A Paris Refresher for Traveling with a Baby

The Eiffel Tower from Les Ombres restaurant on top of the Musee du Quai Branly

Ah, the sport of travel.  Perhaps my favorite sport of all time.  I don't golf, play tennis or meet friends for bridge.  I save my time and money for traveling.  Nothing refreshes my soul or or energizes my spirit like getting the heck out of Dallas.  We're heading to Paris one week from today.  We're taking Jordan (a challenge itself) but I am looking forward to spending full days with her, something I never get to do in Texas while working.

While I'm good about assimilating into the local practices whenever I travel, I revisited my observations from my last trip to Paris in the summer of 2010.  I learned a valuable lesson from a bartender, that has really stuck with me, in town or out of it.

Harry's American Bar

My crash course in French culture came to life in, of all places, Harry's American Bar.  Cliche spot to drink, I know, but we stumbled across it and were thirsty.  It was dead empty save for the bartender, a Frenchmen named Gerard, and a British man who now lives in Paris.  We gave our customary "Bonjour" to both men and went to the bar.  We waited for Gerard, who was sharing a glass of champagne with the expat Brit, to come to us at the bar to ask for our order.  We ordered our champagne and thanked him. 

A couple of glasses later, the expat Brit left for his family's Sunday dinner and Gerard was deep in conversation with us.  About this time, an American couple walks in wearing jeans, tennis shoes and, yes, dual fanny bags worn tightly around their waists.  Already fitting the stereotype the gentleman barks "two Bloody Mary's!".

"You can always tell the Americans," Gerard whispers to me.  "They never say hello, please or thank you.

A great, yet basic lesson: manners!  Politeness is something every grandmother tells us to practice, yet it's forgotten in our harried world.  While graciousness and manners should be exhibited daily, traveling avec l'enfant is the absolute perfect time to be extra diligent about being polite, particularly when she's screaming.

Here are a few photos I stumbled across from our last hop across the pond.  They can occasionally cure my travel bug.

If you have any fabulous new suggestions, please share!

Arc de Triomphe

Monks at the Louvre

Jean-Michel Othoniel's Metro Station Kiosque des Noctambules (kiosk of the night-walkers)

I love their street signs

The Cell Phone Diet. Really? Really. Sorta.

Ok, when I saw the headline "How the 'Cell Phone Diet' Works" my eyes immediately rolled and acquiesced to the full idiocy that seems to be invading the weight loss world.

But once I got past the headline, I realized, it's not that ridiculous.  Not so much the "diet" part but the essence of making your smartphone work for you to help you accomplish certain things.  And, at the end of the day, your cell can help you shed some pounds.

Follow me here:

Psychotherapist and weight loss expert William Anderson is touting his book, The Anderson Method - The Secret to Permanent Weight Loss and recently offered some advice on the Huffington Post.  The book title itself is a bit eye roll inducing.  Want to know the weight loss secret: move more, eat less crap and more of the good stuff.  I digress.  His clients are incorporating their phones into their broader plan of attack to get lean.

• He has clients make their ringtones and other alerts motivate them to stay on the track.  The theme from Rocky works for one lady.  Ok, I'm all for whatever works. 
• Use a picture of yourself at your target weight or some other inspirational photo as your wallpaper or screensaver.  I've done this.  I've used not a pic of myself but something that motivated me as a screensaver.  When trying to lose weight in the past, I have put Post-It notes of my target weight on my mirror.  Just a subtle, almost subliminal reminder. 
• Download a calorie counting app onto your phone.  I've raved about The Daily Plate, my personal favorite diet log app.  This is a smart move.  Studies routinely show that logging your caloric intake is an effective weight loss tool.  I would also suggest logging your exercise, too.  It's a great way to track your progress. 

Here's another suggestion: set motivational reminders as appointments or tasks.  This might sound a tad Tony Robbins-esque (talk about eye-roll, ugh) but I have a 10am daily reminder of things I want to accomplish.  It can be as simple as working on my financial and professional goals or little notes to myself to serve as motivation.  Kind of corny, I know.  But it's a gentle nudge in the right direction.

If you need one to get you going on the exercise path, try this one I fully embrace:

“To keep the body in good health is a duty; otherwise we shall not be able to keep our minds strong and clear.” -Buddha 

In Our Time-Crunched World, What Counts as Exercise?

A simple walk?  Dancing with your little one?  Cartwheels on the lawn?

Yes to all of the above!

I had the "what counts as exercise" discussion with a time-starved mother the other day.  She lamented the fact she didn't have to exercise and she was desperately looking to drop the fat that she couldn't lose almost 18 months after giving birth.  She was shocked that I work out at least five days a week, work full time and have an 11-month old at home.  I've said time and again I exercise in place of going to therapy because nothing makes me feel better.  I'm not spending hours at the gym.  It's 30 minutes to an hour tops, many times just a quick half-hour.

