relocating, Mr.
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Whether already living under a child custody and visitation plan, or trying to agree on a plan, parents are presented with two basic alternatives for resolving disputes: go to court, or go to private mediation.
Where there is already an order, whether temporary or part of a judgment, it typically accounts for literally every hour of each child’s time.
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Family law attorneys see far too many families in high conflict. One or both of the parties are often seeking modification of custody, visitation, child support, school placement, daycare placement, etc.
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This week the designers were sent to a party, or rather a party store. Yes, this was one of those challenges revolving around making designs out of unconventional materials. In this case, things you could buy in a party store.
Tim warned the designers that the judges wouldn't like them just picking up materials that could act like traditional fabrics (i.e. tablecloths) but most of them gravitated to things like napkins, ribbon, tablecloths anyway.
So, what did we learn in this episode?
-That this challenge supposedly mirrored AJ's existing design "sensibility", and that that wasn't necessarily a compliment.
-That Casnova was willing to commit stuffed-puppycide in order to have materials to work with. It was surprisingly distasteful to watch him slitting those stuffed puppies up!
-That Gretchen is cast as this season's oblivious pompous know-it-all.
-That the producers are trying to sex up Tim Gunn a bit, letting us see him dissolve into helpless laughter over "wooly animal balls" and expound upon the potential diamond-making properties of one designer's butt.
-That the Ascot Gavotte would not introduce teal. I don't think anything more need be said about that, do you?
-That Mondo is a poor little lamb that isn't good around people, and might not see that he projects not wanting to be around people, which might make people not want to be around him.
We also learned that Heidi is not above a fashion faux pas approaching Cat Deeley proportions, when she walked out on the runway wearing pair of pants that had an absolutely inexplicable fit. I kept trying to pretend that the weird baggy crotch and jodhpur hips might be intentional, but no, they just really seemed to be a poorly-fitting pair of pants.
Heidi was joined by MK and ninagarcia and true fashion icon (not young actress who gets dressed up by stylists in clothes that are given to her) Betsey Johnson.
As always, click on the designer's name to see their outfit.
1. Christopher
Christopher made a lovely little yellow day dress out of paper napkins. (Seems as much to use materials that can be like fabric as anything else, IMHO.) It had that retro Mad Men style that's very in right now. He glued on little strips of brightly colored tinsel to give it some visual interest. It was hard to believe it was napkins...it did look well-made and held together perfectly. The styling was a bit off, with a pair of shoes and a belt that didn't seem to match either one another or the dress itself. And that my well have been what kept him out of the top 3.
2. Michael D.
This silver tinselly one-shouldered top paired with a stiff blue A-line skirt looked a bit too much like an elementary school project to me...it could have been made of aluminum folk and painted construction paper! Lucky to squeak by.
3. Andy
Andy went over the top with his black braided and folded ribbon one-shouldered mini-dress...leaving him with little time and in need of the help of several designers just to get it done. But the effect was pretty fabulous. My only quibble would be that the proportions seemed a little off..managing to make the model seem hippy...and you've seen these models. You know that's hard to do.
4. AJ
If this is AJ's sensibilities, and he stands by this design, then it does not bode well at all. Between the bubblegum pink palette, the crotch-level beaded fringe curtain and the tiara, I gotta go all MK on AJ's ass and roll my eyes and question his taste level. This was a life-size Barbie Doll of tackiness.
5. Ivy
A one shoulder, below-the-knee, silvery pleated dress extravaganza. With so much folding and pleating she made the model look twice her actual size. And that's just never good. The dress was also veyr one-dimensional. A subtly more purple rosette at the waist didn't stand out much, so the entire outfit was unembellished and therefore, despite all the puffy pleats, plain.
6. Michael C.
This long one-shouldered red ballgown made real impact when the model arrive on the runway. The color was bold and fantastic, the workmanship seemed great. Upon closer inspection, it becomes clear there's just a little too much going on with it. The folding and pleating was a common theme of the night, and in most cases it ended up adding volume to the wearer...which no woman really wants. I still might have put it in the Top 3, but it had definite room for improvement.
7. Peach
This outfit was an improvement on Peach's earlier attempts, no doubt. A white bodice, paired with a black, pink and white flouncy (yet stiff) skirt. The skirt was a bit too lampshade-in-a-bordello for me, but I loved the little purse Peach made. Maybe Peach will be the one who shows dramatic improvement this year.
8. Gretchen
It's too soon for me to jump on any anti-Gretchen bandwagon, but I do wonder why the judges liked this outfit as much as they did. Yes it was three pieces. But it seemed like three pieces that did not go well together. Add in those totally wrong thigh-high boots, and the whole thing was a muddle to me. The black leather-looking jacket was the one cool thing about it. The skirt was just tinsel...hand-cut chevrons or nots, and the blouse seemed incongruous. And the boots, did I mention the boots? Because she clearly couldn't win due to those boots alone.
