Tis the Season to be Stressful!! LALALALALAAAA

Now that Thanksgiving is out of the way, or rather before Thanksgiving is over now, it's time to start focusing on CHRISTMAS! Ahh ... buying all those great holiday gifts they'll never use! It's the most wonderful time of the year ... to punch people in the face for a great deal. Am I right?! Let me hear a HALLELUJAH! It's also that time of year to stress out to the max. Family and gifts and travel and cooking and baking and hostessing and wrapping and cards oh my! So here are some things to do and remember when you're too stressed this Christmas!

First things first. I think most of you have figured out I'm a Christian by now, and if not SURPRISE! I believe in God. Look at that. So I celebrate Christmas. And I think it's important for everyone, Christian or not, to remember to keep Christ in Christmas. So often in today's society we are more focused on walking on egg shells not to perhaps slip and offend someone, we lose sight of who WE are. For example, ever since Black Friday, at all retailers I say Thank You and Merry Christmas. Why? Because I celebrate Christmas that's why. It's not my job to worry that offering someone a heartfelt and warm holiday greeting might offend them. That's their problem and they should probably see a psychiatrist, or psychotherapist or something. I can easily see calling someone a derogatory word, yeah that's offensive. Pry shouldn't do it. But wishing someone a nice greeting, yeah not offensive. Unless they make it obvious they believe something different, there's no way to tell. If a Jewish person wished me a Happy Chanukah I would literally think nothing of it, outside the obvious that they're Jewish! And would in all honesty probably say, the same to you and a Merry Christmas! So all that being said, don't STRESS yourself about what greeting to use and wish people a Merry Christmas. I think you'll be surprised at how many Merry Christmas's you get back! (PS stop using xmas ... that's deliberately taking Christ out of Christmas.) More on the history of Christmas to come in a later edition! And additional explanation as to why it's important Christian and Non to keep Christ there!

I used to work for a company here in Cleveland that specialized in personal and professional training to take yourself to the next level. And no matter what the class, if you were trying to improve your personal or professional life, one thing stayed the same. Stress. We all experience it and it comes in so many forms. For example, there are stress tests to determine physical fitness. Mental stress tests ... uh tests or exams to determine how smart you are by how much information you can regurgitate in x amount of time. Emotional stress, our lives are full of drama - like a Soap Opera. Thad is in love with Karcy who is pregnant with Harven's baby who is married to Leola. (They always have weird names) But to be honest if we didn't have a little stress in our lives it would just be weird. In fact some stress is a good thing. It's a motivational tool to help us get things done or make things happen. For example, my current weight is too "stressful" on my knees and therefore motivating me to lose weight. But there is a difference between a little stress and being stressed to the max. Or a term we all know as "Going Postal." When we are feeling overwhelmed we need to keep the excess in check. Here's how.

Dale Carnegie was a super cool cat who thrived during the early 1900's. Over a long career he figured out that people hated public speaking, (in fact it Public Speaking is the number 1 fear in the world, people would rather be in the casket than giving the eulogy) so he developed a proven method to help people overcome their fears and become better public speakers. Through this journey he developed several philosophy's and ideas. One being his Golden Book. ( Find it here: http://www.dalecarnegie.com/assets/1/7/Secrets_of_Success.pdf/ ) There are more sections on managing worry (which usually goes hand in hand with stress) than anything else! The best part that you can really utilize during the Holiday's is the segment on Overcoming Worry.

Step 1: Live in Day Tight Compartments. Don't freak out about the week of activities. Live here and now and do what you need to do today. There is no way to get it all done at once. So tackle one thing at a time before you worry about the next task. For me I like to make lists. Sure it can look intimidating, wow that's a lot to do in x amount of time, but I so enjoy crossing things out. It also relieves a lot of stress for me trying to remember everything I need to do. If I write it all down, I know what I can do and when and as soon as I accomplish it I can cross it off. Helps me stay on track and be organized.

Step 2: How to Face Trouble. Ask yourself "what's the worst that can happen?" You run out of wrapping paper and need to use newspaper. Your dog eats the ham. Prepare to accept the worst. Okay so your cat scratched up all your gifts. Okay, I love my cat, I'll just have to tell my family what happened. Try to improve on the worst. Take inventory of your gifts and wrapping supplies. Be vigilant about pets and keep things out of their reach. If something goes wrong last minute, you will have already thought about it and have either come up with a plan B, or you've already accepted it. So your great Aunt Freida won't get her gift card to Bob Evans. Just tell her you'll mail it! No one else has to know you forgot it at home. And she probably won't miss it either if you didn't tell her!

