Category — Healthy Living

photo by daskar

Hello, hello.

First off, let me just say that in yesterday’s post I wasn’t trying to say all men are impulsive junk-buyers at the grocery store. As Scott pointed out, some do quite well thank you very much. Just not mine. Mkay?

Another thing you should know is that yesterday I lunched with two bloggers who are just as sweet in real life as they are on their blogs. Maybe nicer, really. Ameena flew to DC all the way from LA just to see me and Estela. Isn’t that wonderful? Don’t try to tell me she was in town for her husband’s work conference. I don’t want to hear it. She came to see us and that’s that.

Moving on.

I know I’ve mentioned on this blog before (like, here) that I’m like a 28-year-old girl stuck in an 85-year-old body. Scratch that. I know some 80-something-year-old women whose knees are more functional than mine. So, yeah, I’m like even older than that.

But this is taking it too far:

Yes, I deleted some info. You never know who might want to activate my card and start getting freaking awesometastic discounts all over.

Listen, AARP, I may be old in the knees but I’m not that old. Can’t you guys take a joke? So serious over there.

I will be shredding this. Please send another when I start calling 40-year-olds little punks. Or when I start clipping stories out of the newspaper for friends, family, and friends of family because I think they’ll find them relevant. (Like that article about a moose that made friends with some townspeople and was elected their mayor. Or was that an ad? Doesn’t matter! I’m old!)

Then, and only then, send me my card.

Um, anyone else get their AARP card a little too soon? No? Then what do you think will make you old enough to deserve one?

photo by fran ca

This was my thought process Saturday night at 7 p.m. after cleaning and organizing and cleaning since 10 a.m.

I have a lot of skin care, hair care, and makeup products I’ve never, ever used thanks to my beauty editor days.

Maybe I will use them.

No, no I won’t.

So what?

This is clutter. It’s what’s taking up precious, precious space.

But what if I want it again someday?

You won’t. It needs to go.

What will I do with it then? Just throw it all out? What a waste.

No, I’ll give it all away.

But who can I give this to, really?

My loyal, faithful, amazing readers. Yes.

Yes.

I’m saying this is a tease because it’s not happening this week. But just know that in the upcoming weeks there will be a huge, epic, ginormous giveaway week of beauty products that will make you cry sweet tears of joy. It may coincide with my 200th post, which would be, of course, cooler than cool.

That’s all you’re getting for now. I know, I’m a tease.

In the mean time, name your can’t-live-without beauty product. You know, that makeup, skin-care item, or hair-care product that you’d try to smuggle into jail.

Hey guys.

Remember when I told you my weekend plans? We went a little crazy.

See, The Man bought me a king-sized mattress for our four-year anniversary and I was infinitely happy. (Even more so because he gave it to me the day I got home from my week-long work trip to Orlando, after which I was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to curl up and sleep for 20 hours.)

So after that we decided to keep our old mattress since it was in great condition. Besides, we figured our family and friends who come to visit us would appreciate the upgrade from the couch. (You’re all welcome.)

Anyhow, this weekend we decided to turn our office into an office slash bedroom. But once we started moving things we thought: Hey, while we’re at it, why not clean our entire storage closet and get rid of some of our clutter? Isn’t that what all married couples do on perfectly nice July Saturdays?

Right now, there are two things you should know about me:

1. I’m a neat freak.
2. Clutter makes me anxious.

[Read more →]

photo by warzauwynn
Does that photo not just stop your breath? Amazing, right?

Hope you all had a super long weekend. (As in, I hope no one burnt their skin on illicit fireworks.) Mine was great for a few reasons, not the least of which was having yesterday off. It was the first day in two weeks that I could sleep in past 6:30. My body was grateful. Seriously. The conversation went something like this:

BODY: Yo, what’s up?
ME: What do you mean?
BODY: Dude, you’ve been working for 12 straight days. I’m beat.
ME: Sorry, you can sleep in on Monday.
BODY: Excellent! Dude, it’s about time. Right on.
ME: You talk like Keanu Reeves.
BODY: Shut up.

