ONCE LONG AGO, I RAN 150 MILES ACROSS THE SAHARA

It started when a classmate in vet school was talking about a race she wanted to do... everyone was huddled around her saying she was crazy, when I piped up "I'll do it with you."

She took me up on the offer and a year later, I found myself with me 20kg backpack full of food/supplies + my Optimus prime squirt bottles on a bus driving deep into the desert to take us to the jeep which would bring us further INTO the desert.

I remember hearing the doctor on the bus inform everyone about insects/reptiles to be on the lookout for and her words, "the sting of the scorpion will kill you in 4 hours".

“It will take a helicopter 2 hours to find you and 2 hours more to bring you to the nearest hospital. So, don't get stung."

That's when a wee bit of fear crept up...
Not going to lie.

It wasn't until we got started with the race that all my fears washed away and I felt at peace... just me, the blaring sun, the endless sinking sand and my...

I HAVE HAD A SKIN CARE REGIMEN SINCE I WAS TWENTY... she said.

This was CRAZY to me, I didn't pick up a skin care routine until I turned thirty- ahem- five. And even then I am not consistent with the night time routine.  The morning routine, however, I got down pat...

But this surprised my friend as she said oh so kindly I didn't have wrinkles. I honestly DO have wrinkles and think my friend needs to see an optometrist; however, I do feel like the reason WHY my skin acts like it does... has to do with my skin routine BUT also... other things!

*gasp*

I said it.

See, it also has to do with what I put INTO my body... the foods I do (and don't) consume. SO, I figured why not share some of my favorite foods + why... because WHY NOT, share?

1. Unprocessed foods - enough said
2. Pasture-fed beef, game animals, chicken and eggs
3. Wild fish and shellfish
4. Collagen - every day, in my coffee
5. Animal-derived fats like... butter and egg yolks
6. Cod-liver...

Biohacking is basically the journey of experimenting with external/internal factors to help YOU become the BEST version of you. And here's a few tips to help YOU embark on your own journey to be the BEST version of YOU, the superhuman version as the Gillies, our twins say.

1. Identify WHY this is important to you... something I discovered is when we focus on SERVING + helping others, we stay motivated. When the WHY is more than just ourselves.

2. Biohacking isn't just about fancy gadgets... it has to do a lot with our habits + the not so fancy day-in, day-out tasks we do which no one will see.

3. There's more to it than just NUTRITION... it's also about our MINDSET, breathing, movement, functional medicine and so much more.

4. Overwhelmed with where to start choose one habit and implement until it becomes second nature. If we try to GO BIG or GO HOME, we tend to get frustrated or overwhelmed and slip back into older habits.

5. Try to spend 30 minutes each day with your feet in the...

Love. Dude. Homeslice. 

One thing I absolutely LOVE to do is give gifts, it is probably my love-language and it’s something which I truly excel at; however, the hubster does not.  Not hating on the man, he has numerous amazing talents… gift giving is not one of his strong suits.  He knows, I know it and now SO do you!   

And if gift-giving is not your strong suit then take a deep breath + know I got you!  Here are some of my absolute FAVORITE biohacking tools and gadgets for the #CEOMom in your life.  These tools are selected to help YOUR mom feel more energized, more focused and keep her living her best life. 

Listed in NO particular order: 

• Blue Light Blocking Glasses:   I opted for the ever so stylish tortoise shell frames; however, choose your liking.  Bluelight blocking glasses aid in reducing the glare from the computer screens and also help signal your body to sleep, I try to put...

YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO ALL THE THINGS... Just focus on 1% Better!

I remember the day the hubster and I were walking down our long driveway back in Texas... we were bringing the trashcans to the road when I began verbally vomiting on him.

He listened as I poured out all my frustrations with having to do ALL the things but SUCKING at majority of them.

It felt like I was a failure in so many ways. Can any other mom relate?!?

And I’m not sure if you felt this way NOW or have before... but maybe you need to hear what he told me next.

“You don’t have to do ALL the things... and definitely not ALL the things perfectly. You just have to focus on doing just 1% better. If you do this, over time it will compound and you will be kicking some major sass.”

And maybe that’s what you need to hear today, too, love.

You don’t have to do ALL the things ... just focus on doing 1% better than you did yesterday.

In WHATEVER way that looks like to you.

Maybe it’s you...

