Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Michael Phelps has an inspirational story beyond the gold

I love this article. It was in the NY Times this weekend. I don't know about all of you, but as a parent I worry constantly about my kids and how I'm doing at raising them. Michael Phelps' mom was told by a grade school teacher that he 'will never be able to focus on anything'. After he was diagnosed with ADHD he needed his mother's support since he wasn't getting it at school for the most part...As I'm typing this he is one gold medal away from breaking a world record.

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Friends of Randy Marks Family BBQ

Friends of Randy Marks Family BBQ

Saturday, August 9th from 12-5 pm
At Marucci Park, Spring Lake

3 Bands - Blue Highway
Green Underground
Eight Balls
Great Food
Beer Garden
Clowns
Facepainting
Pony Rides
Cotton Candy
Popcorn

Tickets: $25.00 Adults/$10.00 kid (6-12)

Skate and Paint a skateboard deck

All - I got the following email from Om Baby Yoga studio in Pt Pleasant Beach. It's a great studio and the owner is awesome, she is always doing funky clinics like this for kids...it sounds like a ton of fun for the right age group...

Skate and Paint a skateboard deck
With pro-skater Danny Morin.
Skate films, snacks, ramp outside,
stations to express yourself on your deck, stickers, paint, markers, etc.
All ages!
(don’t have to be a skater or an artist to have a great time.)
$55 includes the event and your deck
Saturday August 30th 12-2 p.m.
Inside Om Baby World Arts Studio
726 Arnold Ave Point Pleasant Beach
ombabyyoga.com 732-899- (YOGA)

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

U.S. Open Tickets

FYI: My sister's friend has U.S. Open tickets that she wants to sell. I copied the email below. Please let me know if anyone is interested.

Hi Erin - Please pass along the following information to anyone you think may be interested in attending evening sessions of the US Open in NYC. The tickets are part of a ticket package purchased by a friend of mine in Atlanta. She is not able to use all of the tickets and is offering them at face value, first come first served. Basically she has 4 evening tickets for sale for Sunday, August 31st, and Monday, September 1st - this is Labor Day weekend. This is an ideal time to go to the Open as there are always lots of great matches to see before Championship weekend. Her message to me is shown below. Thanks! Colleen

I have four tickets to the US Open tennis tournament available for sale
for Labor Day weekend. The tickets are for various sessions and allow
admission to the Billie Jean King Tennis Center, including: 22 side
courts, The Grandstand stadium (unreserved seating day and night), Louis
Armstrong stadium (unreserved seating day and night) and reserved
seating for both day and evening sessions at Arthur Ashe Stadium
(Section 323, Row S, Seats 15-18).

The only sessions I have left are as follows:
Evening session, Sunday, August 31, 4 p.m., $70/ticket
Evening session, Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 1, 4 p.m., $70/ticket

Please let me know if you have any interest in them or please feel free
to pass on to anyone whom you can think of who may be interested. The
tickets will be overnighted to me at the end of July, and I can in turn
send them on.

StarBUCKS

So if you are addicted as I am you will be happy to know that when you visit a Starbucks in the mornings now thru September, you keep your receipt and bring it back in an afternoon before Sep and get any grande iced drink for 2 bucks. Unfortunately, that is a deal (at least for my drink, and many others).

Monday, August 4, 2008

Danielle (de Stephen) de Mancinelli had a baby boy!


Leonardo Marcus was born this AM, ultimately via C-section, weighing 7 lbs, 4 ozs...all are doing well!

