I was up again last night at 1:53 am checking to see if my daughter had sent me a text message. She was pretty stressed out and I was hoping to find out if she was able to head back to her apartment rather than spend the night at art school. She was struggling with one of her projects – she’s in a glass blowing class and every time she kept trying to finish, it broke – over and over again. Each time that happened, she called me after she had already shed tears with one of her classmates. I felt so bad and before I went to bed, said a silent prayer to the glass blowing gods that this time, the project wouldn’t spontaneously shatter and she could finally go home and rest.
At 2:00 am she texted back that she had indeed finished the project and had also finished a project for her Fibers and Materials class where she was embroidering my denim jacket, a sock and a shirt with a symbol that was empowering to her. I hope when I eventually get my jacket back, it’ll be empowering to me too.
I’m sure if you have a child away at college, they may not be fretting about glass blowing but instead, it could be molecular biology, or statistics, or their pre-law classes. No matter how old our kids get, we just can’t stop worrying.
But it doesn’t stop with finals week. On the weekends, when she’s out with her friends at parties, I check my phone in the wee hours of the morning to make sure she’s taken an Uber back to her apartment and she’s sound asleep in her bed. I send her silly bitmoji messages during the week telling her good night and I love her just so she knows I’m always thinking about her.
When it comes time for her to come home, I worry when she’s under our roof – especially if it’s 3am and she still hasn’t returned home and it’s raining or snowing outside.
Recently, my daughter informed me that she’d like to study abroad the first semester of her junior year. The location she’ll be studying in is Rome and I know it’ll be pretty amazing when we get to visit her, but then I’ll be worrying about her from thousands of miles away.
Sometimes I honestly wonder if it was easier being sleep deprived with a newborn than sleep deprived with a child approaching adulthood.
I know I should just trust everything will be fine and not worry so much but it’s hard to turn that switch off in my brain. I even have the location services device activated on my phone so I can check and see if she’s safe in bed if I haven’t heard from her late at night. I’m sure you probably think I’m nuts, but my kids mean everything to me and I just want to make sure they are getting enough sleep, know they are supported and also be there if they call or text no matter what time it is – especially if she just wants to let me know she’s okay.
If you’re a mom of an infant or toddler or preteen I’m here to let you in on a little secret. While your relationship with your child will change in amazing ways over time, the part that never gets easier is the one where you worry about their lives, their future and their mental well being no matter how old they get. Try as we might, as parents, we worry. I guess that’s our jobs. Here’s hoping that one day, I’ll be able to worry just a little bit less.
I don’t know about you, but my personality is just like a tea kettle. I can be even keel for awhile, and I navigate through life pretty well even when a few curve balls are thrown my way. But sometimes, things reach a boiling point and that’s when I blow.
This coming week, I’m going to be hosting about 18 people for Thanksgiving. It started out with a pretty manageable group and that number has steadily grown with family coming in from Maryland, Michigan, Miami and now Boynton Beach. This past Friday, my parents, who had left early to head to Florida decided to fly back to New York so they could spend the holiday with us. Don’t get me wrong. I’m thrilled they’re coming, but know that things are now going to get a bit harried this week and my upbeat demeanor is about to hit Defcon 4.
Out of our 18 guests, about 6-8 of them will be sleeping over so that meant I had to clean the entire house before they came. And trust me, while I can rock a powerpoint, a blog post and a press release, cleaning the house is not one of my favorite past times.
I also had to do the laundry and our dryer is on the fritz so that meant it would take double the time to dry everything (about six loads total). Oh and did I mention that one of my cats (this means you Hazel) peed on my comforter in our guest room and while I tried to wash it, it still smelled so I had to throw it out and get a new one?
Meanwhile, I had noticed that in my kids’ bathroom, strange black dots started appearing on the wall. Holy crap. Black mold. Actually, it was just condensation and dirt formed by never opening the windows. So early yesterday morning, my husband and I went to the supermarket so we could buy a 22 pound turkey, a few cans of yams and cranberry sauce and I could get cleaning supplies. Of course, we walked out of Stop & Shop spending over $300 in groceries, but it is the holiday and as my father in law always says, you can’t put a price on a good time.
