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Your Future Self Will Thank You for Reading This 🙌

“If you don’t make time for your wellness, you will be forced to make time for your illness.” -Joyce Sunada

I hate to break it to you, but there will be a time in your future that you are going to get sick, like really sick, like ill. It might happen next year, or it might happen in forty years at the end of your life (fingers crossed), but I’d bet it’s most likely going to happen sometime in your life and not just when you’re heading to the grave. Illness is an inevitable part of life, but the good news is, we have the power to take steps today that will help us when that time comes. Whether it’s something minor like a broken bone or a major health scare, there are actions we can take now to ensure our body and mind are ready to bounce back. Let me share some ideas on how to do that.

Front Load Your Health:
Yes, this is a CrossFit image and idea but I think it pertains to all individuals regardless of what fitness, or lack there of you have in your life. This spectrum shows that there is one end of the spectrum, “sickness”, then the other end of the spectrum, “fitness” and then in the middle is the “wellness”.

The idea is that at some point you will end up at the sickness end so it’s important now to bring yourself as close as possible to the fitness end. You frontload your fitness (and health). Frontloading means investing in your health and fitness now, so you’re better prepared to face sickness or challenges when they arise.

I can attest to this being true because when I was diagnosed with cancer, I was grateful to be in the best shape of my life. Instead of fighting from a place of weakness, I was able to start from a point of strength, and this made all the difference during my treatment and recovery.

Through all my various surgeries, from my cancer fight, and through the chemo, to my two pregnancies, this idea has been so true and has helped me immensely navigate these challenging times by having started closer to the “fitness” end of the spectrum. So, please, I ask you, do your future self a favor and build out your life so you are frontloading your fitness and health to get you closer to that fitness end of the spectrum.

Being Prepared for the Unknown:
One of CrossFit’s mission is to prepare you for the unknown and unknowable so that when that happens to you, whatever that unknown thing is, you’ll be prepared. I honestly didn’t think much about it the few years I’d been doing Crossfit prior to getting diagnosed with cancer. But then, during the fight and journey of my cancer treatment I realized what it meant.

All those days I was grinding in the gym, with my head down, suffering and being miserable but continuing to put one foot in front of the other, it was preparing me for summer of 2015. It prepared me to mentally be able to handle the challenge that cancer treatment throws at you. I mean, don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows, there were a lot of depressed and miserable days too, but for the most part, that ability to face a challenge and just keep trekking, through the pain and mental stresses was gained through small little workouts every day and helped me prepare for the unknown of my cancer journey.

Whether it’s a health scare, an unexpected job change, or any other unknown challenge, being physically and mentally prepared can make all the difference. How are you preparing for the unknown in your life?

Beyond the Physical Side:
The image I shared of the Health Wellness Spectrum above does emphasize the physical wellness aspect of a human, but honestly, I look at that spectrum more as a whole being. You can find wellness and sickness throughout your entire system of your body. From the physical to the mental to the spiritual and more.

One of my favorite fitness coaches, Ben Bergeron has come up with the five factors of health, which are:

Eat
Sleep
Train
Think
Connect

He believes these five factors are what will make up the total health/wellness of a human, their entire system.

I also recently listened to a great audiobook, “The Well Lived Life: A 102- Year-Old Doctor’s Six Secrets to Health and Happiness at Every Age”, which was super good and cute! Anyways, in this book, the spunky, passionate, and knowledgeable doctor shared personal anecdotes in her memoir about how she tried to treat a patient for the whole system. She had various examples of how a patient might complain about one thing, but she’d work hard to get to the underlying issues, to the root of what was going in their life and a lot of times she’d discover there was more to the picture than just this sore ankle or lingering cough, etc. She truly believed and saw that the human body was all one interweaved system, from our mind, to the connections of those outside our body, to our physical health, to our spirituality (not religious necessarily). She, as does Coach Ben, and many others out there, believe you must focus on the whole body to achieve health.

So, the next few Elevate Livin’ Life E-newsletters will dive deeper into these five factors of health, Eat, Sleep, Train, Think, and Connect. Because what we do with our mind and what we do with our body can dictate the health and happiness of our life. So, let’s take these small steps together to prioritize wellness—because when we take care of ourselves now, we build a foundation that supports us through life’s ups and downs. Stay tuned for more tips in the next newsletter!

Make it a great day!
-Kelli

Favorite Livin’ Life Activity This Month: Skipping Dinner at Home on a School Night and having a Micro-Adventure to Louie Lake

Will You…

“You must learn a new way to think before you can master a new way to be.”

-Marianne Williamson

It was a beautiful summer day, my kiddos were at camp and I was all caught up at work so I spent the morning getting my backpack all packed. It was full of the essentials to survive outside in the woods for three days, as well as some yummy treats and extra enjoyments. I had three other best friends doing the same thing at their homes and we all couldn’t wait to start our annual backpacking trip later that night. We had three nights and three full days to just connect with each other out in the beautiful mountains of Oregon. How lucky are we?? Yet as I packed my bag, my stomach started to feel nauseous and my mind also swirled with thoughts of anxiety towards the trip. What about the fires, will they ruin the views and make all this work not worth it? Will new fires pop up and endanger us? What about my Achilles that’s been cranky and hurting, will it be able to handle the thirty plus miles of hard hiking with a heavy pack? What if I get sick while I’m out there? What if….what if….what if…

There Are Always Reasons to NOT Do Something:
Over the years I’ve started to learn this feeling of anxiety is normal. And it was too fitting that earlier that morning I had read James Clears’ weekly newsletter that talks a little about this. He said:

“The problem with smart people is they can come up with a good reason for not doing anything. They are smart enough to find the cracks, to foresee the challenges, and to talk themselves out of the idea. They are experts at justifying their lack of courage or lack of action with an intelligent excuse.

But there will always be reasons to not do something, and this is particularly true of anything worth doing. We value those moments in which we overcame challenge, not those in which we avoided it. Ultimately, action is a choice. The choice to emphasize the reasons for doing it despite the reasons you have for avoiding it.”

So this month’s Elevate Livin’ Life E-newsletter I wanted to chat about the power of our thoughts, the times to listen to them and when to tell them to shut up, and working through challenges to achieve your ambitious goals.

Power of Thoughts:

Your thoughts are powerful, BUT only if you give them power. You can’t control (for the most part) what you think about but your destiny depends on what you do with those thoughts. Because your thoughts can become your actions —> your actions become your life.
So choose wisely when you decide which thoughts you believe in and take action on. I could have believed my anxious thoughts above and canceled the trip, trust me it crossed my mind, but after experience with this in the past, I knew it was my minds way of trying to protect me from the challenges, to keep me safe. Thankfully, I knew that it would be okay. I knew if I didn’t go on this trip I’d be so mad and regret it. I did not give those thoughts any real power, I just recognized them and worked through them.

Working Through Negative Thoughts & Reframing Your Words:

Think of thoughts like clouds. They come and go, so when you have bad thoughts just let them keep going.
I’ve been working hard on reframing my thoughts/words. Some of my favorite reframing word choices are:
- Change “should” into “will”
  - Don’t say I “should” do this, instead say to yourself I “will” do this. It is way more powerful. This is also powerful to use on other people. When you encounter friends/family that say they want to do something, just stop them and say, “will you go eat those vegetables today?” “Will you book that flight to your dream destination?” “Will you go the gym tomorrow?” It’s much more powerful to ask them this simple question about their goal rather than saying they/you “should” do something.
- Change “have to” into “get to”
  - Years ago I remember this one night where I was really tired and my 4-month old woke up again in the middle of the night and I just laid there thinking “I have to go change his diaper and feed him.” But I had just listened to a podcast that talked about reframing your mind to say “I get to”. So, I stopped myself and said, “ I get to go change his diaper and feed him.” “I get to have a baby.” Not everyone gets that and yes, it’s hard but ultimately this is what I want and wanted.
    - This also reminds me of what I mentioned on last months’ newsletter; this is part of the package. If I want the baby, I get to also have the lows and challenges of this piece of my life to. You don’t get just the fun parts of something; you have to take the whole thing.

Don’t Pep Talk Yourself OR Anyone Else:

Okay, I admit, I’m a default pep talker. If someone comes to me and says they can’t do something, I typically respond with, “yes you can! You are awesome, amazing, and I bet you can do it.” And I probably will try to give some concrete evidence as to why but the gist of my argument is me saying they can and thinking they’ll just believe it and do it.
Well, recently I listened to a book by Steven Bartlett, called The Diary of a CEO (SOOOOOO GOOD) that says that is not the best way to encourage someone to achieve something. Don’t try to tell them why they are amazing thinking it will convince them to go do it. Because beliefs are hard to change. BUT they can be changed. What you need is actual evidence to show them otherwise. You must challenge this belief they have of why they can’t do something by just going and doing it, to answer the question once and for all on if they can do it.
“Stop telling yourself you’re not qualified, good enough or worthy. Growth happens when you start doing the things you’re not qualified to do.” -Steven Bartlett
- I can’t hike 10 miles
  - So go hike 10 miles
- I can’t do xxxx
  - When you or someone you know says this statement, don’t pep talk and instead, just go do it. Seriously, just go find out if you can do it. (As long as it’s safe to do). By going to attempt to do something they will find out if they can or can’t. Most likely they can, but even if they can’t, they’re going to learn a lot from the experience to then be able to go back and achieve it next time.
- One key takeaway from Mr. Bartlett’s 4^th Law, is to realize there is your comfort zone, then your growth zone, then your panic zone. You want to be in the growth zone, because that is where you will learn, grow, and add those cookies to your cookie jar (see below). If you’re in the panic zone then you may be a self-fulfilling prophecy of why you couldn’t achieve that activity…

