In my last post, I discussed the benefits of journaling. Journaling helps keep me on course with my goals. Another tool I use to keep my dreams alive is a vision or dream board. According to Wikipedia, “A dream board or vision board is a collage of images, pictures, and affirmations of one’s dreams and desires, designed to serve as a source of inspiration and motivation and to use the law of attraction to attain goals. ”
Now, how do you make a vision board? In the past, I have taken a cork board or poster board and put my goals and vision on that. More recently, I have chosen to create one using an app on my phone. I like this idea, as I can make it my screen saver on my phone or computer. I can pull it up anytime, anywhere. Let’s face it, most of us spend more time looking at our phones and computers than we do a wall. Whichever, one you chose, make sure it is what will work for you.
Creating a Vision Board on a Bulletin Board
Supplies Needed:
Bulletin/cork board or a piece of poster board scissors, colored pens or markers, glue stick, stickers, and other fun embellishments if you want to get real fancy.
Magazines, photos, pictures, and quotes taken from the internet. These should be items that reflect your goals, fill you with excitement and serve as a daily reminder of what you are working toward.
Once you have everything you need, start putting it together. There is no right or wrong way to do this. Place the pieces down in any order you like and have fun dreaming big!
Creating a Vision Board on an App
I prefer to do my vision board using an app. There are several free ones on the market. The one I use is called Hay House. I downloaded it from the app store on my phone. I like being able to access it at any time. The app is self-explanatory. You can add photos, quotes, affirmations, text, change the background, etc. Once you create an account, you may share your board across the social media platforms.
Now it is your turn! I would love to see my Facebook page flooded with vision/dream boards. Not comfortable sharing them publically? If I get enough interested people, I would be happy to start a private Facebook page where we can share our boards, support and encourage each other to reach our goals. Leave me a comment here or a message on my Facebook page.
Happy Dreaming!
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Did you keep a diary when you were a kid? I never did and looking back, I wish I had. Writing down our thoughts, dreams, and struggles is therapeutic. A couple of years ago, I received a journal as a gift. Each page contained a writing prompt. For example, 20 things that make you smile or write a letter to your future or past self. I enjoyed going through the journal and writing on a different topic. Once my journal was full, I simply took a pretty notebook and each morning jotted down some thoughts. It has been a habit for well over a year. Perhaps you have thought about keeping a journal, but not sure what you would get out of it. Here are 5 reasons why it is beneficial to journal.
- Great way to start the day. Each morning take 5 mins and write down how you want your day to go. Write it as if it has already happened. For example: I woke up early and exercised for 30 mins. I made my to-do list for the day and checked off everything I accomplished yesterday. I went into the office and got through all my e-mail, successfully set up my meetings for next week, and finished making edits to three agreements in my inbox. As you can see, I laid out how I wanted my day to go. By jotting this down, it is in my head and sets my mindset for the day. I am set up for a productive day.
- Promotes healing. We all have tragedy in our lives. We all have relationships that have gone bad. By writing down your feelings and thoughts about these events, it can start the healing process. It’s not healthy to keep everything bottled up inside, but many of us are not comfortable speaking to someone about our feelings. This makes a great alternative.
- It helps connect us to our goals and dreams. Do you have a big, scary goal or dream? I do. Actually, I have a couple. One of which is to own a beach house on the North Carolina coast. I have a series of goals to reach in order to achieve this dream. From time to time, I may sway from these goals. In doing so, I am moving further away from achieving my dream. When I journal about, it brings me back to my goals and reinforces my why. I write the entry as if I am already there, owning my beach house. I describe what it looks like, how I feel, who is visiting me, what a typical day on the beach is like. What time do I get up? What is my morning routine? What is my evening routine? Get real descriptive with your writing. The more you can envision this, the harder you will work to stay on course with your goals.
- Use it as a brain dump. A brain dump is when you take all of your thoughts and put them down on paper. It is everything. It is feelings, emotions, questions, worries and things that you need to do. By putting it all on paper, you are organizing these thoughts outside of your brain. It allows you to take a look at everything and become more organized. Once it is down on paper, you can go back and organize these things into buckets or categories. This may include, work, family, exercise, meal planning, paying bills, school events, self care, friends, etc. Once you have gone through and made different categories, you can use this as a reference as you cross the items off your list. I don’t do this every week, more like once a month, but it works!
