Blue Gold

The issue of water runs deeper than most of us can imagine and that is why the UN has included it in the world's Millenium goals. Conserving water (and that's just about the only Conservative streak in me) is not just a fashionable statement.

Water is essential to life as we know it. There's a reason why NASA looks for water in other planets; if there's water, there's life.

Our lives are dependant upon this natural resource and only 3% of the Earth's water is fresh water. Private ownership of natural resources that are essential for human existance endangers us all. Studying our watersheds helps us understand how truly and deeply connected all living things are.

What can we do?

Learn where your water comes from (your watershed).

Learn where your waste water goes.

Learn how pesticides and (which ones!) show up in the very water you drink.

Learn who owns the water you drink.

Watch Blue Gold: Water World Wars.

Pass it on.

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El tema del agua es más profundo de lo que nos imaginamos y es por eso que las Naciones Unidas lo han incluido como uno de los Objeticvos del Milenio. Conservar agua (esa es uno de los pocos aspectos conservadores que tengo) es mucho más que una frase de moda.

El agua es esencial para la vida. La NASA busca agua en otros planetas porque entiende que si hay agua, hay vida.

Nuestras vidas dependen de este recurso natural y hay sólo una cantidad limitada de agua "fresca" en el mundo . La privatización de los recursos naturales que son esenciales para los seres humanos nos pone en peligro a todos. Una manera de ver cuan conectados estamos todos los organismos vivos es estudiar nuestras cuencas (el camino que recorre la fuente de agua más cercana).

Lo que podemos hacer:

Aprender de donde viene nuestra agua potable.

Aprender a donde va nuestra agua "sucia".

Aprender como es que aparecen pesticidas en nuestra agua potable (y cuales aparecen).

Aprender quien controla el agua que tomamos.

Mirar Blue Gold: Water World Wars (El oro azul: La guerra mundial por el agua) .

Informar a otros sobre el tema.

Tea is Served

Among the many gifts that the end of the year has bestowed upon my family, the most mundane of all turned out to be special.

My husband, knowing my interest in tea, bought me a Breville electric kettle. His thoughtful gift has allowed us to switch to tea more often (and rely less on coffee) and to explore all kinds of flavourful concoctions brewed to perfection thanks to the kettle's settings for green, white, oolong or black tea.

Brewing tea is not exactly my hobby but I enjoy trying out new kinds and sharing it with friends. There's something about drinking tea that is comforting and, if you add delicious and healthy, it sounds like a positive start for 2010.

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Entre los regalos que este fin de año nos ha brindado, uno de los obsequios más mundanos resultó ser muy especial.

Mi esposo, conociendo mi gusto por el té, me compró la pava eléctrica Breville. Su regalo
nos permite cambiar el café por té más a menudo (y así tomar menos café) y explorar toda clase de sabrosos brebajes que se hacen a la perfección gracias a la selección de la pava para té verde, blanco, oolong o negro.

Preparar té no es exactamente un hobby para mí pero disfruto probando varias infusiones y compartiéndolas con los amigos. Hay algo acerca de tomar té que es reconfortante. Y si a eso se le suma que es delicioso y saludable, me parece que es un comienzo positivo para el 2010.

Mystery Madness

I've welcomed 2010 by plunging into the Mystery series by Anne Perry featuring the couple detectives Charlotte and Thomas Pitt. Set in Victorian England and spanning the lives of Mr and Mrs Pitt and their families, these stories weave intrigue with a detailed account of a bygone area of propriety and blatant social disparities. I suggest that you start with the older books of the series. You'll be hooked!

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Le dí la bienvenida al 2010 sumergida en la serie de libros de misterio de Anne Perry que protagonizan la pareja de detectives Charlotte y Thomas Pitt. Las historias se desarrollan en la Inglaterra victoriana y relatan la vida de los Pitt y sus familias. Hay intriga junto a una detallado recuento de una era de antaño llena de modales estrictos y estridentes diferencias sociales. Les sugiero comiencen con los primeros libros de la serie. Van a quedar encantados.

Holiday Break

Dear Friends,

I'm taking some time off blogging for this Holiday Season and will return in 2010 to keep sharing Lost and Found in Translation and some other projects I've been working on.

May you enjoy, enjoy, enjoy as if there's no tomorrow.

Stefania

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Queridos Amigos:

Me tomo unos días de descando para estas fiestas y regresaré en el 2010 para continuar compartiendo Lost and Found in Translation y algunos otros proyectos en los que estoy trabajando.

Que disfruten, disfruten, disfruten como si cada día fuese el último.

Stefania

Esta navidad

Last Christmas was the first I spent with my newborn baby and it went by in a daze of hormones and devoted awe at my very own miracle.

This Christmas my sweet little baby is more aware of the festivities and I am more present! She does not want toys yet or anything else from us but to hang out. She wants to BE with Papa and Mama. And last night, as the three of us were decorating the fragrant balsam fir tree before bedtime it felt magically peaceful.

My wishes for all this year is that you can be present for the holidays and enjoy this precious time with your loved ones.

This Christmas rocks and our family's theme song is All I Want for Christmas is You. Happy Holidays.

