LIGHT IT UP BLUE FOR AUTISM

LIGHT IT UP BLUE FOR AUTISM

 APRIL 2, 2011

  Today is not my usual type of post because there is nothing funny about Autism.

On the evenings of April 1 and 2, 2011, prominent buildings across North America and the world — including the Empire State Building in New York City and the CN Tower in Toronto, Canada — will turn their lights blue to raise awareness for autism and to commemorate World Autism Awareness Day on Saturday, April 2.

" Be the change you wish to see in the world"

 -Mahatma Gandhi

What does this mean?

Well it depends on whom you are talking to. Some might extract the definition that they have to rearrange their daily tasks to be more health- conscious or earth friendly. Others may pick up the implication that they need to do something big to change the way contrasting commonalities think; religion or political affiliation is a reoccurring exemplar. However, a vast majority seem to overlook Gandhi's simplistic meaning because of the constant need of a "deeper meaning." The immensity of the deed is not relevant in order to fabricate an influential chain of reactions.

Autism affects 1 in every 110 children. An estimated 1.5 million individuals in the U.S and tens of millions worldwide are affected by Autism. Government statistics suggest the prevalence rate is increasing 10-17 percent annually.

My nephew has autism, and is positioned on the severe end of the spectrum. Autism, at a glance, is associated with impaired speech, social skills, communication, and motor movement originating from a nervous system disorder. For a more visual overview, picture a human brain as a puzzle. Each puzzle piece is absolutely necessary for the whole to function properly. With Autism, one or several puzzle pieces are missing, exerting the one individual out of 110, to see the world in a different light. There is no known cure, which is why organizations like Autism Speaks provide support for children and families as they grow and ultimately investigate a solution to the disability.

It's easy to participate. You can help support Autism Awareness day by wearing blue clothing, light up your house with blue lights, post an article in blue on your blog, change your profile picture to the Light it up Blue logo. Be creative! Be Blue!

Please join me by taking the pledge to LIGHT IT UP BLUE at: http://www.lightitupblue.org/
or
Click on the Autism Speaks  banner at the  top of the page.


If you light it up blue for Autism Speaks and put the Autism Speaks banner on your blog drop me a note and I will mention your blog in my next post.
If you make a donation at http://blue.autismspeaks.org/mysite/glynis I will mention you on my next post.


To read one  brave women's story please go to 
http://www.oneblondesramblings.com/2011/03/autism-hasnt-beaten-me/

For more information on Autism visit: http://www.autismspeaks.org/

I would like to thank my daughter Haley for being a contributing writer and letting me see the world through her eyes.

  

    

PROCRASTINATION

Procrastination

Procrastination gives you something to look forward to. ~ Joan Konner

            

          Some psychologists say that procrastination and perfectionism go hand in hand. If that’s true then I have perfected procrastination. I am a thrill seeker waiting to the last minute for that euphoric rush of getting a job done. As I sit here writing there are a hundred other things I should be doing. Dishes in the sink, laundry in the washer patiently waiting to be put in the dryer, floors calling to me to be cleaned, the list goes on and on. Why do I procrastinate? I am not a lazy or inefficient person. The reason is simple I don’t want to do it. I was not cut out for menial labor. What satisfaction do I really get from these monotonous jobs that I do week after week, day after day. None!

         

       The origin of the word crastination is Latin, crastinus of to-morrow. If I PRO-crastinate wouldn't I be supporting the idea? I believe it is a lifestyle that we all choose. If our children need us we are there. We don't defer their needs until later. We have learned to prioritize, take charge, and get the job done! So what, if we want to go out and buy new underwear and socks because we have not done the laundry. So what, if we leave the house without making the beds to get our nails done with our daughters. SO WHAT? The world will not come to an end. In fact if more people procrastinated on the tedious chores of life and spent more quality time with the people we love our existence becomes more meaningful. So I say "procrastinators unite!" Revel in your ability to put off until tomorrow and enjoy the day.

