Day What???

Day who knows is what this is all about. I frequently find myself thinking that Monday MUST be Wednesday, and that if Thursday isn't Friday then I will never make it through the week!!! So as far as the 30 day challenge went. I struggled - and continue to struggle - but this is reality, and I did the best I could. Having a baby is wonderful and the most tiring thing you will ever do if you decide to do so. I just kind of assumed this little munchkin would be sleeping through the night by now....HAHAHA. Silly Erin, apparently this little one is just not a sleeper. He doesn't get up and cry, he gets up and jumps up and down in his crib like a maniac. And while amusing for the first oh, say, 10 months, Mommy hit a wall entering month 11. And with that wall came exhaustion, irritability, horrendous stress management, and a great deal of self doubt. So, I think my blogging is going to be sporadic until this babe falls asleep for longer than 3 hours at a time. I will continue to post, just don't judge me if my spelling and grammar is less than perfect. I am operating on very little sleep!!!!

And what is the best thing you can do if you are stressed?? SLEEP!!!!!!!!!!!!

Someday - this is only temporary - Right?

Day 19 & 20 -Love What You Have and Who You Are With

Instead of always wishing for something else or someone else, why not try appreciating what you have? It is ok to dream and great to have something to work toward, but sometimes we work so hard at getting the next big job or the addition on the house, that we miss the beauty in what we have in front of us and what really is important. Open your eyes to what you have. Want a bigger house? Well, that means more cleaning, so enjoy the little one you have. Wish you had a cool boyfriend? Going to the movies solo is actually pretty fun - you choose the movie, the seat, AND you don't need to share the popcorn. We forget to enjoy what we have. Go enjoy it.

Day 17 & 18 -Listen to Your Body! (and Stay in Bed!)

No, I didn't stay in bed all weekend, but I really should have - and although I would normally feel guilty about missing yet another blogging day, I don't! My poor husband is fighting a crazy fever, and I came down with an infection I had once before that is also known as "the body's way of telling mom she is doing too much." It is quite unpleasant, but reminded me for the second painful time, that I must slow down, take my own advice, relax, and stop trying to do it all. Ugh. I hate being sick - especially when I know I could have avoided it if I just treated myself better, listened to my body when it said, "please go to bed and stop looking at facebook." Well, I think I learned my lesson. I hate antibiotics and I don't like being in pain, so I will listen (at least for a little bit!)

So, do as I say, not as I do. Listen to your body, take a rest if you need to. Don't push it when you feel yourself starting to get run down. Recharge by taking care of your needs, sleeping, eating healthy food, hanging at home, and surrounding yourself by positive peeps.

Day 16 - Don't Judge

Tough to do!! It is so easy to judge others in all areas of life - her children misbehave, she doesn't walk her dogs enough, can you imagine wearing that???? So easy to do, but it really only adds to our stress levels. First of all, judging others doesn't help anyone better themselves and it tends to mean. Second of all, if we are harsh in judgment of ourselves, we will just stress ourselves out and make ourselves feel bad. Try to go a day without judging anyone including yourself. It will be harder than you think!

Day 15-Treat Yourself

Treat yourself? Indulge? I just told you to minimize! But seriously, indulge yourself for 5 minutes each day - just do so healthfully. How about a foot massage? 5 minutes of quite time? Think about things that you don't usually do for yourself but would encourage others to do- sit down while you eat, paint your toenails, spend an extra 5 minutes prepping for the day, read the paper--take time for you!

We are half way through, remember the focus is you!

Day 14-Reassess

It is Wednesday already!!! Are you doing everything you hoped to do? This seems kind of silly this week, since I totally slacked last weekend, but are you eating a fruit and veggie every day? Why not eat 2? Are you moving your body for 15 minutes every day? Try twenty! Are you keeping up with prioritizing, writing stuff down, and organization? Spend 10 minutes and see how you are doing!

And how is sleep???? Still the number one factor to work on if you want an improved mood (in my opinion!!) Aim for 10 more minutes of shut eye a night.

Now go chill out!

