America's Next Top Shake Maker Contest

We are always making shake at home. Usually it's just milk and banana shakes and sometimes when we have extra fruits we will add whatever is at hand. While at Lela's we decided to each create our own recipes and turn it into a contest. I have been following the Bravo's Top Chef series for a while so this is what got me on this idea.

Here is Nora "reading" her recipe to me.

Luke trying his recipe....

Nora reacting to hers...




Mom drinking her shake...
The 3 drinks ready for judging by our oh-so-neutral judge, daddy.
Daddy tasting each shake while blindfolded...
Dad's reaction when he tried mom's drink. Not a good outcome for me...

I often watch some TV before I go to bed. Parts of me tends to navigate towards reality TV. Being a mom to 2 little ones and having such little time to be social this forum interests me. Yet, lately I have been having some deep issues with the content of what is being shown as reality TV and believe it's such a poor example for the young people who might be watching these shows daily and unlike me, really using it to better help them define themselves and their lives.

click on image above to go to show's hosting site

Let's begin with Ochocinco on VH1. It's a sexualized and more modern version of the Bachelor. 16 ladies compete for the heart of one man who will marry the last surviving girl. My issue with this show is the utter meanness of the women towards each other. I can only imagine my young niece and other young female teens looking at this show and pulling from it ways to interact with other women that are catty, and plain mean.

click on image above to go to show's hosting site

The next show is the Housewives of wherever. I caught a few episodes of The NJ housewives and it was an ugly mix of mean self-important women who revel in coming up with hateful comments to one another. Why is hate so attractive to viewers. I can only blame the viewers for the demand is what drives these shows to stay on the air. Are we all just so enamored with the nest of millions that cushion these lives that all types of violence is allowable to such people with power?

Obviously, I too am guilty for peeking into these lives for mere curiosity. i may not care for their millions or their overinflated egos, yet, I am somehow pulled into their drama. I need to make a concerted effort to not allow such poor forms of human interactions invade my mind and my time. Ultimately they have nothing positive to offer me.

Why do you need a nurse again?

I was watching TV before passing out the other night and ended up getting totally sucked into the world of reality TV, this one is called Bethenny Getting Married on Bravo. It's about

Bethenny Frankel, a NY Times Best Seller and Celebrity Natural Food Chef and her hubby whose name I did not get. I have never heard of her, but seemed interesting enough. In the show she is days from giving birth and she gets a visit from a friend who visits with a newborn and a NURSE.......yes, a nurse. Not a nanny, not an Au pair....a nurse.....NOPE, there is nothing wrong with the baby. They just can afford a nurse and therefore have one to help with the baby.

Fast forward a few minutes and Bethenny is at the hospital giving birth 5 weeks early and immediately that same day they hire the same nurse who she met earlier. The nurse will sleep in their NY apartment with them and help with the baby. This nurse got me boiling from the beginning when she opened her mouth and in giving mommy advice to B said something to the affect that nursing babies are more fussy than bottle babies. Yeah, if you want the baby out of your hair, yes, breastfeeding is more time consuming. You can tell in 2 seconds this nurse is all about practicality and convenience. Hey, but what do you expect, she is being hired to take over some or most mommy duties....

Now let's stop a big minute. What have we all come to? Do you really need a nurse to help you with the first few nights with your newborn? Now I know it's the hardest time you will ever have with your child. You are exhausted, you have just given birth, your body hurts. But to check out completely and abdicate your role to some stranger is just plain sad. I think of those first few nights with Nora (my second baby) at the hospital. It was my second unplanned cesarean and as much as they kept coming to get her from me, I kept asking for her to be brought back to my room. She needed me as much as I needed her. We were like two sleeping angels. All she did was nurse and sleep and all I did was cuddle her, change her, watch TV and spend hours looking at her beautiful face. It was a truly blissful recovery. No, it was not easy by any means. I had staples in my tummy, I could only move but so slowly, I was sad to have again 'failed' at a regular birth experience, but she made it all much easier.

