Because Who Wouldn't Want To Have 2 Jobs?

Because who wouldn’t want to have 2 jobs?

And 2 kids.

And a husband.

And a house and domestic duties. 

And leukemia.

Well the latter isn’t really something I want, but, ya know.

If you are my Facebook friend, then you probably saw that my sister and I are starting our own business. I am so very excited!

I want to start by staying I’m still staying at United Way, because that is my career. I intentionally chose to be at United Way almost 4 years ago. I made personal and financial sacrifices to join the United Way team—mainly, accepted a job offer with a salary almost half as less as what I was making at my then current job. Why would one do such a thing? Because I knew it’s where I was called to be. United Way of Central Kentucky is an amazing organization that does important work in our community for children and families and I love being a part of that as the Vice President.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s a tough, tough job. The hardest job I’ve ever had and I’ve been in store management, office management, banking, and home financing. But knowing that the work that we do gives a child growing up in poverty the opportunity to break the odds and become a successful, self-sufficient adult makes it so, so worth it. Every kid in our community deserves that opportunity, and I get to be a part of that and don’t plan on leaving anytime soon.

But I’ve also always had the passion to be an entrepreneur and partnering with my sister to start a woman’s clothing store seemed like a no-brainer.  We grew up in a family business. I mean, we were literally raised in a bowling alley. I spent most of my days, nights and weekends from the time I was born and all through growing up at the bowling alley watching my parents work hard, really really hard. I am so thankful for that and the experiences I had as it’s where I learned all about hard work and the importance of community. I was raised by not only my parents, but my aunts, uncles, and grandparents as they were also a part of this business at that time, as well as the regular customers at the bowling alley, who are still just like family. It was an amazing experience because I got to not only witness the good times but also the bad times. Specifically the sacrifices you have to make and the struggles of owning your own business, and owning a business with your siblings. It wasn't always rainbows and butterflies and I don't expect it to be with my sister, but also know that with the amazing relationship that we do have, and with the support of our other sister, parents, and husbands, it’s going to be great. On top of growing up in a family business, both of my brother-in-law’s also have their own businesses as well. Entrepreneurship is just a family thing I guess. Hopefully it works out as well for us as it has them. :) 

Going into the fashion industry is what I had planned on doing when I grew up. In high school, I would make my own graphic t-shirts with iron on transfers. One of the shirts I made said ‘Hi Craig’ for a friend of mine that I always said hi to, obnoxiously. Ironically enough, his brother is now who we are renting our store space from. Funny how that worked out. :) 

My mom got us a sewing machine when I was in high school and we sewed some clothing pieces, together. I also even hand sewed my own purse, would sew material on shirts and skirts to spice them up, make belts out of t-shirts, and do other really weird and random things. The plan after graduation was to go to a fashion school in California and once graduation neared and I realized the cost for that was insane, I decided I needed to figure something else out. That something ended up being getting married and moving to Colorado but that’s a story that’s already been told. :) But over the course of those years, actually from the age of 16-20, I worked in retail. I started as an associate, to a sales lead, to assistant management, all the way to store management. I loved it. The last two stores I worked in were Charlotte Russe and Max Rave (a BCBG store) in Louisville and what we mainly did was help women pick out outfits to wear for a fun night out. It was so much fun. But after I became a single mom, I wanted a more 9-5 Monday-Friday job so I could spend more time with Talon so I moved on.

But here we are now. And now I have the opportunity to pursue my desire of entrepreneurship with my passion of retail AND continue my career at United Way. It’s a win, win! And only possible because I am partnering with my sister. She has amazing style and I know will bring great products to our store. She also has the time to be able to manage the store day to day, and I know she'll do great. I’ll be helping more behind the scenes with the finances and marketing, but you'll see me in the store on weekends. It’s a perfect fit. Have I mentioned how excited I am?

But let’s be honest.

I’m also a little overwhelmed.

As I’ve mentioned before, some days are just a struggle to get through a full 40 hour work week, much less a work day because of my health. So I’m not naive to think it will get any better, if anything, it will get worse. And my goal isn’t to work myself to death but to have fun with something new and different and also build something for the future.

And there is no way I could take any of this on if not for the support of my husband. He already has to pick up a lot of the weight around the house on the days that my health knocks me off my feet. And I already work full time during the day so now many of my nights and weekends will also be compromised with either me being sick on the couch or me doing work for the store, whether at home or at the store. So even more at home will fall on his plate when he gets home from work. But he has accepted that challenge and I’m so thankful for his support. We’ve began to implement some things that I hope will help so we can both find that balance and also ensure we are spending as much time with our kids, each other, and ourselves as possible. :) So that’s what I’ll end this post with. That plan.

