inspiration – Page 5 – The Great Kaysby

Self Care

From a young age, we are taught that putting ourselves before others is selfish. However, I have realized that I cannot be my best self for others if I don’t make time for self care. Wouldn’t you agree that you’re better in all areas of life when you’re also taking care of yourself? I know that I’m a better mom, wife, teacher, etc when I take time for self care!

I know I’ve talked about self care before, but I feel like reminders about it are always important. Reminder number one, if you’ve not had a checkup in a while, then making a doctors appointment for an annual exam can be a great start to self care. Reminder two, taking note of your physical health and noting changes can be crucial! I’ve been off of soda for a week and a half, and I can tell a difference in my digestive system (I was addicted to Diet Coke). I can also tell you when I haven’t drank enough water. Without adequate water in take, I feel less energetic. Third reminder, exercise is key to self care. This is one I really need to get back to because my walking and yoga have really been slacking. The slacking has led to being less energetic. Finally, this is your reminder to take time for things that make YOU happy. Read a book, paint a picture, play a game that people think is silly (I love the Sims), try something new, watch a show that makes you laugh, pamper yourself, etc. Do something that brings you joy at least once a day! I’m not a wellness expert, but I can assure you from my experience that these small steps to self care can make you feel better!

I hope these reminders help you remember that self care isn’t selfish. I know that it can be hard to put your needs first, but sometimes it is necessary!

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

Top Tips for 2022

Since just before the new year began, I’ve been doing a lot of reflecting. I’ve been attempting in my spare moments to work on my vision journal, and I’ve realized that it’s meant to be a work in progress not a project completed in one sitting. That said, I’ve also come up with some other tips for 2022 that you might find helpful:

1. Minimize – clean out the clutter you don’t need or that no longer brings you joy. Trash it, put it in a yard sale, or donate it to a worthy charity thrift store. What you think of as junk might be a blessing to someone else.

2. Unplug – Find things to do that don’t require technology. Craft, create, read a book, exercise, get outside…do something besides stare at a screen. I’m preaching to myself on this one!

3. Take Baths – I’m not saying take a bath or shower for hygiene. Well, yes do that, but occasionally fill the bath, light a candle, add Epsom salts or bubble bath, and enjoy the water. It’s relaxing!

4. Renew Your Faith – if you’re a person of faith be it Pagan, Christian, Muslim, Jew, Buddhist, Hindu, or another faith take time to submerse yourself in your teachings. Take time to remind yourself of your basic philosophies and renew your soul. The soul yearns for growth and renewal to stay strong!

5. Physical Wellness – get a physical, visit the eye doctor, go to the dentist, see a chiropractor, etc. You have one body that could last you for over 100 years so take care of it!

6. Quality Time – Spend quality time with those you love the most. Do so in a pandemic safe manner of course! When you’re spending quality time, make sure you’re present in the moment. This is a big one that I’m working on this year! I miss so much by being absorbed in something irrelevant!

7. Stop Believing the Internet – Say this with me “Just because it’s on the Internet doesn’t make it true.” Make this your mantra. Repeat it frequently, and when you do conduct Internet research check your sources! For example, my background is in the beauty industry, so I hope you would never believe me if suddenly I was trying to dispense brain surgery or aeronautical device!

What’s your tip for 2022?

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

7 Colors

Happy 2022! This morning I began my year by attending a Sankalpa session at my favorite yoga studio with one of the kindest, most caring instructors on the planet. The session involved yoga, guided meditations, intention setting, and snacks. One of my favorite parts of the morning involved the seven chakra zones and thinking of images you associate with those chakra colors. I’m a complete novice when it comes to the concept of chakras, but my reflection this morning was very powerful! So, I thought I would share my experience so that others may feel empowered!

1. Red (Root) = comfort and safety. For this chakra I imagined red hair. In my life my hair, which is red although some bottle assistance is required these days, has always been a security blanket. I’ve always found comfort in twirling or running my fingers through my hair. I’ve also always found safety in being able to hide behind my hair.

2. Orange (Sacral) = Pleasure. I immediately thought of sunrise and sunset! For me the image of the rising or setting sun melting into the horizon is pure joy and calm. During these moments I feel so blessed by everything given to us in this life. It’s the best time to see miracles!

