On the way to teach yoga, I was thinking about the coming year 2012 and how we are bombarded with so many messages about making New Year’s resolutions in the media. I too have a resolution to add to your list. In fact, put this resolution right at the top.

I will find complete self-acceptance in 2012.

Now erase all resolutions that follow. Ah. Doesn’t that feel like freedom!

I completed my Baron Baptiste teacher training this past summer. Baron Baptiste strives to create teachers that come from a true and authentic place. To accomplish this we worked on ridding ourselves of the garbage that we carry—the stories that we believe about being unworthy, unlovable and just not enough. We worked to get to the place where we had 100% self-acceptance. We had to stand in front of 150 other teachers in training and declare that we were 10s. We had to do this with certainty and belief. It was hard.

Our society is accustomed to thinking that we will be a 10 if we lose those last 5 pounds, get that better job, nicer house, faster car or fill in the blank. We need to erase the wrinkles on our aging faces and tighten our sagging bottoms and have washboard abs to be our best.

But it is just not true.

We are all 10s—right here and right now. You do not have to do a single thing but arrive and approach everything that you do as the 10 that you are.

Try on the resolution of self-acceptance. See what the possibilities of believing yourself a 10 bring this 2012. Treat everyday this year as the special gift that it is and have a very Happy New Year.

In a perfect world, my husband and I are alone at a romantic resort, where we get couples massages, candlelight dinners al fresco, breakfast in bed, dancing under the stars, and lots of undisturbed nookie time.

Here’s the reality:  two busy careers, two busy kids, and too busy and broke for anything, let alone a romantic getaway.

What’s that quote about necessity being the mother of invention? Well, DH (darling husband!) and I came up with a fabulous solution to our time and money challenge for romance.

Yup, sometimes we plan these moments, and sometimes they are a gift from heaven (aka – both kids are at sleepovers!). Either way, here’s what we do to create a romantic oasis in our bedroom:

· cover up the TV with a beautiful scarf or shawl

· remove all electronic communication devices

· turn the lights down very low

· light several fragrant candles (LOVE JimmyJane’s massage oil candles)

· turn on our favorite romantic music (soft jazz)

· set out the warm massage oil and other romance enhancing products

· prepare sensual food and beverages – we’re not leaving for awhile!

· bring out our favorite bedtime stories and imaginations

· if you have kids, put them to bed or rent a really long movie

· lock the bedroom door and put a chair under the door handle (hey, I’m a Mother – I can imagine kids picking locks, ok?)

Now the ambiance is ready, preparing the room has us in the mood, and we haven’t touched the credit cards.

What would you add to create a budget-friendly romantic getaway?

We have several copies to give away to Manic Mommies listeners and book clubbers. The book discussion is scheduled for June 22nd (8PM EST). Call details will be provided a week before the call.

Just in case life gets in the way and you can’t make the call,  we do record the book discussions so you can catch up and hear author insights at your convenience (Book Club Archives).

The Love Goddess’ Cooking School:

Camilla’s Cucinotta: Italian Cooking Classes. Fresh take-home pastas & sauces daily. Benvenuti! (Welcome!)

Holly Maguire’s grandmother Camilla was the Love Goddess of Blue Crab Island, Maine—a Milanese fortune-teller who could predict the right man for you, and whose Italian cooking was rumored to save marriages. Holly has been waiting years for her unlikely fortune: her true love will like sa cordula, an unappetizing old-world delicacy. But Holly can’t make a decent marinara sauce, let alone sa cordula. Maybe that’s why the man she hopes to marry breaks her heart. So when Holly inherits Camilla’s Cucinotta, she’s determined to forget about fortunes and love and become an Italian cooking teacher worthy of her grandmother’s legacy.

But Holly’s four students are seeking much more than how to make Camilla’s chicken alla Milanese. Simon, a single father, hopes to cook his way back into his daughter’s heart. Juliet, Holly’s childhood friend, hides a painful secret. Tamara, a serial dater, can’t find the love she longs for. And twelve-year-old Mia thinks learning to cook will stop her dad, Liam, from marrying his phony lasagna-queen girlfriend. As the class gathers each week, adding Camilla’s essential ingredients of wishes and memories in every pot and pan, unexpected friendships and romances are formed—and tested. Especially when Holly falls hard for Liam . . . and learns a thing or two about finding her own recipe for happiness.

