Healthy Mind

Healthy Mind, Healthy Mommy

Brainstorming Solutions to Your Everyday Mom Problems

May 7, 2021

Mother's day got me thinking how the job of "mom" Is unlike any other job. Many people unarguably agree that it the most difficult job there is (see American Greetings video). It is by far the most difficult job I've ever had, that's for damn sure. That said, we, as Moms, have this way of not treating this all-consuming work as a job.

When I worked in a "real" job, there was an order to things. We had routines and rhythms, meetings and mission statements. When a new client or account came in, we created new systems for them and readjusted our schedule to allow for the new work. If a particular area of our job was not working, my team and I would brainstorm solutions for how to improve it.

Why is it, then, that I don’t apply that same methodology to my home life? This is a time when I need systems and solutions more than ever.

Moms are notorious for walking through life accepting a constant state of stress. We’re always in a rush, on the edge, or totally losing our shit.

“This is just Mom Life,” we tell ourselves.

We’re supposed to live in leggings and stained shirts, possibly un-showered, with permanent bags under our eyes from lack of sleep, and furrowed brows from frustration and stress.

Damn. That paints a terrible picture when you really think about it.

Why are we okay with this? Why do we just accept that this is the way things are?

Did it ever occur to you (it didn’t to me) to do something about it? To sit down with ourselves and come up with solutions to our everyday problems? It's not to say that it would make them all go away, but there is something very powerful about putting our issues on paper and thinking through ways to solve them. 

I can’t pretend that I thought of this all on my own. I’ve been taking a course online through minimalist blogger and podcaster, Allie Casazza, called Unburdened. It’s been a huge kick in the pants (leggings, of course) and led me to take a harder look at my mom life and how I live it.

One of my favorite exercises from the course is called "brainstorming solutions." Not for your day job, but for your job as a mom. As in, consider the parts of your day — morning, afternoon, and evening and write down your pain points with each category, and then find solutions to your problems. You can then later apply this to days of the week, times of the month, and even physical body, relationships with others, and relationship with yourself.

Today I’m going to share part of my exercise with you in hopes that I can inspire other moms to do the same for themselves.

Morning

Problems:

  • I’m always tight on time, and almost always late dropping off my oldest at preschool.
  • Nearly every morning, Charley has a tantrum for a variety of reasons — her socks are on “backwards,” she forgot her blankie upstairs, she is falling off her chair and she can’t get up, she wants me to “READ HER A BOOK!!!”, etc. This is a constant source of stress for me and what I dread most when I wake up in the morning.
  • I am always searching for extra things at the last minute — gloves, hats, snow pants, extra snacks, sound of the week items (for Charley’s school), books for the car, water bottles, my keys, etc.
  • Overall, stressful and rushed! I have absolutely no time for myself from the moment I’m woken up (by either Maggie crying through the baby monitor or Charley creepily standing over my bed watching me sleep) to the moment we step out the door.

Solutions:

  • Prepare EVERYTHING the night before – I used to just prepare lunches, but I still found myself scrambling in the morning for all the aforementioned items above. I have now started to literally walk myself through the morning the night before and get every little thing ready and by the door or in the fridge so I don’t even have to think about it in the morning.
  • Say NO when saying YES would make my morning more stressful — We got into the habit of reading books or playing in the morning when Charley would wake up at 5 AM and we had plenty of time to kill. Now, she’s more of a 6:00/6:30 AM riser leaving us barely enough time to get dressed and eat. I’ve been forcing myself to say no when she asks if we can play cars or dress up or read books if there’s just not enough time to do it. I then accept that what follows may be a tantrum or just an extremely sad look on her cute face, but that over time, she will accept that this is just not something we do in the morning anymore.
  • Have incentives — If Charley can promise me to have her socks, shoes, and jacket on by a certain time, we can then read a book in the car when we get to school. This way she is extra motivated to get moving and I’ve already got her to school by the time we’re reading the book. This also cuts down on my 1-year-old wandering off during reading (therefore having to go fetch her and tear her away from whatever she’s working on). One day a week, I also treat them to Starbucks (i.e. Chocolate milk for Charley, running around Starbucks and greeting everybody who walks in for Maggie, and coffee for me). Again, this is only if everybody is at the door and ready to go by 7:15.
  • Let go — I do not have control over Charley’s emotions. I tell myself this on a daily basis. All I can do is have everything as prepared as possible to cut down on my stress, thereby hopefully cutting down on hers. When she does have one of her tantrums, I acknowledge what she’s struggling with, and then continue on with what I’m doing.
  • Wake up early whenever possible — My 16-month-old is still waking up at least once a night, leaving me overtired and under-slept most mornings. Though I like to complain about it, I do have control over this too. I have to put in the work to train her to go back to sleep on her own without nursing or holding and rocking. Once I have achieved this, I will then have the energy to get up before my kids do, giving me extra time in the morning for myself to exercise, journal, meditate, or at the very least get dressed and brush my teeth by myself. 

