Category Archives: Healthy Living

Body Strong: How Do You Celebrate?

Posted on May 2, 2016 by Jennifer Jensen

I love the Body Positive idea that’s taking hold on social media these days, but I’d like to take it one step further. First, I believe every woman should: be able to smile when she looks in the mirror. feel on top of the world when she dresses for an evening out. feel confident enough to pose for a picture. be happy with who she is and know she’s of infinite worth. Some women have a heritage of large body types, and no matter how hard they try, they will never be a size 10 or 12 or 14. Other women have the opposite problem: no matter how much they eat, their bones protrude and outsiders accuse them of being anorexic. And then there’s aging, when your mirror doesn’t show the body your mind thinks you have. That’s a huge subject on its own, so let’s leave it for a later time … Continue reading →

Posted in Awesome Womanhood, Healthy Living | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 33 Comments

I Need Some Whitespace in My Life

Posted on February 9, 2015 by Jennifer Jensen

Too much to do, too little time, too many deadlines, self-imposed or otherwise.  When things are so jammed up, it doesn’t take much to send you over the edge.  My mother thinks I don’t know this, but I do – it’s just that it’s hard to keep it from happening.  I’ll blog more about this later for Take Joy, but for now, here’s a piece I loved from Randy Ingermanson’s newsletter –  “stolen” with permission. Whitespace in Your Life Picture this scenario: You go to the refrigerator to get a jug of milk. Should be simple, right? What could go wrong? The refrigerator is packed. The milk is right there in front on the top shelf, wedged in between a pint of cottage cheese and some bottles of apple juice. You’re holding a glass in one hand and you reach up with the other to grab the milk. It’s wedged … Continue reading →

Posted in Healthy Living, TAKE JOY!, Writer's Life | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on I Need Some Whitespace in My Life

There’s a Reason They Invented Spandex

Posted on April 3, 2014 by Jennifer

I am not young and I am not slender. But there are times I’d like to be a little more fashionable than just wearing mom jeans and a T-shirt. So I have three pairs of leggings – two lightweight to wear with sandals or flats, and one heavier for winter boots. In the interests of modesty (and for the sake of other people’s eyes), I wear a tunic-type top with them. I don’t need my saggy butt out there for the world to see. A few weeks ago, though, I put on my Jeggings to do my exercises at home, and they were great: soft and stretchy and so comfortable I felt like they weren’t there. I even kept them on all day long. So during yesterday’s rain, when my body cried out for some activity besides sitting at my desk, I planned some gym time after running errands.  I … Continue reading →

Posted in Healthy Living, Humor | Tagged , , , , , | 10 Comments

Conquering Banana Cake

Posted on March 3, 2014 by Jennifer Jensen

It’s like this. I had a banana protein muffin recipe to try.  One simple recipe.  And since we had three large bananas turning black in the fridge, I was quite happy to turn them into healthy, low-cal muffins.  But the muffin recipe only required half of one banana.  So what was I to do but make chocolate chip banana cake with the rest of them? Banana cake in the house – not a bad thing, you say?  You must not know me.  If I have one reasonably sized piece and stop, I feel totally deprived.  Fish-out-of-water deprived.  Writer-without-a-keyboard deprived!  So I go back for a second piece.  And a third.  And several hours later, it’s calling to me again.  My guys have a piece each, one takes a piece in his lunch the next day, and by the time they come home, the last half of the pan is gone! … Continue reading →

Posted in Healthy Living, Humor | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

This Year, May is Mine

Posted on May 1, 2013 by Jennifer Jensen

May is redbud trees and flowering crabapples and weeping cherries. May is planting petunias and lobelia and bee balm. And tomatoes and cucumbers and green beans. May is hummingbird feeders and songbird seed and trying to outsmart the squirrel. May is thwarting thistle and decapitating dandelions. May is losing myself in garden books and backyard landscape plans. May is putting my college boys to work digging out dying shrubs and tilling new beds. May is a whole month off between spring and summer semesters at college. May is sunny days and having the heater off and the windows open. May is pleasant nights and putting the electric blanket away. May is eating right and trying new recipes. May is lots of gym time, Pilates videos, and power walks in a shady park. May is sewing curtains, painting the kitchen, and actually seeing the surface of my desk again. May is … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening, Healthy Living, Home & Family, SIMPLE PLEASURES | 10 Comments