Not Everyone's Mama

Activist Reveals How One Act of Community Service

Can Spark Thousands More

<– The Legend of the Wolves of Gunflint Lake by Lisa Sellman

Don’t tell Lisa Sellman that one person can’t make a difference. She knows better.

Sellman, a community activist and lifelong volunteer, recently learned how one act of kindness can set off a chain reaction that can span the globe.

“It just started out with me asking a regional pet food company for a donation of dog food for Red Lake Rosie’s in Minnesota,” said Sellman, a professional dog trainer and owner of a pet care business. “I called Solid Gold Northland, and one of the marketing managers there advised me that they were trying to increase the number of people who ‘liked’ them on Facebook, and that if I could get 40 new Facebook members to click on their ‘like’ button, they’d give me $200 worth of pet food.”

So Sellman, who currently volunteers for six different community groups, sent a message out to all her Facebook friends inviting them to Solid Gold Northland’s fan page on Facebook. Somehow, the invite made it to the Facebook page of The Patrick Miracle, a page devoted to the story of a two year old pitbull found by a janitor in a dumpster. Their Facebook page has charted over 109,000 “like” clicks from users. When the founders of the page posted Sellman’s invite, Solid Gold Northland received more than 2,000 new fans from all over the world in the course of about 48 hours.

“When I contacted them the next week, they were blown away by how quickly the response took off,” said Sellman, also author of the children’s book The Legend of the Wolves of Gunflint Lake (www.dreamcatcherpress.us), which contains the theme of the value of community service and which she hopes will serve to inspire others. “As a result of the combined outreach, Solid Gold Northland and Chuck and Don’s Pet Food Outlet have committed a donation of $2,000 worth of pet food, and I’ve helped to forge new friends from other countries who all care about the same things I care about. And it all started with a simple posting on Facebook because I wanted to help a local animal shelter. It’s been magical.”
Sellman’s simple act was a drop in the bucket compared to her schedule of volunteer activities. She works as an after school care volunteer at the Minneapolis Indian Center, a special events assistant at the Loft Literary Center, a volunteer marketing director for canine events at the Gunflint Lodge (the real location contained in her children’s book), and a trail staff assistant with Wilderness Inquiry, where she and her husband take disabled children and adults on outdoor adventures throughout the US. They’ve been volunteers with this organization since 1997.
“Although I work hard, I love being able to serve my community.” Sellman said. “The people in all the organizations I’m involved with, all share my values and my world view and they are my friends and my family. The people and the activities fill up my life with fun, joy and a purpose I could never have achieved any other way. It doesn’t mean that I think everyone should take the same path that I have. I know most people don’t have the time. My point is this: it only takes one simple act, one click of a mouse button to start a movement. It happened to me and it can happen to you. All you need to do is give it a shot.”

About Lisa Sellman

Lisa Sellman, owner and professional dog trainer at Aloha Pet Care & Dog Training, volunteers for half a dozen charitable organizations. She believes that community service is its own reward, a message that resonates throughout her new children’s book The Legend of the Wolves of Gunflint Lake.

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<– Boy Scouts, Bullies and Indian Creek by Dr. Bill Page

Dr. Bill Page would rather teach than do just about anything else any day of the week.
“During my career I was an educator and administrator in elementary, middle and high schools, as well as college, for 33 years,” Page said. “During that time I enjoyed serving as a Boy and Cub Scout master, and a Sunday school teacher. Through all that time, I have seen just about everything children can experience, both positive and negative, and helped these kids solve what many today see as practically unsolvable problems. For the most part, I didn’t have any special technology or divine wisdom. All I had was the head on my shoulders and the heart beating in my chest, and for 33 years those were the only tools I needed.”
Page, a PhD who in retirement became a children’s book author known as Billy D, said that he has dealt with the absolute worst kids in his school and the best ones, too. In most cases, he said that they were one and the same, just on different days.

