inspirational

Monday

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Starting the day a little later than usual today because I have to bring my car to the repair shop this morning. Once I drop it off, the rental car people will bring me to Enterprise so I can get my rental for the next couple days, and then I can head to work!

We have our potluck at work today so I am bringing Poppyseed Bread per usual (highly requested family recipe), and we are picking our secret santa’s! I am looking forward to that and trying to keep a positive outlook on this week, as last week felt like a total shit show at work.

Although I am starting the week off a little bit out of routine, maybe that’s exactly what we need for this week. I’m grateful to have my car and my insurance to help pay for this repair, I am grateful for my bosses being so flexible with me while I work through this and my cat’s diabetes (her next vet appointment is this Friday), and I am just grateful to be alive even when times feel stressful.

Sending love to everyone this Monday- cheers to a great week ahead! Even if shitty things happen, we can tune into the fact that we still have many wonderful things to be grateful for.

Energy

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The energy of today was chaotic as f*ck if you ask me. Work was wild, it felt like emotions were at an all time high, and I’m PMS-ing on top of it which doesn’t help. A couple of my friends I talked to today also felt this wild ass energy today, so I’m just trying to frame it positively like we are all about to level up by remembering where we need to set our boundaries and enforce them. I am not going to continue to let other people mess up my mood or how I am feeling about my day. How other people act is not my problem or my responsibility, I am only responsible for my own reactions and responses. Can you tell I’ve been reading “The Let Them Theory” by Mel Robbins? LOL!

Honestly though, this “Let Them” thing is harder than it sounds, but I am glad that this is on the forefront of my mind right now. I have definitely let other people’s lack of care and competence at work bother me, but literally it is not my problem. I am good at what I do, and I am not responsible for anyone else’s job or work ethic- I am only responsible for my own. I love the owners I work for, I love what I do even if it is stressful some days (I mean it’s fighting against insurance companies… so it’s just going going to be stressful somedays LOL) and I can be proud of my own work and focus on all of the positive aspects of my job.

It is important to feel and release the frustration from the day, but I can also choose to do that in a positive way. Instead of dwelling on the negative and continuing to talk about it, I can choose to do an activity to help ground me and bring me back to center. Sometimes that is dancing around my house, other times it is writing in my journal or here on my blog, and sometimes it is singing my heart out in the shower- all of these things are enjoyable to me, and they allow me release the tension from the day.

I definitely gave away a lot of my energy today. I got caught up being upset about things that are beyond my control, and I know that going forward, I do not want to waste my time on negative people or situations. I sometimes get mad at myself for caring too much when it feels like other people don’t care at all, but at the same time, I love that I care. I love that I am someone who takes pride in their work and work ethic. The reason I was able to move out and buy a home when I did is because: 1. I have an incredible husband who has been my rock through the entire journey and 2. I have always worked hard at every job I had, working towards promotions, being recognized for my skills/work ethic, and I am proud of myself for that. I do not need to waste time on negativity when there are so many blessings around me. I am grateful for this life I live, and I have worked hard to get here.

With that being said, thank you Universe and Angels for protecting me and helping me stay grounded in my own peaceful energy. Thank you for the fact that my husband and I can afford our bills, have access to food and water, have working vehicles and good jobs. Thank you for watching over us and supporting our love, and thank you for this beautiful life. I am so thankful to be at a place in my life where I am not in a constant state of anxiety, and I refuse to allow irrelevant things to knock me off my path to my higher self. I love the fact that I am a sensitive soul who cares, and in reality, I appreciate ever soul I meet. I say that, because no matter what the interaction is, I know I am learning from everyone that I cross paths with, and I with that knowledge I can only evolve.

1/11

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Today is January 11, aka 111! If you believe in angel numbers and all that fun witchy woo, then today is a powerful day that marks “new beginnings.” Today is also the first new moon of 2024, which is a wonderful day to set new intentions, new routines and get our booties into gear!

Mind you, if you are still feeling the heavy, exhausting energy of the new year, it is okay to just take today to slow down and pour into yourself. Give yourself grace and set time to check back in when you’re feeling like you’re in a better space energetically.

For myself, this year is an exciting one and I am looking forward to all of the love, connections, blessings and abundance that is heading my way. I am being my full self with absolutely no apologies! I am embracing my weird, bitchy, dark humor having ass self and instead of fighting the inevitable dualities in the human life, I am flowing with them.

