Faith

Categories: Academia, Faith, Fashion, Fitness

Summer/Fall 2024 Catch – up!

Hello! Let’s catch up since my last post. The summer seemed to fly by. It was filled with time with family, work, and sports.

Here are some highlights in the areas of faith, fitness, fashion, and academia.

Faith

There is so much I can say in this category, but I will limit it to saying I am spending more time with God and working to filter all of my thoughts and actions through him. I have created a better routine with having my devotion in the morning before my family wakes up, and I have been praying more throughout the day. I have also started writing scriptures in my planner and seeking guidance from God about my to do lists. I put them before him and whatever I do not accomplish, I try not to feel bad about it.

Fitness

My fitness routine was up and down over the past couple of months. I am proud to say that I did lose 10 lbs. Woop! Woop! However, I am not at my goal weight or physique. I started the 75 hard challenge on Monday with some modifications. If you are not familiar with it, you can do a quick Google search. There is tons of information out there. I like both fiction and non-fiction books, so as long as I am reading, I am counting it. I haven’t settled on a diet, but I am leaning towards a higher protein, more fruits and veggies type of diet. So far, I’ve done well with getting in the 90 minutes of exercise. Some days I do more outdoor than indoor. Again, I am fine with this. I am getting my water in. I am not to a gallon a day yet, but I will get there. You have to give your body time to adjust to changes. Finally, I am taking the progress photos. I think I saw somewhere you are supposed to take them daily. I can’t remember. If I take them weekly, I feel like that should count. As you can see, I am doing the challenge, but I am also being realistic with my body and what works for me.

Fashion

My fashion is still a work in progress! I am trying not to buy too many pieces until I reach my fitness goals. I am trying to be more budget friendly and conscious of the clothing I buy. However, my hair has grown since my photo from August 2023. I am proud of that progress. My nails are becoming stronger. I’ve been using the Keratin 3 day Growth by Nail-aid, and it works. I just need to stop nervously picking at my hands and biting them.

Academia

This year I will submit my 5th year tenure packet. Another woop! woop! My packet is due October 1. This year I am trying to pace myself and not overwhelm myself with the process. I have been saving documents along the way to support my dossier. I just need to make sure I take the time to create the required items and everything in its appropriate place. My teaching scores have been great! I have been productive in my research; however, I can definitely see where I can do better. My service has been on point as well. I remember saying in one of my earlier posts that my words for the year were wisdom and authenticity, and I’ve been guided by those this academic year. I have still made mistakes, but I am not allowing myself to be stuck too long. For more details on academia or if you are needing academic support, please check out fromanurse2anurse.com.

Other

I have some other great things that have been happening, but they do not fit within the other categories. I mentioned earlier how I need to stop picking at my hands when I am nervous. I picked back up my childhood hobby of crocheting. I have been using it as my go to when I have that feeling of nervousness. My goal is to make afghans for my family members.

I have also been gardening. When you see my photos below, I need you to keep your commentary to a minimum. Lol! I am proud of the progress I have made with my garden. My kiddos and I built the raised garden beds. I started out with collards and lettuce. In the other, I had strawberries, tomatoes, and bell peppers. I planted some flowers and herbs from seed hoping they would grow in time to deter pests. I tried to plant pollinator flowers too. I planted Zinnias, Basil, from seed. I also planted marigold plants from Lowes. I had some petunias in pots around my raised beds. Oh, I also bought a blackberry plant. See how we started below!

The strawberries, peppers, lettuce, collards, blackberries did not do well. I removed the strawberries, lettuce, collards, and blackberry plant. I added pollinator plants instead to the bin that contained the collards and lettuce. I filled them with lantanas and marigolds but then moved the marigolds to their own pot. I am still learning all I can about zones, watering, etc. I know that I live in zone 8b. I am also learning more about different pollinator plants that are native to my state. I bought my vegetables and fruits as plants from Lowes and Walmart. I do not think I will do that again. I also bought my lantanas and marigolds from Lowes. I think I will grow my vegetables from seed the next time. The zinnias and basil that I initially planted are now doing well. The tomatoes are still trying to hang in there. I do not know what to say about those petunias.