As a working momma (or not), I encourage you to take some domestic pressure off yourself and partake in some of the below activities. And if you have any other ideas or suggestions on how to create a good work/life balance, please send them my way!

1.    Bills—all of our bills are on auto pay. All. Of. Them. We have 3 accounts. A savings account, bills checking account, and spending checking account. Our paychecks get deposited into our bills account and all of the auto pays for all of our monthly bills come out of that account. Also, each week a set amount of money is automatically transferred from our bills account to our spending account. That’s the account we use for flexible expenses—gas, groceries, shopping, eating out, etc. And a set amount is automatically transferred from the bills account to our savings account each month. All of this is automatic. We do nothing. It’s the best thing I ever set up. I never have to worry about if a bill is paid, if we have enough money in our account to purchase something, etc. and it saves so much time because let’s face it, paying bills and balancing your account can take up some time.

2.    Dinner—I love cooking. I do. But not after I work a full day, pick up the kids, go to practices/games, do homework, sign all the school papers, sell all the school/sports fundraiser stuff, etc. I used to try to cook 4 nights a week. That has dwindled over time. And I hate eating out, it’s expensive and gets old. So my solution has been to use E ’town Meal Prepping and I absolutely love it! Each week I purchase freshly prepped, healthy meals for the week for lunch and a couple of dinners. I still try to cook a couple of nights a week but this takes the pressure off and I know that there is always something at home to eat, whether I am home to cook it or not. Game changer.

3.    Click List—If you haven’t used Kroger's Click List yet, you really need to. I began using it before Taylor was born and it’s changed my life. Each week I order my groceries, pick them up, and then come back home to put them up. What used to take about 2 hours total now takes about 35 minutes.

4.    House Cleaning—we have some ladies come in to clean out house about once a month. It’s great. But I’ve already told TJ that once we open the store, I plan on having someone come more often so that’s one less thing I have to worry about when I’m at home. I’m looking forward to that one. :)

5.    Fetch Fox—so I haven’t used this yet BUT have full intentions on it once things really get crazy. Fetch Fox is a service that will essentially run your errands for you. I’m talking go to Kroger and pick up your Click List order for you AND bring them to your house AND put them up. They even do light tidying up around the house.

The goal is for when TJ and I are at home, all we have to worry about is spending time with our sweet kiddos and each other.

raiment + boon. Coming November 2017. Come check it out, people! We hope you love it!

And wish us all luck! 

Ebbs & Flows

This. This is me 5 days after starting Whole30. In case you were wondering, this isn’t a Whole30 approved food. It's in fact a sausage biscuit from McDonalds and while I really don't like those, I was desperate. 

Let’s back up a little. This week has been a week of changes. My husband started a new job, Taylor started a new ‘day’ schedule, we got rid of cable (dish), and I started a diet.

All in one week.

And this month is my 5 year cancer-versary. It was about this time this year that I heard “you have leukemia”. I was also told, without my treatment, I would only have 3-5 years to live as there is no cure for my leukemia. Thank goodness for this treatment, because here I am, 5 years later, still complaining about my leukemia. :) So if you follow my blog, then you know these past 5 years have been a struggle health wise learning how to live with it and the side effects that come with my treatment. It ebbs and flows and right now, it’s flowing. Boy is it flowing.

For the last 5 years, my life has been controlled by this pill. 

I’ve tried different ways to alleviate the side effects that are at times debilitating. The most recent is changing when I take it. It has to be on a super full stomach or I’ll get sick, and that will be all she wrote for the day. Not very convenient when you work full time and have kids. I had always taken it after dinner so if/when I did get nauseous and super fatigued, I could just try to sleep through it. But the dilemma was, some days I barely have enough energy to make it through the workday so by time I get home, I rarely don’t have the energy to cook, much less have an appetite to eat. So many nights I would just skip taking my treatment. Not only was that a bad choice for the fact that it could cause my leukemia to progress but more importantly, make my body resistant to that type of treatment. And again, without it, my time here will be much shorter than my kids need me.

