Help Me Out Ladies

Ok if your a man and your reading this… go away now. Come back Friday for the next post. This post isn’t for you. I’m sorry but this is lady business. No I mean it seriously. GO AWAY MEN… especially you my husband. GO!

Ok now that I’ve cleared the room I can talk frankly here. Anyone else ever have this experience? I was getting dressed this morning, putting on my normal jeans I wear all the time. While they were fresh from the dryer, they seemed ::cough:: a little tight. Ok more then a little tight. I tugged, jumped up and down a bit, tugged a little more, jumped, sucked it in and finally buttoned them. While barely breathing I did make it into my jeans. Score! Though I kinda felt like I should do lunges around my bedroom to loosen up the legs. (Come on! I’m not the only one who does that right?) Then I try to pick out  a top, nothing feels right. Everything looks too tight, or doesn’t lay right, or emphasizes the fact that I’ve had two children. (Did it always do that?)

So you see my problem right? It’s just past Thanksgiving, I’ve eaten too much Vanilla Crumble Pumpkin Pie and Chocolate Pear Upsidedown Cake, and it’s time to start the Christmas baking. I am in sooooo much trouble. I LOVE baking for Christmas, I write a food blog so I’m supposed to bake for Christmas (and test each recipe a zillion times until its perfect!), and I ADORE baked goods. I’m pretty sure I could subsist on nothing but cookies, cake, and pies all day long for an extended period of time. 

So ladies help me out here! What do you do to keep that scale at least steady (if not heading downward) during the Christmas and holiday season? Please share your secrets! 

I often try to keep it out of the house until Christmas Eve. Which doesn’t work for three reasons:

1. I write a food blog, I have to bake! What kind of food blog has no Christmas desert recipes? Am I right?
2. It’s really really hard to keep those sweets out of the house. Some of my friends and family are mean bakers themselves. People send food gifts. Tempting looking treats at every store…
3. Keeping it away is just a bummer. It’s kinda grinchy. It’s no fun. Eating is festive, fun, social! My kids will be sad. I don’t want to be the grinch Mom.

So keeping it away doesn’t work for me. On the flip side I know if you keep it around your supposed to have a little nibble, a taste, a small piece. This is the trick that has brought me the most success thus far. I try to be incredible generous with my baked goods and share, share, share. I take a tiny taste to see if my recipe needs tweaking and take the rest to church or a neighbor to share. But if it’s really good and hits my spots I still want to get my biggest bowl, plate, or whatever is needed and fill it! I feel like I’m on the right track with the sharing but might need to refine the strategy. 

So I need your tricks gals! Trust me, I have double eggnog pound cake coming up as a recipe for you soon. I really need help.  So dish!