I relish the stillness of the morning, the silence that awakens my soul to be loud. I anticipate the cup of warmth that has taught me so much more than other give credit to it. I am blessed with the morning’s stolen moments before the dawn awakens my family, my loves. Alone time is a rare commodity and learning about myself from a cup of java has been the most grateful part of my day.
Sitting in the darkness, allowing myself to understand why I am here, what my purpose is, and where I am heading is the best feeling whilst my hands grip the one thing that helps me understand it all.
0 Comments
This is the first year that I have decided to put a theme to my year and I am quite excited about it! If you follow me on any of my social media, you would have saw on January 1, that I allowed myself to be in an uncomfortable situation. I had never been to planet fitness in my life. I hadn’t ever planned on going to be honest. The reason why, was that their equipment really was nothing that I could use. My training that is specific to me requires me to use a free barbell, and sometimes I would set off what they call a “lunk alarm”. I rarely do cardio and so on New Year ’s Day when all of the other gyms were closed, I really had no other choice but to come and do what little cardio I had to do, there. When I walked in, I was very uneasy. Like most people do when you come into a new place and they have never seen you, they were looking, wondering, trying to identify who I was and why I was there. The whole time, I *thought* I could sense people watching me and I let it get inside of my head. But, really at the heart of this, it was good that I was putting myself in a uncomfortable position. I needed to start the year off what that and I needed to feel the sense of being uncomfortable in order to allow myself to grow. I used that forty minutes to enjoy a new scenery, a new set of people and enjoy that I wasn’t wasting the day away on the couch. So, my word for 2017 is:VALIANT Let’s take a look at the meaning: Being Valiant means to show courage or determination. This means I will be brave, courageous, bold, fearless, daring, and audacious. I will, in every situation, do everything with everything I have in me. Putting myself in uncomfortable situations moving forward, will allow me to showcase my bravery. Most of all, I want to show all women that they can be valiant too!
Moving into 2017, Valiance will be at the forefront of everything I do. As some of you may know from last year, Daniella had some goals set out. The only one she missed was not being able to land that three pointer yet in basketball. Her time will come! This year, I gave her no ideas, no inspiration, just a marker and paper and let her write. Below are her goals. Can I just mention how much healthier this is than giving her ideas and make them her own, or just labeling something as a goal for her? She had a lot of fun creating this list and it was healthy for her to take a look at her own life, as an individual, and find the things that SHE wanted to work on because, after all, it is her life. Sure, I will probably get a lot of slack from some saying that she is a child, and how could she possibly think on her own. And to those I say, because she has her own brain, her own personality, in her own body. Now, my job as a mother is to redirect her when she is putting herself or another person in harm’s way. Still, then, I need to hear her out. Often times, we silent out children because “we are the parent” and “they are the child”, which in some cases, in our house, this still rings to be true. See #15. Back Sassing (aka back talking) has been a struggle for her. Back talking is when she interjects the conversation and doesn’t let the person whom she is speaking to finish their sentence. She must try to figure out what it means to have a conversation to listen AND hear what the other person has to say before she reacts. Having her recognize that she has to work on being a little nicer to her peers and increase her grades, was a monumental turning point on this list. Making herself aware that she has an issue, was her first step. Next, helping her put actions behind these goals was a lot of fun. We worked through each one and she provided to me what action steps she was going to attach to each item. With encouragement and guidance, I think 2017 and today back at school was a fresh start considering she found out she is ahead on most of her work for class! This is always a neat project for me to explore with her and it always opens me to a little bit of what goes through her mind and what she thinks of herself. Also, it lets me know that she listens to me and values what I am saying to her when I advise her throughout her life. I have always been a sucker for beauty products. I enjoy make up and the power of the transformation behind it. I also enjoy other beauty related items that make me feel powerful, beautiful and loved.
I have always been a “sweet pea” scent lover especially from Bath and Body Works. I guess you could say over all, I tend to gravitate towards the floral scents over any other. This Eau De Toilette was gifted to me by my husband and the packaging on this is everything! It is so gorgeous! I almost didn’t want to use it, but let’s be honest, I did the first day! My skin is very dry. In the winter months, I feel like a side walk that hasn’t seen rain all summer. This derma e - Vitamin E Crème is very good at helping me not feel that way. In the morning, I use just a little bit under my make up to help keep the moisture in. At night, I am able to layer it and really slather my face in it for help through the night. I have been testing out foundations all winter long to see which is going to be a better option for my face not to look like cake and cling to the dry patches I have been battling. Time and time again, I keep going back to the Maybelline Fit Me Dewy + Smooth. What I love is that it doesn’t wear heavy and it doesn’t stick to my dry patches. It also sets very nicely with powder and I can count on it for a large part of my day. In my quest for foundation, came also a quest for powder. Everyone raves about the Laura Mercier powder but honestly, it does nothing for me. This Bare Minerals Original Mineral Veil powder though, now THAT is something my dry skin gets down with! This Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water Make Up Remover has also been a miracle on preserving the moisture on my face. Sometimes make up removers can be very harsh on the skin while not helping to preserve or put back moisture into your face. This one, I have found to do the best job, in my opinion. I hope that you found some new things to try or maybe you are already using some of these great products! I look forward to trying some others to share with you moving forward! Disclaimer: Some links are affiliate links. Affiliate information is here. This winter I have been loving a few things that have now become a staple in my winter wardrobe. Living in a snow beloved state, we are destined to have to bundle up before heading out to face the cold. I also share a few household treats that keep the winter days and nights cozy!
These Portland Boot Company Women’s Duck Boots have been my go-to when shoveling, or traveling in the snow! The tongue of the boot is sewed in so snow can’t get between the tie and your sock. Also, they hit just at the calf so you don’t really have to order a size depending on the calf size. They do run true to size and you are able to wear a heavy sock with them. My only critique would be that the boot does not carry a lot of traction so be careful on the sheets of ice. A more recent discover that has quickly turned into a love is this Keurig Travel Mug that Daniella gifted me for Christmas! I expressed interest in any travel mug but she really out did herself with this one. I now use it every day, all day for one simple reason. It keeps my coffee hot/warm for up to 4 hours. You read that right. I was in awe and so loved! It also fits perfectly under the Keurig! This is a must have for any travel or die hard coffee drinkers. Coming in also with a favorite for Christmas, these Muk Luk slippers. Can we just talk about how cute they are? AND what I find amazing is that unlike other slippers where the padding on the bottom seems to be not enough or too much, these are like baby bear. Just right. These slippers also are NOT the kind that make your feet climate confused with the sweating but are still warm! For someone who hates socks, I adore these so much! I have had Old Navy Vests for about three years now and honestly, I haven’t found a vest that can best the warmth without feeling like you are wearing something bulky. These vests I simply can’t get enough of. I wear them everywhere. After searching for deep pocket sheets, because our bed is high maintenance, my husband and I came across these Columbia Sheets and decided to give them a try. They are temperature control sheets that I really don’t feel the need to crawl out of bed on every morning (which can be bad when I need to go to work). They are delightful. They are so much worth the price and are more than what the cute package says they are. I also have a few beauty favorites that will be showcased tomorrow! Stay Tuned! Disclaimer: Some of these links may be affiliate links. you can see the affiliate policy here. |
QUICK FIND
All
ARCHIVES
July 2019
|