Just a quick reminder to all of you racquet junkies out there...yep, talkin' tennis. The Australian Open is taking place this week, with all our faves on the courts. Also, Roger Federer, the beaut that he is, called up his racquet totin' pals and arranged a "Hit For Haiti" tennis expo in a local park outside the tournament. All proceeds went to Haiti.
BTW, Wouldn't that just be the coolest thing ever? To find out Federer and Nadal and a bunch of others were going to be hanging out at your local park to raise money? Just awesome!
Anyway, I'll do some reporting on the Open, along with NFL Championship football toward the end of the weekend. After while crocodile...(get it? Australian Open?...)
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Sports For Chicks: Favre Gushing
AP/PhotoB--best ever, beautiful too
R--reliable and ready every time
E--energized and energizing
T--tried, tested and talented
T--tight-ended (hey, I only speak the truth)
F--fit, fine and forty--yep, forty!
A--able, agile and awesomely accurate
V--va va va voom...(can't help it, sorry)
R--respectable, retired-then-reactivated!
E--extremely exciting to watch
If they are down in the first half, he brings them back. If he takes a hard hit, he pops right back. Hell, he retires and he comes right back! Everyone was so angry in Green Bay and across the country when he came out of retirement and played for another team. They said, "what a shame", "he should know when to quit", "he should've gone out while he was on top" and "he's too old!".
Let me tell you ladies (and gents too), today he had four touchdown passes against the supposedly unstoppable Dallas Cowboy defense and he and his Vikings are on their way to the NFC Championship in New Orleans, one step closer to the Super Bowl. Not only is he back, he's on top with one of the best seasons of his career. Oh, and old? Life begins at 40 baby, haven't you heard?
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
What Got To Me Today? 1 in 5
I'm re-running an article on all of my blogs today because it is important to me and really seems to fit all of them, both my parenting blogs and this one.
I was listening to a report on Michigan Public Radio this morning do a study about poverty levels in Michigan. The report stated one in five children in Michigan live in poverty. 1 in 5!
This prompted me to want to re-run an article I wrote last year and post it here. Some food for thought:
Would you know if your next door neighbor frequently visited an area food bank? Chances are you might not. After all, you’ve been neighbors for more than ten years. People in your neighborhood work hard at their jobs, own their homes and drive decent cars. Your kids ride the same bus and participate in the same activities. Surely, you’d know if they didn’t have enough food to eat? The fact is some of our neighbors and their families are indeed hungry.
We’ve seen the national stories portraying the changing faces in lines at soup kitchens and food banks, and the increase in their numbers. These people and their families are not just national statistics, or inner city residents. Some of these families live right here in Saline. Our friends. Our neighbors. People who never thought they would be the ones in need, and certainly determined to keep their struggle hidden.
A 2006 national hunger study by America’s Second Harvest Network showed that ninety-six point eight percent (96.8%) of adult food bank clients, have their own homes or apartments, with utilities and their own vehicles. These are homeowners forced to make difficult decisions in order to keep food on the table.
The number of food bank clients on a national scale grew sixty-seven percent (67%) from 2001 to 2006, before the economic downturn, loss of jobs and home foreclosures. Today, over one million people in Michigan alone visit food banks annually. According to the Food Gatherers website in Ann Arbor, they feed 5, 569 people weekly in Washtenaw County. Of these weekly visitors thirty-eight percent (38%) are children and seven percent (7%) elderly. Thirty-three percent (33%) are forced to choose between groceries and paying utilities, twenty-eight percent (28%) choose between food and making the mortgage payment and twenty-five percent (25%) must decide whether they should skip their prescription medication for the month so they can buy food goods.
The Hunger In America Study 2006 looked at the number of people receiving food help who were considered “Food Secure” or “Food Insecure”. According to the study Food Security is defined as “access by all people at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life”. Even with the help of food assistance programs, only about twenty-two percent (22%) were considered to be Food Secure. That number might be higher if there were more donations to area food banks, especially as the demand keeps climbing.
Sue Brown is the Director of the Saline Area Social Services. Her office is seeing “ a lot more families with children, mainly due to the economy,” Brown said. Her office serves any person or family residing within the Saline Area School District. “One hundred children benefitted from our holiday program this year,” Brown said. One hundred kids. That’s like taking one entire grade from one of Saline’s four elementary schools. Still think it couldn’t be your neighbor?
