I bet you had given up on me and never expected anything to come out of this space again. At this point, I'm just as surprised as you. A lot has happened over the last two years, mainly in the form of life and responsibilities that have decreased my leisure time and prevented me from working on the blog. I've tried to post to Instagram occasionally to show that I'm still alive and well.

Working for a firm instead of freelancing is great from a regular income perspective, but being placed on an engagement that adds up to three hours a day of commuting time is painful. The other downfall: thinking I can snack continuously during the drive at the same time that my exercise level dropped to an all-time low. Hello extra 20 lbs. Meet the 10 lbs. who were here before you that I was trying to lose.


The need to buy larger sizes in order to be able to go to work in something other than sweats brought the realization that it's time for some accountability and some changes.

1. I have to change my diet. Yes, there will be occasional cheat meals, but I think it's time to go back to basics. Knowing that I have no willpower, I've decided to have prepared meals delivered by Diet to Go.
2. I have to exercise. As hard as it can be with a long day, something has to be done. The treadmill and walking in general are my best friend right now.
3. Trite but true, I have to drink more water.
4. I need to relax. I made a list of activities that I find relaxing. It's kind of sad that I felt the need to sit and make a list to come up with the things I find relaxing. Is it kind of weird that one of my relaxing activities is making lists? When I'm feeling overwhelmed, nothing calms me down faster than sitting down with my planner and figuring out how to get everything done. 

• I've cut down to one cup of coffee a day. I do have a cup of tea (or sometimes two) in the evening, but I'm way down from my two ventis a day
• I've completely changed how I take care of my skin with great results. 
• I started coloring my hair again. After growing it out about 4 inches, it became clear that there wasn't enough gray to make it look anything except for unkempt. Beautiful silver tresses it was not. 
• I'm trying to fit in routine facials and massages, the first which is helping drive the positive changes in my skin and the second to unwind after a tough week.
• I've realized that we are always a work in progress. We keep evolving, trying new things, working on others. There will never be perfection, so I needed to get rid of my self-imposed stress.