On the IPOD "Clementine" By: Sarah Jaffe
I have been wrestling with writing about this... because honestly it's not my story...but there are bits and pieces of it that I think are so important that I'm going to stray from my normal topics and set down what now is to be my next post entitled "Levi's Favorite Things (a guide to what has worked for my kid)"
A little less than a week ago my facebook page was blown up with old friends stating only "Breathe In Hope, Breathe Out Love" as their status. It is the mantra of an amazing guy I went to high school with and who happened to date a very good friend of mine for a short time. I have known for about a year that he has been fighting cancer although I was not only unaware of how bad it really was but I was also unaware that he was chronicling his fight for life in a blog. Funny that I spend a ridiculous amount of time on here but have never seen it...makes you really realize how many blogs are out there...
Anyways I searched for his blog and found it quite easily. As I read the latest post my heart sank...
"I'm not sure if this is my last posting but if it is I want to thank everyone whom has helped me along the way, everyone whom has become inspired to make a difference, and everyone whom has changed their own lives to better take advantage of life's little opportunities and tiny miracles. It's not a goodbye but more of a see you later. It's truly been and honor and privilege"
I have know cancer, we are not friends, but I have never encountered the type of fight and determination that Jeff had to fight it. My Dad might have fought it in his own way but it was definitely much quieter... Maybe its a generational thing, but looking back it seems as if my dad gave his cancer to the doctors to fix instead of really taking the bull by the horns, they said jump and he jumped. But I guess people are just different...
Jeff was 30, had been married less than two years, was just really getting into the stride of his life and poof what at first was thought to be a sports injury quickly turned into the fight of his life.
After I read Jeff's blog I felt the need to leave a comment,
"Jeff- We have never run in the same circle although we went to school together and therefore have many overlapping rings. But I felt the need to tell you how your blog has changed my life... Over the last year I have heard about your fight although nothing led me here until yesterday afternoon when I saw the remarkable amount of posts from Facebook friends just stating "breathe in hope, breathe out love." ... As I sat on the couch with my almost 5 month old son Levi right next to me I read from beginning to end the tales of your courageous fight... I held Levi's tiny hand the entire time sometimes holding tighter.... I have to admit at times my mind raced back and forth between feeling for you, for Autumn, for your parents... I questioned my role as a mother, as a wife, and at times as a friend. In less than 24 hours you have made me want to fight for each day of my life... You have made me want to live a better life.... be a better wife, to be a better mother, to be a better daughter, to love harder than I ever thought possible. Thank you for letting me in... Thank you for fighting with passion and dignity. And most of all thank you for your courageous vulnerability. My love to you and everyone in your circle.
Breathe in hope, breathe out love!
Amanda"
Jeff's fight is the most perfect example of taking responsibility for what life throws at you. I beg of you to read it...it will most definitely change your life...
Jeff lost his fight on Monday night, just two short days after what ended up being his final post. My heart goes out to his family and friends as they celebrate his life today.
You can find Jeff's blog at www.jeffsfightwithcancer.blogspot.com
"Breathe in Hope, Breathe out love"
xoxo chef a
Showing posts with label empowerment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label empowerment. Show all posts
Friday, June 10, 2011
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Birthing Class
On the IPOD "Firework" By: Katy Perry
So Ive come to a conclusion that it is amazing I made it through high school! My attention span is terrible. I can't tell you the last time I had to sit through a class while not on ADHD meds but let's just say that the first half of birthing class was painfully difficult...
Our class started at 9 am and they consider this particular class to be the crash course on babies. We went into it knowing that it would be an all day affair and that we would leave knowing most of everything we need to at least get Levi home. I was a nanny for about 7 years until I went full time personal chef but that was a good 10 years ago so I knew I would be a tad bit rusty.
When we got to the full class we all went around and said our names, our due date, sex of baby, and name if we had it. I'm going to go ahead and say the group was definitely a mixed bunch... some married, some not, some older, and some most likely still in high school. It did make me grateful that we are at the stage in our life that we are. Everybody seemed nice enough although the guy next to Mike had I would say the worst dandruff Ive ever seen, he definitely needs a good sterilization before his child comes!
