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This Christmas is a Christmas in which that special lady in your life needs a little more love and care than usual.
It was a tough year.
She’s tough. She’s amazing.
She deserves the best.
She deserves your love, your recognition and honor.
But let me warn you. Perhaps your lady prefers that you spend quality time with her in addition to giving her a gift. Or that you say or write a beautiful message to go along with it. Or that you do something nice for her like giving her a much needed break. Or that you hug her, kiss her and squeeze her more throughout this holiday season.
If you’re reading these suggestions and have nooooo idea what your lady would like the most…. because after all, you gotta focus on what SHE would like to receive, not on what you would like to receive, check out The 5 Love Languages.
Why? Because gift-giving is a language. And you have to make sure that you communicate thoughtfulness, consideration and a genuine interest in trying to please the other person.
I start by saying this because, think about it, the lines for returning items don’t get gigantically long starting December 25th because people have been truly tuning into what we want, but rather, because they haven’t. And truth be told, maybe neither have we.
So having said this, here are some ideas that can most likely brighten her day… not only on Christmas Day, but throughout the year.
Technology
We ladies love our technology. We really do! Some of us may say we’re not tech inclined, but as you’ll see, these gifts prove otherwise.
Before I attempt to say anything…. I just want to hold your hand through time and space, squeeze it and tell you that I know how you’re feeling.
If you’re part of my community, it is highly likely that you were hoping that the outcome of this week’s election was one of peace, hope….and love.
Turns out, it was one of shock, desolation and hate for MORE THAN HALF the country.
For the past couple of days, I have been hibernating emotionally.
Hopefully, you have also been doing what you have to do to find your footing once again. To feel more grounded with each passing day. But If you’re on the floor still and need a bit more time to process this all, go ahead. Take your time.
How I’ve Been Coping, Which Is a Actually NOT The Best Way To Do So
Even though words are my thing, I have said little to very few people. I Whatsapped a friend. Talked to my mom over the phone . FB messages two other friends and my brother. Instagrammed an acquaintance. But I haven’t talked to anyone face to face about it. And it’s felt lonely.
And I think that’s how we feel with our emotions.
Alone.
Torn.
Uncertain.
Like we put all our hope, all our will and all our might for this result to be a positive one and we were cheated of the win. To say that we were blind-sighted is an understatement.
So now, what we’re really left with is suspicion.
Of who we can trust.
Of who’s on “our side.”
Of who’s open to love.
Of what’s gonna happen.
Of whether we should have faith.
Of whether we even have any faith left to cling on to.
What I Learned Really Matters From This Election
Even though words are my thing, it’s almost like there are no words to process this all. And it’s only through really digging deep within ourselves that we can find some answers and make a teeny-tiny little bit of sense of this situation.
I get that there are changes that the political establishment needs. I really do.
But what’s surprising is that it seems like America snapped and demanded change instead of politely asking for it. And yes, I also understand that maybe politeness in a tense time like these is the last thing you think of. But man! We don’t have to be savages when wanting our voices to be heard, right?
“Our desire to be heard shouldn’t have to inflict hurt on others.” – Haydee Montemayor
Ironically, I think that the best thing we got out of this election is actually several things:
The notion that we have to be more strategic about how we communicate not only as citizens, but in our own relationships.
Waiting until we snap….is not the best way to communicate.
Insulting isn’t either.
Nor is marginalizing.
Nor is it minimizing.
Nor is it making fun of one another.
Nor is not taking people who pose a potential danger seriously.
Because when we ignore these things. we run the risk of letting hate win instead of tolerance, unity, acceptable and love.
So What Did You Learn?
As you can see, processing this ordeal takes courage.
We need to come to terms with our hurt, how we communicate it and our hope.
“Before we can state our hopes, we need to process our hurts.” -Haydee Montemayor
In large part, we will have less hurts if we learn how to communicate better.
So let’s explore what’s going on inside of you.
Look Within
Before we blame others (which is VERY tempting, especially if you’re in the losing side of this election) ask yourself:
What didn’t YOU do?
In what way did your communication fail?