- Self reflection. Journal about how your day or week went. Take a moment to reflect on what went right or what was a struggle. It is important to acknowledge the highs and the lows. It is how we grow as a person.
I hope these tips have been helpful. I would love to hear about your experience with journaling. If you have never journaled before, but would like to start, I am offering to all new subscribers to this blog a FREE PDF checklist of journaling prompts. IN ADDITION, for every 25 subscribers, I will be giving away a journal. Please share with your friends and lets journal together.
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As I mentioned in a previous past, I just finished the book “Girl Stop Apologizing” by Rachel Hollis. It is a personal development book about reaching your goals and not to apologize for doing so. This book contains some great nuggets of wisdom and many times, I would stop to write down a quote or two.
I remember hearing this particular quote while on a 12 mile training run. 12 miles can take a bit of time to run and I am often left to mull things over in my head. When I heard this, it got me thinking. Many of us define ourselves based on past experiences. Our past, often times, is what holds us back. There are things we want to do in this life, but fear is holding us back. Perhaps we fear, in moving forward, history will repeat itself. The fear is so great, that we get stuck. We remain status quo and never move toward reaching our potential. This can be a vicious cycle. So how do we move past this?
It is about mindset. It is about learning from the negative impact of that decision, taking what you learned and applying it to the present. This allows for us to move forward, reach our potential and live our best life.
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Hi y’all, it is finally SPRING!!! Can you believe it? The weather here is still a bit wonky, but we are getting there. So today I am doing my monthly goal check in. As I mentioned, by me sharing my goals with my readers, it holds me more accountable. I also strive to help motivate you to make some goals, write them down and smash the hell out of them.
My March goals were as follows:
- Organize the kitchen cabinets – Yes
- Organize the linen closet- No
- Run 65 miles- CRUSHED IT- ran 78 miles
- Become certified in a second nutrition program- Ultimate Portion Fix- Halfway there
- Implement a morning routine- Yes
- Read one personal development book and one book for pleasure- Yes
- Grow my blog audience- Yes
So as you can see, this month was a mixed bag. Since I have quite a few races coming up, the miles had to take priority and they did. My kitchen cabinets were driving me nuts, so that had to happen. The linen closet, not so much. Perhaps this will happen on the next rainy day. I was putting most of my free time into this blog, so the certification in my new nutrition plan fell by the wayside. That is okay. I plan on diving head first into it, once I am back from Disney. I did implement a morning routine, but it is not the one I set out to do. Starting next week, my commute is shorter, so I will have more time to get things done without having to get up at 4:00am! As far as reading, I finished the book Girl, Stop Apologizing by Rachel Hollis. If you are looking for great goal setting book, I highly recommend. Rachel is funny and has some great advice, tips and tough love when you need it. For pleasure, I read Blindsighted by Karin Slaughter. If you like mystery, murder books, this one was good. I highly recommend all her books.
As far as my blog, I did a ton of work behind the scenes on this. I am in the middle of a travel blog course and a content creation course. I want to make sure I providing you with quality content. I did grow my blog and I want to thank all you that have shared it. Please, please continue to do so. I really appreciate it.
Now, on to a new month, with new goals. April is going to look very similar to March. I am adding a couple of things and really buckling down on my own health and fitness. I need to get back to strength training and better portion control. With that being said my April goals are:
- Finish my travel blog and content creation course. *
- Grow my blog by 20%.*
- Become certified in my new nutrition plan Ultimate Portion Fix and be a product of the product.*
- Date Night with the hubby, at least once this month.*
- Try a New Spring Adventure with the kids.*
- Organize my new office space that we are moving to.*
- Run 75 miles.*
- Strength train 4 times a week.*
- Lose 5lbs.
- Read 1 personal development book and 1 fiction book.
- Get at least 5 scrapbook layouts completed.
The list is a bit long. However, I have divided it into two. The goals with the asterixis are a MUST. The others are things to shoot for, but not going to stress over it. Notice how the weight loss does not have an asterix? I go by more how I look and how my clothes feel, than the number on the scale. That is simply a tool and does not define my journey.
