Beth Daigle

January 12, 2017

The Whole30 – Plus 30

With my computer transition behind me, I can finally focus on other things. It’s incredible how preoccupied I can be when things like a new computer, the holidays and my girls’ basketball schedules consume my attention. Over the past two months a lot of things fell by the wayside; most noticeably – diet and exercise.

Diet – The Whole30

As far as eating and drinking go, I really went all out during the holiday season. While I enjoyed every minute of fun and frolic, it’s time to dial it back. Just after the first of the year, I joined a group of friends to tackle the Whole30. If you’ve not heard, the Whole30 is a nutritional program designed to get you on a healthy track by eating clean foods for 30 days. No sugar, no alcohol, no grain, no dairy and no legumes.

I actually just started getting serious about it this week. Seeing I have felt constantly full for at least a month, it is actually nice to remember what a pang of hunger feels like.

Typically, diets like this (oops, I should say “programs or lifestyles”) are not my thing. But, let’s face it, any lifestyle that doesn’t involve bread, cheese, martinis and the occasional glass of wine is not one I can sustain.

Also, the idea that elimination diets like the Whole30 or Dukan, Atkins or Paleo, often result in the participant gaining weight back when normal eating resumes, seems pointless. But sometimes, it’s more about cleansing than losing weight.

So, I’m approaching the Whole30 from the perspective that a protein and veggie diet is a good thing. Fruits are also OK on the Whole30, which makes it even more appealing.

After the pure gluttony of the holidays (I ate so much bread it was insane), it is now time to detox, deflate and push the button for a hard reset. We are what we eat, after all.

Exercise – 30 Minutes

Now, onto the Plus 30 part of this post. I have decided that instead of wasting two or more hours of my day running back and forth to the gym, I am going to commit to just 30 minutes a day on one of the three pieces of cardio equipment I have at home. I will eventually get bored with this, but if the past month of no gym time at all is any indication; it’s this or nothing.

30 minutes is better than no minutes at all!

My attempt at healthier living this January is not a resolution, just something I want to do to feel better and get some energy back.

But I won’t lie, I’m going to miss my 3 Olives & a Twist martini. Let’s see if I can hold out.

Are you doing anything new to undo holiday damage?

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January 10, 2017

Television & Technology

PC to Mac – I Finally Made The Move

Hello and Happy Tuesday!

Typically, I post on Mondays, but I needed one extra day to tell this story.

A few weeks ago I posted about my laptop upgrade gone wrong. It seemed simple really. I was swapping out my old Dell for a new one. Alas, the frustrating and unsuccessful process forced me to abandon the failed mission and rethink my plan all together. Following that post, I received flak from those who couldn’t believe I was even considering sticking with a PC.

“For God’s sake, just get a Mac,” I heard more than a few times.

I’m a big believer that things happen for a reason. Beyond these wise earthly beings, I somehow felt the computer Gods of a higher power were challenging make this life-changing move.

I struggled to make the final decision. I was worried I wouldn’t like working in a Mac world. As my New Year’s Resolutions post suggested, I have a tendency to second guess myself.

Then I recalled this summer when the fire pit on our patio lost a few stones. We were told it would need to be rebuilt. Initially I thought, what a pain. Then I realized, since we had to start from scratch, why not change a few things to improve our overall patio experience. Our open fire pit turned into a fireplace and we are so much happier. It has turned out to be a much better fit for our space.

My computer situation was similarly fateful – I had to change things up. A phone call from my very first boss sealed the deal. Dick Miller, a wise business man and Apple aficionado, insisted that moving from PC to Mac would, unquestionably, be the best thing for me. I believed him, but still had doubts.

My MacBook Pro

Well Dick, you were right. I’m happy to say that I’m typing away on my new MacBook Pro and loving it. I just picked it up from the Apple Store on Sunday night (thus the delay in my posting schedule) and I’m cruising along rather effortlessly. Dick, thank you for your support and encouragement.

In the time I dropped my old computer to the Apple Store for the file migration from my old laptop, I couldn’t help but feel a void. I had no computer for three days! It was weird and nice at the same time.

Now, with my new workstation up and running, I am shocked at how satisfied I am. Not only do I enjoy the newness of it all, but it is nice to feel current. I am working on the same programs as my kids and my new laptop is sleek and efficient.

I had gotten so used to my cantankerous PC that I never realized how much time I wasted waiting for the thing to boot up, open programs and shut down. In retrospect, it was ridiculous.

