If you have been reading my blog for a while, you know that I am a BIG Disney fan. I have blogged about the Mickey and Minnie at our wedding, our Disney World honeymoon, and trips to Disney World with the boys. There have also been flashback posts about trips that I took to Disney while a child.
Thanks to Social Media, I have met a lot of other people that are huge fans of the House of Mouse. While at the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration last February, I met several of the people that I had been chatting with about Disney. Of course, I also missed seeing many others that I wish I had seen. This year I am hoping to fix that since several will be back again.
One of the people that I can not wait to meet is JL Knopp. JL is also known as Neurotic Disney Mom 1 (NDM1) and started The Disney Driven Life – Community Blog for Neurotic Disney People. JL and I have chatted on Twitter many times over the last year or so. The other day I received a cryptic message from JL asking me to call her. We missed each other, so I had to wait 24 hours to see what was going on.
JL wanted to see if I would be interested in writing on The Disney Driven Life. More specifically, she wants me to write about EDUMICKATION. I was so honored and said yes. Thanks to this, I have been brainstorming on topics to write about within this rather large Disney umbrella. So NDM183 (that’s me) will be starting posts on The Disney Driven life all about Edumickation. I hope you will stop by to see my posts, and look at the other amazing resources there.
So my question to you this week:
Have you ever used something related to Disney in a teachable moment? If you have please share and if not how do you think Disney would have helped you and/or your child?
Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the linky there if you are participating.
When you look outside, it is hard to believe that warm weather will ever come back to the area.
Last night, they mentioned that it has now been 14 straight days since we have had temperatures over 32 degrees. I guess that would explain why the mounds of snow are not changing and it keeps adding up.
Did you know that today is a holiday?
Today is Tu B’Shvat. What is Tu B’Shvat you ask? It is the New Year of the Trees, when new fruits are beginning to form. Kind of hard to believe if you live in certain parts of the world stuck in winter, but it is true. In Israel, spring has already started. On this day in Israel people will plant trees outside. In the United States, we often create fun projects for children to plant some seeds. Around here we often grow parsley inside to use for our Passover seders in a few months.
In addition to planting trees, we also taste new fruits during Tu B’Shvat. Items like almonds, figs, carob, and dates that are native to Israel are common. On Tu B’Shvat we also spend time thinking about ways to help our planet like with recycling and saving energy.
I know that JSL will be celebrating the holiday at nursery school tomorrow. It will be interesting to see what they do.
What are your plans for Tu B’Shvat? Even if you do not celebrate, I would love to know.
Instead of the magic of Disney World, the view out my front door looks something like this:
Yes, both boys have no school and are trapped stuck home with me today. Lots of things that need to get done, but not likely to happen. Safe travels to everyone out in this snowy and especially icy weather that is all over the place today.
If you could pick a place to be right this very moment, where would it be?
I am off to hide under the covers and wish I was in Florida with Mickey Mouse and friends.
Weight loss, obesity, resolutions, exercise, and healthy living – all words that are in the minds of countless people this time of year. Although I am not one to make resolutions, I set goals. One of these goals is to get back on track with healthy eating and drop pounds that I put on after my 3 year old was born.
A few years ago, I was intrigued by The Biggest Loser on NBC. I watched to see how the contestants worked out non-stop, drop massive amounts of weight, and made alliances with each other. WHAT? That’s right, rather than focusing on doing what they needed to be healthy, they played the game. This turned me off and I stopped watching after a bit.
Recently, I was asked by Lifetime Moms to preview a new show on A&E called Heavy. I told TechyDad about the opportunity and we were both intrigued to see how this reality show would revolve around weight loss. Here is a preview of the show from A&E:
More about “Heavy” on A&E:
Twenty-two individuals facing extreme life-threatening health consequences as a result of their obesity experience real life change in the new original series “Heavy,” premiering Monday, January 17 at 10/9c. The eleven episode one-hour series follows two participants per episode documenting their incredible transformations during a six month treatment program.
Unlike other weight loss series, “Heavy” is not a competition or stunt, but is rooted in the incredible real life day-to-day journeys of the participants during a lengthy treatment program. In order to most accurately document these multiple weight loss journeys over the course of six months and present them individually in one hour, A&E sought out two different production companies to undertake the lengthy and ambitious filming process. The result is a never-before-seen look at the unique struggles faced by dangerously obese individuals who must learn to live healthier lifestyles and understand the root of their food addictions. Through their day-to-day struggle and the voices of their loved ones, viewers will see first hand the pain and self-doubt associated with a debilitating weight problem.
Facts from the show:
22 individuals participated in the program
Men and women ranged in ages from 20-59
Starting weights were between 240 and 630 pounds
Collectively the 22 members lost more than 2,440 pounds
Half of the participants shed over 30% of their weight during the time
My Thoughts:
After the kids went to bed, TechyDad and I decided to watch “Heavy” together. Neither of us knew too much about the show, so we were very open minded. The first thing that I noticed was how the show really shows you the lives the the participants before they start. We watched as Tom, a 37 year old who started at 5’9” and 638 pounds was barely able to walk a few steps. “Heavy” took us into his home, we saw the enablers in his life, the items he would binge on at a drive-through window, and the bed he would eat everything on. We also saw Jodi, a 37 year old wife and mother who started at 5’6” and 363 pounds. The show took us inside her house where her verbally abusive mother became what she called a “cancer” in her life and pushed her further from her husband and marriage.
What I really liked was the realistic feel of the show. Not only did we see Tom and Jodi struggle before, but we saw how their demons showed up when they went for the first month at a weight loss intervention facility. The program that they were involved in not only shows the participants how to incorporate safe movement into their previously sedentary lives, but worked with them in other areas. Medical doctors carefully watched over them. Therapists met with them to discuss what was making food an addiction and other factors that were causing stresses in their home lives. Finally, a dietician went with both of them to a grocery store to show them what food items to purchase for healthy eating.
I think “Heavy” does what no other weight loss reality show has done, it puts a human spin on the battle that obese and overweight individuals struggle with daily. Watching Tom and Jodi go from barely mobile to working out regularly and having success, could be motivation for individuals that watch and may have given up.
I know that I plan on watching the more to see the other members it this series. In fact, I plan on watching while walking in my living room with weights in my hands. I wonder how many steps I can put on my pedometer while I witness their weight loss journeys.
Disclosure: I am a Lifetime Mom affiliate. As a part of this, I was offered a screener DVD of "Heavy" to view. No compensation was given and the opinions expressed in the review are my own.
