Eat at Subway, Support Make-A-Wish

My guys getting some Subway breakfast before heading out of town.

Eat at Subway Restaurants every weekend through September 30, 2015 and for every 1% increase in weekend sales, they will donate $20,000 up to a total of $100,000 to Make-A-Wish across Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside etc..counties. Easy way to help a worthy cause.

Buying to Give. Shop for a Cause.

 
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Girly Clothing My Faux Daughter Would Wear

In collaboration with Ellen Degeneres,  Gapkids is debuting a new clothing line called ED to be released very soon (Aug 18, 2015). The idea of the line is to encourage girls to pursue their goals and dreams without the constricts of gender stereotypes. Here is a behind-the-scenes look at the filming of their campaign where you can see some of the styles as well as the messages (kids should "express their authentic identities") of the clothing.

I'm happily raising two boys and constantly being told raising boys is easier than raising girls. Although raising boys does have many challenges and roadblocks, I can see how much more difficult it is to raise girls in our world--our society. The issue of clothing--dressing appropriately, but avoiding body shaming--is not a hot button point of contention in my household. My boys are simple--they prefer neutral colors with the occasional splash of color, some wording is okay if it's witty, and knee length shorts with multiple pockets (with zippers) are the best. With those basic guidelines in place, they allow me carte blanche with buying their clothing because they rarely look at themselves in the mirror and barely look down to see what they have on at the moment.

I must admit, I look at the clothing that some girls wear and I find myself cringing at the too short shorts and the too tight anything and everything. But ultimately, what's important is that girls are happy and comfortable in their own skin, that they're dressing for themselves--their style, their expression--and that they're not dressing to gain unhealthy attention from others. Did I mention how tough it is to raise girls?

Anyway, kudos to Ellen for throwing her hat in the ring and offering more options for girls clothing. And yes, most likely, if I had a daughter, she'd wear that stuff. ☺

And here's an old post titled Thank You, Emma Watson! I wrote in February of this year highlighting the #HeForShe (fight for gender equality) and #LikeAGirl campaigns. And Emma is at it again! Here is a new video focusing on gender equality in fashion. Seriously, can I love this celebrity more?

Even though I'm surrounded by more testosterone than estrogen in my day-to-day life, I can still chant "Girl Power" with the best of them! 

 
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One of Many Mom Fears (Beware of Social Media)

Dear Fellow Parents, please watch this video! Thank you Coby Persin for this eye-opening footage.

This video leaves me in fear of how easily accessible young children seem to be on Social Media. But the biggest impression I feel is heartbreaking sadness. I feel gutted along with these parents at the choices the young girls made for themselves--meeting up with a total stranger, answering the door without knowing who is on the other side, and getting in an unfamiliar car with unfamiliar people. It would be extremely dangerous and naive for any of us to say, "No, my child wouldn't do that."  I think we all want to feel that way.  We all want to believe that they will make the most sensible of choices when they go out into the world.  But they're also human beings trying to find their place in the world.  They are being befriended by seemingly "nice" people online. And who doesn't want to make friends or feel good when someone treats us nicely? Of course they want to meet this "cool" person--they're SO nice! I think maybe it feels more social to them than predatory--which is beyond scary.

As parents, we need to continually engage in open dialogue with our kids in regards to Social Media behavior. Not all is what it seems. Come to think of it, that refers to all aspects of life, not just with Social Media.

I have two sons, a 12 year old and a 9 year old, who are not active members of Social Media--fortunately for me, it's due to lack of interest. But they do have e-mails and YouTube accounts. And they both have easy access to the internet, privileged with their own computers.  But we do have family rules when it comes to computer/internet/social media usage:

• Computers are located in a communal area of the house.  It is out in the open for both the husband & I to monitor all activity.
• There is no "real privacy" on any web activity. The boys know that we can check up on their "history" at any time.  
• If and when they show interest in opening a Facebook, Twitter etc. profile, it will be heavily monitored by The Husband and I. And no, they can't "post whatever they want". 
• Open communication and dialogue about the dangers of Social Media. And they will say, "We know. We know." But guess what? I'll keep talking about it. I'll keep warning them about it. 