Day 13- Minimize

There are many things one could often stand to minimize - the size of your coffee, the size of your behind, the amount of "stuff" you can't throw away, and many more fun things that have reached maximum capacity. Your goal for today is to pick one section of the house, your car, your schedule, your closet, your butt, anything and make a plan to minimize it. If it is clutter go through it, put things in their place, and throw out or freecycle anything you don't need. If it is a body part, make a plan on exercises to attack it. If it is your schedule - look back at how to prioritize and pare down your commitments. Minimizing one thing each week can be very helpful and keep you from overburdening or overstressing!

Day 9,10,11 and 12 - A Memory

Ooops. I wish I could say that I had some wild and crazy vacation where I was unplugged from everything technological, but alas, I just forgot my password and then couldn't remember which email was linked to this account so I found myself trying all sorts of crazy combos. Obviously I finally figured it out!! So this brings me to an interesting topic - memory. When you are stressed your memory takes a hit - actually your ability to acquire anything new really takes a hit. That is one of the reasons it is so important to destress if you are in school, learning a new skill, or need to think fast. When you are stressed your brain really does get all fuzzy. If you find that you are stressed out, write things down so you don't forget them! (Like passwords....)

Until tomorrow, practice some destressing techniques.

Day 8 - Be Happy

Goofy -yes. But, if you can find something that consistently makes you smile every day - do it! Maybe it is a picture, maybe going for a run, maybe a certain song. Whatever it is, bring it with you, have it readily available, and give yourself a good dose of it whenever you start to feel stressed. Don't have something? Well, then you need to find something. Do you have a favorite picture? Put it in your daily planner. Do you have a favorite vacation spot? Find a postcard and put it in your office. How about a favorite smell or food? Find a candle that smells like it and keep it close by (you don't have to light it, just sniff it!!). So today's challenge is to find that thing that makes you happy and do it!

Day 7 - Check in!

Well today is an easy day - and the next three Wednesdays will be as well. Wednesday is mid week, so today is the day you check in with yourself. Go ahead and ask yourself how you are doing? Are you eating a fruit or veggie every day? Moving every day? Is anything making you feel a little better? Is there one part of the challenge you find better than others? Sit with yourself for a few minutes - all by yourself - (escape to the bathroom or hide in a closet if you have to) take your emotional temperature. Stressed? Happy? Sad? Mad? Give yourself a few minutes of you time to see how you are. Now, do 15 pushups (the real ones) have a fruity snack(not skittles), drink lots of water, check caller ID and don't answer when you don't want to, prioritize your to do list, and get to bed!

Day 6- Stay Hydrated

I was going to talk about something totally different today but it was so gross and sticky and icky out, I thought I would remind you to stay hydrated on days like today! Sounds silly, but getting dehydrated can make you cranky, tired, hungry, irritable, short-tempered, headachey, and more. So get a nice big water bottle and keep hydrated all day long! A note about pets- make sure you keep fresh water available for them too!!! Hot days like today can really wear them out!

Day 5-Surround Yourself with Positive Peeps

Friends, Family, one person, five people -- whoever makes you smile, fills you with positive energy, or inspires you -- hang out with them!! At least once a week (if not more) hang out with some positive folks. If you can, avoid the negative people who suck the energy out of you. You will be amazed at how much better you feel when you surround yourself with people who compliment you instead of people who detract from you. It can be hard to avoid all the negative people, so focus instead on finding positive peeps to hang with every week! You don't need to be around them for an entire day, but take a quick walk with someone you love (that is a 2 for 1!), have a few positive peeps over for a healthy meal (another 2 for 1!). Make it fun and easy!

Day 4- Move Your Body!

Exercise is one of the best things for us, yet often the first thing to go. I know I haven't officially exercised or worked out for the last 10 months (probably longer but you get the picture!). I decided if I could look at facebook every day I could exercise every day. Run a marathon? Not any time soon. Exercise for 15 minutes most days? YES.

And so can you.