Step 3: Remind yourself of the exorbitant price you can pay for worry (stress) in terms of your health. There have been a lot of studies done on the effects of extra stress on our bodies. Among many other things here are some things that can be induced by too much stress. Extreme weight loss or weight gain . (Don't get excited here ladies, the weight loss from stress is not a healthy loss and can cause additional health problems) Heart problems, hair loss, headaches, nausea, muscle tension, memory problems, frequent colds, digestive issues. Extended stress issues can lead to extensive immune system failure leading to things like osteoporosis, heart disease, or even cancer. (http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/stress.aspx) Stress takes a toll on people in a serious way. Look at every president ever. They age 10 years in just 4. So remind yourself that this much stress is not good for you, not just emotionally and mentally but physically as well.

At the risk of making this post too long, my last thought on managing stress is to exercise. Exercise releases endorphins in your brain which make people happy. It is a proven method to relieve and reduce stress in people and improve your overall health. The night before everyone comes over take a nice long walk. Do some Yoga before you start your wrapping campaign. Something as simple as stretching before you make the mashed potatoes can literally help improve your attitude and over all well being! It will also prevent you from throwing those potatoes all over your obnoxious cousin Mort.

HARK! I hear the sound of a less stressed Christmas approaching!! You shall have less stress and you shall call it Merriment!

Have a safe and Merry Christmas everyone! And remember, saving $15 bucks on that sharper image gizmo is not worth a Lindsay Lohan.

*The principles listed above are from Dale Carnegie's Golden book and principles which I learned while working and training with Dale Carnegie Cleveland. The additional information and examples were my own thoughts and ideas and do not reflect upon DC Inc. The information on stress on your body is information I already knew from previous research, except where cited. Thank You.*

My Way or the Highway!

Ever heard that phrase before? It's my way or the highway! My parents used to say that to me all the time, mostly because I was a little brat as a kid, but also because sometimes there's just no other way to say it. This is gonna happen no matter what. But one thing that I don't like about that phrase is sometimes people take that attitude and concept too far.

I just started working at a rec center, and there is an older gent there who is semi-retired, working in the fitness area just for something to do. It's a good fit for him given his educational and fitness related background and from the few interactions I've had with him, he's a pretty nice guy. Direct, frank, but overall pretty nice. Last week however, I had an encounter with him that almost made me punch him right in the face. Yeah. I'd punch an old man want to fight about it? Here's why.

I came in to take over for him and start my shift. During the transition a regular of the center, a woman, came in and started talking to this fellow. He told me that this woman, in her mid-late 60's, took a YMCA physical fitness test and bench pressed 35 lbs 101 times. That's amazing. Then he proceeded to just talk to her and say that he had an older couple, also in their late 60's come in and the woman could only bench 35 lbs 7 times and the man could only do 10 (at an undisclosed but I'm pretty sure different weight). He then went on to say how absolutely ridiculous this was and these people should be embarrassed out of their minds. Um. I chimed in. "There are a VAST majority of people that age that can't bench that much." He paused momentarily, looked at me and said with disgust, "Yeah well I'm not one of em and neither is she (indicating to the amazon woman who can bench a ridiculous amount). So I have no sympathy." I backed out of the conversation before we literally got into a physical altercation. Mostly because this human being is REPULSIVE to me. Why you ask? Here's why.

My grandmother who is now in her 70's has MS. She cannot now nor ever bench press that much weight. First because of her physical limitations due to the MS (Multiple Sclerosis for those of you who don't know, http://www.nationalmssociety.org/index.aspx ) but also because never in her life has she ever had the need to, want to, or ability to ever bench press weight. Period. So you're going to sit there with your overly absurd ridiculous standards and expect that everyone over the age of 60 should be able to bench press stupid amounts of weight???????!!!! What a despicable moron. I don't think that in the height of my physical fitness, college swimming, I could even bench that much weight that many reps. And to think that some people who do regular things for fitness like garden, walk, clean house, who come in and can't bench that much and are looked down upon? What a joke.

