Have you seen this ad for Evian?

Creativity, babies, great music and laughter, a recipe for SUCCESS.





I loved this ad. Very few ads have an affect on me, but this one certainly works. I'm heading out the door to buy some EVIAN water.

For those of you still wondering about the results of the exam I took for the FSOT, Foreign Service Officer Test-- well I didn't pass. Although a little disappointed, it's also a relief as there would have been a timing conflict with my volunteering in Belize in October, The FSOT requires a six-month training period in Virginia.

Instead, I'll watch the babies dance one more time to stay positive.

Have you already seen this ad?

Does advertising have an effect on your purchasing habits?

Laughter: We Need More.

Do you remember the last time you laughed so hard, you cried?

Last night, warm tears meandered down my cheeks like lava trails. So what if my mascara messed up, I hadn't laughed so hard since childhood. It was the kind of laughter you can't control, it just takes over, and you can't stop.

Jordan, my youngest son and I, have the same sense of humor. It seems strange that my 15-year-old son can make me laugh more than my husband. Sometimes I feel guilty about it, but he imitates my laughter to perfection--snort included--and I become a kid again. One giggle leads to another and quickly spins out of control.




If you don't laugh, this Panda will make you smile.


We imitate others and so the following quote from Science Daily makes sense: "It seems that it's absolutely true that 'laugh and the whole world laughs with you'," says Dr Sophie Scott, a Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, UCL. "We've known for some time now that when we are talking to someone, we often mirror their behaviour, copying the words they use and mimicking their gestures. Now we've shown that the same appears to apply to laughter, too -- at least at the level of the brain."


So when was the last time you laughed? I mean really laughed?

Do you use humor in your daily life?

Are you good at telling jokes?

When your teenager shows initiative: even if it's paintballing

My son, Jordan, is on the left in the green shirt which he designed using photo shop.

As with most families in the northern hemisphere, it's summertime, which means twelve weeks off. What to do? sports, summer camps, summer school, volunteering, or jobs? With a fifteen-year-old, it's different. They're a little too young to get a summer job, and often quite lazy.

Well this year's different. Jordan, my youngest son, has shown some initiative, and I'm feeling quite proud of him. He wants to earn some money for his passion: Paintballing. Now, don't get me started on the pros and cons of paintballing, instead, let me focus on initiative.

"Mom, I'd like to come with you to the gym," Jordan said.

"You sure you want to wake up at 6 a.m.?" I said.

"Yep. I want to run faster, for paintballing."

So for the past ten days, Jordan has been going to bed around 9 p.m., and waking up on time so he can jog on the treadmill for an hour with his i-pod glued to his ears.

He researched jobs online and filled out and faxed a lengthy application for Yogurtland.

He ordered a couple of DVD's on paintballing, with his birthday money, and the minute UPS delivered them, he got out his notebook and wrote down seven pages on paintballing techniques.




"You should start your own paintballing blog," I said. "Perhaps you can form your own team and get sponsored."

I wanted to plant the seed in his head.

So whether it's paintballing, coin-collecting or skate-boarding, I really don't mind what his passion is. All I care about is that he shows initiative.

Do you have or know of a teenager who has shown initiative?

The Heart of a Volunteer

"There is nothing stronger than the heart of a volunteer. With it beats the spirit of service, generosity and compassion...and the health and well-being of our community, our country and our world." KOBI YAMADA

I have reached a point in my life, where I want to make a difference. Some reach that point at a young age, and others, like myself, are late bloomers. On January 9th, 2009, I met a nurse and soon realized this was not a coincidence.

Barbara was my nurse during a scheduled procedure, and the moment she smiled, I felt the connection. She placed her warm hand on my arm and said, "I was in Belize last June volunteering at a clinic. I met an amazing Belizean nurse. She was a combination of Mother Theresa and Indiana Jones." (this is a photo of nurse Judith Krieg above in her small clinic in Belize.)