3. Yellow (Solar Plexus) equals strength. This time I thought of sunflowers. Sunflowers always remind me of one of my grandmothers. She lived in Kansas, and she was very much like a sunflower. She was strong and beautiful, and an inspiration of what a loving wife, mother, and grandmother should be.

4. Green (Heart) = acceptance and compassion. I immediately thought of nature specifically grass and trees. There is something about nature that makes me feel like everything is or is going to be okay depending on the situation. There’s also something about being in nature that just fills me up with compassion too. I can’t pinpoint exactly what it is, but it’s there.

5. Turquoise (throat) = communication. I immediately thought of the turquoise waters of Half Moon Cay. In these waters you can see the sand below clearly! I pray that I am able to communicate like those turquoise waters. I pray that my communication in the new year is clear, calm, and filled with the same pure spirit as those waters.

6. Indigo (Third Eye) equals intuition and trust. I didn’t actually come up with an image for this one. When I think of indigo, I lean more heavily to the blue part. Blue – my favorite color – just makes me happy. My thought with this chakra is that I hope I do a better job this year of following my gut instead of over analyzing everything!

7. Purple (Crown) equals knowledge and fulfillment. This one made me think of the Princess Diana Beanie Baby. For one, I thought of it because Princess Diana was a great role model. She admitted her flaws (such as her marital issues), but she still found ways to serve the people through humanitarian efforts and leave the world better than she found it. Serving others is very fulfilling for me! Secondly, my second grandma’s favorite color was purple. That’s why as a gift I gave her this particular Beanie Baby. Thinking of her reminds me of all the real life knowledge she had (her highest education was eighth grade) that has helped me in my own life. She’s been gone 11 years this month, but she is still teaching me lessons!

For my readers, I hope this blog post gets you thinking about the chakra colors and what they can mean for you. For me, I hope this post helps me to stay grounded in my values in 2022. Happy New Year everyone!

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

Stretch Stories

Did you ever have a Stretch or Fetch Armstrong as a kid? Ideally you could pull on them and pull on them, and they would temporarily distort before going mostly back to their original state. My Fetch Armstrong worked in this manner until the day the stretchy inside stuff started oozing out of it. In contrast to this incident, when we stretch, no matter how we’re stretching, we often find that we have a new story to tell. In my experience, while stretching may be difficult, it is a rewarding story in the end.

To start, let’s jump right in and talk about stretch stories in terms of stretch marks. In a world full of creams designed to minimize the appearance of stretch marks, I’m going to be bold and say that I love my stretch marks! Society may deem my tiger stripes to be ugly, but to me my tiger stripes are a reminder that my body performed the miracle of growing a baby! As that baby was growing, I gained 31 pounds, and I don’t regret a single pound of it! Now whenever I look at those stretch marks, I can think about the story they tell of my pregnancy and birthing journey! Side note: I think of my c-section scar as a beautiful thing too!

Even though it cannot be seen, I also think that mental stretching is a great story teller! In my opinion (I’m not an expert) mental stretching can be as simple as doing math without a calculator or as complex as challenging yourself to learn a new language or skill. In either case, when you do these mental stretching activities, you learn things about yourself. Just yesterday, I used mental math skills that I hadn’t used in a while. I was amazed at my brain’s ability to still do it! Likewise, when I started doing brain puzzles again, I was amazed by how quickly they came back to me! They say that mental stretching can also help with keeping your memory sharp! Plus it’s always a great feeling to know that you can do something you thought impossible!

Speaking of things you thought were impossible, there’s some stories that literal stretching can tell! Last summer I took several yoga classes, and do you know what stories I learned from that stretching? One, at 38 I can still put my foot over my head. Two, my body can with correct training do Hot or Glow yoga and reap the benefits without feeling ill. Three, I can stretch and release tensions from my body! When I was regularly practicing yoga, I felt more relaxed than I have in a long time! Now that’s a great stretch story!

How about when you stretch? Do you feel your confidence boosted by instances of mental or physical stretching? Has it been so long since you’ve stretched your body or brain that you need to do it for a reminder of how you feel? What stories do you want your personal stretching to tell in the future?

