Echoes of Cold Moon

TODAY at 2:00 pm EST: Building responsibility and self-discipline in your child without nagging, screaming, throwing a tantrum, or "Because I say so!"

2008-10-30T01:12:00.001-04:00

** Don't forget to tune in TODAY for my Blog Talk Radio interview on this important parenting issue. **

Are you a parent of a pre-teen or teen? If not, please forward this important message to other parents you know.

Have you ever tried to get your child to do what he/she is supposed to do by nagging, screaming or resorting to "Because I say so"? I bet it didn't work so well, did it? You might have felt so frustrated that you wanted to throw a tantrum! (perhaps you did already!)

It's perfectly normal that you feel frustrated, stressed, worried, or even outright furious at times. Parenting is perhaps the most demanding and difficult job in the world. Ironically, none of us ever got pre-job training. For most parents, not so much on-the-job training, either. No wonder so many parents are so lost!

Parenting pre-teens and teens is a roller-coaster ride with many challenges. I know. I've coached many parents over the years, and I have a 13-year-old and a 10-year-old myself. It's not easy. I understand.

How do you build responsibility and self-discipline in your child without nagging, screaming, throwing a tantrum, yelling "Because I say so!" or anything else that could damage your relationship? I will be interviewed by parenting coach Joe Bruzzese on his radio show on this important parenting issue. Make sure you tune in this Thursday October 30th at 2:00 - 2:30 pm EST.

Topic: Building responsibility and self-discipline in your child without nagging, screaming, throwing a tantrum, or "Because I say so!"

We will discuss:

What are the common mistakes parents make in parenting pre-teens and teens?

What are the challenges for parents?

5 strategies to build responsibility and self-discipline in your child

You can either call in by phone, or log-on via your computer from anywhere with an internet connection. A recorded version of the show will be available on the website the following day.

Listen by Phone (646) 716-7230 When prompted dial 21634

Listen Online: go to www.Thinking-Forward.com at any point from 11:00 - 11:30 AM PST (2:00 – 2:30 PM EST) and click on the button that says, "Listen Live – Blog Talk Radio".

Hope you can tune in!

P.S. Visit Joe's blog Thinking-Forward for his daily (Monday-Friday) Internet TV show. He talks about all sort of issues concerning middle school kids and their parents. It's a great resource for any parents.

The Beautiful Flower in the Broken Pot

2008-07-27T22:45:00.003-04:00

I came across this beautiful story at IndiaInteracts, and just have to share this with you!

The Beautiful Flower in the Broken Pot
by Marissa

Our house was directly across the street from the clinic entrance of Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. We lived downstairs and rented the upstairs rooms to out patients at the clinic.

One summer evening as I was fixing supper, there was a knock at the door. I opened it to see a truly awful looking man. “Why, he's hardly taller than my eight-year-old," I thought as I stared at the stooped, shriveled body. But the appalling thing was his face, lopsided from swelling, red and raw.

Yet his voice was pleasant as he said, “Good evening. I've come to see if you've a room for just one night. I came for a treatment this morning from the eastern shore, and there's no bus 'til morning."

He told me he'd been hunting for a room since noon but with no success, no one seemed to have a room. “I guess it's my face… I know it looks terrible, but my doctor says with a few more treatments…"

For a moment I hesitated, but his next words convinced me: “I could sleep in this rocking chair on the porch. My bus leaves early in the morning."

I told him we would find him a bed, but to rest on the porch. I went inside and finished getting supper. When we were ready, I asked the old man if he would join us. “No thank you. I have plenty." And he held up a brown paper bag.

When I had finished the dishes, I went out on the porch to talk with him a few minutes. It didn't take a long time to see that this old man had an oversized heart crowded into that tiny body. He told me he fished for a living to support his daughter, her five children, and her husband, who was hopelessly crippled from a back injury.

He didn't tell it by way of complaint; in fact, every other sentence was preface with a thanks to God for a blessing. He was grateful that no pain accompanied his disease, which was apparently a form of skin cancer. He thanked God for giving him the strength to keep going.

At bedtime, we put a camp cot in the children's room for him. When I got up in the morning, the bed linens were neatly folded and the little man was out on the porch.

He refused breakfast, but just before he left for his bus, haltingly, as if asking a great favor, he said, Could I please come back and stay the next time I have a treatment? I won't put you out a bit. I can sleep fine in a chair." He paused a moment and then added, “Your children made me feel at home. Grownups are bothered by my face, but children don"t seem to mind." I told him he was welcome to come again.

And on his next trip he arrived a little after seven in the morning.

As a gift, he brought a big fish and a quart of the largest oysters I had ever seen. He said he had shucked them that morning before he left so that they'd be nice and fresh. I knew his bus left at 4:00 a.m. and I wondered what time he had to get up in order to do this for us.

In the years he came to stay overnight with us there was never a time that he did not bring us fish or oysters or vegetables from his garden.

Other times we received packages in the mail, always by special delivery; fish and oysters packed in a box of fresh young spinach or kale, every leaf carefully washed. Knowing that he must walk three miles to mail these, and knowing how little money he had made the gifts doubly precious.

When I received these little remembrances, I often thought of a comment our next-door neighbor made after he left that first morning.

“Did you keep that awful looking man last night? I turned him away! You can lose roomers by putting up such people!"

Maybe we did lose roomers once or twice. But oh! If only they could have known him, perhaps their illnesses would have been easier to bear.

I know our family always will be grateful to have known him; from him we learned what it was to accept the bad without complaint and the good with gratitude to God.

Recently I was visiting a friend, who has a greenhouse, as she showed me her flowers, we came to the most beautiful one of all, a golden chrysanthemum, bursting with blooms. But to my great surprise, it was growing in an old dented, rusty bucket. I thought to myself, “If this were my plant, I"d put it in the loveliest container I had!"

My friend changed my mind. “I ran short of pots," she explained, and knowing how beautiful this one would be, I thought it wouldn't mind starting out in this old pail. It's just for a little while, till I can put it out in the garden."

She must have wondered why I laughed so delightedly, but I was imagining just such a scene in heaven. “Here's an especially beautiful one," God might have said when he came to the soul of the sweet old fisherman. “He won't mind starting in this small body."

All this happened long ago - and now, in God's garden, how tall this lovely soul must stand.

Hug O' War

2008-07-25T22:40:00.000-04:00

In response to my previous post "Give a Hug, Spread the Love", a friend of mine sent me this beautiful poem by Shel Silverstein.

Hug O' War

I will not play at tug o' war,
I'd rather play at hug o' war,
Where everone hugs,
Instead of tugs,
Where everyone giggles,
And rolls on the rug,
Where everyone kisses,
And everyone grins,
Where everone cuddles.
And everyone wins.

Imagine what the world would be like if everyone played this game??

Give a Hug, Spread the Love

2008-07-11T11:04:00.001-04:00

"Hugging is healthy. It helps the immune system, cures depression, reduces stress and induces sleep.

It's invigorating, rejuvenating and has no unpleasant side effects. Hugging is nothing less than a miracle drug.

Hugging is all natural. It is organic, naturally sweet, no artificial ingredients, non-fattening, nonpolluting, environmentally friendly and 100 percent wholesome.

Hugging is the ideal gift. It's inflation-proof with no monthly payments. There are no batteries to replace. Great for any occasion, fun to give and receive, shows you care, comes with its own wrapping and, of course, is fully returnable."
-- Author Unknown

Give a Hug. Spread the Love.

Fire Rainbow

2008-07-09T20:02:00.002-04:00

THIS IS A FIRE RAINBOW - THE RAREST OF ALL NATURALLY OCCURRING ATMOSPHERIC PHENOMENA.

THE PICTURE WAS CAPTURED ON THE IDAHO / WASHINGTON BORDER. THE EVENT LASTED ABOUT 1 HOUR.

CLOUDS HAVE TO BE CIRRUS, AT LEAST 20K FEET IN THE AIR, WITH JUST THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF ICE CRYSTALS AND THE SUN HAS TO HIT THE CLOUDS AT PRECISELY 58 DEGREES.

AMAZING, ISN'T IT?!

Stick-Figure Work Life Balance

2008-05-25T12:07:00.004-04:00

Here is a funny stick-figure video about the dire consequences of not maintaining work/life balance. Enjoy!

Funny Poem about Motherhood

2008-05-11T02:06:00.000-04:00

Found this funny poem about motherhood. Enjoy!

* * * * * * *
Ode to Motherhood

Where did they go -
My beautiful hips,
look at what's left in their place....
Two handles of love
is what they say,
with stretch marks all over the place....

Where are they now
my perky firm breasts,
Oh there they are down there.....
Pointing towards my ankles
and knees,
hoisted up by the bras that I wear....

What happened to
my lovely smooth thighs,
They're covered in cellulite bulge...
they're thick and they're round
and it can't be from
all of the chocolate that I indulge...

I've said goodbye
to my firm and tight butt,
which is now as flat as a board....
It droops down to there
it hasn't a care
Yet it once seemed to be so adored....

There's no more nails
to paint blood red,
to be adorned with many gold rings....
They're cracked and chipped
and broken now
I no longer have time for such things....

But wait, what is that?
It's my fifth son's first smile,
and look it's because he loves me...
To him I'm the best
and most incredible thing
That his little eyes ever did see....

There'll be time later on
once he's all big and grown,
and he's got his own life to live...
For me to be sexy
and get it all back
But for now there's so much to give..

© Paula Pawson 2006

Ode to Motherhood

2008-05-11T01:02:00.000-04:00

To all the moms:

Happy Mother's Day!

You have worked so hard, all year around. I hope you get to take a day off, and enjoy your special day. I hope you love the festivities and/or any loving gestures your family bestow on you. Even if none of your family is around to celebrate this day with you, I hope you make a point to do or have something you love today. Hey, this is your special day, and you totally deserve it.

I just called my Mom in Taiwan. None of us could spend Mother's Day with her, and my dad had to attend a meeting today. I was so glad to find that Mom was in a good mood, nonetheless. I said, "Well, Mom, since Dad is not home, you've got a day off! How are you going to celebrate your special day?" She told me cheerfully that she's got some ideas -- she might visit this or that city, do some shopping, visit her favorite coffee shop, etc. She was getting herself ready to go out and enjoy her free time. I'm pretty sure she is going to dress up and have fun out on the town. Way to go, Mom! That's the spirit!

Motherhood is life-changing. I'm positive that you'd agree with me. Being a mom has changed me on so many levels. It's the most challenging job I've ever taken on, and the most amazing journey I've experienced. I'd never trade it for anything in the world.

Before you go out for your Mother's Day celebration, here are some thoughts for you to ponder.

You are loving and caring... You give your children unconditional love, the highest level of love in the world. You are the go-to person when anyone needs TLC - a hug, a kiss, some encouraging words, or chocolate chip cookies. You are love, personified.

You are patient... Reading "The Little Engine That Could" for the 1,000th time, with the same level of joy and enthusiasm (even when you were so tired you could barely keep your eyes open); getting your toddler potty trained; helping your child with challenging homework; sewing your child's school play or Halloween costume... that takes patience.

You are committed... Hey, you took on a life-long commitment to be a mom, didn't you?!

You are strong and you persevere... Think about what you had to go through to bring your child to the world -- the pregnancy, the labor pain, the adoption process -- need I say more? Think about all the challenges you've gone through to take care of your children and make sure they are healthy, safe and happy. You are much tougher than you give yourself credit for.

You are disciplined... You get up every morning to take care of your family, cooking, feeding, bathing, cleaning... day after day, after day. If that's not discipline, I don't know what is.

You take charge and get things done... You are the one who organizes and coordinates everyone's schedules, and make sure nobody misses doctor's appointments, soccer practice, band concert, birthday party, anniversary dinner (even if you have to plan it yourself).

You know when to say no and stand your ground... You have no problem telling your toddler or teenager what they are not supposed to do, even if you know they are not gonna like you.

You are creative... You've created a loving home for your children. You use your creativity in the ways you show your love, the foods you cook, the stories you tell, the imaginative plays, the silly songs you make up, the garden you planted and all the family vacations and memories you help create.

You are powerful... You were given the power and privilege to co-create a life (your child), to help your child reach his/her full potential and create a better world. That's enormous power and responsibility.

You are beautiful... Have you ever looked deeply into your child's eyes and see your own reflection? You are absolutely beautiful... no laugh lines or stretch marks could ever diminish your beauty.

I hope you take a few moment here and let it all sink in.

Next time, when someone else, or that nasty little voice in your head, tells you that you are not loving enough, strong enough, pretty enough, disciplined enough, or that you are too "selfish" for taking care of yourself, or whatever, tell them to get lost. They simply don't know any better.

You are perfect and whole, just the way you are. You deserve to be loved and adored, just like you love and adore your children. Now, go ahead and celebrate this day the way you truly deserve.

Forward this message to any moms you know who could use a little validation or encouragement. As moms, we ought to support and empower one another.

Take good care of yourself... you are irreplaceable!

Cindy Ashton's Butterfly

2008-02-12T10:25:00.000-05:00

"What seems to us bitter trials are often blessings in disguise."
-- Oscar Wilde

This video brought tears to my eyes. It's the right dose of inspiration to start your day (or to pick you up when you feel down). Watch it, and you will agree with me.

How We Met

2007-11-23T14:15:00.000-05:00

Fun video - very creative!

Happy Thanksgiving and The Turkey Day Blue

2007-11-22T12:19:00.000-05:00

I talked to my coach yesterday, and she asked me what my plans are for Thanksgiving. I said, "Well, my parents and in-laws are overseas, and my sister and cousins all seem to be too busy this year to get together. So, we (the four of us) are basically on our own this year."

Her response was, "Oh, I am SO envious of you! I'm going to my mom's for Thanksgiving tomorrow, and I'm SO not looking forward to it!"

Sounds like my coach has a serious case of Turkey Day Blue.

I guess we are lucky. My husband and I are so laid back this year. In fact, he suggested going to an all-you-can-eat Japanese seafood buffet for Thanksgiving dinner. We figured, none of us are huge fans of turkey. Honestly, I'm not interested in laboring for hours to cook something I'm not so crazy about, and the kids probably wouldn't miss it. Well, we were wrong. My son protested, when I mentioned that there won't be a turkey dinner this Thanksgiving. So, this was 9:30pm Monday night, 2 days before Thanksgiving, and DH and I were going online & calling up nearby grocery stores, trying to order a Thanksgiving dinner for four.

Of course, most of the places had either sold out their Thanksgiving dinners, or they required a big order like a party of 10 or more.

It's kind of funny, when you think about it. All I wanted was a very small turkey (so we won't be stuck, or I should say, stuffed, with turkey leftovers for weeks!) but my son wanted the mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, and the whole 9 yards. Well, he is always the one in our family with the most "American stomach".

Did we find our turkey dinner? Yes, we finally found it on Tuesday, so yes, we will be having a traditional turkey dinner tonight, instead of Japanese sushi & seafood.

I'm very grateful for whatever dinner we have, and most of all, for my very beautiful, happy & healthy family who will be sitting at the dinner table together.

As for my poor coach (and anyone reading this) who's got the Turkey Day Blue, I send my sympathy and blessings.

I asked my coach this question, and if you also have the Turkey Day Blue, this would be a good question for you to ponder.

This is what I said to her: "Here is a coaching question for you: If your goal is to have more peace & joy and less stress, what would you commit to do differently this holiday season?"

P.S. If you can't answer that question, maybe you can benefit from my upcoming Teleclass "Joyful and Stress-less Holidays". Sign up here.

I wish you and your family
a very happy
(and hopefully relaxing)
Thanksgiving holiday!

THE Shortcut to Joy

2007-11-20T12:16:00.000-05:00

© copyright 2007 Hueina Su, Beyond Horizon Coaching

The other day, I was presenting a workshop called "C.P.R. for a Balanced Life". One of the principles I shared was "Pain is inevitable; suffering is optional." This principle always seems to strike a chord in the audience, and they often ask "How can you not suffer when bad things happen?"

Happiness is a Choice

Do you believe that life is supposed to be joyful and happiness is a choice?

Some people believe that life is all about pain and suffering. Some even act like the more they suffer, and/or self-sacrifice (think martyr), they will be able to collect some kind of reward at the end of life. Since our thoughts & beliefs create our reality, if you buy into that kind of beliefs, I think the only reward you will get is a self-fulfilling prophecy of a life full of suffering.