Once we stocked the house with food and bleach products, my husband had to leave for the rest of the day for a meeting so I whipped into action. I proceeded to clean the kitchen and both bathrooms and even got the black gunk off the walls while wearing pretty latex pink gloves. I was rocking cleaning the bathroom even though I started to feel a little light headed from all that bleach.
After I opened some windows, I ran downstairs to do more laundry, fold clothes, pay some bills and corresponded throughout the day with my daughter who was coming home that night from college by way of Michigan (she decided to visit a friend for his birthday weekend), Philadelphia and then finally back to New York. We started texting at 6am, I got another text at 11:00am when she got back to Philly, then another call at noon when she was at her apartment, then another one at 2:30 when she was on the train back to New Rochelle.
After I loaded another batch of laundry, put the clean dishes away, loaded more dirty dishes in the dishwasher, threw out the comforter and some old stuff in the fridge, I headed out again to buy a new comforter at Home Goods. The place was packed but I knew what I was there for. I passed the kitchen and dining section first and grabbed two fresh holiday tablecloths on the way over to the bedding department. Then I found a reasonably priced comforter and made my way to the register where I waited another 10 minutes in a long line that whipped around a few aisles. While waiting my turn and mindlessly checking my Facebook and Instagram feed, I glanced over at the items lining my way to the register and of course, had to impulse buy some decorative napkins since I was standing there for so long and was sucked in by the allure of things I really didn’t need to buy.
When I got back home, I put my pretty new comforter on the bed in the guest room and made sure to close the door behind me so the cat couldn’t get in again and wreck the place. I then went to the basement to fold laundry and my son then informed me he had to get a trifold poster board for his marketing class. Of course, it was due the next day. I instantly told him we should pick it up at that moment but he wanted to wait because he still had homework to finish. So I told him we should go in an hour because I had to get his sister from the train in two hours. He proceeded to stay upstairs for two hours and then I had to leave for the train but he still needed his poster board.
And that’s when things reached a boiling point. I had actually been keeping it together pretty well but after putting in more loads of laundry and listening to our squeaking dryer, and folding everyone’s clothes, and cleaning black crap off the bathroom walls, and putting all the groceries away, and doing the dishes, and buying a comforter at Home Goods and waiting on a ridiculously long line, I finally blew my stack. I never yell at my son, but there I was arguing with him for not being more proactive with me. Why didn’t he come down the stairs like I had suggested so we could go out sooner to get his poster board? Instead, I insisted he come with me to get his exhausted sister from the train and made her wait in the car while we picked up the poster at Staples and then we all headed home and ordered in dinner because honestly, if I had to cook last night, I seriously would have lost it. How did housewives do it in the 50’s anyway?
I know I shouldn’t complain about having to clean my house but sometimes, when you are expecting a ton of guests for the holiday, the last thing you really want to do is clean the house, do the laundry, go grocery shopping, buy a new comforter at a store that’s packed with pre-holiday shoppers and track down a tri-fold poster board from Staples too.
So yes, I blew my top when I shouldn’t have but my son forgave me because he’s a great kid and knows that I sometimes have a tendency to lose it when things get a bit stressful at home. We now have made a pact that when he’s assigned a project and needs supplies, he should just order it that day on Amazon Prime and we won’t have any problems. Come to think of it, next time, I’ll order my comforter from Amazon too. I actually ordered a slipcover for one of my chairs that has been mangled by Hazel – the same cat that peed on the comforter – hopefully it’ll get here before Thanksgiving so I can cover up her nasty habit of ripping my furniture to shreds.
And that dear reader is the story of the weekend I blew my top. I’m sure you probably have a few tea kettle stories of your own to share – especially around the holidays. While I’m grateful for family, this time of year just gets me totally stressed out and sometimes, like a tea kettle, I reach a boiling point and blow. But it’s okay. Today’s a new day and my son just informed me that all the lights in his bathroom went out. Time for some morning coffee, then I’ll shove another load of laundry into the dryer before I haveout to buy some bathroom lights.
Guess I better put the tea kettle back on the stove.
Over the last 10 days, my local community has been rocked by a tragedy that claimed the life of a 16 year old girl and shattered the future of the teen who committed the crime. Sadly, both girls were students at the high school that my son, who is a sophomore, currently attends.
