“Rise above the storm and you will find the sunshine!”
Hiya folks. My name is Nikki. I’m a 40-something Ohio grown, Colorado transplant who’s a free spirit, mountain loving, vegetarian, lover of all animals, friend to all humans and veteran marketer who found herself laid off for the first time following the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, I’m trying to figure out how to remain optimistic while unemployed and quarantined at home with a husband who over-calculates every COVID-19 risk.
I became a workaholic years ago from jobs that forced me to work day and night (literally) just to keep up. I thought all-nighters would be over after college, but I carried on, did my job and did my job well.
In the summer of 2019, I found a great work-from-home job in the wellness space that made me feel like I was contributing to the greater human good. Not even a year into that “perfect job,” things went south pretty fast. In addition to lies and bad business decisions, COVID-19 became a real-life threatening thing. And so, I found myself on furlough, followed soon by an email that the company “will cease operations.” Damn.
That first month, furlough life was pretty great though, even with the stress of a pandemic and my husband who knew (and had to share) every new frightening detail about COVID-19. I technically still had a job to come back to, so I wasn’t worried yet. I enjoyed the time off and being stuck at home. I had time with my husband. Spent time outside. Went camping. I went on long hikes. I did yoga every day. I cooked. I sewed. I built a great garden, which is hard at high altitudes. I actually had tan. I had time to play with my dogs. And all this generally felt pretty good!
Soon after however, reality started to set in. I wasn’t getting my perfect job back. The company was closing. I needed to find a new job, during a pandemic. I would have to start over. I would have to compete with hundreds of applicants. Would my new job require me to go into an office? Would people be wearing masks? Would I have to drive over an hour to the office – one way? Oh god, would I have to commute again? Top that with learning something new every day about the state of our world and the all-around hatred for humanity everywhere. It started to feel soul sucking and the world was crumbling around me.
From there the anxiety, gloom, self-loathing and lack of sleep started to set in. I fell hard from that high of a “limitless” life and started to stress and doubt myself, my career and my life. And it seemed, those feelings kept coming back in still and quiet moments. So, I started brainstorming. What can I do to feel better and be better? I know being busy, creative and social is part of me and if I’m not working, I’m making, cooking or doing something with someone, typically outside. I like to think of myself as feisty, social, creative, humorous and a little bit of smart-ass – so how could I use these things to get the negative out of my head?
A creative outlet was what I needed and I thought “maybe I should start a blog” to share my mind-distracting activities and love of creating with others. This world needs more sunshine and smiles. So, I started writing… and here we are.
Welcome to The Sunshine Hustle. Because these days, the positivity struggle is real!
My goal for this blog is to be a place where I can share my mental survival skills. Ways that I’ve occupied my mind to stay happy, busy and productive. I love to create, make, cook, nurture, love, take care of our planet, take care of my mind & body, have fun, laugh and try new things. These, make me happy and my topics will focus on all of them. My hope is that my inspiration can be your inspiration to stay active, positive and survive in what feels like a freaking unsurvivable world.
Thanks for reading and remember – Love yourself. Love others.
Peace & love,
Nikki
And in the spirit of learning a few “fun facts” about me, here you go:
I’ve been a vegetarian for about 18+ years.
My 2 dogs are my babies. Literally.
I take advantage of saving every animal I can. I once saved a fruit fly from a water droplet in the shower (feel free to laugh).
I was a hibachi chef in a past life.
Sunflowers & lilacs are my favorite flowers.
I don’t have a favorite color – I love all colors.
Being outdoors recharges my soul no matter what time of year it is. I try to do it as much as I can.
I hate being hot, it literally makes me super cranky. But I love the cold (snow, winter clothes, snowboarding, it’s the best).
I hate the word brewery, but I love going to breweries.
My favorite cocktail is bourbon mixed with bourbon. :)
