When we think of powerful and successful women, one of the names that comes to mind is that of Martha Stewart.
Besides being a well-known TV personality, she’s also a self-made billionaire, a writer, a businesswoman, and a former fashion model.
Being 82 doesn’t stop this incredible woman from living her life to the fullest.
Last year, she posed for the cover of Sports Illustrated in daring swimsuits and attracted the attention of many. She was praised for her bravery, her incredible figure, and the positivity she spread.
However, during her recent trip to the east coast of Greenland, she posted some photos and one of them made her fans mad.
It shows Stewart enjoying a cocktail, and the caption says, “End of the first zodiac cruise from @swanhelleniccruises into a very beautiful fjord on the east coast of greenland. We actually captured a small iceberg for our cocktails tonight.”
Her intention wasn’t probably to anger her fans with the word “small iceberg” for her drink, but it did evoke the ire of her followers.
In no time, comments started pouring in under her post with people hitting out at the fact that she’d referenced a small iceberg when the “ice caps are melting.”
“Martha the ice caps are melting don’t put them in your drink,” one Instagram user wrote.
Another added: “I generally love Martha and the excesses of her life because he’s about beautiful gardens, homes, and food, but wealthy white people drinking their iceberg cocktails while the planet is in flames is a bit tone deaf.“
“So as the climate warms due to the profits of a couple thousand people, billionaires vacation to the melting icebergs, scoop them up and use them to keep their cocktails cold. That sounds like a line from a dystopian novel. Can’t make this shit up lol,” a third quipped.
“Global warming and melting ice caps but we need glacier ice for cocktails?! Talk about tone def. Been a fan for years but I’ve seen enough caviar lately as I struggle to buy groceries that I’m out,” said a fourth.
In general, Martha is someone who is widely loved by many.
Speaking of the cover on Sports Illustrated for which she posed, she said on the Today show, “I didn’t starve myself, but I didn’t eat any bread or pasta for a couple of months.
“I went to Pilates every other day, and that was great; I’m still going to Pilates every other day ’cause it’s so great. And I just, I live a clean life anyway – good diet and good exercise and healthy skincare and all of that stuff.”
She also commented how fans responded to the “authentic” cover during her keynote speech at the Las Vegas event.
“The response to it was really encouraging because it made women of all ages feel like, ‘If she can do it, then I can do it too,’” Stewart noted.
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Laura woke up the morning after she returned from a business trip and saw her husband was still asleep. As usual, she went to the kitchen to make herself coffee, but before that, she went to check on her daughter Emily who was supposed to be in her room, sleeping.
When Laura entered Emily’s room, the bed was perfectly made and everything was well organized but Emily wasn’t there. After checking the bathroom and the rest of the house and realizing her daughter was nowhere to be seen, Laura panicked.
This wasn’t the first time that Emily wasn’t home. Being a teenager who wanted to hang out with her friends and attend parties, she sneaked out before, but Laura’s gut was telling her that it was different this time.
For illustration purposes only | Source: Shutterstock
“Rick, wake up!” Laura returned to their bedroom and tried to wake up her husband, who was Emily’s stepfather. “Emily’s missing!”
“Let me sleep, Laura,” Richard replied with groggy. “She’s a teen. She must have snuck out to meet those friends of hers. Relax.”
“This is serious, Rick. Her room is spick and span! This isn’t like Emily!”
Richard, however, didn’t seem too concerned probably because he believed Emily would appear any time soon.
But Laura knew something wasn’t right, and just when she returned to the kitchen she received a text message which read, “If you want your daughter alive, bring $100,000 to the address below…”
The entire situation went from bad to worse and everything felt like a bad dream.
Laura immediately called the police. In no time, a group of cops and detectives were at Laura’s door. She explained to them what was going on and they assured her everything would be alright and that they’d do all in their power to find her daughter.
When the cops arrived, Richard woke up and went downstairs.
“Laura? What’s going on? What are cops doing here?”
“Someone kidnapped Emily!” she replied tremblingly. “The kidnapper is demanding ransom.”