I just took my dogs for a jog since one of them has gotten "extra fluffy" in his older age....We jogged for 15 minutes. That is what we had time for and now everyone feels better. How else can you fit exercise in? do sit ups and push ups while you watch television. Do squats while you are on the phone. Take a brisk walk to break up your work day. 15 minutes. That is it. And you can do it in three 5 minute chunks if you cannot find a solid 15 minutes. Stretch for 5 when you wake up. Walk up and down the stairs at work for 5 minutes after lunch. Hula Hoop with your child or on your own for five minutes after work. Easy Peasy.

Give it a try!

Day 3 - Eat Healthier

Do you need to change your whole lifestyle? No! Just eat one more healthier option each day. Add one piece of fruit or a veggie to your diet. Sprinkle blueberries on your oatmeal. Blend your coffee with ice and a banana on a hot day. Chop up an apple and eat that instead of your evening crackers. Not a big huge change, just add a healthy treat into your day. It can replace something or be a new treat on its own. How is eating a piece of fruit or munching on a parsnip going to help you stress less? Well, eating healthier is just plain good for you, and if you can do a few things each day that are good for you, you are going to feel better which in turn makes for less stress!!

Now, fruit juice, lettuce on your sub roll, and ketchup (sorry President Reagan) on your burger don't count! and sweet potato chips don't count. Go for a nice fresh piece of fruit or a nice fresh veggie. If you are going to parties this long weekend and are not sure if there will be anything but hot dogs, hamburgers, and pasta salad, bring along a fruit salad or a veggie platter.

Eat up!

And just so you know, I am prioritizing by not baking cookies, hanging with the little man, and alternating my son's goldfish crackers with apple slices....And yes, I eat my son's snacks all the time - I am kind of obsessed with those Lil' crunchies...

Day 2 - Proof that Perfectionism is overrated and Prioritizing!!

So, I didn't blog yesterday, already killing my perfect stretch of blogging for thirty days!! That is okay though - A couple pretty stressful things came up and while thinking about what I really needed to do vs. what I should do vs. what would make my soul feel good, hanging out with my little guy and getting sleep took priority. Ah hah! That brings us to yesterdays topic - PRIORITIZE. If you can learn to prioritize, you can learn stress management. Here are some tips.

What do you NEED to do (keep a roof over your head, eat, sleep, etc.)

What do you HAVE to do (go to work, wake up at a reasonable hour, be a positive part of society)

What would you LIKE to do (see friends, do yoga, walk the dogs, hang out with family)

What SHOULD you do (bake cookies for a cookout, call and talk to friend, write out birthday cards)

If you can get your needs met by doing what you have to do while sprinkling in things you like to do, you will probably feel pretty good. But what about the "shoulds"? Well, let us try and get should out of your vocabulary. Revisit why you should bake those cookies. Do you want to? Did you promise you would? Do have the time? If you want to then go for it, it isn't really a should, but a like. If you promised you would but don't feel like it, buy some or call your friend and tell her the cookies are a no go. This should is an example of doing something purely out of guilt - not very enjoyable. If you don't have the time, don't do it. In this scenario it seems as though you probably overcommitted yourself which is something we will continue to work on. Is it a necessity? No. Might you feel a little badly for not getting them baked - maybe, but that will hopefully help you say no the next time you think about volunteering to do something.

So today, practice prioritizing!

Do what you need to do, do what you like to do.

Day One - Perfectionism - not allowed!

Well, today I was going to start out with my favorite bit of advice that I dole out - SLEEP - sleep is seriously the most important thing to work on in terms of mood, stress, health (at least in my book- literally I do say that in a book). But anyway, I decided to save sleep for a few days from now since I slept ALOT today and feel a wee bit guilty since I slept so late, and was only able to sleep like that since I had the day off.

We will conquer sleep soon, but today is all about not being perfect. First of all, if you think you are perfect then you have an inflated self ego and probably don't need to work on your self-esteem or stress management so good for you!! Second of all, if you are a perfectionist, I want you to recognize that you cannot do this challenge perfectly so stop trying. This challenge is for fun, not to make yourself crazy. Third of all, if you accept your faults and embrace them, YAY, you are already helping your stress level!!