This isn't groundbreaking stuff. I realize this. It's actually ridiculously simple and slightly tedious. My intention wasn't for you to take my solutions to heart, but to realize that you can resolve your own problems by writing them down and addressing them rather than just accepting them.

It takes time to sit down and take this seriously. And you’re not going to want to do it because it feels silly and like a waste of time. But I realized that I was actually wasting way more time by not doing it. I guarantee you we all have ways we can improve our routines and relationships. We just have to take it as seriously as we would our job. Which shouldn’t be hard because it is our life, after all.

Your Turn! 

I've created a worksheet here so you all can take it and run with it.

HealthyStacey Brainstorming Solutions Worksheet

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. I appreciate you. If you do decide to do this exercise, I would love to hear your feedback in the comments below. What did you come up with? Are your days feeling better? Have you applied brainstorming to other areas of your life?

Love,

HealthyStaceySignature

Healthy Mind, Healthy Mommy

Life Before Kids

August 11, 2020

Last Saturday night, I had the pleasure of driving to pick up pizza for my family. To be clear, the pleasure part was that I was driving to my destination and back ALL ALONE. No toddler. No baby. No husband (no offense, babe).

My mind filled up with all of the things I could do with this new-found freedom. I could go get a latte at Starbucks, swing by Old Navy to get a few sports bras, or go to the top of Lookout Mountain and just stand there in silence. I did none of those things, but honestly, just the joy of thinking about doing them got me excited. I did, however, listen to Jagged Little Pill and catch up with my best friend on the phone for a brief but sweet 15 minutes. It was the little slice of me that I needed to refuel. When I got home, I felt exhilarated. Rested. Refreshed. Dare I say, excited to see my kids again.

I got all of that from just a 20-minute round-trip errand. Which made me realize:

I need to get out more.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the things that used to make me “me.” You know, the before-kids me.

Saturday nights were for Karaoke and other shenanigans. I would plan my song ahead of time, drink just the right amount of vodka tonic to get me motivated, and then, step on stage to experience a high that only singing in front of a roomful of strangers could give me. I was good. I was very good. Not at singing, but boy could I put on a show. At one point, I got the whole bar to do chorus line kicks with me to Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York.” I remember stepping off the stage and thinking, “Nailed it.” If Karaoke wasn't an option, there was always dancing. Dancing at bars. Dancing in our apartment. Dancing in the streets. I remember thinking, there will never be a point where I stop going out to dance. Ha!

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Friday nights and close-enough-to-Friday nights (Thursday night, Wednesday night) were for going out to eat. My then-boyfriend-now-husband and I lived in downtown Chicago in the West Loop — home to Google, trendy boutique hotels, and some of the most popular chef-driven restaurants in the country. Mexican-Mediterranean-Italian-Japanese food fusion served with spicy Mezcals or 10-ingredient cocktails that took 10-minutes for a well-trained mixologist to concoct. Wood-fired pizzas on rooftops. Sushi rolls with exotic sounding sauces like spicy ponzu or uni butter. The night was ours and nobody else’s. We could talk for hours without bouncing tiny humans on our knees in hopes of “getting through” dinner. I lived for these nights. And took pictures of almost everything I ate, later writing about it here on HealthyStacey.com or posting it on my largely popular Instagram account (kidding). One time, my Insta post even earned us a free meal at one of the best restaurants in the city because…social media influence. (A term that no longer belongs in my vocabulary).

