hey beautifuls, 

I have to say, it absolutely made my snow day to warm it up in the studio with you babes yesterday! There's nothing like a good workout with good people to dispel the blues & blahs that get me every winter, and it was a welcome mini-adventure to head out into the vacant snowy streets and witness the rare quiet of a city of millions hunkering down and sleeping in.

Truth is, I have totally had the blues on and off recently, even though literally everything in my life is awesome. Being pregnant changes things - duh - but what I am learning is that it even feels different to be tired, or hungry, and exhaustion is worse. It takes a little more than one night's rest and a cup of tea these days to fully recover. I realized that I've been bumming not from some natural state of pregnancy suckage, but because I hadn't really allowed myself to recover from the amazing amount of work it takes to move & keep a regular work schedule at the same time.

Almost more than that were the ways I was compensating for the stress & life upheaval, i.e. eating chocolate croissants for breakfast every day and not cooking for like two weeks (!!) In addition, I was stressed (to the point of getting my first migraine ever) from holding myself to unnecessarily high standards of handling-it-ness. I tell y'all this not so much to complain (I'm better now) but to share two lessons I learned that might be useful for you when things get stressful, pregs or not:

1) What you put in your body will, eventually and always, impact how you feel. While I am an advocate for mindful treats and am not about diets or excessive restriction, eating unbridled amounts of sugar and wheat and processed this-and-thats for two weeks really brought me down. It took awhile to really feel the effects, but when I finally pulled it together and baked some sweet potatoes, made a kale salad and grilled a grass-fed steak, it didn't take long at all before I was back to rights. In the span of just 2 or 3 days, I went from a cookie monster sniffling in bed with a nervous breakdown over planning a baby shower to my usual happy, clear-skinned, smoothie-sipping self, full of energy and not the least bit sad. Just saying, a chocolate croissant is divine on Saturday when nibbled with hubs over coffee after sleeping late, but eaten while walking down the street Tuesday-Friday? Not so much.

2) No one expects you to do it all, so why, really, demand that of yourself? I'm reminded of some self-help advice I once read that said to talk to yourself as you would a child you loved unconditionally. Not knowing many children myself, I re-interpret that one as what I would say if a girlfriend or barrebabe came to me saying things like, "I'm 6.5 months pregnant and work 6-7 days a week and I just have to be the best at setting up the utilities in the new house and preparing for childbirth and staying in communication with every person I've ever known and unpacking and talking my husband out of turning the kitchen into a heavy metal man cave and keeping my manicures perfect." I would tell her to cool it, that the only things that really matter are the things she really deep down wants to do, and that even those will wait until after her nap. Again, just saying.

Anyway loves, here's the schedule, and the life-saving kale salad recipe :)

kale salad I actually like

a bunch of lacinato kale, washed & cut into strips
a medium avocado, diced
juice of half a lemon or lime
glug of good olive oil
generous splash of white balsamic vinegar
salt & pepper
handful of dried cherries
optional but delicious:
diced red onion
crumbled bacon
chopped pecans (can be spiced!)
shredded carrots for crunch & color

I know you know how to make a salad. For this one, just make sure to massage the kale a little to help it soften and let it sit in the citrus juice/olive oil & vinegar for awhile before eating. Will last nicely 2-3 days in the fridge.

Love & pulses,

Annie