Florida Women's Law Group - August 2020

Florida Women's Law Group - August 2020

the

WOMEN’S

Advocate

August 2020

COCO, THE CHIHUAHUA

Bringing Love, Joy, and Happiness to Home and Office Whenever someone asks me, “Are you a dog person or a cat person?” I know my answer immediately. woman came out carrying Coco, they just fell in love with her. She was a tiny 1.9 pounds of pure adorable.

I’ve always been a dog person and have always wanted dogs in my life. During the pandemic and stay-at-home order, I realized this was a great chance to get a puppy, even though we already have two other dogs. I talked with my husband, and to my delight, he agreed. So, I started looking around to find the perfect fit, and I knew exactly what type of dog I wanted to join our family.

I’ve never been so happy as I am having a little Chihuahua in my life again. Though my kids make fun of me, I enjoy buying

her outfits, dressing her up, and bringing her in to work with me in her own little purse, and Coco loves it. The funniest thing is that she knows when we’ll be going to work because she can hear my heels. I put my purse down on the ground and she hops right in. I also dress her up and bring her with me to the store, the beach, and even restaurants. While my family and I were giving Coco plenty of attention, we weren’t the only people who thought this was a great opportunity to bring some joy home. Two of my employees also adopted puppies around the same time we got Coco. And, much like how I bring Coco to the office, both Kristi and Andrea bring in their puppies to socialize and play. Kristi’s pit bull puppy is extremely sweet, handsome, and also enamored with Coco, despite the fact that she wants nothing to do with him. Yet, Coco will play with Andrea’s Australian labradoodle, who is a bit gentler. It’s always very cute to watch them play together. In addition to the joy these puppies bring to the office, they’ve also had a positive influence on our clients. A lot of people who come into our office are stressed and anxious, especially during these times. Petting our dogs or watching them play gives our clients a chance to calm down and focus on something positive, and it soothes their anxiety. I’m thrilled that Coco has not only brought joy to my family’s life but also to my employees and my clients. Dogs are truly remarkable.

2018 Jacksonville Business Journal Fast 50 2018 Florida Super Lawyers list

Ever since I was little, I’ve loved Chihuahuas, probably because my grandparents had a few Chihuahuas when I was younger. I even got a Chihuahua of my own whom I named Glory, and the three of us were very much in love with our little dogs. Glory helped me out quite a lot as a kid. I got her when my parents were divorcing, and she was a very positive part of my life. My mom has always believed in how a puppy can help you through a hard time, and Glory gave me comfort I needed at that time. She was my best buddy. From that experience, I knew how good a puppy would be for us as we struggled through the COVID-19 pandemic, giving us something positive to focus on. Between the kids staying home from school and the constant news reports on the virus, I knew I wasn’t the only one frustrated. That’s why, when I found Coco, I knew she was perfect for us. I truly felt like a little girl again; I was so excited to pick her up and surprise the kids. We told them we were doing some errands and, instead, took them to meet her. When we pulled up to the place and the

FloridaWomensLawGroup.com

904-549-6553

8771 Perimeter Park Blvd. Unit B-2 Jacksonville, FL 32216

“I truly felt like a little girl again.”

-Heather Qu ick

1

FloridaWomensLawGroup.com

To fully describe the incredible success of Jeong Kwan, you must first consider a factor that Western cuisine has ignored for millennia. While most people would assume Korean food is all about its famed barbecue, another pillar of the culture goes largely unacknowledged: Korean temple cuisine, which originated in the country’s Buddhist monasteries. A philosophy of Zen Buddhism is to not crave food and satisfy yourself only enough to be prepared for meditation, so you might think that flavor would be of little consequence in a monastery’s kitchen. However, you’d be wrong. The West’s perception of Korean temple cuisine was challenged shortly after Eric Ripert visited Kwan’s monastery and experienced her cooking during a trip to Korea. Ripert invited Kwan to New York City to prepare food in a private room at Le Bernardin, where she sent global shockwaves through the entire fine cuisine community. New York Times writer Jeff Gordinier described her plates as “so elegant, they could’ve slipped into a tasting menu at Benu or Blanca” and her flavors as “assertive,” all while being vegan. More and more critics realized that Kwan’s combination of foraging, fermenting, dehydrating, and cooking by season was not a modern practice. In fact, Zen Buddhist monks like Kwan mastered cooking in this tradition hundreds of years ago. “With food, we can share and communicate our emotions. It’s that mindset of sharing that is really what you’re eating,” Kwan says at the start of her titular episode of Netflix’s documentary series “Chef ’s Table.” She continues, “There is no difference between cooking and pursuing Buddha’s way.” Whether for enlightenment or simply connecting with friends and family, sharing home-cooked meals can be an emotionally restorative experience as much as it is nourishing. This month, indulge in something special and homemade or try your hand at Korean temple cuisine by Googling some of Jeong Kwan’s recipes.

