Where are you from originally and how long have you lived in Houston?
I grew up outside of Philadelphia, I went to college in Washington, DC, and this year marks my 20th anniversary of living in Houston!
Child(ren) and Age(s)?
I have two boys. Adam is 13 and Dylan is 11. I also have two fur babies, Lacy and Gizmo.
One thing people would be surprised to know about you…
I am more introverted than people think. I come off as a total extrovert and I love making real connections with people, but I need lots of quiet downtime too, so I guess I am really an ambivert!
People also love to know that I am an identical twin, and my mom didn’t know she was having twins until my feet popped out!
Favorite local activities to do in Houston?
Houston has amazing food, and I don’t know how I lived my entire life without queso until I moved here! I am pretty addicted to Vibrant since it opened as well. I also love to spend time outside as much as possible, which is usually on a baseball field watching my boys play.
Do you have a favorite family-friendly restaurant in the area?
We love breakfast at Tiny’s number 5, and we have a Valentines Day tradition of taking our kids there every year for dinner. I think this year will be number seven!
What local places do you go to for pampering and/or mom’s night out?
I go to Mario at Estilo for my cut and color and I think he is the best! I get my nails done in West U at the tiniest place, but I love it so much because I am there alone so it is super quiet. I’m scared if I share the name I will never get an appointment again! I can watch a show, read, or just relax. I also think The Houston Ayurveda Center is a best kept secret in Houston. Their treatments are to die for.
Are you involved in a business venture, a local organization, a creative endeavor, or in the corporate world? Please share!
I began teaching meditation in Houston four years ago. I became passionate about sharing meditation and mindfulness because these tools have had such an impact on me, and truly helped to transform my life. My practice helped me to feel more patient, less reactive, more compassionate toward myself and others, more confident, and to sleep better.
I teach in a very relatable and authentic way, and my gift is making these tools feel accessible to people, because often people are intimidated by them. I work with total newbies, and those wanting to rekindle or deepen a practice. To find out more, or to contact me, check out www.hotmesstomindfulmom.com I also share lots of freebies on the site!
I have recently begun teaching Kundalini Yoga in Houston at Unwind Meditation Studio. Kundalini is different than most types of yoga because it combines movement, relaxation, and meditation all in one class. It focuses a lot on balancing the nervous system and the glands, and helping people bust through blocks that are holding them back. It is amazing!
One of my proudest accomplishments is having my Hot Mess to Mindful Mom trilogy published. My newest book, “One Minute to Zen” was recently released. I share many personal stories and thirty-five ways to destress in one minute or less. We all need tools in our toolbox to use in traffic, if the kids are fighting, or we just feel overwhelmed, stressed, and exhausted. All three books are life-changing.
I recently developed the Self-Care Reboot with fellow teacher, Lindsay Parmer. The Reboot is a simple to implement five day program where we share our favorite simple ways to revive your energy and practice self-care. It is perfect for busy moms looking to learn a few simple techniques that seamlessly fit into their lives.
How has the Houston community been instrumental in getting you to where you are now?
I have found tons of support in the Houston community, from friends to local groups that have asked me to speak, as well as corporations that have brought me in to help their employees deal with stress. This goes to show how much these tools are needed!
What is the best advice for juggling mommyhood and running a business (or volunteering, working, etc)?
I could go on forever about this one! I have learned from experience that there is no such thing as achieving balance and then maintaining it forever. I had to really work through that expectation! What I have found is that we feel balanced, then something happens to stress us out or make us feel overwhelmed, and we need to use a tool like meditation, or journaling, or exercising to help us ride the wave and feel balanced again. Self-compassion has been huge too. Before I started working I had every single T crossed and every i dotted. Nothing ever feel through the cracks. Since I began working there have been a few slip ups, and I’ve had to give myself grace and understand that I am human and doing the best I can. My own meditation and yoga practice has helped so much with that. I feel that it is good for our kids to see us make mistakes and then for us to model self-compassion. Mistakes are how we learn and grow.
What would you tell the old “You” before you had kids?
When I was a new mom I thought that being a martyr meant I was doing things “right.” That if I was last on my list I was somehow proving my love to my family. The problem with being last, is that my kids got an overwhelmed, depleted, and exhausted version of mom that was no fun. When I began spending a few minutes a day on myself I was able to bring a more patient, present and joyful version to my family, and the world. A little bit of self-care goes a long, long way. So I would tell the old me to meditate and practice a bit of self-care every day.
Funniest shortcut/routine for helping you through parenthood?
Learning to delegate has saved me. Because running a business and a household is so busy, I have created a team to help me with some of my “mom duties.” Amazon Prime and Instacart are literally my besties.
