A Yoga Novice

All of my life, I've avoided exercise and avoided sweating. I have almost no sweat glands and hardly ever sweat. Then today, I went out of my way to do both: exercise and sweat. I took a Vinyasa power flow hot yoga class. It had been ages since I've done any form of exercise, and I've never done yoga regularly, so this was quite a challenge. The first hurdle was finding a time to go, but finally I just left the girls with my husband (Lola was sleeping, but he had to give Eva a bath and try to put her down) and ran to the studio, which is only 5 minutes away. My friend Stacy Fiano was the instructor, and her post-baby body was my motivation. Her stomach is rock solid! My cousin Nancy and her boyfriend were also there.
I was the first beginner in the class, and while it should have been a humbling experience, Stacy's enthusiasm and warmth and kindness made me feel completely un-self-conscious. So I am committing to atending a class a week, to begin with, and then maybe two...

Next Steps

Now that I'm back on track, my goal is to do at least one thing every day to get closer to my goal of being a hot mama. Tomorrow, I finally get to take a yoga class, in the evening, and Thursday I get my hair colored and a pedicure, both for the first time since my little Eva was born almost 15 weeks ago. I will also be resuming Dr. Oz's 14-day program, which is going to take me thre years at the rate I'm going!

I've also shopped a little for some hot mama clothes! They need to be comfortable and reasonably practical, but really cute. I've been wearing one too many tracksuits this winter!

What have you done for you lately?

Sick Leave

Okay, I fell off the makeover wagon for a little while there, but I did have a few good reasons. It was a crazy, and tough, week for me and my girls. Here's how it started
Monday: Lola already had the sniffles when she fell, split her lip open and chipped her front tooth. I'm still not over it, even though she hardly cried!
Tuesday: Lola goes to my sister's office (she's a dentist) and screams and squirms and bites her way through an attempt to fix her tooth. It did not work. I feel wiped out all day.
Wednesday: I wake up on my birthday with a stuffed up nose, a cough, and a fever. To top it off, Eva gets the sniffles.
Thursday: I am absolutely miserably sick all day long.
Friday: Adeline, our fabulous French au pair, wakes up sick.
Saturday and Sunday: Had a wonderful, faith-and-family filled Easter weekend!

I am still fighting off this bug, though feeling much better, and I'll be back on track this week! Hope your week was a little less eventful!

Mary Kay Beauty Party

Interesting how, when you decide to start working on yourself, opportunities arise. Tonight I attended a Mary Kay beauty party hosted by my sister. One of our mutual friends is a Mary Kay consultant. It was fun to sit around Nelly's dining table with a group of women, giving ourselves skin treatments and makeovers. I haven't spent that much time on my makeup in a long time. I even used lipliner! Here's what we tried:

Time Wise Microdermabrasion Set, $55: This works like similar sets on the market, with two steps: a scrub with tiny little crystals, and a moisturizer. You definitely notice a difference when you use one of these products, but it is not at all comparable to microdermabrasion. It's just like a really good scrub. It does rinse away easily and cleanly, though, with no residue. The serum-type moisturizer is nice, though, if your skin is oily. It's not heavy at all.

Satin Hands: Love this, although you could accomplish the same effect with a less expensive product. It's essentially a hand scrub and a very thick ointment-style hand cream that are massaged in together and then rinsed away. You then follow with a regular hand cream, which would be nicer if it had SPF. A regular body scrub and some vaseline would have the same effect, but still it's nice.

Satin Lips Set: Another exfoliant, this time for the lips, followed by an petroleum-based lip balm. This works well enough, but I prefer using a warm wet toothbrush and vaseline, since I don't particulary like the feeling of a scrub on my lips.

I did fall in love with a few products, though:
Mineral Powder Foundation in Beige 1, $16: The perfect color for me - it covered well while looking very natural, and not cakey at all, like many others can be, even when applied with a cotton ball.

Nourishing Lip Gloss in Beach Bronze, $13: I love the creamy texture and high shine (but not too much shine) of this metallic flecked gloss.

Berry Kiss Lipstick, $13: Again, I love the texture. It's very creamy and moisturizing. This is the color I wish my lips were naturally.

Golden Copper Blush, $10: A bronzey, coppery blush with some shimmer that gives skin a flattering glow.

Day 2

Today I washed my hair and went out to dinner with my husband - a small miracle. Other than that, I didn't do anything else on my list. It was one of those days... I did, however, let my husband (almost) convince me that it wouldn't kill my daughters if I left them for an hour twice a week to go to a yoga class. So my goal is to take a class before the week is up.Tomorrow, I will pick apart my body for the world to see, so I can track the progress that hopefully I will be making soon!