When I watch shows like this I get reaffirmation that I am doing a good job as a mom. I spend time with my kids. You can give your kids the world from top to bottom. Cars, expensive phones, money, great clothes, but nothing, NOTHING compares to your company. They know they are worthy because you want to spend time with them. What IS sad though is that shows like this make TV watchers think this is the NORM or some ideal to aspire to.....Afterall she is a NY times Best Seller; she MUST know something right? As if one had enough money this would be something we should all aspire to....."If we only had enough money to hire someone to take this kid off my hands so I can live my life again".

These past few weeks of summer vacation I have been taking the kids out daily on what we call "adventures". During breakfast we discuss what we would like our day's adventure to be. It could be as simple as walking to the library or going on a tour of the pet store; nothing fancy. But during our adventure we chat, I teach, I break up arguments, scold, listen and laugh. It's not about just getting there, but it's about the journey too; the walk, the things we find on our way. Times like these I am so glad to be a Buddhist. It allows me to truly live in each moment and savour all these treasured fleeting moments with my family. Had I hired another adult to take over my role I would miss so so so much, plus they would not get the rich lessons that happen at any given teachable moment......and most importantly, a parent's company comes with a very, very special ingredient, LOVE.

All we have to do to know what is right and true is look back at our own childhood and ask ourselves what we most wanted at that time. I can assure you that at a very young age what you most wanted was to be with your parents......Bonding with other grown ups is great, but what will bring that sense of self worth as an adult, or a high self-esteem that will last a lifetime is knowing that they were worthy of your time and energy.

Another One Bites the Dust...The Jon and Kate Divorce...

Okay....so I cannot stand the guy....Jon from Jon and Kate Plus Eight.

I hear him talking and he's always somewhat on the outskirts of all that is happening with his kids, his family. He walks away when things get too much.

He also wears these awful black shades during most of the show and squeezes out these meek attempts to stand up to his wife.

I read a slew of reviews on the show and was shocked to see how many people thought Kate was a bossy wife. I agree with this assessment yet feel it is his fault entirely that he gets bossed around this way. You teach people how to treat you....he just allows himself to be treated this way.

It's sad about the divorce, yet he seems to want to move on now that he has money and believes he might get a better girl. It's like you can smell his excitement at being single again....so, so sad. As he says, "I am only 32.....I have to take care of my needs.......and that of my children". Somehow I don't see Kate hooking up with a new mate as immediately as we all know he will.

As in MOST divorces the woman gets the kids and continues to raise them, while the man gets to go and pretend his a single man once again. He says his kids are his priority, but this entire disruption happened because he wanted to see what else was out there besides Kate. Signs of a typical insecure male who needs the "stuff" to fill in what he's missing......too sad, the family and their love is not enough.

But nothing is truly sad or ever really a loss. I hear strength and resolve in Kate's voice and words and know she will come out a much better person. Anyone who can jog 1 hour a day and be present to raise 8 children daily regardless of her crumbling world is a winner in my book.

American Chopper and Jon and Kate....OMG

I am watching the show and I am cringing the whole time as I am watching it. Jon and Kate are so obviously not together (as rumored).....as a wedding photographer I can sniff love in even its subtler emanations.  Yet, they are like two strangers in each others' presence. Jon is even more pathetic to watch; he had a long face the entire time except the end when he's chatting up with the guys (From chopper) and trying to be cool mentioning his female friends. He wears these awful shades as if anyone would find them cool. 

This particular show is about Jon meeting with the crew from American Chopper and having a custom made bike made for him. I can't help myself, but I get allergic reactions in my brain when I see people get such pleasure out of  their expensive "stuff" . Here is Jon, he does not even look like a biker, he is quiet, shy-ish, total guy-next-door look...and he wants a big burly-man bike. I see this quite often...men get older and start to feel empty and fill their lap with "things", younger women....so sad...and pathetic....

I gotta say, I have never been attracted to men with "stuff".  I think my doubt and mistrust in the institution of  "beautiful" helped me with this.....It's not like I'm being biased towards men with stuff...but it just so happens that men who dress themselves up in all that "stuff" are often rotten eggs....why else would they need to cover up so much?  

The news briefs tout her as some sort of control freak, who yells at Jon all the time.  I feel perhaps more of the blame should come his way. Any man (or woman) that allows anyone to speak to him in a bossy manner 24/7 and never stands up for himself is allowing it to happen. I feel no compassion towards him, in fact, it makes me have no respect for him as he trudges around following his wife's orders, then makes negative comments about her bossiness to the men when alone with them.....as if he had no control of it.....I would boss him around too...he's so damn accommodating. 

