One sunny crisp morning, I headed into one of my local Starbucks, aka, my happy place, and ordered a giant hot tea and oatmeal. As I chatted with the barista, a young man about the age of 27 (ok, when it’s a man, do you say, baristo?) and with the usual small talk, he asked me, “So, any fun plans this weekend?” My response came very naturally, without any self-pity or woe, I said with a chuckle, “uh, no. I’ll be at the children’s hospital all weekend.” He then asked, with causal curiosity, “Oh …
Struggles
Young Mother’s battle with Cancer
On the afternoon of Friday March 27th; 10 days after my 27th Birthday, 6 days after my 5 year Wedding Anniversary, 4 days shy of starting the paperwork to buy our first home, a month shy of my oldest child turning 5, and less than two weeks away from undergoing our first deployment as a family… I was diagnosed with Stage 2B Hodgkin's Lymphoma. The feelings that I experienced at that time were unexplainable. I have had so many angry feelings & emotions running through me that as I sit here …
Awareness: Acknowledging the Battle Many Women Fight
The image of my sister waiting in anger, bitterness and bewilderment will always haunt me as she was wheeled into the operating room for a life altering surgery. Stage four breast cancer at age twenty-seven. Never married. No kids. A double mastectomy eleven days after being diagnosed; three weeks later a round of intense chemotherapy treatments began stripping my sister of all that identifies the female body. Radiation would also take place to attack the aggressive, BRCA 2 positive gene …
Hope for Mental Health
The CDC says 50% of all American's will suffer from mental illness in their lifetime... It’s difficult to imagine that 50% of adults will develop depression, anxiety, self-harm, eating disorders, bipolar disorder, PTSD, borderline personality disorder, schizophrenia, or some other mental illness in their lifetime. This staggering reality can feel daunting, But there is HOPE... HOPE says that you are not defined by your illness. HOPE says your life has a purpose …
How to Start a Non-Profit- PART 2: Mission, Vision, Values & Differentiators
This is Part 2 of a series on how to start a non-profit: although, some info is applicable to for-profits as well! Feel free to refer back to Part 1 of this series {Here} before getting started! In this post, I'll explain what vision, mission, values, and differentiators are. I've also provided examples of each from an organization that I've always admired: The Rock Church in San Diego (sdrock.com). Vision Your vision is a description (about one sentence) of what the world would look …
Stop the Negativity Bias. Start Loving Yourself.
For women, when it comes to our bodies, are we ever happy? When given a compliment about our appearance, why is it our default to deflect it and point out something else that is wrong? For example, today I saw my friend at the gym. We’ve both been training hard and her efforts have really paid off—her arms are so strong and toned! I had to compliment her, I am just so proud and inspired. The convo went something like this: Me: “Kate you are looking great! Your arms are so …
A Successful Failure
“Honey, we need to sell the salon...” Those words were incredibly hard to hear, yet alone accept, as together my husband and I had owned and operated a seven chair full service salon which employed 14 young women at one time. It was never my dream to own a business and I certainly wasn’t trained to do the job well. This journey begun when my husband came home and told me I needed my own salon, only after being a stylist for two years, and said it was time that we buy one. In less than a month, …
Spiritual FitBit
I was recently gifted a Fitbit which has become the new crave these days for those active and tracking their personal exercise levels. It has taken me a little while to figure out the apps and programs to accurately use the new device, but overall, it's been pretty easy to use this new toy. I find it very telling to view my steps at the end of the day. Some days are filled with lots of table teaching as I home school the kids and others busy with outside play or gym classes that keep me moving …
5 Ways to Survive the Challenges of Infertility
As a psychotherapist and a former infertility patient I often help others and think about what got me through the most challenging times during the many years it took to have my daughter. I remember those days when I needed a friend to talk to, a hug, and most of all, a way to get me through the day sometimes without crying. Don’t get me wrong, I had a lot of good days and many great days, but it was a really hard time in my life. So, I have created a list (in my opinion) of the most important …
I Lift and I Like It (part 2)
After doing two more marathons throughout graduate school, I began to question how I was measuring my fitness. I would run for hours on end thinking I was the fittest person ever and liking the fact that it kept me slim. I started reading about the benefits of cross training and decided it would be a challenge to do a triathlon and it would mean incorporating two other disciplines as cross training. So I bought a bike and started swimming in a pool to train for my first spring triathlon in Lake …