9. Mondo
Mondo had a lot of good thoughts, and this was another outfit that made good impact upon first sight. But a closer look takes it down a peg. The pink plastic plate bodice is a great idea, but unevenly executed. One side looks perfect, the other doesn't have the same shape. The very short pink mini skirt of rosettes is cute, but a bit stiff and unflattering. And the styling with black tights and pumps...incongruous, not ideal. I like Mondo's take, but he can do better than this.
10. Casanova
Well. What to say. I mean, Casanova can definitely construct and sew. He threw together a mish-mash of materials and styles, but it was a long strapless gown that fit his model and obviously had lots of work put into it. The fact that the back was an almost-but-not-quite acceptable silvery, tiered pleated dress, while the front was a bizarre combo of colors texture and more ruffles...at the knee, and that the whole combination was topped off by "fur stiles made of stuffed animals. Well, really. I think that's all that can be said about that.
11. Kristin
Well. Ths babydoll mini-dress was bright, I'll give it that. All yellow and lime-green. But it joined AJ in being a bit too juvenile. It's like a clown who does balloon animals exploded all over the model.
12. April
April's black one-shouldered mini-dress was similar to Andy's, but I might have even liked it better. It had a little more edge and a little less perfection than Andy's. The broken glass look of the one-shoulder added a ton of drama. I didn't much like the Flinstone's-style jagged hem approach, but that was all I didn't like.
13. Sarah
Remember up above when i talked about Michael's school project? Take it back, this is the school project. Heidi called it sad, and she was right. It screamed out to be put in the Bottom 3. A drab gray dress with inexplicable blue construction paper cut-outs affixed to it. What was she thinking?
14. Valerie
This was a successful effort, again with napkins. She folded hundreds of them to create a black and white skirt. It was paired with a simple top, black panels as a sort of breastplate. It could have probably used something at the waist to emphasize the waist. As going form the stiff breastplates to the full folded skirt created a boxy figure, but it was pretty cool looking (as impractical as it may be).
In the end, the Top Three were:
Andy
Gretchen (again!)
Valerie
I have a couple of other choices I would have put in the Top Three over Gretchen, mostly because of those boots! Andy was named the winner, and there was a collective sigh of relief that Gretchen didn't win three challenges in a row. No one wanted to clean up the mess that would have ensued had her head gotten any bigger!
The Bottom Three were:
Sarah
Casanova
AJ
And it was an absolute no-brainer that Sarah would go. Sad indeed.
So, any favorites emerging for you yet?
What is a Parenting Coordinator?The use of Parenting Coordinators is a relatively new intervention to manage high-conflict custody cases. Parents retain a clinician or an attorney to arbitrate ongoing child-related disputes either by private agreement or by Court order. That person then becomes the Parenting Coordinator.
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"Move Away" Cases. The question of whether the parent who has primary physical custody of a child can relocate during or after a divorce is a difficult one for courts and the parties. The Connecticut Supreme Court recently provided guidelines for parental re in Ireland v. Ireland, 256 Conn. 413 (Aug. 18, 1998).
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If you have children, chances are that your divorce did not bring an end to the turmoil between you and your former spouse.
As children grow, their interests and needs change, so problems arise over changes in custody and visitation.
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If you are fighting for custody of your children, chances are you have met with at least one mental health professional for an evaluation of your parenting skills and have undergone interviews and possibly psychological testing.
One of the most popular tests, the MMPI-2 or the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory was designed "to identify psychological disorders and to evaluate c
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Often during the pendency of a divorce or custody litigation, or sometimes even long after a final divorce or custody determination is made, one parent seeks to relocate out of state with a child for what can be a myriad of reasons, such as a job transfer, a desire or financial need to be close to extended family, or remarriage. Such a request often flames emotional fires.
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On August 13, 2010 Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) read a statement and answered questions on ethics charges brought against her by the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE). The OCE alleges that she inappropriately used her office to secure a meeting regarding what would later become TARP funding for OneUnited -- a bank her husband was a board member of from 2004 to 2008 and was a stock holder in at the time of the meeting.
See this video for a summary of Rep. Waters' remarks.
Rep. Waters put the controversy in context of the work her office has always done to ensure equal access to government. She compared how large financial institutions like Citibank or Goldman Sachs can get on the phone and receive billions upon billions from government but smaller minority owned banks can't even get their phone calls returned.
She went on to deny that her advocacy for minority owned banks stepped over the line. She asserted that she merely called the Secretary of Treasury at the time, Hank Paulson, to urge him to meet with the National Association of Bankers an organization representing 100 minority owned banks. Waters did not attend the meeting which ended up only having a single bank represented directly: OneUnited.
