Adventures with My Forties

Hello! I meant to record my first episode of the year in January, but life went sideways with the epic fires in Los Angeles. To get back into podcasting, I'm sharing my experiences with the Palisades and Eaton Fires. And yes, I have returned to therapy because wow, I have a lot to process.    Show notes will be available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com. Thank you for listening and it feels so good to be back. 

This week, I took a moment to step away from the holiday madness and reflect on my 24 in '24 project. What were my successes? What were my flops? And where did I make space for a little magic? Show notes will be available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com. Thank you for listening and I'll see you in 2025!

Part 3 of my three part miniseries on burnout. In this episode, I discuss the reasons behind the epic burnout I experienced after volunteering too much for my kids' activities. In a nutshell, my pride and ego got hooked on the myth of the supermom and as a result, I lost touch with my authentic self. Show notes will be available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com. Thanks for listening! 

Part two of my burnout miniseries. In this episode, I describe the ways I healed and recovered from epic. Show notes are available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com. Thanks for listening! 

A couple years ago, I experienced some massive burnout. This is Part One of a miniseries about that adventure. This is the story of my burnout, the events that resulted in me feeling like my soul had been reduced to a heap of ashes.    Show notes will be available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com. Thanks for listening! 

This week, I'm giving my annual holidays pep talk. I love this time of year and I actually enjoy the chaos, but it's also so easy to slide into stress and panic over sh*t that doesn't actually matter. I always need to remind myself that it's not about creating a holiday that mimics what I see on Pinterest or social media. It's about enjoying the holidays in a way that is meaningful for my family.    Show notes are available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com. Thanks for listening! 

My Read Around the World quest celebrated its first birthday last week, and I celebrated by taking some time to ruminate and reflect on the unexpected adventures (hi, Brazil!) and the magic this reading project has already created. I'm so excited to keep reading around the world and I welcome whatever adventures head my way (so long as they do not interfere with my bedtime)(or involve reptiles).    Show notes are available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com and while you are there, be sure to sign up for my newsletter so you don't miss any exciting news. 

Confession: I made this episode as a pep talk for future Courtney. In the not so distant future, my Read Around the World quest will reach the I's, and the I's include Israel, and folks on social media have some strong opinions about Israel. People have already suggested I should skip Israel. I won't be skipping Israel because (1) I'm Jewish and (2) that really defeats the purpose of the project. I'm trying to expose myself to new voices, not limit those voices based on political beliefs; and if I start eliminating countries based on political beliefs, what will be left? Maybe Luxembourg?    So for this week's episode, I gave myself a pep talk about how to handle the hate that shows up in the comments section of my social media posts. I reflect on what I've learned so far, so that when the hate shows up in my posts, I can be resilient and not get scared away by some nasty trolls.    Show notes are available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com. Thanks for listening! 

I feel very self-conscious about posting this episode, but I also feel strongly that I should. Friendship is messy and complicated! A good friend can change your life for the better--but so can a toxic friend. Ending a toxic friendship can help us learn more about ourselves and the boundaries we need and deserve.   Subscribe for updates right here. Thanks for listening!

Ten reasons why I had an absolutely incredible time in São Paulo, and I cannot wait to go back. Show notes are available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com. Thanks for listening! 

Am I really famous in Brazil? My TikTok video about The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas went viral in Brazil, and I have received hundreds of comments and DM's telling me that I'm now famous there--but it's just too surreal for me to comprehend. this week, I talk about my adventure with going viral in Brazil and how that experience has changed me for the better. Show notes are available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com. Next week, I'm going to São Paulo to speak at a literary festival, and I'll be posting about those adventures on TikTok @CourtneyHenningNovak and IG @CourtneyHenningNovak. 

I am on a quest to read a book by an author from every country in the world in alphabetical order and since my last episode, that project blew up on social media and in two weeks, I'm going to Brazil to speak at a literary festival. I know! This was not on my 2024 Bingo card, but I am embracing and loving this adventure. show notes will be available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com and feel free to email me at CourtneyHenningNovak.com. Thanks for listening! 

It's Girl Scout cookie season here in Pasadena, and Pippa LOVES selling cookies. She learns a lot of great things from the program, but I have a few issues with the way it breeds competition, whips girls into a frenzy over crappy prizes, adds to my mental load, and exposes girls to diet culture. Show notes are available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com. Thanks for listening!

