I know I haven’t written in months, but I wanted to give a quick update on where I’ve been since February. I started training to become a life coach through the World Coach Institute which has been extremely valuable. Not only have I learned how to coach, but it’s helped me build my confidence as well. It has also made me realize that I am on the right path. I enjoy coaching and would love to help you achieve your goals.
Introducing NMC Coaching
I’d like to introduce my new website, NMCCoaching.com. I have launched a new blog over there which focuses on personal development and ways to help your children. NMC Coaching stands for Navigating Motherhood Coaching. I work with moms who want to make real changes in their lives.
Are you transitioning into a new career?
Do you want to feel more productive throughout your day?
Do you want to feel more confident in your parenting abilities?
Do you feel like you’ve lost your identity as a mom and want to rediscover what lights you up?
Do you simply need help regrouping during these uncertain times?
Due to Covid19, I am unemployed which has given me the time to devote to my coaching business. That leads me to the topic of this blog and what will happen to it. I hope to still post on here once per month. I have a Mother’s Day post coming up. Eventually, I hope to tie the two blogs together, but haven’t figured it out yet. This blog has been a labor of love for me. It’s been my introduction to professional blogging, but still remains personal. It’s been part of our journey with some helpful tips thrown in. I hope you will continue to check back for updates and of course, my older posts will still be here. If you are interested in personal development and parenting tips and tricks, come over to NMCCoaching.com and check it out. I will be offering a weekly newsletter with freebies plus building a community of likeminded moms who are working on achieving their goals. Most of all, I want to thank you for visiting my little corner on the web.
As moms, we are always jumping from one task to the next and taking care of ourselves is an after thought. What do you picture when you hear the term self-care? Maybe you picture days at the spa or a weekend at home in your pj’s with your favorite comfort foods. What if I told you that self-care can take 10 minutes or less? Here are my 10 self-care tips for busy moms that can be done in under 10 minutes.
You may be thinking 10 minutes is too short to make a difference. You might be dying to have a whole weekend to yourself, but let’s be realistic. A refresher is better than nothing and during this pandemic, most of us aren’t leaving the house anyway. If you regularly schedule these five to ten minute breaks in your routine, they will become a habit and it will start to add up and make a huge difference in your outlook, health and wellbeing. Okay, I know your busy, so let’s get to those self-care tips now.
Journaling
Journaling is one of my favorite self-care routines. I don’t journal as much as I’d like to, but journaling has so many benefits. Personally, it has helped me work through feelings, visualize my future, keep track of goals and ideas, remember my dreams and preserve memories. With all these ways that journaling can help you, why wouldn’t you want to try it? The great thing about journaling is that there is no right or wrong way to journal. You just write from the heart. If you are not much of a writer, you can make lists or even sketch instead. The best part for us busy moms is that you can journal in less than ten minutes. You can include it in your routine first thing in the morning or before you go to bed or maybe you find it more beneficial to jot down notes throughout the day. Here are some ideas to get you started.
A gratitude journal; make lists of what you are grateful for.
Write using journal prompts.
Write down your dreams when you wake up.
Write down your goals and big dreams each day.
Write about your day.
Make a journal using photos.
Meditation
Many people use meditation as their form of self-care. There are numerous benefits of meditation. There are so many forms of meditation out there, so try several and figure out which meditations work best for you. Even if meditation is hard for you, just try to find a time to be in calm and stillness. We are always juggling and rarely get to stop to sit with our thoughts. There are many meditations that can be done in ten minutes or less like these.
Stretch Routines
If you are working at home now like I am, you may be sitting for hours at a time. It’s really important to get up and move around. A quick five to ten minute stretch routine is the perfect way to do that.
Workouts
If you have the energy and motivation, why not schedule a ten minute workout? If you are low on energy, doing even a short exercise routine is a great way to beat fatigue! If you have an exercise machine at home, do that, but if you don’t have any exercise equipment, I’ve got you covered. There are many strength based workouts that you can do from the comfort of your home that only use your body weight and can burn just as many calories.