Which leads me to my point of all this. First of all I don't like the guy at the rec anymore and have lost any and all respect I ever had for the guy. But second and the real point is people who do not realize that there are other people in the world who are NOT like them and can't find room in their limited feeble minds to accept that are repugnant to me. I understand that people should embrace physical fitness and I think the fact that Hostess, a huge company is going out of business and the Twinkie is no more should state pretty heavily to the fact that people are changing their lives to be healthier. I get it. But to stand there and say with a straight face that there is no reason for anyone ever to not be able to just walk in off the street and live up to super outrageous, over the top, unreachable standards, is repulsive to me. So they can't bench press?? Who cares?! Doesn't mean they're bad people or that they aren't in shape. It just means they've never done it before and their bodies aren't conditioned for that. Not everyone has access to bench presses idiot. It's not really a common commodity just sittin around in everyone's living rooms nationwide. "This is the kitchen, here's the bathroom and oh here's are bench press, isn't it lovely?" Many people who are older have never bench pressed because when they were younger, fitness centers were much fewer and further between. And they were called gymnasiums then, reserved for athletes. Can you blame them that they grew up with different standards of fitness than we know today? No. That's like saying my granparents should be able to keep up with their great grandkids technology wise. Yeah, right. People who were literally born on a farm keep up with kids who can open a smart phone at 9 months old should be on the same page tech wise. Makes total sense ...

Attitudes like his literally disgust me. You can't except that just because you took the route you did in your life, that everyone else didn't. And if they didn't they're miserable non humans. What's wrong with you?! News flash, all people are different. They have different circumstances affecting their lives. We're not all alike and in case you didn't learn this during your forever amount of years in education, that's a GOOD thing. You should be EXCITED that this couple wanted to come in and get in shape, or work toward better health. Not look down on them and mock them with other like minded individuals. That's not an attitude I want to be around.

Now. What's the right thing to do when dealing with a cancerous person like this dumb head? I don't really know. I could correct him. Do some research on it and have stats to back myself up. Including the personal story of my grandmother who lives in the woods in Michigan and is lucky to go to water aerobics a few times a year. OR I could talk with our supervisor as to indicate I think this is not only inappropriate behavior, but a terrible attitude. Or I could just let it go. And kinda hope this guy busts a hammie working out while on the clock. (Hamstring injuries are VERY hard to recover from. It seems simple, but they are hard to get back to where you were quickly.) I mean, I hate to sound so mean spirited toward someone, and some of you might even be sitting there goin, hey isn't that kinda hypocritical? And in all honesty it's not. I'm calling someone out for being in the wrong. Hypocrisy is more like say one thing and do another. I say you need to accept there are people out there different than you, and I accept that. I'm telling him he needs to realize that. And also throwing out some heavy words partly for funsies but also for emphasis.

So when you deal with people out there in the real world, please TRY to except that they are different from you. It's partly what makes our country great. So what if they're not in as good of shape as you? Okay so they wore their dirty PJ's to Walmart. You didn't and that's all you need to worry yourself about. There are much more important things happening in this world that we need to be concerned with outside of who isn't like me.

So as you head out this Black Friday, try to enjoy people watching a little and tell yourself it certainly is okay to be different! Our world is kinda like a Picaso, crazy, colorful, and not really put together. Enjoy!

 

Turkey Is As Turkey Does

Mashed potatoes has to be one of my all time favorite foods. Like stuck on an island for life gimme some potatoes and butter. Done. So when I found out they made a whole holiday about them ... I freaked.Okay so the holiday isn't around mashed potatoes, but when I was about 4 we walked into my grandma's house and I literally smelled mashed potatoes, so I said so, and the whole family erupted at my adorable stupid sillyness. It can't possibly smell like potatoes with a turkey in the oven!! Awww ... we hope you grow up pretty honey!

Thanksgiving is my husbands all time favorite holiday. And I'm not really sure why, he hates Turkey, he told me it's the cardboard of meats. He's not a huge potato guy, and lets face it all the rest is just, well sides. But, he maintains it's his favorite and even though year after year I out eat him, we all just pretend he really does love it.

But aside from the tryptophan, football, potatoes - sweet and otherwise, nasty cranberries and if you're lucky my grandmothers seriously world famous (okay maybe not the entire world but our marketing team is working on it) apple pie, why celebrate?

I feel like some of us are losing interest in history. Who cares lets party!!!!! Well ... that's all well and seriously good. I love food and I love my family, so any reason to get together is awesome for me. But really our nation made a day for people to used to not have to work, so that they could give pause and reflect on all the things they're Thankful for. People aren't Thankful anymore. I mean not really. And yes I know I'm making a generalization and you're sitting over there on your computer all offended because you're like I'm Thankful everyday whacko! The reality is,  yes you may be thankful, but so many people aren't. Trending generations not happy with what was, or what they have. When I was a kid I was spending time building a horrible death trap we called a tree fort in the back yard tree. Now these kids have their own cell phones, iPads (not even iPods anymore, they get the whole pad!), tv's, DS's, laptops, portable DVD players and on and on and on. To be frank, I don't have half those things and I'm an adult.