So I knew I needed to try something new. I decided to start taking it after lunch. It’s my most consistent meal of the day so I know I wont’ have an excuse to skip my treatment. But now I can’t sleep through the side effects. About 30 minutes after I take it, I know I’m going to be hit by a storm of fatigue, at best. At worst, a wave of nausea will hit me so bad that I can’t move, speak, or think or I know I’ll get sick. And it’s not a ‘throw up and feel better’ kind of sick. It’s a ‘throw up every ounce of matter I have in my stomach and feel completely drained and depleted’ sick and I’m done for the day. So when it hits, I try to push through it. I know it will usually only last an hour or so and will pass. When it gets really bad, I’ll take half a Phenergan and again, try to push through it. But sometimes I have no choice but to lay down. Again, none of these things are convenient when you’re working, especially when in a meeting, such has happened many of times. That wave of nausea will hit and I’ll be surrounded by people in a meeting and while I’m smiling and nodding, I’m internally giving myself a pep talk, “don’t throw up, Dana. Don’t throw up. Stand still, don’t move. Just a few more minutes. You can do it”, as I can feel it creeping up my throat. Feeling like that is terrible enough but then also trying to hide it and not look like a weirdo? Double whammy. But this is my life.

So after this trial and error, I knew I needed to try something else. This time my focus was on my diet. While my treatment definitely comes with a host of side effects, I know my unhealthy eating habits don’t help with my energy levels. So what if I could eat food for fuel as they say, then maybe I could better manage my side effects?

I’ve been intrigued by the Whole30. Thirty days, breaking bad food habits, resetting your body, I could do this.

Yeah. Here’s how that went---

Day 1. Ate Whole30 approved foods. Took treatment. Immediately got sick. Took half a Phenergan. Went to sleep.

Day 2. Ate Whole30 approved foods. Took treatment. Immediately got sick. Took half a Phenergan. Went to sleep.

Day 3. Ate Whole30 approved foods. Took treatment. Immediately got sick. Took half a Phenergan. Went to sleep.

Day 4. Ate Whole30 approved foods, until dinner. Ate a ‘normal’ dinner. Took treatment. Immediately got sick. Took half a Phenergan. Went to sleep.

Day 5. Ate a normal breakfast (see picture above), normal lunch. Took treatment. Immediately got sick, had to give my self that pep talk because I was in a meeting. Took half a Phenergan. Left work early. Went to sleep.

The reason why I’ve been getting sick is because with Whole30, you're not supposed to eat grains, for me that means bread and crackers-- foods that I would normally eat to help absorb my treatment. But even when I snuck those in, I was still getting sick. And I can only attest that to the fact that I haven’t been eating as much as normal since my food selection is limited.

Today is day 5. And this was me after lunch, when I should have been at work. 

The whole idea behind Whole30 is by eliminating the ‘bad’ foods, I should have all of this energy. While that may be true, I’ll never know because once I take a Phenergan, it knocks me out and I’m groggy until the next day. It’s like I can’t win for losing.

So to say I’m frustrated is an understatement. I just feel defeated. 

And let me also add that I haven't had a glass of wine in over a week. 

And my husband has been the real MVP this week stepping in when I, just, can't. 

That’s where I am 5 days and 5 years later. Ebbs and flows. 

"The truth is, there is nothing easy about chronic diseases. At the best of times, they are a nuisance that we keep in mind, but at worst, they take hold of our personal and professional lives. My own career choices have at times been altered because of it. One of my biggest regrets will always be not being able to follow through on a dream because of it. So I adjust the sails, and try to compensate, and everything works out in some way, whether for the best or not. And we hold on until it retreats into the background once more. We hold on, and we hope for the better day. Because on those days, we are infinite." 

Confession: 

Since starting my treatment 5 years ago, it has really taken a toll on my hair. Some women lose their hair, some don't, I've been kinda in between. My hair is now weird-- weird texture, grows weird, only grows in some areas. As a woman, it's been the side effect that's been hard on my feminine pride. While I like short hair, it's hasn't been a choice. Until recently, while it's still weird texture and weird growing, it is growing more and my hair is longer now than it has been in years. While it still might not look the best, and thinned out in some spots, I sure am proud of it. 

Do Something

Alright friends, I’ll admit what has finally pushed myself to blog again is out of frustration. I should probably clarify, I love to blog, it’s just finding the time, because well, kids. And allll the time I’m like “I’m going to make time.  Tonight’s the night.” Then, well, kids.

So what finally got me here? Facebook. And other comments I’ve repetitively heard lately.

“The world is bad. Blah blah blah. Our kids are going to grow up in a bad world. Blah blah blah.”…. and that’s not what gets me. This is what gets me….