Favorite Snack
What are your favorite snacks? This will look different for everyone and that’s okay. For some people self-care is grabbing their favorite comfort food and for other people self-care includes eating something healthy for their body. Whatever the case may be for you, prepare some of these snacks for you and your kids so you can have them throughout the week.75 Healthy Snack Ideas
Maybe you don’t have time for a spa treatment or to do your regular makeup routine, but it’s so important to feel good about how you look. Since we are staying at home, many of us are not even bothering to get dressed or do our makeup. I don’t know about you, but when I’m not dressed and ready for the day, I don’t feel very motivated. Here are some ideas to help you look and feel good that take only a few minutes.
Put on your makeup.
Wear jewelry.
Do your nails.
Do a facial.
Style your hair in a different way.
Reading
Reading is one of my favorite activities because I learn new things or I can escape into the book depending on what I’m reading. Those are just a couple of benefits of picking up a book or listening on Audible. Reading doesn’t have to take up a lot of time. You can just read a few pages at a time, but if you totally get absorbed, that’s okay too.
Outside Time
How about taking that book outside and enjoying the peace that comes from being in nature? These days it can be harder to get out with our social distancing practices and stay at home orders, but as long as you keep these things in mind, you can still safely enjoy the outdoors. If you have a dog, take him for a walk. The dog needs to get out, so why not take this time for yourself as well? If you have a baby, it can be nice to just put them in the stroller and go enjoy the fresh air. Maybe you’re working and you can take your laptop outside. Being outside for a few minutes can bring some calm not only to yourself, but to your kids as well.
Creating a Peaceful Environment
This may be an aspect of self-care that you haven’t thought of. If you are working at home, think about the environment that you are working in. Is it uninviting? Is it complete chaos? One way to make your day more peaceful and or motivating is to change your environment in subtle ways. Here are some ideas.
Put pictures on your desk.
Add motivational quotes or affirmations where you see them.
During this time of isolation, it’s so important to reach out to others. What’s better than a good chat with a friend? Maybe you want to reconnect with someone you haven’t talked to in a while or maybe you want to make some new connections. Whatever the case may be, reach out. It could make your day or someone else’s. It can also help us to slow down and listen and or be heard.
Self-care is so important, especially during these uncertain times. What are you doing to take care of yourself? Tell us in the comments.
In my last post, I talked about how we can use the time in quarantine for personal development. Coincidentally, an article came across my newsfeed about how there is this push to make ourselves a project during this time. While I agree that there has been a push to use this time to improve ourselves, I don’t see it as a bad thing. I see it as one way we can put positivity back into our lives. Also, I think if you see yourself as a project, it diminishes your worth. If you see yourself as a complete being that is constantly evolving, doesn’t that sound better?
Pay Attention to Your Feelings
That being said, the author brought up a really good point that I want to focus on. When there is a huge push to go, go, go, it is distracting. When we are constantly in motion, we don’t have time to sift through our feelings. While I think it is a great idea to do some personal development during this time, I encourage you to  incorporate working through these difficult feelings as a part of your routine.
This is a tragedy like no other in our lifetime. It is effecting everyone in different ways. People are losing their lives. Families are losing loved ones. To make things worse, family members can’t be with their loved ones who have to die alone. It’s heartbreaking even if you aren’t going through it. On the flip side, there are people getting sick, but they are fully recovering. The scary thing is you never know who will be the lucky ones. As this goes on, you might be feeling grief, sadness, worry and fear.
Then there is all the other stuff. You might be unemployed and not sure when you will get your next check. You might be worried about getting enough food or personal products. You can’t go see family members or friends. Schools are closed and you might be trying to homeschool your children. Children are missing their friends and normal routines. Students can’t have proms or graduation ceremonies. Vacations and weddings have been canceled. Then there are all the pregnant women who have their own set of challenges. It’s a scary and strange time and we all will have to deal with our feelings at some point.
Strategies to Cope With Strong Feelings
Simply acknowledge the feelings.
Recognize them, name them in your head and allow yourself to feel them.
Journal
Write everything down. Give yourself that safe space to let go of everything.
Release the feelings
For some people, it helps to wrip up or burn the paper after they’ve written about a negative event or negative feelings. It’s a way of releasing that negative energy from your mind and your physical space.
Other people just need to have a good cry or can release the feelings by doing something physical. You can either go for a walk, do a workout at home or take a bike ride.