I would love to hear how you did last month or what you have on your list for April. Drop me a comment below if you set goals last month and any struggles you face in accomplishing same.
Have a great Monday!
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Happy Friday! I hope you all are having a great day. Welcome to this edition of my Love of the Week. This is where I talk about something I absolutely love. This week I am showcasing two more hair products that I love. Yes, I know last week’s love of the week was about hair, but I can’t get enough of a good hair product.
The first product is called WOW and was recommended by a friend’s hairdresser. We were down in Florida last Fall, I was complaining about the humidity and my hair curling up on me. She lent me this product and I fell in love. The beauty of it, you spray it once, but get multiple washes out of it. Love, love, love it. I bought this bottle last October and still have a quarter of it left.
My second love of the week, goes hand in hand with the spray. It is a new shampoo and conditioner I discovered about a month ago. My hair tends to be dry and these products, really help repair any damage to my hair. The shampoo is called Maui Moisture Heal and Hydrate Shea Butter Shampoo and the conditioner is called Maui Moisture Heal and Hydrate Shea Butter Conditioner. Each contains shea butter, coconut oil and macadamia oil. These are also sulfate free. I was so excited when I found travel sizes.
So these are my loves of the week. I did pick up a couple of new products to try down in Disney. One is a sunscreen for the scalp. I hate wearing a hat, but really need to do better with my sun protection. I will let you know how I like it.
Until next time,
Heather
The last two weeks have been hard. Hard in the sense, I can’t get my act together when it comes to healthy, clean eating. I was doing great, down 7lbs and boom, something happened and it has been downhill since then. Well, I have to stop. I need to get back to my good, healthy habits. Not only does it help me lose weight, but more importantly, it makes me feel amazing. I have so much more energy. My running is better. I feel more confident in my clothes and myself. So, I sat down and sketched out what I need to do to reach this goal. I am going to Disney this weekend, and I would by lying if I said I was not allowing myself treats. I make this a lifestyle and not a diet. It needs to fit into my life. With that being, I still like to eat clean 85-90% of the time. In order for me to do that, I HAVE to meal prep. This is a non negotiable. If I don’t meal prep, then what has been happening the last two weeks, will continue to happen. So, off to the grocery store I went and stocked up on some things.
Now, you are probably thinking, I don’t have hours to spend in my kitchen, on a Sunday, prepping all my meals for the week. Well, neither do I, nor do I want to. I have plenty of other things I want to be doing, so here are my hacks to meal prep
- Cook batches of food, like chicken, turkey, pork or lean beef to have during the week as your protein. For example, I cooked a turkey breast in my crock pot for dinner this weekend. There was enough leftover for two meals. This, along with a bagged salad, will be my lunch for the next two days. This week, I plan on making a pork tenderloin in the crockpot. Leftovers will be used for lunch and probably one dinner. The same thing can be done with veggies or a carbohydrate. I will make a batch of butternut squash, roasted broccoli and roasted brussel spouts to have with the pork. Again, there is enough for 2-3 meals.
2. Buy your veggies and fruit already cut up and ready to go. Yes, it is more expensive, but time is money. These make great grab and go snacks. Throw in some dip or hummus and there you have a healthy snack.
3. Have the same breakfast during the week. This way you are only prepping one thing and it is ready to go. I have 2 go-to breakfast ideas I use through the month. My first is non fat Greek yogurt, with a tablespoon of chocolate hummus and a tablespoon of granola. Quick and easy to pack in my lunch bag. My second favorite requires a bit more work. I make egg cups on the weekend and portion them out for each day I will be eating them. I usually eat them for 4 days and then have yogurt on the 5th day during the week. I freeze the remaining egg cups and use within the next couple of weeks.
4. Have other convenient, yet healthy things that don’t take any time at all to cook. For example, frozen turkey burgers, chicken apple sausage, rotisserie chicken, hard boiled eggs, etc. These make great, quick meals. Add a side of frozen veggies and you are good to go.
5. If you eat out during the week, even the healthy options tend to be HUGE. Immediately ask that half of the meal be wrapped up and put in a box. Viola! You now have two meals.
6. Have meals you like and keep them in your rotation. Then it becomes second nature when planning your week ahead.
If addition to these 6 hacks, I thought I would share what my meal planning looked like for this week. This will help give you an idea on how simple, yet effective it can be.
