Hollye Jacobs's Blog, page 11

Monday Movie: The Theory of Everything

A MUST-SEE film this season is “The Theory of Everything” directed by James Marsh and written by Anthony McCarten. The cast includes: Eddie Redmayne as Stephen Hawking and  Felicity Jones as Jane Hawking. I hope that they are already planning their awards season outfits because they are sure going to need them!

This is the extraordinary story of one of the world’s greatest living minds, the renowned astrophysicist Stephen Hawking, who falls deeply in love with fellow Cambridge student Jane Wilde. Once a healthy, active young man, Hawking received an earth-shattering diagnosis at 21 years of age. With Jane fighting tirelessly by his side, Stephen embarks on his most ambitious scientific work, studying the very thing he now has precious little of – time.

Together, they defy impossible odds, breaking new ground in medicine and science, and achieving more than they could ever have dreamed, including the publication of a wildly popular physics book, A Brief History of Time (can’t say that I have read it!) and becoming one of the most beloved figures in science, academia and pop culture.

The film is based on the memoir “Travelling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen,” by Jane Hawking. It is simultaneously heartbreaking and inspiring; raw and uplifting.  I can’t recommend it highly enough!

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Should Your Birthplace Determine Your Future?

Wow, what a Silver Lining to learn about Jacob Lief and the Ubuntu Education Fund in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Their mission is “to help raise Port Elizabeth’s orphaned and vulnerable children by giving them what all children deserve—everything.”  Now if this sounds a little grand, let me tell you that it’s actually not. The Ubuntu Model is a unique and internationally recognized approach to philanthropy because they are redefining the theory of going to scale. By focusing on the depth rather than the breadth of impact, the Ubuntu Model operates at society’s most basic unit—the family. They commit to children by creating individualized, flexible plans to address the challenges they face. Their model’s guiding philosophy is inherently simple; it is innovative only because very few organizations operate on this principle.

As Lief said, “A bigger-faster-cheapter mentality permeates this (nonprofit) industry.  They try to quantify impact by output: ‘How many textbooks did a nonprofit distribute?’ ‘How many bed nets to prevent malaria?’ In the beginning we also adopted this model; we built libraries and computer labs. But as months passed I watched students with new textbooks fall behind academically because they were too hungry to focused. I realized that we were addressing only the facets of poverty.” So the fund provides food security, medical services, psychosocial support, career guidance and more.

The Should Your Birthplace Determine Your Future? photo exhibit came about when children enrolled in Ubuntu’s Early Childhood Development program were asked about their dreams and hopes for their futures. The young childhood aspirations that they told are brought to life by Tim Hans in these photographs, taken in front of their homes. In these images, we vividly see the stark contrast between the impoverished community in which these children live, and their high hopes for a future bursting with opportunity. The Ubuntu Education Fund and Diplomatic Courier (a sponsor of the initiative) fundamentally believe that each child’s dreams should become reality depending not on where they are from, but on what is inside them. How great is that?!?!

The result is an inspiring, hopeful and engaging photo series that will be on display at Manhattan’s Chelsea Market early next year. This is such a unique, iconoclastic approach to seeing the potential of children.

 

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Alcohol Use During the Holiday Season

Recently I came across a fabulous article about alcohol use during the holiday season.  It was pretty perfect timing, I have to say.  As we enter the holiday season, filled with parties, bubbly and amazing food, each year I join the legions and put on a few lbs. In fact – in the spirit of full disclosure – after a couple of glasses of yummy champagne, I am much more inclined to do a face plant on the dessert table and have been known on occasion to chase waiters into the kitchen for seconds (or thirds!) on a particularly delish appetizer.

The thing of it is that for me – someone post-FBC – putting on weight is not ok.  Truth be told, after this fall of travel, I am already a few pounds heavier than my normal weight.  When I told my oncologist this, he wasn’t happy and reminded me that it is NOT GOOD for me to yo-yo.  I know. I know.

This is why I have decided that rather than do a January cleanse, I am going to do one in December. For me this will mean abstaining from alcohol, sugar and white food.  I know that it will be difficult, but I will remind myself how much better I will feel, which is a great Silver Lining!