Waters reported that the majority of the meeting on September 9th, 2008 was on the general crisis facing minority owned banks that had invested in the failing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac government sponsored mortgage corporations. She strongly emphasized that only the final portion of the meeting concerned OneUnited. OneUnited asked the Treasury for assistance in offsetting their losses in Fannie and Freddie. Since TARP did not exist at this point, their request was denied by the Treasury. After the bill authorizing TARP had passed Congress, OneUnited received $12.1 million from TARP.
Through additional documentation located below, the OCE posits that "Mr. Cooper [OneUnited's Senior Counsel] may have used his position as the Chairman-elect of the [National Bankers Association] to place OneUnited in a preferential position with the Treasury Department following the creation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac?s conservatorship."
In addition, they note that several other banks headquartered in the Washington, DC area belonging to the National Bankers Association did not attend the meeting despite Secretary's Paulson contention that he wanted the meeting to be "available to everyone and [had] expected a larger turnout." Later, Treasury officials claimed no knowledge of the September 9th meeting when they made the TARP disbursement to OneUnited.
Review the primary documents and videos and let us know what you think: did Rep. Waters act inappropriately? Leave a comment below or reply to @sunlightnetwork on Twitter.
Primary sources:
Office of Congressional Ethics Report on Rep. Maxine Waters
PowerPoint Presentation of Rep. Maxine Waters' Defense on Ethics Charges
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This article was originally written by Noah Kunin, Multimedia Producer - Sunlight Foundation.
Although Florida Statute 61.121 allows for rotating custody a/k/a split custody of minor children there is a presumption in Florida that rotating custody is not in the best interest of the child. Rotating custody involves the child(ren) living with each parent on an equal annual basis amounting to at least six (6) months total with each parent.
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In cases where the issue of custody is contested, there is often an initial hearing where the Court decides issues of custody, visitation, child support, spousal maintenance, occupancy of the homestead, etc.
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Last week"s post was about how single women can be vulnerable, even in death.? This week, I"m taking on a different kind of vulnerability... specifically, the plague of Internet stalking.*
I love Google. And I hate Google.? Part of the reason that I"m "anonymous" here (at least until someone inevitably blows my cover) is because I recently discovered that I?m ALL OVER the Internet.? Someone in jail could piece together my life from birth to the present moment without too much trouble and ring my doorbell tomorrow. Not that I have anything against anyone in jail. I love people in jail.? I mean... I just don"t like strangers showing up unannounced...
Friends who live on the other side of the ocean who I lost touch with ten years ago tracked me down by asking about my whereabouts on Yahoo! Answers. ?And in ten years, I"ve moved no less than eight times, encompassing at least four different cities.? In the past couple of weeks, I"ve been googled and found by two men who are separated by about 40 years in age. ?The first I?ll call ?Octogenarian Stroke Survivor? or OSS for short. The second, I"ll call ?Forr Dance Guy" or FDG. Some may think of this as "progress," but frankly, I mostly find it scary.? Allow me to explain.
I met OSS while out at dinner in Potrero Hill with a friend at one of my favorite dinner spots in the city, Chez Maman. Chez Maman, not to be confused with its fancier sister restaurant on the corner, Chez Papa Bistrot, is really quite perfect. It"s a small place, but warm and filled with good energy. And the food" the food is simply wonderful. With the exception of two tables that can accommodate parties of four, patrons sit at a long bar facing the "kitchen," i.e., the stove, occasional pillars of fire, and the backs of the heavily sweating cooks. It may not sound charming, but it is.
There"s always one French guy behind the bar who does everything else. He"s the water guy, the drinks guy, the police the waiting list at the door guy, and the food server guy. I?ve only seen two different guys in the years that I"ve been going there, and they somehow always exude "I"m French. Learn it. Live it." But in a nice way. Sort of. The one that is currently in residence has a string of seriously large tattoos running up the length of both of his arms, and is kind of hot. Hot and married. Story of my life.
Anyway, because everyone is sitting at the bar, and it"s such a small space, you get to know your neighbors quite well. My friend sat on my right, OSS was on my left. Not long after the drinks came, OSS started talking to me. He seemed kind, harmless and a little bit sad, and had an interesting life story: He attended Stanford University, he"d been married forever, he was recovering from a stroke that left much of the left side of his body paralyzed, and his wife just told him that day that she wanted a divorce. He designed a piece in the lobby of the building where I work, is seeing a Vietnamese acupuncturist as part of his therapy, and he has developed a major crush on this woman.? His wife wants a divorce because she thinks he has a bad attitude.? He admits that this is true. I felt a little bit sorry for him, and wondered who he was going to find to take care of him in his currently grumpy and cantankerous state.
For some reason, people like to tell me their stories. Maybe it"s because I often encourage them to do so. ?But I felt that I found out more about OSS than I really probably needed to know. Eventually, my friend and I left (and I"ll have to leave for another day the story of how Tattooed French Hottie (TFH) delighted us with free glasses of champagne and kisses before dessert).
