Health & Free Living

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