How to Prepare for Cold & Flu Season with Kids

To my fellow parents with school age kids or just kids in daycare, I salute you. In a few weeks, we’re going to be fully in the trenches, battling cold after cold after cold… but for now, we can only prepare, fully aware that our kids are highly likely to miss picture day and that we’ll, once again, be on a first name basis with the pediatrician receptionist.

For the past 2 school years, my son has gotten sick after the first three days of school. Picture day has always been on the Tuesday or Thursday the second week of school—and he has been sick in both of those school photos. I told him our goal was to avoid being sick this weekend, but who knows if that will actually happen.

This summer, we’ve also had illness after illness: mystery flu (Violet), hand foot and mouth disease (all of us, but especially me); and the stomach flu. We caught the stomach flu right before our cruise in August and HFDM from that very cruise… so we’ve really been through the ringer. I’m not particularly excited about this coming school year. If the summer was bad… what will the school year be like?

There is comfort in knowing we aren’t alone; many of my son’s friends were also, somehow, sick throughout the summer. My pediatrician’s phone line is always backed up. So it wasn’t just us! It seems like this summer was a rough one for viruses.

Which again, that does not bode well for this cold and flu season.

I like to think I know a thing or two about taking care of kids with colds. But if there is one thing being a parent has taught me it’s that once you think you have a handle on a situation, the universe likes to throw a little pizzazz. Call it karma confetti. Parents with older kids sometimes make the mistake of thinking we know what we’re doing 100% of the time, but the truth is we don’t.

One thing I do know though? How to prepare for cold and flu season.

1. Stock up on essentials now.

This one might seem a little bit basic, but hear me out: many cold and flu seasons I have found myself awakened at 2am by a crying, feverish, sick child, gone to my medicine cabinet, and found an almost empty bottle of ibuprofen. Or a thermometer that isn’t accurate or has stopped working. Or, worst of all, someone is throwing up and there is no Pedialyte in the house. And by the time cold and flu season arrives, there is usually a bit of a shortage on these things.

Two years ago, my son got the flu during the big Tylenol shortage. I had to emergency order multiple bottles from whatever source I could and it was so stressful.

My point is: stock up all the classics now, rather than ordering (and often spending too much) later. Here is what I try to get stocked up on before the end of September:

• Saltines & oyster crackers

• Pedialyte (I like the packets as they last longer and you don’t end up with a half used bottle)

• Ibuprofen & Tylenol

• Cough drops

• Immodium

• Children’s allergy medicine

• Thermometer (if you need a new one)

• Tissues

• Hand sanitizer

• Laundry sanitizer

• Extra bedding and towels

• Tea & honey

2. Talk to your kids about washing their hands.

Kids are, as I’m sure you know, notoriously lax about washing their hands. Well, most of them. There are definitely some kids who are extremely dedicated to a hand washing routine and for that we thank them. But a vast majority of kids simply don’t wash their hands or rush.

My oldest is not a kid who skimps on washing his hands. He was 4 when Covid started in early March 2020 and so washing his hands thoroughly has been part of his life for the majority of it. He also loves a good hand sanitizer; I always refresh the one on his backpack keychain every week and he knows to use it throughout the day. But this hasn’t been a natural thing; I had to talk to him about the importance of hand washing a lot for a long time.

We also had to make it a constant habit: washing our hands before every single meal; washing our hands when we got home from an event; using hand sanitizer in the car after every stop. It just became part of our lives and to help prevent the worst colds, it’s something you just have to do. (This won’t necessarily stop them from ever getting sick, but it does cut down on it.

3. Sign up for flu shots & Covid boosters.

Controversial? No. Kids should get their yearly flu shots and, if they’re old enough, Covid boosters. (I actually haven’t heard yet, as of September 3, 2024, if there is a Covid booster this year; I assume there will be though!) In November 2022, my family got the flu; and yes, I was 5 weeks postpartum and yes, my newborn did get the flu. You know why? We hadn’t gotten a chance to get flu shots yet. My son was so, so sick I thought he might have to be hospitalized and I beat myself up a lot that month about not getting him in to get a flu shot.

Long story short: get your kids flu shots and Covid boosters. I promise it is worth it.

4. Set up a “just got home” routine

This piggy backs off of point 2, but set up a “we just got home” routine with your kids. I keep my son’s on a laminated piece of paper on our fridge and he knows to check off each box. This is what ours looks lie:

• Wash & sanitize your hands

• Change into play clothes and put school clothes in hamper

• Wipe down lunch box

• Spray backpack (we use Lysol disinfecting spray for fabric)

• Start homework

• Read 10-15 minutes

• Dinner time

It’s not complicated and the more kids do it, the easier it gets. Obviously, for younger kids, they might need a simpler routine and/or to use pictures on a check off sheets. Either way: make the routine simple to follow and impactful for your evening.

