Archive for Month: May, 2011
Weekly Winners {What I’ve Been Doing}
What. A. Week!
It started last Sunday with a trip to the airport. My mother and I exchanged kisses and seats, as she came in from Buffalo and I departed for Louisville. She was coming to help us out, to watch the kids, while Michael trained for his new fancy-shmancy pilot job. As for me, I went to “Loovul” to do some fancy-shmancy photography work for Where Women Cook during GE Momsperience. Not only was it an opportunity to do what I love, it was an opportunity to see familiar faces as well as meet new ones. On top of that I got to have fun AND turn thirty-seven. The night of my birthday was spent at Churchill Downs, where there was a party just for me (or so I pretended.) I mean, you can’t not pretend that 25 beautiful women (dressed to the nines with beautiful Derby inspired hats) aren’t all gathered just for you—Mint Juleps in hand!
Louisville is a beautiful city, and I was glad to add it to my list of visited cities!
I came home on Tuesday afternoon. Michael picked me up from the train station, and we stopped for a bite to eat. I can’t tell you the last time that Michael and I (JUST Michael and I) had a meal, out, together. It was really nice, and I want to do it again. Sushi, perhaps? I digress…
After our bellies were full and the horrendous GA400 traffic died down we proceeded to get me to the second last Tech Week practice for Alice. I was excited to see my full costume for my role of the Duchess. The costumer, Jeannie, was there to help me get it all together, and I was thrilled. We went through practice, in full make-up, and it felt so good to be on the stage. After a quick hour-and-a-half we left the school and Michael and Davey were waiting to pick me and Livey up. Davey gave me his requisite, “I missed you, Mama!”
The next few days were spent hanging out with my mom and the kids. We shopped, we went out to eat, we had lunch at the lake, I learned how to make spinach strudel, and on Friday our first show was on. Mama, Mikey, and Benny came to see us on opening night. My friend Donna and her husband came to see us, too! It was wonderful and I am definitely bitten by the acting bug. Today is our Sunday matinee show, and I’m sad to see it come to end. I can’t wait to try out (and land a part) in the next show. I think I could pull off Miss Hanigan, don’t you?
Here are some pictures from my week. Also, make sure you look at the end of this post for information on some other cool things I’m doing…
[Images By: Michael Lane]
[Images Courtesy: Donna Holzer]
Coming up this week:
Curvy Girl Guide is teaming up with Lands’ End to celebrate women of all shapes and sizes, and inspire them to have fun this summer by taking part in
National Swimsuit Confidence Week. Lands’ End, together with 21 real women from Curvy Girl Guide, will launch the first National Swimsuit Confidence Week May 23 – 27, 2011.
You can be a part of this nationwide effort to inspire women to get off the beach chair this season with confidence. Spread the word, join the movement and embrace your swimsuit confidence this summer!
Bloggers Join the Movement – On May 23, 2011, 21 women from Curvy Girl Guide will show off their swimsuit confidence by posting a photo in a 2011 Lands’ End Swimsuit. You can join in by posting your swimsuit photo on May 23, 2011 to inspire your followers – send a link to libby.schmeisser@landsend.com for a chance to win one of five $100 Lands’ End gift cards. [via Curvy Girl Guide]
Also, I’m a part of something really cool with Snap MyLife! I will be judging photos for their Snap MyLife Summer Photo Contest. To enter upload one of your favorite photos (candids, portraits, landscapes or other subject that expresses what summer means to you.) The winner will be chosen based on their photos theme, composition and technique; the prize is a Canon PowerShot 14.1-Megapixel Digital Camera! Like Snap MyLife on Facebook and enter today!
Oh, and come on over to Snap MyLife, see what it’s all about.
Alice in Wonderland
Tonight I embark on a new chapter in my life. The chapter that involves going on to a stage and turning on a different character. The chapter that involves make up, costumes, and weeks of work that lead up to one weekend where it all comes together. Tonight, under hot lights, a cast of 25 will mesh and work and (if need be) save each other.
Tonight is the opening night of Alice in Wonderland. And, it’s going to be WONDERFUL!
Here’s a little bit of a visual journey:
“I wonder if I’ve been changed in the night? Let me think. Was I the same when I got up this morning? I almost think I can remember feeling a little different. But if I’m not the same, the next question is ‘Who in the world am I?’ Ah, that’s the great puzzle!” —Alice
Email, How I Love Thee
Thank you to Yahoo! Mail for sponsoring this post about staying connected. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.
A few days ago, while working in Louisville, KY, I told the story about how I started my “internet love affair” in 1993, with telnet chat. Not only did I fall in love *with* the internet, I fell *in love* on the internet—with my husband. I’ve been connected to the net for so long that I’ve experienced all the changes of the world wide web with various methods of communication, different means of searching information, bulletin boards of all types and kinds, gaming, and now blogging and social media.
The one constant, though, has been—and, I’m sure, always will be—email.