Day One continues, and the pictures

As promised, here are the pictures. They speak for themselves, although I will be listing all of my issues tomorrow...





And here are my responses to the Day One questions from Dr. Oz's Anti-Aging Plan:
1. Real Age: 38.6. (Boo hoo... My biological age is not yet 38 since my birthday is next week!)
2. Blood Pressure: Mine is always very low, like 90 over 60.
3. Heart Rate (resting): 84 (but I was feeling a little stressed)
4. Waist: 26.5 (3-4 inches bigger than usual, not that I'm counting. It's still pretty good considering the goal is for your waist to be less than half your height. At 5'2", my height is 62")
5. Number of steps I take this week: TO COME. I will start wearing my pedometer tomorrow.
6. Medical Tests: TO COME
7. Life Questions:
Are you living life from (A) fear or from (B) passion? A
Are you playing life (A) to avoid losing or (B) to win? B
Are your goals based on (A) preserving the status quo or (B) achieving growth? B
Are you happy most of the time? yes
Are you as happy now as you were 5 years ago? yes
Are you still expecting much from life? Yes, although my goals are changing after the birth of my daughters
Do your days seem to be passing quickly? yes - most days race by in a blur of activity!
Are you often sad less than 10 percent of the time? yes
8. Ask three strangers how old you are: Will do this tomorrow.
9. Ask your friends what your three biggest strengths are. Identify how you best use them. Again, I will do this tomorrow.
10. Ask yourself this simple question: How have you aged over the last five years? Use a picture to compare how you looked between then and now. Your initial thought:
A. My oh my, I look like I did in high school, dahling.
B. I'm steady Eddie—about the same.
C. I'm about what you'd expect—little fatter, little wrinklier, and little more worn down.
D. I look like tree bark.
My answer is B. Although I think I look better than I did in high school (big hair, round face) I definitely don'tn look younger.
11. Ask yourself this: What activities did you do five years ago that you can't do today? None
12. Ask yourself these big-picture stress questions, which can help you identify things to work on while using our program: Is your perceived level of stress more than you enjoy? Remember that actual stress is a more predictable driver of aging than our perception of stress, so push yourself to be honest with yourself. Do you control most of the stress in your life or are you a rat in someone else's experiment?
Answer: I think I am doing well with my life, stress-wise. Nothing I can’t manage. And I feel that I am largely in control of my own life, except for the constant but amazingly fulfilling demands of motherhood.

Day One of Dr. Oz Anti-Aging Plan

Okay, today I had my husband photograph me in my bright orange Rosa Cha bikini - the one I bought for a trip to Hawaii before I had my babies. As usual in these situations, there were some pleasant surprises and some not-so-pleasant ones. You'll see when the picture is posted tomoorrow... (Unfortunately, my husband/webmaster informed me that posting the picture is not as quick or easy as I thought it would be). I will pick myself apart, so you can see what I will be working on.
So to get you started, I decided to post the first day of the anti-aging plan here, for those of you who want to join in. (If you're as busy as I am, it might actually take you two days to get through this... it's a little long). I will post my own answers over the next couple of days.