Much of her issue has to do with diet but she feels as if she doesn't have enough time to devote a simple 30 minutes a day to some form of exercise, which in turn, means herself.

I had to cry BS.  Of course she does.  We make time for what we prioritize and, while she has a full schedule, she can definitely carve out a block to focus on her health.  The Department of Health and Human Services suggests 150 minutes per week of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity, as well as strength training twice a week.

150 minutes equates to 30 minutes five times a week.  Anyone can do that without a gym.  Go a little more intense to shorten the time.  Here are some examples of moderate activity:

• A brisk walk, kick it up a notch by pushing that kid in a stroller.  Try walking briskly up some hills.
• Dancing with your kids.  Ever try to do the Chicken Dance for 30 minutes?  Yeah, killer workout.  Seriously.
• When was the last time you played on a playground or took a ride in a swing?  That counts, too.
• Mowing the lawn, cleaning the house.

For more vigorous options try a combination of running, jumping rope and jumping jacks.  You can also incorporate exercise apps.  I recently professed my love for the Nike Training Club app and finally did an advanced workout without feeling the need to puke.  I also use Pocket Yoga HD and Air Boxing.  Nike Training Club is free while the other two apps cost $1.99 each, I believe.  I also have pilates workouts from ExerciseTV, which is now available on Hulu, on my IPad that I use all the time. 

If you're just looking to start toning and get a bit stronger, push-ups, squats and dips are the perfect way to start.  Spend some time stretching.  Flexibility, in my opinion, is the fountain of youth.

One crazy tip: do 10-20 squats every time you get up to use the restroom at work or home.  You'll get the blood pumping.  I do it in-studio sometimes in breaks during the hour-long Fan Sports Show on TXA21.  The floor crew giggles but the squats are an instant energy boost.

In my experience, simply getting the blood going, experiencing the fresh air and noticing your clothes fitting a bit looser are motivation to move more.  No matter how busy you are or how much the kids are driving you crazy, getting those vital 30 minutes of "me-time" will reap benefits in all areas of your life.

Fabulous Boutique Hotels in Texas

As much as I love my hometown, I've always lamented that those of us in Dallas and across North Texas aren't so geographically desirable.  Sure, we're a three-hour flight from either coast but if we want a quickie weekend getaway, there aren't a lot of awesome options. 

Think about it: LA has Montecito/Santa Barbara 90 minutes north on the 101, New York has the Hamptons, Phoenix is two and a half hours from skiing in Flagstaff.  You get the idea.

What do we landlocked North Texans have?  Cedar Creek Lake.  Possum Kingdom.  Eh, I guess.  Personally, I'm not a lake person.  In fact, I've taken to relaxing and insulating at hotels for mini-getaways.  I'll do a weekend at the Ritz-Carlton with a spa treatment, some pool time and a stack of magazines.  It's decently refreshing.

But what about really getting out of town to decompress?  Taking advantage of new experiences in-state?  It's easy to fall into that "let's go to the lake this weekend" rut.  Close to DFW would be great, but hardly anything in Texas is close.  

November's issue of Texas Monthly offers inspiration for great Texas travel in The Wanderer :: Where To Stay Now 2012 // The Ten Best New (Or Improved!) Texas Hotels.  I love a good hotel and this has a list of interesting new spots as well as some familiar ones that have gotten a facelift.  How fun was this assignment?

Here are some of the suggestions:

• Hotel Zaza, Houston - I've stayed here a few times.  Zaza is pet-friendly and in a wonderful museum district location, directly across the street from the Museum of Fine Arts outstanding sculpture garden.
• Hotel Galvez, Galveston - this is my go-to Galveston spot. It truly evokes turn of the century glamour.  It's gone through a much-needed renovation.
• Rancho Loma Restaurant + Rest, Talpa - fabulous-sounding modernist outpost near Abilene.  This sounds like a great place to digitally detox.  Honestly, I'd never even heard of Talpa.  It's 200 miles west of Dallas, just north of Brownwood.
• The Inn at Dos Brisas, Washington - I've been dying to try this luxury resort that offers perhaps one of the most luxurious Texas escapes with an indulgent culinary focus. It's expensive, both financially and calorically, with rooms starting at $665 per night during high season. 

The complete list has a more options in Marfa, Austin, San Antonio and also features Dallas' Joule Hotel.

