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Jan 20, 2012

My Day In NYC For the Slim-Fast Studio WOW! Experience

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On Tuesday, I had the whirlwind trip of a lifetime: fly to New York, meet with the Slim-Fast team and five amazing experts in nutrition, food, fashion, beauty and photography, and then fly back to Columbus, all in the same day. Sounds crazy, right? It was. But it was a fantastic kind of crazy.

I was a little nervous when leaving that morning. Not because of the event, but because the weather was stormy and windy. Once we were above the clouds, though? Gorgeous.

When I reached NYC, I was taken from the airport to the heart of Manhattan to the Slim-Fast Studio Wow! penthouse. This place was beautiful, decorated with lots of white and red, and stations for each of the team of experts to work and talk.

Who are these “experts” you may wonder? Well, I’m glad you asked. Meet the superheroes I like to call Team Studio Wow!:

(That would be Ali Auerbach, Robin Miller, Joey Maalouf, Nigel Barker, and Jacqui Stafford)

I was the first blogger to arrive, so I relaxed on a couch and chatted with the Slim-Fast team until the others arrived. There are ten Women of Wow bloggers, but only five could make it to the event. Once we were all assembled, we were taken to lunch at Bryant Park Grill.

(Holli, me, Stacey, Agnes, & Tiffany in the damp, cold weather)

Once we returned to Studio Wow!, it was time for the magic to begin. One-by-one we met with each of the experts to ask questions and get advice to make 2012 our year of wow. I first met with Ali, the Registered Dietitian for Slim-Fast. We discussed proper nutrition and how Slim-Fast can make it easy to get the nutrients you need each day, even when you’re on-the-go.

Next I met with Robin, who introduced me to some of her incredible 500-calorie or less meals. She discussed how to use simple spices and flavorings to make low-calorie meals anything but boring. Even though we had just come back from lunch, I didn’t hesitate to sample every item she had! I plan to share at least a few of the recipes here in the following weeks – yum!

After Robin I met with Jacqui to discuss fashion. When she started the conversation asking me what questions I might have for her regarding fashion, I immediately joked that I wouldn’t even know where to start because I’m really a jeans-and-t-shirt kind of women. We then started discussing accessories – a foreign topic to me – and how to use them to accent any outfit. Other than my wedding ring, I’m generally accessory free, so I didn’t know where to begin.

Jacqui demonstrated different ways to wear a scarf, which felt completely silly to me but she assured me looked fantastic. I guess it takes some getting used to? I vowed to her that I would make an effort to include more accessories into my wardrobe in the months ahead.(And Jacqui gave me a lovely scarf to get me started!)

Joey was up next, and before my butt even hit the seat he was already running his hands through my hair and making decisions on how to make my hair look glamorous. I confess that I barely remember this part because it was a frenzy of activity – he danced around my chair with a large barrel curling iron while a lovely woman (name I can’t remember – sorry!) ducked his hot iron to touch up my makeup and create a smoky eye look that I’ve never been able to master. I have to admit – I looked really good.

Before the mascara was even dry, I was then escorted to my final stop: a photo session with Nigel Barker. Suddenly I was nervous: I have a lot of trouble looking natural when the camera, and the focus, is on me. Nigel is a famous photographer, and I didn’t want to be the one utter failure in his portfolio! We chatted at first about my blog, how much weight I’ve already lost, and my experience in raising a daughter with autism. He has a niece with autism, and we quickly fell into a discussion about the amazing talents of the two autistic girls we know.

His team put on some music (Pink, of course), and I tried to loosen up. Nigel was very patient in directing me on how to look good for the camera, even though I was stressing myself out about doing it correctly. It was a lot of fun, but I still worry that my photos will have the forced smile I get when I’m worried about looking good. We’ll see, right? (And another goal for this year – learn to relax when I’m in front of the camera.)

As if that wasn’t enough, they encouraged me to take all of the Slim-Fast bars I could get on the plane! Considering how much I love the bars, I wish I would have brought a bigger bag!

By 4:30pm, I was back in a car on my way to the airport again. The day went by so quickly! Everyone was exceptionally nice, and aside from the pampering I left with a renewed confidence in myself and a commitment to my goals. The Slim-Fast Studio Wow! event showed me that reaching those goals is not only possible, but can be a lot of fun, too.

The Women of Wow tab is now live on the Slim-Fast Facebook page – I’d love it if you’d visit my profile there and give me a little support. Be sure to check out the other Women of Wow, too!

Full disclosure: This post was created in connection with my appointment as an Ambassador in the Slim-Fast Women of WOW! Program. Visit www.facebook.com/slimfast to join the conversation. 

Filed Under: sponsored · Tagged:


Jan 17, 2012

I’ve Got Exciting News To Share!

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I’ve been sitting on a big secret for weeks, and I’m so excited that I can finally tell everyone about it. As you may know, I did a review for the new Slim-Fast shakes a few months back. I loved the new shakes and the swap from can to plastic bottle, and easily incorporated a Slim-Fast shake or meal bar into my diet when I needed a convenient, on-the-go meal.