Sure, it's much easier to be happy when your life is all wine and roses. However, as you must have experienced, most of the times, things don't necessarily go our way. Sometimes, bad things do happen to good people, including you and me. That's when your free will and choice come into play.

Do you choose to see the glass as half-full or half-empty?

Do you choose to play victim and drown in self-pity, or do you choose to take 100% responsibility and take charge to find solutions?

Can you choose to see the positive side in everything, and be at peace no matter what?

Sometimes we have no control over the circumstances or events that happen in our life. If we were to change how we feel, the only thing we could change is how we interpret and respond to the events. There is always more than one way of looking at things. It really depends on from which angle you look at it.

I believe that everything happens for a reason. We may or may not see it, or appreciate it, but whatever happens in our lives is meant to help us grow into who we are meant to be, or help us move forward on our journey. When you choose to take on this belief, it would be easier to accept and be at peace with whatever you perceive as negative circumstances that you cannot change.

Uncommon Blessings

Sometimes when you are going through a particularly challenging time of your life, it might not be so easy to find the blessings. Can you recall something from your past that you thought was THE worst thing that could happen to you, and yet years later you realized that was actually a blessing in disguise? We all have this type of experience. What does it tell you? If you believe in a Higher Power and a Master Plan, it would be a little easier for you to trust that everything will work out eventually for your best interest. So, instead of suffering through it, why not choose to believe that it's a blessing in disguise, and choose to find the positive and/or the lesson presented to you.

Years ago I came to US for graduate school. I was very excited about the opportunity to live in a new country and pursue a graduate degree. However, within the first month, I had to have an emergency surgery, and ended up having to withdraw from all classes for the entire semester. I was devastated. The doctor came to congratulate me when he was about to discharge me and noticed that I seemed depressed. He couldn't understand why, since the surgery was very successful and it probably saved my life. I told him that I was very disappointed that I had to withdraw from all classes and waste the whole semester. It seemed like such a huge disaster back then. However, years later when I look back, all I feel is gratitude. I'm so grateful for those friends who took me to the ER in the middle of the night, and everyone who took care of me after the surgery. I'm grateful for the skillful doctor who cured a painful condition that had plagued me for years. I'm also grateful for those 3 months I got to spend in recovery. It took me a long time to realize that, that was the only 3 months in my adult life that I did not have a job, or school, or family. Hey, I didn't even have a boyfriend. I didn't have to take care of anything, or anyone. The only task I had in those 3 months was to focus on healing myself, and doing whatever I enjoyed doing. Coming out of a demanding nursing job and a challenging relationship, that was just the break I needed, before jumping into a new chapter in my life. It was, indeed, a blessing in disguise.

THE Shortcut to Joy

If all else fails, and you can't get out of a foul mood, I highly recommend that you take THE shortcut to joy -- count your blessings. I'm sure it's not difficult to find plenty of people and things that you are grateful for in your life. Bring them into your mind's eyes, and say thank-you silently to each one of them. Better yet, call or write to some of the people you are grateful for, and let them know how much you appreciate them. Trust me, you will feel better almost instantly.

So, here's my "Rx for Joy" for you: Count your blessings. Stat. Repeat as necessary.

"Reflect upon your blessings, of which every man has plenty, not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some."
-- Charles Dickens

"The Balancing Act": my radio interview

2007-11-15T12:11:00.000-05:00

I was interviewed on the radio show "Protect Your American Dream" on November 13, 2007. The topic was "The Balancing Act". This radio show is mostly about financial issues, however, Jaynee Sasso, the host, invited me because she has seen the negative impact of poor time management in work-life balance, as well as in financial success.

As a professional life & business coach, I help my clients prioritize and re-design their lives, to create more work-life balance, reduce stress, improve self-care, achieve personal & career goals, and live the life they truly desire. These days, work-life balance seems to have become an impossible dream for most people. We all wear multiple hats, which comes with multitudes of responsibilities and obligations. Combining that with the need to please (or the inability to say NO) and poor time management skills, and you easily get side-tracked from your priorities and long-term goals, not to mention the possibility of burnout, depression, or even dis-ease.

So, what can you do to effectively manage your time so that you can achieve your goals, take care of your priorities, nurture yourself and avoid burnout? How do you prioritize your tasks? How do you avoid "busy-ness" and improve productivity? How do you say NO so that you can free up time for yourself and what's important for you? In this radio interview I offered many practical tips and strategies that you can apply to your life.

Click here to listen to the interview recording. Visit my website for more information about my coaching programs and FREE Teleclass series. While you are there, don't forget to sign up to download your FREE Intensive Self-Care Kit.

Life Lessons: The Girl with 4 Boyfriends

2007-10-18T01:21:00.000-04:00

A good friend of mine sent this story to me. It provides a fresh perspective on what truly matters.
=============================

Once upon a time there was this girl who had four boyfriends.

She loved the 4th boyfriend the most and adored him with rich robes and treated him to the finest of delicacies. She gave him nothing but the best.

She also loved the 3rd boyfriend very much and was always showing him off to neighboring kingdoms. However, she feared that one day he would leave her for another.

She also loved her 2nd boyfriend. He was her confidant and was always kind, considerate and patient with her.

Whenever this girl faced a problem, she could confide in him, and he would help her get through the difficult times.

The girls 1st boyfriend was a very loyal partner and had made great contributions in maintaining her wealth and kingdom. However, she did not love the first boyfriend. Although he loved her deeply, she hardly took notice of him.

One day, the girl fell ill and she knew her time was short. She thought of her luxurious life and wondered, 'I now have four boyfriends with me, but when I die, I'll be all alone'.

Thus, she asked the 4th boyfriend, 'I loved you the most, endowed you with the finest clothing and showered great care over you. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?'

'No way!', replied the 4th boyfriend, and he walked away without another word.

His answer cut like a sharp knife right into her heart.

The sad girl then asked the 3rd boyfriend,'I loved you all my life. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?'

'No!', replied the 3rd boyfriend. 'Life is too good! When you die, I'm going to marry someone else!'

Her heart sank and turned cold.

She then asked the 2nd boyfriend, 'I have always turned to you for help and
you've always been there for me. When I die, will you follow me and keep me company?'

'I'm sorry , I can't help you out this time!', replied the 2nd boyfriend. 'At the very most, I can only walk with you to your grave.'

His answer struck her like a bolt of lightning, and the girl was devastated.

Then a voice called out: 'I'll go with you. I'll follow you no matter where you go.'

The girl looked up, and there was her first boyfriend. He was very skinny as
he suffered from malnutrition and neglect.

Greatly grieved, the girl said, 'I should have taken much better care of you when
I had the chance!'

In truth, you have 4 boyfriends in your lives:

Your 4th boyfriend is your body. No matter how much time and effort you lavish in making it look good, it will leave you when you die.

Your 3rd boyfriend is your possessions, status and wealth. When you die, it will all go to others.

Your 2nd boyfriend is your family and friends. No matter how much they have been there for you, the furthest they can stay by you is up to the grave.

And your 1st boyfriend is your Soul. Often neglected in pursuit of wealth, power and pleasures of the world.

However, your Soul is the only thing that will follow you where ever you go.

Cultivate, strengthen and cherish it now, for it is the only part of you that will follow you to the throne of Heaven and continue with you throughout Eternity.

"Being happy doesn't mean every thing's perfect.
It means you've decided to see beyond the imperfections."

William Tell Overture for Moms

2007-09-28T19:58:00.000-04:00

If you are a mom, you've got to watch this!!!

Several of my mom friends sent this to me. OMG, I laughed, and laughed, until tears came out!!! Hey, some say a good belly laugh equals crunches. This definitely counts -- all 2 minutes and 55 seconds of it! LOL!

Your Action Challenge: After you're done laughing, pass it on!

I'm Back!

2007-09-26T20:06:00.000-04:00

Sorry I've been MIA from this blog for sooooo long. I still write regularly on my other blog Intensive Care for the Nurturer's Soul, though. If you have not read it, you should check it out!

I thought nobody was really reading this blog any more, but something happened last weekend that made me re-consider. As soon I walked into my Tai Chi Sword class last weekend, a guy I've never met before immediately shouted out: "Hey, you're the lady with the Echoes of Cold Moon blog!!!" I'm NOT kidding.

I was a little shocked how he even recognized me. He told me he was looking for a Tai Chi class and found my blog because of my Wudang Tai Chi Sword post. Wow, you never know.

Also, just the other day, someone left a new comment on my last post written back in May. When I went to find his blog, it was a diary of his recent trip to China, complete with great photos.

Guess I'm getting a gentle nudge from the Universe to come back to write on this blog. So, I'm back!

In Praise of Green Beans

2007-05-22T22:03:00.000-04:00

Tonight's dinner was rice, rotisserie chicken and sauteed green beans. LK and CB love the chicken, but turned their noses up about green beans. That's not a surprise -- in my 10+ years as a mom, I haven't personally met many kids who love green beans or green peas, or any green veggies, for that matter.

In order to get them to try different vegetables and to make vegetables a regular part of their diet, I've set a rule since they were little. My rule is, they have to finish whatever vegetables I serve at dinner time (I mean the portion I put on their plate). It's OK if they don't finish their rice/noodles or protein (usually chicken or fish, which they love anyway), but they have to finish their veggies.

They both know that's my rule, and there's no way around it.

So, they'd complain (or whine) from time to time, but they do finish their veggies, and even learn to love some of them. For example, LK and CB love corns, carrots, snow peas, cabbages, Chinese bean sprouts, celery, cucumber, and spinach. They just don't like green beans and green peas. And broccoli is something they love sometimes and hate sometimes, depending on their moods.

Anyway, we had green beans tonight, and, not surprisingly, they both groaned when they saw that on the dinner table. Their mood was quickly lifted by the golden-brown honey rotisserie chicken, and they started to joke about how yucky green beans are. The other day, I shared with them that someone who lives in Indonesia sent me a special acrostic made from my name. That must have made an impression on them. Before I knew it, LK started writing an acrostic of beans on a sticky note, right at the dinner table.

This is what LK wrote:

Boring
Ew!!!
Atrocious
Never will eat
Salty

She even took out a dictionary to look up "atrocious", just to make sure she got the right word she was looking for. Then she read it out loud for us:

"Atrocious, adjective, very bad, outrageously cruel".

"Yup, that's the word", LK said, satisfied with her choice of word.

How can innocent little green beans be "outrageously cruel"? Beats me!

Now, CB always loves to follow his big sister's footprints. Of course, he'd have to write an acrostic too! So this is what CB came up with:

Black souls
Ewwww!
Astonishingly gross
Never'll eat, ever
Sardine-like taste

We were all cracking up!!! LK exclaimed, "You don't even know what sardines taste like!!!"

CB shouted back, "I imagine they would taste as gross as green beans!"

We laughed until tears came out!

"OK, guys, now it's time to finish your green beans!!!" I hate to break up a party, but we had to finish dinner and move on to other tasks before bedtime.

Much to my delight, this time, the kids finished their green beans without further complaints. :-)

3 Men Who Walked on Water

2007-05-18T21:06:00.000-04:00

Do you really know your theology?

3 MEN IN HISTORY WALKED ON WATER

The 1st one was Christ ...

The 2nd one was the apostle, Peter ...

Then there was this guy, Jose ...

Need I say more? :-)

Journey into Love

2007-05-13T11:48:00.000-04:00

Happy Mother's Day!!!

As I woke up to this beautiful sunny day this morning, having just returned from a whole day of empowering experience at the Morristown Women's Festival yesterday, I felt totally at peace and joyful. I felt loved. And, above all, I felt grateful.

It's been an absolutely amazing journey for me as a mother. My daughter is 11 and my son is 9 this year. I feel blessed to have my Mom and sisters (pictured, I was 3 months pregnant with my daughter in that picture), and so many wonderful girlfriends with me on this journey.

Just as we are growing our children, our children are growing us! I've learned so much about myself, and grown so much as a woman.

I hope you celebrate today, knowing that you are the perfect mom for your child(ren).

I hope you enjoy this day, knowing that no matter where you are on your life's journey, you are on the right path to become the woman you are meant to be.

I hope you trust and surrender to your Self, and relax into it.

I hope you let your Inner Goddess come out and play, even just for a day!

I hope you savor today, knowing that you are loved.

You hold within you the love you are seeking.

You are LOVE.

Written by Hueina Su on Mother's Day, May 13, 2007

Carnival of Family Life 1-Year Anniversity Edition

2007-05-07T16:27:00.000-04:00

The Carnival of Family Life is celebrating its 1-year Anniversary at its founder Kailani's blog An Island Life this week. There are a whopping 61 submissions this week!

I have participated in a lot of blog carnivals, and I can honestly say that the Carnival of Family Life is one of those that consistently host high-quality articles. I'm very happy to be part of this 1-Year Anniversary edition this week. Make sure you go over there to check out those wonderful (and some downright hilarious) articles at the Carnival of Family Life this week!

Pennies in the Shoes

2007-05-05T23:01:00.000-04:00

It's such a beautiful day today. Sunny, warm, white fluffy clouds. So even though I felt a little sleepy from staying up till 2:30am this morning making my new business cards & brochures, I urged "the crew" to move outdoors instead of sitting in front of the TV. Don't want to waste a gorgeous day like today.

We decided to go to Hedden Park, one of our favorite local parks with a lake (with peddle boats in the summer), nice playground, soccer field, large pavilion for BBQ & parties, trails, and lots of grass to roam around. Our favorite part of that park, however, is the small creek hidden in the woods behind the playground. I love walking along the creek. No matter which season we go there, it's always beautiful and makes me want to slow down & just enjoy the moment.

However, that's not why my family loves that creek.

There is a trail along the creek, but, we prefer to walk on the rocks in the creek. DH, LK and CB LOVE to walk across the creek on those rocks, zig-zagging their way all the way to the little waterfall at the end of the trail. I join them sometimes, trying to capture the Kodak moments with my camera. It's fun & exciting when you can find the right rocks to step on to go across the creek. The water is very shallow (less than knee height), so there's no worry of drowning. Although, you do have to watch your footing, because some of the rocks could be very slippery.

We've been there for many times over the years, and nobody ever fell in the water before. Occasionally, one of the kids stepped into the water by accident. DH slipped & scrapped his knee one time, because he was trying to show off. Being the cautious one, I haven't had any accident (knock on wood) by that creek.

Today, we started off with high spirit. It's our first outing of the season. The weather had been so erratic the whole winter & spring here in NJ. I am really ready for some real spring weather. Something like today's weather. Just perfect. I'm amazed & very grateful that my asthma and allergy haven't been bothering me that much, compared to what happened last spring. I'm a little stuffy & can't smell anything, but, I'm not on any medication. Wow, I guess acupuncture really helps.

Anyway, we started out by the lake, watching the ducks, geese, and white fluffy clouds. Then the kids said they wanted to "warm up" at the playground. They were gearing up for the hike by the creek. After a few rounds of monkey bars and slides (don't ask me why these have anything to do with "warming up" for hiking or walking across the creek), the kids were ready for the challenge.

The kids were very excited for their first hike by the creek, and I think DH was a little too excited. He wanted to dive right in, and took on the very first possible pass across the creek. CB followed his daddy right away, and LK was right behind him. I looked at the set of rocks DH picked out. They are mostly big enough and dry. However, there was a big gap between two rocks that I didn't think the kids could walk across. I quickly voiced my opinion, trying to stop them. The kids were already in the middle of the creek, and, just as I predicted, CB couldn't get across "the gap" even when DH tried to reach out to him to pull him over. OK, gotta turn back. CB and LK turned around and walked back toward me. LK took a wrong step, and stepped into the water with her right foot.

"OK, that didn't go so well", she said, stopping to take off her sneaker & let the water out.

She shrugged it off, and kept going. I told DH to pick a better pass next time.

A moment later, we came to the next possible pass. These rocks were smaller, and some of them were wet. The water was running fast. I was a little concerned, but DH charged ahead, and the kids did not hesitate to follow him. CB was right in front of me, trying to step across a wet rock to DH. He took another step forward, trying to reach for DH's hand, when all of a sudden he slipped and stepped right into the water. When he tried to step back onto the rock, he slipped again and this time he fell right into the creek. It happened so fast -- I was trying to grab him, but he slipped again and fell further away from me. Well, it was only a few feet away from me, but I couldn't reach him in all my panic. DH was on another big rock and couldn't reach his hand either. Luckily, the water was very shallow. CB reacted very quickly and after a few tries climbed back onto a rock.

