Thoughtful Thursday

   And it is Thursday... Another week down, not sure how many more to go. I have been M.I.A for a bit because I had a little mini meltdown yesterday. It was over some stuff that has been building up for a minute. This whole situation has finally gotten to me. It is most definitely more the not being to go to bookstores, museums, & other places that I enjoy. The sense of not really feeling like I am not getting ahead with writing/creating/making any kind of leadway with what I want to do with this time too is nerve racking. I am finding ways to try to get back into a real schedule (which I have not had since December). Here are some quotes/ thoughts for today:

There is that saying "We are not defined by what happens to us but how we handle it". I think that is really accurate. Finding time to reflect is what I am going to do for the next few days & see how that goes.

Peace & Blessings all & have a great Thursday!!

2020 Life Focus

 

     Happy New Year everyone!!! Or as some people are saying: we are back in the roaring 20s again (without the prohibition era, of course). I took of the week of Christmas to think about the goals I had for 2019 & what I wanted to set for 2020. Looking back at the last 10 years, there were a number of things that I wanted to do but never happened. 2020 is going to be the start of getting some of that going.
 
In 2020, I have set three big goals along with little ones to help me achieve those. The three areas are still the same but the goals are a bit different since a great deal has changed since January of 2019.  Here are my goal for 2020 along with life updates from over the past year.

Health

     In 2020, I still am focusing on my mental & physical health.  I did find and engage in more activities that helped with my brain fog, focus, flexibility, & strength. For the last three and a half years, I have been meditating. I also started stretching at least once a day. This has help with the LBP (low back pain) & some other issues I was having. Along, with stretching, I started going back working out regular again. Usually I do four to five days a week just depending on how I feel. I do about 10 to 15 minutes of cardio, 30-45 minutes of weight, & 10 to 15 minutes stretching. It has been helping with making me feel more alert in the mornings.

Figured out what was going on with my allergies from the test I had last year as well. I looked all, the foods on the list and found a common denominator: most of these are grown in areas with pollen. My main allergy that I have is with pollen. Now that I figured it out a bit, I make sure to wash all my fruits, vegetables, & pasta before eating it. This has helped a great bit. I still eat rice & chocolate some but not as much as I used to. Lately, I've been super into blueberries & blackberries so there should be some recipes with those in the future.

I'm still listening to a lot of  podcast. The variety has changed a bit but, I've gotten a lot of great information from some of them. I'll be sharing some of my favorite ones at some point. The topics of nutrition, physical activity, & mental productivity are still going to be seen more on the blog. Especially now, there is so much happening in these three areas. Being the information buff/I like knowing what is happening,  I feel like this is my space where I can guide people towards bettering their health. Many people are under-informed or have no clue about the resources available. One of the positive things from 2019: now I have the time to put more energy into the blog, putting out what I see & find in the health area.

Finance

I ended up having to get another car in 2019, which took a bit out of my savings account. I also had to pay twice for the class I needed to graduate last month. I had been saving good amount each month when I had a job. Now I'm not eating out as much or spending money on random things. One thing I'm trying to do is anytime I want to buy something that's not a need I take the money & put it in one of my savings account.

While I'm looking for a job, I now have time to dig into all the finance books I have. When I had more focus (which seems like forever ago), I use to track what I was spending in a notebook. I'm going to talk about the easy ways to track your spending & keeping tabs on your accounts.

Personal Growth

Last year was a fail for reading for leisure. So, this year I'm going to try again with the trying to read a book a week for the 52 weeks of 2020. I have read two so far. I will do a wrap-up of what I read for that month at the end of the month. I'm also going to post each week what book I'm reading on Instagram. Today, I'm going to post the first two since I haven't done that yet. I am going to try to catch up.

I also did finish my CPT course. I'm also taking a course on becoming certified in Reiki. There's a bunch of things I want to do this year including travel, go to some seminars or retreats, & learn some new skills. I always pick to many things so if I at least accomplish three to four of them, I consider that a success. I'm also trying to get my Wellness & Nutrition business off the ground which plays into the blogging & social media thing. I'M NOT GREAT AT IT!!!! So, I'm going try to do better by doing a blog post at least three times s week & post on social media about the same. We'll see if that will happen.

