My Very First Sleepover.

Okay, so it's not MY first sleepover, but it's the first one that Riley is hosting and can I just tell you, I am covered in anxiety.

A few months ago, Riley slept over her friends' house because I was having my sinus surgery. Since that very day, in October of 2009, I swear, these girls have been planning the next sleepover. Riley will call her friends (who are sisters) and they will spend hours on the phone making lists and discussing what they will do at this sleepover.

With us moving in just a few short months, what better time than the present, to finally bite the bullet and host the sleepover these girls have been obsessing over for the past 4 months!

So, I'm not nervous about having them over. (I have security.) I love the girls and they are well-behaved and all-around polite little people. What I'm nervous about is what I DO with them when they are here, overnight. I never slept over anyone's house growing up. Not one birthday party sleepover. Never hosted one. I was never allowed. I didn't go to my first sleepover until my senior year of high school. Graduation night. And my friend's parents had to ask my parents for me...because I was so scared.

Anyway, with that in mind, I have no idea what to expect when these girls come over and settle in for the night. So, on Monday, I pulled Riley aside and asked her what they were going to do.

She said, "We're going to make potions, play with Barbies, do the play-doh thing, make a candy store with a tip jar, and uhhhh make more potions." In my mind, I'm running through the timeline and realized that oh, well, that will kill about 25 minutes. LOL. What will they do the rest of the night before they crash? Ryan suggested a movie. Great. But who knows how long they will last and what if they get bored? Then what?

So, being that I'm a planner...I forced Ryan to accompany me to Wal-Mart for a quick shopping trip. $50 later, I have projects. 3 projects for the girls to do...in between the playing they do or in their downtime when they are bored. My sister-in-law laughed at me when I told her about my anxiety and applauded my efforts with the crafty ideas...but I felt totally justified in being slightly nervous about it! The last thing I want is for these girls to ask to leave early or to go home and say that they didn't have a good time...I'm hoping it goes well. Wish us luck!

I'll post pictures of the crafts we do after the sleepover. But, if anyone has any ideas on free stuff we can do, please please please share them...would love to have some back-up plans!

Therapy Thursday: Grieving.

I know that the majority of my posts are lighthearted and about my kids. This morning, as I sit in front of my laptop, I can't help but write this post -- because I don't think I've had a chance to properly grieve over the passing of my Grandma.



One week ago today. I can't believe it's been one week.



It didn't hit me until last night while I was on the phone with my dad...talking about what Grandma's wishes were, about the letters she wrote to my parents and about my mom being in CA without me or my brother to see my Grandma for the last time. The whole thing is just so sad and I'm having a tough time swallowing it all.



I've always had this intense fear of death (thus, my fear that Grandma isn't with us anymore) and my thoughts of caution are always morbid. Let me explain...

I can remember being quite young and fearing the loss of my parents. Not that they did anything crazy -- but I was always scared that something would happen to them and I never wanted to be in a position to see them "un-alive." Now that I have my own children, my fears have turned into protecting THEM and praying that nothing bad ever happens to them...leading in the my morbid thoughts of caution.

I'm going through those thoughts now. While planning this trip to Key West with Ryan, I continue to think about what I'm going to write in my will. What will happen to the kids if something happens to us? What do I want for my children? Who will take care of them? I am realizing that I need to spell everything out -- especially after my Grandma's death -- and hope that those left to care for my kids will honor my wishes. It's just so scary. And it makes me want to cry just thinking about it. Death is freakin' scary.

So, I'm sad. I feel sick in my stomach. I can picture my Grandma at her healthiest time in her life and I miss that. I miss seeing her. I know she knew I loved her -- so I have zero regrets. I am just sad.

Ronan-ism #0210

*Ronan sneezes 3-4 times.

Me: Bless you, Ronan.
Ronan: Fanks (thanks). *Sneezes again.*
Me: Bless you, AGAIN!
Ronan: I don't know why I keep doin' dat. I keep on ha-chooing ober and ober again. And I keep on doin' da ha-chooing!

Me: (thinking I should do a better job dusting?)

Will Miss You, Grandma...

On February 11th, my beautiful Grandma passed away. The photo above was taken when Ronan was only a few days old...she had made the trip from Orange County, CA, to San Diego -- where we were living at the time. It was the last time I saw her.