“It doesn’t take a PhD to figure out why a kid bullies another kid, or why that kid lets the other one bully him,” said Page, author of the children’s book series The Marion Series (www.billydbooks.com). “Both kids are scared of something. The kid who is being bullied is afraid of getting beat up, and the bully is afraid of most everything. The secret is being able to connect with them and figure out what both kids are afraid of and helping them face and defeat those fears. The heart of the matter is really one of the most basic truths I know: every child is special. If you want to prevent problems, then parents and teachers simply need to remind kids of this fact on a regular basis. If you tell them often enough, they’ll begin to believe it and feel it, too.”

But as much as Page is an idealist, he also knows he has to channel that idealism to kids through some harsh realism.
“I put the characters in my books through some paces,” he said. “They encounter the challenges of responsibility, honesty, self-pride, peer pressure, sibling rivalry, and race relations. They experience the consequences of drug use, over-confidence and facing ridicule. On the other hand, my characters also see the benefits from loving people, befriending them and cooperating with others. My characters are grounded by events that are true-to-life, so that the kids who read them, who are also dealing with the realism in their lives, can relate, understand and learn.”
In that way, Page believes kids who read his stories can unconsciously see the parallels in their own lives, and learn the same lessons his characters learn in his stories.

“Is the bully somehow less special than the bullied?” he asked. “Or are both simply good kids in a bad situation who need to see that their lives can be better if they only see how special they are and the difference they can make in other lives? We all need to know where we keep our strength, the parts of ourselves that help us overcome adversities. If our children don’t learn where those places are when they’re kids, they won’t know where to find those places as adults.”

About Bill “BillyD” Page

Bill D. Page, PhD, a.k.a. BillyD, is a graduate of Marion High School, Northern Iowa, Michigan State and St. Louis Universities. He has published two books for children ages nine to twelve, and has others for children two to six near completion. Dr. Page has been a teacher at all levels of public education from elementary through graduate school in Manson and Marion, Iowa, Lincoln Park, Michigan and adjunct professor for Western Michigan University. He lives with his wife of sixty-three years in Muskegon, Michigan. They have three children, seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. He and his wife are proud to state that there have been no divorces in their immediate family, which has accumulated 181 years of marriage. (www.billydbooks.com)

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September is Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month

What we learn from children diagnosed with life threatening illnesses

They had no idea their lives would change so significantly.

Up until January 7, 2005 Ruthe Rosen enjoyed the “perfect life.” Well okay maybe it wasn’t perfect, but let’s just say it was normal. But things changed drastically overnight. Her daughter Karla was diagnosed with an inoperable tumor at the age of 14.

She was in the middle of her early teen years with all the excitement, drama, mood swings, hormones, and changes those early years entail. But then there were the headaches, that came suddenly and were so sudden and severe they would drop her to her knees in agony. After one episode they decided to go get a CT scan.

Then the phone call came. There would be no dance practice today. They found a mass growing on Karla’s nervous system.

For one year, Ruthe Rosen and her family did more than cope with the unimaginable, they embraced it. In their love and faith they found the strength to be there for Karla in every way. Karla had brain surgery and was in and out of hospitals (one stay was for an entire month). She had several sudden emergency room trips, bouncing back and forth between doctors. She endured chemo therapy and radiation treatments daily, simultaneously.

For a while, she regained her spirit and even went back to playing on the soccer field. She amazed everyone. But after a year of hopes lifted and hopes dashed, 15 year old Karla suddenly lost her fight and died of inoperable cancer.

In Never Give Up, Ruthe Rosen tells the story of how she and her family immersed themselves in the ordeal of taking care of her daughter. She discovered her daughters’ courage and unwavering optimism. She realized that although she was scared she never succumbed to self-pity or despair, and because of her spirit and uplifting outlook, neither did the people around her.

