Because it has to! I thought choosing my Word of the Year for 2026 would feel easier, clarifying even with my word of 2025 working out so wellβCOMPLETE.Well, truthfully, it was my word for 2024 because, as you can guess, I didnβt COMPLETE it. Instead, trying to choose my word feelsβ¦ revealing. I keep bouncing around words in my head that still keep asking me to step even more forward, and not pull back or chill for a second.None of my words are about becoming someone newβI like to adjust and edit as I go along now that Iβm solidly in my Big Age. But they seem lockstep in fully…
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Holiday Traditions That Need To End in a Lawsuit
My Possibly Unhinged, Maybe Accurate, But Deeply Necessary List The holidays: a magical time of joy, connection, warmthβ¦ and an absurd number of expectations no one signed up for. Some traditions are sweet.Some trigger warm memories you actually want to hold on to.But those other ones? Jail. They need: So, in the spirit of healing, humor, and all the chaos I feel is needed, hereβs your (my) completely necessary list of… Holiday Traditions That Should Absolutely, Positively End in a Lawsuit… beginning in 2025. 1. Unnecessarily leaving the comfort of my home to go into the βWinterβ First of all? Why? Second of all, whoβs asking? Third-of allβ¦ why?Absolutely not!…
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The 48-Hour Pre-Holiday Survival Challenge
Non-apologetic. Completely necessary. Do it once, then repeat as needed. Iβm learning that the best skill for navigating any holiday isnβt planting a fake veneer of cheer on your face. Itβs doing what you actually want and fully enjoying it in the moment, and again when you look back once it’s all over. So before the chaos hits, hereβs the 48-hour reset that I praying will keep me sane, hydrated, and unbothered like a champ. Feel free to steal all or some of mine, or create your own, and then protect your peace like itβs the fragile sliver of calm before the internet gifts you more political clownery with a generous helping…
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Why the End of the Year Triggers Nasty Self-Doubt
Year after year, thereβs something about the colder months that really jack up the volume on everything inside me. Itβs not just the weather, though the dark mornings and darker evenings donβt help. Itβs the year winding down, the calendar screaming βfour weeks left!β, βshit, no, three weeks left!β or whatever it is. Then Suddenly, everything feels like itβs on an express countdown clock. And then my brain decides to choose chaos As my brain dodges the reflective positive laps, and everything I wanted, everything I promised, and every passion project I committed to finishing, loops louder. And all those “this year Iβllβ¦β” moments play on repeatβwhen I never asked it to. I just…
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Happy Thanksgiving 2025: Gratitude, Laughter, and Time with Loved Ones
A little hello from meβ¦ serving GOOD VIBES only β¨ Drop a π§‘ if youβre serving GOOD VIBES only today, and tell someone βIβm grateful for youβ, because it matters.
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When It’s Not Your Turn
(A short story by Irene B.) βYes, yes, yesβ¦ okay, girl! Iβm going to lock up as soon as you get off my line, crazy!β she said, half-laughing into the phone.Then she paused.βMmm-hmm. Bedroomβs already locked.β Another pause, then a soft giggle. βYou and your single-girl fortress routine.βSilence lingered on the other end, until more laughter broke through.βAnd you know I appreciate you, so thank you.βHer voice dropped just slightly, as if still listening.The call ended, and the room went still. Tisha liked to measure her mornings by sound. The hum of the refrigerator intermittently followed the grinding of the ice machine. And now, with it being summer, the rush…
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When Your Perception Can Let You Down
We all think we know what we see. But do we really? Consider the last time you misjudged someone, or they misjudged you. Maybe because of your bubbly, loud, and silly personality, they assumed you were a βgo-along-to-get-alongβ person and not someone with deeper thoughts or stronger beliefs. Or perhaps you misread them, thinking you understood their intentions. These moments remind us that our perceptions are not always accurateβor that, with time and knowing more, theyβve adjusted. Itβs easy to get lulled into believing we have a clear view of the world around us. Our eyes are open, our ears alert. But perception isnβt just about what we see or…
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How to Redefine “Enough” in the Holiday Season
Lately, Iβve been hearing the collective exhale from people everywhereβfriends, strangers online, across the globe, all saying some version of: βYou know what? I donβt need anything this year.β βIβm so over all this unnecessary spending, going broke, and for what?β The mass consensus: Letβs cancel all the holidays! Woah Nelly! Hold up! Slow down! Christmas is LITERRALLY my FAVE holiday. It was the time in my childhood that my mum (RIPβ€οΈ) was the least nuts, and in fact, full of cheer – brimming over if you will! Me and my sister could damn near do no wrong, and cancelling?… That ‘aint happening! Nope! #IWillFightYou. OK fine. Calm down, cause…
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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 β Now More Than Ever, hereβs my list. No sugarcoating. No βperfect humanβ checklist β just a handful of things I try (and sometimes fumble) to show up a little better each day. Maybe youβll see yourself in some. Maybe youβll roll your eyes at a few. Either way, itβs 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 β 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 β Now More Than Ever
How Are You Showing Up Today? (Before My List Drops Thursday) Okay, no oneβs pure angelβor all devilβbut being a βgood humanβ 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. Iβm trying to stay out of foolishness. Work out (as regularly as I can), eat β¦ 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. Itβs a lot,…