First Deadlines Down!

This week I had to stop everything for a little while; get out of my usual writing look (little-to-no makeup, hair in a ponytail on top of my head, big, gray, comfy t-shirt, khaki stretchy ankle pants) and clean myself up as best as possible for a photo shoot.

Our mission was to get a picture for the back of the book.

This came right in the middle of last rounds of editing for advance materials that my publisher needs to take to a national presentation next week. (No pressure at all).

Here's the picture my publishing team chose...this is the one that you'll see on the back of Take Care! when it is released next March.

From the outside, this picture has such a peaceful feeling to it I think. It was taken in my backyard. I'm sitting on one of the green Adirondack chairs that my family sits around in under our tree deck on warm nights. The purple pillow behind me was pulled from the window seat in my kitchen. The worn white porch swing hanging behind me came from my mother-in-law and father-in-law's house.

The weather was perfect. The sunshine was wonderful. My photographer, Becky Thurner, was happy to be able to use natural light.

You can't tell that our dog (a little puggle) was running around us as we worked. You don't see any of my five, or the four of my friend and makeup artist's five children who were over that day. You don't see the laptop I kept checking to stay connected with other things needed for our editing deadlines.

Although it was a little crazy at the time, it was nice to have the attention! Gina (makeup artist) came prepared to give me a classic face for our shoot. (It really is an easy way to think about makeup---neutral colors that give you a nice, polished look. If you're interested, you can watch Gina describe the basics of a classic face).
As far as the writing is concerned, one of the elements we finished to include in the advance excerpt materials is the chapter on fitness. It features research and a nice variety of ten minute tips that will show you:

1. the importance and benefits of making exercise a part of your life
2. how you can manage to allow regular exercise to become a part of your life

For this chapter I interviewed my friend, fitness guru Leslie Sansone, creator of the best-selling Walk at Home line of fitness DVD's and products. She shared good information about walking, as well as a ten minute walking plan.

I also talked with a doctor who works in a rehabilitation center. She sees the negative results that occur when people don't take care of themselves. She gave me tips that she gives her patients.

I talked with a Registered Nurse too, who is in charge of a Preventive Care program and creates programs to help people become (and stay) strong and healthy. She had some great advice and motivation to pass along.

I'm happy with how everything is coming together so far. We're on a roll now, and I can't wait to get this book out. I know it will be able to help a lot of people. (I hope the people at the national conference next week feel the same way)!

j.

Progress

Hello again!
The real digging in with the final writing and editing process has clicked in for Take Care! It has really been incredible to work with not one, but TWO fantastic editors---a mother and daughter dynamic duo. The mom, Cathy, and I have been emailing back and forth between California and Pennsylvania. The daughter, Abby, has joined us as much as possible from a vacation at sea...from stops including Helsinki!
The mission of the book: to help caregivers take care of themselves by erasing the barrier of perceived lack of time, is being validated by the experts I continue to interview for background information and tips.
Just this week I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Daniel Shade, director of the Allegheny General Hospital Sleep Disorder Center; and Dr. Randy Hebert, a hospice doctor, whose research has focused on caregiving, and the relationship between spirituality and medicine, among other things.
In February of this year, Dr. Hebert was named the Medical Director of Forbes Hospice (the Hospice I worked with to take care of my mother-in-law).
I video taped Dr. Hebert so you could hear some of his important talk for caregivers:

The more that word of Take Care! filters out, the more stories from caregivers come in (please share your story with us, too). I'm hearing from people who really cover a wide caregiving spectrum...a young mother who's running around taking care of toddlers and doesn't have time to brush her teeth most mornings, let alone try to develop a regular self-care routine....a woman in her late 60's with health issues of her own trying to take care of her 93-year-old mother...a woman in her 40's who is frustrated trying to hold down job and family, while making 5-hour trips to check in on her sick father (and make sure her mom's OK too)...and it goes on and on.
Feeling that need continues to energize all of us working behind the scenes on this project. This week we're nailing down the Introduction, where I've rounded up important facts and stats about caregivers for you, as well as my personal caregiver story, and some fantastic ten minute tips to get you in the right frame of mind to be willing to move forward and make taking care of yourself a priority.
We're also putting finishing touches on the chapter on Fitness. Wonderful new research supports the idea that you absolutely CAN achieve health benefits with ten minute workouts. The tips in this chapter give you great little action plans and the reasons behind why they will work for you. As I write in the book, "I'm not saying that one ten minute workout will get us ready in case Sports Illustrated calls and needs us for the cover of the next Swimsuit Edition, but a ten minute workout can definitely have you feeling calmer, stronger, and wanting more."
I have more interviews coming up, and I'm close to being able to tell you about a celebrity I've been talking with about Take Care! Check back soon for that.
j.