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

“It Wasn’t Your Fault”

December 23 has been one of my least favorite days for the past 11 years. I don’t know if I’ve blogged about it before, but December 23, 2010 was the day that I tried to save my grandma’s life. I can’t tell you what for sure prompted me to call her at the moment I did, but something urged me to call her. Her words to me when she answered were “Call an ambulance”. Long story short, I called for the ambulance (very difficult phone call to make), they took her to the hospital, and after 27 days her physical body released her soul to fly home to Heaven.

Since this occurred, I’ve dreaded December 23. For years, I’ve carried a guilt associated with this day, and I’ve tried to just wait it out as quietly as possible each year. This is also difficult because sometimes I can be an emotional roller coaster. Last night, I was talking about my dislike of December 23 with my family, and my mom said something that I didn’t know I needed to hear. She told me four simple words: “It wasn’t your fault.”

Hearing those four simple words was like a light switch going off in my brain. Those words started to release me from a decade of guilt, and they reminded me that I was just trying to help. I didn’t kill my grandmother by calling an ambulance; I tried to help her by calling an ambulance!

Even with this feeling of release, parts of today were hard. However, I feel like I didn’t dread the day as much. I could see the sunshine through the clouds so to speak, and I could feel the start of healing. I’m going to remember my moms words – “It wasn’t your fault” – and I’m going to keep in healing!

I pray and hope that if there is something that wasn’t your fault that you’ve been harboring guilt over, you are able to start finding peace too.

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

Unplug to Recharge

I’m by far not a Transcendentalist. I tend to function better when I have a set routine, and even though I have a unique sense of style there is nothing groundbreaking about how I dress. I’m also too concerned with covering the amount of gray in my hair to say that I march to the beat of my own drummer. Even the unpopular things I’ve been involved with throughout my life such as theatre, medieval reenactment, playing video games, playing tabletop games, and writing have somehow become mainstream. However, there is one part of transcendentalism that I totally get: nature.

For me nature is where I go to unplug and recharge. (Unplug is kind of a loose term, but I’ll explain that in a minute.) There is something about being out in nature whether it is hiking, swimming, or sitting in a cabin looking out at the trees that helps me to feel peaceful and relaxed. This weekend was spent sitting in a cabin in the woods surrounded by family, and I can say that I haven’t felt this relaxed going into a work week since last May when a weekend was spent in a cabin in the woods! It was wonderful to unplug from all of the responsibilities of home! I don’t know about everyone else, but I struggle to truly relax at home. Even when I’m reading, writing, sewing, etc there is always that voice in the back of my head saying “You should be doing x, y, and z!” With that mantra in my head, it’s impossible to be totally serene at home. However, in a cabin, I can unplug that little voice and relax!

Relax and unplug for me is probably different than a lot of people. I still played on my phone while unplugging, and I still used my laptop. The difference is that instead of working, I used my devices to research things I would like for Christmas, order Christmas pajamas, and look at gifts for LilKsby. Not a bit of work was done! I also finished one book, read another book, and started a third one (all Stephanie Plum novels)! My only to do tasks all weekend were eat, hangout with family, and sleep! It was also relaxing to be able to go on a trip without having to go on the interstate. Back roads are way more relaxing! The best part of the weekend? The relaxation has continued even at home tonight. I’m not even stressed about going to work tomorrow!

I’m so thankful that I was able to spend the weekend in nature, unplug from everyday life, and recharge! Are you recharged for the week?

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

Dental Dwelling

This afternoon Mr Kisby and I had dentist appointments. While he was in his appointment, I started thinking about how different going to the dentist is as a kid. As a kid going to the dentist (or ortho) can be exciting! Not because you’re going to the dentist, but because it means getting out of school early. This leads to getting to play video games sooner (I would’ve picked a Zelda game), having a snack sooner, etc. Even though the dentist part wasn’t fun, it was always fun to get home early!

As an adult going to the dentist is exciting in a different way. For many of us, going to a dentist or doctors appointment requires taking off work either a full or half day. In a perfect world, the portion of the half day not spent at the dentist would be just as fun filled as it was during childhood. However, the world isn’t perfect and frequently any spare time is somehow spent adulting! This was very true for me today! During the time Mr Kisby was in the dentist and I was waiting for my appointment, I managed to drop items off at our local charitable thrift store, purchase air filters for our HVAC system from a local business, drop off recycling, and call two businesses with whom we work! When I was coming out of the local business, it hit me how different going to the dentist is as an adult. Never as a kid would I have imagined that I’d be so excited to get so many errands accomplished in 45 minutes! For that matter as a kid I never knew I’d one day be purchasing air filters! Spoiler, I would’ve been excited as a kid to have a few minutes to read in the parking lot before my appointment like I did today!