For illustration purposes only | Source: Shutterstock
“Are you sure it isn’t one of Emily’s games?” he asked as he joined her in the living room.
“Of course it’s not, Rick!” she cried. “We have to find her!”
The cops, Laura, and Richard entered Emily’s room.
“Anything missing from here?” Detective Harris asked Laura and Richard.
“The carpet!” Laura now noticed. “It’s not here.”
“You got any idea about it?” Detective Harris looked at Richard.
“Uh, yeah, I took it to the dry cleaner,” Richard replied.
Detective Harris made a note. “I’ll need the dry cleaner’s address, please.”
“Yeah, I’ll get it. One second,” Richard said and left the room.
At that moment, Laura received another text message that read, “If you involve the cops, you’ll never see your daughter again.”
For illustration purposes only | Source: Shutterstock
“Let’s drop the ransom, Mrs. Dennings,” Detective Harris suggested. “We can set up around the drop-off location. It’s the best chance of getting your daughter back and catching the kidnapper.”
“No way!” Richard protested as he returned with the address. “That’s too risky. We should just give the ransom, and then maybe the bad guys will let her go.”
“But Richard, what if they take the money and run away?” Laura shook her head. “No. I think the detectives are right.”
A decision was made for undercover officers to be positioned around the ransom drop-off point.
The following day, Laura drove to the drop-off point and her only hope was to see her daughter. She waited and kept looking at the rear-view mirror of the car, but no one approached the oak tree where she placed the money. When the night came, the detective knocked on the car’s window and told Laura to go home because the kidnapper probably change their mind.
For illustration purposes only | Source: Shutterstock
Devastated, Laura returned home and went straight to Emily’s room. She then noticed the carpet was there.
“Doesn’t the carpet look like it’s new?” her husband asked her.
Laura kneeled on the carpet. It was a carpet Emily chose herself just a few months ago.
“How could it be so new?” Laura asked confused.
“A good cleaner can do wonders, honey,” Richard replied almost too quickly.
For illustration purposes only | Source: Shutterstock
Ten years have gone by, and there was no sign of Emily. Everyone moved on and got used to the fact that she won’t be coming back. Everyone but Laura. This mother could never stop hoping that she would see her daughter again. She never stopped trying and praying to God for Emily’s safe return.
One day, Laura got the idea to place banners with Emily’s face on them around the city. She visited an agency and told the woman working there her story. The two agreed to place three huge banners at the busiest streets in the city.
“The design was simple—a blown-up version of Emily’s photograph, her smile frozen in time, and the words ‘Forever missed, forever loved’ in bold, impossible-to-ignore letters. Beneath that, ‘If you know something, say something,’ followed by a hotline number.”
For illustration purposes only | Source: Shutterstock
Richard wasn’t happy that Laura placed the banners. He accused her of wasting their money. “All our savings are gone, Laura! Just because you plastered her face all across the city!” he told her.
But at that particular moment, there was a knock on the door.
Laura went to see who it might be. The moment she opened the door, she was left completely stunned. A young woman was standing on the front porch. Although ten years passed by, she immediately recognized her daughter.
It was Emily.
For illustration purposes | Source: Pexels
“Yeah, Mom! I’m home!” Emily said and then pulled away and raised her one arm to show the carpet she was holding. “This was all I had, Mom,” she said. “And I kept it.”
“Who’s there?” Richard’s loud voice could be heard from the inside of the house.
As he approached the front door and noticed Emily standing there he went pale.
“What’s wrong, Richard?” Emily sneered. “You see a ghost? He’s the one responsible for my disappearance, Mom!” Emily pointed at Richard.
“What? That’s nonsense!” Richard cried in his defense.
“Come inside, Emily,” Laura said. As Emily entered, Laura closed the front door. She looked from her daughter to her husband. What was going on?
“She’s lying, Laura!” Richard yelled. “Don’t listen to her! She’s trying to tear us apart!”
“Tell me everything, Emily!” Laura insisted, ignoring Richard.
