Like most Americans, I have vowed to lose weight in 2009. I am not trying any fad diets or really working myself to the bone in the gym. I just have a goal to drop some of the baby weight I gained having my daughter. Since she'll be a year old in less than a month, I don't think its a valid excuse any longer. And, let's be honest. My son is 3 and I still have “baby weight” from that pregnancy that never fully disappeared.

    Now that I've been brutally honest, I will tell you my vast plan for success. I have heard the countless tips. I've read all about the latest and hottest diets. I've seen on tapes of the very best in workouts from around the world. Heck, I even watch the trainers on “The Biggest Loser” for tips of the trade.

    And, to create my own plan, I suppose I have really taken a little bit of everything and found what has worked best for me, for my own body. I suggest the same.

    But, for my ultimate top secret in weight loss, I will now share with you THE big trick. Are you ready for this top secret information?

»  More The secret to weight loss

I know it has been on for a long time now. I used to catch it every now and then. To be quite honest, it is on a network I only watch from time to time as it is. OK, to be totally honest, I only get to watch television on the whole now and then. But, I must admit. I have a new addiction. “Jon and Kate Plus 8” on TLC is one of my favorite shows.

A couple, residing in Central Pennsylvania, had a set of twin girls. And, as they explain in their opening scenes of every show, a “theme song” of sorts, they tried for just one more child. Instead, they got six. Parents of twins and sextuplets, Jon and Kate tape a television show nearly each week for “The Learning Channel” (TLC). And, yes, folks, I am addicted.

I always enjoyed watching the show in the past. But, between the marathon clusters TLC is airing and my own personal life changes, something about my recent viewings has me hooked.

First off, I love their kids. They are too adorable. Each of the children has their own unique and loving personality. From the moment the show starts with one of the eight performing their well-practiced lines “On this episode of Jon and Kate Plus 8,” to the aforementioned “theme song,” I nearly tear up just watching the opening.

»  More A Jon and Kate Plus 8 addiction

   Despite tight cash, Michael was pleased to be able to take his ailing 90-year-old mother out to a particular café so that she could indulge, perhaps for the last time, in her favorite frappé. It was uplifting to see Ruth’s appetite perk up after losing so much weight and slipping so fast. 
    Because the pizza there was exceptionally good, he asked the waitress for one to go, so that Ruth would be able to enjoy it easily at home in small portions over the next few days.  As they prepared to pay the bill, the server announced that the pizza was on her — a gift to Ruth.  The waitress had recognized Ruth as the “cafeteria lady” from when she was a youngster in school. Many times the girl had come to school with no lunch money, but Ruth had made certain that no child ever went hungry. 
   Basic goodness doesn’t always get directly appreciated, much less repaid. So, when an opportunity presents itself to express gratitude and affection, it’s heartwarming to see kindness complete the circle.
    This is not the same thing as dutiful reciprocity or score-keeping. Rigid tallying who owes the next beer or phone call may balance the books, but it can also chill the life-affirming circulation, by framing interpersonal relationships as banking transactions instead of humane caring.
   I recently listened to some life lessons of the 71-year-old Mary Zeigler, a registered nurse who founded and operated Zeigler’s Carousel Day Care for 35 years. Zeigler continues working at a Sunday church nursery. No matter what the job is, she insists on highest performance standards and ethics.
    “Children learn what they live,” she observed, reminding adults to model behavior worthy of imitation. She abides no gossiping by the staff about each other or about the children and their families. Zeigler respects confidentiality and notes, “You never talk about other people’s business. You never know who knows whom.” 
   For instance, Zeigler learned after a number of weeks that she was caring for the children of her own physical therapist.  Imagine the potential dynamics if prior to realizing their common bonds, either woman had been bad-mouthing the other. 
   In another situation, as a pediatric nurse at the end of a difficult shift, Zeigler had to deal with an infant in distress. Only later did she learn that the infant she helped save was actually the baby of her grand-niece.
   One of my service-learning students at Temple University once recommended the movie “Pay It Forward,” starring Helen Hunt and Kevin Spacey. Based loosely on the novel by Catherine Ryan Hyde, paying it forward is a way each of us can improve the world by performing favors for people without expectation of direct compensation. Instead, each recipient is encouraged to pay the favor forward, by acting positively to help three others. In contrast to the calculus of direct cost/benefit return to self, benefits are magnified exponentially.
Hyde even established a Pay It Forward Foundation, with educational resources for communities and links to similar efforts. Is it too idealistic or touchy-feely to really work?
    The Web site, www.payitforwardfoundation.org, quotes a poignant scene in the novel:
“‘Don’t ask me if people will really pay it forward,’ Reuben says.  ‘Tell me. Will you?  Will each of you really do it? It’s your world. So, you decide.’ ”
    Well, what will you decide?
    A freelance writer for 30 years and award-winning consultant, Ann L. Rappoport, Ph.D., can be reached at rapporules@gmail.com.

