Mar21

The “Whole” Enchilada

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After surviving my Anatomy and Physiology class I have finally rewarded myself with a much needed break.  It has been a long while since I have had a chance to read and research nutrition.  My books have collected dust on the nightstand next to my bed.  But now I am back in the game and I am loving what I am learning.  A couple of friends had told me about a new book and nutrition regiment called “The Whole 30.”  Based upon the book, “It Starts With Food,” Dallas and Melissa Hartwig address the idea how the food we eat each day is harming our body and could be the possible root to many illnesses and diseases ailing the general public.  It is not the first book I have encountered in my readings to hit upon this idea, but I always enjoy learning what each individual’s personal take is on the theory.

When I say the “food” we eat I mean the overly processed, meal-in-a-box variety that haunts a majority of our grocery shelves.  The need for quick meals and food at our fingertips began when our society grew and expanded decades ago.  Instead of growing vegetables, using local markets and eating “closer to the earth,” our society’s on-the-spot demand for products led to mass-produced quantities of canned this, dehydrated that, all carried large-haul shipments across the nation and around the world.  To preserve food, companies had to find a way to keep it from spoiling while traveling to your grocer’s shelf.  Begin the era of additives, preservatives and food dyes.  There is enough room to write about this phenomenon, but I am not going to boggle you down in those details.  It is worth research, though, just so you can be a more proactive consumer.

Today we are becoming more educated, mainly because our health has slowly deteriorated.  Although a lot of companies still use preservatives and such in their products, many are taking notice of what consumers are asking for and removing some of those harmful things.  But you still run into the problem of keeping food from spoiling, and this still requires some sort of preservative or less-than-natural additive in food.  And this is where much of the problem arises today.  I mean, how many of you have been to a restaurant and seen bottles of mayonnaise sitting on the tables instead of in the refrigerator? That is the stuff that makes my stomach flip a little and want to run the other way.

I have always been someone that tried to eat healthy, but ignorance was my enemy and I made a lot of mistakes.  I ate low-fat, store-bought foods and completely missed the forest for the trees.  Instead of looking at the ingredient lists of what I ate, I always payed attention to the calorie and fat content.  I am not saying those things are not of major concern, but they are definitely only a piece of the proverbial pie in today’s nutritional regiments.  Now I am more concerned about what a product has in it in addition to making sure it is not loaded with saturated fat, sodium and trans-fats.  But that isn’t really enough for me, and I want to go a step further and get closer to eating things with ingredients I can say.  I want to open up my refrigerator and see more condiments and food that I made with ingredients I want to use so I know it will be good for my body.

This is how I ended up becoming interested in The Whole 30 program.  So now I am setting out on an endeavor and trying to adhere to the 30 day eating regiment and see if I feel as great as others claim to feel.  I am excited to learn how to make my own ketchup, BBQ sauce and other food items with the ingredients I want my family to eat.  Today marks a full week on the program.  Was I perfect?  No, but I tend to not do well with really strict regiments.  I just love the process of flavors, textures and such when I cook.  But I will say I stuck with it until the weekend.  I had a few missteps in the form of Vodka, red wine (my ultimate indulgence) and a few birthday cookies.  But I was more conscious of what I was eating and why.  So I still feel the Whole 30 was in my head and working because I was being mindful of what I ate on the “naughty” list, and I took the time to enjoy each bite.  I never would have done that before this trial, diving head first into a delicious cookie without really tasting it.  Hope that makes sense, but it is truly how I felt when I sat and thought about my week.  I never felt guilt, I guess I just appreciated and sensed flavors better after having an entire six days with really good, whole foods that didn’t have a lot of additives, sugar or other stuff I can’t pronounce (or even type correctly).  I am A-Okay with that too.

I will check in again after going through another week of the program and trying out some new recipes.  I think once I get the hang of cooking in this mindset, I will be able to become more adventuresome in my cooking.  For right now, I am pulling things from the books.

The hardest part of this program is not being able to drink wine.  That is such a cultural thing for me, and I do miss all its pomp and circumstance.  So I am not going to beat myself up when I slip and have a glass, or two, of something fruity and fabulous.

If you are interested in checking out the Whole 30 program, I highly recommend reading the book “It Starts with Food.”  It gives you a lot of the  reasoning and science behind the program.  Those are two areas I am extremely interested in, so I read every single page and added lots of highlights.  If you are not into that and just want to find a good regiment to kick-start a healthy lifestyle, then just get the Whole 30 book/recipe guide online or at your local bookstore.

For any other information, just visit the web site at http://www.whole30.com.  There you can read a bit about the authors, their educational background and get insight from others who have adhered to the program.

Wish me luck as I continue on, and I promise to be open and honest about my progress!

Until next time,

Cheers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jan28

Turning Lemons into “Lemonade”

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To be sitting at my laptop and actually typing is such a treat. I have not had a chance to write in a LONG while for the simple fact I have been back in school. Wait, school-seriously? Why would someone at my age want to go back to school and deal with homework, study groups, projects and such…all while juggling children, family and life in general? Well, it is something I have found that fits into my niche of health, exercise and doing things daily to improve one’s self, as well as the improvement of others around me. I am studying to be a Healthy Lifestyle Coach, and so far my classes have been very challenging, but extremely interesting! (This is good because there have been many late nights when my eyes would rather close at 9 p.m. instead of 1 a.m.)

So writing on my blog has not been a top priority for me, but there are many things I plan to write about, and I have been diligently keeping a log of ideas with pictures to show the two or three people who may read my words.

One thing I have put off doing in recent weeks (besides making my Kombucha brew-see a previous article on that one) is making my own preserved lemons. Preserved lemons are typically found in Moroccan cuisine. They are tangy, tart and add amazing flavor to anything from chicken to beef stew. I first discovered this culinary treat when I purchased a cookbook by the über-famous, somewhat quirky, Gwyneth Paltrow. She has several cookbooks out, all of which I have sitting on my kitchen counter. I just love her simple love of ingredients and wholesome goodness when it comes to cooking. But some of her recipes have a few hard-to-find items that I needed to order online just to try the recipe. One of those being “preserved lemons.” And when you order something like that off Amazon, it amazingly comes in a small jar with maybe two lemons in it instead of a five-gallon jar of lemons floating in a salt solution. All for the awesome price of, well, let’s not go there.

Never using something like this before in my recipes, I needed to figure out what the taste was going to be like for my meal. So I took a small piece and popped it nonchalantly in my mouth. WOW! Imagine a Sour Patch Kid on crack and that can give you the idea of the level of acidity this product has in one small jar. But it just mellowed so beautifully in my chicken dish! Imagine the possibilities this same mouth-puckering morsel could do to other dishes that maybe needed a little pick-me-up. Of course, now I was fully sold on the beauty this simple culinary addition could add to my cooking capabilities.

But ordering online is a pain, and when you don’t use things frequently enough, they go bad. Then you have to re-order online, wait and wait some more. Now, if I lived in a thriving metropolitan community, this would be a different story. But I don’t, so I have to get a little creative. Luckily I am an avid watcher of Food Network Television. One day, Ina Garten was making some sort of French-inspired dish, but she used preserved lemons and demonstrated how to make them! Of course I didn’t have the chance to finish the episode, but it got me thinking…if Ina can make her own preserved lemons, why can’t I do it?

