Why I Hate, Loathe, and Despise Beauty Pageants for Little Girls

Why Turn Children Into Mini Adults?!

Today’s Writing Prompt for the National Health Blogger’s Challenge is “Call BS on something. What’s something that is just ridiculous?“  A few things came to mind, what with it being election month and everything. However, there is something that I hate with such a cruel and unusual hatred that I pretty much knew what I’d write about instantly.

exploit [ik-sploit] – to use selfishly for one’s own ends

I hate, loathe, despise, and am sickened by the trend of turning little girls into tiny versions of women.  I am, by nature, a very peace-loving, you-live-your-life-and-I’ll-live-mine, laid back person.  Maybe it’s a Kentucky thing, I don’t know. However, little girl’s pageant shows make me want to kick every parent involved right in the shins.

What’s more, it makes me want to throw something (just about any projectile will do) at the people that pay for advertising on these shows and anyone and anything associated with their promotion in any way.

How’s that for a vent?

The costumes, makeup, and hair they put on these babies makes my insides turn. It’s just wrong. The fact that millions of people tune in doesn’t make it right – it only makes me sicker.

In an age where people abuse children in deplorable ways and in an age where they are photographed in deplorable ways makes me ask, “Who in the hell thinks it’s a good idea?!”  This entire process defines “something that is just ridiculous.”

I read an article a few weeks ago about the disturbing trend in children’s Halloween clothing. It had pictures of the popular costumes a few years ago, along with popular (“sexier”) clothing today.  I couldn’t decide which I wanted to do more – cry or throw up.

I honestly believe it can be attributed to one particular program that’s been allowed to continue and flourish.

Let’s watch an episode of little children being made to look like tiny little women with lipstick, fake tanning, and big hair.  Let’s watch them cry when they aren’t “pretty enough” or “good enough.” Wow! What fun!

Total BS.

If you’re a fan of this type of show, I apologize for stepping on your toes.  Hopefully we can just disagree and respect one another.

exploit [ik-sploit] – to use selfishly for one’s own ends

Having said that, nothing would make me happier than to see a huge, grass roots type movement swell up and boycott any show, any network, and any advertisers involved in using children to get rich.

  • I’d LOVE to see America make a statement to the moms: “Get a life of your own – quit living through your little girl! This is a child. Not a meal ticket.”
  • I’d LOVE to see America make a statement to the advertisers: “I don’t respect any product or service that supports this. This are children. Not meal tickets.”
  • I’d LOVE to see America force networks to make quality programs – programs that actually educate, inspire, motivate, and/or do something beneficial for society. Without exploiting children.

Self image is one of the most important things in the world. How we feel about ourselves determines, to a very large extent, how far we’ll go in life.  Young girls already have a nightmarish time with the media. Experts tell us that potentially fatal eating disorders and teenage pregnancies are both attributed to self image. 

Then again,there’s a show for teenage pregnancies too… but I’m getting off track.

This one may shock you, but networks,  producers, and parents who make put these shows within reach of the viewing public aren’t the people I’m most disappointed in.  Times are tough – and tough times make people desperate. There’s a lot of competition with networks and programs – again, people get a little desperate. I’m the most disappointed in the people who tune in again and again and again. I’m a little alarmed by people who think of this as entertainment.

What’s the best part, the expression on the little girls’ faces who don’t win…. when they aren’t “pretty enough” or the part where 95 percent of their day is dedicated to superficiality?

I’m in the middle of a big old vent – and it’s uncommonly hard to “back off” when the vent gets rolling! However, in all fairness, I will stop and say that I IN NO WAY feel that anyone involved in this sort of thing sees it the way I (or a lot of people) do. If they did, they’d avoid it like the plague.  If parents or people behind these shows realized how the children were being expoited, they’d courageously pull out and allow the chips to fall where they may.

I also don’t think that parents who buy their children “sexy” Halloween costumes totally realize what they’re doing either.   They may concede that, yes… they’re forcing their children to grow up too quickly.. but they may not fully realize the wrongness of it all.

