"I know we picked up an hour of sleep this weekend, but why am I still dragging?!?"

Cathy said as we sat on cut rounds of firewood near the burn barrel fire on our street corner.

"Was it because I tried to make post-trick-or-treating pizza for 25 14-year-olds when I thought I was only making food for 8?

Maybe it's because they didn't leave my house until 9:30 pm, even though I started calling parents to retrieve their children at 7:45 pm?"

"But I didn't use to be like this!"

"I used to host the party, cook whatever the kids wanted, and look reasonably put together doing it all, and now?"

"Now, I'm lucky if I remember to take the Costco mac'n cheese out of the freezer with enough time to thaw before the kid gets home from football - and don't even look at the pile of laundry and dishes that are mocking me from the corner of the kitchen."​
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"But you're rocking the silver hair," The Bike Guy said

"Oh! Thanks. I stopped dying it this summer. I just don't care anymore. I've got no more f*cks to give!"​
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Hi Reader,

Can you relate to Cathy's story?

Yep. Me too. The time change gave us an extra hour of sleep. But it didn't make the midlife juggling act any easier.

And with the holiday season coming in hot, you need extra support to stay sane.

Your body battery, as one of my clients calls it, has hummed along smoothly all these years thanks to predictable hormone fluctuations, especially estrogen and progesterone.

But once you enter menopause, those fluctuations become erratic.

You feel like one day you're firing on all cylinders, but other days you can't move from scrolling social media on the couch.

You're less resilient to life chaos and less attuned to your body's needs for food, movement, rest, and emotional coping.

Not to mention, your digestion can also go sideways with extra stress and disruption in rhythms and routines.

None of this is your fault, and you're not broken!

There are plenty of attunement disruptors in this season of life to derail your intentions for eating well, moving your body, and getting the rest you need - especially during the holidays.

Here are a few ways to help recharge your battery.

3 ways to deal with attunement disruptors and feel like yourself again!

• Take 3 deep belly breaths. Try to make the exhale longer than the inhale
• Using your favorite snack food, notice 3 different tastes or textures as you mindfully eat the snack (aka butt in chair, not dashing and dining!)
• Make a list of 3 things (and only 3) that are top priority for today, including 1 thing for yourself (which can be as simple as taking 3 deep breaths)

​Here's a blog post for more info on how your nervous system works and how you can feel more peace in the chaos of midlife.

RECIPE SHARE

The Farmer's Market season is winding down - BUT! There's still plenty of deliciousness at your local markets or farm stands. My good friend and culinary genius, Chef Shannon, created this recipe. Make a batch on the weekend and eat for lunch during the week. It also works great as a hearty, vegetarian side for your Thanksgiving gathering.

Wild Rice Salad with Kale, Cranberries, Pecans, and Blue Cheese

Makes 4 side servings, created by Chef Shannon Cook

Wild rice is actually a semi-aquatic grass that is grown in lakes, tidal rivers, and bays of water between two and four feet deep. Wild rice is a native food of North America. The kale is hearty and does not wilt; in fact, it only gets better with time. ​
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For the salad:

2 cups water

Sea salt

1/2 cup wild rice

3 cups lacinato kale, stemmed and cut into ribbons

2 sweet-tart apples, such as Gala, Honeycrisp or Fuji, cored and julienned

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans

For the vinaigrette:

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon minced shallot

1 tablespoon minced thyme

2 ounces crumbled blue cheese

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Bring water to a boil in a 2-quart saucepan. Salt the water generously. Add the wild rice, cover, and simmer until the rice grains are tender and about to open, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Spread the rice on a baking sheet to cool.

To prepare vinaigrette: In a large bowl, add the mustard, vinegar, and lemon juice. Whisking, add the oil in a steady stream. Stir in the garlic, shallots, thyme, and cheese. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Add the rice, kale, apple, cranberries, and pecans to the bowl and toss to coat; taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve.

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How do you recharge your body battery, Reader?

Hit reply! I'd love to include your ideas in my holiday chaos survival list 😁

I hope you get to recharge this weekend, savoring food and your body!

Amanda

PS: There are plenty of attunement disruptors in this season of life to derail your intentions for eating well, moving your body, and getting the rest you need - especially during the holiday season. Read this blog post for 3 ways to deal with attunement disruptors and feel like yourself again! ​
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