On to research and Google. I located a simple, simple recipe to make preserved lemons and grew giddy with excitement over all the money I was going to save in shipping fees! The recipe is simple and inexpensive, so if you want to take a shot at cooking with preserved lemons, this is the way to go without paying a lot of money for a small amount of product. Your patience will be well rewarded with a yummy accent to your daily cooking.

Here is what you will need for making homemade preserved lemons:

I used a small bag, around 5 lb. bag, of seedless lemons. The recipe called for Meyer lemons but my grocery store was out. Meyer lemons are a bit “sweeter” than a traditional lemon. If you can’t find Meyer, hang loose and just get regular lemons.

You will also need some lemon juice on hand, around 1 or 2 cups. Kosher salt or regular sea salt is another item needed. Finally, you need some sterile mason jars with lids.

 

Recipe:

Scrub clean 4 to 6 lemons. Cut ¼ off one end of each lemon and then make a cut into the lemon that divides it in half, but do NOT cut all the way through the lemon. Make another cut so the lemon is now divided in quarters. Again, don’t cut all the way through the lemon. It needs to stay together at the base.

 

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Next, take your kosher salt and rub on the outside of the cut lemons. Then take the wedges (still connected), spread open and put more kosher salt on the inside of each lemon.

IMG_7987Place 1 or 2 tablespoons of kosher salt in the bottom of your mason jars (probably 2 is enough for 4-6 lemons).

Now, place the salted lemon pieces into the salted mason jars. Gently press the lemons down so that all the juice can come out and start to cover the lemons in the jar. You will need to add more lemon juice at this point so that the lemons are completely covered in the jar.

Once the lemons are packed into their salty nest, completely covered in lemony liquid, you can screw the lid on the jar and set it on your counter. The jar needs to sit for around 3 days at room temperature. During this time you need to be sure to flip the jar upside down several times to get all the liquid around the lemons. This also helps to dissolve the salt.

After the three days, put the lemons in the refrigerator for up to three weeks. Remember to turn the jar upside down every so often. The rinds of the lemons will soften during this time.

When the three weeks or so is up, the lemons are ready to use for cooking. When you use a lemon, one wedge at a time, cut the pulp out from the rind. You are only after that part of the lemon at this point. The rind can be diced up and used in sauces, soups, marinades and salad dressings. Whenever you want to have a “lemony essence” in a dish, here is your answer. But a little goes a long way, so try a small slice and if you want more zing, then add more. You don’t want to overpower your dish. I love to use these little treasures in my sauces for chicken, lamb or turkey dishes. Another great idea is to mix in plain Greek yogurt with some garlic and chives. It can become a great mix to put over roasted broccoli or smoked salmon.

Of course when I talk of food I love to talk wine. So when I think of preserved lemons I lean towards a wine with more acidity. This brings me to some great Sauvignon Blancs and White Burgundies. There is no need to break the bank on a bottle either. Kim Crawford, out of Australia, has one of the best Sauvignon Blancs in my own opinion. Another great label to look for is the Macôn-Villages label from the Burgundy region of France. Some of these wines are very inexpensive, delicious to drink on their own or enjoy with a great meal…including your newly made preserved lemons, of course.

Either route you choose, remember you want to ask or find a wine that has some great acidity to it. Don’t go for oak-based whites. That will mute the flavor of your lemons. So go out, preserve, cook and drink…and may you be merry in it all!

Until next time,

Cheers

Aug17

Color in all the Wrong Places

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I am a person who loves color. Red, yellow, blue, pink, oh how the list goes on and on. But one place I do not like to have color in is my food. Now, I am not talking about the “rainbow” of colors you get from fruits and vegetables. I am talking about the artificial colors used in a majority of our processed foods you find in grocery stores across the county, even the world. If you have missed the memo on artificial dyes found in foods, don’t feel bad. It is not a widely publicized topic of conversation on your local news. You probably hear more about Kim Kardashian’s outrageous style disasters before you hear the term “Yellow 6” or “Red 40.” If you have come across this information, then you have an idea of where this article is going to go.

In this latest post, I am not going to bog you down with scientific details or research explanations. It would take too much time, and quite frankly, I think you would loose interest. I just want to highlight the nitty-gritties of this so you can become more aware of what you are putting into your body, and the bodies of those around you.

I recently became interested in learning more about artificial food dyes after talking with a health professional about my daughter’s rather limited diet. My oldest has been a picky eater since she could self-feed. And it has been hands-down one of the most frustrating experiences as a parent. Sitting at the kitchen table until nine o’clock at night, tempers flared and still not a single green bean has left the plate. Battles over limiting candy and fighting off soda cravings. And the ironic thing is, as my friends would tell you, I am an extremely health-conscious person. Don’t get me wrong; I do indulge in fried foods, delicious desserts and frozen margaritas. But I also find a way to balance my indulgences with sensible eating and moderation.   I want to put forward a positive example for my family, and honestly, I love learning about healthy nutrition. So having a kid that is the exact opposite of me when it comes to food has been exasperating, to say the least.

The problem is, our children (and ourselves) are engulfed on a daily basis with unhealthy foods and treats. You see it in gas stations, on billboards, television commercials and in most of your grocery aisles. These tempting items smack us in the face constantly, and when you dive into the forbidden pleasure, it leaves you wanting more. It is the world we live in, so can you blame a 7-year-old child for wanting all those delicious treats offered by large food corporations? When parents or caregivers don’t make healthy choices, how are we supposed to expect children to do the same? They have to depend on us to teach them how to make good choices (when they want to actually listen to us). Yet, Oreos and Cheesy Puffs still land in the grocery cart more often than we care to admit because the fight gets tiresome. I totally get it, and I am completely guilty of this crime.

But now that I have read some information from published research studies (check out new research done by Purdue University on dyes in foods), I now look at food labels much differently. And I have cleaned out my pantry and eliminated the foods that have these dyes. Sound impossible? It really isn’t too hard once you know what to look for and how to find substantial substitutes.

What exactly are you looking for on a label? The most common dyes you will see in your boxes of macaroni and cheese, fruity kids cereals and powdered drink mixes are Red 40, Yellow 5 and Yellow 6. Companies also use Blue 1 (think candy-coated chocolates). These dyes are listed for all to see, usually at the bottom of the ingredients, underneath the Nutrition Facts.

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When dyes first came into play during the 1950’s, not much information was available on the long-term effects they posed on the general public. But now that food companies put them in so many things we eat each day, the consequences are becoming greater and people want answers. More and more information is coming out each year about this subject, and in 2011 the FDA acknowledged that food dyes could cause behavioral problems. The findings from Purdue University’s research I mentioned earlier (Journal of Clinical Pediatrics) have found that when dyes are consumed in large quantities daily (100 mg or more), behaviors in children are affected.

To put this in perspective, if your kid eats a bag of Skittles, he or she will consume around 33 mg of dye per serving. Kraft Macaroni and Cheese was found to have a little over 17mg of artificial dye per serving. My kids eat this particular item almost once a day. Start adding things together and there is a good chance you run well over 100 mg on a daily basis. Remember, some kids will be more sensitive than others, but if you have a child that has repeated behavioral problems (outside the normal tantrums and struggles you see at each developmental stage) and trouble in school, you may want to make a food diary of what he or she is eating. This includes the things they eat when they are not in your presence. Just remember the saying, “you are what you eat!”