Ultimately, though, it will be up to the boys to make sound and wise decisions for themselves. We can not monitor them 24/7 especially as they get older. It makes me uneasy, but that's reality. I can only hope that all that nagging...uh...constructive dialogue about safety and wise choices have somehow seeped into their consciousness.  

I wish all parents the best of wishes when it comes to monitoring and policing their kids on Social Media.  It's a scary world out there.  And I don't have all the answers.  But let's all keep trying to protect our kids.  Keep doing our best. And kids, please, please be safe!

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Hey Sons, What's Your Mindset?

Enjoying their summer at a local waterpark...hopefully cultivating a healthy mindset and attitude. ☺

I came across this great article called Questions to Ask Your Kids To Help Them Have Good Mindsets and thought, why not go ahead & interview my children to see where their mindsets are.  I made sure not to help them with any answers, even if I had to wait a while before I received their responses--my 9 year old had the biggest trouble with the first question. I wanted their answers to come directly from themselves--straight from the heart. I also asked them the questions separately so they did not hear the other brother's answers before their own.  Here are their answers:

The 12 year old
First question: What five words do you think best describe you?

• Creative
• Talented
• Smart
• Skilled
• Thoughtful

Second question: What do you love doing that makes you feel happiest?  Playing with Lego. And I love spending time with my family.

Third question: What do you know how to do that you can teach others? Play the bass.

The 9 year old
First question: What five words do you think best describe you? 

• Creative
• Responsible
• Loyal
• Funny
• Happy

Second question: What do you love doing that makes you feel happiest? Spending time with family, sometimes just talking and taking vacations. Love playing with Lego and building stuff, playing with Wrecking Ball and Skylanders. And I love Ghirardelli Brownies.

Third question: What do you know how to do that you can teach others? How to be friendly and to teach people to do the same. I can also teach them creative building tips.

I love that both boys find spending time with family very valuable in their lives. It validates the deliberate choices the husband and I have made to put family first above all things.  Cultivating a good self-esteem is an ongoing process and I thought this was an interesting exercise for me to gauge the mindset of my sons. And as a new tradition, I will be asking these same questions at about this time next year! Looking forward to see what changes and what will remain consistent.

Here's to a great year of good mindsets!


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My Favorite Celebrity Blogs

In the life of a blogger (lucky for me),  reading different blogs is legitimate research.  Although very different from the musings I choose to share, here are some of my favorite "go to" celebrity blogs.

Food 
I love Haylie Duff's The Real Girl's Kitchen. Her recipes are simple and the pictures of her creations are artful. She also shares restaurant reviews and little snippets of her life as an actress, life with her significant other, as a mother etc. Here's her recipe for what she calls Matty's Italian Sausage and Peppers

Italian Sausage and Peppers

Another one of my favorite blogs is Lynn Chen's,  The Actor's Diet. She travels all over the world and reviews many varied restaurants. And sometimes, she'll include a unique recipe or a food tip in there as well. She also has a YouTube channel that is very entertaining. Her BuzzFeed segment called What Asian Country has The Best Dessert? is so fun to watch, and was actually the first time I was tuned into her as a Blogger I'd like to follow.

 

Fashion
Alright, so I'm no fashionista. So, when it comes to fashion, I'm definitely more of an observer. Alyssa Campanella's blog, The A List is a fun one to check out. This former Miss USA shares her beauty tips, fashion advice, thoughts on food and beauty, and her world traveling experiences. I love looking at her fashion choices. They're not so "out there" that's it's difficult for the non-celebrity to emulate.

Here's Alyssa Campanella in a cute dress--a style, cut and color reachable to many women. 

And then there's Jamie Chung, included on my list of favorites not just because she has a great blog called What the Chung? but also because she's just one of my favorite celebrities in general. She hasn't had that one break-out role yet, but she has appeared in many things including a stint as "Mulan" in the Once Upon a Time  tv show on ABC. Her blog is all about her easy breezy fashion style. I find myself looking forward to what she's wearing next.

