I read your "corner" message and although most of it just makes sense to women or men drivers, I had to laugh because I happen to have a pretty
flower lei on my rear view mirror and wondered, gee...was he referring to me in any of these points.

The only one I could really say that I may or may not do would be the multilane highway and slower traffic to right. Two points.

Point 1 - For the most part, this is correct. However, if I have just passed a slower moving vehicle than me and there is one coming up shortly (within 20 or 30 seconds), I absolutely won't move over. Once I have passed all the vehicles I need to and there is a big enough distance until the next one, then I will get over. I am not going to worry about the so called "traffic flow". Why would I quickly get over so you can pass and then have to just get over again. Forget it, that's affecting my so called "Traffic flow".

Point 2 - If you tailgate me because I didn't get over quickly enough for you, then I'm not moving at all. I do this alot. I will always get over when I have passed all the vehicles I needed to, but once you start to tailgate me, trying to get me to move over, or move across the yellow line onto the shoulder, because you think I can't see you...game over. I'm not moving. I will wait until you have gone around me and then with a big smile on my face move over. It doesn't matter to me if you're a smart Car or a big truck. Don't think for one minute you can bully me over. I was there first.

Wow, your right...that does feel good to get that off your chest. Hope it wasn't my flower lei you were referring to, but if it was, don't follow so close. And if you have never followed anyone to close, than this won't bother you.

Terri Morgenstern

Hey Terri!
What does Terri stand for? A Terrible Driver?
Yours,
Big Daddy

Hello ladies (Tamara),

Just visiting your lovely country from Austria and stumbled upon your magazine at my friends house (where I am staying). My first reaction was WOW!! What a great idea you (gorgeous) ladies have. The magazine is insightful and funny - nothing quite like it in Austria I must say.

I am not a mother (yet anyway) but I sure can appreciate why mothers would love your magazine. It is cool and smart not the typical mothering magazine, but judging by the way you ladies act and look (went to your website - what a great looking bunch) you are not the typical mothers. Your husbands are very lucky indeed, Canadian women are so beautiful!!

Keep up the quality work - and I'll be sure to check out your site from time to time in Austria.

"Auf Wiedersehen",
Olga VanRasmen

Thanks Olga!
Its always good to hear what our readers have to say! If you're in town for May 3, you may want to come to our re:Treat. It's an afternoon of fun, prizes, food, entertainment...tickets include: facials, mini makeup sessions, food, beer & wine tastings and all of the cool sessions.
Check it out! We'd love to meet you!!

Cheers babe!
Tamara

Kudos to MOM
Hi Tamara:

I just wanted to let you know that I will be featuring your magazine in our April 2008 issue. Good on you! I know producing a magazine is a lot of work.
From the looks of things your hard work is paying off.

Congratulations on your Chamber of Commerce Award as well.

Regards,
Marilyn Jones
www.mediamag.ca

MOM Magazine is awesome!
Hi Tamara,

I just wanted to send in a quick note about *Mom Magazine* and *A-muse.*

You (and your team) are truly an inspiration. I don't know of too many women (or men) that can do what you are doing daily. Raising a family, running 2 companies all the while keeping a sunny attitude and looking great. keep up the excellent work - you probably don't have a ton of male readers, but I have to say I'm a huge fan and I really like that you don't take yourselves too seriously.

The photo galleries and your Blog are really great personal touches - puts faces (and personalities) upfront and centre and really shows everyone how much of a team you really are. Good luck and keep up the good work!

Cheers!!
Al

Cool! Thanks for the feedback!! Our next issue goes to press Monday so it will be available March 14!

As far a sunny attitude goes, I'm sure Big Daddy would disagree! LOL

Thanks again! Keep us posted with any feedback!

Cheers!


Big Daddy's Big Controversy

Dear Ms. Plant,

I received a copy of your magazine to peruse from a friend. I was interested in what it contained and quite impressed with the layout and content; then I turned to "Big Daddy's Corner."

This article, I'm assuming, was meant to be funny. I don't understand why a magazine, whose target market is very obviously women, would include such a sexist, belittling article in one of its issues. How narrow-minded is it to stereotype women in general as bad drivers? I agree there are women who are bad drivers, just as there are men, teenagers, elderly people, and taxi operators (you get my point) who are bad drivers. I am an educated, professional, working mom and I also consider myself to be a very responsible driver. In my opinion, the article inferring that MOST women are bad drivers was simply offensive.

Perhaps "Big Daddy" should refrain from trying to sound intelligent and limit his activities to sitting on the couch with a beer and the TV remote.

Sincerely,
Erin Maiorana

Hi Erin,
Thanks for the feedback. Big Daddy is not for everyone. We get very little negative response regarding his column but we have had some angry women write to us.

He means no harm. If you are married, ask your husband to read the column and give his opinion.

