This, by the way, is how I have to carry Aidan when he's upset. In a kangaroo pouch. It's the only thing that settles him. And here we are posing here with our dear friends Cindy Gordon and Dr. Ralph Pennino from Intervol.
Taking a breather I’ve decided to have a nice chilled day at the Dome today. It’s all been a tat too hectic lately. So today I just want to hang out with my kids, read, swim, faf around on the computer, take pictures and read. There are plenty of things to get on with, but I’ve decided that everything can wait for a day. It’s so tempting for a new mum to do too much too soon & run herself into the ground. Anyway, I choose not to go there.
Talking of doing too much…I remember how we all used to overdo it at MTV. Seeing as I had never really had a ‘normal’ job before, I actually thought that it was normal for people to work and work and work (and party like crazy too) until they had a breakdown. These breakdowns could happen anywhere and at any time. People would literally loose it at those moments. They would usually cry their eyes out and say something like ‘I can’t do it anymore, I can’t do it’. We all recognized those moments and were very understanding. The person in question would take a few days off and when they returned they would work like crazy again until their next breakdown.
Isn’t it insane that I used to believe that this happened in all professions? Anyway, none of that for me anymore.
Last night we even managed to have a quiet evening. Both the kids fell asleep early! What a treat! Sitting by the side of the pool, eating a late-night bowl of cereal & staring at the stars (the stars are amazing in Belize as there isn’t any light pollution) made me realize again how good life really is. Andy and I could really do with more nights like that.
So enjoy your weekend, wherever you are! And may it be a relaxing one.
Last Friday, I flew down to Northern California to visit with my family and participate in my fantasy baseball league's auction draft on Saturday.
Sunday I flew to DC. OK, that part's theory. In practice, I got as far east as Phoenix, missed my connection by 10 minutes, got rerouted to Las Vegas then on to a red-eye to Newark, then Monday morning caught a shuttle flight to DC.
Why, you may ask, did I put myself through that kind of hell to get to DC? Because I testified in front of Congress; specifically, the House Government Reform Committee, on exactly how broken the current processes are for trying to get a visa to enter the US. (short description: submit application, wait 3-5 months, come in for interview, get asked a few irrelevant questions, get random answer). So by getting to DC midday Monday I still had time to get briefed and prepped to testify (and get some sleep -- I arrived at our DC office on exactly one lousy hour of sleep).
Side note: I was flying US Airways/America West. They just merged -- sort of. The tickets and flight numbers are sort of merged. The branding is not -- it's a huge, confusing mix. And most of all: the employees are totally, utterly checked out. Zero customer empathy -- they don't care, and they can't be bothered. DO NOT FLY US Airways or America West. They don't deserve your business.
Testifying went well. Yo-Yo Ma was also on the panel with me, talking about how difficult it is for artists and performers to get into the US as well. The committee was very receptive.
Tuesday afternoon I spent 4 hours on the Mall in DC with my camera. Took almost 500 pictures. I've culled down to about 50 I like, and am cleaning them up for posting to my Flickr site. Stay tuned...
Wednesday morning I flew home and went in to work.
Tonight I head out with my daughters and their school choir (on another red-eye, two in one week) to Philadelphia and DC (another two-fer-one special this week).
So I'm behind on everything. Sorry about that. Next week will be better. Promise.
Ex-MTV veejay Kristiane Backer I have to tell you that I think the best and most personal profile is the one that I wrote for my own website. I have no other great news to report at the moment and would be delighted if you could just put up that very personal profile I wrote which explains how I got into homeopathy and also shows all my pictures lots of old ones but also some recent ones.
But right now I have nothing new to report except on the media front I am developing TV concepts and have landed a gig on QVC otherwise do voice overs and host galas/ award ceremonies. I also treat patients with homeopathy, it is extremely effective and has healed my hay fever- that is how I got into it as you can read.
Wishing you really well and if I have any spectacular news I shall let you know.
Take care and send some sunshine it is still freezing here in London. Lots of love, Kristiane
Pictures of our Antigua/Lake Atitlan trip read more:
The birth Our little Valentines boy was born on Tuesday the 14th of February, at 11.37am.
The whole experience was rather surreal. I had been to my doctor the night before and was told that everything seemed to be ready for the birth. He expected that it would happen within the next day or so (as a matter of fact, he was even surprised that the contractions hadn’t started yet). Still, there also was a slight chance that the baby would hang on in there for a few more days.
As my sister Miriam was going to leave Belize on Wednesday the 15th, the doctor suggested that I could take a tiny part of this tablet that helps to start up contractions. That way, my sister could be there for the birth. Miriam and I looked at each other and just giggled. We got so excited! I could go into labor within the next 24 hours guaranteed! How cool was that?