Drawing upon the wisdom and personal experiences she acquired, she skillfully takes the mystery out of the many lessons to be learned from her daughter’s experience. She describes how to provide caring support that allows the family to maintain a sense of normalcy in their lives and sustain hope as they battle the most serious illnesses. She offers important and helpful guidance for those forced to face the reality of being a caregiver for a seriously ill family member. Here are just some of the valuable insights:

Embrace the journey. Take one day at a time.

In order to embrace it, you must first accept it. You don’t have to understand it all nor be able to figure it all out, but no matter how dark your struggle, embrace every single moment of it or you will miss the opportunity to find joy and purpose.

Plan for your tomorrow but live in your today.

If you spend your time worrying about the if’s and what might’s instead of enjoying the right now’s it will rob you of your joy today. Sometimes you just have to say, “If it’s not happening and it’s not a fact, then I don’t want to talk about it.”

Reserve the right to crash at anytime. Embrace the crash when it comes.

It is okay to be sad, mad, depressed, empty, lost…embrace it! Feel! Live it! Then get the heck out of dodge so it doesn’t consume you.

Stare down your fears. Look them straight in the eyes.

Don’t turn and run, because if you can find the courage to look it in the eyes, you have just accepted one of God’s greatest gifts of strength.

Maintain a sense of normalcy and you will discover your new normal

Continuing the activities and the routines as best as possible for your other children allows them to still be kids and not bring worry and fear to them. Keep it real, and so you don’t lose yourself in the chaos of circumstances. When you find yourself experiencing rare moments of normalcy, don’t feel guilty, soak it up and enjoy it and give yourself the gift of not worrying about tomorrow.

Just because life has taken away some of our choices, doesn’t mean it has taken away all of our choices.

Make the ones still available to you. Sometimes being selfish is the most generous thing you can do you for a sick loved one.

Even if something terrible is happening doesn’t mean you can’t laugh

Find humor in the moments that you can. True laughter shared with a loved one, no matter what the circumstances is never inappropriate.

Expect days that you will doubt your faith. They will come.

And when it happens, get your strength from what you know not what you are feeling at the time. Faith isn’t about believing everything will be all right; it’s about knowing you’ll be prepared when it isn’t.

No matter what the percentage of the prognosis given to you by your doctor; living everyday with 100 percent hope is a choice. And just remember ….

After Karla died, Ruthe Rosen and her husband Michael embarked on a mission to reach out to strangers who need help and return the kindness they experienced from the remarkable girl who refused to be anything but grateful. They created The Let It Be Foundation, which helps families with children who have been diagnosed with life threatening illnesses or medical conditions. The Let It Be Foundation provides such services as housekeeping, grocery shopping and meals, opportunities for family recreation and help in meeting the needs of siblings during difficult times. They live with their sons Brandon and Cole in Chino Hills.

Proceeds from this book will benefit the Let It be Foundation www.theletitbefoundation.org

What People Are Saying

“Any mother who has a daughter will ache, mourn, and cry with Ruthe Rosen. They will be awestruck by Karla’s tenacious courage.”

-Marianne Napoles, Reporter

“Never Give Up is the most inspirational, sad-and-heart-warming-all-at-once, book that I have ever had the honor of reading.”

-Sandra E. Graham, Reviewer for www.bookpleasures.com

“This book provides a firsthand look at how one girl empowered the lives of many.”

-Book Review, www.independentpublisher.com

“Never Give Up is a much needed and welcome resource for those who face devastating illness in a loved one. I highly recommend this book. It is a beacon of hope, and a clarion call to search for and nurture the grace, love, compassion, and joy to be found in life’s most heartbreaking experiences.”

— Eve A. Wood, M.D., author of There’s Always Help; There’s Always Hope

“In Never Give Up, Ruthe Rosen shares how to let go with grace and wisdom, and confirms the power of faith in facing uncertainty. Readers will find strength to accept and learn from the losses that occur in their own lives.”