Going to the dentist isn’t the only thing that is different from childhood to adulthood. Most things are completely different than when we were too little to worry about money, be concerned with time, and have anxiety over things that are out of our control. I’d say those were the good old days, but I also love hanging out with Mr Kisby and LilKsby too much to believe that! However, at the end of the day, I think it’s important to remember what it was like to be a kid, and sometimes I think we need to embrace it! For me, this currently means I need to check on my Sims!

What do you dwell on when you go to the dentist?

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

Challenge Complete

Can you believe it has been 30 days since I made my 30 day challenge post? Did you try anything new for 30 days this month? Guess what?? I did! Every day in September, I did squats. It started with 50 per day, then just this week it became 100 per day!

Now, I don’t say that to brag. It was a tough journey! Here are some things I’ve learned from my squats:

1. Accountability partners are key!

2. Sometimes you have to push yourself to do things you don’t want to do.

3. Going from 0 to 100 – even over time – is painful, but it’s good pain.

4. Squats get my heart rate up more than walking.

5. Squats work your core. I’ve now got some definition in my core that’s never been there before.

6. Physical health involves physical ability and having an “I can” mindset.

7. Doing one thing for 30 days makes you want to try more things for 30 days!

I hope that you completed a 30 day challenge in September. However, if you didn’t, I’ve got great news for you! Tomorrow is a brand new month, and a brand new opportunity to take a challenge!

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

Feel Good Friday

What if every Friday you did one good deed for someone else? It could be buying them their favorite drink; it could be writing them a quick thank you note; it could be sending them a message saying “you’re doing a great job”. Whatever you did for someone would not have to have a financial cost, but it has the potential to have a reward greater than money: happiness. The more happiness that someone has in their life, the more happiness they can put into the lives of others. Imagine a world where people experienced more happiness! I bet it would be a more peaceful world!

Today I challenge you to do something that makes someone else feel good. You might inspire them to do something good for someone else. There’s no telling how big the ripple effect could become!

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

30 Days…

Today – September 1, 2021 – I showed this video in all of my junior English classes. The students then had to complete a quick write about what they could try for 30 days. As a teacher and business leader, I believe that I should be willing to do the things that I ask my students and team to do. That said, I’m setting a timer for seven minutes, and here is my quick write! Enjoy!

For 30 Days…

I could write every day and have a 50,000 word novel…wait I’ve done that several times! LOL Seriously though, NANOWRIMO is two months away so writers get ready!
I could take a meaningful picture that will always remind me of something good. This is one of my favorite ideas from the video.
I could blog for 30 days straight to grow my virtual presence.
I could record daily Webisodes for my business to help grow my area of influence.
I could do squats every day to help improve my health.
I could make a point of reading at least one positive thing every day.
I could make a point to give at least one sincere compliment every day.
I could take time to read for a minimum of five minutes every day and hopefully finish at least three books this month.
I could work smarter and not harder.
I could create more works of art.
I could drink at least 64 ounces of water each day.
I could visualize my goals coming true.
I could start learning a new language.
I could be sure to eat at least three servings of fruits and vegetables each day (I’m working towards five).
I could listen to an inspirational hotline/podcast.
I could walk at least one mile per day.
I could text a friend to check on them.
I could keep a smile on my face and be positive.
I could support local restaurants as opposed to chains (this would get costly).
I could save $1 a day so that I had $30 (or I could do a bigger amount) extra at the end of the month.
I could start streaming again.
I could get more sleep and not just on the weekends.
I could be more productive in the mornings so that I can relax at night.
I could sing and dance like no one is watching!

Wow! You can get a lot out in a 7 minute quick write! I’m impressed by all of the options that I could do for 30 days! Obviously doing all 24 things from my quick write in one 30 day period isn’t going to work. However, I think that I can focus on a couple. For my physical health, I can do squats every day. For my hobby, I can read at least five minutes every day. Like Matt Cutts talked about in the video, the little thing each day can become a big thing!