The 11 Biggest Lessons From The Election Results That I Learned Regarding Communication
1) For me, I wish this blog, Love and Treasure, could have reached more people than it has and be more than it is. Since I created Love and Treasure, I knew that love was a topic that deserved and needed the spotlight. And yet, sometimes, I admit that I was worried that everything I wanted to say about this topic would feel cheesy. So I held back a little. Actually, a lot.
2) Several months ago, I had the “grandiose” idea of wanting to ask more famous people and famous entrepreneurs to voice their political preference as a way of convincing more people to vote for love, not hate. But I didn’t ask them. Why? Because I thought that I would be an inconvenience and I assumed people were smart, and could see through the candidate that was trying to con them.
3) I created a meme about this election that I didn’t promote enough because I didn’t want to be “in your face” about this issue and because at that time, I was a little afraid to speak up more than I did and more than I could have.
4) As Oprah says, what we focus on expands.
Ummm, yep.
I always had a feeling that we were focusing way too much on the guy that we didn’t want instead of the Madame we did.
I was guilty of this too.
It was fascinated and even mesmerized to see the ineptitude of the guy we didn’t want … and to see how popular he was.
It was, and unfortunately is, a very bizarre phenomenon of luring a moth to a flame that I still can’t quite get my head around.
For more information on how it literally all went down, I suggest that you reconsider what media you watch. I loved watching an independent news show called The Young Turks because these guys really DO bravely (not cowardly) tell it like it is… about all of the candidates, and about the issues that most deserve our attention. You should check them out!
But I’ve learned that next time, I should focus mostly on what I DO want and be more proactive about sharing my reasoning for moving TOWARD something instead of against it.
5) Almost after every election someone comments that there should be an amendment to the electoral college.
That’s an understatement, to say the least.
Too late now, right?
Well, yes. At least for this time around.
6) “Just like being a witness to generosity, brings joy to the heart, being a witness to insults should make you more empathetic.” -Haydee Montemayor
We don’t have to be a woman, a Jew, Muslim, a Mexican, disabled, gay or ugly to know that an insult to one of us impacts the rest of us.
7) Words written in The Constitution matter.
8) What we say we endorse or disavow reflects on us.
9) Education matters
“Ignorance is the root of many things, especially the disassociation of that which is really sacred, such as our essence and our heart.” -Haydee Montemayor
Said another way,
“Ignorance is the antithesis of the ever-increasing potential of the wisdom of the heart.” -Haydee Montemayor
10) “The labels we so cowardly put on others are often what we are ourselves. ” -Haydee Montemayor
For example, if we call somebody “crooked, ” we are projecting that we ourselves are crooked.
The same goes for “dishonest.”
The same for “liar.”
You can truthfully describe someone. But if you repeat the descriptive word again and again and again, without concrete evidence that you can use as unbiased examples for why you’re calling someone that name….then guess what? You’re not telling the truth about other people, you’re simply projecting what you think they are.
It’s like we’re taking our dirty little secret, the characteristic we hard the most about ourselves and momentarily saying to the world, “I’m not ____, THEY are.”
And in the end, when we do this, we do one of two things.
1) We only fool ourselves OR
2) we attract other fools who have this same issue with themselves to make our projection a little bigger and to think that our way of seeing the world is our absolute truth.
But in the end, repeating our projection more and more doesn’t make it a truth, it’s just makes it a more annoying projection.
11) And perhaps my favorite lesson is that words of gratitude matter. It is beautiful to watch Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama, Barrack Obama do so much for the people. To truly become invested in their well-being. And we owe so much to them. And a thank you may not seem enough for everything they’ve done, but it’s much better than nothing.
So as you live through the many stages of grief, which if you’re like me… Aren’t sequential but all over the place…. Ask yourself: What did you learn about your communication and communication in general?
If You’re Scared To Look Within, Listen From An Answer From Within
If you’re in a state of shock so big that you haven’t really been able to process what the beep just happened… try this:
Ask yourself:
What Does My Soul Want To Say?
In my case, it pisses me off when the bad guy wins.
Like….ARGHHHHHH!
Like what the hell?!
I’m all for the underdog winning, not the dog.
