Sass and Sippy Cups

Do you find yourself comparing yourself to others often? Unfortunately, it’s human nature. We either compare ourselves to someone else in a way that makes us feel better or worse, and it’s usually the latter. We think about what life would be like if we had his/her looks, money, job, LIFE. Or we do the opposite, “THANK GOD we don’t look/act/sound like that.” It helps us put ourselves on a pedestal compared to someone else. (Hopefully you’re not doing that out loud. If you are, knock it off. You’re being a bully and bullies suck. Grow up.) There’s a big difference between being grateful for what you have because someone else’s situation is much worse, and just using someone else’s misfortune to make yourself feel better. If you’re someone who is on the envy end of the spectrum, listen up. You will NEVER have their life and they will NEVER have yours. For goodness sake, this is real life, not Freaky Friday.   Wasting time thinking about how your life would be amazing if...

Are you prone to anxiety and worry? I’ve suffered from anxiety since elementary school. Back then it usually stemmed from bullying by my peers and a desire to do well in school.   As I got older, it became much worse with the passing of loved ones, my father’s declining health, and my mother’s breast cancer diagnosis. I went through every day with a never ending list of “what-ifs” running through my head.   As every situation passed, I remained vigilant, thinking that if I allowed myself to calm down or even –GASP-- be happy, something bad would come along and ruin it.  I Can’t Control the Weather, Can You? I’ve come to realize that the majority of the things that made me anxious and -sometimes still do- stem from other people and THEIR circumstances.   Things like my husband’s job, my parents’ health, and how my actions might affect others.   While it’s obviously not a bad thing to be considerate, I tend to go a little overboard, many times neglec...

Don't Raise Your Voice, Improve Your Argument Today we're going to play a little game of "truth or dare," but with a little twist: we're going to make it "truth THEN dare."  For the "truth" portion I'm going to ask a few questions and you have to answer them (to yourself, of course) being completely honest.  Then we'll do "dare" and let's see if we can change the answers we gave in the "truth" part... Ready? LET'S GO! Truth Do you yell a lot?  Now I don't mean in the "I'm-Portuguese-so-I always-speak-so-loudly-you'd-think-I-wear-headphones-24/7" kind of way (shout out to my beloved familia!). I mean, when you have a fight with your significant other/mom/coworker/kids, does the volume in the room escalate quickly?  Do you find yourself yelling the same things OVER AND OVER again because the other person seemed to have ignored you the last time? When we are exp...

Bird in a Tree Change is difficult for us as humans.   We hate it.   We resist it.   We avoid it like the plague. Most change sucks, and I call bullshit on anyone who tries to tell you otherwise.   Now, not ALL change is bad.   When we CHOOSE to make a change to better ourselves or our situation, we feel great!   But many times unforeseen events (a bad breakup, being laid off, loss of a loved one, financial struggles, etc.) can force our hands. These circumstances can lead to negative thoughts and insecurities. Insecurities plague EVERYONE, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, orientation, or physical appearance.   Whether it be at work or in their personal life, everyone has their moments when they feel like absolute crap about themselves. Everyone has a little voice in their head that repeats something they once heard from a former boss, coworker, friend, ex, or classmate that made them question themselves.   That voice say...

The Great Self Care Experiment of 2018 Let me preface this post by saying I am not that girl. You know the one (hell, maybe you are the one). The one who buys only organic and goes to the gym EVERY day in January only to fall off the wagon by February 1st. I don't do resolutions. Don't get me wrong, it's great to have goals. But when we call them “resolutions," they eventually start to feel unattainable. Or even worse, like we're total losers if we don't accomplish them. Most people make their plans for their New Year’s Resolutions with concrete steps like these: Resolution: Lose Weight Plan: 1. Go to the gym EVERY DAY           2. eat zero carbs           3. Drink a gallon of water a day Until some disgusting stomach bug works it’s way through the entire house. More than once. Or money gets tight. Or someone close to us becomes seriously ill. Or we just don’t feel li...