Today, with this blog post, I am joining the Declaration of You Blog Lovin' Tour . The Declaration of You! is a new book by Michelle Ward and Jessica Swift , giving readers all the permission they've craved to step passionately into their lives, discover how they and their gifts are unique and uncover what they are meant to do! When I first learned about the book and the blog tour, it seemed like a fun and exciting opportunity to write, to get back to my blog, and to join forces with over 100 other creative bloggers. This week's topic is self-care, which has been a big area of change for me these past couple years. As a mother, a wife, a daughter, an optometrist, a business owner, etc. it has sometimes been too easy to neglect the area of self-care as I made sure everyone else was taken care of first. Now this doesn't mean I wouldn't try, but often I was too tired to do the things I needed, and wanted, for me. But a couple years ago, I learned some life l

This morning I woke up early for a run around my normal route. But it wasn't so normal today. Friday afternoon, the nature area around which I run, caught on fire. And there was just enough wind and dry vegetation to make the fire a challenge to put out. It took several hours and 180 firefighters to contain the blaze, which damaged 30 acres and five structures. Two of those structures were homes in the small neighborhood that we live, only 0.3 miles away. Needless to say, it was a nerve wracking several hours, wondering what would happen with the fire and our home. Thankfully everything turned out okay for us, but our nerves are a bit frazzled and our world a bit shaken. It was obviously scary for the girls, between the threat of the fire, the huge cloud of smoke in the sky, the smell of smoke at our house, and the policemen blocking entry to our neighborhood. My youngest, Katherine, has an amazing imagination and can use it to worry quite a bit, but on Friday it was her sister, R

This week's meeting topic at Weight Watchers was about eating on vacation. It seemed of little value at first, because we have no vacations in sight. Maybe a day trip here and there, but nothing more. But as we discussed the issues and strategies, we were asked to remember past vacations and the successes we had. So I immediately thought of our whirlwind trip to Disneyland for New Years this past December. I remembered packing nutritious snacks, and breakfasts, to not only help with food choices but also to save a little money. But more important than that, I remembered how great I felt during that trip. We spent three long days in the parks, but I felt great. I never truly felt tired the way I had remembered past Disneyland trips. I felt like I could walk for days (which we essentially did). I even remember feeling happy and energized as we waited on Main Street for New Year's Eve fireworks at midnight (my two little girls could not say the same; in fact my five year old

This past weekend was girls' weekend at my house (although my husband might argue that it's girls' weekend every weekend between me, our two daughters, and even our girl dog). My husband was away doing "boy" things, so my mom came to visit so we could do "girl" things. One of the activities, dare I say the highlight of the weekend, was participating in a 5K on Sunday morning. And it wasn't just any 'ol 5K, it was a women's 5K. Perfect! So when I realized the timing of the event, I signed up my team of women: myself, my mom, and my two daughters, Rebecca (age 8) and Katherine (age 5). This 5K was the first for my mom. She's been to a couple of races as a spectator, but never as a participant. And I was excited to have her joining us in the race fun. Equally excited was Katherine (my 5 year old), because this would be her first chip-timed race. Her excitement didn't come from a desire to be fast and timed, because that was by no means