I have the most fond memories of her. She made the BEST lobster dish (which noone can replicate...) She was so independent and loved to take my brother and I (when we were little) out on a bus in Pittsburgh to hit the candy stores downtown. She was versed in life, kept up with current events and always supported the charities she would see on TV. She prayed. A lot. She loved to talk about her journey to the United States in 1975 and was the only one who would share those scary stories about how hard it was to immigrate here.

Although I am deeply saddened by the passing of my Grandma, I am so comforted knowing that she is in a better place, she's finally with my Grandpa and that my children both had the opportunity to meet her. Love you so much, Ngoai.

An Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny...

blue and white polka dot bikini. Yes, a bikini. 2 pieces of small fabric. I made the leap. For the past, oh, I don't know...7 years, I have been wearing a mom suit. No, no ruffly one piece moo-moo, but I've been quite comfortable in the tankini, covering all problem areas. My stomach...problem area numero uno.

I have never had flat abs. In fact, I'm not sure I ever will. BUT, with the Key West trip looming over me, I told Ryan that I refuse to go on this trip and wear my 'mom suit' the entire time. I want to look cute. So last night, bathing suit shopping we went and that's the suit I came home with.

Made by Vitamin A, it's reversible and the bottoms are awesome...they are cheekier than I ever worn, but they don't give my butt that awful muffin roll you see sometimes when girls wear their suits a little too tight. AND, for the first time in YEARS...I'm going with a triangle top. It was too cute to walk away from, though.

If you have ever been to a Swim & Sport store, you'll know that they give you personal attention to choose your suit. Although I was ready to walk out initially (a little bit of a wait and I am impatient...), I'm glad I didn't because the lady was so attentive and gave me more options than I even considered.

Anyway, I'm thinking about hanging the Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Blue/White Polka Dot Bikini somewhere in front of the treadmill to give me more motivation during my workouts. Only a few more months....

Explanation Necessary.

I've said this before...when you give birth, they need to give you a manual that tells you what to say when the questions you aren't ready to answer arise. We had a moment with Riley not too long ago and it went something like this...

Riley: Momma, what's 'gay' mean?

Me: (slightly shocked) Uhhh, happy?

Riley: (pondering how she was going to use this in a sentence...)

Me: (silence and what felt like hours had gone by, but was only seconds)

Riley: I'm going to tell all my friends that I'm gay!

Me: (even more shocked, but smiling) You probably aren't going to want to say that...I'll let daddy tell you why.

[Okay, so at this point, there is no beating around the bush. We have friends that are gay, so it wasn't us not wanting to explain...I guess it was the more sexual part I was hoping to not get into.]

So Ryan enters.

Me: Daddy, why don't you tell Riley what gay means! She wants to tell all of her friends at school that she is gay.

Ryan: Well, you know how you have a mommy and a daddy? Some people have two mommies and two daddies.

Riley: (look of utter confusion and steam exiting both ears)

Me: (able to see the look and realizing she might be confusing it with step-parents/divorcees)

Ryan: (silence, but pride that he could add to conversation)

Riley: Uhhh, I don't get it.

Me: You know Ellen? From the Ellen Show?

Riley: Yeah?

Me: Well, Ellen is married to a woman. She loves a woman.

Riley: Ohhhhhh, I get it. Hey, can I have an ice cream? Vanilla okay?

OMG. Really? That's all she wanted was a freakin' ice cream? Goes to show that if you can be honest with your kid...even if it's not the best explanation...they are totally satisfied by it.

"I'm Loose."

Okay, not the words you ever want to hear from your daughter. Except when it refers to a tooth.

Yes, Riley finally, after 7 years and 7 months, has ONE LOOSE TOOTH. It's one of her tiny bottom front ones and since Sunday morning, has been an obsession for her. It's not really even that wiggly yet, but there is some movement and for Riley...some movement is better than no movement. She's the last in her class to have all of her baby teeth.

So now that the prospect of a tooth fairy visit is in the near future, what's the fair market value on the first tooth? Has it lost value? Is it underwater? Or is the tooth fairy handing out credit?

Wahhhhh....wahhhhh...I wanna go. Now!

To Key West, that is! Just a few more months until my sans-kids vacation with the hubby. Hurry up and get me there.

(Picture taken from this website.)