Anyhow, yesterday was nice.

My trip to my sister-in-law’s was great, too, especially since I got to hang with my favorite 4-year-old. Sometimes kids say the most insightful things. Like when you’re driving down the road right before sunset—when the sun is still above the tree line and blindingly bright—and this happens:

LITTLE GUY: The sun’s too bright.
YOU: It makes it hard to see, huh?
LITTLE GUY: It’s like a camera.
YOU: Yup, and when you close eyes you see bright white spots.
LITTLE GUY: It’s like a picture. Like the sky’s taking a picture of us.

I’m not sure an adult could have ever put it so beautifully.

There are probably three other things you should know right now. Don’t expect them to be related in any way. You’ll only be disappointed.

1. I’m kind of obsessed with tea year-round, but this time of year it’s iced tea. And I created an amazing concoction (insert evil laugh here). Before I reveal the secret (another evil laugh, please) let me warn you: I own an iced tea maker and I know how to use it. What, everyone doesn’t own one? Here you go: two parts English Breakfast loose tea and one part lychee loose tea. Amazingness ensues. (Yeah, let’s do one more evil laugh. Mwah ha ha.)

2. I saw the latest Twilight movie, and dragged The Man to it. He was not a happy camper, especially when Jacob and Edward got all touchy-feely. I’ll be honest, I’m not a sparkly vampire kinda girl. And I’m also not a shirtless werewolf kinda girl either. So, I wasn’t a big fan.

And also: If Jacob sheds his clothes when he turns werewolf, why is he always shirtless but wearing jean shorts? If he’s OK with ruining his shorts to get all big and hairy, why is he so against ruining his shirt, too? The things that go through my mind as Bella and Edward stare longingly into each other’s eyes.

3. Finally, as promised last week, I’ll clue you into all of the interesting nutrition tidbits I learned during my conference. I braved many a subzero conference room for this stuff, so it’s got to be good, right? Either way, stay tuned.

How was your holiday weekend? Anyone else see Twilight—and want to commiserate with me? Or, if you’re a fangirl (and, really, I won’t judge) which side are you on? For me, I’m on Team Jacob Gets a Clue and Gives Up as well as Team Edward Becomes a Man and Fights (Literally) For His True Love.

photo by express monorail
Seriously, check out all of the photos on this Flickr page. Disney has never been so beautifully captured.

You guys had some great thoughts yesterday. If you missed it, check out the comments where everyone’s discussing the new show Huge and the line between body acceptance and health. I loved reading your thoughts.

So, as promised, my report on my trip to Orlando. Or, more appropriately:

I visited Orlando and all I got was this lousy T-shirt?

I’ll give you a disclaimer right away: The entire trip wasn’t horrible. I went for a scientific conference for work, and there were some great presentations—some of which I’ll talk about here next week. So, yeah, not all doom and gloom. But for today? Doom! Gloom!

That is, Four Things I Now Know About Orlando (But Wish I Didn’t) …

[Read more →]

photo from abc family

I’m baaaack. Good or bad thing for you? I’ll let you decide.

So even though I was so under the radar, I read each and every one of your comments. And would you believe me if I told you they were the highlights of each day? Because they totally were.

I won’t do a wrap-up of my trip right now because it might read something like this: wah wah wah wa. Brain = mush.

(By the way, the brain is such mush that yesterday was the very first day of my blog that I didn’t post on a weekday. That’s the first time in 183 posts I let you down. I’d tell you to punish me but the 30-degree conference room I was stuck in for four hours was punishment enough, no?)

However, there will be a post in the vein of a My Summer Vacation report, but with a lot less “I went to Disney and rode all of these really neat rides that made me laugh so hard I shot orange soda out of my nose” and more “I saw Universal from my window. The tippy-top of Hogwarts is way cool.”

So yes, updates to come as my brain solidifies. Today, though, I wanted to discuss something: [Read more →]

photo by express monorail
No, I will not be riding Dumbo this trip either. Sigh.

Hi all. Right about now I’m sunning myself in lovely Orlando.

