Hi! My name is Monica. I am so glad you are here!
About Progress is primarily a COMMUNITY made up of people who want to work on their self-development AND self-acceptance. We believe that improving oneself does not need to flourish at the expense of hating oneself!
Many women feel lost in the cycles of perfectionism and procrastination. The About Progress community guides women to grow into living with purpose and connecting to their greater potential. Together, we find fulfillment in the mess of progress.
We are a podcast, a small-group GROWTH coaching program, an online community that supports each other (via Instagram and our private FB group) and more (including in-person workshops and soon-to-be online courses!).
I act as cheerleader, coach, educator, and fellow-learner! Welcome to the best group on the internet.
Want to know more? Read on!
This all started with me finally creating a blog . . . right when every body stopped reading them.
When I was about 6 months away from my 30th birthday, I decided to finally start the blog I had thought about for 8 years prior. I was spurred on by the Bucket List I had created with things I wanted to accomplish before my 30th year came to an end, and on there I had written, “Start a blog.”
Within that first year of sharing topics on everything from my faith, to DIY design, to recipes, and body image, I somehow got the idea to start a podcast. And that’s when things really shifted.
Through it all, I knew what I was for: I am more about the journey than the end-product. My goal is to do something every day that scares me, share the messiness and joy of my attempts, and in turn encourage my friends to do the same. And, ultimately, I want to share the real me—the good and the bad.
Here, you will join me in my pursuit of trying, pushing myself, and being brave. I write occasionally on the website, but mostly contribute to my podcast that airs every single Wednesday with some bonus episodes sprinkled in between.
I want to create a real community with this blog, made up of real people, doing their best, and helping each other out. I hope you can find something here that resonates with you!
If you’d like to work with me, I offer podcast consultations for upcoming podcasters, private coaching and small-group coaching with my Progress Program, online courses (coming soon!), and products (also coming soon!).
If you’d like to learn from me in person, check out my upcoming workshops. If that’s not in your horizon, may I recommend my online course(s), and my Progress Program where I coach within small groups.
Want to know more? Here are some interesting facts about me:
- I have been married to my husband, Brad, for 11 years, come December. He is tall, a red head, athletic, scary smart, puts up with my crazy, and folds most of our laundry. So obviously, I really, really love him!
- We have four awesome kids, (and I use pseudonyms for them on the blog): Bear (7 years old), Bus (5), Bean (3), and Belly (9 months).
- While my kids are my whole life, I will not be writing about them in great detail. I am a little paranoid about weirdos on the internet (hence, the pseudonyms), so they won’t be the center focus of this blog.
- We live in the San Francisco, East Bay Area. (Nope, I won’t get more specific than that!) It’s equally parts fantastic and stressful.
- I have a passion for the outdoors: all things hiking, running, visiting national parks, and just making my kids be outside as much as possible.
- I am a recovering perfectionist.
- I am also a recovering from years of eating disorders and all the not-so-fun stuff that comes with it.
- Harry Potter has my heart, completely. Whenever I am feeling down in the dumps, I read the whole series through and my life noticeably improves.
- I graduated from Brigham Young University magna cum laude, majoring in English, minoring in Humanities.
- I am Mormon. Duh. (But my faith is more complicated than it seems.)
- I taught middle school History and English for three years before having my kids. I still supervise student teachers as a very, very part-time job. (It actually should qualify more as a hobby.)
- I can edit like no body’s business. (Editing students’ papers was excellent practice.)
- I love writing, but not the fictional kind.
- I also love, love reading. I love all genres, but really enjoy Historical Fiction. Sadly, my book-worm tendencies have been at a low-point since the birth of my second child. I’m working on it!
- If I could eat only one thing the rest of my life, it would be ice cream.
- At the same time, I love healthy food. The weirder, the better.
- Don’t worry, that’s balanced out by my obsession with baking. I make chocolate chip cookies at least once a week.
- On that note, I’m a certifiable chocoholic.
- I am a total hippy at heart. We’ve used cloth diapers with all my children (although, I absolutely use disposables too—I had to make peace with that), I feel strongly about recycling and doing our part for Mother Earth, my kids rarely eat processed foods (unless you count chocolate chips and Cheerios…), and I have real suspicions that my microwave is poisoning me.
- Here are some of the things that I love to do, but none of them well: playing the flute and the piano, running, cycling, dancing, fashioning (let’s pretend that’s a word), creating (painting, sewing, story-telling), and parenting.
- I have plans and hopes to return to work once my kids are older. I’m really confused about what field, though. I might return to teaching; I might write; I might pursue interior design; I might go back to graduate school for Humanities or American History (this was my original goal post-undergrad). I might just bake all day. Who knows?! But this blog is actually a big part of me figuring that all out. For now, my job is “Mom!” And luckily, there are enough perks for me to keep it. 🙂
- I peaked in high school. (Believe me, that’s not saying much.)
Thank you so much for being here!
