Confession: I have a love-hate relationship with Valentine’s Day.
The idea of a holiday where you buy fancy trinkets to show how romantic you are just feels… icky. But what if we pressed rewind and took it back to Elementary school? Or even better- what if we work on loving the person we have to live with every single day, no matter what. Ourself.
Read MoreSo… are you getting in the holiday mood yet? Joyful? Cheerful? Merry? Stressed?
Yeah, stressed. The holidays can be amazing, but they can also become a very stressful time of year.
To help you out this holiday season, here are five ways to avoid stress and overwhelm this holiday season.
Read MoreI’m sickened. Seriously. I’m ill about this. It’s been on my mind constantly for the last two months, and now this?
First, while my 1-year wedding anniversary had me reflecting on all the great parts of the wedding and marriage planning process, I couldn’t help but remember how horrible my dress shopping experience was. So I posted about it. I wrote about how I wanted to reach back a year and a half ago and remind myself that you can’t see “health” with a look up and down. Health consists more than the number on the scale or the size of your pants.
Read MoreI don’t remember when I got my first diary. I do remember it was white and it had shiny colored objects on the cover, but I don’t remember what the objects were. What I DO remember is that it had lock. Looking back on it, it was a cheapo lock, and I’m sure one jab of a bobby pin would have let any would-be-intruders (aka little sisters) in on my secrets in 3.5 seconds. That’s why I also cleverly hid it under my mattress.
Bless my 9-year old self.
When I was a little older I started collecting quotes. I wrote them everywhere. In notebooks, on scraps of paper, and the very special ones… in a special notebook just for my favorite quotes. I’m not sure what it was that triggered my love for quotes, but I even asked for a quote thesaurus for a gift once. Yes, quote thesauruses exist. And I got one. An entire big, beautiful book of quotes… about music.
I still love a good quote. I love how a few sentences can inspire, make me laugh, or put me into a tailspin as I ponder everything I’ve ever believed about the world (no, I’m not dramatic at all. Ever.)
These are some of my current favorites. They challenge, inspire, and push me. I hope they can do the same for you!
Read MoreI have a confession to make.
The other day I looked in the mirror and I made a face at myself. And it wasn’t a nice face. I don’t feel good making this confession, but I have to be honest with you, because it’s true. And it happens more than I’d like to admit.
I make ugly faces at the image looking back at me. I pull on my clothes, and I complain about some or other part of my body. Sometimes I say things out loud, but 9 times out of 10 the voice is only my head. Sometimes when I say these things out loud I’m overheard. But again, 9 times out of 10 the only person who “hears” is me.
Read MoreFebruary is my least favorite month of the year. It’s cold, the sun tends to hide, and even the snow that’s on the ground looks gross. Plus, the excitement and cheer of the holidays is officially over and there’s nothing much to look forward to. Okay, I take that back- some people have a long weekend at the end of February, but most of us don’t.
Oh, and there’s Valentine’s Day. The day of the year when advertisers tell us (guys especially) that we have to spend lots of money on the person we love to show them that we actually do, indeed, love them. The day when anyone who is single, for whatever reason, notices their “singleness” in a way that doesn’t occur any other day of the year (In fact, in college, my friends and I used to wear black in honor of “Single Awareness Day”). The day of the year that’s full of high expectations and often, big disappointments.
Now, don’t get me wrong. If you love Valentine’s Day, you do you. More power to you. I actually used to love February 14th before I was an adult. That’s when Valentine’s Day was funny cards, and craft projects, and more about friendship than romance. Honestly, I still feel the same way. I love buying silly cards and giving them to the people I care about throughout the year. Maybe Valentine’s Day has become more commercialized lately (Guys, get your girls a diamond), or maybe I just didn’t notice it as a kid.
This pull of loving a day to celebrate love, and hating a day that feels so “expensive to prove love” has bugged me for years. Which is why, when I was introduced to Galentine’s Day last year, my head (and heart) exploded.
Read MoreTootsie Rolls, Twix, Snickers, Milk Duds, and Milky Ways. Starbursts, Skittles, Twizzlers, and Jolly Ranchers. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Butterfingers, and Candy Corn.
It’s Halloween, so we eat it. And unfortunately we eat it all. Why? Because it’s there. Staring us at the face. Taunting us. Teasing us. Calling to us. Or, one of my client’s so “delicately” put it. It’s making us angry. Either angry because we’re eating it, or angry because we “can’t” eat it.
Read MoreExperienced traveler. Your GO-TO place for motivation, accountability, balanced life tips, and, well... the FRICKin Good Life with Erin Frick: Fit Life Coach; recovering perfectionist, people pleaser and clearance rack shopper.
