Don't Eat That

SPA WEEK® OFFERS SHELTER FROM THE HEALTHCARE STORM

An Affordable, Healthy Wellness Lifestyle for Everyone

New York- March 2010: In the wake of an urgent national debate on healthcare, Americans ended the first decade of the 21^st century less certain about their wellness futures than ever before. In these unsure times, Americans are increasingly turning to alternative therapies to strengthen the body and guard against illness. The health benefits of the spa have never been more relevant, and Spa Week is proud to ring in the new decade by continuing to deliver the benefits of the spa at an affordable price to millions of deserving consumers.

The 12^th edition of the Spa Week Event is slated for April 12th – 18^th, 2010. In total, the nationwide Spa Week Spring Event will include 30 markets and a list of participating spas has been poted www.spaweek.com as of March 15^th. The Spring Spa Week Event will bring $50 spa treatments to consumers at over 800 spas across North America. As always, the goal is to introduce a new generation of consumers to the benefits of a healthy lifestyle by opening up the spa industry to the masses. Spa Week has spent the last 6 years turning “wellness” from a mere buzzword into a healthy reality.

Thanks to the efforts of Spa Week and their Spa Week Spring and Fall Events, the spa industry now offers health benefits to an unprecedented cross-section of the American public. Since its inception, Spa Week has afforded hundreds of thousands of people the ability to heal, strengthen, and energize at the spa. Spa Week has dashed the old myth that the spa is where the rich and famous go to be pampered; thanks to the success of the Spring and Fall Events, over 350,000 affordable spa treatments have been booked and enjoyed by average Americans since 2004.

Never content to rest on past successes, though, each Spa Week Event brings the cutting edge of health and wellness technology to the average consumer. In addition to offering traditionally beneficial stress-busting and immune-boosting spa treatments like massage, Spa Week brings intensive, clinical therapies to consumers at the same $50 price point with hundreds of participating medi-spas all over the country.

As the healthcare crisis rages on in Washington, Spa Week’s mission to educate consumers to the health benefits of the spa lifestyle is more important—and more successful—than ever. Spa Week affords everyone the ability to experience the incredible physical benefit of spa treatments and therapies.

Spa Week was created and founded by Cheryl Reid, who hails from successful careers within the luxury spa industry and publishing spheres. Spa Week is thrilled to announce its 2010 Presenting and Title Sponsor; Dove Deodorant, Exclusive Cosmetic Sponsor; Bare Escentuals, Exclusive Wine Sponsor; Rioja, Exclusive Destination Sponsor; Canyon Ranch, Exclusive Wedding Sponsor; The Wedding Channel, Exclusive Fashion Sponsor; Fashion Week Daily, Exclusive Spa Association Partner; ISPA and National Media Sponsor; Allure Magazine.

For more information, visit www.spaweek.com or call Michelle at 212.352.8098 Michelle@spaweekmedia.com

Have you ever had that person in your house that always drank the last soda, eat the last cookie, the whole bit, every time you turned around food was disappearing and help us all, if it was the last piece of tissue paper, you have a bad roommate.

So, if you haven’t ever had a roommate like that, you might have been that roommate which is not a very good thing to be.  The time is now for folks who need a housemate that pulls their weight, pays their bills and doesn’t take the last soda and certainly not the last piece of tissue, you can check out the ones at Easy Roommate and see if you can find yourself a gem. 

I’m sure it comes as no surprise that I like to eat.  And, having found some relief for my jaws in the last week or so, I’ve managed to find some pretty good food that’s still easy to chew but not just pure liquids. 

Last night’s meal was a baked potato and a bowl of chili, honestly, that doesn’t seem too much like solid food to most people but trust me, it’s a far cry over the stuff I’ve had lately.  And, even still, it required some doctoring up. 

Here’ what you get when you take a baked potato, add chili and ranch dressing and top it off with bbq sauce…I am so not kidding on this….

I know it doesn’t look like much but compared to yogurt and soups (of every variety known to mankind), this wasn’t half bad. 

On the other side of the table though, my husband started with this….

and honestly, if you think that looks like a pile of food……just look what transpired in a matter of minutes with my dear husband in control of the fork…

And, before I turned around good, this was what I was looking at…..

and then…this….

We are talking about 20 minutes here……in the meantime, I was busily gathering myself a plate of this……

Any questions as to why I can’t seem to lose any weight consistently?     

My mom’s house burned several years ago and when she started to rebuild, she spent a ton of time discussing doors and doorways.  What she ended up with was nothing like the nice drawings we had painstakingly managed to put together.

And, when the final stroke of paint was spread, the last nail hammered and the last appliance plugged in, she had this awesome pocket door system on her pantry.