Create
Some people work through feelings by creating something. You can use any kind of art, music or writing to express yourself.
Reach Out
Even though we are apart, we are all in this together. Don’t be afraid to reach out to a friend or family member. Sometimes just asking someone how they are doing can make all the difference. Mental health is so important and if you know someone who is struggling, please reach out to them. If you are struggling and need to talk to a therapist, don’t be afraid to reach out. It really can help to talk to someone.
If we all take this time now to work through how we are feeling, we will come out of this that much stronger. If you are one of those people who is constantly in motion distracting yourself, take a few minutes to stop and breathe. Let yourself feel even if it is hard. We will get through this eventually. Things will never quite be the same, but we will find our way down this new path together.
How are you holding up during these tough times? Tell me in the comments.
When this  quarantine period started in mid-March, I was lost. This was the first time in nine years that I was unemployed. It was also the first time I was home with my daughter full-time. With no preschool for her and no work for me, it was totally different. I had been wanting a change, but not under these circumstances. I was afraid of getting sick. I didn’t know how I’d end up paying my bills. I was worried about our food situation. I had so many worries and questions floating around in my head.
Shift Your Mindset
Meanwhile, I was about half way through my coaching course with World Coach Institute. On one of those calls, I talked to a classmate about how I was feeling overwhelmed and lost. He told me that this time was a gift so that I could focus on my business. When I started thinking of it like that, I felt much more positive about our situation. After my mindset changed, things started to fall into place.
I think of this time as a gift. How can you reframe this time of being alone to something positive you can identify with? Maybe you think of this time as a change, a rebirth or a chance to rethink your priorities. Maybe this time can be a reconnection. A reconnection to yourself as well as your connection to those around you. Even though we can’t be in the same room, there are plenty of ways to reach out to each other.
How To Choose Your Focus
If you are as overwhelmed and lost as I was, choosing something to focus on can seem like a daunting task. The obvious choice for me is my coaching business since it’s one of my big dreams for this decade and I was already taking the course. Have there been changes you wanted to make? Is there something you’ve always wanted to learn about? Is your home in need of cleaning and or organization? Have you wanted to start a new hobby?
Write everything down. Your dreams, goals, changes you want to make, things you’ve always wanted to try and then prioritize them. Then ask yourself, which of these things can I do from home?
Possibilities
Work on your business,
Spring clean,
Reorganize your home,
Do activities with your kids,
Start a new exercise routine,
Find a new hobby,
Take a course,
Read books,
Start a journaling or meditation practice,
If you’ve been running non stop, take a break.
What other ideas can you come up with? How are you improving your life during this period of uncertainty? Scroll down and tell me in the comments!
I’m going to try to do these journal prompt posts more often because my Pinterest followers seem to like them. There are numerous benefits of journaling, but sometimes it’s hard to stay consistent and or focused, so here are some love prompts for the month of February. If you are just getting started with journaling, that’s wonderful. If you’ve been journaling for a while and you need some prompts to get you jump started again, I’ve got you covered! Many of the prompts are Valentine’s Day related, but don’t worry if you are single. I have something for everyone here.
Prompts For Singles
What do you love about being single?
What do you miss about being in a relationship?
Describe your perfect partner?
What would your perfect date be like?
What are you looking for in a relationship?
What do you enjoy doing on your own?
What would you like to share with others?
Are there any relationship experiences that you still need to heal from?
Write an unsent letter to a previous partner saying whatever you feel was unsaid.
Write an unsent letter to your future partner.
Write an unsent letter to a friend describing your future partner as if you’ve already met him/her.
Prompts for those in a relationship
Write the story of how you and your partner met.
What are your favorite things about your partner?
What is your bucket list together?
What are some of your favorite memories together?
What are your Valentine’s Day traditions?
What could the two of you work on to make your relationship stronger?
What things do you do well as a couple?
What do you see for your future as a couple?
What was your first date like?
What does your perfect day together look like?
What do you wish your partner would do differently?
Write a love letter to your partner.
What is the most amazing thing about your partner?
Prompts for Self Love
What are you doing for yourself today?
What will you do for yourself on Valentine’s Day?
What are your self-care rituals?
If you knew you couldn’t fail, what would you be doing?
What is your biggest dream?
