Yoga for the New Year (and a 20% off Abe's Market code)

Did you make a health-related resolution for 2014? Have you considered using yoga for the health and wellness benefits? Our friends at Abe's Market shared these things with us and we wanted to pass them on to you. The following post was created by Abe's Market and has some great info about yoga and poses to try for health benefits. Abe's Market customers will also appreciate the 20% off coupon code embedded within the post! This post contains affiliate links.




8 Yoga Poses to Detox

If you're one of the more than 15 million people in the United States practicing yoga, you already know how beneficial the poses and breathing techniques can be for your body, mind and overall well being. Yoga, a centuries-old practice, stimulates blood flow, balances hormones, encourages digestion, lowers blood pressure and more.

But did you know that when you practice yoga, you're not only stretching and massaging your limbs and inner organs, but you are also detoxing your body naturally? Different poses help circulate blood flow, stimulate digestion, and help purge your body of toxins.

Certified Abe's Market yoga instructor (and all-around great team member), Meghan Gerrity, explains why and how different poses are great for helping detox your body in various ways. This is a great way to kick off a new year, and if you need a little incentive, Abe's Market has a complete yoga kit for sale for $49.95! Use code HAPPYNEWYEAR to get an additional 20% off if you purchase before January 1, 2014.

POSES:

Supta Matsyendrasana (Reclined Twist):

The reclined twist stimulates the flow of fresh blood to your digestive organs, which in turn increases the health and functioning of your entire digestive system

Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward Dog):

When in downward dog, one of the most common poses, yoga practitioners engage the abdomen, encouraging digestion. Also, the heart is elevated over the head, which helps increase both blood and lymph circulation.

Viparita Karani (Legs up the Wall):

This helps to increase blood and lymph circulation. Fresh blood flows to the abdomen encouraging digestion and this pose also calms the nervous system.

Parivritta Marichyasana (Seated Twist):

The seated twist stimulates digestion by squeezing abdominal organs.

Sasangasana (Rabbit):

Not only is rabbit a fun pose to say and do, it also stimulates the thyroid gland, improves immune system, balances hormones and improves circulation.

Parivrtta Parsvakonasana (Twisted Revolved Side Angle Pose):

Like the reclined and seated twists, this post stimulates digestion and blood flow, but also offers added leg strengthening and elongation of the spine.

Salamba Sarvangasana (Supported Shoulderstand) & Halasana (Plow):

These two inversion poses offer a number of benefits like:

• better sleep, digestion and focus
• benefitting the cardiovascular, lymphatic, endocrine, and nervous systems
• Relieving back pain by counteracting the pull of gravity

5 Healthy Thanksgiving Ingredient Swaps from Abesmarket.com

5 HEALTHY THANKSGIVING INGREDIENT SWAPS

Healthy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving should be a time of gratitude, family, friends and good times, not food comas and bloated bellies. If you make an effort to eat well everyday, you don't have to throw your healthy habits out the window on Thanksgiving. Instead, clean up your favorite holiday meals with these healthy Thanksgiving swaps. We're not saying go full-on tofurkey, but by choosing better-for-you ingredients, you can make the holiday healthier for you and your loved ones.

Traditional: Stuffing & White Rice
Healthy: Quinoa or Sprouted Grains
Stuffing gets an easy, healthier upgrade when made with quinoa or sprouted grains like brown or wild rice. Quinoa is a protein- and fiber-rich pseudograin, so it's a great choice for any veg guests.

Traditional: Candied Sweet Potatoes & Marshmallows
Healthy: Baked Sweet Potatoes with Coconut Oil & Cinnamon
If you've ever baked, steamed or roasted a sweet potato, you know this healthy root veg is plenty sweet without marshmallows and added sugar. Try dressing your sweet potato side dish with coconut oil and cinnamon. Coconut oil provides beneficial fats that your body can more easily metabolize, which means you'll less likely feel like you need a post-meal nap. Cinnamon is a superfood in its own right: It's loaded with antioxidants and helps balance blood sugar levels. Simply bake sweet potatoes and swipe with coconut oil and a dash of cinnamon before serving.

Traditional: Canned Cranberry Sauce
Healthy: Natural Cranberries, Chutney, Jams, Spreads
Chutney, jams, spreads … canned cranberry has a lot of competition and the other options tend to be lower in sugar and sodium. Not to mention real cranberries are loaded with vitamin C, manganese and fiber. If your friends and family are open to the exotic, try this chipotle cranberry orange relish. For a more traditional cranberry, go with this cranberry sauce with port. Can the canned cran … it likely contains BPA, too.