5. Prepare for the unexpected

Not to be dramatic, but anything can happen at any time. RSV was extremely bad last year, as was Covid and the flu. My daughter had multiple colds that landed her in the ER with labored breathing and we had Covid for the first time in December 2023. (That’s a small flex on my part!) We didn’t expect those things, as you can imagine.

Like I wrote earlier: every time I think I have a handle on things, something totally unexpected happens. A stomach bug. The flu. A cold that hits right before a big road trip. You know, regular, schmegular stuff for parents of small and elementary age kids. But it never really gets an easier to handle these things: your kids being sick is extremely stressful for a lot of reasons. You might have general anxiety about their health (hello, me too!); you might have to miss work and, given the economy right now, that’s super stressful; you might have to rush them to the ER and if you’re in the US like me, that’s always stressful.

So, to conclude: you can only prepare so much. Know that you might encounter an illness that shocks you—for me, that’s been hand, foot, and mouth disease (I can’t believe that it’s considered “mild”, my fingernails are falling off). Know that you might have to rush to the ER and advocate for your child in a way you didn’t expect. Your kids will miss school and you will worry about them falling behind. But know that at the end of the tunnel, there is spring and once their older than, like, 12, it won’t be quite this bad.

What is Self-Care versus Self-Soothing?

Self-care is important, especially if you struggle with your mental health. Even if you don’t, we all need ways of taking care of ourselves, of prioritizing rest and making time to focus on things that make us feel good.

But there is an aspect of self-care that often gets overlooked when it comes to mainstream articles: self-soothing. Self-soothing is part of self-care and often, self-soothing behaviors get used as examples of self-care. And while they certainly are, we have to start thinking of them separately in order to create a plan that works most effectively.

In this blog post, let’s talk about what self-soothing is versus what self-care is. Let’s jump in.

What is self-care?

Think of self-care as larger, overarching behaviors that help us meet our goals, grow as people, or just develop better habits. This might be things like: taking medication consistently on time; spending time outdoors or getting exercise; cleaning your home or apartment. These things might not necessarily be soothing or relaxing, but they may help us further on down the road.

What is self-soothing?

Self-soothing is more of a micro look at mental health. While self-care can help you repair after feeling burnt out, self-soothing can help you in a moment of distress. Examples of self-soothing might be things like going for a quick walk to get air, hugging a stuffed animal or blanket that makes you feel better, or smelling a candle or essential oil that you really enjoy. These things can help calm you down in moments of distress. So, self-soothing is a part of self-care, but they aren’t necessarily the same activities.

Is there anything wrong with self-soothing?

The short answer is no, as long as self-soothing behaviors are healthy. Unhealthy self-soothing behaviors provide temporary relief, but have negative consequences overall for your mental health; these can be things like substance abuse (such as drinking a glass of wine when you’re stressed), self-harm, or other compulsive behaviors.

This post was originally part of a series about mental health during the holidays. In order to kickstart my return to blogging, I am publishing it now.

Why I Take Elderberry (featuring New Hilma Elderberry Immune Gummy)

Elderberry syrup or gummies are one of those things that seem a little, you know, woo-y. It’s up there with charging your crystals in the moonlight or using essential oils to cure your ills, at least culturally.

However, I feel in some ways elderberry gummies have become about as mainstream as those crunchy beliefs can be. You can buy elderberry gummies for kids at Target now, of course. The formerly super hippie thing my mom did is now available OTC, which is a pretty big deal, honestly.

Hilma recently sent me their new Elderberry Immune Support Gummies. I’m a huge fan of Hilma and have written a review about them before, but I was especially excited to try these new elderberry gummies.

I have taken elderberry syrup every day for years. I usually make it myself from elderberries I buy online—however, elderberries can be hard to source and I’ve had to change where I order from a few times. As well, the physical elderberry is fairly poisonous—you can only consume the syrup, not the berry itself. So making my own syrup in my kitchen sometimes felt, well, a little more dangerous than it needed to.

Switching to gummies felt like a better idea, but a lot of gummies have additives in them that I’m not a huge fan of—like gelatin or high fructose corn syrup.

That’s what I like about the new Hilma Elderberry Immune Support Gummies—they are vegan, meaning they don’t contain any gelatin. They also don’t contain high fructose corn syrup or corn starch, if those are concerns of yours. They also have zinc and vitamin C, so you get a few extra doses of those good, immune-boosting vitamins and minerals.

But enough about my favorite gummy vitamins—what are the benefits of taking elderberry? Is it something to include in your routine?

The 3 Reasons I Take Elderberry

1. The immune system boost.

It goes without saying: taking something to help your immune system is a great way to feel better. I get sick a lot and really easily. In March 2017, I had the flu for 6 weeks and that was really the breaking point for me: I was super run down and my body clearly needed a leg up. That’s when I started consistently taking elderberry. While I still get sick occasionally, I have found that I don’t get sick as intensely as I used to. This might be a placebo effect, but also… what do you have to lose?

