Category Archives: BlogHer

packing up and sending off one of my babies

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Well I did it!

With a big gulp and a little tear, I bravely packed up and sent off one of my babies. It was hard, so very hard. Letting go a part of you from a special place in your heart is so very hard! Other people will see her, hear her, perhaps judge her…not too harshly please.

This morning I submitted one of my blog posts to audition for Listen To Your Mother Sacramento.

Oh the stress and agony of it all! To choose just one and then sharing it. I know I lay it all out bare naked here but this was hard to do. Still I knew I must be brave and just do it. After seeing and falling in love with the LTYM Open Mic Salon at BlogHer11 in San Diego, I knew that some day I wanted to audition for this production.  Directed and produced by stay-at-home humorist Ann Imig, LTYM is a “national series of live readings by local writers giving Mother’s Day a microphone.” With this circus act of mine I have so many stories to share…too many stories to share…like any other mother or grandmother or daughter or son out there. And so, with a little…okay, a lot of encouragement I chose a story to share.

Do you have a story to share? I bet you do. “Remember, regular everyday people with a story to tell make up the heart of LTYM. You don’t need to call yourself a writer. You don’t need any performing experience. You just need to share the story in your heart or on your mind.” Submissions for LTYM Sacramento are being accepted now until February 13. If you are a Sacramento or Central Valley area blogger, writer, mother, grandmother, daughter or son with a story to tell please consider sharing it and submitting it to LTYM Sacramento.

 

 

where’s Laura at BlogHer12?

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Sadly, not there.

I know.

It’s disappointing.

BlogHer is back in New York City again this year and I have no doubt whatsoever that it will not disappoint:
with keynote addresses featuring Martha Stewart, Katie Couric, Soledad O’Brien, Christy Turlington-Burns, Malaak Compton-Rock, amazing breakout sessions of all kinds covering writing, photography, politics, activism, tech stuff, social media, family, health and, ahem, erotica…and that is just barely scratching the surface on what will be talked about, another chance to run through Central Park in the BlogHer 5K, renewing friendships and making new ones, plus how could I forget the parties.

Yes, I do wish that I was there again this year. But life and family gets in the way comes first…definitely comes first…absolutely. No I won’t be back in NYC, I will be cleverly disguised as a dance mom accompanying my daughter, Jodie, at the last dance convention/competition of this season. We will be at Nationals in Lake Tahoe. I’m going to miss the action of BlogHer but I will be fine I am sure. I get to see my girl dance her heart out some more and quite possibly to bring home even more awards as well enjoy some time just taking in some pretty breath taking views that is Lake Tahoe, while she attends all kinds of dance workshops. And while she is busy dancing her heart out, I can still keep up with the action at BlogHer thanks to Laurie hosting this year’s BlogHer@Home.

I know, but I won’t technically be at home…but I won’t be there…at BlogHer. Thank goodness Laurie and others will be keeping us up to date with all that will be happening as well as hooking us up with some giveaways. There will be several giveaways they will host between now and the end of the conference on Saturday, August 4, with some great contributions from conference sponsors, as well as one really nice prize from BlogHer at the end. The first is a giveaway of one of BlogHer’s official swag bags. Trust me, these are bags to be had and yes, I want one.

Oh yes, I am down with BlogHer@Home. If you will be there, I will miss you lots. But if like me you can’t be there in NYC, I hope that you join the fun with BlogHer@Home.

Disclosure: not only is this blog post announcing that I won’t be at BlogHer12 but it also serves as my sweepstakes entry for the swag bag giveaway. It’s not too late for you to join in too.

that’s what friends are for

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You gotta love social media. Yes, I know some days you can’t help but hate it…the drama, the “vague-booking”, the time suck. But some days you just have to love social media. The last couple of days I have loved it.

My friend, Tracey, was running her very first marathon back home in Pittsburgh. She trained well for it and, thanks to Facebook, I was able to follow her in her training all along the way. I was so excited for her…her very first marathon!!! I was also a little nervous for her too…a worrisome foot injury late in her training schedule and the typical race-eve freak out…I couldn’t help but be worried a little…it’s what I do. More than anything, I wanted to be there…to cheer for her at the start, along the route and at the finish…because I know how much fun it can be…but more importantly, because Tracey is my friend and I wanted to be there just as I have felt like I have been throughout her training that she has shared. I set my alarm to remind me while at work early, early Sunday morning, west coast time, to send out a shout out wishing her luck and I began to follow her posted split times as well as #PittsburghMarathon live tweet updates.

Okay, fine. It wasn’t like I was there but then again it was…kind of sort of.

It was then on my Instagram feed I saw my friend Kim had posted an amazing shot of one of the elite runners running past her. It was a great capture indeed…air under the guy’s feet as if he was running through the air rather than on the pavement…you know, like us mere mortals who try to run. I KNOW that it had to be exciting as I once got to see running greatness run past me…in the opposite direction…while running in the San Jose Rock and Roll Half Marathon. Excited I messaged Kim and told her how Tracey was running in the same event and just might be running by her soon…okay, later…still Tracey was headed her way! Kim messaged me back asking, “How can I spot her? I’m at mile 16. Would love to cheer her on.” Kim and I send back and forth messages with me trying to describe Tracey and then I send her a screen shot of Tracey with her running bib. An hour later I receive another message, “We just saw Tracey! I think we gave her a nice boost at mile 16!“, followed by, “Wish I could have lined up a few more folks to cheer for her.“

Oh yeah, Kim is good people. She even came to my aid during BlogHer 11 with a dose of Tylenol…yes, it was part of her calling card but it helped me out and how can one ever forget that…oh, and I enjoyed sitting with her and sharing during a session or two. Even better, thanks to social media, I get to enjoy Kim’s company a lot and get to remind myself of the wonderful things that I miss about back home in Pittsburgh and that which makes Pittsburgh Someplace Special. Some pretty good people live there…like Tracey…like Kim.