What do you love about yourself?
How can you be kind to yourself today?
What are your favorite things?
What gives you energy?
What makes you laugh?
If you could live anywhere, where would you live?
Describe your dream vacation.
What have you accomplished so far?
What do other people love about you?
If you enjoy the prompts or find them useful for self discovery, let me know. Do you have any go to prompts that you use when you are having writer’s block? Tell me in the comments. Happy journaling.
Although February is right around the corner, there are still 11 months left in the year. Why not start it off right with some journal prompts that set you up for success in 2020? Whether you’ve already made New Years resolutions and are sticking with them or have lost your momentum, take the time to think about what you want this year to look like. It’s also the star of a new decade, so think about your future as well. Think of your pages as clean slates that you can fill with what ever you wish.
I’ll start with prompts to look back because it can be helpful to revisit where you have been. Next, there will be prompts for goals and dreams for the year and finally, there will be prompts for the future beyond 2020.
Looking Back
What did you accomplish in 2019?
What were your set-backs in 2019?
What are your favorite memories from 2019?
Did you do anything new in 2019?
What was 2019 like if you could describe it in one word and why?
What did you accomplish in the last decade?
What were your favorite memories from the last decade?
Is there anything from the last decade that you still need to heal from?
What has been working well for you?
What do you want/need to let go of?
What was your theme from the past decade?
Prompts for 2020
What do you want this year to look like?
What are your short-term goals for 2020?
What are your dreams for the year?
What is your word for 2020?
Did you make New Years resolutions? If so, are you sticking to them?
Make a list of new things you’d like to try this year.
What books would you like to read?
What would you like to do for yourself this year?
What family plans do you have this year?
Do you have any habits you’d like to break? If so, what?
What’s one step you can take today to achieve one of your goals?
Prompts for Your Future
What are your big dreams for this decade? It can be anything. The sky’s the limit.
Where do you think you will be in ten years?
Describe your dream place to live.
Describe your dream vacation.
Write a letter to your future self. What do you want him/her to know?
What do you want to do for fun this decade?
Break your big dreams down into smaller achievable steps and make lists.
What are your family plans for the decade?
Where would you like to visit?
If you woke up tomorrow and could change one thing, what would it be?
What does success mean to you?
What is your theme for this decade?
Since it was Martin Luther King Day on Monday, I am ending this post with one of his quotes. It’s perfect for the start of the new year, trying something new or starting fresh.
I hope these prompts help you gain some clarity, celebrate your accomplishments and get you excited about your future. Do you have any favorite writing prompts? Feel free to leave it in the comments. Happy journaling!
Around the time I was brainstorming for the perfect word for 2020, this wonderful thing popped up in my inbox. Since the beginning of the year, I have been participating in the Best Decade Ever challenge with Mel Robins. For those who don’t know, it’s a totally free 30 day challenge that teaches you to dream bigger. In her live videos, Mel talks about the science behind dreams, why you should dream bigger and how to break those huge dreams down into achievable steps. If you are not participating, I recommend that you do. The program is simple, doesn’t take up much time and it has given me clarity on several areas of my life. It has given me that push to work on my goals plus be more intentional about self-care and bringing love into my life.
Dream Bigger
The main part of the challenge asks you to dream bigger. Instead of just focusing on 2020, Mel is asking you to think about the next decade and how you can make it the best decade ever. What are your big dreams? What can you accomplish in this decade? You find out by asking yourself, what are my dreams? Then you write down the first five things that come to mind. You can do this any time of day, but I prefer to do this in the morning. If you do this each day, you start to train yourself to think bigger. It also helps with creating positive energy, seeing reoccurring dreams and can help you gain clarity. I’ve seen so many amazing dreams posted, but here are my big five.
Build a life coaching business,
Get in the best shape of my life,
Make a steady income from this blog,
Find a loving and supportive relationship,
Have a second child.
Some of my other dreams are to find my tribe, travel, build my dream house and move out of state. Most of these dreams are broad and not specific and that’s okay. There are no rules when writing down your dreams. Whatever comes to mind is perfectly fine. Don’t over think it. If you have the same dreams every day, write those down. If your dreams are different, that’s fine as well. If you never accomplish these dreams or if they change over time, that’s okay. The point is to learn the skill of thinking about your dreams and realizing that they are possible.