   I recently finished reading an extremely enjoyable, interesting and insightful book, “The Year of Living Biblically: One Man’s Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible,” written by editor-at-large of Esquire magazine, A.J. Jacobs.
   Mr. Jacobs is a self-proclaimed agnostic Jew but decided to embark on this physical, emotional and spiritual journey due largely in part, according to the jacket of his book, to an “interest in the relevance of faith in our modern world.” It also helps that Jacobs has a refreshingly insatiable curiosity about life, which also helps to explain his previous bestseller, “The Know-It-All, One Man’s Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World.”
   In that book he took it upon himself to read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica from A to Z. This endeavor not only earned him a spot on the New York Times’ bestseller list; it also earned him a stint (a very humbling stint, I might add) on TV’s Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
   While in the “hot seat,” it seems Mr. Jacobs got stuck on the $32,000 question: What component of blood is also known as erythrocyte? Since this stumped him, A.J. decided to invoke his privilege to call a friend for help. He chose his brother-in-law Eric, who also liked to consider himself a know-it-all even without having read the Encyclopedia Britannica from A to Z. 
   The phone call led to what was to become one of the worst, and yet, best moments of Mr. Jacobs’ life, because as it turned out, Mr. Eric “Smarty-Pants” didn’t know the answer either. Obviously, the moment was horrible for poor A.J. because his cerebral meltdown meant he walked away with the Millionaire consolation prize of only $1,000.
   And yet he gained something that money can’t buy — forevermore he could hold it over Eric’s head that he choked during his big moment, at least until Eric is inclined to ante up the $31,000 that A.J. says his brother-in-law owes him.
   For the curious among you, an erythrocyte is a red blood cell. I’m sure this is probably etched in the brains of A.J. and Eric like the Ten Commandments were on Moses’ tablets.
   I picked up my copy of “The Year of Living Biblically” at my local library, with my apologies to Mr. Jacobs for not paying retail. I figured this was the more biblical thing to do, since the Bible teaches us to be good stewards of what God has given us. By saving $25 I was living biblically ... see, it’s contagious. Now that I think of it, I also recommended the book to a friend and she’s going to purchase it with a gift card ... that still has to count for something.
   Having attended a Christian school for grades K-12, followed by a stint at Bible College, followed by marrying a minister, I thought I knew a little of what poor A.J. was in for.
   If you’ve been reading my column for any length of time I know what you’re thinking ... “You’re a pastor’s wife?” Believe me, if I had a dollar for every person who has asked me that same question, I wouldn’t be pursuing this writing career. I would just stay home and bask in my monetary fortune.
   What can I say? Except that God definitely has a sense of humor, not to mention that my husband is an extremely long-suffering guy. But after reading Mr. Jacobs’ book, I also can’t help but wonder if my husband hasn’t embarked on his own experimental journey of living biblically. The way I figure it, by marrying me he has had to endure hardship (those times when I just can’t keep my big mouth shut), famine (those times when I just don’t feel like cooking, which are becoming frequent) and trials (like when I want to get a second tattoo), just to name a few.
   My husband and A.J. have a lot more in common than I realized. He’s living biblically all the time simply by putting up with me. He just hasn’t written the experience down and charged $25 a copy for it. Maybe I’ll suggest that to him in a few minutes, just as soon as he finishes praying ... for me. That, I think, is about as much relevant faith that one man can show in this modern world.
   Robyn McCloskey’s column appears each week in My Community Trend. She can be reached at crmccloskey@verizon.net.

