Health & Free Living

Sit and pause for a moment. Take a deep breath. Now close your eyes and picture how you see your life in five years...in one year...next month. What are you doing right now to get you moving toward the life you desire? We all have dreams and desires but so often we let the excuses and fears crowd in and keep us from taking a step forward.  A dream of mine for the past 20+ years has been to go skydiving. First my excuse was that no one would go with me (at the time, I felt like I needed to share it with someone else). Then it was that it was so expensive. Then my kids were little. And it just kept getting pushed to the back burner. Here's the thing...I still really want to go skydiving.  I'm tired of the excuses. My kids aren't the excuse -- they are my reason. I want to inspire my kids to go for their dreams and live fearlessly. So, I'm going skydiving this Spring (doesn't really make sense to go in the winter in Chicago -- I would freeze and the view would be prett...

Yesterday my husband and I celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary! I'm so thankful for my wonderful husband and God's faithfulness throughout our marriage. To find someone to love and loves you back is truly an amazing thing -- especially when he chooses to love you even at your worst. As in all marriages, there are highs and lows. I wouldn't change a single second of it for I have grown as a person and in my faith through our relationship. However, I wanted to share with you two lessons that I have learned in my marriage: 1. He shouldn't be my everything . Walter is my best friend, my confidant, and I love just being in the same room as him. It's romantic to say that "he's my everything" (which in many ways he is), however, I don't expect him to be my everything. It's an unfair pressure to put on him. My husband needs to be able to hang with his friends and talk with them without constantly worrying about me. And I need to have people that I...

I'm a recovering competitor and perfectionist...two things that don't always go well together.  I've always been an athlete and was above average in most sports growing up. However, because I'm so competitive, all I could see was everyone who was better than me. And because I was a perfectionist, I aligned that with never thinking I was good enough. In my mind, if I wasn't the best, I clearly wasn't a good player. At that time, I didn't realize that was my thinking pattern...I just never really saw my talent. But looking back now, I see how it all connected.  My dad was a constant encouragement to me and would tell me all the time what a great player I was (while also being honest about where I could improve), but it never made a difference. I simply didn't believe I was as good as he (or the stats) said. And because of it, I gave up on my favorite sport when I was 15 and later wished I could go back and make a different decision. Perhaps you are a littl...

Last week, my family and I escaped the artic chill and snow and headed to Florida! It was sunny with temperatures in the 80s all week -- a huge difference from the weather back at home. We spent our time as Universal Studios Orlando (both parks) for five days and loved every moment of it. (As I sit here at home writing this blog post, it is 2 degrees outside and I can feel the winter blues descending...) After a crazy (and oftentimes, disappointing) pandemic year, it was great to finally be able to vacation and spend time as a family. Yes, we had to wear masks the entire time (which is annoying when you are outside in warm weather), but because of the limited capacity, it wasn't as crowded and the wait times were so much shorter! Woohoo! For some people, when they go on vacation, they also see it as a vacation from living a healthy lifestyle. Here's the thing, you can enjoy all the good things AND be healthy while vacationing...it just takes some planning and discipline. Here a...

I've been thinking a lot about honesty lately, specifically in relationships. For the most part, I consider myself an honest person. When I worked in retail, my customers appreciated that I would give them honest feedback and let them know if something worked for them, instead of just trying to make a sale. I joke around that if you give me a just a little alcohol, you will be sure to know my opinions about any and everything. ;) However, when it comes to people who are close to me, I have a harder time being honest. I can be honest when it doesn't matter -- even when it is with people I consider my friends. I think because there isn't as much at stake -- if they judge me, get mad, or walk away, it doesn't really matter. I know that I was honest and I can move on in my life.  However, with those closest to me, I'm careful to keep things close to me and compartmentalize instead to sharing how I honestly feel. There's way more at stake. Yes, I know that the people...

