Encouragement/Faith

These were my three books for the month I hope you get a chance to read them they are great books.

My 3 monthly reads

Do it Afraid by Joyce Meyers - A great book if you've ever struggled with fear and rejection. I love this book and can't tell you how many times I have read this book and gotten new revelation every time I read it. This book helped me move forward in so many areas I was stuck in.

Confessing God's Word by Dr. Maureen Anderson - I had the honor of meeting this Great woman of God about 4 years ago and that is when I got this book. It is a great way to speak God's word over your life and build identity in Christ as a believer. This book is another book  that is in heavy rotation in my reading list. 

The Book of Proverbs The Message by Eugene H. Peterson - This book is chucked full of nuts so full of knowledge for living, relationships, finances, wisdom just so much and I love The Message because it just brings the word to life. This is a great way to read Gods word every month everyday because there is 31 chapters. This a great way to renew your mind to utilize Gods wisdom in your life.

I read a lot and these are 3 of the things I have read this month and will continue to keep in my rotation till they fall apart and then I will buy them again lol but seriously. These books are game changers and all these are available HERE

Encouragement/Healthy Living

3 tools that have helped me to balance my life

Calender/Planner - Is a great way to plan and keep up with appointments and important dates. Keeping a calendar/planner is great for day to day tasks and to do lists. I currently keep a master calendar, business calendar, meal prep calendar and spiritual calendar. This has helped me to plan a month in advance in these areas. For me this has helped me to be accountable in all these areas and set attainable goals. You can get free printable calendars online HERE

Journaling- Is a great way to keep track of your healthy lifestyle journey. I currently keep a exercise journal (shown in previous post), faith journal and have previously used a food journal. Journaling comes in handy in so many ways, for me it has helped with accountability, helped to see areas where I could improve and been helpful in areas of emotional healing. Journaling is very helpful in what I call soul work to journal your daily emotions and range any where from being thankful to poetry. I get frugal 1 subject notebooks for my journals.

A binder- This keeps it all together and in one place. I keep a binder that holds all the above materials and never have to search because that are all in one place, one stop shop. I got mines from my son but you can also get these at Office supply stores



My testimony - I was all over the place and missing appointments and important events, stressed out eating any and everything, going real fast with no direction in a life out of control and exhausted before I began using these tools. I am a wife, mother, grandmother and business woman just to name a few hats. This has been huge in my healthy lifestyle journey to keep me from stressing, eating crazy and being a free spirit with no order and I decided in order to be who God was calling me to be I needed to get in order and this has helped. Soon I will be helping others through my business to do the same. Trust me if I can get organized anybody can and it is a daily journey that I didn't get to over night and still work at every day, so be encouraged.

Healthy Living

Today ladies this is for us. I want to share the importance of sowing into yourself while keeping a household and taking care of our families. As we enter into May the month of Mothers Day I found it vital to do this post. As woman we wear so many hats and we wear them well. I thank God for all the strong sisters I see daily that inspire me to be a better woman. Today I celebrate and salute you all that represent womanhood so well. 

I have learned how important it is to sow into yourself as a woman by trial and error, so wanted to encourage new moms and those that may be struggling with the day to day grind of holding it all together. It is very important to take care of our health getting regular check ups and our overall health. For years I didn't do this and rather we believe it or not our family and community suffers for us not taking care of ourselves. What would you do if you weren't exhausted all the time, what new ventures would you pursue if you just had the time. Balance is the key and on a later post I will be sharing some tips and tools for balance that have helped me. Taking care of ourselves is vital for energy, renewal and refreshing. Utilize the help around you like trusted family and friends and enjoy a girls night out. Make it a priority to take me time breaks according to your schedule. Please make sure to get your yearly pap smears, mammograms and health checkups (dental and eye). Below I will share 10 great ideas to sow into yourself.

1. Have a lunch date with a friend or alone find great deals HERE and HERE

2. Get a mani/pedi (one of my favorites and use links above for great deals)

3. Shopping alone or with a friend and trust me this doesn't require a lot of money (a lot of times I window shop and clothes are inspiration for me)

4. Get a massage HERE they have great deals

5. Exercise love this time of year because a great out door walk is mind clearing, so go for a walk in your favorite park

6. Girls night out there is nothing like getting out with the girls after a week of taking care of the family (get together with the girls and plan an evening out)

7. Visit a local park and sit and journal (this is soooo refreshing)

8. Take yourself out to dinner and dress up and have a wonderful evening enjoying yourself (I really enjoy this one and do it as often as I can)

9. Take a dance class (hustle, samba etc.)

10. Take up a hobby you love (look for local classes in you area)


Bonus tip: Start a Me time savings envelope to save for those outings!

