Author Archives

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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Jenga With a Twist

You know you wanna playMaking your own Jenga with a Twist game couldn’t be easier. All you need is one Jenga set, some Modge Podge, scissors, a sponge applicator (to brush on the Modge Podge) and the free, pre-made printable that you can download by clicking here. I’m including the link for Drunken Jenga at the bottom of the post because I don’t want you to get the two mixed up–our goal here is family fun, NOT contributing to the delinquency of minors. 😉

Once you have printed your download, all you have to do is cut out each of the twist pieces and use the Modge Podge to affix them (one per block) to every Jenga block except two. There will be two blank blocks in the game–which just means that no extra twist is added to those turns.

This really is a fun, family friendly game that even my uber-cool, nearly grown, young adult children didn’t think was cheesy (and they think pretty much everything is cheesy so…) We’ve played it several times and always have lots of fun because different people pick different blocks each time therefore the game never gets stale. Best of all, the assembly is super-simple so you can make and play it all in the same day–just make sure that you allow enough time for the Modge Podge to dry.

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Drunken Jenga

C'mon...You Know You Wanna Play

Drunken JengaIf you liked our Jenga with a Twist game but thought that you’d like to take it up a notch, you’ve come to the right place!

Making your own Drunken Jenga game couldn’t be easier. All you need is one Jenga set, some Modge Podge, scissors, a sponge applicator (to brush on the Modge Podge) and the free, pre-made printable that you can download by clicking here.

Once you have printed your download, all you have to do is cut out each of the game pieces and use the Modge Podge to affix them (one per block) to every Jenga block except two. There will be two blank blocks in the game–which just means that no extra drunkenness is added to those turns.  😉

This game makes for a FabYOUlously fun night of grown up shenanigans but please play responsibly! This game is only for people who are of legal drinking age and who will NOT be driving after playing (nothing sucks the fun out of an evening more than a DUI–or worse!)

cropped-Fab-6.png

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Finding Love…Again

Heart with bandages

Valentine’s Day is nearly upon us and even though I am now happily married and thoroughly enjoy the holiday (as contrived and overly commercialized as it may be), I remember those years when Valentine’s Day made me want to scream. I remember my senior year of college when my long-time boyfriend and I had broken up and all of my sorority sisters were receiving beautiful bouquets and stuffed animals and all I got was…well, let’s be honest here, all I got was drunk. 

Since that day all those years ago, I’ve experienced some pretty decent Valentine’s Days but I’ve also experienced the post-divorce loneliness of wondering if I would ever enjoy a happy Valentine’s Day again.

Thankfully, I no longer have to worry about that. My first marriage may have been a disaster but I didn’t let the trauma from that experience prevent me from finding love again. It might not be easy, but becoming romantically fulfilled again after a devastating loss (be it divorce, break-up or even death) absolutely is possible.

If you think that you are ready to test the waters and explore the possibility of discovering love again, here are a few tips that can help you in your pursuit.

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Meditation for Non-Meditators

A Beginner's Guide to Mindfulness

Meditation for non meditators (1)Oh how I wish that I were better at meditating. Everywhere I look I see articles citing the numerous benefits of meditation and I’ll confess–I could really use a shot of serenity in my busy whirlwind of a life. My personal meditation hang-up has always stemmed from feeling like I simply don’t have the time to commit to a consistent meditation practice. However; the more research I do on the subject, the more I have come to realize that I really don’t have time to not meditate.  For starters–the mental and physical health benefits are quite impressive (click here for a list of meditation health benefits) plus–the practice of mindfulness is one that can come in handy at any given moment of my day.

So…despite my numerous reasons for believing that I will be TERRIBLE at meditation (my inability to sit still without fidgeting, my constantly active “monkey mind”, the knowledge that as soon as I get myself settled into a meditative state, I WILL have to go pee…) I have decided to commit to a 30 day meditation challenge.  I figure that calling it a “challenge” might help to keep my naturally competitive nature motivated enough to stick with it.  

My research on the topic of meditation has shown me that there are really only ten things that are needed in order to get started with a meditation practice.  Those things are…

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Infuse Your Water–Infuse Your Health

Water

It’s the beginning of January as I type this post so naturally I (along with millions of other people) am thinking about things that I’d like to do differently in the coming year. I do not make resolutions anymore because I’ve found that they just don’t work for me. Instead, I set intentions for the coming year.

This year, one of the FabYOUlous intentions that I am setting for myself is to become more health conscious. I’m not resolving to go to the gym more or to give up red meat, but I am intending to live a more healthy lifestyle by becoming more mindful of the way in which I take care of my body.

One simple change that I intend to make is to drink more water and LESS SODA. Unfortunately, simple does not necessarily mean easy. This change will be a difficult one for me because I am pretty much addicted to the fizzy goodness that is Coca Cola. However; I know that soda is BAD for me so I am determined to find a way to replace some of my soda consumption with good ol’ H20 (for a breakdown of several little known benefits of drinking more water click here)