Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Isn’t. May 12, 2011

It’s been so long since I’ve written a blog post that I almost forgot I had a blog! But I’m participating in an event here in a couple of weeks and was thinking about the best place to write about it.

I have decided to join a 24-hour hunger strike that is being held in my community. It’s to raise awareness and money for hunger in this country. For every $30 raised, Justin Rudd’s Community Action Team will match $30 and donate it to a variety of hunger organizations.

Now, I’m a girl who loves me some food! And giving it up for 24 hours sounds decidedly unappealing. But then, that’s kind of the whole point, isn’t it? When I heard about the event, I suddenly imagined what it would be like if my children came to me and said, “Mommy, I’m hungry” and I had to reply, “I’m sorry, baby, we don’t have any food.” There are mothers who have to send their kids to bed hungry! I think I can make it a day.

In addition, the morning of the second day (the 24 hours runs from noon to noon) I’m going to serve a pancake breakfast to the homeless. How much more meaningful will it be for me to serve them while I’m hungry too?

We’ll be having a closing ceremony on the beach. I am excited to participate and to open myself up to the insights and learning that will come from this experience. And, I’ll write a blog post after…

PS: If you want to support the hunger strike, here’s the Facebook page on it. https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=214769368542406

‘Twas the Night After Christmas December 27, 2010

‘Twas the Night after Christmas
When all through the house
Every creature was lounging
Even the mouse!

The stockings were thrown
On the floor over there
The wrapping paper’s strewn
On the couch and the chair

The dishes were stacked in the sink three feet high
Glistening with remnants of last night’s pumpkin pie

The children were nestled in front of TV
Too lazy to stand up and play the Wii

And Gram in her curlers and Pops in his robe
Were arguing about Cousin Johnny
And his new girlfriend Rose

When in from the kitchen there arose such a clatter
I sprang from the LaZboy to see what was the matter.

When what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But it’s MOM in the kitchen, we’d better stand clear!

More rapid than Merry Maids, her vacuum it came
And she hummed and she whistled and she called them by name.
Now, Comet! Now, Windex! Now Swiffer and Sweeper!
On, Lysol! On, Tilex! On, Hoover! On, Glade and Clorox!
Now clean away, clean away clean away all!

She was chubby and plump, with arms great to hug
And a face that got angry when you spilled on the rug.
A wink of her eye and a nod of her head,
Soon gave me to know I’d better go make my bed.

She spoke not a word, but got straight to her work.
Dusting and cleaning, not calling us jerks…

And laying her fingers
Aside of the broom
And giving a nod
On to the laundry room…

Ere, I heard her exclaim
Through the windows now clear,
“Thank goodness Christmas Day
Only comes once a year!”

July 16, 2010

My family and I went to the organic strawberry farm and then I made some delicious recipes. Check it out:

http://blip.tv/file/3888017

Who’s the Man July 1, 2010

Hey everyone,

Check out this moving tribute to my grandfather, and the other men and women who build small town America:

When Feelings Get In The Way June 3, 2010

My heart practically broke in half this morning! My ten year old daughter had an emotional breakdown on the way to school. This is the second day in a row that this has happened. Yesterday, I decided to give her a “mental health day” and we turned the car around and came home. But, when it happened again this morning, I knew I had to take a different approach.

Sitting the car, in front of the school, we had a talk about emotions. I said to her, “Sweetheart, I can see that you’re really upset. You’ve told me that there’s nothing serious going on at school and I believe you. I want to honor your feelings and let you know that they’re real and normal. But here’s the thing. You have a responsibility to go to school. And you have to do that no matter what your emotions are telling you right now. We can make a different choice about home schooling or whatnot in the long run. But, today, you have to dig deep inside yourself and find the strength to walk in that classroom and do what you need to do. You can’t let your FEELINGS determine your behavior.”

If I had only learned this lesson at the age of ten, I could have saved myself years of grief! All too often, we (and this is particularly relevant for women) have a tough time balancing between honoring our feelings and taking action on the things we need to do. We either deny that we’re having the feeling in the first place and power through, or we get overwhelmed by our feelings and do nothing.

Frankly, I’ve done both. I’ve stuffed my feelings down so deeply that I forgot they were even there. And, at other times, I’ve gotten so consumed by emotion that I let it make some really stupid choices.

I don’t for a minute imagine that my daughter will learn this lesson now. But, just as we build physical muscle using resistance, I’m hoping that she’ll build emotional muscle through challenging times. Because the fact is, sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do whether you want to or not.

My New Goal May 17, 2010

Well, after having had TWO family members in the hospital this month with lower GI issues, I decided to “get the message” and make some changes to my diet.

Colon cancer is the most preventable form of cancer there is. This also includes non-cancerous things such as diverticulitis, polyps, and internal hemorrhoids. And the cool thing is that it can largely be prevented by diet. The even cooler thing is that I love to eat. So it sounds like a win/win to me.

My new goal is to never have to go through what my family went through this month. It does NOT sound fun.

So, I have integrated the following things into my diet.

