I know everyone is really confused on how to find and access your discoveries on the new StumbleUpon layout. Just go to your profile and its the drop down under the title of “additions”.

The confusion is in the change of the name, but accessing it is easy peasy!

I hope this helps you find your past discoveries and keep up with them on Stumble.

And while you are there, follow me!

The last four weeks I have had the pleasure of inspiring you to be inspired by pork. Aside from Publix offering special sales of delicious pork cuts, I have been stepping up to the “plate” and sharing how my family has been participating in the “Good and Good For You” challenge.

This week we are talking about comfort.

Many things remind me of comfort:

• Fuzzy slippers
• a warm cup of cocoa
• a kitty on your lap (or four)
• a snugly blanket

But when it comes to food, the South is the inventor of what “comfort” stands for, so I wouldn’t be doing my  job if I didn’t share a recipe worth creating in your own house. This week I decided to use Pork Cutlets (the cut of the week) to create a hearty meal of Panko encrusted pork sitting on a bed of Jasmine rice with a thick mushroom sauce in tow.

Recipe as follows:

First, start some rice in the rice cooker. I prefer fragrant jasmine rice, but whatever you are fond of should work just fine.

Once that is going, take your pork cutlets, dip in egg, and cover both sides in a mixture of panko and flour. It was just recently while testing out a new recipe that I discovered this trick. The flour keeps the panko crumbs attached so much better!

Heat butter in a pan and fry your cutlets up, turning only once so you don’t ruin the breading. While that is sauteing, in another pan add a can of ‘cream of mushroom’ soup, about a tablespoon of heavy cream (you can sub for sour cream if you prefer), some chopped fresh mushrooms, a dash of onion power, a scoop of paprika, sprinkle of pepper, and some thyme.  Let that get good and heated.

Once your rice is done, layer your pork and drizzle your sauce on top. You can use as much or as little as you want but it was so good we layered it on.

I was told that the meal was “very, very good”. I personally went back for a second piece of pork- which I rarely do. Luckily they were cutlets (smaller portions) or I would be groaning right now.

But in a good way, I assure you.

Presenting my dish (yes, that is steam)….

I also wanted to share with you the health benefits of choosing pork over many of your favorite cuts of meat. It’s always good to know exactly what you are starting with as a base when it comes to cholesterol, fat, and calories:

Continue on to the Be Inspired by Pork facebook page and hook up with the cooking community to continue to learn more about upcoming recipes, deals, and more!

Do you have a favorite pork dish?

~Trisha

*sponsored post

I am a pole dancer. But not a very good one.

5 months after Phoenyx was born, I took a good hard look at the flabby skin and 7 extra pounds and decided enough was enough. Internally I knew that if I went back to my same eating habits as before that eventually the weight would drop back off, same as it did with Charlotte. Realistically, however, I knew that that could take well over a year, maybe even two, and I couldn’t imagine my next few summers hiding in a shirt and shorts on the beach.

After all, I am approaching my mid 30′s and I am pretty sure that I need to save the desperation hiding for well into my 40s.

At the same time I was discovering that weight wasn’t going to just fall off of me, a friend and I were discussing a sign she had seen regarding “Pole Dancing and Sexy Chair” exercise classes. We made jokes about the idea for several weeks (“are you going to wear your thong and platform heels?”) before she called and set us up some classes to attend.

Not knowing what to expect, I think I had some nervous energy, which was quickly put to rest once we arrived. The women at the front, we now know as Azur and Jacinda, put us at ease at the front and made sure we were all signed in.

Then we had to sign accident releases.

Crap.

Visions of falling off a pole began entering my head. All my Facebook friends were laughing at me. Heck, I was laughing at me.

Once the current class ended and we were allowed to view behind the curtain, we were surprised to find a very well lit studio with beautiful floors, mirrored walls, exercise equipment…and poles.

My husbands dream. Every husbands dream.

Now I don’t know about you, and I don’t know if you have ever done any exercise on a pole. I don’t know if you have ever been a stripper, have a pole in your bedroom, or lived it up on amateur hour that one time when you were 19 in college.

What I can tell you though is that pole dancing is hard.

Respect to my ladies who do it for a LIVING because I thought I would have a heart attack and die after one hour.

And it’s not what you think. Not at all.

The class started out where half of the women (and there are only women allowed) worked on the pole (did i just say that?) on one half of the room and the other half did a routine on the chair. We learned choreography and it, thankfully, only included a few pole spins as its a LOT, and I mean A LOT, harder than it looks. We more used the pole for balancing, to help do squats, to balance for ab work, stretching, and just about every exercise invented by Satan under the sun.

Then after that, you switch sides and do “sexy chair” work. No, I am not talking about Flash Dance either. Its more like push ups, more squats, sitting on the chair and doing ab work, and all of it is timed to music and include, you guessed it, choreography.

As someone who just got back into the gym after a year and a half of not moving, trying to remember choreography and huff and puff my way through exercising, all while trying to put on my Sexy Face, probably made me look like an episode of Saturday Night Live.

That being said…IT WAS A BLAST.

The women were amazing. AMAZING. I did not feel one time out of place, that I was doing anything wrong, that I was skinny enough, or sexy enough, and there were two things that happened.

1) By the end of it, I felt more confident in the moves and proud of myself for getting through it without fainting

and

2) I had FUN. It was so nice to get out, away from the baby, listen to music, hang out with a friend (and meet new friends) and just have fun.

Once you learned the entire set with the pole and then with the chair, they had us do a “performance” as a group and…get this…turned off the lights, on the colored lights, and threw fake money at us.

I never laughed so hard in my life.

And if you are wondering, two days later my body hurt so bad from the workout, that I was not sure if I could get out of bed to even go back. But I did and I look forward to keep going back as they promised they can get me into the best shape of my life and in a sexy way.

For the record, my spouse was totally interested in my new found “moves” and even though I think I cracked up every other move while showing them to him, he confessed that it was sexy. It may be a two birds with one stone kind of thing.

Those of you that have classes that advertise this in your town, I encourage you to attend. It was really fun, your workout will be insane, and you will hurt in a good way that makes you want to go back and tell them to do it again.

If you are in my area, which is Mobile, Alabama, join a class by contacting Detour Fitness or checking out their Facebook page at Detour Fitness Studios. If you are not brave enough to attend the pole fitness class, they also offer spin, ab classes, nutrition classes, boot camp, and ab work.

Have you ever attended a “vertical fitness” (not to be confused with horizontal dancing) classes?

~Trisha

 PS I enrolled for 10 more classes!