The first half of the class was about the actual birth. Breathing techniques, positions, med choices, and films and slides of what actually happens to your body. Lets just say I almost lost it when they showed what 10 cm really looks like. An anesthesiologist came to speak with us about an epidural and that might have been the best part of the first half. It was incredibly nice of him to take time to answer everyones questions.
By 12 pm I didn't know if I would be able to sit any longer...thank goodness we went on a tour of the hospital. We visited labor and delivery, the nursery, and postpartum. The teacher explained to us the importance of having everyone leave the room after the birth and giving ourselves an opportunity to breastfeed and bond until they move us to the postpartum room. After the tour we took a break for lunch.
After lunch we started on baby care. Each couple got a baby and we learned about the first bath and how to take care of the umbilical cord and circumcision site. We also learned soothing techniques, diaper duty, and swaddling. We discussed SIDS, colds, and pediatricians. And we spent a good hour talking about breastfeeding including positioning, pumping, and problems. After we cleaned up our bathing mess she passed out the CPR babies. We took turns and learned infant CPR and the Heimlich. And finish off the class by discussing car seats and baby safety.
The second part of the class was by far my favorite...I'm definitely a hands on kind of person! By the time we got home I was exhausted! Unfortunately I've been fighting with third trimester "morning sickness" and have been sick every night lately. This next week is going to be crazy. This is the last holiday I'm working before the baby comes...I swear...well for clients at least.
All in all even with the ADHD I'm so glad we went to the class. I'm so glad that I feel like a have a timeline and that I know what I need to go ahead and take care of and that I feel even more confident of my birthing decisions. Best of all Mike and I are totally on the same page as far as baby care and I feel confident that if I can't handle something at any given moment...he can. We walked in as Amanda and Mike and walked out as Team Marrone. Pretty cool if you ask me!
xoxo chef a
So Ive come to a conclusion that it is amazing I made it through high school! My attention span is terrible. I can't tell you the last time I had to sit through a class while not on ADHD meds but let's just say that the first half of birthing class was painfully difficult...
Our class started at 9 am and they consider this particular class to be the crash course on babies. We went into it knowing that it would be an all day affair and that we would leave knowing most of everything we need to at least get Levi home. I was a nanny for about 7 years until I went full time personal chef but that was a good 10 years ago so I knew I would be a tad bit rusty.
When we got to the full class we all went around and said our names, our due date, sex of baby, and name if we had it. I'm going to go ahead and say the group was definitely a mixed bunch... some married, some not, some older, and some most likely still in high school. It did make me grateful that we are at the stage in our life that we are. Everybody seemed nice enough although the guy next to Mike had I would say the worst dandruff Ive ever seen, he definitely needs a good sterilization before his child comes!
The first half of the class was about the actual birth. Breathing techniques, positions, med choices, and films and slides of what actually happens to your body. Lets just say I almost lost it when they showed what 10 cm really looks like. An anesthesiologist came to speak with us about an epidural and that might have been the best part of the first half. It was incredibly nice of him to take time to answer everyones questions.
By 12 pm I didn't know if I would be able to sit any longer...thank goodness we went on a tour of the hospital. We visited labor and delivery, the nursery, and postpartum. The teacher explained to us the importance of having everyone leave the room after the birth and giving ourselves an opportunity to breastfeed and bond until they move us to the postpartum room. After the tour we took a break for lunch.
After lunch we started on baby care. Each couple got a baby and we learned about the first bath and how to take care of the umbilical cord and circumcision site. We also learned soothing techniques, diaper duty, and swaddling. We discussed SIDS, colds, and pediatricians. And we spent a good hour talking about breastfeeding including positioning, pumping, and problems. After we cleaned up our bathing mess she passed out the CPR babies. We took turns and learned infant CPR and the Heimlich. And finish off the class by discussing car seats and baby safety.
The second part of the class was by far my favorite...I'm definitely a hands on kind of person! By the time we got home I was exhausted! Unfortunately I've been fighting with third trimester "morning sickness" and have been sick every night lately. This next week is going to be crazy. This is the last holiday I'm working before the baby comes...I swear...well for clients at least.