“And it’s because <insert a Christian prohibition excuse here>” 

Mainly--- it is the way it is because ‘they’ don’t allow Jesus and the Bible in school anymore.  

Friends, ‘bad’ things aren’t happening because the Bible isn’t being taught in school. Bad things are happening because WE aren’t doing anything to prevent them.

And by doing anything, I don’t mean praying. Praying is a wonderful thing, but prayer is for the prayer, not the prayee. God didn’t call upon us to tell Him what action HE needs to take. He called upon us to take that action.

Pray about it then DO SOMETHING! Anything! If it’s regarding a particular person, send that person a message of encouragement. If it’s about a condition or an event, take action to fix it. Push yourself out of your comfort zone.

Jesus and the Bible ARE allowed in the schools and in any public and private institution in the world through each of us. Each of us were called to walk the walk, not just talk the talk. And it’s our duties to teach our children to do the same. Teaching your child to sit with the ‘outcast’ kid in their school is bringing Jesus into the school. Teaching your child not to bully or make fun of others is bringing Jesus into the school.

If our lives are comfortable and neat, we are doing it wrong. It’s supposed to be messy, vulnerable, and at times uncomfortable. And I mean this when I say, I’m just as guilty as the rest. But step one is being self-aware, right? J  

Instead of watching Oprah in the break room on your lunch break, go to a local school and have lunch with a child whose world has just been turned upside down because they’ve been removed from their home because their parents are drug addicts, to show him that there are LOTS of people who do care about him and he is worth so much more than he could ever imagine. Instead of buying your daughter 20 new outfits for back to school, buy her 19 and buy a child whose family can barely afford to put food on the table 1 new outfit that they can feel proud and confident in. Instead of complaining about that person begging for money on the side of the street, give money to United Way who is providing skills and interventions those individuals need to be able to support themselves.

None of us are above being a part of the solution to the problems that exist in our community. It is on each and every one of us, Christian or not, but especially those who proclaim such as that is what God has called us to do. That is our purpose.

And when you feel overwhelmed, just listen to one of my favorite songs, Do Something by Matthew West then let’s have lunch and talk about alllll the ways that you can make a difference!

I Can't Make This Stuff Up

My night last night---

Since I knew bad storms were inevitable, I decided to pack up the kids and sleep in the basement so we could sleep through it. Otherwise, I knew I'd be up all night checking the weather to see if I needed to move the kids downstairs. Plus Talon gets the worst exciting anxiety when storms are coming (it's like a thrill to him, he loves it but it makes him anxious, and he really needs a thunder buddy shirt) So if I wanted to get any sleep, I knew it would just make sense to start in the basement with everyone.

Or so I thought.....

Talon & TJ fall sleep on the sectional with the dogs, I put Taylor to bed in her pop n' play in the spare bedroom with me. I laid a light blanket down to protect her from the plastic-ness of the bottom. She falls asleep, and I finally lay down at 11:30pm.

It took forever for me to get comfortable in a bed that wasn't the one I normally sleep in and with a loud nose breathing baby near me. When I finally almost did, Taylor starts rustling around. I went to check on her and realized she was now sleeping on the plastic bottom which is likely why she couldn't get comfortable. I didn't want to put a thick blanket in there because I didn't want her to suffocate because as a parent of a baby, the world trains you to be terrified of SIDs. Not trying to downplay it at all as I know it's real and a risk, just that you can't help to become overly paranoid about it thanks to the internet.

So I decided to put her in bed with me (which is a SIDs risk in itself, but anyways)....

But not before asking my husband to go upstairs to turn on the air because I was burning up and can't sleep when I'm hot.

That's where it went even more wrong.

Taylor has never slept in our bed. And it showed last night. She didn't want to sleep next to me, she wanted to sleep on me.

First she started off on my chest, then just her head on my chest and legs on the bed. Then her head on my stomach and legs on the bed. Then her head on my legs and her legs on the bed. Then her whole body on the bed next to my feet. And she would sit up for a minute between transitions. Once she finally landed by my feet, it seemed all was well and that she was finally falling asleep.

But then I noticed that it was still hot in the room and realized the vent was closed since we never use that room. I'm sweating at this point. And I had sinus pressure building in my nose because I'm allergic to dogs which is why ours mostly stay in the basement. I needed my allergy medicine and to open up the vent but neither were an option because I didn't want to risk moving and waking Taylor up.