It was after the race that I saw a posting on her Facebook wall from Tracey:

I’m home, icing every part of my body, reflecting on the day. A marathon isn’t fun or easy but parts of it did rock…My teammates, friends, fellow athletes! Laura Scarborough Setting up a surprise cheering section from 3000 miles away! The band at mile 9.29 playing Take the Skin Heads Bowling! Getting hosed down by a hot fireman in E Liberty! Knowing my Dad was with me every step of the way! My coaches Phil Thompson & Drew McCabe crossing the finish line with me! Best running partner Kathie O’Donnell finishing the last mile together!

Reading that made me cry…cry happy tears because although we can’t be face to face every day and we can’t just hop in a car and drive on over to be there for one another, I have some pretty amazing friends out there and thanks to the interwebs and a whole lot of social media I know that we can and are there for each other to support and encourage each other…to cry together…to pray together…to laugh together…tell me how and where to bury a body, you know, if I had to…to just be there for each other. It’s a small circle still it is a circle that has expanded my world in a way that I could never imagine…even when I am feeling alone here in Manteca. I have some pretty awesome friends…friends like Tracey, like Ann, like Kim, like Kari, like Kale, like Jenn, like Bill…I am so lucky…even if you all aren’t physically just around the corner.

Love you Tracey! Love you Kim! I hope that someday I can hook you two up…perhaps while taking in a game at PNC Park.

And one more time, congratulations Tracey!!! I am thrilled and honored to have cheered you on this weekend. You. Are. Awesome.

just five minutes

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NASA / SDO and the AIA Consortium This SDO image (AIA 193) shows an M9-class solar flare erupting on the sun's northeastern hemisphere at 03:49 UT on Monday, just four days after a previous strong CME that sparked aurora around the world. More geomagnetic activity is expected.

Watching the news report of the recent solar storms I find myself remembering when I finally met Susan face to face. Our conversation was brief…five, maybe ten minutes. Perhaps it was a little bit longer. We were both at BlogHer10 and myself, and others, were in the afterglow of Susan speaking at the Voices of Year Community Keynote. I tried not to gush too much meeting a woman whose blog I adored. I tried not to be too starstruck. I have been told that I tend to do that when I meet those who inspire me in real life.

Thank goodness Susan made it so easy with her warm smile and laughing eyes. We made small talk while we sipped our drinks and waited in line to have our palms read at the BlogHer party. We talked about science and just how cool science is. I then confessed that I dropped Physics in high school because I was struggling so much and was afraid of my precious GPA dropping. I loved science…life sciences. The physical sciences I just did not get.

See how easily I can embarrass myself when I am starstruck?

But ever the scientist, ever the teacher, Susan patiently explained how really they are intertwined and connected offering up NASA’s Life and Physical Science Program as an example. That’s Susan, always teaching, always encouraging, always making her audience more aware…and when we should be already aware, she calls us to stand up and take action beyond silly Facebook games. And Susan has taught in her writings, in her conversations, in her life to be grateful. Even grateful in the exhausting, chaotic tedium of this life we have.

Our face to face encounter was perhaps just five minutes but it is one that I won’t soon forget. I know I will never forget Susan.

Thinking of you Susan.

breakfast with Bob

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…probably wouldn’t include this.

and DEFINITELY would not have been this!

I may or may not have indulged in such things recently.

Don’t tell Bob!

During a recent opportunity (yes, I’m still talking about BlogHer three weeks later!) to have breakfast with Bob Harper, of The Biggest Loser, I did indeed sit this close to Bob. Although he seemed to be as warm, open, honest and funny as he is on the NBC reality show, I chose to not share the indulgences that I may or may not have enjoyed with him. Instead I remembered to say hello to him from Shredheads‘ Kristen and Bill. I also made him laugh because I used the word “dude” in a sentence. I then asked him to share some advice and wisdom for those of us who work all night and sleep all day as to how to maintain our health and fitness.  He laughed again when I referred to myself as Vampira, the Night Shift Nurse. Obviously the dude has never worked all night and then found himself blinded by the early morning sun as his day, er, night of work has ended…it burns!

Bob’s advice to me, and other Vampiras and Vampires who work the o’dark-thirty shift is this:

  • nutrition is #1
  • nutrition is #2
  • exercise is #3
  • sleep is in there…somewhere…ideally 6-8 hours…anyone who works 12 hour shifts like I do is now laughing hysterically right now.

But I think Bob kind of got that part since I emphasized that I work twelve hour shifts overnight. What he offered to me is something I already know: eat 30 minutes after waking up (regardless of the time of day or night), eat small meals containing protein and complex carbs every four hours and that last meal before bedtime (day or night) should contain little or no carbs. I know this as do anyone else in healthcare. But a lot of us in the healthcare industry don’t always walk the talk that we advise patients. No we don’t.

Bob also emphasized something that I have come to realize over the last few years of shredding and running and just moving: exercise, moving your body is so crucial to feel healthy and keep going and stay young.

Following his advice and wisdom focusing on good nutrition, moving my body and getting enough sleep…okay, trying to get enough sleep makes occasional indulgences like these that I may have or may have not recently consumed okay….OCCASIONALLY! But for now, today I need to get off the couch and move. Perhaps I might get moving with one of Bob’s dvds thinking how I sat that close to Bob one day and made him laugh…or perhaps I will just get out and run.

But I will definitely get moving.

What about you?