Tag: vacation

Moms and Swimsuits … what’s the big deal? (If only …)

lissa102792 Comments

Anyone who has ever struggled with body image (and who hasn’t?!) knows that the beach is one of the most challenging places to visit on earth. It’s a judgement zone on steroids (or at least, that’s how it feels) and everyone is next to naked … which makes me horribly squeamish.

Even when I was my thinnest (circa 2004-2005), I only liked laying down or walking around with a sarong at the beach/pool. Rationally, I knew that I had a [mostly] flat belly (a gift even when I wasn’t thin) … but I had dimpled thighs, a big bottom and curvy hips — all “flaws. ”

How sad is that? Continue reading “Moms and Swimsuits … what’s the big deal? (If only …)” →

Advertisement

desperate for r&r

lissa10279Leave a comment

Ever feel like you need a vacation so bad you can taste it? Yea, that’s me right now.

Maternity leave — while a wonderful 11 weeks — was no picnic and certainly no vacation. And while I’ve had a day or half-day off here and there over the past six months since returning to work, I’ve yet to disconnect and truly be “off.” Like off work, off social obligations, off anything.

Which brings me to next week. Continue reading “desperate for r&r” →

The Maternity Leave “Vacation”

lissa102791 Comment

Allow me to break some news: maternity leave is by no means a vacation.

Of course, anyone who has been on maternity leave knows this … but as a newbie with Maya, I didn’t know.

The notion of (up to) twelve weeks off work sounds really appealing when you’re massively pregnant and sick of life as you know it. It sounds like a vacation: everyone knows babies sleep a ton, so clearly there will be all this “free time,” you think. Time to focus on all the things you can’t get done during the normal work-week or weekends. Continue reading “The Maternity Leave “Vacation”” →

Vacation

lissa102791 Comment

IMG_2535

Aside from Maya splitting her chin open, vacation wasn’t so bad.

As I hoped would happen, being in El Salvador and speaking Spanish with family and friends, the language came back. Not completely … but it’s like the words that had been collecting dust in my head were unearthed and though they didn’t flow easily off my tongue, I found myself able to converse with pretty much anyone — a little reminder that mama’s still got it! Continue reading “Vacation” →

Mommy Guilt … A Vacation Saga

lissa102794 Comments

I had every intention of doing a sweet wrap-up of our vacation in El Salvador and sharing some of Maya’s latest and greatest adorableness (for my family reading; I doubt other readers care but this is my spot on the interwebs so what I write goes …) , but there’s no way I could do that without sharing first in this post the emergency that occurred on our trip. The rest of the detes will come later. Continue reading “Mommy Guilt … A Vacation Saga” →

Voyages of Discovery

lissa1027918 Comments

My beloved BeltwayThis is my last post for a while, dear readers, as the much-needed holiday va-k season officially begins.

After hosting a holiday cookie exchange with fab friends on Sunday, at the crack of dawn Monday morning, my husband and I are driving to DC (where we met and where I moved here from) and Annapolis (where we got married) to see friends and family over the Christmas holiday.

We won’t be back until late Sunday night, so I probably won’t blog again until Tuesday or so.

This means several things:

1) I will be away from my house. (my usual food/morning get-ready routine)

2) Away from the gym. (my usual exercise routine)

3) Away from my computer. (my technology addiction)

Could be scary, but I’m not afraid. After all this time, I know some certainties about myself. Continue reading “Voyages of Discovery” →

Learning to Let Go & Live a Little

lissa102797 Comments

My husband and I at Niagara Falls
My husband and I at Niagara Falls
Vacations are wonderful, aren’t they?

This past weekend, my husband, his family and I drove to Niagara Falls (the American side) for the Labor Day holiday weekend. There, we met my parents, who made the trip up from N.J.

We had a fantastic time, walking all over the place and experiencing the falls and all their glory during a boat-ride on The Maid of the Mist and a wet-n-wild walk through the Cave of the Winds. At night, we took photos and videos and savored the shared time with both our families.

I spent Sat. night with my parents at their hotel, and the alone-time with them was much-needed and greatly-appreciated, as these past 2.5 weeks have not been easy, and we still have 2.5 more before my mother-in-law and sister-in-law head back to El Salvador.

I’m yapping about our trip today because it was such a positive experience from the disordered eating perspective. I never really ever “let myself go,” even on vacations, but I tried to loosen the hell up just a smidge this time, and I’m proud of it. Continue reading “Learning to Let Go & Live a Little” →