When I was in high school, I was lucky that my mom let me drive the family van to school. I hated every minute of that stupid thing, but I was honestly lucky. As a senior, you shouldn't have to ride the bus. But there was a kid in my grade who when he turned 16 got a brand new Mustang. It was red. Sweet. He threw a tantrum in school, that everyone heard about because it was 1 year old. It wasn't the newest model. Yep. Happened fer real. I can tell you his name. But I won't. That's what I went to school with. I'm lucky to have a hideous Astro van, SERIOUSLY lucky, and he's complaining because his brand new Mustang isn't new enough ... These are the generations who grow up to teach their children about materials. Possessions. Having THINGS are important. The more things you have the better you are.

Well, not that I'm a good enough parent to offer that deep of parental advice, but I think we need to send a different message to the upcoming generations. Whether you're a parent, mentor, teacher, friend, we all have opportunities to impact future generations. When I was lifeguarding at my home town pool the kids recognized me in the grocery store. This one kid said Mommy Mommy that's a lifeguard! I knew I needed to set an example. As dumb as that sounds, that was cool to me! It was like my own tiny little version of celebrity. But also important. I knew that kid would be watching what I did. Monkey see Monkey do.

I'm to a point in my life where I am starting to try to mature. I think deep down if you lose your inner kid a piece of you is gone, but we also need to start not fully acting like that inner kid. I have been able to let go of  a lot of the wants in my life and focus on the needs. And the ability to do that has not been an easy road. It has taken a lot of kicks in the face and fire's under the rump. Mostly I had to focus on opening my eyes. Telling myself do you see this? Do you know what is going on? Through my grandfather, my last remaining grandfather being diagnosed with cancer, to my work in Human Trafficking, to all the horrendous storms and tragedies. I have to understand that what I have does not define who I am. My house, messy and creeky and small as it may be, does not make me a bad or incomplete person. I am a homeowner. How many people do not get to call themselves that ever? Or did once, but not any longer.

Our nation, and if you know your heritage your ancestors, have fought and died, and worked, and slaved to get you to where you are now. The people who have come before us had to go through hell and back to get this country where it is now. When the people from England first came here to start a new life, it was no life at all. If we're cold we throw on a sweater and put a space heater wherever we want. They died. If we want a snack we go to the fridge and eat something. They went days without eating. We celebrate Thanksgiving to remember those people who literally gave their lives to start something here. To give people an opportunity to live freely the way they want. So that if you want your kid to have a Corvette before they turn 10 you can get them one. It's not about the stuff. It's about the opportunity. And people sacrificed everything they had to give you, someone they don't know, that opportunity.

My husband thinks I cry too much, which is probably true. But I don't see it as a sign of weakness like he does. I see it as a deep emotional bond to things that amaze me. Awesome wonders of the world around me that blow my mind. So as this Thanksgiving rolls around, I'll consider it a success if I cry a little. Remembering those who are no longer with us. Thinking of all that I have and how fortunate I am to have it. How incredible of a life I am privileged to lead and praying I don't mess it up.

I hope you find true Thankfulness this Thanksgiving. A moment or moments, to really, truly, honestly reflect on your life, and the lives of those you love. How we are so lucky to be where we are and have the ones we love near by.

Go and give Thanks ... and don't forget to be really thankful.

Grinds My Gears

So there's this animated show called Family Guy, some of the younger readers may have heard of it, for those whom haven't, it's a show similar to The Simpsons in that it's based on an animated family. But it's a little more raunchy and risque with much more liberal writers. That being said, it's actually pretty funny most of the time. With random plots and the main character and father of the household always coming up with crazy bone headed schemes. Did I mention there's a talking baby? There is an episode where Peter, the main character, gets a spot on the local news station doing a segment called "Grinds My Gears." He does rants about what's bothering him. Hands down one of my favorite episodes.

In what will probably a futile effort to entertain you, I'm going to do a segment on what "Grinds My Gears!" (Can also be, what cooks my carrots, what frosts my cookies, what steams my veggies, what rolls my ravioli's ... you get the idea. And feel free to come up with your own phrases as well!)

