Category: Wellness

I was feeling damn good about myself that evening at the restaurant. Mr. H and I escaped our shared home office and embarked on a date night. We left our business behind, put some pants on, and went out to dinner. In the restaurant bathroom, I looked at myself in the mirror and noticed a couple of—shall we say—issues.

A generous speck of chocolate was on the bottom of my chin. I legitimately worried that it was cat poo since I am now an official caretaker of my 17-year-old cat, Panda, and I discover cat “presents” on my clothes on the regular.

No, I did not do the taste test to confirm chocolate vs. cat poo. I was satisfied with the memory of scarfing down a row from a chocolate bar earlier that day, deeply caffeinated while working on content in my drafty office.

My hair was mostly presentable for a change, but my sweater was not. If you must know, it was on inside out.

My sweater felt funny throughout dinner and I couldn’t figure it out. One look in that public mirror was all it took to realize my work-from-home wardrobe malfunction. Thankfully, it wasn’t my pants. Which yes, I’ve worn my pants both inside out and backwards before as well.

Rarely looking in the mirror is just one of many occupational hazards I have experienced while working from home. Green smoothie in my teeth, cat vomit on my sock, oatmeal in my hair…been there, done that.

Since so many of you around the world have been working remotely over the past year, whether you wanted to or not, I know you feel me on the absurdities, realities, and surprises we face by working exclusively in a home environment.

Continue reading “The Interchangeable Pros and Cons of Working From Home” →

I was relieved when I discovered the term “imposter syndrome” later in life. Having a name for something I had battled growing up, and increasingly battled as an adult, made it less scary—less like the Bogeyman hiding under the bed or in the closet and more like a temper tantrum that would come and go.

It was so different from dealing with anxiety and depression. It was this strange push-and-pull, feeling the exhilaration of pushing to achieve something followed by the rug being pulled out from under me. 

There are countless articles about overcoming imposter syndrome. For those of us who deal with imposter syndrome, I’m not so sure it’s something that we can overcome. I think it’s something we learn to live with.

Continue reading “Learning to Live with Imposter Syndrome” →

Alcohol consumption is a pretty heavy topic and it’s kind of taboo, which is crazy to think about since alcohol has been ingrained in human society for thousands (yes, thousands) of years.

Back in 2016, I decided to openly talk about alcohol in a very public space…right here on my blog. I was terrified to publish a blog about doing a 30-day no alcohol challenge. Would people think I was rolling out of bed in the morning and boozing it up?

I decided to hell with what people think. It’s clear that I am not consuming alcohol on that scale or I wouldn’t be doing all of the things I do—from running my business Superneat Marketing to running my creative businesses, like my blog, my fiction, and now my podcast—Love Your Enthusiasm.

I was surprised to see how supportive everyone was that read that 30-day alcohol break blog…and also how many questions and comments I received from people. So many people were already thinking about taking a break from alcohol and they were relieved that I talked so openly about it.

In December of last year, I published a blog about going 6 months without alcohol and it has been the most popular blog I’ve ever written. Thousands of people have read this blog, and it showing no signs of slowing down.

• Was it destined for popularity?
• Or did the absolute insanity of 2020 cause an increase in interest as alcohol consumption increased?

I can’t say. But, I do know that it’s important to talk about alcohol and share real-life experiences. I always think the best place to start with changing your life is self-inquiry. Sometimes we just need to stop and ask ourselves a tough question, like: Is it time to take a break from something?

Continue reading “Is it Time to Take a Break from Alcohol?” →

In the photo you’re looking at on this blog, it’s not just a pretty dance pose in front of a lake sunset. In ballet, this is called attitude. Attitude is my favorite ballet move, whether I am balancing, turning, or jumping. It feels like flying and falling all at once.

Attitude is also an incredibly difficult dance move. Done incorrectly, especially derrière (to the back), you can easily tweak your back, your ass, or all of the above. Done incorrectly, your leg hovers off to the side and you look like a dog peeing on a fire hydrant.

You have to think of drawing your foot toward the opposite shoulder while your leg is raised awkwardly behind you. Essentially, attitude is a broken arabesque. To get it right, attitude takes strength and adjustments.

I think we all feel like we’re being tested this year. Who’s failing? Who’s passing? And, who in the hell came up with this test?

Continue reading “Strengthen and Adjust Your Attitude” →

Practice is always the key word in life, and it is especially key while you’re in quarantine. Despite all of the skills and talents we have, none of us are quarantine experts.

I’ll be honest. Before this, my only experience with the word “quarantine” was from watching Leonardo Di Caprio play Howard Hughes in The Aviator (Q-U-A-R-A-N-T-I-N-E…quarantine). Yep, that’s all I’ve got.

Even if we had a mindfulness practice pre-COVID, most of our healthy habits went out the window when the pandemic escalated. Here are a few things that are working for me that might work for you.

Continue reading “8 Ways to Practice Mindfulness in Quarantine” →