Within a week of the incident, another fight broke out and a teenage boy suffered lacerations to his hands and in retaliation, he stabbed another teen in his class. To say that parents whose kids attend the high school are reeling over the lack of supervision and the poor response to the events by the Board of Education is an understatement.
While I know the community, the administration, school board members and the police are going to work to put an end to the violence that seems to be happening on a daily basis at the school, what I’m more concerned about is why these incidents keep happening. What I have learned is that there is a large gang presence at New Rochelle High School and while most students like my son just avoid the violent fights that break out and the stairwells that reek from marijuana, for a very long time, the gangs have been able to do what they want, leave the school at any hour of the day and ignore security guards who attempted to curb their dangerous behavior.
For the past week and a half, I had to grapple with the fact that while I love that my son’s high school offers great academic programs, incredibly talented and committed teachers, dozens of after school activities, fantastic sports teams and a friend group comprised of bright, funny and hard working kids, it’s not all rainbows and sunshine.
I know that my children are incredibly lucky to have a strong support system comprised of their family and friends, but I cannot say the same for the teens who have become susceptible to gangs. Which leads me back to the first story. Sadly, I heard from several people in my community that the girl who was murdered was practically raising herself. She no longer lived with her parents and she had become a target of bullies because she looked different and wore “Goth” makeup. She was enrolled in academically challenging classes and students who knew her said she was a nice girl, but she was obviously troubled. Unfortunately, on a day she was supposed to be in school, she found herself in a situation where she was cornered by a gang, pepper sprayed them in order to ward them off, was chased by the group and then stabbed twice in the torso. Tragically, she passed away the same day.
The perpetrator of the crime has a pretty sad backstory as well. It was discovered soon after the murder that she was living in a homeless shelter in Yonkers but attending school in New Rochelle because that was the last place her family lived before they had to leave their home. There’s no telling what this girl had to go through every day just to get to school. And did all of these problems in her life lead her to decide to join a violent gang? I guess we will eventually find out what happened but I do hope something can be done to help rehabilitate this girl. I’m sure she didn’t start her morning thinking she would be arrested for murder. And the poor girl who was killed didn’t start her day thinking she’d be cornered by a gang, but somehow it happened and things have got to change now.
It is my sincere hope the students at New Rochelle High School will eventually get the chance to attend a school that’s free from gang violence. I want students who may not be fortunate enough to have the support of their families to be able to seek immediate help from administrators, teachers, guidance counselors, social workers and mentors in the community who can provide them with tangible ways to break free from this dangerous cycle and live up to their true potential. I’m not naive to think we can cure gang violence with hugs, but I do know these kids need tough love, mentorship and stability in their lives so they can find their way out of a world that is dangerous and self destructive.
Change is scary but it can also be very positive. Here’s hoping that New Rochelle High School will finally lead the way in changing the dynamic among students living in our community and attending our public schools for the better. We want our kids to be safe, to feel secure when they’re in school and be empowered to make a difference in the lives of others. As the anger subsides, we must find solutions, make much needed changes and support all of our students no matter who they are or where they come from.
Every year, I pretty much do the same thing. I make a list of what I want to accomplish and then I either start tackling a few things and then pretty much abandon ship after about a month or two. Well now that 2018 is around the corner, I’m back again and ready to dig into that list. Here’s hoping I stick to at least 50% of these resolutions!
Lose Weight – I’ve already posted ad nauseum about my desire to lose weight and this time I am super serious. I feel bloated, my clothes don’t fit right and no matter how much I do my Peloton, nothing seems to be budging. Time to shake things up and started shedding some serious poundage. Up eight pounds from 2017 so hoping to be down 28 lbs. by the end of 2018.
Should I Stay or Should I Go? – I still don’t know where my future is headed. Stick with being a small business owner or head back to a full time job? That is the career question for 2018. I’m definitely keeping my options open this year and am dedicated to pursuing projects that I truly believe in.
Teach Myself to Cook Healthy Foods: I’ve already been doing that but I’ve stepped up my game several notches these last few weeks by using my Instant Pot several times a day to whip up soups, oatmeal, spaghetti squash, meatloaf, steamed veggies, hard boiled eggs and much much more! No more shakes, bars, or prepared meals for me. I’m going to cook myself thin!!!!