After pulling out a few things my daughter eats daily, (eh-hem) Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, I found out she not only eats too much sugar, but the foods I thought were okay turned out to have these dyes. It makes sense when you start connecting the dots, especially if your kid is acting out-of-the-ordinary. I am not throwing the gauntlet down and telling all of you to go crazy and throw out your entire pantry. But maybe just take some baby steps, like I am doing, and start eliminating/replacing certain items eaten most often with healthier alternatives. Look for organic items that use natural vegetable extracts for coloring. They will list these extracts on the ingredients, same spot where a dye would be located. And many organic candies, although use sugar, do eliminate artificial dyes. Drinks are the most notorious for using dyes, so try and find organic juices and sodas (this means no more low-calorie powdered drink mixes). I just found a company that makes flavored extracts for your water so you can still get a low-calorie option without the harmful side-affects (www.flavrzdrinkmix.com). And you have to remember the taste of what you replace your favorite snacks with will be a bit different, but isn’t it worth a try?

My biggest smile from all this research is that it has NOT come to my attention to find Red 40 in any of my favorite red wine labels. Dodged that bullet, thank goodness! So open up a bottle of wine and start looking at your food labels. Let’s try and get awareness out amongst friends and family about why the FDA needs to really start regulating and eliminating these harmful dyes in our everyday foods.

Jun30

Americans Yawning at Wine?

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This evening I was sitting (which doesn’t happen often in this house) reading my latest Wine Spectator magazine (I still have three previous issues I need to read), and of course, sipping a glass of wine. Now, don’t think I am going all “pompous” on you here. I wasn’t wearing a smoker’s jacket or silk pajamas. Classical music was not playing in the background. Actually, I had my ratty pajamas on, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse blasting on the television and a 3-year-old singing “Thomas the Train’s” theme song. Not really the atmosphere adhering to an issue of Wine Spectator. But this is my life, and at least I get to have a little indulgence every once-and-again.

If you have never had the chance to read a Wine Spectator, I urge you to pick up a copy the next time you find yourself roaming the magazine aisles at Barnes and Noble. Even if you despise wine and only drink whiskey or tequila (which they advertise profusely in their magazines), you should flip through it for the simple fact this company has one of the best-produced pieces of “quick read” literatures on the market. Not only is the magazine larger than any other on the stands, but also the pages feel so much different than your typical monthly read. They are thick and rich in color. It is almost like you can feel the font on each page you hold. Okay, sorry for digressing. I get lost in thought on these things. I love the written word, especially when I get to hold it in my hands. So it hits a pretty soft spot for me. If you really don’t care about all that, pick it up for the good wine tips and buyers guide at least. You never know whom you will impress.

My point in this post is not to talk about how fantastic the pages of Wine Spectator are, but rather, to bring up an interesting point I read in the latest issue. In the “Grapevine” section for this month it talked about how Bordeaux wines have started dropping prices. It then makes a correlating statement about younger generation Americans not willing or truly understanding why it is important to pay higher prices for wines coming from First Growth vineyards in France. I have to say, as a Generation X wine-drinker, I agree with what the article seemed to lament. I see this so often among my peers. They want a wine, something to drink tonight with a steak or great piece of fish. They are usually not looking for wine to cellar for years to come, anticipating in the way it will taste at a child’s graduation dinner or wedding reception. And honestly, that is okay. Passion for wine has to start somewhere along the road of life, and sometimes it never really gets above the “let’s have a few bottles on hand when we feel the mood strike” level.

I may be reaching out on a limb with this one, but there might be some truth to the article’s statement about how “Bordeaux has also failed to ignite interest in the next generation of wine drinkers.” Ralph Sands, senior wine specialist at California-based K & L Wine Merchants goes on to suggest, “Bordeaux needs to upgrade the little marketing that they do here in America to attract new young buyers before it’s too late.” Is he right? Who knows, but it is an interesting piece of information to ponder for wine aficionados out there. Fact is, I can see the generational gap in wine buying when it comes to high-priced French, and even American wines, fade a little. Especially if it is a bottle never before tasted.  Many of the First Growth and Second Growth Bordeaux wines need to cellar for several years after they are released on the shelf to really become ready to drink.  They are usually very tannic wines, and can turn off a newly groomed wine palate.  I remember how my dad used to cringe when he opened a nice Bordeaux and I could barely stomach the stuff!  These wines can be an acquired taste, and for a “green” wine drinker, not always the best “bang for your buck.”  But it doesn’t make them bad wines or wines unworthy to buy.  There just needs to be a little education and marketing behind them for newcomers roaming wine aisles across the country.

When there are so many great wines you can open for much cheaper prices, why buy an expensive bottle, or a case for that matter. Why spend money on something unknown if you don’t plan to cellar it and wait for the “great moment” when it should be opened. This is even truer for shoppers who go in to a store to buy a bottle and look at the labels, lost in a reverie of hard-to-pronounce vineyards from far-off countries. Unless you ask the store’s proprietor, or do your own research, it can be a total crapshoot.

But do I buy the nicer bottles, yes, and that is because a great man who loved his “high-priced Bordeaux wines” raised me. And they are delicious wines I enjoy opening for friends and family members who have never, or may never, experience this style of wine. I toast him and think of him with each pop of the cork. It is his legacy to me, and a legacy to his grandchildren.  I then tell a story about the wine and why it was one of his favorites to my drinking audience.  At the same time, I love finding a great deal on a bottle of wine, and then shock the hell out of my wine friends who assume it is a costly bottle simply because of the flavor and body it holds.

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As our society ebbs and flows, so will the world of wine. Anyone owning a vineyard in France (specifically Bordeaux) probably has an idea that marketing needs to change with the times, that name recognition will not always win consumers. Promoting your wine and telling new wine drinkers why it is so fabulous and unique are great necessities for survival. And that is okay, it is business and how the “cookie crumbles” in a buyer’s market.

A friend of mine, who is a great French Burgundy aficionado, once told me that wine is great not because of the year, but because of who drinks it with you. I think my generation, and generations below me, adhere to this because they love the idea of opening a good wine with great friends as opposed to opening great wines by themselves.

So my wine advice for today is not to be afraid to take a leap on a bottle of wine. If you have had wine before, you probably know a little about your personal variety preference (cabernet, pinot noir, etc.). Perhaps you want to venture out and experience great Bordeaux. Unsure what to buy? Take my earlier reading advice and look at the Wine Spectator’s buyer’s guide. But if you are not ready, it is okay.  Don’t think because a wine is costly, or comes from a particular region, it is worth breaking your budget. There are lots a great wines out there, expensive and inexpensive, French and American. And many times big-name French labels will have less-expensive wines to offer with the same great quality and flavor as their more “collectible pieces.” Once you find the wine, get a group of great friends, open it up and make some memories. I guarantee it will make the vino taste that much better.

Until next time, cheers!

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May14

Demystifying Facial Contouring

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I am a person of many passions. Besides wine, make-up comes pretty close in the running.  I love to wander down the aisles at Sephora, Target or my local department store and look at all the new gizmos and gadgets women need to feel beautiful. Now, do I wear make-up everyday? Hell no! My life is way too crazy to take the time every morning and put on a pretty face. For those friends who have witnessed the ridiculous amount of products I have in my make-up drawer, I know this comes as a complete shocker. Or maybe you just assumed I was buying the wrong things because I never look like super-model status. And yet, there are times when I have a chance to sneak away from the kids for a few hours and unlock my secret drawer full of blushes, lipsticks, glosses, mascaras and eye shadows. I get out my make-up mirror from my college days to help with lighting and then I go to town, using all those amazing tubes and palettes that normally stare me in the face from their dusty solidarity.

