Melissa Schlies – Page 2 – Melissa Schlies

What to do When Finding Your Routine Feels Impossible (repost)

I first shared this post last October, but I am sharing it again as it feels like a needed yearly reminder to ourselves as we begin fall. When I was a teenager, every September, I’d get grumpy. Not because I was upset to be back at school. In fact, if you look at my extracurriculars in High School, you’d see I practically lived there. But each fall, the beginning of a new year was especially difficult for me. For almost the entire first month of school, I’d come home every afternoon in a horrible mood. I was exhausted from my [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2021-09-15T17:51:50+00:00September 27th, 2021|Categories: Routines|Comments Off

When You Feel Behind & It’s Already Fall

In January, when we were all praying this year would be better, I committed to practicing yoga at least three times a week. I needed a physical way to release all the stress my body was carrying—but also, I was out of shape. And rather than begin with an intense exercise regimen that may be hard to maintain, I decided to slowly build back the strength I had lost in 2020. Soon, yoga became a morning routine I looked forward to. It helped me start my days with purpose. Emotionally, I was calmer. And the more I practiced, the stronger [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2021-09-16T10:22:58+00:00September 20th, 2021|Categories: Acceptance, Anxiety, Balance, Change, comparison, Conflict, Failure, Habit Making, Routines, Uncategorized|Comments Off

Three Things To Remember As Fall Begins

Last week, Tony and I got on an airplane for the first time since the pandemic began. We went to visit Family. On our way home, due to a connecting flight, we sat on a hot tarmac in the middle of North Carolina, waiting to take off for Pennsylvania. And though, it wasn’t one of those awful situations you hear about on the news where people get stuck on a plane for hours, It felt like we were waiting forever. While Tony fell asleep next to me, I read. Then from my seat, I looked around the plane. Finally I [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2021-09-10T10:47:09+00:00September 13th, 2021|Categories: Anxiety, Change, Failure, grief, Habit Making, Hope, Routines|Comments Off

Simon Biles, The Lies We Believe About Rest, & An Announcement

Did you feel it? The Earth shifting under our feet last week as a woman stepped away from what was expected of her—to take care of herself. Through prioritizing her mental health over Olympic glory, Simone Biles modeled what many of us women struggle greatly to do: She chose rest. She chose herself. Instead of trying to meet the expectations of her country, judges, colleagues, friends, coaches, and family, Simone listened to what her mental, emotional, and physical self was telling her. She couldn’t keep going. So she stopped. I am not sure what your journey with rest and self [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2021-08-01T20:01:39+00:00August 2nd, 2021|Categories: Anxiety, Balance, Courage, Habit Making, Health, Mental Health, Self Care|Comments Off

Creating Routines With Your Spouse Step 5: Repeat

I am a person of habit. I will drink my coffee the same way for months or years on end before changing it. When we go to our favorite sushi place, I always get their Thai rice noodles. When I listen to music, I’ll listen to the same album over and over before moving on to another. For example, this year, I listened to Taylor Swift’s new albums way more than I want you to know. In other words, If I find something I like, I’ll stick with it until it gets old. As much as I love hiking mountains [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2021-07-25T23:39:11+00:00July 26th, 2021|Categories: Balance, Change, Habit Making, Health, Marriage, Relationships, Routines|Comments Off

Creating Routines With Your Spouse Step 4: Keep Talking

Before he ever told me he loved me, Tony showed me. About four months into our relationship, we went to Maine. We traveled with a group of friends to the northern part of the state to hike Mt. Katahdin. It would be the first mountain I had ever climbed, and the morning of the hike, I began to worry I wouldn’t reach the top. Thankfully, there were plenty of other newbie climbers in our group and they assured me, we’d take breaks when we needed them. The weather was perfect and slowly but surely, we made it to the peak. [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2021-07-18T22:40:46+00:00July 19th, 2021|Categories: Adulting, Balance, Change, Habit Making, Marriage, perseverance, Relationships, Routines|Comments Off

Three Simple Routines to Grow Your Marriage

In a season in our marriage where life felt like it was closing in, Tony and I decided to take up tennis. He pulled his old racquet out of the closet. We picked up a pink handled one for me at the local sporting goods store. We bought a few canisters of tennis balls, then off we went to the local park. When he sent the ball back my way, I hit it and we both watched as it went flying up into the air, and over the large chainlink fence that surrounded the court. It was either late spring [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2021-07-11T13:29:14+00:00July 12th, 2021|Categories: Balance, discipline, Habit Making, Marriage, Relationships, Routines|Comments Off

Creating Routines With Your Spouse Step 3: Start Small

If you’ve never finished a 5K, it’s not a good idea to sign up to run a marathon. If you don’t know how to boil water or roast a chicken, you shouldn’t volunteer to make Thanksgiving dinner. And if you and your spouse have never traveled together, you probably shouldn’t sign up to do the Amazing Race. Only in marriage, we do this type of thing all the time. We buy fixer uppers without knowing the first thing about laying tile or putting up sheetrock. We look at each other on New Year’s and say we’re going to work out [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2021-07-05T03:28:00+00:00July 5th, 2021|Categories: Adulting, Change, discipline, Habit Making, Health, Marriage, Routines|2 Comments

Creating Routines As A Couple Step 2: Reevaluate

If you’ve ever been rear-ended in a car accident, chances are your neck was forced in one direction, and then quickly pulled back toward the other. This is known as whiplash. The term is defined as, “An abrupt snapping motion or change of direction resembling the lash of a whip,” (hence the name). Often it refers to this injury one incurs after a car accident. But after this past year, it also feels appropriate to life both in, and after, a pandemic. One year ago, our whole lives changed on a dime. Now, they’re changing again. Those of us who [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2021-06-28T00:11:54+00:00June 28th, 2021|Categories: Adulting, Balance, Change, Habit Making, Health, Marriage, Practice, Relationships, Routines, Social Distancing|Comments Off

Creating Routines With Your Spouse Step One: Name What Matters

Five years ago, I completed P90X3. Words, I never thought I’d be able to say, let alone write. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the program, it is an intense at-home workout regimen that has you using muscles you never thought you had. It also requires you to workout six days a week for ninety days straight. As someone who spent most of her life without a weekly workout routine at all, this accomplishment still feels like nothing short of a miracle. The fact that I was able to commit to such a physically demanding daily routine is [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2021-06-14T00:30:00+00:00June 14th, 2021|Categories: Habit Making, Marriage, Preparation, Purpose, Relationships, Routines, Success|Comments Off

About Melissa Schlies

What to do When Finding Your Routine Feels Impossible (repost)

When You Feel Behind & It’s Already Fall

Three Things To Remember As Fall Begins

Simon Biles, The Lies We Believe About Rest, & An Announcement

Creating Routines With Your Spouse Step 5: Repeat

Creating Routines With Your Spouse Step 4: Keep Talking

Three Simple Routines to Grow Your Marriage

Creating Routines With Your Spouse Step 3: Start Small

Creating Routines With Your Spouse Step One: Name What Matters

ABOUT ME

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