To enter this month’s giveaway, send an e-mail (comments are not considered entries) to Mari.Partyka@gmail.com. Put ‘Love Goddess’ Cooking School’ in the subject line. Please include your shipping address in the body of your message.

Winners will be selected at random on Monday evening, May 9th

It’s been a while since I have written a post for Jen’s Fitness Corner and I can only say it’s because I have been super busy with …well, life. That’s not to say I haven’t heard and read about Erin’s recent ACL injury and subsequent surgery. All I have to say is that hearing her trials and tribulations has made me so grateful for my own health and well, luck.

I preach a lot to my FitMoms boot campers, personal training clients and weight loss challenge clients about our sedentary lifestyle being the culprit behind so much of the health problems we face today. But in reality, it boils down to one simple phrase: Use it or lose it.

Our bodies are akin to machines and they want to move. And having listened first to Erin’s skiing accident and then to the surgery saga I can’t help but be so immensely grateful for my two arms and two legs that work and move properly without my having to think about it (Sorry Erin if it sounds like I’m rubbing it in – not my objective!). Aren’t you grateful for your own health?

So in honor of Erin and her list of many things she can not wait to do when she has two functioning legs again…I am not going to run my own body into the ground in hopes of burning off some extra calories, not ignore my bodies cues of hunger, tiredness, or simple requests like “can I have some water – please?” No, instead I intend to move my body daily, be it through yoga, kickboxing, a bike ride with my kids, or a good weight training session at the gym. I intend to treat my body with care, as I would for my own children, including rest, and the occasional massage.

Erin, it’s OK with me that your list no longer includes a 5K run/race, there are plenty of Manic Mommies out there to do that for you! I just can’t wait to see you at the next Escape where I can put you through another round of boot camp and as many squats as your heart desires!

It’s time to read historical fiction again and let me say that if you enjoy historical fiction you will enjoy this book. I finished reading it a few weeks ago and it’s one of the better novels in the historical space. To learn a little more about the author, click here to read a brief author Q&A.

We have several copies to give away to Manic Mommies listeners and book clubbers. The book discussion is scheduled for May 18th, watch for details on how to join the conversation as we get closer to the date.

Synopsis: While selling oranges in the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, sweet and sprightly Ellen “Nell” Gwyn impresses the theater’s proprietors with a wit and sparkle that belie her youth and poverty. She quickly earns a place in the company, narrowly avoiding the life of prostitution to which her sister has already succumbed. As her roles evolve from supporting to starring, the scope of her life broadens as well. Soon Ellen is dressed in the finest fashions, charming the theatrical, literary, and royal luminaries of Restoration England. Ellen grows up on the stage, experiencing first love and heartbreak and eventually becoming the mistress of Charles II. Despite his reputation as a libertine, Ellen wholly captures his heart—and he hers—but even the most powerful love isn’t enough to stave off the gossip and bitter court politics that accompany a royal romance. Telling the story through a collection of vibrant seventeenth-century voices ranging from Ellen’s diary to playbills, letters, gossip columns, and home remedies, Priya Parmar brings to life the story of an endearing and delightful heroine.

To enter this month’s giveaway, send an e-mail (comments are not considered entries) to Mari.Partyka@gmail.com. Put ‘Exit the Actress’ in the subject line. Please include your shipping address in the body of your message.

Winners will be selected at random on Monday evening, April 11th

Meg Waite Clayton

Thanks to author, and Escape guest, Meg Waite Clayton for contributing this post.

The story of my writing starts with a ubiquitous Mom Tool: a little brown paper lunch bag, the kind my sons took their sandwiches and Oreo cookies to school in whenever they’d left their plastic Power Rangers lunch boxes behind the day before. I’ve been raising children all the years I’ve been writing, as the Wednesday Sisters in my novel do. But the lunchbag that started my writing career wasn’t being filled with peanut butter and jelly (Chris’s favorite, but Nick says “yuck”). Rather, it was being emptied over a table at which sixteen aspiring writers gathered to learn the craft.