All in all even with the ADHD I'm so glad we went to the class. I'm so glad that I feel like a have a timeline and that I know what I need to go ahead and take care of and that I feel even more confident of my birthing decisions. Best of all Mike and I are totally on the same page as far as baby care and I feel confident that if I can't handle something at any given moment...he can. We walked in as Amanda and Mike and walked out as Team Marrone. Pretty cool if you ask me!
xoxo chef a
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Our Responsibility
On the IPOD "The House That Built Me" By: Miranda Lambert
So first of all I have to tell you about this amazing ice cream I found...it's not low fat, low sugar, or low calorie, but it happens to be completely worth it! It's Blue Bell "Spiced Pumpkin Pecan!" I happen to be a pumpkin fan but even if you don't think its your thing... could anything be better than creamy pumpkin ice cream with sugared spiced pecans and a ribbon of caramel. All I'm saying is we will definitely be having a Spiced Pumpkin Pecan ice cream cake for thanksgiving this year!
On a more serious note....
Although I don't normally talk about current events I am going to discuss why Demi Lovato is in a treatment center. I don't know all of the details of her personal story obviously... But I do know what it feels like to be bullied growing up and not in a beat you up after science class kind of way. It was more of a say such hurtful things to you it makes you hate yourself from the inside kind of way. I think I would have rather just been taken out on the playground...
I have gone into detail about growing up as a chubby kid and being tormented by other girls. I have also discussed refusing to go to school for almost an entire year because of it. I feel lucky that I was personally strong enough to never hurt myself in a physical way but I can definitely see how easy it would have been to go in the other direction.
Our country is facing a horrible truth... Unfortunately the society image we are teaching our children through our own actions and those portrayed on television and in the movies is finally catching up with us. As much as we are worried about health insurance and taxes we should be forced to worry about what is happening in our schools as the suicide rate climbs and climbs and the ages get younger and younger.
At what point will we take responsibility for creating hate??
I honestly don't know the answers to how to fix this but I do know that it needs to be addressed because it would be a real shame if we end up with a generation of kids who can play every sport, two musical instruments, and get accepted into all the best colleges but who are so stressed out and unhappy that they end up not being able to function in the real world! Maybe our priorities need to shift a bit...
I hope the mothers and fathers out there really hear this blog today because I think that the emotional safety of your children lies in your hands... We have to teach our kids how to stand up to the bullying, how to treat their peers with respect and love and more than anything we need to make sure that self confidence is built at home where our children should feel loved and supported no matter what their strengths and weaknesses are because not every kid is going to be a star football player or dancer. And not every kid is going to be a straight A student and most of all not every kid is going to look the way you hoped they would. They might not be skinny or they might be too skinny, you might not like the clothes they pick out and they might not be popular... But fortunately school is very small portion of a persons entire life and our goal as parents should be to help our kids love themselves as much as possible so that they can grow up and do great things for this world!
Xoxo chef a
So first of all I have to tell you about this amazing ice cream I found...it's not low fat, low sugar, or low calorie, but it happens to be completely worth it! It's Blue Bell "Spiced Pumpkin Pecan!" I happen to be a pumpkin fan but even if you don't think its your thing... could anything be better than creamy pumpkin ice cream with sugared spiced pecans and a ribbon of caramel. All I'm saying is we will definitely be having a Spiced Pumpkin Pecan ice cream cake for thanksgiving this year!
On a more serious note....
Although I don't normally talk about current events I am going to discuss why Demi Lovato is in a treatment center. I don't know all of the details of her personal story obviously... But I do know what it feels like to be bullied growing up and not in a beat you up after science class kind of way. It was more of a say such hurtful things to you it makes you hate yourself from the inside kind of way. I think I would have rather just been taken out on the playground...
I have gone into detail about growing up as a chubby kid and being tormented by other girls. I have also discussed refusing to go to school for almost an entire year because of it. I feel lucky that I was personally strong enough to never hurt myself in a physical way but I can definitely see how easy it would have been to go in the other direction.