Here’s my challenge to you:

Watch the video
Take 7 minutes to brainstorm ideas
Commit to one or two things to do for 30 days
Let me know how it goes

You can do this!

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

Overcoming Obstacles

Earlier today, I made this post on my Facebook page:

At 2:30 today, the weeds were still so high that you couldn’t see the sunflower lights. I’d been putting off weeding it for WEEKS because my mind was full of thoughts like:

*I can’t do this without help.
*If I ask for help, it will seem like I can’t take care of myself.
*I can’t do this, I have a toddler. When would I have time?
*I need to use weed killer because my natural remedies haven’t worked. I can’t use weed killer!
*If I weed the garden and use weed killer, I’ll have to shower afterwards and wash the clothes. Who has time for that?

Today, by 3:20, I had weeded it, gone over it with weed killer, put the clothes in the washer, and showered. It isn’t perfect, but it is much improved! Guess what? I did it by myself during toddler nap time (hubby was in the house while I was outside)! It didn’t take near the time I’d built up in my mind, and it wasn’t as hard as it was in my mind! It’s amazing what the brain can convince us we can’t do when we are perfectly capable of doing it!

While in the garden, I felt like I was in one of my two elements where I feel the most relaxed. When I’m in my relaxing element, I get a lot of deep thinking done. Today’s thoughts? One, our brains telling us something is impossible keeps us from achieving greatness. Two, why is the hardest thing in the world to ask for help?

The first thought came from me realizing how easy weeding the garden was. I’m not exaggerating when I say that I had built it up in my head as an impossible task. As I realized how simple it was, I started thinking about all the other things I’ve told myself are impossible over the years like “you’ll never be able to earn the use of a career car” and “you’ll never be able to lose weight”. How many of these am I actually able to accomplish? What all has my brain been holding me back from achieving? My conclusion? Stop listening to the brain say “you can’t” or “you aren’t”, rip the weed out so to speak, and say job well done everyday progress is made towards a goal! I know that’s easier said than done, but I feel realizing I can do things the brain says I can’t it’s a step in the right direction!

As for my second thought, it’s a doozy! It is super hard for me to ask for help. I feel like society engrains in us that asking for help is a sign of weakness. Like if you have to ask for help, then you’re not good enough to do it on your own or have no business doing it in the first place. Both of these are absurd given at some point in life we all need help to get things done! Last week when my AC needed fixing, I couldn’t have done it without a repairman’s help. No where in my skill set is AC repair! That was easy. Dishes piling up that I don’t have time to do today? I can’t ask for help, I’m supposed to be Super Mom/a Wife! Maybe that right there is the answer! Maybe asking for help is only hard when we feel like something is expected of us! Ooo…that really might be it! Either way, I hope that LilKsby grows up being willing to ask for help! I also hope that he never feels people are judging him for asking for help!

So those are my deep thoughts for the day! What are your deep thoughts today?

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

Advocate & Make a Change!

Parental leave map — Photo from Dominic Hernandez’s FAST FACTS: MATERNITY LEAVE POLICIES ACROSS THE GLOBE

They say you should advocate for what you’re passionate about and attempt to make a change. Since having LilKsby in 2019, I’ve wanted to advocate for better paternity leave in our country. This week, I got a wild hair, and decided to contact my state legislators asking them to do something about improving parental leave. The next day a co-worker sent me a Tweet saying the Louisville Metro Council approved paid parental leave for city employees for twelve weeks following the birth or adoption of a child. Their approval was unanimous! City of Louisville employees are very lucky that the Louisville Metro Council has their back on parental leave. Many people in the United States aren’t so lucky.

Until having LilKsby, I didn’t know much about parental leave. All I knew of it had come from working in the Personnel Department before taking the job I have now. Based on that experience, I assumed that it was the norm to give new mothers six weeks of leave (eight weeks for a C-section) and require the mothers to use either a combination of sick and personal days if they wanted to get paid (and were lucky to have 30-40 to cover the time) or take leave without pay. I had never had reason to look into the policy of other places, so foolishly I made a presumption that this was just how it was everywhere. SHAME ON ME! One should never make presumptions!