Cookies in the Cookie Jar:

David Goggins, whether you love him, hate him, or know nothing about him, I personally think he has a lot of valuable lessons. And one of my favorite lessons of his is the “cookies in the cookie jar” analogy. Basically, he says as you do hard things, especially things you didn’t think you’d be able to accomplish, you start to add those cookies to your cookie jar. Then as you continue to do each new hard thing, you can pull those cookies out to get you through that challenge.
- I’ve seen this play out a lot in my life. In the earlier years of outdoor adventuring I would freak out and think there was no way I could do that hike or that intense adventure. I’d stress (and even cry) the night before, think about how to bail, all the fixed mindset thoughts floating through my head. But guilt and stubbornness usually won out and I’d go do that thing and be surprised that I got through it. Then the next time, it got a little easier. I’d still freak out the night before but I would think about the last time I freaked out and got through. Now I have a lot of cookies in the cookie jar. I still freak out, I still have those thoughts (as I mentioned above getting ready for my backpacking trip) but it’s what I do with those thoughts that count. I recall previous adventures and know it’s going to be okay.
- So create a mental cookie jar. Or hell, go create a real one! Get a cute little mason jar and each time you do something you didn’t think you could do, add a piece of paper to it. Then, next time you’re freaking out about an upcoming challenge you can pull out a physical reminder of the challenges you’ve overcome before to help you get through this one.
  - Some of my cookie jar moments:
    - Hiking to Tuckerman’s Ravine and camping overnight in the snow in March.
    - Skinning up Mt. Sopris and snowboarding down it on Easter.
    - Getting through some really really rough days during chemo, especially the day I had heat exhaustion on top of my chemo treatment. Oops.
    - Not quitting during the first time I did the CrossFit open workout 14.5 . I seriously had a lot of internal dialogue going on about how I could just walk out that door. I could just quit. I didn’t have to suffer through this pain. Thankfully I didn’t quit though.
    - Hiking to Prince Lakes and the biggest bushwhack of my life.
    - Giving birth to Jackson, naturally by accident
    - Hiking myself off the summit of 12,000 feet when I was having major altitude sickness and was light-headed and nauseous. I had to get myself out and I did.
    - Solo hiking off trail to some alpine lakes.
    - Surviving summer 2020 in the real estate business.

What are some of your cookie jar moments?

Surviving the Moment:

A lot of the above information are tactics to use before you embark on a challenge. The cookies in a cookie jar will come up and be helpful during your challenge too but it mostly helps to mentally prepare you before it and calm anxieties.
But some other mindsets I love to pull on when I’m in the midst of those challenges, especially those type two fun events is David Goggins’ quote:
- “You may not know how you’re going to move forward but when you are in the hurt locker you just need to ask yourself one question; ‘can you take the next step?’ And the answer is always yes.”
  - So, remember, you just have to put one foot in front of the other. You just have to keep swimming (thanks Dori). You can do one more burpee, you can do one more email at work, you can do one more…. Just small little chunks.
Last December I had a friend send me a video of Jesse Itzler giving a talk, which I just love him, he has such great ideas. Anyways, this one was talking about during a really tiring and gruesome activity, when you find yourself thinking about how tired you are, start repeating “I’m not tired, I feel outstanding. I’m not tired, I feel outstanding. I’m not tired, I feel outstanding.”
- I’ve used this tactic a handful of times and honestly, it has helped! I encourage you to try it out next time you’re in the middle of a workout or hard/tiring task. You’ll hopefully get a little boost of energy from this shift in mindset.
One video I watched was of Rich Fronning, one of the best CrossFitters ever share that “In training, you listen to your body. In competition, you tell it to shut up.”
- So when something starts to hurt during your challenge remember, it’s probably supposed to hurt. You have to be smart and know if something is really not safe, but usually pushing through the pain during competition is part of the experience. Endurance racers will have so much pain during and after, but that’s part of it. So, when you sign up to do your next challenge, remember this so you don’t freak out when the hard parts arrive.

Failing is Good:

Okay, here’s the thing, I hate to fail. Like I know everything I’m going to say below is true but it still sucks. It still hurts. I still don’t like it in the moment. But as Goggins says : “Through failing, you truly get to know what you’re capable of and what you’re willing to endure to get to the other side.”
- So if you fail, it’s okay, because you know a few new things:
  - 1. What it takes to do it next time.
  - 2. What you were capable of.
  - 3. Probably some insight into what went well and what went wrong for any future activity.
After you get through the initial pain of failing your challenge, I hope you take the time to learn the lessons you can use from it to go tackle it another time.
Also, sometimes failing is out of your control. Last week I was getting dressed to embark on a grueling and tough hike. I was nervous about it but also so excited as I heard it was the BEST hike to do in the Tetons and I couldn’t wait to have those epic views at the top. I couldn’t wait to have that “runner’s high” of being miserable and exhausted but so stoked on accomplishing something hard and amazing. As I got dressed though, I started to hear a little pitter patter on the roof. Darn, it’s raining already, I guess I need my rain jacket at the start of the hike. Then, the light pitter patter turned to a torrential downpour. I was mentally preparing myself that it might be a wet and cold slog but hopefully it was just going to be a quick passing shower. I pulled out my phone to double check and my stomach dropped. The afternoon thunderstorms they called for was now predicted at 11 AM. We’d still be in high alpine exposure at that time. After a debrief with my hiking buddies, we called it. We could hike in the rain, but we would not hike on ridgelines and exposed summits with lightning. I was so bummed. I was so annoyed. We had checked the weather the day before and it was all different this morning. And I kept thinking, what if it is just a passing storm and there isn’t lightning at 11 AM? Ugh!!! Well all morning I beat myself up because it turned into beautiful blue skies and it would have been the most epic views ever, no clouds over those Tetons and no lightning around!!!! But, it is what it is. Sometimes you make a call and it’s the right one or sometimes you make a call and it’s the wrong one. Sometimes you do let those concerns stop you and it’s better to be safe than sorry, but you have to know when the concerns are real and warranted, or just “boogeyman fears”.
- Boogeyman fears are all those thoughts, fears, concerns, that typically are more like anxieties that aren’t the best to listen too. Yes, a lot of them could happen, but the likelihood of it happening is so low, the reward outweighs the risk. If you’re doing something that makes you uncomfortable or scared, then you most likely are going to have some concerns…that’s sort of inherent. So, learning to navigate which are fears to listen too and act on versus which are boogeyman fears to acknowledge and work through is a constant challenge but an important one.

So, I ask you today, “Will you go and do that thing on your mind you’ve been wanting to do? Will you make a plan NOW to make it happen? Will you be brave and face those negative thoughts and fears? Will you……”

Thank you for being here. Thank you for taking the time out of your busy day to read my thoughts I love to share with you. It means a lot to share ideas that I hope are helping you achieve a badass and amazing life. I always love to hear from you! So please, what spoke the most to you in this e-newsletter?

Keep Filling Those Cookie Jars,
Kelli

Favorite Livin’ Life Activity This Month:

Yellowstone with Family & Backpacking with Friends

Life Isn’t Always Sunshine & Rainbows

“Everyone wants to be a lion until it comes time to do what lions have to do.” -Pat McAfee

It was a beautiful bluebird day, the birds were chirping, the sun was out, the hills were green and alive with a plethora of wildflowers. I was surrounded by my hubby, kiddos, and best friend and her family. We had a cute condo overlooking the dramatic Mt. Crested Butte, the wildflower capital of the world. I had spent money, time, energy on this trip and dreamed about it for months. And we were finally here!! And I was sitting at my computer sending emails for hours. Honestly, it sucked.

Yet if you watched my Instagram stories for that day, you’d have no ideas the frustrations or “downs” I’d had that day. You would have seen epic mountain ridges, and summits with 360* views. You would have seen my kiddos biking around the bike park and getting ice cream in town. You would have seen fun, adventure, and perhaps felt jealous of the day I was living.

So, for this month’s Elevate Livin’ Life e-newsletter I wanted to chat about a few thoughts that I think are important and worth sharing.

Many things in life are full of great highs, but also many lows. Don’t focus just on people’s highlight reels.
To achieve those highs, you are going to have to go through similar lows, so the question to ask yourself, is it worth it to you? Do you want to be the lion and do what lions must do to become that lion?

Being a lion can suck:
My “lion” moment this summer was having five weeks of back-to-back trips, where I adventured hard, worked hard, and lived it to the fullest. It was great and awful all at the same time. To the outsider, they probably thought it was all sunshine and rainbows. I even had myself convinced before the trips that it would be hard but mostly amazing. But here were some of the sucky parts of our whirlwind trips:

1. Flight delays and car rental issues that caused us to arrive at 5 AM instead of 8 PM.
2. Tourist Attractions gone wrong costing us hours of limited time in NYC.
3. Getting sick and having to drive six hours AND do hours of work while feeling like crap (photo above)
4. Supposed to be playing and adventuring in the prettiest place ever and instead stuck on the computer working.
5. Altitude sickness kicking my ass.
6. Stanley overrun with people that we couldn’t get a spot at Redfish Lake, then finding a spot in Lower Stanley and when we arrived at 10 PM , someone had come in and removed our reservation tag and stolen it.
7. Bench Lakes Fire causing issues with disrupting our plans, adding smoke to the weekend, and hoards of people flocking to the same lake.
8. The bugs. The bugs. The bugs. Eaten alive by no-see-ums at camp.
9. Sitting in a hot parking lot at Stanley Lake with Starlink on the roof to send some work emails.

I’m sharing this not to complain, but to really shine a light on the difficulties that happen in life, since we’re all flooded with picture perfect images on social media (myself guilty of this as well).

