Pinkie Promises...

We came; we conquered; we gave out pink lollipops!

Cheers to all the participants and sponsors at Sunday's Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. Our booth was home to the "Affirmation Scale" (Art de Toilette bathroom scale) in which participants stepped on it to find out whether they were "getting better with age," had a "smokin' hot body" or were "simply ravishing." We had fun and gave away tons of goodies. Thanks to all the friends of L.A. Parent who provided prizes, especially iFly Hollywood Indoor Skydiving at Universal CityWalk who gave us goodies as well as a grand prize of a family pack. Slider the Unscooter also gave us a scooter as one of our big prizes.

Go Pink!

The first time I did the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, it was almost too much for me. Not the walk part, naturally, but the images of loved ones lost, the women who've obviously battled breast cancer and, of course, those who are still struggling with it. But as I surveyed the green hills surrounding the Pasadena Rose Bowl, it was as though a switch had been flipped, turning the landscape pink. The sight of this sign of solidarity had an overwhelming emotional impact, which seems to give all participants the immediate desire to form a gigantic rose-colored bridge and put a stop to this disease.

A colleague and I couldn't help but speculate on the fact that if men had to smoosh their sensitive parts into some painful contraption in order to be checked for cancer, then there would probably be some new way to check for cancer – and quickly. But my hope is that in my lifetime – and certainly my daughter's – there will not only be a more pleasant mammogram but, more importantly, a cure.

So lace up the sneakers and come down on Sunday for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. Stop by the L.A. Parent booth and play "Guess Your Affirmation." We'll have facepainting and other fun. And together, we'll all get lost in the pink ...

OK, I Really Don't Have Time For This...

... But I'm Twittering now: https://twitter.com/CarolynGraham.

Spring Cleaning!

Some days, my bathroom smells like 80-year-old moldy grout mixed with whatever that is that clogs drains. On top of that is the lingering scent of hairspray and dust. And then there's other stuff.

I'm only telling you this because I discovered not only a good cleaning product to help with those smells and other issues, but it's a good cleaning product dispensed with some old-fashioned experience, wisdom and wit. Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day is a line a good cleaning products that is paraben-free and made from natural essential oils (and never tested on animals). In fact, some of the products, which include everything from dish soap to dryer sheets, smell like something you might use in your bathwater rather than to scrub your bathtub. And the best part? There's a real Mrs. Meyer.

Thelma Meyer raised nine children (yes, nine!) in Des Moines, IA, and lends her experience and charm to the product line, which was started by daughter Monica Nassif (No. 3). To help the rest of us who feel overwhelmed with the household tasks required to raise just two kids, Mrs. Meyer has released Mrs. Meyer's Clean Home: No-nonsense Advice That Will Inspire You to Clean Like the Dickens ($19.99; Wellness Central Hachette Book Group, www.hachettebookgroup.com). You can even meet Mrs. Meyer and Monica in person from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. on March 11 (tomorrow) at the Malibu Country Mart.

Here's a sampling from the book to get you started on your clean plan:

• To remove a water ring from a waxed wood table: Combine four tablespoons of salt with three tablespoons of olive oil. Apply it to the spot and let it sit overnight. "The real solution to this annoyance," Mrs. Meyer writes, "is to teach kids (and guests!) to use coasters."


• To get hairspray and toothpaste off a mirror: Pour rubbing alcohol on a cloth and clean in small circles. You can also use a baby wipe. Then grab your club-soda spray bottle and give the mirror a spritz, wiping it clean with some bunched-up newspaper.


• To fight off flies: Spray the little bugger with hairspray to slow it down. Then you'll be able to get it with a flyswatter. To keep flies from returning, plant basil outside your front and back doors. They don't like basil all that much.

Satisfaction

It is somewhat surreal to be one second telling your mechanic about the mysterious tapping in the back of your car and then the next be listening to him offer his Casio rendition of a Rolling Stones song. But then again, what could be more awesome than that?

Well, I'll tell you. After I explained about how my brakes are grabby and my windshield wipers aren't working on "high," he told me how he'd  showed off his rock ’n’ roll skills for another Dad & Me Auto Repair client, who, in my mechanic's native Russian accent, sounded a bit like "Eddie Van Halen."

"I had not heard of him in my country much, but I think he's very famous here," he said, producing a picture of himself, standing outside his North Hollywood auto shop, arm and arm with Eddie Van Halen.

I love L.A.