My first taste of better parental leave came from Mr Kisby’s job at the time. He was provided with quite the combination of fully and partially paid leave, and he did not have to use any of his vacation time! I was shocked when he told me how good of parental leave his employer provided. His was so good that when you added his time and my time together, LilKsby didn’t have to go to a babysitter until he was three and a half months old!

Since our experience with parental leave, I’ve found myself frequently thinking about the parental leave provided around the world. Did you know that “the United States is the only high-income country, as classified by the World Bank, that does not have paid maternity leave” (Hernandez)? Yes, the United States has employers who provide paid parental leave; however, there is no federally mandated parental leave for births or adoptions. FMLA does cover 12 weeks of unpaid leave for new parents, but the only thing that helps with is securing a position to return to after the time is up. Anyone who has ever had a baby or adopted a child knows that there are A LOT of expenses incurred during parental leave. Unless you’ve been saving for a long time or are willing to rack up debt, going unpaid for 12 weeks is not a viable option for many people.

Here’s another fun thing I learned while on maternity leave with LilKsby that I never knew. Did you know that the recommendations of pediatricians is that babies should not be going out in public until after they’ve had their first vaccinations at 8 weeks old? I didn’t know that! I found it very interesting that pediatricians make this recommendation, yet employers force parents to put their children in daycare at 6 weeks old (or younger) by not paying the new parents beyond that point. Something doesn’t add up with that math!

I can also speak from my own experience that six weeks (or eight weeks in my C-section having case) is not enough for a lot of babies to start breastfeeding consistently and correctly. Our journey was 10 1/2 weeks to achieve accurate breastfeeding. If I hadn’t have been able to fenagle 11 weeks of leave because of summer break and skipping workshops, then we never would’ve achieved the breastfeeding success that I knew would provide the best health for my baby.

I fully realize that not everyone in the world will ever need parental leave. However, I guarantee you that everyone will have a friend or family member that needs to use parental leave at some point. That said, I think it is time that we (everyone who comes across this and all of their family and friends) advocate for better parental leave in this country. America loves to say they are the best at everything, so it is time to make that a reality when it comes to parental leave. I encourage all of my readers to do some research, write to their legislators, and take action to help encourage improvement in the area of parental leave!

I’ll put my soapbox away now. I love you and good night!

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

Hernandez, D., 2018. Fast Facts: Maternity leave policies across the globe – Vital Record. [online] Vital Record. Available at: <https://vitalrecord.tamhsc.edu/fast-facts-maternity-leave-policies-across-globe/> [Accessed 28 March 2021].

The Day History CHANGED

Patriotic free stock photos download (39 Free stock photos) for commercial use. format: HD high resolution jpg images

Last night when people across the country went to bed, a woman had never been Vice President of the United States. Today, just before noon, that changed forever when Vice President Kamala Harris changed history by taking the Vice Presidential Oath of Office. Whether you voted for Biden and Harris or not, you cannot deny the significant historical change of today!

As an elementary aged girl in the late 80s and 90s, I remember hearing the question “Would you rather be the first woman in the NBA or the first woman president?” Understand that this also predates the WBNA being formed. I remember saying first woman in the NBA with hesitation partially because I wanted to give “the cool” answer, but also because the idea that a woman could be president seemed impossible at the time. Truth be told, even though my own state had a female governor from the time I was seven months old until I was four, the idea of women having a major impact on politics seemed impossible at the time. Watching history be changed today, I wish I could go back and tell nine or ten year old me, “Just you wait. Women will have power politically in America!” Guess what? Today, we have that power!

Many years after being that little girl, as I look at the world through “mom eyes”, I am beyond thrilled that LilKsby – who is partially Pacific Islander – will grow up in a world where he sees that all people regardless of race, ethnicity, or gender CAN achieve political offices that once seemed impossible. I am tickled pink that the first Vice President he will remember is a female of color! I am also elated that his peers will grow up in a country where doors have been opened for everyone! Doesn’t that make you feel the empowerment behind the historical changes today?

History aside, I made two other thought changing observations today. Did you know that the Hebrew meaning of the word “Salem” is peace? How ironic that a place where the name of the town meant peace would be synonymous with witch trials! Also, did you notice the number of officials wearing purple at the inauguration today? Think about it…if you take red (Republican) and blue (Democrat) and mix them together, you get purple. What a great symbolic gesture of unity! What if as this change grows the country went from red or blue to all together purple? Peace could be in the works! Peace in our land would be another great change to history!!

