You’ve seen it, heard it, and embraced it most likely several times a day as a dog owner, and if you aren’t currently one, I couldn’t encourage you more to go out and find a rescue that’s searching for their very own human. As we move into the summer months finally and still work long hours at our desks, I’m so kindly reminded with loud barks and furry paws every little while to get up, stretch, and get outside. Here’s a toast to our dogs, and the most beautiful hearts within them. 🐾

(PS, if you’re wanting to learn more about the dog-mom life here at HB, stay tuned because this summer is going to hold lots of adventures for us! These adventures will provide tips and tricks on how to take your dogs with you more often and what products I’ve found work best for said adventuring! Yay!)

 

Protecting Your Energy: The Power of Mindful Choices

For years I’ve been searching for the right path. Aren’t we all? It seems like the more we dig deeper, the less we find out. The more stressors pile on and the less confidence we have in knowing that we’re right where we should be. This time will be different, this time will create less obstacles to the end goal, it’s an exhausting game, don’t you think?

Choices in Life: What Do You Make Of Them?

Protecting our energy for the things we love most is of utmost importance, especially with all of the extra add-ons in our lives like social media, shorts, and endless work hours. No more are we 9-5ing it, no more are we turning “off” now and then, we’re just draining our social and personal batteries until we start running around saying phrases like, “I just can’t relax.”

Sound familiar?

I’ve had enough of this feeling and so I’ve decided to change it…and you can, too. Why do we have such attachments to problems that make us unfulfilled? Why do we have any desire to stay stuck in a situation that we’re not finding joy in? We only have one lap around the track friends, so why are we wasting it doing something we don’t love??  Dealing with change? Check out this post.

 

 

 

What My Dogs Taught Me About Energy

I’ve talked about my furbabies a million times on the blog. They are my besties and although they may be the cause of some of this 33-year-old gray hair, I have no complaints. They are full of beautiful energy and a source of encouragement for me to change my environment. I want to be surrounded by fun and love and kindness, not negative energy that strips me of my enjoyment in this life. Lifestyle Transformation: Your Environment Matters More Than You Think

Negative energy can come from many different sources. Maybe it’s a family member or a co-worker, or maybe it’s just yourself on a bad day. Whichever it may be, it’s up to you to work on changing it. There’s no room for stress-filled days in this life, and although stress will come and go, it’s something that you can work on choosing to be with, or be without.

I’m choosing without, are you with me?

 

 

From Distraction to Presence: How My Dogs Keep Me Grounded

It’s time for a new chapter in this life, and I’m ready to roll with it…taking my dogs (and pets in general) as a source of the purest kind of inspiration. Gratitude is so often forgotten about, so we just go about life moving through the motions. But as I paused my make-believe tv show today because they were barking at me, I recognized how ridiculous I was being.

Right then and there, I was choosing an escape route. From what I need to do or from what I want to do, because both tasks would take work. It’s so easy to just turn on a show or scroll on your phone and zone out while you let the hours roll by.

It’s so easy to become mindless in a world where becoming more mindful should be the most important part of our day.

 

 

It’s just like when you go on vacation to a place much different than your own, and find such beauty on that part of the earth. It’s incredible and majestic-like because it’s not your own. However, the people that call that place home, find the same feeling coming to a place like yours. A feeling of new-ness, wonder, and enjoyment from the unknown escape around them.

Travel is something that has a way of opening your mind to new places. I think about several travel spots multiple times throughout my day, whether it be an image that reminds me of it or a person talking about something similar. And every single time the thought bubble pops into my head, I realize that I need more.

Tips For Maintaining Healthy Eating While Traveling

More exploration, more awareness, more gratitude for the everyday life I am living. Dogs have this way about them that every little thing is a huge deal!! They look so forward to those handful of moments they get to spend outdoors each day. They look so forward to seeing you when you return that they trip over things and literally run to the door or window when you arrive. That pure joy and excitement and awe is what inspires me to do the same. So why is it so hard to get there?

 

 

Pause. Breathe. Reflect. The Practice That Changes Everything

I want you to go on a mindfulness journey with me.

One where you can close your eyes each time you get a chance to sit outside of work on a 5 minute break, or after work when you can fully unwind, relax and recharge from the mother nature surrounding us. Something strange happens when we put down our phones and close our eyes…

We start to think…

We start to think about where we are (or aren’t), and where we want to be (or would rather be). We think about our future and how we would spend our time if “we didn’t have to” do something that doesn’t bring us joy. My friend, life can really be what you make of it. You really can be what you choose to become. It’s just a matter of becoming who you were meant to be by practicing, just like anything else. Choices in Life: What Do You Make Of Them?

 

 

Can you stop what you’re doing tomorrow and decide to do something else instead? Decide to take 3 deep breaths or stretch for a few minutes instead of chugging Red Bulls or scrolling Facebook? I promise you will find peace and gratitude in these movements, and feel so much better because of it.

The thing is, we don’t have to “schedule” time in to “relax.” We don’t have to pretend we have all the answers on how to relax or where to relax or that we even have to relax like others around us. Maybe relaxing doesn’t look to you like a facial, massage or nail appointment. Maybe instead it looks like working on something you love, creating the world you want to be in one step at a time, or spending an extra hour each day walking with your significant other and hugging your furballs before bed.

My point is to not feel confined in the space you’re in. You as a human being have the precious capability of doing anything you set out to achieve, and I’m here to cheer you on the entire way through. Life is a challenge, but making it challenging is a choice. Choice your challenges wisely and I guarantee you’ll have more gratitude for the way you approach your future.

<3

 

Thank You For Reading The Unexpected Mental Health Boost of Being a Dog Mom

Sharing glimpses into my life as a dog mom has become more than just storytelling—it’s a way for me to reflect, stay grounded, and hopefully encourage you to do the same. This is how being a dog mom boosts my mental health. If any part of this journey resonated with you, drop me a comment below.  I hope it serves as a gentle reminder that you’re not alone in navigating the messy, beautiful balance of life, love, and mental clarity.

Here’s to more presence, more peace, and more paws at our feet. 🐾
Until next time, friend. 💛