Traditional: White & Refined Baking Flours
Healthy: Whole Wheat, Gluten Free & Sprouted Flours
We admit that going from white flours to gluten-free, sprouted or whole grain flours can change the consistency of texture of certain types of desserts, so you may need to whip up your favorite holiday dessert before the big day to make sure you get it right. Taking this extra step pays off big when you can serve your loved ones a better-for-you dessert.

Traditional: Fats & Sugar
Healthy: Unsweetened Applesauce
Did you know you could replace sugar and butter in recipes with unsweetened applesauce? Use a cup of applesauce for every cup of sugar called for in a recipe (just be sure to reduce the amount of liquid by ¼ cup) to reduce sugar levels and cut calories. It also makes desserts nice and moist. Unsweetened applesauce also works for replacing fats in sweet treats. Try ½ cup of applesauce and ½ cup of fat for every 1 cup of fat (butter, oil, etc.) in the recipe.

Today's post was written by Abesmarket.com and was posted by the Mamas to offer readers some new ideas for Thanksgiving. We hope you appreciate them!

Image Source: http://media.abesmarket.com/media/scoop/article/healthythanksgiving_header.jpg

What We Learned This Week (November 17th, 2013 edition)

Someone posted on the Facebook page that there's only 6 weeks left until Christmas. What is this B.S.?! Where is the time going? What did you do this week? This is what we did. And it was awe-some!

Liz:
1. I turned 37 on Thursday. Not sure how I feel about that. I think I'm OK with it. I'll get back to you.

2. I spent my Monday night and Tuesday day preparing a talk on stress and health, which isn't my research area but I think I did pretty well. I apparently work pretty well under stress (hehe) when it's about a topic I know something about but that isn't, like, my favorite thing ever. Check out my talk here.

3. I'm realizing that persistence is paying off in the blogging world. You'll see what I mean in a few weeks. Let's just say that a certain affiliate we advertise for is giving you gals (and guys I guess) something awesome. Something awesome this way comes November 25th. Be there or...I don't know.

Robyn:
I've learned that trying to get a baby to relax and have some quiet cuddle time is not the best idea while wearing a rhinestone studded shirt. Reagan kept playing with the bling, and would get even crankier when I tried to hold her hand (Give me the shiny stuff MOM!) Is this a sign of a glitz and glamour child of the future? AH! Prepare the bank accounts now!!!

Reagan wants the bling!

2. I've learned that flu symptoms set in less than 15 minutes after getting the shot. Shoo shoo flu! 

3. I've learned that I cannot take you serious when you pull up next to me in a low rider with pink accent windows, do the upward head nod at me, and drive away with the "shocker" sticker on your back window.

Lisa:
1. I learned that things happen when you least expect them. We had to take Kai to the vet because we feared he'd torn his ACL. It turns out that he is having a neurological issue and he's losing feeling in his hind end. I would lie if I say that I'm not heartbroken. He's my first baby and it has hit me hard. My consolation though? If he gets his wheelchair, I'm painting flames on the side. He has to look cool!!

2. Banshee started her new group at Kennedy Krieger and we couldn't be more pleased for her. She is so happy, in spite of being sad about Kai, that it is infectious. She screams and laughs and dances....just a happy child. That is worth all the riches in all the world.

3. I had the bestest afternoon with Pixy. She decided to come into my room and sit on the rocking chair with me to ask about babies. She's so excited for Cubby to show up that she needs to know about when she was a baby, if his diapers are ready for him, does he have everything he needs....Pixy is a little Mama in training and it was awesome to relive her babyhood with her.

4. I learned that I am ready for this kid to get here. Anyone wanna take bets on when he shows up?! ;)

Now you! What did you learn? What was super cool-io about your week? Share in the comments!

Show me...the MRI

As a psychologist and a scientist, I love reading research related to parenting and kids (both psychological research and biological research). I will regularly do a Google Scholar search for parenting-related research articles just to see "what's going on." So...what's going on this week?

Testicles.

Seriously.

Researchers at Emory University studied 70 fathers and found that men with a smaller testicular volume were more likely to demonstrate empathy towards their children and to provide more of the care for their children than men who had a larger testicular volume. They also found that men with lower levels of testosterone are likely to do more of the child care in the home.

As a researcher my first thought is, "A sample size of 70 participants is..." well not so hot. Typically if you want to make big claims, you need a big(ger) sample size. But the empathy and testicular volume measurements were taken via MRI, and that's a + (whereas the sample size would be a -).