After talking it through with the doctor and making sure that it wasn’t going to harm the baby, I decided to go for it. You should have seen Andy’s face when I told him (he had stayed home to look after Lucas). It was hard to sleep that night, but we somehow managed.
So, on Tuesday morning I strolled over to Dr. Raju’s house & was given the tablet at 7.45am. The contractions started at about 9am, we went to the clinic at 9.30am and at 11.37am to baby was here. Absolutely incredible!
Apart from that tablet to start up the contractions, I didn’t take any other drug or painkiller. I didn’t take anything for Lucas’ birth and was convinced that I could do it again.
This birth was easier in a way, as it was so much quicker. It was also more challenging as I got very little time in between contractions to gather my strength. Also, Lucas only weighed 6 ½ pounds & this baby weighed 8 ¼ pounds.
Throughout the birthing experience I stayed very calm and collected, up to the point when his head came out. That’s when I realized that I couldn’t do this. I felt like someone was splitting me in half. I wanted to run, stop the whole thing, and screamed like I’ve never screamed before. “Pull him out, pull him out!” I demanded and begged. Once I realized that no one could do it for me, something ancient and animalistic took over. I really felt like some kind of cave woman and experienced a rage that could light the fires in hell. It was this rage that gave me the power to push him out.
I tell you, having babies is tough. But it also shows you how much you’re actually capable of. So, even though giving birth is hard, I would still chose a natural birth any time. I mean, you are there with him 100% from the minute that he is born. No groggyness…nothing. At about 5 o’clock that afternoon I walked out of the clinic with our new little angel in my arms. You can also see from the pictures that Andy posted that we all looked happy and relaxed from the minute we came home that day. I doubt that I would have re-couperated that fast if I had been drugged up.
So, all in all, the whole thing got done pretty much within one working day (in the office by 9.30 out by 5). The baby was even born before lunch, giving Dr. Raju the chance to buy chicken, rice and beans for us all on the market to celebrate.
Oh, and we've decided to name him:
Aidan Terence Ronald Hunt (middle names are the names of his 2 grandfathers)
So, welcome little Aidan. We're so happy you're here.
[Surfnetkids Newsletter] Italy ================================= Surfing the Net with Kids Newsletter (via RSS)
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Table of Contents
1. Introduction 2. Sponsor's Spot 3. Weekly Topic: Italy 4. What Did We Miss? Submit Site or Link To Us 5. Note from a Reader 6. Related Games 7. Quote of the Week 8. Classified Ads 9. Subscription Management
Italy Printable (** for premium members only) http://www.surfnetkids.com/printables/italy.pdf
In celebration of their World Cup victory (and my recent vacation there) this week's topic is Italy. Italy is a republic in southern Europe known for its rich history, good food, natural beauty andexcellent soccer team.
BBC: Romans http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/romans/ Rome, Italy's capital, got its name from the legend of Romulus and Remus, two orphaned twinsraised by a wolf. The Roman god Mars told the boys to build a city, but the two ended up at warwith each other. Romulus won, so the city was named after him. Highlights of this wonderfulBBC site include seven printable activity sheets, a quiz about Roman technology such asaqueducts and arches, a Roman timeline, and a glossary of Roman terms from 'amphitheater' to'wreath.'
Enchanted Learning: Italy http://www.enchantedlearning.com/europe/italy/ A terrific introduction to Italy for elementary and middle-schoolers, including an overview ofimportant country stats, along with lots of maps and flags to print and color. Other interestingclicks are the coloring pictures of Italian art masterpieces by Michelangelo, da Vinci andRaphael, and an overview of Italian inventions such as the battery, eyeglasses, parachute andradio. Don't leave without looking at the printable story books with simple Italian vocabularywords.
European Photo Album: Italy http://www.europeanphotoalbum.com/italy.html In July, 2000, Elaine M. Doolittle took a twenty-two day tour of Europe with her husband anddaughter. This section of her annotated photo album covers Italy. Her adventure starts in thenorth ('We crossed the Alps into Italy and passed some lovely villages.') and heads south ('Aferry took us to Venice, known for its canals in place of streets.') all the way to Rome ('Romehas many beautiful fountains.') Follow Elaine to the Vatican City by clicking on its flag at thebottom of any page.
'Thank you for all the stuff that you have sent me.' Brooke Kostak
**Printables Club members get 6 to 9 recommended sites (instead of the 3 included in this freenewsletter) and oodles of additional educational content with the Surfnetkids Premium Newsletter. Get your ten-day trial: http://www.surfnetkids.com/printables-club.htm
'Nothing makes the earth seem so spacious as to have friends at a distance; they make thelatitudes and longitudes.' ~~ Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) American author, poet andphilosopher.
Daily Education Quote via Email http://www.surfnetkids.com/quotations/
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