Happy New Year! Another year, another project! Instead of resolutions, I like to concoct lists of projects that I hope to complete during the new year. I got this idea from one of my favorite podcasts, Happier With Gretchen Rubin, and I've been doing it since 2022. Here's the 24 in '24 list:  No soda or caffeine.  Take an introductory class at a rock climbing gym. Read 100 books. Bonus points: read at least 25 books for Project Read Around the World. Attend 100 hot yoga classes. This includes the hot pilates classes offered at my studio if I decide to expand my repertoire. Also, my studio offers streaming classes that were recorded during the Covid shutdowns, and if I take those classes outside in the heat while traveling, I'll count those to my goal. Write the rough draft of my third novel.  Paint a room in our house. Or the front door. Or a mural on the bleak bare wall that's out back by our lemon tree. Point is: paint something at home. Try 24 new recipes. My goal was to try 23 recipes in 2023 and that didn't happen, but I'd like to give this another go. Record an audiobook. This is a longterm career goal. Hopefully putting it on this list will motivate me to take the time to learn how to record an audiobook and then invest the time in that project. Get 52 mega nature doses. Taking a neighborhood walk does not count. Things that do count: hikes; beach days; walks through botanical gardens; anything that gets me out of City Mode and into the healing presence of Mother Nature. Make a five year plan. Seems like the time to do this is ripe because I just turned 45, and holy shit, in five years I will turn FIFTY. Complete 24 craft projects. This is another do-ever from 2023. I didn't finish 23 craft projects last year, but I had fun trying. Let's see what happens this year. Help the kids prepare a family meal once a month. Each kid gets to pick a recipe and prepare it for dinner or breakfast. Pray for me. Plan a family trip to the Grand Canyon. I've learned that the best months to visit are March-May and that hotels can get booked a year in advance, so I want to do the research now so I can make it happen in 2025. Get 24 minutes of fresh air every day. Last year, Gretchen Rubin challenged her community of podcast listeners to get 23 minutes of fresh air, and I really liked that idea, but I never got momentum on it. (Probably because my dad was in the ICU for 10 days in February.) I'd like to do it this year, and so far, it's been a helpful reminder to get my butt outside. Fresh air feeds the soul. Tap dance 20 times. I think this was on my list in 2022? I always imagine myself tap dancing. Damnit, let's make it happen. Walk an average of 10,000 steps/day. On days that I practice hot yoga, I typically get 7000-8000 steps. This goal has been motivating me to walk extra to make up the deficit on hot yoga days. Record 25 podcast episodes. Create a TikTok 100 weekdays in a row (though if I actually make a weekend TikTok, that will count toward the streak) Visit the Gamble House. Take monthly family portraits. Learn how to make balloon animals. Visit The Broad (cool art museum in downtown L.A.)  Track time spent sitting vs. time spent standing for a month. Joy Tracking! Wherein I keep track of things that boost my wellness and happiness but are not part of this project (e.g. boardgames played; movies watched; new places visited) Show notes are available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com. Thank you for listening! 

It's October and nearly Halloween, and this year, I'm thinking a lot about witches. People tend to think of witches as evil but I love stories that reclaim witches and allow them to be good, strong and powerful. Why must a woman who practices magic be considered evil? Is the idea of the evil witch in the woods just another tool for controlling women, keeping them in line and fitting into the patriarchy's mold? Let's save the witches from patriarchal stereotypes because bitches love witches.   Show notes are available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com.

This week, I explore the question, Why do women love true crime? I myself listen to true crime podcasts and often wonder, Why do I love listening to these stories? And perhaps, more importantly: does my interest in true crime suggest some sort of moral deficiency on my part? Spoiler alert: I think my interest in true crime comes from a place of empathy and empowerment.   Show notes are available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com. Thanks for listening! 

Autumn is here! First, I reflect on ways to welcome the change of seasons. Then, since it's autumn, of course I need a new bucket list - but I swear, I first did some soul searching to make sure my fall bucket list would serve my happiness. After I created my fall bucket list, I created my Fall JOMO List: a list of all the things I will NOT be doing this fall.    Shownotes are available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com  

This week, I talk about my mind-body connection, or lack thereof, and how hot yoga and the enneagram are helping me rebuild my relationship with my body. Show notes are available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com. Thanks for listening! 

