Sweets Without Grief…Indulge a Little!

Hi, my name is Britt and I’m a Dessertaholic.

My sweet tooth is stubborn, demanding, and tireless, transforming my will into humble pie. I devour it, yearning for seconds.

And, you know what? That’s OK!

Indulgence can be a beautiful thing, making life that much sweeter. With a balanced, healthy diet and regular exercise…why not? Why feel guilty?

In our enhanced, photoshopped world, it’s easy to feel inadequate, craving a physical perfection, which does not exist. Women are especially affected by this preposterous stigma, instructed to seek a flawless, ageless mirage–disowning sugar, embracing tummy tucks.

I believe in choosing sanity over artificiality–brownies over Botox, crème brûlée over crash diets.

Celebrate the finer things in life—don’t shun them. When it comes to dessert, find a tasty balance by counteracting and satisfying. Here are some ways to treat yourself without the grief.

  1. Do it right  If you’re going to do it “wrong”, do it right! Don’t bother with sugar-free, fat-free or light. It doesn’t taste good, it doesn’t satisfy.
  2. Forget the straw  Avoid sugary-infested drinks in the form of coffee, soda, juice, etc. Save your calories for a real dessert.
  3. Have it backwards  Eat dessert early in the day, so your body has time to burn it off before bedtime. Don’t make it your first meal of the day, just any time before dinner.
  4. Go on a mission  Keep dessert out of your house. This way you have to exercise to and from your delicious treat. Walk or bike for bonus calorie-burning points.
  5. Walk it off  Literally. Get up and move, even if that means doing the dishes. Lazing around after that big cookie doesn’t allow your body to digest properly.
  6. Explore a healthy side-kick  These usually do the trick for me! Greek yogurt with honey and fresh fruit; almond milk smoothie with cinnamon, spinach, banana, and berries; a small piece of antioxidant-friendly dark chocolate (go for the mini size if you’re tempted to eat the whole bar in one sitting.)
  7. Ditch the scale  You don’t need it!

Indulge a little…it’s a piece of cake!

The Clues in the Vintage Handbag

When I was a little girl, I idolized Nancy Drew. She was clever, stylish and feisty…my kind of heroine. She made elegance and intellect look easy, showing us that women were not only beautiful creatures, but forces to be reckoned with.

Several of my core interests stemmed from my childhood obsession with Nancy Drew: a nerdy love affair with history, writing strong female characters, and a vintage clothing addiction.

Yesterday, I unearthed a treasure, hidden in the folds of my new vintage handbag. No, the treasure did not have any monetary value, but in my eyes—it was a priceless discovery.

Awestruck, I found myself staring at artifacts in the palm of my hand: baseball tickets and a voting certificate with a list on the back. The year was 1954, a time of I Love Lucy, the Communist Control Act, Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, and of course…baseball.

Almost sixty years later, I find these clues from the past, offering a tiny glimpse into another woman’s life.

Looks like I get to be a sleuth after all.

Clue #1:  Baseball Tickets
During the 1954 season, Milwaukee Braves player Hank Aaron was making his permanent mark on the world of baseball. One of the first five African Americans to play in the league, he is considered to be one of the greatest baseball players of all time.

When: Sunday, August 22, 1954
Who: Milwaukee Braves vs. Chicago Cubs
Where: Wrigley Stadium
Winner: Milwaukee Braves 12-6

When: Wednesday, August 25, 1954
Who: Milwaukee Braves vs. Philadelphia Phillies
Where: County Stadium
Winner: Milwaukee Braves 4-3

Clue #2:  Voting Certificate and List
Unfortunately, I didn’t have much luck gathering solid information about the voting certificate, and if you have any insights out there, please feel free to comment down below. On the flip side of the certificate was a list, the most revealing lead…

Chocolate
Fly Swatter
Shoes
Film
Loan

So, who was she?
Based on the clues, I have created three different profiles of women, who may have owned the handbag…

  1. FILM  The baseball player’s girlfriend, unconventional and middle class. She enjoyed cheering him on, and never missed a single game. She integrated her love of photography with his love of baseball, documenting every tidbit of their lives together.
  2. SHOES & CHOCOLATE   The baseball fan’s wife, unfaithful and rich. Her husband’s idea of a romantic date always involved a sweaty baseball field. Bored out of her mind, she daydreamed about shoes and her younger lover while eating the chocolate she had stashed in her handbag.
  3. LOAN & FLY SWATTER  The baseball-loving son’s mother, devoted and poor. A struggling feminist, she always voted, hoping for better rights. She yearned to make adequate money to support her son, who wanted to be a baseball player. After the game she went to apply for a loan to avoid losing their home, which had recently been taken over by flies, escaping the summer heat.

If someone were to discover hidden artifacts in my handbag sixty years from now, they would probably find writing/dancing notes and a receipt for dessert.

What about you? Name two clues that might be discovered in your handbag or wallet.

Or, if you care to share…who do YOU think the woman with the handbag was?