2. A daily routine that makes me feel good.

Plain and simple, taking my elderberry every day helps me feel like I’m doing something good for my body. I might have bad days; I might have days where I don’t eat a single vegetable; but if I took my elderberry gummies, I feel pretty dang good about myself. That and my daily vitamins. If you want to make prioritizing your health part of your daily routine, something as easy as taking elderberry gummies is one really low-risk way to get started.

3. Reducing inflammation.

Ok, this one is a little bit of a departure, but hear me out. In 2008 (I know, a century ago), I was diagnosed with interstitial cystitis, a bladder disorder where my bladder responds to inflammation by thinking it has a UTI (but it doesn’t—it’s just that my intestinal tract is slightly inflamed, or at least that’s the best guess). I try to eat a relatively low-acid diet—that means limiting things like citrus and tomatoes. However, foods with antioxidants, like blueberries and elderberry, have been found to help reduce inflammation. I have found that taking elderberry in some form every day has been much more helpful in reducing flares than following a low acid diet or taking IC-related medications. That’s just me personally—your mileage may vary, as they say.

Yes, that’s Remus begging for my elderberry gummy. I couldn’t get him to leave me alone.

Would you like to try Hilma’s Elderberry Immune Support Gummies? You can order them here and use my code MICHELLE20 for 20% off your first order.

3 Ways to Help Relieve Tension

One of my biggest pet peeves is feeling tension. It’s a feeling I absolutely can’t stand. Whenever I start to feel tense, or a tension headache starting, it’s almost unbearable. It’s not that it hurts physically—but I just find it so annoying. “Why are my shoulders doing this? I don’t have time! Shoulders, chill!”

For a few days, I started getting a sharp, dull pain almost like heartburn. I was reading a book that I found pretty upsetting—My Dark Vanessa for anyone who is curious—and realized after 3 days of wondering if I was having a heart attack or what that I only felt this feeling while reading the book. It was a mixture of tension and anxiety. All I had to do was… just stop reading the book. More than anything, I found this discovery deeply annoying; thanks body, I can’t even read a book!

That being said, there are ways to relieve tension that can help you, like me, stop feeling so annoyed that you’re getting another tension headache (it can’t possible be that I stare at a screen 14 hours a day). And no, I don’t mean diffusing a certain essential oil scent (although that can feel nice and if you love it, you love it, no shade).

A few weeks ago, I realized that I needed to start taking steps to tackle my tension before it became a full blown tension headache or migraine. I tend to feel my tension in my shoulders and across my chest/collarbone area—usually after a few hours working in front of my computers or particularly when I’m doing a task I find really stressful. I’ve found a few solid ways to do just that and I thought I’d share.

Here are my top 3 ways to relieve tension.

1. Use Hilma Tension Relief.

I unabashedly love Hilma products. I even wrote a whole review about Hilma. Hilma’s Tension Relief is one of my favorite products because it does just that: relieves tension. It helps get rid of those annoying tense shoulders, the eye strain, everything. After a long day in front of a computer, it’s become part of my routine to take a Tension Relief, run a warm bath, and settle in with a good book. You can try Hilma’s Tension Relief for 20% off your first order by using my code MICHELLE20.

2. Take a screen break.

Are these the words you want to hear? No.

Are these the words I want to hear? Also no.

I love screens. There, I said it. I love them! I love staring at the bright blue light of my tiny phone. I love reading on my computer. I love my Kindle even. I love my Switch and my TV. I love them all! I love screens!

But screens aren’t good for our eyes. And they definitely aren’t good for handling tension either, especially if you’re feeling overly stressed. If you start feeling tension in your shoulders (or whatever your sign of tension is—tightness in your chest, a back ache, your legs itching to move), take a break from the screen(s). Go for a walk. Go sit outside with a real, physical book. Talk to your neighbor through a window. Dance in your kitchen to music. Just take a break—it doesn’t have to be a long one, just 20-25 miuntes or so.

3. Do some stretches or yoga.

I’ll be the first to tell you: I hate yoga. I get so bored during it. My attention span is low and when it comes to exercise, I want to move. That being said, yoga is one of the best ways to stretch, focus on your breathing, and (yes) relieve tension. Finding a simple routine that works for you will take time. I gave up on following videos a long time ago, but I do have a series of moves I do in my office when I’m feeling particularly wound up. It gives me time to think, breathe, and focus on something other than a screen.

I don’t have any recommendations for routines to follow because I think this is highly personal. Even just sitting outside and gently stretching like you used to before PE class might be better than anything else!

I Tried Hilma So You Don't Have To

Do you get chronic head tension? Do you take a lot of Excedrin Migraine?

Are you me?

