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?

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?

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?

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?

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.