He didn't cry or anything. He joked that "This is why I wanted a stick (to walk with)!!" I was amazed that he was so calm. I, on the other hand, was a little shocked. Of course, you always think about the worst case scenario afterwards. Things could have been MUCH worse. But, of course, I didn't want to show that worry in front of the kids.

CB was totally soaked and cold. So, that was the end of our adventure for today. Enough excitement for a day, if you ask me. We wrapped CB in two beach towels and drove home. Despite of what happened, both kids were in a good mood on our way home. I was just so grateful that we are all safe and sound.

When we got home, CB took off his sneakers and LK noticed the pennies in CB's sneakers. For some reason, CB started putting one penny in each of his sneakers recently, saying the pennies seemed to bring him good luck. LK said, "Well, your pennies didn't work this time, did they?" CB said, the pennies only work on "smaller" luck. But, I said, "Oh, I think they did. Things could have been worse, you know."

Yes, I do believe that CB's lucky pennies worked. He is safe, and that's what matters.

Unhealthy Competition?

2007-04-22T02:48:00.000-04:00

NEVER HEARD CREATION EXPLAINED THIS WAY BEFORE! FUNNY!

In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth and populated the Earth with broccoli, cauliflower and spinach, green and yellow and red vegetables of all kinds, so Man and Woman would live long and healthy lives.

Then using God's great gifts, Satan created Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream and Krispy Creme Donuts. And Satan said, "You want chocolate with that?"

And Man said, "Yes!" and Woman said, "and as long as you're at it, add some sprinkles." And they gained 10 pounds And Satan smiled.

And God created the healthful yogurt that Woman might keep the figure that Man found so fair. And Satan brought forth white flour from the wheat, and sugar from the cane and combined them. And Woman went from size 6 to size 14.

So God said, "Try my fresh green salad." And Satan presented Thousand-Island Dressing, b uttery croutons and garlic toast on the side. And Man and Woman unfastened their belts following the repast.

God then said, "I have sent you heart healthy vegetables and olive oil in which to cook them." And Satan brought forth deep fried fish and chicken-fried steak so big it needed its own platter And Man gained more weight and his cholesterol went through the roof.

God then created a light, fluffy white cake, named it "Angel Food Cake," and said, "It is good." Satan then created chocolate cake and named it "Devil's Food."

God then brought forth running shoes so that His children might lose those extra pounds. And Satan gave cable TV with a remote control so Man would not have to toil changing the channels. And Man and Woman laughed and cried before the flickering blue light and gained pounds.

Then God brought forth the potato, naturally low in fat and brimming with nutrition. And Satan peeled off the healthful skin and sliced the starchy center in to chi ps and deep-fried them. And Man gained pounds.

God then gave lean beef so that Man might consume fewer calories and still satisfy his appetite. And Satan created McDonald'sand its 99-cent double cheeseburger. Then said, "You want fries with that?" And Man replied, "Yes! And super size them!" And Satan said, "It is good." And Man went into cardiac arrest.

God sighed and created quadruple bypass surgery.

Then Satan created HMOs.... (and you can guess what happened to Man)

An Poem That Gives You Goosebumps

2007-04-14T10:41:00.000-04:00

I received this awesome poem from a friend, and I'd like to share with you. I got goosebumps reading it..... Get your Kleenex ready before you read this.

A drunk man in an Oldsmobile
They said had run the light
That caused the six-car pileup
On 109 that night.

When broken bodies lay about
And blood was everywhere,
The sirens screamed out eulogies,
For death was in the air.

A mother, trapped inside her car,
Was heard above the noise;
Her plaintive plea near split the air:
"Oh, God, please spare my boys!"
She fought to loose her pinned hands;
She struggled to get free,
But mangled metal held her fast
In grim captivity.
Her frightened eyes then focused
On where the back seat once had been,
But all she saw was broken glass and
Two children's seats crushed in.
Her twins were nowhere to be seen;
She did not hear them cry,
And then she prayed they'd been thrown free,
"Oh, God, don't let them die! "

Then firemen came and cut her loose,
But when they searched the back,
They found therein no little boys,
But the seat belts were intact.
They thought the woman had gone mad
And was traveling alone.
But when they turned to question her,
They discovered she was gone.

Policemen saw her running wild
And screaming above the noise
"In beseeching supplication, Please help me find my boys!
They're four years old and wear blue shirts;
Their jeans are blue to match."

One cop spoke up, "They're in my car,
And they don't have a scratch.
They said their daddy put them there,
And gave them each a cone,
Then told them both to wait for Mom
To come and take them home.
I've searched the area high and low,
But I can't find their dad.
He must have fled the scene,
I guess, and that is very bad."

The mother hugged the twins and said,
While wiping at a tear,
"He could not flee the scene, you see,
For he's been dead a year."

The cop just looked confused and asked,
"Now, how can that be true? "

The boys said, "Mommy, Daddy came
And left a kiss for you.
He told us not to worry
And that you would be all right,
And then he put us in this car with
The pretty, flashing light.
We wanted him to stay with us,
Because we miss him so,
But Mommy, he just hugged us tight
And said he had to go.
He said someday we'd understand
And told us not to fuss,
And he said to tell you, Mommy,
He's watching over us."

The mother knew without a doubt
That what they spoke was true,
For she recalled their dad's last words,
"I will watch over you."

The fireman's notes could not explain
The twisted, mangled car,
And how the three of them escaped
Without a single scar.
But on the cop's report was scribed,
In print so very fine,
An angel walked the beat tonight on Highway 109.

My Little Thomas the Tank Engine

2007-04-08T21:22:00.000-04:00

I came across this post on Reflections of Time today, in which a father talks about his 3 1/2 years old son's love for Thomas the Tank Engine. Ah, this brought back so many sweet memories!

My son CB used to be a HUGE fan of Thomas the Tank Engine when he was little. I bought him his first Thomas when he was about 1 year old, and he fell madly in love with Thomas at first sight! He would carry his little Thomas the Tank Engine wherever he went. He often quietly played with & stared at Thomas while lying on his tummy on the floor, until he fell asleep. Back then he couldn't tell me what's on his mind, but I often imagined he must be talking to Thomas in his mind and making up all sorts of adventures he and Thomas' friends could go on together.

His collection of Thomas & friends quickly grew, as his passion for Thomas and all trains grew with him. He's got so many engines, train tracks, videos, books, outfits, and of course, he had to be Thomas the Tank Engine for Halloween -- 3 years in a row! He could name ALL 100+ engines in the Thomas the Tank Engine series, and their different personalities. He had a big 24-piece floor puzzle of Thomas, and he could put together that puzzle upside down! We took him to ride the Thomas the Tank Engine (a full-size steam locomotive) at the Strasburg Railroad, TWICE in 3 years. That's how much we loved Thomas!

When he was about 2 1/2 years old, we went to my daughter's first piano recital (she was 5). LK did a great job playing her very first recital piece. When she was done, the MC gave her a little trophy that every kid who played in the recital got. LK excitedly ran back to me and DH to show us her trophy. What we did not expect was that CB walked straight up to the piano, while I was busy taking a picture of LK with her first trophy. The audience started giggling when CB walked right to the MC, handed the MC the Thomas the Tank Engine that he was holding, and proceeded to climb up the piano bench as if he was going to give a recital. The MC happened to be LK's piano teacher who, amused by CB's impromptu performance, turned to the audience and said, "I know he is not in the program, but, do you mind?" The audience burst into laughter and applauded for CB. So, in front of the full auditorium, CB performed his "Impromptu Op no. 1", which was about 10 seconds long, I think. The audience was cheering for him when he finished.

I had a picture of his very first (although informal) piano recital. He was so little sitting at the concert grand piano. Last winter (he was almost 9) when he was complaining about piano practice and saying he didn't like recitals, I told him about his very first piano recital. Of course, he didn't remember at all. His eyes drew very wide, as if I was telling some kind of fantasy adventure story.

Like all parents who wish their babies would never grow up, I thought CB's love affair with Thomas the Tank Engine would last forever. I knew that was my wishful thinking, but I didn't want to face the reality. He was still playing with Thomas when he was in second grade. Then, out of the blue, one day he told me, "Mom, I think I'm too old for Thomas".

"What? Too old for Thomas?!! But, but, you love Thomas soooo much!!!" I was in shock!

CB calmed explained to me that he liked Bionicles better now, and that I could give away ALL of his Thomas trains.

I couldn't believe my ears! My baby Thomas was all grown up!

I asked DH to put away all Thomas trains in the attic, and told CB that he could ask us to take them out when he wanted to play with them again. He never did. He has moved on to Bionicles, and he never looked back.

We finally decided to sell CB's train table last winter, because it's just sitting there taking up precious space in his little room. On a cold, rainy night, a young couple with a baby boy just over one year old came to look at the train table and bought it. I told them how much CB enjoyed that train table playing his Thomas & friends, and that their son will enjoy the train table for years to come. When they left with the train table, I felt like a part of me left with it.

It was the end of an era, a very important chapter of CB's life (and mine too). Somehow, I was the only one feeling sad....

James Ray Teleclass on April 5th

2007-04-04T15:06:00.000-04:00

FYI: This sounds like a great Teleclass. I've just signed myself up.

James Ray, as you know, is one of the teachers from The Secret.

This Teleclass is tomorrow night, April 5th, so make sure you check it out today!

========================================
Program Your Mind for Certain Success

If your mind is holding you back from the success you've always suspected was just beyond your grasp...

If your mind is the reason you are held back in a job working for someone you don't like making far less than you are worth...

If your mind is keeping you from experiencing the harmony and peace you know heart desires- and deserves…

If you are ready to make a major financial change in your own life, may I introduce you to something I feel will create a profound difference in your life?

James Ray is a leading expert on the psychology, the science of success and coaching for success. He has devoted his life to helping ordinary people lead extraordinary lives.

And now it's your turn to experience this quantum leap forward as you have the opportunity to hear James Ray discuss his Success Certain Coaching Program on a special preview call.

Now, you will find all of the detail you need for this special limited space call by clicking on the link below. Make sure to read it all - and note the special bonus you'll receive just by being one the first participants to enroll. They're actually paying you to be on the call with the bonus item!!

<< -- Click this link for details now -- >>

Enjoy The Call!

Carnival of Healing is Today's Featured Carnival at BlogCarnival.com

2007-04-03T17:39:00.000-04:00

I just found out that Carnival of Healing is Today's Featured Carnival at the Blog Carnival today!

More excitingly, they are featuring THE edition (Carnival of Healing #78: Blossom into More) I hosted on March 24 on my other blog.

Carnival of Healing is a weekly collection of articles about health & healing, personal development and spirituality. There are some really good articles in the edition I hosted. Check them out!

When you click on the Carnival of Healing link it takes you right to my post. This is soooo cool. Considering that there are 9190 editions of 1375 Carnivals listed on the Blog Carnival website and 167 new Carnivals in the past 30 days alone, it's a very rare opportunity to be the Featured Carnival.

Go check it out TODAY!!! They feature one carnival every day, so if you miss it today, you won't see it!!!

Carnival of Family Life at Play Library

2007-04-02T09:33:00.000-04:00

The Carnival of Family Life #48 is at Play Library this week. After being absent from this Carnival for a looooong time, I finally submitted a post this time. There are a whopping 50 articles this week, so go & check them out!

How Super Hubby Saved My Birthday

2007-03-29T22:58:00.000-04:00

A week before my birthday, I was making a new vision board for myself. You know how it is when your birthday is approaching. It seems like a perfect time to re-affirm my vision and goals. After watching The Secret, I was inspired to put on my vision board an One Million Dollars bill (transformed from a regular one dollar bill, just like Jack Canfield did in The Secret).

At around the same time, Red Lobster had their Lobsterfest commercial on TV again. I don't know about you, but I LOOOOOOVE lobsters! Actually, I love all seafood, but lobsters, crabs and sushi are my top 3 all-time favorites. Unfortunately, I found out last year that I had a little asthma and allergies, so I'm not supposed to eat too much shellfish. :-( That's a different story. Anyway, because of the TV commercial, I started to crave lobsters really bad. So I hinted to dear hubby that I'd love to have a lobster dinner for my birthday.

Being the engineer that he is, DH took my hint literally and firmly believed that I wanted to go to Red Lobster for my birthday. That's easy enough, because there is one about 20 minutes from our house. On the other hand, the tricky part is, they don't take reservations on weekends. We've been to that restaurant before, and knew how popular that place is. If you go there at dinner time, you could easily have to wait for more than an hour to get a table.

I was very busy with work that whole week leading to my birthday, which happened to fall on the weekend, so I totally forgot about the Red Lobster commercial, and didn't suspect that DH was planning to take us there. I mean, Red Lobster is a nice normal-weekend restaurant, but I was hoping for a more upscale, romantic place for my birthday dinner. You know what I mean? But, of course, I didn't want to tell him directly that I wanted to go somewhere nicer -- a place that at least takes dinner reservations. That's my mistake -- not asking for what I really want. On the other hand, come to think of it, he was planning to bring our kids along the whole time, how romantic can it be? LOL!

So, on the day before my birthday (my birthday was on Sunday, don't ask me why DH decided to have my birthday dinner on the day before, not on my actual birthday), DH rushed all of us to Red Lobster before 5pm, hoping we could beat the dinner crowd. When we walked into the door, my heart sank. The lobby was jam-packed and there was a LONG line. We were told that we'd have to wait ONE HOUR for our table. I turned and walked out. No way am I going to wait for an hour for my birthday dinner!!!

"OK, what's your Plan B? Where should we go now?" I asked DH.

He just stared at me with a blank look. Then he said hesitantly, "Um, I don't know what other restaurants are around here".

Oh no. Oh no no no no no. He didn't have a Plan B?!!!!!

I said, "How about Legal Seafood? I'm sure they have very nice seafood and lobsters there."

DH protested, "But that's not around here." (OK, it's about 20 or 30 minutes away, but, hey, so much better food over there!)

After much hesitation, DH finally said, "How about Outback?" (OK, another normal-weekend restaurant)

"Fine. Whatever." (you know what those words mean, when spoken by a woman)

By that time, I was fuming, partially because I was getting too hungry.

So, we loaded everyone back in the minivan and drove across a couple towns (in the opposite direction) to go to Outback. I decided to take the matters into my own hands. I couldn't risk driving all the way over there, and found out they were closed or we couldn't get in, etc. My blood sugar was getting too low, and I started to have a bad headache. So I called 411 and then the restaurant, to make sure they have lobsters on the menu, and to make a reservation for us. After that, I was too upset to talk. I pulled out my iPod and listened to some meditation music, trying to calm down.

When we got to the restaurant, there was another LONG line. Luckily, because I called ahead, our wait was a lot shorter. But, still, we had to wait another 25 minutes. So, an hour and a half after we left home, dinner was still nowhere to be found.....

While we were waiting, DH gave me a small gift bag. I could see a birthday card and something wrapped in tissue paper. I was so mad at him that I wasn't even curious what he's got for me. It wasn't until the middle of the dinner, when I was no longer hungry, that I started to lighten up and enjoy the dinner & my family. I thought, LK and CB were behaving exceptionally well. Usually they'd have whined terribly if they had to wait a long time for dinner. But this time they were waiting quite patiently (the small piece of extra dark chocolate I gave to CB also helped). They seemed very excited about the birthday gift DH got for me. It's like their big secret with their daddy. I finally started to feel curious about the gift.

I thought, it's probably some jewelry, or clothes, or bath products, or spa gift certificate. You know, the usual.

DH wasn't THAT creative in gift-giving. In fact, I sometimes cringe at his choice of jewelry and stuff.

Never in a million years did I expect the gift that DH gave me. I should've given him more credit.

When I pulled out the gift from the gift bag, I was speechless.

DH had ordered for me a tempered glass plaque-like trophy with the engraving "Million Dollar Life Coach". It is so beautiful. I couldn't believe he thought of that idea!!!

He said he got the inspiration when he saw the One Million Dollars bill on my vision board. he obviously knew how much coaching means to me, and my desire to empower other women through coaching and writing. I wanted to have the money so I could have more power to help more people and give back to the world.

It is a rare gift when someone upholds your vision for you, and truly believe in you. I was moved to tears.

For the rest of the night, I couldn't stop smiling.

I put my trophy on top of my dresser. I also put a photo of it on the vision board in my office, so I can see it every single day.

So, this is how Super Hubby saved my birthday. Quite a great save, wouldn't you agree? :)

Oprah Meets Jerry, Esther and Abraham!