People become kind of desensitized to things, don’t they?  You see shows like the ones I’ve talked about, you see sitcoms, movies, and even some commercials and you start thinking that abnormal is normal.  Problem is, this sort of thinking is the very place where everything wrong, perverse, and destructive is born.

Ever write (or said) something, while the whole time thinking, “I’m going to hear about this!!!”?  I know for a fact I’ll get negative feedback for this rant – in e-mail for sure.  For someone who hates controversy or adversity at all, it’ll be hell for me.  However, it’s no where near the hell of watching tv shows, magazines, etc exploit children.  Small children – arguably anyone under the age of 18 – simply aren’t capable of determining what’s best for them.

They aren’t even deemed worthy of knowing who to vote for until they’re 18!

I just want to see the tide turn and children resume their rightful place in this world – not as entertainment, not as meal tickets, not as mini-adults -  but as adorable, fun-loving, innocent children.

Okay. Rant over.  We’re good.

National Health Blog Post Month: Day 4

Digging Into My Purse for This One...

Betsey Johnson Handbag

Day 4 of November’s National Health Blog Challenge Month!

If you’re unfamiliar with the way most “Blog Challenges” work, I thought I’d sort of explain it before today’s post. The blog publisher is given a list of “prompts” to choose from for each day of the month. In this case, we’ve been given two to choose from for each day – with a set of “alternates” to choose from in the case of an emergency (aka, we don’t have a clue what to do with either of the two choices!).

I’ve read through each day’s prompts and sort of “marked” a few that’ll send me dipping into the pool of alternates. Today’s was a dipping candidate until I read a few other prompts.

The two prompts to choose from for today were:

  • Write about what’s in your purse at all times, or
  • Disclosure post. How did you decide what to share? What do/don’t you share?

The reason this was tough for me to choose is the fact that either one would be incredibly short and I’m not sure there’s any real way to “flesh” them out or bring about real “self help” or “self improvement” value to them.

Then it occurred to me, that’s what CHALLENGES are all about – and that’s why I love them. They cause you to dig deep and kind of challenge yourself.  So, in that vein… I’ve decided to answer both of today’s prompts rather than choosing one.

What’s in My Purse at All Times: It’s All About Being Prepared!

I actually collect purses/handbags and have for YEARS. I have too many to even count. Purses, bracelets, and coffee cups are three things I will never, ever run out of.  I match my purse to my mood and am currently carrying a furry (fake of course) blue purse, though I have no idea what that says about my current mindset. Betsey Johnson is my favorite designer, but I have tons of non-designer handbags. I’m not a purse snob… just a purse addict.

As I’ve said before – at the risk of bragging – I have a couple of medical conditions. Believe me, I’ve seen what other’s have to live with and their diseases make me terribly content with my own. Comparing other diseases to mine is like comparing grizzly bears to stuffed bears… pink stuffed bears at that.  A few of the things I carry with me at all times have to do with these conditions, somet have to do with the fact that I’m a girly girl, and the rest are just good old common sense.

  1. My asthma inhaler is with me at all times.  I don’t use it often, but it must be there if I need it.
  2. Allergy and sinus pills – just in case.
  3. Ibuprofen – under the common sense heading.
  4. My makeup bag – a  girl never knows when she might need to freshen up.
  5. A purse size version of my beloved Faith Hill perfume (her first one).
  6. Hand sanitizer.
  7. Wallet. Shopping happens.
  8. Cell Phone.
  9. Ipod Touch. I never leave home without my apps!
  10. Camera.

I detest the felling of not being prepared – of needing something I don’t have – or of being caught off guard. That’s why I carry a big purse and why I check it’s contents frequently.  I’m just curious how men manage to keep necessities with them at all times.

My iPod Touch has cut down on a few other things that I always carried with me, such as a small Bible and purse sized calendar. As the saying goes, there are apps for that!

How I Decide What to Share in My Writing

This one’s pretty easy, too. I share anything I think may relate to someone else.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve talked about something on Self Help Daily and have heard from readers as a result.  Replies like, “It’s so good to know I”m not alone!” and “That makes me feel so much better…” are very common.  Anything we go through, personally, may be amazingly similar to things others are going through.  If I’ve fought a particular battle and have tips to share to make someone else’s battle easier, I”m sharing!