So What Does Your Soul Want To Say?
Listen to your soul.
Resist the temptation to sensor it.
Simply listen to what is wanting to come through you.
And once you’re ready, talk to whomever has earned the right to hear your story.
And communicate.
Really!
“Communicate because words are the way we make sense of the world.” – Haydee Montemayor
Communication is your way out of the fog you may feel. Even if you’re only communicating with yourself.
Rip The Bandage Off, If You Need To And When You’re Ready
If your soul is still resistant to speak up. Ask yourself:
What Hurts The Most About What Just Happened?
In my case, the result is pretty bad in and of itself. Having to explain it to my son… is just too much! I haven’t had the heart to do it. Just the notion that he lives in a world where this could be happening made it very difficult for me to want to get up on November 9th.
Trying to make sense of all of this as an adult… is super hard. Trying to explain it to a little one… seems almost impossible. This is really messed up.
Another thing that hurts me quite a bit is this:
I’m sure that people on both the winning side and the losing side have lost in the past.
“Losing sucks. Losing unfairly sucks big time.” -Haydee Montemayor
You know what I mean?
If the electoral college really gave the ultimate victory (which it hasn’t voted on and will do so until December 19, 2016), to whoever got the greatest number of votes, then justice would be made.
But instead, we’ve decided to play Bingo and grant the victory not to the person that actually filled most squares of the card, but to the person who filled in the least number of fields. Like helloooooo?!
Who DOES that?!
Apparently, we do.
And unfortunately, we do this more times than they’re acceptable.
Or fair. Or just.
Let me explain. Since the beginning of this century… This “phenomenon” of putting the losing candidate into the White House has happened twice in 5 elections.
So Let’s Do Some Math, Shall We?
2 divided into 5….is 40%
That means, that the people of the U.S. get a leader that we DON’T vote for 40% of the time!
That’s outrageous! Insane! Shitty! Totally, Absolutely and Painfully Unfair!
Yes, of course there are way more years to the century (if we all survive that long, know what I mean? Wink, wink) … But STILL!! Being stuck with someone who you didn’t choose for the second time in just a little over a decade and a half is unimaginable… Preposterous.
So it’s no wonder that we’re hurting!
How this can happen in a “so-called” democracy beats me! Yes, I know that the electoral votes are the cause behind this, but as it’s REALLY clear, that electoral college system is archaic. It was used as a safeguard that no longer applies. And that quite honestly, reduces the value of the vote.
For example… why should someone’s vote in New York be less important than someone’s vote in Oregon? People who live in large cities or crowded states already compete for and literally pay the price for living there. They shouldn’t be cheated out of having their vote be worth less. They shouldn’t have to compete for the value of their vote.
So yep, the electoral college should be removed. And when it is, the value of someone filling out the space on a BINGO card, will be exactly the same value as someone else filling in another BINGO card.
That, is called fairness.
We all need an even playing field . Whether were women, men, someone voting for the 8th time or the 1st time regardless of where we live, what our race is or what our socio-economic status is.
So, on the brink of doubting what freedoms you have still and what you can control, take advantage of the fact that you still have the chance to feel and the chance to express your emotions. You still have the chance to connect with yourself. And to extend your hand to someone else who might be needing you to reach out, squeeze their hand and help them heal.
Now It’s Your Turn
In the comments below, share with us what your biggest takeaways were from this election. In times like these, like in every “so-called” failure, we can make the “failure” a little less of a “failure” by asking ourselves what we learned and applying those lessons in the future.
Are you wanting to breastfeed but are telling yourself what is probably the number one excuse we ALL use, (that I really shouldn’t have to tell you because you know it already) which is, “I don’t have time” to breastfeed.
When it comes to breastfeeding, “I don’t have time,” can mean three things.
It can mean that:
1) There so many doubts and hangups that you have about breastfeeding that you FEEL like you don’t have the time to figure out how to breastfeed, why to breastfeed, when to breastfeed, how often to breastfeed and everything else that breastfeeding entails. And don’t worry, I totally get it that that’s a lot of information.
2) You are a busy person and literally don’t know when you’ll be able to squeeze in the time to breastfeed.