So what does this mean? Do dating women who want kids need to take their beau to the doctor for a brain and testicular MRI prior to deciding to have kids with them? "Sorry babe, we have to get your 'T' checked before I'll agree to marry you. I don't want to end up changing all the diapers." Should women be avoiding "macho" men (who may have higher testosterone) if they eventually want a family? Or is it possible that as men age their testosterone decreases as does their testicular volume, and thus older men would be more empathic and change more diapers?

This. This is why I love reading research studies.

What have you read that was of interest to you recently?

"Sleepy, Oh So Sleepy"

The title of this post is from a book I (Liz) read to my kids about sleepy animal babies ("Sleepy, Oh So Sleepy" by Denise Fleming, $14ish at Amazon.com). It's supposed to lull them to sleep I think. But they're not feeling it. But whenever I read it, I think about how sleepy parenting makes you and how we do stupid stuff when we're so sleepy. Have you ever been this sleepy? Read on...

"I think the #1 most tired I've ever been was when Silas was a baby and he was still sleeping in our bed on our chests (so maybe 3 or 4 weeks old). He was actually, that night, sleeping in his bassinet by the bottom of our bed. He woke up and cried. I gingerly picked up the baby from my bed and passed him to my husband because it was his turn to quiet the crying baby. Both of us became frustrated when the baby didn't quiet. That's because 'the baby' I'd just passed Mike was a pillow, and Silas was still crying in his bassinet." - Liz


"The sleepiest I've ever been...was shortly after Pixy's third month. I
woke up during the night to use the bathroom. The baby started to cry and I was lolling asleep as I was sitting on the toilet. I still don't know how I did it, but I managed to walk to the nursery with panties around my ankles and pick up the baby. Sailor woke up to figure out what I was doing, because he heard the toilet flush and the baby stop crying, but we were not in our room. He ended up laughing at me. It took me all of two minutes to figure out what was so funny. His laughter, though, kept the baby awake. Fun times!" - Lisa

"You know what real sleep is? Like hours of interrupted bliss and the. waking up while smiling from an amazing dream, while the sun plays peek-a-boo into the window with you. Well, after a long night of couch dozing, Reagan wouldn't fall into real sleep. Hell, she wouldn't even fall into an hour of fake sleep. (She's a newborn, remember?!) She fussed and fussed. Mike had given her Gripe Water and it seemed to relieve gas in her belly. At least that's what I picture is little ninja's popping bubbles with their swords once she swallows a dropper full. So, she started crying after a feeding and I ran over to the kitchen counter to find half the dropper still full. I instantly put it in her mouth and she swallowed. As I'm in the darkness,  I peer all squinty eyed and see something move on my counter top. Ah, sugar ants...why would we have.... THE GRIPE WATER! It's sugar water and that's what those mooches are after!! There was a little black spot when I had put the dropper into my baby's mouth but didn't think anything of it. Omg, AN ANT!!! I'm horrible, I fed my baby a sugar ant!" -Robyn

You know you have a story. Share. Make us all feel better. Did you make sandwiches with just mayonnaise? Did you send the kids to daycare with no diaper on? Share your story in the comments at the bottom.

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Bloggers Chat about Breastfeeding for World Breastfeeding Week

Liz: August 1st through 7th is World Breastfeeding Week. If I remember correctly the whole month is National Breastfeeding Month. I wish we lived in a world where we didn't have to have weeks and months to remind us about our feeding options for children, but I think that's the goal - acceptance and support. After reading a post from the Huffington Post about bloggers suggesting we support all moms and their feeding choices, I knew that it would be interesting to dialogue with my fellow Mama(s) about their choices and how they made them feel.

How many children do you have and how old are they?
Liz: Two boys, Silas and Sage, 3 and 1.

Lisa: Two girls, Pixy and Banshee, 5 and 3. One boy, Cubby, in utero.

Robyn: 3 boys, Bailey, 14, Sean, 8 Kasen 5, and 1 girl, Reagan, 1 month

Did you breast feed, formula feed, supplement breast with formula...?
Liz: I formula fed with both of them. I initially tried breast feeding but wasn't able to do it.

Lisa: I breastfed both of the girls for 11 months and they weaned themselves. With Pixy, who was a tiny 5lb thing, I supplemented with formula to fatten her up.

Robyn: Breasfed all the way. Step-son Bailey was formula fed.

Why did you make the choices you made?
Liz: I had high risk pregnancies after having a stroke in 2008. I took medication that decreased blood clotting and apparently influenced milk production. After both boys were born I tried to feed them both for about 3 weeks. I put a lot more effort into it with Sage because I thought maybe I hadn't tried hard enough or long enough with Silas. But as soon as I stopped taking my anticoagulant medication my milk completely dried up both times. So sometimes it feels like formula was a choice and other times I think it was a choice made for me by my body.