Do you feel some of this pain in your life? Whether you’re a business owner, a parent, an employee, or anything, what “sucks” in your life?

People don’t see the downs of being a business owner, or heck, even just the lows of normal life because it’s not what is posted and shared. I know this, I know this is my fault too. And sometimes, after the fact, I wish I would have shared more of those to help people realize it’s not always sunshine and rainbows. The main reason I don’t, well,

I rarely take photos in those moments because I’m either too busy working and/or not thinking about photos.
It’s not what lights my fire and thus I don’t care to share it. I want to share the moments in my life that light my soul on fire, or would help inspire others to live a full life.

But it’s important to be aware of this because if you find yourself on social media or even in normal life hearing about people’s adventures and you find yourself having a lot of FOMO, remember, it’s not always sunshine and rainbows and you have to ask yourself if you’d be willing to go through the bad parts of someone’s day to relive their highlights? Success is not just the “holding the trophy moment on top of the podium”. Success encompasses everything to get there, the highs and the lows. Doing everything it takes to be the lion.

So, do you really want to be a lion?
Okay, go grab our beloved dream book we always talk about and sit down for a few minutes. Think about some things you dream of being or doing. Some examples might be:

having a successful business
having a happy and well connected family
running a marathon
traveling to exotic locations
remodeling your house
anything else you dream of someday doing or being

Now, I want you to really think about what is making you strive after these things? Write it down in your dream book! Don’t think, just brain dump the feelings you’re having while you think about achieving these dreams you have in your mind.

Great! You’ve created a list of your “whys” for your dreams.

Now, let’s make a list of the sucky parts of that dream. Because for everything that is a great experience, there is typically some unpleasant parts too. Using the examples above here are some ideas of what those are:

having a successful business
- see my ranting above about how annoying business life can be
having a happy and well connected family
- kids are messy and loud and demanding
- it takes TIME to be well connected with your family members
running a marathon
- the aches and pains
- the time it takes to train
traveling to exotic locations
- bags lost
- flight delays
- getting sick
remodeling your house
- your house is a construction zone and messy
- delays

This list isn’t to get you to focus on it, but to make you aware of what it takes to achieve what you want. It’s not to stop you from doing it, but to remind you what it will take, so when you’re in the midst of the sucky parts, you won’t be so surprised. Also, it might help you to not have so much FOMO when watching other people’s highlight reels, because you can remind yourself there was a lot of unpleasantness they had to go through to get there. And heck, maybe it will stop you from doing it, maybe you’ll realize you don’t have what it takes right now (or ever) to achieve that goal, and that’s okay too! Hopefully, by analyzing all of these lows you’ll then feel better when you see people’s high and won’t feel so upset that you aren’t doing that yourself because you know what it took for them to get there and realized, the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.

But, if you do see the greener grass and you want to go for it, you want to become that lion, then know, you can do it!

Becoming a Lion:

Once you take the time to analyze what you want to do, then why you want to do it, then the sucky parts of achieving it, and if you still find yourself saying, “hell yeah, let’s do this” then hooray!!! So, now what?? If it’s something new to you then you might have no idea how to achieve these dreams. I suggest starting with these simple steps:

Start researching how to do it
1. If you want to be fit/healthy, reach out to the people you see on social living this life, or go join a gym to learn from them.
2. Heck, go use ChatGPT and just type in whatever it is you want to do and ask for a plan.
OR just jump in!
1. I recently listened to a podcast that talked about how we are all in this inspired state of life and not in an action state. We scroll social media, we save articles or pin recipes but we do nothing with it. I’m guilty of this!!! So TODAY, take action. Screw my recommendation above of researching. If you want to be fit, put your shoes on and go for a hike. Just start taking action now. You’ll stumble your way through this.
Lastly, I will say though, set up a time-blocked amount every day to ensure you get the new activities in. Start making little (and big) changes today to get you to where you want to be.

There are so many more steps I could write here about how to go achieve becoming that lion, but the main thing is I just want you to think about what you want to be different in your life (if anything) and that you have the power and abilities to be that, but it will take work to get you there.

Lions Have Help:

We know lions don’t hunt alone, they have a pack of lions to help them. So when you’re wanting to become the lion, remember to call in your pack. Some ideas of this:
- Leverage in business
  - If you’re a business owner and you want to achieve more OR have more time to yourself then hire out some help. I will say this, hiring is challenging, time consuming, and a lot of frustration but if you hire the right person then it’s seriously like magic. (Thanks Danielle for making my life feel magical by being an amazing teammate).
  - Sometimes though, you don’t have to go through the pains of hiring, you could pull in help from an independent contractor. Realtors can hire us, Elevate TC Services, to help them with their transactions and listings. Overnight they can be leveraged to have help with the paperwork, coordinating, and so much more.
  - There are companies you can hire to come in for a brief period to overhaul your systems, from cleaning up your CRMS, to implementing operating procedures, and so much more.
  - So what can you quickly leverage in your business to help you get through the “suck”?
- Leverage at home
  - If you find yourself running around like crazy during summer and not able to keep up on the household chores, consider hiring someone to clean, cook, do yard work… even if it’s just part time.
    - My sister has this amazing lady that goes grocery shopping for her every Monday and then cooks up all these premade delicious and healthy meals that last the entire week for her family of 4. Amazing!
People Have Grace:
- I was wandering through the Natural History Museum in New York and got a call from one of my agents asking me to do an addendum. I carried my laptop around with me so if this happened I could do this but before I said yes, she said to me, “where are you, it’s loud.” I explained where I was but that I could still do the addendum and she nicely yelled at me and said to not be ridiculous, she could do it no problem and I should go focus on my family and my trip. I seriously almost cried. One simple statement from her helped change my perspective and realize people have grace and it’s okay to let people know what I need or when I’m struggling. We’re a team and we can help each other out. We can be a lion pack together.
Let’s Shift the Mindset:
- Slowly I see schools going to Monday through Thursday schedules and it intrigues me. I’ve recently had conversations with people about the European culture and mindsets of long vacations in the summer and not being so “grind long hours” mindset. I’m curious if there is room in the American world to shift to similar mindsets? Would it be better for our mental health?
  - I don’t have the answers, but I’m curious to know your opinions?

So, as you scroll social media, or hear about people’s summer fun, know that there were a lot of highs, but also quite a few lows. Which, that’s life, right? You get the highs, you get the lows, and you just try to roll with it and keep trucking towards more of those highs, and deal gracefully with the lows when they do come. In the end, I find myself still stoked and glad I suffered through any of those lows to enjoy the highlights of my life. I hope you are finding your own highlights too and that this newsletter is helping you figure out what some of those highlights could be and how to achieve them.

Thanks for reading along,
Kelli

**Favorite Livin’ Life Activity This Month: The Highs & Some of the Lows of these Whirlwind Trips**

Who’s Ready to Travel?

“A vacation helps to relieve stress and boredom, gives us a change of scenery, provides us with adventure, and helps to bring us closer to the people in our lives.” – E.S. Woods

My hubby and I have an ongoing debate in our household about trips and travel. He likes them, I LOVE them. And during a recent conversation he asked me, “why do you love to travel so much.” It got me thinking because it was hard to summarize on the spot this desire to travel and this activity that I spend so much time, money, and energy to chase. After thinking about it, below is my rebuttal, with helpful tips to maximize your trips and your budget!

Why Do We Travel?:
I’ve always been of the mindset that our life is made up of memories and moments. Moments that we are living IN and then memories that we relive each time we think about them. These are what make up your life and for me, I feel the most alive when those moments and memories are adventurous. Yes, I do have many memories and moments of the little things and I appreciate those…as well as I am working to make sure to leave space for those. But as Jack Kerouac says, “Because in the end, you won’t remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. Climb that goddamn mountain.” …or take that trip…or do something beyond the mundane every day life.

Here are my favorite reasons to travel:

Adventure
- Just like I said above, on vacation you’re experiencing new and exciting things that in itself just creates a sense of adventure and newness…and memories from that.
Escape
- Airplane Mode- ON!
  - For me, I love my job (most days) but man it’s exhausting too. The ability to go camping on a weekend and turn airplane mode on is sooooo helpful for my wellbeing.
I’m a Better Mom
- When you get me away from the laundry piles, the dirty toilets, the constant to-do list at home, I’m way more fun and willing to sit and play barbies and Uno, to swing the kiddos in the hammock 55 times, etc.
Memories to Relive
- Hearing my son ask me almost weekly “when do we get to go back to Hawaii” just makes my heart melt. I’ve created a little travel addicted monster and I love it!
- Remembering my daughter’s giggles as she tumbles through a wave on her boogie board.
- Even the small things are momentous on a trip. The pizza the size of your face in Boston, the best popsicle my son has ever eaten in Central Park, the roller coaster ride my three year old son braved…and almost fell out of. <—k that memory is a little nerve racking to think about…but you get the picture.
Something to Look Forward Too
- Anticipating a trip is half the fun of a trip. Seriously, there are studies that show people were happier BEFORE the trip then during the trip and I get that because thinking about the trip before and after can have so many emotions that make up the enjoyment of the trip. I planned Patagonia nine months out and that was a lot of months to dream about this amazing place. The trip itself was only twelve days, but I spent nine months living in a virtual trip as I dreamed about what we would do, the views we’d see, etc.
Checklists
- Okay, yes, I said it. There is also a sense of just checking off a place that I love. It’s innate in me so maybe this won’t speak to a lot of you but I love this feeling of seeing new places and checking it off. It makes me feel accomplished, it makes me feel like I’m not missing out on something amazing and epic because if I’ve been there I got to see what it’s like (and know if it’s worth going back too).
Relatable
- I love chatting with someone and finding out they’ve been to the same destination and being able to bond with them over that location.
Healthier
- I’ve read numerous studies about how travelling and going on vacation is better for your physical and mental health!