Check out the pictures below to see an updated view of the garden. I separated the zinnias into their own planter. Now the marigolds, lantanas, zinnias, and petunias are all in their own planters. I read somewhere that lantanas can impact other plants.

That’s it for now! Chat soon!

Categories: Academia, Faith, Fashion, Fitness

The Latest and the Greatest

Oh my gosh! It has been an entire year since I have posted to my blog. I have posted recently to my IG account, but overall, my writing has significantly decreased. Life has been lifing. I know you what I mean when I say that. However, at the end of the day, life is still good. I cannot complain. We are going to pick up where we left off.

First, on IG I posted about my words for the year. They are wisdom and authenticity. For me, it is not a “me” thing anymore. It is a spiritual thing. I have this innate feeling that I am meant for more. My life has transitioned more to one of purpose, and I know that in order to achieve that purpose has to be ground in being my authentic self and making decisions based on wisdom. I am still human, so at the end of the day, I still have my many days of procrastination, sadness, overwhelm, etc. However, I am choosing to react to those kind of days in a more proactive way or better yet in more of a God led way.

So, my latest includes:

1) reading my Bible and talking to the Lord daily

2) praying more often throughout the day

3) pushing myself physically in a good way through exercise

4) trusting myself more in my decision making

5) being appreciative of the season that I am in

6) working to build a legacy for my family

7) working to show my kids a different way of living

8) working towards becoming an associate professor

9) reading more library books

10) working on getting adequate sleep

Check out a few of my greatest since my last post.

As always, I get this feeling of excitement when I post to my blog. The feeling of possibilities. I won’t make any promises. We will just see how it goes. Until next time!

Categories: Faith, Fitness

Time to Transform

My last post focused on life updates. Now, I want to talk about habit updates. At the end of the year, I knew I didn’t want a repeat of that year in 2023. Last year had many blessings but mentally it also had many lows. A lot of those lows were due to lack of confidence, imposter syndrome, and letting fear get in the way. I knew that 2023 needed to be different. I decided that my word for 2023 would be TRANSFORM. I am transforming my relationship with God, myself, my husband, children, family, and friends. I won’t go into details on how I am transforming my relationship with everyone else, but I will touch base on how I am transforming my relationship with God and myself.

1.) I am spending time in the morning with the Bible or some form of doctrine that increases my knowledge about God and his purpose for my life. My grandmother gifted my “The Purpose Driven Life”. It was definitely a good read, and I am taking steps to implement the things I have learned from it.

2.) I am working on applying that new knowledge because I know that my earthly home is not my permanent home and that applying that knowledge makes for a better life and I want that for me and my children.

3.) My family and I have started going back to church in person. It was time, and our family needs it.

4.) I am transforming my mentality by thinking more positive thoughts than negative and focusing my thoughts on the things I want to bring into existence in my life. I am working on building my faith for the things to come and not focusing on the things that bring me down or worry me.

5.) I am working on transforming my body. I have implemented habits that allow me to have better sleep at night, which have resulted in better mornings. One new habit I have implemented for better sleep is taking the Restore My Sleep supplement by Peak and Valley. Let me tell you that supplement has been a game changer in me getting a restful night’s sleep. Wine used to be my go to but drinking it at night resulted in restless nights. It was also becoming too expensive. If you do not know this already, wine will actually stimulate you to stay awake even though it initially it may make you sleepy.

6.) I have developed better eating habits that allow me to get in my necessary protein. One addition I have added to my protein regimen is taking casein protein at night. I make an evening shake and mix in my sleep supplement. It has been a win win for me. I have not noticed any stomach related issues while using this supplement.

7.) Finally, I am working on better habits for physical activity. I started back doing my Nourish Move Love work outs, but I realized my body was not going in a direction I wanted it to. I was having increased soreness and pain in my joints and increased pain in my back. I realized I was not warming up much as I needed to before my workouts, those strength training workouts were not something I could maintain everyday over time, and my core was weak from being inactive all of those months post hysterectomy. These changes are all a result of me listening to my body. Now, I am focusing more on strengthening my core, increasing my physical activity through a combination of walking and strength training, and stretching more.

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