I know I’m not alone in having head tension; it’s an incredibly common issue and it can be triggered by long stretches at your computer (guilty), carrying tension in your shoulders (guilty), and stress (also guilty). It goes without saying, but head tension can ruin your day. If I don’t take care of mine (by lying with a heating pad, taking some Excedrin, or relaxing for a while), it can rapidly morph into a migraine… which is exactly what happened to me last weekend.

It’s been a long time since I was so excited to try (and review) a product. But when Hilma approached me in July about trying some of their products, I was really, really excited. Why? Because even though Excedrin Migraine works for my head tension, I don’t exactly love taking it as much as I do. There is definitely a warning on that bottle about only taking a dose every 24 hours and while I never test that, it does make me nervous. Having a natural alternative, or something that I could take to help prevent head tension (or stiff shoulders, or whatever) would make me a lot happier.

That’s where Hilma comes in.

What is Hilma?

Like many people, over the last few years, I’ve started swapping out my cleaning products in my house. Nontoxic soaps, all natural cleaners. They keep everything just as clean without worrying about what you’re leaving behind—especially if you have kids.

The creators of Hilma found themselves doing the same thing and realized there was space in our medicine cabinets for more natural remedies. Here’s a brief summary from their website:

“We needed a NEW STANDARD for getting back on our feet.

When we looked for the products we wanted, we found that the natural options weren’t backed by science. And the products backed by science didn’t hold up to our clean label standards.

That’s when we decided to create the standard we were looking for — NATURAL REMEDIES, BACKED BY SCIENCE.

And now, after two years of research, assembling a world-class team of scientists, and kicking off three clinical studies, Hilma is here.”

(You can read more here.)

Think of Hilma as an alternative to your medicine cabinet staples, made with all natural ingredients that are also backed by science.

I’m always a little suspicious of medical products that claim to be all natural and effective. Often because those things are a little woo-y and ultimately act as placebos. (I’m looking at you, essential oils.) However, the thing I love about Hilma is their dedication to science, funding studies to show the effectiveness of their products, and really looking to improve people’s health without the worry.

I would classify most of Hilma’s products as both treatments and preventatives. You, like me, can take Tension Relief in the morning along with your vitamins (Ritual, in my case). Or, if you find yourself feeling some head tension or stress in your shoulders, you can take it at that moment. It’s an either or situation: preventative or treat.

That doesn’t mean your traditional products won’t have a place in your medicine cabinet anymore, but rather that you have some things to try before turning to the big things.

One more great thing about Hilma: their products are free from milk, egg, soy, and tree nuts, which means if you have an allergy to those (checking in with a soy allergy here!), you can rest a little easier about your medicine cabinet.

What products have I tried?

Here’s a review of everything I’ve tried from Hilma so far.

Immune Support

This is the first product I tried and wow, it’s good. It’s a powdered supplement intended to boost your immune system; it contains Zinc, Vitamin C (Camu Camu), Echinacea, Ginger, and more. You can add it to hot or cold water, or mix it into smoothies, popsicles, whatever you want really. It tastes great plain (hot is best! It’s almost like a turmeric tea). When it comes to immune support, it’s always hard to say “this helped!” or “this didn’t!” but the most important thing is do I feel like I’m supporting my immune system here? Yes, definitely. In college, I basically drank Emergen-C (bought in a huge package at Costco, natch) by the gallon to keep myself from getting sick. Immune Support is an alternative to that: just as much vitamin C, but without all the… extra.

Upset Stomach Relief

Danny has stomach problems—always has and always will. We go through a lot of Tums in our house. Like a lot of Tums. We have the traditional Tums chewables (those chalky ones that I also lived on when I was pregnant), the new chewy kind that have fancy flavors like Peppermint and Lemonade, Rolaids, Pepto-Bismal. We have a lot of upset stomach medicines in our medicine cabinet.

It goes without saying I was really hoping that the Upset Stomach Relief would work for Danny as something he could take in the morning every day and not have to eat so many Tums, Rolaids, and other things throughout the day. At first, he took this just when he started not feeling good. A few hours later, he said, “that really worked. I feel so much better and I haven’t taken any Tums.”

Honestly, if that’s not success, I don’t know what is.

I have also tried the Upset Stomach Relief—after a barbecue in the hot sun where I ate a burger and a hot dog and ice cream because, it’s a BBQ, what am I supposed to do? It helped so much that I was almost a little shocked.

Upset Stomach relief contains Chamomile, Artichoke Leaf, Ginger Root and more and is designed to help acid indigestion, heartburn, and upset stomach.

Tension Relief

Tension Relief is my favorite product. If you can’t tell, it was the inspiration for my intro today. Head tension is something I’ve struggled with for years and I know it’s because I often find myself shaped fully like a shrimp while sitting at my desk. I carry all my stress in my shoulders. When I go to the chiropractor, he always says, “Your top vertebra has just decided not to come to work today.” This is not uncommon for women my age who work jobs like mine (at a desk, in front of a computer, typing 85% of the day).