Here’s to change!

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

Just Breathe and Take Control

Anyone else feel like if one thing doesn’t go right then they beat themselves up so bad mentally that the rest of the evening is shot? I’m sure I’m not the only one! About 21 hours into 2021, this happened to me for the first time in the New Year. Now it’s 22 hours into 2021, and I can assure you that sometimes you just need to breathe, take control, and everything will work out.

Without going into a lot of details, last night I thought I placed an Amazon order that had to be received before 2020 ended. Tonight, I realized the order never went through. My response was to mentally berate myself so much that I didn’t want to do anything except for sit and be mad at myself. After a few minutes, I logged onto my health account, chatted with a rep (who just happened to be working on New Year’s Day), and realized that I didn’t lose any money. I immediately felt relieved, and I now have a better understanding of how my health account operates. I ended the chat feeling immensely relieved, a little silly for getting so upset, and proud of myself for taking the initiative to attempt to do something about the whole situation which led to a good outcome.

This little story is a great reminder that sometimes we just need to breathe and take control in anyway we can. It is also a reminder that this is something I need to continuously work on improving. I’d been attempting to think all day about things I need to work on during 2021, and I kept making excuses for why I couldn’t think about it at a given time. As it turns out, I didn’t need think time; I just needed a bump in the road to remind me of what I need to improve in 2021. I just need to remember to breathe and take control when things seems to not go as expected!

Here’s to just breathing and taking control! Happy 2021!

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

Wellness Wednesday

Happy Wellness Wednesday! For our family on this particular Wednesday, wellness has meant family flu shots. Yup, flu shots all around! However, wellness doesn’t just have to mean something associated with a vaccine or physical ailment. Wellness can be associated with mental and emotional health just as much as physical. In fact, I personally believe that mental and emotional health is more important than the physical health! Anybody agree?

No matter what Wellness Wednesday means to you, I thought you might enjoy my favorite wellness tips.

Stay hydrated! Drink plenty of water! Why? One, dehydration blows. Seriously, some of the worst I’ve ever felt was when dehydrated. Two, water is great for your skin. Three, it’s been proven than drinking water actually helps you stay awake more than caffeine (ties in with hydration and no crash factor). Plus, water can be super tasty! I’m sure I’m not the only person who loves to infuse their water with flavors!

Get outside! I’ve always said that Seasonal Affective Disorder was a thing even before it had that title. Getting out in the sun and being part of nature can improve any mood. There’s something invigorating about going for a walk on a crisp day! There’s also something about nature (for me especially around bodies of water) that can provide you with so much clarity about life.

Nap Like a Toddler! Lilksby is in that stage where somedays he needs a 30 minute nap, and other days he needs a 2 hour nap. It’s all relative to how much sleep he’s had and the activities of the day. However, no matter the amount of time the nap is, he wakes up refreshed and ready to go for the rest of the day. We all could use those little boosts. So nap like a toddler!

Self Care Isn’t Selfish! How many of you feel guilty when you take time for you? I know this can be an easy trap to find yourself in, but I firmly believe that self care makes you better for all those you’re around. If you aren’t feeling your best, then you won’t be your best self for them. Self care doesn’t have to be complicated. It can be as simple as taking a bubble bath, doing a face mask, exercising by yourself, or sitting with a book and a glass of wine. I recommend self care at least a couple times a week. If you’re a planner, then plan for Self Care Sunday and Wellness Wednesday.

Read or Write! I tell people all the time that it doesn’t matter what you read or write, but there’s something about those activities that can make you feel more alive. I think it is because when you’re reading or writing, you’re actively engaging more of your brain than if you’re just staring at a screen watching mindless videos. (Don’t get me wrong, mindless videos have their place especially when I’m sick. I just don’t think they promote better wellness.) I know that for me, reading promotes wellness because it is so engaging and to a degree has me thinking instead of just responding especially if I’m reading a mystery or piece that promotes rhetorical thinking. I also believe that writing is one of the things that keeps me the most sane whether it is for this blog, a brain dump, gratitude journal, or friendly note to someone. For me reading and writing wellness keep my brain from becoming mush! Figuratively of course!

Those are my thoughts on promoting wellness. What are your Wellness Wednesday thoughts?

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby