I was totally unprepared for Thanksgiving this year. I had just come off of a 3 week photoshoot, and then left town immediately for Florida. It was all planes, hotels, eating out… blah, blah, blah.
Usually I go to my cousin’s house. She is one of my best friends and in a way she reconnects me to my mother. She is funny and kind. This year I was sick, I didn’t want to make her sick, so I couldn’t go there.
So my brother (thank god for my brother) invited us to his house. I slept most of the day, then went to his house… it’s not far to get there. We brought broccoli salad and vodka. Nice combo.
My brother has 3 children who I believe, are perfection. His house was full and warm. It was perfect. While I missed my family at my cousin’s house, it was quiet at my brothers. We only stayed a couple of hours.
I often think of my age, and what where I am in life. I like this age, alot. I don’t care if I am middle aged, I like it here. I realize now what I am thankful for…
My ex-husband and I are embarking on the slow process of reconciliation. We were married for 4 years and 6 days. As of today, we have been divorced for 3 years, 6 months, and 16 days. We have two young children together, and he has an older son from a previous relationship. This has been a major decision effecting those we love most.
I am a nerd. There, I said it. I may not have all the answers, but you can bet your butt that I’ll find some. My favorite resource is the library, closely followed by the internet. When searching for information about how to restore my marriage, Mr. Dewey directed me to approximately 306 on the shelf. But I didn’t find what I was looking for. There were books on children and divorce, getting used to being single again, sex and marriage, dating, and other topics that I’m sure would be helpful to someone, just not me. The only redeeming book I found was by Dr. Laura Schlessinger. I should tell you now, I have always been pretty liberal in my beliefs. If you don’t know who Dr. Laura is, she is a right-wing conservative talk show host and counselor. Even holding the book left a bitter taste in my mouth, but I am committed to repairing my family, so I thought, what the hey, I’ll give it a try. The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands was by far the most help I found at the library. I highly recommend it, as it was highly informative yet straight-forward and to the point.
My internet search mostly provided me with links that I could follow to spend $39.95 in order to learn the secrets of success. Pass. I also discovered many sites that led to what I can only call cry baby forums. These basically consisted of women complaining about their exes or whining because said exes left. Pass again. The only remotely applicable sites instructed me in Christian principles of marriage.
Disclaimer:
I am a Christian
I fully believe that prayer and a good relationship with God are important
BUT THESE STILL DIDN’T ADDRESS MY SPECIFIC SITUATION!!
Upon further surfing, I discovered the Love Dare. Again, these are written from a Biblical standpoint. I think however, that the dares within are worth noting. I am going to do my best to revise these to a secular application so that they can be of help to a wider audience. Look for them in my next post!
I took a girl and two boys to the botanical garden and the zoo in Saturday morning. I have been shooting girls’ portraits aged around 20, and now my interest is taking of children.
I knew “children” was a difficult subject for a beginner photographer like me, but I really enjoyed it I would like to try again.
In the zoo, there is a small play ground which has some rides children can have fun, and as I expected the kids wanted to spend their time with them. So I bought tickets for each and they were off to one of the rides.
All three had fun and came back with big smiles
She drew the penguin’s attention with her finger. The penguin was away in its room but it waddled along her finger.
One of the boys found a cat in the botanical garden. The cat seemed friendly that it came close to us. Other two kids were scared and stayed aloof. But when the boy touched the cat, the cat was frightened and angry, and mewed away.
I think the staff in the botanical garden shouldn’t let stray cats or dogs in.
I took over 200 shots of them. I think I learned a little from this.
Now I’m planning on shooting images of kids in a small island next if only I could find a child or two. Japanese kids are incredibly shy!
Playing around in the Studio with a “high key” setup. High key basically translates to white. White foreground, white background and a very white feel to the photo. While it may be white, it doesn’t necessarily mean cold. High key is great with kids. It’s great with a more casual dress, and a fun jovial mood. Get the kids to do silly things, and you’ve got a great pose for high key. Lot’s of fun, and seeing as it’s all white, you don’t have to worry about clashing colours or themes. Want your kids to eat a cake with their bare hands? Perfect. Want them to jump around in ties, jeans, no shirt and barefoot? High key will give you great shots with so many different ideas that capture the essence of being a child. So much fun.
Gracias … Salamat … Asante … Thank you. At CFCA, gratitude is expressed in many languages and for many reasons.
This Thanksgiving, we give thanks for the worldwide CFCA community: a spirited movement consisting of sponsored children, youth and elderly, their heroic families, generous sponsors and donors, courageous and dedicated field staff, committed employees and volunteers.
Thank you for your faith in our mission, for sharing your gifts and for walking with us as we build a better world that recognizes the dignity of all God’s children.
Please pray: O God, look with compassion on the CFCA family; continue to unite us in bonds of love; lead us to accomplish your purposes on Earth so that all may share in your generous bounty; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Blessings,
CFCA Prayer Team
Sign up to receive CFCA’s weekly Prayer Partners email.
As someone of you may know, I am married to a non-Jew. So every now and again, I get asked about the question/problem of intermarriage. Recently, a friend wrote to me that he is concerned about bringing home his non-Jewish girlfriend for the holidays.
So as part of a Thanksgiving special, here is the agnostic Rabbi’s advice:
I hear your concern. Being Jewish is important to you and you do not want to lose that. You want to raise a Jewish family. Fair enough. But I don’t think your apprehension is completely rational. I say this because people like you and I have at least ten Jews inside of them If your partner is open to your tradition, then your household will also be Jewish. It may be more than just Jewish – but is will also be Jewish. The key is finding someone who understands and is open to the place of Judaism in your life.
That said, you might have to be open to her traditions as well. Embrace the diversity. With the right approach there is room for all.
But what about the children? I think the argument about children underestimates children’s intelligence. I know people who grew up in a multi-cultural home and they really benefited from the experience. Yes, at some stage in their mental development children see things in black and white, but there is no reason why a Christmas tree and a menorah cannot constitute one category for the child. you see what I am saying?
