Mama's Musings

Oktoberfest 2009

We went to Oktoberfest yesterday ~ my in-laws, my sister, my brother in-law, my husband and I took the train into Munich just for the occasion. We left super early because I wanted to  be sure they could take in all the sights before we strapped on our beer goggles for our 3:30 pm reservation at the Hippodrom. Turns out we needed all the time we could get.

Half-way to the city, the train stopped. We were asked to get off the train, not because we were being rowdy (beer had not yet been served), but because there had been an accident on the tracks. So about 80 people marched over to the busstop where the promised bus service would take us to the next train station. After waiting 30 minutes (the sun was beating down on us in a rare late-summer heat wave), we pushed our way onto the bus. They were about to cut off my husband when I shouted to the bus driver, "The bald guy's comin' with!" He found a place to stand at the very front of the bus.

Curving through the Bavarian countryside, we took the scenic route to the next town about 25 minutes away. By the time we got the station, we had to race to get on the next train. We got off with all the other lederhosen-wearing folks a few stops from the main train station. We arrived at our tent 15 minutes before our reservation time.

Happy to finally taste the long-awaited Bavarian beverage, I warned my sister that the moment she started to feel that dancing on the table was somehow the right thing to do was the exact moment she should order water. After her first beer, she grinned a dancy grin and I knew she had reached the point. So we ate more food and ordered more water, then more beer, then more grinning until a sausage in a bun was the only thing that could save us.

By then it was dusk so we went to a few of the other tents just to experience them. The sound was deafening at the Hofbräu tent, which accommodates 10,000 people. We got home safely (and without incident or accident) by 10 p.m.

All in all it was a great time ~and no. We only danced in the streets!

Cool hat groove

My daughter never lets me wear this hat so I bribed her.

"You can have that yoghurt with the chocolate sprinkles while I wear it."

She conceded. Unwillingly. And has never eaten yoghurt so fast in her life.

It gave me enough time to do this. Cool hat groove time. Summer and the living is easy...

Extras Wrangler and the American Cowgirl

If you've ever been on a film set, you will know there are two things of utmost importance: punctuality and quiet. Without those two things, ne'er a movie made will be.

I was asked to be an extras wrangler for a long-time running TV family soap opera in Munich recently. Wednesday was my first day on the job. It entails making sure all the extras on set are a) quiet, b) in their appropriate positions on cue and c) don't eat, mangle or destroy any of the props. It may sound easy, but it's like herding cats.

The particular set where I am is an outdoor one. It is reminiscent of Sesame Street without the puppetry, only more real because it truly is outside. You get to feel one with nature as it rains, snows, or is blazing hot (like yesterday). But the cool thing is they give you a walkie talkie and suddenly you are distinct from the pack. The walkie gives you authority. Armed with my head set, I am the American cowgirl.

The casting agency that hired me told me "If you can affect quiet with one 'Pssssssshhhh!', you've arrived." On the first day, relatively early on in the day, I managed to silence 32 people with an evil look and the fiercest "Pssssssshhhh!" I could muster. Because I am an extra sometimes, too, I know how it feels to sit in a small room for hours on end while you wait for your next performance. Battling the ennui, you are often lulled into a dull trance or irritable. Whenever they get unruly, I start counting their lovely German-speaking heads outloud in English. The stunned effect works wonders and keeps them quiet when I need it most!

Being a mom helps as I have learned how to blend the right amount of authority with love and affection. Laughter, stillness, and a powerful sense of purpose yield great results. And yes, sporting sound equipment and a clipboard helps, too!

I used to be a nice person, until I had kids

If you believe Debbie Ford (I do), we all have a shadow side: that dark, ugly part of ourselves that most like to stuff in the back closets of our being. Having kids has taught me I have one, too. Lack of sleep, improper nutrition and a seemingly endless weight of responsibility have driven me to say less than nice things on occasion. Anyone who denies they've snapped at their kids is lying.

Don't get me wrong. Most days are rather lovely. We joke, tell stories, laugh, tease each other and banter about the kitchen, growing in our appreciation for one another as human beings. But as such, we all carry a darker side that comes to light when we least expect it ~ for where there is light, there too are shadows.

Debbie Ford, who has written a number of books including Why Good People Do Bad Things, is releasing her first docudrama called The Shadow Effect tomorrow. I'm thrilled to have learned of it as I think she is brilliant. Even my sister's and my all-time favorite singer, Alanis Morissette, has benefited from Debbie's wisdom. According to the Summer 2007 issue of Balance magazine, Alanis states:

"Through Debbie Ford’s shadow work, I learned that it’s through working with the shadow part of ourselves that those challenging things pull us toward becoming who we are today.”