Oh, & since I'm on the word that I want to describe my 2020 train, my word is Present. I'm always on the go & always feel like I need to be doing something. This year, I want to be able to enjoy the little things & not feel like I have to go somewhere or doing something every second of the day. I want to be in the moment & not over think everything (which I do alot).

I would love to know if anyone else is picking a word for 2020 or has set resolutions for the year.
Everyone have a great Wednesday. Peace & Blessings, all!!!

Life focus for 2019

Via

The last two weeks has been busy for me. I am trying to get back into the swing of blogging regularly. Between all my health issue and some other events that happened last year, saying that I'm glad it is 2019 is an understatement.  With that said, here are some of the areas that I'm going to focus on this year along with life updates that go along with them.

Health

Last year, I decided to focus on my physical health: exercise, eating better, etc.  This year I want to pay closer attention to my mental & physical health.  For me, this means finding and doing activities that will help with my brain fog, focus, flexibility, & strength. I have been mediating now for over two years. In late November/early December I found out that I have a number of big & little allergies. Two of the main allergies I have now to Rice and Chocolate.

I have been dealing with ear issues that I have figured out are from my allergies. There are a couple of books that I have read on the subject of nutrition impacts on your physical & mental health (a few podcast as well). The correlation of all nutrition, physical activity, & mental productivity are extremely interesting. Those three topics are going to be seen more on the blog this year.

Finance

In 2018, I did save a bit of money. A few things came up where I had to use a little of the money (tuition & getting my car fixed were two of the main things). Steps have already been made to save for a newer car in the next few months. I set up goals in three month increments. March will be the first update on this topic, be on the lookout for those post.

I read a finance book or two this past summer that I will talk about when I start my book reviews. The books range from managing money in a relationship to how to budget as a single woman. I did make a spreadsheet for a monthly budget. I am trying to see how I need to track my spending on a daily basis.

Personal Growth

Summer 2018 was suppose to be about me learning about fields and areas that I was interested in. I started my CPT course but........ I am so busy with school that I am not finished yet. I have until March to finish it. I have been writing in a journal again. Also, I wanted to get back into reading for fun/leisure again. Part of the reason that I have so many books that I have not read. Since last October/November, I have bought about fifteen books that I have not gotten around to reading yet.
One of the main goals to like so many other people: to try to read a book a week for the 52 weeks of 2019. So far, I am three weeks into the new year & three books in the hole. I am going to try to catch up. Most likely, I will do a book review of the books I read on the last Monday of every month.

There are some other things that I want to focus on in 2019 too. I decided to not call them goals or resolutions. For some reason, those two words I feel set people up for failure. I know, in the past that I have put pressure on myself to try to finish all the task in a timely manner or I just give up. This year, I am going to not be so hard on myself. Oh, and I was going to pick a word for the year for myself but I have not narrowed it down yet. If anyone has suggestions or the word they are going to use this year, I would love to know it & why you chose that.

Everyone have a great Monday!!! Peace & Blessings, all!!!

2018 Goal Update

Via

Why hello there. Since the end of January, I have been taking a blogging "break". I have numerous post that I started writing but never posted. The plus side to this is that I have post for the next two weeks since I have decided to finish all of them.

Since my little hiatus is over, I decided to share with you how my Goals for there year are looking. Some are going pretty good. Others on the not so much. I am probably going to do two to three month updates to share how I am progressing and the struggles that I am having.

Here are how things are going as of March:

Via

Get healthier

I have lost a few pounds since January but I have hit a roadblock. Now though, I do have motivation. As work we are doing a weight loss change that ends in September. The person who wins it gets a good bit of money. It is based on body fat percentage so weight does not matter. I have 6 months to get to the percentage that I want to get to.

One thing that I am doing is trying to add more protein to my diet and cutback on the unhealthy fat in my diet. I have been slowly increasing my exercising amount again. I will let y'all know in May how it goes.

Via

Journal

This is one goal that I have been sticking to. Ever since my friend gave me my journal, I have written in it at least 5 days a week. Usually, I write in it first thing in the more after I mediate and right before I go to bed. For me, doing it this way does two things: first, it let's me get any thoughts that I had during the night get off my chest. Second, it make sure to get out an feelings or stress from the day before I got to sleep.

Via

Try to not stress as much

I have cutback on this a little bit. I just finally realize that I can't control others, how they act, and how they react. Most of my stress at this point is more outward sources than those close to me. I am just trying to find ways to handle it.