   “The largest living organism ever found is a honey mushroom, Armillaria ostoyae. It covers 3.4 square miles of land in the Blue Mountains of eastern Oregon, and it’s still growing.” That fascinating tidbit was published by

   The Keystone Cap, the newsletter of the Eastern Penn Mushroomers, a mushroom club I joined.

   Almost my whole life had passed before I realized that there’s an entire field of mycology (the study of fungi), pursued by professional mycologists, and cheered on by national and local mycological associations. These folks are not all weirdos spaced out on the psychedelic, wild “shrooms.”

   The significance of fungi goes well beyond the wonder drug of the 20th century — penicillin — the mold that sometimes grows on cantaloupe and bread. Fungi’s value even goes well beyond the vital role many play as natural recyclers of dead organic material in our planet’s ecosystems. 

   Another task performed by mycorrhizal fungi is on behalf of living trees. Hyphae threads of the fungus mycelium surround roots of partner trees, providing tree roots with essential minerals and moisture from the soil in exchange for sugars they need to thrive (an example of symbiosis). Some trees that depend on these friendly fungi are the Douglas fir, aspen, birch and some oaks. Edible mushrooms are also rich in human nutrients, including potassium, selenium, copper and B-complex vitamins.

»  More Mushrooms are a beautiful and sometimes illusive miracle of nature

   There’s a building in Philadelphia that haunts the minds of all who enter it.
Within those walls are gruesome tales of murder, eerie displays of the macabre and frightening surprises around every corner.

   But, this place is not the Eastern State Penitentiary, it’s much more real than that.
Located at 19 S. 22nd St., the College of Physicians of Philadelphia’s Mutter Museum has educated medical students and the public on how to take greater responsibility of their health, while showing the heritage of medicine.

   Growing up in Center City, I found that most people go to the museum for a cheap thrill, hearing their friends tell tales of actual human hearts and two-headed conjoined twins that float on display in a jars of formaldehyde.
Whether they are prepared or not, each visitor to the museum gets more than what they bargain for during their trip.

   For example, when you first walk into the exhibit area, there’s an entire wall of human skulls greeting you with many “smiles.”

   I asked a guard if she ever got the creeps walking by that display or any others. She smiled and said that she didn’t, until she started reading about them.

»  More Mutter Museum creepy and educational

   When I was a teenager, one of the highlights of any weekend for me was staying up late to watch “Saturday Night Live.” (SNL) That was back in the days when I actually could stay awake through the entire show, unlike now, when I have a tendency to fall asleep even before those famous words, “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night” are bellowed in the opening segment.

   I came to be a fan in the mid to late 1970s, when the original SNL cast exploded onto the pop-culture radar of America. When the heretofore unheard of Not Ready for Prime Time Players, with the likes of comedians Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi and Gilda Radner, to name a few, brought their rough-edged brand of sketch comedy into the mainstream consciousness of America, a brand of sketch comedy and satire rarely seen at the time beyond the Second City comedy troupe in Chicago.

   It’s been quite some time since I have made it a priority to stay up and watch this show, which has endured for an unprecedented 34 years. But, lately, I’ve made it a point to not just stay awake until 11:30 p.m. on a Saturday night; I’ve made it a point to make sure I’m alert enough to enjoy it.

   With this election year being what it is, SNL, in a stroke of genius, has wooed back the brilliant Tina Fey to do her uncanny portrayal of Sarah Palin alongside her funny buddy Amy Poehler as a dead-on Hillary Clinton and a humorous Katie Couric.

   Though they no longer are regulars on SNL, Fey and Poehler, simply by teaming up on several show-opening Palin sketches, have made “Saturday Night Live” once again a show worth losing some shuteye over.
I think the multi-faceted Fey, who grew up in Upper Darby, is a rare comedian who seems to have the Midas touch when it comes to satire. Whatever project she is involved in turns to gold ... she’s like the Rumpelstiltskin
of comedy.