Here We Go

Hello and welcome to my Take Care Tips blog. My publisher (Paul at St. Lynn's Press) tells me that each year, somewhere around 250,000 new books are vying for shelf space in book stores. Each of those book s has a story behind how it came into being, and this blog will chronicle the story of Take Care!
My own personal journey has led me to creating this book. I learned what it was like to be a caregiver at a young age. My mother suffered from post partum depression while I was growing up, and she died suddenly of a heart attack when she was only 50 years old. As the oldest of four girls in the family, I did what I could to help my dad and take care of my sisters.
When my mom died, I was three months away from getting married. My mother-in-law-to-be scooped me up and took me in. She was an orphan, and knew what it was like to move through life without a mother. While I know my own mother watched and protected from above, it was my mother-in-law who was physically here with me to celebrate career advancements, and later, for the births of four of our five children. Not long after our daughter was born, my mother-in-law was diagnosed with cancer---aggressive and inoperable---doctors believed it started somewhere in her stomach area. She died just six weeks after the diagnosis.
It was my honor and blessing to work with hospice to take care of my mother-in-law during those six weeks. At the time it was happening, I was just back at work full-time in a very public way as a TV News Anchor and Reporter, I had three toddlers, an infant, and a husband at home. I would stop at my in-laws house on the way to work, on the way home, and then again after the kids were tucked into bed. I talked to doctors and looked online to find out everything I could about cancer and how it progresses. I researched medicines. I found myself administering medicines to my mother-in-law, keeping pain charts, and lists of reactions to medications and dosages. I helped to organize counseling for family members. I kept a journal with my mother-in-law. I made sure my father-in-law was eating and sleeping. I tried to keep my house, and my in-law's house straightened up. I took care of my own family, and continued to breastfeed the baby. I stayed connected to keep on top of everything I need to keep up with for my job.
I had a strong sense that I was the one who needed to take care of all of these things, and I happily did them. I would not have wanted it any other way. Looking back on it now though, I realize that I wasn't sleeping. I wasn't eating well. I wasn't getting any exercise. I gained weight. My skin was dry (I was probably dehydrated). I had aches and pains I never had before. I had headaches; but I kept moving.
After my mother-in-law's funeral was really the first time that I thought about any of that. Not taking care of myself had caught up with me. I had to go to the hospital with chest pains...scared because of my family history of heart disease including my mother dying of a heart attack at a young age. I had to stay overnight, hooked up to a heart monitor.
Thankfully I checked out OK, but before the doctor released me, he asked me about my lifestyle. He told me to consider my chest pains as a big red flag to hit the brakes, and spend some time taking care of myself.
Looking at my little children's eyes when I got home fueled the doctor's talk. My children were going to have to grow up without grandmothers, but I would do everything I could to make sure they did not have to grow up without me.
I made it a point to gather practical information from the many knowledgeable people I had in my world because of my 17-years as a journalist: medical doctors, psychologists, sports stars, nutritionists, fitness pros, celebrities, pain relief specialists, religious leaders, alternative care experts, decorators, organizers, crafters, life coaches, gardeners...I asked them each one simple question; "If I could give you ten minutes, from what you know, what would you suggest I do to make a noticeable difference in my life?"
I collected those tips, I tried them myself, I shared them with others who I thought could use them. I built a TV show around the concept, and now I am selecting some of the best tips to include in a new book, Take Care!
Although I am not new to presenting information to people, I do find myself in a new world of book writing and publishing. I've already learned a lot, and I look forward to learning and sharing more with with you throughout this journey. My sincere hope is that the tips in Take Care! will help millions of people to realize that they just need to spend a little bit of time on themselves to make big, positive changes in their lives. I love having you with me on this adventure.
Here we go.