My 10 Life Mantras For 2016

As I’m sure you know, the first day back to your usual routine after a holiday can be pretty brutal. OK, maybe brutal is a bit of an exaggeration, but it’s not far off. After all, you just got into the groove of vacation mode and just like that, you find yourself plucked from your own personal paradise.

Hello, unfriendly and unwelcome reality — it’s not nice to see you!

But that’s not the whole story. At least for me anyway. Those little things called New Year’s Resolutions? Umm, we’ve never exactly been the best of friends. Not by a long shot. I make them and then I break them. I always have the best of intentions, mind you, but something happens in the execution phase — a design flaw or something that I haven’t quite figured out yet.

Enter the Life Mantra. I’m considering this my resolution substitution this year and hoping for better results. Instead of getting hung up focusing on actionable goals, I’m declaring 2016 the Year of the Mindset. Think positively. Think happy thoughts. It’s amazing how the world around you can change just by changing your perspective. Here, I share my 10 Life Mantras for the coming year…


1. I will choose happiness, even if everyone around me is swimming in a sea of negativity; I will not be dragged down by other people’s bad moods.


2. I will (try!) to see change for what it can be: An opportunity for growth and new adventures.


3. I will not be afraid to speak my mind, tell my story and be fully comfortable in my own skin.


4. I will continue to fight against the tide of worry, reminding myself that worrying is like getting on the on-ramp of a one-way street. It doesn’t get you anywhere.


5. I will fully put work out of my mind for the entire weekend — and NOT feel the least bit guilty about it.


6. I will feel my feelings, smile when I’m happy and cry if I need to. #NoShame #CryingIsHealthy


7. I will let go of what I can’t control and embrace the uncertainty of that.


8. I will work on eliminating the “S” word from my vocabulary when it’s not warranted. #SorryNotSorry


9. I will love fiercely and unapologetically — myself, my family, my friends.


10. I will look for the extraordinary in the ordinary and the exciting in the mundane.

So, friends, is it possible to change your mind and change your life? I sure hope so. I’ve got the next 361 days to find out, and that, if you ask me, is a pretty exciting prospect. I’m so excited to get back to blogging this week and catch up. Here’s hoping your 2016 is off to a rousing, beautiful and positive start. All my love, friends! xoxo


P.S. My keyword of 2015.

[Photos via We Heart It]

Anti-Bullying Challenge: Make Someone Smile Today!

How To Stop Bullying

Sadly, we’ve all dealt with bullies in one form or another. When we’re young, it’s usually the kid on the playground or the mean girl in algebra class. As adults, these mean-spirited people can take the form of co-workers and the random Internet commenter — I see you, Anonymous!

It’s no fun to be on the receiving end of such hate. We all know this. But what we sometimes forget? What’s most important is how we react in these situations. Sure, our first instinct might be to “fight fire with fire,” as it were, but it won’t make us feel better or solve the problem; all we’ll be doing is sinking down to the bully’s low, low level. And that won’t get anyone anywhere.

So, on World Day of Bullying Prevention, let’s all do something different. Let’s change the conversation and spread some much-needed positivity. To get us started, here are 10 ways you can make someone smile…

1. Give someone a compliment: You’d be surprised at what a seemingly little vote of confidence can do.

2. Take your best friend to the movies: Ahhh, there’s nothing like enjoying a movie with a fresh box of Junior Mints.

3. Treat your mom to lunch: It’s amazing just how happy my mom gets from a simple lunch from Subway.

4. Volunteer at a homeless shelter: Every month, my family contributes a dish for dinner at our local homeless shelter.

5. Cookies, cookies, cookies: I’ve said before, but cookies make everyone happy.

6. Send someone a card: No one sends snail mail anymore, so why not surprise a loved with with a cute card?

7. Visit a children’s hospital: Trust me, days in the hospital can seem endless sometimes. Breaking up the monotony would surely brighten a child’s day.

8. Give someone a hand: See someone struggling with a huge stack of library books? See someone drop something? They’ll more than appreciate your kind gesture.

9. Spend some time with the elderly: When I was in middle school, I belonged to Grandparents Club. Every week, we’d visit residents in a senior living community. We all loved getting together and you could tell how happy it made everyone.

10. Tell your family how much you love them: Saying those three words never goes out of style and it’s such a nice way to make their day. It’s SO important to let the people in your life know just what they mean to you.

What do you think of this list, friends? What have you done lately that has made someone smile? What has someone done for you? Anything you’d add to the list? Get out there and spread the positivity!! xoxo

[Photos via We Heart It]

How much time do you spend on your phone?

Just a few short years ago, phones had a very specific and distinct role in our lives. You picked up the phone to call someone — maybe you were calling in sick to work or calling your wise mother for some sage advice — or, you picked up the phone to answer it.

That was basically all you could do, thanks to Alexander Graham Bell’s good old invention.

But now, you can practically live your entire life on your phone. You can order groceries, set up appointments, keep up-to-date on social media, binge-watch your favorite TV show and surf the Web to your heart’s content — or rather, until your battery runs out.

Sometimes, I can’t help but think the term “smartphone” is a misnomer. Walk down the street and chances are, you’ll see most people walking with their heads down, eyes glued to those little screens. Remember when I talked about my smartphone addiction a couple years ago? Well, something tells me there’s one person who might need to read that post again: My mother. She got an iPhone a few years ago (I’m still a loyal Android lover…), and since then, she become worse than her 7th grade students. She’s on that phone…all…the…time.