I write about my family often because we’re a very close bunch and our lives are intertwined. When it comes to NOT sharing something – that would definitely have to do with my family. I would never share anything that could potentially harm or embarrass them…. or anyone else for that matter.

I also try very hard not to write under the cloud of negativity.  If I’m angry about something going on in the world or completely shaken by something in the news, I try not to write until the cloud has cleared.  I’ll tweet instead!

We’ll there you have it.  Like each blog tour prompt I’ve ever encountered, it was fun – and come on, we can never have too much of that!

Life is A Lot Like a Jigsaw Puzzle

The Pieces Dont' Always Seem to Fit...

My oldest daughter Emily and I have a great love for jigsaw puzzles. We came by it honestly. My mom and aunt seemed to always have a jigsaw puzzle going when I was growing up.  Each of them had card tables set up expressly for their puzzling passion.

When Emily lived at home, we often had a jigsaw puzzle going.  We always got a big kick out of working on a masterpiece, even though it was a bit of a struggle – thanks to our cat Alexa who loves to lay right in the middle of everything, swatting pieces onto the floor just because she can. Her involvement actually added a whole new level of difficulty to the process, but that’s okay, we like a good challenge.

Working jigsaw puzzles is actually an outstanding stress-relieving activity. Whenever we have a puzzle set out, every member of the family gets in on the fun.  Whenever any of us passes by a puzzle in progress, we feel compelled to try to find a few pieces to magically fit in place.  I haven’t had a puzzle going in a while – it  seems to be one of those things that I do more frequently in seasons other than summer. Like updating blogs!  Summer cuts into my writing and updating like a sharp knife cuts into a watermelon.

The last jigsaw puzzle my family and I had going was a real beauty. There were six big, colorful hot air balloons against a blue sky with just enough fluffy clouds to make it one of the most puzzling puzzles ever.  The only one I can remember being tougher was a Times Square one that was just vicious… it’s actually still too soon to talk about that one.

One afternoon Emily and I were hard at work on the Hot Air Balloons puzzle, sipping coffee and strategically trying to find pieces of the sky that would consent to fit together.  We got tickled once because we caught ourselves trying to enforce our will a couple of times.  I mockingly acted like I was pounding one in with my fist. It, of course, didn’t see things my way – no matter how hard I pounded.  I decided to accept the inevitable and took the “difficult” piece on the same tour the last pieces of a puzzle get… a visit to each open bay or available peninsula.

Please tell me I”m not the only one to think of puzzle pieces geographically.

Life, interestingly enough, is often like a jigsaw puzzle.  Sometimes it hums along beautifully. All the pieces fit perfectly. We see the big picture of our life the way we see the big picture on the front of a puzzle’s box.  We have money in the bank, food in the refrigerator, the kids are being down-right saintly, our spouse is so close to perfect it scares us… all’s right in the world.

The pieces fit effortlessly.

Other times it seems like we can’t catch a break. Money’s tight, the kids are getting into everything, our spouse is in the worst mood in the history of moods, bills are piling up and…  Days (sometimes weeks!) when you’d be hard-pressed to find an answer if someone asked, “What are you most thankful for today?”

The pieces don’t fit.. no matter how hard we pound!

Yet, all the pieces are necessary to complete the big picture – the masterpiece that will be our life.

Have you ever worked a puzzle only to find a few pieces missing? If you have a cat like Alexa, it probably happens regularly.  I wish I had a dollar for every time I’ve crawled around on my hands and knees peeking under sofas, appliances, tables, etc for missing pieces she swatted.  I suspect it’s all part of the game she plays called, “Let’s see how many crazy things I can make the humans do today.”

A puzzle is anything but a work of art when there’s even just one piece missing. Isn’t that crazy? There can be 999 pieces beautifully in place, but if there’s one tiny piece missing, it messes everything up.  The entire picture is ruined.

