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Broaden-and-Build, the Benefits of Positivity, and a Whole30 Chicken Chili
I would consider one of my strengths to be my ability to both formulate and execute a plan. I LOVE planning - everything from meal plans to barre choreography, from vacations to my wedding, and everything in between. I would consider one of my weaknesses to be my strong distaste for not knowing what to expect. I'm not great at "going with the flow" and just seeing what happens when it happens. In fact, "not great" hardly scratches the surface. I loathe being in the dark and thus ill-prepared for anything of importance. Thus the logistics of moving and such a big transition have my anxiety levels above optimum at…
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Celebrating Sunny Days in Ireland with My 2018 Summer Bucket List and Whole30 Slow Cooker Chipotle Beef
What a fabulous last two weeks it has been in Cork! The weather has consistently been the best that it has been since I've lived in Ireland and I am thrilled to have sunshine and warm days finally. It actually feels like summer which means it's time to pull together my 2018 Summer Bucket List - a tradition that Jonathan and I started a few years ago. It's my favorite time of year and I know that for me to ensure the optimal experience, I need to have some sort of plan. Making a Summer Bucket List is kind of like setting New Year Resolutions for me (but arguably more…
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The Precious Resource of Time and a Whole30 Slow Cook Tuscan Chicken Dinner
Today is my turn to pose one of those infamous hypothetical questions: what do you value more highly – time or money? I generally tend to overanalyze this type of proposition with thoughts of all the many tradeoffs to consider. If I had more time without money, what would I do and would it bring as much satisfaction as other activities, events or hobbies which do require some type of financial investment (travel, theatre, shopping, dining out with friends, etc.)? Conversely, if I had more time, could I use it to find new or better ways to generate additional income? Of course I don’t want to end up with more…
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Enjoying the Process, Rosy Prospection, and Slow Cooker Balsamic Roast with Cauliflower Mash
Have you ever noticed that sometimes the anticipation of an event is even better than the actual event itself? The excitement of looking forward to something quite often makes a holiday, vacation, celebration or night out much richer and greater than the sum of its parts. Psychology refers to this phenomenon as the “rosy prospection” and according to researchers, Terence R. Mitchell and Leigh Thompson, it is the “tendency for people to anticipate events as more favorable and positive than they describe the experience at the time of its occurrence.” There are a multitude of variables which contribute to this effect (which tends to be more specific and situational that…