Self Limiting Beliefs
Most of the time, we don’t even get started achieving our dreams because we tell ourselves that our dreams are stupid. We tell ourselves that we are too young, too old, not smart enough, not good enough or that we don’t deserve it. The self limiting beliefs can be endless. We are our own worst critics. We tell ourselves things that we would never tell anyone else. Mell offers a free tool that helps you get clear on your self limiting beliefs and how to get rid of them. This is hard work, but we have to train our brains to think the opposite of what we’ve all been thinking about ourselves for years. Old habits die hard.
Check out this video on self limiting beliefs.
Brick By Brick
Last year, I wrote a post about my take aways from the book, Take Control of Your Life. Also, by Mel Robins. In that book, there was a concept where you build a foundation brick by brick. Well, this is how you achieve your dreams. You break each dream down into small achievable steps. In week two of the course, one of the assignments is to simply pick one dream out of your five and explore it further for 15 minutes per day. What does that mean? Well, there are many ways to explore a dream. One of my big dreams is to become a life coach and build a business, so that’s the one I chose to explore further. I bought the book Becoming A Professional Life Coach and started reading it. I watched a video of a sample life coaching session. Another day, I read everything on the World Coach Institute’s website. I’ve read blog posts written by life coaches on how to get started, listened to The Life Coach School’s podcast and I’ve done what I call a life coaching brain dump. This is where I’ve generated business ideas as well as a todo list for steps I need to take to get started.
Here’s another example. What if your dream is to start a parenting blog? Your first step would be to do a brain dump. Write down anything that comes to mind regarding your blog.
Blogging Brain Dump
One area may be exploring topic ideas. What do you want your blog to focus on? Here is a list of possible topics.
Developmental milestones,
Toy/product reviews,
Self-care for moms,
Breast-feeding,
Sleep routines,
Kid friendly recipes,
Educational activities.
You get the idea. List as many possible topic ideas as you can think of. Then do another list of action steps that you’d need to do to get started. Some possible items on your list might include
Coming up with a domain name,
Researching and finding a web host,
Explore WordPress themes,
Design website, (Banners, logos, layout etc)
Do research on writing a blog post (SEO, proper format, Pinterest etc)
Create written content,
Find images,
Create social media accounts for your blog,
Learn how to promote and drive traffic to your blog,
Learn about ways to earn an income from your blog.
The point of these lists is to have a place to get started. This way you can see what small steps you can take, what skills you need to learn etc. You can also do a list of steps you’ve taken if you’ve been working on your dream already. That way, you can see your wins and it will keep you moving. Staying with the blog example, one big step would be to choose a domain name. This will be the website address where your blog is located. To achieve this step, you may want to write a list of several blog name ideas. Then choose the one you like best and see if it’s available. If it is, your next step would be to buy the domain. Then your next step would be to find a hosting provider. If you know which one you want to go with, you’d simply go to that website and sign up for a plan. If you are an absolute beginner, your first step may be to do research and compare various hosting companies. There isn’t a right or wrong order to exploring your dream. Just do one small part or actionable step each day and that is how you get started. Brick by brick!
As I write this, I’m wrapping up week two of the course and am looking forward to making more progress on my dreams during weeks three and four. I will keep you posted. What are your big dreams for this decade? What is one step you can take today to get startedd? Let me know in the comments.
I know this post is long overdue, but before I get to that, I want to wish you all a happy new year. I hope 2020 has started on a positive note for everyone, but if not, this post can point you in the right direction.
December was a busy month for me and I needed to take a break from the blog and although I’m posting today, I don’t know how often the entries will be coming. I suppose whenever I get inspired. I’ve really needed this break so that I can focus on other things. While I love the blog, I was having to devote way too much time to it. With being a single parent, working in a highly stressful job and dealing with other obligations, it was getting harder to carve out time for anything else, so I’ve had to rethink my priorities. I want the blog to be successful and I know that blogging is hard work, but I need to coast for a while. One of the reasons I’ve made this decision is because of the new year. I wrote in my journal and thought hard about what I want 2020 to look like.
Why one word instead of a New Years resolution?