1. Get out and go shopping! Buy these items, which should run you less than $125.A tape measureA heart-rate monitor (We use Polar products—they have chest straps and monitor watches)A pedometerA good pair of walking or running shoesA hand-grip testerA blood pressure cuff (Many have memory and download options…or you can use the one at the drugstore)A notebook or access to computer website to record your results
2. Determine your real age at RealAge.com—that is, the actual age of your body (and mind) based on your health and habits, not your calendar age based on when mama thrust you into the world covered in goop.
3. Measure your blood pressure. Most drug stores have a device that can be placed on your arm if you haven't bought the home device yet.
4. Measure your heart rate in the evening, as well as the highest heart rate you achieve during your most intense exercise.
5. Measure your waist size. Circle the tape measure around your waist at the belly button, while you're taking a deep breath and sucking in. You would anyway, but it is the right way of measuring it as it gets the muscle we do not want to measure out of the way. Also measure your weight. The ideal is for your waist to be half your height.
6. Leave a space to record the average number of steps you take this week.
7. Make a doctor's appointment so you can get the medical tests you need.
8. Answer these questions.Are you living life from (A) fear or from (B) passion?Are you playing life (A) to avoid losing or (B) to win?Are your goals based on (A) preserving the status quo or (B) achieving growth?If you answered (A) to any of them, it's an indication that you're not moving forward in life. Remember, the only times that your vital signs are completely stable are when you're dead. Like sharks, we need to keep moving in order to live fully.
9. Ask yourself these questions to really determine whether you're really happy.Are you happy most of the time?Are you as happy now as you were 5 years ago?Are you still expecting much from life?Do your days seem to be passing quickly?Are you often sad less than 10 percent of the time?We obviously want you to have positive answers for these questions. If you're not there, our program, as well as professional help, can help you get there.
10. Ask three strangers how old you are. Asking friends and family doesn't count, since they either know or have a vested interest in not hurting your feelings. This will help give you some kind of baseline as to how others perceive you—based on appearance and demeanor—and can be a strong indicator of how healthy you actually are. In addition, you can ask a friend you trust to be honest with you about how you are aging compared to others.
11. Ask your friends what your three biggest strengths are. Identify how you best use them.
12. In your notebook, draw a little box with an amoeba that fills up 70 percent of the box, but also goes outside of the box. The box is your job, and the amoeba is you. The empty spots in the box are where we often focus all of our effort, but perhaps you should focus on the part of the amoeba that lies outside of the box, as this represents your strengths.
13. Ask yourself this simple question: How have you aged over the last five years? Use a picture to compare how you looked between then and now. Your initial thought:A. My oh my, I look like I did in high school, dahling.B. I'm steady Eddie—about the same.C. I'm about what you'd expect—little fatter, little wrinklier, and little more worn down.D. I look like tree bark.
14. Ask yourself this: What activities did you do five years ago that you can't do today?
15. Ask yourself these big-picture stress questions, which can help you identify things to work on while using our program:Is your perceived level of stress more than you enjoy? Remember that actual stress is a more predictable driver of aging than our perception of stress, so push yourself to be honest with yourself.Do you control most of the stress in your life or are you a rat in someone else's experiment?

The Mommy Makeover Challenge

After a nearly month long hiatus, I am finally back for good. A colicky baby, technical problems and a major house renovation can't keep me away forever! I am looking at this as sort of a fresh beginning for both me and for the Beauty Mommy Blog. Here's why. My little star, Eva, is going to be 3 months old on Wednesday, and it's time to get back on track. So, like many women, I'm turning to Oprah (or rather, to Dr. Oz, via Oprah) for inspiration.
I am going to kick off my own personal mommy makeover right here on this blog, beginning with Dr. Oz's 14 day anti-aging plan. And since it's always more fun to do these things with a friend, I am enlisting the help of one of my dearest friends, whom I will call Amanda. Amanda and I will be posting pics of our bikini-clad bodies on this blog tomorrow, for the world to see. This, to a vain mommy like myself, is the ultimate in bravery, since there is little I like about my body right now. You may be surprised to know that weight is not my personal struggle. I am skinny (scrawny?) and I've managed to lose all of my baby weight. But I do have a long list of issues, from crepey skin on my tummy to scars to a linea negra that takes forever to go away. I also have a very lax tummy and absolutely no muscle tone in the rest of my body. Besides Dr. Oz's program, I want to squeeze a yoga class in at least once a week.
But my mommy makeover isn't going to stop at my neck. I also want to renew my skin by doing treatments that I was unable to do while pregnant, including peels and laser hair removal. I also want to investigate Botox, which I might make a birthday present to myself. I want to have my teeth bleached, and my sister, Nelly, who is a dentist, just took some impressions for some bleaching trays. I want to find the time to schedule a hair color appointment with my stylist, Suzy the Great. And I'd like to schedule a mani/pedi at least once a month. As I write this, I have no idea how I will find the time to squeeze any of these things in, but I plan on tackling them one at a time, and chronicling my comeback right here.
So, in my best Oprah mode, I am going to issue a challenge to Mommies Everywhere. Join me for a mommy makeover. Even if you don't think you have the time, energy or money to tackle it. ESPECIALLY if you don't think you have the time, energy or money to tackle it. Together, we can keep each other motivated, and find creative, time-saving ways to take care of ourselves and to set positive examples for our children (especially daughters). Remember - as one of Oprah's experts once said - children don't treat themselves the way that you treat them. They treat themselves the way that you treat yourself.
So, post a response to this blog to join in, and check back daily (I promise!) for ideas and inspiration to begin your own Mommy Makeover. I will offer time and money saving suggestions for revamping everything from your hair to your wardrobe, and I'm willing to name names: specific products, websites, sales, etc.
Let's start a Mommy Makeover Movement!