Cute new iPad app for children, but looks like something I would like to try out in the carpool line and give my depressing newsfeed a rest.   

You may have already seen this ad that actually promotes yet another ad to be played during the Super Bowl.  If you haven't, watch it and then see how long it takes you to recognize the tune.  Oh!  Btw, I heard an interview w/the director of the ad and those are NOT computerized barks.  They did a continuous record reel of the dogs and someone had to painstakingly put this together.  Man.  I hope they were paid well.

I just KNOW that you've seen this one....right??  Okay, good.  Then watch it NOW!  It's titled: "Matthew's Day Off" and it hits on every major scene in, of course, the movie: "Ferris Bueller's Day Off".   chika chika chikaaaah.  ;)

I believe that this one is my favorite.  It includes the lines: "100 years is nearly not enough when I'm spending it w/them."  and "Happiness is your birthright.".  I couldn't agree more.  :)

Oh, so pretty, are the Tulip Trees that line 3rd Ave. North, Downtown.  I love driving beside them with their beautiful blooms in the morning sun. 

Too bad it's January and next week they will all be dead from frost.  Mother Nature is apparently having a slight hot flash.  This isn't suppose to happen for a few more months. Just last week, I heard TREE FROGS singing in the evening breeze, as if it were a night in May.  

This is Alabama and you know what that means, right?  If you don't like the weather, wait just an hour or two and it'll change. 

I will just enjoy the beauty while I can. 

My girlfriend and I can NOT quit saying this line: "Honey, boo boo child!".  Why?  Well, it's not like it's something that she nor I would normally say, it's that she brought it to my attention when she was sucked in to watching an episode of, "Toddlers & Tiaras"...or is it "Tiaras and Toddlers"?? 

If you know me, then you know how I feel about that show, the mothers and the chaos that is.   HOWEVER.  This one particular episode I don't know if I should feel bad for laughing.  This little girl is truly funny and I love her sweet innocent attitude (for the time being) regarding her "big ol belly".   I'm not sure if I like the fact that someone has taught her the line, "A dollah' to make you hollah', honey boo boo.".   Yes.... I found it a tad humorous, but at the same time, I was horrified.  Me, personally, would not want my little one to walk around saying, "A dollah' to hollah'!".   Do these parents not REEEALLY understand what that implicates?? 

Watch the short video below then tell me what you think.

Oh!  I didn't even mention the, "secret juice".  Just wait...you'll see it.  

Still, I love this little girl.   I want to take her home and teach her that sweet little girls don't say such things and act like that, but that's just me and maybe I'm the one that is wrong.

Earlier this morning, I posted this comment on Twitter:

@ErickaWoode   That awkward moment when you can't remember putting on deodorant after your shower this morning....? WAIT! Whew!! I did. #mommybrain

I've had a lot of fun w/everyone discussing funny, "awkward" moments. 

What was your funniest so far today??

 I ran across an article online that I thought, "how odd!".  It's title?  "Dogs Looking Out Windows".   I thought to myself, why in the WORLD would anyone flip through the pics?  Then I saw the first one and was hooked!   Here's the link so that you too, may be hooked.  So So Sweet!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/22/dogs-looking-out-windows_n_1217385.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003#s624104&title=Guiness

I then immediately, of course, looked in my file here on my computer at work, for my picture of our dog, Roebuck, doing the same thing.  Dang!  Wouldn't you know?  Couldn't find it.  I did however, come across some that I haven't seen in a while that are still some of my favorites. So in the spirit of that article, I have to show you the world's best dog, Roebuck-Nobucks, or just, Ro for short. 

Oh my stars, Ava was so very little there!  Roebuck has NEVER left her side from the moment we brought her home from the hospital. 

Roebuck didn't and doesn't even mind if Ava pounced on him.  Bless his sweet heart. 

Robi has never left her side, he is ALWAYS right there protecting her.  Gosh, I love this dog!!

Roebuck is most definately THE best companion a girl (or a Mama) could ever want.   I do love this dog. 

First thing this morning as I got off the elevator (here at work) and walked past our floor's women's restroom, I looked to my right and saw this sign on our restroom door:

I actually laughed out loud.   What a way to start a Monday morning! :)))

You know that feeling you get when you want to help so badly and you don't even know where to start and you don't know what you could do to help?  All you know is that you know that you wan to help some how, some way?  Yeah, me too.

Maybe this will help.  Magic has teamed up w/our sister stations here at Clear Channel along with the Colonial Brookwood Village to help our friends at The American Red Cross to help those affected by last night's tornado outbreak. 