A week later, I checked my voicemail at work only to find a message from OSS.? What the"" He said his name, but at first, I couldn"t for the life of me figure out who he was. Until he self-identified as the "stroke survivor who you met at Chez Maman on Friday last week.?? How the hell did he find me? Well, as I said, I?m ALL OVER the Internet. Apparently he googled my first name, together with the name of the building where I work (remember, we talked about it because he designed a structure in the lobby), and called my assistant. My assistant transferred him (yes, we?ve had words), and voil! Three weeks later, I have received five messages from OSS, asking me to return to Chez Maman for drinks, or just randomly reporting on his days? activities. There are even some messages with just heavy breathing and no actual words. I know it?s him; I don?t think he"s trying to scare me but it"s like he thinks I have an old school answering machine and is waiting for me to pick up.? One message even said:
"[SFSingleGirl], it"s me, [OSS]. I don"t want you to think I"m stalking you or anything, but""
Kill me now.
Since honesty is the name of the game here, I"ll confess that I did call him back. Once. Because in his first message, he sounded confused and lost (the requests to meet up didn?t come until later), I thought there was something wrong and that I could help in some way. Don"t ask me how. When I returned the call, he still seemed out of it, but said he was stunned that I had actually called him back. I was stunned too.? I sometimes do stunningly stupid things. Note to self. Knock it off.
At this point, I"m not sure what to do. I"m sure he?s harmless and doesn?t want anything crazy, like to run away with me or anything (his first love, after all, is his acupuncturist), and I feel mean by not calling back.? After all, I don?t want to further hurt a stroke survivor whose wife is leaving him. But the whole thing feels really intrusive.? On his second message, which I could only listen to half of before deleting, he said, ?I just found you really captivating"" ?Which left me wondering: why is it that I"m not captivating to men who are not octogenarian stroke survivors"
Well, there must be something in the air, because apparently, another person found me captivating enough to G-stalk (and yes, that"s short for google-stalk) me recently. ?Cue FDG, Forr Dance Guy, who I met while on a Saturday night frolic to another favorite haunt, The Red Poppy Art House.? (I?m going to have to stop giving away my favorite places or I"ll really have no place to go.)? They were having a dance party during the huge, weekend-long craziness known as Carnaval SF, but that night I went there alone on a mission to track down an elusive friend.? I missed the friend, but was unwillingly pulled into the embrace of FDG instead.? Forr, a northeastern Brazilian dance, is basically like being locked in a bear hug and marched around a dance floor. FDG asked me to dance and I consented before I knew what I was getting myself into.
He was holding me so close that I am quite certain that he could feel my dinner digesting and the outline of all of my undergarments. ?I tried to extract myself and increase the space between us, but he pointed out the other couples similarly locked in death grips. ?Maybe I"m exaggerating a tiny bit. ?He was a nice enough guy (Google engineer who loves that particular dance so much"and now I think I know why"that he"s willing to travel up to the city from his home in Mountain View for lessons and parties). ?I just felt smothered. So after the dance was over, and right after getting my second request to dance by someone else (for some reason, it seemed to be an unimaginable offense to politely decline), I beat a hasty retreat out of there for the relative safety of home and Netflix.
A week later, I received another unsolicited contact at work. This time in the form of an email:
Dear [SFSingleGirl],
?
I met you on Saturday at the Brazilian dance event. ?I found your
email address by searching for "[your first name and _____]".
?
I'm sure that this is coming across as being very forward. ?But it's
rare to come across someone like you. ?And though very short, I found
you to be captivating. ?I like to see you again. ??If this message
feels uncomfortable, I apologize in advance for being a little
intrusive and wish you the best.
I hope you are having a wonderful day!
with warm regards,
-[FDG]
Not so bad, right? Pretty sweet actually. And kind of flattering in a way, right? So why, instead of feeling flattered, do I feel a case of the creepy crawlies coming on? Unfortunately for FDG, and on the heels of the OSS debacle, he?s not getting a call back. Ever.
Maybe you can help me out. I don"t know if it"s the fact that both used the Internet to track me down, aka stalk me, or the fact that they called and emailed me at work, that bothers me. And I?ll freely admit that if FDG looked like Brad Pitt, which he didn?t, I"d probably consider writing him back. ?Maybe.? And I know, this is where men think that all women are head cases. ?I never said I wasn"t one.
But I do think there is something to the not wanting to have my work space intruded upon theory. I actually love my work and I take it seriously. Even when I haven"t always loved it (like when I was working 80 hour weeks and sleeping on the floor under my desk), I have always taken it seriously.? I"m also a pleaser and competitive. I want to do a good job, I don"t want to let people down, and I like a good challenge. ?So much so, that I"m really not so much into taking personal calls while at work.
Here?s my short list of people who can contact me at work:
That"s it.?Am I crazy??I think you and I both know the answer, but I"m giving you a chance to weigh in anyway.