Like I said, I take a lot of Excedrin Migraine, but I know that ibuprofen is simply not good for my stomach. It’s just not! If you take too much, you’re in serious danger and I don’t like thinking about that too much.

I was so excited to try Tension Relief. I’ve been taking it every single day since I received it; I usually just take one capsule in the morning alongside my vitamins and then, if I need a second later in the day, I’ll take it. I’ve definitely noticed less head tension. There are somedays where I still will get a tension headache, but I think that’s just kind of the way it is sometimes. Even with Excedrin Migraine, there are days where it doesn’t come close to touching my head tension.

If you get chronic tension headaches, I think this is the one product you should order immediately. The others are good, but this one is so good.

Tension Relief contains  White Willow Bark, Magnesium, Boswellia, Feverfew, and Skullcap, ingredients that are proven to help relieve tension.

Want to try Hilma?

I think you’re going to love it. You can use my code at checkout to get 20% off your first order!

Disclaimer: links throughout this post are affiliate links. Using these helps me keep the lights on here at Writing Between Pauses. You can learn more about my disclosure policy here.

My Top 3 Products for My Dog's Health

My dog, Remus, is an 8-year-old chocolate lab. In many ways, he’s a stereotypical lab: he is high energy (2-3 walks per day, plus at least 30-40 minutes of chasing a ball of stick are necessary), he is highly intelligent, and he can be incredibly sensitive to changes in his diet, routine, or home. He is also a garbage surfer: we’ve rushed him to the vet more times than I can count because he ate something he wasn’t supposed to or was so sick from eating something random.

Last year around this time, he ate exactly 3 nuggets of a food we had tried for him and stored in our garage; when we moved, he found those 3 nuggets, ate them, and proceeded to vomit and have diarrhea for 2 whole days. He was diagnosed with colitis, got a stomach x-ray, and cost us about $700… because of 3 nuggets of food. In the course of his life, he’s eating shoes, razors, tampons (so many tampons), napkins, banana peels, coffee grounds, and so many crayons his poop was rainbow colored for several days at a time. (He learned his lesson with the crayons eventually.)

Yeah, labs. They are such great dogs, but health-wise, they are a really mixed bags. Their high energy is fun when you consistently have time, but if you’re having a busy day, it’s equally as likely that they’ll spend the day lying beside your chair (great!) or knocking over every garbage can in your house and eating every tampon they can find (not great!).

As labs age, they also come with an incredibly high risk of arthritis. A few months ago, I started noticing signs that Remus was developing early arthritis. Did you know around 80% of dogs over the age of 5 have arthritis?! It’s very common, even for a relatively young dog of 8. I noticed he was bunny hopping occasionally when he ran outside, as well as sometimes limping when he woke up in the morning or got up after a long nap. His energy level has definitely decreased in the last 2 years—which is somewhat a good thing. But we still go on at least one walk every day (usually early in the morning) and then play fetch for a while.

I asked a few of my lab-owning friends about their favorite products to help their dogs deal with arthritis and aging. I got some great recommendations for everything from joint health to their teeth. I thought I’d share our favorites that have worked with Remus’s admittedly very sensitive stomach.

1. Pure Wild Alaskan Salmon Oil for Dogs & Cats, $34.97

This salmon oil is one of our newer purchases—we’ve been using it for 2 months and I can’t tell you the difference it makes! Right now is prime lab shedding time, at least in Oregon, since we don’t get warm weather until June-July. Labs shed their winter coats in the Spring/Summer, then shed their Summer coats in the early Fall. I’ve been brushing Remus consistently everyday to help, but he just has gobs of hair. So much hair!

Salmon oil is good for a lot of things for dogs—but primarily their joint health and their coats. Remus has definitely gotten a lot shinier since we started using salmon oil and his shedding has been a lot better. Since labs have typically oily coats, it’s not recommended to bathe them very frequently; every 4-5 months is honestly enough. Remus does tend to get a little dandruffy if he gets wet too often, probably from his skin being too dry (and during the summer he runs in the sprinklers a lot)—this has helped with that too.

How to use it: Follow the instructions on the bottle! If you go with a brand different from Pure Wild, make sure to read the instructions carefully. To start, we actually only put about a teaspoon on Remus’s food in the morning and evening; with his sensitive stomach, we wanted to make sure we weren’t setting ourselves up for another colitis incident! He handled it well though. If your dog has a sensitive stomach, definitely start slow. These days, Remus gets a full pump of oil on his morning and evening meals. We’ve used about 1/3 the bottle in about 2 months—so for the price, that’s really good!

2. Dechra Phycox Soft Chews, $49.69

These are a more specialized item; because they are an actual supplement to help with joint health, if you have worries about your dog’s arthritis, make sure to talk to a vet first. These were recommended by our friends, the lab group I’m in, and our vet—so I felt comfortable taking the leap.