3) You’re just using the phrase as an excuse.
So Now That You Know What’s Holding You Back In Your Breastfeeding, What Are You Gonna Do About It?
The good news is that when you use the “I don’t have time” excuse for any of the reasons mentioned above, you can actually test these the reasons/excuses by asking yourself a simple question that author of The Work, Byron Katie asks and that is “Is it true?” If you say yes, then you ask yourself her second question, which is, “Can you be absolutely know that it’s true?” Or you can take my shortcut and just ask yourself.. “Is that really true?”
Women, in general, seem to like comparing themselves to other women. I don’t know if we do it because we really CARE if we’re ahead of the rest of the women or not OR because we have SO many insecurities about ourselves that we just want to confirm that we’re not the worst player on the team.
But the fact that we want to run, run , run as fast as we can, turn back and say, “you can’t catch me, I’m the gingerbread gal” is a huge indication that we shouldn’t be wishing to get ahead just for the sake of getting ahead. That wishing to get ahead without a real focus on what TRULY matters is all mental games. And that instead of focusing our attention sideways to see if anybody is “caught up to us” or behind us or in front of us, when it comes to breastfeeding, we should pause, look down at our baby and re-engage with WHY we’re breastfeeding in the first place. We’re breastfeeding not to compare to other women. We’re breastfeeding to offer the best of ourselves to our baby.
What’s The Main Hesitation About Breastfeeding That You Need To Get Over?
I know that it SEEMS that some women have it “easy” when it comes to breastfeeding.
And you may THINK that you don’t have it easy or won’t have it easy.
Let me just pull back the curtain for you and reveal an important truth that I would REALLY like for you to TRULY process:
Out of ALL the breastfeeding women I know, NOBODY has had a 100% perfect breastfeeding experience.
Like NO-BO-DY .
Yet, many women have gone on to breastfeed for yeeeeears.
What Do You Need To Shift In Order To Get Over The Fact That Breastfeed Isn’t Easy?
Do you know what the difference between the women who breastfeed for years and those who don’t even breastfeed for 6 months is?
Are you thinking about breastfeeding? If so, you’re in the right place.
Just like parenting, the further you learn about breastfeeding, the more you realize that you don’t know all that you need to know.
And that realization can get pretty overwhelming, very quickly.
So today, let’s take it one step at a time and deconstruct breastfeeding so that it’s as simple as possible for you to get started and get the momentum going.
To Get Breastfeeding Started, You Only Need A Few Things
If you think about it, in order to breastfeed, you just need a couple of basic things:
You
The baby
A good “why” for why you’re breastfeeding
TIME To be around the baby to get to know them
SELF-CARE To take care of yourself to have the energy that breastfeeding requires
And persistence. You need to breastfeed, breastfeed, breastfeed.
Breastfeeding is one of those topics where introducing it to someone won’t be enough or as “satisfactory” as it would be if you were getting an introductory overview of another topic.
You see, in order to understand breastfeeding, you have to actually DO IT.
What Is Required For You To Really Say You Know What Breastfeeding Is Like?
Before you even start breastfeeding, you need to really have a clear motivation for DOING IT and for CONTINUING TO DO IT. In other words, you need to commit to breastfeeding by remember who you’re breastfeeding for.
Obviously, you’re committing to breastfeeding for your baby’s wellbeing.
“Breastfeeding is no walk in the park. But you know what? It’s the best red carpet you can roll out for your baby.” – Haydee Montemayor
You need to learn aboutthe breastfeeding process and apply it. Breastfeeding isn’t about theory. It’s about practice.
You need to feel what it feels like to breastfeed.
The phrase, “you are what you eat (which by the way should really be, you are what you absorb) starts on the day that you’re born.
Your baby’s quality of life starts to be defined the minute you decide to give him/her breastmilk or formula.
Breastfeeding has nutritional, intellectual, immunological, emotional and psychological benefits.
Formula has nutritional benefits.