Sing again: I don’t want to reserve this just for the shower. I really want to join a group again where I can perform in front of people. I miss that part of my life so much and definitely need to go back to it this year.
The Role Mommy Retreat: Since the first time I started Role Mommy I have always dreamed of hosting a retreat for entrepreneurial and creative women and haven’t followed through with it. Meanwhile, I’ve watched others spearhead retreats and conferences while I’ve been busy working on projects that were leading me nowhere. Well not anymore. My goal is to kick off one retreat per year and then workshop events in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. I’ve got captains in mind for each city so stay tuned. Destination for the retreat? Haven’t decided yet but somewhere warm with great food, places to see and lots of inspiration.
Write More: I said this recently on another blog post and while I haven’t been able to post every single day on my blog, I have been getting a lot better. This year, I’m finally going to stick to an editorial calendar so I can plan out what I’m writing each week.
Read More: This one should be fairly simple. I have even bought several books this year and had every intention of reading them. Except I didn’t. Rather than spend my time scrolling through my Facebook page, I’m going to devote more time to reading. It’s time to get reinvigorated by great writing!
Don’t Chase Anyone: I find that quite often, I’m the friend trying to make plans with people only to find my texts and messages ignored. For those of you who will probably never read this post in the first place, I get the hint. You won’t be hearing from me again in 2018 or beyond. If you want to see me, you know where to find me. Otherwise, I’m tired of wasting energy pursuing people who obviously have no time for me.
Spend Time with People I Adore: This one should be fairly easy but when your schedule gets hectic, sometimes, the people you care about wind up on the back burner and you end up not seeing them for years. This year, I’m going to make it a point to reconnect with those friends, catch up and spend quality time with people who I truly care about and I know care about me too.
Help My Family Achieve Their Goals: As we head into the New Year, my husband is still working hard to build his sports business for families, my daughter is about to start her custom design sneaker business at Temple University and my son is a budding magician who needs to start booking some birthday parties stat. I promise not to be a helicopter mom or hoverer but instead, a connector who can help all of them achieve their goals by providing them with support, guidance and lots of PR.
So there you have it. My 2018 list of resolutions. I’ll make sure to check back in a year to see if I kept all or some of them. Either way, I’m ready for the New Year to start already. 2017, you have drained me and it’s time to say sayonara!!!!
Me, circa 1986 on the day my parents dropped me off at college.
Now that my daughter is away at college, I’ve been reflecting a lot on my own days back in school. At the time, I started UMASS when I was only 16 years old. I had a serious boyfriend and my ultimate dream was to pursue musical theater and become a star on Broadway. I had performed since age two in talent shows, original productions and musicals and there was just something about performing that made me light up. At the time, I thought it was my calling but when I started to face rejection, I decided I wasn’t good enough and veered off in another direction.
Another reason why I didn’t go for it or even try out for Summer Stock during those years was because I had a serious boyfriend. We had met when I was in high school and he actually fell for me because he saw me perform on stage. We met my junior year, broke up for several months when I was a senior and got back together right before I went back to college.
I spent the next four years pining for that boyfriend. Spoke to him nearly every night on the phone, costing myself hundreds of dollars a month in phone bills which I paid myself after getting a part time job. I even decided to pursue a 15 credit internship at home in New York City just so I could be with him and not away at school. That internship eventually led to my first job in PR and my career veered off in a direction I never expected or wanted to pursue.
By the time I graduated college and decided to pursue a master’s degree in journalism at NYU, that serious boyfriend decided he couldn’t move forward with the relationship and broke up with me. To say I was devastated was an understatement. I couldn’t believe I had spent four years of my life dedicating myself to him – when he became jealous of my role in a musical theater performance of “Grease,” I decided to stop auditioning for those on campus shows. I made life choices at that critical time in my life because I thought he was “The One.” But guess what, he wasn’t and honestly, I’m really lucky that we didn’t wind up together – especially since he said he never wanted his wife to work and expected her to watch his kids while he worked. The woman he did marry, who happened to be a lawyer when they met, quit her job when they had kids. So I guess he wasn’t lying when he shared his philosophy on where a woman belongs once you start having kids.