Our country is facing a horrible truth... Unfortunately the society image we are teaching our children through our own actions and those portrayed on television and in the movies is finally catching up with us. As much as we are worried about health insurance and taxes we should be forced to worry about what is happening in our schools as the suicide rate climbs and climbs and the ages get younger and younger.
At what point will we take responsibility for creating hate??
I honestly don't know the answers to how to fix this but I do know that it needs to be addressed because it would be a real shame if we end up with a generation of kids who can play every sport, two musical instruments, and get accepted into all the best colleges but who are so stressed out and unhappy that they end up not being able to function in the real world! Maybe our priorities need to shift a bit...
I hope the mothers and fathers out there really hear this blog today because I think that the emotional safety of your children lies in your hands... We have to teach our kids how to stand up to the bullying, how to treat their peers with respect and love and more than anything we need to make sure that self confidence is built at home where our children should feel loved and supported no matter what their strengths and weaknesses are because not every kid is going to be a star football player or dancer. And not every kid is going to be a straight A student and most of all not every kid is going to look the way you hoped they would. They might not be skinny or they might be too skinny, you might not like the clothes they pick out and they might not be popular... But fortunately school is very small portion of a persons entire life and our goal as parents should be to help our kids love themselves as much as possible so that they can grow up and do great things for this world!
Xoxo chef a
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
The Birthday Wish
On the IPOD "It Doesn't Hurt" By: Katie Thompson (this girl has an unbelievable voice so worth checking out!)
I really had one of the most amazing birthdays this year...after having a wonderful weekend celebrating with my husband and family, and then having another celebration at Nia on Tuesday, I was sort of perplexed as to what to do on Wednesday (the real day.) After close friends started calling me and asking what the plans were I decided to ask a small group of my oldest girl friends, who have truly been an inspiration to my life this year, to join me for dinner at Kobe Steaks, a Japanese Hibachi style restaurant.
As it got closer to Wednesday I really started to realize what an amazing year it has truly been. Although at times I feel like I have only scratched the surface of my food issues, when I really look back at the steps that I have made to change my life and the honesty in which I've gone about it, I have to say I'm pretty proud of myself. I never thought I would ever be able to let the world in to this internal battle that I have faced alone since the age of about nine. And I really never could have believed that my insecurities would become a topic of daily conversation. But yet here I am starring into a computer screen excited about what the next year will unfold.
The minute I blew out my first birthday candle this year I realized how much things have truly changed... It was the first birthday wish that didn't start out, "Please just let me be skinny by next year!" For the first time ever I knew that I didn't need a wish or prayer to get me where I want to be, because I finally trust myself that I'm fully on board to changing my life. I'm not looking for a quick fix or a miracle cure but instead I'm looking for a new path. I have learned that the most important piece of that puzzle is to surround myself with positive friends and to limit my time with those who are not behind me. I have left the pity party that has been stifling my life and have gained the control that I never even knew I wanted.
Even though I have said it before, I will say it again... this journey has been blessed with your support and guidance and I hope that you will continue to follow me on this incredible path.
xoxo chef a
I really had one of the most amazing birthdays this year...after having a wonderful weekend celebrating with my husband and family, and then having another celebration at Nia on Tuesday, I was sort of perplexed as to what to do on Wednesday (the real day.) After close friends started calling me and asking what the plans were I decided to ask a small group of my oldest girl friends, who have truly been an inspiration to my life this year, to join me for dinner at Kobe Steaks, a Japanese Hibachi style restaurant.
As it got closer to Wednesday I really started to realize what an amazing year it has truly been. Although at times I feel like I have only scratched the surface of my food issues, when I really look back at the steps that I have made to change my life and the honesty in which I've gone about it, I have to say I'm pretty proud of myself. I never thought I would ever be able to let the world in to this internal battle that I have faced alone since the age of about nine. And I really never could have believed that my insecurities would become a topic of daily conversation. But yet here I am starring into a computer screen excited about what the next year will unfold.