2007-03-28T20:03:00.000-04:00

Oprah will be talking to Abraham and Jerry & Esther Hicks on XM Radio. Tune in to "Talk to Me" on XM Satellite Radio's "Oprah & Friends" channel (XM 156) on March 29th, April 5th and April 9th. Visit Abraham-Hicks website for detailed show schedules. Or visit www.oprah.com/xm or www.xmradio.com/oprah.

If you don't have an XM Radio subscription, you can sign up for a free on-line trial at this link.

Carnival of Healing #78: Blossom into More

2007-03-24T12:12:00.000-04:00

This week I am hosting Carnival of Healing #78: Blossom into More on my other blog Intensive Care for the Nurturer's Soul.

Carnival of Healing is a weekly round-up of personal Web sites and blogs on the topics of holistic health, wellness, spirituality, and self empowerment. In honor of the first day of Spring (March 21) and my upcoming birthday, I decided to choose a spring-like title for this edition of the Carnival of Healing.

Spring, to me, signifies renewal, growth and hope. There is also a tremendous sense of empowerment to observe how the entire planet and its creatures "come back to life", so to speak, after a brutal winter. Even the tiniest of seed holds the power and potential within to sprout and grow into something spectacular. As human beings, we have more options and choices than plants and most animals in the nature. We ought to celebrate and harness the power within us, to heal ourselves and make this world a better place. I'd like to share with you a quote I came across the other day.

"You are built not to shrink down to less
but to blossom into more."
-- Oprah Winfrey

I hope you allow your self and your life to grow into full bloom.

Go over to my other blog now to read all the fantastic articles we have this week!

Take Time for Friendships

2007-03-17T12:26:00.000-04:00

I remember reading a story about a mom telling her soon-to-be-married daughter to never let go of her girlfriends. At first the daughter thought she wouldn't need her girlfriends any more, since she was going to become a wife, and have her own family very soon. She did, however, heed her mom's advice. She kept in touch with her girlfriends over the years, and as she grew older (and wiser), she became more and more appreciative of her mom's advice and her girlfriends.

I, for one, can totally relate to that story.

My own mother, who loves me dearly, gave me a very different advice, though, before I became a mom myself. She told me, "Be prepared to sacrifice at least 10 years of your life for this baby". Yes, sacrifice. That's the exact word she used. I looked at her and nodded, like a good girl I've always been, but, the "rebelling" part of me was like "Sacrifice? 10 years? No way! What about me? What about my life???"

I know that "self-sacrifice" is a virtue in my culture (I wrote an article about this before), and my parents totally subscribe to that value. My mother basically cut off her ties with all her friends when she got married, partially because she thought that was "the right thing" to do, and partially because she was too busy helping my father's practice and raising the three of us. She took pride in being a "good mother" (she is a great mother, in fact), but, even as a young child, I could see her lonliness. There's a void in her heart that even her picture-perfect family couldn't fill.

So, on that day when my mother offered her motherly advice, I nodded in appreciation for her love, but knew that that's one advice I would not take. I knew deep in my heart of hearts that, I will love my children like no one else will love them, but, there's some part of me and my life I will not "sacrifice". My friendship with my friends is one of those things.

Over the years, I've made many dear friends, in school, at work, and through my children's friends. Some of my oldest friends have gone through the same life transitions as I did: college, graduate school, career, marriage, kids, 2nd career, etc. We've been through a lot together and separately. The guys who used to play tennis with me till sundown every weekend, are now playing a bigger game in the business world. The girls who used to play dress up with dreamy eyes, have since put on career suits or are busy dressing up their lovely kids. We used to travel to scenic spots and pose for each other's photographic "masterpiece"; now most pictures we take are about our own kids (most of my friends even leave themselves out of the holiday photo greeting cards).

We don't always keep in touch very often (you know how busy motherhood/fatherhood can be), and some of us don't even live on the same continent any more, but we've somehow managed to still keep each other "around" in our lives. You know the kind of friends who you can pick up the phone to talk to, after not hearing from each other for years, and still feel like you've never been apart? I was overjoyed when one of my best friends in high school got in touch with me (thank goodness for Internet), after we'd lost touch for more than 10 years!! It was such a precious gift to have her back in my life. We've got a lot of catching up to do, needless to say.

Last month, I was invited to speak at a local MOMS Club. This brought back SO many memories! There was a time when my husband and I moved a lot due to his job. We'd lived in 4 different states in 6 calendar years. When we made the move from Maryland to Delaware, I had to give up my career as a counselor, and we both made the decision that I would stay home for a while to take care of our 8-month old baby girl. When we moved, we only knew one couple in the state of Delaware, who lived half an hour away from us. I was totally unprepared for the transition from full-time working mom to full-time stay-at-home mom with my first baby, in a new city where we knew nobody, and our families hundreds of miles away. I missed my own office, my lunch break, my colleagues & friends, my paycheck, but most of all, my freedom. I was lonely and exhausted. Then one day I saw a flyer in the grocery store about MOMS Club, and that changed my life. I was so fortunate to have found a small group of moms with similar education & background (we were all professional women who decided to stay home for our first baby), and our babies were only a month or two apart. The weekly playgroup and the friendship I formed with these moms became my life-savor. We all went on to have our second (some of us had the third) child, and although most of us moved away after a couple years, most of us kept in touch and remained good friends till today (my daughter is 11 years old this year).

It's a rare gift in life to have good friends like that. I'm very blessed and grateful to have many in my life. How about you? Do you have friends you can lean on? Do you stay in touch with your dearest friends? Do you have some long lost friends that you would like to re-connect? Or, would you like to make some new friends who share your life experiences, passion or values? What are you waiting for? Life is too short.

"We will meet again my friend,
A hundred years from today
Far away from where we lived
And where we used to play.
We will know each others' eyes
And wonder where we met
Your laugh will sound familiar
Your heart, I won't forget.
We will meet,
I'm sure of this,
But let's not wait till then...
Let's take a walk beneath the stars
And share this world again."
-- Ron Atchison

Don't wait any longer. We're all extremely busy. When do you think you will actually have "free time" to connect with your friends? You've got to "make time" for friendships -- nurture the old ones and cultivate the new ones.

When you think of a friend, pick up the phone or drop him/her a quick note. It doesn't have to be elaborate, either. While a handmade card will be treasured for a long time, a quick email to say "hello, I miss you" would be appreciated as well.

Make a point to make a coffee or lunch date with your good friends. I usually try to have at least one of these dates a month. Just seeing them on my calendar makes me so happy. Occasionally I go out for a Girls Night Out. Since my kids were very little, they knew that Mommy needed her "playdate" just as much as they needed theirs. I always come home energized and happier, and the good mood could last for days or even weeks.

If you've ever gone out with your girlfriends, I'm sure your husband noticed the difference when you came home. That's a good reason to convince him that you should take turns to go out with your own friends, on a somewhat regular basis. It's good for your mental well-being as well as your relationship at home. If you don't have a partner to watch your kids, try to hire a sitter or team up with another mom, so you can spend some quality time with your friends sans your kids. Even though you and your friends might still spend your time talking about your kids, spending time with your friends alone will definitely lift your spirit.

It takes efforts to maintain friendships, of course. It's not always easy, especially when you've got a full plate already, but the investment in friendship is well worth it in the long run.

Be the one to reach out to your friends. Make a small (or grand) gesture to show that you are thinking of them today. Both you and your friends will thank you for that.

Happy Chinese New Year 2007

2007-02-18T08:06:00.000-05:00

Happy Chinese New Year!!!

Wishing you and your family
a very happy, healthy and abundant

Year of the Pig!

Celebrating YOU: The Leading Lady of Your Show

2007-02-14T08:11:00.000-05:00

Most people think about Valentine's Day, when they think about the month of February. It's important to celebrate your loved ones, and love in general. However, while you are busy planning a special evening with your special someone, I would like to remind you to celebrate YOU -- the most important (but often neglected) person in YOUR life.

Whenever I asked the question "Who is the most important person in your life?" My clients and workshop participants always answered "my husband/wife, my kids, my parents", etc.

NOT ONCE has someone answered "Me" or "Myself".

NOT ONCE.

I often joked that "If your answer is anyone but yourself, then you need to come see me ASAP!"

Think about it: What would your life be without YOU?

What would your loved ones' life be, without a healthy, happy and vibrant YOU?

When my clients said to me "But the show must go on", I asked "Whose show are you talking about?" I told them, "You may not realize this, but YOU are the Leading Lady of your show, the show that's Your Life".

Every single one of us is the Leading Lady (or Man) of our own life.

Now, let me make myself clear. This is NOT about being ego-maniac or narcissistic. It's about self love, the greatest love of all. (Remember that Whitney Houston song? Now that I mentioned it, I bet you can't get that song out of your head now, can ya?)

"But, ...."

I know, there's a big BUT coming up right at this moment....

You probably have convincing reasons why you are not the most important person in your life, and why you cannot afford to put your self-care as top priority.

As a professional life coach, consultant and mother of two, over the years I've heard many, many legitimate reasons as well as excuses (and the limiting beliefs behind them), from my clients, my friends, and my family. I have experienced many similar challenges myself, in my previous roles as a nurse, counselor, full-time stay-at-home mom, full-time working mom, small business owner, etc. Believe me, I know. It's not easy.

It's especially hard when you have some limiting beliefs around the issue of self love, self esteem and self-care. You know the limiting beliefs I'm talking about -- "I can't afford it", "I'm not worthy enough", "I don't deserve it", "I must take care of everyone else first (or else)", "If I say no, people won't love/like me any more", etc. etc. etc.

Does it ring a bell?

These limiting beliefs took years to form, and it will take some time and some hard work to overcome them. But, it's not impossible. When you can break free from these limiting beliefs, you will finally be free to be your authentic self, and free to create the life you truly desire. If you need some coaching around these issues, I'd be happy to help you.

Even when you are still chained to your limiting beliefs, you can still make a conscious choice, right now, to love and accept yourself, and to treat yourself with respect and some much needed TLC.

Remember, you are the Leading Lady and director of your own show. You are in charge and fully responsible for how your show turns out to be. If your show is competing for the Academy of Life Award, which categories will it be nominated? Which awards will you win?

This Valentine's Day, make a point to celebrate YOU, honor yourself, and give yourself the LOVE and star treatment you truly deserve.

*Read my previous articles on self love:
From Self Sacrifice to Self Love
The Magic Kitchen
The Snapshot of Your Life

Gonna Be A Bear

2007-01-28T02:31:00.000-05:00

As the frigid weather lingers, how I wish I could be a bear sometimes....

A Riddle

2007-01-19T02:11:00.000-05:00

A friend of mine sent me this. See if you can get the right answer.

--------------------------------------
Arnold Schwarzenegger has a big one.

Michael J. Fox has a small one.

Madonna doesn't have one.

The Pope has one but doesn't use it.

Clinton uses his all the time.

Bush is one

Mickey Mouse has an unusual one.

Liberace never used his on women.

Jerry Seinfeld is very, very proud of his.

Cher claims that she took on 3.

We never saw Lucy use Desi's.

What is it????

(The answer is in the Comments section)

For Dr. Seuss Fans

2007-01-12T14:29:00.000-05:00

Jersey Girls

2007-01-04T15:25:00.000-05:00

A friend of mine sent me this. I got a good chuckle out of it since I live in New Jersey too! Gotta love them Jersey girls. :-)

------------------
Three men were sitting together in a bar bragging about how they had given their new wives their duties.

The first man had married a woman from Alabama and bragged that he had told his wife she was going to do all the dishes and house cleaning.

He said it took a couple days but on the third day he came home to a clean house and the dishes were done.

The second man had married a woman from Florida. He bragged that he had given his wife orders that she was to do all the cleaning, dishes, and the cooking. On that the first day he didn't see any results, but the next day it was better. By the third day, his house was clean, the dishes were done, and he had a huge dinner on the table.

The third man had married a Jersey girl. He boasted that he told her that her duties were to keep the house cleaned, dishes washed, lawn mowed, laundry washed and hot meals on the table for every meal. He said the first day he didn't see anything, the second day he didn't see anything, but by the third day most of the swelling had gone down and he could see a little out of his left eye. Enough to fix himself a bite to eat, load the dishwasher, and telephone a landscaper.

A Happy New Year Poem/Song

2007-01-03T21:24:00.000-05:00

This is neat. Enjoy!

HAPPY NEW YEAR
By Agung Halim

An acrostic of "HAPPY NEW YEAR".
Sing to the tune of "You Raise Me Up" by Josh Groban

H ow swiftly time flies like the spin of the Fates
A new year with its hopes and challenges
P lan thoroughly and be
P repared for surprise
Y ou will achieve the SUCCESS you're after

N othing fearing,
E xpect all things possible
W ith commitment

Y earning true
E xcellence
A im for nothing less than the Best you can
R ise up and shine, ready for anything!

About the Author:
Agung Halim is a MDI subscriber who lives in Indonesia. He shared with us that his CORE strengths are COnecting and REsourcing. His life motto: M.A.D = Making A Difference. Agung can be contacted at pemimpin2001@yahoo.com

Funny New Year Resolutions

2007-01-02T16:15:00.000-05:00

Ahhh, it's that time of the year again! If you're like most people, you have written a brand new list of New Year Resolutions. But, do you know that most people fail at keeping their New Year Resolutions? A study (from University of Scranton, PA) showed that among the millions of American women who resolve to lose weight on New Year's Day, a quarter of them will go back to their old ways WITHIN ONE WEEK! Yikes!

While I was surfing the net, I came across these New Year Resolutions for Internet Junkies. How many of these can you relate to (or have you resolved to)?

Some people keep making the same New Year Resolutions with a twist year after year. This is what happened to one guy when he looked back on his "Year of Resolutions..."

What are your New Year Resolutions for 2007? If you keep making and breaking your New Year Resolutions year after year, I highly recommend that you come to my FREE Teleclass "The 5 Master Keys to Keeping Your New Year Resolutions". There is no charge for the class, but you must register in order to receive the conference call number (bridgeline) and access code. Hope to "see" you on the call.

Happy Holidays!

2006-12-24T13:30:00.000-05:00

Wishing you and your family a joyful holiday season!

Love in Action

2006-12-21T09:38:00.000-05:00

"Christmas, my child, is love in action... every time we love, every time we give, it's Christmas." -- Dale Evans Rogers, 1912-2001, American Movie Star, Singer and Songwriter

The spirit of holidays is sharing and giving. There are a lot of people who are less fortunate than us. Why not find a worthy charity to send your donations or volunteer for a good cause during the holidays?

One of the charities I've supported for more than 10 years is Plan (formerly ChildReach). Plan was founded in 1937 and its mission is to achieve lasting improvements in the quality of life of deprived children in developing countries. Plan began as a child sponsorship organization. Today, they are one of the oldest and largest organizations of its kind— their grassroots, self-help programs assist more than 10 million children and their families in poor communities around the world (63 countries). The money received from a child's sponsor not only goes to the child & his/her family, but also goes to improve the overall quality of life for the entire village the child lives. They have programs to help the families become financially self-sufficient, and provide better health care, education, water quality, etc. for the entire community.

The girl in the picture is my "sponsored child" Tran Ly who lives in Vietnam with her parents and little brother. Isn't she beautiful? I've sponsored her since she was less than 1 year old, and now she is almost 12. Since I started sponsoring her, her family had built a new house (they were so proud of it) and their village had also made much progress in many areas, with the help of Plan's programs and resources. Plan mailed me progress reports, letters from her parents, Ly's drawings, and Ly's pictures several times a year. Their volunteers translate our correspondences to each other, so we can stay in touch. It's been a very rewarding experience for me. Ly is only 5 months older than my own daughter. I hope someday we can visit her & her family in Vietnam and she can meet my daughter too.

What's your favorite charity and/or volunteer work? This holiday season, find something worthy of your support, and invite your family and community to get involved too.

Original Answers Before Edited by Elves....

2006-12-20T23:24:00.001-05:00

Deer Santa,
I wud like a kool toy space ranjur fer
Xmas. I'v ben a gud boy all yeer.

Yer Friend,
Billy

adfghcbadfghcb

Dear Billy,.
Nice spelling. You're on your way to a career in
lawncare. How about I send you a book so you
can learn to read and spell? I'm giving your older
brother the space ranger. At least HE can spell.