»  More Fey, Poehler are witty women, great comedic duo

Everyone needs a little escape now and then, even if it’s just within your head. If you’re in such a mood, luckily Halloween is not far away. With all the bad economic news and bleak projections for the coming months, or maybe years, we can really appreciate a holiday where everyone’s a kid playing out superhero or ghoulish fantasies. Superheroes never had to pay bills, right?
At the same time, those fantasies don’t always come cheap. Halloween costumes can get pricey. Spending $20 to $80 dollars on an outfit that you can only wear once without looking very, very silly is a lot.
I’m not sure if the cost is more or less justified for children. On one hand, you can spend quite a lot of money on a tiny bit of outfit. On the other hand, at least children can play dress-up and possibly get a bit more mileage out of their costume throughout the year.
I hate to put such a practical application on such a wonderfully surreal holiday like Halloween, but, with families facing the tough economic times, many may have no choice but to cut down their Halloween budget. After all, Christmas isn’t far behind either.
There is a silver lining, as I see it. Sometimes, creativity is born of constraint. Making do with less might spark an idea that wouldn’t have occurred by spending tons of cash for a costume.
Designing a costume is a great way to get kids thinking creatively. Kids’ toys and lives are so inundated with commercialized things — I wonder if many even know making their own costume is an option.
Markers, some old paper bags, tinfoil, and various forgotten items dropped in the garage, closet or basement can be used to create a great costume.
Instead of money, see if you have a little bit of time and effort to spend on a Halloween costume this year. The result will be one-of-a-kind, and it will leave a little more cash for the other great part of Halloween: candy.

It is just that time of the year. Lots of kids, all over the area, are going back to school. Leaves are changing, the days are getting shorter. It is just the normal cycle of things. Fall is upon us.
   I have watched for many years now, children buy school supplies, pack their backpacks and lunch bags, and board a big yellow school bus. It has been quiet a while since I was the one jumping on board, so I truly have not concerned myself with the rituals of the season in a long time. All of that changed this week when my very own baby headed off for his very first day of school.
   My son is only 3. It is only pre-school. It is only two days a week. In fact, it is two half days, for only five hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but to me, it might as well be an eternity. He has stepped into the next stage of his life, the school years, and for his mommy, yours truly, it was a bumpy road.
   My son, as usual, adjusted gracefully. He was thrilled to go meet new friends. He would get to have "circle time" and "story time." He'd get to play outside with kids his own age. He could barely sleep the night before. He was just so ready to go.
   On the flip side of that coin, I took weeks to prepare myself. I cried three nights before he even went. I made sure he had a nice outfit for his first day, two changes of clothes (as instructed by his teacher) and his little backpack all ready to go. It didn't matter. I cried my eyes out when he walked out the door, despite the huge grin on his own face and a spring in his little step.
   He was so ready. And, I was so not.
   I suppose that is the cycle of life. As our mommies watched us, so too must we watch our own tots grown up, cry our own tears and help our own kids form into functioning, educated adults. I knew it would come. He'd have to go to school some day. He couldn't always be taught by his dad, who stays at home with him, and has since birth. He couldn't learn all he needs to know from me, either. It is just a fact of life, kids go to school. They  need to learn. They need to socialize. It is a fact of life.
   Still, nothing prepared me for that first day, and I suppose nothing really would, for any parent. Though, I will say, his dad took it much better.
    "Why are you so upset?" he asked me. "Aren't you excited to see him be a big boy, to grow up?"
   "No. I want him to need his mommy. I don't want him to get older because that means he won't need us, he'll grow up, and then he'll move out," I cried.
   "Yeah, in 15 years," my husband replied.
   It is true. I have lots of time still with my baby boy. And, quite frankly, no matter his age and no matter what roof he lives under, he always will be my baby boy. I will accept with time the change, and adjust to our new life with a school boy in the house. He isn't a baby any more, and I know that... even if my heart won't admit it, and likely never will.