Becca's Fake It Til Your Fab Five- March/April

In the Not So Fab Five, I confessed that things have been pretty shitty. In reality, my brain had been mostly shitty more so than my actual life. Anyways, when it’s Not So Fab, the best thing to do is to Fake it til You’re Fab. The only way to get somewhere different is to take a step. And so this edition of Becca’s Fab Five is dedicated to taking steps in the right direction til it’s all Fab again.

I’m happy to report that here on the last week of April, everything is feeling closer to Fab again. I feel more in control and I can see lots and lots of hope and promise right up ahead of me :-)

Nourishment:

You know what’s really wonderful? Comfort food. From the first bite, nostalgia just sort of washes over you and something magical happens on an emotional level. Comfort foods are classically considered super unhealthy but that’s not necessarily the case. Mostly, they just have to bring up good feelings or take you back to a place in time with sweet memories. Macaroni and Cheese is one of those magical foods. I just love it! My mom always made it from scratch and it was so delicious. These days, that old recipe won’t do in my house- most especially since we are gluten free and that recipe requires flour to make the cheese sauce. A little bit by accident and a little bit because I am the Bill Nye of the kitchen, I created a creamy Mac and Cheese recipe that feels good for my belly, feels good on my conscience, and feels good because everyone raves over it. I DO feel a wee smidge guilty because it’s not nearly as time consuming as my mom’s version but I simply smile and take the praise. These days, I’ll take all the praise I can get.

It’s taken ten forevers and literally 75 Instagram direct messages when I’ve posted pictures of the Mac and Cheese over the last year BUT I blogged the recipe. This was nearly impossible because I never measure anything and I would always forget to measure when I made it. I present to you Macaroni and Cheese- The Ultimate Comfort Food!

Movement:

I used to be a runner. I used to run every single day and do long runs and track my times and paces and all of that good stuff. Running is just something that has resonated with me since the first day I laced up my shoes and set out to become a runner in my mid 20’s. Having had 2 reconstructive foot surgeries (the first when I was 16), I learned very quickly that running means taking care of your feet, or at least successful running means foot care. I became obsessed with running shoes! I learned everything I could about them and stayed up to date on the most recent products and never had less than 3 or 4 working pairs at a time. I still have an athletic shoe addiction. It just looks a little different these days. I also still run but that looks a little different these days, too. Over at Haka Fitness, we’ve made a new email list called Body Wisdom for Every Warrior that sends an almost weekly email in multi-week series about specific parts of the body and movement topics. We’ve been doing Feet and the feedback has been wonderful! You might find them interesting too…. especially if you are trying to Fake it like you are the athlete you once were like me ;-) Email 2 and 3 have lots of shoe recommendations for you and your kids!

Email 1- The Agony of the Feet

Email 2- And This Little Piggy Went OUCH!

Email 3- This Little Piggy Went to Work

Enjoyment:

During these first warm months, I love to run away to the beach for the morning. It’s not too hot, the kids are amused, and it’s quite rejuvenating! I cram my nearly 40 yr old pasty pale body into my black bikini and Fake the Hell out of it. I pretend that I am the tannest vixen on the beach that just happens to be saddled with some other ladie’s two crazy kids. Hahahahaaaaa! So, I’m only just kind of sorta kidding but we do all have to reveal the Winter Whites to the sun at some point in order to get our “Florida” back on. My personal “Florida Glow” isn’t as bronze as most people, and myself and my boys are afflicted with big baby blues (the eyeballs you have to protect a bit more). But that doesn’t stop us from getting outside because we have a little secret supplement we use at this time of the year. Have you heard of Zeaxanthin and Astaxanthin? Zeaxanthin is an antioxidant pigment that gives a lot of vegetables and fruits their distinctive taste and color. It is a yellow pigment that is usually found in egg yolk, tangerine, orange pepper, orange, saffron, and sweet corn. Astaxanthin can be found in microalgae, yeast, salmon, trout, krill, shrimp, crayfish, and crustaceans. These carotenoids have shown lots and lots of promise as a skin and eye protectant from the sun! That means a beautiful glow to your skin and protection for your eyes without all the pasty natural sunscreens or chemical laden clear ones. The Journal of Dermatological Science published a study in 2002 finding astaxanthin is able to protect against alterations in human DNA induced by UVA light exposure. THIS is the supplement that we use in our house because it is a liquid version that tastes great! I can also easily cut the dose for my kids who love the taste too.

** Please note that I am not telling you to never wear sunscreen. I AM saying that this supplement shows a lot of promise and that we rarely use sunscreen topically unless we will be in the direct sun for hours on end. This is our third year using this product successfully. When we DO need sunscreen, I find THIS EWG.org approved sunscreen to blend pretty well and provide excellent protection!

Fulfillment:

Right now… like this very moment…. I have a giant gorilla sitting on my chest. I can barely breathe and that might actually be an elephant stomping around in my brain. (It is no coincidence that my kids nature school names are Gorilla Smasher and Elephant Stomper). Basically, I feel incredibly anxious about things I have going on in the coming days. Despite what everyone seems to think of me, I am really not good in social situations that involve small talk. I also am not very good at Health Fairs for Haka and I am terrified of the fact that I will have a booth for our Deep Roots Nature School at a homeschool resource pop up this weekend. I am terrified of literally everything that puts me in a situation where there is some expectation that I have to meet or some level of perfection that I perceive I must obtain. I will feel like this until the minute that all these obligations in the next few days are over and I realize that once again, I didn’t die. I am the epitomy of Fake it til You Make it. I tackle these situations with a constant flow of deep breaths and a reminder that the finish line WILL come. It always does. That isn’t a lot of help but maybe it helps to know that lots and lots of people struggle and feel anxious. Running from this anxiety doesn’t make it go away. Neither does heading into it head on. You are just going to feel overwhelmed, anxious, ill equipped, sad, and a whole slew of other emotions that aren’t viewed as positive. It’s ok to feel those things.

I recently received an email from a client with a link to an article that made her “think of me.” Here’s the part that got me: “Some people are broken by this kind of pain and grief. They seem to get smaller and more afraid, and never recover. They get angry, resentful and tribal. But other people are broken open.” All of these negative emotions can break you, OR they can break you open. WIDE. OPEN…. where the only option is to pick up the pieces, heal, and get back to it, stronger than ever. I’m still no good at it but I am better than I used to be and I’m pretty sure I’m still getting better :-)

If you want to read more about being “broken open”, check out one of my most popular blog posts The Most Cherished Gift or any of my other Journal Entries

Bonus:

Twice a year I plant sunflowers. I plant the seeds at the end of August and at the beginning of March. I am in complete awe of this amazing flower! Some are tall with one HUGE flower at the top. Others are pretty tall with tons of delicate flowers in elaborate painted colors. I just love them and they are a conversation piece at my house. Many people have asked me how I do it and honestly, it’s super easy. I buy good seeds :-) THESE are the seeds I used this past year with my best results yet. I hope they will bring you equal joy. It is almost a ritual at our home to plant them and marvel daily over their progress.