Santa

tvRTIbPASDFGHJKBM

,

Dear Santa,
I have been a good girl all year, and the only thing
I ask for is peace and joy in the world for everybody!
Love, Sarah

adfghcbadfghcb

Dear Sarah, .
Your parents smoked pot when
they had you, didn't they?

Santa

tvRTIbPASDFGHJKBM

,

Dear Santa,
I don't know if you can do this, but for
Christmas, I'd like for my mommy and
daddy to get back together. Please see
what you can do.

Love, Teddy

adfghcbadfghcb

Dear Teddy, .
Look, your dad's banging the babysitter like a screen
door in a hurricane. Do you think he's gonna give that
up to come back to your frigid mom, who rides his ass
constantly? It's time to give up that dream. Let me send
you some Legos instead.

Santa

tvRTIbPASDFGHJKBM

,

Dear Santa,
I want a new bike, a Playstation 3, a train, some
G.I. Joes, a dog, a drum kit, a pony and a tuba.
Love, Francis

adfghcbadfghcb

Dear Francis,.
Who names their kid "Francis" nowadays.
I bet you're gay. I'll set you up with a Barbie.

Santa

tvQTIbPASDFGHJKBM

,

Dear Santa,
I left milk and cookies for you under the tree,
and I left carrots for your reindeer outside the
back door.

Love, Susan

adfghcbadfghcb

Dear Susan, .
Milk gives me the shits and carrots make the deer
fart in my face when riding in the sleigh. You want
to do me a favor? Leave me a bottle of Scotch.

Santa

tvQTIbPASDFGHJKBM

,

Dear Santa,
What do yo! u do the other 364 days of
the year? Are you busy making toys?

Your friend, Thomas

adfghcbadfghcb

Dear Thomas, .
All the toys are made in China . I have a condo in Vegas
where I spend most of my time making low-budget porno
films. I unwind by drinking myself silly and squeezing the
asses of cocktail waitresses while losing money at the
craps table. Hey, you wanted to know.

Santa

tvQRTIbPASDFGHJKBM

,

Dear Santa,
Do you see us when we're sleeping, do you really
know when we're awake, like in the song?

Love, Jessica

adfghcbadfghcb

Dear Jessica, .
Are you really that gullible? Good luck in
whatever you do. I'm skipping your house.

Santa

tvQRTIbPASDFGHJKBM

,

Dear Santa,
I really want a puppy this year. Please, please,
please, PLEASE, PLEASE could I have one?

Love, Timmy

adfghcbadfghcb

Dear Timmy, .
That whiney begging shit may work with your folks,
but that crap doesn't work with me. You're getting a
sweater again.

Santa

tvQRTIbPASDFGHJKBM

,

Dearest Santa,
We don't have a chimney in our house.
How do you get into our home?

Love, Marky

adfghcbadfghcb

Dear Mark, .
First stop callling yourself "Marky", that's why you're
getting your ass whipped at school. Second, you don't
live in a house, you live in a low-rent apartment complex.
Third, I get inside your pad just like the boogeyman does,
through your bedroom window.

Sweet dreams,
Santa

adfghcbadfghcb

Riddle

2006-12-18T23:24:00.000-05:00

You are driving in a car at a constant speed.

On your left side is a 'drop off' (The ground is 18-20 inches below the level you are traveling on), and on your right side is a fire engine traveling at the same speed as you. In front of you is a galloping horse which is the same size as your car and you cannot overtake it. Behind you is another galloping horse. Both horses are also traveling at the same speed as you. What must you do to safely get out of this highly dangerous situation?

For the answer click and drag your mouse from star to star.
* Get your drunk ass off the merry-go-round. *

A Man Who Knows His Math

2006-12-15T23:23:00.000-05:00

* Like I wrote before, women are grumpier in the morning....

---------------
He writes:

I was riding to work yesterday when I observed a female driver, who cut right in front of a pickup truck, causing the driver to drive onto the shoulder to avoid hitting her.

This evidently angered the driver enough that he hung his arm out is window and gave the woman the finger.

" Man, that guy is stupid," I thought to myself. I ALWAYS smile nicely and wave in a sheepish manner whenever a female does anything to me in traffic, and here's why:

I drive 48 miles each way every day to work.

That's 96 miles each day.

Of these, 16 miles each way is bumper-to-bumper.

Most of the bumper-to-bumper is on an 8 lane highway.

There are 7 cars every 40 feet for 32 miles.

That works out to 982 cars every mile, or 31,424 cars.

Even though the res t of the 32 miles is not bumper-to-bumper, I figure I pass at least another 4000 cars.

That brings the number to something like 36,000 cars that I pass every day.

Statistically, females drive half of these.

That's 18,000 women drivers!

In any given group of females, 1 in 28 has PMS.

That's 642.

According to Cosmopolitan, 70% describe their love life as dissatisfying or unrewarding.

That's 449.

According to the National Institute of Health, 22% of all females have seriously considered suicide or homicide.

That's 98.

And 34% describe men as their biggest problem.

That's 33.

According to the National Rifle Association, 5% of all females carry weapons and this number is increasing.

That means that EVERY SINGLE DAY, I drive past at least one female that ha s a lousy love life, thinks men are her biggest problem, has seriously considered suicide or homicide, has PMS, and is armed.

Give her the finger? I don't think so.

Carnival of Family Life is up at GNMParents

2006-12-11T21:18:00.000-05:00

The Carnival of Family Life is up today at GNMParents. As usual, there are so many wonderful and some outrageously funny posts on parenting, family life, kids' funny behaviors, etc. And because holidays are approaching, there are quite a few posts about holiday preparation, family traditions, managing holiday stress, etc. I also submitted Pressure-proof Your Holidays and Thanksgiving Feast for Squirrels. Check out The Carnival of Family Life today!

Please support Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act

2006-12-06T09:48:00.000-05:00

Call to action: Please sign the petition for "Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act of 2005"

If you know anyone who has had a mastectomy, you may know that there is a lot of discomfort and pain afterwards. Insurance companies are trying to make mastectomies an outpatient procedure. Let's give women the chance to recover properly in the hospital for 2 days after surgery.

There's a bill called the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act which will require insurance companies to cover a minimum 48-hour hospital stay for patients undergoing a mastectomy. It's about eliminating the "drive-through mastectomy" where women are forced to go home just a few hours after surgery, still groggy from anesthesia and sometimes with drainage tubes still attached.

Lifetime Television has put this bill on their web page with a petition drive to show your support. Last year over half the House signed on. Please visit the website below to read more about this, and sign the petition to show your support.

This is an important legislation for ALL women! If there was ever a time when our voices and choices should be heard, this is one of those times.

PLEASE!! Sign the petition by clicking on the web site below. You need not give more than your name and zip code number.

www.lifetimetv.com/health/breast_mastectomy_pledge.html

This takes about 2 seconds. PLEASE PASS THIS ON to your friends and family, and on behalf of all women, THANKS!

Thanksgiving Feast for Squirrels

2006-12-04T11:05:00.000-05:00

Over the Thanksgiving weekend, my son uncovered a whole bag of acorns in his school backpack that he had collected, every morning, at the bus stop last month. He had totally forgotten about them until now. Thinking it would be a waste to simply throw them away, considering how much time it took him to collect these acorns, I suggested that we think of a way to make a better use of these acorns.

I was pleasantly surprised when he suggested that perhaps we could offer these acorns to the squirrels in our backyard. Cold winter is upon us, and he thought they would appreciate some extra supplies of food.

Of course, my son wouldn't just put out the acorns on the deck. He decided to offer a Thanksgiving Feast in style for our little furry friends. So he asked me for two styrofoam bowls and paper plates, and set up two dishes of acorns on our deck, right outside of the kitchen glass sliding door.

Then we waited, and waited, and waited some more, for the squirrels to come to their surprise Thanksgiving Feast.

The first few hours, there were no takers. They might have come when we were out running errands, but we didn't see one single squirrel near those bowls. My son went to bed disappointed.

The second day the kids went back to school. While I was sitting at the kitchen table, talking to my cousin on the phone, it happened!

The first squirrel timidly approached the bowls of acorns. It sniffed at the acorns and looked around, as if to check if this was a trap. It finally decided to pick up an acorn and hurried off.

A few minutes later, the second squirrel (or perhaps the same one) came and ran off with another acorn. The word must spread quickly within the squirrel community, because pretty soon, there was a steady stream of traffic to our backyard acorn feast. Our two cats Katie and Whisper quickly noticed the commotion on the deck. They gathered in front of the screen door and watched the "show" with intense interest. You can tell if there was a squirrel approaching by observing which direction their little heads turned.

At one point, one unsuspecting squirrel got too close to the glass door, stood up and found itself face-to-face, only inches apart, with two big cats! Both cats and the squirrel jumped with startle. It was so funny to watch!

The squirrels took turns to pick up the acorns, and then rushed off to bury them in the backyard. I could see that some of them were buried in our flower bed, and some by the utility shed. They must be overwhelmed by this unexpected Thanksgiving gift.

Of course, I wouldn't pass up this Kodak moment. I've got to make sure I get some good pictures to show my kids, when they come back from school. Here are some of the pictures I took.

Katie (on the right) and Whisper

After taking the pictures, I took the bowls inside. I wanted the kids to see how the squirrels enjoy their Thanksgiving Feast with their own eyes. So, after they came home from school, I told them what happened during the day, and showed them the pictures in my camera, then we put the bowls back on the deck.

It took a while, but the squirrels finally came back for more. We ate our afternoon snacks, while enjoying this live entertainment, made possible by my son's act of kindness. My heart was filled with abundance and gratitude. I hope my kids' did, too.

(By the way, it took the squirrels almost the whole day to move all the acorns. When we woke up the next morning, the bowls were all empty.)

GO GET YOUR MAMMIES GRAMMED

2006-11-30T22:11:00.000-05:00

This is hysterical! Make sure you read the whole thing. There is a serious message at the end, but you get to laugh on the way there.

------------------------
GO GET YOUR MAMMIES GRAMMED

For years and years they told me,
Be careful of your breasts.
Don't ever squeeze or bruise them.
And give them monthly tests.
So I heeded all their warnings,
And protected them by law.
Guarded them very carefully,
And I always wore my bra.

After 30 years of astute care,
My gyno, Dr Pruitt,
Said I should get a Mammogram
"OK," I said, "let's do it."

"Stand up here real close" she said,
(She got my boob in line)
"And tell me when it hurts," she said,
"Ah yes! Right there, that's fine."
She stepped upon a pedal,
I could not believe my eyes!
A plastic plate came slamming down,
My hooters in a vise!
My skin was stretched and mangled,
From underneath my chin.
My poor boob was being squashed,
To Swedish Pancake thin.
Excruciating pain I felt,
Within it's viselike grip.
A prisoner in this vicious thing,
My poor defenseless tit!

"Take a deep breath," she said to me,
Who does she think she's kidding?!?
My chest is mashed in her machine,
And woozy I am getting.

"There, that's good," I heard her say,
(The room was slowly swaying)
"Now, let's have a go at the other one."
Have mercy, I was praying.
It squeezed me from both up and down,
It squeezed me from both sides.
I'll bet SHE'S never had this done,
To HER tender little hide.

Next time that they make me do this,
I will request a blindfold
I have no wish to see again,
My knockers getting steam rolled.
If I had no problem when I came in,
I surely have one now.
If there had been a cyst in there,
It would have gone "ker-pow!"

This machine was created by a man,
Of this, I have no doubt.
I'd like to stick their "you know what's" in there,
And see how they come out!!
--------------------

OK gals now that you have had your laugh, remember...
Breast Cancer Awareness.

Go have those boobs checked out and stay healthy! Pass the message on to your mothers, sisters, daughters, aunts, cousins, friends, and even your enemies. Because the WORST enemy is Breast Cancer!

Bungee Jumping in Mexico

2006-11-26T09:55:00.000-05:00

Alice and Frank were Bungee jumping one day. Alice says to Frank, "You know we could make a lot of money running our own Bungee-jumping business in Mexico." Frank thinks this is a great idea, so they pool their money and buy everything they need: a tower, an elastic cord, insurance, etc.

They travel to Mexico and begin to set up on the square. As they are constructing the tower, a crowd begins to assemble. Slowly, more and more people gather to watch them at work. When they had finished, there was such a crowd, they thought it would be a good idea to give a demonstration, so Alice jumps.

She bounces at the end of the cord, but when she comes back up, Frank notices that she has a few cuts and scratches. Unfortunately, Frank isn't able to catch her and she falls again, bounces, and comes back up again.

This time, she is bruised and bleeding. Again, Frank misses her. Alice falls again and bounces back up.

This time, she comes back pretty messed up -- she's got a couple of broken bones and is almost unconscious.

Luckily, Frank finally catches her this time and says, "What happened? Was the cord too long?"

Barely able to speak, Alice gasps, "No, the Bungee cord was fine... it was the crowd! ........

What the HELL is a pinata?!!!!!!"

Carnival of Healing #60: Echoes in Eternity

2006-11-19T23:15:00.000-05:00

This week I am hosting the Carnival of Healing #60: Echoes in Eternity on Intensive Care for the Nurturer's Soul, and it's up today!

Carnival of Healing is a weekly round-up of personal Web sites and blogs on the topics of holistic health, wellness, spirituality, and self empowerment. This week there are 14 great articles to help you heal your body and nurture your soul. So go over there now and check out the Carnival of Healing #60: Echoes in Eternity.

Top Ten Uses for Duct Tape

2006-11-16T23:50:00.000-05:00

I saw this post "Top Ten Uses for Duct Tape" on Thrifty Mommy and it gave me a chuckle. I've never heard of the Duct Tape Book, but I was amused by some of the examples in the article. For example:

6. Remove roadkill while keeping your hands clean.

Ewww, I hope I'll never have to do that! But I guess duct tape would make a good alternative to latex gloves if you're desperate!

8. Who needs to know how to sew? Duct tape hems pants and skirts in a jiffy!

The author actually admitted that she once fixed the hems of a formal dress when pressed for time, and it worked wonders! :-)

Can you think of other creative and/or wacky ideas to use duct tape?

Once upon a time, insults had class!

2006-11-15T21:31:00.000-05:00

Once upon a time, insults had class! Yes, you can effectively express your less-than-flattering comments about others WITHOUT using any bad words.

======================

"He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire." - Winston Churchill

"A modest little person, with much to be modest about." - Winston Churchill

"I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure." - Clarence Darrow

"He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary." - William Faulkner (about Ernest Hemingway)

"Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words?" - Ernest Hemingway (about William Faulkner)

"Thank you for sending me a copy of your book; I'll waste no time reading it." - Moses Hadas

"He can compress the most words into the smallest idea of any man I know." - Abraham Lincoln

"I've had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn't it." - Groucho Marx

"I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it." - Mark Twain

"He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his friends." - Oscar Wilde

"I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play, bring a friend... if you have one." - George Bernard Shaw to Winston Churchill

"Cannot possibly attend first night, will attend second...if there is one." - Winston Churchill, in response

"I feel so miserable without you, it's almost like having you here." - Stephen Bishop

"He is a self-made man and worships his creator." - John Bright

"I've just learned about his illness. Let's hope it's nothing trivial." - Irvin S. Cobb

"He is not only dull himself, he is the cause of dullness in others." - Samuel Johnson

"He is simply a shiver looking for a spine to run up." - Paul Keating

"He had delusions of adequacy." - Walter Kerr

"There's nothing wrong with you that reincarnation won't cure." - Jack E. Leonard

"He has the attention span of a lightning bolt." - Robert Redford

"They never open their mouths without subtracting from the sum of human knowledge." - Thomas Brackett Reed

"He inherited some good instincts from his Quaker forebears, but by diligent hard work, he overcame them." - James Reston (about Richard Nixon)

"In order to avoid being called a flirt, she always yielded easily." - Charles, Count Talleyrand

"He loves nature in spite of what it did to him." - Forrest Tucker

"Why do you sit there looking like an envelope without any address on it?" - Mark Twain

"His mother should have thrown him away and kept the stork." - Mae West

"Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go." - Oscar Wilde

"He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts... for support rather than illumination." - Andrew Lang (1844-1912)

"He has Van Gogh's ear for music." - Billy Wilder

Shrinkeeze

2006-11-14T21:15:00.000-05:00

Could your name reveal a certain obsession your parents have? Find out if yours is "one of those" names.....

===========
A psychiatrist was conducting a group therapy session with four young mothers and their small children.

"You all have obsessions," he observed.

