Blog Nosh Magazine

The Hope for Change... in our pants

The chocolate-smudged face of Blog Nosh Magazine is in the process of changing.  For the better.  We are loosening our belt to make room for more delectable goodness, and eyeing some snazzy new pants with an elastic waistband.

In other words, the response to our call for new channels and new Channel Editors has been overwhelming and we are moving forward with a move to WordPress, complete with a new layout and easier navigation. 

Look for the relaunch of Blog Nosh Magazine the second week of September.  In the meantime, I'd like to introduce you to one of the new editors we brought in before the open call and are eager to see what she will bring to the table:

Deb on the Rocks!

 

Okay, it sure seems like we keep bringing women in and still no men, but they are coming.  Speaking of coming, let's talk more about Deb.  wink wink

Deb is one of the new editors of our Personal channel, bringing a fresh perspective and a wicked sense of humor.  She will be covering, among other angles, gay and lesbian bloggers.  An often marginalized segment of blogging, we are thrilled to integrate content that is often more fascinating yet less heralded than many of the more mainstream blogs most of us read.

Labor Day weekend is a long weekend and often a slow one for blogs, so we are excited to offer two posts from Deb on the Rocks as an introduction to her very welcome voice.  New posts will be up on Tuesday, but in the meantime, get to know Deb as well as take a moment to catch up on some of the solid posts you may have missed this week.  Don't forget to comment and visit their blogs so that they know that Blog Nosh Magazine is working for them:

Monday's posts explored the simplicity and power of a look that can see straight into your heart. Tuesday asked the question, "Do I really want to know this?" and answered "You really should know this."  Wednesday brought simultaneous creativity and freedom to a structured homeschooling year, as well as a bit of Iron Chef hilarity with your kids, courtesy of Busy Dad.  Finally, Thursday offered encouragement to face the stumbling blocks that keep us from reclaiming our bodies.

Bet you didn't notice that we give that much thought to the selection of posts published on a given day, did you?  Bacon and jelly aren't the only interesting combinations that intrigue us.  Now go nosh!

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That's What I Like About You

Originally published on Deb on the Rocks

I have a theory that humans take a fancy to the things that keep them in a perpetual state of foreplay.  Not in a perpetual state of pre-orgasm, because as we have established, constantly living on the edge of a volcano could be a bit too much.  But foreplay, a continuous state of desire, arousal, exploration and craving, that is the human preference.

Baseball, politics, film, cooking, eating, organizing, Viggo Mortensen, aquariums, god only know what you are into. I'm betting that if we could start in the part of your brain where your love of whatever it is you love resides and follow the sparking and frayed wiring past where it crosses the blue synapses and the firing yellow connections and that knot of red wire, we would find a glowing hotspot in your neural network that's throbbing and straining to break through a zipper.

That said, I love the roller derby.

Inner monologue upon finding an unfamiliar pink pill on the bathroom floor

Originally published on Deb on the Rocks

Oh my god.  What is this?  OH MY GOD?!?!? Who is taking pills? I will not survive these high school years, I won't.

What is it, speed, painkiller, what? I've never taken anything that looks like that. What am I going to do? I need to sell this house and homeschool these kids in Idaho until they are 21.

Crap. I need to go to the pill I.D. website and describe this thing and find out what it is. Then I'm going to track down the dealer and go freaky bloody Kill Bill ninja MILF-on-fire lioness on his pathetic dealing skanky existence. Who would sell pills to kids?!?! I'm going to pluck out his eyeballs.

(I reach down to pick up the pill. It feels somewhat soft, like a soft gel pill. I bring it close to my face to see if it has any markings, and I can smell it. It smells like cotton candy.)

Pill identified:  squashed mini jelly bean.

Oh my god, they are slobs but I love them, they are such good kids. I love my sweet sweet babies!!!

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Editors Pick by Megan from Velveteen Mind:  One thing that I would occasionally forget about Deb on the Rocks is that she is a mom.  That's precisely why we warmly welcome her voice to Blog Nosh Magazine because I absolutely admit to stereotyping lesbians as single swingers on occasion.  Don't you love assumptions?

Check out the original post and be sure to click subscribe, because you won't want to squander this chance to stop being an ignorant bigot like me.  However, to be fair, she does write a lot about sex...  In other words, why on earth are you not stalking her blog already???

 

My Journey to Fat and Back

Originally Published on Dutch Blitz

I was a "big girl" growing up.

I was not comfortable in this body of mine.  Yes, it was my body, but I felt as though it did not belong to me.  I struggled with the fact that friends of mine could eat McDonald's, and candy, and wear skinny acid-washed jeans.  I would hang with them and curse my chubby thighs and flabby arms.  I would shake my fist and silently scream, "It's not FAIR!"

I resigned myself to the fact that I was destined to be BIG.  My friends had flat stomachs and no inner thigh to speak of and it was so foreign to me.  My thighs rubbed together as I walked and would get red from the friction.

There were a couple of stints where I got skinny.  Because I did not eat.  I remember when I was in grade eleven, I ran into an old friend from out of town.  She praised me with those words I longed to hear.  "You are so SKINNY!"  And I told her (innocently) that I had not eaten in forty-eight hours.

That would be TWO DAYS.

