Friday Fill-In

I haven't done a Friday Fill-In for quite some time, mostly because I've been doing a Company Girl Coffee or Friday De-clutter challenge, so this week, I'm back.

1. The world is a scary place sometimes.

2. Good night was the last thing I said.

3. I wonder why I slip into depression so frequently and if I've made good or bad decisions.

4. True judgment awaits at the end of all things.

5. There's something to be said for salty snacks and chocolate at "that" time of the month.

6. Home is where I want to be.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to taking my mom to the Radio City Music Hall performance in Houston and out to dinner for her birthday since she will be in the hospital on her actual birthday,

tomorrow my plans include doing something my husband wants to do and scrapbooking,

and Sunday, I want to see my children! They have been gone since Dec. 26. I DON'T want to get ready to go back to work, but I have to.

Our Cat Lacy

See how she's grown! My daughter took this very short video of her on Christmas Eve.

No Resolutions for Me

The new year is a time for reflection. For many people it's also a symbolic time to decide to quit a bad habit or form a new, good habit. But I stopped making resolutions a few years ago. While making a resolution shows good intentions for instituting a postive change, I prefer to set my goals as I go along based on my needs at a particular time.

If you decide to make resolutions, just remember that change is gradual. It doesn't happen overnight, and it involves willpower and discipline. Here's an article to help you keep your resolutions. I wish you the best in 2009!

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Dove Self Esteem Fund - Real Girls, Real Pressure

If you have a daughter age 10 or higher, I hope you'll take the time to read this post.

The Dove Campaign for Real Beauty was developed after the brand commissioned a global study that found only two percent of women around the world describe themselves as beautiful. A program was developed to challenge beauty stereotypes and invite women worldwide to join in a discussion about beauty.

Real Girls, Real Pressure: A National Report on the State of Self-Esteem was conducted nationally online among 1,029 girls 8 – 17, and is representative of the U.S. based on census indicators (region, ethnicity and parental education.) An additional 3,344 girls 8 – 17 were surveyed in a targeted study that was conducted in 20 major U.S. cities representative of each DMA based on ethnicity and parental education. As a result of this report, the Dove Self Esteem Fund was founded.

Key findings:

Seven in ten girls believe they are not good enough or do not measure up in some way, including
their looks, performance in school and relationships with friends and family members.

A girl’s self-esteem is more strongly related to how she views her own body shape and body
weight, than how much she actually weighs.

The self-esteem tipping point happens when the transition to teenage years results in loss of trust and communication with adults.

Parents’ words and actions play a pivotal role fostering positive self-esteem in girls.

Read the full, detailed report here.

Also, you can point your girls to this website (part of the campaign) that is targeted especially for them.

Low self-esteem among young ladies has reached crisis proportions and can have critical consequences. We need to do our part to make sure our girls grow up with a healthy self-esteem and healthy, realistic expectations for themselves. Here's a start: A tee-shirt Dove sent me for my 12 year old says it all:

Please pass this post on to someone you know with an adolescent girl in the family. Thank you.

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Watch Out!

Eeeek! Augh! Watch Out!

I drive my husband crazy when I'm a passenger in the car with him. It is so hard to sit quietly in the front seat while he's driving too close to the curb or makes a lane change in heavy traffic. It's not that I don't trust him. It's the other driver you have to watch out for.

I was in a major car accident in January of 2001. I was a single mom at the time, driving my kids to pre-school before I headed to work on the first day back after the new year. The twins were in the built-in car seats of the van. I was driving down the road, minding my own business - isn't that always the case?

All of a sudden, there was a white, brand-new Nissan Exterra sitting in the middle of the road. Seriously. The driver had pulled out into traffic and couldn't decide if there was a turning lane there for her to get in, so she stopped. In the middle of the road. Perpendicular to my van.

There was nothing for me to do. Nowhere to go. It happened so fast. I swerved, but I had to hit her. The air bag blew up in my face slamming me against the door. I couldn't move my arm to open the door with my left hand. Luckily, people stopped to help, the police responded quickly, and my dad was there in minutes to take the kids. Thank God they were completely uninjured.

I, on the other hand, had to ride to the hospital in an ambulance on a hard board with my neck in a brace. That is not fun! Aside from other minor injuries, my shoulder was broken in an odd place, and I spent the next nine months in physical therapy. And the van was "totalled." Luckily, the woman driving the Exterra had good insurance, and she was very gracious in admitting her fault. But, can you see how that would make me a nervous passenger?

You really have to watch out for the other drivers on the road!

Join us for Heads or Tails where this week's topic is "watch."

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