To the first mother, he said, "You are obsessed with eating. You've even named your daughter Candy.

He turned to the second Mom. "Your obsession is with money. Again, it manifests itself in your child's name, Penny."

He turns to the third Mom. "Your obsession is alcohol. This too manifests itself in your child's name, Brandy"

At this point, the fourth mother gets up, takes her little boy by the hand and whispers:

"Come on, Dick, we're leaving."

You Know You Are Living In 2006 When ...

2006-11-13T21:56:00.000-05:00

A Light Look At A Technical World
by Anonymous

1. You accidentally enter your password on the microwave.

2. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years.

3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of 3.

4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.

5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don't have e-mail addresses.

6. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries.

7. Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of the screen.

8. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn't have the first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go and get it.

10. You get up in the morning and go on line before getting your coffee.

11. You start tilting your head sideways to smile. : )

12. You're reading this and nodding and laughing.

13. Even worse, you know exactly to whom you are going to forward this message.

14. You are too busy to notice there was no #9 on this list.

15. You actually scrolled back up to check that there wasn't a #9 on this list

Let me guess: you are tilting your head sideways and smiling at the computer screen right now. Am I right? : )

Worms

2006-10-30T20:25:00.000-05:00

A minister decided that a visual demonstration would add emphasis to his Sunday sermon.

Four worms were placed into four separate jars.

The first worm was put into a container of alcohol.

The second worm was put into a container of cigarette smoke.

The third worm was put into a container of chocolate syrup.

The fourth worm was put into a container of good clean soil.

At the conclusion of the sermon, the Minister reported the following results:

The first worm in alcohol -
Dead.

The second worm in cigarette smoke -
Dead .

Third worm in chocolate syrup -
Dead .

Fourth worm in good clean soil -
Alive.

So the Minister asked the congregation:
"What can you learn from this demonstration?"

Maxine was sitting in the back, she quickly raised her hand and said,
"As long as you drink,
smoke and eat chocolate,
you won't have worms!"

Signs & Notices

2006-10-29T23:23:00.000-05:00

I saw this McDonald sign on Rt. 10 while we were driving home from apple picking, and just had to take a picture.

Now tell me: Would you try this new item on McDonald's menu???

Below are some other funny signs & notices:

On a Plumbers truck: "We repair what your husband fixed."

On the trucks of a local plumbing company: "Don't sleep with a drip. Call your plumber."

Pizza shop slogan: "7 days without pizza makes one weak."

At a towing company: "We don't charge an arm and a leg. We want tows."

In a non-smoking area: "If we see smoke, we will assume you are on fire and take appropriate action."

On a maternity room door: "Push. Push. Push."

Carnival of the Mundane XXII: Treats and Some Tricks

2006-10-28T01:03:00.000-04:00

Carnival of the Mundane XXII is up at Philly Transplant. I LOVE how Sparky (the carnival host) presented the carnival. He threaded all the carnival post titles & author names into an one-act play called "Treats and Some Tricks", in honor of upcoming Halloween I guess. How fun and creative -- two things I love!

Miss Morning Grumpiness

2006-10-27T09:34:00.000-04:00

I came across this article on ChinaDaily, titled "It's official: Women are grumpier than men in the morning"!

I got a kick out of reading this artice, based on a recent research by The Sleep Council. A woman from The Sleep Council was quoted as saying, "Men know better than to rub their wives the wrong way in the morning and have their heads bitten off, for 6 in 7 women are in a foul mood after waking up", and they stay grumpy longer (up to 4 hours) than men. In contrast, the survey revealed, a quarter of men never wake up in a bad mood. Wow, that's a significant difference!!!

The survey author speculated that women's Morning Grumpiness comes from restless nights caused by stress & worry, and possibly worsened by the fact that women shoulder most of the morning household chores. Twenty-eight percent of women as opposed to only 5 per cent of men do housekeeping before going to work. What do men do? Obviously they only have to get up and go out. Seventeen percent of men surveyed said it only takes them 10 minutes in the morning to get ready. It's a completely different story for women.

You know the morning mad dash... trying to get your kids AND husband ready for school and work, making sure everyone is fed (including the pets) and dressed, and lunches are packed. If you also work outside of your home, you're probably at the bottom of the priority list. So you probably try to put on your makeup, eat breakfast, listen to news, coordinate childcare arrangements (and who knows what else) while driving to work. Oh, I remember those days. I used to drive 1 1/2 hours (one way) to work for 2 years (we lived in MD and I worked in VA) ..... all through my first pregnancy and the first 10 months of my daughter's life.

I'm SO not a morning person, which makes the morning dash even more challenging. In winter months, I had to leave the house while it was still dark outside, and drove home in the dark too. When it snowed, the commute was even more stressful. That was kinda depressing, SO sleep-deprived and not seeing much daylight. Even though I tried to enjoy my commute by listening to tons of audio books, motivational CDs, and my favorite music, if I have a choice, I would never again choose to spend 3 hours of my day on the road, away from my family. The stress alone is not worth it.

Because of my commuting experience, I have so much more patience and compassion for other commuters, and also more cautious while driving around them. After reading this article, I will be even more careful driving in rush hours or dealing with potentialy grumpy women when I go out in the morning.

After all, I wouldn't want to risk messing with Miss Morning Grumpiness. LOL

What Makes House a Home?

2006-10-27T09:01:00.000-04:00

I was reading a post called "What makes house a home?" by Sharon at Your Elegant Bed and Bath. She said, "Home should be a place we can feel at ease and comfortable, even protected if need be. How each of us creates that feel in our homes is an individual thing." In other words, home should be a haven that protects us from the chaos, trials and tribulations from the rest of the world.

Sharon thinks we need to surround ourselves with "things that are important to us, that have an emotional resonance." I totally agree on this. In my own home, I have many items and decorations that represent my own history, cultural heritage, achievements of me, my DH & my children, and of course memories of our family & extended family.

For example, the front of my refrigerator is covered with photos of my children, my parents, friends, extended family, etc. I put them all in various-size clear acrylic picture frames with magnet on the back, so they all look uniform in a sense & stay nicely on the fridge. Some of the photos are from when my kids were babies, some are our family & friends from far away. These photos are a daily reminder of the love and relationships we have with our friends & family. Since all my family live either in other states or in Asia, it's good to have that visual reminder, especially for my kids, of their grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins.

I also have a photo of my "sponsored child" Tran Ly who lives in Vietnam, and whom I've sponsored through Child Reach since she was a baby. Ly is almost 12 now (5 months older than my own daughter LK), and I picked her back then partially because she was so close in age with my LK and in a way I felt like I was adopting a "sister" for my LK. I hope someday we will be able to visit Ly and her family in Vietnam, and let the "sisters" meet each other. :-)

By the way, Sharon's blog offers new ideas and trends for home decorating or remodeling. She also likes to find new ideas for "green" living. Check out her blog.

Surfingmama Carnival #3: Deceit, Prowling Women, Stirrup Queens and More

2006-10-26T00:59:00.000-04:00

Surfingmama Carnival #3 is up at Surfingmama today. Check out the fabulous collections of articles that's "Stuff that matters. For Mums".

HER Connection

2006-10-25T23:23:00.000-04:00

Taking good care of your physical health is an important aspect of Intensive Self-Care. Don't forget to get your annual physical including a Pap smear and the HPV test (HPV is a virus that's been linked to cervical cancer). If you are a woman age 40 or older, you probably know you should take annual mammogram too.

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. You can get all the information about breast cancer as well as how to get involved with National Breast Cancer Awareness Month at their website.

If you or someone you know have metastatic breast cancer, here is a useful resource I came across today.

Living day-to-day with and managing HER2+ metastatic breast cancer can be challenging. However, with some knowledge and support, you can face breast cancer head-on and HER connection is a program designed to help you do just that.

The HER connection program will provide you with resources you need to help you understand more about your disease. Enroll now to receive important information about your condition, your options, and how to partner with your healthcare team. In addition, you will receive a complimentary music CD "Healing Sounds". You will also receive a personalized Doctor Discussion Guide to print out, with essential information, including:

Descriptions of the specialists who may be part of your healthcare team
Explanations of the roles and responsibilities of these different team members
Questions on a range of issues you may want to ask the different members of your team as you confront metastatic breast cancer

The HER connection program makes it easy for you to get reliable information about HER2+ metastatic breast cancer, as well as tips for coping with your emotional and physical symptoms. Simply visit HER connection to get started.

Take good care of yourself. You are irreplaceable.

Carnival of Kid Comedy, week 29

2006-10-24T10:18:00.000-04:00

Carnival of Kid Comedy, week 29 is up at Why Homeschool. I also submitted a post More on "The Older Women Are On The Prowl". There are many interesting stories about funny things kids say & do. We all know how hysterical our kids can be. :-)

Go over there and check it out! Happy Reading!

Southern Summer Revisited

2006-10-23T00:02:00.000-04:00

I was reading Southern Eye for a Northern Guy by Heather at Everything Under the Moon. It's part II of a series of four articles about the Southern four seasons, written for people from "the North" I suppose, and this article is about summer.

Ah, this brought back so many memories.... We moved from Delaware to southeast Texas at the end of May, 1998. If you know the Southern weather, as described by Heather's article, the summer begins EARLY in the South. When we landed in Texas at the end of May, we found ourselves in the 90 degrees heat and almost 100% humidity!!! We were overpowered by the incredible hot air when we walked out of the small airplane. My first thought was, OMG, my makeup is melting on my face! LOL

I grew up in Taiwan, which is a tiny little island in the Pacific Ocean, right next to Mainland China. We have subtropical weather, meaning hot & humid all year round. You would think that I would feel "right at home" when we moved to Texas. Ironically, I've never really liked the heat & humidity in Taiwan, especially in summer. For one thing, I have oily skin, and the combination of heat, humidity, sweat, dirt, etc. is a surefire formula for never-ending breakouts. When you started to have full-bloom acne at the tender age of 10, it's nothing but tragic!

It always amazed me, how these Southern ladies could keep their makeup & pantyhoses on all through summer -- in addition to their incredible big hair. I guess that takes true skills, which I didn't master and probably never will. Oh well. LOL!

We kinda got used to the heat & humidity in Texas after a while, but we NEVER got over the bugs. As Heather explains, "as nature has it, humidity breeds life. As a result, Southern Summers are over-run by large bugs. The further south you go, the larger the bugs. That is a scientific fact."

Yes, that IS an unfortunate scientific fact for people living in Taiwan and in the South. It gives me goose bumps, even now, to think about the giantic bugs we encountered in Texas..... the relentless mosquitos and fire ants. My son (4-month-old back then) was (and still is) very allergic to mosquito bites, yet all the mosquitos seemed to love his baby skin tremendously. Every time he got a mosquito bite, it would swell up and become a blister! Poor baby always got several blisters on him. None of the over-the-counter creams would help. The only thing that helped him was a prescription cream that his pediatrician gave us, which cost $50 every time we filled the prescription!! As you can see, the little mosquitos cost us a fortune. :-(

The fire ants were another major headache. They were vicious and they were EVERYWHERE! Once I stepped right into a fire ant hill in my own backyard, which we were unaware of. I was talking to a neighbor and backing up, without noticing where I was heading.... Hundreds of fireants climbed up my leg within seconds!!! It was a scary and painful experience. However, I was grateful that it was me, not one of my babies, who stepped into the ant hill!

We eventually moved back to the East Coast due to my husband's job. I can tell you that, although I miss our big house, our good friends, crawfish & all the yummy cajun food, I can TOTALLY live without the Texas weather and bugs!!! I so much prefer the four seasons in NJ. And even though winter is a little cold for me, that also means it's too cold for the mosquitos, and that's something to be grateful for.

Even a Warrior Princess needs a break

2006-10-22T20:02:00.000-04:00

A month ago, when I returned from my first Kung Fu tournament with two gold medals, one of my Tai Chi Sword classmates greeted me with "Ah, here comes our W.P.!!"

I gave him an innocent, puzzled look: "What is W.P.?"

"Warrior Princess", he said.

Ah, he is soooo sweet. I was very flattered.

However, I don't feel like a Warrior Princess these days. The past two weeks I haven't been able to sleep well at all due to (what my doctor speculated to be) allergy-induced asthma. During the day I feel OK, but when the night comes I would gradually become unable to breathe. I also have a cold, which makes everything worse. As a result, I could barely sleep.

Back in April, I had a similar episode for more than a week, and that's why my doctor gave me an inhaler for emergencies. For the past 6 months, I've only had to use the inhaler for 3-4 times. But last week, I was using it 1-3 times every night! I often had to sit up on the bed, and ended up waking up sore all over. My chiropractor did some special treatment for me, and it seemed to help. I was able to go without the inhaler for several days (yay!) but the last two nights I had to use it again.

The lack of sleep is really getting to me. I feel like I'm in a fog. I haven't gone to Kung Fu or sword class, or done any exercise (except yoga) for two weeks now. Just too exhausted.

Last night I was supposed to go to a friend's party, but I totally forgot. When she called to see if I was coming, I felt a moment of guilt, but decided to tell her "sorry, I can't make it". She seemed very disappointed. I'm sure she'd understand. She is a good friend.

I decided to go to bed early instead. It was really early for me (10pm), but I decided that I really needed to rest. As a coach, I always stress the importance of Intensive Self-Care, and this is my turn to take care of myself. I've got to walk the talk, right? Besides, it's weekend, and nobody needs to get up early tomorow morning for school or for work anyway.

Even a Warrior Princess needs a break now and then.

Guess how long I slept last night? 12 hours!!! I woke up a few times, but fell back to sleep. I guess my body really needed the rest. In any case, I'm very glad I took care of myself. :-)

More on "The Older Women Are On The Prowl"

2006-10-20T15:24:00.000-04:00

I've received several comments and emails about my post "The Older Women Are On The Prowl" at The Carnival of Family Life two weeks ago. I really appreciate it. Sorry if you have stopped by & couldn't leave a comment on my blog. There's something wrong with Blogger's comment function. I tried to leave comments on someone's blogs today and Blogger wouldn't let me, either. :-(

Back to the subject. I was very tickled by all the comments & emails telling me how their own little girls (preschoolers and kindergarteners, mostly) are SO into their "boyfriends", even though most of them obviously don't know what it means to have a boyfriend. Some have even picked out their future husband already!

WOW, obviously our little girls are SO much more "advanced" than their counterparts in the "relationship game"!

That reminds me of a "Friends" episode (I LOVE that show! Don't you?) that showed a "wedding planning scrapbook" that Monica had compiled back in the 4th grade! Hmmmm, I don't recall being interested in wedding planning when I was in elementary school.

My LK wasn't into boys at all when she was in preschool, or kindergarten, or elementary school. She started middle school this year, so things might change soon (although I'm hoping for later than sooner). HOWEVER, I did remember vividly a conversation I had with another mom from her kindergarten class. She said that her son had a HUGE crush on LK, adding that he had "always preferred Asian girls". I remember he is Irish-American, blue eyes, fair skin, quite a good-looking boy. Now, I'm flattered that he liked my LK so much, but, we're talking about a 5-year-old boy here, and he's already had his mind set on an Asian bride! His mom and I had a really good laugh!

How hysterical is that?!!!!!

Going with the Flow

2006-10-19T19:02:00.000-04:00

Holly at Holly's Corner wrote about navigating her life as a river that keeps flowing & changing directions. It keeps you on your toes with all the curves and bends.

The thing is, the river of life is always flowing. Sometimes it's simply impossible to go upstream. You only get to live this life once. There is no use crying over the spilled milk. All we can do is to focus on the present moment, and look forward.

Things change. People change. Even our own values, priorities, preferences change over time too. Sometimes you have to give up the "steering wheel" and just go with the flow.

Holly was saying how 15 years ago she wanted so much to have 5 or more kids, but after years of trying, she ended up adopting two children. When all the other soccer moms were saying how they would like to have more children, she found herself past that stage of her life. She actually appreciates the freedom of going out to eat or do things she likes. "Most especially", She said, "I’m basking in the glory of not having to carry a diaper bag around."

It brought a smile to my face when I read that. Just yesterday, a few moms at our bus stop had the same conversation. One of the moms has 3 girls: 11, 8 and 3. While we were waiting for the afternoon bus, she was busy chasing after her 3-year-old & couldn’t really keep a conversation with the rest of us. Another mom finally commented: “I don’t really miss THAT.” And the rest of us all said “Me either”.