Saline is a great city with tremendously generous residents. Neighbors still bake pies for the new family on the block. Our shop owners know customers by name. People hold doors open and wave dog walkers across the streets. It is time to take that spirit of community to the next level, a call to action, if you will. What can you do?
We really need “anything and everything, especially pre-packaged food with meat in it like canned Dinty Moore Beef Stew or tuna” Brown said from the Saline Area Social Service office. She adds “and we never, ever have enough paper products because food stamps don’t cover things like toilet paper, paper towels, cleaning products” or anything that isn’t a consumable. Brown reminds us too that donations are especially needed in the summer months. “Donations go way down because people are away (on vacation) and many of our clients’ kids participate in the free lunch programs at school, so lunch stuff is needed” when school is out of session.
Washtenaw County has many different food rescue programs, soup kitchens and general support through local and state government, and non-profits including churches and other places of worship. In Saline, the list of people being helped is extremely confidential and handled with the utmost respect and dignity. Still, there are families out there who will never make their need known to the public.
So what’s the message here? It’s time for neighbors who can afford it, to reach out to neighbors who can’t. Food baskets aren’t just for holidays anymore. Support your local food bank. The food you donate today may help feed the family right next door tomorrow. For information on how to donate or receive help contact Saline Area Social Services 734-429-4570 or Food Gatherers 734-761-2796.
I was listening to a report on Michigan Public Radio this morning do a study about poverty levels in Michigan. The report stated one in five children in Michigan live in poverty. 1 in 5!
This prompted me to want to re-run an article I wrote last year and post it here. Some food for thought:
Would you know if your next door neighbor frequently visited an area food bank? Chances are you might not. After all, you’ve been neighbors for more than ten years. People in your neighborhood work hard at their jobs, own their homes and drive decent cars. Your kids ride the same bus and participate in the same activities. Surely, you’d know if they didn’t have enough food to eat? The fact is some of our neighbors and their families are indeed hungry.
We’ve seen the national stories portraying the changing faces in lines at soup kitchens and food banks, and the increase in their numbers. These people and their families are not just national statistics, or inner city residents. Some of these families live right here in Saline. Our friends. Our neighbors. People who never thought they would be the ones in need, and certainly determined to keep their struggle hidden.
A 2006 national hunger study by America’s Second Harvest Network showed that ninety-six point eight percent (96.8%) of adult food bank clients, have their own homes or apartments, with utilities and their own vehicles. These are homeowners forced to make difficult decisions in order to keep food on the table.
The number of food bank clients on a national scale grew sixty-seven percent (67%) from 2001 to 2006, before the economic downturn, loss of jobs and home foreclosures. Today, over one million people in Michigan alone visit food banks annually. According to the Food Gatherers website in Ann Arbor, they feed 5, 569 people weekly in Washtenaw County. Of these weekly visitors thirty-eight percent (38%) are children and seven percent (7%) elderly. Thirty-three percent (33%) are forced to choose between groceries and paying utilities, twenty-eight percent (28%) choose between food and making the mortgage payment and twenty-five percent (25%) must decide whether they should skip their prescription medication for the month so they can buy food goods.
The Hunger In America Study 2006 looked at the number of people receiving food help who were considered “Food Secure” or “Food Insecure”. According to the study Food Security is defined as “access by all people at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life”. Even with the help of food assistance programs, only about twenty-two percent (22%) were considered to be Food Secure. That number might be higher if there were more donations to area food banks, especially as the demand keeps climbing.
Sue Brown is the Director of the Saline Area Social Services. Her office is seeing “ a lot more families with children, mainly due to the economy,” Brown said. Her office serves any person or family residing within the Saline Area School District. “One hundred children benefitted from our holiday program this year,” Brown said. One hundred kids. That’s like taking one entire grade from one of Saline’s four elementary schools. Still think it couldn’t be your neighbor?
Saline is a great city with tremendously generous residents. Neighbors still bake pies for the new family on the block. Our shop owners know customers by name. People hold doors open and wave dog walkers across the streets. It is time to take that spirit of community to the next level, a call to action, if you will. What can you do?