I have always hated New Years resolutions. I make tons of goals for the new year, get excited about them and there’s a big push in January, but by February, everything gets dropped. Then there’s the guilt and all the negative self talk about why I didn’t accomplish my goals yet again. This year, I’m doing things differently. I’ve decided to choose one word to live by this year. I did this last year as well, but wasn’t really following it with intention. In order for this to work, you have to be passionate about the word you choose.
My word for 2020 is love. I chose the word love because after soul searching, I found that love was the most meaningful thing that I needed to work on for this year. Both for myself and others. This also means that all the goals I’ve chosen to work on for 2020 are connected to love in some way. some of my goals for the year include
Getting in better shape,
Being more present and patient with Rosebud,
Taking more time for self-care,
Changing my mindset,
Being in a loving relationship.
These goals all relate to taking care of myself or others. Having a connection between the goals will help to make them achievable. My intention for 2020 is love, but yours may be different. Maybe your word is action, happiness, mindful or change. It can be any word. Here are some suggestions if you are still having trouble coming up with a word.
How to Choose Your Word
1. Write in your journal about what you want 2020 to look like. Are there any common themes?
2. Brainstorm a list of words and see which word or group of words resonate with you the most.
3. Make a vision board using images, words and or quotes. Are there any words or themes that pop out at you?
4. If you are torn between two or three words, take time to think and then come back the next day. Do you have any new thoughts?
5. Be sure your word and and any goals connected to your word energize you. Think about intentional things that you can do every day to bring your word to life.
Be Intentional
For my word, love, I have thought about what I can do everyday to bring love into my life. I can practice self-love by exercising and taking care of my body daily. I can send out loving energy by writing down a gratitude list of things that I’m thankful for each day. I can reach out to people to increase the chance of finding a meaningful relationship. There are so many things I can do to bring love into my life and that is what I intend to do in 2020. How about you? Do you have a word for the year? What are your plans, dreams or goals for 2020? Tell me in the comments.
First, I want to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving. If you are not in the US or don’t celebrate, that’s okay because any day is a good day to be thankful. It’s always good to show gratitude for the wonderful things in our lives. This has been a hard year for me and too often I focus on the areas of my life that I’m not satisfied with. Today reminds me that I need to stop and share what I am truly grateful for.
1. I want to start off with the amazing people in my life.
Rosebud is at the top of my list. Parenting is the hardest and most rewarding job I’ve ever done. I’ll admit there are things I don’t like about being a parent, but I love Rosebud with all my heart. I love when we laugh together. I love weekend mornings when we can sleep in or snuggle. I love how excited she gets to see me after work. It really brightens my day. I love teaching her things, but she has taught me so much. She tests my patience for sure, but she has shown me how strong I am. She’s my reason for getting out of bed every day.
2. I’m thankful for my family. Especially my mom. We don’t always agree, but she’s been a huge source of support when I’ve really needed it. She’s also my main source of transportation which is not always easy. She takes care of Rosebud when I’m at work and makes sure she gets to and from preschool. I don’t have to pay extraordinary amounts of money for childcare because of her. Not to mention the fact that she loves Rosebud no matter what.
3. I’m thankful for my new niece that I haven’t met yet. She was born premature a couple weeks ago and since she’s been in the hospital, I haven’t been able to meet her. Rosebud and I were sick last week, so we didn’t want to pass our germs on to the baby. Fortunately, she came home a few days ago and we will be meeting her for the first time today. She’ll probably give me baby fever, but that’s a topic for another post.
4. I’m thankful for my friends. I have a couple of good friends in my life. To protect everyone’s privacy, I won’t mention anyone’s names, but just know that I appreciate all of you whether we’ve met in person or not. One friend, I’ve been writing to for over two years now. Although we’ve never met in person, I consider her one of my best friends and maybe one day one of us will take the trip. There’s Little Guy’s mom who texts me often to check in, has been extremely supportive and helpful with my work and of course brings Little Guy for playdates. Then there are all the others who I talk to less often, but I’m grateful to know them. Recently, someone else has come into my life. While our friendship is brand new and I’m not sure how things will turn out, I appreciate him very much.
