Thank You Mary Tyler Moore

I grew up watching Nick at Nite, staying up as late as my parents would let me to watch Lucy and Ethel, Jeanie, and of course there was Mary Tyler Moore. I loved watching her on The Dick VanDyke Show as the intelligent and witty homemaker Laura Petrie AND on The Mary Tyler Moore Show as Mary Richards, strong, single working woman in her 30s.

The contrast between these two characters was such a great thing for my young mind. As a child, I didn't see them as two distinct characters, I saw them as two versions of the same woman and I grew up aspiring to be BOTH.

Just like Mary Tyler Moore, I could be a loving wife with awesome dance moves who enjoys hosting friends for dinner and occasionally gets into shenanigans involving a blow up boat in the living room or a closet full of walnuts and then after a commercial break and a hat throwing theme song, I could be comedically navigating awkward situations at work then hang out with my best friend in my own apartment.

For Mary Tyler Moore, Laura Petrie and Mary Richards were two different rolls, but for me, they were rolled up in one. She did both and so could I. My version of it looks a little different, currently balancing marriage and work, and not yet getting around to having kids (Shout out to The Mary Tyler Moore Show for portraying a woman in her thirties w/o kids!) but I will always be thankful to Mary for showing me it was possible to have my own version of it all.

From my vantage point now, I see that those shows aren't perfect. They portray somewhat idyllic versions life for women in the 60's and 70's-  a housewife, married to the man she loves, a man who has a good job insuring her the privilege of being able to stay home and raise their son and conversely a single woman who is educated and able to support herself in a white collar job where the snarky comments about her being unmarried and without children were part of the comedy the show was built on rather than something that is intrinsically wrong with her. I'm thankful that my life fits pretty well into this idyllic version of things too. This is a privilege, and not a reality for many women in the U.S. and around the world. When is why I continue to support any cause that helps women live their best lives like me, and both versions of Mary.

As I child, I just saw the characters, now as a woman with a foot in the entertainment industry, I have so much respect for Mary Tyler Moore and her roll within the industry. Along with her husband, she formed MTM Productions, which produced the groundbreaking Mary Tyler Moore Show among other hits. AND she put her cat in her logo.

PS. Both shows are available to watch on Hulu! Toss your hat in the air with joy!

Shape of You

Super proud of Jason for his latest video! He directed "Shape of You" for our friend Ed Sheeran. This project took over our life for a chunk of December, and it's so hard when I don't get to talk about things when they are happening! I'm excited for the world to finally get to see this today.

Bonus points for whoever spots my brief cameo :)

You can watch the video here. 

BTS photo by @zoerainphoto

Friday Roundup

Happy Friday! I'm hoping for a calm weekend. It's been a busy week and I'm hoping my inbox stays relatively empty and I can breathe for a minute. Also, we get to shoot a wedding. I'm looking forward to that, it's been awhile!

Sad to hear that Mary Tyler Moore passed away this week. She was an inspiration. 

EPIC first look

Here's a love story to make you tear up. 

How often do you say "very"?

25 books to read

Today is Holocaust Memorial Day, if you haven't already, I urge you to read this thoughtful piece by Nick Kristof.

The Syria Supper Club... who wants to do something like this with me in Seattle?

Maps from childhood books.

Lastly, I'm looking forward to Monday :) 

I Marched in Seattle: What's Next?

Jenny took this photo of me nursing Fiona at the Womxn's March on Seattle last Saturday. If you haven't already, check out her thoughtful reflections on the march.

Last Saturday was an inspiring day for me. I marched with two of my best friends, my mom, my aunt, and my baby daughter. We wore our 30/30 Project "Healthcare is Human Right" t-shirts and gave away a bag full of them to fellow marchers with healthcare signs along the route. We arrived at Judkins Park in south Seattle at 9:30am and didn't start marching until nearly 1:00. By the time we reached the end of the route at the Seattle Center we were literally in the last 50 people (out of 130,000) to finish the march. It was a long day, Fiona was in her stroller for nearly 8 hours outside. I nursed her sitting cross legged on the lawn at Judkins Park on top of the stroller rain cover and then sitting on 4th Avenue with my back against the wall at Starbucks. And yet being a part of the march was energizing. Talking with fellow marchers, hearing the reasons people were out there, reading the empowering and clever signs that people had put together, joining with other Seattleites in song and cheers. It left me full of hope and enthusiasm.