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Saturday mornings were for the Farmers Market. This was when “Healthy Stacey” was in her element. I would walk to the park, reusable Trader Joe’s bags in hand, ready to fill them up with grass-fed beef, organ meat, chicken feet for my bone broth, and pasture-raised eggs. Of course, there was the locally-grown organic produce — kohlrabi, butter lettuce, misshapen sweet potatoes, heirloom tomatoes, and at least eight different varieties of apples. And then there was the mushroom guy. Ah, meaty shitakes, nutty shimejis, and buttery lion’s mane. I would walk the four blocks home carrying this ridiculously heavy load, motivated only by the moment when I would dump my loot out on my kitchen counter to take beautiful pictures of it all. I would then spend hours cooking up a fancy meal with it that night, only to take more pictures of the final product before I ate it. Damn I had a lot of time on my hands.

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Weekday nights — if I was truly alone — were reserved for my most embarrassing guilty pleasure — 90s TV. I owned entire box sets of Boy Meets World, Friends, and Sabrina The Teenage Witch. Full House was easy to catch on TV, as was Home Improvement so the box sets were not necessary. My movies of choice were Father of the Bride, Clueless, My Best Friend’s Wedding, and Troop Beverly Hills (what a thrill J). If I was feeling really crafty, I might even try to catch some old Mary Kate and Ashley shows on YouTube (Two of a Kind, So Little Time anyone?), or revisit SNICK or TGIF promos. My little 90s oasis made me feel like I was a kid again. Whenever I was stressed, it was almost like I was hitting the rewind button to go back to a simpler time.

I sometimes wonder what it would be like to go back for a day. Wait, no — a week. Yes, a week in my old life with the new knowledge that this freedom would be fleeting. That it would only last a few short years. How much louder would I sing? How much more would I dance? How much sweeter would my ginger and herb-infused cocktail taste? And how much later would I stay up to watch just one more episode of Sabrina?

I guess I’ll get my chance again one day, when my kids are grown. But I guarantee you, I’ll be karaoke-ing to some song that I sang with my kids, I’ll stop mid-drink to think about that time my two-year-old ran across the room to “cheers!” me, and I’ll pause that show to scroll through pictures of my babies when they were still babies. I’ll never really go back. Because I can’t. Only forward.

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Healthy Mind

Increasing Milk Supply: The Point is Moo

October 28, 2018

Joey: If he doesn't like you, then this is all just a moo point.

Rachel: Huh. A moo point?

Joey: Yeah, it's like a cow's opinion, you know, it just doesn't matter. It's "moo".

 

Breastfeeding is wonderful for the body, but terrible for the mind…if you struggle with milk supply. We, as moms, are willing to go through crazy lengths for our babies — especially when it comes to nourishing them with the precious (said in the voice of Gollum) breastmilk. But how far is too far? 

I thought I was one of the lucky ones. I’d heard about how hard it can be to breastfeed. Being the paranoid person that I am, I even consulted a lactation consultant before Charley was born just in case I had issues.

But the moment she latched on, I thought, “I did it. I’m a breastfeeding mama! From here on out, it’s smooth sailing.”

PSYCH.

That all changed when I went on a 3 day trip (without Charley) when she was 7 1/2 months. 

Even though I brought three pumps — my electric pump and two handheld pumps for when I was on the go. Even though I dutifully pumped every 3-4 hours at the expense of leaving the fun, and a good night’s sleep. And even though I went so far as to pump in the bathroom bar at the rooftop of the W, only to have a drunk girl walk in on me and a long line of other drunk girls staring me down, wondering why I was hogging the stall for so long…

My supply STILL plummeted.