Dude.
If you are a mom entrepreneur who finds them with littles at home and/or doing homeschool... I want to share with you some tips I've used to help me homeschool the Gillies, our 7yr old twins + run a business from home.

Now. I'll be honest... I ONLY know how to homeschool twins and twin 7yr olds, BUT here's how we tackle homeschool-mom-CEO life under our roof (during THIS season). Here's the MAIN POINTS:

01// SLEEP

With allowing the Gillies to sleep in, this gives me time in the morning for ME to hash out my own morning routine with some amazing biohacks (ie. cold shower, increase lymphatic flow, movement, gratitude, etc) before jumping into a good two solid hours of PRODUCTIVE work.

02// SET A ROUTINE  

NOTE: throw out perfection

We have a loose schedule which goes something like- rise/chores, water/supplement/gratitude, school work, lunch, movement, projects, dinner, bath/bible/bed.

Some days I hit ALL the major points but, eh, LIFE HAPPENS. The...

Over the past weekend, the hubster and myself embarked in what is known as the Goggins Challenge.  If you aren't familiar with this challenge, it's where you voluntarily run 4 miles every 4 hours for the next 48 hours.  If for some reason, you are not able to run or want to mix things up, you may also participate in another form of movement/exercise for 45-60minutes.

Here's the thing, this was the FIRST time I would be participating in a challenge of this sort of magnitude as a mom.  The last race I finished was 150 miles across the Sahara; however, this was BEFORE the Gillies and in my late twenties.  Somehow, participating this challenge in my *ahem* late thirties with two 7-years still needing me to "parent' between legs or runs seemed a wee bit more daunting.  Yet I accepted the challenge and managed to coax my sweet-loving hubster into doing this with me.

We started on March 5th at 8pm PST and wrapped up the event on March 7th at 5pm PST...

I felt like it was about time I shared with you, my absolute favorite product which keeps my skin silky smooth.  AND just how it came into my life.  We will start with the latter, first.

A couple years back, I joined a program for digital entrepreneurs called Social Curators by the lovely Jasmine Star.  There are folks from ALL over the world and I have been blessed to make many amazing connections.  One of those connections was with a kind-hearted mom who I instantly learned had my sense of humor.  #instantbesties

Her name is Rene and she is the owner of an amazing business called, Pure and Coco. Her business idea was born out of necessity as she suffered for quite some time from severely dry, eczema skin every fall and winter.  Along with her husband, Rene created a solution for her dry, eczema skin and launched their business.

I absolutely LOVE Rene's passion for keeping her products natural, vegan and cruelty-free...

Let's just get to the goods with the recipe, shall we?   This is an absolute favorite of our twins, the Gillies and this mama doesn't feel too bad when I see them munching down on them because it's loaded with healthy fats and a wee bit of sweetness.  Okay, a lot of sweetness because I tend to go heavy handed on the chocolate chip morsels!  

ALMOND BUTTER CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES 

• 1 cup of melted almond butter
• 1 pasture-raised egg, whisked
• 1/4 cup of maple syrup
• 1/4 cup of almond flour  
• 1/2 cup of dark chocolate chip morsels 
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract 
• 1 tsp of baking soda 
• 1 tsp of baking powder
• 1 dash of sea salt 

NOW WHAT?

1. Preheat the oven to 350F degrees.  Using a baking sheet, line it properly with parchment paper OR simply grease up a muffin tin for quick easy pop-out cookie/muffins.
2. Now, I like to use as MINIMAL DISHES as possible for easy clean up.  So, you do you, love. ...

One day during our drive to the city, I spotted two cyclists riding their bikes up a mountain.

First off: bravo to anyone riding or running up the mountain. Especially, while wearing air filter masks in this heat and smoke.

However, there was a lesson learned from watching these cyclists in the 5 minutes they were in our view.

Cyclist A was the first to come into our view... he was glancing over his shoulder, watching the cars pass and head going back/forth.

He seemed distracted and the crease in his brow made it seem like this mountain was quite a feat.

Looking at his handle bars sway this way and that, it looked like it was taking TWICE the effort to get up the mountain.

Then after several hundred feet, we get to Cyclist B who was laser focused... eyes straight ahead... handlebars facing forward. No unnecessary energy spent.

And these two guys showed me how when we get distracted with what’s going on around us... we end up focusing on the obstacle, spending more energy to...