When my daughter started dating someone in her senior year who was a close friend, I was happy for her but deep down, I wanted to ensure that when she started college, they would break up and remain friends. She did agree with me and while it was hard and at times devastating to break off the relationship, she did it and is now on her own at college. While I have no idea whether she will meet someone while she’s there or find her true love after she graduates, I’m so happy that she is being given the chance to live her life on her terms without anyone second guessing her intelligence, her talents or her decisions. College is difficult enough without throwing in a relationship with someone who may not share your ultimate goals. The ideal partner in life will build you up, support you, shower you with love, laughter and will make you feel secure. I was lucky enough to find that person and together we have supported one another as we’ve pursued our ultimate goals.
While I never did go back to going after that long ago Broadway dream, I have had the chance to perform from time to time and know that at some point in my life, I’ll be doing it again. For now, I’m focused on ensuring my kids are set up for success – giving them the chance to figure out what makes them tick and what makes them happy so they can ultimately pursue what they love no matter what that might be. Don’t get me wrong – having a boyfriend or a girlfriend is great – but so does becoming the person you’re destined to be. Do I hope she gets to live happily ever after like every fairytale we’ve ever read together? Of course, but first I want her to be Wonder Woman – be fierce, take on the world and make her mark. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for her. Love will come when the time is right, but find yourself first and everything else will fall into place.
When I was 16 years old and applying to colleges, I really don’t remember whether my parents were actively involved in the search process. They just encouraged me to pursue whatever my heart desired and let me take the reins with the application and decision making process. At the time, my ultimate goal was to pursue my love of musical theater and appear on Broadway. But the more I auditioned for acting programs, the more it became crystal clear that I was going to need a back up plan.
I was always a straight A student minus a few hiccups on the math and foreign language front and was an absolutely awful standardized test taker. But with a ton of extracurricular activities on my application – I mean, who could turn down the only girl trumpet player in her school – I ultimately was accepted at UMASS, pursued a major in Communications with a minor in English and graduated with honors. At 20, while working part time at a small PR firm, I attended graduate school and pursued a master’s degree in journalism at NYU. While I didn’t land a job at a magazine or newspaper, I followed a more conservative path and became a publicist. 25 years later, I’m still here and I’m still working hard to make other people famous. Not exactly where I wanted to be, but it’s still been quite an adventure.
In the blink of an eye, my daughter is now standing in my shoes and contemplating her future. It’s kind of insane that she’s the same little girl with the wide eyed expression who sang along with her favorite Princess Pocahontas at Disney World. Except this time, college is “just around the river bend.”
Next week, I’ll be taking my daughter on a tour of my alma mater and as much as I would love for her to fall in love with UMASS, I totally understand that it might not be the right fit for her. I know she will ultimately attend a school that fits her personality and independent spirit . What I have found over the years is that she and I don’t necessarily see eye to eye when it comes to her career path. As parents, it is so hard not to point our kids in the direction we think they belong but in my case, the more I push, the more my daughter retreats. I only want the best for her but there are times where I can tell she thinks I’m pressuring her to pursue something that she might not want for herself. At 17, there’s no telling what she’s going to make of her life but I know in my heart that if she does what she loves, the sky is the limit. She will just need to tune out the competition, the pressures and deal with the rejection in order to truly realize her destiny.
With Mother’s Day right around the corner, Sittercity, the nation’s pioneer in online childcare, surveyed moms about their real thoughts on the day. While 80% of moms spend Mother’s Day with their family, the same percentage often don’t feel the day is actually about them:
I bet you’d be surprised, but only 30% of moms spend the day doing what they want to do. And 17% found the day to be more stressful than an average Sunday due to family obligations, travel and coordinating celebration with extended family.
To commemorate the day, Chime – Sittercity’s new on demand babysitting app – has released a Top 10 list of “Things Millennial Moms Would Rather Do on Mother’s Day.”
1. Binge watch “The Office,” “New Girl” and the past three seasons of “Scandal” and “Grey’s Anatomy.”
2. Take a shower without anyone under three getting a free peep show.
3. Enjoy an hour long conversation with a college roommate or high school friend without being interru
pted 700 times by a screaming toddler chanting “Mommy” over and over and over again.