I got back from my trip, SO excited to hold my girl in my arms again and nurse her to sleep. But to my dismay, the milk would not come. She nursed and nursed and nursed, and finally got very tired of waiting (read: cried and thrashed for 15 minutes), and gave up on me.

I was crushed.

But I was determined not to give up. I would crack the code and get it back. And I was willing to try ANYTHING.

Thus began my dark journey down the “Low Milk Supply” black hole. Here are the 12 things I attempted to get it back up, and the one thing that really worked.

1. Consult a Lactation Consultant

Lactation Consultants are the holy grail of breastfeeding assistance. These women know their stuff and they're amazingly knowledgable…when it comes to early breastfeeding. But when I came to them with my issue, they were kind of stumped. So you've never had a problem before? Nope. And you pumped every 3 hours when you left? Yep. Then it should come back. Just pump more. 

Three different consultants and three variations on the same answer later, I thought I was a lost cause. Overall, not a great experience. It only made me want to take matters into my own hands. Next!

2. Take a nursing vacation

Of all the tips I was given, this one cracks me up the most. A nursing vacation means that you spend the day in bed with your baby, ideally shirtless (for skin-to-skin contact), cuddling and snuggling till your heart is — and your breasts are — full. Maybe this works with a younger, non-crawling baby. MAYBE. But I know few people in this day and age who have the patience (and time) to snuggle all day long. Nonetheless, I tried it. It was cute for about three minutes. And then Charley booked it to the end of the bed and I had to catch her mid-air. After about 12 more tries of this, I gave up. Overall, the whole experience reminded me of when I tried to meditate and only got more anxiety about the fact that I wasn’t relaxing.

3. Pump on one side while she feeds on the other

When you pump on one side, inevitably, milk will come out on the other. So I figured, why don't I just manually pump one boob, while she's nursing on the other, and the milk will come out faster. BRILLIANT…in theory. Yes, it is possible to help her get milk out this way. But when you're trying to pump with one hand, and hold your baby in the other, you realize you have no hands left to keep her from kicking and grabbing the pump. Overall, this was a very stressful experience. Fail.

4. Feed her a bottle, then follow with the breast

Part of the problem with continuing to put in the “demand” for the milk, is that my girl had worn out her patience with waiting for my let-down. After all, for three days, all she got was the bottle from her dad. When I would try to nurse her, she’d get restless after a minute or two when nothing came out — and eventually she’d get REALLY pissed and refuse to take the breast at all. One solution is to start with a bottle (with half of what she needs), and then switch to the breast when she’s less restless. This actually did work to an extent. Not only was she less stressed, but the pressure was also off me to “produce.” The more relaxed I was, the sooner my milk came. I call this a semi-win. It didn't solve the whole problem, and sometimes I think she would get frustrated and confused why there were so many "nipples" coming at her at once and just give up all together. But overall, a good tip to try.

5. Take Rescue Remedy

This is another way of saying RELAX. Too much stress can lead to problems with let-down, a dive in milk supply, and early weaning. Check, check, and check! I felt like I was stuck in this vicious cycle. The less milk I produced, the more I stressed, and the less milk I produced. Enter Rescue Remedy. A blend of flower essences concocted by a doctor to help you deal with stress. This product was a recommendation from a lactation consultant, and though it was on the pricier side, I figured – I can always use something to help me stress less, right? Meh. I'm a big believer in essential oils and herbs for better health, but maybe I needed something a little stronger in this situation. Plus, adding one more thing to my pre-feeding routine ironically stressed me out. Ha.

6. Eat oatmeal (and other galactagogues)

Oh, the oatmeal. I really put the “ish” in Paleo-ish during this oh-so-stressful time. Everybody and their mother will tell you that oatmeal will help with your milk supply. It’s what they call a galactagogue. A food that is meant to increase milk supply. So I ate it. I ate it with flaxseed (also a galactagogue). With brewer’s yeast (galactagoguge). With fennel (galactagoguge). With almonds (galactagogue). I ate it cold. I ate it baked into cookies. Every day. Sometimes two times a day.