Going from my outdated PC to Mac, things are now moving so quickly I need to be careful. Just this morning, I mistakenly deleted all of my emails pre-dating 2017. This was not my intent, but also not the end of the world. If I’ve neglected to respond to an email, please forgive me and resend.

The Apple Store

My new machine is quick and cool, as are the Apple Store staff. I honestly didn’t believe customer service could be so good. These folks are available and attentive to your every need. I spent two hours in store on Sunday night and never once felt rushed. From my first visit to Apple Rockingham Park, I had great people like Jeremy, Olivia, Joe, Gail and Giuseppe holding my hand every step of the way. They were each instrumental in helping me make the transition from PC to Mac with ease and enthusiasm.

And now, I am welcome to attend countless workshops, make appointments at the Genius Bar and take full advantage of AppleCare. I feel like I have a full-service tech team at my fingertips – the support is comforting beyond words.

My move from PC to Mac was long overdue. For my needs, the Apple environment is ideal and with so many great apps, programs, tools and tricks, I am well on my way to learning many new and exciting things.

I’d be curious to know if anyone has ever had a bad Apple experience.

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January 5, 2017

Life & Family

New Year’s Resolutions – Love Them or Hate Them?

I love New Year’s resolutions. I know a lot of people who don’t and I get that too, but I like starting a new year off fresh and with purpose. Personally, I find the exercise of making a resolution to be valuable.

Mind you, my New Year’s resolutions have nothing to do with weight loss, money or bad habits. Rather, I try to identify some trait within myself that I know needs work. I find that when I take a personal inventory and articulate a goal, in resolution form, it takes on more meaning and allows me to set my mind toward achieving that goal in a much more resolute manner.

It’s kind of like; the first step is admitting you have a problem. Once I acknowledge whatever my most egregious character flaw is at the time, it is easier to overcome. For me, it’s about personal growth, development and becoming a better person. But clearly this doesn’t come easy seeing I’ve been at this resolution making approach since 2005.

So, what kind of New Year’s resolutions am I talking about?

I won’t bore you with all of them, but here are a few of my favorites.

2006 – Make No Apologies

I committed to “make no apologies.” I often found myself saying sorry for things that either I wasn’t sorry for or weren’t my fault in the first place. For example, someone might harshly bump into me on the street and I’d say “Oh sorry” as they proceeded rudely on their way. The only thing I found more annoying than the jerk that ran into me, was me saying I’m sorry for their mistake. I’m happy to say, I no longer do that.

2011 – Less Is More

I declared that “less is more” and I absolutely love living by that motto. No more overbooking myself or overscheduling the kids. Now, if I can’t or don’t want to do something, I politely decline and forget about the FOMO (fear of missing out.)

2014 – Don’t Dwell In The Past

I told myself “don’t dwell in the past.” That was a good one as I can be a bit of a grudge holder. When I realized how much energy I wasted on things that were out of my control, done and over with, I knew I needed to get a grip and move on. I like the saying, “look where you’re going, not where you’ve been!”

Now, here we are in 2017. This year I’ve decided to “stop second guessing myself.” There were a lot of changes in 2016. Those that affected me personally and professionally left me angst ridden; wondering if I’d made the best decisions. But now, rather than question my choices, I embrace them.

With this New Year’s resolution in place, I have clarity and enthusiasm for what’s to come in 2017.

For me, resolutions are helpful. Have you made a New Year’s resolution? How do you feel about them?

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January 2, 2017

Life & Family

Get Organized – The Gift That Keeps Giving

organized spice drawer — This makes me happy. I want my house and life to be like a neat and tidy spice drawer.

Happy New Year!

First of All – Happy New Year! It is 2017 and I feel a great year coming our way. The fresh start of a new year is one of my favorite things, but the weeks leading up to it are always so harried.

I don’t think I am ever more disorganized than at Christmas time. I can never seem to keep the lists, gifts, receipts, cards and groceries straight. Every year, my otherwise tidy house turns into a stockpile of stuff.

As much as I love getting in the spirit with Christmas decorations, I would say they are the very thing that set the frantic and disorderly train in motion. The Christmas clutter makes it impossible to get organized during the holiday season; no matter how hard I try.

The Day After Christmas

While some people experience a sense of letdown the day after Christmas; I rejoice in it. It’s the day I can finally get organized after weeks of disarray. The surge of satisfaction that comes from every item I put away rivals that of the best gift I opened. This year, the days following Christmas were particularly productive.

