Saying No – Melissa Schlies

Three Things To Do If You Didn’t Get the Vacation You Needed

Earlier this week, I woke up feeling cold. It’s finally been cool enough to open our windows in Pennsylvania. Only one morning our windows were still open, and it was forty-eight degrees outside. It felt like I went to bed and it was summer time, then I woke up and Now it is fall. Where did this year go? In some ways, many of us can take solace in the fact that 2020 isn’t dragging its heels. As, let’s be honest—none of us will be sad to see it go. But probably like me, you too are feeling that in [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2020-09-16T20:53:52+00:00September 17th, 2020|Categories: Balance, Health, Lead, Learn, Love, Love Learn Lead, Practice, Saying No, Self Care, Staycation|Comments Off

When Change, Changes You

This past summer, Tony and I grew four tomato plants out on our deck. If you follow me on Instagram, you probably saw some of our first fruits, as I was pretty excited to get a crop. But then, blossom end rot began to overtake our San Marzano plant. For every healthy tomato, it seemed there were two that began to blacken and wrinkle from the bottom up. I was so discouraged. Instead of harvesting red ripe tomatoes, every time I went out to the porch it seemed I was bringing back little, rotting, baby green ones. It was depressing. [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2019-09-27T14:54:55+00:00September 30th, 2019|Categories: Acceptance, Change, Faith, Hope, perseverance, Saying No, Uncategorized|Comments Off

My Summer Bucket List

“Summer is the annual permission slip to be lazy. To do nothing and have it count for something. To lie in the grass and count the stars. To sit on a branch and study the clouds.” —Regina Brett Friends, can you believe it is the first day of August? My mind can’t even wrap itself around this fact. Though this means we technically have seven weeks left of summer, it feels like we only have four. Many of us have a fall schedule that begins when September does, cutting our summers short. In other words, Summer is going to be [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2019-07-29T16:09:04+00:00August 1st, 2019|Categories: Balance, Habit Making, Health, Lead, Learn, Love, Love Learn Lead, Preparation, Saying No, Uncategorized|Comments Off

Learn: 5 Tips I’m Learning About Self Care

It was a Tuesday, and we were in Tuscany. We had driven over an hour to the small medieval city of Montalcino known most for its Brunello wine. Only the last thing on my mind was wine tasting or the way the sun warmly reflected off it’s streets made of stone. I had to pee. We’d found parking in a lot below the wall of Montalcino which meant we had to climb the steep hill leading up to the city gate. As soon as we arrived, I told Tony the first thing we had to do was find a bathroom. [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2019-02-25T15:47:42+00:00February 28th, 2019|Categories: Adulting, Balance, Courage, Health, Lead, Learn, Love, Love Learn Lead, Mental Health, Saying No, Travel, Uncategorized|Comments Off

Never Enough Time

One Sunday morning recently, I poured myself a cup of my new decaf Italian Espresso Roast from Dean’s Beans. Then, donning my Red Sox hoodie and yoga pants, I made my way to the big chair that sits in the corner of our living room. I picked up one of my favorite books that I haven’t read in years and prepared to settle in for some much desired chill time. Only, I couldn’t focus. The list of the things I could or should be doing started growing in my brain. After being sick for a good chunk of January, I felt [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2019-02-16T14:35:13+00:00February 18th, 2019|Categories: Adulting, Anxiety, Balance, Faith, Fear, Health, Saying No, Uncategorized|6 Comments

Christmas lights

When I was a kid, after Thanksgiving, I would always beg my parents to set up our Christmas Tree as soon as possible. This meant going out and searching around a cold lot with my dad and older sister to pick out the best looking tree. We’d bring it home, Dad would put it in the stand, then we’d hold the light cords as he carefully spiraled them around the tree. One year, after stringing the lights, my dad got up on a ladder to put the tree topper on. Only, there were too many branches at the top, so [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2018-12-04T21:08:04+00:00December 17th, 2018|Categories: Anxiety, Balance, Christmas, Health, Saying No, Uncategorized|Comments Off

When God Says No

Have you ever wanted something so badly, but it didn’t come? Have you ever prayed a prayer that rose from so deep in your soul, it felt as if your whole body prayed it? And then, God was silent. Or worse the door you were sure He was going to open wide, seemed to slam in your face. Without warning or a reason you could see, you were sent reeling. Like asking your best friend to be there for a big life moment, you asked God to be there for you, and He didn’t show up. It almost feels like [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2018-11-05T15:29:33+00:00November 26th, 2018|Categories: Faith, Hope, perseverance, Rejection, Saying No, Uncategorized, Waiting|2 Comments

The Hardest No

“…The very things you think you need most desperately are the things that can transform you the most profoundly when you do finally decide to release them.” —Shauna Niequist Sometimes, the hardest no’s in our lives are the ones we have to tell ourselves. They’re the ones that often begin with a whisper, “I am not going to have dessert this week.” “I am only going to have one drink.” Only they’re ignored when the stress gets too much, or everyone else is having another. We don’t listen to the whisper, so we say it a little louder to ourselves. [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2018-11-19T12:18:46+00:00November 19th, 2018|Categories: Balance, Courage, discipline, Failure, Health, Hope, Making Decisions, perseverance, Saying No, Uncategorized|1 Comment

Love Learn Lead November 8, 2018

It hardly seems possible that we’re already into November. Perhaps it’s because it took until the middle of October to finally begin to feel like fall. But, as soon as it was cool enough to wear big sweaters and boots, I had a feeling that before we knew it, the Holiday’s would be on our door step. Thankfully though, we have a few weeks yet before Thanksgiving, and a little more time to enjoy the beauty of this season. For me, this fall has looked like coming up with new paleo recipes involving the apples we picked at a local [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2018-11-03T14:15:03+00:00November 8th, 2018|Categories: Change, Courage, Freedom, Lead, Leadership, Learn, Love, Love Learn Lead, Making Decisions, Saying No, Uncategorized|Comments Off

No-vember

My favorite word growing up was, “Yes.” If you think about it, your’s probably was too. It was the answer we wanted for every good question: “Mom, can I ride my bike with my friends?” “Yes.” “Dad, can we go out for ice cream?” “Yes.” “Mom, can I stay up late?” “No.” (bummer) “No” just doesn’t have the same happy ring to it as “yes” does. Especially because it usually means we’re not getting what we want. But “yes” isn’t only our favorite answer, for many of us, it is also our favorite reply. In High School and college, yes [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2018-11-03T14:15:37+00:00November 5th, 2018|Categories: Courage, Fear, Health, Making Decisions, Saying No|4 Comments

Three Things To Do If You Didn’t Get the Vacation You Needed

When Change, Changes You

My Summer Bucket List

Learn: 5 Tips I’m Learning About Self Care

Never Enough Time

Christmas lights

When God Says No

The Hardest No

Love Learn Lead November 8, 2018

No-vember

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