If the parents do not present the different traditions in an exclusive and confrontational manner than there really should be no major problem. While it is true that outside the home the child will brush-up against different interpretations of his/hers traditions, with a strong and positive multi-cultural foundation he/she will be equipped to handle that. After all, that happens even when you grew up within a singe tradition – a passover at my house is very different than a passover at your house.
In the end, I would say that if you are lucky enough to know love, and if your partner happens to have been raised in another tradition, do not let accident of birth divide you. It really does not get better than love. If you got it: cherish it, nourish it and protect it.
These are my two shekels. Of course I could be wrong. But given my present state of affairs, I sure hope I am right.
It’s probably nothing, but it scared the shit out of me. I stayed at my friend’s sister’s house on Sunday. Sarah’s housemate thought it would be fun to scare me.
At the bottom of the road where Sarah’s house is, there’s another road that runs across it. Alongside it is a cemetery. One night, one of Sarah’s friends, Andy was walking along there. Two kids, one younger than the other, approached him. They were dressed in bright hoodies. Instead of feeling apprehensive, Andy felt totally at ease. The two kids stopped him and told him they were lost and asked if he would be able to help them find their way. Andy agreed, but told them he’d only be able to take them so far.
Andy walks the kids along the road, and the older one strikes up conversation; asking him what sort of music he was into and stuff like that. The younger child remained silent. As the three of them walked further down the road, Andy began to feel as though his heart was dropping further and further as he continued to walk with the children.
The smaller child then stopped, and says to the older kid; “We shouldn’t be doing this, this is wrong,” and with that Andy ran as far as he could until he is just in the next street. He turns back and the children are nowhere to be seen.
Only is it then that Andy realises why he was suddenly filled with dread; the children who had approached him had empty sockets where their eyes should have been.
I’ve been told, that if you look on google, this happens all over the world; two children, one older than the other, both in bright clothing. They always ask permission before they walk with or enter the homes of who they meet. It is always the same, you never notice their eyes until they have gotten away.
We drove along that road, that evening and saw nothing, but I think I can safely say, I have a new found fear of people in reflective jackets.
I laid in the near-dark, feeding E2 down for the night, her little body curled into mine, and me drifting in and out of semi-sleep as she fed. After awhile, I became conscious that she’d stopped and I could feel her breath, slow and even, across my skin. I gently pulled my top back into place, careful not to disturb her at all, and got ready to carry her to bed and go downstairs, to have a cup of tea and a little mindless telly.
And then… I changed my mind. For my daughter, there is no better place in the world to be than asleep in her mother’s arms, safe against the warmth of my body, completely at peace here with me in the dark. I pulled the covers a little tighter over the two of us, and allowed myself to drift back into sleep for a while longer.
This is the best part of the day — for both of us.
Short Fiction – One of my favourite fiction short stories…
One leisurely morning, while I am loafing on Main Street, in Pune, I meet an old friend of mine.
“Hi!” I say.
“Hi,” he says, “where to?”
“Aimless loitering,” I say, “And you?”
“I’m going to work.”
“Work? This early? I thought your shift starts in the evening, or late at night. You work at a call center don’t you?”
“Not now. I quit. I’m on my own now.”
“On your own? What do you do?”
“LPO.”
“LPO? What’s that?”
“Life Process Outsourcing.”
“Life Process Outsourcing? Never heard of it!”
“You’ve heard of Business Process Outsourcing haven’t you?”
“BPO? Outsourcing non-core business activities and functions?”
“Precisely. LPO is similar to BPO. There it’s Business Processes that are outsourced, here it’s Life Processes.”
“Life Processes? Outsourced?”
“Why don’t you come along with me? I’ll show you.”
Soon we are in his office. It looks like a mini call center.
A young attractive girl welcomes us. “Meet Rita, my Manager,” my friend says, and introduces us.
Rita looks distraught, and says to my friend, “I’m not feeling well. Must be viral fever.”
“No problem. My friend here will stand in.”
“What? I don’t have a clue about all this LPO thing!” I protest.
“There’s nothing like learning on the job! Rita will show you.”
“It’s simple,” Rita says, in a hurry. “See the console. You just press the appropriate switch and route the call to the appropriate person or agency.”
And with these words Rita disappears. It’s the shortest induction training I have ever had in my life.
And so I plunge into the world of Life Process Outsourcing; or LPO as they call it.
It’s all very simple.
Everyone is busy. Working people don’t seem to have time these days, but they have lots of money; especially those double income couples, IT nerds, MBA hot shots, finance wizards; just about everybody running desperately in the modern rat race.
So what do they do? Simple. They ‘outsource’!
‘Non-core Life Activities’, for which you neither have the inclination or the time – you just outsource them; so you can maximize your work-time to rake in the money and make a fast climb up the ladder of success.
A ring, a flash on the console infront of me and I take my first LPO call.
“My daughter’s puked in her school. They want someone to pick her up and take her home. I’m busy in a shoot and just can’t leave,” a creative ad agency type with a husky voice says.
“Why don’t you tell your husband?” I suggest.
“Are you crazy or something? I’m a single mother.”
“Sorry ma’am. I didn’t know. My sympathies and condolences.”
“Condolences? Who’s this? Is this LPO?”
“Yes ma’am,” I say, press the button marked ‘children’ and transfer the call, hoping I have made the right choice. Maybe I should have pressed ‘doctor’.
Nothing happens for the next few moments. I breathe a sigh of relief.
A yuppie wants his grandmother to be taken to a movie. I press the ‘movies’ button. ‘Movies’ transfers the call back, “Hey, this is for movie tickets; try ‘escort services’. He wants the old hag escorted to the movies.”
‘Escort Services’ are in high demand. These guys and girls, slogging in their offices minting money, want escort services for their kith and kin for various non-core family processes like shopping, movies, eating out, sight seeing, marriages, funerals, all types of functions; even going to art galleries, book fairs, exhibitions, zoos, museums or even a walk in the nearby garden.