A typical conversation in our house, albeit, a mostly one-sided one…

“Are you listening?” I’ll ask her, my frustration level building by the second. “I’m going to throw that thing out the window…!!!!”

I fully confess that I’ve also become one of those people, though rest assured that I don’t go on my phone while I’m driving my wheelchair. But I do find it hard to resist the allure of my phone, especially when it glows all shiny and bright to tell me I’ve got email or a new text waiting for me. Ever since I became a full-fledged, smartphone-carrying person of the future, I’ve been astonished at just how quickly those “little moments” can add up to huge time sucks. Five minutes checking celebrity news while waiting in line at Target. Twenty minutes scrolling through Facebook and Instagram while lying in bed on a Saturday morning. Ten minutes answering emails — OK, sometimes while I’m simultaneously brushing my teeth. But in my defense, the email was really, really important… ;)

Thankfully, though, two apps have come to the rescue (Are you reading this, Mom…?). Moments tracks the number of minutes you’ve been on your phone, while Checky shows you how many times per day you’ve checked your phone.

So, does this mean that there’s hope after all, friends? I’d like to think so! Have you ever used these apps? Have they worked? Got any other tips for kicking your smartphone addiction? And, be honest now…how much time do YOU spend on your phone? xoxo

[I Forgot My Phone video via NPR, illustration by Anna Sudit]

Let’s Try: The trick to perfect sleep

Do you ever have trouble falling asleep? I never used to give much thought to falling asleep. Usually, my head would hit the pillow and I’d be out like a light — surely, there was no tossing and turning for me. Even now, as I’ve gotten older, sleep is still one of those things that comes relatively easy. But I’ve noticed one change lately: The way I sleep is different. Even if I’m bone tired, I have trouble just falling into bed and getting comfy. I always lie down on the left side of my bed and fall asleep on my left side. That is my magic sleep spot, and there’s even an indentation in my bed to prove it!

New York magazine recently interviewed a sleep expert (doesn’t that sound like an awesome job?), who said that sleeping with your feet outside of your blankets could help you sleep better and fall asleep faster. Scientists have speculated that cooler temperatures cause sleepiness, and the feet-outside-the-blankets theory might work the same way, says Natalie Dautovitch, a spokesperson for the National Sleep Foundation and a psychology professor at the University of Alabama.

“I think it’s likely in service of trying to cool our bodies down because we’ve gotten too warm to sleep,” she said. The feet also have the perfect vascular structure to help dissipate body heat, so “sticking your toe out or your foot out could bring you to a more restorative sleep.”

Sleep yet, friends? Do you sleep with your feet peeking out? Does it work? Any other sleep tricks that have worked? I’d love to hear them, and here’s to peaceful slumbers! xoxo

P.S. Tracking your mood, Prancercise, Internet-free Thanksgiving, honest selfies and the 24-Hour No-Complain Challenge! :)

[Photos via We Heart It]

Four things I learned from not complaining for 24 hours…

Truth time: I can get going on a good complaining kick with the best of ’em. In fact, given my competitive nature, if I’m provoked, I just might turn the whole thing into one giant sport. So maybe that’s why I challenged my mom a few weeks ago to go a full 24 hours without complaining. I was up for the challenge (who couldn’t benefit from a little less negativity in their lives?), but I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect. Could we do it? Would we even last a day? A morning? Breakfast?

Well, I’m happy to report that we, indeed, did last the whole day, without too much under-our-breath huffing or pulling our hair out in sheer frustration. In fact, just yesterday, my mom remarked that we could probably benefit even more from doing the 24-Hour No-Complain Challenge again, and I can’t help but agree. I’ve been thinking about the big lessons I learned from this seemingly little exercise. Here are four of those big lessons that stand out…

You have more control over your life than you think
True, there are just some things in life that are out of your control, and you just have to come to terms with that. But how you react to the things that happen to you? A lot of that is well within your control. You control how you look at it. You chart your own course, and no one can do that for you. I’m always telling my mom to “take back your power” when she gets herself all stressed out, and I think the same thing applies here.

There is a fine line between observing and complaining
Several times during the day, my mom and I found ourselves on the verge of uttering a not-so-very-positive sentence, so to try and rein ourselves in, we tried to re-frame said sentences as mere observations. Why? Because it’s a very slippery slope from an observation (i.e. “it’s hot outside…”) to the black hole of complaining (i.e. “I hate this hot weather. I think it’s going to kill me…and my day us ruined…”). See what a fine line it is? You want to stay on the right side of it, obviously.

Turns out, Abe Lincoln was right
Our 16th president was famous for saying that “folks are usually about as happy as they make their minds up to be” and if you think about it, there’s a lot of truth in that. If you choose happiness in one aspect of your life, chances are that it will carry over into other areas. It’s almost like the ripple effect — one teeny, tiny pebble of happiness could be felt all around you. Can you feel the calm yet?

My shoulders felt noticeably lighter
When I let all that complaining go, I felt as though a heavy weight had been lifted off my shoulders. You don’t fully realize how much extra useless baggage you’re carrying around until, well, you’re not carrying it around anymore. It’s one of the rare moments in life when simply not caring is quite possibly the greatest feeling in the world. When it comes to complaining, never underestimate that!

Did you take part in the No-Complain Challenge? What was the experience like? Was it what you expected? What did you learn? Will you be doing it again? Here’s hoping you’re relaxed and calm on this summer Monday, friends! xoxo

[Photos via We Heart It]