Via

Take control of finances

Epic fail!!!! I was doing good in January then February hit. Those not spending money goals just went down the toilet. I had some prints framed, ate out WAYYYY too much, and had to pay to get my car fixed. So I spent, A WHOLE LOT last month. Then there is the whole making a budget thing.

I had started one but all the spreadsheets that excel had confused me a bit and I want something a little easier to track with. I did really well when I us to write it down in my spending notebook but, it was a big ol' hot mess. I had receipts everywhere in my purse and would fall out. I am going to start looking for something similar to that but with some organization.

Via

Get organize

Speaking of organization, this is a yes and a no. I have gotten organized in certain place such as the pantry in the house. I will share a post on it because I think it is a more realistic pantry space compared to some of the other people who have done them. It is literally the size of a small linen closet.

The guest room and office are still a no-go. In all honesty, when you have two people who work full time jobs plus have other commitments a house is not going to get unpacked quickly. It is easier to have unpack when you have time to do it. The two three main goals for the house are to finish the guest bedroom, unpack the office, and finish the closet. For those who do not know, there was an issue in the master closet and the guest bedroom has become my closet at the moment. 

I would love to know how others are doing on the goals they set for this year. Oh, each month I have a different word of that I want to focus on and March's word in Productivity. It means different things to different people. To me it means getting things done so here's to March.

Peace & Blessings, all!!!

Wellness Goals for 2016

One of the three major things I want to get under control this year besides my finances and physical health is my overall wellness.

 As I have gotten older, I have figured out that your mental health does play a big role in you physical health. I had numerous ups and down last year on both fronts.

Since I decided to take "the bull by the horns" so to speak on this year, here are some of the main issues that I am going to focus on either incorporating and taking a hold of:

Mediate/ I started doing this at the beginning of the year and it had helped A LOT!!! Usually, I try to do it twice a day: right when I wake up before I do anything and right before I go to bed to reflect on the day I had. Getting outside yourself and just being in silence where you can actually think about things for me personally, really helps me get greater insight on some of the things happening in my life at that time.

Controlling stress levels/ This is a BIG one for me. I tend to take on the stress of everyone that is around me. Some would say that I tend to feel others feelings more than others but it takes a major toll on me sometimes. More times than not, I end up stressing about my issues I have to deal with along with their. I have already taken steps to pull myself away from others stress and it seems to be working so far.

Stop trying to control everything around me/ This one goes along with the stress levels. I am the first to admit that I am kind of a control freak. As I have gotten older funny enough most have taken advantage of this because I want to do everything to make sure it's done right. I know I shouldn't be like this but if I ask someone to do something and it's not done in a timely manner, I just do it myself.
Like with everything else, I have had to stop trying to do everything which is harder said then done.

Relax/ If you haven't noticed already: I am a big ole' walking stress ball. I have always been a fun person but I am way more serious then everyone else I know. I think this stems from me having to be the adult/most responsible one in many of the situations. This probably goes way back to when I was Director of Standards and Ethics during my sorority days (my friends jokingly called me the cleaner because I cleaned up everyone mess they found themselves in). I have been trying to be more lighthearted and less stuffy lately.

Let Go/ For me letting go of the past is somewhat hard. I am extremely hard on myself when something happens or doesn't go the exact way I want it to go. I am working on just letting things fall the way and living in the moment. This is the same for relationships. I am learning that some friendships serve their purpose and then you have to move on from them, especially toxic ones. Holding onto something that was once great that has gone sour is never good for anyone involved.


There you have it: my wellness goals. This year I am all about trying to reflect and move forward, not regress backwards. Does anyone else have any Wellness goals for this year??
 

 

2016 Goals

Happy 2016  all!!! I was going to post this on the 2nd but I was recovering from the New Years Eve still and lack of sleep. Last year was kind of a mess for me resolution wise. This year I am doing a different take on it though. For me a resolution sounds like a chore, which leads to me not putting my full 110% into it. 

I have decided to say that I have goals since everything on this list is a goal that I had last year that never got completely done. Another thing that I am doing differently too is I am going to try to tackle each goal one at a time as well as putting a time line on each one. Sometimes, when I know that I  have an expended time to finish a task I am definitely tend to slack. 

Many of my goals go hand and hand with each other. I'm starting the working 4 to 5 times a week first since to me that is the easiest one to start.

Does anyone else have any goals or resolutions they are working towards this year?