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I really love sugar. I mean, come on, my mom is an amazing baker. It’s always around: the fudge, the caramels, the cookies, the chocolate cake. Feast your eyes on THAT: Sigh. Wiping my mouth off. Okay, so after finding myself eating stale marshmallows in the pantry in the dark (they weren’t even close to good), I think I hit my sugar bottom. This desire to eradicate unhealthy sugar from my diet is also largely informed by new science indicating your gut bacteria have a big influence on what you crave. Read the full article here, but my layperson’s takeaway is that when you eat a lot of a particular food (in my case, sugar), your gut bacteria is populated with sugar-bacteria. If that reigns supreme, it tells your brain to eat more sugar and fewer peas, or what have you. I always felt like I just didn’t have adequate self-control when it came to eating copious nibbles (equally one huge bite) of brownies. Now I know it is part brain//part gut. To repopulate my gut with good-food desiring bacteria, I have to feed it that. Join my Facebook group. We are almost 100 strong! Follow our Pinterest Board. Be in community where we’re sharing what we’re eating, what substitutes we’re finding for the sugar-laced salad dressings, breads, yogurts, and ordinary parts of our food world that have been overtaken by sugar. On a practical level, we know how bad sugar is for you. And yet, five days into this…
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Toddlers. So cute. So lethal. Cue the long exhale. When I was first a mom of a toddler I died a thousand deaths, each and every day. I agonized over what to do when he protested naps. I texted my husband a billion times If he doesn’t stop screaming I’m going to die//can i die from listening to his whining//breakfast for dinner again–we fought all day and I’m too exhausted to cook//will he ever grow up or will he whine at college?? It was so hard to accept that my toddler couldn’t accept the word “no” nicely. It was so hard to hear the streaming of whining emanating forth from his frothy mouth. My brain face palmed a dozen times a day. You see, I was still freshly off the working woman wagon, and I wasn’t fully immersed in kid world. I really thought I could control his behavior. I really really was wrong. I wrote a lot about my struggles. Two Year Old Terror. Tantrums Rule My Life. Emotional Voice Finding. Power Parenting Doesn’t Work. I read a lot. I talked in my mom groups about it. I cried to my mom. I whined to my husband. I vented to my sisters. And now that it’s my second go ’round with a two year old? It’s so much less frustrating! I do get irritated of course, but I rarely feel hot white rage of powerless agony. She’s different than he is, too. SweetPea is her own breed of spastic and has…
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I’m late to this game, Dwija, will you still take me?? I’ve been scrolling through my friends 12 moments in the year 2014 and finally had 20 minutes alone to share mine. It was a really big year, and it was a small year, and it was everything in between. Instead of blog links, because I feel like I already did that a bit in my New Year post, I’m just going to do 12 photos that captured our year. Love love love, late//tardy//nell//me We celebrated my brother’s safe return from deployment by all getting together at the beginning of the year! One of my best friends from law school got married on the beach in Florida. I got to be a bridesmaid!! Two of my favorite friends ran a fermented foods workshop in our kitchen. Let’s just say my gut bacteria was impressed. SuperBoy and his bestie practicing being priests. This little boy’s mom is one of my absolute favs! My life-long friend and I got to be pregnant at the same time with two boys who are bound to be best friends! She looks so fabulous here, and even though I was due before her, I definitely look like it’s my third 😉 Double birthday with my baby girl. She was the best birthday present ever! emily rumsey photography Another super close friend with her adorable boy. These kids of mine are so lucky to grow up being surrounded…
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It’s that most wonderful time of the year//New Year!!! Linking back to my blog posts & writings from the last year! I look at 2014 and my last New Year’s post and marvel. A third baby. Lots of blog and etsy momentum. Traveled quite a bit. Watched my husband tackle hard challenges at work and whomp them. Watched my son read! Listened to my daughter comfort her baby brother. Gaped while that baby crawl up the stairs much to my horrified pride. Tried out sewing on knit fabric, a totally scary leap for me, thanks to my sweet friend Grace’s encouragement. I also look at lots of home projects we did. The new bathroom. The features in Design Mom and Apartment Therapy. The articles for What to Expect, Verily, and I Believe in Love. A few fundraisers including one for the marvelous Monks of Norcia {oh I wish I could be a monk with their group! Such an incredible person is Father Cassian Fulsom and the kids are in love!}. New wall hangings by my friend Kelly and a more focused motif in both kids’ rooms. Many closets cleaned out and wardrobes turned over. But I also look at what I want to do better in 2015. Read books for me. Sew my mending pile. Clean my house more regularly. Sleep. Write better and edit more clearly for Blessed is She. Tackle healthy eating with my full attention. Let’s get specific. Right here. Right now. :: 1) clean bathrooms. I…
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I am a notorious last minute shopper. But this year I did it. They’re all done. I mailed the boxes to family out of town, wrapped the gifts for family in town, and shipped off all my etsy orders in time for their holiday celebrations. BUT if you’re like me and are usually running around right before Christmas trying to find something for your every loved one, look no further. Gift guide! Couples My go-to this year: my girlfriend Kelly’s work at Of Thistle & Thyme. Perfect for a couple. No one would not love her beautiful wood wall art. She is kind enough to offer a discount to my readers: THANKSNELL for 15% off. HOP over there now. I bought a number from her this year and was allowed to review a set!. Love them!! This? Or that? Adult Women Hair products? Jewelry? A good book? A knit scarf? My friend Mandi sells Lila Rose and I use my hair sticks all the time. And when I can coax her into it, my daughter uses her bobby pins. Buy from her here. And see my review of her products here. Jewelry? Try our sponsor Christian Bling. LOVE their unique work and love that it can be religious without being overtly gaudy. Sorry, but some religious jewelry isn’t beautiful. Weird, but true. Scarves? My friend Anna knits beautiful ones! Remember her? Interview here & shoppe here! Adult Men Facial hair maintenance. Panasonic Nose, Ear and Facial Hair Trimmer Wet/Dry. Thank me later.…
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