PLEASE CLICK THE LINK BELOW and VOTE:
Click here to take survey (For survey results, click on the "Quizzes" tab above.)
Thank you for reading. See you next week!
(*Author?s Note: In no way does this tongue-in-cheek posting mean to distract from or condone the crime of stalking, or violence of?any kind.)
Chez Maman: www.chezmamansf.com
The Red Poppy Art House: www.redpoppyarthouse.org
by Jonathan Warshay
The “best interests of the child” is a phrase often used by courts when deciding matters concerning children. What does it really mean? In Michigan, the phrase is defined by statute (Michigan Compiled Laws ? 722.23) as:
(a) The love, affection, and other emotional ties existing between the parties involved and the child.
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It seems to me that the whole system is seriously flawed.? When judges order payments for child support and /or alimony that leaves the payer unable to afford a place to live is senseless.? I have seen a friend of mine (excellent father) become homeless because he gave all his pay to child support - and still didn't get to see his children very often.? I have 2 women friends in child custody fights - one is a teacher that must pay a large amount of money to her husband for child support and alimony because he doesn't work, the judge ordered that he was accustomed to not working.? He periodically tries to get full custody - right now it is 50/50.? She often goes into high debt for attorneys and has already claimed bankruptcy. ? (He is a musician and works under the table.? She cannot afford a PI to prove it.)? He is able to take their daughter out to dinner, buy her new clothes, and take her on trips (with her money) while her mother must work harder to buy baloney sandwiches or whatever else is cheap just to put food on the table.
Another friend is in a custody fight because she doesn't work.? The judge ordered that she should work!? She has proven abuse from the husband and child services even got involved when he threatened to kidnap her and take her out of the country - but that didn't sway the judge any.? In this case, he was found to be living a double life, he even owned a business that she didn't know about it!? (This was even proven in court, in California where the laws are supposed to be 50/50 ownership!)? The judge knew this and still will barely give her any money for support or alimony.? The husband ties her up in court and she cannot afford attorneys to fight so she relies on public defense which seems to be no help.?
There seems to be no common sense, no standards, no thoughts or concern for the child.? I believe it is important for the child to see that both mother and father are able to survive and support themselves.? In the above scenarios, even though the spouses work hard to pay what they are supposed to, the child sees this parent as a "loser" or "deadbeat" because the other can afford to live in a nice place, to do things, to buy clothes - regardless of the fact that the "poor" spouse is paying for these niceties.? I am not divorced - but these people are friends and it seems too often that the rulings are unreasonable and lopsided.? It really makes me mad that our judicial system leaves power of all of these people's lives in the hands of judges that may have legal experience behind them, but no sense.? Just my observations.
As in many areas of family law, the standard applied by the Court in making an initial award of physical custody is the so-called "best interest of the child" standard. This standard requires findings by the Court with respect to all relevant factors, including the following factors enumerated by statute.1 NO SINGLE FACTOR IS CONTROLLING:
1.
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Want to put some extra cash in your pocket? If you are brainstorming for ways to improve your income, read on for six ways to make money. Some of these methods are more conventional than others, some requires more effort, some more time, still others more risk. All of them, however, will bump up your top-line.
Brings the phrase "blood money" to a whole new level, doesn't it? If you are squeamish about needles or faint at the sight of blood, this might not be for you. Otherwise, plasma donation can be a quick way to make some money and provide a public health service. Plasma is the liquid part of your blood (without the red and white blood cells) that is often used in research and to make drug therapies. People with rare and chronic diseases such as hemophilia or von Willebrand disease may need plasma proteins to replace the proteins they lack. You will be compensated for your plasma at $20 to $30 per container, depending on your and the clinic. If you donate plasma twice a week, that would be over $200 a month in change. (Check here for a list of s.) Although donating plasma is not as lucrative as say, donating eggs or participating in medical trials (see below), it is much less invasive.
If you live in or near a big city or tourist destination, and you have room to spare, plenty of people will be willing to pay you for it. Do you have a cool condo overlooking the beach in Santa Monica? Or a 2-bedroom fit for a family in the Big Apple? Take advantage of them! A one bedroom with a shared bath in Boston can rent for more than $100 a night. Rent out your room just 3-4 nights a month, and that is a cool $300+ in your pocket (minus any fees you incur, of course). True, you will have to sacrifice some convenience / privacy, and you'd probably be spending some time and money making sure the sheets are clean (so you can get good reviews!). But many people are still happy playing (paid) hosts and hostesses. In addition to the monetary rewards, you get to meet interesting people from all across the country - and you might even make a few new friends. For an added level of protection, go through websites such as AirBnB and Crashpadder - they provide listing and payment transaction services to room-seekers and room-providers.