My husband pokes fun at me because I always run to the store when a company advertises a “new” product in their make-up line. Okay, so maybe in any line of merchandise I am a sucker for new stuff. I am a marketing professional’s dream client. So imagine my enthusiasm when I started seeing all these items popping up in my local Sephora and Target promoting “facial contouring!”

I said to myself, “Self, there are powders and creams right in front of your face that can give you Vivienne Leigh cheekbones! Buy. It. Now. Figure out how to wear the stuff later.”

So that is exactly what I did, and then I called a good friend of mine who does professional make-up for some much needed help. That would be the one and only Ethea Schallberger, make-up extraordinaire for Southeast Missouri and beyond. Ethea’s intellect encompasses a lot of things, and make-up happens to be one of them. She pretty much knows everything there is to know about make-up, and of course this includes my latest obsession with facial contouring.

When I approached Ethea about facial contouring, she offered to give me some great tips before working her magic on my own face. If you have missed reading about the latest trends from Hollywood or you’re oblivious to the Kardashian family on television (Kim is a big proponent of this trend), facial contouring is basically the use of various shades of powders or creams to highlight certain areas of the face and make other parts seem more “in the shadows,” thus giving you a very defined bone structure without having to go under the knife.

Still not catching what I mean? Ethea showed me a picture of a model in your basic grocery-aisle magazine. Then she flipped it upside-down and there it was-all the different shades the make-up artist used to contour the model’s face. Amazing, isn’t it?

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Ethea also explained to me about finding your skin tone. Most women have heard about being warm-toned, or cool-toned at some point in life. But how does one know which tone defines one’s skin? Ethea let me in on a little trick. She flipped my wrist over and took a look at the veins on the inside of my arm. That was the key to finding my skin tone, a simple flip of the wrist. So basically, once you look at your veins, if they look bluer under the skin, then you are probably a cool tone. These individuals need to think pink, red, or bluish shades. If they look greener under the skin, you are warm toned. So this means look at colors that tend to be more peachy, golden or yellow in color. Of course there are people out there who fall in the “neutral” category, and they can wear both cool and warm tones on their skin. Lucky Ducks. If you want to see where I found more information on the subject, visit http://stylecaster.com/cool-warm-skin-undertones/.

Once Ethea went over the basics, we got started on the make-up.  She began with a clean face (remember, I never wear make-up), and started pulling out some palettes. She recommended a NARS contouring palette, which can be purchased at a local Sephora or online.

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She also pulled out various concealers from her magic box of make-up heaven. Wait, concealer, to do facial contouring? But I thought concealer was basically to cover zits and dark circles from lack of sleep or too much wine (not that I have suffered from either of these things). Oh no, my friends, concealer has just become my new best friend. Yes, it is used to cover zits and dark circles, but Ethea also pulled it further down from the under-eye area to cover my cheeks. She also used it on the bridge of my nose, my Cupid’s bow and the center of my chin.

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Once that was accomplished, she pulled out this pretty pink little sponge. I have seen these things in Sephora, usually located near the large quantity of numbered make-up brushes. But I never really paid any attention to them.  They are called “Beauty Blenders,” and it will become your second best friend, next to the concealer. Ethea used this sponge to gently blend in the concealer she applied on my face. Then she pulled out the NARS contour palette and placed the darker shade just under my cheekbones, on the hairline towards the outer part of my forehead and on the sides of my nose. Again, she busted out the “Beauty Blender” and miraculously made all the harsh lines disappear.  From this point I felt like I could have forgone the blush it looked so good. But she wasn’t finished.  Ethea needed to do the highlighting. She used a more iridescent shade and made a “V” shape starting at the end of my eyebrow and moving towards the apple of my cheek. She said this gives a more natural look as opposed to just putting it on the apples of the cheekbones. Then she placed more highlighter above my brow line, in the arch of my brows and on the bridge of my nose. One again, it looked amazing.

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Ethea applied the rest of her wonderful expertise and finished my make-up with blush, eye shadow, eyeliner, mascara, lipstick and finishing powder. Don’t worry, I will provide a detailed list of what she put on me at the end of this article. But if this is your first time attempting to do facial contouring, start simple. Just get a basic contouring palette based on your skin tone. Ethea’s point was not to overwhelm me with all the various brands she had in her make-up box; she simply wanted to give me a general idea of what goes into doing a proper facial contour. And I have to say, I have taken her advice and practiced to make my own facial contouring look as good as what she did on my face that day in my kitchen. It is not quite perfect, but I am getting there, Ethea. It is hard to duplicate a beauty professional!

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Later that evening I did a little more research on my own and created a simple checklist you can use at home if you want to try your own facial contouring. Just play around with the make-up a couple of times before doing it for a big night out. Remember, practice makes perfect. Rome was not built in a day, okay?

First thing to remember is start with a clean, well-moisturized face. Think about the kind of foundation you use on a daily basis. If you use a powder foundation, you should look for contouring palettes that are powder-based. If you use a liquid foundation, look for cream-like palettes.

When you highlight, you want to pick a shade that is one or two shades lighter than your face. Put the highlighter under the eyes, bridge of the nose, center of the forehead, Cupid’s bow and center of the chin. When you use the darker contouring color, go one or two shades darker than your foundation tone. Put this along the hairline, hollows of the cheekbones and along the jawline/neck area. Blend, blend and more blending!!! You want this to look natural, not like someone came and spray-tanned sections of your face.

If you have a blending sponge, use a light dabbing motion until all the lines have disappeared. Then you are ready to add some blush to the apples of your cheeks and finish it all off with some type of setting powder. Viola! You have just successfully contoured your face. If you are still unsure, visit http://www.sephora.com and search “facial contouring.”  There are great tutorials and how-to’s, plus the site also helps determine your face shape and what contouring techniques work best.  Now go take your beautiful self out for a fun night on the town!

If you are curious about the make-up Ethea used on me, she was kind enough to give me a list of everything. Here it is:

Foundation: Dior Star in #20; Concealer: Giorgio Armani Master Corrector in #1 and Urban; Decay Naked Skin in Light Warm; Blush: MAC in Melba; Highlight: Becca Opal; Eye Primer: MAC paint pot in Bare Canvas; Eye shadows: MAC in Omega, Naked Lunch, Expensive Pink and Beauty Marked; Eyeliner: Charlotte Tilbury Rock and Kohl in dark brown; Brows: Anastasia Brow Whiz in Taupe and clear brow gel; Mascara: Maybelline Lash Sensational; Finishing Powder: Make-up Forever HD loose powder; Setting Spray: Urban Decay All Nighter; Lips: Estée Lauder Doublewear liner in Nude, Lorac lipstick in Duchess and OCC Lip Stained Gloss in Concubine

Because I love wine as much as I do make-up, I have to tie both together. How can contouring be connected to wine, you ask? Why, through the beautiful process of blending grape varieties. Much like that little beauty sponge, winemakers take the same care when it comes to making blends of wines from various grape varieties. In basic terms, blending is simply the process of taking different grape varieties, such as a Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot, and combing them together in a manner that highlights the best points of each grape while downplaying their weaker assets.