I love that door and if I ever get to build a house, I’m using these kinds of doors in as many places as possible.  That’s some of the best room saving steps ever.

Yes, my youngest on was 5 last November but that doesn’t negate the need for and the love of my maternity clothes.  Honestly, those the most comfortable low-rise pants and shorts I’ve ever had. 

I pretty sure they alarm the fashion police too and if you have are one of the many authors of great fashion blogs, I could always use your support with my clothes for the upcoming conference.  Honestly, I doubt anyone wants to seem me sporting those maternity jeans all over the cocktail scene, do they?

You see, I’ve been doing my best to curb my eating habits while I can’t chew.  Instead what I have found is that I prefer milkshakes to yogurt any day.  And, my husband was dead set that we would have a sliding door off of our kitchen so we could grill out without having to heard around the whole house.

Me?  I didn’t really care one way or another.  The best part was that if we were grilling, he was cooking.  But, as it is now, he is cooking anyway because when you can’t chew, it’s just wrong to make a girl cook, don’t you think? 

So, when the house plans are drawn up for the next house, and lets face it, we will outgrow this one sooner than later, if we haven’t already, we will have a a doorway in the kitchen and we will have one more big grill on the deck off the kitchen.  Happy grilling is all I have to say!

Yes, I know, I have the Your Shape game courtesy of Collective Bias and I’m suppose to show you what I do and not tell you but……let’s just leave it at seeing myself on that TV is bad, seeing it in video, oh my, not for the weak hearted, let’s just leave it at that.

I will tell you that I started last Monday when I had managed, somehow to regain all the weight I had lost.  I’m blaming that on all that pineapple ice cream at Disney.

But, here we are one week down, many many more to go and I used Jenny McCarthy’s Your Shape Challenge only three days last week.  Sorry, but I am down 4 pounds, who know, I ate a dozen donuts out of anxiety after I had the car accident on Wednesday but I don’t think I actually at anything else until late Friday night.

And now?  I could be doing my little sprint of exercises from the game while my five-year-old is gone and can’t sit and laugh at me (more like roll on the floor laughing) but instead, I’m starving because this not chewing of food is really getting to me.  Right now I’ve resulted to the bucket of chocolate ice cream I found in the freezer. 

And, it’s not like I get any encouragement here, my cousin just sent me a text message to tell me all about this great new restaurant.  Of course, he can chew!

Ok, one week, 4 pounds…I’ll take it!  Let’s hope SXW doesn’t induce lots of weight gain!  Normally when I do conferences I don’t gain weight but normally there’s not so much ice cream just hanging out on every corner!

With that!  I’m done!  Brave?  Absolutely not and I’ll show you guys later but for now….just be happy, mmmkay?

I checked into have a surgery to make my stomach smaller a couple of years ago.  And, I qualified with diabetis, hypertension and gastro-intestinal distress, I easily qualify from a medical standpoint for the surgery.  However, our insurance hasn’t been very accommodating.

The reality is, I am over-weight and I suffer from thyroid dysfunction and other odds and ends going on with my body, our insurance still doesn’t think that I am a good candidate  And, as you know, I’ve taken part in a couple of Wii game challenges.  I even had this nasty surgery for TMJ that has basically prevented me from chewing since early November.  Still, the weight just bounces around. 

Even with the way things have been, I’ve had a lot of surgeries and although we make jokes when I see new doctors and they ask for my surgical history by telling them to get an extra piece of paper, the truth is, services like My Online Medical would make this a much easier task and for that matter, this could provide me with some safety in case I was in a position where I couldn’t give my medical history to anyone.  I’m anxious to give this a try.

Ok, you see, that is precisely the problem….I want to talk about food for a second and it turns into day long monologues.  You know the kind, the ones that keep me running to and from the fridge for…yea, more ice cream.

Actually, that’s not what this post is about.  You see, my children and husband basically have been eating as bad or worse than I have since I had the TMJ surgery.  And last week, we finally called foul and took the sugar and caffeine from our kids diet and put them back on the kind of foods that little kids are suppose to eat. 

And, what kind of food is that?  Well, no more soda. Yea, I know, that shouldn’t even need to be addressed.  But, the fact is, we were lazy about our kids habits and when they asked for a soda, we said yes.  And, sugar, holy mother of a cow, Christmas candy, birthday cakes, and now Valentine candy, where does it end.

Well, for my sweet cherubs, it ended last week.  Yes, we were on vacation in Disney World and yes they had some ice cream but no soda, no pure sugar via plain bags o’ bags o’ bags of candy.  Although my husband eats candy at a ridiculous rate when we are traveling, we didn’t give in to the begging. 

And, behavior?  Much improved.  Guilty level for mom and dad? Much Much Much MUCH Improved.  Now to work on our own eating habits…..ugh!