It’s important that when talking about any food item that you keep in mind that nutritional benefits are comprised of two things:
The actual nutrients found in that food item
And how those nutrients impact your direct and overall health
Today we will focus on the nutritional benefits of breastmilk and formula by doing a side-by-side comparison. And will discuss how these nutritional benefits impact your baby’s health now and for his/her lifetime.
My Story in Deciding How To Nourish My Baby
As I shared in the last post, when I became pregnant with my firstborn, I KNEW I wanted to breastfeed.
So when I was hours away from holding my baby in my arms, I was SUPER happy to see the best educational visual EVER hanging on the hospital wall (where I had my baby naturally with no medications) that showed how long the list of positive ingredients in breastmilk was in comparison to the list of ingredients in formula.
I didn’t need the extra push or validation to breastfeed, but if I did, seeing that poster would have made me sing “Whoomp there it is! Whoomp there it is! Shaka laka shaka laka shaka laka shaka whoomp!”
Breastfeeding is one of those topics that fuels mommy wars.
Mothers who decide to breastfeed can’t comprehend why there are mothers who decide not to breastfeed.
Mothers who don’t breastfeed don’t understand what the big fuss about breastfeeding your baby is all about.
And while it’s up to you to decide on which side of this elephant in the room you stand on, I’m here to share what I know about breastfeeding from the research and from my experience.
I wish I could be impartial and provide you with research studies that presented the downside of breastfeeding. But I haven’t found any. (Not that I think any exist).
On the contrary, the value and benefits of breastfeeding are such, that usually, pediatricians, the American Academy of Pediatrics Association (AAP,) breastfeeding consultants and the World Health Organization (WHO) are in agreement that babies should be breastfed for 1 year to 3 years or more. Many people are under the impression that 6 months is what you should aim to breastfeed for, but if you read the fine print carefully, you’ll at least 6 months of EXCLUSIVE breastfeed is suggested, but that it is also recommended that you continue to breastfeed even after you start introducing solids.
My decision to breastfeed was a very natural and easy one. In my mind, mothers breastfed. That’s what they do.
Even though I myself wasn’t breastfed and I don’t remember seeing my mother breastfeed my younger sister and my younger brother because she would do it behind closed doors in her bedroom… I decided to breastfeed. I knew it was important to my baby and I.
Since I had no role models to look up to, I started to do my own research and get comfortable with the idea I would be breastfeeding. And I was pretty excited.
When I was pregnant, I went to my first breastfeeding support group.
It was funny being there without a baby. And it was funnier that I was there before anybody could tell that I was pregnant. And you know what my recurring though was for most of that session? “I don’t want to see any boobs.” Although truth be told, I did see some breastfeeding mom’s boobs there and at other mothering courses I attended.
I’m not a Summer girl AT ALL. It’s my least favorite season of the year.
So to me, it’s VERY important that I focus on the enjoyable things of Summer or keep busy so that Summer seems more bearable and goes by faster.
So without further delay, here are my Summer 2016 Favorites.
Health
Fé Fit
In Spring, I started a 90-day fitness program and I finished it toward the end of July. It’s called Fé Fitwhich you can read about in this blog post I wrote.
In that post, I give you a rundown of what I like about Fé Fit, what I don’t like and everything in between.
But as you can probably conclude, the reason that I’m mentioning this workout in this Summer Favorites blog is because I really liked it. And it truly did help me improve my health.
If you’re a mom, wanting to improve your fitness, I may just have saved you hours looking for a fitness program that caters to your needs and limited time.
Media
America’s Got Talent
One of my favorite things about summer, which I have been able to enjoy for several years now, is America’s Got Talent (AGT). In case you don’t know about it, it’s a show on NBC that allows people of many different talents to compete for one million dollars.
Honestly, some talents are really dumb and others are really spectacular. My favorite? The unexpected and the mesmerizing.
I enjoy all sorts of unique talents that AGT highlights …from the singers, to the mentalists. to the magic acts.
Don’t worry if you don’t have cable. You can catch the episodes online on YouTube, which you can play on your TV with one of my favorite TV gadgets of all time (I’ll tell you more about that in a second).
This year my top favorites are:
The Clairvoyants a mind-reading, food-tasting, color-predicting married couple that’s pretty much unlike anything you’ve seen before . You gotta see them for yourself.
