10 things to do besides social media!

Social media can just take over your life. It has a way of sucking you in to scrolling and scrolling...wait...there went an hour or more. Instagram stories can be a time suck for me. 

I have actually unfollowed people because some bloggers are always telling us what we need to buy. I would think oh I neeeeeed that shirt or shoes. I felt I HAD to have it. I have a closet full of stuff that and I honestly don't need anything...well I honestly could use a new navy and white striped tee because mine is worn out. lol

Here is my list of things you can do besides spending it on social media.

1. Write in a gratitude journal

I really try to write in a journal each morning. I write down 10 things I am grateful for and 10 things I will make happen. My grateful things can be as simple as no one woke up last night, coffee, our home, snuggling with my boys, tacos. I just write down simple things that I am grateful for in that moment. 

I have a ongoing list of things I write that I will make happen. I try not to put a time limit on these things. As the past year has gone on some of those things have happened and they have been removed from the list. I write down each day I am a good mom. I feel it's important to start off the day thinking I am a good mom. It helps keep my intention good to take time to be a good mom. Work on my keeping my cool when I am frustrated. 

I love looking back over the past year of things I have wrote down. 

2. Read a book or listen to an audio book

I got on a roll after I finished watching all 16 seasons of Grey's Anatomy of listening to audio books. I listened to like 15 books in a few months. Our local library has an app called OverDrive where you can borrow audio books for FREE! A lot of popular books you have to go on a waiting list for, but if you have to wait a few weeks who cares again they are FREE! 

3. Go on a walk 

I have started walking again. When I worked in San Francisco I walked almost every single day on my lunch break. I would walk to AT&T Park and back to the office. It was close to a 2 mile round trip walk. I looked forward to that walk every day. I even went when it was raining. 

I like to listen to an audio book or a podcast while I walk. I always find if I am enjoying to what I am listening to it helps the walk go by so much faster. Walking is so much easier on my body than doing cardio. My fatigue gets much worse when I do a very strenuous exercise. 

4. Do a brain dump!

Have you ever tried doing a brain dump in a journal or notebook? When Covid first started I was so anxious. My brain was going 100 MPH. One day I just started writing in a notebook everything that was on my mind. Getting it put on paper helped me relax and be able to sort out my thoughts. It's a great way to make lists of things you want to do, goals, get things off your chest. 

5. Do Yoga or stretching

Chris Freytag has some 10 minute yoga and stretching exercises on her website www.gethealthyutv.com that are FREE! I love Chris! I just find her to be a very motivation trainer. I also like that she does the workouts with you. It drives me up the wall when trainers are always working on showing you how to do moves and don't do the workout. How about you show us how to do the workouts by DOING THEM!!!! 

Yoga or stretching will not only help your body, but it will help your brain too! If you want to try some of the 10 minute workouts you can find them HERE. 

6. Go play with your kids or dog 

My kids absolutely LOVE it when I play with them. If I take 10 minutes to wrestle with them they are ecstatic. I spent some time with Cash wrestling around and he was giggling the whole time. He likes to punch people in the face while you wrestle. This was a good time to teach him to punch me in the arm not my face. lol

G loves to play games. Taking the time to play a game with him completely changes his mood. My boys are the ones who will remember when I have taken time to play with them not the influencers on social media posting crap. Those people won't care that I watched their stories 5 years from now, but my boys will sure remember! 

7. Enjoy a cup of tea or coffee

Enjoy a cup of tea or coffee! Even if your kids are running around, your at work, or whatever is going on take a few minutes to just enjoy the moment with a cup of tea. I have been enjoying a cup of tea at night after the boys are in bed. I will sit in bed drinking the tea and relax. 

8. Go declutter that cabinet or drawer

Take the 15-20 minutes to go organize that cabinet or drawer that has been driving you crazy! Organizing a space will help you feel so much better each time you see it!

9. Plan our your outfits for the next week

Wear stuff you that has been hanging in your closet unworn for ages. If you put the item on and don't like it then add it to your donate pile. This is a great way to wear stuff you forgot about, get rid of stuff because you don't like the fit of it and shop your own closet! 

Do you really need that new shirt you found at Target? What accessories could you add to the outfit to make it pop?

10. Put on a charcoal mask and listen to some of your favorite music

Does music ever take you back to a place when you use to listen to that song? The other day a song came on the radio and I remembered instantly where I was driving and how I was feeling when I heard it for the first time. 

I have been listening to the old The Chick's music. Man that first Chick's cd brings back so many memories. I loved it and I still do. I have so many great memories listening to their music. I went to their concert so many times with friends too. 

What are some things you enjoy doing to avoid getting sucked into social media?

Monday Thrive September 25

Happy Monday!!!

1) We had G birthday party a week after his birthday. We wanted to have it at a specific park. The weekend after his birthday was booked immediately. We went in to reserve the park one day after it opened up to book things. Oh well! I actually like that we did it 10 days after his birthday. We were able to really enjoy him on his birthday, prepare for a party and just enjoyed the party so much! 