How to Travel Better:
Now that I have you convinced that you should definitely be using up those PTO days, here are some tips on how to make an epic vacation.

Plan, plan, and more planning.
- If you want to fit it all in and maximize your time while on your trip, then you have to plan it out BEFORE you get there. I love travelling, and I do like planning, some, but it’s also exhausting how much time it takes to plan. So here are some of my go to steps when I’m planning.
  - Instagram
    - I start following accounts that post about that area
  - YouTube
    - Search your destination and watch videos made on it to show you what to do in those areas
  - Chamber of Commerce
    - Check the destination town’s chamber of commerce calendar for events or call them for tips on top things to do in their area.
  - Post on your Social Media
    - Ask your friends what they’ve done there
  - Pinterest and Google
    - Search “top activities in _____”
  - ChatGPT
    - For reals, use it, it’s amazing.
  - AllTrails
    - I plan majority of my hikes in new areas with this app.
      - The free version works perfect. I pay for the membership for this one reason, I can download the route to my phone so if I’m out of service it still works. This has made me feel way more comfortable going out on hikes in new areas when we don’t have hard/real maps and don’t have service.
Build in Rest Time
- The last day of our Patagonia trip we had an awkward 8 hour day in Santiago (which we already had a 24 hour stint there so we knew we’d probably be fulfilled with what to see and do….not city people :)). But the way the flights worked we were there again for another 8 hour day and sort of at a loss as to what we should do. We did wish we booked ourselves massages for that day as nothing was open when we tried that morning. Eventually we found a hotel with a BEAUTIFUL pool and lounge area that we could get day passes too. It was magical. After 6 days of hard hiking, laying by a pool with friends, food, drinks, and a good book was magical. I would never have planned this but now, I’m going to try to always plan a mini rest day at the end of my trips!

How to Travel Cheaper:
I get it, travelling is expensive. Just ask my hubby, he’ll have a lot to say on the matter :). But there are ways to travel cheaper and I’m going to share some of my tricks.

Scotts Cheap Flights (NOW called Going):
- I flew to Chile for $385 thanks to Going.
  - In May 2023 I received an email from them stating flights from Boise to Santiago were $785 which was a heck of a deal. Then I did actually apply for the credit card for American Airlines that gave me $400 cashback which brought my ticket to $385!!
- So, I highly recommend if you plan to take a trip anytime soon, go sign up for at least their free service. Oh and even if you’re not planning to take a trip, go sign up because it will probably get you to go take a trip when you see how cheap flights can be. Last week, there were roundtrip tickets from San Francisco to Barcelona for $380!
- The premium is worth it if you are planning to take a trip as there are way more deals in their premium option.
- Use my referral link by clicking HERE to save yourself money if you sign up for premium.
- See next section for even more tips with airfare!
Save on Food:
- I’m not a foodie. I like food but it’s not a big deal to me if I don’t eat out much on the trip. When we went to Hawaii in November the first stop we made when we got off the airplane was a Costco run. We bought all the groceries for a 10 day trip and I only ate out once the entire time. We ate breakfast at home, packed lunches and snacks for the entire day for myself and our young kids, and cooked dinners at home too. It saved us money and was healthier. We did enjoy ice cream treats though!
  - Picture above is me with a packed lunch at Silverwood Theme Park. I was trying to save money AND I was on a Whole30 Food Challenge 🙂
- Also, if you have young kids I highly recommend the route of packing your own food, especially on the road trip part of a vacation. The last thing a wiggly kiddo should do after sitting in the car on a long drive is sit in a restaurant.
  - We make up salads or sandwiches ahead of time and then find a park when we’re ready to eat. This saves us time, money, and lets the kids run and play while we eat!
- Pack breakfast for the first morning so you’re not worried about getting out for food and can have a slower wake-up. This saved us after we had flight delays in NYC that had us arrive at 5:30 AM instead of 8PM the night before. I threw in pancake mix and when Jackson woke up earlier we could feed him while we waited for Charlie to wake up.
Save on Activities:
- Search ahead of time for coupons and deals for your activities you’ll do.
  - A lot of states have things like the Get Out Pass that offers discounts to places. We just bought the Idaho one before going to Roaring Springs and we know it will save us money this year!
    - If you signup use our referral code as it saves you money: day51
  - Groupon
  - Check the Venue’s Calendar
    - I was shocked last year when I learned Silverwood Theme Park offers a ton of random discounts (mother’s day, father’s day, health worker day, etc.)

How to Take MORE Vacations:

The guy that created Going, Scott Keyes also wrote a book that I’m halfway through and loving. These are some of the big takeaways I have right now:
- Don’t put all your eggs in one basket when it comes to a trip.
  - From sicknesses to weather to various other uncontrollable circumstances that could derail your trip completely to a more likely scenario of the trip just not being what you thought it would be, putting all your eggs in one basket can be a big risk. Why is it a risk? Well, if you blew your budget, PTO, and energy to take this trip and then it ends out being a flop, now you must wait a whole year to go on a trip again. So his idea is to take more trips more often, even if that means they are smaller trips.
- Be Flexible with Destinations:
  - Search for cheap flights before choosing a destination and let the deals dictate your destination. Sidenote- this approach can lead to discovering new and exciting places you might not have considered.
- Set up Google Alerts & Going Emails
  - We have fallen in love with Hawaii so I now have an ongoing Google alert for flights from Boise to Hawaii. I’ve watched it drop to $288 for a November flight!
  - Keep a list of places you’d love to see someday and then watch the Going emails come in, if the destination pops up, can you make it happen?? (The answer is usually yes :)).
  - I also recommend signing up for Southwest Airline’s emails, they have a lot of great deals!
- Travel During Off-Peak Times
- Embrace Budget Airlines
  - I’ve been both burned and scored with this method, so be weary but it can work!
- Play the Mileage Game
  - Tony flew to Adak, Alaska for free with signing up for Alaska Airlines during a high promo month of miles.
  - Watch Airlines and their credit card offers to perhaps pull the trigger on when to sign up for them.
- Consider Alternative Airports:
  - As I write this sentence I’m sitting in a hotel in Price, UT. Why? Well, two reasons:
    - 1. My family and I are going to NYC for a wedding and after the wedding we decided to come to Colorado for a family vacation. So I needed to get our truck to Colorado with our bikes and gear.
    - 2. We chose Colorado as a trip because the flights from NYC to Boise were EXPENSIVE. But the flights from NYC to Denver were cheap! I wouldn’t recommend driving over 12 hours to an alternate airport each time you want to fly, but a 3 hour drive that saves you hundreds of dollars might be worth it?

How to Turn 11 PTO Days into 44 Vacation Days:
Thanks Kim @idahoadventuremom for this super rad hack in the image below. I am going to save and think about this each time my husband requests his PTO days so that we can maximize them! This little outline she has is so helpful and powerful, so use it! Oh and go follow her on Instagram for neat Idaho adventures to do.

Staycation Calling Your Name?

I’m just beginning a 3 week vacation that has me going from Colorado to NYC to back to Colorado and many of it’s beautiful mountain towns to Redfish Lake in Idaho. I’m soooooooo excited!!! But I also am slightly sad to leave McCall. It’s GORGEOUS in McCall in the summer. The trails are riding great, the lake is, well cold, but the beach is lovely, and I have all my friends and family here. So sometimes going away isn’t always the right thing and a staycation could be perfect for you.
If your focus this year is staycations, then I just encourage you to not get distracted and lost in the housework, the job, the same old every day things.
Be a tourist in your town, follow the tips I recommended above about how to plan an epic vacation and do that in your town.
Make it a goal to do 5 new things this summer in your town, from eating at new restaurants to visiting new parks, to hiking that trail you’ve always driven past.

Who’s Coming to McCall?
I feel grateful to live in McCall almost daily, yes, even on the 4th of July and I actually love living in a tourist town. Yes, sometimes the tourists drive me nuts, but for the most part, it’s so cool to live somewhere that people LOVE and flock too. It brings an energy to the town that seeps into your own world too. I appreciate and support the tourists. Anyways, if you’re coming to McCall I thought I’d share some of my favorites.

Favorite Hike for Kiddos:
- Twin Lakes (Past Brundage Mountain Resort). Views, tadpoles..or frogs depending on timing, butterflies, and so much more!
Favorite Hike for Type-Two-Fun Suffer Fests:
- Snowslide Lake to Maki Lake
Favorite Hike in Ponderosa:
- Park at Lily Marsh Trailhead, hike up Ridgeline and connect to HuckleBerry Loop and head SW on the loop back to parking. If you have time and energy, side trip up to Osprey Point.
Favorite Backpacking Destination:
- With Kiddos- Grassy Mtn Lakes
- Without Kiddos- You have to message me for that information 😉
Favorite Music Series:
- Brundage and Ponderosa Center
Favorite Lake Activity:
- Cliff Jumping on Payette Lake or Paddleboarding the Meanders.
Favorite Indoor Activity:
- Move Your Body: Cascade Aquatic Center & Manchester Ice Rink
- Rest Your Body: Library -it’s new and beautiful! Games, Toys, and of course, books.
Favorite Foods:
- SushiBar’s Kobe Beef Bowls with Mixed Rice/Noodles
- Growler’s Pizza
- Yes, go to My Father’s Place and Ice Cream Alley, it’s worth the line and the experience
Favorite Mountain Bike Trail:
- With Kids: Rolling Rock at Jug Mountain Ranch
- Without Kids: Rim Trail or the new Brundage to Bear Basin (B2BB)
  - By the way, don’t forget to support your local trail organizations! For McCall, I’d love your support for CIMBA who builds and maintains a lot of the McCall trails! Click HERE to give some trail karma. Or click https://www.cimbarides.org/get-involved HERE to become a member.