First thing, have you seen these commercials for this Greek yogurt? Where the guy is yelling through a mega phone at the pretty professional lady. Chips! Chips! Chips! Then the whole point of the commercial is to satisfy those cravings and eat the yogurt. I ask you, in what dimension or the next does yogurt satisfy a craving for chips?! It doesn't. Ever. Mr. Marketer guy, when I want chips, I want something salty and crunchy. Yogurt is smooth, creamy and sweet you nerd! That's like saying "Ah I'm dying of thirst I need some water!" "Oh you need water?! Here's a bag of sand! ENJOY!" Yogurt has it's place, but it does not make me not want chips.

The other day I was out on a walk with my kids, yeah the four legged and the two legged. And it was like 65 maybe warmer. There was a family, mom - dad - kid, bundled like they were headed for Antarctica. Parka's, hats, headbands, gloves, hoods, the works. Meanwhile I'm over here goin, I got a t-shirt and capri's on and I'm sweating. I don't know bout you but if I were that 10 year old kid, the second I walked outside and knew my mom was nuts I woulda ditched the headband and at LEAST unzipped the fur lined parka. I know it's November, but hey if it's not cold out it's not cold. No need to be embarrassed once you're out there! We all make mistakes! It happens, sometimes you throw on that extra layer and maybe we don't need it today. The responsible thing to do is to accept you were wrong about the weather and move on. Don't own it, it only makes me hot looking at you. PLEASE STOP WEARING PARKA'S WHEN IT'S 70 DEGREES OUTSIDE. You don't need it, unless you're 90. Then as far as I'm concerned you live that long you can do whatever the heck you want! It's 97 and sunny, you own that parka grandma!

 The reverse. If there is in fact snow on the ground, it's time to put the flippy floppies away. I know shoes stink, I completely agree, but wait to take them off until you're appropriately in doors. I mean. What did your toes ever do to you? Really. They're all just sittin there goin "hey, we're here, ya know, just doin our thing, helpin you walk n whatnot. Then we're all thrown out into the snow turnin blue, and you don't care. We're just toes to you, let em fall off you say! I'll have you know we look AMAZING in the summer!" You'd look weird wearin those flip flops with no toes dude! Cover them up. They're cold. It's time.

The Patriots.

What's with all these animal cruelty commercials??! Does anyone really not change the channel on those things? I would think that would send a message to the station saying "Hmm ... yeah I see when these commercials air there is a dramatic down turn in viewer ship." "Well how big of a down turn Bob?" "Well all the way, yeah, zero people are watching our station during the commercial air time. Huh." Put it together. No one wants to see that. It's sad and it almost made me throw up once, and they use music that always makes me look up to see that poor 3 legged dog gimpin around when he CLEARLY has no family! No family! I mean it's like, c'mon man! You can't not cry when you see that! Poor thing. I adamantly refuse to give them money until they stop showing abused animals. I get the shock and awe, but I'm just stuck on aww, followed by tears, followed by throw up. I'm not writin you a check for making my lunch reappear. If anything YOU owe ME! That burger wasn't free dude!
 
Delivery people. Yeah you fella. Comin all over to my house and whatnot. Okay so my husband is an engineer and doesn't know how to appropriately interact with people in public so he orders all of his stuff from the safety of behind his computer. That's no reason to tick me off! I know they're watchin me plan my day, and when my kid goes down for her seriously needed nap in the afternoon ... that's when they strike! And it's never a freakin stealth attack. No. NO! They KNOCK. Those ding dongs knock. Why? Because they want to see if I'm home! Who cares?! Dump the thing in a bag and put it by my door. I'm PRETTY certain I'll eventually see a 40 pound box sittin there. I would even be in favor of just dumpin it by the mailbox! Yeah slow down slightly, chuck and go. My dog hates you. He hates your guts and when you knock, it makes him go bat crap crazy because he knows it's his arch nemesis. So next time you think about knockin on some schmoe's door ... Think. Maybe I should do this the silent way as to not disturb the angry beast on the other side of this door. Just sayin. You don't go throwin firecrackers down the dragons lair!

The Steelers. STOP IT.

Feel free to post about your own peeves, pet or otherwise. (For the really smart one's you'll get that. For the rest of you, just smile and pretend!) We've all got em. Sometimes it feels good to air em! Otherwise they get moldy and you gotta wash em and it's a whole deal.

Stupid is a disease people! I hope you never catch it!!!