Procrastination isn't the problem. It's the solution. It's the universe's way of saying stop, slow down, you move too fast. "

- Ellen DeGeneres

REALITY TV

Reality TV

In the future everyone will be world-famous for fifteen minutes”

Andy Warhol

            I admit to indulging in Reality TV but I think it has gotten out of control. We have the Next Chef, Model, Idol, Apprentice, and Super Hero. You can watch someone having plastic surgery on Extreme Makeover or watch someone eating cockroaches. Lets not forget about the great role models for our kids that these shows provide. Take Jersey Shore for instance. Here we have 20 something year olds portraying Italian- American stereotypes displaying immoral behavior. The plot basically goes like this: Ronnie and Sammi are in love, oh no they broke up, Ronnie needs a cigarette, Snookie gets drunk and is looking for love in all the wrong places, the Situation is showing his abs again, JWOWW cheats on boyfriend, “happy-ending” Ronnie and Sammi are back in love. This show is all about lust, gluttony, envy, wrath, greed, and laziness. Sound familiar? These are not qualities I want my daughter to aspire to.

            They're doing a new show: Celebrity Corpse, where you dig up someone after five years and try to guess who they were.

-- Paul Merton

             This is a joke but I truly believe that if it were real, it would get high ratings.

             What keeps us glued to the TV while watching Housewives live lavishly while backstabbing a friend. and do we really want to keep up with the Kardashians? Some of these shows are like watching an accident. We don’t want to look, but we just can’t help ourselves. We have become a voyeuristic society; it is now legal to be a Peeping Tom. It’s broadcasted for the world to see. Those of us who are not watching are seeking automatic fame, willing to unload our emotional baggage, display bad public behavior, and virtually sell our soles for fifteen minutes of fame and fortune.

            If I had a reality show, I would call it Coma because that’s what I would put people in if they had to watch me twenty-four seven. I wake up looking lovely as always with those attractive bags under my eyes. I stumble to the kitchen to get some coffee and start my day. The big mystery at the moment is, “what shall I put in my daughters lunch box for school?” I analyze the fruit and vegetable drawers to get ideas. The fuzzy shriveled thing in the corner perplexes me. Should I throw it out? It’s too early to make decisions, so I put it back and continue on my quest for the perfect lunchbox meal. I could go on but then I would just be another moron who doesn’t blink twice at baring my sole and cleaning the house naked. 


What would your reality TV show be called?

WINNERS OF STYLISH BLOG AWARD

THE WINNERS OF STYLISH BLOG AWARD
ARE:

Drum roll please:

 http://mamaslittlechick.blogspot.com/

http://ecwrites.blogspot.com/

http://rominagarciamartyrhood.blogspot.com/

http://princessmuffintop.blogspot.com/

http://www.divinesecretsofadomesticdiva.com/

http://wwwfeelingbeachie.blogspot.com/

http://www.nikkidarlin.com/

http://www.momillustrated.com/

http://southernmomentum.com/

http://greenfishchronicles.org/about/

http://www.oneblondesramblings.com/

http://www.neebeep.com/itsownsweetwillneebeepc/


http://momsonlinegaragesale.com/

http://www.mooseandtater.com/

http://articlesautismdisabilityinformation.blogspot.com/

http://www.reewrite.com/

I have sixteen winners. I added one for good luck.

 In order to completely except this reward. You need to do the following (just like I did).

1. Thank and link back to the person that has given you this award.
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Award 10-15 blogs you feel deserve the award.
4. Contact these bloggers and let them know about the reward.

It's that easy. Now go you have work to do!

IT'S AN HONOR !

IT IS MY HONOR TO ACCEPT

A BIG THANK YOU TO:

http://www.slepperymind.blogspot.com/

FOR THIS AWARD!

In order to completely except this Award it is asked of it's recipients to do a few things.

1. Thank and link back to the person that has given you this award.
2. Share 7 thing's about yourself
3. Award 10-15 blogs you feel deserve the award
4. Contact these bloggers and let then know about the award.

YOU MAY BE THE NEXT AWARD WINNER

7 THINGS ABOUT ME

1) My greatest accomplishment in life is my daughter but I can’t do her math.

                                                                                                                               

2) I would leave my husband for George Clooney

3) I suffer from vertigo so I really am a dizzy blonde.

4) I talk to my dog when no one is home. He is a very good listener.

 5) I am a confessed Blogaholic!

6) I am an over protective mother. I would bubble wrap my daughter if she would let me.

7) April 2nd, is World Autism Awareness Day and I just pledged to LIGHT IT UP BLUE for autism- and I think you should too! Please go to:

http://action.autismspeaks.org/share-blue

Be part of this worldwide movement and show your support for the autism community.

