Elizabeth Berkley Is Doing 'DWTS' for Her 14-Month-Old Son

woensdag 25 september 2013

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
by Nicole Fabian-Weber 14 hours ago

Some people may find it surprising that Jessie Spano Elizabeth Berkley is competing on Dancing With the Stars this season. Not because she's a weird casting choice (just the opposite, in fact), but because she just had a baby 14 months ago. What mom would willingly opt to compete in a dance competition a little over a year after having a child? Elizabeth Berkley, that's who! And with really, really good reason.

Berkley -- who, hello, scored a 24 with partner Val Chmerkovskiy for their first dance -- wants her son to see that she still has interests. Passions. Desires that are 100 percent, whole-heartedly for herself. Elizabeth recently told People: "Being a new mom, I want for my son to always see me make choices that honor my own passions too. I think it’s important for a child to grow up and see their parent also passionate about something that they love, maybe artistically."

Amen to that, sister. Couldn't agree with this sentiment any more. While nothing is more important than our children, I think it's super important that kids see their parents involved with something (anything!) beyond them.

While I love my job, I'm not gonna lie, there are days that I really don't want to leave my little girl behind. But the thing that makes the trek off to work a little easier on those days is the fact that I feel like I'm instilling something in her, a value, conviction, maybe. And I'm showing her (eventually, when she understands) that I have things in my life that don't have to do with her. She'll always be what's most important to me, but I am someone outside of just "Mama."

And it doesn't have to be a 9-5 job. It could be a hobby, or a sport, a yoga class, heck, some time to read a book each week. Anything that shows your child that it's okay to be, well, a little selfish sometimes.

But don't just do it to teach your child a lesson. That completely defeats the purpose.

What do you do for yourself?

Image via ABC

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Robert Pattinson Is Thinking of Doing Something Awful to Prepare for 'Intimate Scenes'

vrijdag 13 september 2013

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
by Nicole Fabian-Weber 5 hours ago

Robert Pattinson doesn't like what he sees when he looks in the mirror. And that's a damn shame, because most people would love to see Robert Pattinson when they looked in the mirror. And when they opened their eyes in the morning. And when they were about to go to sleep at night. The actor recently admitted to feeling like he needs to get a "six-pack," because he has numerous sex scenes in an upcoming movie. "I think I don't get some jobs because I don't go to the gym. I am literally the only actor in LA who doesn't have a six-pack," Pattinson said. "Although I am going to have to change that. In my next film I have like three intimate scenes so I am literally thinking of those to get in shape."

And to that we say nooooooo! We love your scrawny, pasty ass, Rob! And your abs! Or lack thereof!

There are reasons beyond his boyish good looks as to why the world collectively wants to carve their initials next to Rob's in a tree. He's smart. He's funny. He's self-depricating. He's cool. He's talented. And he's confident enough to know that he has much more to offer than big, bulging muscles. I understand that Rob's first and foremost an actor, and if a role calls for muscles, muscles it is. But don't we all like Roberto as is? Truth be told, I don't want to see him with a six-pack. (Okay, fine, I guess I'd live through the horror of seeing it.)

As long as Rob's bulking up for a role and not, say, to show a certain pouty brunette what she's missing, that's okay. In fact, it's kinda hot. He's so dedicated to his craft, you guys. But when he's finished filming, let's hope he goes back to his regular, non-six pack-having-self. I mean, seriously, what's sexier than a dude who's too busy doing stuff like reading to work out?

Do you want to see Robert Pattinson all shredded up?

Image via Splash News

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Pregnant 'Twerking' Is All the Rage -- Are You Doing It? (VIDEO)

vrijdag 16 augustus 2013

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
by Mary Fischer 16 hours ago

It's the latest dance craze that probably won't be going away anytime soon -- and apparently it's gotten so popular that even pregnant women are twerking and posting videos of themselves shaking their thing.

Yep -- twerking. As in wiggling their hips, jiggling their butts, and thrusting their pelvises in and out.

