Chic Galleria » Jamie Wheeler

So.Boo Handbags Fit Your Personality

Jamie Wheeler — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 07:01:00 +0000

There are two reasons why you need a So.Boo handbag. First, most of us do not have the means to spend what equates to a mortgage payment on a purse. Secondly, you want a bag that fits your personality. And you would prefer that this combination of affordability and style not be at the expense of some poor child in a third world country.

Meet Julia Jackson, the one-woman wonder who designs and makes each custom-ordered handbag to your specifications. Not only do you get to choose your outer fabric, but also the lining, handles or straps, and even a touch of “bling” if your heart desires. (As an added surprise, if you’d like, Julia will add a special surprise touch of her own to add to your bag’s unique appeal.)

Even more amazing than her creations are the prices she asks for each of these customized bags and the quick delivery of your order. Prices range from about $50 to $200 dollars. Turn-around time typically runs between three to seven days.

These are two of Julia’s most requested styles:

The “Nina” Style is a smaller bag with evening functions in mind.

The “Beverly” Style is sure to become one of your favorite daily bags… big enough to carry all of your essentials (and then some) and it is a wonderful way to go from the office straight to a night on the town.

Here is a bit of background on Julia and her company. Julia began her business five years ago, making bags here and there for friends who admired her eye and craftsmanship. As her reputation grew by word of mouth, so too did her business. Two years ago, she left the real estate business to focus on So.Boo Bags full time.

What does So.Boo mean? “Boo” is Julia’s childhood nickname (and still is to this day with her closest family and friends). When people saw her bags, they could see her personality. Soon friends were calling her creations “so Boo” and the name stuck.

Friends and family are not the only ones who admire Julia’s lovely work. Her bags have been snapped up at charity auctions, including benefits for the Kidney Texas, Inc. and the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

Still not convinced that you need a So.Boo bag? Well, the testimonials are almost as numerous as her exclusive designs. Says Amy S.:

“Not only are So.Boo Bags unique and sassy, but so is their creator Julia Jackson. She’s an absolute dream to work with. Julia keeps you involved to ensure you get exactly what you want. Each design is fun yet functional and the workmanship is outstanding. My only issue is trying to choose which of the original designs and delicious fabrics will be my next purchase. I currently own nine of these fun, funky bags and am very excited about expanding my collection.”

So… now the only question is: What are you waiting for? Visit Julia’s So.Boo website to see more of her work or give her a call at 214.205.2457.

Riding Center Boosts Confidence In Autistic Kids

Jamie Wheeler — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 10:35:00 +0000

“It’s Thursday! It’s Thursday!”

My daughter jumps out of bed. She flings open her dresser drawer and finds her special riding pants and SpiritHorse t-shirt. Most mornings are difficult: battles with clothes, eating breakfast, going to school. But not on Thursdays.

Austen has autism. She began taking lessons at SpiritHorse Therapeutic Riding Center in Corinth, Texas about two years ago. We had heard that studies show autistic children are able to create a special bond with horses where other therapies have failed. I am happy to report that this is true in our case.

The first lesson was difficult. The horses scared her and she began to yell and scream as we walked towards the stables. Novelty of any kind for people with autism can be challenging. Temple Grandin, probably the world’s foremost authority on autism and an autistic herself, describes the fear associated with new experiences in her article, “Thinking the Way Animals Do”:

Fear is the main emotion in autism and it is also the main emotion in prey animals such as horses and cattle. Things that scare horses and cattle also scare children with autism. Any little thing that looks out of place, such as a piece of paper blowing i n the wind, may cause fear. Objects that make sudden movements are the most fear-provoking. In the wild, sudden movement is feared because predators make sudden movements.

People with autism have emotions, but they are simpler and more like the emotions of a vigilant prey species animal. Fear is the main emotion in a prey species animal because it motivates the animal to flee from predators. The fear circuits in an animal’s brain have been mapped by neuroscientists. When an animal forms a fear memory, it is located in the amygdala, which is in the lower, primitive part of the brain. J.E. LeDoux and M. Davis have discovered that fear memories cannot be erased from the brain. This is why it is so important to prevent the formation of fear memories associated with riding, trailering, etc.

