Secret stash

Kirsten's chocolate diet tip #2 (eat a few squares of chocolate) reminded me of the time I was at a mom's group and the question the icebreaker question was, "what's your guilty pleasure?" It was unbelievable to me, and yet not at all surprising, that the most common answer was chocolate chips in the afternoon. Here we were, grown women, dipping into the baking chocolate. It made me wonder how many of us across the nation were waiting for three o'clock to roll around when some unspoken rule made it okay to sneak into the baking cupboard and reach beyond the oil, flour, and baking soda for the that little bag of chocolate chips. It was like I was suddenly part of a secret society.

They're so innocent, those chocolate chips. They're so little, so difficult to count, you couldn't possibly be eating too many.

Of course, it also made me wonder how many of us eat semi-sweet chocolate chips. How many of us had upgraded long ago to milk chocolate? Or premium brands? Or...bona fide squares? Or, oreos. I mean if I'm going to eat chocolate in the afternoon, I might as well enjoy it, right?

Catherine

Every Woman Needs a Wife

Now, don't get me wrong. I love my husband and he's a great guy.

But just for a moment imagine that you arrived at your home after work, walked in the door and were greeted with the tantalizing aroma of dinner already in progress. Upon further inspection of your home you discover the children's lunches have been made for school tomorrow, clothes are picked out for each of your kids, the laundry has been folded and placed in each family members dresser. Homework is being worked on at the kitchen table and a glass of wine awaits your arrival.

This is my secret fantasy...I have a wife.

A wife who understands that I might actually enjoy eating a HOT meal for once in my life. (It wasn't too long ago that I was out in a restaurant and actually burned myself on my meal because I had forgotten that food can actually be served and eaten this way.)

A wife who understands that the kids hockey gear doesn't magically organize itself and place itself in each bag.

A wife who wants to talk about shallow and superficial things like the latest trend, favorite shoes or celebrity gossip.

You get the picture. Husbands/sigificant others are great for lots of things, but sometimes I just yearn for a wife.

By the way, since most of you know I'm giving serious effort to ridding myself of the mombod (I have lost 2 pounds as of today - 12 to go)
Here's something to try...(grill them and then put them on a bed of greens dressed with 1 teaspoon of olive oil, a splash of balsamic, squeeze of lemon and a bit of kosher salt.

I made the most fabulous Turkey burgers EVER last night. Here's the recipe

1 package ground white turkey

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1 TBS Caribbean jerk marinade (I didn't have the soy sauce that was called for so I used this and it was delicious (or you could use the soy and a 1/4 teaspoon of ginger)

1 clove of garlic

1 TBS finely minced onion

1 egg white

dash of salt

dash of pepper

Closet Dread

My friend Kary recently shared a "flow chart" designed to help make those tough decisions in life...

Question 1: Does this make me look taller-yes...buy it. No, go to question 2.

Question 2: Does this make me look thinner-yes...buy it. No, go to question 3.

Question 3: Does this make me richer-yes...buy it. No, skip it all together.
So just remember: Taller, Thinner or Richer and you have the magic formula.


I wish I had known this before I made half of the purchases that are now hanging in my closet.

Here is my dream, that I could open the door to that dreaded place and have 5-10 outfits hanging there that made me look "all of the above". Fabulous, confidence building fantastic outfits that I loved to wear. Instead, I open the door and have the following choices:

1. Jeans that have mysteriously "shrunk" while laying on the shelf over the past year. I mean really; does something happen to the composition of cotton fibers over time? Or is it that my closet has a built in shrinking mechanism like a very hot dryer?

2. Sweaters and t-shirts that were perfect 3 years ago when you didn't have to wear a hip length tee. This means it's time to say goodbye to 90% of my sweaters and t-shirts.

3. Ski wear. Now I admit that I have some good choices in this category and since in Montana you can wear fleece for any occasion these are the pieces that most often end up on my body instead of in a heap on the floor. However, the mombod sees trouble on the horizon. My calculations only allow for another month of weather that will allow me to hide inside over sized pullovers. If anyone has a great source for reasonably priced cute "hip" fashions be sure to post.

I will admit my latest fashion envy item is a pair of shoes by Dansko or Sanitas http://www.zappos.com/product/7423663/color/11

I tried them on and they make me look both thinner and taller.

Yankee Doodle Dandy...

Ok. so I admit the photo isn't me. The horrifying reality is that at the rate my muffin top has been growing it could be soon. This photo taken from the forwarded email called the 2009 Redneck Awards has become my inspiration to get off my #$% and do something. As I racked my brain for what might provide the inspiration to stop my 1 AM pita chip binges I determined that it might be friends. Now keep in mind I'm not a blogger. I don't harbor secret desires to become a famous writer and even though the focus of my blog is wellness/health/weightloss I have truly given up the idea of being a Supermodel. At 42 I'm fairly confident that it is just too late and honestly just isn't that important anymore. A friend of mine recently asked if guys ever hit on me anymore... and I actually burst out laughing. The only guy that hits on me is my 5 year old son who occasionally will kiss me on the lips. So while I've set aside most of my vanity I still have this nagging thought that I might be able to rally and pull myself together one more time. So that is where you come in...I figured if a few of us banded together we might be able to help eachother and provide some laughs along the way. Plus, since I'm going to commit to do this until July 1st, I'm fairly confident that I will run out of material after about 2 days if a few of you don't contribute. So share what's working, what's not, what you want to accomplish being part of the "lose the mom bod squad".

As I mentioned in my email inviting some of you to join this blog I have a end goal in mind. I am going on a "float" trip down the Smith River on July 1st of this year and the idea of having to wear a swimsuit 24/7 in front of others is a humbling thought. I figured rather than look like this gal, I might try a few simple things.

1. Do some form of exercise 3 times per week. I bid on and won a 6 month gym membership at the school fundraiser so I really don't have any excuses on this one.

2. Try eating 3 pieces of organic chocolate each day that is supposed to be healthful and promote weightloss. (Now keep in mind the skeptic in me wonders about this tactic.) I've tried lots of things in the past that haven't worked, but some of my friends in California who I really do trust swear it is working. Several have already lost 5-10 pounds. Of couse that suckered me in and I ordered a month supply. Not cheap I might add, so I might have to kick some butt if it doesn't work. I am not going to make any wild claims here, but I decided to try it. If you want more info. here is the link to my website. http://losethemombod.youngevityonline.com/

Now they sell all kinds of stuff from colon cleanses to vitamins, etc. and I don't know enough to comment about all of this. I only know that I have several friends who are swearing by the chocolate. Plus, most of you know that I have 5+ years of experience in the direct sales industry with Southern Living at HOME and I'm fairly good at discerning what is a scam and what isn't. I googled this company to the hilt and really couldn't find any negative about them so here goes...

Let me know if you want more information about this...otherwise just follow my posts to see what I think as I go along. I start my chocolate eating tomorrow.

3. Blog with friends to stay accountable to my goals. Now many of you might working on totally different things. I'm sure some of you don't want to lose a single pound. Maybe the goal is to get fit or exercise consistantly, etc. Feel free to participate and share your experiences.

That's it for today. Look for tomorrow's topic "Closet Dread" coming soon!