Thoughts of the Day
My life has qualified me as "experienced" on such topics as Army life, parenting, mental health, loss and grief, multi-tasking, and adapting to all things new (good, bad, or indifferent). I will share my thoughts on these topics and hopefully you will find some calm in the chaos knowing that others have been where you are.
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‘Tis the Season for Gratitude with Bellelily & #SpreadTheKindness Link Up #191
As soon as October rolls around, I feel like we have to abruptly shift our mindsets into holiday mode. And I have to be honest, I hate holiday mode. I don’t like the commercialism. I don’t like the pressure to buy more. I don’t enjoy expectations placed on my time for the onslaught of celebrations and gatherings. And as much as I enjoy giving gifts to people, I really don’t like to be forced to choose something for the mere sake of giving a gift on a randomly designated day of the year, especially one that has drifted so far away from its original meaning. To be blunt, I really…
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9 Guidelines for Effective Communication
*I recently wrote this article for publication on Medium, but thought the content was worthy sharing here especially since the overarching theme of my 9 guidelines is kindness in communication. But if you don’t mind clicking over to the original article on Medium and giving it a read and a clap on that platform, I would really appreciate it! That is how I generate some income from my writing. It is all based on read time and claps and is a great way to make a little extra income doing what I love…writing (and communicating). 9 Guidelines for Effective Communication I have always been fascinated by the way people communicate…
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4 Ways to Make This Christmas Extra Special
*This is contributed content. This year has been a tough one in a number of ways. There have been a lot of things happening, most notably a global pandemic that has changed the way everyone has to live. While many of us have settled into a new way of things, there are still concerns about how the Christmas season will be affected this year. It might mean less holiday travel and fewer seasonal parties, but Christmas celebrations do not have to be canceled this year. You can still have a great time and even make the holiday season extra special. We all need some special things to make up for…
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Faith Over Fear with Bellelily & Link Up On the Edge #211
In our current environment, I have definitely been feeling emotions that lean way more toward the side of fear than they do toward faith. Fear of the world. Fear of people. Fear of judgment. Fear of failure. Fear of negativity. So much fear. And while it is so easy to get caught in the fear trap, we cannot stay in that place for too long. Fear leads to anxiety and stress which lead to all sorts of other issues in one’s life. I can literally feel the fear-induced anxiety wreaking havoc on my body from daily nausea and queasiness to frequent headaches and sleep issues. And it has all been…
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New Band Tees & #SpreadTheKindness Link Up #187
When the whole world has gone wild, independent artists have found innovative ways to raise funds to support their art and careers. When we all went into lockdown in early spring, we saw so many musicians streaming free live shows from their homes in an effort to bring love and light and hope into our homes. These concerts were instrumental for my survival when the long weeks led only to unfulfilling weekends that looked much the same as the weekdays. Except, of course, when I was able to stream my favorite bands straight into my living room on any given Friday or Saturday night. These weekend shows certainly uplifted me…
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Friday Favorites #7 & Link Up On the Edge #208
I am not certain why I started calling these random Friday posts Friday Favorites when I rarely share actual favorite things. I usually focus these posts on things I have watched or read. Sometimes I include things that we have eaten or recent purchases as well. But since I haven’t eaten much that is out of the ordinary and I haven’t purchased very many things either, I guess I will stick with the Friday Favorites theme and share whatever the heck I feel like sharing. So let’s get to it. Reading I finally finished A Brief History of Everything by Ken Wilber that I mentioned in my last Friday Favorites post.…
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What Does Sexy Mean? & #SpreadTheKindness Link Up #185
The actual definition of sexy is a very simple one. According to Merriam Webster, sexy is defined as sexually suggestive or stimulating, erotic; generally attractive or interesting, appealing. As simple as the dictionary definition may be, the overall feeling of sexy is so much more complicated. Last week I shared a post about the importance of loving our bodies and while I struggle through cycles of both negative and positive body image, I really fight with the idea of being or feeling sexy. And I have to admit that compliments of the sort that imply sexiness make me really uncomfortable for some reason. I am not talking about feeling or…
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Getting Back to Nature with 20 Extreme Outdoor Activities
I was never much of an outdoor person in my adulthood. As a child, I spent every minute of summer daylight and a good portion of the moonlit hours hanging out at the public pool. All day, every day, baking in the sun with my friends. Not a care in the world. Sitting in the grass wearing nothing but my swim suit. Eating all the nasty concession stand food without a worry about calories. A trip to the beach (the Jersey shore, folks) was a much anticipated annual vacation that had me exploring like a curious little marine adventurer. Tree houses and excursions into the woods were places where I…
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Weekend in the Finger Lakes & Link Up On the Edge #207
This past weekend, we packed up the kids and my in-laws and headed to spend two nights in a cabin on an Amish farm in the Finger Lakes region of northern New York State. It was a peaceful, quiet getaway with much relaxation and down time to enjoy the late summer sunshine, unplug from the internet, catch up on some reading, and push all the cares of life away for just a few days. We stayed at Hoover Farm in Penn Yan, New York, which is an Amish farm that offers three different cabin rentals of various sizes. All three cabins are lined in a row on separate lots of…
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Monday Motivation: Love Your Body, It’s the Only One You’ve Got & #SpreadTheKindness Link Up #184
Last June, my dear friend Monica of Jersey Girl, Texan Heart asked me if I would share a post for her Monday Motivation Series about building body positivity. And since I am heading to the Finger Lakes for the weekend and have no other content planned, I figured I would share the same post here on my blog as well. Plus this post features the gold dress that I shared in this month’s Good Buy/Good-Bye Book and I have never shared the full photo shoot of this dress on my blog before. So here we go… Love Your Body, It’s the Only One You’ve Got It took me a long…
