I’m still in Chicago and feeling all sorts of inspired. It’s so energizing to be around so many women doing their thing, and the older I get the more I appreciate this type of environment.
Tonight was the second annual BlogHer Fashion Show and I shed a tear of happiness. There is nothing I love more than to see women of all shapes and sizes celebrate and OWN who they are.
Happy Mamas Day to all the moms out there - step-moms, mothers-in-laws, foster moms - everyone who "mothers." It's a beautiful day here a little north of NYC and I plan to take my mom on a garden tour and then for brunch somewhere - still need to look up exactly where we'll be going. There was an attack on this site during the week so I decided to remove the commenting feature BUT please comment at our Facebook page, and there are other options below. Plus you can always find me on Twitter (iateapie).
(Photo Credit: tejvan photos/ Flick 2.0)
This week's meal plan ... Dinners.
Mon - Mexican Bowtie Pasta Bake + + "B" Red Salad (lettuce + strawberries + bell peppers + dried cranberries)
Tue - Chopped Thai Chicken Salad
Wed - Lemon Chicken (4 Ingredients Cooking) + Quinoa with Walnuts, Radishes & Spring Onions
Thu - Baked Popcorn Chicken with Maple-Dijon Dipping Sauce + Spiced carrot & chickpea salad
Fri - Smothered Burritos + Black Bean, Sweet Corn and Mango Salad
Sat - Healthier Smothered Sweet Potato Fries + How To Make Ground Beef Go Farther
Sun - Pecan Tilapia and Baked Brussels
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See you on Monday with more food product reviews.
For those of you who lovelovelove find posts about my life-minutiae interesting this mightcould be your dream post.
For those of you who kinda dont give a shit prefer more informative, motivating missives* you may want to click away in a hurry before the navel-gazing commences.
Are both of you ready? Settled in with a high-protein snack & some water? Let’s go!
I wanna preface this all with the fact we had an amazing fabulous holiday vacation (vaycay for the Tornado from Kindergarten at least. why do we adults always have work to do?!).
The plan had been to travel, said plan was derailed by ear infections, and the result was lots and lots of much needed family time.
(here’s where I skip to the end of the story & then back to the start. here’s where we realize I may never be a fiction writer of a traditional genre)
One facet of vacation/no school I adored was our morning-time together: Ren Man typically slept in** and the Tornado & I holed up in my office, cuddled & chitchatted.
(Here’s a photo of my office wall mural. It’s definitely less an officeoffice and more cuddle/connect-central:)
One morning she wriggled up close behind me, commenced rubbing my back and said:
Mama your body feels beautiful. It feels skinny not like mine.
(Ill give you a moment for that to sink in. Im choosing to believe it throws everyone for a sadloop as it did me.)
I’m pretty confident long-term blog readers (and those who read the blog before this one) can imagine precisely how the conversation unfolded from here.
We talked about strength, power, and the amazing things our bodies can do.
We chatted about how beautifulbeautifulBEAUTIFUL she is from her kindlovingsillyspirit to her chocolately brown eyes.
(disclosure: when we hit that second part she quickly agreed and said: yeah that’s what I thought about me.)
And I wont lie to you: I blamed her peers. I assumed they’d already begun planting the insidious seed of SKINNY = BETTER and THIN = PRETTY.
And I wont lie to you: I blamed the Husband who’d recently brought a scale/bodyfat analyzer into the house.***
And I wont lie to you: I in no way, shape or form placed any of the blame upon my own shoulders— where it turned out all said blame belonged.
You see, we’ve been struggling with some, uh, digestive issues lately with the Tornado.
Without venturing too deep into TMI-territory Ive been even more vigilant than usual with her foodstuffs. Ive focused on fiber. Ive obsessed noticed she’s been offered more junk than usual & tried to *always* counteroffer with healthy options.
And yet, while I pridefully thought of myself as Digestive Tract Fixing Mother of the Year, Id completely and utterly dropped the ball on another form of junk: MIND CANDY.
It would never enter my mind to say:
It’s vacation! let’s fill your belly with fast food & various & sundry nutritional wastelands!! it’s treat time! forget what we normally do!!!
Yet Id done exactly that for her brain all in the name of you’re not feeling well—here’s a TREAT!