Other galactaoguges that I did not put in my oatmeal, but did eat frequently include: dark leafy greens, garlic, chickpeas, nuts and seeds, ginger, papaya, cumin seeds, anise seeds, and turmeric (source).

I never actually measured my output with and without oatmeal, so I can’t say for sure whether it did or did not work. But my guess is that it has more of a placebo effect than an actual effect. It calmed me to make my galactagogues concoction every morning. It made me feel like I had some sort of control over the situation.

7. Drink a Guinness

Ha! I know this should probably be in the galactagogues category, but it was such a rock bottom moment in my milk recession that I had to give it its own number. As you know, I generally follow a Paleo diet. I let things slide here and there, but typically beer is not one of those things. But when your doctor tells you to drink a Guinness and relax, you figure it’s a damn good excuse to drink one. The barley in beer is a polysaccharide — a carbohydrate that stimulates prolactin (that key hormone that stimulates milk production) (source). Not to mention, there’s yeast in beer, which is — surprise! — a galactagogue.  

As soon as I figured this out, I threw Charley in the Ergobaby and marched over to Mariano’s to pick up a case of beer. I called my husband on the way there and told him that we’re drinking Guinness tonight (he was very supportive).

That night, I sat there with my pump sucking the little milk I had left out of me, with a Guinness in one hand and a bowl of oatmeal in the other. Honestly, the whole thing felt weird to me. Alcohol and breastfeeding are not supposed to go hand in hand. And it wasn’t nearly as satisfying as I thought it would be. It seems as though this girl agrees with me.

8. Take Supplements

Just like foods, certain supplements are reported to have a positive effect on your milk supply. The most popular one is fenugreek. Head to Target or any major grocery store and you’ll probably find this or this on the shelves. I bought both of them. And then a lactation consultant told me to watch out for fenugreek because it could also have the opposite effect on milk supply. Are you serious?

I immediately stopped taking them, and looked for alternative options. That's when a friend told me about this store in Chicago that specializes in breastfeeding moms (Ya. A WHOLE store). The nicest woman showed me to the holy grail of supplements called Liquid Gold that so many of her customers “Swear by!” She was the first piece of positive news I’d heard yet. I hung on to her every word when she told of the countless other mamas coming back and thanking her for their large boost in milk supply.

Oh boy! I thought. This is it. This is what’s going to get me back on track. I started taking the recommended two tablets, three times a day, went to their website (hilarious, great marketing), and ordered the other two supplements that they sell — each one a different combination of herbs, intended on working better for different people.

I waited seven days to see a result. And still, no dice. I switched it up to the Pump Princess, hoping this particular concoction would have a better effect on me. Still nothing. Not to mention the fact that I tested my milk while taking these and was appalled by the herby-dirty taste it took on from taking these supplements. I pushed them to the back of my medicine cabinet and hoped they would serve me on the next go-round.

9. Avoid Certain Foods

Just as galactagoues have a reputation for increasing milk supply, other foods have a reputation to decrease it. On that sh*t list is:

  • Parsley
  • Peppermint
  • Spearmint (watch out for Altoids!)
  • Sage
  • Oregano
  • Cabbage leaves (works wonders for engorgement, but obviously avoid if your supply is low)
  • Beer (contradictory to #5, I know).

As somebody who uses herbs liberally in her everyday cooking, I got real simple and stuck to salt and pepper. In addition, I said goodbye to my favorite hummus (sage being one of its ingredients), avoided peppermint tea, and donated the leftover Guinness to my husband. Did this make a difference? Probably not. It just added to my stress level, feeling like I had to constantly watch what I ate.

10. Go to an acupuncturist

I’m a big believer in acupuncture. It has helped me through serious back pain, anxiety, and possibly even improved my fertility. As the practice is meant to improve blood flow, it made sense to me that it could help move other fluid (milk) through my body. Not to mention, acupuncture can also help with anxiety — which I believe was having a big impact on my supply as well.

