My friend Roberta Wax and I have a little thing for Jon Stewart. (We also think Brian Williams is the bee’s knees, but that’s another post.)

We recently went to NYC for the annual American Society of Journalists and Authors conference. (If you’re a professional freelance writer or author, you must check out this amazing organization, BTW.)

We were the lucky holders of a VIP pass for two to The Daily Show, and you’d have thought we were a couple of  tweens going to see Tim Urban on American Idol.

Aside from the ear-splitting (no joke) music they play in the studio before the taping and during breaks, we LOVED the whole experience. Stewart is amazingly talented and so much fun.

And it was nice to take a break from my family responsibilities and hang with my good buddy and just have a hoot doing something fun and different. What a concept, huh? (I even had a margarita after the show… Mama’s out on the TOWN!)

What have you done lately that takes you out of your daily routine and reminds you of the person you are in addition to being a parent? Share your comments and inspire us!

I’m happy to introduce a new guest writer for Parent Talk Today, Amy Wallen. This piece originally ran in The Faster Times and is used with permission. Amy is the bestselling author of MoonPies and Movie Stars and is a frequent contributing book critic for the Los Angeles Times and other national magazines. She is also the founder and comedic host of the popular reading series DimeStories, 3-minute stories…

With families taking so many different forms these days, what we call each other does indeed matter. But that doesn’t make it an easy thing to sort through. I think Amy says it well — and with a light touch. I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Take it away, Amy…

“I sleep with Adam Lambert’s dad,” I have been told by a special someone, is a tacky way to introduce myself.  But I have run out of explanations, and that seems to be the most succinct description, and well, one that shuts everyone up.  But I’m not ready to shut up about it.  I do sleep with Adam’s dad.  I live with Adam’s dad, but apparently there isn’t a word for what I am.  I’m not Adam’s stepmom, nor is he my stepson (stepstar?) because I’m not married to his dad.  But I’m having sex with his dad, and I’m paying a mortgage with his dad.  But, I’m not a wife. So what am I?  What do I call the relationships in this non-traditional household of rockstars, sinners and one fellow who before the 2009 season thought American Idol was a game show?

It was somewhere between the first few horrific audition weeks of scathing remarks from Simon and the last week when one of the American Idol directors grabbed my arm and pulled me out of a camera view of a “family shot” with the explanation, “Amy, I leave my conscience at home for this job,” that I introduced myself with my tacky quip to the mother of  contestant Megan Joy. I was standing with Adam’s dad and mom, Eber and Leila.  For weeks all of Middle America (who apparently not only believe everything Sarah Palin tells them, but also believe that reality TV is reality and not staged at all) had blogged about Eber and Leila.  What a close family they seemed to be, the bloggers said, wasn’t it wonderful that they had stayed married after all these years? (more…)

American Idol semi-finalist Danny Gokey tweeted this yesterday:

“I just got my teeth cleaned & now their getting whitened. This whitening is long over due! Btw I’m also on invisalign. Its a mouth makeover”

OK, spelling issues aside… People, isn’t this just a bit TOO MUCH INFORMATION? I guess I like a bit of mystery in my pop idols, actors, etc.

Made me wonder what it would have been like to see Elvis on Twitter:

@TheKing Eating a fried peanut butter and banana sandwich. Yum. Just shot another TV. That Ricky Ricardo made me crazy. LMAO!

If you watched American Idol, you no doubt know all about Danny Gokey, and how he lost his 27-year-old wife, Sophia, last fall.

Sophia always wanted to have a large family. It wasn't to be. But Danny, as a way of remembering his wife and of passing on her love for kids, has created Sophia's Heart Foundation. 

Talk about a lasting legacy. Sophia's Heart Foundation plans to provide at least 24 scholarships this year in the amount of $1,000 to High School seniors in need.

The organization is collecting donations so it can provide food, clothing and shelter opportunities to help families going through
difficult times.

The Sophia's Heart Medical Fund will help families with children in need of medical help, but who don't have the financial means to get
it. The needs can be as simple as a pair of glasses or a wheelchair, or
as great as helping a family who's child needs a surgery they cannot
afford.

The foundation is also working on a healing music and art program.

If you and your kids are fans of Danny Gokey, this is a great way to show your support for him and for kids in need. To donate, visit Sophia's Heart Foundation and click on Take Action.

Just had to share this with you. Cutest thing I’ve seen in a long time. Little Paisley is just 15 months old, but she already has great taste in music! Wait till you see what she does at the end.

At the other end of the age spectrum… I was in the grocery store today, and I picked up a copy of Entertainment Weekly with Adam on the cover. The 70-something woman in line next to me looked at the cover and said “Doesn’t he just have an amazing voice?” And we launched into a five-minute conversation about how it was too bad that Allison got voted off and about how much we both liked her duet with Adam last week. The woman was in her seventies!

Talk about bringing the generations together! Adam, we haven’t seen somebody like you in a long… well, ever, actually. You’re an original.

Edward M. Hallowell, M.D., author of Crazy Busy: Overstretched, Overbooked and About to Snap!, tells a wonderful story, over on his website, Crazy Busy Life, that every parent can appreciate:

"I once interviewed a professional juggler. He told me the greatest
number of balls he could juggle was six. The greatest anyone had ever
juggled, as far as he knew, was eleven… I asked him if he was working
to get to seven balls. He told me he was not because in order to get to
seven he would have to give up several hours a day for at least six
months, and he didn’t have time to spare to do that. ‘I’m very good,’
he told me. ‘I put on a great show with six. No one has ever come up to
me and told me they wish I had done seven. I can work many variations
with six and make people’s jaws drop. Six is enough. I don’t need
more.’

Hallowell then asks us to consider: "Are you juggling more balls than you NEED to juggle? What do you give up if you are?"

That’s a tough one. I love my family. I love my job. I love volunteering at my church and my son’s school. What tends to get lost in the shuffle are things like exercise, getting my hair trimmed, shaving my legs — you know, basic physical maintenance. Not good!

So this week I plan to visit the dentist, shave those hairy legs, and get on the treadmill (an actual treadmill, not the treadmill that is sometimes my life!) for some cardio work. (Maybe I’ll work out during American Idol tonight. And if Jason Castro wins this thing in a few weeks, it will only be because every 11-year-old girl in America voted for him because of his eyes! My pick? David Cook.)