— Cynthia Wall, LCSW, author of The Courage to Trust: a guide to building deep and lasting relationships

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School has started here and I am always struggling to provide my kids with healthy choices, myself too.  Quick and convenient are always the way I want to go, but it is so not always the healthiest option.  I received this article and thought it was food for thought, so to say, for all of us.

Summer is coming to an end and kids are about to get back into the swing of school. Now is the time to take a closer look at what kind of fuel they are starting each day with. The type and variety of foods that children eat can affect their academic and physical performance, mood, behavior, and overall well-being.  The bottom line is children need good, healthy food in order to perform at their best.  Chicago Healers Practitioner Tiffany Triner, Assistant Nutritionist at Nutrition Connection Balance, LLC offers these great guidelines to better fuel kids:

Foods to avoid  

Think twice about giving your children foods with labels listing food additives, colors, preservatives, or chemical names you can’t pronounce.  Also to be excluded:

• MSG
• Artificial sweeteners and high fructose corn syrup
• Genetically modified foods
• Trans fat and hydrogenated fat
• Fruit juice from concentrate
• White and/or bleached flour products.
• Roasted or sugar coated nuts

Healthier options – getting back to basics

Think real food! Start offering your kids whole fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables, grains and unprocessed meats.  Choose foods that have not been altered from their natural state. Whether your child is 2, 12, or 22 it is never too late to change the way you think about food. Here are some healthy lunch and after-school snack choices for your family that offer flavor and variety along with nutritional benefits. 

Lunches:

• Turkey roll up:  A whole grain, rice, or corn pita, no nitrate lunch meat, lettuce or other leafy green, sliced tomato and hummus or whipped avocado as a pita dressing. 

• Almond butter sandwich:
  • 2 pieces of whole grain, sprouted grain, or gluten free bread
  • 1-2 Tablespoons of raw almond butter
  • ½ cup of mashed fresh berries or an all natural/low sugar fruit preserve

Snacks:

• A piece of fruit or vegetable slices with raw or natural nut butter
• Trail mix: mixture of raw nuts and dried raisins, cranberries and pineapple
• Mixed berries
• Rice crackers and all-natural nut butter
• Veggie bag: snow peas, green beans, carrots
• Fruit leather, dried fruit slices, or fresh fruit
• Greek yogurt and dehydrated veggie chips

About ChicagoHealers.com-Chicago Healers (www.ChicagoHealers.com) is the nation’s pioneer prescreened integrative health care network, offering a comprehensive understanding of each practitioner’s services, approach, and philosophy.  Our holistic health experts teach and advocate natural and empowered health and life choices through their practices, the media, educational events, and our website.  With close to 200 practitioners and over 300 treatment services, Chicago Healers has provided nearly 400 free educational events for Chicagoans and has been featured in 300+ TV news programs and print publications.  For more information, visit www.ChicagoHealers.com.

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I love Ecco Bella, so I had to share their latest newsletter!  Read on –

Our countdown to
Earth Day
has reached the halfway mark.
Help keep the
momentum
going to 5,000.

     You are really amazing. Just two weeks into our Earth Day countdown and we’re already pushing 2,500 Likes on our Facebook page. Thanks so much to all you Intelligent Beauties, for showing how much you cherish our Mother Earth. Let’s keep the momentum going! Earth Day will be here before you know it, on April 22.

     As a champion of the environment, Ecco Bella would like to add more Earth-minded Intelligent Beauties to our Facebook page. As soon as we reach 5,000 Facebook "Likes", everyone on our mailing list will receive an email with a $10 Thank You coupon for Ecco Bella natural products. Just click on Facebook here and share us.

     Please also visit us at Ecco Bella. You’ll discover some of nature’s best-kept beauty secrets.  And thank you for inspiring us to continue as an innovator in natural beauty, while looking out for you, animals and the planet.

From one Intelligent Beauty to another,

Sally Malanga, Founder

PS.  To help you get the most from natural products and your Ecco Bella experience, click here for your Free Beauty Consultation from our Natural Beauty Gurus. Or you can email us at producthelp@eccobella.com,  or call 877-696-2220 x 20. We love to talk!