Every school day, when I drop my kids off, someone in the car line is a jerk or idiot or both. And this used to rile me up and I'd feel outraged at the injustices of car line. but recently I realized: what if the path to enlightenment is in car line? What if I stop letting other people steal my serenity over dumb things like car line? Someone is going to be rude and block the car line and make everyone wait while their prince or princess takes an absurdly long time to get out of the vehicle. I don't have to let this rudeness snatch my serenity.     Show notes are available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com   Thanks for listening! 

Hello! This week, I'm talking about Human Giver Syndrome and the ways women get sucked into doing work for other people's organizations. I talk about ways I got hijacked by other folks' agendas into doing volunteer work that doesn't actually align with my values and beliefs. Specifically, I'm looking at AYSO, Girl Scout cookies and the frenzied hell that is cookie season, and the PTA membership drive.    Show notes are available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com. 

I'm back! It's been over a year, and I finally have the time, energy and bandwidth to record a podcast episode. How are you? It's been too long. In this episode, I catch you up on the past year of my life. Long story short: I volunteered for too many things, and then my dad had some serious health issues. This led to some epic burnout, so my intentions for the upcoming school year are to (a) volunteer way less and (b) take the time to heal.    Shownotes are available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com   p.s. You are awesome! 

On Father's Day, the kids were sassy and rude, and I lost all my shits. It was not my proudest parenting hour. But then, I apologized and explained why I had overreacted to the kids, and we hugged and made up. While I would love to be the "perfect mom," my kids are entitled to my mistakes. If they think I am a superwoman who never makes mistakes, then they will beat themselves up when they invariably make mistakes. Life is messy, and mistakes are part of the journey. So rather than beat myself up for losing all my shits, I'm giving myself a trophy for apologizing to the kids. (Not an actual trophy, but that would be cool if they did give out motherhood trophies for that sort of thing.) Be sure to get your copy of my first novel, Confessions of an Imposter Room Mom. It's the perfect beach read. Or park read. Or waiting for the kids to finish soccer practice read!  Shownotes are available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com.  

It has been a month since my last episode and life has been a lot. My uncle died in mid-January and my grandma died on February 1. I was very close to both of them and have been exhausted from all my grief. But I think I am handling my grief for my uncle and grandma well - or, at least better than I handled grief when I was nineteen and lost my cousin Kym and grandpa. When I was nineteen, I buried my grief and pushed on with my life, and the grief festered. Now that I am forty-three, I am allowing myself to feel my grief and live a little more slowly. Grief sucks. But i'm getting better at embracing it.    Show notes are available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com. The music is Carefree 90s from Tune Tank - https://tunetank.com/t/4k8s/3740-carefree-90s. 

Last week, I told you about my 22 Projects in '22 to keep my momentum strong. To deepen my self-work this year, I am also launching Operation: Reclaim My Life. In this episode, I talk about why I picked "reclaim" to be my word of 2022 and my four areas of focus: Reclaim My House; Reclaim My Body; Reclaim My Inner Child; and Reclaim My Stories. Bonus: I also vent about pandemic life, including Julian's week of distance learning after being a close contact.    Show notes are available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com. The music is Carefree 90s from Tune Tank - https://tunetank.com/t/4k8s/3740-carefree-90s.   

Happy 2022! This week, I share the twenty-two projects I am pursuing in 2022 to keep my momentum strong. The projects range from "publish my first novel" to "get a posh trash can for the kitchen" and everything in between. Not all of these projects will happen, but this is my process and I'm excited to see what sticks and what gets abandoned.    Show notes are available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com. The music is "Carpe Diem" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License. 

This week, I talk about all the ways I was inspired by Julie Lythcott-Haims' book How to Raise An Adult: Break Free of The Overparenting Trap and Prepare Your Kid For Success. The book really delivers on its promise. It showed me the ways in which I have fallen into the overparenting trap and then it gave me lots of practical ideas for how I can change my ways. Spoiler alert: chores matter! Also: other parents might be crazy about the college arms race, but that doesn't mean we have to follow their lead.   Show notes are available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com. The music is "Carpe Diem" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License. 