Lisa: Honestly, we are a military family on a budget. I knew that formula was expensive and I figured I would give breastfeeding a try. It was difficult, because all the women close to me had formula fed and I didn't get the support I needed. This was something women with no other recourse did, not someone from this century. But, I stuck to my conviction to try and if it didn't work, there was always formula. I am all about rolling with the punches.

Robyn: It just seemed natural. Plus, breastfeeding burns calories!

How did you feel about your choices?
Liz: With Silas when I finally decided to only FF I felt guilty like I was doing my kid a disservice. Even though I knew I'd done everything I could. When I decided to FF only with Sage I felt less guilty because I'd been through it before and knew that feeling guilty was silly - it wasn't like I was not feeding my kid.

Lisa: I was at peace with all of my choices. My body said it was "all systems go" to breastfeed and I felt I did it well. Every once in a while, I do feel guilty that I didn't ask the girls to breastfeed longer, but honestly, if they were ready to stop at 11 months I wasn't about to force the issue. I think we have all turned out great.

Robyn: I felt great knowing that my body was put here for a purpose (not just for dudes to check out my rack).

What do you wish you could tell other moms who are facing the challenges related to choosing how to feed their child(ren)?
Liz: I teach child psychology classes and even though the books don't talk about this, I do. We talk about feeding options. I talk about BFing and the services available to help (lactation consultants at the hospital, BFing classes before baby's born, La Leche League mentors, etc.). I also remind students that sometimes, moms don't choose to FF and relay my experiences. I also talk about how sometimes Mom is sick and can't BF and these are all things we need to think about before we look askance at someone who's feeding their kid in public in a way that we didn't choose. I would love to tell Moms of the world to put all the Mommy War social comparisons aside and just support each other. You know how hard it is to mommy (and if you don't yet, you will). Why add that extra stress of being crappy to each other over feeding strategies? Feed your kid. Bam.

Lisa: Do what you think is best, regardless of what information is out there. When it comes to mommyhood, there is no right answer! All children are different, all Mamas are different! Why should we pressure each other to fit a certain mold? Some women will be able to breastfeed with no problem, others might require the help of formula. As mamas, we can never truly prepare for everything, but we can educate ourselves and support each other, to make the right choices for us. Mommyhood is not going to be stress-free, not by a long shot, just get it done and be happy.

Robyn: To grow into the idea of telling society to beat it! Sometimes it's not just the mom's decision, it's what works best for the family. Find the support you need (friends, family, other moms, groups, discussion forums) when you make the decision of breast or bottle. Once you have support, you'll feel more confident that you're doing the right thing.

How would you answer these questions? If you're a mom, what was your feeding experience like and how did people respond to it?

You Did What?!

While I haven't been writing about it, I've still been running. Once I got my heart shiz under control I went back to the C25K program because I really do enjoy it. Who wouldn't? You get to get out of the house, you get exercise, endorphins, whoo hoo! Sadly for me, some meds I take are the kind you're supposed to avoid sun exposure with, so running in the Texas heat + these meds = bright red skin that feels as if I have ants biting every square inch. That's if I don't get every square inch with SPF 70 active sun block. Yay. Thankfully I have another month and a half of these meds and I'm out. Oh wait, that's when summer ends. D'oh!

So wait, what did I do? Long story rather quick - I post running updates to Twitter. A friend who does 5ks plus other stuff that I would never sign up for in my life like Tough Mudder...mud...shudder. Anyway...she responded to a tweet that I should sign up for a 5k. I replied that I would look around for one. She said that signing up for one motivates you. D, don't take this the wrong way, but, *eye roll* Sure, I'll sign up for one (not). I really wasn't intending to.

I told my friend Robyn (who just had a baby and was super fit after Air Force training) that I had started running again and every once in a while she asks how it's going. It's going. I'm still running, and that's good right? I told her what D said about the 5k. She said she wanted to do one of those "color runs." Well. It just so happens that I did Google 5ks in San Antonio and there was a color-type run September 14. In a "I'll do it if you do it" moment of teen girl Truth or Dare weakness, we signed up.

Ahhhhhh!

Today is Sunday, July 21. We have 55 days (not counting the day of the race) to get ready. Suggestions?

This Little Boy Has Got to Go (to sleep)

Lack-o-sleeper

A few months back Sage was still waking two or three times at night. We did "sleep training" for a week and he slept through the night for a bit. It was awesome. Then he had an ear infection and woke up every night screaming, and that set us all back to waking up a few times a night. I was so tired I gave in to giving him milk when he woke up, and now we're back at square one (1 a.m.?).