The minute I blew out my first birthday candle this year I realized how much things have truly changed... It was the first birthday wish that didn't start out, "Please just let me be skinny by next year!" For the first time ever I knew that I didn't need a wish or prayer to get me where I want to be, because I finally trust myself that I'm fully on board to changing my life. I'm not looking for a quick fix or a miracle cure but instead I'm looking for a new path. I have learned that the most important piece of that puzzle is to surround myself with positive friends and to limit my time with those who are not behind me. I have left the pity party that has been stifling my life and have gained the control that I never even knew I wanted.
Even though I have said it before, I will say it again... this journey has been blessed with your support and guidance and I hope that you will continue to follow me on this incredible path.
xoxo chef a
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Tripped!
On the IPOD "Sleeping to Dream" by: Jason Mraz
Wednesday night was my last night of "Zensual Bootcamp Level One." I'm going to start off by saying that I love this class. I even love the fact that I made it until the last class before I made a complete fool of myself! During our last free flow dance I bent over, like touching the floor, and came up way toooooo fast, I then lost my balance, tripped over my 8 inch stripper heel and ate it!!!! I was pretty much down for the count, not real sexy! I assured everyone that I was fine which I was but today lets just say I'm definitely feeling the burn!
I left the class feeling a little sad...maybe because more than likely the group of women that I have begun to feel pretty comfortable with would probably be going in different directions but I think even more than that I was a little sad to give up the hour once a week that I was allowing myself to really be free.
There is something empowering about moving in a sexy way... It's that mix of feeling slightly uncomfortable and feeling in complete awe that you don't look half bad doing it. I have more than once caught myself walking like a stripper in the grocery store...shoulders back, hips moving, and legs crossing with a slight drag. Victoria Secret model here I come lol!
Without going in to too much detail I can tell you that it has changed my life at home too. I treat myself better...I indulge in what I refer to as "whole bottle bubble baths" (its when you use the whole bottle of bath product!) In general I'm much more confident and I feel sexier than I did a month ago. I haven't even "danced" for Mike, it doesn't seem to be about that.
A month ago I saw this chubby girl who couldn't get pregnant in the mirror, I had lost that girly feeling that makes you feel attractive. This class helped me find it again! I am looking forward to taking more classes that help me to find my inner self. And I guess during the next couple of weeks before the next bootcamp starts I'll just have to walk around the house in my 8 inch heels and knee pads! I'm sure my husband will be soooo disappointed, Not!
xoxo chef a
Wednesday night was my last night of "Zensual Bootcamp Level One." I'm going to start off by saying that I love this class. I even love the fact that I made it until the last class before I made a complete fool of myself! During our last free flow dance I bent over, like touching the floor, and came up way toooooo fast, I then lost my balance, tripped over my 8 inch stripper heel and ate it!!!! I was pretty much down for the count, not real sexy! I assured everyone that I was fine which I was but today lets just say I'm definitely feeling the burn!
I left the class feeling a little sad...maybe because more than likely the group of women that I have begun to feel pretty comfortable with would probably be going in different directions but I think even more than that I was a little sad to give up the hour once a week that I was allowing myself to really be free.
There is something empowering about moving in a sexy way... It's that mix of feeling slightly uncomfortable and feeling in complete awe that you don't look half bad doing it. I have more than once caught myself walking like a stripper in the grocery store...shoulders back, hips moving, and legs crossing with a slight drag. Victoria Secret model here I come lol!
Without going in to too much detail I can tell you that it has changed my life at home too. I treat myself better...I indulge in what I refer to as "whole bottle bubble baths" (its when you use the whole bottle of bath product!) In general I'm much more confident and I feel sexier than I did a month ago. I haven't even "danced" for Mike, it doesn't seem to be about that.
A month ago I saw this chubby girl who couldn't get pregnant in the mirror, I had lost that girly feeling that makes you feel attractive. This class helped me find it again! I am looking forward to taking more classes that help me to find my inner self. And I guess during the next couple of weeks before the next bootcamp starts I'll just have to walk around the house in my 8 inch heels and knee pads! I'm sure my husband will be soooo disappointed, Not!
xoxo chef a
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