I recently had someone say that "wellness" is just a term that people use to talk about dieting and looking a certain way and that she wants nothing to do with it. I'm sure she has some things from her past that made her view it that way, but I also realized that there might be other people who misinterpret what "wellness" is...and why it is so important. First, let me clarify what wellness isn't : Wellness isn't how you look in a bathing suit Wellness isn't the number on a scale (although that can be a sign that you aren't well) Wellness isn't being able to run a marathon Wellness isn't depriving yourself from all good foods and only eating kale ;) What is wellness? Wellness is taking care of the body that God gave you -- allowing it to function to it's fullest potential. God, in his awesome creativity, gave us bodies of all shapes, sizes, and abilities. Contrary to what is shown on TV and the internet, one shape and size isn't b...

I was listening to a podcast the other day by Marie Forleo and she was talking with someone about determining your worth in business. They were talking about how when you are looking at your worth, whether business or personal, you can't allow other people to determine your worth. Their thought was that you determine your worth in life. Yes, other people don't determine my worth in life and not hearing from someone doesn't determine my value. My worth is not based on what other people think of me but, honestly, I don't believe that it's just about me determining my own worth. See, I don't trust myself. I'm my worst critic and don't always believe my true worth. Oftentimes, I dwell on thinking I should have done more or that I'm a crappy mom, etc. Clearly, I'm not good at determining my own worth. So, even though I don't want others to determine my worth, determining my own worth feels like a big weight as well. Here's what I have found: ...

I LOVE to read. I rarely watch TV, because I am always reading. Everywhere I go, I bring a book with me because I would rather lose myself in a book than stare at my phone non-stop. I read a TON of fiction books, but also try to fill my time reading non-fiction books that grow my faith, business knowledge, healthy habits, etc. Here are some of my top favorite books. Take a look and then go grab a copy for yourself! (Side note: I love getting books from the library, but these are all ones worth owning -- so you can re-read them and share them.)   1. Everything is Figureoutable by Marie Forleo I can't give this book enough praise! If you have ever made excuses for not meeting a goal, following a dream, fixing a problem...then you need this book! It's easy to read, super practical, and Marie is so incredibly relatable. So stop making excuses about having time or money to read this book ;) and go figure it out! As you'll learn, everything is figureoutable! 2. Food Fix: How to ...

Since the beginning of 2021, I've been hearing a lot about having a "Word of the Year." People have been choosing a "Word of the Year" prior to now, but I wonder if I'm seeing it more this year because people are afraid to have goals and dreams in 2021 after the letdown of 2020.  It's crazy to think that there is one word in all of language that will envelope my hopes for 2021 (check out this funny video from The Holderness Family:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNZeZK7-4uU ), but I think I came up with one. I still created my list of dreams for 2021, but tried to funnel it all into one word. My word of the year is CARE.  I picked this word because of the different ways it can be used. "Take care..." "Handle with care..." "I care about you..." I want to be more empathetic and show people that I care about their hurts/struggles.  I want to make sure those closest to me know that I love them and make it a priority to tell...

It's a new year, which often means new goals and dreams. Most people come up with a resolution or goal, but often give up because it is unattainable or they are looking for quick results. There is nothing wrong with coming up with a list of goals for the new year...as long as you realize that it might take all year to attain them. Most won't get achieved in one month -- which means that you can't give up after January if you haven't met your goal AND you can't wait to get started until November or December. Start right away with the knowledge that anything great worth doing is worth the time and effort. It's helpful to have smaller goals as you reach for your big goals (which I like to call my Dreams for the year). Dreams are the big picture, but you need multiple, smaller goals to reach your big goal/dream. So, you may have a big goal of losing 30lbs, but your smaller goals may be to lose 1-2 pounds per week, add one vegetable to your day, etc. You may want to ...

2020 is officially gone and 2021 is here! I know most people joke about the dumpster fire that 2020 was and how thankful they are to see the year be over, however, when I look back at the year I see how God used the hard to create better. Without the crazy year of 2020, my life would be on the same crazy train it was at the beginning of the year and I wouldn't see the growth in my marriage, my family, my job, etc. At the beginning of 2020, our lives had become busy without even realizing it. We would find a way to add one more activity to our week and adjust, never seeing just how crazy life was becoming. Then everything shut down in March and we were forced to stop and be still. My husband and I both saw that we needed to take a step back and have made intentional choices to not let our lives get as hectic again. When everything closed, including my job, I realized that the job I had was pulling me away from the time I desired with my family and that I was missing my kids growing ...