Buy, Buy, Love

 THU 5/6

Here's a dilemma. As you were giving birth to your first child, your doctors frantically informed you that they needed to perform an emergency hysterectomy. They took your uterus, but nice guys that they were, they left your ovaries intact. No more bearing children but you could still harvest some eggs and create kiddies in a test tube. Who made the generous offer to carry another rug rat for you? Your mom, that's who. That story has played itself out over and over again in the news recently. Grannies are becoming surrogates for their daughters, and more than a few have delivered twins. No matter if the whole issue of surrogate childbearing makes your stomach turn and gives a deeper meaning to the term overbearing mother-in-law. Just imagine the Mother's Day present you're going to have to come up with in order to recognize such a selfless gesture. Your mom already gave birth to you. Now she's popping out your kids! How are you going to top that? With a case of perfume? A nursery full of plants? An all-expenses-paid shopping spree? Why not take her shopping each day for nearly a month? Beginning today, it is possible when the Savvy Shopper Sample & Stock Sale hits town.

Landing appropriately in the Design District's Madonna Building (3900 N. Miami Ave.) just in time for Mother's Day (Sunday, May 9), the sale will run from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. daily through Friday, May 28. Promising a hefty supply of couture du jour at outrageously low prices from more than 30 designers including Chloe, Alice Roi, D&G, Nanette Lepore, Trina Turk, Theory, and Roberto Cavalli, sale honchos also swear an array of sizes (from 2 to 14) will be readily available. (Mom won't feel bad if she's still holding onto some of those postpartum pounds.) The whole shebang will be housed in a boutiquelike atmosphere, complete with personal shoppers for those who need them. None of that shoving, elbowing, and catfighting that traditionally goes on in, ahem, other cities. Frankly that "civilized" stuff is kind of a shame. Mom has a great left hook. -- By Nina Korman

Unity

Women's Strength Detailed

FRI 5/7

Making time to write thank-you cards is not what Mother's Day means to Virginia Mair. The holiday should empower mamas to get out "and take on issues of the world," Mair says. After reading an article about migrant female slavery -- women and children being sold for labor and sex -- with Florida mentioned 5 times, Mair knew she had to take action. She helped spark the Mothers in Miami, Women in the World Conference, the first of many forums and workshops that aim to help women realize that they control the future. Speakers include Carmen Morris, founder of the Sanctuary of Moses, an organization that helps victims of child trafficking; Marie-José Ledan of Planned Parenthood; and Gail Haldeman of the UM School of Medicine. It's time, Mair says, for women -- "the hidden engines of human progress" -- to grab the globe by the horns. The conference starts informally at 6:00 p.m. at Coral Gables Congregational Church, 3010 De Soto Blvd. Admission is $5. Call 305-233-0810. -- By Anne Tschida

Da Summit

Teens deal with modern realities

FRI 5/7

Who'd a thought an educational symposium could be so much fun? In its effort to empower black youth in the community, the NAACP has organized the Youth Power Summit in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court ruling that led to desegregation. The 3-day conference will offer participants an array of presentations on careers in the arts, sciences, business, and media. Activities will run the gamut from an urban film festival to a fashion show, basketball tourney, entertainment industry job fair, and spoken-word showcase. One special attraction is the Hip-Hop Elements All-Star Weekend, with competitions in break dancing, scratching, freestyling, graffiti art, and more, plus a panel that includes Trick Daddy, Trina, and Luther Campbell (right). The all-day affair takes place at the Coconut Grove Convention Center, 2700 S. Bayshore Dr. $60 for 3 days, $25 for 1. Call 954-340-2192. -- By John Anderson

Lethal Lawn Care

NOW 24/7