Ha! That’s a joke. I’m somewhere inside the frigid conference center, wondering if it’s sunny, rainy, hailing, or the middle of the night. There are two things that keep me going:

1. Coffee. It blunts the sleepyness caused by a 7 a.m. mandatory meeting.

2. Coffee. It gets me through the sluggish afternoons.

To answer your mental question (I’m skilled like that, you know): No, I will not be seeing Mickey Mouse anytime on this trip. I will not ride Space Mountain or the never-gets-old Back to the Future ride.

And I won’t be waiting in seven-hour lines to enter the world of Harry Potter. And you know what that means—I’m cranky because I’ll be thisclose to Hogwarts and I won’t even get to play a pickup game of quidditch. Nope, I’m suck with the rest of the muggles outside the parks.

So, if you were lucky enough to land in Orlando for the weekend and if you were doubly lucky to not have to spend daylight hours in a convention center, which one ride would you want to visit at Disney?

I think you know my answer.

photo by jim bahn

Thanks for all of your anniversary wishes. My mother says thanks, too. We both think you’re really great.

I’d say Happy Friday but it really isn’t. That’s because I’m working this weekend. Grumble.

So right now I’m flying to Orlando for a big work conference that will force me to get up at the unspeakable hour of 6 a.m. on a weekend. Weekend! I’ll be in the sunshine state until Tuesday. Needless to say, I’m going to need a direct infusion of caffeine to make it all the way to next weekend.

But I won’t stress about that right now. And I won’t think about how this trip is going to make my knees scream for probably another month. I’ll just relish the four hours I have on this Friday morning to sit around and read.

That’s what I do on a plane. The movies usually rot and listening to music bores me by the time we take off. So I grab a new book and dig in.

Well I’m off. I’m wishing all of you who have a weekend (no, I’m not bitter) a happy one.

How do you pass the time on an airplane?

Four years ago, something crazy happened. Marriage.

Mawwiage. Mawwiage is what bwings us togetha today. (Sorry, had to quote one of the most amazing love stories of all time.)

Here’s the 30-second recap: [Read more →]

photo from self

I’m glad you guys liked my story of how I stalked met The Man. You know, there’s a lot to be said for making the first move. I’m extremely shy and a total introvert, but I’m glad I put myself out there. Otherwise, who would be doing my grocery shopping and heavy lifting right now? (Dear The Man: That was a joke.) Seriously though, it works.

Also on that topic but kind of not, tomorrow is my four-year anniversary with The Man. (Incidentally, it’s also my mother’s birthday. We like to keep things easy in this family and group celebrations together.)

So, four years. I’m old. Don’t even remind me that it’s my 10-year high school reunion this year. Crap, now I feel even older.

Anyhow, tomorrow. Right, tomorrow there will be much celebration going on here on the blog. Consider yourself warned.

Now to what I really wanted to say when I opened this bright and clean document: Sometimes celebrities make me want to roll my eyes. Most of the time. But every so often an Anna Paquin comes along that makes it all right again.

I got the latest issue of Self in the mail this week and flipped to the interview with Anna Paquin. The girl’s adorable and really slim. And you know what? She’s not a liar. She told the magazine she eats lots of fruits and vegetables to keep her body in that shape. She also said she works her butt off (probably quite literally) to stay in shape.

Finally a celebrity admits they work hard to look that way. Unlike others—nudge, nudge Cameron Diaz—who claim to drink beers and eat burgers on a nightly basis. I guess I just have a good metabolism, they giggle. Here’s the thing: I have a good metabolism. Really good. But I still eat well and exercise. It’s not a good metabolism that turns regular humans into celebrity sticks. No, it’s lack of calories, lots of exercise. Maybe some illegal drugs, but you know—what happens in rehab stays in rehab. (And US Weekly.)

I’m so sick of reading articles where the celebrity orders a burger or pizza or stuffs her face in macaroni and cheese just for the interview. As if we didn’t know they saved up an entire week’s worth of calories for that very hour.

Needless to say, I appreciate Anna Paquin’s honesty. The end.

What are your thoughts on celebs’ supposed non-diets?