In the beginning email helped me keep in touch with Michael while he was still in Louisiana and I was in New York. Later email made it easy for me to connect with other mothers who were pregnant at the same time as I was, so that we could share the trials and tribulations of pregnancy and parenthood. Years went on, and email allowed me to stay in touch with family and friends as we moved states away. Stories and pictures were easily shared. Love was easily felt with one click of the send button. Connections were easily made allowing for the flourishing of relationships, both personal and professional. Every morning, for the past 15 years, or so, it’s the first thing I check upon awaking, after I’ve poured my coffee. And, every night before I go to bed, it’s the last thing I check, too!
Email has constantly been my saving grace, in terms of communication.
Now-a-days I’m able to check my email from anywhere, with my smart phone. Not only that, now, my eldest children have email accounts and they are able to send me little messages through the day. There’s nothing like getting an email that simply says, “Hi, Mama! I love you.” from one of your kids.
Michael started a new job recently, and I am so glad we have these phones with email capability. Texting is one thing, but getting an email is a totally different feeling. I love getting emails from him, as it was one of the first ways we corresponded with each other. While he’s off, working, doing his cool pilot thing, I love knowing that he has the ability to shoot me a quick email about his experiences, with pictures and stories and love.
Email is an integral part of my life, and I’m so glad to have it. I reckon it’s one of my best friends!
And, these days, Yahoo! makes it super simple for photogs like me (and you, and you, and you) to send photo slide shows to your family and friends. Have a look-see:
Oh, To Be Young Again
Next year marks 20 years since my Senior Prom. I’ll never forget the day… The Grateful Dead were playing at Rich Stadium and our limo driver got into a crash with a Volkswagen mini-bus filled with hippies. Thankfully, the crash was before my date and I were picked up. This made for some “fun” time spent on the back porch with my already uncomfortable date (I’ll save that story for another time, I promise!) and my whole family. I’m just saying maybe getting into a crash with hippies might of been a whole different kind of fun. Not to mention that there’s a video tape of me leaving, with said uncomfortable date, and you can clearly hear my father tell my uncle to “write down the license plate.” You, know, just in case the driver was really a serial killer of something. But, I digress…
Last Saturday I had the pleasure of taking pictures for a family friend’s daughter and her friends before their Junior/Senior Prom. This group of kids was gorgeous. Classy. Elegant. Smart. Polite. Everything that makes a parent proud. I could have stayed there all day, taking pictures!
These are my favorites from the day:
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Making Healthy Choices
I often say to the children, “The choices you make determine the quality of your life.” It’s an easy reminder to do the right thing—not only behaviorally—but in every aspect of life. This is especially true when it comes to being healthy. In the age of convenience and fast foods and video games it’s easy for kids to succumb to poor choices. With guidance and leading by example, however, I strive to instill within [them] the power to make healthy choices on a daily basis.
We Like To Move It, Move It!
On a daily basis it is imperative that we get up and move. We bike, hike, swim, jump, run, and just play as part of our family’s “Be Active” regiment. It’s super important that we get out, as much as possible, and sweat. Getting our heart rate up and sweating is pertinent to our health, and is a good gauge of the activities that we partake in.
Wholly Eating!
Truth be told: We love food! We love the way it nourishes our bodies, but we really love the way it tastes. Food. . .is good! It’s even better when it’s whole and healthy and prepared properly. In our house we have good snacks, and fruits and veggies are a must. We have our splurges, too. You know, the ones that start with a ‘p’ and end with an ‘izza’. For the most part, though, all of our meals are prepared at home with whole ingredients. I used to not be a cook, but since I embraced cooking it has become easier to be more healthful.
On days where we are so busy that I can’t seem to catch a breath, I will pull out one of my favorite Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers meals from the freezer. At least I know that I am getting the right proportion of something that is already prepared, that hasn’t been compromised in said preparation. Healthy Choice offers over fifty varieties of meals that have less than 400 calories that provide beneficial nutrients (such as, whole grains, fiber, protein, and antioxidants).
Not only that, the FDA holds brands with “healthy” to a higher nutritional standard. Each meal must be low in fat (saturated fat, as well), controlled in the amount of sodium and cholesterol it has, and must supply at least ten percent of the daily value for nutrients, for a minimum of three, such as calcium, iron, vitamin A, vitamin C, fiber, and protein.
Another plus is that I can read all the ingredients on the box. An even bigger plus is that it TASTES awesome. That being said, I have to hide them in our freezer otherwise one of the kids will steal it and gobble it up.
Let’s Be Healthy: Physically and Emotionally!
It’s so easy to get the wrong message from society. So, when I saw this simple message, on Pinterest, the other day it really made me feel good about myself and the choices I make.
Sure, I want to fit into smaller jeans, and look killer in my bathing suit this summer, but, more importantly I want to be healthy.
I want my whole family to be healthy, both physically and emotionally. To do so we will continually strive to move and sweat daily, eat whole foods, and take care of ourselves–mind, body, and soul.
[This Healthy Choice campaign is sponsored by The MotherHood. I was compensated for reviewing Healthy Choice {meals} and writing a post about my family's healthy choices. The sentiments and feelings expressed are fully my own and genuine!]
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