Perfectionism is not a fun one and is very difficult to stop. There is a bit of a secondary gain we get as perfectionists - people are always impressed. To let go of perfectionism, you have to work on letting go of what others think of you or worrying about who thinks you are not perfect. Most likely, the main culprit is you. For today (of which there are but 75 minutes left - see I am not perfect at all), be forgiving of anything you did that did not meet your expectations. Accept that you are not perfect and that perfect is overrated anyway.

Can you do it?

I know today, I did, I will continue to try and do so for the next thirty days...

Where the Heck Have I Been??

Well, I have been frazzled. That is putting it lightly. And to deal with my frazzledness I have been eating ice cream, not sleeping, grabbing coffees, not exercising, and doing everything I would tell my clients NOT to do.

So, after my trip to the Book Expo - I am starting a thirty day challenge to take my own advice. I am going to lecture myself, look in the mirror and raise my eyebrow when I claim I have no time to exercise or eat a vegetable, and TAKE CARE OF MYSELF!! I don't mean getting massages, eating bon bons, and ordering people around. I mean eating healthy, incorporating stress relieving practices, and not taking too much on.

So read on or join in!!! I would love to have some peeps relaxing with me!!!

I will be ready to chillax on Thursday (the next few days will actually be filled with relaxing since I am not working, but I felt like that was cheating.....)

Quick Bit, Lots O Sugar!!

So quickly, as the frazzled dazzler, I have been quite frazzled and not at all dazzling. Working full time while writing a book and taking care of the little man and two dogs is not actually easy. And funny, it makes my eating habits totally crazy. Of course stress is a great thing to blame for my most recent Robin Egg habit. You see, Robin Eggs are also on sale now because Easter is over, so not only is stress at fault for my indulgence, but also, CVS should take some responsibility. I mean what do they expect me to do? Not buy them, save my money, and eat the yogurt that I put in the fridge at work on a weekly basis???? It would certainly be healthier if I did that!!

So, since I was (and am) so frazzled, some things had to go-- blogging, physical therapy, my hair appointment (I could be saddest about that), cleaning the house, and diet have all taken the back burner. I do feel as though most were good choices. I should keep up with PT and a healthier diet, but I knew I could do my PT exercises on the floor of the playroom with my little guy who thinks they are quite funny, and I know the poor diet is only temporary since I feel so nasty from all the sugar already. I had to let go of certain stressors like cleaning the house. It isn't dirty, but it isn't spotless, and that is okay. My peeps and dogs are happy and almost healthy (Izzy has a UTI--poor puppy!!) I am making progress and hoping to be done by next weekend. I am celebrating with a nice glass of water and a bunch of veggies!!

Despite not being able to keep up with the blog, I have been doing some research for it and have all sorts of fun stuff to share--like delicious meals with plantains, free yoga and tai chi if you are in the South Shore area this summer, my favorite favorite favorite coffee shop (okay it is the Coffee Break Cafe if you must know!!), and how to meditate in five minutes!!

So stay tuned. I will be back and embarking on the journey to drop sugar yet again.

Veggies and Peace to all of you.

About That Self Care Thing...

Well, I am still not eating candy! That is about as well as I am doing with the whole sugar thing, but I am enjoying the improvement and giving myself kudos for that. I keep ending up eating sugary things at home late at night and I realized that I need to get it out of the house in order to keep it out of my mouth!!

So as far as the other self care projects go, I am one step further health-wise as I went to physical therapy and that should be very helpful. I also have a dentist appointment and regular check up lined up.

I still haven't had a date night with the husband, but the little bug got another bug, so any socializing is on hold for a while.

So how do you take care of yourself when you have to care for so many others? Or even one other. I know the saying - you can't take care of anyone else unless you take care of yourself - I use it all the time with all of my clients. But really? Is it true? Is it possible? That is what I am trying to do with my little goals, but it is really hard. I hope that if I can instill that idea in the heads of my little clients and my teenagers then maybe they will be ahead of the game and already have a good work/life/home balance by the time they reach adulthood and face all those new challenges.

But how do you go back? How can you go from taking care of everyone else to putting yourself first? I am not so sure. I guess little step by little step. And for me, giving up candy is a teeny step in the right direction!