The calendar year might begin on January 1, but the first day of school is the true beginning of the year. My kids returned to school on August 12, 2021 -- it was Julian's first day of kindergarten, Pippa's first day of third grade, their first day attending the same school ever, and the first day of "normal" school since March 2020. Whew! It seemed like an auspicious time to reflect on the 2021-22 school year. My mission statement for 2021-22 school year is: Kicking Ass and Healing. In this episode, I first talk about Healing, with a close look at the method I used to obtain some closure on the 2020-21 shit show. Then, I looked at ways to kick ass, including what "kicking ass" means for me this school year.    Show notes are available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com. The music is "Carpe Diem" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License. 

Holy eff, I don't know about you, but I am burned out from the pandemic. I feel a deep need to heal from this collective -- and personal -- traumatic experience. Now that school is out and my kids are both going to camp, I am thinking about what I want to do this summer to heal.  Show notes are available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com. The music is "Carpe Diem" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License. 

It's Maternal Mental Health Week 2021! Maternal mental health is a cause near and dear to my heart. When I talk and write about maternal mental health, I end up focusing on postpartum depression. That's an important subject that needs attention, but maternal mental health does not end with the postpartum period. We deserve excellent mental health our entire lives, not just when we have a little baby at home.  In other news, between May 5 and May 9, 2021, my memoir Adventures With Postpartum Depression is free on Amazon. Happy downloading!  Show notes are available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com. The music is "Carpe Diem" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License.     

This week, I am talking about the mirrors that reflect our inner work: art! dreams! other people! especially annoying people! and signs from the Universe! We all have work to do during this lifetime, and there are so many ways to find that work. I discuss some of the things that act as mirrors to show me the work I am ignoring (or denying).  Show notes are available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com. The music is "Carpe Diem" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License. 

This week, I talk about the thoughts that are helping me stay sane as my family embarks on our next pandemic adventure: the hybrid hellscape.   Show notes are available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com. The music is "Carpe Diem" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License. 

My feelings have helped me identify some toxic, outdated beliefs. Now I am working to replace those beliefs with new, radiant ones. In this episode, I describe the things I am doing to build these new beliefs. Spoiler alert: I am embracing the shit out of affirmations!  Show notes are available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com. The music is "Carpe Diem" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License.     

Let's talk about values! Last week, I listened to the audiobook of Dare to Lead by Brené Brown. The second part of the book is called Living Into Our Values and it changed my attitude about values.  I love values. I have journaled extensively about my values. I've talked about values with my therapist many times. I've probably blogged about my values (but I don't have the time to dig through old posts now) (please god, will distance learning ever end?) After several months of work, I identified my list of twenty-ish values. Hooray! I knew all a person could possibly know about her values. Brown, however, challenges us to identify two core values. After reading her book, I wanted to try to whittle down my list of twenty-ish values to two. I doubted I could actually do this but thought I'd give it a try. I'm so glad I did. I identified my core values (more easily than I thought possible) and feel so inspired and empowered by the experience. I walk you through my process and hopefully by the end of this episode, you'll want to identify your core values, too! Show notes are available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com. The music is "Carpe Diem" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License. 

I am a feelings amateur but this week, I talk about feelings, from my history of suppressing my feelings to my current work to use my feelings as a tool to figure out my subconscious beliefs. We live in a culture that does not value feelings, but I believe feelings are important. Feelings are vital to our work to become our best selves. I felt awkward and completely out of my comfort zone with this episode, but I am excited to do this work.    Show notes are available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com. The music is "Carpe Diem" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

I got a little philosophical for this episode. Over the past couple months of pandemic and distance learning life, I have noticed that I am my best self when I occupy the space between hope and despair. Hope and despair are mindsets that look to the future. Hope might seem more optimistic than despair, but it conditions future happiness on wanted outcomes. It sets me up for disappointment and discontent. With both mindsets, I feel unsettled and torn from the present. I feel as if my life is somehow lacking. When I occupy the space between hope and despair, I have everything I need to be happy. I am enough. I have enough. I do not set any conditions on my happiness because I am already there.    Show notes are available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com. The music is "Carpe Diem" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