Barbara and I had never met, and yet she brought up Belize, the country that changed my defiant teenager and showed my boys gratitude instead of entitlement. The country that gave us the joy of little Sergio, a four-year-old Belizean boy, whom my three sons "adopted" as their little brother and taught how to speak English and read simple words.

Only three weeks after I met Barbara, she introduced me to Carol Mikan, RN and her husband Rich, who set up a small family foundation called the World Hospital Project. When I saw photos of some of the children they helped last year, kids who otherwise wouldn't get treated due to a lack of supplies and finances, I realized I wanted to make a difference.

This boy has a clubfoot.



Nurse Judy trained at Saddleback College in Orange County, California, and moved back to Belize where she built a home with a free clinic attached and called it "Equity House Clinic." She, ALONE, provides medical care for 17,000 local people, and her goal is to see each one of the 8,000 kids in her area. Last year, Carol and her team treated 400 kids during their visit, based on the medical supplies and medicine they could bring.

This year we have a "wish list" for the children in Hopkins Village, a small village that Duke and I visited in 2003, when we researched where we'd like to move to in Belize.

"We'd like to bring combs, flip-flops, socks, nail clippers, small mirrors, small bags to put everything in, tubes or foil packets of Neosporin and band aids," Carol said. "The kids use the same pair of socks daily, and their feet often get infected."


These are ankle sores from worms



Simple things, we take for granted, can make a HUGE change in a child's life. Carol told me about the deaf 10-year-old boy. His parents said he was born that way, and after looking into his ear, Carol's team removed a build up of ear wax. For the first time, he was able to hear.


I don't usually ask for help, but this time I'm going to. There are so many simple things that can change a child's life.

As Carol says, "ANY amount is gratefully appreciated." Just giving up one Starbucks coffee drink a week, or skipping one pizza over the entire summer and donating to World Hospital Project, makes a huge difference. All donations go 100% toward World Hospital Project’s commitment to improving medical care in Belize. All volunteers pay their own expenses and promotion, mailing and other miscellaneous expenses, come out of the Mikan's own pocket.

I shall be volunteering for ten days in October 2009, giving back to the children in Belize Thank you for helping the kids.

A Busy Week: Graduation and Father's Day.

We've had so many events this week. First an amazing Graduation Ceremony for our middle son who will soon be attending college at the end of July. Here's a photo of Austin, 18, my husband Duke, and me.



I hope you shared a day filled with joy and family, on Father's Day.
Our day started with a stop at our local bagel shop. Fresh toasted bagels with cream cheese, followed by a stop at Peet's coffee for our delicious large coffee and the kids' favorite caramel flavored, cream topped, beverages, then a ten mile drive to San Clemente beach. We drove down Del Mar street where Farmers Market street vendors displayed fresh fruits, and rows of flowers lined the sidewalk. The parking lot next to the beach was surprisingly vacant for a Sunday morning, but perhaps fathers like to sleep in, when it's their special day.

We found a picnic table overlooking the Pacific, unpacked our bag of bagels and relaxed under an umbrella. Owners walked past us with their dogs while our own hyperactive rat terrier stayed home. We'd love to bring her with us, but she cannot behave like a civilized dog.



Our two sons, 18 and 15, swam in the freezing Pacific Ocean. At least it's freezing to us, after the 80F waters of Belize.


We watched them body surf for an hour, tried to play Frisbee, but that piece of round plastic got lost in the ocean waves after three minutes of playing. Then we drove home.



After a short while, Duke and I decided to see the new Sandra Bullock movie, The Proposal. It was the perfect date movie. I really enjoy Sandra Bullock, although she does seem to always play the same roles. Betty White was also extremely entertaining.

Finally dinner with the family, consisted of a take-out BBQ, from Lucille's BBQ.

What about you? Have you been busy with end of school year activities? And how was your Father's Day?

Volunteering: Is that mostly an American concept?

After sitting in an uncomfortable plastic chair for three hours at my son's high school, Senior Awards Night, something clicked: I finally understood the need to volunteer, especially here in the U.S.