I love sharing my favorites in my beautiful town, so please feel free to reach out whenever you’re planning a trip to McCall and need ideas of what to do, see, eat, etc.!

So, do I have you convinced to go pack your bags and hit the road??? I hope so!!!

Now, I want to hear from you! I want to have the best rebuttal ever for the next time my husband asks me why do I like to travel so much? So please share with me!

What are your top three reasons you like to travel?
What are some of your favorite travel tips from booking trips, to planning trips, to living the best trips ever while on them?
What are some of your favorite things you’ve done post trip, from creating photo books to journaling to video vlogs?
What are the top trips on your list right now?
What have been your favorite trip so far and why? I’d love to hear from you on what places and activities spoke to your soul and lit you up!

As always, thanks for reading and sharing. I hope this newsletter helps you have some pretty amazing moments and memories while on vacation this year and in future years.

Livin’ Life,

Kelli

When to Say NO, When You Just Want to Say YES

“You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage—pleasantly, smilingly, non apologetically — to say “no” to other things. And the way you do that is by having a bigger “yes” burning inside.” – Stephen R. Covey

How do you say no, when all you really want to do is say yes? Like seriously, there are so many amazing and fun things out there that you just want to always say yes too! On top of that, you have work, social events, family obligations, volunteering, parenting (fur babies are work too), and so much more that you’re usually required to say yes too. But as a chronic “yesser” I am learning it takes a toll for all those yes’s I give out. So, my mom squad and I are working (key word, working) on learning to say no.

So, Why Say No:
As the famous Paulo Coelho states, “When you say yes to others, make sure you are not saying no to yourself.” This is super important! When you say yes to something you inherently are saying no to something else because you only have so much time. So, if you find yourself feeling like you never have enough time, especially enough time to get the things YOU want to get done, then perhaps you should start looking at your priorities and what you are saying yes to that you should be saying no to.

This is easier said then done, especially if:
1. You aren’t totally sure what it is YOU want.
2. You feel the need to please others, even at the expense of yourself. <—let’s dive deeper into this.

Personally, I have this happen in so many areas of my life;
—Being a mom- mom guilt is real. “Yes son, I’ll play Uno for the 45th time today.”
—Being a business owner. “Yes Mr. Realtor, I can help you with this task that is not technically a part of my job.”
—Being a wife. “Yes hubby, I can stay up late talking to you because we never get to talk but I should be going to bed before my 5:40 AM alarm goes off.”
—And so on. I am surrounded by this need to just say yes to so many people because so many people have needs of me. Which does make you feel special. But can also make you feel overworked, strung out, and/or missing out on some things you need. To combat this, I have and continue to work hard on item number 1 above; figuring out what I need and want and then build out my days to ensure it happens… which might mean saying no more often than I like.

For example, yesterday, my hubby, son, and mother-in-law were all walking to get an ice cream treat at My Father’s Place before Charlie got home from kindergarten. I really wanted to go to spend time with all of them as I’d been neglecting them most of the day with my busy work schedule. But I knew that if I got Ember pup outside for an hour I’d be in a much better place, mentally and physically. So, I nicely said “no thanks, I am going to get Ember out” (which they were very supportive of) and I was so stoked because, the picture above is me finally getting to Egg Rock, a spot in McCall I’d be hunting down and trying to hike to for years. It was so exciting!!! Yes, I felt guilty that I wasn’t with my family, but sometimes that is the right call and I reminded myself the day before I didn’t get a good walk in with Ember because I chose to do a shorter walk with them. So, remember, it’s about balance and realizing that when you say yes to something, make sure you aren’t tipping the scale too far away from your own needs.

So, What Do YOU Want and Need?:
In order to protect your time to ensure you get what you want and need to happen, you need to know what those items are. You also need to know what is taking up your time. So, follow these steps to help:

Make a list of your TOP priorities. This is not just a list of the things you have to do (like feed yourself) but even the ones you really need to do for the happiness and/or health of yourself (like exercise, spending time with loved ones, being outside, whatever it may be).
1. Feeling stuck on what to have on your list? Click HERE to read this past blogpost to help you find out what sets your soul on fire.
Now make a list of the other things you find yourself doing throughout the day/week.
Next to every activity, write down the time it takes to do this activity.
1. NOW ADD 50% to this time. So if it takes you 10 minutes to cook breakfast, budget yourself 15 minutes.
  1. The book Essentialism by Greg McKeown taught me this valuable lesson to always budget 50% more time than what you think something will take.
Now take a weekly calendar and time block activities you have to do (feeding yourself, work, etc). And you NEED to do (exercise, spending time with family, etc).
1. I do want to say time block the things you want to do first…but sadly, the other items of what you have to do and need to do usually are required to go first.
What time is left?
1. Now plug and play those things that you want to do or should do but aren’t your top priorities.
  1. Things like volunteering, working longer hours at work, helping a friend, learning something new, whatever it may be.
  2. Make sure to leave some blank space/time in your calendar to account for spontaneous things that you either have to or want to do.
Now follow your calendar and protect it!!!!
1. Remember, if you erase you must replace.
  1. So if you had exercise on the calendar for today and you didn’t make it happen (you erased it), then replace it somewhere else.
  2. Also keep in mind the things you are tempted to “skip”.
    1. Because some things you can’t skip. You can skip folding laundry because that can just be done the next day. But skipping exercise doesn’t work that way because it’s something you can’t make up for if you skip it multiple times. It’s an almost daily activity (like brushing your teeth).
    2. Analyze, why are you skipping them? Is it because you truly don’t want to do them? If so, can you get rid of them? If it’s something like exercise, the answer is NO :), but maybe it’s not about getting rid of it but changing it. If you don’t love exercise and you skip it often, perhaps you need to change the way you exercise?

How to Say No to Others:
Okay, we have a very basic plan in action of how to build out our life and time to accommodate the things we need and want to say yes to. Now is the tricky part….saying no when other requests pop up to steal your time, attention, and/or energy.

Here are some top tips on how to say no to others (or even yourself).

Keep these quotes in mind and/or posted somewhere you see them often:
- “You can be a good person with a kind heart and still say no.” –Tracy Malone
- “You have a right to say no. Most of us have very weak and flaccid no muscles. We feel guilty for saying no. We get ostracized and challenged for saying no, so we forget it’s our choice. Your no muscle has to be built up to get to a place where you can say, I don’t care if that’s what you want. I don’t want that. No.” — Iyanla Vanzant
- ” Part of the skill of saying no is to shut up afterward and not babble on, offering material for an argument. “– Judith Martin
- “If you don’t prioritize your life, someone else will.” –Greg Mckeown
When saying no, remember to:
- Be polite and express your gratitude.
- Keep it short and direct. You don’t have to explain why you’re saying no but a short explanation can help you and them understand- they just don’t need all the details.
- Give an alternative option.
- You’re not saying no to the person, just their request.
- Stick to your answer!!!
- Just because others are saying yes, doesn’t mean you also need to say yes. Be brave!
Some practice scripts to help you:
- “It would be my pleasure to join you, but right now I am overwhelmed with the work I have.”
- “Thank you for your offer, I currently have a full plate with time-sensitive projects and I would not be able to live up to the standards I would set for myself and our team to make your project a success.”
- “ I loved helping you on the past project but my calendar is full at this time. Have you thought about reaching out to —- as they do great work as well.”

But Sometimes Say YES, and here’s Why:
Okay, okay, I know I just said all these reasons of why it’s important to say no. But here is the thing, sometimes it’s good to get yourself in over your head. Sometimes you bust your butt and get your stuff done and make it all happen. Or more realistically you probably barely get it all done and feel exhausted doing it BUT you do get it done and then you are stoked because you fit it all in.

But sometimes you said yes and then when the time came you weren’t in the mood for it or were exhausted and overwhelmed. At this point you have two options, go back on your word and bail, or follow through. Both of these are necessary tactics at different times. My husband wants to kill me because I get so hung up on the integrity of my word and following through when the right answer might be to apologize and bail. He’ll encourage me to even see if the other party cares if we bail on those plans as maybe they’re feeling the same way. I’m slightly more bullheaded and stubborn and just feel, “this was my word and I said I’d do it so I’ll be there”. Slowly, I’m learning to reach out, ask if it’s okay if we push the meeting off or cancel it completely and most of the time he’s right, they’re feeling the burn too (we tend to surround ourselves with like minded “yes” people) and are relieved we are postponing our play date. So I’m working on this. BUT….. at the same time, sometimes I like to be held accountable to my word and here’s why:

“Because, in the end, you won’t remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. Climb that goddam mountain.” -Jack Kerouac

Man, Mr. Kerouac, he’s right. If you bail, you most likely aren’t going to do anything else that’s fun, you are just going to “life”. From work, to the house, to maybe even just resting, that’s what you’ll do instead. And YES there are times you NEED to do this, I agree and get it. But majority of the time, when I just rally and get myself to where I said I would be, I’m happy for it. Yes, I sometimes crash and burn later by burning the candle at both ends, but most of the time I get it done and I’m so stoked for it.

So, to finish out this Elevate Livin’ Life E-newsletter this month, I leave you with these thoughts:

Be aware before you commit to things of whether your future self will be happy and capable of doing it?
Be aware of even if your future self is not happy at the time it arrives, will you be stoked in the end?
Be aware of what you are saying yes to which thus makes you say no to perhaps more important things in your life?