Here is the info from  MyFitnessPal about alcohol consumption during the holidays. I found it to be pretty doggone fascinating and also quite motivating!:

Alcohol is the second most potent source of calories  Partying with alcohol is fun because we like feeling intoxicated, but this intoxication comes with a caloric price tag. One gram of alcohol is 7 calories, which is more than one gram of carbohydrate (4 calories) and protein (4 calories) but less than one gram of fat (9 calories).
We don’t burn extra calories to metabolize alcohol  Not like we do from digesting carbs, fat and protein. This phenomenon, called the “thermic effect of food”, refers to the energy we use to digest food into small, absorbable components. Because alcohol is so easy to absorb, it enters our bloodstream without burning any extra calories.
Your liver does the dirty work  Because alcohol is seen as a toxin, the liver prioritizes metabolizing alcohol first (get in line, fat…it’s not your turn!) which means you won’t be burning calories from other sources while that happens. The liver is only able to clear alcohol at a rate of around one ounce liquor per hour, which is why consuming more than this will leave you feeling tipsy.
Alcohol makes your blood sugar drop, making you want to reach for carbs  The liver helps keep our blood sugar steady, but a liver busy at work metabolizing alcohol can’t do this effectively, causing your blood sugar drops and stays low until the alcohol is metabolized. This explains why you crave carbs and wake up the next day with a headache.
Alcohol calories that aren’t burned will be stored as fat  This is true for all extra calories eaten no matter the source, but what makes alcohol calories worse is that they are stored in your liver first. It takes time for the liver to ship out the alcohol-induced fat for proper storage in your fat cells. If the liver doesn’t do this fast enough (or if you drink too much, too often) the fat stays stuck in your liver and around your abdomen giving you what we refer to jovially as a “beer belly.”

Here are their tips to help prevent you from gaining too much of your holiday cheer:

Pour yourself half as much. This will help you limit yourself to one or two drinks per party.
Avoid higher calorie mixed drinks like eggnog, margaritas, mudslides, or other sugary mixed drinks–or have one and consider it dessert.
Alternate between having alcohol and water to stay well hydrated.
Sip slowly and take the time of enjoy your alcoholic beverage.
Keep your alcohol budget at or below 200 calories. Pick these lower calorie alcohol alternatives:

Red or white wine: 5 ounces | Calories; 125, Carbohydrate: 4g
Light beer: 12 ounces | Calories: 100; Carbohydrate: 5g
Champagne: 5 ounces | Calories: 100; Carbohydrate: 1g
Vodka, whiskey, rum or gin: 1.5 ounces | Calories: 96; Carbohydrate: 0g

Wishing you a Happy and Healthy Holiday Season!

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Gift Ideas: Brass Desk Accessories

Gift Ideas: Brass Desk Accessories

Ever since I was a little girl, I have always been infatuated by anything and everything related to offices, from bookshelves to accessories. When I was a little girl, I remember going with my dad and sister to his office on Sunday mornings and being in heaven sitting at his secretary’s desk (before they were called “assistants”).  Recently I found these desk accessories and I fell in looooooove. I’m not sure if it’s their vintage style or matted gold color but these accessories are seriously adorable and would make a perfect gift for the geeky girl in your life! Here a few pictures of the golden ruler, oversized paper clips, a pencil case (who cares if it will be most likely used to put jewelry in instead!), and a pretty gold pencil to match!

Lucent Desk Collection $24-68

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All in a Word

Love love love this inspiring peace by Aileen Fisher!  It is the most perfect and beautiful reminder of giving T.H.A.N.K.S. this holiday weekend!

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Tips for Hosting Thanksgiving Dinner

Dinner parties have a tendency to give me the heebie-jeebies, no matter how few people we have or how many. Now the Silver Lining of this angst is that this is  definitely a first world problem.  I mean, really.  Sometimes when I get myself all worked up, I tell myself to look in the mirror and remind myself that I’m not bald from chemo. This always gives me a great deal of perspective.

Every year we have between 3 and 10 people to our home for Thanksgiving.  Why? Well because I love nothing more than having people over and Thanksgiving happens to be one of my absolute favorite holidays. I have a tendency to be more relaxed when hosting Thanksgiving; however, I do have a few nerve bugs that rear their head.  Recently, I found Shauna Niequist’s blog and the absolute perfect post about hosting Thanksgiving.