This afternoon when I picked up the boys from school Silas was moody and told me as we climbed into the car, "I so tired Mommy I want to cry." Me too buddy. We both looked at Sage, our reason for being tired, and he was...already asleep in his car seat.

Sleep training starts again tonight. My 3 year old should not have bags under his eyes. He has many years to do that to himself.

**Update: Sage woke up only once last night and fell back asleep alone. He only woke up and stayed awake at 5:40 a.m. and I figured if he made it that long he could have some milk. Hopefully this will continue to a trend.**

"Dis my sad face Mommy."
 

Where Are the Running Posts?!

You may notice that I haven't been posting my C25K progress recently. "Well, why not woman?!" you say.

When you start an exercise program everyone tells you, "Check with your doctor to make sure you're able to exercise." And I did. No really, no joke, I did. She cleared me to start running. Cool. Then when I started running for longer periods (5 minutes or more straight running) my heart started doing wonky things. Now obviously running is cardio exercise, it will affect the heart, go through it, that's what my brain said. When I went for my 6 month check up, my doctor disagreed and sent me to my cardiologist whom I haven't seen since 2009. We saw that under stress, my valves don't function properly and cause leakage. This caused both my strange rhythms while running and my strange random rhythms at rest. Ah, I see, said this blind man (or woman).

So I am to lay off the running until we get this under control. I can walk, which I've been doing, but "refrain from extended cardio activity."

Travel and Paleo? Not fun AT ALL

This past week I traveled to a conference. Fabulous, right? Travel? Awesome? No. Try maintaining a Paleo diet while traveling or going to a function. Note: I'm not complaining, I'm simply noting the lack of "alternatives."

Start at the airport. McDonald's. Dunkin' Donuts. Popeye's Chicken. Starbucks. Oh, remember, we're eating breakfast. "Do you have anything that's gluten free?" Weird looks. Nobody did. So I was glad I had eaten before I left and had brought Paleo-friendly snacks for the airport(s) and plane(s).

Arrive in Florida. Ask the folks at the front desk for food suggestions (because the conference doesn't start until tomorrow). I'm starving. It's dinner time. I hadn't had a "meal" all day. "Oh, and I can't eat bread or pasta." Concierge furrows his brow. Exactly. "Go down the street and over the bridge. There's a health food type restaurant called Dig. They'll have something you can eat and it's good." Okey dokey. Well, Dig's holding a fundraiser for some wildlife something or other. It's packed and there's no food to be found. Moving on. So I found a pizza place that serves...salad. *Sigh* I got a buffalo chicken salad. Meh. With no travel plastic fork or knife. Who does that? Anyway.

Breakfast the day the conference starts (at 3 p.m.). I wasn't paying $16 for an omlett at the hotel, so I walked. And walked. Breakfast sandwiches. Nope. More breakfast sandwiches. Pastries. Bagels. Seriously?! So I went to Starbucks and got a turkey bacon and egg sandwich and didn't eat the English muffin. Wheee (said sarcastically).

At lunch time I went downstairs in the hotel to find something before the conference started because who knows what they'd serve. I ran into one of the conference planners, Kate, that I knew and she bought me lunch. Score! Salad. Boo.

Conference snacks - cookies. No fruit to be found. So I asked Kate for some loose fruit, you know some apples and bananas to put on the table. Hopefully I'm not the only one who would enjoy them? In the middle of the first presentation Tom, another conference planner, brings me a large bowl of cut up melon and fruit and a fork. Um...well, I...OK. No apples. No bananas. Kate was frustrated for me.

For dinner we all went out together to an awesome restaurant on the beach. They actually had something I could eat on the pre-planned menu, so I was psyched. I ate all of that damn fish. They actually had created "pasta" out of zucchini using a julienne peeler which I had so wanted to try. It was yummy. Definitely asking for one of those for Mother's Day.

Conference breakfast - guess. Bagels, breads, muffins, oh my! Kate and I arrived at breakfast at the same time and she watched me eyeball the table. "You can't eat any of this," she sighed. And we couldn't find a human to get me even a hard boiled egg. So I cheated. First time in a month, I had a bagel. Eeeee! But it was yummy (shhhh). On to lunch - cold cut sandwiches and potato salad. I'll have some cold cuts...and some fruit.

Now I am in no way bitching. Don't get me wrong. But I was talking to Kate before we left and she said, "I never realized how much unhealthy stuff we offer at these things. I need to work on that." Indeed. And invite me back next time so I can check your progress!

Shut Up to "I'll just run tomorrow..."