Breakfast- Monday-Thursday: Non Fat Greek Yogurt with hummus and granola.
Lunch- Monday-Wednesday (Leave for Florida Thursday afternoon) Monday & Tuesday will be left over turkey with a bagged salad, Wednesday: left over pork tenderloin with left over veggies and whole wheat couscous.
Dinner- Monday- Flank steak and roasted broccoli. Tuesday- Pork tenderloin and roasted squash. Wednesday- Turkey burger on the grill with brussel sprouts.
I hope these hacks are helpful. I know I need all the help I can get when trying to get back on track. I have a big goal I am trying to reach in terms of my health and fitness and would love for you all to help keep me accountable.
Last Mother’s Day, the 4 of us went out to breakfast and then headed to the Wicked Tulip Farm in Johnston, Rhode Island. It has more than 600,000 tulips and is the largest u-pick tulip farm in New England. It is open late April into the middle of May. Mother’s Day weekend is generally the last weekend to go, but there was still plenty to see. There is an entire section of tulips for show only. It was magnificent. The rest of the farm is for picking. The event sells out each year and it is required you purchase tickets ahead of time, online.
When arriving, you are given instructions on how to pick and a basket to carry our blooms in. The tulips are $1.00 a stem. Pictures are encouraged and you may even have a professional photo shoot. Obviously, this needs to be scheduled ahead of time and if needed, they have a list of recommended photographers you can use. If I had known about this when the kids were little, I would have been all over that. Once you are done picking, there is a self -service wrapping station. Then you are on your way.
I was just reading they offer yoga among the tulips. If we lived closer, I would give it a try. This summer, I want to try sunflower and lavender picking. Great things to add to the summer bucket list.
If you live in the New England area, I would highly recommend visiting the farm. If not, try looking for one near you. It will not disappoint. Happy Spring!
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Welcome to another edition of my Love of the Week. This is where I talk about something I absolutely love. Today’s love… dry shampoo!
I don’t know what I would do without this product. It has to be one of the greatest inventions! I have naturally curly hair that more times than not, I straighten. I also have very thick hair. For me to have to wash, blow it out and then straighten, it can take more than an hour. That is a lot of time and time is never on my side. LOL! However, this could pose a problem for someone who works out six days a week, with at least 4-5 of those days consisting of running. As one can imagine, the sweat does nothing for my hair. Sweat leaves one with greasy, limp hair. So not the case with Not Your Mother’s dry shampoo and Batiste dry shampoo. Each one of these products leaves my hair feeling soft, smelling good, and full of body. I have been asked if there is any build-up of the product in my hair. My honest answer, eventually. If I use it so many days in a row, by the 5th day or so, I feel some. However, by then, I am rewashing my hair. Though I do have a confession, the picture below was taken this morning. This is day 7. I have been putting off washing my hair until after my long run today. I always wash my hair after a ten miler or more. I sweat too much!
As you can see, my hair is not greasy and is still full of body. It doesn’t feel too bad, either. So why don’t you give it a try? I would love to know your thoughts.
Happy Friday!
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Welcome to this week’s Tip Thursday. Today’s tip has to do with hydration. Drinking plenty of water does more than just quench your thirst. The majority of our bodies are made up of water. It has numerous health benefits.
Drinking water
- Flushes the toxins out of our systems.
- It aids with weight loss.
- It makes our skin and hair look and feel better.
- It impacts our performance of physical activities.
- Helps with mental clarity and more.
The amount of water we should drink, varies depending on the person. Everyone, at a minimum, should aim to drink half their body weight in ounces. For example, if someone weighs 120lbs, they should drink 60oz of water. So, what if you don’t like plain water? Here are some tips to jazz up it up.
- Infuse the water with fruit, veggies or herbs. Water with cucumber and mint, is delicious.
- Try herbal tea. As long as the tea is decaffeinated, count it toward your water goal. I am a huge fan of David’s Tea.
- Seltzer Water. This is all I drink (besides coffee and Shakeology). Just make sure it has zero artificial flavors and sodium.
- Add something like Nuun to your water bottle. Nuun comes in yummy flavors and jazzes up plain water. I actually take one tablet of Nunn Immunity in the morning for about a week prior to travel. No one wants to be sick on their vacation.
