Disneyland Chaperone Adventure!

It is not every day that you are invited to go on a last-minute trip to Disneyland. It’s not every day that you are given time to walk the campus of UCLA. It is not every day that you are keeping up with really cool High Schoolers on a trip with 98 people.

I got an email last week and it was from my son's High School band director. He said that he needed a female chaperone because a chaperone couldn't go. 

Being a huge fan of the band I was really intrigued, and my oldest son was already going on the trip in the percussion section. I was so excited and quickly responded that I could go!

Although I lived in L.A. for two great years I never took time to walk the campus of UCLA. There was just so much to do and the beach was always beckoning (okay - it still is beckoning). UCLA was the first stop of our trip. Being tucked away in the elegant community of Westwood gives the campus such charm. It seemed to be the perfect SoCal academic dream spot: Palm Trees, sidewalks lined with flowers, and sun-soaked students with book in hand. 

Unfortunately, being in a large group we weren’t able to go to In-and-Out Burgers, but fortunately Disneyland was near our hotel. Having the band attend a Disney Soundtrack Instrumental Workshop was a unique experience. The kids sight-read music, they were recorded, and it was played back in the music soundtrack. We watched a Lion King segment listening to the musicians from our band. 

Having them perform at the Fantasyland Theatre at Disney was a treat. The kids played really well and the acoustics were terrific. This proud mom took it all in. :)

Chaperoning and enjoying the Happiest Place on Earth, I made some new friends, went on fun rides (faves: Splash Mountain and Indiana Jones), hung out with Captain Jack Sparrow, got a hug from Tigger, saw great shows, logged 40 miles of walking and 95,000 steps on my fitbit (4 days), ate some great food and most of all enjoyed celebrating those awesome High Schoolers.

I am so thankful for this opportunity to see my local band in action at Disney (I wish that I could include pictures of their performance). 

I must say (no offense to parents of non-musicians) that it seems that the sweetest and coolest kids are in the band. :) Although I was never in the High School band, I married a band guy who played the trumpet at Disney in High School. It's a small world after all. I was glad to embrace my husband's happy memories and see my son's fun, friends, and music memories be made LIVE before me. I am so grateful that I responded to that email and was given the opportunity to go. It's not every day that your kid plays at #Disneyland.

Costco Wake-Up Call!

So, this blog can make your life happier, healthier, and longer! Last week, I was standing in the check-out line at Costco, lost in thought, thinking about kid pick-up at the Elementary School. I didn’t want to be late and it seems that I am always running out of time at this point of my day. My food was being scanned by the check-out clerk, and I was clarifying with the cart-loading-guy, “no boxes.” That’s when the guy in line behind me spoke up. 

He said, “You know, you have so many high quality organic foods here: kale, chicken, milk, apples, and so on.” Then he went on to say, “It just doesn’t make sense.” I was hooked. What was he going to say next?

He said, “I normally wouldn’t say this but with all of the healthy foods in the cart I am concerned about those,” and he pointed to the Kirkland All Beef Hot Dogs! At that point, he confessed to being a Fourth Year Medical Student and was very concerned about trans fats because, with rare exception, they are not naturally occurring so the body does not have a way to process them. They are created in a factory by adding hydrogen to liquid vegetable oils (hydrogenated oil) causing them to increase in density.

I had never had trans fats explained to me. This was really useful information for someone who’s fairly health-conscious. I had always focused on the “100% Beef” on the label, not the 1 gram of trans fat per dog. After checking out mercola.com (“World’s #1 Natural Health Website”) and heart.org (American Heart Association) I learned that trans fat consumption is a key player in heart disease and clogged arteries, and is connected to dementia, Alzheimer’s, strokes, and type 2 diabetes.

Now, I am doing my best to help my family stay away from trans fats. Saturated fats are not the really bad fats any more. Since saturated fat is naturally occurring our bodies can process it. Trans fats are not that way – yikes! They are very, very bad – Factory Bad.

As a result of that day at Costco, I am hoping to steer clear of oils (other than coconut oil) and foods with trans fats. (One piece of good news: the FDA has banned partially hydrogenated oils from foods starting in 2018.) 

Later that day, I headed to Whole Foods (hoping it wouldn’t be “whole paycheck”) where I found the most perfect and healthy hot dogs for our family. They were only twice as much as the Costco per-dog-price, which I thought was actually pretty good.

Unprocessed meats don’t have factory produced trans fat so that is another great choice - so maybe go see the butcher. I want to make the world a better place so I just thought I had to share this with the begwen community as there are so many of us foodies who are trying our best, but still missing the mark.

