Making Connections

I'm a person who loves to make connections! Whether it be between people, topics, or things I'm learning. This is why I wanted to do a post on Audrey Hepburn today. Why? Well, even though she's known for her unconquerable talent as an A-list actress, Audrey Hepburn is also known for her dedicated work with UNICEF. As, you may know by reading my blog I love supporting and writing about charities and because of this I'm a huge fan of Audrey Hepburn and her work with UNICEF.

Talking about charities and such, check out this AMAZING charity, Kelly's Kidz, that gives assistant to families of kids with Special Needs (including Cerebral palsy).

Did you know...

That Audrey received a thank you letter from Noble-Peace Prize winning activist Elie Wiesel for co-hosting the gala "A Tribute to Peace from Oslo with Gregory Peck?"

Or

That Audrey visited such countries as Sudan on behalf of Unicef?

You can find amazing photographs and pieces of Audrey's work with UNICEF in this fantastic interactive book The Audrey Hepburn Treasures.

"It would be nice to be an expert on education, economics, politics, religion, traditions, and cultures and I am none of these things. But I am a mother and will travel."

-Audrey Hepburn

A Little Early

So, I was going to wait a few days to post number 3 and 4 of my favorite exercise equipment, but after finding the greatest website I couldn't resist posting at least number 3.

3. Exercise Ball: Oh, the exercise ball, great for sore backs and such. A large variety can be found here.

The website featuring the exercise balls had some other great products as well. Here are two of my favorites:

I've heard of Bilibo's, but it never occurred to me how great they could be when used in therapy.


Learning to ride a bike can be very difficult for kids with Cerebral Palsy because balancing is especially challenging. As a result, the Skuut™ Balance Bike would be the perfect solution to help your child learn to balance before actually learning how to ride a bike!

A Potential Routine: Part 1

Exercise is important for anybody, but it is even more important for people with Cerebral Palsy. Although the actual event of me exercising either rarely or never happens...I confess. So, I'm writing this post tonight with the hopes of inspiring myself to put only FIVE minutes of exercise into my daily routine, but most importantly I'm inspiring you, the reader of this blog, to do the same! Don't worry there will be no exercises shown today, just a display of the fancy schmanzy equipment! Conclude with: THAT WAS DRAMATIC!

***As always, I am not a doctor so please consult with yours before you take any of my advice!

Here it goes:

1. Yoga Mat: You are going to need a comfortable surface on which to do your exercising. Personally, yoga mats work best for me! I've seen them being sold at thrift shops for around five bucks! There are some pretty good deals on websites like Amazon. For the adventurous types, there may be some steals/deals on your local Craigslist.

2. Resistance Band: Does anybody else think these smell like fresh baked chocolate chip cookies, or am I just weird? These are great for stretching out tired, sore muscles (As always check with your doctor first before using a resistance band). Anyways, I just found a great deal on resistance bands: one band for 1-2 dollars depending on the intended resistance.

More to come later!

Just As Good As Vogue...

Apparently, there is a magazine of all things CP called "Cerebral Palsy magazine." Subscriptions are available in many ways and forms: they can be ordered by mailing in an order form, digital forms of each issue are available for purchase on a CD, and there are FREE PDFs of each issue available online. I might get my own subscription and if I do I'll post about it. Though the magazine, in my opinion, does look very informative with covers featuring prominent figures in the Cerebral palsy world.

The Rolling Exhibition

Thanks to my dear friend Molly for providing the idea for this post!


These pictures are taken by Kevin Connolly, who is currently a student at Montana State University, a talented photographer, and an avid skier. Oh, and, just as a side note, Kevin was born without legs, which gives him the ability to take these absolutely AMAZING photographs at such unusual and interesting perspectives. Seriously, talk about making lemonade when life gives you lemons AND dwelling in the possibility of a seemingly negative situation! His work is called the Rolling Exhibition and can be found here.

Pondering

When I feel like this...

Cartoon by Dave Walker. Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons.

I go here:

http://perezhilton.com/

Here:

http://www.etsy.com/

And most definitely here:

http://www.facebook.com/

This leads me to a question: What are your favorite Cerebral Palsy website resources?