Friday, August 1, 2008

Lessons from a Rapist

This is somewhat lengthy but worth reading.
A group of rapists and date rapists in prison were interviewed on what they look for in a potential victim and here are some interesting facts:
1) The first thing men look for in a potential victim is hairstyle. They are most likely to go after a woman with a ponytail, bun, braid or other hairstyle that can easily be grabbed . They are also likely to go after a woman with long hair .. Women with short hair are not common targets.
2) The second thing men look for is clothing.. They will look for women who's clothing is easy to remove quickly. Many of them carry scissors around specifically to cut clothing.
3) They also look for women on their cell phone, searching through their purse, or doing other activities while walking because they are off-guard and can be easily overpowered.
4) Men are most likely to attack & rape in the early morning, between 5: 00a.m. and 8:30a.m.
5) The number one place women are abducted from/attacked is grocery store parking lots. The number two: office parking lots/garages. Number three: public restrooms.
6) The thing about these men is that they are looking to grab a woman and quickly move her to another location where they don't have to worry about getting caught.
7) Only 2% said they carried weapons because rape carries a 3-5 year sentence but rape with a weapon is 15-20 years.
8) If you put up any kind of a fight at all, they get discouraged because it only takes a minute or two for them to realize that going after you isn't worth it because it will be time-consuming.
9) These men said they would not pick on women who have umbrellas, or other similar objects that can be used from a distance, in their hands.Keys are NOT a deterrent because you have to get really close to the attacker to use them as a weapon. So, the idea is to convince these guys you're not worth it.
10) Several defense mechanisms he taught us are: If someone is following behind you on a street or in a garage or with you in an elevator or stairwell, look them in the face and ask them a question, like what time is it?, or make general small talk: 'I can't believe it is so cold out here,' 'We're in for a bad winter.' Now you've seen their face and could identify them in a line-up; you lose appeal as a target.
11) If someone is coming toward you, hold out your hands in front of you and yell STOP! or STAY BACK! Most of the rapists this man talked to said they'd leave a woman alone if she yelled or showed that she would not be afraid to fight back. Again, they are looking for an EASY target.
12) If you carry pepper spray (this instructor was a huge advocate of it and carries it with him wherever he goes), yell I HAVE PEPPER SPRAY and holding it out will be a deterrent.
13) If someone grabs you, you can't beat them with strength but you can by outsmarting them. If you are grabbed around the waist from behind, pinch the attacker either under the Arm (between the elbow and armpit) OR in the upper inner thigh VERY VERY HARD. One woman in a class this guy taught told him she used the underarm pinch on a guy who was trying to date rape her and was so upset she broke through the skin and tore out muscle strands - the guy needed stitches. Try pinching yourself in those places as hard as you can stand it - it hurts.
14) After the initial hit, always GO for the GROIN. I know from a particularly unfortunate experience that if you slap a guy's parts it is extremely painful. You might think that you'll anger the guy and make him want to hurt you more, but the thing these rapists told our instructor is that they want a woman who will not cause a lot of trouble. Start causing trouble and he's out of there.
15) When the guy puts his hands up to you, grab his first two fingers and bend them back as far as possible with as much pressure pushing down on them as possible. The instructor did it to me without using much pressure, and I ended up on my knees and both knuckles cracked audibly.
16) Of course the things we always hear still apply. Always be aware of your surroundings, take someone with you if you can and if you see any odd behavior, don't dismiss it, go with your instincts!!!You may feel a little silly at the time, but you'd feel much worse if the guy really was trouble.
1. Tip from Tae Kwon Do : The elbow is the strongest point on your body. If you are close enough to use it, do!
2. Learned this from a tourist guide in New Orleans : If a robber asks for your wallet and/or purse, DO NOT HAND IT TO HIM. Toss it away from you....chances are that he is more interested in your wallet and/or purse than you, and he will go for the wallet/purse. RUN LIKE MAD IN THE OTHER DIRECTION!
3. If you are ever thrown into the trunk of a car, kick out the back tail lights and stick your arm out the hole and start waving like crazy. The driver won't see you, but everybody else will. This has saved lives.
4. Women have a tendency to get into their cars after shopping, eating, working, etc., and just sit (doing their checkbook, or making a list, etc.) DON'T DO THIS! The predator will be watching you, and this is the perfect opportunity for him to get in on the passenger side, put a gun to your head, and tell you where to go. AS SOON AS YOU GET INTO YOUR CAR, LOCK THE DOORS AND LEAVE.a. If someone is in the car with a gun to your head DO NOT DRIVE OFF, repeat: DO NOT DRIVE OFF! Instead gun the engine and speed into anything, wrecking the car. Your Air Bag will save you. If the person is in the back seat they will get the worst of it. As soon as the car crashes bail out and run. It is better than having them find your body in a remote location.
5 A few notes about getting into your car in a parking lot or parking garage:
A.) Be aware: look around you, look into your car, at the passenger side floor, and in the back seat.
B.) If you are parked next to a big van, enter your car from the passenger door. Most serial killers attack their victims by pulling them into their vans while the women are attempting to get into their cars.
C.) Look at the car parked on the driver's side of your vehicle, and the passenger side. If a male is sitting alone in the seat nearest your car, you may want to walk back into the mall, or work, and get a guard/policeman to walk you back out.IT IS ALWAYS BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY. (And better paranoid than dead.)
6. ALWAYS take the elevator instead of the stairs. (Stairwells are horrible places to be alone and the perfect crime spot. This is especially true at NIGHT!)
7. If the predator has a gun and you are not under his control, ALWAYS RUN! The predator will only hit you (a running target) 4 in 100 times. And even then, it most likely WILL NOT be a vital organ. RUN, preferably in a zigzag pattern!
8. As women, we are always trying to be sympathetic: STOP! It may get you raped or killed. Ted Bundy, the serial killer, was a good-looking, well-educated man, who ALWAYS played on the sympathies of unsuspecting women. He walked with a cane, or a limp, and often asked 'for help' into his vehicle or with his vehicle, which is when he abducted his next victim.
9. Another Safety Point: Someone just told me that her friend heard a crying baby on her porch the night before last, and she called the police because it was late and she thought it was weird. The police told her 'Whatever you do, DO NOT open the door.'The lady then said that it sounded like the baby had crawled near a window, and she was worried that it would crawl to the street and get run over. The policeman said, 'We already have a unit on the way, whatever you do, DO NOT open the door.' He told her that they think a serial killer has a baby's cry recorded and uses it to coax women out of their homes thinking that someone dropped off a baby. He said they have not verified it, but have had several calls by women saying that they hear baby's cries outside their doors when they're home alone at night.Please pass this on and DO NOT open the door for a crying baby --- This should be taken seriously because the Crying Baby theory was mentioned on America's Most Wanted this past Saturday when they profiled the serial killer in Louisiana