MADE IN AMERICA

BUYING AMERICAN

            The Usry family in Dallas is getting a made in America makeover. As consumer’s they thought that they were buying products made in the USA but after ABC News went through their house and took a closer look they were wrong. All products not made in the states were removed from the home. The Usry family was left with a kitchen sink and a vase. ABC replaced almost everything with items bought in the states. The couches came from North Carolina, carpets from Georgia, a mirror from Mississippi, their TV was replaced by a painting, and they made one-exception light bulbs. Light bulbs are not manufactured in the U.S so without this exclusion they would be sitting in the dark.

            With so many things outsourced these days it’s surprising that anyone has a job these days. How are we supposed to support our economy if we can’t find domestic products to buy? Only the rich can afford to buy all American products. Between travel and shipping costs you could have decorated your house and taken that dream vacation you always wanted. When I think of the Ford Motor Company I think all American. It was founded in 1903 in Detroit Michigan, it has a history, its part of us. Then I found out that the Ford Fusion is assembled in Mexico. Toyota a Japanese company has the Camry and eighty per cent of its parts are made in the US.  Ford has spent many years moving its plants out of the country while Toyota has been building more and more plants here. Toyota showed large profits while Ford did not. The Japanese brands have become more indigenous to the US than our own brands..

            Maybe we can save the country some money by outsourcing the Presidents job. Our tax dollars pay for Air Force One. This plane is bigger than my house! It has 4,000

square feet on three different levels. A medical suite that can function as an operating room doctor included. Can you imagine what he pays for the house call alone? The kitchen can accommodate dinner for 100 people.  Then there is Camp David the Presidents country retreat. It’s supposed to be a working vacation so why does he need 180 acres of forested land, 150 naval personnel, heated pool, tennis courts, skeet shooting, horseback riding. It has more to offer than a five star resort. This is also one of the most secure facilities in the world. What about our security? Don’t we matter? Our President always travels and dresses in first class style. Even ex presidents get a very generous pension with lots of perks. They don’t even have to pay for postage, which must come in handy at Christmas time. The money we would save just on their fringe benefits would help get us out of debt. I am sure there is someone in India that could do the job for much less.

Random thoughts:

If Hollywood were outsourced would we be reading subtitles?

If we really want to keep our jobs will we have to take a pay cut and get a passport?

Are we going to outsource ourselves right out of a country?

GUILT

GUILT

Guilt: the gift that keeps on giving. –Erma Bombeck

          A mother raising children means spit up stains, poopy diapers sleep deprivation, and guilt .We do it to ourselves, we give it to others, and we receive it. For a mother it’s a rite of passage that has been passed down from generation to generation. My mother is the Queen of guilt. Not only would her words sting she had a look that went with it. For example: We would all be at dinner and she would tell me to eat my vegetables. When I refused she would tell me about all the starving people in the world who would appreciate a good meal and how so many children didn’t have a mom to stay home and care for them. Mom could go on and on. She would have this look on her face like she was about to cry. Oh yeah, did I tell you sometimes-lying goes with guilt? Was she really going to send a box of leftovers to a third world country? My mother could send you on a guilt trip for days. Other trips my mother has sent me on are: If you keep making that face it will stay that way, If you don’t wash behind your ears you will grow potatoes behind them, if you sit to close to the TV you will go blind. Yes my mother really used these on me when I was younger. Now that I am a grown women she uses the “why haven’t you called I was worried.” Worried about what? Does she sit by the phone and wait for my call; she could pick up the phone and dial my number. I’m an adult woman with a family of my own why do I feel guilty. I have a life. I am a travel agent sending my own family on a guilt trip.         

         Husbands are easy to motivate with guilt. When my husband has not trimmed the bushes out in front of our house all I have to do is comment on the neighbors front yard and then say our house looks like the abandoned property on the block. With in 24 hours we will have a manicured front yard. Even my daughter at a young age figured out how to guilt Dad into doing something. If she wanted to ride her bike she would climb up on his lap, tell him that he is the best dad in the whole world, he works so hard and they don’t spend enough quality time together. Next thing I know he is checking the tires on the bikes to make sure they have enough air and off they go. As my daughter got older she uses “you don’t love me anymore”,“you are ruining my life” and the “I never asked to be born” tactics on us. Needless to say this does not work and her attempt to guilt us has failed. As she matures I am certain her skills will improve and as she becomes a mother the guilt trip will be perfected.