Kate Spade Giveaway

A friend of mine is doing a giveaway on her blog. Check it out!

Homemade Oreos

Thank you, odds and sods for posting this...

Homemade Oreos

Definitely something I'm going to have to try, considering it's part of one of Ronan's major food groups!

Potty Training Sucks Big Poop

Why wear these... When you can wear these....

O.m.g. Honest to goodness gracious.

Riley, ah, my Riley...such an easy child. Potty-trained at 2 1/2 years old...practically on her own. When she decided she was over the diapers, she was over it. And for 5 years, I never thought twice about it...except when we would be out and had to use public restrooms. Let's just say, we used enough toilet paper that you never even saw the toilet seat. (Those automatic flusher toilets, though...man, those were such a challenge to cover...anyway.)

Fast forward to my precious Ronan and it's like nothing we say or do or bribe him with will work. Go ahead and make your judgments. I'm sure I am doing nothing right. But can I just say that I am so.tired.of.poop.

[If you have no interest in reading about poop, I'd stop here.]

My friend gave me hinters on what to do with him...get him in unnerwears (as he says). I did. He loved them. But, didn't mind pooping in them, either. I freaked. I'll admit it. I lost my mind the first time I saw that turd in his brand new Diego underwear. And I was pissed. I'm sorry, but a three-pack of tiny underwear doesn't come cheap. And the companies know that parents will spend the money to appease their toddlers with cartoon-themed underwear to get through this horrific experience. So there we were, down to 2 pairs.

He didn't care. I offered him M&Ms. High-5s. A new monster truck. Two new monster trucks. A trip to see the monster truck show. Tokens for Chuck E. Cheese. A trip to Chuck E. Cheese. A million dollars. Nothing.

But yesterday, oh yesterday...that was the kicker.

I have a bad gag reflex. (Need I say more?!) The boy pooped and I thought I could taste it, I was dry-heaving while changing him. I don't know what to do. And now, I'm down to one pair. One.

Let him go naked? Sure. But then we run the high risk of pee all over my floor and furniture.

Putting him back into diapers is not an option and unless underwear comes in bulk, I am not sure I want to spend the money on clothing I'm going to have to throw away...(for those of you that used cloth diapers, how did you do it?!)

I guess I could face reality and say that the child might not be ready for this step in life. But momma is exhausted. Momma is tired of human sized poo that isn't in toilet. Momma is begging on hands and knees for the lightbulb in little man's head to go off and think that it is cool to poop on the potty. Please. Pretty please.

Although you might be grossed out at this point, I do have to share a funny something he said the other day, when I pleaded with him to use the potty:

"Momma, I can't. It's gonna hurt me. I skerred (scared), it's gonna be a big poops."

Help me.

Outta Shape.

Just when I thought I was making progress on our treadclimber, burning calories, toning up...I decided to try the 30 Day Shred, with the Biggest Loser trainer, Jillian Michaels...and let's just say, I am completely outta shape. Level 1, for the beginners, kicked.my.butt.

I found myself panting during the first minute and it was only the warm-up! I never realized how hard jumping jacks were, until I did them last night, along with all the other cardio I did. And just as I thought I wanted to quit (3 minutes into the video), Jillian managed to say that a ripped body doesn't come for free and that you have to work for it. Even though I hated her, she was right and I pushed through and did the full 20 minutes.

Today, I feel great. Slightly sore and ready for more. Not too much longer until my Key West vacay with the hubby and I am determined to NOT wear a mommy bathing suit there. Minimal coverage, here I come. I think.

Gasparilla 2010

Our last time:
Although the day was gloomy and all weather forecasters called for massive rain...it held out until the very end of the boat parade -- and thanks to Ryan's coworkers for helping Riley and Ronan collect all their beaded necklaces.

Such a great event to experience here in Tampa -- it'll be one of the things I'll greatly miss when we move. And if you ever have the chance to visit Tampa, time it so it coincides with Gasparilla weekend...it's a must see.

Bwoo Funder!

Without ever having seen one in real life, it was hard to comprehend exactly how enormous these monster trucks really are. Surely, the SPEED channel (everyday at 7 a.m.) was correct in saying that they are monstrous, loud and fast...but who really knows until you see one in person, right?