Looking ahead: I hope that we all have many days of joy and health ahead of us thanks to the med student in the Costco line. Let's share this with our friends and families and get this news out there - just like that med student did for me. :)

(Disclaimer: I’m not a doctor or nutritionist. Just a mom with a lot of mouths to feed. J) 

Peaceful Manatee

Life lived just beneath the surface of the water can be a dangerous life, even for a gentle sea cow just happily munching on sea grass. Sadly, recreational boats recklessly colliding with manatees in posted “no wake zones” account for 1/3 of the deaths of manatees today. The problem is so pronounced that scientists often track manatees in the wild by the shape of the deep propeller wounds on their backs. Mother manatees instinctively push their young below as boats approach, and protectively bear the wounds inflicted by leisure marine sports.  In spite of their obstacles, however, this endangered species endures as a unique and special creature often seen grazing plants under the blue Gulf of Mexico sea.

I went to the Manatee Visitor Center on a recent trip to Florida. It was interesting to learn about manatees. Manatees like to eat all day much like cows. They are peaceful vegetarian grazers who love the warm waters of Florida. They can’t live in waters less than 68 degrees so they used to migrate to the hot springs during the winter. Now, they don’t travel so far, they winter at the power plant near Tampa. The plant heats the waters in the process creating electricity. This keeps the manatees toasty warm in the winter, but creates a new marriage of convenience between “big coal” interests and an endangered species.

When I was there, the manatees were lying outside of the power plant water exhaust flumes warming up in the hot waters. I just wish I could have been closer to get a better picture for this blog. Environmentalists do appreciate the fact that the manatees are safe from boats and direct tourist interference when next to the power plant.  This is because when they go to the native hot springs, tour companies that charge travellers to ‘swim with the manatees’ are waiting with crowds of the curious.  Some feel that outlawing these businesses that sell interaction with an endangered species might be a better approach to their conservation, allowing them to winter in the more natural setting of the hot springs.  Until then, they rest peacefully next to the massive Tampa power plant.  Like many places around the planet, Florida struggles to protect wildlife while also promoting tourism and a healthy economy.

Living beneath the surface in shallow waters harvesting sea grass is their way of life. They weigh in at about 1,000lbs. But beware, when Florida tourists try to interact with them out in the Gulf of Mexico it can be a crime, (with fines of as much as $15,000!) so please give them and all other endangered wildlife respectful space if you visit Florida.  Millions of tourists come to Florida to enjoy the beaches and wildlife every year, and the crowds can be stressful for the native species, but this is also true everywhere that we may sojourn in the world. Let’s leave nature alone and view from a distance!

It was nice to learn more about these special animals. We don’t have them in the Northwest so it was fun to see the manatees’ winter home by the steam plant.

#HappyNewYear

2016 Was A Great Year

Looking back at 2016 so many great things come to mind. There are so many things to celebrate in 2016 when I stop to think about it.

Let’s pause for a moment and grab a Starbucks Tuxedo New Year’s Latte and celebrate 2016 together begwen blog style:

* The Cubs won the World Series! This happened for the first time in 100 years!

* Global carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels did not grow in 2016. We are making progress in our environmental stewardship!

* The American Ballet Theater continues to be an example for America as Misty Copeland continues to shine as a Principal Dancer. She is the first African American to be given that rank in a major ballet company. 

The impact of Misty’s role will continue to transform the sport and art of ballet to include artists and athletes of all races.

* I get so caught up in the negative effects of climate change but there have been some great strides this past year including the Humpback Whale being taken off the endangered species list. After writing a blog about the death of a juvenile humpback during the summer this is great news! Also, manatees are so precious; it is awesome to share that the global manatee population is no longer endangered.

* The Olympics were amazing! Simone Biles’ performances were truly beyond words. She blew the competition away and her athleticism and skill was stunning. In the pool, it was great that Michael Phelps pulled it off yet again. Also, Simone Manuel was the first African American swimmer to win a gold medal (100m freestyle), whoot!

* The battle against malaria is still raging. More and more people in Africa are sleeping under mosquito nets. Way to go Gates Foundation for the progress on this! I found out this year at the Gates Foundation Visitor Center that the mosquito is the world’s deadliest animal – so “bug off” mosquitos in 2017. It is hard to believe that such a small animal is so deadly. Grateful for progress!

* There were a few new ice cream flavors to make us happy in 2016. The “Cookie Two Step” by Blue Bell, which has cookie dough (in spite of warnings from the FDA about uncooked dough) and the “Empower Mint” by Ben and Jerry’s for those mint lovers out there.

* On a personal note in the begwen family: We improved in our remote control drone flying skills, we laughed, we saw some memorable shows, we celebrated a great wedding anniversary, we cheered each other on, grew, prayed, learned a few things, worshipped, hiked, skied, tried to stay healthy, and played.

Looking forward, I can’t wait for the many celebrations and victories of 2017. Let's be "impatient optimists" (Bill Gates Foundation) as we see 2017 unfold. There are great possibilities this coming year for our personal lives, country and world.

So Happy New Year to you! Thanks for sharing this Starbucks Tuxedo New Years Latte with me as we ring in all that awaits us in 2017!!!

May 2017 be better, beautifier, braver, and brighter than you can dream. May your life in 2017 truly be blessed!