You Is Important

TODAY'S MOTIVATION

Last night our plans fell through to go out with friends and since we already booked the grandparents to baby sit we got to go on another date night!  I talked Chris into going to see The Help, even though he was convinced it was going to be a girly movie. I read the book and wanted to see it. I have to admit, when we walked in the theatre, Chris was the only guy there under the age of 65, but still, he said it wasn't as bad as he thought (I think he secretly enjoyed it).  

For those of you who have not seen the movie, it is basically set in the civil rights era, where a southern woman writes an anonymous book about what it's like for black maids to work for white families. They all tell their stories and it talks about how a lot of the maids basically raise their employer's children, only for the children to grow up and turn out just like their snooty white mothers.  Anyhow, there is this scene where one of the maids is trying to instil a sense of self worth in the little girl she cares for, because the little girl's mother isn't very good to her. 

Later on in the movie she has to say goodbye to the little girl and she makes her repeat all the things she taught her. It almost made me cry because I felt so bad that the little girl would have to grow up with a Mom that was ruining her self esteem.  She looked so young and vulnerable. It would break my heart if Maya grew up not thinking she was important and worthy and loved. It really got me thinking just how much influence we have in shaping these little beings. Like I have said before, I think it's important to instil a sense of self worth in your children from day one.  

I think the first step in doing that is being able to become a confident role model for my baby girl. It seems that all girls have some self esteem issues at some point in their lives. Being older and wiser now I can't believe that I didn't realize my own potential when I was younger, but such is life. All I can do is start being good to myself now. That is what keeps me going today.

On a side note, my hubby sent us flowers for no reason the other day. Isn't that nice. We are important to someone :)

RANT OR RAVE

Ok, I know I've complained about this before, but seriously, there are some times where I am still surprised by the crazy size of food portions that places serve. It gets me every time! Last night my hubby had a coupon for two medium ice cream cones at Marble Slab Creamery so we decided date night was a good time to use them. This place has very tasty ice cream where you can add all kinds of toppings that they mix into your cone. I had chocolate with marshmellows. Yum. The only thing is, we usually would order the smallest size because a) this place is super expensive  b) we know that places like this go overboard on portions  c) we are trying to have things in moderation. But since we had the coupons, a medium cone it was. I should have known, but the actual size of the cone surprised me. It was massive. It felt like it weighed a ton. If I had a camera I would have taken a picture. But since I didn't I googled "medium marble slab ice cream cone" and there were actually a dozen pictures of these things on people's blogs including this one:

and this one:

The pictures don't even do it justice. No wonder North Americans are the fattest people on earth. It's just not necessary. It's hard to complete with this. On the other hand, I know that no one has a gun to their head making them eat like this . We can say no, but often times we don't. That is the real problem. Especially when people are eating like this all the time. That is what causes obesity in our country. But I know that is not a new revelation. Nonetheless I feel compelled to comment on it. 

NOTE TO SELF