We will be at Brookwood Mall today from 2 until 6pm helping to raise money.  All money donated will be given to the Alabama Red Cross.  The organization provides emergency assistance which can include food, clothing, shelter, emotional support, and referrals; the level of assistance given is determined by caseworkers who meet with each family to assess their immediate emergency needs and provides assistance according to the extent of the damage to their home.

It seems like such a little thing to donate, but it does all add up.  So please join us today. 

Thank you.

My parents were a little older than my friend's parents and I never noticed the difference until my early twenties.  I realized what a privilege it was to have two parents to have so much wisdom and for them to have so much patience with me.  And believe me, to be a parent of mine; you HAD to have loads of patience!  I am so very grateful.

One of the many ways I can tell that my Mama and Daddy are a part of the, "Greatest Generation" is that I absolutely LOVE swing music.  You know, Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey and Artie Shaw, to name just a few.  (If you don't know the names, PLEASE Google & listen to them NOW!...well, after you finished reading my blog, please.)  My Mama taught me to Jitterbug in our den when I was Ava's age - which brings to mind, that would be something fun to do tonight or this weekend with my Ava. 

I also LOVE old Johnny Cash, Waylon and my favorite: Charlie Rich and his song, "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World".  Again, if ya' don't know it, Google it.  My Daddy and I would listen to that ALBUM for hours.   He would work on what ever it was he was working on in the basement and I would roller skate all over that hard concrete floor while asking him a million "why's" until he went and threw the softball with me.  Which I loved and I miss so very much.

Something else I grew up on was not only everything that the 80's and 90's had to offer, but all that was good from the 40's, 50's and 60's - because of my Mama and Daddy.  I love that sometimes I can really get Rob Conrad's goat in a conversation or know something that makes his jaw drop that someone of my generation usually doesn't talk about.  I must admit, sometimes I do it just to watch his eyes get big as saucers. 

I have gotten TOTALLY off subject w/this blog today.  Maybe it's because my birthday is coming up and I so miss my Daddy.  Maybe it's because out of nowhere last night my little one (as we're getting out of the car to go into the grocery store) breaks down and sobs, telling me how MUCH she misses her MeDaddy (That's what she and everyone else called my Daddy.). She proceeds to tell me in between big sniffs and huge tears running down her sweet cheeks that she misses his great big bear hugs.  That all she wants to do is go home and for him to be waiting there for her w/his arms open like he use to.  I have to tell you----yesterday evening in that Publix parking lot, was one hard, heart wrenching 15 minutes.  I have to tell you something else, that's all her Mama really and truly wants too.  

Something will come up, and I will automatically think, "Oh!  Daddy will know the answer!  Lemme' call and ... oh yeah...".   

Maybe it's because a friend of mine (Wife and mother of two) and of many here in Birmingham, lost her battle to cancer recently and I just can't fathom losing a parent at such a young age.  My heart aches for both her sweet family and her parents. 

Maybe it's because now that I'm getting older, I'm a Mama, a wife (of a husband that puts HIS life on the line every time he goes into work - Bhm Fire Fighter)?  Maybe it's because every day I am reminded how VERY precious life is and that it makes me want to grab on to it and fight for every single second that we are given?  I don't know. 

This is it, guys.  We don't get a mulligan.  I know that I will have to remind myself constantly to NOT TO SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF because that is just my personality - but, it's something that I'd like to change and I'm working on that.  (Thank you, Kevin.)

ANYWAY!!!   I had an idea that I wanted my blog to be focused on Sophia Loren, Madonna and personal style and it SOOOOO went somewhere else.  I hope you don't mind.  I just went with it and let the words flow from my fingers onto the screen.   Maybe I'll go with that idea another day. 

Ericka

While reading, Health Magazine, today I read that the secret to a long, healthy life in America? According to longevity researchers, it may be to act like you live somewhere else.  I bet that is double for those of us that live in the South.

They're areas in Italy, Japan, Greece, California, Iceland, Japan, Greece, Cameroon and Costa Rica where the people have traditionally stayed healthy and active to age 100 or older.   (See!   I've always said that visiting California, was like visiting another "world". lol)

"The Centers for Disease Control has projected that one in three Americans will have diabetes by 2050."   I also read today that: "35.7 percent of US adults are obese and so are 16.9 percent of children and teenagers age two to 19."  

 WHAT?!?!  That's insane when you stop and think about it.  Think about the people that you know and love.  Think about the people in your office.  Think about the people you see simply walking down the street at lunch today.  YIKES!! NO, THANK YOU!   Message received! 