Happy Almost New Year! At the end of the year, I like to look back at the year I have had and reflect on the work I did to become a better version of myself. I thought that 2020 was going to be a total dumpster fire but after thinking back on the year, was pleasantly surprised to see how much I have grown as a person over the last twelve months. I would never have chosen a pandemic or distance learning for 2020, but that's what happened, and those experiences pushed me through some incredible growth. I have a lot less mom guilt and better boundaries with my kids. I learned to embrace a slower life, connect more deeply with the people I was able to see, and got really intimate with uncertainty and change. Looking ahead to 2021, I want to build more MOMENTUM. I also want to have more fun. And while having fun, I want to live intentionally and consciously in line with my values. I can't control the trajectory of 2021 but I have created some projects that will hopefully help me live more joyfully than ever. Au revoir, 2020! Salut, 2021!    Show notes are available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com. The music is "Carpe Diem" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

I love self-help books! But that has not always been the case. When I was younger, I felt drawn to the self-help section at the bookstore but ashamed at the idea of reading those books. After I I got my first Kindle, I started to make up for lost time. I have learned to be an active participant in the self help books I read, embracing only the ideas that work for me. But the past few years, I took Marie Kondo's books about decluttering a bit too seriously. I internalized some subconscious belief that if I did not declutter in exactly the way prescribed by Kondo, then I shouldn't bother doing it at all. Oops! I recently realized that though I find Kondo's work to be inspiring, I do not have to follow all of her advice. I have started decluttering again in the way that works for me and hallelujah, I have remembered to put the SELF back into self-help.    Show notes are available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com. While you are there, sign up for my newsletter! You can also follow me on IG @Courtney.Novak. The music is "Carpe Diem" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

This week, I talk about the upcoming 2020 holidays. Spoiler alert: the holidays will be a bit different this year because hello, #pandemic. I am trying my best to lower/change my expectations so my family can still enjoy this time of year. I talk about the mindset I am trying to embrace so I do not drive myself crazy. (Or at least, crazier than usual.)   Show notes are available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com. The music is "Carpe Diem" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

This week, I revisit the topic of distance learning because hello, it's 2020 and starting to feel like my second grader will never go back to "normal" school. I was in a 2020 rut at the beginning of October and feeling broken by distance learning. It is so time consuming! And aggravating! But then, my muse gave me an idea: I needed to stop working on my fantasy series and work on a new book called The Distance Learning Activity Book For Parents Just Barely Holding On To Their Last Shred Of Sanity. Writing and publishing that book restored my spirits - but damn, distance learning is still tough. Hence, this episode, in which I share about my struggles and the things that are helping me from completely losing my mind.  Show notes are available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com. Or, they will be available soon! (If you are listening in real time, folks, give me a day or two! It's 2020.) The music is "Carpe Diem" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

I went to Catholic school for 11.5 years, from about halfway through first grade until the day I graduated from high school in 1997. I have not practiced Catholicism since 1997, but I am starting to realize that I internalized a lot of toxic beliefs during my Catholic school years. I am now working to find those beliefs and reject them. I have felt called to do this work for a long time but have avoided it. But I am ready now to face my Catholic school demons.   Show notes are available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com. Or, they will be available! If you are listening in real time, folks, give me a day or two! The music is "Carpe Diem" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

When I was about eighteen and nineteen years old, I had a few experiences that made me feel like my voice, in both speaking and writing, was not good enough. There was the high school frenemy who told me that I was not funny. Then there was the college "friend" who criticized my potty mouth. And lastly, a creative writing professor basically convinced me that my writing was not any good. I took these experiences to heart and abandoned my personal voice in favor of a voice that I thought people would like more. But now, I am 41 and I can't muzzle myself anymore. I have been reclaiming my voice lately and damn, I feel good! I feel so much more like myself. In this episode, I talk about the moments that affected my personal voice and the ways I have been reclaiming my voice in recent years.   Show notes are available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com. Or, they will be available! If you are listening in real time, folks, give me a day or two! The music is "Carpe Diem" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

This week, I talk about boundaries. Spoiler alert: I am not an expert in having boundaries! Instead, I am an expert in not having healthy boundaries. I share how my boundaries used to be total crap - in some cases, they were too extreme and I shut people out; in other cases, they almost didn't exist; and in still other cases, I would manage to set a boundary but then feel like a horrible being. I have been bumbling my way toward having healthier boundaries and in the past year, I have noticed that I feel much better about saying "No" and setting limits. A lot of this has to do with having a stronger sense of my own self-worth.    Show notes are available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com. The music is "Carpe Diem" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