We did a firetruck/man theme with a jumpy house. I actually called the local fire department to see if they could stop by the party. They asked for a time frame and said they would do their best to show up.  I told them I totally understood if they couldn't show up. I didn't even mention the fire truck to G. All the kids were jumping in the bounce house and here rolls in the fire truck. I had totally forgotten about it. I grabbed G out of the bounce house, threw his shoes on and off we ran to the fire truck. I think the parents like the fire truck almost more than the kids. Other people at the park came over to the fire truck. It was a HUGE hit!!! The best part was that was free. They just do it as a favor. They were so nice! All the kids got to sit in the truck, they handed out hats and stickers. 

After the party when we were driving home G asked can we do this again? I said sure we can have another party sometime. He just loved every minute of it! 

2) I signed G up for soccer. What a ruckus! He has been asking to play soccer, so I thought why not sign him up. It's a class for 30 minutes one night a week with kids his age. It's really cute, but also just chaotic. Trying to get 5-10 three year olds to participate is comical and chaotic. I don't think we will sign up for a second round. When he is older we will try it again if he wants too. 

3) I recently started reading Braving the Wilderness by Brene` Brown. It is such an amazing book! You should add this to your reading list. Anytime I hear Brene` speak or read anything by her she is just so inspiring to just be yourself. To let yourself feel how you feel, express your feelings and it's ok to be vulnerable. One of my favorite things I learned from her is to only share your story with people who have earned the right to hear it. This was kind of life changing for me. I always felt I needed to be honest with people and share things. This has really helped me realize I don't need to share every single detail of my life with everyone. I don't blog about everything anymore. I share bits and pieces now. 

4) September is National Thyroid Cancer Awareness Month and Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month. Both of these awareness's are very dear to me. Thyroid Cancer of course because I battle it every single day. Pediatric Cancer because a friend lost her daughter a 6 years old. I honestly thought pediatric cancer was pretty much all cured before my friend lost her daughter. I just didn't know how low the funding was and how often times there is no cure. It's heartbreaking! Now that I am a mother it breaks my heart in a whole new way. 

If you are able to donate any amount of money Unravel Pediatric Cancer was started by my friend. They donate a lot of money each year to help find a cure to beat pediatric cancer. 

Right now there is no cure for Medullary Thyroid Cancer. Once you are diagnosis with it the best they can do is remove as much of MTC by surgery. There are some drugs that you can take, but they are honestly a last resort. Thyca is a great organization that helps all us people with thyroid cancer. 

5) I was out of town this past weekend visiting my cousin in Texas. I will be writing a blog post about that later on. Today G and I are recovering from traveling, getting our laundry done, grocery shopping and getting back into our routine! I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend! 

15 Minutes of Fame

Doesn't everyone get their 15 minutes of fame sometime in their lifetime? Well mine is coming all in 2013. First my friend T.J. mentioned me in his national blog got Philly.com Patient #1. I felt so honored when he asked if he could mention me.

Last year I had lunch with a coworker. I told her a crazy story about my sister Lacey dying Art beard. She found the story so funny & asked if she could use it in her book. Of course I said yes. Well guess what that book has been published. I just got my grubby hands on my very own copy!!!! Sue was kind enough to give me a copy of the book as a thank you.

I'm so proud of Sue. She put all her spare time into her book. Not only do I work with an author but she mentioned me in the book. How exciting is that? You can order your very own copy of the book here. 

Sue and me

Here is me holding my book! 

Great Book

If you are thinking of having a baby this is the GREATEST book to read!  It explains things so thorough and has TONS of great helpful information.  I highly recommend it to everyone even if you have a child and are thinking of having another one.  Dr. Sami David and Jill Blakeway explain things in normal layman terms. 

Another great thing about this book is they try to discourage IVF and fertility drugs. Doctors just love to push fertility drugs and IVF on their patience. Sometimes that is the only option, but Dr. Sami David tries everything else possible before IVF.

Western & Eastern medicine is suggested. Little things people can do to increase their fertility is all explained in the book. It really is a must read!

I have been reading Sarah Palin book Going Rogue: An American Life. I have liked Sarah Palin since I heard her VP speech. As time went on I just liked her more and more. She reminds me of my mom. 20+ years ago my mom was just like Sarah lobbying for different bills at the North Dakota State Capital. My mom drug us kids with her from the time we were very little lobbying for what she believed in. In my early teens I could tell you who every senator and representative was from each county, if they were Democrat or Republican, and the majority of each committees they sat on.

It has been almost one year ago I left my former employer. I thought by walking away the problems would go away. Needless to say I have dealt with plenty of nonsense in the past year. I read a quote that hit home to me. Yes, I am not in politics, but I feel the past 8 years was all about politics. The quote is "In politics, you're either eating well or sleeping well". I can say in the past year I have been sleeping well!

I feel since moving to CA I haven't really talked about politics. I live in one of the more liberal states. If you aren't liberal here then you are a joke. I disagree! I am a conservative and I love being a Republican. I have voted as a Republican for the past 11 years.

I love politics! Although I don't know that I could deal with all the nonsense that goes along with a position in a public office. When I was a little girl one of my goals was to a representative or senator for ND state capital. I think I will have to pass just due to all the snow!