person laying on sofa while reading book
Motivation and Productivity

#MondayMotivation: Down Time is Just as Important as Productivity

Have you ever felt like no matter how bad you want to you just can’t get started because you’re stuck in what feels like several feet of mud? You may be suffering from burnout, particularly if you have been super-busy for a long-stretch. Burnout sucks! (And that’s to put it mildly). If you’ve ever suffered …

brown and white stallions running in a field
Motivation and Productivity

#MondayMotivation – Getting Back on the Horse When You Fall

Recently, there was a lot going on (isn’t there always). The kids were sick, then I got sick. We had the oldest come in from college for Thanksgiving. I managed to overdo it while running the Turkey Trot a couple weeks ago, and then I managed to step funny on my foot, causing my knee …

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Five of My Favorite Cookie Recipes for #NationalCookieDay

Who doesn’t love cookies? I know I do. That’s why I’m sharing not one, but five of my favorite recipes for baking cookies in honor of #NationalCookieDay. I love making cookies during the holiday season, and what better day to do so?  White Chocolate, Cranberry, and Macadamia Nut Cookies These cookies are delicious and festive. …

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Book Review: A Uterus is a Feature, Not a Bug by Sarah Lacy

“The mommy track” – that’s the terminology reserved for women in academia who also choose to have children. There is, to my knowledge no “daddy track,” although, in some offices men who have families struggle just as much to get promotions. This isn’t about men, though. This is about the fact that a woman, whose …

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Be Mixed Zero Calorie Drink Mixer Review

I’m a fan of a good cocktail. But cocktails can get super-caloric and super unhealthy super fast. So, when I received a sample mixer from Be Mixed to try, I was excited.  After all, it’s not every day that you find a zero-calorie mixer that is on-trend with current cocktail flavors.  Overall, I enjoyed the …

Books & Reading

Book Review: We Need to Talk by Celeste Headlee

I can’t say how many times I’ve been in a conversation where either I don’t feel like I’m being heard or I realize that I didn’t hear a single thing the person talking just said. I hate admitting that, but it’s kind of a fact of life. Sometimes, I sit there, and someone is talking, …

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Motivation and Productivity

#MotivationMonday Create Habits to Make Repetitive Tasks “Mindless” Tasks

When you have a lot of daily tasks, it can be daunting to check them off. Sometimes, too, we develop bad habits with regards to daily tasks. When you have a lot of repetitive tasks, it makes sense to track them as you would a habit, so that they become automatic to you. Define The …

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Motivation and Productivity

#MotivationMonday The Fine Art of Writing a Crappy First Draft

I’m working on a novel, Dances With Crazy, for NaNoWriMo (You can follow my journey here), and I’m 10,009 words in. Those 10,009 words are very rough, they make up what Anne Lamott in Bird By Bird called a “shitty first draft.” Giving yourself permission to write a less than stellar first draft is perhaps the most important thing …