A father wants someone to read bedtime stories to his small son while he works late. A busy couple wants proxy stand-in ‘parents’ at the school PTA meeting. An investment banker rings up from Singapore; he wants his mother to be taken to pray in a temple at a certain time on a specific day.
Someone wants his kids to be taken for a swim, brunch, a play and browsing books and music.
A sweet-voiced IT project manager wants someone to motivate and pep-talk her husband, who’s been recently sacked, and is cribbing away at home demoralized. He desperately needs someone to talk to, unburden himself, but the wife is busy – she neither has the time nor the inclination to take a few days off to boost the morale of her depressed husband when there are deadlines to be met at work and so much is at stake.
The things they want outsourced range from the mundane to the bizarre; life processes that one earlier enjoyed and took pride in doing or did as one’s sacred duty are considered ‘non-core life activities’ now-a-days by these highfalutin people.
At the end of the day I feel illuminated on this novel concept of Life Process Outsourcing, and I am about to leave, when suddenly a call comes in.
“LPO?” a man asks softly.
“Yes, this is LPO. May I help you?” I say.
“I’m speaking from Frankfurt Airport. I really don’t know if I can ask this?” he says nervously.
“Please go ahead and feel free to ask anything you desire, Sir. We do everything.”
“Everything?”
“Yes, Sir. Anything and everything!” I say.
“I don’t know how to say this. This is the first time I’m asking. You see, I am working 24/7 on an important project for the last few months. I’m globetrotting abroad and can’t make it there. Can you please arrange for someone suitable to take my wife out to the New Year’s Eve Dance?”
I am taken aback but quickly recover, “Yes, Sir.”
“Please send someone really good, an excellent dancer, and make sure she enjoys and has a good time. She loves dancing and I just haven’t had the time.”
“Of course, Sir.”
“And I told you – I’ve been away abroad for quite some time now and I’ve got to stay out here till I complete the project.”
“I know. Work takes top priority.”
“My wife. She’s been lonely. She desperately needs some love. Do you have someone with a loving and caring nature who can give her some love? I just don’t have the time. You understand what I’m saying, don’t you?”
I let the words sink in. This is one call I am not going to transfer. “Please give me the details, Sir,” I say softly into the mike.
As I walk towards my destination with a spring in my step, I feel truly enlightened.
Till this moment, I never knew that ‘love’ was a ‘non-core’ ‘life-process’ worthy of outsourcing.
Long Live LPO!
Life Process Outsourcing!
Love Process Outsourcing!
Call it what you like, but I’m sure you’ve got the essence of outsourcing.
My first session today was with a lovely little family. Lochie, who is 2 1/2, had a bit of fun with Dad being silly and had some cute and cuddly photos with mum.
Though she usually fights it, I still try to get my three-year-0ld daughter to take naps in the afternoons, particularly when we have plans later in the day, so that she’ll be well rested and in good spirits for the evening activities. She doesn’t always sleep. We call it “quiet time,” and she is expected to lay in bed, read books, and enjoy a little peace and quiet. Most days, I am the one who needs a short break, a little peace and quiet time.
When I was tucking her in for quiet time one afternoon, she told me, “You’re ruining my whole life!”
Granted, I was prepared to hear this phrase at some point, but I thought it would be closer to when she was fifteen rather than three.
New Delhi, Nov 20 (PTI) Despite a decrease in child mortality figures, 5,000 children under the age of five die in India everyday due to preventable causes, according to a latest UNICEF report.
Within the under five mortality rate, the maximum 96 per cent of children who die belong to the Scheduled Tribes, 88 per cent to Scheduled Castes and 59 to general population.
“It is early marriage and inadequate health care of women which adversely affects the survival of their children,” said Karen Hulshoff, Country Representative of UNICEF in India said.
The report says malnutrition rates in India continue to be very high. Though the percentage of malnourished children below the age of three has decreased from 52 per cent to 46 per cent, it is still way below the Millennium Development Goals (MDG).
Forty seven per cent of women had deliveries with skilled health provider, it said.
Just out today, it’s already making the rounds as Time magazine’s most e-mailed story, its new cover piece: Can These Parents be Saved?
” … We just wanted what was best for our kids”, Nancy Gibbs’ piece begins, before detailing the ways in which extreme, fear-based safety practices, and efficiency models best left at the corporation door began infecting childhood. She writes:
We were so obsessed with our kids’ success that parenting turned into a form of product development.
The backlash against overparenting has come, she says, in part driven by changes in the economy:
… a third of parents have cut their kids’ extracurricular activities. They downsized, downshifted and simplified because they had to — and often found, much to their surprise, that they liked it.
The article is a fascinating snapshot of the conundrums many parents face. We want to protect our children and give them opportunities, yet for some this has come with the dawning realization that many children are overcoddled, over-directed, and robbed of down time, free play, exploration, and the confidence and mastery that can come with making ones own discoveries and mistakes. In short, it’s the realization that, for all the attention, we are not doing our kids any favors.
Gibbs quotes Slow Movement pioneers Carl Honore and the Slow Family Living workshop folks, whom I have blogged about at length, as well as Lenore Skenazy, whose book, Free-Range Kids, is a tome of common-sense parenting in an often hysterical age.
Last weekend, I attended a lecture by Dr. Kenneth Ginsburg, author of A Parent’s Guide to Building Resilience in Children and Teens, which I highly recommend, as it walks parents through the set of tools children need to grow and prosper. Ginsburg cautioned against the perfectionistic streak in many parents who unwittingly add stress to their children’s lives by trying to professionalize their activities, and by being involved in harmful, rather than fruitful, guiding ways, including attempting to eliminate stress, rather than teach children ways to cope with inevitable stress.
I was struck, too, when Ginsburg said that creativity was a component many young adults now lacked. This was exhibiting itself in an inflexibility in the workplace and in relationships, no matter the field. How to foster creativity in the young? Play with them, encourage them to play on their own or direct the play (if you’re involved). In short, have fun and get out of the way.
