Q&A Friday 😀

 

It’s been a while since I’ve had some sort of Q&A fun on this blog and I miss it. I always have fun answering those simple, get-to-know-yourself questions or self-reflection prompts and I bet many of you do too.

Hmmm, might even make it a regular Friday feature. (Or every other Friday? 🤔) Oh well, let’s just play it by ear because when you’re taking care of a tiny human, unpredictable‘s the word 🤪

So lemme start with this week’s prompt — join me in the comments section, ok? 😀

Have you done anything [a bit] out of character lately? What was it and why.

My answer to this is a “yes”. And it was sharing my goals for next year with my friends. Why? Because I realized I needed “cheerleaders”.

~ oOo ~

I recently opened an Instagram account because I’m intending to sell my crochet/knitting next year. There are already a few posts of my creations on there and, of course, none of me [because it’s pure business]. I wasn’t planning on telling my friends about it because I’m afraid of what they might think (silly, right? 🤭). But when we had a group chat earlier this week I went ahead and announced it, even asked them to like every post and follow me 😁

Originally I thought I could just tell casual acquaintances about my IG and let it grow organically, and then (maybe) tell my friends about it much later. I’ve always been like this. I don’t mean to be secretive, just that I don’t want attention at the start of something, when everything is “iffy”.

But lately I had a thought where I realized perhaps thinking this way is unfair. Perhaps in doing so I was instead cheating myself out of “cheerleaders”. And perhaps what I needed to think was that if any of them should think negatively, for me to not let it deter me.

I then thought back to times in my life when I had done something without talking to friends about it, and I realized a few wrong moves could have been avoided had I just done so.

To be totally honest with you, there was a full minute-and-a-half of internal struggle going on in my head before I finally told my friends about my IG. And right after that I went “whatdidIdowhatdidIdowhatdidIdooooo???“.  But now, I’m relaxed and feeling emboldened. Like, okay, now to give them a grrrrreat show! 😎

~ oOo ~

And that’s me. How about you? Fire up my comments section right away! 👇👇 I’ll be waiting 🙂

Why SAHMs Should Exercise 💃💪🏃

Several days ago I confessed to feeling bored and that, because I’m also a SAHM, this has triggered some sort of specific research into this notion  of ‘housewife boredom’.

I’ve since discovered that housewives’ schedules run the gamut from not having enough time to even comb one’s hair to just twiddling thumbs until it’s time to prepare dinner I found out as well that ‘housewife boredom’ also stems from a need to occupy time with something productive, challenging and self- nurturing ❤

Every housewife will have her own preferred solution to this predicament, but one that I (and obviously a lot of other health and wellness proponents) strongly recommend is ⭐ exercise ⭐ ❤

Exercise has given me a wealth of benefits, more so as a SAHM, and I cannot imagine life without it 😀 😀 Here are my reasons:

flaviliciousfitness.com

1. It gives you something to do ⭐

If the lack of structure and/or the abundance of idle time is the culprit, then establishing a regular exercise schedule is a life-saver.  This solution is furthermore scalable in terms of time, effort and interest required:  you can join a gym, take a walk, jump rope at home, do 15 minutes of flexibility stretches in your PJs or start with a plank for 1 minute each day if this is all you can do.

      2.  It releases feel-good endorphins ⭐

Being cooped up at home for most of the time and the lack of adult conversion can get us SAHMs into a funk We therefore need a readily available source of feel-good hormones handy – exercise!  It’s not a secret how exercise can make you feel good.  Read more about this here, here and here.

      3.  It gives you confidence ⭐

While I exercise I am constantly reminded of how awesome the human body is 🙂 I appreciate my body all the more when I notice it is responding to all that strength training I am doing (hello, toned midsection!), how much more flexible I have become and how much longer I can do dance fitness videos.

As you get better at your choice of physical activity, you come to appreciate your body more and more and cannot help but feel gratitude and pride for everything it is doing and can do for you.

At appearance level, exercise will make you walk taller and straighter as lethargy will no longer weigh you down. In its place will be ease of movement and vitality.  And that’s confidence boosting. And sexy! 😉 😉

      4.  It is self-nurturing.

Exercise time is ‘your time’.  It turns the focus back on us, we’re doing something for ourselves that will enhance the quality of our lives and by association, our family’s too.  It takes away stress and anxiety and puts sparkle and energy in its place.  That’s exciting, isn’t it? 🙂

fitbodybuzz.com

It’s actually quite easy to establish an exercise routine once you’ve set your mind to it.  My tips are – find something that you enjoy doing, start small, and do it at the same time each day.