Difficult times in our lives… the pieces that don’t fit… are just as necessary to complete the “big picture.”  They may take extra time, work, and patience, but they’re necessary – every bit as necessary as the pieces that glide into place.   In fact, these times will probably always have a special place in your heart.  After our Hot Air Balloon puzzle was completed, we’d all talk about the sky each time we looked at it!  We’d remember what a struggle it was to find just the right pieces of white for each cloud and we’d remember asking each other, “How many shades of blue can actually exist?!”  Looking at the beautiful cloud-filled sky may have even been more gratifying than the big beautiful balloons.

When we look back over trying times in our lives, we’ll be able to get a certain kind of satisfaction and relief from just knowing we made it through alive! If the events made us stronger, the satisfaction will be even greater.

I’ve heard from quite a few people lately who are currently going through difficult times. I know that there are many others out there who are just trying to find ways to make the pieces fit.  When I correspond with friends I meet through Self Help Daily, one of the things I always say is, “Stay Strong…” I should say one of the many things – anyone who knows me knows that some of my e-mails should come divided into chapters!  “Stay Strong” may seem like simple little words, but if you keep them as your mindset, they can help see you through anything.

Staying strong is the key to making  it through to the other side a stronger, better person.  It’s the key to hanging in there long enough to make the pieces of the puzzle fit.

Whatever puzzle lies before you, know that you hold all of the pieces.  Keep the big picture in front of you and… yes… stay strong.

 

Clutter Busting Your Life by Brooks Palmer

Ultra-Handy Guide to Freeing Your Home, and Life, of Clutter

Clutter Busting Your Life by Brooks Palmer

As you know, one of my favorite aspects of web publishing is the opportunity to read a lot of books for reviews. I love books like a squirrel loves nuts, and I devour them as quickly.

If you’ve ever wondered how to overcome clutter, Brooks Palmer is the one to help you dig your way out. Years of practice, counseling, researching, and on the job experience has made him more than an author, he’s a bona fide clutter busting Svengali. Best of all, he can help clear the clutter out of your life so you can breath again… and, thereby, live again!

Clutter Busting Your Life: Clearing Physical and Emotional Clutter to Reconnect with Yourself and Others is Brooks Palmer’s second book on overcoming clutter. The first, Clutter Busting: Letting Go of What’s Holding You Back has helped countless people find their way back.

From the back cover of Clutter Busting Your Life: Clearing Physical and Emotional Clutter to Reconnect with Yourself and Others (pictured above):

Cut the Crap — and Discover What Really Matters

Over the course of his career helping people let go of things they no longer need, Brooks Palmer has been struck by the many ways that clutter affects relationships. In these pages, he shows how we use clutter to protect ourselves, control others, and cling to the past, and how it keeps us from experiencing the joy of connection. With insight-prompting questions, exercises, client examples, and even whimsical line drawings, Palmer will take you from overwhelmed to empowered. His gentle guidance will help you to not only clear clutter from your home but also enjoy deeper, more authentic, and clutter-free relationships of all kinds.

This wonderful book (which is a fascinating read, by the way) could help the individual who has the problem as well as two other groups I can think of:

  • Clutter Busting could be just the thing someone with a hoarding loved one needs.  We all feel kind of helpless when someone we love needs help – especially when they don’t want help. Reading Clutter Busting could help you better understand what they’re going through and know the right way to give your loved one what they need.  You can’t approach these things from a selfish, non-sympathetic direction. You’ll do more harm than good. Reading the stories included in this book as well as the author’s insight will help you understand that the problem lies deeper than the 3 feet of mail., People who have this problem are suffocating themselves and holding the pillow on their own face.  I know Brooks Palmer’s book(s) can help.  Having this book handy would be a GREAT solution the next time the loved one mentions feeling “overwhelmed” or says they “have so much cleaning to do.”  You could simply tell them that you’ve read a great book that has really helped you.  If you point out that the strategies inside the book have helped millions of people, it’ll help your loved one feel less isolated, guilty, or ashamed.  They are, by no means alone. If they were, would there be so many books and shows about the subject?!?!
  • Brooks Palmer can also be the answer for the individual who isn’t quite “there” right now, but  they have no problem at all envisioning themselves there!  The best cure is prevention, and this is the perfect book to prevent a full blown problem.