4. Go to the bathroom without someone banging on the door begging you to come out.
5. A playdate free day.
6. Go out with your best girlfriends and party like it’s 1999. Then have a good ugly cry since you are sleep deprived and just found out that Prince died.
7. Read anything other than Good Night Moon or those Pigeon books.
8. Go to a movie by yourself. Buy popcorn and M&M’s. Pour the M&M’s into the tub of popcorn and then watch a movie that’ll make you laugh and cry at the same time.
9. Massage. Facial. Mani. Pedi. In that order.
10. Spend the day throwing out pregnancy panties – oh who are we kidding…throw out your thongs instead.
If you live in New York City, Washington DC, Chicago or Boston, then you are going to want to check out Chime – the first sitter on demand app that enables you to book an amazing sitter right from your mobile device! And here’s the best part. In honor of Mother’s Day, visit hellochime.com and use promo code MOM2016 to cover your first sitting for free (up to $50) and do something you actually want to do. It doesn’t get any better than that!
I recently read an article by a former radio host who talked about how when people ask what she does, she first mentions her former job rather than focusing on what she’s doing now. I have to admit – I do that all the time. Sadly, when I was in that big job, I was miserable and complained about it all the time. So much so that my husband convinced me to take a chance, go off on my own and start my own business.
That was eight years ago. At the time I had left my job, I was pretty confident. I had a ton of contacts. I thought I wouldn’t have a problem once I hung up my own shingle. But time and time again, all the people I thought were my friends, were just colleagues. A few went out of their way to help me but honestly, I can count those amazing people on one hand and I know they know who they are. While the others would take my calls, their responses were typically dismissive or disappointing. “I wish I could book your client, but sorry, I just can’t do it.” Over and over again I was rejected by people I used to work side by side with.
After a while, I finally gave up trying to reach out to my old “friends” and began to find new contacts who were receptive and actually began booking my clients regularly. I can’t believe I had to build a brand new list but have come to terms with the fact that all those people in those big jobs are never going to change unless they one day leave their perch, go out on their own and I get to say to them: Sorry but do I know you?
There’s something about having friends from your childhood that instantly make you feel 15 again the moment you hear from them. That’s what it’s like for the group of girls who have been in my life since high school. We’ve been there for one another through the ups and downs of each of our lives and I feel lucky to know that no matter where we are, something always brings us back together.
Tonight, I dedicate this trip down memory lane to my dear friend Laura. During my teenage years I spent a lot of time hanging out at Laura’s house where I’d get to see her dad Nelson – one of the nicest and coolest fathers I had ever met. Whenever I stopped by, Nelson always had a smile on his face, asked how I was doing and kept the conversation going when most dads would have probably left the room and disappeared. I definitely think that much of Laura’s upbeat and optimistic personality came from her dad. When we were 15 and had the world at our feet, we never thought of losing our parents because they all seemed so invincible. Come to think of it, they were probably the same age we are now dealing with many of the same stresses we face on a daily basis.
Somehow, 30 years have passed since those days hanging out at Laura’s and I haven’t seen my dear friend in nearly 12 years. Sure, we chat on the phone once in awhile and text one another on our birthdays and talk about how important it is for us to find a date when we can all get together, but work and life always seem to get in the way and that never seems to happen. Until now.
Today I found out that Laura’s incredibly vibrant dad passed away suddenly as a result of a heart attack and as my dear friend prepares to say goodbye, I know it’s going to be incredibly hard to face a world without one of the most supportive and positive people on the planet looking out for her.
Luckily, Laura and her sister Karen got the chance to see their dad last week while visiting him in Florida and when I saw their pictures on Facebook, I couldn’t believe how great he looked — it was as if he had never changed from the days we used to hang out at Laura’s house and he’d pop in once in a while to make sure we were all doing fine.
Nelson Beller was one of the greats — a great father, grandfather and friend with an incredibly positive outlook on life. My heart aches for his two daughters Laura and Karen and all I know is that the memories of this incredibly happy go lucky guy who seemed invincible when we were 15 will never fade away no matter how old we get. Rest in peace Nelson Beller. You will be sorely missed.