French women stay slim with petite portions

The paradox of how French women consume butter and cream without gaining can be explained in two words: portion control. They have small amounts of fresh, quality food and antioxidant-rich wine, lingering over multiple courses and savoring every bite.  French women also tend to walk everywhere.  In France, they climb stairs. Many of the buildings are older and don't have elevators.

Plus, the price of gas is a lot higher, so people are motivated to walk instead of drive. All of this adds up to French women having a low incidence of heart disease and obesity (12% compared to the U.S.'s 36%).

Scandinavians eat farm to table

The key words are local and fresh. Native plants include cruciferous vegetables, whole grains, and berries. Northerners eat omega-3-rich fatty fish.

The Nordic diet and way of life produces low rates of obesity (as low as 8%, depending on the country).

Despite scarce sunlight, Icelandic and Scandinavian people actually suffer from depression less than Americans, possibly due to all those omega-3s. 

The Japanese value family connections

Okinawa, a Japanese island region, is known to have the highest concentration of centenarians (people aged 100 or older) in the world. Compared to Americans, they have an 80% lower rate of breast cancer death and less than half the rate of ovarian or colon cancer deaths. They also have much lower rates of dementia and a lower risk of heart disease.  OKAY, NOW RE-READ THIS PARAGRAPH SO THAT IT WILL SOAK IN.  YES, SERIOUSLY...

How they do it: On Okinawa, they practice hara hachi bu, or eating until 80% full. A spiritual lifestyle that includes prayer and meditation seems to reduce stress -- and possibly ailments related to it. Low cancer rates are believed to be due to a high-fiber plant-based diet of rice, soy, cruciferous and sea vegetables, fruit, omega-3-rich fatty fish, and only a tiny bit of dairy and meat.

This is one of my favorite parts:  there is strong social support, family bonds, and a value placed on continuing to be active in society into your 80s, 90s, and 100s," Buettner says. "The sense of belonging matters for lowering stress, disease prevention, and longevity."

Good fats lead to longer lives in the Mediterranean

The much-heralded Mediterranean diet has been linked to a longer life and a lower risk of heart disease, diabetes, obesity, cancer, Parkinson's, and Alzheimer's. As we've heard before, this diet includes good fats (olive oil, nuts, fish), lean proteins, antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables, and a moderate amount of wine. (Yea!!)  :)

7 things to do starting today

Take 20% off.  In every area mentioned, they eat less than we do, by at least 20%. One trick for slashing portions: Instead of putting big platters of food at the center of the table, fill each plate at the counter.

Pile on the plants. Not only are plant-based diets rich in antioxidants and other good-for-you nutrients, they're also better for your waistline.  A plate of food in Okinawa has one-fifth the calorie density of a typical American meal.  You can chow down for a fraction of the calories.  Try subbing in more beans, legumes, and nuts.

Learn to love the foods that love you back. A diet of berries, extreme lean meat (buffalo or elk, anyone??)  and sea vegetables might seem utterly foreign—but taste buds can be retrained. Americans love fat, salt, and sugar because that's what 9 of 10 we're used to, but studies show that if you eat more wholesome foods, you can learn to prefer them.

An easy way to start: Search for stealth sugar, which is found in many packaged foods. Once you get rid of that hidden sugar, you'll start to prefer less-sweet foods.

Sit down -- and slow down. It might be too much to cook every meal. But we can sit at a table to eat our takeout instead of scarfing it down in the car. Savor each bite as the French do; stretch your meals out for 20 whole minutes. You'll end up eating less and enjoying more.

Get up.  The longest-living people don't think of exercise as a chore, instead, little bits of movement are a constant part of their everyday lives. Make like a French woman and take a short walk after dinner.  Rake your own leaves or cut your own grass instead of paying the kid next door; make extra trips carrying laundry up and down the stairs.

Get out. Every area mentioned is known for its strong social and family bonds. Besides spending quality time at home with family, surround yourself with healthy-living friends -- good health habits are contagious, research shows. Be sure to get involved in your community, too, whether it's at church, a gardening group, or a volunteer organization. These connections can add years to your life!

Take it easy. Even the world's healthiest people get stressed out sometimes. What they all have, are daily strategies to shed stress. Meditate, go for a run, make a dinner date with your sweet heart or your best friend -- and don't worry about your inability to be a French woman or a Greek farmer.

It's OK to enjoy the occasional cheeseburger. What matters is a cumulative lifestyle pattern of enjoying healthful food, staying connected to others, and keeping yourself moving.