We really need “anything and everything, especially pre-packaged food with meat in it like canned Dinty Moore Beef Stew or tuna” Brown said from the Saline Area Social Service office. She adds “and we never, ever have enough paper products because food stamps don’t cover things like toilet paper, paper towels, cleaning products” or anything that isn’t a consumable. Brown reminds us too that donations are especially needed in the summer months. “Donations go way down because people are away (on vacation) and many of our clients’ kids participate in the free lunch programs at school, so lunch stuff is needed” when school is out of session.
Washtenaw County has many different food rescue programs, soup kitchens and general support through local and state government, and non-profits including churches and other places of worship. In Saline, the list of people being helped is extremely confidential and handled with the utmost respect and dignity. Still, there are families out there who will never make their need known to the public.
So what’s the message here? It’s time for neighbors who can afford it, to reach out to neighbors who can’t. Food baskets aren’t just for holidays anymore. Support your local food bank. The food you donate today may help feed the family right next door tomorrow. For information on how to donate or receive help contact Saline Area Social Services 734-429-4570 or Food Gatherers 734-761-2796.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Sports For Chicks: This Chicks Sick of Gun Totin' Athletes
Ladies and Gentleman, what in the world is going on in the Wide World of Sports? Let me rephrase..since I'm not hearing about any locker room gun totin' athletes in other countries, maybe I should say Wide World of U.S. Sports? Is it not bad enough that our crime rates are sky high in the streets that now we need to have issues within our sports venues?
Of course I am talking about the recent incident involving Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton of the Washington Wizards. Arenas admits to bringing four guns into the Wizard's locker room and showing them off, allegedly with the intent of intimidating Crittenton. The two had a difference of opinion over a gambling issue that had taken place on the Wizard's bus. Arenas was suspended without pay on Wednesday by NBA Commissioner David Stern. Suspended? That's it? So I guess if you have a contract to make $111 million, you get suspended. Any one of us commoners with a regular 40 hr/week job would be fired...on the spot.
Well, what they do with Arenas is his business I guess, except for all the little kids who watch him play and want to be just like him. It's kind of their business too, especially if they idolize him. We hear this debate a lot, about the responsiblities of athletes as role models. Apparently all the discussion is leading to a great big "goose egg", "zilch", "nada", nothin' , not even an "official time out."
Let's see, I've picked on the NBA enough, so let's talk NFL and NY Giants Plaxico Burress shooting himself in the leg because he was stupid enough to carry a handgun in his sweatpants...and then go into a club. Yep, he's in jail. Let's not forget Rae Carruth of the Carolina Panthers who ordered a hit on his pregnant girlfriend, and got it-- and a murder charge. Now on to hockey.
NHL is full of violence. Okay, its somehow permittable to beat the crap out of somebody on the ice, as long as you only use your hands. Marty McSorley of the L.A. Kings went a step further and decided it'd be okay to use his stick a little...well a little bit of an assault charge followed.
Sports are competitive. Rivalries are vicious. I get it. I'm not gripin' about all of this because I'm a girl and don't understand what all of the rough housing is about. I'm griping because irresponsible people with guns result in dead people. There is nothing competitive about that.
Sports are about athleticism, competition, the last minute saves, the hail mary passes, the crack of a bat when it hits a home run, the swish of the net, the hush on the 18th green, the deafening roar of a last minute score before the buzzer. There is no room here for guns and criminal records. (I didn't even get into all the gambling, drugs, or domestic abuse). If you can't play staight you don't deserve the millions. If you can't be respectable you don't deserve our respect.
I want to be able to watch my sports heroes and games on my sports channels. If I wanted criminal investigations and pleas, I'd watch one of those guy cop shows on one of those guy crime channels.
To the athletes who are playing with guns...get with it or get out. There are too many awesome players out there who aren't in the lime light for their victories because you're hoggin' it all for your court hearings.
Of course I am talking about the recent incident involving Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton of the Washington Wizards. Arenas admits to bringing four guns into the Wizard's locker room and showing them off, allegedly with the intent of intimidating Crittenton. The two had a difference of opinion over a gambling issue that had taken place on the Wizard's bus. Arenas was suspended without pay on Wednesday by NBA Commissioner David Stern. Suspended? That's it? So I guess if you have a contract to make $111 million, you get suspended. Any one of us commoners with a regular 40 hr/week job would be fired...on the spot.