For illustration purposes only | Source: Shutterstock
Ten years ago…
On the day of Emily’s disappearance, Laura was on a business trip and she was left with Richard.
When she returned home from school, Richard was watching TV and invited Emily to sit next to him so that they could watch the show together. She didn’t want to, but he insisted.
Scared, she sat next to him, but she then became aware of her stepdad touching her skirt’s hem. “Nice skirt,” he commented, and Emily became even more scared than before.
At one moment, he offered to unbutton her shirt and said, “Come on, Emily. You’ve grown, and it’s not like you don’t want me.”
Emily yelled “Get away!” and ran straight to her room but Richard followed her. “You don’t need to be scared, Emily!” He smirked.
For illustration purposes only | Source: Shutterstock
“What are you doing here? Get out! This is my room!” she cried. “Leave, Richard, or I’ll tell Mom everything!”
Richard burst out laughing. “And who do you think she’ll believe? A grown man or her over-imaginative daughter?”
“She’ll believe me! I know my mom!” Emily confidently yelled. She then rushed to grab her phone, but Richard pushed her away.
Emily felt sharp pain in the head and saw blood dropping on the carpet. The next moment, she blacked out.
Without even checking if she was still alive, Richard wrapped her body in the carpet and placed her in the back of his truck. He then started the truck and when he reached the river, he threw Emily there.
When he returned home, he cleaned the place so that Laura wouldn’t suspect that he’s involved in her daughter’s disappearance.
For illustration purposes only | Source: Shutterstock
Present day…
“A couple of fishermen found me, Mom,” Emily continued. “I was in a neighboring town. A kind family there took me in. They also tried to find my family, but I didn’t remember my past. It was only when I returned here and saw my face on the billboards that I recalled everything—My home, you, and the terrible…night!”
“Stop it, Emily! You’re accusing me after all I have done for you guys?” Richard screamed.
But Laura was certain her daughter was telling the truth.
She called the cops and a DNA analysis was later done to determine of the blood on the carpet was Emily’s. It didn’t come as a surprise when the results confirmed it was.
Some months later, Richard was sentenced to prison.
For illustration purposes only | Source: Shutterstock
We are so happy Emily was finally able to return home after the ordeal she’s gone through.
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Founded in 1947 by reservist Major Bill Hendricks, Toys for Tots represents a program run by the United States Marine Corps Reserve which distributes toys to children whose families cannot afford to buy them gifts for the most wonderful season of the year.
The mission of this program is to collect and distribute new unwrapped toys to unprivileged children for Christmas.
According to their website, “The Foundation provides the leadership, funding, and support needed for successful annual toy collection and distribution campaigns.”
Back in 1997, the program launched what is one of the most beautiful commercials we’ve ever seen.
YouTube
Each Christmas, this commercial is shared by a number of people who wish for the holiday spirit to be spread around.
It features a young boy with a piece of paper in his hands approaching a Marine and asking him if he’s Santa Claus.
The Marine stands still because he’s on his job and doesn’t seem to pay attention to the boy who’s talking to him.
The boy then asks the same question again and then hands the piece of paper, which turns out to be his wish list for Christmas, to the guard, hoping his wishes to be granted this season.
To everyone’s surprise and delight, the guard, without making any eye contact with the boy, opens his hand and takes the boy’s list.
The commercial is supposed to raise awareness of the importance of the mission by Toys For Tots. It is a reminder that there are children out there who would not be getting any gifts, and that each and every one of us can help make a difference in a child’s life.
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In life, there comes a time when we realize we’ve been wearing the same old hairstyle and those clothes bough years ago for way too long. And then out of the blue, something kicks in and we feel the urge to experience certain change. Whether it’s a new hair color or getting rid of the old skirts, we know we have to fight the dullness that has somehow become part of our everyday life.
Mary Johnson, a state representative in North Dakota has finally decided to lift herself from the seat with the state and visit the salon of one of the best stylists there are, Christopher Hopkins, or better known as the Makeover Guy.
Over the years, Christopher helped a huge number of people go through the transformation they had been longing for.