For more information about Clutter Busting, clutter, hoarding, and helping individuals who are buried beneath their own emotions, read a Q & A with Brooks Palmer on my mental fitness blog (the link will open in a new window, so you can go read about the book too!).

See Clutter Busting Your Life: Clearing Physical and Emotional Clutter to Reconnect with Yourself and Others for more information.

Neck Pain, Catnip, Heating Pads, and Flying Agatha Christie Books

As a Matter of Fact, It Was One of THOSE Weeks

When it comes to coping with pain, emotional or physical, you have to allow yourself to heal. Step back from your daily routine and do the things that promote healing. Don’t push yourself too far and don’t try to speed the healing process.  That’s just an invitation for frustration, heartache, and lots of band aids.

I am in the process of healing from an incredibly painful neck injury.  The problem is, I have no idea how I hurt it.  I simply woke up one morning in a heck of a lot of pain, unable to move my neck in the directions it had become so accustomed to moving.  Now, I’ve had good old neck cricks before – just like all of us get from time to time. This was completely and utterly nothing like that.  I am, by nature, dead set against pain medicine, or any kind of medicine beyond Ibuprofen and Benadryl, if I can avoid it. I suspect that this anti-medication manifesto springs from a childhood with frequent doctor visits, hospital stays, and medications (chronic asthma and frequent bronchitis).  I suppose that, somewhere inside, there’s a little girl screaming, “No more doctors! No more medicine!”

However, when my heat pad, ice pack (I alternated), bottle of Ibuprofen and I went to bed that night, I made a promise to God, my cat, and the inner little girl that a doctor somewhere was going to make the pain go away if I awoke the next morning without any relief.  I have a fairly high pain threshold (giving birth to three healthy babies will do that for you – to say nothing of a lifetime of being accident prone), but I have to say, this particular pain was excruciating.

Fortunately, the next morning brought a little bit of relief – enough to convince me that I didn’t need to see a doctor.  The pain went from being an angry, intense 10 to being an angry, intense 8.  Each day since has seen the number descend.  Thank you, God. Thank you, Ibuprofen.  Thank you, chocolate.  Chocolate, of course, makes everything better.

During day 2 of the ordeal, as I sat wondering which side of my neck hurt worse (the side I somehow mysteriously hurt or the side that I’d been bending my head on), I thought of a quote by Dennis Wholey: Suffering forces us to change.  We don’t like change and most of the time we fear it and fight it.  On occasion, the suffering is so great that we have to give up.  We surrender the old and begin anew.  Often it is the pain we experience that leads us, not only to a different life, but a richer and more rewarding one.

The days of being in constant pain made me slow down a great deal. It’s hard to imagine, but when you’re in a lot of pain you find it almost impossible to do anything. Sitting and working on websites or writing was painful, so I’d get up and try to find something to do.

It honestly hurt to walk!

I tried to do my favorite pastime (baking and cooking) and, somehow managed to cut myself 3 times in two days.  I couldn’t even read – another favorite pastime – because I couldn’t find a way to tilt the book to accompany my head’s tilt without making myself sick.  At one point I actually flung an Agatha Christie book.

For a couple of days I couldn’t even drive. I had to have people run errands for me, which I detested. I’d rather be burdened that be a burden, or even just feel like I’m one.  Nasty stuff.

However, being the Pollyanna that I am, I slapped on my rose colored glasses and tried to look at things from a positive…. albeit tilted…. view.  Sometimes our pain and suffering can bring about good things in our lives, if we allow them to.  Whether our pain is physical or emotional, the experience can actually make us stronger.

Have you ever come through something that was so bad that you thought, “Well, if I survived that, I can survive anything!”  Those of us who have lost loved ones certainly know the feeling.  Very often, great beauty comes from great pain. Just like childbirth!

