I recently got back from my very first trip to Mexico. I know, I know, I am practically the only adult over 50 on the west coast of North America who’d never been there before. I can’t explain exactly how that happened but I’m glad I remedied the situation. It wasn’t just any old trip though. I spent 2 weeks at MEA, aka The Modern Elder Academy, which is a “Midlife Wisdom School” outside of Todos Santos in Baja, Mexico. Part of their mission statement is “to build a community of inspired and empowered midlifers” which is, of course, right up my alley. Like me, they believe that “Midlife isn’t a crisis. It’s a calling.”

After the last 18 months, this fall feels tempered somehow. Some days I can easily tap into the joy of it all, but more days than I’d like to admit, the shadows creep in. I’m an optimist by nature and professionally adept at flipping things to a positive perspective, but pandemic fatigue, the reality and grief of climate change, the enormous and increasingly dangerous political divides, the incredible BULLSH*T going on with women’s reproductive rights and the “normal” BS of being a woman alive in the world today — all of it — has manifested into a mental tug-of war in my head. So yeah, there are shadows. What’s a girl to do?

This recipe checks all my boxes because it’s audaciously simple and quick, super delish and gluten-free (i.e. potentially less inflammatory) by using falafel mix instead of the traditional bread crumbs or white flour. Falafel mix is easy to find (I got mine at Trader Joe’s), is mainly made from ground fava beans and chickpeas and is flavored with onion, garlic and Mediterranean spices. In other words, interesting and flavorful.

When I dropped my son off at his college I initially thought I was fine. Then I ended up quietly cried on and off all the way home. It wasn’t just that my baby was leaving home or that he would be leaving an empty chair at the kitchen table or that I wouldn’t be able to hear his big laugh or trip over his big shoes on a daily basis. It was that this signified the end of a chapter in my life and I didn’t really know how the next chapter would unfold. 

Summer is the season of tomatoes, zucchini, corn and green beans, so why not add them all together and make a delicious and simple summer succotash? I started making this last summer when I had an abundance of tomatoes and zucchini in my farm box, along with green beans and basil in my garden. It's the perfect companion for grilled salmon or chicken or whatever you fancy. I started making it again a few weeks ago and it's too good not to share!

Well. Here we are. After 16 months, we’re pretty much on the other side of whatevertheheckthatwas.

And while it mostly feels like a gigantic relief, there’s a part of me that already feels nostalgic for pieces of what I was calling the Great Big Pause, especially those first few months. What a remarkable thing it was to have all the busy-ness of regular life simply stop. There was nowhere to be. The streets were quiet. Hardly any planes flew overhead. It was surreal. There were certainly a lot of question marks about the future, but for me, that often felt like an opportunity to stay in the present in a way that I’ve never really done before.

I’m back in Seattle after a glorious visit to NYC where I got to see family, friends and, as one of them remarked, got to walk around the city while “bumping into my biography” in all kinds of places. This was the longest visit I’ve had there, probably since my kids were born, and I spent lots of time feeling enormous waves of gratitude and reflecting on how I got to where I am now in my life. If you had told twenty-year-old me that I would end up living the life I have now I likely would have been astonished. Never would I have imagined myself on the west coast! I’m also pretty sure I couldn’t have pointed to Seattle on a map. There was no such thing as a Life Coach or a Health Coach back then, and literally the only green vegetables I ate were cucumbers, celery and iceberg lettuce.

If you’re reading this, chances are that you're part of the huge number of exhausted, depleted, sleep deprived humans who are experiencing what some experts are calling "an insomnia epidemic." I can totally relate. To say "I get it" would be an understatement. I've battled insomnia for years. I've tried everything - seriously - EVERYTHING - in my attempts to sleep through the night like a "normal" person.

I’m neither a doctor nor a trained sleep specialist - although I have personally seen my share of both. What I am is a certified Life and Health Coach who has worked with countless people over the years and insomnia has been a common complaint for many. Whether you have problems falling asleep, staying asleep or both, chances are you’ll find something here to help you. Each of the things on this list has worked for me and my clients at one time or another. It’s my sincere hope that you find some thing or things that can be a magic bullet to help you slay your insomnia and get back to the business of sleeping and living.

What can be said about this past year that hasn’t already been said? 2020 started out with so much promise and fanfare and then morphed into one of the most collectively stressful and disquieting years in recent history. At this point the general consensus is that we’re all happy to see the back of this year and say hello to 2021, albeit with cautious optimism.

However, like all years, 2020 was not without its gifts. Here are some things that I learned or remembered in 2020…

Ever since I started what I like to call my "Coaching 2.0" journey, I've had lots of people say to me, "Lisa, what exactly is the difference between a Life Coach and a Health Coach?" With that in mind I have created a little primer. Without further ado, here is your guide to Life Coaching vs. Health Coaching, and a look at how some kind of coaching might be helpful in your life.

Depending on our age, genetics, beliefs and tastes, we get to decide what lifestyle choices work for us. You probably know some people who are allergic to shellfish, some who can't be near a peanut and some who won't discuss eating anything that resembles an animal. And then there are the folks who are gluten-free, dairy-free, kosher, Paleo or just can't tolerate onions.

There can be shifts throughout our lives as well. How many of you are wondering why you have acquired an extra 5-10 pounds when you've been eating the same way for the last decade? Things change. The older we get the more difficult it can be to lose weight and so we can choose to adapt accordingly.

The point is, no single way of eating works for everyone all the time….

I believe it’s important to find things that feel nourishing even if they have little or nothing at all to do with food. Nourishment can be about more than just the food we eat. Living a healthy lifestyle involves nourishing all your parts: body, mind and spirit.

Right before I turned 50 I was in a bit of a panic. I mean, let’s be honest, the cultural myths around being a woman over the age of 50 are overwhelmingly dismal. Now, a couple of years later and past the big 5-0 mark, I’d like to set the record straight: your fifties can be better than OK. In fact, they can be a total transformation in the best of ways.

For years I waxed poetic about my morning coffee. The flavor, the aroma, the ritual of it every morning. It was an anchor in my day and got my heart started in more ways than one. While I haven’t fallen out of love with coffee, I have a mad rush on the ancient but oh-so-trendy matcha green tea.

Somewhere in the process of becoming "Mommy" I lost something fundamental: I lost contact with my Essential Self. I would catch glimpses of her from time to time but she was like a shadow, getting bigger when the light was right, taunting me with her elusive and mercurial appearance.

For years I waxed poetic about my morning coffee. The flavor, the aroma, the ritual of it every morning. It was an anchor in my day and got my heart started in more ways than one. While I haven’t fallen out of love with coffee, I have a mad rush on the ancient but oh-so-trendy matcha green tea.