PS: And I have absolutely no New Year's Resolution. None whatsoever.
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La Navidad pasada fue la primera que pasé junto a mi hija y transcurriá entre un ensueño de hormonas y un sentimiento de devota obnubilación por mi propio milagro.

Para estas navidades, mi dulce bebé se da cuenta un poco más de lo que pasa y yo estoy más presente. Todavía no pide juguetes o cualquier otra cosa. Lo que quiere es pasar tiempo con nosotros. Ella quiere ESTAR con Papá y Mamá. Y cuando los tres estabamos decorando el fragante árbol de navidad anoche sentimos una paz mágica.

Mis deseos para todos es que este año puedan estar presente para las fiestas y que disfruten de este tiempo precioso con sus seres queridos.

El tema de esta Navidad es All I Want for Christmas is You. Felices Fiestas.

PS: Y no tengo ninguna resolución para el año nuevo. Ninguna.

It's Time to Talk Day: teen dating abuse

An amazing Mama, Meaghan Morelli from mamascup.com, is spreading the word on teen dating abuse. So the following is what Meaghan helped draft for Liz Claiborne Inc. on this important issue. Please read but most importantly, start talking!

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Una gran Mamá, Meaghan Morelli de mamascup.com está hablando sobre el problema del abuso en adolescentes cuando tienen una cita romántica. Lo que sigue es lo que Meaghan ayudó a redactar acerca de este tema para Liz Claiborn Inc. Por favor, lean lo que sigue pero sobre todo, empiecen a hablar.

Liz Claiborne It’s Time to Talk Day
You’re a well-informed parent, committed to raising a healthy family. You read food labels, give your kids vitamins. You enforce bedtime, check homework. You’ve had—or are planning to have—conversations with your kids about the dangers of alcohol and tobacco use.
But are you planning to talk to your kids about dating abuse? A recent study by Liz Claiborne Inc. showed that parents are seriously out of touch with the realities of dating violence. The majority of parents surveyed couldn’t identify the warning signs of teen dating abuse. The majority of teens surveyed don’t confide in their parents about their abusive relationships. Sometimes teens themselves don’t know that they’re what they’re experiencing is wrong or where to get help. At a critical stage in their development, teens are taught about the impact of drug abuse, drunk driving, smoking, but they are not taught how to identify and engage in healthy relationships or what to do if a relationship turns abusive.
Isn’t it time to start talking? Liz Claiborne Inc.’s Moms and Dads for Education (MADE) to Stop Teen Dating Abuse is a coalition of parents, teachers and concerned citizens advocating that every high school in the country teach a curriculum on preventing dating relationship violence and abuse. MADE highlights: the power of education, the importance of reaching kids as they are beginning to engage in relationships and the potential for parental involvement to effect prevention.
On Thursday, December 3rd, Liz Claiborne Inc. will host their 6th annual “It’s Time To Talk Day” at their New York City headquarters in partnership with Talk Radio News Service. Celebrities including Mariska Hargitay, Tim Gunn, Malaak Compton-Rock, Ann Shoket, Editor in Chief of Seventeen, and Stacy Morrison, Editor in Chief of Redbook, nationally renowned authors, corporate and government leaders will join with advocates, relationship and adolescent development experts, parents of victims, and teen survivors from across the country to get the conversation started. Leading local and national talk radio hosts will conduct interviews with these participants who are willing to speak-up about domestic violence and teen dating abuse.
“It’s Time To Talk Day” is also an opportunity for Mom Bloggers to help spark a national conversation about the importance of parents taking action and talking to their children about healthy relationships. Anyone can be part of this national day of awareness by joining MADE, www.loveisnotabuse.com/MADE, and by advocating for teen dating abuse education in middle and high schools. (Our website has some great ideas on how to get the conversation started.)
As a parent and blogger, your support is invaluable in raising awareness on this issue. All of our children benefit from your involvement. By actively and vocally promoting healthy relationships, we can effect change. By starting the conversation, we can help stop the violence.

Moments

For a while, I have been srambling to find a moment to hear myself think and this week seems as hectic. I long to read a fashion magazine and soak in the pretty pictures of miracle lotions and silky lipsticks in shades I'll never buy.

Even as I daydream I'm escaping everyday reality I realize there are no excuses for not being present for my daughter. She is soaking in the world around her - every drop of it - and learning to live in it as complain that I have no time to shower, dream about automated house chores and the power of telekinesis.

So, here goes belated Thanksgiving 2009: I am truly thankful for all the moments that make up my day, the not so perfect and the sublime.

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Hace un tiempo que trato de encontrar un momento para escucharme pensar y esta semana va a ser tan movida como las anteriores. Sueño con tener tiempo de leer una revista de moda e impregnarme de fotos bonitas con cremas que hacen milagros y de labiales en colores que nunca voy a comprar.

Incluso cuando sueño que me escapo de la realidad diaria me doy cuenta de que no hay escusas para no estar presente para mi hija. Ella absorbe cada gota del mundo a su alrededor y aprende a vivir mientras yo me quejo de que no tengo tiempo para ducharme, y sueño con quehaceres automatizados y con tener el poder de telekinesis.

Entonces acá van mis sentimientos por el Día de acción de gracias atrasado: Estoy verdareramente agradecida por todos los momentos que componen mi día, los no tan perfectos y los maravillosos.