It was only after ranting at the Husband he needed to put!that!shower!stepthing!away! (oops.) I finally realized what sparked the comment.
The sentiment came from a “treat” I’d given to her and then tuned out while she devoured:****
Whether it was a result of VACATIONitis or merely my slacking off as a parent I fed her junk Id normally not and the repercussions were tremendous.
Not irreparable, thank goodness, but definitely left a mark.
On me if not on her.
I pride myself on watching her consumption not only of junkfood but of JUNK for her brain.
Im grateful this was just a small reminder & was humbled by the fact I dropped the ball and immediately looked to place the ‘blame’ elsewhere.
Which all brings me to the end of my unplanned PSA & to my question for you & your wisdom:
If you have children do you monitor their mind junk as well as their junk food intake?
As an adult, do you find you’re happier & healthier the less brain candy YOU consume?
*missive isnt the correct word, I know. I just love me some alliteration.
**can you call 6a sleeping in? let’s call it that for blogpost purposes…
***said procurement was via a blog pitch. I turned it down & Ren Man said he was curious/would review.
****Monte Carlo is not necessarily a bad movie, but it is IMO too adult for a 6 year old.
I’m an extremely lazy busy woman. And that means on some days, I have less than 30 minutes to put in work for the Bikini Body Challenge. I shared this time squashing problem with the man-blogger that is Rog Law (who is also a Personal Trainer and Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach) and forced asked him to create a tailor-made workout for the people of YumYuckytopia (that’s you and me) that can be done in as little as 20 minutes. So are you ready to workout!?
Watch Rog in this quick 2-minute video tutorial that showcases all the moves, then read on for his full explanatory breakdown of the workout.
Bodacious Bikini Body Blaster
When it comes to working out consistently, finding enough time is one of the main hurdles that most people face, but have no fear for I am here to help! The following workout requires no fanciful equipment or major investment of your time, so as long as you’re willing to kick it up a few notches for the entire session, you will be handsomely rewarded for your efforts. Alright Yuckers and Yucketts, no more chatting – it’s time to get your sexy on!
The Workout: Starting with A (below), perform each exercise in order for the prescribed number of reps, taking only as much rest as you need to before moving on to the next one. Once you reach the end, cycle back through the exercises again until the allotted time expires. Make sure to mark down how many total reps of each exercise you perform and aim to beat this number the next time you repeat this workout. Rest 2 minutes before moving onto the next series and repeating the same process.
Here is a breakdown of how this would look:
A (10 – 15 minutes)
Elevated Torso Pushup – 5 repsGoblet Squat Presses – 5 squats + 5 press = 1 rep (5 reps total)Seal Jumping Jacks – 25 repsLeg Lowering – 5 eachRest 2 Min
B (10 – 15 minutes)
Mountain Climbers – 20 each legHalf Kneeling Curl To Press – 5 each armStability Ball Deadbugs – 5 each sideWeighted Glute Bridge – 5 repsRest 2 Min
C (5 – 10 minute bonus round)
Squat Uppercut – 5 each sideAli Shuffles – 15 per footThe Weight: For all of the weighted exercises, start with a weight that you think that you could only do 10 times with good form and adjust accordingly if it’s too heavy or light. You’ll notice that you’re only doing 5 reps with that weight, and that’s by design. By the time you get towards the end of the workout, you most likely won’t even be able to perform the 5 reps that you started out with, and that’s fine. Only do as many reps as you can with good form.
Exercise Form Notes
Mountain Climber: Work to minimize badonkadonk bouncing. Keep it as still as possibleLeg Lowering: Make sure to keep your core tight so that your low back is pressed into the floor during the entire movement. Try not to let the leg that you aren’t lowering move at all.Deadbugs: Make sure to keep your core tight so that your low back is pressed into the floor during the entire movement.Weighted Glute Bridge: Only go as high as squeezing your butt will take you – don’t excessively push your hips through in order to use your lower back.Elevated Torso Pushup: Keep your core tight and don’t allow your hips to sag when performing the movement. If it’s too hard or too easy, adjust the height of the incline accordingly.Now go forth into the world and conquer, but don’t forget to come back here and let me know how badly this workout kicked your buttcheeks!