But as I reflect back this week, and read several articles that gave me a lot of food for thought (here, here and here) I think the most important thing that I will take away from the experience is a drive to take that energy and continue to be engaged, using my voice, money and privilege to make a difference.

I want to be able to tell that little girl that I nursed on the side of the road that her mom stood up for what was right. That in the one of the darkest hours of our country's history, my children were there with me making a difference in our community, in our country, and in this world. I have been too much of a bystander already in the struggle for equality in this country.

Tonight I'm headed to my friend Brittany's house to sign postcards with friends to mail off to our representatives. Patrick and I are in the midst of deciding what additional organizations we want send monthly donations to that will be able to hold our government accountable or step in where services are no longer being offered. Our family will be marching again this year for causes we believe in. I am joining Jenny and others in educating ourselves about the intersection of race and feminism, and about practical steps we can take to recognize our privilege and stand with people of color in our community.

Now is the time to take action.

Books on Tape

Do you listen to books on tape? I have been trying to watch less TV and one thing that I've been enjoying is Amazon Prime's new relationship with Audible. I'm listening to Pride and Prejudice, read by Rosamund Pike (who played Jane Bennet in the 2005 film adaptation), for free on Audible "Channels" -- a benefit of being a Prime Member.  Pike is a GREAT reader and does a wonderful job with different voices. I also saw that there is a version of Anne of Green Gables read by Rachel McAdams!

What audiobooks have you enjoyed? Would love to hear in the comments.

(Image)

Marching in Seattle

I was blown away to know that MILLIONS of people around the world were marching on Saturday- as far away as Africa and Antartica! Teresa and I joined the march in Seattle, along with Teresa's mom, aunt, a couple of dear friends and FIONA!

After I got home from the march, I spent a couple of hours scrolling through social media, and was amazed to see the range of people from all different parts of my life who had been marching with me. One of my first babysitters was there, so was a young woman I babysat when I was in college! There were people I'd grown up with, women who have mentored me, friends who brought their mothers and grandmothers, pastors, church groups, doctors and nurses, stay at home moms, cancer survivors, sexual assault survivors, and so many kids! Just within the sampling of people I personally know who marched, I can tell you they represent a variety of voices and opinions, politics and religious views but regardless, they were all there together.

I marched as a way to recognize my privilege, and to stand strong with people who don't have the same privileges that I do. I marched to point out these inequalities. I marched because I can, because I'm thankful to live in a country where peaceful protesting is a protected right. And I marched wearing my "Healthcare is a human right" shirt, because that is something I wholeheartedly believe.

To the people who are reading this with curiosity or opposition, who voted for Trump, or just don't think American women have anything to complain about, I encourage you to read this. I also encourage you to reach out to me, or someone you know who participated and have a conversation. Really, you are part of the reason I marched, so people would see me and ask why I was there. To be completely honest, not too long ago, I would have been right there with you, wondering what people were complaining about and maybe even a little fearful of this thing that I didn't understand. As I've traveled across the country, and even to other parts of the city I live in, my understanding continues to change and my compassion continues to grow as I hear and see how America is a very different place for people who weren't born with the same privileges as me.

Like I said above, so many different views were represented in the massive sea of people marching. One of my friends who marched shared this on her social media today and many people I know who were at the march in D.C. have voiced that they didn't agree with everything that was being said by speakers there.

Here's a smattering of some of my favorite signs I saw along the way.

Of all the signs, this was my favorite and the most important. We can't just march and say we made a difference. We have to keep going.

"Many White Women Marched. Now What?" This is exactly what we should be asking ourselves, and answering.

Here's what march organizers suggest.


PS.  Shoutout to our amazing friend Brittany who knitted hats for us!

