I saw a public service announcement last night for childhood obesity with Mariska Hargitay. I agree that this is a problem and should be addressed, but do we really think celebrities are the best people to be discussing this? I mean, what Hollywood starlet hasn’t barfed up a lunch or 12, or gone a couple days without food so they can fit into that Oscar dress? I don’t know Mariska personally, she may be very healthy and unlike the other folks in Hollywood. I just find this ironic. I also know that her mother was the late, great, Jane Mansfield. I have a feeling her figure wasn’t just from healthy eating and good genes. Again, I could be wrong, it has happened before.

Kids today are getting fat. Sure, there have always been some that are “husky”, but let’s face it: our kids eat junk and they are going from chubby toddlers to tubby teens and into obese adults. Be honest, how hard is it for a chubby kid in school? They are teased unmercifully which can only lead to self-esteem issues later! On top of that, they pass on their bad eating habits to their children. I’m guilty of this myself: I grew up with cabinets full of junk food and a fridge flush with sodas. It is a hard cycle to break! I think I’m seriously addicted to caffeine to this day!

I think a bigger problem is the media’s take on weight. I know sitcoms and ads are starting to put the token “plus sized” person out there, but for the most part, actors and actresses are unhealthy and stick thin. You see them chain smoking, drinking, partying, and they look like they would snap if you hugged them too hard. How can we expect our girls to grow up happy with themselves when they think the only way to be beautiful is to starve themselves and have plastic surgery?

How do you handle self-image with your kids? I try to make sure my kids feel good about themselves and eat foods that nourish them. I want my girls to not wonder if their jeans “make them look fat” and that maybe they should skip dessert to fit into that bikini. What about you?

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“Nicole Richie served 82 minutes of a four-day sentence for DUI on Thursday due to jail overcrowding, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.” (People)

I had to begin this post with a headline from People Magazine’s website. You may remember back in December that Miss Nicole Richie was arrested for driving her black Mercedes SUV the wrong way on an L.A. freeway. She was previously convicted of DUI in June 2003. She also admitted to being under the influence of drugs at the time of her December arrest. I have a few things to say here, so hold on to your butts.

First off, I always found Nicole Richie quite humorous on “The Simple Life”. I’m sure it was all an exaggerated act, but when she and Paris Hilton put “Anal salty wiener bugers all day” on the sign at Sonic, well it was pure comic genius. I mean, come on people, did you really expect two spoiled, pampered, rich girls to take a job at a fast food restaurant seriously?! I also feel some sympathy for Nicole right now because she is expecting a baby, and I can not imagine the thought of going to jail while pregnant. That must be terrifying. Well, terrifying if you don’t have someone else’s millions to bail you out! What did Nicole, or anyone else for that matter, learn from this experience? My guess is money talks. Very simply, if you have money, you can get away with anything. Yeah, you hear me OJ. What a terrible example for young girls that look up to celebrities. Can you imagine a bunch of Lindsay and Paris posers out there? How very sad.

Now on a more personal note: about 3 years ago, my good friend and I were coming home from a girl’s night out and were hit, head-on, by a drunk driver going the wrong way on the interstate. My friend was not intoxicated, and was able to react quickly enough to keep us alive, and for that I will always be grateful. I had a baby sleeping at home, one that may never have known her mother had I not survived. I had a two and four year-old that depended on me for everything. I think saying we were lucky is an understatement. The drunk driver hit five cars before he was stopped by a fire truck turned sideways on the interstate. He exited his car, extremely intoxicated and full of prescription drugs, walking on a broken hip and slurring excuses to the police. Thankfully, no one else was seriously injured: My husband and children picked me up a few hours later and my friend spent few days in the hospital for observation. I am reminded constantly that I may have never seen my children again. I wouldn’t have seen them grow up, heard them laugh, sent them off to college, and it makes me regret ever leaving the house. I went through a phase where I blamed myself: I shouldn’t have been out. Then I realize it wasn’t my fault. My friend and I took one night out to unwind. We are not party animals; we don’t go out, get plastered, and do drugs or anything crazy like that! It was the fault of the drunk driver. He was the one that did those things and then endangered our lives.

When it came time for him to go to court, you had better believe my friend and I were there to testify. I stood with her before the judge and told him that I had three beautiful children that almost lost their mother that night. I cried when I said I couldn’t imagine how their lives would have changed without me. In the end, I think the driver faced house arrest and heavy fines: not enough in my book for what he could have done to us, and all the others involved. Maybe I’m a little jaded, but pregnant or not, Nicole Richie got off way to easy. She could have hurt or killed someone and even Daddy’s money can’t erase that. I hope all parents take the time to tell their children how dangerous drinking and driving can be, and that these celebrities are in NO WAY role models for them. For goodness sake, find a positive, strong person to look up to, not someone that made their fortune selling sex tapes of themselves or leeching off their friend’s fame!

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