When Mary Johnson let him do his magic, she wasn’t sure what to expect, but the end result left her speechless. What’s most, her husband of many years couldn’t even recognize her.
Mary wasn’t looking for anything specific. Her only demand was, “No purple no blue, no none of that…”
As Christopher trimmed Mary’s hear, he also took years off her face. With adding a little red and blending her natural gray with blonde highlights, he helped brought out her bright eyes.
Once the transformation was over, another of Christopher’s clients entered the salon and walked by off screen. He made a comment that Mary looked awesome for someone who was about 42. Beaming with happiness, she answered back that 42 was “20 years ago.”
When the time came for her husband David to see her, he nearly didn’t recognize her. As she approached him, his jaw dropped and he could be heard saying, “WOW,” later confessing that he initially thought she was a different woman.
“I wouldn’t have recognized you,” he said as he couldn’t take his eyes off of her.
Mary was extremely satisfied with her new looks. “I feel great,” she said. “I couldn’t feel better, it just exceeded everything I thought possible. You guys didn’t have much of a canvas to work with, but Holy Moly, what a great job!”
She truly went from a Fargo North Dakota girl to THAT GIRL.
For Mary’s incredible transformation go to the video below.
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Ten major retail stores, including Walmart, Hobby Lobby, Nordstrom, and Home Depot are making a notable shift in the way they connect with their customers this season by replacing the generic “Happy Holidays” with the traditional greeting “Merry Christmas.”
As per reports, these major stores are making a deliberate and synchronized effort to shift towards “Merry Christmas.”
Even some unconventional stores like Bass Pro Shops, known for its firearm sales, are promoting the Christmas celebrations.
This effort has been praised from groups like the American Family Association, as well as the public.
The goal of these retail stores to unify in promoting the once traditional greeting is to embrace the tradition during the holiday season.
As the impact of the joyous “Merry Christmas” greeting gets acknowledged all over the country, there is a feeling of unity among the people and that makes the holiday spirit even stronger.
No matter where you shop this season, make sure you greet everyone with the phrase “Merry Christmas” and spread the Christmas cheer.
Tell us what you think of this.
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Just like most moms out there, Hailey is a busy mother, a devoted wife, and a caring member of the community.
Between grocery shopping, household chores, taking care of the kids, and writing for her blog, Thoughts, Dots, and Tots, “free time” isn’t something she gets to experience often.
One day, on her way to work, Hailey got stuck behind a slow-moving truck that was struggling to reach the speed limit. She got pretty angry about it and tried her best not to lose her temper because she was in a hurry.
But, once at a stoplight, she got closer to the truck and that’s when she realized the reason for the driver’s slow speed.
Facebook/Thoughts, Dots, and Tots
In her heartfelt viral Facebook post, Hailey shared what she read on the truck’s back window. She had no idea that their time together at the stoplight would change her entire outlook on life!
She wrote:
“As I was pulling into work, I was following this car. The sign in the back window said, ‘Learning stick sorry for any delay.’
Knowing this information, I was very patient with their slow shifting, and honestly, they were doing pretty well for still learning.
Then I asked myself a tough question: Would I have been just as patient if the sign hadn’t been there?”
Facebook/Thoughts, Dots, and Tots
“I can almost definitely say no.
We don’t know what someone is going through. We don’t wear signs that illustrate our personal struggles. You don’t see signs taped to people’s shirts that say, ‘Going through a divorce,’ or ‘Lost a child,’ or ‘Feeling depressed,’ or ‘Diagnosed with cancer.’
If we could read visually what those around us are going through we would definitely be nicer.
But we shouldn’t have to see signs and have reasons to treat strangers with kindness. We should do it anyway, whether we know what is going on or not. Whether they deserve it or not.
Let’s give everyonean extra dose of patience, kindness, and love…”
The hand-scribbled message left a profound impact on Hailey. If she hadn’t seen it, she would have remained frustrated with the driver in the truck, but this way, she chose the path of tolerance.
