Passions & Distractions

Just Stash January: Just Start

I am delighted to say that Just Stash January is already off to a robust start!

Just Stash January: A New/Old Challenge

It's back, y'all!   Once again I'm embarking on my old standby, Just Stash January! If this is the first time you've ever encountered this, read on for the rules (and my invite to pay along).

A Moment of Zen

A lot of Wednesday posts are about wellness for me. This is about the value of taking some time to do what you love, even if it hampers yu from doing something else you love.

A Pause Is Perfect

Just the briefest post to remind myself (and you) that sometimes it's ok to pause. Having deadlines and goals and ideas is great. But when it's not fun to hit the fun goals, just be cool with letting it go. Just because the candle flickers doesn't mean it has to go out.

Fitness Meets World Travel

As what must continue to come as no surprise to you, I am very competitive with myself. I always expect myself to be aiming toward the best I can be. One area where I constantly crave a change and a challenge is my fitness. I wanted to see if I could combine this with another need: to know as much as I can and be a true citizen of the world. I think I've hatched a plan!

Summer Freebie!

While summer usually invites lazy days and the excitement of travel, plans for many have been curtailed this year. If you can't see new sights in person, let me at least offer you some a fresh view on your cellphone! That's right: it's free cellphone wallpaper time here again!

Fun With My Fitness: Bingo

When it comes to fitness, I either seem to get really bored or really frustrated really easy. It seems there is never a happy medium for me. The program is repetitive and I get tired of mentally cracking the same jokes along with the trainer. Or the program is really hard and I have to make so many adaptions that I feel like I'm cheating or failing. How does one possibly combat this?

50 Before 50 Update!

Even if you are new here, it probably hasn't taken you long to learn something about me: I am a planner. I like agendas, schedules, and goals. What you might not have discovered yet is that I harnessed that almost two years ago to create a comprehensive list of things I wanted to do. Since its creation, I moved across the country, started a new job, experienced starts and stops in my motivation for, oh, almost everything, and now find myself living through a pandemic and trying to help dismantle centuries of systemic racism.

So let's see how I'm doing on that list, shall we?

Getting Back On Track

I think we can all agree that over the past few months life has been worlds away from what we've been used to. While this has manifested itself in many ways, I have had the largest struggle with getting back on a schedule and keeping it. This isn't due to a lack of meetings, tasks to be accomplished, or bills to be paid. It's simply been the amorphousness of time. With a breakdown in regular routines to help differentiate the days, it's become all too easy to disregard the centering effects of a timeline and just launch into each day with an energy verging on reckless abandon.

I've realized I've been through this before though. During the difficult illnesses and passing of loved ones, I have felt this complete loss of self and center as I've tried to adjust to a life with a new hole in my heart. The difference is this time, the whole world is going through it.

It's time to break this cycle and here's how you can do it.

What My Moves Across Town (and Across the Country) Can Teach You

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As I constantly remind my husband, I can't resist a challenge. Maybe that's why I have never shied away from moving into a new house (think of the nesting!) or a completely new region of the country. Goodbye Louisiana humidity, hello dry Arizona heat. Goodbye oppressive heat, hello Minnesota snow at 40 below!