February "I Choose" recap

You might want to call it Fail February. HAHA guess I shouldn't be so negative. I had a fantastic month! It was my birthday month and I had some grand adventures. So, let us see how I did:

1. Success. I chopped my hair off. Shortest I've ever been, it was a trip.

2. Success. I've only made a few juices in February, but the goal of getting the juicer back on my kitchen counter has been completed.

3. Success. Here is my post on the book. It's a nonfiction, deep, and brutally honest read. 

4. Fail. Well, technically I did edit photos each week. BUT I didn't catch up on editing my 365 photos and I was aiming at editing and posting those once a week. The goal to succeeding here is to be caught up in the first place. I learned my lesson. 

5. Success. Blogpost on that coming soon!!

6. Fail. In fact, I just bit them more throughout the month of February. I think I want to get gel nails again and hopefully they'll give my nails a break from all this ridiculous biting. 

Until Next Time!

Mindfulness Monday

This Mindfulness Monday was inspired by the following video:

This topic really hits home. As a child and even in my teenage years, our home held quite the arguments. Whether they were heated between Mom & Dad or between say...Dad and myself (or any other combination involving two parents and three children). I could go into detail, but I rather not. 

I would however like to talk more about one of the points made in the video above. The one about being calm. Now, as difficult and silly as this point may seem, it's definitely one to consider. While reading and researching through the years I've learned about the brain in the palm of your hand. The idea is when you're flared, you lose access to the thinking part of your brain. The rational. The part that makes sense and understands more of the big picture of what's going on. The part that regulates what's going on. The part you really need access to most often. When you're flared you are running on emotion, you're just running almost like a chicken with its head cut off. This idea comes from Daniel Siegel. Here's a video of him explaining it. He has a much better, more professional way of doing so.

Now, since learning this I've used it quite a few times. Not every single time, I'm not an overachiever. BUT enough times to realize it helps...a lot. TAKE A BREATHER. TAKE A STEP BACK. THINK. Don't just go to war, there are definitely times for that, just not every time. Realize the difference. 

Here is a link to the "How to Pick a Fight" as discussed in the video above.

Until Next Time!

The Things They Cannot Say

Daniel actually found this book a while back, I'd say November/December. You know, around Christmas gift buying time (wink wink). He was looking into it (found it on Reddit) and then thought I would really dig it. He was right. He showed me this clip:

Then told me that there's a whole book coming out telling about the lives of many in the military. The real, unfiltered stories. The writer also has a story of his own to tell.
Daniel ultimately couldn't get this book for me for Christmas, it didn't even come out until January. Eventually, I did get my hands on it and started reading it one night during my grave shift. I was hooked. I couldn't put it down. It didn't take long to read it. It was hard to read, though. The details of the lives of these men are hard to read.
In this book, the "chapters" are stories about a different person. What I really enjoyed was at the end of each there was a postscript, if available, telling you the most up-to-date info the writer had on the person before publishing this book. It was nice to know a little extra, like what happened and how they're doing.
This book has taken my personal favorites number one spot. Who would have thought my favorite read would be nonfiction. Aside from reading this for pure interest, it was also filling a second purpose. I am doing a huge paper as my senior project to get my bachelors in Psychology, this paper is about PTSD and mindfulness. This book is serving as a nice additional resource and reference. As a person who isn't heavily involved in the military and who doesn't have first hand experience with PTSD and its affects on veterans and how it comes about, this book was an amazing insight into that world. Of course, it doesn't give me any right to say I understand any of what they're going through, but it does widen my perspective and helps me understand the best I can without going through it myself.

As you can see, I super marked the book. I didn't want to completely ruin it so I stuck to tabs. I'm in love with post-it tabs. Anyway, I super tabbed it because there is a ton of interesting things in this book to keep track of. For my paper in school as well as my own self interest. 

If you believe this is the kind of read for you, if you can handle what can be seen in war, done in war, and all of the continuing wreckage after (mentally and physically), then this will suck you in until the finish. I'm not meaning to be grim, there's some hope in here as well. 

Find the book here.

Until Next Time!

30 Days of Lists - Day 2 & 3

Day 2: About Me

In case you can't read my handwriting:
-Daughter, Significant other, Sister, Aunt, Student
-Photographer
-Reader, Learner
-Fitness Junkie
-Procrastinator
-Nail Biter
-Love color, especially pink & red
-Addicted to shopping
-Wear my watch all day, everyday, 24/7
-A little geeky & a lot silly
-Love Life


Day 3: This  YEAR , I am going to              . 
-Graduate
-Make jewelry
-Take more photos
-Read more
-Study mindfulness (more)
-Focus on my job
-Be confident

A little additional information, I am graduating college. I'm getting my bachelor's degree in Psychology. I make jewelry and will advertise my shop soon! I love reading and can't wait to read just to read (instead of for school). I have researched and practiced mindfulness throughout my college career, I can't wait to learn more and take it to a different level. 

Until Next Time!

30 Days of Lists - Day 1

I've been waiting for this project to start for a while!! Here we are in March!

Check out the cover & title page of this notebook here.

Now the first list!

This was a list of why we are listers! I kept this one simple, sharpie markers have never wronged me.
In case you can't read my amazing hand-writing, I am a lister because:

• I like to have everything laid out in front of me.
• I L♥VE to organize things.
• they keep me focused
• I like lines
• I L♥VE to write

That last one, about writing...it serious haha check out my doodling problem. 

Until Next Time!