Just For Giggles N Grins

So with the intensity of the election, the hurricane, my last intense blog post about Human Trafficking, and the quickly approaching holiday's, I feel it's time for some humor. This blog post isn't really relevant and there is no topic other than to make you laugh! Jokes and true stories to give a lift to your day! ENJOY!

A Pirate walks into a bar with a steering wheel around his man stuff. Bar tender goes, "What's with the wheel?" Pirate goes, "YAR! It's driving me nuts!"
My mom made me tell that to my 70 something year old grandfather and he really cracked up!

What do you get when you cross a Dyslexic, an Agnostic (Someone who questions whether there is a God), and an Insomniac? A Person who stays awake at night wondering if there really is a Dog.

What do you call a blonde in a freezer? A Frosted Flake.

True story, I caught my kid eating the tips off of her jumbo crayons the other day. When I ran over to get the piece she just bit out of her mouth, which was yellow, some green and some blue came out too. After putting the crayons away, I noticed bite marks on all the tips. Yep, I'm raising a genius! Brightest crayon in the box you might say!!

To protest some new rules my dog has been eating WHOLE brand new boxes of tissues. He's eaten about 5 or 6 boxes now and is still pooping out Puff's.

I'm not really sure how I've gone 28 years and never worn Yoga pants til now. BEST $15 I have ever spent in my entire life. And now I know what I'm wearin for Thanksgiving! Pants I'm Thankful for!

My dad and his siblings knew a kid growing up that they called "Richie the pushing boy". I honestly can't even type that with out laughing. He was playing with matches and started a pile of dry leaves on fire at my grandparents old house, which my Aunt, and dad's youngest sister, subsequently tried to put out with more dry leaves.

Once when I was in third or fourth grade, I was in gym class and I had to go potty REAL bad. (Number 1 in case you're wondering - NOSY!) And we were getting measured. Well I wasn't thinking things through and thought I could wait until after I got measured to ask to go. Hello Ding Dong! My maiden name ALSO starts with M, and we went alphabetical. So by the time it was my turn I was practically bent over with my tiny bladder bursting. I stood there waiting for my teacher to hurry and take my measurement.  I was wearing a plastic headband that day, and he thought the tapping of the ruler on my headband was the funniest thing since Johnny Carson and spent, what felt like 10 minutes, tapping my dang heandband and laughing til I literally wet my pants and ran off to the restroom. I had to go to the office and get new non wet clothes to spend the rest of the day. Thanks Mr. Ray. Thanks so much.

Once when my kiddo was about 3 months old, she sneezed and out popped the BIGGEST booger I've ever seen right on her face. Instead of being a kind mommy I laughed my head off and made her wait til I got a decent picture of it before wiping it off.

Sometimes when my dog sees himself in a reflective surface like our fireplace doors or a dishwasher, he thinks it's another dog and starts going bananas. He'll even try to walk around to see where the other dog is but then come back and keep barking.

Once my husband and I spent New Years up at my grandparents place in Michigan. My mom's sister, my Aunt bought those of us of age in the family peppermint shot glasses. So naturally after we had gone home from the party with my grandparents friends (Which was one of the best parties I've ever been to with a bunch of 70 and 80 year old's by the way) I suggested we do some peppermint patties. It's a shot of peppermint schnapp's and then you squirt some hershey's syrup in your mouth, then shake your head. (Or opposite order depending on how frisky you're feeling.) The shots were a hit and my whole family did at least one, including my 70+ year old grandparents. After having had a couple, Jay said he was done and my grandmother called him a wuss. After being called out naturally he had to oblige. Best. Night. Ever.

Last joke. Three boys were out fishing after a huge storm. They stumble upon former President Bill Clinton clinging to his life jacket. The boys pull him aboard. "Thank you so much boys, I was thrown over board in the storm! Thank you for saving my life. Since you saved me I'll give you anything you want just name it." First kid says "Okay I want a million bucks!" Bill pulls out his checkbook cuts the kid a check for a million. Second kid thinks and says, "I want to go to West Point!" Clinton says "Okay as soon as you're old enough, I'll make certain that you are automatically accepted to West Point." Third kid thinks for even longer. Then he finally says "I want a spot in Arlington National Cemetery." Bill looks at him funny, what's a young kid want with that?? He goes "Why?" Kid says "When my dad finds out I saved Bill Clinton's life he's gonna kill me!"
(Feel free to retell this joke inserting any President. I learned it when Clinton was in office and it won a radio contest once!)

