Stress and some helpful tips!

Today, y'all...I am stressed. First of all, my youngest son, Liam, had his 18 month check up today. Well, OF COURSE, David would tackle him to the ground on top of a hard toy 4 days prior to this appointment giving him a seriously nasty bruise on the chest. One that the doctor informs me is 'atypical' basically making me feel like a child abuser. If that wasn't emotionally stressful enough, we got handed some bad news about Doron's (my husband) Immigration interview. Apparently, it's going to be a figurative rectal exam with the outcome unknown. I literally can't even, right now.

So, as I write this, I'm scarfing down a cheddar bagel with cream cheese. Fuck off, it's delicious. Mmmmmm....Anyhow, I don't want to focus on my stress. I did pretty well today, all things considered. So, onward to much more interesting things.

First let me just say 1) Tae Bo is not as easy as it was when I was 13 and 2) I am not coordinated enough for Zumba without some intense help. Tae Bo worked out okay, there were a few points in the basic work out where I was just wiped and couldn't do a combination. In those cases, I ran in place. Zumba was fun, but all I could think about was the fact that I spent at least four years of college dancing a parties, and if it looked anything like the hot mess going on in my living room yesterday...let's just say it's a miracle I ever got laid. Ever. I think I'm going to go to a Zumba class before I try that again at home. In case you were wondering, though, my body hurts and I want to die.

Second, let's talk about food. I have some tips y'all! One comes from my recently (again) vegan high school bud who has lost 30 lbs over the last months and is a BIG supporter of smoothies. I love ice cream. I can't control myself around ice cream, so I decided to give a smoothie a try (Spoiler Alert: It was good and super easy).

Get yourself a blender, frozen fruit of your choice, a banana, and some fruit juice (or yogurt if you prefer but shhhh don't tell my vegan friend). Put that shit in the blinder. Blend. Done. I will say, I prefer to go as light on the juice as possible to make the smoothie thick (that's what she said). Voila!

The next trick I have for you is in the form of a grilled chicken salad. During the day, running around and chasing kids, I'm tired AF. I'm certainly not about to slave over the stove for a personal lunch. So, I bought some of these precooked grilled chicken strips with dipping sauce (buffalo ranch) and decided to make a protein packed lunch by cutting them up and putting them in a garden salad. I used only about 1/3 of the provided dipping sauce as dressing, though you could easily pick your own healthier dressing. Personally, I don't like a soggy salad. I just need a little taste of the dressing to keep it from being a bowl of pure rabbit food. :)

That's basically it today, folks. I just want to think those of you who personally made a point to root for me on this journey. Your feedback, comments, tips, and critiques are always welcome. And if any of you are in this fight against fat with me...ROCK ON! We can do this!