So then last month, Slim-Fast contacted me and asked if I’d like to be one of 10 blogger brand ambassadors for Slim-Fast to start the new year. With little hesitation, I said YES!

What does it mean to be a brand ambassador? Well, for the next 3.5 months I get to be one of the Women of WOW! (cool name, no?) sharing my experience with losing weight and getting healthy with the help of Slim-Fast shakes, meal bars and snacks. I’ll be posting tips on how to lose weight no matter how hectic your life can be, and providing as much support as I can to anyone else trying to reach their WOW moment.

 (and I got some goodies to get me started…yum!)

Slim-Fast is asking everyone to make a Vow to Wow in 2012. What’s my vow, you ask? It’s simple: all of my adult life, I’ve been “overweight” and even “obese” by most standards. I’ve worked very hard to lose most of that weight, and I’m currently about 10 pounds away from being what the medical and insurance industries consider the top of the “normal” weight range. For the first time in my adult life, I’m determined to be at a healthy weight for my next birthday.

I hope you’ll all follow along on my journey with me, and join in if you’d like. (Whether you’re using Slim-Fast or not – setting and working towards a goal for the year is a fantastic way to improve your health!) I’m starting my journey tomorrow with, well, a real journey to New York City for the Slim-Fast Studio Wow event which will coincide with the launch of the Women of WOW! tab on the Slim-Fast Facebook page. I’ll be posting regularly on the Slim-Fast Facebook page, and you’ll see some giveaways hosted right here very soon.

I promise this blog won’t be all Slim-Fast, all the time – it’s still me, and while I love the convenience of the products, there’s a lot more that goes into weight loss that I plan to cover as well.

Watch my Twitter and Facebook posts tomorrow for updates of my day in NYC, or follow along on the Slim-Fast Facebook page or the Twitter hashtag #SFStudioWow.

I said at the beginning of January that this was going to be my year to shine, and I feel like I’ve got all of the tools to make it happen. I hope you’ll all support me, and I’d be happy to return the favor in kind.

Full disclosure: This post was created in connection with my appointment as an Ambassador in the Slim-Fast Women of WOW! Program. Visit www.facebook.com/slimfast to join the conversation.

Filed Under: motivation, sponsored · Tagged: ,


Jan 16, 2012

Not So Funny?

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I was reading through Facebook updates last week and came across an image shared by a friend of mine. Like so many of the word images shared on Facebook, I immediately laughed when I read it.

The image?

But more interesting was the commentary beneath it. My friend also found this funny, saying this was so like her. Another of her friends, however, replied that as a mother of a child with ADD, she didn’t find it funny at all.

Hmmm. It make me wonder if I should feel guilty for laughing?

Would this be considered making fun of a disability? I don’t know. I mean, for many types of humor, there is often a nugget of truth that is exaggerated for comedic effect, or a stereotype stretched to a ridiculous extent. If I was to be offended by any exaggeration of a personality trait, physical trait or behavior, I’d pretty much have to avoid every comedy club and never watch The Daily Show ever again. I’d really miss Jon Stewart.

But I don’t know if laughing at something like the image above is equal to teasing the kid who is different on the playground. My take on the image is also a little different because I actually have ADD. I read that statement and think, “Hell yeah, I’ve had days not too different from that!” Days when I’m in a full contact wrestling match with my mind to pin down a little focus – on any topic, I don’t even care which one – just for a few minutes.

So I read that and see the nugget of truth. It IS hard to focus with ADD. I’ve had moments where friends stare at me strangely because I’ve jumped topics in such a way that they don’t see the connection.

On the other hand, I can understand her friend not finding it funny. We all have our trigger issues that we don’t see any humor in. I’m certain her friend does have rough days caring for a child with ADD. As a mom of a daughter with autism, I get it. Years ago, when Cordy was newly diagnosed, I wouldn’t have found any jokes about autism funny, either. I can respect her view, because no one can tell someone else what is or isn’t funny to them.

For me, however, I do appreciate the humor. As long as it isn’t intended in a harmful or mean-spirited nature or intended to tease one person, poking fun at ADD, or any other condition, in a gentle way is fine with me. I even appreciate a good autism joke – Cordy and I have learned to laugh at some of the more silly aspects of autism, of which there are MANY if you look closely enough.

It also boils down to a simple mantra for me: laugh or cry. There are moments when I need, need, NEED to pay attention, to focus, to not screw up some important task that I must stay on track to complete. Sometimes I win out; other times I fail. I can either choose to cry in frustration at my limitations, or I can laugh at them and move on. One way is certainly less depressing than the other.

So I apologize if you read the above joke on ADD and are offended, because no offense was intended. (Whoa, that rhymed. Sorry, I tried writing that sentence another way and it didn’t sound nearly as good.)

I also don’t know if it’s more acceptable to laugh at an ADD joke posted by someone who has ADD, but if so, laugh away. I certainly did.