I was forced to rest more during these days.  I, literally, laid in the floor with my cat Alexa one afternoon for two hours.  We’d sleep a little, then wake up and play with one of her catnip toys. (I remember thinking that I wish catnip affected me like it does her.) Then we’d sleep a little more.  That’s her in the picture above, during one of the sleeping sessions.  When it comes to sleeping, she’s all in.

I didn’t run to the store, I didn’t sit at my computer for hours each day… now that I think about it, even my brain seems to have taken a vacation.  I honestly can’t remember thinking about very many things other than “Has it been four hours yet????“  When I was able to sit down at my computer and work again, I found that my thought flowed like honey.  It would appear that the ol’ brain enjoyed her vacation.

When I was able to hop back on the treadmill, the time flew by and I greatly enjoyed every single minute.

If nothing else, pain (and sickness, for that matter) causes everything to look SO much more beautiful after the healing. Sometimes even more so than before healing was necessary.

If you’re currently feeling any sort of pain – emotional, physical, or spiritual – allow yourself to heal.  Healing takes time as well as patience. Don’t try to rush things.  When we’re hurting, it’s the perfect time to take extra good care of ourselves and do what we know we have to do in order to heal.  Think how wonderful you’ll feel on the other side of the valley.  Mountain tops are never sweeter than when we’ve just passed through a valley, are they?

 

Cooking Healthy on a Budget?

It's Actually Possible


I recently read, then wrote a review for, a great book called Make the Bread, Buy the Butter: What You Should and Shouldn’t Cook from Scratch — Over 120 Recipes for the Best Homemade Foods . Click the link for my review of this fun and informative book – the post includes a recipe from the book for Homemade Baked Beans!  OR, click the book and read more on Amazon.

Book Description

When Jennifer Reese lost her job, she was overcome by an impulse common among the recently unemployed: to economize by doing for herself what she had previously paid for. She had never before considered making her own peanut butter and pita bread, let alone curing her own prosciutto or raising turkeys. And though it sounded logical that “doing it yourself” would cost less, she had her doubts. So Reese began a series of kitchen-related experiments, taking into account the competing demands of everyday contemporary American family life as she answers some timely questions: When is homemade better? Cheaper? Are backyard eggs a more ethical choice than store-bought? Will grinding and stuffing your own sausage ruin your week? Is it possible to make an edible maraschino cherry? Some of Reese’s discoveries will surprise you: Although you should make your hot dog buns, guacamole, and yogurt, you should probably buy your hamburger buns, potato chips, and rice pudding. Tired? Buy your mayonnaise. Inspired? Make it.With its fresh voice and delightful humor, Make the Bread, Buy the Butter gives 120 recipes with eminently practical yet deliciously fun “Make or buy” recommendations. Reese is relentlessly entertaining as she relates her food and animal husbandry adventures, which amuse and perplex as well as nourish and sustain her family. Her tales include living with a backyard full of cheerful chickens, muttering ducks, and adorable baby goats; countertops laden with lacto-fermenting pickles; and closets full of mellowing cheeses. Here’s the full picture of what is involved in a truly homemade life—with the good news that you shouldn’t try to make everything yourself—and how to get the most out of your time in the kitchen.

David Letterman’s Thoughts About September 11

The First Late Late Show After the Attacks

“I hope that when you’re my age you’ll be able to say, as I have been able to say: we lived in freedom, we lived lives that were a statement, not an apology.” – Ronald Reagan

I want to add my sentiments to those being expressed the world over. My heart still breaks for the lives that were lost ten years ago as well as for the lives that have been lost since the attacks. I don’t want to even think about the number of men and women from the USA as well as her allies in the War on Terrorism. I have a feeling the number would be a far higher one than any of us can really deal with.

I want to thank, from the bottom of my heart, the brave men and women in the military who defend out country at home and abroad. I also want to acknowledge and thank all of the equally brave men and women who serve in the police department, FBI, Homeland Security, and fire department. These people deserve our respect as much as the heroes and heroines in our military.

Putting your life on the line for others… including people you’ll never meet? Incredibly awesome.

The video below is the first episode of The Late Show with David Letterman after the attacks on September 11. After you’ve watched this video, click HERE to see Part 2.

