Welcome to the Liz: Uninterrupted, aka Liz Jeressi's Blog.

Liz will share her thoughts on pretty much everything and anything you've heard she and Lou Russo talk about during Lou & Liz In The Morning, except without Lou around to offer his 2 cents.

Of course, that's not to say Lou won't respond to her blog...

Your comments and thoughts on Liz: Uninterrupted are welcome at liz@943thepoint.com.

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Friday, September 30, 2006

I was just handed a book that looks like it'll be a huge help to me! It was compiled by Keelin Hutzley. It's called 'The Parent Pages' and it's a family guide to activities, entertainment, enrichment and academics for Coastal Monmouth County parents. This compilation will help you with everything from birthday parties to surfing lessons, and a portion of the proceeds from the book will be donated to Family and Children's Service in Long Branch. (732-222-9111) Thanks, Keelin, from all the local moms!

Friday, August 11

An illustrator/humorist named Lisa Brown, who has a a 2 year old, says
she's sick of the 'silly' books out there for babies and instead of reading
'Goodnight Moon' one more time, she thought she'd come up with books
that could have real meaning for toddlers. So she's started her 'Baby Be of
Use' series to teach little kids how to do helpful and useful stuff. Her
latest in the series are 'Baby Fix My Car' and 'Baby Do My Banking'. She's
already got ideas for the next installment: 'Baby Administer CPR'! It's all in
fun, but hey, why not?!!!

Friday, August 4

According to a new study, there is a way to go out to a restaurant for dinner and easily save about a hundred calories. Apparently, all you have to do is have a non-fattening salad first (lots of veggies with low-fat dressing....no bleu cheese, egg, or pieces of bacon or cheese cubes, or ham, etc.) Once you eat your salad, wait 20 minutes so your stomach starts to feel full, then eat your dinner entree. Let me know if you try it and it works!

Friday, July 21

On our morning show earlier this week, I mentioned how much trouble I have getting my boys to eat healthy foods like fruits and veggies. I received this email from a listener and now I have hope again! If you need help, read on!

Dear Liz,
When I was young mother my mom who is a dietician reminded me that fruits have the same vitamins as veggies. Most kids love cantaloupe cut up, watermelon, strawberries and kiwi chunks. I used to spend a fortune at Delicious Orchards in the winter on strawberries, just because I knew that they would EAT them! They also loved those little Clementine tangerines, which are super easy to peel and have no seeds.
My kids would eat their veggies raw, but disliked them cooked. Try baby carrots, green pepper slices, and those English cucumbers (the long skinny ones that are seedless) sliced up. Most times they ate them with ranch dressing or dip (you can use fat-free dressings). Also, they hated fresh green beans, because they "squeaked" on their teeth, so I always got the canned ones.
The
best hint I every got though, was in a magazine. It said to serve mixed veggies (Buy the name-brand ones with NO LIMA BEANS!!) to kids right out of the freezer
-- call them rainbow popsicle veggies and they will eat them right up.
Actually, when they are that cold, they don't have much flavor frozen, and they are not mushy. Hope any of this is helpful. My kids are 25, 23, and 20 now and survived being picky eaters. Good Luck, Marian aka "Mommie Dearest" by my friends

Friday, July 14

Recently I was planning a party for my family and looking for ideas on what I could serve as an appetizer. One listener wrote in with a great idea.
Elizabeth of Bayville has a delicious and not-too-messy recipe that I thought I'd share:

BUFFALO CHICKEN DIP

8OZ CREAM CHEESE ---- SMEAR ON BOTTOM OF PIE PLATE
3 PIECES OF COOKED CHICKEN CUTLETS -------DICED FINE (SHE COOKED CHICKEN IN
MICRO)
WHEN CHICKEN IS COOKED AND CUBED ----- TOSS IN A BOWL OF FRANKS HOT SAUCE PLACE THE COATED CHICKEN ON TOP OF CREAM CHEESE OPEN A JAR OF 'MARIES' BLUE CHEESE ( YOU CAN USE ANY KIND OF BLUE CHEESE SALAD DRESSING) PUT BLUE CHEESE OVER CHICKEN TOP WITH SHREDDED CHEDDAR CHEESE BAKE IN OVEN UNTIL CHEESE IS ALL MELTED AND BUBBLES........
SERVE W/CRACKERS.

Enjoy!

Friday, July 7

For about a year now, our radio station has been working with the Friends of the Monmouth County Child Advocacy Center to try and raise money to build a center for children who have been abused or neglected; a place where, all under one roof, a child can get all the help he or she needs from all of the professionals and officials that the child would normally have to travel to see in many different locations on several different trips. Each trip to a different facility currently means the retelling of a horrific story and reliving the pain over and over because there's no central location for the children to go to where they feel safe and only need to tell their story once before help becomes available.

