Help a Blogger Out: Clicks for Books
Do good, feel good!
Mara at What’s For Dinner is donating the proceeds of her blog this month (September) to the A to Z Literacy Project. A to Z is a charity spearheaded by her coworker that sends thousands of books annually to needy children in Zambia. (In case you don’t know Mara, she’s fabulous and she is a teacher in her other life! 
)
All you need to do is visit her blog to help out! Thanks in advance!
And for today’s question: What is your ALL-TIME favorite book?
I’m torn between my childhood favorite, The Giving Tree (Shel Silverstein), and My Sister’s Keeper (Jodi Picoult) or The Lexus and the Olive Tree (Thomas Friedman).
1 comment September 1, 2010
Residual Anxiety
If you’re a long-time reader or know me in real life you probably know that when I was eight, my house caught fire while we were out shopping.
Because it was dark, the dead of winter (January 9, 1988), and the flames were just beginning to smolder … no one knew til my dad opened the door and yelled that one word that changed my childhood forever: “FIRE!”
Our fire was a tragic piece of my past that inevitably brought my family closer together, but scarred me for life in many ways.
Though I didn’t go into it in this post detailing that frigid January day that changed our lives forever, the residual effects of that day have influenced much of my childhood, teenage years and adult existence — especially with respect to my anxiety levels. (more…)
1 comment August 30, 2010
A Meaningful Moment Worth Mentioning
For years, when my husband and I have gone for ice cream, I’ve gotten FF frozen yogurt and drooled over his strawberry ice cream in a waffle cone.
I’d always have a taste of his– but never dared order a waffle cone myself. Call me ridiculous, but I had this stigma about it being “fattening,” “bad,” etc. Remember, it wasn’t too long ago when I used to label food and judge it.
Over the past year, and now into my pregnancy, I’ve definitely strayed from those black-or-white thoughts, replaced by a blurrier — but happier — world of gray.
And so after we took Rocco for a drive around town Friday night (he LOVES to go bye-bye in the car!), I decided to spring for my much-coveted waffle cone at our favorite local ice cream place (think a local version of Cold Stone Creamery, only better — and cheaper ). (more…)
5 comments August 25, 2010
It’s Not About the Preggo Card …
Though it might not be obvious to anyone but myself, over the past year, I’ve become a lot more forgiving towards myself with respect to food, really embracing the whole “live life and ENJOY it” notion.
This didn’t start when I got pregnant, and probably explains why I never lost the 10-15 lbs I packed on over the past three years pre-pregnancy.
(But truly, that’s neither here nor there, especially as the scale tips closer and closer to my pre-WW weight, a number I hoped never to see again but inevitably will, and then some).
I have to say, it’s very freeing to live this way. I eat what I want, but in moderation. I don’t deprive myself of what I really want; I account for it and move on. I believe in my heart of hearts this is what it means to have a balanced relationship with food, something I’ve strove for on this journey.
And though being pregnant gives me a little extra wiggle room to enjoy life even more, I’ve truly been in this mindset for the past year or so. Maybe it’s just more obvious to the outside world now that I’m pregnant, and instead of sneaking around with a former “guilty” treat or eating it alone, my love affair is more in the public eye. And I’m not ashamed to be seen eating a chocolate bar, or tortilla chips. Life’s more fun with a little sweet, a little salty, a little gusto for food … something that evaded me during the worst years of my disordered eating history.
Which is why it’s been deeply frustrating to me to hear people say (to me or any of my other recently-pregnant friends), “Well, but you can have that, you’re pregnant.” Or, “You can eat that now” (basically acknowledging “but I can’t”.) Or “Well now that you’re pregnant, XYZ is OK.” (more…)
10 comments August 22, 2010
On Anxiety
Anyone who has been reading my blog for the past two years knows that the annual visit from my mother-in-law and sister-in-law each summer is usually a giant source of anxiety for me.
