Getting Wise on Size

I'm an avid reader of health and fitness magazines, and as a busy lady trying to find a healthy balance of diet and exercise, I greatly appreciate the concise, real-woman advice in Laticia's book. It addresses so many facets of the struggle for healthy living, from the emotional side of body image to the easiest, best ways to approach diet and exercise needs. Laticia's advice seems to break things down into understandable, realistic goals that are respective of the fact that not every woman has tons of money to throw at a personal trainer or loads of time to invest in the gym. It's written for the real world, and for the real woman! For more info on Laticia Jackson's book, I'm Not a Size Zero: Defining Your Curves While Loving Yourself, visit www.laticiajackson.com  Available at www.amazon.com

Shea Merry Christmas, Mama!

There are only about two dozen Fridays before Christmas, so it's definitely time to start putting on the Santa's hat-shaped thinking cap on and get the Christmas shopping in gear. Yes people, I went there. Better to start thinking ahead (sort of) than to get so behind that you really can't enjoy the spirit of things, right? And while gift cards to grocery stores and rolls of quarters to feed the machines at the laundromat may top my list for Santa, any new Mommy might be wishing for something that will soothe and pamper her. After all, she spent nine whole months carrying around another human being, and she's totally deserving of some TLC. Pregnancy takes its toll on the body and can strip some of the moisture and bounce out of your skin, so having a product that's specially deigned to target those deficiencies is especially important. SheaMoisture has the perfect solution to that, with their newly launched Raw Shea and Cupuaçu Mommy Collection. This line of products is specially created using certified organic shea butter from Northern Ghana to provide deep moisturizers, vitamins, and fatty acids essential to the skin. In addition, each product in the line contains Amazonia Cupuaçu to help protect, soften, and soothe dry and irritated skin as well as  pistachio oil, which is rich in Vitamin E and phytosterols to nourish and protect skin. The collection is completely free of parabens, phthalates, paraffin, propylene glycol, mineral oil, DEA, sulfates, silicones, synthetic fragrances, and artificial coloring, which means that these are some of the most natural, gentle products available. 


Stuff those stockings full of goodies! Prevent and repair stretch marks with Raw Shea & Cupuaçu Mommy Stretch Mark Butter Cream. This rich, luxurious cream is the perfect way to soothe and hydrate dry, tight skin; and its moisturizers will maintain the skin's elasticity to help keep those stretch marks away. Stay hydrated with Raw Shea & Cupuaçu Mommy Stretch Mark Intensive Repair Oil, an intensive oil treatment that's packed with omegas. Sore nipples can be soothed away by Raw Shea & Cupuaçu Mommy Soothing Nursing Balm, and that post-baby body can be firmed and massaged by the hydrating properties of Raw Shea & Cupuaçu Mommy Firming Massage Lotion. When it's time to clean things up a bit, using Raw Shea & Cupuaçu Mommy All Over Body Scrub is a perfect way to gently exfoliate the skin without stripping it of moisture. 

Give the new Mommy you know some Christmas cheer. Make any–or all––of these part of your shopping list, and the tree won't be the only thing that's lit up and glowing. For more info, visit www.sheamoisture.com

Dear Diary....

Once again, I find myself appalled at the time that has elapsed since my last real blog-post. You'd think that, by now, I've come to terms with the fact that I'm horrible about maintaining any sort of regular posting schedule when it comes to my own personal blog, but I still tend to send myself packing on a guilt trip when I log on and realize just how very loooong it's been since the last entry. This is why I tried multiple times to keep a journal and never actually maintained one with any degree of success. No one's beating down my door to hear my thoughts on things, so why would it matter if I let things fall by the wayside? 

Really, though, what sort of self-expression and self-exploration do we rob ourselves of when we shrug off the thought of writing those words? What chapters in our lives are we letting slip by, without record? While I wouldn't want everyone to know every thought or feeling that goes through my mind, I do sometimes look back over the trajectory of my life and wish I could recall things more clearly...and had I kept that journal, I might actually have that bit of insight. For some reason, though, we seem to think of "journaling" as a time-suck or a frivolity, rather than a beneficial way to connect with ourselves. We're too busy with other things, and so the pages stay empty––clean and white and going to waste. The journals collect dust, just one more prettily bound book whose spine was never cracked. i'm too guilty of that. But really, isn't that empty journal just a metaphor? We don't take the time to get to know ourselves. We're too busy with other things. I'm not suggesting navel gazing and becoming me-focused. I'm talking about getting to know yourself and what drives you, to finding out what makes you unique and worth getting to know. To becoming whole and healthy and happy as an individual so that you can have a full relationship with yourself, but also with everyone around you. The journal pages might just be a start, but they're a good one. 