So there you have it, 4 ways to turn plain water into something you look forward to each day.
As a new blogger, I often wonder how many people I am reaching with my blog. Am I serving the people that do read it, well? I love reading people’s blogs and learning more about them, their families and the stories they share. I want my readers to feel the same about me and my blog. Well, the other day, I received a message that made me smile from ear to ear. Tiffany, from the Irish Monarchy, nominated me for the Mystery Blogger Award.
What is the Mystery Blogger Award?
The award was created by Okoto Enigma, a fellow blogger over at Okoto Enigma’s Blog. According to Okoto, the “Mystery Blogger Award” is an award for amazing bloggers with ingenious posts. Their blog not only captivates; it inspires and motivates. They are one of the best out there, and they deserve every recognition they get. This award is also for bloggers who find fun and inspiration in blogging; and they do it with so much love and passion.
Prior to entering the world of blogging, I was always looking for a good blog and started a great collection of ones I would visit frequently. As a new blogger, I look to these people for advice and inspiration. I find it is such an honor to be recognized and I look to pay it forward. Below is my list of 10 blogs that deserve to recognized for the great content they share each week. My hope is you check them out and follow along in their journeys.
Before we move onto the nominees, as part of the rules, I need to tell you a little bit about me. First, three things you might not know…
- Prior to practicing corporate law, I was a criminal defense attorney, specializing in juvenile law. It was tough, but I did love it.
- In 2010, I was on our local morning news doing a segment on scrapbooking.
- After having my two children, it was discovered I am allergic to all narcotics. I hope I never really need them!
Here are my answers to the questions Tiffany asked me.
Where is one place you would love to visit? My dream trip is to visit Greece and explore the mainland and the islands.
What is one of your favorite books to recommend? Hummm.. this is a tough one. I love to read all kinds of books. I read a lot of fiction and personal development. One of my faves is by Shonda Rhimes, the creator of Grey’s Anatomy and many other shows. It is called the “Year of Yes”. I highly recommend it.
Why do you blog? I enjoy writing and sharing stories. My children are teenagers, one of which is almost in college. The dynamic in my house will soon change and my role as Mom will change. I am trying to discover who I am outside of being their Mom. I believe blogging will help me do that.
Who has been the most inspirational people on in your life & why? My Dad. Not only has he survived lung cancer, but has survived losing the love of his life. He is the glue that has kept us together.
What was your biggest fear as a child? Heights!!!
My Favorite Blog Post. It would have to be the one I wrote about the passing of my Mom . It felt good to write about her and help me deal with the 5th year anniversary of her death.
My Nominees for Mystery Bloggers
Here are 10 blogs that you must check out!
- Miss Adventures in Adulting Like me, she is a boy-mom (yay) and writes about some major life change, travel and Disney.
- Flower Power This is a health and happiness blog with some adventure thrown in.
- Purposeful Mommy A little bit of everything from mommyhood, side hustles and saving money.
- Nan’s Daily Dose of Life Another blog with great tips, family stories, recipes and self improvement.
- Planning Away This a great travel blog. She showcases some wonderful places.
- The MomPreneur Journey This a great blog about travel, being an entrepreneur and budgeting to name a few.
- One Fly Life Another great travel blog with some other life stories added in.
- This Blog is Popular Travel and family, two of my favorite subjects.
- Travels with Bibi Travel blogger that has some stunning photos and content.
- This Family Blog Family and travel related blog
Here are my questions for my nominees:
What was your favorite t.v. show growing up?
If you could be cast in a movie of your choice, what movie would you choose and which character would you want to play?
If you were an ice cream flavor, which would you be and why?
What superpower would you like to have?
What’s your proudest accomplishment?
MYSTERY BLOGGER AWARD RULES
- Put the award logo/image on your blog
- List the rules.
- Thank whoever nominated you and provide a link to their blog.
- Mention the creator of the award and provide a link as well
- Tell your readers 3 things about yourself
- You have to nominate 10 – 20 people
- Notify your nominees by commenting on their blog
- Ask your nominees any 5 questions of your choice; with one weird or funny question (specify)
- Share a link to your best post(s)