Hope you were able to find some humor and laugh a little! Enjoy your day and feel free to share the jokes and spread the smiles! You know people who laugh live longer!

Attention Ladies

So I go to a church here in Cleveland that does things a little differently. One of the coolest things they do is invite the people who attend to go to small groups that meet throughout the city weekly with 12-15 members who sit around, eat and talk about God. Really neat discussions and super valuable insight on life, love and what it means to be Christian.

That being said, some months ago one of my very good friends and a woman who went to my group brought up during discussion an e-mail her mom sent her. It was a forward that her mom had gotten from friends but it was different than any other forward. It was a prayer request for a little baby in India named Sweetie. Sweetie isn't just any regular baby, she is the same age as my friend and I's daughters and she is tied to a pole being beaten, neglected and abused so that she will not know love and be a perfect submissive prostitute. If you don't know love how can you complain when you don't get it? If you are accustomed to being beaten, why would you raise a ruckus when it happens? This tiny baby was born to a woman who is owned for prostitution in a brothel. When this happens, the children are raised to also be prostitutes. This was my first encounter with Human Trafficking and it absolutely broke my heart beyond measure.

Wait Christie this doesn't sound right. Is this like one of those Nigerian Prince schemes? You tryin to get ma money?! No I'm not. And this is real. I know this because there is a missionary organization who is trying to save her. They send pictures and updates. And the worst part is, Sweety is just one of hundreds upon thousands.

Why am I writing about this? Because my friend made a commitment to that group the day she told us that story, to wage a war on the sexual exploitation of women and children. To combat and fight tooth and nail to end this. I then and there vowed to help her as best I could. During our research and education, we have found that this is a tragedy happening on our doorsteps. Right in our own backyard. Cleveland and Toledo are 2 of the top cities for Human Trafficking in the country. Which made my resolve that much higher since I live in Cleveland and am from Toledo.

So what is Human Trafficking??? I don't understand? People tying babies to polls? Human Trafficking is modern day slavery. It is people being bought and sold or held, against their will through force, fraud or coercion for the purposes of sexual exploitation or labor. It can be through recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining a person in anyway for the purposes mentioned above. These all, in any combination, constitute Human Trafficking. This underground crime is the fastest growing branch of crime in the world. It is second only to drugs and revenues more than 32 Billion dollars a year. That's more than Nike, Starbucks and Google COMBINE. It is an epidemic. The traffickers are smart criminals who know what to say and do to keep victims silent. They addict them to drugs, beat them, steal identification paper work, blackmail them and threaten their lives and the lives of those they love. The upside to switching to human trafficking versus other forms of criminal activity is the fact that the same human being can be used over and over again, while weapons and drugs can only be sold once.

Seriously I thought this only happened over seas like Taken style. Actually it is approximated that 800,000 - 900,000 victims are trafficked across international borders annually. Between 18,000 and 20,000 are trafficked INTO the United States. Nearly half that number are thought to be children used for sex. That statistic should appall you.

How many people are actually affected by this in Ohio? What does Ohio have to do with anything? First of all due to Ohio's location and it's extensive highways it makes it a mecca (so to speak) for traffickers. It's easy to get almost anywhere very quickly. We also have may areas with hotels right off of major highways that are considered "hot spots" for trafficking. American born youth in Ohio at risk to be trafficked for sex is 2,879 yearly. Youth in Ohio actually trafficked for the purposes of sex are 1,078 every year. 

This is a very underground crime that only started to have a voice 5 years ago. It has been happening for decades but most people never knew about it. Mostly due to the fact that victims either didn't know what was being done to them was a crime, blamed themselves for the situation, or were simply brainwashed never to speak of it. Needless to say legislation is just now being created to punish traffickers. Now victims are BRAVELY stepping forward to give their stories. To tell people this is happening where you live, and to educate people so the problem can be stopped.

It's a whole new war of crime that can happen anywhere and affect everyone. I am a trained speaker/presenter on the subject and could and can literally talk for hours on the subject. The purpose of this blog post was to create awareness. The number one action step to helping fight this and prevent more victims in through education. Always educating. So please, share this blog post. Not to promote me or my blog, but to raise awareness, to get people involved and most importantly give this crime a voice. If it has a voice it can't be silent. Women and children don't have to suffer silently anymore. They should know that people who don't know them are out there caring and trying to save them.