I am advocating for myself.

I am prioritizing my peace.

I am moving with intention.

I am surrendering worries to the universe.

I am flowing, growing, and glowing.

I am taking back my power.

I am stepping into my authentic self.

I am grateful, graceful, and tasteful.

I have spent so much time focusing on my mental health and focusing on the positives, and now it’s time to enjoy all of my progress. I am dancing in the garden I grew for myself. I am singing in the rain that the universe pours into me. I am skipping through the fields of abundance that will continue to appear before me. I am breathing fresh air into my vessel, cleansing my soul from the inside out.

I am here.

I am alive.

I am free.

Thank you, angels and guides of the highest good for your divine support and protection.

Open, Hopeful and Grateful. ♡

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This Thanksgiving is going to be another lowkey holiday, mainly because I just got over a cold and now my boyfriend is working through his. We don’t want to spread this to any family members so we will be staying in, enjoying each other’s company, and relaxing. My idea of relaxing is bouncing between different tasks that bring me joy, such as reading, watching Netflix/YouTube, journaling, and of course I always enjoy some cuddles with my love. I am excited for today, and honestly I am excited for this next chapter in my journey.

As I had stated before, I decided to take a social media detox this month, and I am very likely extending this into December. The reason I want to extend it is that I feel like I just now started realizing how much time I spend distracting myself from the life I want to be living. I had an appointment yesterday and I learned a harsh truth: I gained 10lbs in the last three months! Like what the fuck?! How did I do that? Of course this news upset me immediately, and I felt myself entering one of my shame cycles-but this time was different. I definitely felt overwhelmed by this information and I could tell because I started basically vomiting out this information to every person I spoke to (which I am now already laughing about so feel free to join in LOL). I found myself thinking about it alone in my car and I decided to try to switch my perspective and mindset towards this information, and I am so glad I did, because I have much more confidence in myself this time around when it comes to health journey!

I made the decision to look at this new information as a new test from the universe. I had been in this position before: years ago I had a weight-loss / ketogenic journey that resulted in me losing weight relatively quickly, but it was all fueled by shame and self-hatred. I had family, friends, and coworkers complimenting my progress as I continued to drop all the weight I had put on, but they had no idea what was truly going on. I was extremely strict with myself on this diet; I was counting my carbs daily to make sure I stayed under the 20 net carbs that was recommended to stay in ketosis, which meant I was going to lose weight/fat faster. I never let myself go past that 20 carbs, and if I did I felt like a failure and was very upset with myself. I felt like I was ruining all of my progress and took out all of this frustration on myself, sending myself into a self-loathing spiral. When I look back at this now, I don’t know how I thought that this was a healthy way of living. I mean, I couldn’t even eat an apple on this diet because that apple alone would take up my entire carb intake for the day! After a day of eating only proteins and fats, I would look in my app and realize that I only took in 600-700 calories for the entire day, but I just kept going because the weight was falling off and that was the goal I had. Once I reached my goal weight, I completely let go of the diet and it was back to old habits, and now here we are today.

That whole keto journey was a few years back, and since then I have not gone on any diets, however I do go through phases of intermittent fasting as I definitely feel an increase in energy, and I decrease in bloating- but again, I have not been consistent with that. My therapist and I have discussed my need for control and how diets/counting carbs is not a healthy thing for me to do, so I will not be doing that this time around. Instead of shaming myself into losing weight and being harsh and hateful toward myself along the way, I am looking at this as a new start and new opportunity to show myself how much I do love and care for myself. As the quote goes, my past doesn’t need me, but my future does. I know that I want children in the future, and as my friends and family like to tell me, I am going to be an “older mom,” (which I really don’t think 30-33 is “old” but whatever LOL), so if I want to be able to be active and keep up with them, I need to prioritize my health. I always say I want to be the mom who cooks healthy meals and has healthy snacks for my future family, so what better time to start practicing?

This journey already feels different because I am focus on the love I have for myself and my body. I am grateful that I can walk, that my heart beats and my lungs breathe all without me having to think about it. My body digests and knows which nutrients to hold on to, while also regenerating and replenishing cells all automatically while I just live my life. I can help my body by providing it with more fuel from proteins and vegetables, and also by decreasing the amount of sugar intake. As I can choose healthier foods, I know they will make me feel better physically and mentally. I also learned that a sedentary lifestyle leads to a lack of joy and also shorter life and more risk for injury, so as I prioritize walks on the treadmill and focus on my physical therapy stretches, I will increase my longevity and my overall happiness! As I continue to show up for my health, I will only increase the trust I have in myself.