Along a similar vein, you can also rent out your garage for storage or your parking spot. If you live in an area with very limited parking and you don't have a car, or you are willing to partake in the excitement of street parking, a rented out parking spot can go for $100-$300 a month depending on your .
If you have some time during the day (especially good for college students or workers with a flexible schedule), why not start a personal concierge business? Miss T includes this in her list of tips to make extra cash. Many harried 9-5ers would be willing to pay for someone else to take care of daily life's annoying "to-do" list. Whether its picking up a busy mom's kids from elementary school, taking the car in for an oil change, shopping from the grocery list, or standing in line at the Consulate, chances are some people are willing to pay you for it. If you can run errands on your own, you don't have to share your fees with a service. If you'd like access to a bigger group of clients, though, check out sites such as TaskRabbit.
Where else are you going to receive free medical attention, be on the forefront of medicine, and get paid to boot? Of course, before you undertake this step, be sure you are very clear on how the process is run and the risks and benefits of participation. Not for the fainthearted, the uninformed or the risk-averse, paid clinical trials are nonetheless a way for people to earn from $100 to up to several thousand dollars for their efforts, while they help scientist discover new drugs and therapies. You can find clinics that are running trials at ClinicalConnection.com.
Everyone has an opinion, and if you join a market research panel or participate in online surveys, you will get paid for yours. Focus groups range from $20 to $70 dollars per hour of work. Online surveys pay less, but a $3 survey here and there may still be worth it. See an earlier post I wrote on focus groups for more information and best places to find paid groups.
If you are making a trip, say, from Los Angeles to San Francisco, there may be people who are eager to join you. If you are willing to take on a few seatmates, you can recoup the cost of your gas and make a little bit of extra cash along the way.
Get paid to shop? It sounds almost too good to be true, right? Not if you become a mystery shopper! Companies employ mystery shoppers to gauge the customer service / product quality from their stores or restaurants. For example, you may be asked to go to a consumer electronics store and act as if you were a customer interested in a big-screen TV. You may have a specific list of questions to ask. After the trip, you will fill out a survey and rate your experience. After you submit the form within the required time frame (often just several hours after the mystery shop excursion), you will be eligible to be paid in 6-8 weeks. Little Miss Moneybags, who has consistently worked as a mystery shopper for four years, wrote an in-depth field guide to mystery shopping. As Little Miss Moneybags notes, mystery shopping is not easy money - the payments takes up to six weeks to process, the surveys are very detailed, and good opportunities go fast. For the right person (detailed-oriented, organized, living in a larger metropolitan area), however, it can be a fun source of additional income. See also Mystery Shopping Providers Association for more information. One note of caution: do not pay money to join a mystery shopping company or pay for an "exclusive list of opportunities." Places that require you to pay to join are scams.
What unconventional money-making method have you tried before?
http://wellheeledblog.com http://twitter.com/wellheeledblog Savvy Living Through Personal Finance
Physical custody is the right and responsibility to provide a child's primary residence.
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I don't get why Gretchen ended up in 2nd place. I wanted the judges to ask the model to take off the jacket so we could also see just what the heck that blouse was (because it certainly didn't go with the outfit). And the skirt -- chevrons or not -- was still just tinsel wrapped around a body. I liked her jacket, but that was about it. I thought some of the other designers, like Christopher, had better overall looks.
Anyway, I enjoyed reading your post. It's fun to re-hash these episodes with someone! I look forward to reading your take on next week...
Montana's statute on parent re is section 40-4-217, notice of intent to move says:
(1) A parent who intends to change residence shall, unless precluded under ?40-4-234 (final parenting plan criteria), provide written notice to the other parent.(2) If a parent's change in residence will significantly affect the child's contact with the other parent, notice musread more
Physical custody is the right and responsibility to provide a child's primary residence.
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High conflict family law cases involve custody and visitation issues long after divorce. "[M]isplaced and escalating personal and spousal conflicts of divorcing couples"* fuel these cases.
High conflict cases can be extremely frustrating for professionals because the conflict is chronic, susceptible to flare-ups, and often irrational.
read more
Montana's statute on parent re is section 40-4-217, notice of intent to move says:
(1) A parent who intends to change residence shall, unless precluded under ?40-4-234 (final parenting plan criteria), provide written notice to the other parent.(2) If a parent's change in residence will significantly affect the child's contact with the other parent, notice mustread more
Who inspires you? Do you have a hero, whether fictional or real? If you could be anyone, living or dead, who would it be?
This week, I have to credit Netflix for forcing me to closely consider my own heroines. I don?t own a television and Netflix has saved me from the horror of reality TV, commercials and faux news.? Adventure, Romance, Drama, Sci-Fi and Fantasy all on demand, for just $15.99/month, and a thousand times more satisfying than my defunct online dating subscription.