I'll never forget the day my Father came over from Paris to visit his Grand kids. I told him about my volunteering in the classroom and he said, "That would never be allowed in France?"
"Why not?" I asked.
"Because the teachers don't want parents interfering in the classroom. Besides, do you think a husband would like his wife to sit and watch him work? It's important for kids to realize this is their work place, and parents don't need to be interfering." My Dad was in his seventies at the time. I thought he brought up an interesting point, especially as kids get older, and some parents want to stay in the classroom.

Recently a mom told me something I hadn't realized. "Many moms help in elementary school so they can decide which teacher their kid gets in each grade."

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying people volunteer in order to get something back, like a job offer, a scholarship, or a favor. Most volunteer in order to help, or be of service to others, and I truly believe that should be the main purpose of volunteering.

You often hear famous people, like Oprah say, "The more you give, the more you get back," and that is what clicked on Senior Awards Night at my son's high school. Those who received numerous scholarships, were those who volunteered the most during high school. We were told how many hours they had volunteered, and one young girl, had put in 500+ hours with the Red Cross. Of course good grades were crucial too, but I couldn't help but notice how the number of scholarships were directly linked to the number of hours volunteering.

My husband did have a point when he said, "What about all the other students who volunteered and didn't get a scholarship?" My response, straightforward and GUTSY, as usual was, "That's because they only did the minimum eight hour requirement to graduate from high school."

I haven't written much due to graduation and a visit from my best friend from England, but I'd love to hear your views on volunteering, especially what happens in your part of the world. Is it more of an American concept? My English friend and her husband said, "How do these kids have time to simply be teenagers if they're studying, volunteering that many hours and working a job? They'll be burnt out before they even start a career." Do you agree?

Thanks to all of you for asking me about my back. Yes, it's much, much better. HOORAY! I can workout again. Three hours in a plastic chair didn't help though.

Sometimes we're FORCED to slow down.

Yesterday morning, I started nagging my husband about making a decision regarding our summer vacation. We were getting nowhere, so I finally said, "If it's too expensive for all of us to go, why don't you go alone," and then something happened; my back froze. I had just placed my right foot through my gym pants when a shooting pain caused me to grab the wall, so I wouldn't collapse.

Angry at myself, I forced my left foot into my gym pants and hobbled to the kitchen.

I turned on my coffeemaker, microwaved some milk and waited, fingers pressed hard against my lower back. There was no way my damn back would stop me from working out. The coffee finished perking and my spasms escalated to the point where I started barking orders at my poor husband. "Get me Advil. Carry my mug. I have to lay down."

"You can't workout," Duke said as I turtled down the long hallway to our bedroom.

"In a few minutes, I'll feel better," I said.

I swallowed 3 Advil, and waited fifteen minutes, expecting to jump into my car and head to the gym to start three sets of squats, lunges and leg presses.

An hour went by, and I couldn't get out of bed. It was impossible for me to sit. I felt claustrophobic, stuck in my room with no one to help and then I thought of others who suffer on a daily basis. I had visions of healthy men and women injured in a car accident or at war. Those with amputated limbs, now dependent on a wheel-chair and others' help to get around.

I thought of Brenda, a blogger friend, who is undergoing chemotherapy, and all the unpleasant side-effects she has to suffer.

I thought of how marriages change when one person is ill for a long period of time. How do most spouses react? Are they tolerant for a while, then they no longer want to help?

All these thoughts came to mind, and while I was stuck in bed for half the day. I picked up my phone, and called an 85-year-old neighbor, just to see how she was doing. I felt selfish that it took me feeling sorry for myself, in order to find the time to call this kind old lady and check on her.

So to all of you who are suffering, my heart goes out to you. I admire your courage and shall stop taking health and mobility for granted.

Have you thought about how you would deal with a long term illness? How you would cope with not being able to do the things you used to do? What about your relationship?