For more Slow Family Online pieces about children, slow (joyful) parenting and play, see:
Gopnick: Babies Learn by Playing
Why Can’t She Walk to School?
An End to Overparenting?
Huffington Post Book Club Pick: In Praise of Slowness
Logan’s school held their annual Thanksgiving lunch and program with parents yesterday. Parents were invited to the school to enjoy a Thanksgiving lunch with their child and watch a Thanksgiving program given by the class. I have been looking forward to this lunch and program for a few weeks now and had a really fun time!
I volunteered some time last week to help Mrs. Abbott prepare for the program. Mrs. Abbott assigned pilgrim hat and indian hat making to me and I went to town. It was really nice to see all the little pilgrims and indians in their hats.
Lunch was served at 11:00am and plates were filled with ham, green bean casserole, mashed or twice baked potatoes, watermelon, a dinner roll and white or chocolate milk. Pumpkin pie, pecan pie and cookies were available for dessert. I was really impressed with the amount of food that was given and it was ALL delicious! I wish I would have had school lunches like that when I was a kid!
Logan enjoying his Thanksgiving lunch.
After everyone was through with lunch, the kids showed their parents some of the things they have been working on to prepare for the program and to decorate the room with.
Turkey's on the wall - gobble gobble.
Logan's spiffy candy dish.
Turkey finger puppets
"We Give Thanks"
We Give Thanks
For family and friends
pie and turkey too.
Thanksgiving’s the time
we say thank you!
I am thankful for
(Logan filled in the blank with)…..My Mom
After the kids had a chance to show us all the things they had been working on, Mrs. Abbott gathered them all together for the program. The kids sang songs for all the parents and we were all smiling from ear to ear. I sat watching them sing their little hearts out and I couldn’t have been more proud of Logan!
Mrs. Abbott's Kindergarten class performing thier songs.
Logan singing his little heart out.
Logan singing his little heart out.
Logan singing his little heart out.
Lunch was awesome for both the kids and parents alike! EVERYONE in that room was smiling from ear to ear and had so much fun!
MEGA-SHIP, Oh yeah. 5,400 passengers, 2,160 crew and 2,700 State rooms on board this 16 deck 225,282 gross ton boat from RoyalCaribbean. How would you choose a cabin for you, your family or friends? Same goes for choosing a house or a condo. Well, you may have taken one or more cruises before, just as I have OR you may have lived in condos, townhouses or single family homes (yes I have too)….but, somehow – we still need a helping hand. A how to guide to finding that home sweet home!
HOW TO? Many a book/video out there on how to do things. How to books are termed “For Dummies” books for those that don’t know….
You, know about real estate. You actually know more than any realtor out there in the industry. For you are the only one to know your wants and needs…you alone. But, how do you package this knowledge? Present it in away to make a selection or choice – when you have many.
I have devised a guide for those buyers that work with me to find a home. Here is an example.
YOUR NEW AND FUTURE HOME
PRICING
Please print a copy
Price Range:
Think about it and fill out
Assessments:
FAX to 312-592-4957
Property Taxes:
11 (eleven) other categories to help you with your selection. With this “how to” guide we can narrow our search, allowing you to save time and eliminating the “do not want” properties – focusing on “This is want I like” I can match your wants/needs to the MLS to find you a home.
Once, my clients fill out my Assessment Guide, they receive properties via the MLS that focus on their likes. This allows for easy viewing on your time and for the selection of those you’d like to see in person.
Remember real estate is about Location/Location/Location. Yes, we do have a category responding to this and more.
Now or early next year can be your time to purchase your next home. Please, ask me to help you…and we can cruise together into the sunset. Bottle of champagne and more @ closing! Thank you.
Today was fun sharing our weekend adventures with the people at work and friends on the phone. It was like a trip down memory lane. We’d jump from one of our weekend adventures to someone’s remembered adventure from long ago. Had all kinds of smiles and grins. Just like the adventures in Grandpa, Do It! I Do It, Too!, once triggered the stories flowed from one cherished memory to another. Rainy days, sunny days, cloudy days all had their special moments. It was a lot of fun!
Is adoption or having children in the cards for you and your partner? Do you think that gay couples should have children? What would make you think differently? What about the process of adoption for gays, should it be more lenient? What should the guidelines be? What about women wanting to get pregnant the old fashion way? Does this make them straight? Does this make them bisexual? If your girlfriend wanted to have sex with a man to try and get pregnant how would you react? What would you say?
Adjei Alex has been coordinating various activities for RESPECT Guinea. Recently, he was appointed as Principal for Nelson Mandela International School.
He has shown tremendous enthusiasm in working with RESPECT International. He hopes that RESPECT will start receiving more letters for the students of his school.
PHOTO GALLERY
RESPECT recently received a package containing letters from refugees students in Liberia. Once they are sorted, the letters will be sent to non-refugee students to be answered.
Oh, how utterly cute these two were! Not to mention, very well behaved! I met Presley and Cooper last weekend when I did Santa Sessions for Tampa Bay Parenting Magazine. I really enjoyed my session with them a few days ago, and their Mom and I got along great-we both talked so much we kept interrupting each other I love when I get along so well with my clients. They are so much more like friends to me than anything
Hello everyone. Women’s Voices For the Earth – a great grassroots organization out of Missoula, MT recently distributed a publication on cleaning products and their effects of our health. Please take time to read it and think about your daily exposure to these substances. There are many alternatives that are equally as useful for cleaning your spaces. Please read their wonderfully written report at: http://www.womenandenvironment.org/
” How too Clean may Be Hazardous to Our Health
Powerful antimicrobial chemicals (also known as disinfectants) are increasingly found in household cleaners, from laundry detergent to kitchen cleaners to handy wipes. Yet research has shown that some of the most common antimicrobial chemicals used in cleaners could have serious health consequences. Exposure to these chemicals has been linked to potential health impacts from simple irritation of the skin, eyes, and respiratory system to hormone imbalance, immune system impacts, asthma, and potential reduced fertility. The overuse of disinfectant chemicals also contributes to the growing problem of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, more commonly known as “superbugs.” The truth is that in most households, the need for routine disinfection is rare. Scientists agree that soap and water are effective for most routine cleaning jobs, and research has demonstrated that safer alternatives, such as vinegar and borax, have antibacterial properties that may be used in place of harsh chemicals. Also, other steps can be taken to prevent the need to disinfect in the first place.”