Last week on Monday Sage had a doctor's appointment when I'm usually running. "I'll just run Tuesday," I said. I ran Tuesday. Wednesday I had to get ready to fly to FL for a conference (Thursday through Saturday). "I'll run Thursday at the hotel," I told myself. I packed my gym clothes and my sneaks. Ready to run.

Except when I got to the hotel the "gym" was as large as my back patio and had two machines - a treadmill and a stepper. What?! But it's open 24 hours, the sign said. Except the problem was that when I was awake and not at the conference, there was always someone running. Damnit. And I didn't feel comfortable running the streets because I didn't know them (or the neighborhood).

Needless to say, I did not run at all during my trip except to cross the street and not get hit. To make me feel extra crappy about not running, I met a textbook author who gets up at 3:30 am to run 15 miles and write for 2 hours before he starts his day. I'm not joking. The man is a machine. He offered to run with me one morning but, well, I declined. LoL

This today was my first day back on the sidewalks. Since I hadn't run in a bit, I downshifted to Week 4 Day1's schedule so as to not hurt myself and to build back up what I had lost. It wasn't too bad although my knees disagreed with the starting back. We can't win them all.

While I may be behind, I'm still going to finish C25K. And I won't get up at 3:30 to do it.

Things Not to Do While Eating Paleo

We've been eating the "Paleo plan" or "diet" or whatever you choose to call it (it's not a diet, it's a way of thinking about food, but I won't get on my soapbox) for almost a month. I know that somewhere out there ("beneath the pale moonlight...") there's someone wondering about Paleo and what to avoid while doing it. Well, here's what I've learned so far.

Avoid missing meals
If you've ever had the "low blood sugar blahs" then this is 500x worse. At least at our house it's like someone's Bringing Cranky Back in full swing. Your frontal lobe of your brain which controls good decision making, tact, and what facial expressions to make just doesn't work well on no food. So carry snacks and listen to your body (as opposed to a clock that says it's lunch time).

Don't forget prep time
Take into account prep time for meals. Many of us came to eat Paleo from The Fast Food Nation. "We are hungry and want it now!" Well, it doesn't work that way when you're using real and fresh ingredients my friend. There is nothing (except maybe veggies) frozen here. So plan on prepping and cooking for at least 30 minutes if not more. Again, keep snacks for while you wait. We like beef jerky and celery with almond butter (instead of peanut butter). Also, if you want you can chop up often used foods (like onions and garlic) ahead of time to cut some of the prep time. We keep them in the fridge in storage bags and just take out what we need.

Don't expect it to be cheap
Starting a Paleo pantry can be expensive especially if you come from The Fast Food Nation. There are spices, types of flour (see the next section), and meat to be purchased. Lots of meat. And vegetables. Lots of vegetables. And a food processor would be super helpful (we just got ours today and it roooocks!).

Don't expect to find recipe ingredients at your local market
Unless you live in Awesome Land (and I don't even know where that is), you may not find all that you're looking for at one store. For example, I found almond butter, coconut flour, and almond flour at H.E.B. The almond flour was $12.99 for a 1 lb bag. No joke. I found 1 lb bags of almond meal (just fine thank you) at Trader Joe's for...wait for it...$3.99 each. I had to go to Whole Foods for cashew butter. Still haven't found clarified butter (ghee) anywhere. I only found flaxseed meal at Trader Joe's. So it's kind of a crap shoot as to where you'll find what you need (and then what you'll pay for it). So there's more planning involved. You can't just run to Wal-mart to get your shiznit.

Don't forget lunch
Daddy and I both work outside of the house and are at work for lunch time. It can be hard to put together something for lunch. Again, it takes pre-planning (damn that pre-planning). Leftovers from the night before are an obvious one, but eating Paleo typically makes one not feel full for as long as other foods do, so we end up eating the leftovers later most nights. A lot of times I just cruise the fridge and throw a bunch of stuff in a cold bag and go. But you have to make sure when you're shopping that there's portable things that don't require large amounts of cooking at work. Tricky tricky. In a pinch there's always a salad at a fast food place, but I've even had experiences where I open a salad and I'm thinking, "There's stupid tortilla chips on my salad!" Try picking those out during a lunch meeting. Super professional (with the cape on and all).

I'm sure there's more and I'll post them when I think of (or experience) them. What have your experiences been?

C25K Week 5 Day 1 - A little late, but that's OK

I actually ran day 1 of week 5 on Tuesday. Monday was just a train wreck around these parts. I taught my two classes, had office hours, helped some students plan our their academic lives, and then ran to pick up Sage from school so we could go to a doctor's appointment. The appointment was supposed to be quick, in and out. We got there at 2:15 and left at 3:15. Not quick in my book. Home by 3:45, and Sage was asleep by 3:48. Daddy got home and I went to pick up Silas at school at 4:20. So there was really very little daylight left to actually get outside and run on Monday.

