The Blogging Platypus

It is a little frustrating, but it isn’t necessarily the fault of others, for they are not clued in.Things are tough all around. We each have our own battles that we greet in the morning and see again in our dreams. One’s challenge may be someone else’s strength. We can bring our resources together, both physically tangible, as well as those traditions that are passed on, but only by word of mouth.  Next week I have my surgical consultation. You see, I have a growth, about an inch in size, that is currently growing on my uterus. It is an unwelcome guest, and one that must be evicted. It looks like I will be having a hysteroscopy or hysterectomy, with the latter one hopefully leaving my ovaries for better hormone regulation. Both of these require quite a bit of rest, which is one thing I have struggled with for much of my life. It’s not that I feel like I keep busy to avoid sitting with my feelings. Trust me on that one. But rather, it comes from a place of guilt. Our society has br...

Image via Pexels I finally got around to printing and cutting out the 60+ affirmations that I compiled earlier this year. Sure, some may consider affirmations to be hokey, along with witchcraft, but that’s not my view. As I have been on my journey of rebirth, new things are appealing and call out to me. While I am fortunate to have lived so many different lives, the one that is currently in my path is not one that I would have expected or chosen for myself. However, there are times and circumstances that are out of your control. I had my life lined up and was working towards my well-established goal. I did all of the coursework, attended my residencies, changed my degree, then graduated with my MS degree in clinical psychology with a specialization in applied research. Research was what made my brain light up and become flooded with all of those feel good chemicals. I was working towards my goal of becoming a principal investigator (PI) and lead my own research studies in an atte...

Making life easier is my jam as of late. Not that I want to be lazy and rely on hacks, but rather my energy is often limited by how many spoons I have to do my daily tasks. If I can make my life easier and still be able to do some of the things I want to do, I’m about that life. Here are three things that make my life easier: Using a file folder holder to organize cutting boards Meal prepping for the week Being green and clean with reusable/washable sponges and rags We are a mixed household, in that there are meat eaters and a vegan living under the same roof. Cross contamination is a big risk, be it gluten or animal products, so to make my life easier, we have a variety of cutting boards. They can take up a lot of space or be difficult to organize. However, using an upright file folder holder has been my savior! This way, I can easily grab the cutting board that suits my needs for what I am making. Now, that’s what I call an organization lifehack that is worth my time! The...

The term self-care seems to have taken over social media over the past few years. This buzzword is easy to find, from product packaging to social media influencers touting the need for this thing called self-care. But what is it and why has it spread like the floating island of plastic trash in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch? If you were to ask me five years ago about self-care, I would not have an inkling about what it is, what it entails, and why I should practice it on a regular basis. I was attending graduate school and working as a freelance writer, hustling for as much work as possible. I had no time to even think about such a thing as self-care. Little did I know at that time, but in a few years, self-care would be an integral part of my life. These days, self-care happens each day, in different ways. Being kind to yourself counts as self-care. Treating your body with the care and respect it deserves and needs counts as self-care. Relaxing in a warm Epsom salt bath counts...