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My mom just sent me this email and I thought it was an awesome look at what we have here in Iowa.  I don’t know who started this nor do I own any of the pictures.

When I was in beautiful Rhode Island, someone asked me, "What is so great about Iowa?" I really could not answer them at that time, except to say, "My family is there."
Then I took a trip back and remembered why Iowa is special. I would like to take you for a visual trip through my home state.
Iowa has the most beautiful skies, and wide open spaces so you can really enjoy them.

We have four seasons. Winter brings wonderful white drifts shaped like whipped cream. The world turns into a fairy land. When we have had enough of cold and snow, spring is just around the corner with it’s fields of flowers and warm days and cool nights.

Summer arrives and treats us with a reason to go swimming or to one of the many beautiful state parks. Fall brings the golden colors and relief from the intense heat. And then we start all over again.

There are cities and farms.

The hills and plains stretch for miles.

Iowa is known as the food basket of the nation.

Iowa has little boys that try very hard to be good.

And Iowans have a sense of humor.

(Side note from Heather:  That water tower has always been a landmark for our family, it meant we were almost half way to grandma’s house!)

The water tower at Adair.

Education is more important than sports, in Iowa. University of Iowa, Iowa State and Drake University.

Just to mention a few of the interesting things that crowd your schedule in Iowa. Iowa has rodeos, hot air balloons and the famous Bike Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI).

A weed is only a weed if it is growing where you don’t want it. Here are the coneflowers abundant in the Loess Hills and the tulips of Pella.

Maybe you didn’t know that the "Little Brown Church in the Wildwood" is in Iowa.
Have you seen the movie or read the book "The Bridges of Madison County"?  Yep, Madison County is right here in Iowa.

There are some famous people who came from Iowa. How about Presidents Reagan who began his public career in Des Moines (WHO radio), and President Herbert Hoover, born in West Branch in 1874. Actress Donna Reed and composer of "The Music Man", Meredith Wilson, were born and raised here.

Did you know Marion Morrison was an Iowan. Who? you say!

Hmmmmmm… I think his name is J O H N "I’m happy to say "I’m from Iowa"" Wayne. A few were missed! How about Andy Williams and Johnny Carson – both born in Iowa! Buffalo Bill Cody, Simon Estes – the great singer, William Frawley – Fred from I Love Lucy, Abigail Van Buren and Ann Landers – advice columnists, Cloris Leachman – actress, Harriet Nelson from Ozzie and Harriet, Glenn Miller the orchestra leader, Grant Wood – the artist famous for American Gothic.
Just to name a few more: The computer was invented at Iowa State University! Nylon and neoprene, the Gallup Poll, screendoors, buffered aspirin, antacid tablets, the trampoline, the Eskimo pie and the first gasoline powered tractor – - all invented in Iowa.
The Delicious apple came from Winterset, Iowa.

Wasn’t that neat?  I’m so glad I took the time to read it!

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I am an Iowan.  I know how important agriculture is to us.  It’s what runs the state.  It provides a living for all of the people who live off the land. 

I’m for almost anything that helps our farmers.

Almost.

Except for Iowa House file 589.

When I first heard about this file, I thought it was bad.

I have heard more about it and I still think it is bad for animals.

I am not a supporter of PETA because I don’t agree with the tactics they use all the time, but I do think they have done a lot of good where it concerns animal welfare. 

I think most of the family Iowa farmers take care of their animals.  They take of the land.  Most farmers are some of the biggest conservationists you will ever meet.  They live off the land, they use the meat and other products from the animals, they wouldn’t abuse that.

However, like most egg cartons, there is usually one bad cracked egg.

I keep hearing commericals about house file 589, call your congressman to support it.  That it only prevents people from misrepresenting themselves to gain employment so that they can’t go in undercover and report abuses.  That it doesn’t stop whistle blowing.

You tell me, how else are people going to know that there are abuses occurring?