         Children these days are smarter and it is not as easy to guilt them into things. I once used the potato line to get my daughter to wash behind her ears. She laughed and told me that their are some pretty stinky boys in her class and none of them were growing anything behind their ears. If she refused to leave the park I used the old standard “I’m leaving without you. You will be here all alone.” Most kids would come running. Not my child, again she would sit and laugh at me. My daughter was confident that I was not going anywhere. I find that with my daughter you have to use some truth’s when guilting her into something If I need her to pick up her room all I have to do is mention the items all over her bedroom floor, tell her that these things must not be important to her and go get a large garbage bag. After I have put a few items into the bag she starts cleaning up. The only problem with this method is I start to feel guilty. Did I go to far? Guilt is a vicious circle, you give it, and you get it.

         I even give guilt to myself. Why did I feed my child junk food last night? I wish I could afford to buy my daughter the new bike she wants. I should spend more quality time with my family. Guilt it can be a waste of time. What’s done is done now I need to move on.

         Many say that guilt is a wasted emotion. Guilt can be used for good not evil. It’s a powerful tool that mothers use to motivate. A thousand years may pass but a mother’s guilt trip will go on and on.

I have included a clip from Everybody Loves Raymond. Doris Roberts who plays the mother on the show really knows how to bring grown men to their knees as they feel the Wrath of her guilt.. Enjoy

HEADLINE NEWS

Headline News

Just Another Absurdity Of Life

            I was watching TV yesterday and the two biggest topics were Muammar Gaddafi and Charlie Sheen. They talked about them on the news, talk shows, comedy shows, and the newspapers have their faces plastered everywhere. Article's about the two men have names like Name That Nut and quiz's asking who said what, it's crazy!  It's Sheenafi mania! I couldn't stop  thinking about the odd pair. How do a Hollywood drug addict and a Libyan dictator vie for the headlines?   One is capable of mass destruction while the other self-destruction. I would think tyrannical dictator would trump drug addict any day. Has this country lost its priorities?

            I decided to take a closer look at the two men.

Charlie Sheen: has Tiger Blood and talks about warlocks. He thinks he’s invincible. Dying is for fools.

Muammar Gaddafi: “There is no state with a democracy except Libya on the whole planet.”

Well it seems they are both delusional.

Charlie Sheen said:” I will cut your head off, put it in a box, and send it to your mom." after his two boys were taken from his house after his ex wife filed a restraining order.

Gaddafi said: "We will never accept it. We will enter a bloody war and thousands and thousands of Libyans will die if the United States enters or NATO enters."

 Each has a hostile personality.

Gaddafi has a pistol packing posse of 50 women body guards sometimes referred to as the Amazon Guards and Sheen has his goddesses, the Porn star and the model.

Well they both love the ladies.

I know this has nothing to do with being a mom but as a person I never thought I would use the names Sheen and Gaddafi in one sentence, and I don’t think the media should give them the same degree of deliberation.

LIFE IN THE FAST LANE

LIFE IN THE FAST LANE

                 Life has become an accelerated pace that no one human being could keep up with. Everything is about fast. Fast cars, fast foods, fast computers, etc…. Every time we blink it is time to adjust our lives to the changes. Parents are working harder and longer just to survive. When do we get to slow down and smell the roses? What ever happened to the good old June Cleaver days? Life seemed so simple then. June was so organized and relaxed, always had time to make dinner, clean house, and spend time with the family. I don’t want to be her I just want her life uncomplicated and effortless. Anyone who could clean house in a dress, high heels and pearls is a super mom to me. Although if my husband came home and saw me dressed like that he would have me committed.

            There is no spontaneity in life anymore. Everything has to be scheduled. A family trip takes months to plan so everyone can make room in their agenda just to have fun. Hell even sex has to be planned.  On my last anniversary I planned a great evening to put the romance back in my marriage. I made dinner reservations, my daughter was sleeping at grandmas, and I went out to buy the sexiest nightie I could find. That was nine months ago.  Well life got in the way and needless to say that nightie is tucked away in a drawer with the tags still on it. I am beginning to believe that the only people having sex are on TV or in the movies. It’s been so long for me that my husband will have to draw me a map and clean out the cobwebs.

            Not only are we as parent’s having a hard time staying in the fast lane so are our children. We try to keep them young and innocent but society won’t let us.  They have a lot of pressure to keep up .By the time they are school age they have a full time job of going to school, homework, and maybe an activity or two. Three years old is now the new five, a twelve year old is now the new sixteen. The only funny thing about this is that a fifty year old is the new thirty. Before you know it, we will be theoretically younger than our children.

How do we get out of the fast lane?