Thanks to Debbie, we've got cool songs to sing our hearts out through Alanis' interpretations of life as a shadow dance (my sister and I personally thank you, Ms. Ford!). May we all bask in the warmth of the light as we embrace all sides of ourselves ~ the good, the bad, and the ugly.

What if you didn't want to be a father?

Father's Day is coming, but what if you're a teen when you become one? Despite the different approaches of full-blown sex education and abstinence warnings, teen pregnancy continues to rise all across the country, with American children having children at the highest rate among industrialized nations.

ABC News' Primetime followed four families over a period of one year to give teen pregnancy a face...and a name. The show is called "Primetime: Family Secrets,” airing on TUESDAY, JUNE 23(10:00 – 11:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network. For a sneak peek, tune in here.

You will meet:

• A young couple from In Haverhill, Massachusetts, who are high school seniors and taking the less traveled path of trying to raise their six-month-old son together.

• Louisville, Kentucky's 14-year-old Mahogany, who attends an unusual school designed for pregnant teens as she experiences both determination and self-doubt with her body changing every day. 
• An 18-year-old homecoming queen from In Yakima, Washington, who shocks the school her senior year by becoming pregnant with the school’s star quarterback.  
• 14-year-old Paige from Texas, who cries out for her mother when the contractions intensify.

Some of the teenagers Schadler meets have their parents’ support, while some feel completely alone, but all of them are ill-prepared for how quickly they have to grow up.   

Can you imagine leaving your kid all alone if he or she is in trouble? Education is key.

 

Foiled Again - Another One Minute of Fame

A few months back I played a small part on this show. In that episode, the female detective, Sandra Nitka, fools me at the doctor's office. My technical savvy wasn't as good back then so I couldn't capture the clip. I've since gotten a new laptop with better sound quality. This time I inform the detectives about a death in the house. Only the truth is never quite what it seems...(it's in German...)

Study says women multitasking more rather than less - but at home

A cool new study on women and digital life conducted by SRG has come up with some interesting findings. According to the research study, which was based on over 2,000 in-depth interviews with 'women' 12 and up, women's time on household duties has increased.

Forty-one percent of those surveyed claimed they are spending more time cooking in the home. TV time has also increased, and the Internet, in an entertainment context, is siphoning more leisure time from women. Fifty-eight percent say they are spending more time with the Internet and 38% say the same for TV. The losers in the equation are: going out for shopping (52% saying they are doing less); exercising or sports (33%); or sleeping (27% saying less).

Television has become 'ambient noise' as women engage in other things. Gone are the days you'd fold laundry while watching soaps. Now women are engaging in social networking sites on their laptops or hand-helds while the TV blares in the background.

Half of women with laptops say they have their laptops with them ‘almost always’ or ‘frequently’ when watching TV in the evening. Another 18% use their laptops when watching TV in the evening ‘occasionally.’ In addition, 52% say they are using their wireless device while watching TV at least occasionally.

I used to be guilty of that. Now I shut my laptop down before flipping on the tube. But not before I check the listings to see what's on. And most days nothing is!

1.5 seconds of fame

You may remember me talking about doing a few acting jobs on the side. In January I spent the better part of the day freezing in a container outside one of Munich's most posh hotels, Bayerischer Hof, without heat and very little to eat.

If you squint really hard, you'll see a blonde chick behind and to the right of Luca Toni (the cute Italian soccer player in the blue shirt). That's me.

Too funny.

Second Acts After Motherhood

An interesting look at second acts. Do you have a plan for when the kids get older? I sure do, and I'm planting the seeds right now.

Watch this to see how one single mom went from nurse to Emmy award-winning actor!

Point of No Return

You know you've reached a point of no return when you start turning down TV gigs because you've done three days of filming already and your kids are starting to forget your name.

While on a business conference call connecting London with Washington and Munich, my cellphone rang. When I called back, it was my casting agency calling in a panic as the person who was to play 'the reporter' in a TV movie jumped shipped. I couldn't take it on as quite frankly, I'm a wee bit tired from standing around in the cold on Tuesday waiting to play a bar guest with 2006 World Champion soccer player Luca Toni and President of FC Bayern Franz Beckenbauer in a TV commercial for a sports channel. The pay wasn't great, but the experience was definitely worth it. In measures.

Besides, I have my in-laws coming on Friday, a film crew coming to my house on Saturday, and we're going on vacation right after the shoot. Sigh. The kids are going with Oma and Opa to the Austrian Alps while we do a segment on 'living without petroleum products for a day'. It turns out I know the host of the show.

Small world!