Multimedia Extravaganza

1. Comedians 

I absolutely love and admire two comedians with Cerebral Palsy: Maysoon Zayid and Josh Blue. These two people are extremely amazing role models for anybody living with Cerebral Palsy. I really encourage you to visit their websites and watch their videos to see for yourself! 

Maysoon Zayid 

Website 

Article 

Video 

Josh Blue 

Website 

Video 

2. Books 

Most of these books are around the young-adult level, though I do think adults would enjoy them as well! Plus, Small Steps is by the author of Holes. 

Petey by Ben Mikaelsen  

Small Steps by Louis Sachar 

3. Movies 

I have never seen these movies, but they are  supposed to be really good! 

My Left Foot 

Gaby: A True Story 

Snippets of My Childhood

• 
  

1. The picture at the bottom right: I was born on Nov. 8, so that means that in this picture I was about a month and a half old (hence, the Christmas presents on top of the incubator).

2. The picture at the bottom left: The three cousins! I'm the baby in the flowery blue dress.

3. The picture at the top right: My Dad and I outside my parents old house. I was almost three years old in this picture. I love this picture, so I had to put it up!

4. The picture in the top middle : Christmas that year, notice the pink leg braces!

5. The picture at the top left: The three cousins +11 years! I'm on the far left.

Music and Motion

Eight year-old Mary Cassell, who has Cerebral Palsy, recently participated in the Joffrey Ballet's recent production of the Nutcracker (The post on her performance is a few posts ahead of this one). Even more relevant to Cerebral Palsy, Mary's grandmother and founder of the Maryland Youth Ballet started Music and Motion classes. Music and Motion classes are specifically and exclusively designed for children with disabilities. The classes began because Mary's grandmother wanted a way for her granddaughter to enjoy the physical benefits of ballet. In my opinion the classes look really fun and engaging. To register or for more information click here.   

Dear Dwell

As a way for readers to contribute to this blog in other ways than writing their own posts, commenting, or reading, I would like to start something called Dear Dwell. The purpose of this would be to provide a way for readers or contributors to ask questions in a formal letter-style. I think this would be a great addition to the blog because a question could be asked and then subsequently answered by me in a paragraph response and by readers through the comment button. If so desired, writers of questions for Dear Dwell may remain completely anonymous. Please email your questions for Dear Dwell to my email address: comptonann@gmail.com 

Let me know what you think of this idea! 

Cerebral Palsy Pins

I just came across these amazing Cerebral Palsy Awareness Pins. They are made by a woman named Christy who has a sixteen year old daughter living with Cerebral Palsy. Complete with an awareness ribbon bead and a few green beads these pins would be great on a cute bag (Am I starting to sound like an infomercial, yet?). Better yet, the proceeds go toward buying items for the local dog pound. I loved them so much that I bought one for myself! Check them out here.  

The Big Dilemma: Shoes

I don't know about you, but for me, as a person living with Cerebral Palsy buying shoes has always been my biggest achilles heel. I'll have an adorable outfit, but not the perfect shoes to match. This comes from the fact that if I were to have the perfect shoes to match (i.e. narrow, non-supportive flats, sandals, or clogs) my walk would either be extremely exaggerated or I would fall flat on my face! So, after many trips to the mall and many stores I have finally found the perfect shoe source Zappos, or in other words, the shoe store that is only on the internet and is complete with free returns! Scrolling through multitudes of pages, the possibilities are endless with the number of" "Cerebral Palsy-approved" shoes is infinitely endless. Finally, I must share that my favorite shoe company is J-41. They are the makers of the fabulous pair of shoes above!

 

Happy 2009!

I've made my personal resolutions for this year and now its time to make some for this blog:

• Gain more contributors and readers. 
• Help people who have loved ones with Cerebral Palsy or those who are living with Cerebral Palsy.
• Enjoy the up and coming blog layout by Blogs By Danielle . 
• Donate money to United Cerebral Palsy and March of Dimes.
• Possibly create posters or tees promoting awareness for Cerebral Palsy. 
• Gather stories about life with Cerebral Palsy.

The list could go on and on! Feel free to share your input!