Tuesday I left work at 2:45 and was able to get my run in before we had to leave to pick up the boys. Mind you, Daddy went by himself so I could cool down and shower, but I was technically done (and smelly and covered in sweat and sunscreen) by 4:20. Today's run was 3 sets of 5 minutes of running (spaced by 3 minutes of walking). The first two runs I was OK, but by the third I really just wanted to be done. Everything was tired. I think that's part of my overall feeling of tired too though. But I finished. I ran for 15 minutes today. Whew.

This week the program actually changes every day. The next time I run (probably Thursday) there will be sets involving 8 minutes of running. Eep. And Thursday and Saturday I will run on a treadmill for the first time since I'll be at a conference and staying at a hotel in Florida. I hope there's not too many buttons. I can just imagine myself programming the thing to do hills the entire time or something.

C25K Week 4 Day 3 - Success!

After my knee problems with W4D2, I was excited but concerned about today's run. I'd been stretching and working on my knee muscles, so I felt better about that. I reviewed the KT Tape placement for the knee and wrapped up both of my knees. Seemed pretty easy.

As I was starting to run, I felt the tape on my left knee start to give, so I stopped and fixed it. By the time I was done, both of the outside knee strips were secured to the inside of my sweat pants. Perhaps this is not designed for running under pants? Perhaps I didn't put enough pressure on it as I put it on? Who knows.

But with the KT Tape that stayed I did feel some support and was able to finish the whole workout. Next week is three sets of 5 minutes of running with 2.5 minutes of walking between them. I think I can do that.

C25K Week 4 Day 2 - And then it happened...

I have been waiting for this day for the past three weeks and change. It is the day that finally, something in my body (ahem, my damned knees) decided it was not going to play nice anymore. And I did NOT complete my goal for the day. I will be the first to admit it. I did my three minutes of running, 2.5 minutes of walking, 5 minutes of running, 2.5 minutes of walking, and then during that 2nd 3-minute run I literally couldn't get myself to pick up the pace and kept slowing down...down...down...until the pain was to the point where I stopped running and started walking. I walked through the rest of that run, walked through the walk, and started the 2nd five-minute run. I got about 1.5 minutes into it before the pain picked back up again. I walked the rest of my workout and sighed heavily.

When I got home I stretched some and sat down to ice both of my knees. I have to say that being severely over-tired thanks to a certain someone not sleeping through the night may have contributed to my body being overall overtired. And Wednesdays are my busy day (5:20 wake up, teach two classes, office hours, go home and run, shower, pick up boys, dinner, relax, baths, bed, wine...oh wait...). And on Monday I ran on hills and that definitely didn't help.

So what's the plan, Stan? Keep icing my knees. Stretch more. Strength building exercises more. KT Tape the heck out of my knees. And of course, hit it again on Friday. Perhaps repeat Week 4 next week if I think I need to. But definitely not quit.

C25K Week 4 Day 1

Wait, did I just type Week 4?! I did! Wow. It's been three weeks plus since I started running. That's kind of awesome.

This morning Sage (7 months) woke me up at 6:15 a.m. so I thought, "Screw it, let's get up." By 10:45 I had dropped the boys off, grocery shopped, and put up the groceries (including packaging the chicken for freezing and cutting up two bunches of celery for snacking). I wanted to run before lunch time, so I stretched and got myself ready (while Daddy was still in bed mind you). I stretched more than I have on previous days because I knew what was in store - two sets of five minutes of running and two sets of three minutes of running. Only three minutes of walking in the whole workout. Eep.

The three-minutes sets were easier today than previously, so I think my legs are getting used to them. The five-minute sets, well...I did them and I didn't stop running during them. I may have slowed down considerably at some points, but I was still moving faster than walking so I call that a win. It should get easier this week.

I started off my workout with such an awesome feeling. I was clear, it was nice out, and I was really enjoying it. The app I use for C25K when I open it has suggestions (and a motivational quote) and the suggestion today was to run a different route so you don't get bored. Well, OK. My neighborhood is an ant's nest of streets so I could surely find another route. Note to self - when you choose another route, make sure you know what it looks like, hills-wise. Because when you don't it may not work out well. Yeah, the street I chose, I drive it all the time...but I've never walked or run it. I turned down it and looked at how it changed to uphill and almost turned around. But I didn't. Now the second street I chose had a way easier uphill, less steep, and it was easier to maintain my motivation looking at that one.

For you seasoned runners, give me some suggestions for hills. Because I don't think crying about them is going to get me anywhere quickly.

