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Melissa Venable

Rockin' a FabYOUlous life as an author, speaker, blogger, coach and consumer of way too much caffeine. Let me help you to ditch the drab and find your FAB--it's possible and it's FUN!

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31 Questions for 31 Days

October 2016

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If you’ve studied any philosophy in high school or college, you’ve no doubt heard of The Socratic Method. It is a form of inquiry (named after the classical Greek philosopher, Socrates) that is based upon asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to illuminate ideas.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been one to ask a lot of questions. I’m sure that this sometimes annoyed my parents and exasperated my teachers, but asking questions is how I learned to satisfy my curiosity about the many interesting things in the world around me. Once I was in college however; my academic advisor taught me the value of asking questions in order to gain understanding not just of the world around me, but also of the things that were going on inside of me.

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Lessons I Learned While Running (and Training for) my First Half-Marathon

A Little About Running--A Lot About Life...

half-marathon-lessonsI DID IT!!! I just finished my very first ever half-marathon! For those of you who don’t run, that is a distance of 13.1 miles…13.1 LONG miles!

I have plenty of runner friends who run marathons and half-marathons like they are no big deal, but that’s not me. To me, a half-marathon is a VERY big deal. Like, HUGE.

I have always been blessed to be naturally thin and in decent shape but I have NEVER considered myself a runner. I’ve led an active lifestyle of playing softball, hiking, bicycling etc. but for me, running always felt more like punishment than pleasure. Why then did I (at the age of 46) decide to train for and run a half-marathon?

The answer: temporary insanity, AND the desire to push myself to do something that I never thought was possible for me.

It wasn’t easy (not even close) but now that the race is behind me, I can definitely say that the sense of accomplishment of having crossed the finish line is well worth the effort that it took to achieve it.

In addition to the “bragging rights” that come along with finishing a half-marathon, I also learned some valuable lessons along the way–some about running, but mostly about life…

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Seven Fab-YOU-lous Ways to Welcome Fall

welcome-fallI am typing this on September 22nd, 2016–the day of the Fall Equinox. This is the day when the dog days of summer officially transition into the crisp, colorful season of fall. Here where I live in northern Colorado, we are already experiencing cooler temps and the leaves have begun to change. I will always be a sun worshiping, summer lover, but even so, I have to confess that there is something special about this time of year that makes me look forward to it every time it rolls around.

I think one of the things that I love most about Fall is the coziness that it brings. Whereas summer is a time for frolicking outdoors and spending the long days adventuring in the sun, sand and surf; Fall is a time to bring it all home. The days are shorter and the evenings have a nip in the air. We spend more time at home with the people we love and settle in as we prepare for winter. We watch football, make soup in the crock-pot, swap out our tank tops for sweatshirts and exchange (at least in my case) our ball gloves for knitting needles.

Regardless of how you like to spend your fall days, here are seven suggestions on ways to usher in the season and celebrate all that it has to offer…

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When to Grind–When to Unwind

How Down-Time Lifts You UP

downtime-that-lifts-you-up-1I have a confession to make. I haven’t worked on FabYOUlous Life in FOUR days. I haven’t worked on the website, I haven’t written in my book, I haven’t posted to social media, I haven’t done anything. I also haven’t run in over a week despite the fact that I have a half-marathon coming up this weekend. Instead, my hubby and I loaded up the car and took a road trip to Kansas to visit family and go to the Kansas State Fair. I had packed my laptop and my running shoes, but alas they never left my suitcase.

Now, to some people this might seem like no big deal–but to me, this is HUGE.

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Swedish Cake

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Photo by: Sparrow & Snow  – Federica Giacomazzi

Gentrify scenester four dollar toast photo booth post-ironic you probably haven’t heard of them selfies meditation. Kitsch synth post-ironic, fashion axe street art cardigan Carles meditation meh squid listicle. Kitsch plaid cold-pressed mumblecore Bushwick. Literally flannel ennui kale chips, umami artisan Neutra scenester fingerstache next level kitsch.