Lately I"ve been drawn into various series"and this is where the confession part comes in this week?first, there was Charmed, then there was The No. 1 Ladies? Detective Agency, then Legend of the Seeker (don?t knock it until you?ve watched at least 3 episodes), then Weeds, and while I wait for the sixth season, finally, the Tudors. ?Watching the Tudors is like having passion bottled up in a bottle. You uncork the bottle for a little whiff (I"ve been pacing myself and rewarding myself with an episode after I get some task accomplished), and you"re hit with a heady onslaught of delicious goodness.
The series has been accused of taking more than a few liberties with history, but frankly, with the riveting acting by Jonathan Rhys Meyers as a seemingly bipolar Henry VIII, Peter O"Toole as Pope Paul III, Jeremy Northam as Sir Thomas More, and Maria Doyle Kennedy as Catherine of Aragon, I"m not sure how much exact historical accuracy matters.? I love the drama?the political intrigues, the backdrop of the Reformation, the sex, even the torture scenes"all of it keeps me on the edge. ?The series is so good that I"m torn between going back to watch old episodes again and pressing forward.
I recently watched the episode where Anne Boleyn gets beheaded. The one thought that always stands out for me after watching each and every episode is the fact that women back in the day had it ROUGH.? In the Tudors, we are taken through the lives of Henry VIII?s six wives. They are, in order:
1. Catherine of Aragon;
2. Anne Boleyn;
3. Jane Seymour;
4. Anne of Cleves;
5. Catherine Howard; and
6. Catherine Parr.
Like I said, I"m only up to wife number two.? What is striking to me is that status didn"t matter"married, single, royal or "commoner""anyway you slice it, being a woman back in the day sucked big time. But even though all women had it bad, single women always seemed to have it worse. Single women, across cultures, whether widowed, or never married in the first place, have been stoned, drowned, burned at the stake, sexually assaulted, forced into prostitution, or otherwise left destitute to lead lives of poverty. Which got me to thinking.
Could I name history"s most famous single women"
Women who bucked societal pressure and chose to remain single despite the obvious and very real aforementioned risks (drowning, burning, poverty) and still came out on top? Women who may have died single, but elected to go out on their own terms?
I could only come up with a few, but I decided that I wanted to come up with my own list and include women of the present day. I hope that you will help me add to this list as time goes on, but for now, I"ve compiled my short list of heroines. ?To me, they represent the best of what single women can be.? Unlike the prevailing myths of nasty single women (think the "evil" old witch in Hansel and Gretel, the Wicked Witch of the West in the Wizard of Oz, and countless others), living life as a single woman is not a death sentence and should not be associated with violence, greed and soullessness. (Incidentally, I did try to come up with popular portrayals of nasty single men in fairytales and myths"the only one who sprang immediately to mind was?Gargamel.)
By choosing not to marry, a single woman is not consigning herself to a lonely death surrounded by cats.
Read that again and believe it. Repeat it twenty times or as many times as necessary until it sticks. And never let those words ever cross your lips again. Don?t even think them. ?Even negative thoughts have power.
I"m not knocking marriage. (I'll save that for a later post.) ?I"m sure it?s a very worthy institution.? And maybe I?ll even head down that road myself one day.? Who knows?? All I?m saying is that choosing not to get married, whether a temporary position or a more permanent choice, is an option that is just as ok for the ladies as it is for men. Not exactly revolutionary I know, but it?s a message that doesn"t seem to come across as loudly and clearly in the media. I"m tired of seeing the statistics that conveniently get trotted out to tell single women that remaining unmarried and/or not having children increases your risks 100-fold of dying in poverty, getting cancer, or being struck by lightning.
It"s certainly A-Ok to be a single man past the age of 40. ?Older "bachelors" get to date beautiful women half their age, romp around without a care in the world and live as they please (George Clooney,?Jack Nicholson, I"m looking at you).? We don?t judge them.? We think they?re cool. ?At least some people do.? What do women of the same age get to be? Spinsters. Cougars. ?Like chasing a man is the only possible endeavor of a woman past a certain age.? And women who choose not to have children? Don"t get me started.? Before I descend into full-blown rant, I"ll pull up.
I issued a challenge to myself.
Come up with a list of single (as in never married) women who challenge and inspire. Women who have looked tradition in the eye and then thumbed their noses. Women whose achievements were hard-won and arguably may not have risen to the top in the same way had they been married. ?Here?s my list. I challenge you to create your own.
Top 10 Single Women Who Inspire?
10?????????? Susan B. Anthony
(1820-1906) Pioneering civil rights leader who fought tirelessly for equal rights for women.? She never married, but when a leading publicist told her he thought she would make a wonderful mother, she used the opportunity to comment on the unfairness of inheritance laws as they related to child custody: "I thank you, sir, for what I take to be the highest compliment, but sweeter even than to have had the joy of caring for children of my own has it been to me to help bring about a better state of things for mothers generally, so that their unborn little ones could not be?willed away from them." She died 14 years before the passage of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution which gave women the right to vote.