C25K Week 3 Day 2 - What a Day

You know when you have those days where it feels like you did everything and then some and you STILL made yourself find time to run?

Yeah, that day was today.

Got up, showered, met a friend at the local cloth diaper store, shopped a little (shh), and then went to work. Left work, went home, ran, showered, picked up the boys, brought them home, met Daddy, and then left to go to a three-hour work meeting. By the time I got home it was 8:45 and Silas was ready to brush teeth and Sage was already asleep in his bouncer. Sigh. It was cute, I told Silas when I put him to bed that I missed him tonight and he told me, "I miss you Momma." Aww.

What today proved to me though is that even in the midst of chaos, I can still find time to reach my goal of finishing C25K. It may not be the most fun day, but it CAN (and will) be done. I do have to say that having a time limit on my run (must have time to shower before I go pick up the boys and thus I only have X number of minutes to do this) made it less enjoyable. It was more about getting it done than enjoying the experience. And I didn't get to stretch as much as I wanted to before starting, so everything felt a little tight. I did make sure to stretch and roll my calves when I got home though. The whole run took me shorter than I expected so I had more time than I thought I would.

Not ideal, but I got it done. And I ran for three minutes straight twice again today. Pretty sweet. I have not looked ahead to next week's schedule yet. I'm kind of dreading it...I'll do it. But I'm dreading it LoL

C25K Week 3 Day 1 - I Made It!

Today is Monday, so that means that my running schedule changed according to the C25K app I have. This week is run 90 seconds, walk 90, run 3 minutes, walk 3 minutes, and repeat. Last Friday I was kind of freaking out about the run 3 minutes part. When I started my run today I wasn't exactly excited to try running for three minutes, but I knew that I was going to do it no matter how I felt about it. After I was done I'd see how I did and see if maybe I should repeat last week's run (run 90, walk 90, repeat) instead.

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised with myself. The first part (run 90/walk 90) wasn't as bad as it was last week. I think maybe because I knew run 3 minutes was coming up that I expected it to be longer and was surprised when my 90 seconds ended. Then came the three minutes. And I did it! I pushed myself to keep running, even if it was at a slower pace, just to complete it, and I did. No cheating (walking when I'm supposed to run) at all. It wasn't the most pleasant experience, but as I've done before I forced myself to not check the clock to see how much time I had left and just run.

As I finished today's sets I felt accomplished and pretty proud of myself. I know for some people that running for three minutes (twice) is a small feat, but to me it's pretty big. I mean, I'm a person who has walked miles for exercise but never was able to jog for any extended period of time. Three minutes is a lot, and I'm looking forward to doing it again on Wednesday - soon running for 3 minutes will be as easy as running for 60 seconds in the first week (I hope)!

Thank you everyone for all the encouragement last week - it really helped :)

Orgreenic Kitchenware

I didn't buy it.

And Mike didn't buy it because it was "As Seen On TV." He bought it for two reasons: 1) we needed a new pan, and 2) he's always wanted ceramic cookware. It must be the ceramicist in him or something. Regardless, yes, we have and use Orgreenic Kitchenware. Go ahead, laugh. When you're done, I'll tell you why it rocks.

Once you've got it "seasoned" with oil/grease this thing has very little upkeep. Sometimes I use some sort of oil in it, sometimes I don't, and nothing burns. Nothing sticks. We've made eggs and left it uncleaned overnight. It took 1 minute to clean. Same with pancakes.

If we could afford it I would totally "upgrade to the full organic cookware set." But this stuff's expensive (and with reason). 'Tis good. And no, I didn't get paid for this post, I didn't get free stuff to comment on...I just saw a commercial and thought, "I bet you someone somewhere is hating on this because it's As Seen on TV...I need to share..."

You've been informed.

C25K W2D3 I was fine until...

I finished my run today and thought, "Meh. That was ok. I wonder if I should repeat week 2 since my knees and calves aren't feeling ready for more." Then I did my Friday "ritual" (of two weeks mind you) of checking next week's run schedule to get my brain thinking about the change.

Oh. My. God.

Seriously? Run 90, walk 90, run for 3 MINUTES, walk for three minutes, and then repeat that?!?! 3 minutes?!?! I already want to decide to repeat week 2 just because that freaks me out. That's double the time I ran this week and my knees and calves already slowed down at about 80 seconds this week.

So here's my plan. I will do W3D1 Monday. If it doesn't work out well, I'll go back to W2D2 and D3 for next week and see if that helps. Hopefully that will be enough to get me to feel better about a full week three after that. But if Monday goes well then I'll do W3D2 and D3.