This past weekend, one of the local restaurants had Bwoo Funder (what Ronan calls it) in their parking lot and had drawings for free tickets to the Monster Jam Show at Raymond James Stadium. No, we didn't win. Surprised? I am a little. And while I'm here, I'll tell you why. They were doing drawings at 5, 6 and 7 p.m. We made sure we were there at 4:20 ish to get a table and enter in the drawing. At 4:45, the restaurant was pretty empty, so our chances of winner were insane. Probably 50%. Then, the truck arrived and instead of requiring that you be a paying customer, the owner offered entries to randoms coming into the lot to enter the drawing.

And guess who won. A random person who took their tickets and left. They didn't eat there. Unreal. But, what can you do? It's not my restaurant. Would I have marketed it that way? Would I have given tickets to people who had just eaten at the pizza place across the street? No. But whatever. I'm done venting. Onto the good stuff.
Ronan watches the same episode of Monster Jam at least once a day. It's the Freestyle Championship that was hosted in Las Vegas last year. Bwoo Funder just so happens to be one of the trucks that he loves in this episode...so it was just perfect that this one

was at the restaurant... You can see from the picture how enormous that truck is! I have no idea who that other kid is...

Anyway, it was pretty cool. It was loud and smelly (from the exhaust?) and we saved ourselves at least $60 because we didn't have to take the kids to the show. Did that sound cheap? Totally did, right? But the kids were happy and that's all that matters.

Speed Limit Says...

45 mph.

Wife is driving 51. Husband says to wife, "why are you going so slow?!"

Wife says to husband, "Uh, I'm going 51. If I go any faster, I'm going to get pulled over."

Husband says, "That's in kilometers."

Wife says, "What? What's that?"

Wife then speeds up, but not sure how much faster to go, as she cannot figure out the calculation of km/h to mph. Wife needs to go take a math class. Or figure out how to switch the display.

3 days, 2 nights.

That's exactly the amount of time I have been away from my family since giving birth to Riley over 7 years ago. The only reason I was even away from Riley was because I went apartment hunting with my sister-in-law, Courtney, in San Diego -- over 5 years ago.

And, I have never been away from Ronan for even one night. I know I've had a couple opportunities to go on scrapbooking weekends, but at that time in Ronan's life, there was no way I was going to be able to leave him for more than a few hours (you moms should know what I'm referring to!)

So, when Ryan and I started pondering about taking a vacation, don't think for one second that I didn't try and figure something out that would involve the kids. I know, what a chance to get away from the kids and be at some exotic island location. Nope, not me...all I could think about was how I couldn't leave them because of the possible bad things that could happen to us that would leave our children orphans. Totally morbid. I know.

But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that Ryan and I really need this time with each other. We never had a real honeymoon. We went on a 3-night stay at a bed and breakfast an hour away from Pittsburgh. In March. It was cold. I wore sweats. So not romantic.

Beyond all that, I knew that Ryan's new job would require a lot more time away from home...so I wanted to take advantage of some quality time we'd have now before reporting in at his new unit. So here we are, we've come to decide we're taking a vacay and now, the Type A in me is coming out and the planning has begun.

Key West, here we come.

Easy right? No, not so much. We pretty much have decided on lodging, but it's figuring out the fun things I want to do that make it so much more difficult. I don't want to have this wonderful week and not take advantage of the great things Key West has to offer, but the more I read about the excursions, the morbid thoughts jump into my mind. Do I want to snorkel? Sure! But I can't swim. Think that would be a problem? Scuba dive? Sounds like fun. But I watched this story on the Today Show about this couple who were on their honeymoon and went scuba diving and somehow, the bride turned up dead. Take a plane ride to the Dry Tortugas? Absolutely friggin' not. Small planes make me nervous and I won't even go into the things that could go wrong.

I know, I totally sound like a Negative Nelly. I'm not trying to. It's my nature to think about the danger possibilities, now that I have kids. I will say, though, that I am going to work on getting over some fears and I will definitely try things that I probably wouldn't have...I owe it to myself and to Ryan to have a great time during this week...and I can't wait!

If you've been to Key West, what should we do? What shouldn't we miss out on?

Rockin' with some Rockband

I wish you could have been at my house to see all of this go down live. My brother and his girlfriend, Jesi, came to visit us this past weekend and with them, they brought Rockband for the XBox 360. Never having played, I didn't know what to expect...but quickly realized the seriousness of this event as they brought in a drumset, two guitars and a microphone.

