Modern Woman, Vintage Soul

"As a person, you're the whole pie...being a (Fill in the blank....Mom, Writer, Office Worker, Bank Teller, Retail Manager, Homemaker, etc.) is just a slice.  It's just one piece of that whole pie that makes up your life.  Paying attention to, and giving time to (Fill in the blank...your sense of style, what you're passionate about, cooking, exercise, cleaning, reading, creating, using your gifts) shouldn't stop simply because you are a (Fill in the blank...Mom, Writer, Homemaker, Office Worker, etc.)" Quote rewritten and paraphrased from a quote by Nina Restieri in the Better Homes & Garden Magazine, March 2011 issue Many moms for instance, fall into this trap.  They see and think of themselves only as moms and forget to take care of all of the other parts of what makes them who they are.  This is also common in those in the corporate world as well as homemakers. The moral of the story? Make sure you take care of all of the aspects of yourself...

I've recently started "pedometer training", which is, essentially, wearing a pedometer around all day long to see how many steps you take throughout the day.  So far (it's only been 2 days) I feel that this may truly be a fitness breakthrough (though for friends of mine, like my good friend Sharon, who has been wearing a pedometer for a long time, this is nothing new).  The minimum required for good health/basic activity requirements are, for most healthy people, 10,000 steps a day.  I wasn't sure how I measured up in this department, but let me tell you, 10,000 steps is a LOT...especially if you work at a desk all day. Yesterday was the first day and my husband and I took a 5 mile walk.  My husband got his 10,000 steps from the walk, but I logged in at only a little under 9,100 steps.  I obviously have a much longer walking stride than my husband does. Not to be outshined, while he showered, I continued doing running in place and aerobic moves until I got ...

Goop.com by Gwyneth Paltrow is a pretty cool site.  It has recipes , interviews , motivating information to be healthier, eat better, move more , fashion and shopping , healing ...well, it's just a plethora of cool articles, links and advice.  Check it out! http://www.goop.com/

‎ "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another." John 13:34 Such an important Scripture and advice, and yet, one of the most difficult things to do at times.  Let us take this to heart and truly love one another and in doing so, we can change the world and our daily lives.  Lives filled with love, passion, joy bring forth much more fruit and lead to a ripple effect out in the world.  Much love to all of you.

This is what All You Magazine's Reality Checked diet proposes.  I like their concept of swapping out processed foods for healthier, more "real" alternatives. For instance, there are suggestions for swapping out artificially-sweetened drink mixes with simply adding lemon, lime or orange slices to water to flavor it naturally or switching from flavored boxed rice mixes to brown rice enhanced with fresh herbs. For more suggestions...including recipes, shopping lists and breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack ideas, visit  http://www.allyou.com/diet-fitness/diet/reality-checked-diet-recipes-00411000067712/ Here's a list of healthy snacks to get you started.  P.s.  Chocolate is on the menu...so, this is a keeper of a diet :) http://www.allyou.com/diet-fitness/diet/reality-checked-diet-snacks-00411000067677/page23.html Some easy low fat snack ideas from this diet: Yogurt ranch dressing Mix 12 oz. plain low-fat yogurt with 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice, 4 Tbsp. finel...

Seen on my friend Sandy's Facebook Status: I am proud to be from the South - where tea is sweet and accents are sweeter; summer starts in April; front porches are wide and words are long; mac and cheese is a vegetable; pecan pie is a staple; Y’all is the only proper pronoun; chicken is fried and biscuits come w/ gravy; everything is darling and someone is always getting their heart blessed. Have a good day y'all! Repost if you're Southern to the bone :) Sandy Corbin All I can say is...I think it's time I moved to the South :)  Fried chicken and biscuits, large front porches and the kicker...mac and cheese as a vegetable!  I'm so there!  LOL

Okay, I admit it.  I am not a big veggie or salad lover.  I will eat broccoli if it's in a pasta dish and/or covered with cheese...but raw broccoli...blech! In my browsing today, I came across this hub page which gives some great ideas for including healthful veggies into your everyday meals by "hiding" them.  I know many times this is suggested for kids, but even some of us adults need to "hide" our vegetables in order to remain healthy.  That's why V8 Vfusion is so popular.  Servings of fruit and veggies both in a daily serving of juice that tastes sweet :) http://hubpages.com/hub/Sneaking-Vegetables-in-your-Families-Meals I have 2 cookbooks that I've been meaning to try, using this very same concept.  "Deceptively Delicious" by Jessica Seinfeld, and "The Sneaky Chef" by Missy Chase Lapine.  I'll let you all know how that works out once I try them out.  I hope to incorporate some of their ideas into my meal planning soo...