You gotta love it. Check it out.

Ahh! All I have to say is -- mama's got some serious moves!

Let's face it -- pregnancy is probably the least sexy period of time in any woman's life, or at least it was for me. Once I got past the first trimester, I felt like a big, sweaty blimp who bordered on the lines of being totally repulsive. Sexy definitely wasn't a word that was in my vocabulary at that point in time -- but maybe I would've felt a little differently if I'd gotten my twerk on?

If nothing else, at least shaking it in front of the camera would've brought a little more fun and excitement into those long days -- and I'm sure my husband and I would get a huge kick out of watching the clips now. (Though he'd probably never let me live them down.)

At least today's twerking moms-to-be have an awesome pregnancy memento to bust out at the most inappropriate time to embarrass the heck out of their kids down the road. OMG -- can you imagine the looks on their teenager's faces if they bust out the videos on prom night?

That would be classic.

Have you twerked during your pregnancy?

Image via ABCNews

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Mary Fischer

is the writer behind The Mommyologist, and the mom of a future famous comedian. Her current loves include cosmopolitans, reality TV, and shoes that don't pinch her feet.

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Skydiving Instructor Who Died Doing What He Loved Should Have No Regrets

dinsdag 6 augustus 2013

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
by Jill Baughman 2 hours ago

In July, I was visiting my dad in Florida for his 70th birthday. The Friday before the big day, he told me what he wanted to do while I was there: go skydiving. I gulped some wine, said okay, and off we went the following morning, jumping out of a plane 13,000 feet in the air, attached to a couple of instructors who did this so often that they took a nap on the way up in the single-engine plane that seemed to be held together by duct tape.

I obviously lived to tell the tale, but when I read stories like the one about James "Jimmie" Horak Jr. and his student, I can't help but take a step back and wonder what could have been. Sadly, tragically, Horak passed away during a tandem jump, and his 26-year-old student is in critical condition with broken bones and head injuries. The scariest part is that no one is exactly sure at this point what went wrong.

Horak, 56, and his student never made it back to the airport where they were supposed to land, and Horak's body was found in mud in a wooded area about a mile from the airport in Southern Mississippi.

It seemed the main chute deployed, but Horak had to cut away the main one and deployed the backup. I can't even begin to imagine those horrifying final few moments, when you're flying among the clouds, seemingly at peace, with everything quiet and serene and beautiful around you, while the man who has your life in his hands behind you begins to notice that something is wrong. What these two must have gone through and what they must have been thinking has hit so disturbingly close to home in light of my recent personal experience.

"We just know that the main was cut away and the reserve was deployed," Gold Coast Skydivers owner Leanne Igo said. "Everything else beyond that is speculation."

When the other students realized that the pair never made it, they began a search, which comprised of a team of 30 skydivers on foot, a plane, a helicopter, as well as the local authorities. The son of a landowner in the area actually found the two while he was riding his Four Wheeler.

From all reports, it sounds like Horak was an experienced, well trained jumper. He retired from the Army Special Forces as a Major after serving for 28 years, was a Flight Surgeon, and also was a veteran of Desert Storm. He worked for the Veterans Administration as a physician's assistant as well. Probably the most heartwrenching part of this tragedy is that he leaves behind a wife and three children.

Horak was even a safety and training adviser appointed by the U.S. Parachute Association, and he trained other tandem instructors. Clearly the guy knew what he was doing -- he had made over 8,000 dives -- and though this is pure speculation, you can't help but wonder if all that training played a part in saving his student's life while sacrificing his own.

Such a sad story all around, though there's a risk inherent in activities like this, and hopefully his family can take solace in the fact that Horak passed away doing what he loved to do.

Would you ever go skydiving? Do stories like this make you hesitant?

Image via Laura Hadden/Flickr

Click "Like" if you love someone in the military! ABOUT THE AUTHOR Jill Baughman

is the copy chief of The Stir and geeks out over all the nuances and weirdness of the English language.

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