2022 Word of the Year

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Last June, I bought a bracelet. Since becoming a mom, I honestly hadn’t purchased many things specifically for myself. Sure, I’d purchased nursing bras and a few outfits that fit my postpartum body, but other than the necessities (and to be clear, I do consider equipment to allow me to workout at home a necessity), most of what I purchased for myself was “mom-stuff.”

I’m not sure “mom-stuff” is really a word or phrase that can be looked up in a dictionary or researched on google, but you know what I mean, right?

It’s the stuff you need to make your life a little less insane as a mom. Yes, I need organizing bins to keep my toddler’s toys in check. Rolling cart to create a mobile diaper changing station? Absolutely. Silicone baking cups, popsicle molds, and good cake pans may feel like a kitchen splurge… but they were all purchases that had something to do with the toddler. Hence, “mom-stuff.”

But the bracelet? That was for me.

Last December I chopped 14 inches off my hair. Yes. You read that right. 14 inches. (Yes, I donated it)

On my way to pay for my haircut, something inside me woke up. Something needed to change. While it was probably the massive change in hair length that was the trigger, the knowledge that something was just a bit off had been floating around the back of my head for a while.

But what was it?

After a good amount of soul-searching, praying, and chatting with my people I realized what was a bit off was… me. It wasn’t that something was off. I was off.

As I started to consider my world for 2022, I seriously considered align. But again, there was something about it that didn’t quite convey what I was looking for. That, and I had a strange feeling with posting a word that also made me think of digestive health all over my world for a year.

I considered words like strength, confidence, and worthy. But when it came down to it, I realized all of these words had one thing in common. Which is why my 2022 word of the year is connect.

CONNECT

“to bring together or into contact so that a real or notional link is established”

This. This is what I want. This is what I need. This is what I crave.

Connection. To connect.

  • I want to connect with friends that I’ve lost touch with because of the double-whammy of new baby and pandemic happening at the same time

  • I want to connect with new friends now that I’m in a new phase of life

  • I want to connect to my inner strength that I’ve been neglecting as I’ve waded through the past almost two years

  • I want to re-connect to my teachings; about dealing with overwhelm, slowing down, relationships, motivation, and more

  • I want to re-connect with my personal happiness commandments

  • I want to re-connect to me as a person and a mom, not just a mom

  • I want to connect. I want connection.

I realize that it’s not going to be easy. I’m will have to be flexible (ha! Thanks 2021) in my approach to some of these things. It’s not January 2020 where we didn’t have to remember new guidelines every time we walked out the door. There may be more zoom or FaceTime instead of in-person get togethers than I’d like, but it’s better than nothing.  Because nothing leads to disconnect. And this year, I’m all about connection.

Here’s to a new year. A year of joy, happiness, love… and connection. Happy 2022.

2021 Word of the Year Follow-Up

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2021 Word of the Year Follow-Up

I have a confession to make.

Here we are, almost halfway through the year and I’m just now revisiting my word. Just like last year, I kept it in mind for the first couple months of the year, and then… I just forgot.

It’s actually embarrassing to admit that I’m just now realizing I haven’t used my word to its fullest potential. After all, wasn’t that my complaint about last years’ word?

I chose my word well, darn it. As the world is gradually opening up and I’m relearning how to have a baby (well- toddler!) in this environment, right now I need my word more than ever.

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Get Your Body Back After Pregnancy

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Get Your Body Back After Pregnancy

Here I am, almost 14 months postpartum and I don’t have my “pre-baby body back.”

How embarrassing.

I should hang my head in shame, right? Give back my “trainer” certifications? Call it quits on the whole healthy living portion of The FRICKin Good Life? (Which, let’s be honest, is one of the major pillars of living the FRICKin Good Life)

Get your body back after pregnancy.

If I see that one more time, I may scream. Or pull out my hair (which, let’s be honest, isn’t a great idea since I’m finally growing the hair back I lost last year!).

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Corona Brain and What to do About It

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Corona Brain and What to do About It

Anxiety. Confusion. Overwhelm. Fear.

I’ll be honest. This has not been my best week.

I’m struggling with figuring out how to “show-up” and serve my people (you) right now, when I alternate between feeling fine, optimistic, almost normal and wanting to curl up in a ball and cry.

And it’s funny, because the things that I find triggering are surprising to me. And I’m not honestly not sure if there is a hormone thing going on here in the last couple weeks of pregnancy, or it’s just the pandemic that is happening at the same time that my life is changing.

I’ll admit it. I’m scared, but I’m also hopeful.

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Inspiration to find Time

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Inspiration to find Time

School is starting. Where the heck did summer go?

How the heck is it already the middle of August? Seriously. There’s no way it’s later than the beginning of July at the latest. More like mid-June, right?

Where has this year gone?

What is it about being an adult that causes time to slip through our finger-tips? Maybe it’s because we’ve lived longer so our concept of time is different than it was when we were younger. Or maybe it’s because we’ve put “being busy” on a pedestal and we are living in a state of overwork, overwhelm, and over-busy.

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Just Five Minutes

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Just Five Minutes

We’ve all been there. It’s the end of the day, you’re exhausted, and even though your gym bag is giving you dirty looks, you just don’t want to.

Or maybe you’ve committed to an early morning workout.  Your bed is warm, you’re extremely comfortable, and since you only got 7 hours of sleep you should probably go head and turn off that alarm, right?

That, my friend, is the hardest part of the workout. Getting ready and getting there. Whether “there” is the gym, your basement, or just out your front door, getting to the initial starting place is the absolute hardest part.

So here’s the deal. I’m going to give you an out.  Yes, I want you to continue to plan your workouts ahead of time. Schedule them in your calendar just like any other appointment you wouldn’t cancel on, and show up. But on days like these, you only have to give me five minutes. That’s right. Only five.

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