Well, what they do with Arenas is his business I guess, except for all the little kids who watch him play and want to be just like him. It's kind of their business too, especially if they idolize him. We hear this debate a lot, about the responsiblities of athletes as role models. Apparently all the discussion is leading to a great big "goose egg", "zilch", "nada", nothin' , not even an "official time out."
Let's see, I've picked on the NBA enough, so let's talk NFL and NY Giants Plaxico Burress shooting himself in the leg because he was stupid enough to carry a handgun in his sweatpants...and then go into a club. Yep, he's in jail. Let's not forget Rae Carruth of the Carolina Panthers who ordered a hit on his pregnant girlfriend, and got it-- and a murder charge. Now on to hockey.
NHL is full of violence. Okay, its somehow permittable to beat the crap out of somebody on the ice, as long as you only use your hands. Marty McSorley of the L.A. Kings went a step further and decided it'd be okay to use his stick a little...well a little bit of an assault charge followed.
Sports are competitive. Rivalries are vicious. I get it. I'm not gripin' about all of this because I'm a girl and don't understand what all of the rough housing is about. I'm griping because irresponsible people with guns result in dead people. There is nothing competitive about that.
Sports are about athleticism, competition, the last minute saves, the hail mary passes, the crack of a bat when it hits a home run, the swish of the net, the hush on the 18th green, the deafening roar of a last minute score before the buzzer. There is no room here for guns and criminal records. (I didn't even get into all the gambling, drugs, or domestic abuse). If you can't play staight you don't deserve the millions. If you can't be respectable you don't deserve our respect.
I want to be able to watch my sports heroes and games on my sports channels. If I wanted criminal investigations and pleas, I'd watch one of those guy cop shows on one of those guy crime channels.
To the athletes who are playing with guns...get with it or get out. There are too many awesome players out there who aren't in the lime light for their victories because you're hoggin' it all for your court hearings.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
What Got To Me Today? Backwards Thinking
Okay people, enough is enough. Here we are in 2010, the beginning of a new decade, nothing but new possibilities on the horizon. Sure, there are challenges ahead with everything from the economy to H1N1 to terrorism, but with every challenge comes an opportunity to overcome it.
All I see, all I read, everywhere I look, much that I hear is talking about the "Decade From Hell 2000-2010". I get it. A lot of things did suck in that ten year span. I don't deny it. I am not ignorant of it. I'm not all "rosy-colored glasses no matter what" about it. But-- I believe we have studied the sucky outcomes. I believe we have learned from some of them, and some of them we are still learning from. With the exception of this learning process, I believe they are behind us. Let's focus a little more forward, shall we?
As one of my favorite quotes says (and yes, I know it's from Disney's The Goofy Movie) "You're makin' me dizzy with your downward spiral..."
This doesn't mean we will forget. We will never forget the losses and the tragedies. We will honor all that was sacrificed. That said, lets do the honorable thing and move forward.
I am not saying "Quit whining and make a better life!" because that would be totally lacking compassion and not in my character at all. What I am saying is this:
Think about this, seriously.
If we all make better decisions, do the right thing, show kindness and compassion, move in the right direction, just think of the forward motion we will create.
As I always say...onward and upward.
All I see, all I read, everywhere I look, much that I hear is talking about the "Decade From Hell 2000-2010". I get it. A lot of things did suck in that ten year span. I don't deny it. I am not ignorant of it. I'm not all "rosy-colored glasses no matter what" about it. But-- I believe we have studied the sucky outcomes. I believe we have learned from some of them, and some of them we are still learning from. With the exception of this learning process, I believe they are behind us. Let's focus a little more forward, shall we?
As one of my favorite quotes says (and yes, I know it's from Disney's The Goofy Movie) "You're makin' me dizzy with your downward spiral..."
This doesn't mean we will forget. We will never forget the losses and the tragedies. We will honor all that was sacrificed. That said, lets do the honorable thing and move forward.
I am not saying "Quit whining and make a better life!" because that would be totally lacking compassion and not in my character at all. What I am saying is this:
- We have the power to make better choices for ourselves and the world we live in.
- Only we can choose how we feel, how we react and respond. Nobody else has the power to do this for us.