(PS – It took me a week and about a dozen starts and stops to write this post. Can you tell it’s been a rough week? See? This is me choosing to laugh.)

Filed Under: big issues, me me me, random ·


Jan 9, 2012

Short Hair

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Cordy is a child that prefers everything exactly the way it has always been. She has a routine she likes to follow, and any deviation generally results in drama. Her meals are from a short list of acceptable foods and have to be served in the right order; for example, macaroni and cheese is appropriate for lunch if we’re out at a restaurant, but at home it can only be a dinner, and a sandwich is the obvious lunch choice.

So when it comes to Cordy’s hair, she’s resistant to change. She’s always had long hair, mostly due to fear of cutting it. In the past, I’ve had to sneak in at-home trimming sessions when she was distracted just to keep that thick head of hair under some pretense of control. It knots up with just a gentle breeze passing by, and attempts to comb her hair are met with screams and tears.

I’ve tried to find out why she doesn’t want her hair cut when it clearly bothers her so much to care for it when it’s long. She’s told me everything from it keeps her warm to she’s afraid people will think she’s a boy if it’s short.

In the fall we had luck with getting Cordy’s first professional haircut, although she refused to let us cut off much of it. The appointment was still full of some drama, with Cordy occasionally crying and begging the stylist to stop, but we survived.

The problem with hair is that it keeps growing. And so this weekend, as I ripped through masses of knots in her hair, I decided it was time for another haircut.

But this time was different. “I want a haircut,” Cordy told me. What? Who is this kid?

“And I want it short, mommy.”

Wait…did I hear that right? The girl who has insisted she’ll never have short hair now wants it short?

Cordy held her hand up to the top of her ear. “I want to cut it up to here!” she proclaimed. I then explained just how short that was and asked if we could not go quite that extreme and maybe aim for a cute bob instead? She agreed, but I wasn’t sure she’d go through with it.

Saturday afternoon we took both girls to the salon for their haircuts. Mira, who had no issues last time, happily sat for her trim to get her curly bob bouncy again.

My change-phobic Cordy completely surprised me. She was upbeat, she held still for the stylist, she didn’t cry or scream when she was combing through her thick hair, and she got it all cut off.

You could make another kid from all that hair.

When she was done, I barely recognized my own child.

Excuse me, kid, have you seen a mop-headed little gir…oh. Wait…

As for Cordy? She loves her new haircut! She immediately grinned and said she can’t wait to “trick all the boys” because they won’t know it’s her. (I’d like to think it’s because they like her, but she then said they won’t tease her if they don’t know it’s her. Hmmm…must follow up on that, pronto.)

Now that she’s got the short hair, I’m kinda missing her wild mane. Sure, we fought constantly over it, but it was gorgeous despite the knots. Her new cut is really cute, though. Washing and combing it will be very easy to get used to.

I now understand why my mom insisted I have short hair all through elementary school. Eeeeaaassy.

 I was kind enough to avoid bangs for Cordy, however. 
(Yes, that’s me. Age 8.)
Filed Under: Cordy, daily life, growing up, kid logic ·


Jan 4, 2012

Let’s Do This

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Alright, new year, new goal. This is it, 2012 – I’ve got big plans for you.

I declare that this will be the year I hit my goal weight.

I’ve steadily lost weight for the past three years, ending each year smaller than the previous one. Since I started tracking my weight again, I’ve gone from 212 pounds to a low of 166 pounds earlier this year. As is usual with my holiday season hibernation, a few pounds did sneak back on, but they won’t be there for long.

A goal weight I’ve always had in my head is 158 pounds. That’s the number provided by the BMI charts as the absolute highest weight I can be for my height and be considered a “healthy” or “normal” weight. I’ve never aimed for anything lower than that because I’ve never been anywhere close to it in my adult life. The closest I’ve come – other than at the moment – was back in 2003, when I was ~170 pounds for my wedding. Even my wedding wasn’t enough to get me to that magic number. (Wait – no negative talk here. 170 was still damn impressive considering that five years prior to that I was nearly 250 pounds.)

But this year, 158 is in sight. I know I can get there with a lot of hard work, sweat and willpower. I’ve come this far already, so I know I have the strength in me to do it.

In 2012, I’m going to make it to 158 pounds and officially be considered normal by BMI standards and insurance charts.

Which is probably the only time in my life I’ll ever be considered normal in anything.

I stepped on the scale today, and the current number is 170, which is a number I’m already pleased with. Holiday indulging for the past three months only resulted in a four pound gain from my lowest weight – that’s a win in my book. It tells me that the lessons I’ve learned from years of doing this are taking hold, and even indulging isn’t the same as it used to be. I can have a piece of pie – or even two – and not spiral out of control into a free-for-all binge. All Charlie Sheen jokes aside, I’m winning at this.

New year, new me. I’m ready.

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Filed Under: holidays, weigh-in · Tagged: , ,