Winemakers across the globe from California to Italy do this every year with their vineyards. For example, many wineries in Napa Valley pride themselves on buying grapes from other vineyards to make some of their labels. It gives both the winemaker and the owner of the grapes a chance to see what wonderful outcome can come out of marrying two or more specimens together. Just walk down the aisle of your local grocery store or liquor store and you will see new and upcoming labels with rather unique names. Each of these wines is made up of different grape varieties. Some have exact science to them; others are a montage of leftover grapes. But they produce great tasting wines for very low costs. Other vineyards take great care when blending wine and thus produce higher valued bottles, such as Joseph Phelps’ Insignia or Dominus.

French and Italian wine-makers do the same thing as Americans, and the wines will all range in quality and price. But what I consider unique about blends is the way grape varieties can be accentuated or downplayed, based on whatever quality they bring to the table. Blending offers the opportunity to add spice, fruit and body to wine. It can soften tannins in grape varieties that need time to come to fruition, such as Cabernet Sauvignon.

Personally, I love blends. It is like a surprise with each bottle you try, kind of like Forrest Gump and his box of chocolates. So I highly recommend you go out on a limb and try a blended wine (you probably have already had one without even knowing it). But take the bull by the horns and pick one out you think will go along with that fabulous evening you have planned to show off your newly contoured face.

Jan28

Parenthood is?

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Entering parenthood has definitely been an eye-opener for me, and for my loving husband. It is so close to those commercials you see where the boy and girl meet, fall in love and then you are thrown into the snip-its of their life together. It usually culminates in mother and father bouncing teary-eyed, snot-nosed children on their knees while looking on bleary-eyed and exhausted.

I sit on my couch laughing at the couple I see on television, only because I have been in that same position countless times. Bleary-eyed and living off strong coffee, it pretty much sums up the first several years of being a parent. Your brain doesn’t function properly and you find yourself putting the milk jug up in the cabinet instead of the fridge. I NEVER thought I would be one of “those” people. Oh how life can throw irony right into your face, dirt and all.

I have laughed, cried and yelled with other moms about the instances in my life as a mother that have literally made me want to pull my hair out or go run in traffic during rush hour. The other night, I caught myself saying something, and it made me think…what are the signs that scream “parenthood?”

After thinking on it the rest of the evening, I came up with a list that I felt fit the bill for my being a parent raising two fun-loving, crazy, wild and spontaneous children.

Here we go:

1.  You know you’re a parent when a trip to Target or the grocery store alone feels like a tropical vacation. Who ever knew I would take shopping at the grocery store for granted? I used to breeze through the aisles, hearing the kids screaming in their carts and silently thanking God it wasn’t my cart. The first time I snuck off to Target after having my daughter I was so distracted while ogling over the different paper towels I could buy that I failed to see the support post in the middle of the aisle. And I ran the cart full-force into that pole, oblivious to the pain I was about to experience as the handlebar of my bright red shopping cart violently pressed against my ever-expanding, milk-producing remnants of breasts. Remember, this was the first trip I had taken out of the house alone after having a newborn. Because of my blatant obtuseness, I had to stop in the aisle to catch my breath and pray I hadn’t sprayed breast milk all over the floor. Yes, shopping alone and wondering the aisles of my favorite store is definitely a quick trip to paradise, perhaps dairy-free next time?

2.  You know you’re a parent when your supportive, loving spouse opens the freezer to pull out yet another frozen casserole for dinner, only to find your freezer contains more breast milk bags than food. When our first child was born, I knew beforehand I was going to give nursing a shot. Whether it worked or not, who knew, but I had to try. Nursing the first time wasn’t as successful as when I nursed my second child. Maybe my body decided it was go-time or wanted to prove me wrong. But for some reason, my second delivery showed I was able to “reserve” and “store” extra bags of breast milk in our freezer. The best part was when you asked the friends who didn’t have kids yet to get something out of the freezer for you and then watch their eyeballs pop out of their heads. It’s a cheap laugh to have, but hey, parents will take them where they can get them. Let’s not tell them about the whole “pump and dump” scenario that goes along with having a night out and drinking some wine. That really gets them confused. No judgment, right?

3.  You know you’re a parent when, getting up from a table full of friends, you announce to all present you are “going to use the potty.” Parenthood’s arch nemesis has to be potty training a toddler. I am now in the midst of getting our 3-year-old son potty trained and it has been a haul of poop, pee and a lot of extra laundry. Boys are busy and feel okay with having crap in their pants instead of stopping their trains from delivering goods on the Island of Sodor. Seriously? Oh, it is so gross! And because I am full-force into potty-training mom mode, I found myself the other evening announcing (in a bar, yes, a BAR) to my gal pals in a sweet, child-like voice that I was “going to use the potty, can I take anyone?” Wow. Time for a martini with that one, extra olive, please.

4.  Speaking of potty training, you know you’re a parent when using the bathroom or taking a shower without an audience is a rarity. This happens EVERY DAY, my friends. The only time I can have five minutes of privacy in the bathroom is when my kids are out of the house. I swear they are born with special radars that alert them when you disappear from the room and close the bathroom or shower door. Before I can get my water to the perfect temperature I have my son or daughter swinging open the door and asking me what I am doing. I just give them the “what-does-it-look-like-I-am-doing” look, and yet, they still stand there letting all the hot steam out and waiting for a response. Being a parent means I have truly lost my sense of modesty without having a say in the matter. My kids took care of that for me, they just barge on in and start asking questions. I need better locks on my doors…maybe retinal scans would work?

5.  You know you’re a parent when the kids are FINALLY in bed asleep and you collapse onto the couch, hoping to catch a recorded episode of Homeland or Downton Abbey before your body wins out with sleep. Feet propped on a pillow, blanket gently laid on you, and remote in hand, you go in for the kill. But the screen shows none of your programs.

“Wait, I know I set the timer on Scandal. Why didn’t tonight’s episode record?” you ask in a panic-stricken voice. “Oh my gosh! NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!”

And then you hear it, the first couple of notes of “Thomas the Train” and it hits you. Your show was NOT recorded because a previous recording had been set and no one noticed when the TV asked you to cancel or switch your shows. My friends, when you become a parent, your DVR will always contain more episodes of Doc McStuffins, Mickey Mouse, Thomas the Train or Caillou than you care to admit to (and why does Caillou still lack hair at the age of 4?). Parenthood means your television no longer belongs to you when the “miniatures” are in the house.

6.  You know you’re a parent when you purchase items at the store simply because it contains a “Box Top for Education” label. Ah, the old “box top.” I used to pride myself on my shoe collection. Yes, shoes have always been an addiction of mine. But who needs designer heels and boots when you have Box Tops? I have seen these things plastered on various items in my home, ranging from Kleenex boxes to protein bars. But I never realized their demand until our daughter started grade school. So now, I am full-blown into box-top hunting. Forget the bow-and-arrow or 22-gage shotgun. All you need is a keen eye and a sharp pair of scissors to complete the mission. Do I need 20 boxes of zip locks or animal crackers? Well, yes I do if it has a box top attached! Once removed and nicely tucked away in one of those zip-lock bags I will have for the next 10 years, my child will think I am the hero because we collected more box tops than Little Susie or Billy Bob in the classroom. Oh, and before I forget, send me your box tops!

7.  You know you’re a parent when you eliminate the color white from your wardrobe. White, cream, pale pinks, pale blues and anything else that can be washed on “delicate” are usually weeded out after the first year of birth. I myself found this out one lovely day when our daughter, who was only 6 months old at the time, decide to vomit her entire lunch of sweet potatoes and green beans on my newly purchased white halter top (it was July). Needless to say, that garment ended up in the trash can after about 10 bleaches. Instead of these rather lovely pastel and clean palette colors, parenthood has you choosing more food and snot-resistant clothing like black, dark blue, dark brown, charcoal. Did I say black? Maroon can work to in certain lighting.