There is one thing that my husband cannot stand about me during the summer time. While the weather might be sweltering outside, I can always be found covering up my less than favorite body parts. The biggest offenders are my calves, knees and my thighs. For as long as I can remember, I’ve hated my lower body. I’ve been blessed with a small waist but have inherited the genes of my European born grandmothers and am a pear through and through. I do not have the body of a ballet dancer. Rather, I have the frame of a potato farmer.
And that’s why, when I recently saw a survey from CoolSculpting® about the parts of the body women hide most in the summertime, I was not surprised. It turns out that 88% of women believe there is one or more area of their body that needs improving before they are “bikini ready.” While 74% are unhappy with their stomachs, I’m part of the group that does whatever they can to hide their thighs (54%) and butt (38%) at all costs.
In fact, in the survey, 63%of women have used various “thigh-hiding” tactics before — including keeping shorts over their bathing suits (30%), refusing to wear a bathing suit (29%), buying a specific bathing suit that hides their thighs (25%) or refusing to wear shorts at all (22%). It’s already July 24 and I haven’t even put on a bathing suit yet. Sad, but true.
Among those who employ “thigh-hiding” techniques, 89 percent agree that even while hiding their thighs, they do not feel the best about their appearance. Yup, that would be me.
Finally, fifty-eight percent of women feel stuck with their body type and 48 percent of women do not believe that their body reflects their diet and exercise regime. I can be found at the gym at least three times a week and do a lot of walking now that I have an incredibly energetic puppy. I even own a Fitbit and work hard at achieving 10,000 steps a day. But alas, my thighs are still my arch nemesis.
If you’re like me and have considered removing stubborn fat from your lower half that doesn’t seem to go away no matter how much you diet or exercise, then the CoolSculpting procedure could be a great option for you. CoolSculpting is the #1 non-invasive body sculpting procedure with more than one million treatments performed worldwide. It’s also the only FDA-cleared procedure that uses a patented cooling technology for long-term fat reduction. CoolSculpting uses proprietary technology to deliver controlled cooling to target fat. Treated fat cells crystalize (freeze) and die. The dead fat cells are then naturally eliminated from the body, and they will not come back.
The treatment results in a noticeable and measurable reduction of fat in the treated areas, and the treated fat is gone for good. Most patients can start to see results as soon as three weeks following treatment, with the most dramatic results occurring over a period of one to three months. Every patient is unique, so patients are encouraged to talk to their physicians about a customized treatment plan as part of the initial consultation. Additional treatments in the same or multiple areas may enhance the desired aesthetic effect. Visit the CoolSculpting website to locate a CoolSculpting doctor near you. Lucky for me, there’s actually one right across from my office!
Now it’s time for the coolest summer giveaway ever! While I’ve offered some awesome products before on this blog, this one takes the cake. Thanks to CoolSculpting, we are offering a “Say Hi to Summer Thighs” giveaway where you can enter to win two free CoolSculpting treatments and a $500 shopping spree. Details are below: About the CoolSculpting Say Hi to Summer Thighs Sweepstakes:
This summer, fear your mirror no more and dare to bare your thighs. Enter to win two CoolSculpting thigh treatments and a $500 summer wardrobe shopping spree (via Visa Gift Card) 4 runner-up winners will receive $250 summer shopping sprees.
Mobile-friendly link to Enter: http://tinyurl.com/mdnlumf How to Enter:
Answer this question! (+3 entries)
Where would you like to freeze your fat away with CoolSculpting?
Opt-in for special offers from CoolSculpting (+3 entries)
Send a tweet about the sweepstakes (+2 entries)
Follow @CoolSculpting on Twitter (+1 entry)
Follow CoolSculpting on Pinterest (+1 entry)
Easy entry for CoolSculpting Facebook fans (+1 entry)
If you are self conscious this time of year about your body, then what are you waiting for? Enter the giveaway below and good luck! a Rafflecopter giveaway
Connect with CoolSculpting on Facebook and let us know if you’re planning to give CoolSculpting a whirl. Gotta run and make my appointment stat! It’s about time I say bye bye to Summer Time Thunder Thighs!
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post for Cool Sculpting