I don't sing. I'll say it again. I do not sing. I can't carry a tune. In fact, I can recall many times that Riley (in her early years) asked me specifically to stop singing. So, to save everyone the headache, I just don't do it. Sometimes, you'll hear me do the background singing for some random songs, but it's rare. Trust me, I'm saving YOU from the horror.

But, Jesi and Ryan can both sing -- so they did! Ronan hit the drums and Mike, well...he was oh-so-serious playing the guitar. Talk about being in a zone. You would have thought he was trying out for a part in a band. I don't fault him at all...in fact, I was highly entertained during the whole thing and got to bang on the drums for a few songs myself...which I am convinced, is my calling.
Ronan was all about the drums and Riley "strummed" on the guitar with Jesi most of the time...

We only played for about an hour, but it was some great entertainment...I'm thinking about starting up my own band here sometime!!! (I won't sing...I'll just fight with Ronan about whose turn it is to play the drums.)

Vietnamese Eggrolls 101 (Homemade Cha Gio Recipe)

I love me some eggrolls and if you have ever eaten at a Vietnamese restaurant or had a Vietnamese friend, chances are, you've had them and fallen in love. Although it was never a staple for daily dinners growing up, if we were having guests or parties, you oughta bet that there were hundreds (and I mean hundreds) of eggrolls frying up in the kitchen.


Now that I'm an adult (and have been for several years...) I finally have the desire to learn to cook the foods that I grew up eating, instead of expecting someone to make it for me. Last year, I learned to make Pho (will document it the next time I make it) and yesterday, my mom taught my brother's girlfriend and I how to make crack. Alright, so it's not really crack...but it can be just as addicting.


First step is admitting you want to make it. Okay good, we're there. Ingredients you will need from your local grocery store: 4 pounds of ground pork, 3-4 carrots, 2 eggs mixed (for sealing of eggroll) and oil for frying (I used canola...but grew up having it fried in vegetable oil.)


At the oriental grocery store, you'll want to hit the freezer section and get yourself the eggroll wrappers...
They come in all different sizes, but we chose the smallest size because we wanted to make small ones AND because we wanted more inside stuff than wrapping to eat. It's like eating a burrito -- wouldn't you rather eat more of the goodies inside than extra tortilla? BUT, it depends on what you want...I wanted small ones!


By hand, I shredded 3 large carrots the smallest I could without making them mush. I guess you could do it in a food processor, but I didn't want it to be like baby food...consider it a good arm workout for 5 minutes.

The next item you'll want to find at the oriental grocery is this vermicelli. It comes in this cute packaging and is portioned out for you perfectly. You will want to soak this vermicelli in cold water for about 10 minutes until it loosens and softens up. Once it softens (won't be super soft), take it out of the water and chop it up.

Set it aside...

Don't be alarmed when I tell you there is a dried fungus in your delicious eggroll. You'll want to take out a few pieces and boil. They will expand and you'll chop them up...much like you did with the vermicelli. Sorry about the quality of the next picture. That's the fungus (I'll call it mushroom) cooked. We literally let the water boil, turned it off and let it cool for a bit. There is a "seed" in the center of this mushroom that needs removed -- so you have to feel around for it.

I wasn't crazy about chopping the mushroom up. It has this strange texture to it, like cartilage!

Put your ground pork, shredded carrots and cooked fungus in a large bowl. We added some salt and pepper. There was no measurement involved, but if I were to calculate it -- I'd say go for 1/4 teaspoon pepper and 1 teaspoon salt. We didn't put enough salt in with the amount of meat we used, but when I do it again, I'll use a little more than the dashes of salt my mom threw in.

I think the fun part is mashing all the goodies together. I didn't do that part. I don't like to touch meat in the raw form. So, I had Jesi (my brother's girlfriend) do the dirty work. Get your hands in there and mix it up...much like you would for meatloaf.

Then, you start rolling. Be careful to pull apart the wrappers and place them in front of you on the diagonal. Put a spoonful of meat close to the bottom corner and spread it out in the roll shape. Like a burrito, you'll pull up the bottom, fold in both sides and roll it away from you. When you get to the end, you'll want to brush some egg so it stays closed.

Roll away. Roll until you can't roll anymore. Don't be afraid to make a lot. They freeze very well.