Oh I remember those Wonder Years. How I enjoyed nursing & cuddling my babies, and doing everything for them! But, I also remember how sometimes I went all day without a meal or a shower, and staying up all night caring for a sick child & cleaning up vomits on the carpet. I remember when my ONLY identity was "LK's mom" or "CB's mom". I remember how I rarely got to do anything just for me.

My daughter just turned 11 & my son 8. As much as I love how cute they were when they were little, and as much as I treasure all that time we spent together, I wouldn’t trade my hard-earned freedom for the diaper bag again (no matter how fashionable they are made now). LOL!

Yup, my river of life is flowing, and I am going with the flow....

Girls Night Out

2006-10-18T00:23:00.000-04:00

My friend George sent me this one. OMG, I couldn't stop laughing! LOL

------------------
Two women friends had gone for a girl's night out. Both were very faithful and loving wives, however, they had gotten over-enthusiastic on the Bacardi Breezers. Incredibly drunk and walking home they needed to pee, so they stopped in the cemetery.

One of them had nothing to wipe with so she thought she would take off her panties and use them. Her friend, however was wearing a rather expensive pair of panties and did not want to ruin them. She was lucky enough to squat down next to a grave that had a wreath with a ribbon on it, so she proceeded to wipe with that.

After the girls did their business they proceeded to go home. The next day one of the women's husbands was concerned that his normally sweet and innocent wife was still in bed hung over, so he phoned the other husband and said,

"These girl nights have got to stop! I'm starting to suspect the worst.... my wife came home with no panties!!"

"That's nothing" said the other husband, "Mine came back with a card stuck to her ass that said.....

'From all of us at the Fire Station. We'll never forget you.'

Why We Need Friends

2006-10-08T00:19:00.000-04:00

We all need friends to NOT let us fall sometimes....

BlogJolt: I Need This!!

2006-10-06T13:22:00.000-04:00

I've just joined a very unique group (or should I say movement) called eMoms BlogJolt. Every week they choose two members' blogs to be the BlogJolt and all the other members try to create as much links and traffic for these two BlogJolt of the week. Isn't it such an innovative concept and win-win strategy for all bloggers to support one another?!!!

One of the featured blogs of this week is Adornments by Lynn, which features many of unique jewelry pieces designed by Lynn and a variety of articles about her many other interests & reflections on life in general. If you love jewelry, you definitely want to check it out.

While browsing through her blog, I cam across this neat gadget that's a must-have for all bloggers, or whoever works on the computer for insanely long hours and desperately need to "squeeze" in some exercise while at it. Check it out! This could come in handy for you, especially during those LONG, cold winter months ahead of us! :-)

The Older Women Are On The Prowl!

2006-10-05T20:59:00.000-04:00

I read this post by Jen at Stay-at-Home Motherdom today, called "The Older Women Are On The Prowl! (Parental Advisory)", and it cracked me up!!!

Jen talked about how her 3-year-old son (a real cutie) has an "older" (4-year-old) girlfriend in his preschool called Flower, who is a little too affectionate toward her son. She is thinking of "locking him in the house until he's 35", and pleading "LADIES, KEEP YOUR GIRLS AWAY!"

My son CB had a similar experience when he was perhaps 3 or 4 years old. He attended a Catholic Montessori preschool back then. At the Chrismas party for parents, I overheard a mom telling the sister how her daughter LOVED my son and talked about him every day at home. I was very skeptical when I heard that. I mean, CB was (still is) a real cutie pie. The sister called him "my handsome boy". However, my son had NEVER mentioned any girls in his class.

When I asked the sister about it, imagine my shock when she confirmed that there were TWO girls fighting over my son every single day -- fighting to sit next to him, and hugging & kissing him all the time!!! Later that semester, when I visited his classroom, I witnessed one of the girls "bear hug" him from behind during Circle Time. I had the same reaction as Jen did -- Aggghhh! LOL!

CB is now 8 1/2 years old. Over the years, there were always a few girls who were friendly with him, but nothing like those two "girlfriends" back in preschool. He kinda prefers to play with "the guys" and his Bionicles now, instead of girls. For now, Mommy is still his "Favorite Girl", and he is my "Funny Valentine". I know, things will change when he gets a little older, but I hope that day will not come too soon.....

FREE "Intensive Self-Care Kit"

2006-09-30T22:27:00.000-04:00

If you have been reading my articles and Newsletters on my other blog, you know that Intensive Self-Care is essential to your survival and well-being, and it's critical when you are in a nurturing position. It's like putting on your own oxygen mask FIRST before you help others, when the plane is in trouble.

This "Intensive Self-Care Kit" provides you insights, tips, practical tools & exercises to help you practice Intensive Self-Care, reduce stress, restore inner peace, manage life's changes with ease, achieve work/life balance, and live a more purposeful life. It's a valuable resource for ANYONE, especially for those who are in nurturing roles and/or professions (and that is YOU).

It's my gift to you, my fellow women nurturers. It's totally free of charge, and it's ready for you to download. Just go to my website to download this free gift now.

While you are at my website, you can take a 5-min goal-setting quiz and get your personalized Free Goals Report, read all about coaching & testimonials from my clients, subscribe to my free newsletter "Intensive Care for the Nurturer's Soul", download my radio interview recording, and find a wealth of resources for women nurturers.

If there is a gap between where you are, and where you want to be in life, and you are ready & willing to do something about it, then coaching can help. Find out if coaching is right for you by taking this quiz, then sign up for a 30-min telephone complimentary trial session.

Intensive Care for the Nurturer's Soul: FREE "Intensive Self-Care Kit" Available Now

The Blind Man

2006-09-28T23:03:00.000-04:00

Two nuns are ordered to paint a room in the convent, and the last instruction of the Mother Superior is that they must not get even a drop of paint on their habits.

After conferring about this for a while, the two nuns decide to lock the door of the room, strip off their habits, and paint in the nude. In the middle of the project, there comes a knock at the door.

"Who is it?" calls out one of the nuns.

"The Blind man," replies a voice from the other side of the door.

The two nuns look at each other and shrug and deciding that no harm can come from letting a blind man into the room, they open the door.

"Nice Boobs," says the man. "Where do you want the blinds?"

EuroEnglish

2006-09-25T10:40:00.000-04:00

The European Commission have just announced an agreement whereby English will be the official language of the EU rather than German, which was the other possibility. As part of the negotiations, Her Majesty's government conceded that English spelling had some room for improvement and has accepted a 5-year phase in plan that would be known as "EuroEnglish":

In the first year, "s" will replace the soft "c"-- Sertainly this will make the sivil servants jump with joy. The hard "c" will be dropped in favor of the "k". This should klear up konfusion and keyboards kan have 1 less letter.

There will be growing publik enthusiasm in the sekond year, when the troublesome "ph" wil be replaced with the "f". This will make words like "fotograf" 20% shorter.

In the 3rd year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be expected to reach the stage where more komplikated changes are possible. Governments will enkorage the removal of double letters, which have always been a deterent to akurate speling. Also, al wil agre that the horible mes of the silent "e"'s in the language is disgraceful, and they should go away.

By the 4th yar peopl wil be reseptiv to steps such as replasing "th" with "z" and "w" with "v". During ze fifz yar, ze unesesary "o" kan be dropd from vords kontaining "ou" and similar changes vud of kors be aplid to ozer kombinations of leters. After zis fifz yer, ve vil hav a reli sensibl riten styl. Zer vil be no mor trubls or difikultis and evrivun vil find it ezi tu understand ech ozer.

ZE DREM VIL FINALI KUM TRU!!

My First Kung Fu Tournament

2006-09-23T21:16:00.000-04:00

A few months ago, I set a goal to compete in a Chinese Kung Fu tournament in September. I've been taking martial art training for 5 years, but I just switched to Chinese Kung Fu and Tai Chi Sword training this year. It's very different from Tae Kwon Do (a Korean martial art) that I was accustomed to, but I really enjoy the new training. I know for me to do well in something, I need to challenge myself, and competing in a tournament is certainly a great challenge.

I'm no stranger to martial arts tournaments. I have competed and medaled in several NJ state & regional Tae Kwon Do Championships. But, this would be special because it would be my very first Chinese Kung Fu tournament. I figured, it would be a new adventure and fun experience for me. I told my classmates that I was doing it for fun and for the learning experience. I'm just a "new kid on the block" in the Kung Fu world. If nothing else, it would certainly make a good bedtime story for my future grandchildren. :-)

However, right before summer, I started to have a lot of neck and back pains. As it turned out, I have 4 mild disc herniations in my neck and my lower back. The entire summer I was spending many hours in tests and treatments. I started to feel unsure about the tournament.

There was less than 2 weeks left and I didn't even own a Kung Fu uniform. I finally had to ask myself: "Are you 100% committed or just sort-of, kind-of want to do this?" It's time to clean up my act. So, I got my Kung Fu uniform and matching tassels for my sword, and signed myself up for my very first Kung Fu tournament. This is the 2006 Wong Fei Hung North Eastern All Kung Fu Championships. It's sponsored by Yee's Hung Ga International Kung Fu Association and held in Jersey City, NJ on September 23, 2006.

Last night, my son had a huge fight with me, because he didn't want to spend the entire Saturday going to a Kung Fu tournament with me. My DH and I tried to explain to him that we all have to go together, because I need Daddy there to take pictures & video, and I need all of my family to support me. "Come on", I said, "it will be so cool to watch the lion dance and all the different weapon forms!!!" Well, he doesn't think that would be fun. He would rather stay home and play with his Bionicles. I know. I understand his preference, but I want him to understand that Mommy also has something that I'd like to pursue for myself, and it's very important that I stick to my goals, and it's very important that we support our own family. No matter what I said, he just kept saying "I just don't want to go" and started wailing.

After trying to console him with no avail, I got mad & walked away. It's the night before my tournament, as nervous as I already was, I really don't need this. I also felt hurt. When my son finally calmed down, I held him on the sofa and told him that he hurt my feelings. I told him that I would ALWAYS love him, but this time I was mad at him because his behavior hurt my feelings. All these years, I have worked so hard to support everything he did, everything he liked. And now it's my turn to pursue something I like. All I ask for is some moral support from him, and the least he could do is to go to the tournament WITHOUT complaints. "It's not all about you", I told him, "Sometimes you need to do something for other people, especially your family".

I want him to know that as a family, we need to support each other. In addition, the world does not revolve around him. Even Mommy and Daddy have our own lives, our own goals, and he needs to respect that.

So, today is the day. The tournament registration started at 8:00am, so we all had to get up really early, and loaded everything in the minivan. I looked at myself in the mirror, in a sky blue Kung Fu uniform, took a deep breath, and left the house. I guess my talk worked somehow. My son was quite cooperative today -- not so enthusiastic, but didn't complain either. It turned out to be a LONG day at the tournament, but it's all worth it.

It's such an exhilirating experience! It's so awesome to see so many martial artists, from so many different styles, showing off their skills under one roof. The adrenaline-pumping sparring matches were exciting to watch; nontheless, I personally prefer the forms competition. The forms are an artful combination of strength and grace. It takes hours and hours of practice, tremendous patience, focus and discipline to learn a form well. Skills aside, there is something beautiful about it, when you see a martial artist's total focus, intention and dedication while performing a form. Sometimes it moves me to tears. I guess that's why they call it martial "art".

Martial art traing has been very empowering for me. When I was training in Tae Kwon Do, one of our student creed was "To be victorious with patience and bravery". Those are the two qualities I've been trying to cultivate. I've proven to myself so many things I (or anyone else) never thought I could do. Seriously, I'm 5'3" and less than 110 pounds. Probably the last person you would suspect who takes martial art training. I've had to overcome a lot of limiting beliefs & fears -- on my part, and from everyone around me. My parents and my doctor just couldn't understand why I wanted to do this in the first place. LOL! I tried it out because my good friend kept asking me to, and never expected that I would be any good at it. But I quickly found out that I really enjoy the challenge and the sense of achievement that comes with doing something well. I was always amazed that I was so much stronger (mentally & physically) than I thought. Besides, this was something that's for me, and me only, and that's a big deal when you are a mom. :-)

Anyway, I competed in two categories today -- Northern Hand Form and Internal Weapons, both in the Executive Division (for people 36 and older). I did Mian Zhang Quen ("continuous palm") for the Northern Hand Form, and Wudang Tai Chi Sword for the Internal Weapons. I was very nervous for the hand form, because I had just finished learning the form about two weeks ago, and I didn't really have enough time to practice. Plus I was waiting by the ring side for SO long that I was STARVING (past 2:30pm and no lunch). I tried to do my best, but just didn't feel like I was able to execute the form with full power. After having something to eat, I did a much better job with Tai Chi Sword. One of the judges came up to me with a big smile, and asked me how long I had been training in Jiang (sword). He was pleased when I said "six months". What a relief! :-)

I'm very happy to report that I won 1st place for both categories!!! Yay, two more gold medals under my belt!!! I'm very proud that I stick to my goal despite the obstacles. The gold medals are sweet bonuses! I'm very grateful for my master, my family, and all my friends who have supported me on this journey. This will become one of my most treasured memories. And you can bet that it will be told to my grandchildren many years from now. :-)

picture with my master Gary Carbone (center) and my classmate Robert Matthews (Photo by Carole Rizzo)

at the tournament with my master Gary (left), classmates George (middle), Lance (right), their children, and my children

at the tournament with Master Frank Yee, founder of Yee's Hung Ga International Kung Fu Association

Lion Dance performance at the tournament

Mathematically Speaking

2006-09-20T02:44:00.000-04:00

This equation should be taught in all maths classes.

From a strictly mathematical viewpoint it goes like this:
What Makes 100%? What does it mean to give MORE than 100%? Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100%? We have all been to those meetings where someone wants you to give over 100%. How about achieving 103%? What makes up 100% in life?

Here's a little mathematical formula that might help you answer these questions:

If: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z is represented as:1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26.

Then: H-A-R-D-W-O-R-K= 8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 = 98% !

And K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E= 11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5 = 96%

But, A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E= 1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 = 100%

And, B-U-L-L-S-H-I-T= 2+21+12+12+19+8+9+20 = 103%

AND, look how far ass-kissing will take you.
A-S-S-K-I-S-S-I-N-G= 1+19+19+11+9+19+19+9+14+7 = 118%

So, one can conclude with mathematical certainty that: While Hard Work and Knowledge will get you close, and Attitude will get you there, it's the Bullshit and Ass-Kissing that will put you over the top!

Anatomy Class

2006-09-11T17:23:00.000-04:00

First-year students at Texas A&M's Vet School were receiving their first anatomy class, with a real dead cow. They all gathered around the surgery table with the body covered with a white sheet.

The professor started the class by telling them, "In vet medicine it is necessary to have two important qualities as a doctor: The first is that you not be disgusted by anything involving the animal body."

"For an example", the Professor pulled back the sheet, stuck his finger in the butt of the dead cow, withdrew it and stuck it in his mouth. "Go ahead and do the same thing," he told his students .

The students freaked out, hesitated for several minutes. But eventually took turns sticking a finger in the anal opening of the dead cow and sucking on it.

When everyone finished, the Professor looked at them and told them, "The second most important quality is observation. I stuck in my middle finger and sucked on my index finger. Now learn to pay attention."
--------------------------------

Now, that's a great lesson there! How often do we blindly follow other people's footprints without thinking for ourselves? And how often do we operate on auto-pilot and not pay attention to what's REALLY going on in our life?

Chain of Friends

2006-09-05T11:10:00.000-04:00

A good friend of mine emailed me this today, and I loved it so much that I wanted to share it with everyone...

Alone they might be washed away
but together they stand strong.....
Thank you each for holding my hand somewhere along the way
when I was facing a wave of my own
I hope you will reach for my hand
when your own wave threatens

All of us girls....
Old and young
Near and far
Hold special memories of good times we've shared
We've had our share of hard times when our friends were there
to make us feel better
We've shared...
our time
our secrets
our fears
our hopes
and our dreams
Let us never break the chain of friends!

Pass this on to all of those girls that you are happy to have as friends. And if you get this back, then you know the chain of friends is strong!

Thoughts on Exercise

2006-09-04T23:39:00.000-04:00

Walking can add minutes to your life. This enables you at 85 years old to spend an additional 5 months in a nursing home at $5000 per month.

My grandmother started walking five miles a day when she was 60. Now she's 97 years old and we don't know where the hell she is.

The only reason I would take up exercising is so that I could hear heavy breathing again.