“Writers write,” the teacher, author Jennifer Allen, informed us. And she directed us to pick one of the interesting things that spilled from lunch bag to table, and write for five minutes – just five – about whatever it brought to mind.

Where were my children in this picture? The-child-who-was-to-be-Nick was with me in the form the telltale six-months-pregnant-tummy bulge. But Chris was at home with a sitter.
Bad mother! Yes: guilt guilt guilt guilt guilt. I was leaving my child with someone else to do something for myself?

But this was my Dream, to be a novelist. My Dream with a capital D. That one thing I’d wanted to do ever since I was ten, the thing I’d left the practice of law to do. Isn’t a dream worth a few hours of sitter-time on a Wednesday afternoon?

Of course, few dreams are reachable solely on two hours of class time each week. And with late-pregnancy non-sleep and new-baby no-sleep, getting up early to write wasn’t always an option. So I became a master of fitting writing time in whenever it presented itself. I began writing in many of the same places my fictional moms in The Wednesday Sistersdo: at the steering wheel of my car in the preschool parking lot after drop-off any time Nick fell asleep in his car seat; nestling with my two sons – and my beloved laptop – while they watched Barnie or Sesame Street.

As my sons got just a little older, I had a secret weapon the Wednesday Sisters never did: Chuck E Cheese. It’s an impossibly loud place, it’s true, but my children could play happily (ecstatically!) in a place they could not leave without my little matching wrist band. And I could write, sometimes for hours at a stretch. It’s amazing how much high volume noise you can ignore if you really want to write.
I remember the guilty pleasure when my youngest started preschool: three hours of uninterrupted writing time three days a week! Yes, there were a million things to do (laundry, grocery shopping…), but by then, none of those was important to me as my writing. Let’s see, do I want to be known for my clean and lovely house, or for my clean and lovely prose?

I claimed the time for myself, declared it sacred, sat down to write the minute I got home from morning drop off and did not so much as answer the phone until pick-up time – although I did listen to the answering machine, just in case something had happened at school. And it turns out kids – or young ones, anyway – like doing all the things I think are drudge: folding laundry or sweeping floors or going to the grocery store. If it takes a little longer with their “help,” well, it’s quality time with my kids.

Did I still bring cupcakes to class on my sons’ birthdays, and even do the occasional field trips drive or costume sewing circle? Yes, of course. But I also developed a talent for saying “no” to most of those other “opportunities” moms (but, oddly, seldom dads – what’s with that?) feel compelled to give their precious few spare minutes to: heading the PTA, say, or organizing the end-of-year party. I learned to take the easy route, sending Oreos in when it was my son’s day for bringing cookies, providing the much-needed paper plates or cups for the party rather than the homemade snacks, donating cash instead of time when that was a choice. The fact that I wasn’t making money as a writer, I decided, shouldn’t make it any less important an avocation as practicing law had been, and I certainly would never have told a client I couldn’t be at a meeting because I had a hundred and thirty-two cookies to make for the Holiday Sing-Along.

Have I felt my fair share of guilt over the years? To be honest, I even got over feeling selfish for claiming time and the occasional babysitter dollars for myself. It’s nearly impossible to find time in a manic mommy life for our own dreams – whatever they may be – without doing so. Writers write. People who reach their dreams do so by reaching, and it takes time to reach. And even my own homemade-cookie-baking mom will tell you a happy mom is a better mom.

And, really, can you make a homemade cookie that is half as fun as twisting that Oreo open and licking the cream out first?

So, will you have goblins and pumpkins around your home this year, or perhaps Chicken Little? Whatever you decide for your costumes for your Halloween party and trick or treat night, keep a few tips in mind when purchasing and/or making costumes for your trick o’ treaters.

If purchasing costumes, wigs, beards, etc. make sure that they are labeled flame resistant. Although the label does not mean these items will not catch fire, the label does mean it will resist burning and extinguish quickly.