Big Daddy is a regular contributor and we include him because he is funny when take his column with a grain of salt. We don't take ourselves too seriously here at MOM mag and Big Daddy makes us laugh.

It says right in the column that "If you are one of the many skilled lady drivers, this shouldn't bother you"

In your letter you do the exact same thing that Big Daddy does: stereotype men. "Big Daddy should refrain from trying to sound intelligent and limit his activities to sitting on the couch with a beer and the TV remote."

We hope you continue to pick up our magazine - I would love to meet you and hope you come to our MOMs re:Treat. I promise, Big daddy won't be there!!

If you would like to discuss this further, please call me. Also, for future reference, you can contact Big Daddy directly at: bigdaddy@mommagazine.ca

Cheers!
Tamara

My name is Lorena Smalley and my company is Little Bums, Fingers and Toes Photography. I recently receive the latest issue of Mom Magazine and to be honest I was surprised and offended by some of the content in this issue.

I am curious why the ad on page 12 needed the headline "Super Hot Sex" and why the write up had to be so specific outlining the "saucier side of sex". Do you really need to add a comment like "Learn about vibrators, massage, oral sex and masturbation"? I am not a prude by any means but I think this ad went too far. What would happen if my 8-year-old son read this ad and wanted to know what these words meant?

I was also really offended by the article "Give him the gift of silence". This little write up made women sound like blubbering airheads. It certainly does not flatter the Woman, Wife, Friend, Mentor or Goddess you are trying to reach.

I have shown these 2 articles to a number of my friends to see if they felt I was overreacting. They agreed with my reaction and all asked me the same question... is this magazine something I want my business associated with. One of my friends commented "This is a magazine for women written by women? You would never know it."

This is not the first time Mom Magazine has pushed the limits with the content. The motorcycle ad in your first issue pushed the limit with the sexual innuendos. Were they really necessary?

I realize that this is a new magazine and you are probably still trying to decide on your focus. Do you want Mom Magazine to be a magazine that moms will need to make sure they keep out of reach of their children?

Lorena Smalley

Hi Lorena,
First and foremost, our content is not meant to offend anyone however it does happen occasionally.

I think you will find that happens with almost any magazine - whether you see something you disagree with or something you find offensive. MOM Magazine is not a parenting magazine, we have never claimed to be. It is a magazine about women reconnecting with their inner goddess. A fact of life is that if you are a mom, chances are you have had sex. We like to empower and educate women who may not be comfortable with sexuality yet reach out to the moms who are comfortable with the topic of sex. The words masturbation, vibrators and oral sex are not in any way, shape or form raunchy. They are words highschools use to teach sex ed.

The Gift of Silence - like most of our content - is meant to be fun. Women DO tend to talk a lot.

I do appreciate your feedback and concerns however I stand by our choices for editorial content.

We have had a mixture of praise and "tsk tsk" from women of all ages - surprisingly, even to me, the praise seems to come from older women who are tired of the PC mags for women that only discuss ways to keep your windows clean and your kids in line.

Regards, Tamara

Congratulations on another GREAT issue!

When I get the e-mail alert that the latest Mom Magazine is on it's way, I put the drop date on my phone planner with an alarm so I can grab it the first day it comes out! I wanted to write to say how much I appreciated the MEO article. I'm actually launching my own small web-based business in a few weeks and the MEO article was incredibly inspiring. Your magazine is a real treasure! I'm already looking forward to the next one! Take care.
Nerissa McNaughton

Kickin' Breast Cancer's Ass!

I wanted to respond the the above mentioned article. Tammy Mattiello seems to have pretty much the same story as my spouse, Lynn Lepage. Same type of cancer, left breast, previous lumps, mastectomy, lymph nodes, T.A.C., 5 weeks of radiation, Tomoxifin. The differences we had were that we had only been in Alberta for 3 1/2 months. We did not have private insurance, nor did we have Blue Cross (it's not something that's needed back east). We hadn't been here long enough to make friends, nor did we have a support network. Without family it was really hard. Without the extra financial support Lynn took Neupogen, which meant a needle into her tummy every day for 8 days after each Chemo treatment. Each series started out okay but by days 5 through 8 she was in so much pain at the injection sites. It was hard for me to watch her suffer. She also had to return to work each day after her radiation treatments. Between the radical mastectomy and the start of the Chemo her mom (whom she was very close with) had passed away and she needed to go home to look after the final arrangements. After the first year had passed (all clear) she found out that when the 5 years of Tomoxafin are finished there will be another 5 years of another medication. Yes, you do learn to appreciate all the little things in life.

No Name given

Thanks for the feedback regarding this article. Tammy's story is unfortunately all too common. Breast cancer is not a subject we take lightly and I am pleased my associate publisher Daina Benson was able to tell this story with such raw emotion and courage that Tammy posseses.

Stay strong and know that our prayers are with you and your family during your battle.

Regards, Tamara