Heat up oil in a deep pan and once it's "super hot" go ahead and put your eggrolls in. Don't walk away from them, as they can cook up relatively quickly. Once they float to the top and turn a golden brown, pull them out and place them on a plate (with a paper towel) to drain. I stood the eggrolls up vertically so they would drain better.

And then you can serve them with the eggroll dipping sauce of your choice. I always prefer to eat them wrapped with green leaf lettuce and cilantro, while dipping them in a fish sauce/vinegar mixture with chili sauce. I can post the homemade recipe for that if you are interested...just post it in the comments!

Okay, so not the healthiest meal on this planet...but it's definitely delicious and something you must make at least one time in your life.

You can freeze the uncooked eggrolls, just defrost and thaw out completely before you fry them. I generally freeze them in sets of 5-6 because it's a good portion/serving size for two people.

Hope you enjoy the recipe and if you have any questions -- post them with your email address and I'll get back to you!

Monster Jam 2010?

As the mother of a boy, I knew he would be into trains and cars and tools and video games...but I honestly never expected him to love monster trucks like he does and since Christmas, I now know more about the trucks and their drivers than I ever wanted to.

There is a Monster Jam show coming to Tampa and I've made it my mission to find us tickets without breaking the bank. And when I say that, I mean: I don't want to pay a lot for tickets for the kids (just doesn't make sense that a 3-year-old ticket would cost the same as an adult ticket)...so, me being the new frugal person I've become, I've been trying to WIN tickets while watching the Ellen DeGeneres show every day at 4 p.m. No, Ellen isn't giving them away, but the TV station is and you have to be the 11th caller to win.

How. Freaking. Annoying. I couldn't hit redial fast enough. I don't like the person I become when I'm in some sort of competition mode. It's awful. And then, the intense feeling of disappointment rushes through me as I realize I've been hitting redial for almost 2 minutes and not winning...well, it sorta sucks.

Ronan won't know if we don't go. In fact, he's pretty content with just watching the same episode of Monster Jam from January 5th OVER AND OVER AGAIN. I, on the otherhand, am tired of seeing the same show and wouldn't mind scrapbooking the memories we would make if we went to a real live show.

I have two more days to try and win. I hope it comes through for us because honestly, if it doesn't we just aren't going to go (unless something miraculous happens!)...but what I wouldn't do to see Ronan's face when his favorite Monster Truck, Grave Digger, comes out into the stadium...

We'll see, I guess!

(Photo above was taken from this site.)

My Resolution Solution: Work Out?

...and I can finally do that with the help of my Christmas present from the hubby (for both of us, really)...our new Nordic Track Incline Trainer.

I have never really been good at setting resolutions for the New Year. In fact, the ones I can remember always set me up for 100% success. Like one year, I remember a resolution being: Do not eat anything I'm allergic to. (Kinda hard to mess that up, especially since I enjoy living and not going to the ER for a bite of salmon.)

The end of 2009 proposed some difficulties for me, as I spent the last 3 months of the year nowhere near a gym, piece of workout equipment, or even in my tennis shoes that might perpetuate the act of working out. Every single time I would hit the gym, Ronan would get sick. And I'm not talking sniffles. I'm talking chest coughs that sound like a lung was going to be expelled from his mouth. So, obviously to avoid the illnesses, I stopped going. But I didn't stop growing.

In fact, I probably gained some substantial poundage over those past 3 months (holidays don't help!) and although I still "fit" into my jeans, nothing looked right and I definitely didn't feel good about myself.

In feeling my distress about not having the gym to go to (and paying for a monthly membership I was clearly not using), we got rid of our membership and Ryan began is research on a treadmill...and after testing out many different styles, we brought home the treadclimber...my baby.

I love it. Not only do I look forward to using it everyday, I don't get bored. It goes all the way up to 40% incline and a 3% decline and when I start to feel bored, I change the incline. It's great...and I'm burning calories -- finally.

Does it look faboosh in our living room? Probably not the best interior designing choice. BUT, while I'm sitting on the couch watching the Biggest Loser and seeing the treadclimber from the corner of my eye, I can tell you that it takes less than 2 minutes to slip on my tennis shoes and jump on and watch while I exercise.

The perfect resolution in 2010 for me: Work out (and get rid of the muffin top...)