What I find the most disturbing out of this show (Jon and Kate Plus Eight) is that most of the shows have been about all the ways in which they have been spending their money since they got in the show. Apparently, they make 70K an episode, so I understand then trying to keep going, despite their very obvious dislike of each other.  For that kind of money I'd do shows with Bush for a few months. There have been episodes about hair implants, about moving to a bigger home, and now about their specialty bike......spend, spend...That seems to be the whole drive behind the show. 

Sadly, although they have a much better house, are filthy rich, and they even look like pseudo-movie stars now the family seems to be falling apart. Seems like when you  get addicted to stuff you only see and value the world through it's materialistic gifts and the thought that dominates is "what can I get next".....

One's addiction to "things" makes all life's true blessings seem mundane......

Brave New Voices

Most of what's on TV is trash and does nothing to help humanity advance as a specie. For example, the military channel glorifies our big guns and big machines as if they were not made to kill HUMAN BEINGS, most cartoons have numerous shows with "funny" and acceptable violence. Reality TV has brought out the dumbest of the dumb and presented it as some form of art. Last, the "news" on TV feels like a tabloid being read out loud. 

Therefore..... I am surprisingly amazed (and beyond) by this new HBO show called Russell Simmons presents Brave New Voices. It is about The 12th annual Brave New Voices International Youth Poetry Slam Festival in DC and it follows some of the top young (13-19) poets/spoken word artists and their weeks before the competition.  

The question that kept running through my mind was where were these mentors when I was a kid!  I would have loved someone to come along and teach me how to package my  powerful, crazy emotions so that I and others could better understand me. 

Now this show brings up a problem I am perpetually attempting to solve; How to inspire and help teens come out of puberty more powerful and ready to take on their lives responsibly. Puberty has got to be one of the most difficult times in anyone's life. I often state to people that if magically offered to relive my youth I would avoid my teen years; that is how horribly difficult those years were. I have not yet solved it but I feel the answer lies in allowing teens to have varied mentoring opportunities with various adults who have, in the words of Joseph Campbell, followed their,  "bliss".  

For all these reasons I give Brave New Voices a few made up awards....

1. Most Inspirational to Youth Award

2. Inspirational Award of the Year

3. Opportunity to Learn from other Cultures and Peoples Award 

Seriously, watch it......you won't forget it...and it might just inspire you to be brave enough to speak your truth. 

America's Obsession with BLING questioned...

So we are in a recession. People are lessening their expenses, and being forced to live a simpler life in order to make ends meet. In the middle of all this, two nights ago, I am looking for a channel to help me relax as I  nurse Nora to sleep. I catch a show on WEtv, none like I've seen before called, Platinum Weddings. It's not a new show by all means, it's just the first time I've seen it. This program showcases couples who spend extraordinary and unbelievable amounts of money on their wedding.  As I watched an entire show something about it bothered me, yet I could not quite put my finger on it. 

Aside from the obvious thoughts that could pop up such as, "With that 130K, someone could pay for an entire house"....etc....there was another idea that began to take form. The idea of the unquestioned fascination with BLING as being an unquestioned American obsession. The most, the biggest, the loudest seems to always win out over any other paradigm. Does it?  Does money really bring happiness? 99.9% of the population will say "No, material objects do not bring happiness" yet, still drool at the sight of a fancy car or act amazed at hearing about some celebrity's extravagant spending spree. These ideas of materialism's empty promises are as old as I am, yet I think most people do not really believe them. Deep in our core, we still value ourselves by how much we can frivolously spend. 

I was told once by a very bright principal of a school I worked in 4 years ago, "If you have a problem do not come to me unless you have a solution." My solution to this show would be to change it's focus. I would love to see a show called Creative Weddings.  In this show people of all walks of life, people who are more like you and me, make their day special. As a naturally creative person who places supreme value on creativity over expense, I do not see any merit in buying a chandelier worth 30 thousand dollars for a one time event; what is creative about that?!!   I do on the other hand find merit in a couple that thought up some incredibly unique way to make their day stand out without all the expenses. If you open your mind, beauty does not come dressed in diamonds....beauty is everywhere.