I hope you leave here today by getting those priorities straight and plan them first. Go build your life the way you want it to happen, before someone else builds it for you. Lastly, what are you tips and tricks for prioritizing your life? For saying no, when you really want to say yes? How do you handle the juggle of it all? As always, thanks for reading, it means a lot, -Kelli

Favorite Livin’ Life Activity This Month: Wandering in Leslie Gulch with my Kiddos

Hello Mrs. Day- Your Biopsy Results Arrived

We regret to inform you, you have breast cancer. 😲

“Usually the threat of death makes people a lot more aware of their lives.”
-Paulo Coelho The Alchemist

It was exactly nine years ago that I got those biopsy results. I was 28 years old, in the best shape of my life, and just kicking butt and loving life. I lived in beautiful Colorado in my DINK phase and was having a blast! And then, I found this pesky little lump (from a self-breast exam) and it all spiraled from there.

Guardian Angels:
First was the doc appointment, followed by an ultrasound, and then after the ultrasound I was told by the docs “we feel 99.99% sure that it’s not cancerous BUT you should get a biopsy.”

Honestly, when I was told that I was actually MAD. I wasn’t even worried about cancer anymore I was just annoyed that these docs were telling me 99.99% certainty it wasn’t cancer but I still needed to go spend a lot of money (thanks high deductible insurance) and time, oh and then stab my breast with a huge device (I hate shots) and of course, I was most frustrated that then I couldn’t workout for x amount of days after the biopsy. So, yeah, I was mad and annoyed.
BUT somewhere there was a guardian angel watching over me because I begrudgingly agreed to get that biopsy. I wasn’t even scared for the results. I was young and healthy and had 99.99% going for me. I was fine….
A few days later, I was not fine. I got a call with a simple phrase, “you have breast cancer”. A call that changed the trajectory of my life…not completely, but it ultimately derailed it for some time, and gratefully taught me a few lessons along the way.

So, Will I DIE?:
After the call, we were told to meet with an oncologist which we couldn’t see for five days. So imagine that. For five days you know you have cancer but you know nothing else. You know nothing about how big and how bad. How long do you have? Will you die? How rough will the road be? As you can imagine, that first weekend was the first taste we had of the emotional roller coaster that a cancer diagnosis presents you. I mean for reals, it’s all the feels. Anger, sadness, frustration, acceptance, denial, etc. And we rode every emotion over those five days.

But through it all, I distinctly remember thinking: “Well, if this is it, then man, you lived a pretty badass life for 28 years. You lived more life in those 28 years then most people live in twice that. Way to do it right.”

Doing it Right:
Doing it right looks different to everyone. And this month’s Elevate Livin’ Life newsletter is not the worksheet style we’ve done in the past to help you figure out what is your “right”. What is your “why”. What is it that sets your soul on fire. To do those steps to help you figure it out, check out our past newsletter HERE.

This month’s focus is just asking you, pleading with you, to stop and analyze where you’re at and think:

If I died today, did I do it “right”?
Would I be stoked on the life I lived?
Would I have any regrets?

If the answer is yes, then hell yeah, get it!

If the answer is no, then that’s totally fine, because lucky for you, you’ve got some time. Who knows how much, so don’t read this blog and think to yourself you should someday-maybe change your life to live the life you are stoked on. The time is now before the time is too late.

The Time is NOW, before the Time is too LATE:
Please don’t let the threat of death be the thing that makes you take action. Please let my story and other people’s stories be the catalyst that makes you take action.

My mom, who is 74, has a great outlook. She accepts her aging (despite having the energy of a 20 year old) and knows time is always a limit. For her, she loves to take trips with me and my kids and I’ve heard her make a comment in the past few years of: “I’m getting older and I need to get these trips in with you and your kids when I can because”:

Who knows how longer you’ll keep inviting me as I get older and not as functional to move around.
Who knows how long your kids will want to spend time with us as they age and turn towards their friends more than their family.
You just never know.

Ya know mom, you are so spot on (as moms typically are). You just never know and people and circumstances change, so get it now, while you can.

So, please, take the time NOW. Turn off the tv one night, stop reading the paper one Sunday morning, take 30 minutes during your kids sporting event to take time to really think about what do you want to see happen in your life to truly make it a life you are stoked on?. Because when your time is up, whether it’s death or old-age, or injury, but your time is up and you CAN’T do those things you are stoked on, you’ll be grateful you did it.

Also, sidenote, do not wait for retirement. There is no guarantee. My best friend’s dad worked so hard and saved, saved, saved with the excitement of retirement and all that he was going to do, and then he got diagnosed with cancer and died months before he retired.

So do what you can with what you have NOW to build out your life.

The Dalai Lama Gets It:
When the Dalai Lama was asked what surprised him the most about humanity he responded by saying: “Man. Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.”

So my friends, don’t follow this way of life. If you are currently in survival mode and not thriving, then make the changes today.

If you aren’t sure how, give me a call and I am happy to brainstorm ideas. I’m not a professional, I am not a coach, but I am someone that is super passionate about helping people live their lives to the fullest and if I can help you achieve that in any way, I will be forever stoked to see you go do that! So, for reals, shoot me an email, give me a call or text. I’ll happily chat, I’ll happily send you past newsletters that discuss ideas of how to put systems into your life to help you achieve that life worth living. I’ll do what I can so that at your end of your life, whenever that is, you’ll think “well, at least I did it right.” Because as one of my favorite quotes from Mae West says, “You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.”

I’m signing off today to go for a run in the rain. Because I know that even though I dislike the rain, it will light my soul up. I’ll be stoked to have some outdoor physical activity with me and my pup out on some dirt. What will YOU do today to give you a little burst of soul burning happiness?

Favorite Livin’ Life Activity: Skiing BLUE runs with the fam

12 Life Lessons Learned from a 12 Minute Workout

“Don’t say “I can’t”. Say, “I presently struggle with.”
-Tony Horton

I’m not sure why I should be surprised. I mean, I’ve been doing CrossFit for over 12 years now but still, wow! Just wow! I recently did a 12 minute workout that left me with ALL the feels that it still shocks me to think about, although now my feelings are to just laugh about it. But during, and especially after, when I analyzed those 12 minutes, it really made me think about the life lessons I learned.

Lesson 1: Underestimating Your Abilities
So I went into this workout feeling a little cocky. It had a movement I had only ever done once before (Jump rope Cross-Overs) but I’m a jump rope queen! I mean, not to toot my own horn, but I was in jump rope club as a kid and I can crush me some double-unders. Well, double-unders my friend are not the same as cross-overs and I clearly underestimated my abilities. So, just like life, really assess where you are at when you’re facing challenges. And really be truthful about where you’re at, otherwise it’s only going to hurt you!

Lesson 2: Warm Up & Practice
So once you accurately assess your abilities, make sure you warm up appropriately! Take some time to practice and prepare for your upcoming challenge. They’re not going to magically appear during the middle of a workout when you’re already tired.

Lesson 3: It’s Not Your Jump Ropes Fault
Just because you suck doesn’t mean it’s the jump ropes fault (no my jump rope is not suddenly the wrong size). So stop being in a victim mindset and accept that it’s your fault for your struggles.

Lesson 4: Learning New Things is Exhausting
When you’re learning something new, it will be exhausting. Even so much so that when you do other activities, even ones you’re used to doing regularly, you’ll be exhausted doing those from the exertion you had doing your new activity. So keep that in mind when you are embarking on learning new things and give yourself grace for other areas of your life.

Lesson 5: A Change of Scenery Goes a Long Ways
180 degrees. That’s how much I changed my position during this 12 minute workout and it honestly helped. It gave me something new to focus on, it put my body in a different space on the floor, and it mentally helped clear some of the frustrations I was having. I think this can be so true in life as well. If you find yourself stuck, then move. If you find yourself down in the dumps, go outside. If you find yourself anxious, give yourself a river or mountain to stare at. Whatever the feelings you have, changing your scenery could help.

Lesson 6: Don’t Let Your Emotions Control the Outcome
It’s important to not only laugh, but really focus on not letting your emotions control the outcome. Denial, frustration, anger, embarrassment, whatever you may be feeling is OKAY! It’s normal to have these feelings. The important thing is you don’t feed into those feelings. Don’t listen to the negative Nelly in your head. Instead, reframe your thinking. Try tactics like:

Repeating: “I’m not tired, I feel outstanding” during a hard workout.
Smile. Forcing yourself to smile can actually trick your brain into feeling happier.

Lesson 7: One Foot in Front of the Other
Regardless of your emotions, the actions to take is just put one foot in front of the other. I tell myself during really hard workouts, “the only way out is through”. I know myself well enough to know I won’t quit, so now I just have to get through this workout. 200 pushups during our infamous CrossFit workout, Murph, is still so daunting. I know it’s going to take me a REALLY long time. But through the years I’ve learned, one little pushup done over and over again will eventually get me to those 200 pushups. So just put one foot in front of the other. As Dori from Finding Nemo said, “Just keep swimming, just keep swimming.”

Lesson 8: Learn from Others
If you have time before a challenge to reach out to others that have the skills needed for your challenge, then reach out to them. You might be surprised how excited someone is to help you. They get it, they’ve been there and they know the feelings you’re having. So, not only will they probably have helpful ideas to get you through it, but they’ll also just make you feel better by feeling normal about your emotions you are experiencing. Don’t be embarrassed, just ask!

