Today at the Chalet

We've all been there: your heart is pounding, your stomach churns, with eyes widened and a flared nose you dish out your rage letting all the anger out. And almost always, in retrospect (whether we even reflect upon it or not) losing our temper was probably not the wisest choice.  Our message was lost in the words we either bit or spewed. It's very difficult to suppress our passion, especially when it pertains to something that gets our gears in a bunch. Interestingly enough, there is the other side of the spectrum when we want to shout from the rooftops about someone we've fallen in love with, but after we've become disenchanted the common expression is that "love is blind." Well, so is anger. In fact, all emotions are - how many times have you been given the advice to make decisions with your brain or gut rather than your heart? That's because emotional intelligence is when we take a pause before we speak or act out of our emotions alone; which also lea...

     I've moved beyond a troubled past - surviving abuse, rape, a traumatic car accident, homelessness in my early 20's, years of unhealthy relationships, poor self esteem, low confidence, mothering special needs children, my own pent up anger, and anxiety & depression. A pivotal moment in my life was when I stood on the edge of a breakdown and realized it was crucial I make a change -  ME  altering every aspect about who I was deep down when, up until that point, most of my life was experienced in a state of re-action.  A popular term I've heard for this type of event is "hitting rock-bottom," but for me it went beyond that. After lifting myself up and dusting off I had to take action. I decided to make necessary changes so I didn't keep slipping into those destructive and self-defeating patterns all over again. I took a long and hard look in the mirror at my mindset, choices, and coping strategies. ...

"Self care is anything but a one-time act.  It is a mindset and a process." -Megha Pulianda, MS., LPC-I      There are many ways we can take care of ourselves that go beyond a gym membership or an appointment at the salon, and lets face it: not everyone wants to or can afford them. Of course it's important to ensure that we make a point to value ourselves, but often enough, the way a good number of people neglect themselves is in their attitudes and choices. Such acts of self-care may take more effort than squats, though.        Sometimes forgiving our past upsets, setting healthy boundaries, and accepting our whole selves are the ultimate acts of making ourselves a priority. It was once said that our thoughts become words, words become acts, acts become habits, and habits become our character; and what better way to attend to ourselves than taking time to impro...

Today I welcome my first guest to the chalet, a man named Matt Harris. I began following Matt on Facebook a little over a year ago and found him to be an interesting and inspiring individual. His posts expressing his love of his family and positivity grew even more meaningful to me and his other followers after Matt suffered a heart attack in mid-2017. He's learned an awful lot more than most about life in general; and his message of hope, positivity, and survival is important to share because I believe we all can learn something from his example. I'm very humbled and honored to introduce: Matt 1 .  Please tell me a little about yourself...I understand you're a husband, father, and even a musician - how would you describe yourself?             Matt: I am a man that wears many hats. Born in 1969 in Carmel, California. One of five children to a stay-at-home mother and a father who w...

     The results from the recent #MeToo movement are staggering, and what is even more shocking is that it shows no signs of weakening. According to Twitter, the popular hashtag was used over half of a million times, and Facebook reported 4.7 million engagements in the first 24 hours of its recent inception. Individuals scaling the globe stood united by sharing their very intimate and personal stories that exploded onto the feeds of social media.       Aside from the obvious, there is something very important the public needs to know about each survivor story: the shear courage it took for them to come forward. They opened themselves up to face public scrutiny, scorn, blame, accountability for someone else's actions, along with the responsibility to continue on in the wake of the tragedy that shaped their lives.      I wish to commend each and every single perso...