Dear Diary, Day 45 complete! Only 30 days to go. This week though, I haven't really been floating around on a cloud of gratitude and high vibes. Last week, I was all, OMG, I feel amazing! My sleep is amazing! Everything is amazing! This week. Not so much. The Wine, the Chocolate & the Inner Battle Saturday night, I went to a 40th birthday party. Yes, more parties. More opportunities to refrain from beautiful food, bread, desserts and Vinho Verde (for my non-Portuguese pee

Dear Diary, Here we are. DAY 39. Which means I've officially passed the halfway point to completing 75 Hard. Only 36 days to go! Lol … If you'd told me a few months ago that I'd be doing two workouts a day, drinking a gallon of water, reading every day, eating according to a plan, and saying no to beer, wings, and chocolate for 75 days straight, I probably would’ve laughed in your face. Well ... here we are! So, let's catch up. There's been a lot happening in my little w

Dear Diary, John Grisham is already getting to me. Last week I talked about his idea of “one page a day” that he presented on the Mel Robbins Podcast. He’s the writer of The Firm and A Time to Kill by the way. His advice is simple. Just write. Every day. No need to wait for the perfect time or for the perfect inspiration. For me, that means, no need to sit down once a week thinking, Okay Debb, what the hell are you going to write about this week? Just write something.

Dear Diary, It’s been another week of noticing. Noticing how I feel. Noticing what I’m doing. Noticing what I’m learning. Noticing the little moments. Which, when I actually stop long enough to pay attention, are probably not so little after all. This week, I had one of those aha moments while listening to another Mel Robbins Podcast, yet again. Mel had John Grisham on the show … the author of A Time to Kill and The Firm. I really loved this conversation. What really

Dear Diary, Lately, I've been thinking a lot about change. Not the dramatic kind, where where you wake up one morning and all of a sudden everything is different. I'm talking about the quieter kind of change. The kind that happens slowly, almost without you noticing. The kind where one day you look around and realize that you're not exactly the same person you were a few months ago, or even a few weeks ago. That's where I feel I might be right now. Somewhere in the midd

Dear Diary, This week I decided that I needed to add 75 Hard to my already full life because clearly I needed one more thing! Honestly, I’m ready for it. I need it. Why? To balance my hormones and truly connect to my mind, body and soul. I know it’ll help me on many levels and yes I’m very aware it’s going to be a hardcore challenge. As I like to tell my yoga and Pilates students, “challenge equals change … what challenges you, changes you,” so if I don’t walk the walk, who

Dear Diary, Yes, I know. I missed last Friday. Since I was busy with my yoga retreat, I figured my brain could also use a little retreat from blogging. And, now that two weeks have passed, I have about a thousand things that come to mind. Maybe more. And they all seem to be saying the same thing: Life is happening. Right here. Right now. So maybe we should pay attention. One Year ❤️ Last week, Rui and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary. It feels like yesterday

Dear Diary, It’s Friday, (obviously) and I have a few things on my mind this week. Customer service. Courage. Small businesses. My upcoming yoga retreat. And the fact that sometimes one tiny moment can remind you just how short this life really is. Let’s start with customer service. The thing that’s clearly becoming a bit of a lost art these days. This week I spent a ridiculous amount of time trying to sort out something with my current mortgage company (who will remai

Dear Diary, It’s Friday afternoon, the sun is shining inside and outside, and I have this weird mix of excitement, relief and fear happening all at the same time. And honestly, I kind of love it. If you’ve been following along, you know that I recently stepped away from part of my job as an Instructor Team Lead at a yoga studio. I’m still teaching there. I’m just taking off the Team Lead hat. And that change has created something I didn’t realize I desperately needed: SP

Dear Diary, Where to begin. Well ... it’s been an interesting week. Last week, I wrote about Mel Robbins. Yes, again. I know, I know. I'm a big fan. What can I say?! For my new readers, I saw Mel Robbins LIVE in Toronto last year at her "Let Them" Tour, after reading all of her books and listening to her podcast regularly. She's all about mindset, growth and self improvement. And she was just as amazing in person as she is on her podcast. So yes, I’m low key medium obs

