Opening the Gift

Today would have been the day the little girl I miscarried turned one-year old. Today is the day that The Naked Mind podcast I recorded about my journey to living alcohol-free is released (Episode 123). The timing is not lost on me. During my conversation with Annie Grace I realized that one of the biggest…

My Journey to Living AF

I was never a big drinker by standard definitions, whatever you think that means. I was a big thinker, however, often thinking about my next glass of wine, craving it, far more than I wanted to admit. Over the past year or so, I’ve been working through my relationship with alcohol and ultimately have decided…

Melodie’s Story: A Family-centered Cesarean

This post was originally written on November 24, 2014, not quite one week after the birth of my second child, a daughter. I want to publish it on this blog for Mother’s Day 2018. The family-centered Cesarean approach has taken off in the past three and a half years, but was still quite novel when…

Not the Post I Had Planned

Thoughts on My Recent Miscarriage Today is my 40th birthday, and I thought I would be sharing news about my pregnancy. Instead, this is a post about loss, grief, and what comes next. *** I started the post above on May 16, 2017. I wrote the following essay on July 4, 2017. A Tender Scar:…

Follow Your Bliss

Part of my self-discovery through working with Stacey Martino is that I lost my bliss somewhere along the way to becoming a wife and mother. I stopped doing the activities that filled my soul, that helped me cope with negative thoughts, that gave me an outlet for my creative and radiant energy. Stacey teaches her…

Develop Better Relationships

Some years ago, I came to realize how lacking I was in “relationship education.” My love relationship was in trouble. I knew this but was not sure what to do about it. The traditional route of couple’s counseling had not worked for us. We tried and every session left us more upset. We criticized each…

Tame the Negative Mind

You Have the Power Over the course of the past year, I have come to realize, accept, and actively exercise that I also have the power to change my thoughts and thus have a powerful influence on the course of my life. When I was younger, I thought that I was a helpless entity that…

Reduce Inflammation

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Food Sensitivities and Environmental Allergens Inflammation is the body’s normal immune response to injury or infection. When you are cut or bruised, you can see and feel the inflammation and its signs of redness, swelling, and pain. Inflammation also occurs inside the body, and the immune response can be…

Reduce Stress

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Genetic Mutations Affect Mood When I started learning about MTHFR and other SNPs, what struck me hard was how they have a direct impact on the production and break down of neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. A light bulb went off for me about how in order to…

Use Supplements Tailored to Your Body

Note: This post contains affiliate links, and I may earn a small commission for the sale of these products if you purchase through these links. Supplements Can Help Get You Back on Track In an ideal world, food would provide all of the varied vitamins and minerals your body needs in order to function at…

Understand Your Genetics

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Learning the Language of Your Genes About six years ago, my mother handed me a lab report and said it was about a genetic issue she has that I should probably know about. I looked over the report and it was in another language. It described a gene called…

Choose Green Alternatives in the Garden

Note: This post contains affiliate links. #SwitchtoSafer in Your Garden I love to garden. Always have. But as a kid, I remember taking a container of RoundUp and spraying weeds growing in the cracks of the driveway at my parents home. God knows what cumulative exposure to that horrible substance did to me, and thank…