Our First Annual Santa Event is happening on Sunday December 6th. Special photos like you’ve not seen before. These will not be your typical Mall Santa shots! You don’t want to miss this. Why stand in line with the masses when you can set up an appointment and be in and out in no time! Call the studio to reserve your time. I am hoping that Santa will make this a yearly tradition that will get bigger and better each year! A portion of the proceeds will de given in donation to the Sutter Roseville Medical Center NICU. More details coming soon!
We’ve all seen the ads. The big juicy looking orange with a straw in it and the promise of “All Natural” orange juice loaded with tons of vitamins and nutrients. It looks delicious and nutritious and we are stimulated to go out and buy this amazingly healthy product.
But what if it was all a lie? What if orange juice didn’t actually contain all the nutritious benefits it claims, but instead was HARMFUL to your health?
Shocking isn’t it?
Well that is exactly what a new book, “Squeezed, what you don’t know about orange juice”, by Allissa Hamilton states about orange juice!
Click Here for her short video.
And YES, I am talking about the NOT FROM CONCENTRATE kind!
The Not From Concentrate brand of orange juice is one of the biggest health scams on the market today.
The truth is that many popular orange juice brands have to be chemically altered using ethyl butyrate – a compound that ’s added to perfume as well as orange juice- in order to make it taste and smell like oranges!
In addition, many commercial orange juices are contaminated with mold from damaged fruit that is processed, exposing you and your family to these mold toxins. In fact, REAL fresh-squeezed orange juice will only last for a few days! So ANY product with a “Best Before” date of more than 60 days in the future is heavily PROCESSED.
Unfortunately, fresh squeezed juice isn’t much better.
An eight ounce glass of orange juice has about eight full teaspoons of sugar! This is nearly as much sugar as is in a can of soda (which typically has 10 teaspoons of sugar).
Now, I will admit that the type of sugar found in orange juice is a fruit sugar called fructose. Having said that, fructose is NOT necessarily a “healthy” form of sugar and will also cause a major increase in your insulin levels.
In fact, simple fruit sugar extracted from fruit has virtually identical side effects and negative effects on your biochemistry as heavily used high fructose corn syrup.
Fruit fructose, along with all the nutrients, vitamins, minerals, water, other mono-, di- and olgio-saccharides and fiber found in fruit, are converted to blood glucose.
This is important because elevated insulin levels are one of the primary drivers for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and weight gain.
In fact, drinking fruit juice has been linked to an increased risk of diabetes, while fructose itself has been shown to increase your triglyceride levels. One study showed eating fructose raised triglyceride levels by 32 percent in men!
Obtaining fruits and vegetables is very important and certainly eating a fresh orange is a much better alternative than buying orange juice.
If you are one of those people though, who are hooked on orange juice I suggest that you begin to ween yourself off of it as soon as possible.
Begin by diluting your juice with water and eventually consume just water. By doing this you will eliminate the excess sugar in your diet and begin to experience the health benefits of consuming more water. This is just one more easy step to help you and your family achieve Optimal Health.
About the Author: Dr Tunis Hunt Jr is a chiropractor serving the Charlotte area. In addition to administering chiropractic care, Dr. Hunt lectures and educates the public on nutrition and health based information. Dr. Hunt is also is an author of a popular blog: Dr Tunis Jr’s Blog. To reach Dr. Hunt for questions and comments or to schedule him to speak to your group or company please call 704-588-1792 or email him at drtunisjr@HuntChiropractic.com. www.HuntChiropractic.com
Did everyone else know that November is “National Blog Posting Month” (cleverly shortened to “NaBloPoMo”)? Yeah, apparently you’re supposed to post every day. Didn’t get the memo, and am probably out of the club. But some of my good, good friends are reading this and that. is. e. nough. for. me. so. there.
Work kicked my butt last week – hence the absence – but my awesome teammate (Yo, T!!) and I accomplished great things.
Did everyone have a nice Halloween? Did you celebrate Day of the Dead (November 2)? El Dia De Los Muertos has done a much better job of capturing my imagination lately (although the sight of my kids dressed as Sparkly Dorothy and a Construction Foreman, getting all worked up about collecting candy that they oddly have little interest in eating, is a memory to be treasured forever). I think it’s that we -collectively – have lost touch with the soul of Halloween. When have we ever known it to be about anything more than random spooks and candy? FWIW, History.com has a nice, succinct little write-up on the celebration’s history. Turns out the Irish and Romans were key to its origin, but the Americans turned it into a party. Go figure.
Halloween has some loose ties to All Soul’s Day (another name for Day of the Dead) but, as I said in an earlier post, I’ve yet to find a book for pre-school-aged children that makes that connection (if you know of one, please share). Halloween books are all about playing up (or dispelling) the spooky factor, without giving it much of a source. Day of the Dead books, on the other hand, very clearly focus the celebration on the remembrance of (or, if you really buy in, reunion with) loved ones who have gone before. There are cemetery parties, traditional foods (e.g. sugar skulls), and, my favorite, the creation of altars to honor and remember ancestors.
