Fatimah Ali: Earth Mother

IHAD A nightmare a few weeks ago where I was flying around like the Rocketeer, trying to escape people who were chasing me. Earlier in the day, I'd run into a local pol who'd berated me about what he felt was the negativity of several columns I'd written. I haven't written anything mean about you, I shot back, defensively.

I was thinking about the dream and that conversation the next day when I was faced down by an angry teenage daughter. I was stressed and desperately needed a place to write because with a big family and a smallish house, finding that sacred space isn't always easy. I usually write before dawn when it's quiet, but this wasn't to be one of those days.

I'd missed my usual window, and realized I would have to appease my youngest child so I could work in peace. That was a challenge - she was really ticked off and bored.

Her friends were busy, she'd used up her allotted time on Facebook (according to our house rules) and was determined to pluck my very last nerve.

Rather than follow my suggestion to pick up a book, she preferred to remain furious that I won't buy her a pair of Uggs, the trendy Australian boots that are far too expensive for a child.

Besides, it's still warm enough for sneakers, so I'm not quite ready to buy her boots. I told her it's unlikely that we'll be spending $180 on her 13-year-old feet and she'd better find some less expensive footgear, perhaps Minnetonkas that are 50 bucks cheaper.

What I really wanted to be doing was reviewing my notes from the Governor's Conference for Women I attended a few weeks ago, where I joined thousands of women to listen to some heavyweight voices from Suze Orman, Judge Glenda Hatchett and Comcast Foundation VP Charisse Lillie.

In a workshop on platform-building (creating an image of yourself that you can use to sell your creativity and talents, Launcher's Café CEO Jen Grover warned us to brand ourselves before others do, and I was thinking about this when I ran into the critical pol. Stung by his words, I was determined to apply what I'd learned to my DN column and my blog, when my daughter stormed in with her back up.

Like many teens, she's impressed with expensive labels, while I'm more concerned about our bottom line. I might as well have told her to walk to school barefoot.

Now, my back was up because my concentration had been broken, and if I didn't get a handle on things, my writing day would be shot. Finally, I lost my patience and warned her that she might be getting a pair of galoshes instead of some nice cozy boots.

Since I was already thinking of how to make branding work for me, the exchange with my daughter left me curious as to how the marketing techniques for designer labels work so well on teens.

I began my research with my 15-year-old daughter and a 17- year-old who are both anti-label.

They said teens who insist on brand-name apparel feel the need for social acceptance in school, and it helps if they wear what celebrities do. The older teen, who prefers thrift stores, said, "They think they're trend-setters, but they're actually behind the eight-ball because, when labels reach the mainstream, Hollywood moves to another product."

That's a good summary of how businesses have to update their appeal to consumer needs, which brings me to my blog, HealthySouthernComforts.com, where I write a lot about family values.

About a year ago, a former Inquirer editor named Sherry Howard asked me to join her blog site, WeAreBlackwomen.com. Howard and business partner Yvonne Shinhoster Lamb, a one-time Washington Post writer and ex-Post reporter Mae Israel and I all write about issues that are important to black women.

Howard's instructions were to "write about something you are passionate about."

My passions are food and health. I also write about my southern roots and share tips on cooking for health, improving the delicious but unhealthy soul food that my grandmother taught me to make. Sherry writes about auctions, Yvonne about faith and Mae about the problems of "the sandwich generation," folks dealing with the problems of both kids and aging parents.

Check us out at WeAreBlack

Women.com, a network of blogs for and about black women. And although I will continue writing about news, my objective remains to disseminate information that helps people improve the quality of their lives.

Fatimah Ali is a journalist, media consultant and an associate member of the Daily News editorial board.