Happy Hump Day, Moms!  It’s the middle of the work week, and if you can make it through today, then you’re more than half way through to your much deserved weekend. 

So, to help you get over the hump I thought I’d share a health tip that I think most of you will enjoy.  Eat some chocolate!

“Think Cold” reads the title of Marilyn Singer’s first poem about Humboldt Penguins, creatures who inhabit the hot, dry coastal deserts of Peru and Chile in her 2012 collection: A Strange Place To Call Home: The World’s Most Dangerous Habitats& The Animals That Call Them Home.  Although, “newly published poetry collection” and “State Standards” seem to be phrases at odds, bright teachers and children show how creativity lives among the standards.  Publi

Summer is right around the corner and many of us are dusting off our suitcases with visions of vacations dancing in our heads. We’ll travel by trains, planes and automobiles, as well as by boat, bus, cycle and foot. Our vacations will run the gamut from visiting family and friends, exploring our own states and countries to immersing ourselves in cultures foreign to our own. All are wonderful pursuits. And while we will all utilize our time off in different ways, there’s certainly one thing that we’ll all do. We’ll eat. And we may eat too much.

Big news! I’ve crossed the 15-pound mark! O.M.G.

I really don’t have much more to say this week except YAY! (I was going to say Yahoo, but them I remembered this.

We have been hearing quite a bit about “forty and fabulous” this year. Fifteen minutes of cosmetic application can transform our nearly forty or forty-something faces into more like twenty-seven year old ones. Last August I was amazed that the lip-gloss and eye makeup I had applied with great fervor to mimic the USA’s 2012 Women’s Olympic Gymnastics team palate was still on after I ran over six miles in ninety degree weather.

A dozen charity-runs in Connecticut support honorable women’s organizations for this 2013 Mother’s Day Weekend, but all of those races are held on a paved course.  Why not give your tired legs a break from such pounding and run or walk-run on a beautiful cross-country course instead?  I know that runners like my own woods-avoiding mom are thinking, “hmm…cross-country course: roots, boulders, streams and lots of slippery debris that will trip me” but that does not describe the terrain for the two loop Hartford Marathon Foundation’s True Colors 5K.

Hello Moms!  My name is Tirralan Watkins.  I’m a working mother of two young boys; I’m married to a very caring husband, and I’m passionate about sharing my nurturing gifts through words.  I’m a little anxious, a little reserved, but equally elated, to embark upon this journey with all of you.  So, without further delay, here goes…

Yesterday afternoon my nine year old ran away from home.

So often people are afraid they are going to hit a plateau. They have a weight in their mind that they always get “stuck” at. Or they can’t believe how well they are doing and feel doomed that at any moment this is going to come to an end because they can’t imagine that this can really keep working. [Jennifer note: That’s me to a T!] Most often when someone hits a plateau, it is behavioral, not physical. Don’t let this happen to you! There is no reason you are going to get stuck at a particular weight.

So I’m still at it. And here’s the lead: I’ve lost almost 20 pounds! Can you believe it?

Part of me can – I’ve worked hard, I’ve journaled, I’ve leaned on Elizabeth DeRobertis, my incredible nutritionist who is leading me through the winding maze of healthy eating.

Part of me, however, has been here before. If you’ve lived a pudgy lifestyle as I have, you’ve likely lost 20 pounds before – and gained it back, and lost it, and gained it back.