Issues & decisions | Hip to be Mom

I spent all of yesterday glued to my PC watching the events unfold around the deadly mega earthquake and tsunami in Japan. It’s hard to believe that a little over 6 months ago, I was in Tokyo’s Narita Airport waiting for my flight to San Francisco, and now this! How do you even begin to make sense of something this big and this devastating?

When the alerts started coming in for Hawaii and the west coast of the US to be on the lookout for the tsunami heading for them across the Pacific at 600mph, I got really worried. My son Steev, as you all know, is in university in Cali and although he isn’t living right by the coast, I was still alarmed.

Quite frankly, which mom isn’t a worrywart when it comes to her kids? Steev’s my eldest and he’s never been this far away from me before, ever! And that was reason enough for me to be glued to Yahoo, CNN, BBC, Twitter, you name it, trying to track the latest on what’s going on.

Anyhow as soon as he came online, I felt much better. Yet immediately afterwards, my thoughts turned back to those affected by this disaster – the victims, their families and friends, the lost and injured. All that suffering, my gosh, my heart really goes out to them.

Watching the videos and pictures made me realize how fragile life is. And yet in other news, I see greed, fighting and needless killing. Isn’t it bad enough that one natural disaster can wipe out so many of our fellow humans? Why don’t we channel our energy into praying for the victims of natural disasters and for world peace instead?

Say a prayer too for the brave and tireless rescue teams and their dogs. On a brighter note, I heard this morning that one of my cousins who works in Tokyo is safe.

19 going on 30

Posted by Clairity 4 Responses »

Mar 102011

So Steev was just talking to me about signing up for some online business degree classes and working part-time in the summer. Summer school has always been in his plans. We’ve talked about it at length and it’s something he really wants to do.

Yeah Mom, he goes, gotta get through this and get out there and starting making some serious money! You know what, it doesn’t surprise me at all, this wanting to get out there to the real world sooner. Steev’s my 19 year old going on 30 and I think that’s really cute .

Raine and I are driving home from the gym after our workout and we’re talking and snacking in the car. As usual. And you know, the thing about doing, or starting, a workout routine is that you must first have an objective or a goal in mind.

Obviously different people exercise for different reasons. I exercise to stay fit and toned. I wear sleeveless all the time so for me, the last thing I need are arms that will have me airborne when I lift them up . Some of my gym buddies exercise so they won’t feel guilty about binge-ing, others obviously to lose weight.

So it’s good to have your goals in mind when you’re setting out to exercise. First off, it helps you plan the workout routine that will help you reach those goals like frequency and types of exercises, diet, stuff like that.

Also if and when you do plateau out and start wondering why you’re not seeing the kind of results you’re expecting, it’s much easier to get back on track if you have those goals to fall back on, to remind you and to motivate you to keep going.

The biggest shame, I think, is giving up too soon. Results take time and consistency, and if you feel like throwing in the towel, tell yourself to give it just a couple more weeks and then really work at it, give it your best shot. Those 1 or 2 weeks might just be the vital time needed for you to start seeing results. So don’t give up!

Back on the road to independence

Posted by Clairity Comments Off

Jan 192011

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of NMEDA. All opinions are 100% mine.

When we were traveling up and down the coast these past few weeks, I couldn’t help but notice how well some disabled people cope. Nothing seems to stop them. They’re at Disneyland, Sea World, practically everywhere we’ve been!

It’s really great that they have the independence and the means to move around on their own. Taking care of a disabled person is no easy task and it sure helps if they can have the means to help themselves and to get around.

I hear that NMEDA is a non-profit association that promotes safe driving and equipment for disabled people. They have a team of dealers who can consult with you individually to evaluate your specific needs for adapted wheelchair vehicles and equipment.

They also have Quality Assurance Program (QAP) dealers who are part of the only nationally recognized accreditation program for the Adaptive Mobility Equipment Industry. Theirs is a systematic and documented approach to providing quality service to customers.

I think it’s important to go to a trusted source such as NMEDA seeing as how many internet sources may well turn out to be scams to take advantage of unsuspecting folks. Go to their site to find the qualified dealer nearest you. Let me know how it goes .

Let’s see, where were we? Yup, at the Hard Rock Hotel on the sunny island of Penang. Sea breeze. Sand in our toes. Yummy food. Good times.

At around this time every year, we would be trying to decide where to go on holiday. We’d have these pow-wow sessions to discuss a list of vacation places – popular places that everyone else is visiting, places that our friends and family have suggested or recently visited, places we think might be interesting to visit, or just plain old places we’ve been before.

Thing is unless we move to another planet, the outcome would inadvertently be the same. We would end up staying home. Which my kids, strangely enough, don’t seem to mind at all. As long as they’ve got their computer games, they’re happy campers .

But this year, we didn’t even need a pow-wow session. Lucky for us too, California is right here on Planet Earth!

Gift-buying noobs

Posted by Clairity Comments Off

Dec 052010

Okay, so what have I been stressing over lately? If you said Christmas gifts, you’re spot on! When we get to California, we are going to be spending Christmas with Steev’s Roomie (remember him?)’s parents and family.

And of course, Christmas gift-giving being an relatively new concept to us, I’m more than a little stumped on what to give each person. If only it were as easy as going out to buy gold coins and have them gift-wrapped, then my problem would be solved by now.

But no, we’re a long way from finding gifts for everyone. I’m sure they would love to receive gold coins but we need that money to go to Disneyland, heh heh!