Hope you enjoy Shauna’s tips as much as I am!  I happen to think that most of her tips (below) apply to a dinner party in general.

Ten Thoughts for Hosting Thanksgiving

Remember: it’s about the gathering, not about the food. This is the most important thing to keep in mind. I know Thanksgiving might be the most food-driven of all holidays, but the people are always more important than the food. The gathering is what’s significant…that’s what you remind yourself when the turkey’s taking forever or the stuffing’s dry. And it’s TRUE.
Stay classic. This is not the holiday to flout tradition. People become quite cranky if you don’t have, say, cranberry sauce or French fried onions on top of the green bean casserole. This is not the time to surprise people with a wild South-of-the-Border feast, or a beautiful spread of sushi. I have made this mistake, and people were not happy.
Ask for help.  No one, and I repeat, no one, should cook a Thanksgiving meal alone. Ask each guest to bring something, and invite a few people over to help set the table, prep veggies, etc. It’s always more fun together, and people like to be included in the process. Feel free to be specific about what to bring, and give people clear tasks when they ask how they can help.
Invite people into meaningful conversation.  If you’re not intentional, a whole day with family and friends can go by without a focused moment or conversation. It’s especially easy to let it pass because you’re stressed about all the food prep. Plan ahead–a question on the back of every placecard, or conversation cards scattered on the table. If you’re hosting, take the opportunity to invite deeper connection around your table. Feel free to be quite directive about it–it feels awkward in the moment, sometimes, but I find that people are always thankful afterward. People want to connect deeply, but it often takes one person to create an environment that allows it.
Simple table idea: cover table with butcher paper or kraft paper, and then decorate it with words and pictures–and if kids can do this, all the better. Set jars filled with colored pencils all over the table, so that people can doodle and add to the decorations. Sometimes people get really stressed out at big holidays, feeling like they have to have some spectacular tablescape–cornucopias! Gourds! A woodland village! If that’s your jam, go for it, definitely. But if that makes you feel tremendously overwhelmed, don’t worry about it. Butcher paper, pencils–voila! Simple and fun, and a great way to get kids involved.
No scented candles. This is an all-the-time hosting thing. Candles are lovely–the more, the better…but no scented candles to get all mixed up with the great food smells. There is nothing worse than candy-cane candle smell times stuffing smell.
Don’t go overboard on hors d’oeuvres.  People are serious about Thanksgiving food, and most of them are practicing some sort of complex strategy for how to consume a staggering amount of both turkey and pie. You can’t win with lots of appetizers–if you have tons, and people eat them all, then they’ll be angry with you for filling up their stomachs, stealing their pie space. But if they don’t touch them, practicing their strategy, then you’ll feel bad about all the time you spent wrapping pigs in their yummy little blankets.
Spatchcock your turkey.  I know. I know. It sounds illegal. But it’s a serious time-and-complexity saver. Here’s a post that explains it all, but basically, you’re cutting through the backbone so that the turkey can lay flat, allowing it to cook quickly and evenly. Jackpot! I know this doesn’t allow for the beautiful presentation of the whole bird, but I think it’s worth it, for the crispy skin and the even cooking. And all the extremely obvious jokes.
Double the mashed potatoes.  Trust me.
Supply leftover containers.  This is a serious sacrifice, I know, and there is a tendency to want to hoard all the delicious leftovers, but really: you can’t eat as many as you think, and it is such a lovely touch to have to-go containers at the ready, so that everyone can pack up the perfect leftover meal.

After finding Shauna, I am ordering her book, Bread and Wine: A love letter to life around the table with recipes. Bread & Wine is a collection of essays about family relationships, friendships, and the meals that bring us together. It is a celebration of food shared, reminding readers of the joy found in a life around the table. Sounds pretty fab to me!

What are some of your favorite Thanksgiving tips, tricks and recipes? What advice would you give to someone who’s hosting Thanksgiving, possibly for the first time?

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What Food Banks Need

On Thursday, the three of us (the HOTY, Excitedly Eight and I) are going to serve Thanksgiving Dinner at a homeless shelter in Santa Barbara. Now that Excitedly Eight is old enough, it is a tradition that we are going to begin not only annually, but monthly. I’m a huge believer in cultivating a philanthropic heart, mind and body in young children and now is the perfect time.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity tour a Food Bank in Santa Barbara.  Boy oh boy was I ever inspired….so much so that I’m going to do an entire post on it; however in the meantime, I would like to share the most important message from the Food Bank:  please give us what we need. Below is  great list that I found that includes many the things needed to fill the shelves – especially this time of the year.

