Pause the pre-Thanksgiving Day madness for a few minutes. Grab a pen and play: Jump right to the SincerelyIreneB Thanksgiving word search, if you need to! I get it! Squat, Diddly, Me For some years now, Thanksgiving has been a little (read: a lot) more nontraditional in my world. I went from doing the whole feast, to a few side dishes, to doing squat — as in diddly-squat, or squat-diddly, you choose. I don’t cook a single thing. Not a turkey leg, not a pie (because I don’t bake, but luckily my girls do), not even a wee pot of vegetables passes my hands. For me, Thanksgiving felt far too…
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Finding Gratitude in the Little Things This November
Anyone who knows me knows Christmas is absolute fave global holiday. I kind of enjoy the goofy, sweet-toothed ghouli-delicious-ness of Halloween, and by then it’s on to the countdown to Christmas. Thanksgiving is a nice couple of days off work to eat, ease up off the stress, and just enjoy too. But since I didn’t grow up celebrating Thanksgiving — I’ll admit, even after all these years stateside — it’s still not a major holiday for me. Not shade, not hate to all who do. None. And in 2025, with the way the world is acting (aka stank), I’ve decided to take the spirit of the word, at least, and…
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How to Find Help and Hope During Tough Times
Sadly, while this is not a new situation, people all over the world continue to fall into tougher and tougher situations. Everything from famine, wars, and poverty on many levels just keeps coming. Living in the DMV (D.C., Maryland, and Northern Virginia), the most recent hit that has many people walking yet another razor thin line, is because of the masses of federal workers on furlough, families dealing with layoffs, and folks trying to stretch one paycheck (or no paycheck) too far with the rising cost of everything. If that’s you, or someone you know, you’re not alone. You’re not invisible, and there are places to turn Hardworking federal workers,…
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How to Stay Steady: My “Good Human” Work-in-Progress List
As promised from my Tuesday post: Why “Good Human” Energy Matters — Now More Than Ever, here’s my list. No sugarcoating. No “perfect human” checklist — just a handful of things I try (and sometimes fumble) to show up a little better each day. Maybe you’ll see yourself in some. Maybe you’ll roll your eyes at a few. Either way, it’s real, and I welcome any ones you have. 1-20… Let’s go! 1. Be Around People Who Push You To Be An Even-Better You You might not have a ton of friends — but you have the right ones. Mentors, peers, and people who call you out (lovingly) when needed.…
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Why “Good Human” Energy Matters — Now More Than Ever
How Are You Showing Up Today? (Before My List Drops Thursday) Okay, no one’s pure angel—or all devil—but being a “good human” still sounds so simple… until life starts life-ing yet again. The love, laughs, and sheer delulu of my friends and family keep me kind, grounded, and helps me stay steady. I’m trying to stay out of foolishness. Work out (as regularly as I can), eat … decent-ish, schedule as much abundance in my life (not assignments) where I can, and essentially, drink water and mind my business. And yet daily (if not hourly), life keeps wanting to yank me back into its stank-filled mess! Yeah. It’s a lot,…
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The Line Between Little Lies and Real Deceit
With the two-plus decades I’ve lived stateside, from across the merry ol’ pond, you’d think I’d be fully versed in American lingo, slang, and whatnot — at least among the amazing friends I’ve made during this time. Well, Luvs, you’d be seriously wrong. So, what’s a girly like me to do? I fake it, yep… yep. Kinda-sorta. The Scene Picture it, Maryland, 2025, and I’m deep in convo, and all is going great. Injecting laughs, creating laughs, and getting the full picture until someone throws in a term or catchphrase from their yesteryear, and all of a sudden, the laughter, for me, grinds a little to a halt. We got…
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Messy Journaling: What Happens After You Start?
So, did you start? And if you did, are you looking at pages and pages of random words, cut-off sentences, and scratched-out drawings thinking, Geesh, what the hell is going on here? It’s good, it’s all good! Because the thing you could easily miss about messy journaling: the mess actually leads somewhere. And no, it won’t necessarily all be wrapped up in a perfect and logical bow, but it’s not just venting, complaining, or scribbling random thoughts either—it’s a mirror. And if you’re willing to really look, that mirror gives you a pathway straight to your own growth. At first, messy journaling feels like you’re in pure survival mode. You…
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Messy Journaling: Your Secret Tool for Better Stress Relief
Two Moscow Mules, a Prosecco, and a deep conversation about something we all struggle with from time to time—managing our emotions, especially when other people, situations, or life itself unintentionally trigger them. One friend shared that she’d been trying to stay calm, respond better, not let things get to her—but sometimes, it just felt impossible. Think: “I know I’m being triggered, but I can’t seem to stop reacting. I don’t have control over it.” I’ve one hundred percent been there. Many times. Maybe, like me, you don’t yell or scream out loud—it’s more internal—but either way, you feel it. You’re not overreacting, being dramatic or ‘in your feels’, it’s real…
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Are you Team ‘Need’ or Team ‘Want’ in a Relationship?
Yet another slight shift in my SincerelyIreneB posts, but not by my conscious choice, but this has been all over all my feeds for months, and my friend visiting got us talking about this exact subject. Not to mention, a week or so ago, two other friends of mine touched on this topic as well. What is it? The male loneliness epidemic. I’m gonna begin right out the gate with I know many, many a good man. Not the fake, mask-wearing kind, I mean, I do know too many of those, sadly, but I’m stating this so if you want to come at me as a man-hater type, then knock…
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How to Step In and Embrace Your Villain Era?
Villain = Evil, wicked person. Within this popular term or saying, “I’m in my villain-era”, I’m not for one second buying the evil part, but the wicked part is in fact wickedly delectable to me. Not (no longer) giving a damn about what anybody else thinks, being the bigger person, or taking the high road isn’t about you now doing wrong to others who wronged you (well, not always), but about taking back your power to choose. It’s not about resetting your personality to be stuck on cruel, but to finally be selfish—in the most positive sense of the word. It’s a return to yourself. Disclaimer: Also, never be the…