A Must Have App if You’re Counting Calories

I Love this App!

Fast Food App

My daughter Emily and I were having lunch not long ago at Applebee’s in Owensboro.  We’re both becoming more and more health conscious and try not to consume more than our day’s share or allotted calories.  To that end, not long ago, I downloaded the Fast Food Calorie Counter App and use it religiously. This app has the foods listed for 106 different restaurants (including every fast food chain you can think of). It’s fast and easy to use and can help you make smarter decisions.

USUALLY (you know how those usuallys go), I consult my app before I even leave the house – so I have a game plan before I even touch the menu. However, this time we didn’t even decide where we were eating until we were practically in the parking lot!  As we sat at the table, we’d both just about made up our minds when I decided to “double check” our choices – choices that seemed innocent enough.  Can you say, “Nearly a day’s entire allottment of calories in one meal?!?!

We wanted no part of that, so we entirely switched gears and made MUCH smarter and healthier choices.  Emily, right then and there, asked me what app I’d just used and downloaded it to her iPhone on the spot.

Most people simply have no idea the number of calories they’re consuming.  We tend to take in a whole lot more calories than we realize, especially when eating out.  If you don’t have a device for using apps, do the next best thing – either buy a book that lists calories in restaurant foods or get into the habit of visiting a restaurant’s website before you even leave the house.  You’ll be absolutely amazed by the number of calories in the food you’ve been eating!  They add up ridiculously and are contributing to the growing problem we face with obesity and diabetes.

Below are a few shockers:

Applebee’s Reuben Sandwich – 1,150 calories

Applebee’s California Turkey Club – 920 calories

Applebee’s side of onion rings – 530 calories

Applebee’s side of French Fries – 400 calories

Applebee’s Oriental Chicken Rollup – 1,140 calories

Applebee’s Chicken Fajita Rollup – 560 calories

Applebee’s Chicken Parmesan – 1400 calories

Applebee’s Crispy Orange Chicken – 1510 calories

Applebee’s Fiesta Lime Chicken – 1140 calories

Applebee’s Provolone-Stuffed Meatballs with Fettuccine – 1530 calories

If you add the side of fries to the sandwich or rollup, you’ll see how an innocent looking lunch becomes a nightmare!

Some better choices at Applebee’s:

Applebee’s Weight Watchers Cajun Lime Tilapia – 350 calories

Applebee’s Spicy Pineapple Glazed Shrimp and Spinach – 310 calories

Applebee’s Black Bean Soup – 190 calories

Steak & Grilled Shrimp Combo – 530 calories

Applebee’s Chicken Caesar Salad – 300 calories

Applebee’s has an OUTSTANDING “Under 550 Calories’ Menu that I use just about every time. Each item on this menu is exceptional – and as filling as any of the other meals boasting much higher calories.  It isn’t applicable at Applebee’s, but if you’re eating at a restaurant that keeps a steady stream of bread coming to your table, be sure to calculate each roll or bread stick into your meal.  As a country, we’re simply eating way too many calories.

Something I’m trying to get better at is avoiding appetizers – we’re talking hundreds (often upon hundreds) of extra, unnecessary calories.  Most appetizers aren’t good for you in any way whatsoever. It’d be much wiser to simply order a side salad if you’re starving and anticipate a wait.  I have no idea why, but appetizers are SUCH a weakness for me – even more so than desserts.

Here’s the link to the wonderful calorie counter app for fast food.  I wouldn’t dream of leaving home without it!

Quote About Living in the Present

Why'd You Want to Live Anywhere Else?

Quote about living in the moment

Live your life in the moment.  Today is a miracle! – Joi, Self Help Daily

Why You Have to Buy the August Issue of SUCCESS

Jeffrey Gitomer, Orison Swett Marden, Louis Zamperini...

SUCCESS MagazineThe newest issue of SUCCESS is, as always, outstanding. It’s one of those rare things in life that exceeds your expectations every time out of the gate.

Good on them.