Life: The Yellow Traffic Light Theory

We have two choices to make when we approach a yellow traffic light. We can floor it, and rush through as quickly as possible. Or we can ease up, and take a moment to pause. The yellow traffic light defines how we choose to navigate our very lives.

For a long time, I floored it. I’m an overachieving go-getter, the epitome of Type A, trying to do everything at once and trying to do it perfectly. We have taken life and turned it into the Autobahn, evolving into thinking more and faster will give us the satisfaction we crave. Most of the time we find ourselves frustrated, stuck in traffic.

Where does all of this rushing lead?

The Red Light: How to run it
Multi-tasking is designed to be a shining quality in the workplace. It is recommended as the surefire answer to impress during an interview, and used as the determining factor for a lukewarm promotion.

But, multi-tasking also drives stress into our personal lives, crashing right into our precious free time. Evenings, weekends, even vacations have become taxing, because we’re over-compensating, pouring distractions and obligations right into the tank, and running on empty because of it.

The Yellow Light: How to slow down
Now I’m easing up. And, easing up is certainly not easy for me. I have to work hard at it every day, concentrating fully on every traffic light that I encounter.

Here are a few personal traffic laws I’ve been doing my best to obey…

  1. STOP saying yes to everything   We’re afraid if we say no to people, they simply won’t like us anymore. At work, we might be looked at unfavorably, jeopardizing our job security. But, this goes for personal time as well. I’m not saying you shouldn’t have a social life. Just don’t cram too much fun into your free time. Otherwise, it becomes work.
  2. STOP distracting yourself   The world is full of sneaky, little distractions, masquerading as entertainment. Computers, televisions, phones—and even though I’m a writer and I shouldn’t say this—books fall right alongside these other culprits. During your free time, turn everything off. You might feel bored at first, but over time you’ll start to feel more comfortable doing absolutely nothing. Believe it or not, we can entertain ourselves.
  3. STOP not taking care of yourself   A lot of us feel like we don’t have time to fully take care of ourselves. But, if you obey laws #1 and #2 above, you’ll have some bonus free time in your life. No more excuses! Exercise on your days off, because you probably don’t have much time otherwise. Then take a 30-60 minute nap, because naps aren’t just for kiddos and old folks. Slow down and enjoy your food. Food is one of the finest pleasures in life—it nourishes us, providing the energy we need to function. When it’s time to eat, don’t do anything else. You should be tasting your food, savoring every last bite. So, no more eating at your desk! Get up and go outside for once.

The Green Light: How to cruise
Sometimes we need to stop in order to slow down. If you find yourself rushing all the time, stop. Then you can take a more leisurely spin through life.

It’s OK to be a Sunday driver.

Help design the cover for my new e-book, Beneath the Satin Gloves!

Coming to an e-reader near you this summer…

BENEATH THE SATIN GLOVES

A modern day woman, torn by her illusive dreams, awakens to a strange life in 1943, hurdled against the throes of destruction in wartime Berlin. Following a haphazard trail of clues, she discovers her new identity as Alina Feuer, code-named Sparrow, a famous entertainer, seducing a high-ranking SS officer to gather vital information for the Allies. Intrigued? Read more >>

And, help design the cover by putting your two cents in here…*

*Voting ends on June 7 at 4:00pm CST

Let’s Get Physical

“Let’s get physical” is a very thought-provoking expression in my humble opinion. Automatically I think of Olivia Newton-John with her sweatband and leotard, because that’s the kind of silly, random thought that takes precedence in my head more often than not.

Physical is vague, yet meaningful, encompassing the body, the senses, activity, material things, and science. So, what is this blog, a physical perspective, going to cover anyway?

You might be asking yourself if you need to be good at math or wear slouchy legwarmers. Well, I’m terrible at math, so you can forget that. And, if you want to wear legwarmers while you read…go right ahead! As a dancer, I’ve spent most of my life wearing them and I think they’re great.

I’m Britt Skrabanek…I write, I dance, I live.

I am a life enthusiast, meaning I am a stalker fan of the breathtaking world we are privileged to have and I simply don’t have an off switch, because I don’t want one. I like to experience and share, sometimes in the physicality of words, sometimes in the physicality of movement.

My blog, a physical perspective, will be a bouquet of sporadic thoughts including:

  • tips on loving life
  • healthy ways to get through the day
  • how movement keeps you alive
  • why your bike should never have any cobwebs on it
  • and a bit about my new adventure as an indie author, trying to make it in the impossible field of writing.
  • And much, much, more!

I hope you’ll consider following this crazy little blog each week, so we can use it as a quaint, virtual cafe to share a delicious, steaming cup of life together. I would love to hear what’s on your mind in the form of comments and questions at any time, so feel free to speak up and speak often.

Lastly, I’ll leave you all with a little treat for your physical senses.

Even though I’ve heard the song “Let’s Get Physical” a million times, I just discovered the music video today and couldn’t resist adding it to this post. I am personally stamping this with a speedo alert, so be warned and enjoy!