This week I finally wrapped up the 30-day yoga challenge I've been doing online (yoga with Adriene - love her). I didn't do it every day, just the days where I could fit it in, so it was more like a 30-day yoga challenge done across 90 days. But now it's done and I must say I'm kind of bummed.
I really liked the classes as they were short but thorough, and Adriene herself was a delight to listen to. So humble and easygoing, and any yoga teacher who busts out pot jokes or giggles when she says something about "touching yourself" is my kinda gal.
I also really appreciated not having to think about which class to do next. It made getting on the mat more efficient and attainable, and also removed decision fatigue from the equation.
What to do next? I'm honestly considering just starting from the beginning again and doing the whole thing over, unless anyone has a suggestion for a different 30 day series or something similar.
Tell me your tales of pacifier elimination.
Odin only gets his pacie in bed, so at nap time and in the evening. I usually give him three at night, and they glow in the dark so he can easily find them.
The problem is that he drops / throws them out of bed and I end up going in there multiple times in the night to put them back. Sometimes I hear the thunk of the pacie hitting the floor and wait it out to see whether he'll wake up. Other times the thunk is quickly followed by, "Mom! Pacie fall down!"
Last night was a particularly bad night and I could tell that he just couldn't sleep for some reason. He was just tossing and turning, singing and chattering to himself, and chucking the pacies out of bed over and over. Eventually I realized that he also had a mild fever, so got him up for a drink of water and some tylenol, but he continued this routine well past 4am and then woke up for the day at 6:30.
Hilariously, it is Bohemian Rhapsody that he sings most often when he wakes up in bed, which would be adorable during daytime hours (and is often sung at the top of his lungs while in the wagon on the way to school) but when it comes down to it I'd rather be sleeping than listening to a two-year-old singing Queen's greatest hits.
Anyways, I think that the pacie has to go. Niko was never really into the pacifier - he's a blankie man - so I haven't had to be the bad guy taking away a beloved comfort item before. What are we thinking? Cold turkey? Some other method?
In addition to all the pacie drama, I had one night this week when my idiot brain wouldn't sleep because I couldn't remember Joe Biden's dog's name.
It's Major, by the way. Well, actually, he has has two dogs named Major and Champ, but Major was the one keeping me awake.
I kept running through dog names like Chase and Rubble and Sky, but whenever I thought I was getting close to figuring this out I'd realize that I was, in fact, reciting the cast of Paw Patrol, not solving the freaking riddle. Anyways, thanks for that, brain.
A few housekeeping items for y'all.
First things first, I've been aggressively pruning my email list recently, deleting "cold" subscribers at least once a week. This means that if you haven't opened an email from me in over two months, I've removed you from the list. Byeeeee!
Not sure if people realize that maintaining an email list is actually quite expensive. If you're not actually interested in getting weekly updates and seasonal content in your inbox, by all means unsubscribe. You'll be doing us both a favour!
I've also had some emails from regular readers about my site being difficult to use on mobile and tablets, with pop-ups that are difficult to close out and things like that. That really shouldn't be happening, so I've got my tech support team looking into it.
Some of the pop-ups, like the video player, are there to stay as they're the highest revenue earner for the site - and it costs a good chunk of money each month to keep HNL running. But you shouldn't get a newsletter pop-up until you've finished reading an article (or demonstrate "exit intent") and you shouldn't see it more than once a month.
ON HEY NUTRITION LADY THIS WEEK
This week we kicked things up with my favourite holiday side dish of all time, Mashed Potato Stuffing! I made this recipe into Instant Pot Stuffing using the pot-in-pot technique, but don't worry, have also included instructions for baking it in your oven.
And since it's all about holiday side dishes right now, an update to one of my faves, Miso Maple Roasted Brussels Sprouts. I photographed this recipe two years ago, out on my balcony, wearing tiny newborn Odin in the Moby wrap.
WHAT’S TRENDING ON HNL
Yeah, yeah, we all know that Mung Bean and Coconut Curry is in number one. So let’s look at what else is trending.
1. Homemade Pumpkin Purée. This seasonal favourite is holding strong.
2. How to Cook Mung Beans. Who knew the humble mung would bring in so much traffic?!
3. Turmeric Latte Mix. This makes a great homemade gift, FYI.
4. Chia Fresca. Oh hello there, welcome back!
5. 10-Minute Vegetable Ramen Noodles. So good when it's cold out like this!
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
Jose left the following comment and 5-star review on my How to Cook Mung Beans post:
Thank you for this post. I was hesitant to do the 0 minutes cook time on the IP, because not even lentils are done that fast and I had bad experiences with other types of beans cooked for 40 minutes and still hard. But I’m glad I followed your advice for the mung beans as it turned out perfectly. Thanks again!