In general, I would say I hold the belief that I don’t trust myself. I mean this in the sense that I seem to give up on myself and my goals too quickly, which always has me wondering why I don’t love myself? But when I actually sit and look back at my past, I have plenty of reasons to trust myself! I think throughout my life I spent so much time in shame and guilt that it became my default emotion, but if I continue to acknowledge and celebrate my growth and progress, that self-love mindset will become my default. When I met and fell in love with my boyfriend at the young age of sixteen, I knew that I wanted this person to be my life partner. I felt it within my bones and my soul that this relationship was worth prioritizing and this person was who I was meant to be with, so I trusted my gut. Here we are, 12 years later still growing together and loving each other every step of the way. We set goals to move into an apartment, and once we did that we made a goal to buy a home within the next two years, and we did it. We had people asking us “Why rush?” and “How old are you again?” but we trusted ourselves and have been in our beautiful townhome for over six years now. I told myself I’d finish my Associate’s Degree, and I did while we were in our apartment and I was working full-time. I told myself I’d start a blog, and I have been consistently posting in one for several years. I told myself I would be a published author, and this year I had two different poems of mine published! I literally always do what I set my mind to, and this mental/physical health journey is no different.

I have made noticeable progress in my mental health and self-love journey, and the most important thing I have learned along the way is that giving yourself grace and patience along the way is a must. When you make a mistake at work, how would you feel if your boss rubbed it in your face and told you how stupid you were for messing up? You’d likely feel shameful and embarrassed and likely wouldn’t even feel motivated or worthy of trying again. Now imagine if your boss took you aside and showed empathy, explaining that they have also made this mistake and it is not that big of a deal. You’d likely feel seen and encouraged, you may even feel more motivated to do better and find solutions. In life, you are your own boss! The way you treat yourself and speak to yourself directly impacts your performance. So, as my own boss, I have decided to promote myself to a level of life where I love and care about myself, and I live a life that reflects that. I am very excited for this next chapter, and although I may stumble along the way as normal humans do, I know that I will focus on the progress and continue to work towards my goals. I am forever grateful for this life I live. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Happy Thanksgiving. ♡

Reset

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I definitely skipped writing yesterday and feel absolutely no guilt about it. Yesterday I returned from a much needed, yet also exhausting weekend away with a couple of friends. I was energized and excited from the time I got there on Friday afternoon, all the way until waking up yesterday morning knowing I had over a five hour drive home, and then the fatigue kicked in. I was so happy to come home to my love and my fur babies, and just shower away the sweat and filth from the night before. The reason this weekend came about is my friend and I wanted to see Bryce Vine this year, and we decided to meet up in Minneapolis! Saturday night after that incredible show, we met back up with her other friend and went out until bar close. The bars closed at 2am, but then daylight savings happened and suddenly we’re driving back to the apartment at 3am.

I will say, as tired as I felt today, I have zero regrets from this trip and am so happy that I got to see a concert and hang with my girls. We also went to the Mall of America and it was my first time there! Of course we did some shopping and eating, but we also went to the aquarium and the amusement park! We got a free behind-the-scenes and were able to feed the fish at the aquarium, and we even got a free ride at the amusement park! Overall I felt like a giddy child the entire weekend and absolutely lived for it.

Now that I am home I am resetting and refocusing on my current priorities in life, and I want to focus on eating better and taking care of my body more consistently. My boyfriend and I got up this morning and went to the gym before work, and even though it was a short workout for me, I am proud that I went. I am the only person in my way of achieving what I want to achieve, and it is time to take a break and re-prioritize my time and schedule. I always say I want to know how to cook, so I am going to try a new recipe this week. It doesn’t mean I have to switch my whole life in one day and make a new recipe every night of the week, but just making small efforts will help get the ball rolling.

I am excited for this season in my life, as I continue to turn inward and focus on myself and my needs, I will continue to build confidence and more love for myself and others. I truly believe that when people are feeling their best, then they give their best, which is why I never think self-care or self-improvement is selfish. But to some people it is, and with that being said, it’s time for me to start enjoying my selfish era.