5. I’m thankful for my home. Of course I’m grateful that I have a roof over my head, but it is more than that. Rarely have I ever truly felt at home as an adult. I love having my own safe space that I can come to at the end of the day. I can invite people if I want. I can decorate it how I choose to. My home has been a great place for Rosebud as well. She loves it and I can tell it feels like home to her. While there are lots of things I don’t like about the area where I live, I’m thankful to have a wonderful home.
6. I’m grateful for my job as much as I hate to say it. While I’m extremely dissatisfied and that is putting it mildly, it allows me to buy the things I need. There are some wonderful children and coworkers I’ve met over the years and that’s what I have to remember.
7. There is a special baby I met this year. Unfortunately, I only got to spend a couple of months working with him. He is a happy and sweet little boy who I’ll always remember.
8. I’m thankful for Diamond. Thank you for snuggling with me every day and for always being there.
9. I’m thankful for Mellow. I lost him this year which has been hard. I miss your loud purr, your crazy meows, your snuggles and watching your friendship with Rosebud. I’m so grateful that you were my cat.
10. I’m thankful for books. While I haven’t read as many books this year. I’m grateful for the things that books can teach us or the escape when I want to be somewhere else.
11. I’m thankful for music. I don’t listen to music as much as I used to, but lately I’ve been enjoying finding new songs on Spotify. Music was so important to me when I was a kid. I spent most of the 90’s listening to music. It was always there no matter what. Music was a source of joy and comfort to me during some difficult times.
12. I’m grateful for nature. The beach is my happy place. I love rainy/cloudy days, but enjoy the warm sun as well. Just sitting outside hearing the birds and feeling the breeze is so peaceful. I am fortunate to live in a place where there is always nature around me.
13. I’m grateful for delicious food. I love to cook, bake and try new recipes. I’m especially for food that others cook for me. It’s a bonus!
14. I’m extremely thankful for technology. When I was going to school in the 90’s, there was some technology, but it wasn’t as advanced as it is today. Back then I would’ve never thought that I’d be able to use the exact same technology as my peers. By the time I started college, I was fortunate to have a laptop with a screen reader and was so grateful that I could blend in. My computer looked the same as everyone else’s. Then when the iPhones started coming out, I couldn’t imagine how I’d ever use a phone with a touch screen. Apple products are amazing and they have accessibility built into them. I didn’t have to spend crazy amounts of money on extra software to get my phone, tablet or pc to work for me. For someone who has had to stand out, it’s wonderful to be on the same playing field with everyone else when it comes to technology.
15. I’m thankful for writing. I love journaling to gain clarity and to preserve memories. I love blogging and the potential to reach so many people. Writing has always been one of my favorite things.
16. I’m grateful for things that smell good. People find my strong sense of smell to be a pain in the ass. I’ll ask if they can smell something and of course, they never can. I love candles, perfumes and lotions. I have a drawer full of wax melts, but that’s my secret.
17. I’m grateful for soft things. As I sit here, I’m covered with a soft cozy blanket. Diamond and Mellow are soft and cuddly. I have a collection of stuffed animals. I’m really picky about textures, so clothes, blankets and sheets have to have a soft texture that is just right.
18. This is really important. I am thankful for my health. Too often I take it for granted, but I’ve been pretty healthy so far in my life. I’m grateful that I can get up in the morning and exercise. I can work. I can play with Rosebud. Not everyone can easily do these things and that is definitely something I need to be mindful of.
19. Lastly, I’m grateful for you, my readers. Thank you for reading my blog. While I haven’t found great success, I get a small amount of views each day. My  persistence and love of writing keep my blog going, but it’s the comments from readers that I find the most meaningful. Thank you so much. What are you thankful for this year? Tell me in the comments.
If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you may have noticed that I haven’t been posting regularly in the past couple of weeks. For the past several months, I’ve had posts scheduled for Mondays and Thursdays, but lately I can’t keep up. The ideas haven’t been flowing and I’ve been frustrated with the lack of traffic along with the amount of time I’ve had to devote to my blog. As much as I love writing, I feel like this has been an uphill battle. I still love blogging, but I really need a break. My life is also changing in a lot of ways and I need time to adjust and find a new routine. That being said, I will still post here on the blog. Maybe once a week. Maybe more depending on my mood and how much time I have for creating new content.