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9 ???????????? Rachel Carson
(1907-1964) American Marine biologist and best-selling author usually credited with helping to bring attention to conservation issues and advancing the environmental movement globally.? Out of the grassroots movement inspired by one of her books, the Environmental Protection Agency was born, and she is also remembered specifically for her participation in the campaign to ban the use of DDT in the United States. She never married.
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8????????????? Maureen Dowd
(1952-Present) Pulitzer Prize winning, best-selling author and New York Times columnist who is brave enough to shout down Rush Limbaugh and other misogynistic men in politics who talk out of one side of their mouths about family values then disgust us with their affairs and hypocrisy while others sit meekly by and let them. ?Any woman who has the hutzpah to write a book entitled "Are Men Necessary"" in today"s politically correct world is a hero in my book.
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7????????????? Oprah Winfrey
(1954-Present) American television host, producer and philanthropist known world-wide just as "Oprah." According to Forbes, as of September 2009, she is worth over $2.3 billion and is the richest self-made woman in America.? I"m not sure this one needs any further comment. She has never married, but has a long-term partner, Stedman Graham. But Stedman didn?t make Oprah. Oprah made Oprah. Love her or hate her, she"s still got more money than you do and is living life on her terms.
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6????????????? Florence Nightingale
(1820-1910) Famous English nurse, writer and statistician who bucked societal rules regarding the role of women of high social standing.? Choosing not to become a wife and mother, she instead educated herself in the art and science of nursing in spite of opposition from her family.? She received several proposals but chose not to marry. After refusing one offer of marriage, she confided, "I have a moral, an active nature which requires satisfaction and that I would not find in his life. I could be satisfied to spend a life with him in combining our different powers to some great object. I could not satisfy this nature by spending a life with him in making society and arranging domestic things."
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5????????????? Joan of Arc
(1412-1431) A national heroine in France. At age 17, believing herself to be divinely and personally graced by God, she shunned traditional gender roles and actually suited up in military garb and led French troops to victory in the famous Battle of Orlans during the Hundred Years? War. Two years later she was captured by the English, convicted of heresy and burned at the stake. She was canonized by the Roman Catholic Church as a saint in 1920.
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4????????????? Sojourner Truth
(1797-1893) Born into slavery in New York as Isabella or "Belle" Baumfree, later self-identified as "Sojourner Truth.?? Sold with sheep at age 9 for $100, but later escaped. ?Suffered many hardships but several victories as well, and eventually became a famous abolitionist and women"s rights activist.
(1910-1997) A Catholic nun of Albanian descent, Mother Teresa served the poor, the sick, orphans and outcasts for over 45 years in Calcutta, India, and in other parts of the world as well.? She won a Nobel Peace Prize for her humanitarian efforts and is known throughout the world as a symbol of compassion and grace.? When Mother Teresa received the prize, she was asked, "What can we do to promote world peace"" She answered ?Go home and love your family."
2????????????? Elizabeth I
(1533-1603) Also known as the "Virgin Queen,? Queen Elizabeth"s mother, Anne Bolelyn was beheaded by her father, Henry VIII. Although she had several suitors, she never married.? I think I can guess why. ?Talk about trust issues. ?During the "Elizabethan" era, William Shakespeare and other prominent playwrights experienced their heyday.? Elizabeth was the last and longest-reigning monarch in the English Tudor dynasty, ruling for 45 years. During her reign, England became a substantial power in Europe, defeating Spain"s Armada and spreading English influence around the world through exploration. Repeatedly asked by Parliament to marry in order to produce an heir, she steadfastly refused saying, ?If I follow the inclination of my nature, it is this: beggar-woman and single, far rather than queen and married."
1????????????? Jane Austen
(1775-1817) Much beloved English novelist who wrote Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Northanger Abbey, Emma, Persuasion and Mansfield Park, among other notable works. Her writing is known for its humorous, but biting social and moral commentary.? She wrote extensively of romance and love but never married herself. Ironic. A favorite quote: "Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance."?She is without a doubt, my hero of heroes. I love her.
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Honorable Mentions
Actor: Greta Garbo, Diane Keaton
Asked if there's a reason she never married, Keaton puts the blame on herself. ?"The problem was maybe I wasn't right. I wasn't really prepared to be a reasonable person."
Artist: Mary Cassat
Author: Louisa May Alcott, Emily Dickinson
Historical: Helen Keller, Rosalind Franklin
Who did I miss? Who would you add to the list" Send me your suggestions and I"ll keep adding names. In the meantime, look to Lady Liberty and keep those torches raised.
One of the reasons I'm happy I'm not famous is the constant harassment of the paparazzi. They just will not stop until they get you to answer questions that are very private sometimes.
Being criticized if you either lose or gain weight. Pictures of you years ago and presently, looking maybe a little fatter, but that's the way one's body is!
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