Yes! Trust me, it took a lot of trial and error to figure out the perfect cooking time for mung. I'm onto Adzuki beans now, and they are a total pain to figure out in the IP as well!
THIS WEEK’S MENU
Sunday: Making a big batch of Slow Cooker Chickpea Curry (in the Instant Pot) to have for dinner and pack for lunches throughout the week.
Monday: Kale salad. Can't stop won't stop.
Tuesday: Kale salad. Like I said.
Wednesday: Making Halloumi Fajitas from Happy Veggie Kitchen.
Thursday: Leftover Instant Pot Mac and Cheese from the freezer.
Friday: Snack dinner! Everyone's favourite.
Saturday: Not sure! Family dinner at Paul's place, so whatever he's making.
WHAT’S GOOD AROUND THE WEB
1. What to eat first thing in the morning to reduce anxiety.
2. Are "kidfluencers" making our kids unhealthy? (please note I modified this article's fat phobic headline)
3. Please don't worry, eating white rice is fine.
4. The bittersweet history of diet soda for women.
5. Five things I learned from 14 grandmas around the world.
Jen
We sent the pacifier to “the babies” aka a friend. I had my son pack them in a box and we went to the post office to mail then.
Claire
Hi Katie
Mine is 33 now and frankly I think I’ve blocked out the first five years or so of his life due to guilt. Anyways I’m all about Adriene as well. My first introduction to her was a couple of years ago looking at the calendar ‘True’. I wasn’t even a few minutes into the video before I burst into tears. And although I am generally prone to bursting into tears and spontaneous hysteria, I find that Yoga With Adriene has been an excellent support for me. Also a more recent discovery, and I think you may laugh a little here, is transcendental meditation. Yep, I bucked up and had my first instruction yesterday, received my mantra, and I’ll have three more days of instruction. So far so good - I’m feeling better already.
The hamster brain thing at night is also bloody annoying and I’m not too sure what that’s about although I know that if I get out of bed and walk around for a little bit and then climb back it usually works. Its a blustery blue sky dark cloud day here in Coquitlam. Please don’t take me off the email list. Bye for now.
Claire
Kimberly Adkison
I can relate to your pacifier dilemma. My youngest (now 15 years old) was a diehard binky baby and at 3 years old I'd had enough. So we decided to throw a good-bye binky party, with a pink elephant cake and guests - the whole 9 yards. When it came time to blow out the candles (a pink elephant cake has to have candles) instead of singing happy birthday we sang a good-bye binky song and then she ceremoniously threw her binkies in the garbage. We had hyped up the party so she was really into it. It was great fun. On a funny note, after the reality of what throwing her binkies into the garbage meant, she told me that she was shrinking, therefore, getting smaller and little kids get binkies so she should get her binkies back! Ah, fond memmories. To this day my oldest (now 20 years old) complains about how I made her sleep in the same room as her sister for 3 nights to console her during the binky withdrawal phase! I recollect the transition was rough for a few days but she quickly moved on. Good luck Katies.
Allison
Hey. Isn’t Adrienne awesome? Have no fear, she has **tons** of yoga videos for any and all body/mind issues! We LOVE her, and have a thing in my family about the breadth of her topics and often joke about “yoga for ...(insert any ailment)” - but she is seriously amazing. She also has several different 30-day series, so you can keep participating in reasonable goal-setting-feel-good yoga times 🙂
Rachel
I was just about to say Adriene has more than one 30 day series, but I see I’m not the first there! She has at least two and I think there’s another new one coming in January. I’ve also got into Sarah Beth Yoga recently - slightly different style but still good and lots of free stuff on YouTube.
Joyce
Regarding the pacifier conundrum. My first daughter wasn't that connected to a pacifier, and it faded from her life early on without my intervention. My second daughter was 'pacifier needy,' I did not have a great issue with that initially but as the months/years went by, I became concerned. I certainly was not going to have her going to kindergarten with a pacifier in her mouth. She was about 4 years old when, one day, I saw the pacifier on the floor. Unknown to her, I took the opportunity to pick it up and dispose of it--the cold turkey approach. When she realized her pacifier was missing, there was much anguish. Over time, though, she became my project daughter; that's what I called her when the kindergarten teacher asked for information about the children in that class. Now, at 31 years old, she has an excellent job, many friends, and is very creative. The only downside was the orthodontist work needed when she was in grade school. Was that the result of constant pacifier use? Not sure.