An NFL player that does magic, John Dorenbos. Look into his childhood. I love when people are great not because they had a perfect childhood but in spite of having a reallyyyyy imperfect one.
Steven Brundage that works with the Rubik’s cube . (Fun fact: I liked playing with the Rubik’s cube when I was a kid. But trust me, I was not as good as this guy is. No way!)
Linkin’ Bridge, a group of African American friends who sing beautifully!
Brian Justin Crum, the male soloist who sings with lots of passion.
The juggler, Viktor Kee, who is amazing and may have you enjoying jugglers for once.
The family of 3 made up a mom (who was once a teen mom), a daughter and a step dad who sing beautifully in a band called Edgar.
Laura Bretan, a teenage opera singer that sings so passionately you can feel the music in your bones!
Aside from the acts themselves, what I really enjoy about AGT are stories of loss, triumph, comeback and glory are soooo inspirational.
And since the Olympics are currently on, you have a couple of weeks to catch up on the episodes which have aired already.
Married At First Sight
In my Spring Favorites I mentioned that this show was one of my favorites. Guess what? It recently started up again.
It’ll be the first time I get to watch it along with everybody else instead of binge watching it.
What I love about the episodes that I’ve seen so far that only include a brief part of the honeymoons is that the couples, although not perfect, have a good chance to work out if they put in the effort.
They’re quite normal people, from the looks of it. But unfortunately, a couple of them have had an absent father figure, and that is quite hard on most people.
But we’ll see. Literally!
Apple TV
One of THE best gifts my husband has ever given me has been an Apple TV.
Well, actually, it is one of the best things i gifted my myself and family. Because I bought one of the 1st Apple TV versions that came out. Then, my husband gifted me a 2nd Apple TV for my office TV.
What I love about Apple TV is that you can watch whatever you want, whenever you want. As long as you have access to the shows you want to see, you can watch them.
My favorite and most used Apple TV app is YouTube.
I watch everything from my favorite YouTubers, to fun clips from Ellen or the Jimmy Fallon show.
And this Summer in particular, the Apple TV was great since it allowed me to watch the political convention I wanted to watch. And it has allowed me to catch little glimpses here and there from the Olympics. LIVE!
How can you watch live, you’re probably asking?
You search for a popular topic. And then see if there is a “Live Now” phrase underneath its title.
Not all topics will be live, of course. Actually, most of them wont. But if you don’t have cable, and you wanna watch the debates coming up live, for instance, you probably can.
I’m not a fan of sitting on the couch and watching TV for hours non-stop, so I’m of the belief that a device like Apple TV can save you time by allowing you to watch what you want to watch sooner.
Although you do have to be careful because Apple TV supports Netflix… and you cannnn binge on Netflix or some other shows, topics or YouTubers.
But then again, there are less commercials.
So, like with everything, you have to be responsible with how much you use this product.
Even my Treasurables… the quotations which I share on my blog posts and on social media are stored there.
I store my keywords for my posts and my hashtags for social media on Evernote as well.
If it matters… it’s there.
I then assign it to one of the notebooks that I have created and presto! I then know and have the peace of mind that the likelihood of finding any note I store on Evernote has gone up.
I have had to write ideas on random napkins, pieces of paper and a post-it notes, but I’ve learned the hard-way that it’s worth taking the extra second or two to open up the app, type the note there and then store it where I can later find it..
Beauty
Trader Joe’s Spa Natural Facial Cleansing Pads with Tea Tree Oil
As strange as it may seem, many times, I tend to like things before they become popular.
I’ve been using tea tree oil products (also known as Melaleuca oil) since before I got married. And I’ve been married for more than eleven years.
Why? Because I learned back then that I would someday have a house, a husband and children and I wanted to expose them and myself to as few chemicals as I could.
So when shampoos, facial products and essential oil reselling ladies are highlighting the benefits of Melaleuca oil, it doesn’t surprise me.
On the contrary, I think, “what took them so long to jump on the bandwagon?” 😉
Anyway, i found some tea tree oil wipes at Trader Joe’s and they’re a real treat. They work the best when you’ve washed your face very well, (like with a spin brush) and then you simply wipe your face with one of these wipes.