Don't Stick on Me

If you're like me, you're always looking for ways to avoid having to actually wash a cookie tray or baking pan when you use one,  and the traditional roll of aluminum foil tends to get the job of playing ombudsman between you and the actual cookie tray. Still, even that doesn't always suffice––especially when it comes to things that have the tendency to stick to said aluminum foil. And so, when I finally came across the ingenious invention of reusable cooking sheets, I was in love. The COOKINA Cuisine Reusable Cooking Sheet is an especially great one, 100 percent non-stick and PFOA free. It's a multi-purpose mat of magic! Instead of busting out the hazardous tube of aluminum foil, parchment paper, or wax paper (and cutting your thumbs on that wicket saw-blade box edge!), unroll the COOKINA cooking sheet and revel in the fact that you saved not only your ten digits, but also that whatever latest baking expedition you've been on will be easily cleaned up––sans the worry of that random scrap of stuck-on aluminum or wax paper that inevitably results. This sheet is reusable, reversible, easy to clean, and can easily be trimmed to size. For more info, visit www.cookina.co

Cheese Clouds

I seem to be in that vacuum of space between the feast and the famine––that weird phenomenon of time that seems to happen when there's this building cloud of assignments that you just know is coming, waiting...looming...growing. And yet, the actual time you'll be given to deal with the cloudburst is unmoving. While the knowledge of upcoming work (and the resulting reflection in the greenery of my bank account, of course) is always nice to have, there's that downside of stressiness that happens. Maybe it's just me, maybe it's not. I'll be the first to admit that I'm sometimes too easily launched into that black hole of anxiety, even though the reality is that I can truly handle the workload, if I attack it methodically and with a clear head. I.E., trading in stressy-me for rational-me. Stressy-me seems to be my default setting, and that's something I definitely would like to change.

I've never personally read Who Moved My Cheese, but if I wrote it, I'm sure the dialogue would go something like this: 
My. Cheese. Has. Moved.
Where?
Why? 
Who touched it?
What if they had germs?
What if it's not the exact same cheese?
Can I move it back?
When?

As you can guess, change is not something I embrace easily. And neither is lack of details. Both of which occur with maddening frequency in life as well as in work. Especially in the ever uncertain world of a freelance writer. Which begs the question: why do I do this? And how do I not have a bleeding ulcer? Who knows, maybe it has something to do with my very contradictory love of the adrenaline rush that comes from knowing I met the tightest deadline, that my clients were impressed. That I proved I could do it.

The cheese moves. The thundercloud builds. Life can't be planned. But I'm trying to learn again how to cope with all of those things. To not worry about who or why or when the cheese was moved. To be thankful that the cheese is, in fact, still out there and available. It's still cheese. To not worry about when the rain will come. Just to be glad that it's coming and realize that it's needed to water this thirsty ground. And to embrace the unplanned moments of life––since sometimes those turn out to be the best ones. 

I'm just going to have to see if I can keep the cheese from getting soggy in the meantime.  

More Than Words

Call it a hazard of being a writer, but I'm always amazed that people can put so little stock in the importance of words. Words are amazing, yet so many people treat them with such flippancy. Really, though, if you think about it, words can change everything. 

They have the power to persuade, the power to hurt, the power to heal. The power to kill, and the power to give life. Whether spoken or written, words are essential to how we relate to one another, to how we connect. Maybe that's why I love them so much. They are truly a powerful thing, and I'm reminded of that on a daily basis as I boot up my computer to start my work day or crack the spine on a book.

What would life be like without words?

As one who makes a living from my ability to spin them together, I shudder to think. But even as a simple human being, I've often reflected on a world suddenly robbed of words–-one where they could not be spoken, heard, read, or written. It would be a lonely thing, I think. We would never really know someone else, would we? How could we fall in love or really feel anything about anyone or anything?Death of words would, I think, literally mean death. They're required for technology, for entertainment, for relationship. 

And still, they are so undervalued. Think about it, though, next time you're about to say something or write something. What do those words mean, and what will they cost you? How will they be received? Hold them in your mind's eye and measure them. 

Words are a powerful thing, a gift or a curse. 

Words are never just words. Be wordly wise.

Bubblegum Bubbles

I'm always amazed at people who can just walk around in their own little bubble without ever talking to anyone. I'm just not built like that. Yes, I'll admit that I'm often guilty of the bubble thing, but I like talking to people far too much to operate my day on Mute, in a shatter-proof bubble. 
So I may have a bubble, but it seems to be made of gum.
And like all bubblegum bubbles, my bubble frequently pops.
Which means a fresh bubble later on, sure. But who doesn't like fresh?
Fresh is better, right?

I guess that's one of the hazards of being a writer. 
Or maybe it's one of the advantages.
I talk to so many interesting people and learn so many different things. And Lord knows it keeps my days from stagnating and my conversational level above a grunt. 
I find sources for articles I'm working on, get ideas for characters, make friends, and network. I've gotten some really great content, and I've met some truly inspirational people that I wouldn't have, if I'd kept my bubble intact.
Shatter-proof bubbles are overrated.
Sure, they may seem like a good idea, all protective and impenetrable.
But bubblegum bubbles can grow. 
Bubblegum bubbles are pretty colors.
Bubblegum bubbles are fun.

If we constantly operate within the confines of our own bubbles, the world would be a sad place. 
We'd lose connections, and I like connections. 
I like knowing that there are people who care about me, and people I care about. 
I like knowing that, as sticky as things can be, as difficult as life can become, there are people I can reach out to. People who don't mind that my bubble popped and I got stuck in their hair or on their faces. They get stuck to me, I get stuck to them. 
And then, we get stuck to the shatter-proof bubbles and prove that sometimes being bubblegum can fix holes.