Know that in the beginning your old self will do everything it can to stop you from doing it, and it is very good at doing so! But just remember that a few days is all it takes to change your internal dialogue and just 3 weeks to establish the habit.  Before you know it, you’ll be signing up for an organized run, or a Zumba master class! 🙂

Now log off and go! 💃❤️‍💃

3-Day Quote Challenge: Day 1

Some time ago this feisty blogger friend asked me to play the 3-Day Quote Challenge and, although not really a big fan of quotes, I chose to show up and have fun with it because – this is Emz and she’s got the power to do that. LOL! XD

Terima kasih/Salamat Emz! ❤

This will also be my 4th weekly challenge for April by the way. You can read all about that here, here and here.

The rules of this challenge are simple: thank your nominator, post 1 or 3 quotes for 3 consecutive days, and invite 3 other blogger friends to spread the love ❤ 😀

Quotes are so ubiquitous that their glamor is mostly lost on me. HOWEVER, I can’t deny the power just one serendipitous quote can have when it comes at just the right moment.

And then there is also this one amazing writer of children’s books that I adore so much, Dr. Seuss – you KNOW him, right? Who doesn’t?! 😀 Dr. Seuss’ quotes are so simple and straightforward and innocent and yet they always blow my mind with their profundity.

So I’d like to start this challenge with 3 of Dr. Seuss’ quotes that for me aptly convey the message of just being YOU – celebrating and honoring your uniqueness and knowing that you have every right to kick ‘arse’ on this earth because God said so ❤ ❤ ❤

thespiritscience.net

simplelifestrategies.com

earlymoments.com

Isn’t it amazing to BE YOU? 😀

Now it’s my turn to invite 3 other blogger friends to join the fun and today I’m very pleased to pick ~

Karin/Another Piece of Me

What I Know Now

Vitaly’s Daily Wisdom

More fun quotes tomorrow! ❤

Four Things You Should Never Be Sorry About

This is why I’m sometimes scared for my daughter. I can only hope I can give her enough confidence and self-esteem to know that she is already perfect the way she is. Please read and comment on the original here.

The Clumsy Koi Carp

‘Ello my loves,

I hope you are all well and finding reasons to smile!

You may or may not have seen the video that has gone viral recently, made by and uploaded to the youtube channel My Pale Skin. Beauty and lifestyle vlogger and blogger Em has been uploading tutorials, showing her bare face for a while now, but this video throws light upon the hateful and hurtful comments made towards her and her natural beauty. If not, here it is, please give it a watch as it really brings the affect of words home:

It made my heart ache for her to see some of the responses she has received to sharing pictures of her bare face: acne and all, on social media. Acne and spots are something everyone gets. So many people deal with such a vast array of skin problems and I expect that very few…

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Just Because You’re Beautiful Doesn’t Mean I’m Not

Wikipedia

Last night as I was watching reruns of the Victoria’s Secret fashion show 2014 I was reminded of a time not too long ago when I was mistakenly under the foolish assumption that life is like a beauty contest – there can only be 1 most beautiful female in the room.

How silly and ignorant 😀

But really, growing up in a small town fond of beauty pageants and a stage mom who ‘obliged neighbors’ by signing me up to most of them, I had that kind of influence. It’s a competition. There can only be one. The rest are merely runners-up.

I blush in shame 😀

I carried that burden for so long. It was oppressive. I was either in competition mode or not. There was no in between. And because there would always be people who were less, I’d feel good. But then inevitably someone ‘more’ would come along and I’d wilt and feel ugly and insignificant.

<Shaking head in self-pity>.

Then one day the Universe took pity on me and I read somewhere these very very very wise words “just because someone else is beautiful doesn’t mean you’re not“. And forgive me for I no longer recall who wrote those words.

But they freed me.

All of a sudden the weight was no longer there. I no longer felt threatened when a bombshell walked past. Just because she’s beautiful doesn’t mean I’m not. And I’d keep my head held high and smile genuinely and feel good.

So last night, where I’d normally change the channel, I was able to enjoy the Victoria’s Secret fashion show through to the end. As a matter of fact, I used it as inspiration to continue exercising and eating clean ❤

Just because he’s smart, doesn’t mean I’m not. Just because she’s creative doesn’t mean I’m not. Just because she’s happy doesn’t mean I’m not. Quit the competition. We were all placed on this earth with a unique and beautiful message to carry. Wake up! There doesn’t have to be only 1.