Welcome Baby Luna!

Hello!

We have some exciting news in my family -- my sister and her husband welcomed a baby girl this December! We are over the moon to welcome baby Luna Mae Alexandra!

She was about a month early and spent a few weeks in the NICU but is now home and growing like crazy. Isn't she gorgeous!? That hair!

2017 Goals for Jenny

I've had this list done for awhile and haven't posted it b/c I hadn't managed to take a photo to go with it! This is the type of thing I do all the time! I put off things for one reason or another, and then even something that's supposed to be fun and not stressful like blogging becomes another thing on the endless to do list in my head that keeps me up at night. Arg. So you get this makeup free selfie of me and the GIANT pile of stuff waiting to be donated. Another thing I'd been putting off for SO long and have no idea why because it feels SO GOOD to have an organized house! So, in honor of all of this we are adding....

Do things ASAP instead of stressing about them. 

Whether it's posting a post with a less than perfect photo or not putting off a boring work task, just getting things done makes life so much easier. As you'll see below, this will tie in nicely with the last goal on the list. :) 

And without further adieu, the rest of the list that I made weeks ago...

Go on an actual vacation. 

Not just a "I was here in this cool place for work and happened to get an afternoon off to do something fun but instead fell asleep on the beach and got this terrible sunburn" but actually go somewhere with the sole purpose of hanging out with Jason and maybe some friends and relaxing and not working!

Be good at yoga! 

This means I'll actually have to go regularly, or practice on my own when I can't get to a class and keep it up longer than just a month here or there. I. WILL. DO. YOGA. REGULARLY. ALL. YEAR.

Cook more and continue eating healthy. 

Sunbasket has been super helpful with inspiring me to try cooking new things, now to branch out a little from that...

FINISH a writing project. 

I've started scripts and other projects by myself and with friends. But I want to actually finish something and do something with it.

Better educate myself on the world around me. 

Specifically, I want know more about systemic racism in the U.S. and the situation in Syria.

Learn to better handle stress.  

This has been my biggest issue of 2016. I'd say I've made big strides in the right direction in 2016. But most of that has been in choosing to avoid stress. The reality is, life is stressful, and I won't always be able to choose to walk away from stressful projects, people, situations, etc. So now the goal is to better equip myself to handle those things.

New Year Inspiration

I spent the first two days of 2017 drinking tea on the couch trying to kick the end of a cold. I'm finally attempting life beyond that today.

Surrounded by used tissue and the remains of Christmas decorations I couldn't manage to carry down to the basement isn't the way I saw myself ushering in the new year, that's for sure. But I've been trying to change my perspective to enjoy a couple of days of much needed rest rather than feeling guilty that I didn't hit the ground running in 2017. Because, really, what's the rush?

Teresa sent me this, great perspective on NOT having resolutions.

It's pretty silly that somehow, between ads to join gyms, articles across the internet on all the things I SHOULD be doing and other people's resolutions on social media, I feel lazy for not jumping out of bed at 6am on the first, hitting three yoga classes and then madly cleaning my entire home. That's never been me, but somehow every January I feel like I should be. I think in part, that's why I like to have looser goals for the year- which I'll post later this week.

For now, her are a few things I've seen around the web that have intrigued me as little ways to make positive changes, regardless of your resolutions or lack there of :)

2017 Reading List, a creative checklist that ranges from "a book you read in school" to "a book with a character with your name"!

Apartment Therapy's "January Cure" gives you one thing to do each day for a cleaner more organized life. I like that they are very up front about saying sign up and give it a try (they email you a task a day) but feel free to quit at any time!

Instead of a juice cleanse, try soup! I'm actually in the process of making the carrot one as I type :)

I've been trying Wunderlist on my phone and computer to better keep things organized. Theres something about checking things off a list that makes me more likely to actually do them, sometimes the items on my to do list are as simple as "Take a shower".

Also, I just posted this book on my Instagram story...Teresa got it for me as a birthday present. I LOVE IT. Super inspirational to see other creative and entrepreneurial women doing their thing.