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Let Luck Be On Your Side

St. Patrick’s Day was a couple of weeks ago.  I hope you had a good day of festivities, perhaps some green beverages or foods were consumed, maybe a leprechaun visited you or your family, and hopefully some green clothing was worn.  What I wanted to think about briefly today is luck, since St. Patrick is often associated with luck. What are your thoughts on luck?  I find it to be definitely a…

Pay Off Debt or Invest? That is the Question…

I have struggled with the idea of paying down our mortgage quickly or letting it be, to payoff slowly per the standard schedule instead. I see the mental benefits of ridding ourselves of all debt.  But looking at the situation objectively, our mortgage size compared to our income is not debilitating.   And having some debt is considered, by many, a good financial strategy, particularly when the…

Like a Small Boat in the Ocean…

My daughter has recently been singing Rachel Platten’s song, Fight Song, repetitively over the last few weeks.  It sounds like a classmate of hers really likes the song and got her hooked on it, too.  I know, it is a few years old, but I still the lyrics inspiring and timeless.   I also find it endearing she likes this powerful song, and hearing her sing it made me ponder over the lyrics more and…

Put in the Work, Reap the Rewards

I was trodding my way through an iFit Winter treadmill workout with Billy Demong (the former Nordic combined skier and Olympian gold medalist) yesterday.  During this, I think he said something that helped me put workouts and the point of workouts in perspective. What Billy Demong said was this: Put in the work, do the workouts, follow the simple formula of “keep your hard days hard, and keep…

6 years ago, almost to the day, my family and I were able to bring our son, Luca, home from the NICU after a 12 day stay following his premature birth.  It was a very triumphant, heartfelt moment, and I am forever grateful that his stay resulted in good health, with no lasting complications.  He is a healthy 6 year old boy now, and I sometimes forget how tiny he was back then.  I remember how…

The Fine Art of Being Flexible

As a parent, I hope to instill in my children an appreciation and respect for flexibility.  With this, I am talking about mental and emotional flexibility, though physical flexibility is to be respected and is something to strive for too. (Though I admit, my mental flexibility far surpasses my physical flexibility at this time.  My physical flexibility is yet another thing I need to improve…

Timing is Everything – With Better Sleeps Come Better Energy

I have gave the sleep energy tracker app, Rise, a try, and have found it insightful into my energy patterns.  The app lists my energy peaks and dips throughout the day, depending on when I go to bed and when I wake up. I can compare what these graphs show and how I feel, and I find it interesting how it shifts depending on the amount and quality of sleep I get the days before.   The app makes the…

Facing Pain and Adversity with Grace Under Pressure

Endurance running as my training ground to help me face life’s inevitable pain and adversity with grace and strength.  Life has pain.  Life has heartache.  There are wars, there is famine and poverty, and there is injustice in this world.  Of course I wish there were no challenges and heartaches in life.  But this sadly is not our reality. Looking strong on a straightaway. Don’t get too…

Today I turn 40!  At 40, I feel I am right at middle age.  I sure hope to live longer than 80, but reaching 80 seems like a decent and reasonable life span I  can achieve in this day and age.  Of course, I have no control over how long I may get to be on this planet.  But I will do what I can to optimize both the quantity and quality of my life through what I can control: my choices and decisions…

Getting Back on Track

This year has been tough and strange with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. For me and my writing, I have found it hard to stay on point.   I have been unfortunately too quiet here as times have been busy in my job and in my home life.  Now, though, I plan to get back on track and resume blogging my thoughts and observations more consistently again.   Sometimes things are smooth and easy, and you…

I think it is hard sometimes to stay on point when a goal is long, huge, and/or challenging.   Will this one day of chipping away at my goal make a huge dent in my goal?  Probably not.  But adding the chips together over many days, weeks, months, and years will.

  While golfing recently with my husband, I was striving to “chip on” to the green.  I am a beginner, so these short, low flighted shots…

My favorite season is now back…fall. The weather has been what feels like unseasonably warm so I am welcoming the promise of cooler, brisker weather.  I am sprinkling some pumpkin spice in my coffee in the morning to celebrate the time  of year.  And the return of my favorite fall ale, Block House Pumpkin Ale, at the beverage store is a highlight for the season.  I stocked up this year on a case,…

I am finding it challenging to stay motivated during this COVID-19 pandemic. The lack of in person races is particularly a roadblock for me with my exercise goals. I would use the act of signing up for races as a motivation to start and stick with a new training plan. The training plan would be added to my calendar, providing a framework each week for my exercise. This exercise would help…

My article below was published recently in the July 2020 Bulletin for the Allegheny County Medical Society.

Our world has changed drastically in the last several months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Every aspect of life has been affected due to measures like social distancing and a recent required national quarantine to help control the spread of this microscopic threat. The virus spreads…

My Student Loans Are Officially Defeated!

I have accomplished my longstanding financial goal this year: I have paid off my student loans!  $230,000 of debt is gone.  (Insert happy dance here!)  I still have a hard time comprehending this achievement and still find myself subconsciously worrying how much debt I have left.  I (happily) remind myself that my student loan balance is now $0.  This, of course, is a tough time for many…

Life is Not Forever

I recently had an awakening call about the finite aspect of life. This lesson was given to me by our pet cat, Pixie.

Our cat saying “hi” to the camera.

We have had Pixie now for about 11 years. She has been a steadfast fixture of our family for over a decade now. She is a typical cat, I think, with her personality. She is very opinionated and particular in how/when she is petted (that is,…

A “New Normal”

Like many of you, I am struggling with our “new normal” during the COVID-19 pandemic. It seems surreal what is happening to all of us.

Embrace the changing landscape, even if it includes a new virus. Or leopards.

The initial phase of quarantine was very hard for my family and me. My children were home from school and daycare. My husband also had times of working from home. Luckily, I am…