My aunt, whose birthday is on November 2, has collected hundreds of Day of the Dead art pieces and altar-ettes, displayed in cabinets and diorama frames all around her house, which she has promised to leave to me in her will as long as I promise not to set them up in a haunted doll house (which I thought was a REALLY cool idea, but whatever – c’mon, it would have been a hacienda)! Anyway, our discussions of this led me to daydream about the altars I would create for our family. Given my aunt’s blank, slightly wide-eyed stare, I must have gotten a little too excited when describing the altar I’d make for her (“…and there would be a bed and a giant TV showing vampire movies and little skeleton daschunds and…”). I believe it is not a good idea to fantasize about a person’s death right in front of them. But, when the time comes, I’m gonna build it.
I think the increased appeal of this celebration is that I see the clock ticking for several of our beloved elders and a) it would be nice to have a positive way to frame their inevitable passing to my children and b) it would be equally nice to maintain my own hope that the end we see isn’t really THE END.
One of my favorite memories of my mom, who died when I was 5, is a time when she let me stay up late to watch The Wizard Of Oz on TV. We had “a party” with popcorn and soda, and watched it together on our family room couch. It was the beginning of a lifelong love of the film and its anthem, “Somewhere Over The Rainbow,” which we’d both sing around the house. When I was getting my hair/makeup done on my wedding day, I didn’t pay attention to the radio background music until I heard Judy Garland’s voice. When in your LIFE have you ever heard Judy Garland sing “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” on the RADIO?? I desperately want to believe that it was my mom signaling that she’d gotten some kind of furlough from the afterlife to be there. On a similar note, my late grandfather told my grandmother in a dream that he was coming to the wedding, so we set a place card for him.
So what do you think? Do our loved ones really pop in for Halloween/Day of the Dead and other special occasions, or do they just live on in our hearts (which is not all bad either)? How do you/would you talk to your kids about it?
This summer my family had the pleasure of visiting the Crossville Model Railroad Club in Crossville, TN.
We were traveling to Nashville and had heard about this incredible train display that was en route and KNEW we had to see it since there are TWO little train fanatics in our house (3 and 4.5 at the time). It is in an outlet mall and is a whole storefront FULL of different size model train layouts. Only problem was that we would be driving through on a THURSDAY afternoon, a time when they are usually not open. I contacted a club member via e-mail about a week ahead of time and inquired about setting up a private train viewing. His response was very kind, and he said normally they do not do private viewings for anyone but groups. He continued on to say that they usually have some folks working on the displays almost every day, and if we wanted to stop by in the hopes that we caught someone there they would be more than glad to show us around.
*SIGH*. After a LOT of careful thinking about what to say, here was my response:
Thank you for writing me back! Is there any possible way that, without inconveniencing anyone, I can be sure that someone will be there that day? I have 2 sons with special needs and I would hate to set them up for disappointment. The reason we want to come see your exhibit is that a family member of mine who was there recently was VERY impressed and knew that my boys would be enthralled. For some reason children on the autism spectrum are overly fascinated by trains… especially Thomas. Our house is full of toy trains. I think it has to do in part with the rhythmic motion of the wheels. It would mean SO much to them to see it, but I can’t change our travel plans to come there unless I know we can enter the exhibit. Travel with small children is hard enough, even more so with special needs. If it doesn’t work out I understand, but I thought I would check into the possibility. Any help you could give me would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much for your time-
Well, without hesitation he responded that if I called him when I was about an hour away he would meet me there personally & show us around.
When we got there my 2 boys acted like they were walking into Disneyland (cue heavenly music)…
Especially when they saw THIS…
IT’S THOMAS!!!
And Percy! And James! And Harold!!!
The 2 children wearing the train shirts are mine. We edited out their faces for security, so unfortunately you miss out on seeing the look of utter & complete JOY on their little faces. Believe me when I say they were THRILLED. Every time a train rolled by they squealed, “HI, PERCY!”, or, “HI, JAMES!”, or, “HI, THOMAS!!!” They stood at the Thomas table alone for more than 10 minutes~ a LOOONG time for kids with short attention spans.
Turns out our e-mail friend had filled some of the other club members in on our family’s situation. There were several other individuals there when we arrived and they were ALL incredibly welcoming & kind & friendly & went out of their way to help us enjoy the exhibit and to make us feel comfortable. I think they were also excited to have such passionate little train enthusiasts to appreciate their displays. I was so incredibly overwhelmed by the effort they put into talking with us & showing us around. Come to think of it, they are probably that way with everyone who walks in the door, but it still made me feel special. Especially when the female member of the club asked me, “I don’t know a lot about Autism. Could you please help explain it to me?” I could have hugged her. For her to take the time to ask and try become educated showed a level of compassion that was deeply moving. I LOVE it when people are so open and caring and say, “I don’t understand~ can you teach me?” The alternative is far worse- those who are made uncomfortable by that which they don’t understand so they say NOTHING & walk away. (See “Silence is not always golden”)
My children spent a very long time exploring each and every detail of this glorious train land. They were VERY sad to leave, especially since there was also a Thomas Wooden Railway train table to play with. I think they could have stayed there forever. A FABULOUS time was had by all.
Thank you, THANK YOU, Crossville Model Railway Club, for giving my children such a treat… and for giving their Mom & Dad a special gift with your compassion and generosity. There are good people in this world. Just go to Crossville.
Check out their website! Their hours are Fridays 12-4, Saturdays 10-5, and on Sundays from noon-3pm, OR by appointment, if you say “Pretty please”. They’re awesome like that.
Today was an over all good day. A happy day. An eventful day. A family day.
This morning I went to a photography class…it was nice to actually GO to school
Drew took the kids to the library for TRAIN day…they had so much fun and couldn’t wait to show me thier crafts.
Drew also started the tedious task of cleaning the garage…we have to get the baby stuff handed off.
THEN…I decided Drew’s vacation has been wasted on sickness and, with coughs still going strong, I decided we needed to do some FUN stuff for us all. We headed to the City Museum.
No, I did not bring my camera. It wouldn’t have survived the sliding, climbing, crawling, squeezing into tight places, clay molding, painting, decoupaging, running, jumping, ball throwing, and dancing with my husband through the “ball room.” We had so much FUN! I wish I could fly all my friends and their kids out here to share this place with. It’s a great place to reconnect with your inner child.