Jamie Chung in an adorable outfit. Love the shoes and accessories too!

Lifestyle
I've been a fan of Naya Rivera Dorsey since her days on Glee playing "Santana". Besides being drop-dead gorgeous, she's also so talented. She's been married for over a year and is expecting her first child very soon.  Her blog is focused on sharing lifestyle tips from nutrition, to beauty, to fashion, and now to parenting and motherhood.

Naya Rivera on vacation with her husband proudly sporting her cute baby bump! 

Other blogs I love, is Vanessa Lachey's blog, 

The Lachey Family, cuteness overload.

 and Tamera Mowry-Housely's blog.

Tamera's beautiful family minus her new baby girl. 

So, I hope you take some time checking out these fun blogs. It's neat getting just a tiny glimpse of how other people live--especially celebrities that we think we know (all these ladies are friends in my head). 




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Read This! Gaming the System Trilogy

Minimum spoilers and teasers ahead…

Confession time.  I’m an amorous reader of contemporary romance novels. I read one right after another and pretty much enjoy them all except for the rare moments when I get my hands on disjointed writing or characters I can’t connect to. At those times, I’ll discontinue reading & delete it from my Kindle.  After all, there are more fish in the sea—or more precisely,  more selections on my Kindle list. 

I’m not incredibly picky and if I finish a novel that means I enjoyed it quite enough. But every once in a while, I’ll connect to a novel or a series (most commonly trilogies) that make me feel  the compulsion to share my reading find on all my active social media outlets. 

This summer I was fortunate enough to get my hands on The Gaming System Trilogy written by Brenna Aubrey.  Without giving too much of the plot away, I would say that if you have any compulsion for the geeky, techy , lovey romance combination, this is going to be an enjoyable (and plentifully angst-filled) reading experience (it truly was for me).  It’s the story of the brilliant and hunky gaming tycoon with washboard abs,  Adam Drake and Mia Strong, the gorgeous pre-med tech blogger gaming enthusiast . The evolution in their relationship takes large (often intense) leaps within each book and especially within the series.   And I adore the geeky references—and there are a lot of them. And if you love the world of on-line gaming (World of Warcraft anyone?) as well as romance, this needs to be included on your reading list. 

Here's an excerpt from Book 2 of the Trilogy displaying just a fraction of the geeky references in the books.

 

At Any Price:  Adam and Mia meet and connect in the most unusual of circumstances. But their attraction is palpable.  There is a definite push and pull within their delicate relationship and secrets are revealed.  And this is the novel that hooks and reels you in. The start of the series is told through Mia’s point-of-view , & as they as say, there’s always (at least) two sides to every story.  Warning: sexy scenes ahead.

At Any Turn:  Part 2 is told in Adam’s point-of view which is great because I wanted to delve into Adam’s mind and see what makes him tick. The story in this novel, takes a really difficult turn for the couple.  They battle major trust issues and disconnect.  There’s a lot that Adam doesn’t know and since we’re along for the ride, we’re kept in the dark too (although we can definitely make some assumptions that Adam clearly is not able to). 

At Any Moment: The final novel alternates to the point-of-views of both Adam and Mia with a change of each chapter.  Both characters do a lot of maturing in this saga. Adam and Mia face seemingly insurmountable challenges both separately and as a couple.  And I have to admit, my heart ached for them many a times through this reading journey.

The romance of Adam and Mia repeatedly begs the question, is (true) love enough?

Thank you, Brenna  Aubrey for writing this Trilogy and creating these fantastic characters (and all the supporting characters in the novels). They will now live forever in my living, breathing precious world of favorite literary characters.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Silliness is in the genes.

Happy Birthday to my beautiful (and apparently very silly) Mother!! I love you SO much! May God continue to Bless you with good health and a long and happy life! May you keep dancing for many more years because those Senior Citizen parties need you to keep the energy level on high. 

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