Real Men and Lava Soap

When it comes right down to it, the type of soap you use has nothing to do with whether you’re a real man or not. Unless of course, you’ve been using Oil of Olay or any type of bath bar. In which case, you should seriously reconsider.

With that said, I’ve noticed a lot of television commercials for men’s soap recently (with the Old Spice ones clearly dominating the field) and so I thought I’d throw in my own two-cents on the subject. After all, if a real man is supposed to be comfortable in his own skin, shouldn’t we try to make our own skin comfortable?

Lava soap is, as M.C. Hammer might say, “Too legit to quit.” I mean, just look at the packaging. It’s simple and practical. It’s red, black, white (all very masculine colors) and it has a picture of a mountain in the background. And it’s not some mamby pamby pristine mountain top either. It’s a volcano. A volcano that could, at any given moment, violently explode without warning spewing tons of ash and fire into the atmosphere grounding all of the flights in Europe for over a week. And that’s just the packaging.

When I tear into a bar of Lava soap, I never cease to be amazed at the beauty and simplicity of these little green bars of manliness. I mean, sure, it’s just a bar of soap. But this is no ordinary soap. As the packaging says, it’s PUMICE POWERED! I like to refer to it as scruffy soap.

It’s the kind of soap that you instantly know can manhandle any amount of dirt or grease on your person at any time. Axel grease, no problem. Manure, easy. Motor oil, piece of cake.

It’s the kind of soap that a woman would only use on the heals of her feet. Don’t even try using it on a child unless you want to be ridden with guilt over the pain and anguish you’ll inevitably inflict on their tender young skin.

This is man soap. Lever 2000 may be good for all your 2000 body parts, but there’s a reason they call it LEVER and that’s because it LEAVES dirt and grime behind. Not Lava. Lava will literally scrape everything off that Lever leaves behind, including the top layer of your skin if you’ve been pampering it with Olay or some other ladies bath bar.

If you’re already using Irish Springs, Ivory, Zest, or some other gender-neutral soap product, please don’t hear me saying you have to go out and switch to Lava in order to be a real man. However, if you find yourself in the market for a new type of soap at any point in the near future, let me encourage you to give Lava a try. You won’t regret it (Unless of course you’re a baby, in which case you will regret it because it will make you cry. Then again, if you’re a baby, you’re probably not buying soap for yourself yet).

If you’re not convinced yet, perhaps the ultimate stamp of approval for Lava soap is this: it’s the only soap I know of that is regularly sold in hardware stores.

Lava soap… it’s pumice powered, so you know it’s good.

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Reframing Your Problems in 2011

Nosy neighbor? Gossipy comrades?

As you prepare to enter your New Year I wonder…are there people in your life who drive you crazy? Can you count on them to continue to do or say the same ridiculous, lame or annoying things over and over?  Do they grate on your nerves so much that you go out of your way to avoid them even though you know that keeping a connection with them would be better for you or your family?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, then it might be time for you to become a reframing expert this year.  The word “reframing” is used in relation to several different conceptual areas (math, problem solving, dealing with people, education, etc.).  I am specifically writing today, however, about how we see, understand, perceive and “know” people.  Human beings can really get into deep ruts with how they perceive people.  Sometimes these ruts feel or seem so deep that we give up.  We quit hoping that the “problem” person will change.  Rather, our solution is to put up with, avoid, or hurry through interactions with them.

However, reframing might be just the step stool you needed in order to get out of those ruts…and stay out. So, what are reframes?

Anthony Robbins wrote, “A signal has meaning only in the frame or context in which we perceive it. And although Tony Robbins is known for his powerful presentations on dealing with people, and implementing reframes, he wasn’t the first person to really articulate techniques for changing the games people play.  Therapists such as Virginia Satir and Milton Erickson are generally credited with defining them first when it comes to dealing with people.  Reframes are renaming, or “re-framing” ideas about people in positive ways that were generally seen as negative. When someone hears a reframe, their brain almost does a double-take.  In other words, it gives the people involved a chance to step back, take advantage of how things were shaken up, and redefine the “meaning in which we perceive” them or their behavior.  The trick is…if the problem is perceived negatively, the reframe must always be implemented with a positive approach. To reframe one negative into another does no one any good.

Here are a few examples to help you understand specifically what this might look like.  You might recognize some people in your own life, and that is good too because you can begin practicing right now!

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One Voice of the Oklahoma Prairie

Editor’s Note:  Julie at the Ranch is, as we speak, somewhere in northwestern Oklahoma enjoying some time with friends.  Incidentally, she and I will be driving to south-central and northwestern Oklahoma tomorrow.  We’ll check in from time to time with information about what we found.  We’ll be talking to people, seeing places, and working on developing the RDC just a bit more. In the meantime, please accept this post as a substitute for her regular, “Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch” work. ~ RDK

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My grandmother Emma Lee, present day. I think she looks pretty good for someone who is 88 years old.

On November 13th of this year, I posted a short “Simple Sabbath” entry and described a project I had been working on for a while.  It entailed typing up my grandmother’s handwritten memoirs she recorded over a period of about twenty-two years in order for us to have a sense of our family history from her perspective.  I finished the first draft and provided her a spiral-bound copy for a Christmas present.  She will be reviewing the draft for any inaccuracies and then I’m going to go over it with an editorial eye for the final draft.  I asked her permission to begin sharing some of her memories with you, our RDC reading community, and she replied, “Oh yes, of course, honey.  That’s fine.”

And so, with that permission tucked away in my head, here is the beginning entry of her work.  I plan on publishing an excerpt on Tuesday evenings as a follow up to Julie’s posts.  I haven’t decided whether or not they will come out weekly or bi-weekly.  One more note…my grandmother wrote just like she talked.  I may keep much of this style intact, so if you see very few periods or commas, you’ll understand why.  Thanks, Kelly

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One Voice of the Oklahoma Prairie:  My Grandmother’s Memoirs

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RDC Contributors Christmas Questions & Answers

In the spirit of having a little Christmas fun and introducing you to our authors in a different way, Joey prepared five Christmas questions for our contributors to answer.  This was a last minute effort so not all of them are represented, but you’ll get to know a few of them just a bit more. If you can’t recall who is writing the answers, just check out the Contributor section on the front page navigation.  If you “hover” your mouse over the photos, you can then click any of the information about them, including a locator link for their work.  Enjoy the banter…enjoy the Day!

1. What is your favorite Christmas song?

Julie-Christmas music drives me insane unless it’s Bruce Springsteen or something else from A Very Special Christmas.

Jani-“Here Comes Santa Claus” by Gene Autry

Whitni- Carol of the Bells

Kendy-  I never met a Christmas song I didn’t like, but I think I’m partial to “O Holy Night.”

Kelly- Bing Crosby’s “It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas,” played on a record player with a slightly scratchy quality.

Jennifer-My favorite Christmas song is “O Holy Night” by Martina McBride. That girl has some pipes!

Joey- I have a lot of favorites, for the past few years though I think “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” as sung by Barenaked Ladies has been my favorite. I love songs that tell the Christmas story in them.

Rob- O Come, O Come Emmanuel – maybe not mainstream, but my favorite hymn.  If this isn’t sung at Christmas Eve service, I’m very disappointed.

2. What is your favorite family Christmas tradition?

Julie- We play Bingo with a theme of gifts up for grabs. The Wine Gift theme was especially fun.

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Showcasing Red Dirt culture ~ authored and managed by contributors with connections to the great state of Oklahoma.