I love self-care. I believe it is necessary and vital to our lives. BUT: I also believe that self-care gets presented to women as the panacea to all their problems. Feeling down? Buy a scented candle. Feeling unfulfilled and dissatisfied with your life? Take a bubble bath! But as awesome as self-care is, it's not a substitute for following your inner divine call. If you are feeling miserable because your authentic self has been crushed by society, then it is going to take more than a mani-pedi to feel like your true radiant self. I think the idea that a little pampering is enough to make a woman feel good is a dangerous myth because it ignores the fact that so many of us are living in ways that seem to shred our very souls.  Show notes are available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com. The music is "Carpe Diem" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

Under the best of circumstances, parenting is tough. Add in a pandemic and some distance learning? Holy sh*t. At the beginning of the pandemic, I wished there was a “Guide to Parenting During A Historic Pandemic” that would help me navigate these stormy times. But the more I reflect on it, the more I realize that the parenting principles that helped me stay sane pre-pandemic also help me stay sane in 2020. In this episode, which is Part 2 of 2, I dive into the principles that are guiding my adventures with pandemic parenting.    Show notes are available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com. The music is "Carpe Diem" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

Under the best of circumstances, parenting is tough. Add in a pandemic and some distance learning? Holy sh*t. At the beginning of the pandemic, I wished there was a "Guide to Parenting During A Historic Pandemic" that would help me navigate these stormy times. But the more I reflect on it, the more I realize that the parenting principles that helped me stay sane pre-pandemic also help me stay sane in 2020. In this episode, which is Part 1 of 2, I dive into the principles that are guiding my adventures with pandemic parenting.  Show notes are available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com. The music is "Carpe Diem" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

Last weekend, I was feeling grumpy and worn out from the pandemic. I vented to some friends during a park play date, and my friend Katie said, "This is hard. It is really, really hard." I needed that reminder. It seems so obvious: of course this is hard. But it has been so hard for so long, I sometimes forget that we are living through extraordinary circumstances. In this episode, I am taking the time to acknowledge how difficult living through this pandemic is. It was very helpful for me to make this episode. I hope it helps some of you! Show notes are available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com. The music is "Carpe Diem" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

I have spent the past seven years reconnecting with my intuition. For most of my life, I ignored my intuition. I trusted the opinions of other people too much to value my own inner wisdom. But as part of my recovery from postpartum depression, I started to rebuild my relationship with my intuition. It's a bit like a muscle. The more I connect with my intuition, the easier it is for me to access that part of myself. I discuss the reasons I lost touch with my intuition and then the ways I have rebuilt and strengthened my intuitive self. Show notes are available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com. The music is "Carpe Diem" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

This week, I am talking about my pursuit of radiant health. A few years ago, I decided to switch my primary physician from a traditional Western doctor to a naturopath who is helping me make lifestyle changes to take better care of my body. Show notes are available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com. The music is "Carpe Diem" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

This week, I talk about motherhood guilt and the guilt I felt even before I became a mother. As women, we are conditioned by society to get our sense of worth for doing things for others. When we attend to our own needs and passions, we can start to feel guilty. I have been examining my feelings of guilt and discovered some beliefs in my subconscious related to my sense of worth. And you know what I am seeing? Bullshit. The guilt I feel as a mom and a woman is total, utter bullshit!  Show notes are available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com. The music is "Carpe Diem" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

This week, I talk about why you should NEGLECT THE HOUSEWORK. I am not suggesting you let your house look like it was hit by a tornado, but I do think it is important to let yourself take time to answer your divine call and do whatever creative work fires you up, even if that means there is a little dust on the picture frames. I talk about one of my favorite books, If You Want To Write: A Book About Art, Independence and Spirit, by Brenda Ueland, especially the chapter with the fantastic name "Why Women Who Do Too Much Housework Should Neglect It For Their Writing." Amen! Also: if writing is not your jam, you might still love Why You Should Write. Just substitute your creative passion as you read along.   Show notes are available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com. The music is "Carpe Diem" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License   Thank you for listening!

We are back to distance learning this fall, and we have no idea what it is going to be like. I talk about my plan to stay open minded about distance learning while keeping my family's wellbeing front and center. Show notes are available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com. The music is "Carpe Diem" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License