We have been having FANTABULOUS weather…it reached 80 degrees today and 75 yesterday. The leaves have dried out from all the rain and Drew and Kevin raked up an enormous pile of leaves for the kids to romp in. Drew and I romped too!
Connor was fever free for about 4 hours. I could tell he still wasn’t feeling his best. But, he still had a chance to get fresh air and enjoy himself. He is such a CHAMP!
Jessie has been jumping in the leaves every chance she gets. She informs us (the parents…or any adult standing around) to rake the leaves back up. This is definately GREAT entertainment.
Even Vito (the new addition to our neighborhood) shyly joined in on the fun. Okay, he really didn’t join in. I think he was just really curious on why all the leaves were being piled up and he was trying to check out what the fuss was about. He really is a beautiful dog and so, so sweet. I know Kevin and April make great PUPPY parents.
I love fall. I love the crunch of the leaves and the rustling sounds they make as the wind blows them around. I love how it’s not too hot to enjoy the outside and not to cold (usually) either. I love how the kids giggles sound better. Maybe because I know these little fresh air giggles from playing outside for hours in the warm sun are limited. I love how the smells I fill my house with all year long, FIT with the season. I love fall and I had the best day today with my family and the weather couldn’t have been any better. I think God made today special for me.
Last night I spent some quality time with family and friends. We went out to dinner in Georgetown, had a few drinks, and called it a night. Now since Kuda was just able to see his baby for the first time yesterday, you can imagine he was a bit emotionally drained. He decided not to come out with us, but that we would meet up when I got back. Well, you can imagine how I was feeling when I called him over and over again and he didn’t pick up. My first thought, he’s playing poker. My second thought, he’s with another girl. My last thought (which I knew deep down was the case), he fell asleep on the couch watching TV. It’s frustrating because I knew that he had fallen asleep. We’ve been together long enough now that I know how he is after a long day. But I let my second thought take over my mind. Instead of going home, I went to to Kuda’s place (because I needed to pick up some softball equipment by his apartment in the morning anyway, which is what I kept telling myself to make me feel better about going over there…). When I got there, he had in fact fallen asleep in the couch, once again, my gut instinct.
I told Kuda I was worried about him. That something had happened. But what I didn’t tell him is that I was worried he was with another girl. I probably made up every excuse for why I could have been worried, but certainly did not tell him what was really running through my head. I don’t know if I went there because I was expecting to find him with someone or that I knew he wasn’t with someone and just needed to see it for myself. Why do I constantly let the negative thoughts take over my mind. It’s as though I wont be comfortable in this relationship until I find out he did something wrong. For me, it all goes back to the fact that the only guys I’ve ever really put time into are the ones that treated me like shit. And now that I have something so good, I’m subconsciously trying to do anything I can to ruin it…
Once I relaxed a bit, Kuda and I sat down together. He had fallen asleep while working on a scrapbook for his 2-week old baby that he had with his ex, so everything was strewn across the floor. So cute… I know he’s going to be a great a dad. He showed me pictures that he had taken that day, ones of him with the baby on his chest, and some videos of the baby screaming like a little dinosaur. He was so proud talking about him and all the little things he was doing while he was over there. I’m so happy for him.
It’s hard in this situation because I am genuinely happy for him, but I know that this a bond he and I wont have for a long time. He’s sharing this with another woman. He goes over there to visit the baby. The worries of him getting back together with his ex or the worries that something sexual might happen while he’s over there, are virtually gone. I trust him enough to know that he wouldn’t do that to me. I’d like to believe that I’ve even gotten over the fact that this woman will be in both our lives forever (assuming he and I stay together). But the difficult part now is that I’m feeling an emotion I’ve never felt before. I want to have the same connection with my boyfriend that he has with his ex. I’m not saying that I want to have children with him anytime soon because certainly neither of us are ready for that. But I know that I need to trust the connection we have is strong and is something only he and I share.
What I’m thinking right now…I’m worried that I’ll try and rush this relationship because he already has something so serious with another girl. I know that wouldn’t be the right thing to do and it’s not something I want to do. But I need advice on how to handle that. Why is it that I can’t accept that our relationship, in of itself, it’s serious too? Do you need children to make a relationship serious?
Or maybe the problem is that I don’t trust myself or believe in myself enough to know that I deserve this great guy…
I signed up for a membership with Family Video, our local video rental store in Ripon, Wiscosnin; however, unbeknownst to me they rent porn…soft porn. Porn is porn in my book regardless if it is soft or hardcore.
Upon signing up for the membership, the salesperson offered to show me around the store and the areas and features they have with the membership. I said they did not need to and that I was familiar with video rentals. I guess I should have taken them up on this offer. Had I known they rented porn, I would have taken my business somewhere else.
Over the past month, I have rented a few movies here and there. My initial impression of the store layout is disturbing to me and this is before I knew there was a porn section. All of there ”New Releases” are on the outside wall going around the store; and mixed within these movies is a good percentage that display horror or graphic images not suitable for young children, as well as, overtly-sexual movies (not porn but still not suitable for children)!
Not until this evening did I find out that they rented porn. I was in the store tonight looking for a film to rent when I saw a younger couple trying to get another couple there were with, into this area back by the bathrooms. I could here some squiking hinges from two swinging doors where I was and was curious. I walked around the corner to find that there was this porn section hidden in the back of the store. I immediately walked out of the store and will not return. Family Video will not see anymore business from me.
Merriam-Webster’s defines the word “Oxymoron” as something (as a concept) that is made up of contradictory or incongruous elements (i.e. Family Video). It is disgraceful that a company can have in there business name the word “family” yet still distribute pornographic materials.
STOP Renting movies with Family Video as they distribute and sell pornographic material.
From their very first days, the cries of newborns already bear the mark of the language their parents speak, scientists now find.
French newborns tend to cry with rising melody patterns, slowly increasing in pitch from the beginning to the end, whereas German newborns seem to prefer falling melody patterns, findings that are both consistent with differences between the languages.
