Easy Twist on a Classic French Manicure

     I love polishing my nails. I truly enjoy that nice "put together" effect it gives and although I'm partial to dark colors, sometimes a classic French tip is just what the doctor ordered. Now, when it comes to time consuming looks this one is defiantly towards the top of the list, but it doesn't have to be! I ran across a cool tip on Pinterest (of course) using hole reinforcement rings that creates the perfect border for a crisp clean line that will have your French manicure looking professionally done. Just head to your local Wal-mart or Target and pick up a good base coat, a high quality white nail polish (the cheaper ones can be to thin needing multiple coats), and a pack of hole reinforcement rings from the office supply section.

STEP ONE:

File nails so that they are all even and apply base coat.

STEP TWO:

The reinforcement rings are not expensive, but I like to cut mine in half with scissors or nail clippers because they will go further and are easier for me to place when they're smaller. Apply one to each nail. I like to line mine up with the natural line where the nail and nail bed end.

STEP THREE:

Working with one hand at a time, apply one coat of white polish (and a second coat only if needed) and promptly remove ring. If you allow it to dry to long the polish will start to dry and become gummy causing it to stick to the ring and come off of your nail.

STEP FOUR:

For the other hand, either wait until the first hand is dry and repeat step three or recruit some help and have someone repeat step three for you.

STEP FIVE:

Finish off both hands with a good top coat and enjoy!

It's All In Your Perspective

    

      Almost everyone who looks at this picture will see it for what it is on the outside, baby food. It's understandable considering it's marketed for babies and is sold in the baby aisle. The old saying goes "If it quacks like a duck and walks like a duck, then it must be a duck." Buuuut, if you pop this bad boy in the freezer for 30-60 minutes you know what I see? A quick, delicious, and GP friendly snack or dessert! Having Gastroparesis makes it very difficult for the body to digest fruits and vegetables in their natural state so it's often suggested to try certain fruits and vegetables (low-fat and low-fiber varieties) very well cooked, canned, or pureed (aka baby food). When this was first suggested to me, I was pretty turned off because honestly who want's to go from eating normal food and a mainly paleo diet to baby food? Not this girl, but as much as I love the idea of mind over matter I had to admit that my tummy is in control of my food choices for the time being. That doesn't mean what I eat can't be enjoyable though, so I went on the hunt for things that I could eat.

     On Pinterest there are a lot of boards for GP friendly meal ideas that are very helpful and that is where I ran across the idea for the frozen baby foods. The original website actually suggested this as a low calorie alternative to ice cream and considering they are gluten free, dairy free, low-fat, and free of added sugars, they're a pretty good option (GPer do need to be aware of fiber content though as some can have as much as 3 grams!). Plus, they're usually packaged in 4-6 oz containers so they have built in portion control and the glass containers can be washed and reused for storing homemade purees, I'd definantly call that a win. It's probably best to stick with fruit mixes that use banana as a base as it creates a great creamy consistency that is a lot like regular ice cream or sorbet, but if you have success with over flavors feel free to share your thoughts and experiences in the comment section below. If you happen to leave it in the freezer to long (or do like I do and always have a couple in there for to cut out the wait time) and it's more icy than creamy, just let it sit on the counter for five to ten minutes and it should be perfect. I can only imagine that if this little tip is so enjoyable to me, that babies would love it too as a refreshing surprise on a nice hot day, so show your little ones some love and treat them also to this yummy way to add fruits and nutrients to any diet.=)

A "Pinteresting" Idea

     Lately I've been busy using an app on my phone to keep track of everything that I put into my mouth so I can be sure I'm getting the right amount of calories and have come to realize that besides my colorful fruit snacks and jello, my diet is pretty "white." Grits, quinoa flakes, mashed potatoes, almond milk, white bread, crackers, just blah blah bland! All the foods I've listed I really do love and generally tolerate pretty well, but eating the same thing day in and day out gets boring really fast. Not to mention having little variety in the diet can easily lead to vitamin and mineral deficiencies, although I've been suggested an awesome liquid vitamin to take so that's not a huge concern for me.

     To combat this boring spell, I know I'm going to have to work at expanding my diet through quite a bit of trial and error, which can seem a bit scary and overwhelming so I decided to try and make it a little fun with a "Pinteresting" idea. I've found that when I just snack all day, I'm less likely to make good food choices and tend to be way under my calorie goal so having set times to eat and healthy mini meals preplanned is my new goal. True, some days it will be tough to stick to my planned meals or I may even have to make substitutions based off of how my tummy is feeling, but having a plan of action will help keep me moving towards my main goal of getting out of my food rut and increasing my calorie intake.
 

     Now, back to this "Pinteresting" idea. I love Pinterest because it is full of great ideas, and when my sister and I ran across this one I knew that it would be perfect. I'm a real arts and crafts kinda girl and decided why should I make my meal plans on a boring piece of paper when I could make my own interactive DIY Meal Planning Board! So off we went to our local Michael's Arts and Craft store, and I'm not going to lie, this was not the cheapest project we've ever done but was totally worth it and turned out great (not sure why the picture is so squashed, it's actually a pretty decent sized board). As I add more foods to my diet, I can make a meal card for it and add it into my food rotation. I know that watching the pile of cards grow is going to be a huge source of motivation for me.

 

 

 

     You can find the basic directions here, but I love how customizable this can be. You can pick any size board and the color and decoration options are endless. Also, it can be set up as a daily meal planner with six pegs for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a few snacks or with seven pegs as a dinner planner for the week. The best part? It so easy to put together! A good pair of scissors, a large picture frame or cork board, some glue, a ruler, and some decorative paper and you're basically good to go.

     Although I plan on using this meal planning board to help me through my GP, meal planning is really a great idea for anyone wanting to be more adventurous with their meals (write meals you want to try on a meal card and have each family member draw one card until your dinners are all planned for the week) or wanting to eat healthier and save some money (with a little careful planning you can have all your meals packed and with you rather than eating fast food on the go). Hopefully this meal planning board can be as useful for you and your family as it will be for me, and if anyone has suggestions for more meal planning ideas feel free to share in the comment section below!