No More Excuses!

Originally posted at Morning Cup of Joe.

Sure, it’s tough to commit to regular exercise. There are just so many other things that require our undivided attention. Or maybe it’s just easier to feel sorry for ourselves and find something better to do.

“I don’t have time”

“My elbow/knee/back hurts”

“It’s just too hard”

“I didn’t sleep well”

“(enter your favorite exer-scuse here)”

I admit, there are days that I consider skipping my workout. But I have a li’l trick for getting past the “poor, busy me” syndrome - I think about some of the people I met who had every possible reason to forget about training, yet they soldiered on…

– One guy was in a wheelchair, his shriveled legs resembled overcooked linguine. Since squatting and running were out of the picture, he competed in bench press contests (quite successfully, I should add). He’d train just as hard as any able-bodied person would - probably even harder. I remember watching him with awe as he did rep after rep of pull ups with his wheelchair strapped to him.

Did he have a valid excuse to not exercise?

Iron Chef Fury

Originally posted on  The Busy Dad Blog.

Editor's Note: BusyDad is a master of parody.  If you've never heard of or seen the show Iron Chef, this brief explanation will give you some background on what follows.

If memory serves me correctly... my newest Iron Chef began his tutelage under legendary Iron Chef BusyDad in the summer of 2005. His journey into the culinary world began in BusyDad's kitchen, honing his creativity by finding ways to turn every kitchen utensil into a gun or a spaceship.

As his apprenticeship progressed, this would-be chef cut his teeth by helping his master cut green beans. With a butter knife. Perhaps his actual teeth may have been a more effective tool for this, but an important lesson was learned. Dull tools sharpen the mind.

And sharpen his mind he did, along with his craft. Known throughout culinary circles as the catalyst for the "kid gourmet" movement, Fury has dazzled critics and playgroups alike with his "rad" interpretation of traditional fare.

Today, I welcome him to Kitchen Stadium as my newest Iron Chef.  As this is his debut battle, and seeing as he can't reach the faucet, I have decided to bring his master, Iron Chef BusyDad out of retirement today for a very special tag team edition of IRON CHEF.

AND NOW, TODAY'S THEME INGREDIENT... FLOUR!
Allez Cuisine!

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Fukui: Oh! the Chairman has thrown us a curveball today by picking flour as the theme ingredient! So basic, yet complex! Yes, yes. Let's go to our commentator on the floor, Ohta for some play-by-play.

How to plan a structured year that flows freely with your day to day life

Originally published on Get In, Hang On

I initally wrote this post for a discussion list that I’m on. It was a response to a new homeschooler that was concerned about how to set up a routine and structure. I’m posting it here because it clearly explains how to be structured in what you are doing without losing the freedoms that come with homeschooling.
Hi,

How structured or not that you want to be will develop with time as you, your kids, and other members of your family find where they are comfortable.

The totally unstructured, seem IMO, to not worry about a routine at all. Some people keep a journal to keep track of what is getting accomplished, and that will give you a feeling of accomplishment when you can look back over it and realize that your kids are learning.

But if you have a desire for some structure, you might want to try my method. First, come up with some ‘long-term’ goals. Where do you want to be at the end of this school year? Since it’s your first year, KEEP IT LOW KEY. You are in a transition period and what you are mostly going for is the emotional growth that you are already starting to see. Taking on too much, WILL short-circuit your success.

Ignorance Can Be Bliss

Originally published on Fuse Moms

The common denominator of first-time pregnant women is not distended bellies or compromised bladders. It is not the fear of another human being exiting their body. Instead, they pursue one goal – preparation. Whether it’s stocking up on diapers or painting a nursery in a soothing color, these gals feel the need to prepare for their new arrival. For me, it was childbirth classes…

Round One

We are at the hospital’s four-session course about childbirth. The room is chock full of rotund ladies and their husbands.

The nurse who is teaching the class has grown children. I’d prefer to talk to someone who carries recent scars… I mean memories… of the joy of childbirth. To chafe me even more, she is wearing a waist-cinching belt. I don’t think anyone in this room can imagine fitting in a belt again. This woman is cruel. I want to run her over with my car.

BPA: Better safe than sorry?

Originally posted on Diary of a Modern Matriarch.

I'm sure you have all heard on the news and media about the safety of the plastics we use, specifically in baby bottles, sippy cups, bowls, etc., especially regarding the chemical Bisphenol-A (BPA). In case you've been living in a cave, here is what it is:

From the Green Guide:

"Depending on whom you talk to, BPA is either perfectly safe or a dangerous health risk. The plastics industry says it is harmless, but a growing number of scientists are concluding, from some animal tests, that exposure to BPA in the womb raises the risk of certain cancers, hampers fertility and could contribute to childhood behavioral problems such as hyperactivity.

According to its critics, BPA mimics naturally occurring estrogen, a hormone that is part of the endocrine system, the body's finely tuned messaging service. "These hormones control the development of the brain, the reproductive system and many other systems in the developing fetus," says Frederick vom Saal, Ph.D., a developmental biologist at the University of Missouri. Endocrine-disrupting chemicals can duplicate, block or exaggerate hormonal responses. "The most harm is to the unborn or newborn child," vom Saal says.