It's now 1:00am. Taylor starts rustling around again and at that point, I'm over it. I get up, put Taylor back in her pop n' play, she's crying, I ask my husband to open up the vent, I go upstairs and with the help of my husband bring Taylor's giant swing downstairs, the one we don't let her sleep in anymore, plug it up, and put her to sleep in it. Meanwhile the dogs break through the gate that was keeping them in the living room and are now running amock in the bedroom.

I can't make this up people. I was in tears from laughing at this point. This. This is our life.

But then it gets better. TJ goes back to sleep. Taylor falls asleep. I crawl into the bed that is finally cooled off from the air coming from the vent and all seemed well.

THEN I started thinking....

Taylor is in a metal swing, next to the window, that is plugged in, and the lightening is getting pretty bad.

So I Googled "Can a baby get struck by lightening when in a swing that's plugged in?". <--- This is just a glimpse of what Google gets from me.

After reading those results, I also read that I was a bad mom for letting my baby sleep in a swing because she could suffocate.

Again with the suffocating?? Seriously.

So I decided I'd stay awake a little while longer and once she was out, out, I'd unplug the swing to take away the 'death by swing electrocution' risk and would finally be able to sleep.

It's now 1:30am. I hear the baby snores so I get up, and sneak over to the swing to unplug it, and the girl sits straight up in her swing and looks right at me.

I decided to take my chances, left it plugged in, slowly walked away backwords, crawled back into bed, and went to sleep at 2:00am.

Meanwhile, I never once heard the storms and Talon slept great last night.

Next time, I'll take our chances and we are all sleeping in our own rooms.

All The Things

Well today was one of those days. One of those “this is the life of a mom” days. A day where I had to figure out how to do all the things.

I woke up with the worst sinus pressure. I just wanted to take the day off and sleep. But today was not that day. I had too much to do at work and too many Mom duties to do. Is there ever a good day to be sick? 

If you are a mom, the answer is no. 

First I had to take Taylor Grace to the doctor. The lime green snot that was coming out of her nose told me that her cold turned into an infection, an ear infection to be exact. After the doctor, I picked up her antibiotic, dropped her off to my mother-in-law, and then headed into work. I attempted to get as much done at work before heading back out to go to Talon’s school to have lunch with him and drop off some treats for his class to celebrate his birthday, as I had promised. After going back to work to finish up some things, I was convinced that the sinus pressure was definitely going to make my head explode and I’m pretty sure my body was sensing the same as I was starting to ache all over. I cut my day short, came home, and finally laid down.

Luckily T-Bone was celebrating his birthday with his dad tonight because it was a cereal for dinner kind of night at the Garrett house.

And while today would have been a perfect day to end with a glass of wine, I decided a glass of orange juice would serve me better.

But we are all out. Because my husband drank the rest of it. And I'm pretty sure he never drinks orange juice, until today. 

This. This is the mom life.

But on that note, it was so worth the smile and excitement my big cutie had when I showed up at his school today. 

And it was so worth the extra snuggles I got from Taylor while rocking her to sleep, which I usually don’t do, but I knew that congested little mouth breather needed the extra love tonight.

And on another note, its days like these that make me even more thankful for my support system—to work for an organization that gives me the flexibility to take time away from work when needed to care for my children and myself and to have co-workers fill in for me while I’m out. And for a family who is always there to help out, even when it means taking care of a sick kiddo. 

When I fall short, they are always there to pick me back up. And for that, I am grateful. 

The New Mom Funk

Have you ever been in a funk? Have you ever been in a funk and didn’t realize it? Well that’s been me for the last 18 months.

For 9 of those months, I was pregnant, and sick, and sick. And did I mention sick? For months I could barely even get out of bed much less worry what I look like. I went from wearing fitted clothing, skirts and heels to sweatpants and a sports bra. If I had to go out in public, I would put on just enough makeup to not scare a small child.

Then the next 9 months, I had a baby. A sweet, tiny-ish, adorable, sleep-sucking baby that demands every bit of my attention. That Taylor Grace, she’s amazing. She’s such a blessing to me and our family but ya’ll, that girl is exhausting! Then add her super-active in sports brother who has games and practices 4-5 nights a week, work, dinner, laundry, house cleaning, a husband and the sometimes-debilitating effects of living with leukemia, and lipstick and my big fancy earrings become a thing of the past.