I walked into my acupuncturist office like a bat out of hell. I was talking a million miles a minute, but I wasn’t saying much. She, of course, stayed completely calm throughout my explanation. And before I knew it, I was lying on her table with pins in my ears, my back, and my shoulders. Within minutes, I entered a tranquil state. I was so relaxed that I convinced myself she must’ve slipped drugs into my waiting room tea. 

I returned back home, dazed and confused, with Chinese medicine and an essential oil tincture in my purse. I was instructed to break the herbal capsules into hot water and drink it as a tea three times a day. The oil, I was to rub on my breasts before breastfeeding.

The results? The acupuncture did indeed help to relax me. And if I could’ve gone regularly, I believe could’ve helped in the long run. But unfortunately, insurance still has not gotten around to covering alternative treatments such as Chinese medicine, so weekly visits were out of the question. I did not notice an increase in my milk supply with the herbs, so my acupuncturist upped the ante and gave me something a little more potent. I took it dutifully three times a day.

Fast forward three weeks after me obsessing over my Chinese tea (I had anxiety if I didn’t have it because I truly believed my milk supply would disappear if I stopped drinking it), and I realized that the attachment was getting a little out of hand. When I ran out the third time, I didn’t make the 15-minute trek to my acupuncturist to get a refill. I was slowly letting go…

11. Power Pump

This was the mother of all tips. But it was also a Mother something-else. My good friend who had struggled with breastfeeding from day one had tried every trick in the book. When I came to her desperate for help, she sent me this link, and warned me:  it works, but it is a soul sucking activity. She was right.

Power pumping is meant to mimic cluster feeding. In other words, pump, stop, pump again, stop, pump again, etc. You do this for an hour, following the schedule 20 minutes on, 10 minutes off, 10 minutes on, 10 minutes off, 10 minutes on.

As much as I hate pumping, I was willing to try anything at this point. At first, I went a little crazy, and aimed for two power pumping sessions a day. After about 4 days, I saw results. Real results. I’m talking a three ounce difference. I was addicted. So I kept at it. After a week I cut the morning power pump out, but continued doing the evening one after she went to bed. I would join my husband on the couch and we’d watch TV with the “eh eh eh eh” of the Medela in the background…for FIVE MONTHS straight.

Long story short. It works. But it’s an un-sustainable soul-sucking practice that no one should do as long as I did.

12. Let go

When my supply dropped, I did not take it well (obviously). I found myself forgetting to breathe on most days. I woke up every morning hoping for full, leaky boobs, and would cry when I saw small, deflated ones. And after a particularly rough night when Charley refused to take milk from me, my husband found me on the kitchen floor curled up into a ball, rocking back and forth, bawling my eyes out.

I perceived my milk supply as part of my identity as a mother — it was how Charley and I bonded. No matter how moody she was, nursing was always a calm, happy time. Before she was eating solids, I was literally her only source of food. And she ate every two hours so I had serious anxiety about ever leaving her for longer than that time.

I did not know how to be a mother to Charley without breastfeeding. 

Sometimes, though, you need to hit rock bottom to get back up again. After weeks and weeks of wallowing, self-pity, and self-doubt, I stopped. Because I realized that I was making this all about me, and not about Charley. I had to be strong for her. So that's what I did. Every time the milk wouldn't come, I would just repeat over and over "Be strong for Charley." 

Today, I am happy to report I am pump-free, supplement-free, oatmeal-free, and carefree (when it comes to breastfeeding, that is). Charley now takes a formula I am very happy to give her in place of my milk (It's base is Mt. Capra goat milk, but essentially is a recipe that I make myself using these ingredients).

Here's the kicker. We're still breastfeeding five months later. Not very often. Just enough to put her to bed at night and sometimes to nap during the day. I can't believe I still have milk without doing any of the afformentioned things. If this experience has taught me anything, it's listen to your body. It knows what it's supposed to do.

I share this becuase I hope somebody out there reads this, realizes how CRAZY one could go trying to "get your supply back," and lets go a whole lot sooner than I did. Maybe you lose your supply, maybe you don't. Whatever happens, it's going to be okay.