Facebook/Thoughts, Dots, and Tots
This story is a reminder that no matter how busy we are, we should never lose the feeling of compassion for those around us.
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For Amanda Sydney life was starting to look a little better again. Amanda comes from Australia and 2017 was set to be a great year for her, filled with love and greatness and a bright future!
Three long years is how long she and her husband tried for a baby until finally, she conceived and they had just moved into their house that they had been renovating for over two years.
Amanda was on top form, in fact, she couldn’t have been any happier if she tried. Her life and hopes and dreams were all but to be smashed in the worst way possible. Completely out of the blue her husband dropped a bombshell on her, he told her he wanted to leave and without hesitation left, out of the door, gone! Without even having a chance to take a breath, Amanda was all alone, pregnant and bills up to the wazoo!
Without any money and a baby coming along soon, Amanda by herself, a complete emotional mess and not knowing what was in store for her or her child, pondered her situation. Her friend Anna was thankfully with her, and emotionally supporting her, but it was her that had a great idea to write to the local radio station, KIIS 1065 to ask if they would consider her for a spot in their “give back” segment.
The radio station learned of Amanda’s position and they decided to get involved and help. They knew that alone it would be hard to help so they brought local businesses into the picture to make an amazing show.
They invited Amanda and Anna to the radio studios to do a segment with them, but Amanda had no clue what was going to happen. As she spoke to the radio hosts she told them how the worse part was the uncertainty of the whole situation.
Amanda said:
“It’s been about five weeks since it happened” … “And the biggest thing is just the shock, I guess because it wasn’t really what we planned, or what I planned.”
Amanda finished telling her story then the radio hostess turned to her to face a television screen behind her, it was a video tour of her new house. They highlighted what they had done for her to help, to her surprise!
A vacuum cleaner was to symbolize free home cleaning for the next six months, the food in the refrigerator was a gift from Eat Fit Food, and a commitment to bring daily meals for the next three months! On the countertop was $4,000 of baby supplies for her, with a $1,000 voucher for baby pictures even!!
But when the camera came to the oven, and the door was open, everyone lost it!!
Inside the oven was a huge stack of cash… $10,000 so Amanda will not have to worry about her mortgage for quite some time, amazing right?
Amanda was in floods of tears, all she could muster to say was:
“It means I don’t have to move now…I can’t thank you enough, I really can’t.”
It’s definitely notthe 2017 she had imagined, or even wished for, but because of the generosity of strangers, it was now possible to have such a great start, over again, for her and her baby.
What a completely amazing story, don’t you think? Please SHARE it with your family and friends on Facebook!
The relationship with the in-laws can be a challenging one. The truth is that things turn even messier when the spouse sides with his parents instead with his significant other, and these ‘issues’ don’t necessarily get easier to deal with as time passes.
A woman named Evelyn took to Reddit to ask if she was in the wrong for revealing to everyone on the social media about the treatment she received by her in-laws during a visit prior to the holiday.
Namely, she and her husband were overly excited for the trip to his parent’s place because they were about to introduce the newest addition to the family, their twins, to the grandparents.
Once there, things seemed normal at first until the in-laws presented Evelyn with the sleeping arrangement for the night. As it turned out, she and her husband couldn’t sleep together, and neither the twins.
While her husband, Mike, was expected to sleep in his childhood bedroom, Evelyn was asked to sleep in the barn.
As expected, she got confused and upset and confronted her husband about it, but he dismissed her concerns and didn’t think it was a big deal.
As her in-laws insisted on separate sleeping arrangements despite Evelyn not being happy about it, she reached her breaking point.
photographee.eu via Deposit Photos
At that moment, she documented the bizarre living conditions, booked a flight home, and shared what had happened on the social media, exposing how her in-laws treated her to her social media friends and followers.
Her husband and his parents got extremely mad and asked her to apologize for what she did.
She’s now even contemplating to spend Christmas with her own parents, who are very supportive and where she and her twins feel loved and cared for.
Evelyn asked Redditors to advise her on what’s the most appropriate thing to do.
What would you do if you were in her possition?
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