Lesson 9: Choosing Hard
I love double-unders. I love to do them, I love how efficient I am at them, and heck, I admit, I even love to show them off. But after this workout crushed me with cross-overs I told myself anytime a workout popped up that had double-unders I needed to sub it out and do cross-overs instead. So I went from having a workout I know I’d be one of the top times in at the gym, to being dead last. Not as fun. But, I know that if I choose to do the hard things now during practice, I’ll be even better when the competition comes. So just like I told my six year old daughter yesterday at her judo practice, don’t choose the easy opponents to go against, choose the hardest ones as they’ll prepare you the most for your upcoming tournament.

Lesson 10: It Doesn’t Happen Overnight
This workout I did was a few months ago and so now I’ve had a few months of practicing cross-overs, but I still kind of suck. And I can get frustrated but I remind myself, it doesn’t happen overnight. I’ve been doing CrossFit so long that it’s easy for me to forget how hard it was to learn pullups, how much extra time I spent in the gym practicing bar muscle ups. I forget the feeling when I first started going Rx with my handstand pushups. So remind yourself when you are learning new things, it will take time! But the nice thing is, the time will pass anyways so you might as well use it making yourself better and more prepared in life.

Lesson 11: Growing Pains are Better Shared with Friends
As soon as my workout was done I sent a video of myself doing the cross-overs to my swolemate (that’s CrossFit slang for gym best friend :)) and she made me feel so much better instantly. First she laughed at me and then shared similar stories. Even just the act of sharing with her made me feel better as I wasn’t hiding behind the negative emotions but turning my situation around to be funny and educational.

Lesson 12: Prepare for the Unknown
One of my most favorite lessons I’ve learned over the years from CrossFit is it aims to build you into a human that is prepared for the unknown. What the heck does this mean? Well let me share a personal anecdote.

I was three years into my CrossFit life and rather obsessed. I had a rocky start though because of shame and embarrassment for how out of shape I was and the fear for it exposing that in front of people, which is a story for another day. Thankfully though, I kept at it and I had reached this new level of fitness and a healthy mindset. I seriously felt like I was in the best shape of my life at 28 years old. Then I found a lump in my boob. Yup, there it was, from the fittest I’d ever been to bald and fighting for my life. It sucked, life threw me a punch and I wasn’t prepared for it….or was I?

I’d just spent the past three years of my life in full on suffer fest. Miserableness. Have you ever done Fran (a famous CrossFit workout)? I’d spent three years mentally and physically pushing my body beyond what I thought it was capable of. I’d spent three years thinking I was just getting back in shape but I was truly preparing myself for a fight against cancer. All those workouts, they added up to this stronger (not just physically but mentally) Kelli that I am not sure I even knew existed.

So for ten months during that cancer fight, I relied heavily on that mental training that I developed from every little workout. It helped me get through the unknown of what was ahead of me with my cancer battle. For those ten months it was a constant unknown of how would I feel today, how well is my body fighting this cancer, how long will I be doing this, and so on. It was an emotional roller coaster and it was exhausting. But through my previous three years of CrossFit training I knew I could handle it. I knew how to suffer physically. I knew how to mentally handle challenges. I knew that as silly as it sounds, CrossFit really did prepare me for this surprise life test. And I’m forever grateful for that.

What’s your favorite lesson you’ve learned during a challenge? I hope today’s Elevate Livin’ Life E-newsletter helps you conquer some of the challenges you have ahead of you!

Thanks for reading along,
-Kelli

Favorite Livin’ Life Activity This Month: Chasing Powder (Yes, there was some) with My Pup & Friends

I’m Falling in Love…

It’s not how big the house is, it’s how happy the home is.”
-Unknown

It’s true. I’m falling in love…. with my house! And I’m making myself fall in love! Why? Well, this past year we’ve been getting real itchy to make a move or start a remodel but the timing isn’t right for us. So, although I work in Real Estate and I love when people do buy and sell, I get it when the timing isn’t right which is why I’m sharing my tips of how I am working to love my current house even more.

Instant Gratification:
Since we aren’t in the position to move or do a full remodel at the moment, then we needed to find ways to implement mini changes throughout our house to create some instant gratfication. So here are some deliberate steps we took to help with that:

Mini Upgrades:
- New dishes went a long way! Seriously, this shocked me how much happiness something like this could bring but it really helps!
- Upgrading your wall decor; update your photo frames, print new photos to hang, buy new artwork, etc.
Declutter
- For reals, it will make everything so much better to get those overflowing drawers and closets decluttered.
Organize
- Thanks big sis for passing along some beautiful baskets to me that I used to make my pantry all organized and pretty. There are some great social media creators that have tips for easy ways to organize your house if you are needing inspiration.
  - Tip – if you don’t want to do this but you have the money, hire Tidy Style Homes. They’re phenomenal for helping you organize and beautify your home! Click HERE to check them out.
Mini Remodels
- My office is rather small and became the “catch-all” for all the things, which then made it feel even smaller. So in September we completed a mini-remodel of decluttering, installing a stand up desk, painting the walls, and purchasing a pretty bookcase. I now love my small little office. It’s a cozy room that allows me to have the space physically and mentally to work. It only took a few days and not that much money to complete it too.
Chasing Sunsets
- The number one reason I want to move is for VIEWS. Mountain views and sunrise/sunset views. And that’s just not something I can get from my current house, so I’m working to commit to going out 1-2 times a week at sunrise or sunset for beautiful big views. Added bonus to this, it gets me outside more. Win!
Finding Gratitude
- When we are rushing to our kids’ schools and getting there in four minutes, I am reminding myself it’s only possible to accomplish this because we live in town (and not out of town where I’d find those sunsets I want).
- Because we live in town, I’m encouraging myself to take advantage of this by biking and walking more often for those little errands we run. Jackson loves our errand running activities because he gets to ride on his Kids Ride Shotgun seat!

Thinking Outside the Box:
One of our main things we want is more garage space, especially in the winter when we have the snowmobiles in the garage. Well, we’re not in the place to be able to build out a detached garage so we’re sort of stuck at the moment. BUT, one day when I needed to use the rings in our garage gym, which means I have to open the garage doors (letting all the cold air in), move the snowmobiles (fill the garage with snowmobile exhaust), hope our snowmobiles start for me, and then move them, I realized, for winter I can just move the rings. Duh. I’ve been dealing with this for years and just now realized I could just spend FIVE minutes to move them. (Insert face-palm emoji). So what are the “rings” in your home?

Make a list of what you would love to change in your current home to make it more enjoyable. What are your pain points?
Assess the list and decide:
1. What would you change?
2. What is the cost?
3. What is your goal timeframe for getting this done?
4. Decide if the time and money is worth the change and then make it happen!
  1. If you aren’t the one to do the work yourself and you want to hire someone, please reach out, I have AMAZING contractors that can help you!
It might also help to think about what you would love in a new house and analyze that list of how you can make it happen in your current house. Think outside the box!

Mindset Shift:
Since we aren’t in the position to move or do a full remodel at the moment, then we needed to find ways to shift our mindset from wishing and wanting to appreciating what our house does currently offer us. To help you do this, try these tactics:

Make a list of what you do love about your house
Print it out and put it somewhere you see it daily (bathroom mirrors are great)
As I mentioned before, one thing I love about my house is the proximity to everything, so when I’m going to run an errand I challenge myself to walk or bike because I know I’ll be grateful I did and then it helps me love my house even more.
1. Also, I can walk to Winter Carnival in McCall without dealing with parking! IYKYK
Realize the grass isn’t always greener on the other side
1. We did start to preview other homes in case we wanted to just make a move but then we realized our house is a lot better than most of those out there.
There is a cost to everything, so if you remodel your home it will take time and money, if you sell and buy, that will take time and possibly money. So I remind myself that by not making major changes it allows myself to have the resources to do other things, like travel!

This list is also helpful for when/if you do ever move you’ll know what were some of your favorite things about your house.

Ready to Move?
Perhaps you tried to fall back in love with your current home but it just didn’t work? Then it’s time to make a plan to make a move. From working in Real Estate and my own personal experience of moving, here are some of my tips to help you get started with this plan.

Meet with a financial planner to chat about financial options for selling/buying
Meet with a mortgage lender
1. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, call me before you do this. A lot of people don’t realize how their lender can seriously make or break the purchase of your dream home. It does matter! I’ll connect you with the best ones out there who also have great rates.
Meet with a Realtor
1. Again, PLEASE call me. This is possibly the biggest purchase of your life and you want to make sure you have a professional helping you. And I work with a LOT of Realtors so I can recommend some amazing ones that will fit your personality.
Put a plan into place of how you’ll achieve this
1. This is hard work to do this but it’s so gratifying. Set your goal budget and make it happen! To make our McCall home purchase happen we made some big sacrifices to save the money. We took a travelling physical therapy job for my hubby that was in the middle of nowhere in South Carolina but paid really well. We lived in a tiny 400 square foot studio to maximize our finances and within six months we had the funds needed for a 20% down payment on a home. Not everyone can do this, I get it, but focus on what you need and what you can do and get to work. That daily coffee treat can go a long ways if you save those funds instead. 😉

I hope this month’s Elevate Livin’ Life Newsletter has helped you! I would LOVE to know what do you love about your home? What would you change? I’m always looking for ways to love my house even more so perhaps you have some of your own ideas to share?

Favorite Livin’ Life Activity This Month: Backpacking Through Patagonia!!!

Business Down? Maximize this Time!

“Slowing down is sometimes the best way to speed up.”
-Mike Vance

If January brings you more time and less business, then use it to build out systems now so that during your busy season you are more efficient. From personal to business life, there are activities you can do now that can set you up for a more successful year.