If you have oily skin, or combination skin, they’ll help reduce the oiliness of your skin. And you can use them any time of day as long as you don’t mind if your make-up is slightly “adjusted.”
But what would you rather have? A little less make-up in a certain area, or oil on your T-zone or all over your face? Yep, I thought so.
These Trader Joe’s Spa Natural Facial Cleansing Pads With Tea Tree Oil do smell like tea tree oil (so you at least have to be tolerant of, or hopefully like the smell in order to enjoy them).
They feel like a sip of tea for your face. They’re refreshing. Aromatic and relaxing.
On the downside, they tend to dry up more quickly than I would like. So use them every day. Or really make sure you have sealed them well after each use. Don’t be like those people (trust me, I’ve been one of those), who save the best things for “some day” when you feel worthy of them. Because you’re worthy of many things each and every day.
I know I’ve mentioned them before, but Leonie Dawson’s “Diaries”which most of us would refer to planners, are excellent. I’ve been using mine to jot down my blog projects.
And it’s very interesting to see what steps I’m taking to move my blog forward.
And since it’s only that listed on there I can clearly see on which days I’m being more productive. And you know what? I have started working on things for my blog that I had literally been putting off for years.
So if you’re in the market for a planner in general or for a planner to get really honest with yourself as to how much time you’re putting into something, on what days, and what you’re actually doing, then I recommend these.
Any planner can work, but these are pretty to look at, sturdy, and have lots of little rectangles that you can hopefully fill with useful things for making that dream of yours come true. 🙂
Food
Food is one of those things that you use multiple times a day….and as such, it’s difficult to pick only one thing to be “THE favorite” item for summer. So I’m not going to even try to narrow it down. Instead I’ll tell you my favorites for each month.
May
Limited Edition Creamy Caramel Cake Blue Bunny Cake Ice Cream
Courtesy of www.bluebunny.com
WOAH! May I just say that this was probably the best food item I discovered this summer?
Amazingly, I only bought it once. Dang it, I don’t know if I’ll be able to buy it again this summer, or next summer, but I think that the memories of having had this ice cream will last a lifetime.
I do hope, though it’s still available so that you can try it.
Can we just stop for one second to savor the name of this frozen treat? Limited Edition Creeaaaammmy Caramellllll Cake. It’s as good as it sounds.
So what’s it like?
HEAVEN.
White, soft, and good.
And as if that weren’t enough, there are pieces of goodness….. cake. These perfect bite-sizes of cake are cold but soft. They melt in your mouth and dazzle your taste buds.
They really do!
It’s crazy to me that this flavor might not be around forever, but if that’s the case, I have a plan B (which is not as great as having this ice cream, but we gotta relive the best times in our life once in a while).
Just in case it’s not available… do what I did with a carrot cake my mom gifted my husband and I for our anniversary… cut up pieces of cake (or tear them up, who cares?), and mix them into some vanilla ice cream. Let the cake pieces soak up a bit of the ice cream and cool a little.
This Plan B ice cream won’t be the same… BUT it’s pretty divine, as well. 🙂
June
Friendly’s Coconut Ice Cream
The fact that I have two ice cream flavors on here is probably making you think that I’m addicted to ice cream or something.
But nooooo. I’m not.
I hardly every buy it.
Why? Because I don’t want to be tempted to eat it. (I know that sounds like I am addicted, but I do this with lots of things that are good, but not necessarily good for you).
Anyway, this Friendly’s Coconut Ice cream is something else, I’m telling ya.
MAN!
It’s soft, and it has probably one of my best favorite flavors overall… coconut! If you LOVE coconut, you’ll love this ice cream.
The texture, the flavor, the intensity… is perfect. 5 stars. The fluffiness? 10 stars. #fluffiesticecreamever
Golden Honeydew Melon
It might seem like I forced myself to come up with something healthy to share with you as part of my summer food favorites.
But, honestly, I tried some golden honeydew melons that were TRULY THE most delicious melons I’ve ever tried.