We started these chews slowly, just like with the oil. The instructions recommend 4-5 chews a day for Remus’s size for the first 4 weeks, then reducing to 2 a day after that. However, we started with 1-2 chews every day for the first week, just to make sure they wouldn’t make him sick. After the first 4 weeks, we bumped him up to 3 chews a day. We’re giving him 6 weeks with 3 chews a day; we’re really close to that point and then we’ll probably reduce to 2 chews per day.

We’ve noticed such a difference since we started using these! He’s definitely been a bit more spry and less likely to bunny hop when he runs. As well, he hasn’t been limping when he wakes up from naps any more—only first thing in the morning when he’s been asleep for a long time and his limp goes away a little faster.

The one downside is these chews smell really bad! Granted, they’re dog treats—they smell like dog treats, but somehow… more like dog treats. They definitely don’t smell good, but Remus seems to like them.

We haven’t made our way through an entire tub yet—even with just over 2 months of use. We definitely went with an augmented plan though, so this might not be a typical experience. These are available on Chewy.com with a discount for auto-shipping.

3. Milkbone Brushing Chews, ~$10.00

We’ve been giving these Milkbone treats to Remus for about 4 years and I can’t say enough about them. I do want to make sure to emphasize that these are the green brushing chews—they are minty and help brush your dog’s teeth. Remus is never going to be a dog that lets us groom him; we know this, we accept this. We have a special kennel that he uses now that files his nails for us overtime, it’s helped a lot; we can brush him, but it is definitely a chore; and we are never going to be able to brush his teeth. Remus is a super even tempered dog, but the closest he has ever come to having a temper has been when we tried to clip his nails and when trying to brush his teeth.

(I’ve since learned this isn’t abnormal for labs! And especially labs developing arthritis are not going to like their nails clipped.)

However, I really worried about his teeth as I noticed if he chewed on a tennis ball for too long, his gums would bleed. We started giving him these treats and they’ve helped with his teeth so much. He’s never going to have great breath—he is a dog, after all!—but his vet is always shocked at how good his teeth look for being a dog who doesn’t like his teeth brushed at all.

Depending on the size of your dog, the cost of a bag of these treats is super variable; however, for Remus’s size, they are just under $10 a bag on Amazon and at Target. (If you buy them at Target, they are fairly frequently on sale in the Cartwheel app and often have a deal to get a gift card if you buy 2 bags at once.) We give Remus one every day after his evening meal; it’s like his evening snack!

Boost Your Immunity with Easy Salmon with Summer Salad Featuring Hungryroot x Hilma*

If you’re like me, the last few months have been eye-opening when it comes to groceries. I feel like I’ve never saved so much money (spending less on takeout, not going to restaurants, not going to TJ Maxx every weekend) and, at the same time, like I’ve never spent more on groceries. 

We get weekly grocery pick up orders from my local Fred Meyer (my favorite grocery store, hands down!)—but even though I love Freddy’s, it’s hard for me not to be able to pick up my own produce. Just this past week, I got a completely moldy pack of strawberries and out of the 4 sweet potatoes I ordered, 3 were completely rotten and mushy. The day of my pick up! 

That’s I’ve started using Hungryroot more than ever. If you don’t know what Hungryroot is, let me help you: it’s an online, grocery delivery service that helps you stock your fridge with your favorite groceries. They partner with Beyond Meat, Elizabeth, Joolies, and tons more, plus have their own range of groceries. I’ve written about them a ton before; you can read more here. 

With Hungryroot, I can get some of my favorite staples (like my preferred oat milk, vegetables, and more) delivered to my door. 

Hungryroot recently paired up with Hilma. When they reached out to me for this post, I was so excited. More than ever, I’ve been working to boost and take care of my immune system. While there is a lot of misinformation out there, I truly believe that doing all you can to eat healthy and take care of your body is beneficial. 

What is Hilma?

Hilma is a new brand on a mission to upgrade your medicine cabinet: they focus on natural remedies that are also backed by science. With Hungryroot, they’ve curated a selection of immune-supporting groceries. 

Hilma sent me their Immune Support to try. It has six essential nutrients in one little packet that you mix into hot or cold water. (It’s delicious both ways, but on these hot summer days, I’ve been mixing it with cold water and adding it to my morning smoothie!) It contains Vitamin C, Echinacea, Zinc, Ginger, and Turmeric with no fillers. 

If you’d like to try Hilma, you can take 20% off using my code MICHELLE20! I love Hilma’s Immune Support and I can’t wait to see what you think. 

Easy Salmon with Summer Salad

When it comes to dinners during the summer, I have a few requests: 

• Contains my favorite things about the season (corn!)

• Easy clean up

• Tastes good

• Doesn’t make my kitchen 400 degrees

This summer salad checks every single box! 

