I didn’t make a New Year’s resolution for 2017. I was over setting myself up for failure, so in the spirit of self-love, I decided to challenge myself in more productive ways. I set short term goals, like not getting too drunk to remember the ball drop (failed) and not crying at midnight (allegedly failed).
I did, however, develop a theme and set of rules for the new year. My mantra? “2017 is the year of the GIRL.”
Read MoreHave you ever done that thing, where you see someone cute from across a room and before you’ve so much as exchanged names, you’ve pictured all the ways they’ll make you fall in love with them before they eventually break your heart, and then all of a sudden they’ve picked up their coffee and left the building before you even said hi? I am a master of that game.
Read MoreMake one mistake and your words tremble. You instantly become self-conscious of your every motion and movement. You criticize the way you said something, the sound of your voice, the hand gestures you made. Your imperfections grow into monsters.
Read MoreI looked in the mirror and didn’t recognize my own face. It looked somber, angry, incapable of ever smiling again.
Since the time college had ended and my had life become a whirlwind of whatever luck would bring me, I had been a little depressed and angry at God. It seemed like every door I knocked on didn’t want to open, and I had been knocking for quite a while now with still no open doors for me.
Read MoreThe absolute backbone of your Whole 30 experience (besides bacon) is going to be meal planning. You will not get by without carefully calculating each thing that will go into your body everyday, because you can (and will) go from zero to hangry very quickly, and Lord help us all if there is not a handful of almonds or kale chips nearby.
Read MoreI am always fighting this conundrum: If I am too busy, I get stressed out, and if I’m not busy enough… I get stressed out. What used to be a three-month issue during the summer now occurs on a weekly basis. I try to find ways to be more productive in my free time while constantly battling my desire to nap away my free hours. On the rare occasion when I stay awake, I have found a few ways to keep my mind occupied and my time productive.
Read MoreIn case the hype of Whole 30 has somehow passed you and your Instagram feed by, allow me to introduce you. Whole 30 is agreeing to 30 dairy-free, sugar-free, gluten-free, alcohol-free, legumes-free and MSG-free days. It is agreeing to only consume whole foods for a month while your body heals and resets from the processed and sugar-ridden foods that it is typically fed. As I type I am currently stuffed with the queso I binged at lunch because I am three days post-Whole 30, and I am going to tell you some reasons why I am currently driving the bandwagon on this seemingly crazy endeavor.
Read MoreBut March is only month 3 of 12, so I can’t let a lack of goal success over a two-month period dictate the rest of my year. I’d like to offer three things I’m learning about setting yourself up to meet your goals. (Plus I have a giveaway to announce!)
Read MoreThen a week passes, then two, and then I realize I haven't cracked open to Bible study book, and I've double-booked my calendar more than once, and I'm wiped from waking up early but not adjusting my bedtime. Almost without my noticing, all of the balls in my court have dropped and rolled far, far away.
Suddenly—or not so suddenly—I just want to shirk it all and sleep.
Read MoreI'm currently working 10-hour days. Factor in travel and sleep time, and I have approximately five hours to myself during the week. All of which is spent getting ready for work, getting ready for bed… or watching Netflix (a girl has got to decompress, okay?). But the way I’ve been living leaves no room to focus on things in my own life.
Read MoreI thought paying for exercise was sort of stupid for years. Within my canon of college thoughts that included aspirations of homesteading and going carless, I thought the idea of the gym was backwards—people didn’t need the gym for thousands of years because they exercised in their everyday lives. If we needed to work to pay to exercise instead of just incorporating it in our livelihood—what was that saying about our values? Our lifestyle? Our society? Cue the small existential crisis.
Read MoreI wanted to share three of my favorite crockpot recipes that are easy as pie (even though pies are not easy to make so, um, who came up with this saying?!), because we’re all in this whole “gotta feed yourself food other than pizza” post-grad life together.
Read MoreIt’s two weeks into January, and the Christmas tree in the living room is slowly gravitating toward our wooden floors. Fallen pine needles sit in a one-inch circumference around the willowy tree. The pine smell still illuminates the air, though, making me happy.
The day we got the tree was the second week of December. I remember. It was the day I cried to my mentor over the phone.
Read More“I’m going to therapy.” When that statement was first true for me, the sentence felt slippery, like I couldn’t quite wrap my hands around it, like trying to hold one of those weird liquid-filled sparkly gel blobs we played with as kids (really, what were those?). Or like trying to roll those Spanish “r”s or pronounce those deep-throated “e”s like the French do—it sounded unnatural when I tried to say it. So instead, I said “I’m going to see Sarah” or “I have an appointment” or, mostly, I just don’t say anything at all, keeping it tucked away in my I’d-rather-not-say collection.
Read MoreIf you do grocery planning and shopping right, it can be easy, fun, and budget-friendly. As a recent college grad, I know your time is limited, money is tight (maybe more than expected), and healthy food just doesn’t sound good at the end of a long work day. But I have some tips and tricks that will make this transition easier for you when it comes to planning and preparing your meals. I’ve also included one of my favorite recipes below, fried Quinoa; it’s both healthy and mouth-watering!
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