Steel cut oats: GREAT source of fiber and protein. Also reduces cholesterol.

Fruit: Especially blueberries. The antioxidants in brightly colored fruits actually bind to the free radicals in our bodies and take them away so that they can’t damage the cells. Damaged cells are what can become cancer.

Vegetables: Of course I already eat a lot of these, as I am a VEGetarian. But I’m adding raw veggies in for more fiber. Fiber acts like a broom and sweeps the food out so it doesn’t sit there and ferment. My body isn’t a compost pile, thank you…

Red wine: Oh yeah! I added this back into my diet because a) I like it and a girl’s gotta have some fun, and b) it has a compound called resveratrol which thins the blood and makes it less likely to form clots.

Flax seeds/oil: This is my form of Omega 3, since I don’t eat fish or fish oil. These fatty acids reduce inflammation in the cells, which damages them. And damaged cells can lead to cancer.

Anyway, that is my little nutrition lesson this morning. I’m writing it as I eat a breakfast of steel cut oats, flax seed, blueberries, walnuts, and a splash of whole cream for yumminess. It’s a little early for wine. Sort of.

I only share this because I love you. Well, okay, I’ve never met you. But I’m sure I would extremely like you if I did.

An oldie but goodie in celebration of my tenth year as a writer… May 14, 2010

Hilarious Confessions of a Stay-at-Home Mom

By Traci Vujicich

1:00 a.m. – Baby cries. Get up, feed her, change diaper. Five minutes later, change diaper again.

1:45 a.m. – Husband comes home from work. Get up to visit and review what bills have come in. There is a 4 cent error in the checkbook. Discuss at length.

2:30 a.m. – Go back to sleep while husband watches baby.

4:00 a.m. – Baby cries. Get up, feed her, change diaper.

6:00 a.m. – Baby cries. Get up, feed her, change diaper again. Make coffee and stare jealously at entire family as they sleep.

7:30 a.m. – After 10 minutes of arguing, make breakfast for 7 year old. Start dishwasher.

7:45 a.m. – Check e-mails to maintain contact with the real world.

8:00 a.m. – After threatening to make her leave in her nightgown if she doesn’t hurry up, leave to take 7 year old to school.

9:20 a.m. – Return home. Turn on Martha Stewart and envy the fact that she has had a shower.

9:30 a.m. – Baby cries. Feed her, change diaper. Hold baby for 2 hours as she is awake and wants to play. Watch The View, and envy the fact that the women aren’t wearing milk-stained sweats.

11:20 a.m. – Husband wakes up. Give him baby while I make his coffee and breakfast. We eat breakfast while staring at baby. I make a point of discussing something interesting from the newspaper so I don’t lose my ability to have an adult conversation. It goes something like this, “So how about that Pope?”

12:30 p.m. – Leave baby with husband while I shower. Two minutes into it, he comes in and says, “The baby pooped.” Spitting the shampoo out of my mouth I reply, “You know where the diaper changing table is.” Three minutes later, he says, “I think she’s hungry.” I exit shower. I have one shaved leg. Feed baby, change diaper again.

2:00 p.m. – Husband leaves for work. I put screaming baby in car seat and run errands – cleaners, grocery store, bank. Pick up 7 year old from school.

3:30 p.m. – Return home. Take aspirin for cracking headache.

3:35 p.m. – Baby cries. Feed her, change diaper. Hold baby for 2 hours as she wants to play. Watch Oprah. Eat stale pretzels and envy the fact that she has a personal chef.

4:00 p.m. – Argue with daughter as she does her homework. “I can’t DO it!”

5:00 p.m. – Begin to make dinner. Feed cats, who stare at me as if to say, “You are feeding me THIS?”

6:00 p.m. – Sit down to dinner. Eat one bite. Baby cries. Get up and feed her, change diaper. Eat cold dinner with one hand while holding baby with the other.

6:30 p.m. – Attempt to do dishes. Does not happen as baby does not want to be alone.

7:30 p.m. – Baby falls asleep. Gingerly put her in bassinet and envy the fact that she is sleeping. Resume dishes.

8:00 p.m. – Argue with 7 year old as she takes her bath. “I don’t WANT to wash my hair.”

8:30 p.m. – 7 year old goes to sleep. Baby wakes up. Feed baby, change diaper. Stare at baby for 2 hours, wishing I could go to sleep.

10:30 p.m. – Baby goes to sleep. I do too.

10:35 p.m. – Phone rings. “May I speak with Monica?” AAAGGGHHH! “You have the wrong number.”

Begin entire day again tomorrow

Livin’ on the Edge (Sort of) February 9, 2010

It’s funny how things change, and yet they stay the same. Even though I am now a 43-year-old health educator and coach who eats healthfully, pays my bills, follows the speed limit, and goes to the doctor regularly for check-ups, my inner “wild child” is still alive and well.

You see, I wasn’t always this responsible. Nope. I used to stay out all night long and party with my friends. I’d be the one cramming for final exams at 4:00 am on the day of the test. Heck, I DROVE MY CAR ACROSS CAMPUS in high school. I was, in the words of my parents, “a bad influence on my peers.”

