Domestic Violence Awareness Month: How to Rebuild Self-Worth

Escaping domestic violence can be a traumatic experience for anyone. Often, victims of abuse suffer from PTSD, or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, because of the treatment they’ve endured. It’s important for survivors to know that they are not alone, that help is available, and that they are not to blame.

“Many victims are left feeling that their lives and feelings are out of control. Counselors focus on empowerment, a process of rebuilding a sense of personal power. By finding ways to build this sense of empowerment within yourself, you will be directing yourself in a positive direction,” writes Safe Passage.

Healing isn’t fast or easy after escaping a violent situation, especially if there are children involved. However, there are steps for survivors to take to rebuild their lives, their self-esteem, and their sense of worth. Here are a few of the best ways to go about it.

September 21, 2016September 21, 2016

The Transformative Power of a Birthday Slogan

Every year I get together with my closest friends. I’m lucky enough that my closest friends are my sister and cousins. Since we’re so close, we’ve been named by other friends as the sister-cousins. It’s so important to surround myself with motivating and powerful women that make me want to be a better person, and that’s what we all are to each other. Not only are they all extremely motivated and inspiring, they also like to enjoy the ride and make the most of every moment.

Each year for our birthdays, I ask my sister-cousins a now-notorious question, “What’s your birthday slogan?”

August 12, 2016August 4, 2016

The Mommy Makeover Contest: Danielle’s Second Check-In

So much has happened in the last month that I’m not quite sure how to put it all down in words without writing a post that would take you an entire year to read! But here it goes.

Since my last post, so many things have been going on. I’m finally getting into a routine between work and homelife. At times it’s definitely not easy! Bryce plays so many sports and between my two jobs and Mike’s hectic one that keeps him gone often, we usually don’t get much free time. What I’ve discovered in all this is that we find ourselves comparing our lives to others around us so often that we forget to stop and admire the little things. The truth is, we’re so lucky to enjoy these moments!

July 7, 2016July 7, 2016

The Mommy Makeover Contest: Danielle’s First Check-In

For those of you who have been following closely along since the beginning of this year, you might be surprised to see the title of this post—The Mommy Makeover Contest: Danielle’s First Check-In.

Danielle was our runner-up in the three-month-long lifestyle transformation contest we held from January through May. We had almost fifty women enter the contest, and Danielle was one of the five selected to participate. You’ll learn more about her personal journey below, but when it came time to vote for the winner, she fell short by just 14 tiny, little votes.

She was so dedicated and did so well throughout the contest that after some reflection, the advisers and I didn’t want to leave Danielle hanging after working so closely together for three months and making such huge changes in her life. So a few days after we announced the winner, Courtney reached out to Danielle to see if she’d be interested in sending us check-ins each month and continuing on her journey to lose twenty pounds before her wedding. At the end of the three months, if she meets her goal, we’ll fly her in to Dallas to be part of our next revamp!

At the end of the day, this wasn’t about “winning” or “losing.” This was about building community and helping each other grow stronger, healthier, and more mindful. In that spirit, here we are with Danielle’s first check-in. She’s getting married on October 22nd, so we’ll receive check-ins from her for July, August, and September.

Read on for Danielle’s beautiful, raw post about finding out about not winning the contest and how she turned that negative into an astounding positive.

May 16, 2016May 19, 2016

Kendahl’s Perfect Post-Workout Ham and Cheese Melt

At the beginning of the month, we had a delicious Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Bowl from Renee, our Mommy Makeover Contest winner. Then Danielle shared one of her family’s favorite recipes for Chicken Cacciatore. This week, I’m so excited to have my friend and fellow Comeback Circle member, Kendahl Airey, on the blog to share one of her go-to meals after finishing an invigorating and challenging workout.

Please welcome Kendahl to MB!