Ash & Alys Babes Blog
Favorite Moment: Desert Beauty April 25, 2013 14:06
I love Arizona. I understand that it's beauty is an acquired taste, but I love it, and last Saturday reminded me why.
My friend and I go to this great gym with trainer led classes. The gym is opening a new location in my old town of Fountain Hills, and hosting their Saturday class at the new location. Now, I currently live in Midtown Phx, so for those of you not familiar with Arizona, it is about a 40 minute drive. After deciding Saturday class is worth the it, we get our selves up at 7am on our Saturday morning and hit the road. We pull up to the gym and notice NO cars around. There is also tape still on the gym windows. We were a week early.... Total bust.
After laughing off our inability to pay attention to details, we decided we couldn't come all this way for nothing. Fortunately I had been wanting to run the McDowell Mountain trails, conveniently located just outside Fountain Hills, and I just happen to have my running shoes in the back seat. Our mistake turned into such a perfect morning. The trails were empty, the wildflowers were blooming everywhere and it was miles of beautiful desert. If you want to try and disagree that Arizona is not beautiful, come running with me next weekend!
-Alyssa
A Little Stress Relief for Mom (and Dad) October 10, 2012 14:59
It’s my dirty little secret that it’s easy to ruffle my feathers. Well, it’s not really a secret since I’m also one of those people who wear my heart on my sleeve. But still, the fact that I am easily fazed is not a trait I’m proud of, and though I know I will always be this way, I’m always looking for ways to tone it down a bit.
Becoming a mom has had an interesting affect on this aspect of my personality. On one hand, my patience has grown leaps and bounds and my tolerance for adversity has greatly improved. On the other hand, parenthood is usually the most challenging and emotional job a person will ever have, and therefore I sometimes feel like all of the demands and noise and craziness that come with living with two young children is going to break me. I’d venture that there are a lot of parents out there who feel the same way, and who might be looking for a non-pharmaceutical option for easing the stress on days when you feel stretched too far.
After years of looking for a natural ‘happy pill,’ I’ve found
not one, but two solutions:
· Make Love Not War Tea: This herbal remedy tea is a miracle. I always tell people it makes me a nicer person, within minutes of taking my first sips. It tastes delicious and does wonders for your mood. I found this at a local natural remedies shop in Seattle called Rainbow Natural Remedies. Your local tea shop or natural health store could probably whip you up a similar mixture, if you ask for something to help with relaxation and adrenal support. We also sell Earth Mama Organics' Peaceful Mama Tea in our ‘mommy’ section – it’s another great option for chilling out on those stressful days.
·
Rhodiola Force by New Chapter: Rhodiola is an
herb traditionally known as a stress adaptogen that regulates its response
based on what your body needs. It is used to increase stamina and provide
adrenal support, reducing stress.
On our ‘mommy’ section of the site, we do also sell a few New Chapter products, but we don’t quite yet carry rhodiola (Perfect Calm is a multivitamin that has stress adaptogens in the formula, and is another stress-reducer worth trying). You can find Rhodiola Force at your local health food store or supplement store, and I promise it is worth every penny. (Full disclosure, my husband works for New Chapter, but if you do some research you’ll find that they are viewed as the best supplements in the natural products industry, and I’d feel that way whether he worked for them or not).
-Ashley