Back to the Office with Desk Accessories

August is back to school time but many of us adults are also dealing with heading back to the office. New desk accessories can help ease the transition to more in office days. Some of us have been working at home for the past year and a half and workplaces are starting to call people back into the office. I am settling into my new schedule of three days in the office and two telework Read more

Monthly Dashboard: A Thorn in all Planners Side

Monthly dashboards are a big topic in the planner world. Every week someone asks, “what do you do with your monthly dashboard? I need ideas!”. No one quite seems to know what to do with them at first. The dashboards can be a bit of a mystery to work out.  There is no right or wrong way to complete a monthly dashboard. It can take months or even years to perfect your dashboard. With a Read more

run your life

Change of Plan!

Sometimes you need to step back and re-evaluate your plan. I recently had to face the music and change my marathon plan. I had been doing a plan which included speed work. I love doing speed work but it was becoming too hard in the summer heat and humidity. I struggled to hit paces, walk or stand to recover, and not want to go out for those runs. Which is not like me.  I usually Read more

How to Run in the Summer Heat

Running in the summer heat is tough, both mentally and physically. But if you put in the time and take steps to stay cool, you will reap the rewards come those fall and winter races! I’ve been running in Phoenix since 2009. I started focusing on running outside and all year round in 2012. I’ve been there, done that, and here are my top 10 tips to staying cool in the summer heat. Go early Read more

Goal Refresh

We are six months into the year. How are your goals coming along? Be honest. It’s ok to have dropped the ball a bit (or a lot). We all get busy. The days turn into weeks and the next thing you know it’s July. How to refresh your goals in five easy steps: Find the goals you set way back in January. I hope you wrote those down and remember where. Been there, done that Read more

Gluten-Free Camping

Summertime usually involves vacations! It’s a great time to shake up routines and see somewhere new. Vacations should be a worry-free, stress-free time.  But what about those of us with dietary restrictions? It can be hard to know if the place you are traveling to will have options for you. Or if the airport and plane will have something you can snack on. It can be stressful. But what can you do to guarantee your Read more

June at Cafe Noir

June did not go as I expected for books. I had a plan but as usual, my reading plans went out the window. I did finish two of the books I had planned so go me! I had one DNF this month. I used to force myself to finish everything I started but I’ve realized life is too short to read books I can’t get into. Some of them I may attempt later because maybe Read more

Travel Journal

Summer means travel. But how do you make sure you don’t forget important details or items? How do you remember your amazing adventures?  Enter the EC petite travel journal!  Sure, we all think we will remember the fun adventure we just had but do we really? The small details start to fade as the months go by. You ask yourself, did we eat at that restaurant when we visited Philadelphia? Did we see that art Read more

Top Five Reasons to Head to a National Park

I love a good National Park. I have a goal to visit every single one, including National Monuments, Historical Parks, etc. There are 63 National Parks and a total of 423 National Sites. There is definitely one out there for everyone. It will be tough to visit all 63 and even hard to hit all 423 but I am determined. But why you ask? Why would someone want to spend all their vacation time and Read more

Time to Train!

June is here which means I will be starting marathon training for virtual Boston. May didn’t go as well as planned and I’ve definitely been struggling if I can really run a marathon. It’s the eternal struggle and I just need to put in the work and prove to myself that I can do this.  I mapped out all my marathon training from June through October in my planner. I did it all in pencil Read more

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