Healthy eating tips for today....enjoy what you eat - think about if it will be enjoyable to your body 30 minutes after you eat it, and a day after you eat it. If it will be, indulge. If it won't be, find something that will!!

Totally Cheated, Totally Rejuvenated

I don't really like to say "cheated" because I see more of what I and others are doing as a lifestyle change - becoming more health conscious, eating more locally, choosing organic when possible, eating and living as kindly as possible, and encouraging community building. My goal this month was to get rid of the white sugar I had become so terribly addicted to, and I must say - I don't eat candy bars every day, so I have greatly improved, and I do make better choices.

I threw all that out the window last night to go out to dinner with a friend (part of my commitment to building community AND some taking time for self - all you moms go do this!!) It was really my first time out since having my little guy, and I am happy I went!

Was I totally vegan - NO

Was I sugar free - Absolutely Not!!

BUT, because of this outing I found a great restaurant and an AMAZING website that is going to really help you eat locally.

First of all, we went to Abby Park in Milton (www.abbypark.com) for very yummy food!! They have great salads such as - arugula, cranberries, beets, and an amazing hunk of blue cheese with a nice balsamic. We followed that up with a really fresh plate of babaganoush, hummus, tabbouleh, and warm pita bread. I could eat that for every meal!! My favorite part though, was the very non-vegan part - A flat bread pizza with Golden Delicious apples, Super Sharp cheddar cheese, and perfectly crisp bacon. SO GOOD!! It was just the perfect combination of tastes - tangy, sharp, salty, and sweet. To go with it I had a very lovely glass of Riesling. I know zilch about wine, I ordered it because it was called "Kung-Fu Girl" and I happen to obsessively play Rhythmic Kung-Fu on our Wii (I kind of rock at it).

To end the meal, they had an amazing selection of after dinner drinks, coffees and teas, as well as big desserts and mini desserts. My friend had a very creamy looking cappuccino to go along with her mini Peanut Butter Cup (chocolate shell with peanut butter mousse) and Meyer Lemon Creme Brulee - All of which she raved about! My Rooibus tea came and smelled so amazing that it kind of overshadowed the cappuccino - it was creamy without adding anything to it and it could have been dessert on its own - but come on, I wasn't going to get dessert???? Oh I did!! Mini Sliders (mini whoopie pies on a skewer - I sent a pic by phone to my husband who wanted to know what Buffy the Vampire Slayer was doing in Milton), and then a mini Key Lime that was heaven in a mini cup and served with a mini graham cracker. Just when I thought it couldn't get any better, we realized our desserts had come with mini spoons!!! The spoons were super cute and perfect for the size of the desserts. Similar to standing while eating, if you eat dessert with a mini spoon it has mini calories (HA!).

So where is the healthy part of this? Well, I went on Abby Park's website and clicked on the section to see who their "friends" are - one friend is the Milton Fruit Center Marketplace. I clicked on their site, and that is where I found the most amazing information!! From Kale recipes, to local foods, they have GREAT information!!! So I highly recommend checking their site out www.fruitcentermarketplace.com. If you do check out their site, make sure you look at the "Just Picked" Blog where you can find out about local foods and shops and check out tons of recipes.

So, after a fun night out, realizing my husband is perfectly capable at taking care of our child, and appreciating that dessert and wine are better in moderation, I am back on the Toodles Sugar Wagon. I did bid it adieu with a sweet local goodbye - a peach strudel from Sweet Tooth in South Boston (www.sweettoothboston.com) Amazing!!! And not really a dessert since there were like 2 whole peaches in in it! and an Oreo cupcake from BabyCakes (www.babycakesshop.net) in Quincy -I only had a bite of it, it was soooooooo good, I would have eaten 10 if I had kept going...

I never realized how crazy my sugar intake was until I started writing this. It is probably a bit concerning to some....like my dentist!

Well, I am off to the Fruit Center in Milton tomorrow to explore myself. Until then, if you are looking for some yummy local food, try out Abby Park, Sweet Tooth, or Babycakes - All super great with super friendly people to help you choose what delicious treat to try!