Author: Nina Vallone

Neen is a writer by night, a mostly adoring wife and a mom of teenagers by day (and night.) She's on a quest to write about what she talks about: life, love and the pursuit of getting up after falling, repeatedly. Her passion of learning to live a mindful life lead her to teaching mindfulness classes around town. While living in the burbs, she constantly peruses city real estate so that when the kids are off to college, she and hubs can haul ass back down to the city.

The smart phone detox one year later

by Nina Vallone, posted in intentional living, mindful living, mindfulness, setting intentions

Last year at this time, Jessica Gardner of Little Merry Sunshine wrote a blog post about taking a smartphone detox. The seven day cleanse originally posted by Popsugar, is the one Jessica, Beth (writer of Ups and Downs of a Yoga Mom,) Megan (writer of Stable Mable) and I followed. While the original detox provided detailed and insightful … Continue reading The smart phone detox one year later

Parents of Teens, Are Your Kids Playing Fortnite?

by Nina Vallone, posted in Parenting Teens, Rules for teenagers, Teenagers

My son isn't a gamer. His social activities center around a group of lifelong friends, baseball and basketball. While he has always spent time (sometimes too much) on video gaming, especially NBA 2K, I've never seen him enjoy himself more online than when playing Fortnite. Fortnite is a survival action video game where, according to Common Sense … Continue reading Parents of Teens, Are Your Kids Playing Fortnite?

Five Things That Help Me With Hygge

by Nina Vallone, posted in Five Things, mindful living

Living in Chicago in February takes a nasty toll on me. I become more sluggish, a bit lazy and need an extra nudge or four to be social. To get through the cold months, I try not to fight it so much and hunker down. It's my own version of Hygge (pronounced hue-ugh.) According to Hygge … Continue reading Five Things That Help Me With Hygge