Eat Your Fruits and Vegetables

One of the best things you can do to nourish your body is eat more fruits and vegetables!

As a dietitian, I see a lot of food logs. One of the most common suggestions I make to my clients is to eat more fruits and vegetables. (In fact, in the last year, I can think of only 2 people whose food logs I reviewed that were eating sufficient amounts of them.)

Since I don't want to sound like your mother, I am going to appeal to your vanity. Fruits and veggies keep you beautiful! They are chocked full of antioxidants that act as anti-aging agents. They have nutrients that nourish your skin, hair, and nails. And, their low calorie and high fiber content are important for maintaining a healthy weight (or losing weight, if needed.)

I encourage my clients to eat at least 2 cups of fruit a day and at least 3 cups of veggies.

So eat your fruits and veggies ladies! Fresh or frozen, it doesn't matter. Just eat them!

(Stay posted, since this topic is so important to your well-being, I'll be writing more.)

Let's Get Crafty: Magazine Stationery

This month was my turn to host Crafty Chick Night. I heart stationery. I also love using recycled materials when crafting, so I choose to make magazine envelopes and coordinating notecards as our project.

Twelve chicks showed up for a night of wine, food, laughs, and creativity.

How can you not be inspired to make your own after seeing

these amazing magazine envelopes made by my fellow crafty chicks?

Materials needed:

1. Magazine(s) (or you can use any kind of paper: wrapping, decorative, etc.)

2. Card stock (buy recycled!)

3. Scissors

4. Glue Stick

5. Envelope template (Steam open an envelope to use as your template. I recommend starting with a small one and go bigger as you get more comfortable).

6. Label paper (to add to the front of the envelope so you can write- and see- a name or address).

Directions:

1. Put your envelope template (the now steam-opened envelope) onto a magazine page. Trace around the edges.

2. Cut it out.

3. Fold the shape back into an envelope. (Sides go in first, then the bottom flap over them.)

4. Glue the bottom flap to the sides with the glue stick. (Be sure not to glue your envelope shut. I recommend putting your hand into envelope to puff it open and then let it dry like that- hand removed, of course.

5. Cut card stock to desired size to fit into envelope and decorate!

Here's Emily, Crafty Chick Night founder and coordinator, showing off her creations.

More to the Story

I've written about my pregnancy loss before, but I have not told you the whole story. Until now. I chose not to wait to tell people about my pregnancy, but my sister did. I wanted to respect her desire to tell the world on her own timeline.

My sister (who is almost a year and a half older than me) called in March to tell me she was unexpectedly, although joyfully, pregnant. It was tough news to handle, since I'd been trying for 5 unsuccessful months by then. Perhaps it was selfish of me to feel that way, but feel that way I did. As it turns out, I didn't have too long to worry about that. I found out I was pregnant 2 weeks later. We were both so excited to be having babies at the same time! I had visions of a double baby shower, play dates together, and future vacations with the children.

We both experienced early bleeding in the beginning of our pregnancies. We had a lot of worried calls to each other and we both ended up having ultrasounds on the very same day. Our ultrasounds were 1 hour apart from each other; hers in Philly and mine in Atlanta. She called after hers to tell me they heard the heartbeat. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to report happy news.

Fast forward 6 months to my trip last week to visit my family, including my sister. She is now very much showing. She looks adorable pregnant. Absolutely adorable. And while I am happy for her, her happiness is also linked to my pain. She is a visual reminder of what I lost.

It didn't bother me when my best friend got pregnant unexpectedly for the 3rd time or when my good friend here in Atlanta got pregnant unexpectedly, both while I was trying. But a relationship with a sister is different. It's very strong but it's also complicated. I'm sure this will make us even closer at some point in the future. I'm sure that I will be able to look back one day, after I have my baby and be fine with all of this. I will know that this pain has made me stronger and more compassionate. I will hold my daughter in my arms and know she was worth the long wait. But right now, as I make 30 invitations for my sister's baby shower, I'm fully aware that I am not there yet.

Abundance and Gratitude

Sorry I haven't written a post in a while. I was out of town for 10 days. I'll be posting about my travels in the next few days. In the meantime, here is a bit of inspiration: a few quotes from Eckhart Tolle and some art (from me!)

The foundation for all abundance: recognize the good that is already around you.

Both abundance and scarcity are inner states that manifest as your reality.

Gratitude is it's own energy field. It changes the way you experience life. If you want to change your life bring gratitude to it.

A Tea Party

This past Tuesday was my 35th birthday.

I decided to celebrate by hosting a tea party. I included a bunch of things that nourish me:

Healthy snacks prepared with love along with some sweet treats

Tea, of course!

The china tea sets I've inherited from my great aunt, my grandmother, and my mother

(I had each guest pick their own cup)

Flowers and pretty glassware

And dear friends, new and old.

My husband even came home from work early to surprise me and crashed the party. He gave me a pink Wizard of Oz mug with Ruby Slippers on the front. It says, "Click Your Heels and Get Carried Away."

It's the perfect gift.

It was a wonderful celebration and a great birthday.