I joined a health club last year, spent about 400 bucks. Haven't lost a pound. Apparently you have to go there.

I have to exercise early in the morning before my brain figures out what I'm doing.

I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me.

I have flabby thighs, but fortunately my stomach covers them.

The advantage of exercising every day is that you die healthier.

If you are going to try cross-country skiing, start with a small country.

And last but not least: I don't exercise because it makes the ice jump right out of my glass.

You could run this over to your friends but why not just e-mail it to them!

The Accidental Email

2006-09-04T22:06:00.000-04:00

A husband checked into the hotel. There was a computer in his room, so he decided to send an email to his wife. However, he accidentally left out one letter in her email address, and without realizing his error, sent the email.

Meanwhile, somewhere in Houston, a widow had just returned home from her husband's funeral. He was a minister who was called home to glory following a heart attack. The widow decided to check her email expecting messages from relatives and friends. Reading the first message, she screamed and fainted. The widow's son rushed into the room, found his mother on the floor, and saw the computer screen which read:

------------------------------------

To: My Loving Wife

Subject: I've arrived

Date: October 16, 2004

I know you're surprised to hear from me. They have computers here now and you are allowed to send emails to your loved ones. I've just arrived and have been checked in. I see that everything has been prepared for your arrival tomorrow.

Looking forward to seeing you then! Hope your journey is as uneventful as mine was.

P.S. Sure is freaking hot down here!

Lexophiles jokes

2006-08-22T12:03:00.000-04:00

Lexophiles - lovers of words - will enjoy these.

1. A bicycle can't stand alone; it is two tired.

2. A will is a dead giveaway.

3. Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana.

4. A backward poet writes inverse.

5. In a democracy it's your vote that counts; in feudalism, it's your Count that votes.

6. A chicken crossing the road: poultry in motion.

7. If you don't pay your exorcist you may be repossessed.

8. With her marriage she got a new name and a dress.

9. Show me a piano falling down a mine shaft and I'll show you A-flat miner.

10. When a clock is hungry it goes back four seconds.

11. The guy who fell onto an upholstery machine was fully recovered.

12. A grenade fell onto a kitchen floor in France resulting in Linoleum Blownapart.
13. You are stuck with your debt if you can't budge it.

14. Local Area Network in Australia: The LAN down under.

15. He broke into song because he couldn't find the key.

16. A calendar's days are numbered.

17. A lot of money is tainted: 'Taint yours, and 'taint mine.

18. A boiled egg is hard to beat.

19. He had a photographic memory which was never developed.

20. A plateau is a high form of flattery.

21. The short fortuneteller who escaped from prison: a small medium at large.

22. Those who get too big for their britches will be exposed in the end.

23. When you've seen one shopping center you've seen a mall.

24. If you jump off a Paris bridge, you are in Seine.

25. When she saw her first strands of gray hair, she thought she'd dye.

26. Bakers trade bread recipes on a knead to know basis.

27. Santa's helpers are subordinate clauses.

28. Acupuncture: a jab well done.

29. Marathon runners with bad shoes suffer the agony of de feet.

My Blog at Carnival of Family Life

2006-08-21T21:15:00.000-04:00

Last week I just learned that it's a great way to share my blog articles by submitting them to "blog carnivals". So, I submitted my article "Spray It, Don't Say It??!!!!" at the Carnival of Family Life. Check out the list of articles at this blog carnival.

Of The Princess And The Pea: Carnival of Family Life #15

5 Tips for a woman...

2006-08-20T18:19:00.000-04:00

My friend Lois sent me this. I thought it was very cute.

--------------------------
Five tips for a woman....

1. It is important that a man helps you around the house and has a job.

2. It is important that a man makes you laugh.

3. It is important to find a man you can count on and doesn't lie to you.

4. It is important that a man loves you and spoils you.

5. It is important that these four men don't know each other.

Foot Note:

One saggy boob said to the other saggy boob: "If we don't get some support soon, people will think we're nuts."

Parenting Lesson from the Amazing Giant Panda

2006-08-17T00:13:00.000-04:00

We visited the national zoo in Washington D.C. over the 4th of July long weekend. It was over 95 degrees of heat & humidity, and as you can imagine, my children didn't appreciate the long march under the sun that we put them through. However, the short visit with the beloved baby panda Tai Shan made all the suffering worthwhile.

When we visited the zoo, Tai Shan was a few days shy of his 1st birthday. Considering he only weighed a few ounces at birth (at his one-month-old check-up, he was only 1.82 pounds and 12 inches long), he has grown amazing leaps and bounds within a short year!

When we arrived at the Giant Panda House, there was a huge crowd oohing-and-aahing over baby Tai Shan, who was walking proudly on a thin branch of a small tree in his habitat. The branch is very thin compared to his round body, but Tai Shan seemed to balance himself very well. The little fur ball is just sooooooo adorable! (well, he was almost 60 pounds, so technically, not very "little" any more, but that doesn't affect his CQ -- "Cute Quotient"). Tai Shan seemed to enjoy the attention from the crowd and was putting on a good show for all of us.

Then, all of a sudden, he lost his footing.... the crowd gasped! As you can see in this picture, his hind legs are hanging off the branch now.

Tai Shan tried to pull himself back on the branch, but his hind legs had nothing to grab on...

The situation went from bad to worse..... now little Tai Shan was hanging on to the thin branch with his front paws, and desperately trying to pull his heavy body up with no avail. Everyone became very anxious for him, some were cheering for him: "Com'n baby, YOU CAN DO IT!", and some were pleading "Where is his mom? Can somebody help him out?!!!"

Yeah, where is his mommy???!!! I looked around and saw Tai Shan's mommy Mei Xiang standing right outside of the Giant Panda House, hundreds of feet away from her baby cub. I thought she would come running to rescue her baby, as ANY human mommy would've by now. But, no, she seemed very cool and calm the whole time. She stroded a few feet toward her baby, looked at Tai Shan for perhaps half a minute (or less), then walked back to the house. She did came out to check on her baby the second time, but just like first time, she didn't even walk very close to Tai Shan at all, and again quickly retreated to the house.

I must say I was a bit puzzled by Mei Xiang's behavior. Perhaps I'm sometimes a little over-protective as a mom, just like my mom was when she was raising 3 daughters. Still, I couldn't believe how relaxed Mei Xiang seemed, as her first baby was losing his grip on a thin branch and about to fall to the ground any minute.

Tai Shan hung on to the branch for what felt like eternity. The inevitable finally happened.... as the crowd screamed in horror the baby panda fell flat on his back, on a pile of leaves & small twigs, etc. on the grass. He s-l-o-w-l-y picked himself up and dusted himself off. To our relief, he was not hurt. WHEW!!!!

Then-- I couldn't believe my eyes-- he proceeded to walk to a bigger tree nearby, and started climbing AGAIN!!! Well, this time he didn't get very far, because all the big trees are all wrapped with metal sheets that prevents him from climbing up. I bet the zoo keepers had a lot of experiences dealing with this highly active and adventurous baby panda. LOL

Then, it dawned on me -- NO WONDER Mei Xiang was cool as a cucumber while those of us in the audience were all freaking out. She must've seen this "routine" hundreds or even thousands of times during the past several months. All the past experiences gave her the confidence and assurance that her baby is very adventurous and very capable, and he will be all right. And her composure and confidence in her baby must've given Tai Shan even more self-confidence to explore the world and find his own way. It's almost like a mother's faith -- you've got to have tremendous faith (in your children and in the higher power) to be able to "let go". It's an act of love and acceptance to show your children that you believe in them and that's a lesson I learned from Mei Xiang today.

I thought about my own mom. Even though my sisters and I always consider her to be over-the-top over-protective of us, she did do something when I was little that was anything but. When I was 10, my mom sent me and my 9-year-old sister on an airplane to fly (from Taiwan) to Japan to visit our grandparents. Back then, Japan had very strict regulations that allowed only one visitor per person for foreigners that lived & worked in their country. That's why my grandparents could only invite the two of us, and my parents couldn't accompany us on the trip. I remember weeks before the trip, my mom tried her best to prepare us for the trip. She sewed hidden pockets in our undershirts to store our grandparents contact info, went over her "safety instructions" over and over again, and tried to teach us a few words in Japanese. So, we learned how to say "good morning", "how are you", "thank you" and count from 1 to 10 in Japanese, but that's about all our little heads could remember. Looking back, now as a mother of two myself, I can't imagaine how nerve-wrecking it must've been for my mom to hand us to the flight attendants, and wait painfully for 4-5 hours until they heard from our grandparents that they had picked us up from the airport (remember, this was pre-cell-phone era). We had a great time on the plane with all the toys & attention we received from all of the flight attendants, totally forgot about our parents waiting anxiously at home (so typical of kids, riht?) When the plane landed in Tokyo, we did have a little trouble because the customs officer asked for our passports and I of course couldn't understand a single word he said!!! Anyway, we had a great time with our grandparents in Japan that summer. Happy ending.

My daughter is 10 (almost 11) this year. If you ask me, there's NO WAY I'm going to let her fly to a foreign country either by herself or with her little brother (who is 8). In fact, I wouldn't even let her fly domestic on her own. I guess, as a mother, I'm not as brave as my mom, after all.

Tai Shan continued to try climbing a few other trees nearby. Meanwhile, Mei Xiang walked out of the Panda House again, and walked toward Tai Shan as if she was beaconing him to go home with her. Finally, Tai Shan decided to comply and walked toward his mommy. Then the two of them met up and walked back to their house. The crowd sighed of relief and satisfaction, and slowly scattered to go to other attractions.

My children got their own "pet Tai Shan" to bring home with them, and I've got all the photos & a great story to tell. I know I will never forget this amazing little panda and his admirable mother.

Tai Shan Photo Gallery

Watch Live PandaCam

Giant Panda Facts

The Lightest Panda Cub Born in Captivity (Beijing)

Say what now???

2006-08-16T10:19:00.000-04:00

All of these are legitimate companies that didn't spend quite enough time considering how their online names might appear... and be misread.

1. Who Represents is where you can find the name of the agent that represents any celebrity. Their Web site is www.whorepresents.com

2. Experts Exchange is a knowledge base where programmers can exchange advice and views at www.expertsexchange.com

3. Looking for a pen? Look no further than Pen Island at www.penisland.net

4. Need a therapist? Try Therapist Finder at www.therapistfinder.com

5. And don't forget the Mole Station Native Nursery in New South Wales, www.molestationnursery.com

6. If you're looking for IP computer software, there's always www.ipanywhere.com

7. The First Cumming Methodist Church Web site is www.cummingfirst.com

8. And the designers at Speed of Art await you at their Web site, www.speedofart.com

Computer Geek or Serial Killer

2006-08-16T00:28:00.000-04:00

This is a test to see if you can spot serial killers by looking at their photos. There are 10 photos to look at -- these people are either a computer geek or a serial killer. Go with your gut feeling and click on your choice. You will get your score at the end.

I got 10 out of 10!!! (yeah I know, I'm very surprised myself)

Now it's your turn to take the test.

Personal DNA

2006-08-15T01:15:00.000-04:00

I took the Personal DNA test today and found it interesting.

According to this report, I am an "Encouraging Creator". My "imagination, confidence, willingness to explore, and appreciation of beauty" makes me a CREATOR; and my "outgoing nature (?), understanding of others, and directness" makes me ENCOURAGING. You can read My Personal DNA Report here.

Encouraging Creator

It's a simple test, and I think my result is quite accurate. Give it a try and see for yourself. Go to Personal DNA to take the test, and let me know your result.

Finger Soccer

2006-08-14T23:03:00.000-04:00

Check out this finger soccer video. That takes skills! It's way cool!

Chad Vader: Day Shift Manager

2006-08-13T21:00:00.000-04:00

I found this blog Jinkies! on ClubMom website that features all kind of funny & wacky stuff this mom finds on the Internet, and that's where I first found this video.

If you like Star Wars, you'd love this video . Check it out! Also check out Episode 2!

If someone said you fight like a girl....

2006-08-09T17:17:00.000-04:00

If someone said you "fight like a girl", take it as a compliment.

This picture was taken more than a year ago, when I was still training in Tae Kwon Do. My master asked an all-female panel of judges to judge color belt tests in our school. From left to right is Jenny, Vicky, Ute and me. Jenny was a 2nd Dan Black Belt, while the rest of us were 1st Dan. We were so proud to be the judges. Shortly after this test, Ute moved to Switzerland. Vicky and I eventually stopped Tae Kwon Do training and Jenny went on to get her 3rd Dan Black Belt. Gone were the good old days when I got to train with my good friends every week.... I've since started Kung Fu and Tai Chi Sword training, and it's been great, but I will always remember the fun I had with my girlfriends.

2004 Black Belt Dinner

singing our heart out...

holiday dinner at LeCirque

holiday brunch at Ute's

Brokeback Teddys

2006-08-08T01:31:00.000-04:00

Last Sunday after dinner, my kids and I were lying on my son CB's bed, just hanging out & chatting. They love to play a game where they'd put one or more stuffed animals inside their shirt, and ask me to guess who that is. Of course, each and every one of their animals has a name (and they have a HUGE collection, as most American kids do), and they expect me to remember all of them. The weekend before my husband and I were cleaning out the boxes from the storage shed in our backyard. There was a whole box of stuffed animals that we intended to donate to the charity. But, since Vincent was the first one who uncovered that box, he and his sister Miranda claimed all the contents, which makes their stuffed animal collection MUCH bigger. As you can imagine, this makes the "animal guessing game" much more challenging for me.

Anyway, as we were lying there and playing with all the stuffed animals scattered on CB's bed, CB held up two brown teddy bears and, in a dramatic voice like the narrator of a romance movie, he exclaimed, "Look how cute they are! They are meant for each other!" I was amused by his comment but never expected what he was about to say next.... LK looked at the teddy bears and asked (naturally curious as any little girl, or grown woman, for that matter), "Um, which one is the girl and which one is the boy?" Without missing a beat, CB replied "They are both boys. They are gay." LK and I looked at each other and bursted into hysterical laughs, and CB quickly joined us. All three of us were rolling in bed, laughing!!!!! I thought to myself, OK, this is when you know you've let your kids watch too much "Will & Grace" with you! LOL

After we were able to catch our breath, I said, "Well, I guess this makes them 'Brokeback Teddys' ". Of course, at this point I had to explain where the term "Brokeback" came from. And, this is why these handsome bears are now known as the "Brokeback Teddys" in our house. They are doing their "Brokeback Tai Chi" poses. Don't they look cute? :-)

Spray It, Don't Say It??!!!!

2006-08-01T08:43:00.000-04:00

I saw this poster in the ladies room at Washington D.C. Zoo and just had to take a picture of it!

Obviously, lobsters have entirely different social etiquette from us humans. The poster says, lobsters communicate by spraying urine at each other! Man, we're complaining that our little boys (or husbands) have "poor aim" in the bathroom! Aren't you glad they're not lobsters!!! LOL!

Wudang Tai Chi Sword

2006-07-21T23:24:00.000-04:00

I've been taking Wudang Tai Chi Sword class for a few months, and it's been an exhilirating experience. Among all the traditional martial arts weapons, straight sword has always been my personal favorite. It's one of the most graceful yet deadly weapons. If you've seen "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" or other Kung Fu movies, you'd know what I'm talking about. The combination of beauty and strength intrigues me, not to mention my childhood fantasy of being a beautiful princess/sword-master. You can imagine how excited I was when I heard of this Tai Chi Sword class right in my town (Denville, New Jersey).

Wudang Tai Chi Sword turned out to be very different from the Shiaolin style or what you usually see in Kung Fu movies. Just like Tai Chi Quan, it's an internal art that requires patience, quieting your mind, balance, and proper breathing (Qing), among other things. This sword form is flowing & graceful, and so much longer & complex than the Tae Kwon Do forms I'm accustomed to. There are 6 sections in this form, and each section has so many moves & transitions. Luckily, I've got a great Master Gary Carbone. He was trained under Master Chen Junhao (1937-2001) of Shanxi Province, China. His lineage of BaFanShou/Xingyi Quan, beginning with Master Wang Xinwu, is listed on the Eagle Claw Kung Fu Society site.

This video shows the Wudang Tai Chi Sword form that I'm learning, performed by Master Jesse Tsao. There are some differences in details, but Gary said it's commonplace that every master might perform the same move with a different style. The video doesn't show the complete form, but it'd give you some idea about the form.