I always love the articles (literally authored by some of the most successful men and women on or off the planet) and the Free CD that comes inside each issue is greatly enjoyed. More than once, I might add. I love listening to the motivation, information, and inspiration as I’m doing whatever it is I’m doing at the time (cooking, driving, sitting in the yard…).

Options:

  • listen to music that gets me nowhere
  • listen to the sound of my own thoughts (which I often do, actually)
  • listen to motivating men and women as they share very moving stories, lessons, and experiences

You could say it’s a no-brainer.

In the August 2011 issue, one of the stories on the CD is the moving story of Louis Zamperini.  What has Mr. Zamperini done that’s so motivating and inspiring? What sort of story does he have to tell? Only this: He survived being lost at sea, endured torture that would have destroyed lesser men, and came out a stronger person.  His is a fascinating story, but it’s nowhere near as fascinating as the man, himself.  Honestly, if the only thing this issue of SUCCESS had was the article on Louis Zamperini, it’s still be worth five times the cover price.

Here’s the opening paragraph. You tell me:

Adrift upon the face of an endless Pacific, Louis Zamperini and his pilot clung to the tatters of a life raft as days blurred together in relentless hallucination.  Sun and salt water transformed their skin into a crust of sores and fissures.  Sporadic rainsqualls dropped just enough water for occasional sips while birds and small sharks they caught bare-handed provided meager sustenance. – “The Indomitable Man” by Tom Horn – SUCCESS August 2011, page 16

Okay, so we’ve established that the issue is MORE than worth it already.  But, as is the case with SUCCESS, there’s always much more.

One of my favorite motivational, self growth, and positive thinking authors is Jeffrey Gitomer.  I can, literally, read a quote from one of his books and feel half convinced I can rule the country.  Orison Swett Marden is another absolute favorite. When I spend any amount of time reading Mr. Marden’s words, I’m asking myself, “Why should I stop with just the country when there’s a whole world out there.”

I’ve always wondered why Orison Swett Marden doesn’t get the same attention as other great men such as Dale Carnegie and Napoleon Hill.  I’ve never come up with the answer to that one. Maybe it’s the name.

At any rate, the article by Jeffrey Gitomer (“Orison Swett Marden: An Original Thinker”) is outstanding.

An excerpt?  “Born in 1850, Orison Swett Marden was placed in the guardianship of a neighbor, who bound out the child to families who needed an extra farmhand.  Life was extremely cruel, as he suffered whippings at the slightest provocation, near starvation, and subfreezing temperatures wearing threadbare clothes during harsh New Hampshire winters…. Persuading his guardian to allow him to attend school, he worked and paid for his education, liberating himself from his difficult youth.  He ultimately earned degrees in oratory, business, law, and medicine.  He became an entrepreneur, and in the late 1880s he founded SUCCESS Magazine.” – Jeffrey Gitomer, SUCCESS Magazine August 2011, page 41

After reading the article, my admiration for Orison Swett Marden only grew.

My third favorite article in this issue won’t come as a surprise to anyone.  You don’t have to spend much time on Self Help Daily to see my fascination with and love for animals.  My eyes lit up when I saw an article about the amazing Jane Goodall.   It’s also a great, great read and leaves you realizing what a marvel and force of nature Jane Goodall is.

I hope you’ll grab the August issue of SUCCESS and see why I’m so excited about it.  Better yet, grab this issue, then subscribe to the magazine so you won’t miss any of the rest.  Orison Swett Marden would be extremely proud of the exceptional publication (and website!) his dream has grown into. It can be thought of as his most impressive lesson and legacy.  A young boy without any advantages or encouragement learned early in life that he if he were going to outgrow his circumstances, he had to shake up his world. He didn’t waste time feeling sorry for himself, he didn’t bother with blaming others, and there’s no indication he harbored bitterness or anger.

No chips on his shoulders, they were too busy working!

Orison Swett Marden had a dream… what would, to many, seem like an improbable dream.  He made his dream come true and his name, his books, and his magazine (a true SUCCESS) still touch people today and will continue to do so for countless years to come.

“All men who have achieved great things have been great dreamers.” – Orison Swett Marden

 

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