Much Love,

HealthyStaceySignature

Healthy Mind

I Quit My Job To Follow My Dreams and Here’s What Happened

September 1, 2016

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I wake up at 5:30 AM. Look at my alarm clock, desperate for just a little more sleep, and zero desire to roll over and go to work. But then I remember. I do desire to go to work. I desire to go to work very much. Because, for the first time in my life, my work is my bliss. Every little piece of it.

I haven’t told you much about what’s been going on in my life lately. Mostly because this isn’t that kind of blog. You’re here to learn about healthy food, pick up a recipe or two, and be on your merry way. No need to know about my love life, my doctor’s appointment, or my cat’s latest sleeping spot (I don’t have a cat, but if I did, please kill me if I ever found that to be important enough to tell you about it).

But there are certain things that I just have to get off my chest because they're SO COOL and I’m pretty darned proud of them.

You see, in the last few months, I have made some pretty drastic changes. I mean really big, I-don’t-even-recognize-my-life changes. So we’re not here for 72 more paragraphs, I’m going to put it in a nice little nutshell for you. Here goes. In the last three months, I…

  • Got married to my best friend
  • Became a freelance writer
  • Quit my stable, fulltime job as an advertising copywriter
  • Met an incredibly impressive entrepreneur who has my dream job…
  • then started working under her as her Wellness Chef Apprentice
  • Got hired as a Class Assistant at one of the busiest cooking schools in the country (the Chopping Block!)
  • Graduated from the Institute for Transformational Nutrition and became a CTNC (this one just happened yesterday – cue Vitamin C's Graduation Song here)

Whew! I know, right?

I still have to pinch myself. It doesn’t seem real.

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When I tell this to my friends and family (or curious bystanders), they are sometimes shocked, but mostly proud of this ballsy endeavor. As if they, too, have plans to do the same someday. But then they ask the question, “What exactly do you plan to do?"

This is the part where I get a little squirmy. I've never been great with elevator pitches, but this new "job" of mine is particularly hard to describe because it's not one answer. It's more like 11 pursuits, plus a few side jobs to pay the bills.

A freelance content creator, a food writer, a cookbook author, a recipe creator, a food photographer, a health coach, a holistic nutritionist, a private paleo chef, a cooking class instructor, a professional dinner party host, and the Food Network’s first holistic chef star. And somewhere in between all that, a mom.

After years of dreaming these dreams and setting goals for myself to achieve them, I was doing myself a disservice by continuing to stay on my old career path. If I wanted to get closer, I needed to jump into the fire. The healthy, holistic, foodie fire.

Once I quit my day job, I had no other choice. I had to find the opportunities, the people and the organizations that would help me get closer to my dreams. Which is exactly what I did and continue to do. And because of these actions, every day, the path that I had previously searched so desperately for, becomes more clear.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s not all rainbows and butterflies and unicorns. Because it’s life. And your crazy dreams never turn out as picture-perfect as you think they will.

I spend much more of my time confused and scared out of my mind. And yes, there are moments where I think – Are you CRAZY? You aren’t cut out to be an entrepreneur! You have NO IDEA what you're doing. Please. Just go back to the real world, get a respectable desk job, and hopefully nobody will notice your I-want-to-live-my-dreams hiatus.

But then I snap myself out of it. Because really, I’ve already done the hard part. The leap-out-of-a plane undertaking that everybody is so deathly afraid to do. From here, it’s just about navigating my new territory. And recognizing that my mind isn’t used to working outside of its safe Groundhog Day routine.

Get up. Go to work. Collect paycheck. Go home. Count the days left till the weekend.

Now. Every day is a new day. With HUGE opportunities to learn something new, meet somebody new or create something that I didn't know I was capable of. And at the end of that day, I’ve never felt more alive.

No. Regardless of what my inner critic says, I have no plans to get back in that plane.

Much Love,

HealthyStaceySignature

p.s. Know somebody else who wants to follow their dreams? Share my story through this pin with all your dreamer friends–>

I Quit My Job To Follow My Dreams