Food forThought The Incredible Story of Zen Buddhist Chef Jeong Kwan

One of the world’s greatest chefs can’t be found in a restaurant. Instead, she serves fellow nuns and occasional visitors in a Zen Buddhist monastery in Korea.

THEWONDERFUL FUR-BABIES OF FLORIDAWOMEN’S LAWGROUP

Patch

Colt

Peanut and Milo

Mr. Boogs

2 Florida Women’s Law Group | 904-549-6553

Published by The Newsletter Pro | www.thenewsletterpro.com

“At the end of the day, we can endure much more than we think we can.” –Frida Kahlo Women Speaking Wisely

We Are Moving! Our new office is located at: 8771 Perimeter Park Blvd. Unit B-2, Jacksonville, FL 32216

COURTHOUSE FACILITY DOGS

A victim who goes into court to testify against a person who has attacked them in some way faces an incredibly stressful event. Not only does it take incredible courage to confront that person, but the victim must also relive that moment in order to give testimony against their attacker. Knowing that this is a high-stress situation, the court systems and many judges go above and behind to help victims feel as comfortable and calm as they can during their time in court, including the courts here in Jacksonville, Florida. In the past several decades, courthouses across the country have created a service to allow victims of abuse to give testimony with a service dog by their side. Superior Court Judge Jeanette Dalton of Kitsap

County, Washington, explains, “Sometimes they need the leash in their hand. Sometimes they need the dog touching their feet. Sometimes they just need to see the dog.” No matter what the victim might need, these dogs provide much-needed comfort for people who have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event. Referred to as courthouse facility dogs, these canine companions were first utilized in the mid-1990s to help victims of child abuse in Mississippi, and they are usually Labradors, golden retrievers, or a mix of both. Since then, these courthouse facility dogs have been used in courts all across the country in hundreds of criminal cases. According to the PEW Research Center, at least 144 dogs are working in about 36 states, and at least one-third of the dogs have worked directly in the courtroom. With the help of these courthouse facility dogs, victims can perhaps feel more comfortable in these demanding trials. To learn more or support this service, visit the Courthouse Dogs Foundation at CourthouseDogs.org.

3

FloridaWomensLawGroup.com

8771 Perimeter Park Blvd. Unit B-2 Jacksonville, FL 32216

PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411

Inside

Adding a Third Dog to the Household

The Story of Zen Buddhist Chef Jeong Kwan The Wonderful Fur-Babies of Florida Women’s Law Group

A Source of Comfort in a Time of Anxiety

The Historic Roots of Modern Hair Accessories

THE ROOTS OF MODERN HAIR ACCESSORIES Where Your Favorite Hair Adornments Came From

HEADBANDS

Chances are you’ve either reached for an elastic hair tie recently or have noticed someone else do so to pull their hair back and combat the summer heat. But you’ve probably never wondered about the history behind this small hair tool. Nearly every popular hair accessory today has a long, rich background that transcends continents, nations, and cultures. Here are the roots of four ways humans have kept their hair at bay for millennia.

You might guess that today’s headbands take some inspiration from the flapper girls of the 1920s, and while that might be true, their origins date back much further than that. Both men and women in ancient Mesopotamia, China, and Mexico wore headbands. The bands were initially made of metal like ancient hair ties, but eventually, people everywhere adopted cloth as it became available.

HAIR STICKS

ELASTIC BANDS

HAIR BEADS

Native American tribes and East Asian cultures originated the use of hair forks and sticks long before the accessories entered mainstream culture. Native American hair sticks are made of many materials and often elaborately decorated. Well into the 20th century, Japanese women wore highly stylized kogai, part of a sword mounting, to symbolize their social status.

While elastic rubber hasn’t been around for long in the world of hair care, plenty of ancient precursors served the same purpose as modern-day hair ties and scrunchies. Bronze Age Europeans made hair rings out of precious metals, and ancient Egyptians made them from other materials like alabaster and jasper. If you think these hair rings sound a little clunky, you’re right, but they did the trick thousands of years before the advent of rubber bands.

Adorning hair with beads has been a cultural practice in West Africa for hundreds of years before it made its way all over the world. Typically, women — and sometimes men — use beads to accentuate their twists, braids, and cornrows, and placement of the accessories can take hours to get right. Beads may not keep hair secure in the same way as ties or bands, but their wide use is steeped in rich cultural significance that can’t be ignored.

Who knew keeping your hair out of your face had such a rich, global legacy?

4 Florida Women’s Law Group | 904-549-6553

Published by The Newsletter Pro | www.thenewsletterpro.com