Plus, it contains a few of my favorite Hungryroot ingredients—and even better, they are all immune boosting! Here are the ingredients: 

Ingredients:

• 2 packages of Hungryroot’s Hot Smoked Roasted Salmon (or 2 salmon fillets)

• 1 package of Hungryroot’s Superblend Salad

• About 1/4 cup of Hungryroot’s House Dressing

• Garlic Salt

• 1 package of Sweet Baby Broccoli from Hungryroot

• 1 cob of corn

Salmon is so good for you and your immune system because it contains vitamin D, which helps keep your immune system working. Not getting enough vitamin D can actually increase your risk of infection. It also has protein and omega-3s, two nutrients that are vital for a strong immune system. Alongside baby broccoli (so much vitamin C!) and Hungryroot’s Superblend Salad (kale, broccoli, brussel sprouts, and more), this dish packs a one-two punch of immune boosting nutrition. 

Here’s how I made it: 

1. Start heating up your barbecue or grill. 

2. Cut the kernels off your cob of corn. Cook them in a pan over medium heat with a little bit of garlic salt and nonstick cooking spray until they are done and slightly charred. 

3. While your corn cooks, add 1/4 wish cup of Hungryroot’s House Dressing (so good!) to your salad bowl; I added a pinch of garlic salt and some pepper, but this is totally optional. Add your bag of Superblend Salad and toss. 

4. Once the corn is done cooking, toss with your salad and set aside. 

5. Create 2 separate foil packets. In one, add your baby broccoli, a drizzle of olive oil, and some garlic salt. Wrap it up. 

6. in the second foil packet, place your roasted salmon with a little more garlic salt. (Since this salmon is already cooked, you are just warming it up and creating a crust!) 

7. Cook on the barbecue for about 10-15 minutes for the broccoli, and under 10 minutes for the salmon. 

8. Serve! 

So easy and delicious, light for the summer and the clean up can’t be easier. 

Want to try Hungryroot? 

I’m so excited to be able to offer you FREE Black Bean Brownie Batter for life from Hungryroot. Their brownie batter is one of my favorite things—I always have a tub in my fridge for emergencies!. Just use the code PAUSES40 to get 40% off your first order of Hungryroot.

Don’t forget to use code MICHELLE20 at Hilma to receive 20% off your order as well. With both Hilma and Hungryroot, you can have delicious, immune boosting supplies for your pantry and medicine cabinet. 

Disclaimer: Per my disclosure policy, the asterisk (*) in the title of this post denotes that I was provided product for free to review and post on my blog and Instagram channel. However, all opinions remain my own—I created this simple recipe on my own! Posts like these help me keep the lights on here at Writing Between Pauses. I do receive a small commission from use of my Hungryroot and Hilma code. To learn more about my disclosure policy, click here.

3 Things I've Learned in One Year of Freelancing

When I started writing this blog post, I tried to find the previous one I thought I remembered writing around July of last year. As it turns out, I didn’t write very many blog posts last July—I wrote a few of my last beauty reviews and that was it. It wasn’t until August that I wrote a blog post about going freelance—and even then, I didn’t really talk about what had happened, just that I had been laid off and it sucked and I had one of two options. (You can read my first blog post about going freelance here.)

I found the blog post I thought I had written in July and it turns out, I wrote it in November. And again, in that blog post… it was in this blog post that I talked about being laid off and what they meant for me and how I didn’t want it to be the overwhelming focus of my life. (You can read that blog post, about resiliency, here.)

As it turns out, my desire to have the lay off and folding of a company I’d worked at for the majority of my career be the focus of my life wasn’t entirely possible. I’ve still spent time talking about it privately for months; at least once a month, something or other comes up about this company and I have to talk about it or interact with it. I still get calls about this company from the Oregon Department of Employment (fun!) and I still have to wonder: who, exactly, was I looking for?

I haven’t known how to write about what happened to me or this company (agency) that I worked for. It’s not my goal in life to make people miserable or to out people. I love gossiping privately, but this is one of those situations where the gossip isn’t that fun. Maybe because so many people’s lives were at stake. At first, I didn’t feel like it was my story to tell; I wanted my previous employers to be ahead of their own story and reputation and to control the narrative, without feeling like they were pressured by their former employees.

In an ideal world, that is what would have happened. It isn’t what happened unfortunately.

Here’s the truth about my being laid off: I got really, really screwed. My former employers still owe me money—over $5,000 to be precise—and it’s money that, over the last year, I have thought about repeatedly in an “I could really use that as capitol for my own business, to be honest” way. However, I’ve had to deal with the fact, internally, that I will never receive that money.

I will also never receive an apology. I know that now too. And they will never try to get ahead of the gossip or story or rumors about what happened. A lot of explanation is left to employees, which makes it hard for us to talk honestly about our experience without feeling like liars or poor sports, or as if we’re vindictive and out for revenge. None of those things are true.