Sure, the sheriff can stop by whenever he wants, investigators can stop in.  How often does that happen?  How often do you hear, this was uncovered by an inspector?  No, you hear this was uncovered by an employee video taping it and releasing it.

This law covers puppy mills as well.  Check out this video on some undercover work on a puppy mill.

This law, if it goes into effect doesn’t just cover PETA, it covers all journalists trying to blow the whistle.

Here’s a local news article about it.

Without undercover work, how else would this have been found?  or this?

This is just a way for big ag to hide these abuses and I cannot believe they have gotten our legislature behind them.  I guess that is what lobbyists are for.

If you are as disgusted by this as I am, you can contact the Iowa legislators. Please do on behalf of the animals who don’t have a voice.  There is also this petition here.  From what I understand, this has only passed the house, not the senate, as I just heard a commercial on the radio supporting this this morning.

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How many football fans do I have out here?  Or wives of football fans?  I did not know I was a wife of a football (American, not futbol, I know he loves that) fan until a couple of weeks ago.  He does most of his football watching at work because he is never home.  I caught him watching the Packers game though last Saturday and rooting for them, actually getting excited.  When did you start liking American football?  A long time ago.  Unfortunately he has to work Super Bowl Sunday but I guarantee you he’ll be sitting at the bar (at his work) during the downtime (it’s never busy when the game is on) rooting on whoever he is rooting for.  I might go over to my brother’s, not to watch the game, but to eat the food while my dad and brothers are absorbed in the game.

Guest post by Beth Feldman

Ask any football loving fan what their dream date would be and nine times out of 10 he’ll say tickets to the Super Bowl. As my father-in-law always says, “you can’t put a price on a good time,” so if you’re considering biting the bullet and treating your significant other to the ultimate “Man Date,” follow this game plan and you’ll come up a winner:

Super Bowl Tickets – You can reserve seats for the big game on StubHub – Ticket prices start at $2200 all the way up to nearly $400,000 for a coveted spot in the Hall of Fame Suite. If you’ve just won Powerball, then the Super Bowl Hall of Fame option is definitely for you. The best thing about Stub Hub is that fans are constantly buying and selling tickets on the site so you should keep checking back to see what’s available or hedge your bets, and lock in right now!

Flights – While you can always hit the websites for your favorite airlines, my suggestion is to head over to Trip Advisor where you can select whether you’d like to take a non-stop or connecting flight and they arrange everything by price. Plus, there are ratings by customers on which flights they prefer.

Reservations – Head on over to the Arlington, Texas website which has detailed information on hotels in the area. You can aim for the Ritz Carlton, Hilton or a motel (if you’ve blown all your cash on the Super Bowl tix.) Rental Car – If you’re flying into Dallas/Ft. Worth airport, then head on over to

RentalCars.com for a breakdown of all the rental car facilities near the airport. That way, you can choose from a diverse array of options and price points.

Things to Do While in Arlington – If you’re in town for the weekend, visit the NFL Super Bowl website for details about some great charity events taking place throughout the weekend that feature appearances by NFL players. Plus, the City of Arlington’s official website also offers suggestions for attractions and dining options in the area.

Parking Finding parking at a football game is never easy, and the Super Bowl is no different. Luckily, ParkWhiz.com has the scoop on Cowboys Stadium parking with over 40 Super Bowl parking locations for you to choose from. The site is super easy to use, and you can print you parking pass instantly – no worrying if the Postal Service will deliver your ticket on time.

You can even win free parking for the Super Bowl by entering ParkWhiz’s Twitter contest. Follow @ParkWhiz on Twitter, re-tweet this link http://bit.ly/gBPrxv and be entered to win. One winner randomly selected.

So there you have it – treat your significant other to the ultimate “Man Date” and by the time Valentine’s Day hits, you should be on the receiving end of something big and sparkly.

Disclosure: The post was sponsored by the Role Mommy Writer’s Network.

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