8.  You know you’re a parent when you base your lunch or dinner destination on how clean the play-yard is at various fast food restaurants. I love good food way too much to consider fast food a means of sustenance. But since having kids, I have had to get creative, but as clean as possible. That means I have staked out the few places near me that my kids can crawl, play and burn energy without picking up a case of Ebola. Yes, I am the mom that has stashed hand sanitizer in her purse, various places in the car, by the back door and in my children’s backpacks. Hey, every little bit helps, right? I knew I was a parent when I found myself sitting in the room of an indoor play yard while surfing Facebook or playing Candy Crush on my phone. All the while my children are climbing in bare feet (which isn’t allowed), running around and not eating the $5 kid’s meal I purchased for each of them. Oh, why can’t I be sitting in the tasting room of a Napa vineyard??

Those are just a few things that I found to define me as a parent. Parenthood has been full of wonderful moments, first words, huge hugs and lots of laughs. Parenthood has also shared some dark sides, such as yelling matches, time-outs and cancelled babysitters. But it is a role, a task that I have to respect because it shapes me everyday, like a child shapes a container of play-dough. I am far from being perfect as a parent, but I figure if I give it my all then I have to do something right along the way. For you parents out there, I know you have your own “you know you’re a parent when…” and I would love to hear your stories. Please share with me, so we can laugh together at what life has thrown us.

If you haven’t had the pleasure of seeing your DNA reproduce with arms, legs and a brain that contains opinions, I hope you read this and laugh with me, because I am one of those people that have to laugh through life to drudge through all the muck and junk that comes with it.

Despite loosing 401K’s for college funds instead of designer shoes, or becoming obsessive compulsive over the wipes being out after your kid’s massive explosion, parenthood is a truly off-the-cuff experience. Perhaps this is why you find so many self-help books at the library. In the words of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, A.K.A. Will Smith, “sometimes parents just don’t understand.”

I would offer a wine tip, but in my brutal honesty as a parent, you just have to find a wine (or drink of preference) you enjoy to help you unwind from the day of telling little ones “no,” or “stop that,” or “I said no kicking!” I am not going to judge or dictate on the wine or drink of choice. Just take what you need to wind down from one of the tough days at the “office of parenthood.”

Until next time, cheers.

Jan12

The Miracle Worker: How fascia can make or break your body

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The start of a new year brings typical resolutions to eat better, work out more, etcetera and etcetera. With all these new “regulations” and “requirements” we put on ourselves, it is prudent to remember to start slow and give those tired-out, unused muscles a good stretch. I am not talking Stretch Armstrong stuff here—what I mean is by preventing injury, muscles feel the need to bend and pull a little before they are forced to go Mach 10 on a treadmill.

For a gym rat like myself, I am constantly surfing the Web or reading various fitness/nutrition magazines to learn new and essential things I can do for my overall health. It is always a goal for me to do what I can to prevent injury, disease and physical strain on this one body I have to live in. Which leads me to the subject of this article: fascia.

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What is “fascia?” No, I didn’t mean to type the word “facial” and just misplaced a couple of letters. For those who have studied the human body, you probably know what this miracle organ is, and why it is so important to our health. As for the rest of us laymen, fascia is the connective tissue that acts very much like a thin stocking over our bones, muscles and other connective tissues. If you think about peeling an orange, and the thin layer that covers the pulp, our fascia acts in a similar manner. It keeps all the important stuff in our body in one place. We all are born with fascia, but how we treat this little miracle organ creates the path to how our body responds to everyday stress and activity.

There has been lots of traffic on this subject, the fascia. Goop.com had a great article several months ago highlighting a personal trainer by the name of Lauren Roxburgh. Roxburgh lives and teaches in California and for over 20 years she has studied the body, mind and spirit (she has a degree in nutrition and exercise science and is also a structural integration practitioner, A.K.A. fascia expert). Roxburgh, now dubbed the “Body Whisperer” by some of Hollywood’s most elite celebrities, created a program that is dedicated to stretching and exercising the fascia. Her weapon of choice, you ask? A basic foam roller, the kind you see lying around in the corner at your local gym.

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Roxbourgh claims her classes give her clients the opportunity to lengthen the muscles, improve overall alignment and even alleviate pain. Roxburgh has a book coming out in 2016, and I plan to purchase it so I can read more about her methods with this fascinating part of the human body. If you want to do your own research on her, she is on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pintrest. Or you can simply type in her name in any search engine and find pages of great information.

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After reading about this woman, and what she has basically spent her life researching, I wanted to learn more about the fascia and find out a way I could work on mine since the chance of having a private session with her is slim-to-none.

Aside from Hollywood celebrities and professional athletes getting their fascia worked over by Roxbourgh, it harbors the question as to what we can do in our own environment and time to help “work out” our own fascia. One thing to remember is fascia tends to be a fluid system that needs constant hydration. The less hydrated our body, and our fascia, is the greater risk for tears and ruptures. For example, I left a wishbone out on the counter the other day for my daughter and I to pull apart when she returned home from school. It sat on the kitchen counter all day, drying out and becoming brittle. When it was time to see who got to make the wish, my daughter and I both lost out because the bone was so dry it shattered into several pieces. Fascia can do the same thing if left without hydration, like a dried-out kitchen sink sponge. Remember everyone telling you to drink plenty of water? Well, there is still a lot of truth and necessity to that piece of advice.

If we know that working the fascia out like any other muscle group in our body is beneficial, what exactly do we need to do? For starters, switching up your workout routine is a great way to shake things up. When a certain body part is consistently used without proper training and stretching, it can become weak and susceptible to injury. If you are an avid gym junkie, think about alternating days for running, doing the elliptical or some other form of cardio workout. Take a few group classes to change the way your muscles move. It can be beneficial to the metabolic system as well as the muscular structure to change things up and make our muscles “think on their feet” so to speak. Ever tried yoga or Pilates? That is another area to get the fascia stretched and strengthened. A good friend of mine owns a yoga studio in the town where I live, and she is skilled and knowledgeable in various forms of yoga, body flows and vinyasa classes. Most recently she has started up an aerial arts program at her studio, which I have been a diligent student for the past six months. When it comes to working out my fascia, I now realize this woman sees it accomplished properly each week! And I thank her for it.

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I found on Breakingmuscle.com a great and simple checklist to help me better maintain my own fascia. Here it is:

  1. Remember to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!
  2. Vary your movement patterns (this means switching up your exercise routines)
  3. Keep in mind that with fascia, “it’s all connected.” Like the song we learned as kids about hipbones and leg bones being connected, so goes for fascia. When you get an injury in the foot, for example, and you have weak fascia, chances are you will eventually feel some pain in your hip or even the lower back. Left unchecked, you could see that pain work its way up the body. Ouch!
  4. Keep the spring in your step! Get physical every day, even if it means a simple walk or parking in the far end of the lot to have a longer hike into the grocery store.
  5. Fascia is the largest sensory organ in our body, greater than the human retina. We keep our eyes in tune with glasses, contacts or yearly examinations. Why not do the same for the fascia? Consider buying your own foam roller (Target, Wal-Mart, Kohls carry them). Find some stretching routines you can do for at least 10 to 15 minutes each day.

