No photos please...at least not until I have a chance to approve them.
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You know...you get a notification from Facebook or whatever other social media the kids are using these days that says someone posted a public picture of you?
And you hold your breath and pray to God you don't look fat or drunk? Or both?
It's tough, especially with the holidays coming. There will be cameras...everywhere.
And food and wine...everywhere (if we're lucky).
And food and wine...everywhere (if we're lucky).
I asked a friend for a recipe I thought would be a nice addition to the holiday snack food line up. I swear, I could feel my butt growing as I read...
2 cups of cheese
1 bag of Fritos crushed
Remember the pictures...salty bloat, a little voice squeaked in my head.
But the holidays are coming up!!
It should be the time to indulge in some fun foods.
The pictures...
So, I did what I usually do when faced with a dilemma-
I whined to friends.
That's when the ladies of the Really Real Housewives of America came up with the perfect idea!
A Maintain, No Gain Challenge for the holidays.
It's NOT a diet. It's a Facebook support group that we hope helps us achieve balance.
To indulge without adding more bulge.
It will be easy- if you're on Facebook. The Really Real Housewives have a public Facebook group, all you have to do is join the group and join in on the fun. We'll start Monday, November 21st- just in time to start the holiday cooking! And we'll be in it together until January 1st.
Piper Morgan Joins the Circus
By Stephanie Faris
Piper is super excited to help out at Bark Street, a local animal shelter in town. Who wouldn’t want to be surrounded by adorable puppies and dogs all day? And when Piper sees Taffy, the cutest dog she has ever seen, Piper is determined to find a way to bring Taffy home. But it won’t be easy—especially when she finds out someone else wants to make Taffy a part of their family, too!
Stephanie Faris knew she wanted to be an author from a very young age. In fact, her mother often told her to stop reading so much and go outside and play with the other kids. After graduating from Middle Tennessee State University with a Bachelor of Science in broadcast journalism, she somehow found herself working in information technology. But she never stopped writing.
Stephanie is the Simon & Schuster author of 30 Days of
No Gossip and 25 Roses, as well as the upcoming Piper
Morgan series. When she isn’t crafting fiction, she writes for a
variety of online websites on the topics of business, technology, and her
favorite subject of all—fashion. She lives in Nashville with her husband, a
sales executive.
Links:
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/ba7205fa7/?
Thanks to our hosts Lexa, L.G, and Tonja for this weekly good things check in!
Thanksgiving is coming! My college-age boys will be home for break. Yay!
Oh , and it's almost Christmas!
You can do it! No gain.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to Stephanie.
Thank you, Alex!
DeleteThat's right- no gain!
DeleteCan't you set your settings so that you have to approve tagged photos to go public?
ReplyDeleteThat's a thing? Oh my gosh...I am o checking settings in a second!
DeleteThank you, Robin!!
haha I tend to turn the other way, just because you never know where the pic will end up.
ReplyDeleteWise man.
DeleteI'm cheering you on! And I should do it too. Though I do eat less when the guys are home... I do hate having my picture taken too. I try to be more of a good sport about these days, but yeah, photoshop helps. Shhh!
ReplyDeleteAnd yay for Stephanie!
Thank you, Christine!
DeleteI tried photoshopping my chin, but it made me look like an elf. Seasonal, but unacceptable.
DeleteThank you SO much for including me! I know what you mean about photo phobia. Earlier this year, I did a post for Creative Live that told a photographer's perspective on photo phobia. She had a whole movement going called "Be Present." Her point was that when we're long gone, our kids, grandkids, and great grandkids won't care that we gained a little weight back in the 2010s. They'll just want to see US as we are now, especially pictures of us with them. So it's important to not let decades pass where we run from photos and use the excuse that we'd rather be behind the camera than in front of it.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I DEFINITELY have Facebook set so that any tags have to be approved. It works very well! It notifies me that someone has tagged me in a photo and until I click "Approve," it doesn't show up in my timeline. Someone tagged me in a photo from my youth when I was standing in a bar, holding an alcoholic beverage. I never did approve it, so it's still in my notifications. I mean, nobody wants THAT on their timeline, especially not a children's author!
You're right about being present. My brother-in-law shies away from the camera at every turn. I'm always giving him thunder for it.
DeleteI didn't know you could do that in settings, I am seriously doing that.
What are people thinking to tag people in those kind of bar photos? Not a very good friend, that's my thinking!
I laughed at your post especially the "You won't get the butt you want by sitting on it" meme! I have the butt I want. It gets bigger every year and more comfortable to sit on. lol Congrats to Stephanie on her new release!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lexa!
DeleteI am well prepared for an apocalypse. It will be months before I'd run out of fat reserves.
DeleteI agree Lexa. That's a good line. Funny.
DeleteCongrats to Stephanie. As for phobias we all have them whatever they may be,
ReplyDeleteYvonne.
Some sillier than others. :)
DeleteMore power to you and the really real housewives. Naturally, I am excluded from the group, but I wish you well. Indulge without the bulge is a good tagline.
ReplyDeleteWe do allow men- though we have a totally sexist label ;)
DeleteMore power to you and the really real housewives. Naturally, I am excluded from the group, but I wish you well. Indulge without the bulge is a good tagline.