If you want to further educate yourself on Human Trafficking, please visit one of the following websites or feel free to contact me personally anytime.

www.collaborativeinitiative.org  This is the organization I was trained through and where my statistics come from
www.warinternational.org  VISIT THIS SITE!!!!!!! These are the people helping Sweetie
www.traffickfree.com Website of trafficking victim Theresa Flores
www.bjcb,org Help our youth!
www.polarisproject.org

Additional websites:
www.imginefreedom.org
www.sctnow.org
www.notforsalecampaign.org
www.rights4girls.org
www.abolitioninternational.org

If you have seen something suspicious or know someone who may be in trouble please call this anonymous toll free number to report it: 1-888-3737-888. They will take any reports or claims seriously and launch a case file which in turn gets handed over to local authorities to launch investigations.

Please consider being part of the solution to end this atrocity. Thank You.

*All statistics came from Collaborative Initiative to End Human Trafficking and are part of the presentation I have been trained to give. Additionally, further information has been gained through my own investigation and education on the subject matter or given to me by my very good friend and leader of our front.*

Bandwagon Jumpin

My husband was getting ready to leave for work this morning and couldn't find his employee badge that allows him into certain areas of work. Essentially he needs it to get through the day! So after listening to him search for a few minutes in vain, I get out of bed and start helping him look. After a few minutes, he found it. Needless to say I couldn't go back to sleep right away after he left, but I didn't feel like starting my day either. So I got back in bed and started cuddling with my dog and did some facebooking. What most people do when they have time to kill.

I noticed yesterday some people posting about 30 days of Thankful. Then again this morning. And I was thinking what the heck? They were all really nice posts about what or who people are thankful for. I just had never heard that there was a "movement." When it comes to these types of things I'm usually a day late and a dollar short. But in spite of that, I eventually figured out that this November instead of just being Thankful 1 day, Thanksgiving, why not be thankful all month long?!

So I did it, I made the bandwagon jump to do what so many others are doing and make one post per day about what I'm thankful for. As most of you have figured out I'm not a big bandwagon jumper-oner. It's not me. I don't wear trendy clothes,  I'm not hip to all the cool kid websites, and I don't take my kid to story time every week. (It could either stem from the fact that I'm the LEAST perfect person on the planet OR the fact that some things just don't suit me. Or the fact that we spontaneously were at the library today when story time was going down and decided to join and my spunky monkey couldn't stay still on mommies lap OR keep from laughing extremely loud so everyone looked at us every time we were supposed to clap.) But this is different. This is something me of all people can wholeheartedly get behind. And in fact I think EVERYONE should get behind.

Sometimes you will see hashtags (#) when people make funny remarks about the related post #i'mhisterical. A lot of them are people complaining about first world problems. It's good that we recognize we are being ridiculous, but we also need to stop. I just got done reading a book, in literally record time for me, called Burned Alive by Souad. ( http://www.amazon.com/Burned-Alive-Survivor-Killing-Speaks/dp/0446694878/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1351880150&sr=8-1&keywords=Burned+Alive ) It is a book about a woman who survived being set on fire. An attempt by her family to kill her because she dishonored her family. She comes from a world where women are literally treated as less than animals. She grew up with her father telling her that the animals are worth more and far more valuable than she is. She was beaten black and blue daily by her father and eventually her brother. A world where men are the only one's with power and a woman is to only be a servant to the men. She is required by law to be a virgin at marriage, which usually happens by age 14, and if she does ANYTHING outside of keeping her head down, working like a slave, tolerating beatings then she will be killed. Honestly, to fully grasp what she went through you must read the book. But that gives you an idea of what I just read over the last week.

How often have we taken for granted the lifestyles we lead? How often do we not recognize the simple freedom of going outside whenever we want? Or reading a book? Or wearing anything other than the same 2 articles of clothing? These are all things Souad experienced, that I never have. And I can't believe how ungrateful I am.

So when my mind finally caught on, I was like oh heck yeah! I put two in the same day to catch up, but yesterday I was thankful that my house leaked during all the rain but never flooded and we never lost power! Which around here is a big deal from all the rain and wind given to us by Hurricane Sandy. Today I am thankful that my husband works so hard for our family. I didn't put this in the post, but he really does work and slave so that we can live in a house, pay our bills, get out of debt. Sometimes I'm not nearly as thankful for him as I should be.

So in light of the 30 days of Thankful. I vow to be thankful everyday. Not just in November but all year round. For the things that I have, the people I love, and the life I have been blessed to live.

I encourage you to do the same thing. It's not too late. It's never too late to be Thankful.

What are you Thankful for?????

Grace and Blessings.
Christie