Perhaps I am a nerd for being so interested in this subject, but I have had plenty of injuries in my lifetime, and plenty of injections to help those injuries. So I completely buy into the idea of keeping this amazing organ functioning to its full potential. Had I been more conscientious of that a couple years ago, it may have saved me a few visits to the orthopedist office. For my resolution this year, here is what I plan to do. I am going to pull my own foam roller out of the closet, look up Rosburgh’s specific plan and start the stretching process. Because one thing is for sure, flexibility is a necessity to maintain a well-balanced life.

Of course I can incorporate wine into about any subject, and fascia is one of them. When I was thinking of the connection between this awesome organ and my favorite drink, it dawned on me the relationship exists between fascia and grape skins.

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For a winemaker, knowing when to pick the grape can make or break a harvest. Pick a grape too soon, and your wine can turn out too tannic and higher in acidity. Pick a grape too late, and your wine can turn out to be too flat in taste, smell and body. When it comes to making the perfect vintage, it is safe to say the skins of a grape can play a pretty large role, especially for red wine vintners. It plays a part not only in the color of the wine, but also in the taste. How a winemaker chooses to begin the fermentation process will determine how the skins are treated. Some winemakers, depending on the type of wine they are producing, will use maceration. This process, mainly used with red wine, allows crushed grapes to mellow with the skins, seeds and even branches. It can help bring out softer tannins and unique flavors. Much like the way our fascia plays an integral part in our physical well being, grape skins can affect how a simple piece of fruit can become something splendid and pleasing to the palate.

The next time you decide to have a glass of wine, whether it is white or red, think about what the skin served to help bring whatever flavors and aromas you find floating out of your glass. Some of the biggest triumphs and treasures can come from something very thin and very fragile.

Until next time, cheers!

Oct28

The Letter

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I was searching through some old files on my ancient laptop, the one that has been in the closet for several years and I have yet to figure out how to transfer stuff.  I found a treasure!  I wrote a letter to my unborn child when I was pregnant the first time.  I barely remember writing this, given the fact half my brain cells are warped from motherhood.  I just loved reading it, especially now that the letter’s recipient, my soon-to-be 7-year-old daughter, has grown and changed so much since my early days as a first-time parent.  Many battle wounds later, I still read the letter with the same hope and optimism I had 7 years ago.  For you soon-to-be moms, I highly recommend taking time to do this for your own child.  You will treasure it always.  My daughter was born a month later, almost to the day.  She came January 6.

Cheers!

December 5, 2007

To My Unborn Child:

Your arrival date is approaching with lightening speed, and both your father and I are so excited to see your beautiful face. We have no idea if you are a boy or a girl, and it has been fun keeping all your family members guessing for this long. I’m writing this letter because I know that once you arrive, things will be hectic. I will be learning all about you, caring for you, feeding you, and loving you.

I feel you kick and move around inside my belly and I know I will miss the comforting sensation that you are safe and with me at all times. You are our first, and I am thrilled God gave us such a wonderful gift in our lives. Before you even take your first breath, so many people already love you. I worry each day about raising you, praying that I make few mistakes. I wonder what your personality will be like, and whether you will have my eyes or your father’s. What will you become one day when you are all grown up?

Before you come into this world, I promise these things to you. I promise to always love you, and to give you hugs and kisses everyday. I promise to try and help you become your own individual. I promise to support you with whatever task or activity you choose in life, whether it is sports, music, the arts or whatever else tickles your fancy. I promise to teach you about respect, faith and honesty. I promise to hold your hand when you are scared or lay your head on my shoulder when you are sad.

I can’t wait to hold you in my arms and feel those tiny fingers wrapped around my own. You are truly a gift from Heaven, one that we will treasure for the rest of our lives.

I love you beautiful child.

All my heart,

Mom

Oct23

Time Thieves

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I was watching television last night and a Target commercial popped up on screen. The notion behind this commercial was “time thieves.” Now, in college, I did a lot of analysis on commercials and other various forms of media (Communication Studies was my major). I loved doing this because if you haven’t noticed so far, there is a lot of subliminal information inside commercials! Television shows and made-for-TV drama episodes, okay, that we get. But a commercial? Seriously? Oh yeah, baby. They are cocked and fully loaded.

So I sat there, mindlessly watching this commercial when suddenly I thought, “wait, ‘time thieves’ and you’re showing a dad holding a baby? Oh this is good stuff.”   So I quickly grabbed a pen and pad of paper to jot down a few things floating through my head, wanting to save them for the next time I found myself alone and with my thoughts. Have you ever considered the notion of a “time thief?” I know I am putting way too much thought into this, but it was brilliant from an advertising standpoint. Especially for Target Corporation. The sophisticated version of Wal-Mart in America has clenched the store’s proverbial campaign slogan in less than 90 seconds. What better way to attract customers than to tell them that no matter what their “time thief” is in life, Target has a way to get you in and out of the door with all you need to survive the day! Damn…I really need to get out more. I think Thomas the Train is rotting my brain.

Now my mind is rolling, and I start typing about thieves and such, the wheels continue to churn. And I think about how my day has progressed, the events that came into play with my actions. Here is a little snip-it.

Let me explain how this particular evening started. On this day, I had a parent/teacher conference with my daughter’s teacher. During the conference, the teacher was telling my husband and I about how well our daughter was doing in school, and how her grades, attitude and personal ambition were spot on for the kid’s age. So leaving that meeting I am feeling great about being the mother I am. Like I have just conquered a huge obstacle in life. I AM the mother of this child whose teacher thinks she is perfection in a box. And then I come home. I come home to a tired, hungry girl who is miffed that I didn’t bring her white rice from her favorite Asian restaurant (white rice, I mind you). So after yet another huge meltdown with my daughter I find myself yearning to just hug her and ask her why we do this all the time.   I sit her down and look her straight in the eye and ask her these questions, yet this 6-year-old child is trying hard not to laugh?!? I am thinking to myself, Sweet Jesus, am I missing something here? Why am I the one upset and this child, whom five minutes ago was crying and carrying on about how awful I am and how horrible I am as a mother, is trying her damndest not to laugh at me!

The world exploded in ten minutes, like a bad horror movie, and Godzilla or JAWS didn’t even make the cut. What the hell?

Is it just me, or does anyone else on this Earth find it extremely ironic that when life seems to crap out on us, we find ourselves in a tizzy at home. One thing can go wrong during my day and the feelings or emotions I have from that moment rear their ugly head at the most inopportune time. A fight with my daughter, and I just want to literally curl up in a ball with a glass of wine and disappear from the world. These, ladies and gentlemen, are my “time thieves.” Being a mother, it is so hard. I never knew or understood the mental challenge this job was going to pose on me. The ups and downs are draining.   I am a parent, full-force and in the raw. My soul is bared when it comes to my children. They are such a part of me, in more ways than just the physical.   Yes, I carried them for 9 months, birthed them, have watched them grow. And yet, they are such a connection to me, a deep part of who I am as a person. I look at them and worry about their health, hope for their happiness, fear for their future and love them with all my heart—all the emotions that makes a person breathe each day. I feel these feeling through my children, both the positive and the negative aspects of this “being” called a “mother.”

Are my kids “time thieves?” Hardly not. I just let the attitudes and emotions take away from the environment they inhabit.