Courtesy: Gage Hotel

I would add the Gage Hotel in Marathon.  It's a heck of a haul from DFW but is a great rustic resort near Big Bend National Park.  It's a Vaquero-style oasis in the middle of nowhere but a decent base if you're looking for a higher-end retreat while hiking Big Bend.

The Indian Lodge in Davis Mountain State Park is a unique option built with the help of the Civilian Conservation Corps.  The adobe buildings are a gorgeous contrast to the west Texas skyline.  The rooms feature the most beautiful handmade wood furnishings.  It's a really cool place.

Courtesy: Indian Lodge at Davis Mountain State Park

All of these embrace that Texas lifestyle I would love to have: one that travels the expansive state and takes advantage of the diverse cultures and topography it offers.  Unfortunately, real life gets in the way.

Sleep - The Solution for Weight Loss and Overall Health

Remember when an all-nighter used to mean a wild night of partying?  Now that I'm a mom, an all-nighter refers to Jordan sleeping through the night.  Fortunately, she's been a solid 12-hour a night sleeper since she was about six weeks old.  Any parent knows a good night's sleep is important and it continues to prove to be vital to overall health.

Study after study cites the importance of sleep in weight loss.  The sleep sweet spot seems to be between seven and nine hours a night.  A new study publish Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine indicates that not getting enough sleep seriously affects metabolism by damaging the body's cells and causing insulin resistance which is a precursor to diabetes.  This disease runs rampant in my family.  I've seen it's devastation firsthand and it's beyond ugly.

The Best Green Smoothie Recipe Ever

The amazing green smoothie recipe keeps getting better.

It's a perfect "kitchen sink" recipe because you throw whatever you have on hand in the blender for a fabulous breakfast, snack or quick lunch when paired with a few nuts or some string cheese.

The double bonus: your kids will love it.  My daughter, Jordan, has a spinach smoothie almost every day at breakfast.

My original green smoothie recipe  featured berries, bananas and Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk.  Easy, delicious and only about 220 calories.

Add two handfuls of spinach to make the smoothie a nutritional game changer.  It packs a powerful antioxidant punch with few additional calories.  The crazy thing is you can't even taste the spinach.

I've started added frozen kale to the mix, too.  It offers the amazing nutritional green boost while thickening the consistency.  The kale does add more of a "green" flavor, though but it's not overwhelming.

Here's the basic base recipe:

• Eight ounces almond milk (again, I love Almond Breeze Unsweetened Vanilla)
• One big handful of berries
• One banana
• Two handfuls of spinach
• Optional: chia seed or flax seeds

Another view

The finished product

You can use any fruit combination with a few greens.  Pictured below is another version with the Almond Breeze, half a mango, half a banana, a few strawberries and two handfuls of frozen kale.  Delicious!

Mango Kale Smoothie

These are so good that they can be served as a frozen dessert treat.  Just use less milk and add more frozen ingredients for a thicker, soft-serve consistency.

*Almond milk is not safe for those with nut allergies and should not be used as a substitute for infant formula or breast milk.

What Says 'Dallas' to You?

The New York Times recently published a great series offering "The History of New York in 50 Objects" inspired by the BBC's radio series "A History of the World in 100 Objects."  The idea was to feature tangible things that capture the essence and history of a city.  New York items such as the ubiquitous MetroCard, the AIDS button, the Greek coffee cup and a bagel all immediately come to mind.

New Orleans Water Meter

New Orleans has things like the fabulous water meter lids.  Las Vegas has casino tokens.  Chicago has pizza.  You get the idea.

What about Dallas?  What captures the essence of our town?

Reunion Tower

Reunion Tower?  That's a building.  Pegasus?  The new Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge?  Sure, they come to mind but they don't quite fit the bill.

A large can of hair spray?  A Neiman Marcus credit card?  Big diamonds?  A Mambo Taxi?  Lee Harvey Oswald's bullet?   

Those pop into my head immediately.  But I struggle to think of something so iconic that truly screams DALLAS.  Can you?

Is it because our city has a branding problem?  Does Dallas have an identity?  You can say it's one of commerce.   Dallas is a relatively friendly environment in which to do business.  I say this coming from a long line of self-made entrepreneurs.  My grandfather was an early real estate developer in  Oak Cliff.  My stepfather had a gallery in Caruth Plaza for years.  My mother still has her boutique residential real estate firm headquartered in Lakewood.  My biological father started and sold an oil and natural gas company in the 70's before the big 1980's Dallas payday that had everyone building ranches in downtown Dallas or buying diamonds by the ton.  You can make a lot of things happen in this town.

But can you name something, a simple tangible object that says "Dallas"?  If you could tell the story of this city through items that represent it, what would be on the list?  A State Fair of Texas food coupon?  A Tolltag?  Help me.