ReplyDeleteI've always hated to have my picture taken, but our picture albums and boxes (Let's be honest... MOST of our pics still sit in boxes and envelopes, patiently waiting to be lovingly placed into albums...HA! As if THAT'S ever gonna happen...) are filled with God-awful shots of me. The only thing that makes me okay with them is remembering how my grandmother hated to have her picture taken, too, so pictures of her are extremely rare. Even a bad picture is better than none at all. :(
ReplyDeleteBut put some of those God-awful pics on Facebook? Oh, hell no!
I love your "butt" challenge. Hilarious! Happy Thanksgiving, sweet lady.
Happy Thanksgiving to you too!
DeleteMy dad once told me that I get so many awful pictures because I get nervous and have the weirdest look on my face. Well, I've tried for years to relax, but so far, it only works in 1 out of 4 shots.
But you're right- we have to suck it up and take the shots. The people who love us don't care.
I have been more or less maintaining for three years so you can do it too Liz. You don't Have to eat everything in sight nor do you have to have large portions.
ReplyDeleteI think that is a key component- allowing yourself to have the good stuff, but doing so in modest portions. But it's only on rational days that I realize that- other days I tell myself to stick to carrots and then eat a half-dozen cookies.
DeleteGood luck with the challenge! It's a modern dilemma isn't it, Facebook pictures. Great to see Stephanie's book here. It'll be nice for the dining room to be done for the holiday!
ReplyDeleteIt feels very peaceful to have rooms done. While painting, I got rid of a lot of the clutter that was making the room feel like it was closing in on us. Now, to get through the rest of the rooms.
DeleteUgh! I hate those tagged photos on Facebook. Somehow they're always some awful thing from a party when I was 20 that I barely remember…
ReplyDeleteGood luck getting the butt you want. I recently got a standing desk at work, and I feel like that's made a huge difference to both my butt and my gut.
The other commenters were right- you can change your settings on Facebook to not allow tagged pictures to post without your approval.
DeleteA standing desk is probably better for your back too. Or at least me, because I sit slumped over half the time.
Great challenge, will be over for a visit. I'm trying to shrink mine. Yeah, sure, hubby just brought home the first box of chocolate covered cherries. Does it count if I stand up and eat them? :)
ReplyDeletePictures, what's a picture???
Chocolate covered cherries count as fruit- I'm pretty sure I read that somewhere.
DeleteLove seeing Stephanie's book here. :) Good luck painting your dining room. Mine is a color called green tea.
ReplyDeleteI went with the bold, tan, or antique bisque as the label says. I'm all done. Now, it's on to the Christmas decorations!
DeleteI try not to over indulge during the holidays, but I still sample more than I should. I gave up depriving myself a long time ago this time of year. Good luck to you.
ReplyDeleteCongrats Stephanie :)
Deprivation is never good. It always leads to binge eating for me.
DeleteOMG! Yes! And ultimately all tagged photos are the worse of me...
ReplyDeleteI have a huge habit of always having my mouth open- I talk a lot.
DeleteThat quote was perfect! I write this as I sit--now very self-conscious of my posterior, thank you very much.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome. And if it helps, I'm sure your posterior is just fine.
DeleteNo gain would be good! I spend a lot of time sitting. :)
ReplyDeleteCongrats to Stephanie on the new release!
I think that is a work hazard for all writers. Writing takes a lot of butt in chair time.
DeleteCongratulations Stephanie! Cute cover.
ReplyDeleteI feel your pain Elizabeth. I haven't taken photos in years, because of how I look in them. But the maintain, not gain is a great idea.
Murees, we've got to quit that! I hope you join us. I think it will be fun. And even if we don't maintain- at least we will have support while we try.
DeleteNice that you get to see the boys this Thanksgiving Elizabeth. If someone had a photo of me I'd congratulate them on finding me in the first place. I'm trying to just take more photos so people know I exist beyond my mid-twenties. I think focusing on not gaining more weight is a great idea. Sometimes the anxiety of dieting can backfire. Congrats to Stephanie.
ReplyDeleteDieting can definitely backfire. I become obsessed with goodies as soon as I tell myself I can't have them.
DeleteYou're not perpetually in your 20's? Had me fooled :)
Yay for Stephanie!! *high five*
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, this! I'm still struggling to take off the baby fat, and the baby is 20 months old tomorrow!!! How did that happen? AND we're going on a cruise in January. Oy! So basically I have to be on an awesome sleeping schedule with amazing exercise if I even want to fit into my pants by February 1st. Thank goodness I live in Florida where it's temperate out during the winter.
I'm still taking off baby weight too...and my baby is 16. :D
DeleteMy problem is with candid shots that I'm tagged in because my posture sometimes looks strange if I'm not paying attention to it, which is because of my back (steel rod).
ReplyDeleteCongrats to Stephanie!
I slouch a lot, but it's just from bad habits.
DeleteI need to join! I struggle with photo phobia, too.
ReplyDeleteCome one over, I had fun today!
DeleteWith all of the indulgence of the holidays, I'm already 7 lbs up and trying to keep it single digits going into Thanksgiving. I'm also ready to bat down any cameras in the event I see one. So I don't end up being tagged like this.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.memes.com/img/486715