I wanted to share how I came to this decision. Maybe there’s something in your life that you need a break from, but you are still unsure. Maybe you need a break altogether or just need to cut back. Here are just a few ways to know when you need a break.
Stress Level
Are you overwhelmed and or stressed? If something is completely stressing you out, then maybe you need a break. If it’s not absolutely necessary, don’t be afraid to stop whatever it is. Maybe you took on too many projects. Maybe you want to declutter your whole home, but have no idea where to start. Maybe you are saying yes to too many people. Whatever it is, step back and ask yourself, is this essential to my everyday life?
If cutting it out altogether isn’t an option or if you start to feel guilt, the nest step is figuring out how to make the task more manageable. If you need to declutter your home, start with one room. If that is too much, do one shelf or drawer. Then keep working at it a little each day. If it’s blogging related, can you outsource some of these tasks? Can you hire a virtual assistant to handle your Pinterest or other social media? How about getting some guest posts if writing content isn’t your strong suit? In my case, I am not able to hire out any of these tasks, so my only option is to change my posting schedule for the time being, but I’m okay with that.
Relationships
The next question to ask is how is this thing impacting others in your life? I know I haven’t had much extra time since I started blogging almost two years ago. I work on the blog each night and constantly throughout the day. I’m always participating in blogging threads on social media, trying to keep up with Pinterest, coming up with blog topics, finding images etc. If I don’t get my posts done on time, I will work on the blog early in the morning as well. Sometimes, it’s way too much. It doesn’t leave much time for myself or my daughter. On the weekends, I write my posts for the week, but I can’t get it all done in the evenings, so that only leaves the day time when I should be playing with Rosebud. It makes me feel guilty because I want to be successful with this blog, but I want to spend time with Rosebud as well. What is more important? Obviously, it’s Rosebud. She’s only little once and I don’t want to regret not spending enough time with her. I may not even have this blog in the future, so while it’s important to me right now, it might not always be. While my blog is tied in with my long-term goals, it’s not essential in this moment. When you are thinking of changing something in your life, ask yourself if it will get you closer to achieving your long-term goals. If not, then you have your answer.
Self Care
There’s that all too common phrase, self-care. It gets thrown around a lot, but it is important. you definitely need a break if whatever it is you are doing stops you from taking care of yourself. Even if you are busy, you need at least a few minutes each day to recharge. When I stopped to think about it, working on the blog has taken up so much of my free time. For the past two years, I’ve barely written in my journal, stopped doing most of my other hobbies and don’t get enough sleep. It has felt good to do other things again. I’ve actually been able to write in my journal, watch some new tv shows and have started a new friendship. It’s been nice to do something different. I’ve also needed to focus energy on my future home business which has been a huge factor in my break from the blog.
How does it feel?
Do you feel energized? Do you love what you are doing? Are you excited about it? Does it bring you joy? If your answer is yes to these questions, keep doing what you are doing. Does it make you feel depleted, overwhelmed, tired, down or just plain bored? If you answered yes to those questions, it’s time to change it up. If you are blogging, maybe you need to find a new topic that you are passionate about. If you are still passionate about your topic, but just need some new inspiration, a break out in the real world can do that. If you are doing something other than blogging, you can ask yourself these same questions to figure out what you need to do.
It’s often overlooked, but really take the time to notice how your body is feeling. I’ve been feeling drained and practicing some self-care has helped. What does self-care look like for you? Does it consist of a warm bubble bath or an early morning run? Self-care is different for everyone, so try a variety of things to see what works best for you.
Now that I have some of my struggles with blogging out in the open, I feel less guilt about not posting. It’s okay to step back. It’s okay to take a break. It’s okay to drop something altogether. Most things are not  permanent decisions. To summarize, here are some questions to ask yourself before taking that much needed break. Is it causing too much stress in your life? Is it negatively impacting your relationships? Do you have time for self-care? Is it essential for achieving your long-term goals? Finally, how does it make you feel in your body? The answers to those questions can help you take the next steps and make the decision that is right for you. Are you struggling with burnout or knowing when to take a break? Tell me in the comments.
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How To Choose Your Focus
13. I’m grateful for delicious food. I love to cook, bake and try new recipes. I’m especially for food that others cook for me. It’s a bonus!
