Hello my loves!

Has 2016 been crazy or what? Whew! What a nasty ride!

I have been all over the board physically and emotionally these past 5 years since installing the farm at Tassafaronga Park. But I can honestly say that 2016 blew the roof off of all of that! I'm sure some of you feel the same.

Early this year, my amazing staff sat me down and had a mini-intervention. Two words stood out from the conversation: "Self-Care" and "Burnout". They had learned very quickly that I am a balls-to-the-wall, "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough" type of woman and grew concerned. They told me that I MUST take my lunch breaks and de-stress somehow... Otherwise, how was I "modeling wellness"?

All of that made sense and I appreciated them looking out for me and the organization. I tried to incorporate it into my everyday routine... But... You know how it goes... Work, plus the election... Suffice it to say that "Self Care" took a backseat to getting the work done and trying to position ourselves to be ready for whatever comes next.

So. Now here we are are the end of this nightmare-ish year and the impact of all that we've accomplished in the last 5 years and THIS year in particular has hit me like a ton of bricks.

I decided to I needed to embody, not just agree with Audre Lorde's famous quote: “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.”And for that, I need your help to motivate! I have set a goal of $2000 for me to personally raise for Acta Non Verba. That's just 10% of our overall organizational goal!

The more you all donate, and ask your friends, families and networks to contribute, the more I will do to recharge my batteries, change my habits, and roll into 2017 like the foul-mouthed fury you all know and love, knowing that ANV has the support it needs to do our important community work.

With your help, in the next 30 days, I will:

• Read 4 books that make me HAPPY!
• Start every blog in this series with lyrics from my favorite songs!
• I will Drink a bottle of water (and nothing else!) per day.
• I will take(At LEAST) 30 minute lunch with no phone each work day.
• Lastly, going to the gym (again) at LEAST 3 times per week. Starting 11/30/16.

Thanks so much for reading my loves!