“This Too Shall Pass”

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I survived Monday! And if you’re reading this, that means you did too! Congratulations! I hope you did something for yourself today, because you deserve it! I am happy to report that I woke up today in less pain than I’ve been in all week, and it really wasn’t a bad Monday! Work was productive, getting adjusted and chatting with the chiropractor’s assistant was pleasant, and doing some stretches in the comfort of my living room while listening to Mel Robbins is honestly quite therapeutic.

I just wanted to write for a second, because I was reflecting on my generally good mood today, and it truly is insane how different my mood was when I was in pain. I mean it makes total sense! Not only was I irritable because of the pain I felt and how slowly I had to move when doing literally anything, but I felt myself getting anxious about the house chores piling up, and of course starting the worst case scenarios: “what if I am in this horrific pain forever?” But when I found myself sobbing softly in the kitchen (because a hard sob would hurt too much) my brain did something different. Instead of letting myself go down that dark rabbit hole of guilt and negative self-talk, during the very worst of the pain I found myself saying, out loud too myself: “This is temporary, I am okay.”

I knew the back pain was temporary, because I had this same pain a month prior. I knew that I’d continue to see the chiropractor and actually start wearing the back brace (so maybe I didn’t wear the brace and maybe I skipped out on my therapies…I wonder why the pain started. LOL) and that I could get help myself out of this pain. I knew the pain wasn’t going to be there forever, and that I would feel myself again… so why not apply this to all of life’s hard times?

If I wanted to relive my past, which quite frankly I am actively trying to live in the present so that doesn’t sound very appealing, I would wish that I could have thought this way in so many moments. To be able to remind yourself that heavy emotions are temporary, the physical pain is temporary, the need for more rest is temporary, that stressful job is temporary…that can ease so much of the weight in those hard times. It’s easy for me to spiral into negative thought patterns and turn on the self-loathing soundboard, so to be able to stop the downward spiral with the simple reminder that “this too shall pass” is honestly a game-changer. I know, I know… I’ve heard that phrase a million times over in my twenty-seven years of life, but this is when it clicked for me.

As I move through the week and face challenges as they come (including hormonal ones, because sometimes I think mother nature f*cking hates me), I will continue to remind myself that everything is temporary. I get to choose what I focus on, and I am choosing to focus on my happiness. And no matter how heavy things may feel, I’ll just remind myself that this too shall pass.

Luck

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When I was in high school, I would often win concert tickets off the radio. My friends would ask me if I was somehow cheating to get these tickets, but truly I’d just plan my days around when tickets were being given out! I’d set reminders/alarms in my phone, and I’d make sure if I was at home to use my parents home phone along with my cellphone (landlines always go through faster for me, and is how I won most of these tickets).

In the past I won tickets to Kanye, Mikey Cyrus, Kid Cudi, Bryce Vine, and even front row Jingle Bash tickets one year! It’s been a little while since I’ve won any, granted covid has been a thing so shows really haven’t been going on, but this weekend my luck struck again: Russ DM’d me on instagram giving me two tickets to his upcoming show in Chicago!

Now, I honestly couldn’t tell you if I was more excited to get a message from him or the fact that I’ll be getting to see him live, but wow was I jumping around like a little kid jacked up on sugar LOL. The nice thing is that my boyfriend also listens to him and likes his music, so we will get to enjoy the show together!

What is super ironic about this whole thing is that I’ve been on a self-care journey for quite a while now, and I’m learning a lot about manifesting and gratitude. My coworker had actually recommended Russ’ book “It’s All In Your Head” to me a while back and she sent me his digital book via email. Well on Saturday morning my friend was over and was still asleep, so I decided to take that time to read the rest of his book on my phone, and I was completely inspired by it!

When my friend woke up I was telling her about some of the stuff I read (I’ve attached an excerpt from the book on here as I had shared it to my instagram page), and was just reflecting back on the book throughout the day! It was later in the afternoon when we were back at my house and I saw Russ had posted an instagram story “2 min ago” and he was talking about giving out tickets to fans as he had been all week. I immediately messaged him in hopes that he’d see it, and within a couple more minutes my wish was granted!

I am still honestly in shock that he DM’d me and that my boyfriend and I get to see him live, and I’m so very grateful as I’ve been missing concerts so much lately! It’s next month and it can’t come soon enough! Now I’m inspired to keep looking for more concerts and ticket giveaways!

I hope everyone had a great weekend and has a great week ahead! Sending you all love and positivity!