Get Organized

Decorations came down faster than ever before and undoing Christmas was just the beginning. The initial ripple of Christmas clean-up quickly turned into a tidal wave as my desire to get organized extended well beyond holiday décor. If you know me, my house is generally picked up, but it’s everything I’ve crammed into drawers, cabinets and closets that’s my dirty little secret.

Since Christmas, I’ve cleaned out and organized my makeup, the sports bottle shelf (seriously, does any one family need so many sports bottles), my bathroom cabinets, the food pantry and dish cabinets, the refrigerator, the plasticware drawer, the junk drawer, my inbox, my jewelry (I’ve since discovered I’ve lost half of two sets of earrings) and three miscellaneous kitchen cabinets.

With everything I organized I felt better and more energized to move on to the next thing. It’s feels so good!

When I get organized in my home, it always helps me get organized in life. It gives me clarity and focus and with 2017 ahead of us, I could use a strong start.

Start Small

If you’re feeling like a clean out is in order, but don’t know where to start – start small and carve out a manageable window of time that is not overwhelming. Pick one room, one drawer, one container that needs attention and go from there. Empty it completely, purge what you don’t use and then put everything else back in an orderly fashion.

You may not find it fun, like I do, but once it’s done you’ll be so glad you did it.

May 2017 Bring You All The Best!

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December 22, 2016

Food & Drink

White Chocolate Covered Popcorn with Crushed Candy Cane

Around the holidays and throughout the winter, I love to make this super simple popcorn recipe that is always a huge hit. My sister first introduced me to white chocolate covered popcorn several years ago. Thank you Karla!

I’ve always been a fan of white chocolate so the combination of creamy, sweet “chocolate” (some argue that white chocolate is really not chocolate at all – I don’t’ care, I just like it) plus the salty popcorn is a delightful bite.

The simple, two ingredient treat became a go-to dessert that I’d bring along to parties, play-dates or pretty much wherever. Everyone loved it. I would always label it indicating that the white on white bowl of popcorn was, in fact, white chocolate covered popcorn. Without this explanation, I’m pretty sure people thought I was showing up with a plain bowl of popcorn.

If you know me, I’m not much of a baker so that might have been a distinct possibility. Just this week, I contributed two cookie desserts to our annual family cookie contest and you would have thought the baking aisle of a grocery store had exploded in my kitchen. Sugar, melted chocolate, pots and pans were everywhere. While the end result was actually pretty good, the mess was beyond my desire to repeat the baking process any time soon.

As it was, the white chocolate covered popcorn recipe was perfect for me because it was so easy. But after a few years, I began to get bored with the same old thing and started to get creative with add-ons. My most successful addition was crushed candy cane. It took the recipe from awesome to outrageous. The peppermint flavor brightened up the sweet and salty combo and the pops of red added a pretty dimension to the presentation.

When I paired the updated version of my sweet treat with a cup of hot cocoa the reviews were even more favorable. The kids loved it when they’d come in from sledding and would devour an entire bowl while warming up with cocoa. The scene always gave me a warm feeling and still does.

Just last week I served my white chocolate covered popcorn with crushed candy cane to a group of friends and I couldn’t have been happier to see them nibbling away, bite after bite.

So how simple is it? Here’s the recipe.

White Chocolate Covered Popcorn with Crushed Candy Cane

Ingredients

1 large bag of microwavable popcorn, popped
½ bag of Nestle white chocolate morsels (12 oz. bag), melted
1 cup crushed candy canes (less or more according to your taste)

Directions

I use the microwave but if you are not a fan of nuking your food, you can prepare your popcorn and chocolate on the stove top. If you do melt your white chocolate in the microwave, start at 1 minute, remove and vigorously stir, then return to the microwave for 15 second increments. Stirring vigorously each time until all morsels have melted. The morsels will continue to melt significantly as you stir, so you shouldn’t need to microwave more than 2 or 3 times.

Place popcorn in an oversized bowl, drizzle white chocolate and mix until all popcorn is coated. Add crushed candy cane, mix gently and spread onto a parchment lined cookie sheet. Let sit until chocolate hardens or if you have room, pop in the refrigerator and it’ll be ready even sooner.

Once hardened, break apart, serve and enjoy!

Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas and Much Joy!

If you are still looking for a special gift to give, consider a gift certificate to my latest sponsor, Daring Spirits. Link directly to their site from the image in the sidebar to the right.

Or stop in to Helen Thomas in Andover -open until 9 pm every night until Christmas- link to their Facebook page from the sidebar.