But then, life happened. I got tired of running out of gas in my car and in my body. I got tired of hangovers and missing things because I was late. I got tired of being broke and having a crappy job. I realized that if I ever wanted my life’s dreams to come true, I was going to have to get my act together. Surprisingly, a 5-bedroom house on the strand by the beach doesn’t come to everyone who simply wants one!

And get it together I did. I’m now a responsible minivan mom of three.

But that wild child is still in there and she rears her head at the oddest times. My inner rebel just stops me in my tracks sometimes and says, “Oh yeah? Not THIS time, Madame Blackberry…”

The perfect example of this is the trash. The trash trucks come every Tuesday morning. They have done this for the entire 4 years I’ve been living here. It’s no surprise. It’s not like they just randomly come without warning.

And yet, for some reason, I am always running out there with the trash cans 45 seconds before the truck arrives at my house. My neighbors all put theirs out the night before. I could too! It’s not like I’m not home. I am! But the inner rebel LOVES the challenge. “Will we make it? Here it comes! RUN! RUN!”

Yes. I look like an idiot racing down the driveway with my over-filled blue recycling bins (I am a responsible environmentalist, after all.). I know that I could save myself from the drama.

But just for a moment or two, every Tuesday morning, I’m not “Dr. Traci, motivational speaker, writer, health educator, and coach.” I am that sixteen-year-old girl sneaking out of the house wondering, “Will I get caught?”

Hey. At 43 you gotta get your thrills where you can!

If you can’t laugh at yourself… February 6, 2010

It’s raining here in LA today, and I don’t like getting raindrops on my glasses. So, before I went into Trader Joe’s to do my weekly shopping, I put my glasses in the pocket of my raincoat. I get my umbrella, my purse, my cellphone, and head into the store. Wait, I forgot my bags! So I go back out to the car in the rain to get my bags. Okay, NOW I can shop. I go in my raincoat to get my glasses, and… where are they? They’re not there! They’re not in my pockets, not in my purse. Where could they be?

So, I go BACK out to my car in the rain, and see my glasses lying in the middle of the parking lot, in a puddle. I am so happy and thankful that no one ran over them. But wait. One of the lenses is missing!

Now this lens has been popping out since I got the glasses. My husband keeps telling me to go in and get it fixed, but it always falls to the bottom of my list of things to do.

Where is the lens? Now I am standing in the rain, crouched down in the parking lot of Trader Joe’s looking for the lens to my glasses. Have you ever tried to find a clear piece of plastic in a puddle?

Forget it. I’m going shopping.

I finish my shopping and head back to the car. Put the groceries in the trunk and spend another 5 minutes doing the crouch and search thing. No, I really can’t find it.

Whatever. I guess I’ll be driving home in the rain with blurry vision.

I get in the car and WHAT DO I FIND? The lens. Near my seat belt latch, of all places. Hurray! I put the lens in and go home.

Now, you might think that this is the end of the story. But NOOOOO. It’s not.

I think, “I know. I’ll make sure that the lens never falls out again. I’ll Crazy Glue it in!”

So, I do. It’s not the neatest application ever, but I’m thinking, “Hey. It’ll work. Next month when I can get an eye exam again, I’ll get contacts. This will work for a month.”

I let it dry for 5 minutes or so, and then put them on. It worked!

I head back into the house. But wait, I got some rain drops on my glasses. I get a cloth and clean the lenses.

OH NO! The Crazy Glue wasn’t dry! I just wiped crazy glue all over BOTH lenses of my glasses!!!!

Now I can’t see a thing!

What to do, what to do? I know. I’ll Google it.

Google tells me that nail polish remover gets Crazy Glue off of glasses. And it works. More or less. I do look like I’ve just come out of a steam room. But I can see!

If you can’t laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at, right?

Everyday Miracles January 31, 2010

A miracle happened today. Did you see it? No, the Mississippi River did not part. No one was cured from leprosy (that I know of….). Nope. Not that kind of miracle.

You see, when we hear the word “miracle,” we expect something dramatic, like someone levitating. But really, there are miracles every day, if we just look.

Today, my niece had a baby. “So what,” you might say. “People have babies every day.” True. But my niece doesn’t have a baby every day. And to me, the fact that ten months ago there was no person and now there is one is a bona fide miracle.

What about you? Did you have a miracle today? Maybe a friend called with just the right words at the right time. Or maybe you got a check in the mail right before one bounced. It might be something as simple as the red sock that got bleached and didn’t turn the whole load pink.

Most of the time, though, we don’t see them. We hit all green lights on the way to pick up our kid from school, and we’re not late, and all we can think of is, “Where am I going to park.”

Don’t get me wrong. I do it too. I probably miss 95% of the miracles that happen in my life every day. But on days like these, when one really big miracle happens in my life, I start to think about the other littler ones.

And maybe, just maybe, by noticing the small miracles, we can attract the big, fat, huge ones. I always did dream of levitating.