Dear Diary, Here we are. Welcome to my very first TGIF with Debb! TGIF stands for: Truth. Growth. Inspiration. Fun! I know ... I changed the name. For those of you who've been reading along, Spill the Tea Tuesday has officially retired. Even Rui said, "Aww my love, you're changing it? I liked the tea." Me too! I considered Friday Flow with Debb, Freshly Brewed Friday, Fill Your Cup Friday and even Spill the Tea Friday. But it just doesn't have the same ring to it. Not

Creating Space: The Scariest (and Best) Decision I've Made in a Long Time! Dear Diary, I know ... I missed Spill the Tea Tuesday this week. I needed a day. Maybe two. Ok three. My head was super full this week. So was my to-do list. Along with my stomach turning, to be totally honest. So, welcome to Follow Your Fire Friday instead. Apparently, this week wasn't about tea. It was about fire. During this whole blog-writing journey, I'm learning something. (A lot of t

Dear Diary, It's been two weeks since I've written (publicly) and wow ... a lot is in my brain that I need to unleash. The last time we chatted, it was my birthday week (yes... I took a whole week off to celebrate. Highly recommended!). Who knew having your birthday fall on a Monday would be a gift? The Connecticut Fam Jam That week, Rui and I loaded up Betty (my Jeep Wrangler ... and if you don't know who Betty is by now, you haven't been reading my blog ... no judgement! J

Dear Diary, As promised, it's Tuesday. Spill the Tea Tuesday with Debb, that is. Birthday Edition. I'm just going to tell you how I spent my birthday yesterday and see where my brain goes. If you've been reading along weekly, you know me by now, it always goes somewhere. Birthday Vibes ... Zooming Out June 29, 1979. The day I was born. It was around 7:45 in the morning. My mom had a C-section. She had one with my brother (eighteen months earlier) because of complication

Dear Diary, As I'm typing, it's Friday night. I'll likely share this on Saturday after I edit. It's 7:05 p.m. and I suddenly felt the urge to write. Rui's not home from work yet. It's June 26th ... my "dating anniversary" with Rui. Four years ago today, Rui and I had our second date (because we didn't realize the first one was actually a date) and our first kiss. Signed, sealed, delivered ... I'm yours. I know. Super cheesy. Speaking of cheesy ... Mr. Cheesy Cheese en

Dear Diary, Welcome back to another Spill the Tea Tuesday with Debb. This is the space where I show up a little unfiltered, a little reflective, a little chaotic sometimes … and always real. This week, I struggled a bit with what I wanted to write about and share. Then I thought ... hmmm since the World Cup vibe is on, flags on cars, soccer talk in yoga studio change rooms AND Portugal won today 5 to zero, I figured ... Portugal … let’s start there! Portugal, the country

Dear Diary, This week, I had a hard time figuring out what to write about. Or more accurately … what to share and what not to share. That is the question. If you've been following along so far, you know I'm pretty raw and open when it comes to sharing my thoughts and feelings, especially when it's not so glamorous. Hormones, weight gain, fluctuating emotions, crying because someone put random ducks on my Jeep ... You know … normal stuff. And honestly, no matter what's hap

A Little More Grace, A little Less Pressure Dear Diary, I've been thinking a lot about grace lately. Not the kind of grace where you float through life effortlessly like some magical yoga unicorn. I mean real grace. The kind where your hormones are hormoning and your mindset is mindsetting and everything is still ok. The kind where your shorts fit differently than they did last summer and you're not beating yourself up about it. The kind where you're trying your best an

Dear Diary, I've been noticing a pattern lately with these blogs. Hormones seem to be the word of the day. Or the year. Perimenopause. Weight gain. Night sweats. Mood swings. Interrupted sleep. The whole glam pack. But based on some of the messages I've received, it turns out it's not just women who are resonating with these words. Some of you male readers have reached out too, and I love that because at the end of the day, this isn't really about hormones. It's about being

Dear Diary, Last time I wrote, I talked about hormones, perimenopause, interrupted sleep, night sweats, body changes, weight gain and my goal to lose 25 pounds in 10 weeks. Since then, I’ve learned that I’m not alone in this journey. Cheers to each and every one of you who reached out, who resonated and who shared your stories. I love love love hearing them. I see you! I hear you! I love you! Ok, back to me lol … I’ve written down my goals, visualized myself feeling s