Avoid costumes with baggy arms, billowy sleeves, pontoon pants, and/or made out of flimsy material so that contact with candles will be minimal, You could avoid candles all together with glow sticks or battery operated candles.  These glow sticks will fit in most Jack O’Lanterns and last for a few hours.

If you are going to have costumes with swords, shields, etc. make sure they are soft and flexible.

If using a mask, make sure the eyeholes are large enough for your child to see out clearly with full vision, and that it securely fastens around his head. Because masks can often block vision, you may want to consider using hypoallergenic makeup instead.

Have kids go out in sturdy, comfortable shoes. High heels for the Cinderella costume are not a good idea.

Make sure that costumes are short enough so that the kids will not trip over them.

Make sure kids have flashlights on them for their trick-or-treat adventure.

Glow sticks are also quite popular, and are great for making kids visible, but they don’t replace flashlights in making sure that the kids have enough light to see.

Make costumes that are light and bright and can easily reflect light. Make sure that they are clearly visible to motorists as well.  Consider adding reflective tape or striping to costumes and treat bags for greater visibility.  The above-mentioned glow sticks are great for that!

Secure emergency ID on your kid, especially if you will not be going with him.

During BlogHer, Erin and I were invited to attend a luncheon hosted by Tide and Gymboree, at which Tide was introducing a new product, Tide Stain Release In-wash Booster. Very long story short (and that’s probably my biggest complaint about the lunch, I could have done with less details about how the product worked, and heard more from their guest speaker about how to save money) the little packet of powder and goo is designed to give your detergent a “boost” to get out tough stains.

During the lunch we even did a demo where I, the victim for our table, swirled a grass stained white cloth in water with a boost packet and… “ta-da” the stain came out. It was a neat demonstration but certainly nothing different from any info-mercials I’ve watched on TV for Oxiclean.

I didn’t think about the product, or the demo, again until I came home and remembered that my favorite white pants – the ones I had recently saved – were badly stained with blood. I’m not going to tell you how they got stained, suffice to say that it was the type of stain that is familiar to many women, and in my case, always dooms the clothing I was wearing because I don’t do bleach and never pre-treat.

This time, the stain had been allowed to set over two days, so I didn’t have much hope of saving my pants another time. But I threw the pants in with the booster pack I received in my BlogHer gift bag, and my normal detergent, and crossed my fingers.

Taking the pants out later that day, I was a bit stunned when I realized… it worked and my pants had been saved, again, from the rag bin.

Given all the controversy/discussion/arguments about bloggers writing about products they’ve received for free, I wasn’t even sure I wanted to write this post. But the fact is, if I hadn’t received the sample for free, I’m also not sure I would have thought to try the product if I saw it in the store. And, considering how many times I’ve bought something that should have worked, and didn’t, I thought I’d share one product with our readers that seems to live up to the hype.

Anyway, now that I’ve tried it, you can be certain I’ll be picking up a bag of the miracle packets next time I’m at Target. I may throw them into every load “just in case” because I need all the laundry help I can get!

UPDATE: I just went to Target to buy the packets, and after comparing the price ($6.99 for 18 packets or a 68 oz bottle of liquid), I decided to go for the liquid to save money. We’ll see how it compares.

As we’ve come into our own as parents, and adjusted to our ever-changing lives as working moms (and unofficial ambassadors of “crazy busy” moms worldwide), we’ve developed methods to help keep our families on track, even while we are away.

Now, through our new partnership with Embassy Suites, we’ve been given the opportunity to share our tips, tricks and ideas with other parents through their newly redesigned site, BusinessBalance.com. As the site’s “work/life balance” experts (yes, we think it’s funny too), we will be writing about juggling the demands of work and family, as well as answering questions from visitors to the site.

And we are in good company! Jenn and Erin of Fit Bottomed Girls will be sharing ideas on how to keep fit when on the road, while Michael and Jane from Road Food will be writing about food (how cool is their job?).

If you have time, please take a minute to check out our first article – Traveling on Business? Prepare Ahead to Make Things Run Smoothly and Economically at Home. Or, leave a comment here and tell us what issues you’ve run into when traveling on business!