Now if this cause sounds like a worthwhile one to you, don't let the name scare you off. I realize it's a complicated name, but the cause is amazing.
There are other counties around the country with a center such as the one we're trying to have built, so I find it hard to to believe that Monmouth County doesn't have one already.

Stay tuned as Lou and I prepare for our 28 hour marathon on the air in September...when we'll be doing all we can to get your donations and have this center built for the children in our towns!

Friday, June 16

We did a story recently about a new novel that just came out for teenage girls. The author of the book accepted a deal with Proctor & Gamble for product placement. They changed the story to include a specific brand of a new lip gloss. Now, I feel we get enough product placement in tv and movies without having it invade books. We usually like to pride ourselves as parents for encouraging our children to read. Here's an email we received from a Point listener:

Liz & Lou ---

You guys were talking earlier this morning about how commercials have taken over movies, TV shows, and even childrens' books. You asked where kids can go to escape this stuff, and Lou complained that "it's everywhere.

Not everywhere.

Take them to a show.

The Theatre remains free of product placement and hidden commercials. Be it a Broadway musical or a play at your local community childrens' theater, live productions offer that escape you're looking for.

You guys love music, and you'll agree that there's no comparison between listening to a CD at home and attending a live performance of your favorite musical artist. It's the same difference between sitting at home watching TV and going out to see a play, performed live by actors on a stage.

Thank you for the email. I have taken my children (3 and 5 year old boys) to two childrens theatre shows in the past year. And I thank the actors who work so hard (and usually for free) to put on a performance fit for adults just for kids! We appreciate you!!!

Thursday, June 8

In response to our Point Morning Show topic on Dr. Phil's advice to stay-at-home moms to find time to put on some makeup and dress nicer, a female listener writes:

I totally agree with Liz. I am a stay at home mom and I have to say; Dr.
Phil has NO CLUE!!!!!

I don't have time to pee some days; let alone get all pretty for anyone.
Besides...who do I have to impress? Why am I going to put on nice clothes and makeup to play on the floor all day and outside with my VERY active daughter? It is a typical man thing to say and I am sort of bugged by it.

Sure I can see Lou's side where he says that maybe Dr. Phil just wants us to feel good about ourselves. The thing is...Dr. Phil probably NEVER in his life spent an entire day with a 1 1/2 year old at his feet every second of it.

I see some moms at the park sometimes who do have on nice clothes, make up, and hair all done....People....these aren't the moms who are on the slide or running around with their kids. I'd rather run around and get ALL dirted up with my daughter than ever waste time getting gussied up. I'd rather my daughter have a fun day. That's just me.

Thursday, June 1

This is in answer to a recent listener email about my exercise habits:
I work really hard at disciplining myself to exercise for about an hour and a half every day. As a single mom with two young boys, and a radio job for which I have to get up at 4 every morning, I understand how nearly impossible it is to make the time to exercise. The key is making exercise a priority similar to showering and brushing your teeth. It has to become something non-negotiable. Yes, I would love an extra hour of sleep, and some days I have to force myself to do it, but I always, always, always feel better afterwards. I do it immediately after work, before I pick the boys up from daycare during the week. If I put it off, I'm just too exhausted to get motivated at night. On the weekends, I get up before my boys do and squeeze it in . I allow myself one day off a week. I am by no means a role model for perfect living. I struggle with a healthy diet full of fruits, veggies, etc., but I am human and like to snack with my boys on the weekends. I also get very lazy in the winter and have fallen off the exercise wagon for weeks at a time, choosing instead to munch on chocolate on the couch while watching a good tv show. This leaves me feeling disgusted with myself and packing on the pounds. The challenge is to get back up and try again! I am still learning to live with a slower metabolism and 20 pounds of weight that I didn't carry around when I was younger. Plus the stretched out belly from having babies.

For cardio, walking is very boring for me. So here's what I do: I walk/run on the treadmill IF I have a good show on tape that I can watch on the tv, or a good magazine to read. Or, I walk four miles on the boardwalk with a friend so that we can catch up on some good conversation. Or, I turn on Fit TV and let the fitness shows guide me through some fun aerobic/step/kickboxing routines. And one day a week, I let my boys play in the wonderful child care room at the gym and work out on their cardio equipment (30 min. elliptical, 30 min. stairclimber, 30 min. stairmaster, or just 60 min. of cardio and then weightlifting, which is good for your metabolism, bones, and body shaping). Occasionally I go to a neighborhood with big hills for a challenge, and listen to music or a motivational speaker on my walkman. (One day I'll learn to use an ipod!) After I put the boys to bed at night, I do a 15 minute stretch routine to keep limber.
Of course, staying healthy means getting enough sleep, too, so my new goal (now that the tv season is over!) is to aim for seven hours a night.

Wish me luck!