Rachel, our instructor, was not fazed by the tantrum. She introduced Austen to Gracie, her horse. She was shown how to get her own saddle blanket and saddle, and how to put on her vest and helmet. Our first ride was brief but she did it! I could see the pride of accomplishment in her eyes. My little 65-pound girl was able to control a big ol’ horse.

Each week, I watch Austen’s confidence improve. She practices her “points” at home. She loves to trot more than anything in the world. The benefits of her boost in confidence have improved her social interaction in immeasurable ways. Since she has been attending SpiritHorse, Austen speaks more relevantly and coherently. She tantrums less often and is more socially appropriate. Every Thursday is a happy day!

Very Naughty Things and How to Do Them

Jamie Wheeler — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 07:07:00 +0000

“I only have eyes for you, Scott McClellan.”

My favorite show, hands-down, is NPR’s Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me. I mean, where else would you hear Former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan playing a game called, “You’re a Diminutive, Gay, Alcoholic Genius and Gossip Addict” and asked three questions about the famed gossip, writer Truman Capote. (McClellan got a perfect score, by the way, which led host Peter Sagal to wonder why two other White House Press Secretaries, Dana Perino and Tony Snow, who had previously appeared on the show, failed the quiz. Sagal offered the explanation that perhaps, “once you leave the White House, suddenly you can see the truth.”)

I felt that little NPR-listener geek rush when CBS News Sunday Morning featured a story on my favorite radio show. I mean, I was glad to have Wait, Wait get some much deserved recognition, but also felt like too many people were getting in on my “secret.” That is, until I realized that most God-fearing people were a) in church on Sunday morning b) think that NPR is funded by Satan. Secret…safe!

All the drivel above is prelude to my thoughts on the host of Wait, Wait Peter Sagal’s relatively new book called, appropriately, The Book of Vice: Very Naughty Things and How to Do Them.

Sagal, often with the consent or participation of his wife, set out to experience the Seven Deadly Sins first hand, or at least be there to record the activities of the imbibers of each sin. I would like to say it was shocking and surprising but as a regular listener to Howard Stern, it was all pretty ho-hum. (And you can just get off your high horses, all you NPR snobs out there that were with me thus far! Ira Glass of This American Life is also a Howard fan and even admits to stealing some ideas from the show. Like the who-has-the-highest-testosterone-level-in-the-office contest. Remember that?)

Sadly, there wasn’t too much to shock me in Sagal’s book. I read it a few months ago and don’t truly recall very much…except one thing. This has got to be the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard of, and remember, I’m an NPR listener, which means that I am frequently forced into situations with wine snobs who are convinced they can taste such things in wine like the composition of the soil the grapes were grown in. (This theory even has a snotty French name, “terroir“.) Their frowny faces will then either a) decry the presence of asparagus or b) laud the faint nuances of lamb chops, or, perhaps, c) insist that there is a subtle essence of butterflies around the rim. I don’ t know. I taste “red” and “white” and look around for more.

Again, I digress. The most memorable part of Sagal’s foray into vices, for my money, ($18.95), has got to be “microfood.” That’s right. Small. Food. Very small food. The consumption of which is called “molecular gastronomy.”

Here are a couple of quotes in Sagal’s book from superstar micro-chef Grant Achatz, “We simply micro-plane matsutake mushrooms over the cracker and arrange various herbs throughout” (56) and “Surface area exposure to flavonoids is increased in liquid state due to coverage, but dissipates faster due to dilution and consumption” (59). Wow. That is lot of bullshit packed onto a cracker.

Me, I’ll be over here reading Gulliver’s Travels and drinking cheap wine. No butterflies were harmed in the production of this column.

The REAL Toy Story

Jamie Wheeler — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 08:30:00 +0000

I hate shopping. Somehow I am missing that particular female gene. When forced, I make most of my purchases online, which includes children’s presents. This activity generates much unwanted print solicitations in my mailbox. Not only do I get the usual glut of Toys Sure “R” Expensive (as Dave Barry says) glossies, but also the brain-boosting-all-soy-earth-friendly non-denominational offerings on recycled (allegedly) paper since I’m one of those granola-eating-hiking types.

My kids’ birthdays are coming up, and the toy catalogs are arriving like the plague. Funny that two such catalogs should arrive today because on Sunday I picked up Eric Clark’s investigative study, The Real Toy Story. The subtitle “ruthless battle” is no exaggeration.