Business Life:

Company Retreats
Mass Batching Social Media
- Create a Social Media Calendar so you know what you’ll post and when
- Research what has worked well in the past for your SM posts
- Research and document what hashtags to use
- Find the photos you’ll use, sort and tag them
Create your E-newsletters months in advance
Networking
- Coffee with your vendors
- Beers with your sphere
- Attend more business meetings or other networking events
Lead Generate for More Business
Browse & Research Your Industry
- FaceBook groups are great for this. Join different ones for your industry and learn what others are doing from systems to networking to everything in between.
Continuing Education Classes
- It’s not fun, but get it done now!
Pursue Professional Development
- Take online courses
- Listen to podcasts
- Read books
- Watch videos
Review Profit & Losses
Improve Your Website
Clean Up & Declutter
- From notes, to inboxes, to journals-either do something with them or get rid of it.

Personal Life:

Declutter:
- File cabinet
- Email inbox and folders
- Clothes
- Toys
Organize:
- Recipe boxes/folders/apps
- Closets
- Pantry
  - Make it a game with the kiddos- What’s the oldest expiration date you can find in your pantry?
Connect:
- Dinner with the friend you rarely see
- Phone calls to friends and family in other states
- Mass complete birthday cards (or heck, even Christmas cards for next year!)
Pursue Personal Development
- Have you ever wanted to learn to do something? Well now is a great time! From learning a new language, to taking classes on hobbies you want to sharpen or learn, research it now and get it setup.
Journal
Atomic Habits
- A great book that I suggest you read. But for now, think about what habits to create and which ones to break?
Mass Batch Freezer Crockpot Meals
Deep Clean
Do Those “Someday-Maybe” Activities
Volunteer
- If you need an organization to join, Central Idaho Mountain Bike Association (CIMBA) is looking for people to volunteer for 2024. You can do this remotely too!! Contact me if you’re interested! 🙂
Gift Cards & Presents
- Are you like me and you have a stack of gift cards laying around for various businesses? Make it a goal to only eat out at one of those places.
- Go get that massage you haven’t made time for!

Plan Your Year:
If you didn’t do any planning yet for what you want 2024 to look like, then take the time to work on that now. And even if you did plan out your year, take the time to do the research and planning for what you have on your calendar.

Trips:
- Research everything you need to for your trips you plan to take.
  - Flights, lodging, transportation
  - Best restaurants to eat at
  - Which activities you’ll do
  - What gear you’ll need for the trip and where to get it (buy, borrow, rent).
House Projects
- What projects will you tackle this year?
  - Make a list
  - Time block it into your calendar
  - Work on researching now what you’ll need; paint colors, what tools, any design inspiration, book contractors, etc.

Also, Relax:
As my daughter has once told me, “we’re not resting people”, so it’s real hard for me to just rest and relax. But I try to remind myself this time right now is a time to enjoy the slowness and just breath and be. Because the spring selling season (for Real Estate) is right around the corner, the deep powder runs are coming (hopefully more than what we just got), and then my favorite hiking trails aren’t that far away from being unburied by that snow, so while I’m waiting on these things, I’m trying to enjoy the slowness, so I hope you do too!

Favorite Livin’ Life Activity This Month: Micro-Adventure to Bruneau Sand Dunes

Cookies, Champagne, And Candy Canes, Oh My!

“Winter is the time for comfort, for good food, and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand, and for a talk beside the fire; it is the time for home.”
-Edith Sitwell

This month is a month of celebrations. From holiday parties, to Christmas morning, I say, enjoy yourself! Eat those cinnamon rolls with the kiddos, cozy up by the fire and read a book, give your mind and body the space to rejuvenate.

Bye Bye Guilt:
Take time this month to just be and to rest. To be with family and friends. To rest from a busy and hopefully amazing year. Yes, it’s also a hectic month where you may be running around like crazy and not doing much rest too. Either way though, say bye bye to any guilt this month and give yourself grace for what you NEED and WANT. If you need to say no to a holiday party, do it. If you want to have that cookie at your work party then go ahead. And then try not to let guilt ruin those moments for you.

That being said though, you also don’t want to destroy months of hard work by over-indulging. Or setting yourself up for a real painful January with really bad habits adopted during this month. So if you indulge, indulge and let go of the guilt. But if you also want to keep some self-control then read on for some helpful tips to navigate this holiday season.

Working Out in 15 Minutes:
If you have a workout routine and you know it may get disrupted this month from either crammed schedules, holiday travel, or something else then keep in mind you can still get a good workout in with only 15 minutes. Walk into the living room, spend five minutes warming up and ten minutes doing a good workout. It’s better than nothing! Here’s one of my favorite quick and easy workouts to do: 50-40-30-20-10 of Air Squats, Push-ups, & Sit-ups. Have fun. 🙂

Some other tips to keep in mind as well:

Plan Your Workouts NOW:
- If you’ll be limited on time, then have in your phone 5-10 workouts you can do in 15 minutes or less. So when you find that small window you aren’t wasting it figuring out what workout you’ll do.
- Want some more of my favorite travel workouts? Click HERE.
Research Gyms:
- If you’re travelling, figure out what gyms are open, what the class times are, how you signup as a drop-in, etc.
Get Creative:
- Throw in some dumbbells if you are traveling by car.
- Throw in some exercise bands or TRX bands if flying.
- Find what you can with where you are. This heavy rock worked great for a workout on the beach in Maui.
- Parks are full of features you can use. Benches for box step ups, monkey bars for pullups, grass to do sprints, etc.
Feeling Unmotivated?:
- Tell yourself you’re going to just start warming up and see what happens.
  - I LOVE working out. I know how good it is for me and I live and breath it, but honestly, it’s sooooo easy to get out of the routine and to get lazy. It shocks me how fast I feel unmotivated when I am on a vacation but I know if I just start warming up, just start moving, I’ll get into the mindset. And even if I don’t, I have NEVER regretted a workout. I have always finished saying I’m glad I did it, even if I didn’t feel like doing it.
- Rally the troops to join you. There’s nothing like getting pumped up for a workout when you get the whole family involved.

Lastly, remember, 15 Minutes for yourself is not being selfish. The people you are around may enjoy you more when you’ve let off a little steam. So don’t feel bad to say to them every morning you need 15 minutes (or hopefully more). 🙂

Sugar Cookies, Champagne, and Candy Canes, Oh My:
Yummy!! That’s what my mind thinks of when I think of the holidays. From the candy of Halloween to the delicious Thanksgiving meal to all the holiday parties, there are tasty drinks and food around every corner. I tend to indulge a little too much and fall pretty far off track with my nutrition. And that’s okay. But I try to keep these ideas in mind to not completely fall a part:

Party When It’s Time to Party:
- When you’re at home, eat like normal. Have your normal lunch, dinners, no desserts, etc. But when you’re at the parties, enjoy the parties and have some drinks and treats.
Avoid Over-Indulging:
- If you run the risk of following the “party when it’s time to party” idea I mention above because you over-indulge too much and regret it, then try this trick. Days before the party, when you are thinking about how you don’t want to over-indulge, tell yourself what you are okay with consuming that night. Then every day leading up to the party repeat that OUTLOUD to yourself. As you drive to the party, repeat it again.
It’s Not Worth the Calories:
- My mom cracks me up and there are times I hear her say, “I don’t want that treat as it’s not worth the calories”. I love this idea because I’m bad about falling prey to the over-indulging mindset. I will eat a ridiculous amount of sugar and sweets if I allow myself to have them, yet so many times I eat something and think, “oh this isn’t even that good”, yet I still eat it because I am in this mindset of, well I’m not eating my normal healthy stuff so I should eat it. This holiday season I’m trying to be like my mom and stop and think, “is this even good, is it worth it?” If not, just throw it away.
Save Money & Eat Healthy:
- Recently we got through security at Newark airport and thought we had plenty of time to go get a nice yummy breakfast as a family. Well, $90 later, we had our tummies halfway filled but our taste buds were not pleased. The food sucked, it cost a lot, AND it took way longer than planned and stressed us out with scrambling to get to our gate. We missed the opportunity to “get our wiggles out” before our flight. I was annoyed and said not again. So when we went to Hawaii months later we did the following:
  - We packed breakfast burritos the night before and ate them on the plane.
  - We packed lots of snacks to avoid paying ridiculous amounts of money for airport snacks.
  - When we got to Hawaii we went straight to Costco (5 minutes from the airport) and bought food to last us the entire trip.
    - For us, food is not a big part of our trip so we’re okay making home cooked dinners and packing lunches every day. For others I understand how good food is what makes your trip memorable and that’s okay too!

Fail to Plan, Then Plan to Fail:
Some of you may not want to think about the upcoming new year and your goals you may have. You may want to live fully in the holiday moment and that is great! But you can’t just wish yourself to a healthier life in 2024, so if you plan to make some new habits next year just keep this in mind this month:

January 1^st Comes in HOT:
- We are all holiday mode and then BOOM new year’s resolutions start today! But here’s the thing, sometimes that’s not the best idea. I LOVE the idea of clean numbers. I’m going to do a YEAR of x. I’m going to do 30 days of y. So I get the idea of starting on the 1^st of the year. But don’t start on that day if you truly can’t commit. If you know you’ll be out celebrating the New Year and eating healthy when you’re hungover is not going to happen, then it’s okay to start January 2^nd. It’s better to do that then to throw in the towel on day one.

As I’ve said before, it’s okay to indulge and have fun. I’m not trying to convince you to not indulge and I want to encourage you to not feel guilty if you do. I just like to share some tips and tricks I’ve learned and try to *sometimes* follow during the holiday season. I say “sometimes” because honestly, some years I say “screw it” and just not stress or worry about it. I will eat what I want, when I want, and it’s just fine. I figure out how to get back on track in the New Year. So if this year is your year to do that, then cheers! 😊