But how can we talk about what happened when no one is being honest? It’s still not my place to talk about why my former workplace closed. But my decision to go freelance was impacted by one, large fact: I didn’t ever want to be screwed over for money like I was. I wanted to control my money and my product.

I lost all my work for 5 years. I have no portfolio, despite running social media for multiple businesses over 5 years, rewriting websites, writing blog content… it’s gone. All the proof of what I did is gone. And besides, as an agency employee to an agency that no longer exists, I can’t even say, “Well, I did X work for X client while at X”—because that place doesn’t even exist anymore, the bridge with the client has been burned so badly that our work was effectively wiped, and I don’t even have emails to back me up.

At the time I wrote my freelance announcement, I did so with the thought that I didn’t want to spill any “tea” so to speak. I just wanted to make people aware of what I was doing and how it was changing my life. But a big part of my motivation, at that point, was total independence. If a business can go under at any moment, then why not be in control of that business at least? I lost thousands of dollars to a business I had no stake in and nothing to show for. If I’m going to be at risk like that again, it might as well all be on my own shoulders.

This is all to say one thing: going freelance was still an incredibly hard decision. Some days are definitely easier than others. I’ve learned a lot over the last year and I hope that by sharing my story in my career it helps other people make better decisions for themselves and their families.

1. Networking isn’t as terrifying as I thought it would be.

Networking was the big scary idea of freelance that I always dreaded and hated. I didn’t know how to do it and what I did know about it, I didn’t particularly like. It stressed me out in ways that I didn’t really know how to identify.

The truth is, though, that networking is just… being friends with other people.

Networking gets a really bad reputation as being shallow and entirely favor-focused. And, of course, there are some people who use networking very shallowly. That being said, there are lots of people using it in very positive ways that aren’t so bad. I’m one of them!

I genuinely want to be friends with everyone I interact with in a networking way. I want to help them grow. I don’t ever approach anything with the “what can I get out of this?!” mentality. It’s just about building a relationship and seeing what happens. There will be lots of business relationships where I don’t see any “return”—and that’s fine! That’s just life!

So, networking isn’t so bad. And so much of my business comes from networking. I’d be really lost without it.

2. Project management is hard.

If you’re a project manager and you’re reading this, please know that your job is so vital and important.

Because it’s really, really, really hard to manage multiple projects and stay organized. Especially if you’re the one doing the work!

So much of my time goes to admin tasks: keeping Asana organized, making sure my calendars are up to date, invoicing, emails, everything. It all takes so much time. Then, when I start a new project, creating it in Asana, updating tasks, creating due dates… it’s so much work.

Alongside that, managing client expectations is part of project management and, oh my goodness, that is hard too. Staying up to date with multiple clients, keeping them updated, using their various task management and communication systems, scheduling meetings… it takes a lot of work!

This is the hardest part of freelance for me. I thought networking would be my bugbear, but it turns out to be actually managing and organizing projects.

3. Using cycle tracking helps plan my month.

Is this a big disparate to the first two items? Yeah, a little bit.

It was last year that I started noticing something that happened to me month-to-month: I realized that about a week before my cycle started, I had absolutely no energy or motivation. I often let this get me down: why can’t I get anything done?! But then, like clockwork, I would get a huge burst of creative energy usually a week before I ovulated—and I would stay in that energetic phase for about 2 weeks.

As it turns out, my experience is not unique. I randomly googled, “Why am I so creative when I’m ovulating?!” and it turns out, there is a whole system to this. Here are a few great resources I’ve found:

• How to Sync Your Business With Your Menstrual Cycle

• A Menstrual Cycle Based Business Calendar

For me, my monthly calendar is broken down week-by-week:

• The week of my period, I avoid meetings or large events. I simply won’t have the energy and honoring my body’s needs are more important. I usually do a lot of admin tasks during this time, as well as invoicing and planning my month financially.

• The week before ovulation, I work on calendars for the next month (so in June, I start my July calendars for clients). I’m ramping up my energy and feeling more creative, so this usually works out.

• The week I ovulate, I schedule meetings, launches, new client consults, and more. This is my most productive week always. I do most of my copywriting and graphic design this week for the next month.

• The week after I ovulate, I usually schedule in more time to rest after a busy and productive time, focus on admin tasks, analytics, reporting, and client relationships.

A lot of this organization has to do with how my exact cycle lands during the month (which will be different from roughly 75% of the population!)

It has definitely helped me to avoid getting in the habit of thinking, “I’ve lost my mojo, I don’t feel creative or energized by my work!” that then effects the rest of my month. This helps me so much with meeting deadlines. I’m so glad I discovered it and started organizing my calendar effectively.

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What a year it has been, huh? I can’t believe we are getting so close. A year ago this week, I was moving into my new house with absolutely no idea what was on the horizon. It’s always good to look back and think about how we’ve changed and what we’ve learned over the last year.