Without going into the details out of respect to my husband, let me just say that while I love them both very much, it’s very challenging for me when they are here. They don’t come for a weekend — because they live in El Salvador, they come for 3-5 weeks (though we’ve put the kibosh on those long visits the past few years). There’s a language barrier — my Spanish isn’t very good anymore and is about as good as my mother-in-law’s English, which means a lot of communication gaffes and a lot of me tuning out the situation around me once I lose the train of the conversation (even with my husband translating, it’s hard to keep up). My mother-in-law is a lot older than my own parents, and far more traditional so culturally there are some major differences. And finally, my sister-in-law is sweet as can be, but 37 and severely mentally challenged, which just adds to the complexity of the situation for a variety of reasons. (more…)
3 comments August 20, 2010
Feeling Ahhhhhmazing
Sometimes you just don’t need words to convey a feeling, and a beaming picture will do .
This weekend was awesome, truly awesome, and spent with my best friend. We both say it all the time, but we just wish we lived closer! Still, we always make the best of the time we have together, and this visit was no exception.
We gabbed, we ate, we drank (decaf) lattes, we gabbed, we ate dessert, we walked, we shopped … repeat!! It was, in a word, perfect!! It was just what we needed! And since both she and my husband felt kicks this weekend, that made the weekend even more special!!
I feel truly blessed …
7 comments August 16, 2010
Ahhh…Weekend + BFF!!
Tomorrow my BFF comes to visit for a long weekend–and I cannot tell you how excited we both are for some much-needed GIRL-TIME! I’ll be back next week–til then, have a safe, happy and healthy weekend everyone!!
Add comment August 12, 2010
Anxiety to Bliss …
Today was pure anxiety and pure bliss all at once.
Since we began with our genetic testing drama at 10 weeks, I’d been told around 22 weeks I’d need a fetal echo to rule out any heart defects.
This was because what they saw on the initial ultrasound (and what I was being tested up the wazoo for–increased nuchal translucency) could sometimes be related to a heart condition. (Ironic, given my role as the community manager for the American Heart Association, no?)
Today (though I was just 21 weeks, 2 days) we were scheduled for that test with a pediatric radiologist.
We went this morning as planned and fortunately everything looked GREAT!
It’s soooo amazing to see her wiggling about and to see how much she’s grown since the 15 week ultrasound — literally, she’s doubled in weight! (She weighs about 14 oz. now and is, if she wasn’t curled up, about the length of a carrot–love those analogies!). She also pursed her lips a little for us, and was moving her hands quite a bit. (more…)
7 comments August 10, 2010
Sitting in Silence
One of the best things about my pregnancy thus far (and something I couldn’t understand or relate to until now) is that I really only feel Baby Girl move and/or kick when I’m sitting in silence, focused on the sensations in my belly.
Which means I’m finding a lot more reasons to just lounge at home, instead of rushing to do something else: it can wait.
I also love when my husband just lays next to me with his hand on my tummy, waiting for some movement. I’m really in the moment when I’m sitting in silence like that; waiting and enjoying the flutterflies and sporadic kicks.
This pregnancy is calming me in ways I never would have dreamed. (Of course, the beginning was horribly scary and rocky, and I have more tests tomorrow … but for the most part, it’s been wonderful!).
3 comments August 9, 2010
When Words Sting
Feeling her little kicks (my husband can even feel them now!) and seeing my tummy twitch late at night just makes it all worth it … and knowing she’ll be here in roughly 16 weeks REALLY makes it worth it
And because I’ve been journaling (albeit not dieting) and working out (albeit cutting back from my pre-pregnancy workouts) I’ve felt particularly good about how my body has changed with pregnancy.
Sure, my waist is more or less gone, I’m thick around the middle, and my hips are fleshier. But now that I have a bit of bump action going on, it feels the way it should be. I really feel like it’s all baby right now, and though I’m sure — like all new moms — I’ll be left with some excess weight to work off … I hope that the good habits I’ve been practicing (save for the junk food cravings I’ve given into) will help me do that when the time comes.
So given my positive state of mind, I was surprised at how some words I heard today really stung. (more…)
17 comments August 31, 2010