I knew how it was impacting me physically (sleep, need more sleep) but I didn’t realize how it was affecting my appearance. And not in a bad way, just in a way that wasn’t the typical ‘me’. My attire to work has been more of what I call ‘comfy’ clothes. Pants, flat boots, a plain top, nothing fancy. A big part of that was because I, well, just had a baby. All you momma’s out there know how long it takes for your body to get back to ‘normal’, which isn’t the same as it was before you were pregnant, whether you lose all the weight or not. And while your body is going through all that fun changing, again, wearing fitted clothing and heels just doesn’t seem enticing.

So ‘comfy’ clothes, basic makeup, nothing fancy is what it’s been for the last several months.

And then one day while scrolling through my newsfeed on Facebook, I came across a live video by Ali Scott. She was putting on makeup. I was intrigued. I don’t know if I ever really watched anyone put on makeup before. Heck I’m not even sure if anyone every taught me how to put on makeup. It’s been trial and error since my early teens. She does multiple videos a week and every time I see one, I’m like a kid watching a you tube video of another kid opening up eggs—I can’t stop watching! Seriously, if you haven’t watched one of her videos, do it. The art in makeup explains why I’ve never been really good at it. But she makes it seem so easy! So easy that I decided to give some of her tricks a whirl. And I didn’t totally screw it up, well to my standards anyways. :) 

From that point, I started to put forth some effort with my makeup again. But it didn’t stop there. One evening while looking in my closet trying to decide what to wear to work, I cast my eyes on my collection of heels and thought to myself ‘ let’s give these guys a try tomorrow’.  And guys, it was like something snapped. Where have these been all my life?

Or last couple of years?

I felt like myself again. I’m making time for myself again. For me. I’m not doing this to try to impress others, just myself. When you leave the house with two kids in tow (who you’ve managed to keep alive), rocking a pair of heels, an outfit you feel comfortable and cute in, and lipstick on, you feel like you can take whatever life throws at you that day—whether it be something big at the office, or the worst diaper blow out you’ve ever laid your eyes on.

Now don’t get me wrong, there are still some days I resort to the ‘comfy’ clothes and shoes and basic makeup, and those days I do love, but those are no longer the only days.

So if you are feeling like you are in a funk, or just don’t feel like yourself, put on some lipstick.  It works.

Confession:

So when I say I’m not trying to impress anyone, only myself, I’m not telling the full truth. I’m also trying to impress my husband. Hear me out before you judge. My husband loves me for me. The scary morning hair, dark under-eye circles, saggy mom boobs, and not toned at all body, me. He’s never ever made me feel that any of me was not okay or unattractive. But as a wife, I always want to be my best for my husband. Look my best, feel my best, act my best, do my best (at work, with our family, and in life).  I always want him to look at me and say “damn, my wife is fine!” – and he has proven that he will even when I’m not at all near my best so because of that, it encourages me to want to be my best even more.

EOY Reset

Guys, I’ve spent the last 11 days on Christmas vacation and it was everything it could ever be. It was glorious. I took naps, I stayed in my pjs the majority of the time, I shopped, I cooked, sometimes three meals a day, I spent time with family, I decluttered, I snuggled my little gal (and my big guy when he would let me), watched mindless tv and sleep-trained a baby! All this despite Taylor being sick the first 6 days and me the last. It was still ah-maze-ing. So amazing, I’m going to attempt to take the last week of the year off every year. 

It’s the first time in I don’t know how long that I just lived and didn’t revolve my life around packed tight schedules and to-do lists. It was a great end of the year/beginning of the new year reset. 

I even disconnected from work. It was tempting to work on some projects but I made myself refrain. I did respond to a couple of emails that a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ reply would suffice but ones that required more thinking and weren’t urgent, my response was “let’s connect about this next week” and let me tell ya, it felt sooooo good. (Now on the flip side, I am a little anxious going back to work tomorrow knowing the huge list of projects I need to work on and the fact that I haven’t in 11 days BUT I’m going to try to remind myself to take it one 8 hour day at a time.)

I only made one New Year resolution this year (and it’s to cut out the sweets—more about that later) but if I were to make another, it would be to quit overwhelming myself. I’m good at that. At work, at home, in life. For some reason I like to challenge myself to do as many things as humanely possible in a 24 hour period. And that that leads to is me being stressed, overwhelmed, and on a constant rat race and never allows me to fully enjoy the moment. And these past 11 days, I was reminded what it feels like to not be that way and it was wonderful. Here’s to more of that in 2017.

Cheers, friends!