A Roundtable Discussion
Last week I was invited to attend the Expo West Show and a roundtable discussion with the CEO of Stonyfield. Apparently I’ve been living under a rock because I had no idea that Expo West is the world’s largest natural and organic products trade show. This year the show set a new record with 56,000 attendees! I can personally attest to this fact as it took me nearly 2 hours to drive down to Anaheim and another 30 minutes to find parking. But the drive was well worth it because not only did I get to attend the most amazing trade show imaginable, but I also had a chance to talk with Gary Hirshberg, the CEO of Stonyfield.
I was not allowed to bring a camera into the show, which was weird to me because I saw other people snapping pictures like there was no tomorrow. I was pretty disappointed because the setup of the show and Stonyfield’s booth was phenomenal, but what can I say? I am a rule-follower through and through.
Gary Hirshberg was nice enough to provide me with an autographed copy of his book Stirring It Up which I am very excited to read.
Stonyfield also gave me a bag of other items including coupons, kitchen utensils, a Sigg water bottle, and a copy of Girls Gone Green by Lynn Hirshfield.
The roundtable consisted of myself, Gary Hirshberg (CEO), Alice Markowitz (VP of Communications), a member of Stonyfield’s PR team, and another blogger (I didn’t get her card). I must say that I was pretty honored to be part of such a small group of interesting people.
After introductions, Gary gave us a little background on himself and the company, and then addressed our questions. Much of our discussion focused on Gary’s take on Stonyfield’s partnership with Groupe Danone, the measures Stonyfield takes to regulate their organic farms, and the organic industry as a whole. I was very interested to learn that the #1 reason people start eating organic is because they have children (the #2 reason is due to illness). Since I personally woke up and smelled the pesticides right around the time Maya started eating solid foods, I absolutely agree this should be the number one reason people go organic.
I went into this roundtable not really knowing what I was in for, but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. I found Gary and the entire Stonyfield team very honest and committed to improving not just their bottom line, but the world as a whole. Since one of my main focuses in life is to leave the world a better place for Maya (I know my brother is rolling his eyes at this cliché) I truly appreciate anyone who is on a similar mission. And if a company like Stonyfield can make a little money along the way, all power to them.
After the roundtable concluded, I decided to check out the rest of the show. The convention center was like a Whole Foods magnified 500 times…I saw booths for Larabar, Yogi, PopChips, Pamela’s Gluten-Free, Dagoba Chocolates, Mary’s Gone Crackers (she’s gone cookies now too!), Jay Robb Protein Powder, VegNews (I love this magazine), Nature’s Path…I could go on forever. Unfortunately I had to leave so I could battle another 2 hours of traffic to pick up Maya in time, but I could have spent another two days at the show with no problem.
I collected a few samples, including some Larabar flavors I had never tried and some great gluten-free cookies and cereals:
I could have easily picked up double this amount but I only took samples of things I really wanted to try. I truly hate the mentality, “If it’s free take as much as you can.” I’m sorry, but if we are at a show featuring products that are supposed to make the world a better place, I’m fairly certain the philosophy of grabbing free samples by the handfuls doesn’t exactly fit into the concept.
Anyway, I had a fantastic time at the roundtable and at the show. A big thank you Stonyfield and Gary Hirshberg for giving me the opportunity to get to know their company better!
The Easy Way Out…
Why bother shopping around for a much-needed new duvet for your daughter’s room…
When you can hint to your mother that Maya could really use a new bedroom ensemble for her birthday?
Why bother stressing out over homemade cupcakes for Maya’s classroom birthday celebration…
When you can hop over to Trader Joe’s and purchase 3 boxes of ice cream sandwiches instead?
Why bother taking Maya to the park…
When you can sit comfortably while watching her and three of her friends force Ali to pull them around and around the school yard on a wagon? (Side note – Ali asked me if that counted as his exercise for the day).
Why bother cooking up a requested birthday dinner consisting of plain pasta with butter and parmesan cheese…
When you can battle the Hollywood traffic for thirty minutes, struggle to find un-validated parking in an insanely busy lot, and get the exact same thing at Pasta Pomodoro instead?
Why bother ordering a the Polenta Farcita appetizer…
When you know is going to be dripping in delicious “brown butter?” (This is obviously a rhetorical question).
Why bother to order the Verdure – an average dish of roasted brussels sprouts, mushrooms, zucchini, asparagus, and broccoli with spicy pomodoro sauce for $8.50…
When you could have easily made this dish much better yourself? (I’m still trying to figure out the answer to this one).
Why bother letting Maya overload on ice cream twice in one day…
When you know she is going to be bouncing off the walls from a sugar high? (Because it’s her birthday and once in a while you stop being uptight enough to give in).
I think we are all birthday’d out…on to new topics tomorrow!
The Process of Learning
Prior to having Maya, I had never changed a diaper. I’d also never opened a jar of baby food, held a baby for longer than five minutes, or had the slightest clue what to do with a crying child. I guess you could say that I was born without that motherly instinct. I was always too afraid of vomit, sticky fingers, and crying to really form a bond with the few kids that I interacted with. So it goes without saying that when Maya came along I was VERY unprepared.
The first time I held Maya I had no clue what to do with her. I looked at her and saw this bright red, angry little stranger who wouldn’t.stop.crying. I started crying too, and I can assure you they weren’t tears of joy. They were more of the, “Holy s@#$ what on earth am I going to do now?” variety.
Despite a lot of screaming (Maya), a lot of Baby Einstein (Maya), and many, many breakdowns (me), we both made it to the six month mark alive. And believe me when I say I was eagerly counting down because everyone told me things would start getting easier at six months. In some ways things did get better – Maya was more interactive and slept for slightly longer stretches of time. I also hired a nanny and went back to work, which if I’m being 100% honest, was the best decision for both of us. But things continued to be difficult because Maya still wouldn’t.stop.crying!!
And then Maya turned one and she started sleeping for six to eight-hour stretches. Things were immediately a lot better for everyone involved.
As one year quickly turned into two…and then three:
The crying tapered off and sleep wasn’t so elusive anymore. With both of us well rested, Maya and I actually started to bond.
We found we had a few things in common, namely our short tempers, our lack of rhythm, and our frizzy hair:
And as time went on I found myself actually learning from my own child.
She taught me it’s okay not to care if other people think you are nuts:
She taught me it is okay to wear trashy T-shirts and to mix pink and red with no long-lasting repercussions:
And she taught me that cleaning up vomit isn’t the worst thing in the world:
But most of all she’s taught me that while neither of us have all the answers, we are doing okay figuring things out as we muddle along. After all, we’ve somehow made it through five years already…whats another few decades or so?
Happy Birthday Maya!!
While I'm not going to win Mother/Wife of the Year Award anytime soon, I haven't killed anyone yet or shot myself in the head. And that, my friends, is how I calculate success these days. 
FANCY THAT FANCY THIS 