Cash or checks – this one came up the most. Food banks can stretch your dollar as much as  three times  via  government programs. Also, they can use money to buy large quantities of the most needed items, rather than having to rely on volunteers to sort and organize the random items that are donated.
Meals in a can (stew, chili, soup)
Tuna and canned meat
Peanut butter
Bags of individually wrapped silverware from take-out orders. Heaven knows that we have a drawer-full of them. The Silver Lining is that I saved them for some reason, THIS reason!
Canned foods with pop-top lids
Low-sugar cereals
100% fruit juices in single serving boxes
Dried fruits because refrigeration is not always possible.
Canned fruit packed in juice
Canned vegetables (low salt)
Allergy-friendly foods – Dairy-, Gluten- and Peanut-free options.
Personal sized toiletries found in hotel rooms.
Toothbrushes, floss and toothpaste. 
Re-usable shopping bags to transport everything, often via public transportation.

My top suggestion is to call your local Food Bank and ask what they need.  This is the season to give Thanks and there is no better way to say thank you than to pay it forward!

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Breast Cancer Tattoo Removal

One of the constant reminders of my experience with FBC (f-bomb breast cancer) is my tattoos from radiation. Now, granted they are small, the size of pen dots. Most people wouldn’t even notice them.  The people who would and do are the people who have had them. You know who you are, unfortunately. I have long contemplated having them removed, but am still on the fence about it.

As you may recall from my radiation posts, doctors often tattoo cancer patients with black dots in order to pinpoint where to do the radiation treatments. The dots are super useful during radiation, but the truth is that they can be a painful reminder for many people such as myself about the FBC experience.

“Every time I saw them, it was a reminder of a very difficult time in my life. Having [the dots] removed was really important to me, just to get that part of my life behind me,” said & my awesome & inspiring friend Rebecca McCabe, who underwent both surgery and six weeks of radiation for FBC in 2011. I know exactly how she feels…and know quite a few other people who feel the same way.

Recently, I learned about a local Virginia business that  is stepping up to help people who have had FBC. UnTattooU in Vienna, Virginia (what a great name for a town, right?) is offering free radiation tattoo removal for people who have had FBC.

“We look at this as something that we can add to their care,” said Dr. Scott Berger, chief medical officer at UnTattooU.

What do you think?  Have you had it done?  Have you contemplated it?  I’d love to hear about your experience.

For more information about the promotion above, visit UnTattooU’s website. Anyone interested in doing this needs – as always! – have the procedure approved by their oncologist before scheduling an appointment.

* Photo of me at radiation by my dear Elizabeth Messina

 

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Gift Ideas Don’t Have to be a Puzzle

When Christian Lacroix designs a jigsaw puzzle, you acquire it. It doesn’t matter if you have barefoot tots running around the house or not. You buy it. End. Of. Story.

I plan to put it to good use for many years to come. This two-sized tabletop activity is adorned with gold and silver foil accents and the most enchanting designs you’ve ever seen. It is absolutely gorgeous and loaded with the intricate design details you’ve come to expect from the great high-fashion house. Here’s the Silver Lining: When you’re done using it as a puzzle, have it framed and enjoy its magical beauty for years to come.

Christian Lacroix Glam’azonia Jigsaw Puzzle $38

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Words To Use More

This weekend, our daughter a/k/a Excitedly Eight and I were doing word games. One of the games was called “tricky words to spell”.  She wasn’t crazy about that – felt a little too assigned – but when I asked her to make up and then write stories using the words, well, THEN we were on to something. We had a blast.  Putting words together in unique and unexpected ways made us think, reflect and – best of all! – laugh.

Through our game, I was reminded of my love of/for words.  After all, don’t we fundamentally, essentially live and breathe words? I feel like I do. One of my favorite places in the world is between the pages of a book.  Over my lifetime, I have formed bonds with paper characters.  The words in a book have always been my friend and assured me time and time again that I am never completely alone.

In the graphic above are some words that I think would be quite fun to use more. Any favorites?  What are your favorite words?

 

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