- We decide how to contribute to society.
Think about this, seriously.
If we all make better decisions, do the right thing, show kindness and compassion, move in the right direction, just think of the forward motion we will create.
As I always say...onward and upward.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Sports For Chicks: The Only Tiger Things I Want To Know
Tigers do not purr.
Tigers are the largest of the big cats.
Wild tigers are at the very top of the food chain.
If you shave a tiger it will still have stripes.
Tiger's saliva is an antiseptic (careful...try not to say it)
A single male tiger's territory can cover over 100 square miles (I know it's hard not to go there)
A male tiger's territory can overlap several female tiger's territories. (Oh geez, and we were doing so well)
Tiger Woods is the best golfer athlete in golf history and I love to watch him play golf.
These are the only tiger things this sports chick wants to know.
BTW Thanks to andymcdermott.com for his facts on the real beasts, tigers.
Tigers are the largest of the big cats.
Wild tigers are at the very top of the food chain.
If you shave a tiger it will still have stripes.
Tiger's saliva is an antiseptic (careful...try not to say it)
A single male tiger's territory can cover over 100 square miles (I know it's hard not to go there)
A male tiger's territory can overlap several female tiger's territories. (Oh geez, and we were doing so well)
Tiger Woods is the best golfer athlete in golf history and I love to watch him play golf.
These are the only tiger things this sports chick wants to know.
BTW Thanks to andymcdermott.com for his facts on the real beasts, tigers.
Monday, January 4, 2010
What Got To Me Today? Three Somethings
So, as usual, I was listening to NPR on the way to take the kids to school and I was reminded of their "Three Things" series they are currently airing. The premise of the series is asking people all around the state of Michigan what three things they can do, as individuals, to make our state better. I don't need to spell out the economic woes we are still feeling, but I do believe we are on our way back up. I was really quite struck by simplifying something I can do. Three "somethings" actually, and truly what a difference we could make if we all just did three "somethings."
My Three Somethings
1. Buy local (really? this one seems obvious to me), made in Michigan when possible. My favorite treat at the moment is Hanover's Michigan Mints with Dark chocolate, made in St. Johns, MI. This also includes Farmer's Markets and roadside produce stands--no preservatives!.
2. Donate stuff. Yup, I have a house full of "stuff" that I'm not using and right now, let me tell you, there are plenty of people who need your stuff ! I bet many of us have one shelf (or more) in the linen closet of bedding or blankets that we haven't touched in five years. Well, there's a shelter somewhere, not far from your linen closet, that would really appreciate that blanket. Or, clothes, toys, even food to the food bank. Clear the clutter out of your life people--and do some good with it.
3. Volunteer. Especially in schools. The budget for education in our state stinks, to be polite, --a perfect place for you to help. Help in the lunchroom. Volunteer to help with literacy (if you can read, you can help), donate the scrapbooking stuff piled up in the basement for two years to a local art class or afterschool program. Michigan school kids need our help.
So those are my three "somethings". I hope you'll take a second to ponder what your three "somethings" are. All of us would sure make a lot of "somethings" and wouldn't that just be great for Michigan!
My Three Somethings
1. Buy local (really? this one seems obvious to me), made in Michigan when possible. My favorite treat at the moment is Hanover's Michigan Mints with Dark chocolate, made in St. Johns, MI. This also includes Farmer's Markets and roadside produce stands--no preservatives!.
2. Donate stuff. Yup, I have a house full of "stuff" that I'm not using and right now, let me tell you, there are plenty of people who need your stuff ! I bet many of us have one shelf (or more) in the linen closet of bedding or blankets that we haven't touched in five years. Well, there's a shelter somewhere, not far from your linen closet, that would really appreciate that blanket. Or, clothes, toys, even food to the food bank. Clear the clutter out of your life people--and do some good with it.
3. Volunteer. Especially in schools. The budget for education in our state stinks, to be polite, --a perfect place for you to help. Help in the lunchroom. Volunteer to help with literacy (if you can read, you can help), donate the scrapbooking stuff piled up in the basement for two years to a local art class or afterschool program. Michigan school kids need our help.
So those are my three "somethings". I hope you'll take a second to ponder what your three "somethings" are. All of us would sure make a lot of "somethings" and wouldn't that just be great for Michigan!
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