Getting you to fork over a sawbuck for a doll that looks like a street walker on acid or to pay five dollars for a pack of what essentially are six bubble gum card (sans gum, I might add) in hopes of perhaps getting the elusive Blue Eyes White Dragon (but, of course, getting at least another three Dark Magicians) is no easy task.

Sorry to be a grinch, but here are a few of the startling statistics:

Half the 40,000 commercials the average child views a year are for toys. (I read to my kids every day but it’s pretty hard to compete with that number.)

Just two companies and three retailers control most of the world’s toys — determining what is hot and what’s not.

Although fewer than 4 percent of the world’s children are American, American children consume more than 40 percent of the world’s toys.

3.6 billion toys are purchased each year: 76 million dolls, 349 million plush toys, *125 million action figures (*of which my personal home has approximately 120 million), and 279 million *Hot Wheels (*hard to say no when the damn things are less than a buck each.)

If you are thinking you’ll quit your lousy job because,dagnabbit, (by the way, any time you say “dagnabbit” out loud you should be concerned), because, by golly (time for the meds), you have the best idea since the hoola hoop, think again. The reality is that “fewer than one in 100 new products is licensed from an inventor.” Now, granted, I’m no mathematician, but isn’t that, um, zero? The chances of your product “hitting” are about as great as teachers getting paid what they are worth. Grim, huh?

It’s not all bad, of course. Toys are fun, after all. I enjoyed reading about the different prototypes. I am truly hoping a new game called Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire. The game “is basically a lie detector game for kids. A palm-sized device is strapped to fingertips and measures blood flow and skin responses to such questions as “Have you ever farted in the bathtub?” For this, I will pay top dollar.

Loneliness: Human Nature & Social Connection

Jamie Wheeler — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 07:01:00 +0000

Valentine’s Day has come and gone. For many people, the holiday is not a time of celebration but a depressing reminder of loneliness. Unfortunately, for thousand of people loneliness is feeling that can go on long after the roses of other lovers have wilted.

A new book examines how loneliness affects human beings both psychologically and physically, Loneliness: Human Nature and the Need for Social Connection by John T. Cacioppo and Walter Patrick

First, the authors provide a definition of loneliness. Loneliness is the perception that you are isolated from others. It has little to do with the frequency of contact.

A lonely person can be surrounded by friends, family, or be on a team. Again, it is the perception of feeling that you don’t belong or are not embraced that makes people lonely. People who descend into chronic loneliness feel empty and threatened; they often perceive interaction with others as dangerous.

While loneliness is obviously detrimental to the psyche, a surprising finding of the study was the measurable physical affects of loneliness. Even short periods of feeling lonely triggers vascular resistance which can result in high blood pressure.

Interestingly, how lonely one feels in the evening radically affects cortisol levels in the morning (cortisol is commonly known as the “stress hormone.” ) When repeatedly released, cortisol bathes cells in its chemical protection. Being in a constant state of stress slows the production of other gene transcripts (endocrine responses), making our bodies less able to react to other input. This chain of events often leads to depression, making it all the harder for the lonely person to free him or herself from their feelings of isolation.

From this study of loneliness, neurologists have determined that our likelihood to become lonely is equally determined by two factors: fifty percent involves one’s heritable tendency toward loneliness. The other fifty percent is the influence of one’s environment.

Cacioppo and Patrick argue that while the internet has brought about great potential for social interaction, computers can be isolating. As evidence, he cites a large social science survey. In 1984, researchers asked people how many confidants they had; the average was three. When the same question was posed in 2004, the answer was zero. It seems that despite our ability to electronically socially network, loneliness has increased, not decreased.

Thankfully, there are several ways to get out of this most unpleasant of emotions. The authors suggest a number of ways to do so. First, he says, concentrate on having between one and three good friends. Four thousand friends on Facebook is no match for one close friend you can actually talk to. Secondly, develop a realistic plan for contact. The UPS man may not be the best choice in the world to pour out your heart to, for example. Make an effort instead, either through social networking websites, phone calls, or other contact, to help you reverse those chemical responses and get you back the road to good health, both mentally and physically.