"Hot Carb Summer" Weekly Wisdom

What are you doing for vacation this summer?

I just got back from a fun little getaway to Milwaukee with my friend Jason and I LOVED IT! All we planned was booking a hotel and then just winged it when we got there.  It was our #hotcarbsummer getaway inspired by my friend Nicole's genius hashtag with beer, pretzels and desserts. This is not like me to have a spontaneous vacation and it was 100% worth it. 

This summer I think it is more about the vacations and time away we didn't get last year. And it reminds me of the privilege it is to go on vacation. When I was a kid, I got to see a lot of the United States with my family. It may have been in the back of a car or minivan, but they always made time to take us somewhere every summer. We packed our snacks of fruit, Pringles and Skittles, loaded up on batteries for our Walkmans and had our fluffiest pillow ready for the car ride. I was so lucky!  I didn't realize it at the time and may have complained along the way, but I was so lucky.  

It is hard for me to understand the spectrum of family vacations. One end is nothing, families that do not have the resources or the time to go somewhere and then the other way of families going to all inclusive beach vacations or 2 weeks trips to Europe. It is hard for a kid to comprehend their picnic lunch to local park when their best friend is lying on the beach in Mexico with all they care to eat ice cream for a week. I know I would have struggled with it as a kid. 

As an adult, I know a vacation does not need to be an exotic location, or long in length. It just needs to be with the ones you care about the most to decompress, laugh and enjoy your time together. It may be a road trip or a 8 hour flight, it may cost $10 or $10,000 dollars - but there is no price tag for the memories you make. 

Whatever you do for a summer vacation, I hope you feel cute, eat lots of carbs, have all the fun, relax and have an endless supply of Skittles. 

#embracethehellyeah

~AE

 

November and Thanksgiving #EmbracetheHellyeah Nutrition Noshes

None One. Wisdom. 

What is your favorite thing about Thanksgiving?

I couldn't resist this quote because it is just too good!  I think the thing I love best about Thanksgiving is all the laughter to be heard between my family and friends. For the past 5-6 years, I head to spend Thanksgiving with my Mom, Aunt Polly and Uncle John and a plethora of other family members and people who have turned into friends. Each year, it is a VERY memorable experience. I was thinking about last year and how completely random it all was and all I can do is laugh. And all I can think about is the laughter I shared with others who were there. I don't even remember what we had for dinner or how much I ate. All I remember is the people I got to share the holiday with. 

I choose to focus on laughter because for the last few years, everyone who attends signs a table cloth. And in the last few years, we have lost one or more of those people. The tablecloth is a reminder of the Thanksgivings in the past, the special memories we have of them being there and all the goofiness happening that year. When people gather, there is always joy, no matter what sadness has followed. 

This year, there will be a couple signatures missing off the tablecloth again. It is amazing what a difference a year can make. This year, I will choose to remember the laughter from conversations with Justin and Mr. Morrissey. Justin's always started with a little smirk and mild chuckle and Mr. Morrissey's bright smile and boisterous laugh.  I am so grateful to have had Thanksgivings with them and no matter what food I eat or cocktails I drink, I will be present and make memories of everyones laughter.

Laughter is a melody, A concert from the heart. 

A tickling by the angels, Creative living heart. 

Laughter heals and comforts

 It's sometimes gentle, sometimes bold 

Laughter is a freeing dance 

Performed within the soul.

#embracethehellyeah | #lessstuffmorelife

Nosh Two. #EmbracetheHellYeah Conversation. 

Conversation 153: November #EmbracetheHellYeah Conversation

What makes you say “hellyeah” at the end of the day?  For any question I am asked or I ask myself, if I cannot 100% say hell yeah as my answer then it is a hell no. I want you to embrace saying yes with your whole heart and soul by enjoying every part of your authentic life. At the end of each month, I want to get more up close and personal with you all on the other side of the airwaves and share with you more about how my podcast guests are I are doing our best to #embracethehellyeah.  It’s Thanksgiving week and I am sharing my 3 tips to stay sane and focus on gratitude, not food. 

Connect and let me know what you think by emailing me or on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter

Nosh Three. November Hell Yeahs!

November came and went, quickly, but my most favorite part was getting to spend almost 5 whole days with my friend Brenda in sunny Florida. We relaxed, we ate food, we walked beaches, we looked for seashells, we had cake by the ocean and watched sunsets. We got to slow down and just be. It was lovely!

Sunglitter!

Raw oysters are always a favorite!

Shell Island. 

All the seafood in one delicious dish from the Saltwater Grill

Cake by the Ocean courtesy of the Donut Hole.  

The sunsets were the best part because they are Brenda's favorite part. 

Nosh Four.  Monthly Mixtape. 

November's Mixtape is an oldie but a goodie. Find my #Thankful playlist on Apple Music and Spotify. 

 Nosh Five. What I Love Right Now.

Before I headed out on vacation, I got my dietitian self all recharged with the Iowa Academy Annual Meeting and being a preceptor to this fine gent, Brody. If you have never been a preceptor or mentor before, I highly suggest you do it. Just once. It completely reminds you why you do what you do for a living and how important it is to pay it forward. I know the dietetics profession would not exist if it wasn't for preceptors. Brody, you are going to make a great dietitian, congratulations on the amazing future ahead. 

~AE

*All views and opinions on products, food and businesses in this blog post are my own and are not sponsored in any way. I just love to share great things!

Does Vacation Recharge or Drain You? Weekly Wisdom

When you get back from vacation are you recharged or drained?

I really do enjoy traveling but sometimes when I get back and regular life starts again, it totally feels like folding a fitted sheet. Who is with me?  Going away to a difference place is great. You get a break from your to-do list, don't have to clean your bathroom, drink cocktails for breakfast...ya know the usual. And then you return, back to your to-do list and having to do all the things. 

It can be a royal pain in the ass to come back from vacation sometimes. 

I know exactly when I am going to feel like this too. It is usually when there are a lot of things on the schedule before I leave and after I return home and when I mix a little work with pleasure. I usually do them both and I always regret it. This is my current challenge to really enjoying travel for me. 

I will always make the argument that we do not get enough vacation time in the United States, which is why we have so many pressures to taking time off. I think especially for women we have such an ingrained guilt to leaving people or things for time to ourselves. And if we do leave, we don't sleep for 3 nights before we leave trying to tie up all of our loose ends at home and work. 

If you have every felt this way about going on vacation or taking time off, join me in my challenge to knock it off!  We should never feel more frazzled upon return from taking care of ourselves and recharging our souls. Screw the fitted sheet and just throw it in the closet. 

#embracethehellyeah | #lessstuffmorelife

~AE