I haven’t lifted in well over a year.
I’m extremely grateful for my foundation, for what I had built in this body. It’s held strong through over 18 months of deep healing and today when I stepped back into the gym, I was pleasantly surprised by how strong this body still is… even after a very long break.
I’m in awe. And honestly, I had been avoiding this like whoa. After 10 minutes, that old excitement and joy came flowing back over me.
Continue reading “Foundation”
Ladies, I stopped using the word “period” to describe my monthly cycle and you should too.
Did you know that period is short for what doctors would describe as a “periodic illness”?
Yes, you read that right.
Our monthly cycle, something so natural, something that quite literally creates life was referred to as a periodic ILLNESS by medical professionals, thus leading to us calling this natural thing we do, “our period”.
Say what?! Continue reading “Bleeding”
There’s a piece of my reality that I rarely talk about fully, up until recently that is.
It’s something I’ve lived with, learned to navigate, and have had to focus on daily for 20 years. It’s also something that makes me who I am. It’s something I know I’m not an island about. It’s something that most people can relate to but never want to say anything because we feel like we’re complaining or making excuses. When in reality, we’re just talking about what is OUR actual existence.
This is NOT what I look like right now.
Before you say anything, let me point out that I am in no way, shape, or form complaining about it. I am committed to sharing what is really happening with you, so that’s what this is.
In the photo here, I remember feeling so uncomfortable in my own skin that I didn’t even notice how amazing that core definition was. Like whoa, that’s incredible.
I was proud, don’t get me wrong, but it was because for the first time in my life I was physically strong and felt better than I had in… Well… Ever. Continue reading “Sustainable Health”
Unplug… I used to say “disconnect” but let’s be real… Disconnect? How NOT nourishing does that sound?!
The whole point of the act of turning everything off is to refill my cup, to rejuvenate, to reconnect with myself, my voice, my body, my soul. And how can you do that if you’re labeling the experience something so cold in the first place?
No wonder it was never working… And I had been trying the “disconnect” method for MONTHS with no change… So, disconnect went out the door and UNPLUG came in. Continue reading “Unplug”
Are you one of those people who only gets certain things for certain stores?
Because I am.
I frequent Trader Joe’s and Aldi more than anything BUT neither of them have the oats I like so I go to Dierbergs for those and for fage yogurt because I’m obsessed. AND Annie’s Burritos because also obsessed. (OH, and the local produce stand because they’re unbeatable on produce. Plus it’s the cutest place ever and makes me so happy!) Then there are items that I refuse to purchase anywhere besides Sam’s Club because the price point is just too good to pass up. I mean, I can get a massive bag of coffee beans at Sam’s for roughly the same price as a small, off brand bag at a regular grocery store and I just am not about that life.
I think we all have our things. Things we like from certain places for certain reasons. Continue reading “Intentional Shopping”
“It wasn’t the toxic things I was putting in my body, it was the toxic STUFF I had in my life.” On one of the hangouts, I recently hosted, one of my clients made a comment about how when he met me his life was drastically different than it is now. Not only was he unhappy with where he was, he was on medication for severe heartburn and reflux issues. At the time, the doc told him it was the way he was eating so he changed his eating habits but the problem persisted so basically it looked like this was just going to be something he would deal with for life. Continue reading “Toxic Things”
I was on a call with a friend who lives across the country last night, she and I were pointing out things that we’ve been extremely grateful for during the past two weeks with what is going on in the world right now and one that we both agreed on was the ability to cook and prepare meals.
It hit me last week that there is a large majority of Americans that do not know how to cook, like… not even boil an egg.
It made me realize a different level of panic they may have felt in those moments that others may not have, like an actual thought of “how am I going to eat”. Continue reading “Be Prepared”
Check on your friends who live alone.
(well, all of your friends, read on please)
While you’re complaining about being cooped up in your house with your family or screaming kids, there are a lot of people who literally have no human interaction at all right now. You may miss going to the gym or getting alone time but they miss that simple trip to the gym or cafe or grocery store (minus the chaos and eerie feeling that is present right now) because that is usually the main and only source of their human interaction for the day or week.
I think it’s a beautiful time to remember that each of us has a different experience, a different reality. So, instead of complaining or judging or throwing a pity party, be grateful for what you have right now.
If you have a family that’s making you crazy right now, that’s okay. You’re allowed to feel overwhelmed by that and be exhausted too but please be grateful for them too. Be grateful you have a home with things to occupy each other or do together. Take this opportunity to enjoy each other more, maybe in a way you haven’t in a long time. Don’t take it for granted because some people would give anything to have someone to sit on the couch with right now, even if they’re jumping all over you or screaming. Continue reading “Check On Your Friends Who Live Alone”
My skin. What I at one time proclaimed to be my worst enemy is now something I’m really working on loving.
It sounds like something easy to do, a switch you can flip but it’s proven to be a lot more challenging than I expected.
You see, I realized that I was being incredibly unfair to myself. The voice in my head had a very strong opinion that there was some thing wrong with my skin and it had to be fixed. Continue reading “My Skin”
Intentional Living 