Recently I read a great quote by Flannery O’Connor, which stated, “The first product of self-knowledge is humility.” I love this quote because it speaks to me on so many levels. Like the Target commercial, I can see where our self –knowledge can be a time thief because we often lack the humility to really ask ourselves what bothers us? What are the triggers that cause the crap to go on in our lives? Okay, okay, so maybe this is a bit deep for a Target commercial, but do you see where I am trying to make a connection here? We all have “time thieves” in our lives. They may be the grumpy guy next to you in the grocery store, or a child’s outrageous bad mood over not getting white rice. Perhaps it is a fight with your parent or spouse, or even idle gossip about everything and nothing. The point is they are time thieves. They are the things stealing away our ability to gather all the good stuff in our Target carts to get us through the day. Someone on Target’s advertising team hit a goal with this latest TV spot, and Don Draper didn’t even have a say in the ordeal.

Time, something we all have, and yet, seem to all lack enough of in life. So maybe I should start keeping more things on the shelf when I stroll through Target and start being more selective about what I decide to put in my own “cart?”

To wrap up my late-night typing binge, a quote I have on my fridge to help me remember what the day really needs to behold:

“Kiss your life. Accept it, just as it is. Today. Now. So that those moments of happiness you’re waiting for don’t pass you by.”

Of course while I write, I like to have a glass of wine next to me. It just helps me think and sort my ideas and inspirations. And I have to tell you about a new treasure I had this time around. A great Napa Valley Family, the Wagner Family, has produced some of this region’s most splendid cabernets. Caymus wines, and a slew of other red blends and superb whites, encompass the family’s wine empire. So to celebrate 40 years of the Caymus label, the family produced a special anniversary bottle. The 2012 Napa Valley cabernet anniversary edition has been released and let me tell you, it is awesome.

I found this wine, thanks to a good friend of mine, at our local grocery store. I love Caymus because they have always held up on taste, balance and ability to cellar for decades time and time again. This special edition wine bares the same resemblance as its sister bottles. When I opened up the wine and first tasted it, the wine itself was tight and complex. I tasted typical cabernet flavors of currant and blackberry, with hints of oak and even a hint of dark cherry. But as the wine sat and really opened up over the next hour or two, the flavors mellowed and smoothed. I think this bottle will cellar great, or you can drink it now if you find yourself purchasing a bottle. Just remember to decant and let it sit open for an hour to truly appreciate its splendor. For $70 a bottle, you can’t beat the chance to taste a great bottle from the Wagner family without completely breaking the bank.

Until next time, cheers!

Oct7

Breathe

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It has been months since I have had a chance to write on this blog. Who knew that trying to keep up with something simple like a weekly splurge of whatever nonsense is rattling around in my brain would be like trying to stop a runaway train?

Why do I find it so hard to get daily life to stop long enough for me to take a moment and do something I absolutely crave, which is writing? Oh wait, I know why. I have kids, a husband and a million other nitpicky things to do every day. The time for sudden inspiration usually travels much like my words of advice to my 6-year-old daughter: in one ear and out the other.

Then yesterday I was in church with my family and inspiration finally struck! It was during one of my favorite songs, “Breathe,” by Michael W. Smith. As I listened to the lyrics I suddenly realized how important this one simple word is to each of us. We live in such a crazy, fast-paced life nowadays that many of us take very little time to just simply “breathe.” We are wired and running to the next destination, the next phone call or the next text message. News channels run tickers constantly updating us on important (and unimportant) information going on across the globe. Breathing is something that comes as a necessity to live, but do we really live to breathe?

To give you an example, the other day my husband threw out the notion of having a third child. I first laughed off the comment, thinking it was just a joke we had been sharing together. If you have met our son, you would understand our laughter.  He is an amazing child, but as they say, “is all boy!”  He runs on full-speed from the moment he opens his eyes in the morning until his head hits the bed at night.  He is fearless, energetic and very vocal…and he is just two.  So it has actually been a running joke about throwing a baby in the mix of things, until I saw the look in my husband’s eyes.  Oh boy, something told me it wasn’t just a quick laugh.  A nervous giggle escaped my mouth as my mind suddenly started to churn. Should we have a third kid? So if I got pregnant now, then maybe the baby would have a warmer birthday? Oh my gosh, can I even handle a third child right now!?!

The panic set in, not severe, but enough to make me feel like a total jerk for wanting to say “no” to my husband. Don’t get me wrong, I adore our kids, and love being a mom. It’s like the perfect off-Broadway satyr, full of mischief, laughter, love and anger. But right now, where we are in our lives, having two kids makes for busy, busy times. And then you throw an infant in the mix, and all the things that go with it (late nights, early mornings, diapers, shots…the list goes on and on), how chaotic would it get? And could I handle that? Especially when I feel like I have finally reached a place in my life where I can simply “breathe.”

When both kids are in their respective schools, I have the ability to run errands, work out, go to the grocery or sit in the library and type on my computer without having a kid to chase or look after. For you moms out there, it is like an Herbal Essence hair commercial. You want to scream “Yes!” to the rooftops because for a few short hours you can focus on making time for yourself or just simply get a long, hot shower. I can “breathe.”

If you have never listened to the song “Breathe,” then you should get online and look it up. At least look up the lyrics, for they speak to all of us in some way. The words speak about need, about being desperate for love, about having daily nourishment and about being lost without this necessary “breath.” Smith is talking about Jesus and His love for us, about the need to read God’s Word everyday for sustenance. But Smith’s song reaches further than that for me. It bridges the connection about what I not only need from my faith, but what I also need from life in general. Like a trainer telling you to breath during a grueling set of push-ups, this song was making me really think about what it means to step back and take in all that is going on around me. To reconnect to what I often loose in the middle of making lunches or changing diapers.

Don’t we all need to take more time to heal ourselves from the punches life has thrown us? Instead of trying to jump right into the next activity or run to the next destination, wouldn’t it be therapeutic to meet a friend for coffee and find out how he or she has been? Why shouldn’t we get a sitter and have dinner with our significant other on a weekly or monthly basis as a way to keep the breath flowing in our marriages? The answer here is simple and straightforward. We need and should do these things. To stop and smell the roses, take in a ballgame and forget for just a moment the constricting vices we have tangled ourselves up with everyday. We all simply need to “breathe.”

Will it be easy? No. Will I fail at my own advice? Probably more often than I care to admit. But what we should probably focus on here is the fact we are conscious of the idea. Perfection is impossible for human beings, but constantly striving to reach it makes us all come together under the same umbrella. It is the thought that counts, right?  No one said Rome was built in a day. So today, tomorrow or whenever you find the time, take a moment to really “breathe” like I did this past Sunday. I bet you will find yourself feeling a little more rejuvenated in mind, body and soul.

Speaking of letting something breathe, I can’t think of a more perfect subject, and of course it is wine. Depending on whom you ask, having a bottle of wine for any occasion can be a presentation. Selecting the label, noting the year or vineyard and choosing the proper glass. Once opened, there is even the smelling of the cork (if the bottle has one), analyzing whether it “held” or not while the wine was being cellared. Yet, the most important part of the entire presentation is letting a bottle, especially a full-bodied cabernet or Bordeaux, breathe for a period of time before you start to drink it. Much like the “breath” we should often take in our own lives, a wine blooms and expands to its full capacity after it has encountered a good dose of oxygen. One can catch the true aroma, or nose, of the wine after it has been left open for minutes or sometimes hours. The flavors of a wine can soften and relax after sitting uncorked on the counter or in a decanter. Either way, wine needs that moment to show the world what it has to offer. Do you see the correlation here? Now take a deep breath and…ahhhh.

Until next time, cheers!