Regular melons or regular honeydew melons are alright, but I’m telling you, these golden honeydew melons that I had in June were soooo good that they became like dessert.
My toddler and I ate several of them throughout the month. And we made melon drinks with them (just by blending them). They were so perfectly sweet that they required no sweetener. And they needed very little water because they were very juicy.
Try them. You’ll be able to understand how good I was trying to tell you that they were.
July
Boba Tea
You may be a little late in the game like I was, or you may have been an early adopter of a trend that’s going on right now of drinking Boba Tea, otherwise known as bubble tea.
Boba are large tapioca pearls that are like fruit jellies.
You know those tumblers/go-to glasses with wide straws that you can buy to serve yourself a smoothie on the go?
Well, when you get a Boba tea, you are served with one of those straws so that the marble-sized bobas, or fruit jellies, can come through.
If you’re like me, and like eating round things like chia seeds, Israeli couscous, you’ll enjoy Boba Tea.
Plus, the flavors you can pick from are good.
Guess which one I tried first? The coconut milk boba tea.
It was good. Is it the best thing out there? Noooo, but it’s a cool thing to try.
The best part, is that it’s unique and quite refreshing… for the hot summer months.
Where do you find one? Google Boba Tea and you should find a number of places in your area that sell them. Use a site like Yelp or Foursquare to find the best one.
Bonne Maman Natural Wild Blueberry Preserves From Thrive Market (I like the Wild part in the title)
Courtesy of www.thrivemarket.com
I have told you and have been wanting to share more about Thrive Market, a membership site that allows you to save up to 50% on healthy food items that is shipped to your door.
This summer, I placed a couple of orders. And on the second one, I ordered blueberry preserves and strawberry preserves.
They do unfortunately have a little bit of sugar, but boy oh boy are they good.
You know what the blueberry preserves taste like?
Like you were walking through some lavender fields in France and you stumbled upon a little home where the owner was making some preserves with freshly picked blueberries.
Soooo yummy!
Usually, I go for the strawberry jam/preserves… but I gotta say, that I preferred the blueberry one in this case.
August
Green beans From Trader Joe’s
Weird story. You may remember that I hate New Year’s Eve. Well, the day that it started becoming more tolerable was the first year I decided to boycott the New Year festivities while my family went out and I stayed home and cooked myself some green beans.
Ever since then, I fell in love with green beans and I would seek them out at Chinese buffets and would make my own fresh.
When I saw that Trader Joe’s carried them several years ago, I decided to try them.
So guess what? When my toddler was trying the more “solid” solid foods, green beans were one of his favorites.
I love this variety because I just heat up some coconut oil, then add these green beans, a little pepper and sea salt or Himalayan Pink Salt and voila! They turn out delish!
And they’re pretty filling and so emotionally and physically satisfying that sometimes, my toddler and I have made them our full meal.
Now It’s Your Turn
What product that I mentioned intrigued you the most?
Last week, I completed the Fé Fit 90 day workout program that I started in April.
I’m not saying this to brag because trust me, everybody could care less that I completed it.
I’m sharing my journey with you becauuuuuse I believe that any day is a good day to start or continue exercising. For you. For your wellbeing. Not for some event in which you need to “show off” your body.
Most importantly, exercise isn’t meant to be a punishment for all the times you didn’t exercise or didn’t eat well the whole year. Exercise isn’t a genie either. It’s not going to instantly and magically grant you a bibiddibobiddiboom vavavoom bikini body.
Our bodies are not Play Doh and we can’t just roll our bodies back and forth under pressure and get longer and leaner.
Exercise is meant to take you closer to your emotional heath goals and your physical health goals. They go hand-in-hand.
Fé Fit is a workout created by and geared toward moms. As their slogan says, “Created by women, for women.” They also say, it’s “Created by moms. For moms.” And it’s not just for new moms, but for moms of all ages that want to get in better shape.
And before you feel excluded because you’re not a mom… don’t worry about it!! It helps all ladies.
It targets ladies’ problem areas. You know…. the booty, the flab, the bulge.
Instead of bulking you up, Fé Fit workouts tone you.
