I never liked going to bars or most social events. My 20s were painful as my peers wanted to go drinking and I would much rather have stayed home or gone somewhere cozy and had deep, meaningful conversations all night.

I so don’t miss those years.

Tonight we went climbing again for the second day in a row. I can totally get behind this kind of date night.

One of the perks of getting older is that I finally don’t have to do anything I don’t want to do. Or maybe that was an option all along and I’m finally realizing it.

Yes to doing what makes you happy. Yes to owning who you are. And yes to climbing more.

#yearofyes #karenikayearofyes

There’s so much joy in the little moments of life. A magnificent sunset. A hug from someone who loves you. The sound of crackling fire. The feeling of grass between your toes. Or sand. Or water.

A perfect, cloudless sky. Puffy white clouds. A roaring fire with snow outside. A surprise package in the mail. An email from and old friend you’d lost touch with.

Watching someone you love laugh. Listening to a song loudly while driving down a country road. Eating fresh fruit from a farm stand.

Watching baby geese.

Life is so full of moments of joy.

Yes to seeing joy and feeling joy and letting it take over your whole heart. Yes to letting joy sprinkle all over you.

#yearofyes #karenikayearofyes

Today’s #aepiecesofus prompt is full body. I could write pages of posts about my body and all that is wrapped up in my feelings about it.

Instead I decided to tell the story of a new practice I started as a result of my 100-day project around radical wellness.

I now start each morning with a 5-minute kindness meditation while still lying in bed and I end my days with 10 minutes of restorative yoga.

No one would compliment my quiet, calm way of going through life. I am always go go go. I speak fast, listen to books and videos on 2-3x speed, I like to get places faster, get things done done done. Most days, I push myself emotionally, psychologically, mentally, and physically.

Years ago, when I did yoga regularly, the last minute spent on shavasana was my least favorite. I would lie there and think of the millions of things I still had to get done. Or I’d start feeling sad about someone I let down, etc. I often felt like I might jump out of my skin during that minute.

The restorative yoga is like taking that minute and extending it to the whole class.

And yet I’ve grown to love it.

Ending my days by slowing down, with poses that make my body relax and feel supported has been one of the best gifts I can give myself.

Yes to trying new things. Yes to taking care of myself. Yes to yoga. Yes to rest.

#yearofyes #karenikayearofyes #aepiecesofus

Today’s #aepieceofus prompt was eyes closed. I snapped this photo of Jake and I at the climbing gym and even though the color is all off because of being inside the gym I still love this photo.

For the last year the only place I’ve been going when I leave the house is either to do grocery shopping which we do touchless or the climbing gym with Jake now that we are in the orange zone.

Three times a week we go and climb for 2 hours. There are lots and lots of things I can say about it but one of my favorite things is that it’s time that Jake and I spent together just the two of us and we literally hold each other up and support each other as we climb.

There are many things I love about my husband and at the very top of the list is who he is and who he makes me want to be. He has always added light into my life and has always made me strive to be a better version of myself. These hours at the gym are no exception. I’m so grateful for him and so grateful that he’s encouraging me to get stronger.

Yes to time together and yes to getting stronger and yes to people who make you want to be a better version of yourself.

#yearofyes #karenikayearofyes #aepiecesofus

Today’s #aepiecesofus prompt is “hands” and it was the perfect prompt for celebrating a small win with the journaling.

Since I couldn’t get into the journaling routine for months now, I decided to try a new trick. When I am done with exercise and finally sit at my desk, I set my timer to 5 minutes and journal as much as I can in that time. No pressure to go longer and realistically I almost always have five minutes.

I’ve been able to journal all week so far.

This is the same way I’ve been exercising. 10 minutes of core, 10 minutes of stretching, 10 minutes of arms, 10 minutes of biking and 10 minutes of restorative yoga. 5 minutes of meditation and now 5 minutes of journaling.

It’s been such a gift.

Yes to journaling more. Yes to finding ways to make it work.

#yearofyes #karenikayearofyes #aepiecesofus

There are no words for how happy the ranunculus make me.

It’s always hard to wind down on Sunday nights. I find it takes me hours to get to a place where I feel excited to do things on Sunday so then I am on a roll and don’t want to stop when it gets late.

Today I spent a lot of time journaling and a lot of time scrapbooking. It was lovely to get to play with paper and tell stories and think about life.

I am grateful for a good weekend and still anxious about starting this coming week as I am most Sunday nights.

So instead of reading, I will do ten minutes of restorative yoga so I can quiet my mind.

Yes to slowing down. Yes to being present with it. Yes to yoga.

#yearofyes #karenikayearofyes