I don’t know about you guys, but I consider oral health to be an important piece of the health and wellness puzzle. When I was fresh out of college, I didn’t pay much attention to it. My mom wasn’t making my dental appointments anymore, I didn’t always have dental insurance prior to my government jobs, and it just wasn’t a top priority for me. As Julia Roberts’ character said in Pretty Woman, “BIG MISTAKE. HUGE.” ...

I'm pretty sure that's not what it's called, but that's what I'm calling it. Tomorrow afternoon, I will attempt my first golf. I am going golfing so I will be a golfing golfer who golfs. Or something like that. Aside from putt-putt, at which I am amazing  (don't ask for references), I have only hit a golf ball once. Fun fact: When I was young, my daycare provider used to watch The Price is Right  every day, so I had a dream to hit the golf ball with Bob Barker - if I didn't get to play Plinko or Cliffhangers first. My friend Chris once took me to a driving range. It was a disaster. I was so bad at it that it made me angry. I'm usually a good sport, but something about being especially bad at a sport made me... well... a bad sport. I distinctly remember smashing the golf club against the ground. 😬😬😬 Even though I still have no clue what I'm doing, I'm going to be a much better sport tomorrow and come in with a positive attitude. I'...

Ya girl loves to hike. Hiking is basically a mental health ritual for me. I love being in the woods or out on some cliffs, or whatever the terrain might be. There is something very freeing and very human about being out in the wilderness. Sometimes I hike alone, but I love hiking with friends. I often have friends interested in joining me who have never hiked or haven't hiked since childhood, and they ask a lot of questions about how to prepare for a hike. I thought I'd put together this list of 7 Tips for New Hikers based on the most popular questions I've received, and a few extra tidbits I think are helpful. These aren't all the things you need to know before your first hike, but knowing these tips should help put you on the path for a successful hike. ...

On Tuesdays, I teach indoor cycling at the Sport & Health at Pike & Rose in North Bethesda, Maryland. The format I teach is called SPARK ! This is a signature class was developed by an indoor cycling instructor with US Fitness , and she led the class where I got certified! ...

I am so excited! I ordered a new pair of running shoes, and they arrived today! I'll be posting a video explanation of everything when I have some extra time on my hands, but for now, just know that I bought a pair of Hoka One One Clifton 5s , and they're my first Hokas ever. PLUS, they're my first non-black running shoes in several years! ...

As my current favorite TV doctor says, "how y'all doin'?" This is a quick and dirty post about... well, future quick and dirty posts. I've been doing a lot of self-reflecting over the last couple of months, and I realize I impose a lot  of additional stress and pressure on myself - much of which is excessive if I'm being honest with myself. One of those additional pressures is right here, with Flecks of Lex . I think that I have to write all of these long posts with precision and perfection, take all of this time taking photos and editing them so that they fit into the right social media dimensions, and thinking about SEO and catchy titles, and it often prevents me from writing at all! This was not even the reason why I started this blog, so why am I letting this mindset prevent me from doing what I came here to do in the first place?! ...