This suggests infants begin picking up elements of language in the womb, long before their first babble or coo.
A lot of the weird and wonderful games that come to my head are unplanned and totally random!
I was at Playcentre today, and for some reason, I thought, “hmmm, it might be cool to do something with stickers”. So I went to the drawer and grabbed some blank label stickers and went outside. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with them. I saw some of the children who I was playing chase with earlier. I told them I have stickers, and that I was going to give them a “sticker disease”. The quickly screamed and ran away. I tried to place ripped up pieces of the stickers on them. Then I gave them some stickers and told them to rip them up and try stick them on me. They thought this was great fun. The stickers quickly ran out and we had to get some more as more and more children joined in.
We have a wonderful outdoor area, so we were utilising our wonderful fort and long slide to make the chasing even more fun.
It was helpful to know the personalities of the children. I was aware of the ones who got quite flustered and upset at being “caught”, so I would approach them and would say, “shall I put a sticker on you?” or there would be others who would be unsure about all this chasing and catching business, so I would give them some stickers and stay still while they placed stickers on me (good for the younger ones). Then there were the ones who get all excited at being approached by the “bady” (me) and would want to react by throw something or be rough, so I would approach them slower and also took the opportunity to teach them about using gentle hands.
The kids and I had a great run around. They were so fast!
Seriously, when did he get old enough to build towers?
Grey: believes that anything can become a joke with a combination of three elements: “knock knock”, chicken, and Barack Obama
Thane: Somehow learned how to build with blocks and spent half an hour last night amazing me with his Mega-block-abilities
Grey: has finally found a lovey. It’s a $4 white rabbit named “Robby” that was in his Easter basket. Robby did not do well with being washed. Grey will tell you about how Robby’s a baby, but now he’s old (with his bedraggled fur). Why do children not fall in love with their high quality stuffed animals?
Thane: likes to eat corn. One kernel at a time. After carefully inspecting each kernel to verify that yes, this is a piece of corn. His fastidiousness in this regard would be more understandable if he didn’t consider grass an aperitif and leaves a delightful dinner.
Grey: has decided his favorite food in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD OMG is the spaghetti & meatballs I made for dinner on Sunday. Canned sauce (with onions & green peppers added) and IKEA meatballs. But hey, it’s nutritionally slightly superior to Mac & Cheese, so no whining.
Thane: is too busy playing to play with meeeeee! I am sad about this and want to bop noses to make him laugh.
Grey: Learned some good skills on a playdate last night, about asking for what you want, compromising, and talking people into sharing instead of sulking.
Mommy: wishes she were hanging out with her guys right now.
Ever have weird conversations with people where you come up with stupid ideas that amuse you? I had such a conversation a week or two ago and I was reminded of it today. Here’s how it went down. I for one reason or another decided I would name my kids after whole grains. Quinoa would be the cool, awesome child and Spelt would be the slow special one. Quinoa would be the good older sibling and look out for Spelt and it’d be such a great little relationship. Quinoa and Spelt together foreva. Now I’m thinking I could have a Bulgar and an Amaranth…I want this to happen. Maybe I’ll buy some fish and name them after grains. Yeah.
Here’s one more photo, after we returned from the Halloween festivities in Hinesburg center. Right before we planned to head out, it started to rain, hard. It dumped. The heavens opened up. It poured. Cats and dogs. By the time we got out of the car, however, it was mostly just damp. We tricked and treated (well, only treats, really), popped into the fire station for the celebration there, and then went home to get my daughter to bed. Turns out she had a fever of 103 degrees. I guess we got one trick after all.
It was after I’d committed to running the VA Beach Half Marathon with my brother that my training started in earnest. The thought had occurred to me that there was no way I could fudge my way through this event without preparing for it. My standard strategy for handling things for “me” (I’m-so-busy-doing-everything-for-everybody-so-I’ll-have-to-cram-my-stuff-into-the-last-few-days) was not going to work in this case, so we were going to need a New Way of Doing Things Around Here.
The challenge, of course, was (is) that I am Mom. Which means, that like most moms, I am the default button in our family’s world (maid, memory, calendar-keeper, party-planner, temperature-taker, tucker-inner, light-turner-offer…you get the drift). I know that this is where lots of mamas back-burner their exercise routines (It had been for me!). How in the world can you get it all done? In my case, I was committed to VA Beach, so we needed to find a way.
Plus which, when you take on training to run an endurance event, you are no longer just Mom. You are now Mom Who Runs. This means if you don’t want to collapse during your race, at least once a week while you are training, you must go on and recover from a long run. These get longer as the training goes continues, so when Mom is out running (and recovering from running) 11 miles, Happy Family will need another default button. Getting to that New Structure, requires some adjustments from every member of Happy Family.
And since I’m also a Homeschool Mom, I could not enjoy the freedom to run that some moms have while their kids are in traditional classrooms. As if just being Mom Who Runs didn’t make the situation complex enough already!
This called for some serious creativity. And cooperation. And patience. And teamwork. And flexibility.
Now, many families with Moms Who Run or Dads Who Run or Kids Who Run are, I’m sure, laid-back and easy-going by nature. This is great for those families, because it’s a wonderful environment to support Your Runner.
Then there are families like mine. At our best, we are intense, passionate, high-maintenance, dramatic, emotional, hard-headed, soft-hearted, strong-willed, fiercly-loving, God-fearing, driven, Type-A, fighter-warrior-performer-ninja-princess kind of people. At our worst…well, never mind about that.
While these can be great characteristics for an Individual Runner to possess, the combination of attributes can pose particular challenges when possessed by an entire Family Of A Runner. Oy Vey~this running adventure I’d embarked on was going to make a LOT of waves.
If your partner is open to your tradition, then your household will also be Jewish. It may be more than just Jewish – but is will also be Jewish. The key is finding someone who understands and is open to the place of Judaism in your life. 