I've shared some great ideas to start now get in some me time and see how it improves your outlook. Please share what you do and will do for yourself on this upcoming week.

Fashion/DIY

I made this skirt using Sew Simple 0899 a poodle skirt costume pattern YES a costume pattern. When I saw this on clearance I instantly got ideas and figured I didn't have to fight with measuring out a circle skirt anymore lol. I paid 10 cents for this pattern and boy did I hit a lick.  I used a raw silk material that I thrifted it is a fabric by Hoffman fabric. I did no modifications to the pattern and the instructions were very easy to follow. I will definitely be using this pattern again. This skirt is soooo much fun.

Outfit details
Jean Jacket similar HERE
Green tank similar HERE
Circle skirt (diy by me) similar HERE
Shoes similar HERE

Healthy Living/Natural hair

My natural hair decision 

 I decided to go natural because it was the healthiest option for my hair. I had a perm in my hair since I was about 8 years old. I made the decision to get rid of the chemicals on my path to becoming a healthier me. I had been on a healthy lifestyle journey for about 1 year when I decided the next logical step was to stop perming my hair. I was perm free for about 6 months and after research did the big chop. When I say big chop I mean BIG CHOP I went to the barber shop and had him taper it. This was a big NO HUGE step for me and it took awhile for me to come to the conclusion to cut it off. I look back now and am sooo happy I did it. I've come a long way since November 6th 2013(my big chop anniversary) up to recent. But I haven't looked back and enjoy the versatility of my natural hair. Has it been easy NO not at all because it has been a learning experience and plenty patience as it grew out and a growing confidence in my hair God gave me. I can truly say now I have no desire to perm my hair and love my natural hair. I declare today my hair is beautiful in its natural state. In a later post I will be sharing my hair regimen. Below I will share my journey up till now with pics.

Embrace you and love all God made you to be, you are beautiful!!!!!

Healthy Living/Weight loss

I have been on a healthy lifestyle journey for about 3 1/2 years now. I have lost over 50 pounds, exercise regularly, and eat a healthy diet. My journey has not been perfect, but I am committed to sticking to it. I have been diabetic and insulin dependent and also had high blood pressure in my past. At my heaviest I was almost 200 pounds and that was not during my pregnancy. I made a decision I was tired of being sick and tired and began to make small changes and that's where my journey began. The decision to make adjustment to get healthy was my first step.  Below sharing pictures of me at my heaviest to my current weight I stopped weighing myself long ago and just focused on healthy adjustments in my eating and exercise regularly. I'm sharing my story in hopes to encourage you to LIVE and take care of you and LIVE your best life.

3 tips to maintain a Healthy lifestyle

1. Consistency- Finding what works for you and sticking with it making adjustments as you learn. Mistakes are part of the package and you learn and grow. My eating adjustments have been portion control and moderation, I don't deprive myself of foods I love I just have them in moderation and have learned to prepare my favorites in a healthier version. Make a commitment to look at your overall health and learn to eat to live and make healthy adjustments. 

    
2. Exercise- Have a exercise regimen and set guidelines like not going more then 3 days not exercising and always have a back up plan if you can't make it to the gym or things come up that you can't do your regular workout for example 10 minute workouts or incorporate your work out into you housework. Scheduling your workouts using a exercise journal is a great way to keep track of your progress and a form of accountability, it's what I use and it keeps me on track. Try to keep active in your day especially if you have a sit down job. A sedentary life leads to a sedentary metabolism. So getting up and moving is a start.

3. Preparation- Learn to prepare in advance your meals and snacks. I keep a envelope in my purse that has menus to my favorite restaurants so I'm able to make healthy choices when I go to eat there then I know what and how much I'm having in advance. I carry snacks and water that keeps me away from chips and candy bars.


Be patient you didn't gain the weight over night so it will take time to lose it be encouraged, consistent, exercise and prepare and you will see progress. Please feel free to ask questions if I can help I will.

Fashion

Date night outfit

Monochromatic red is the datenight choice for me. I personally think red is a very romantic color and my hubby loves me in red so it's a win win. I love to keep him watching!!!!!

Outfit details

Red batwing top similar  HERE

Red skinny jeans similar  HERE

Red studded platform heel similar HERE

Marriage Moment/Family

Wanted to do a post on date night because for myself and my hubby we have discovered it is so vital to sow intimate time seeds into our relationship. Date night for me isn't just at night but spending time together at any time of day on purpose and impromptu. We don't have a ritual day, but we do make it a regular priority to spend time away from the kids and the home. I love these times because it is our special time to nurture our relationship outside of our commitments of running the house, and raising children, working and all the many other hats we wear. This is our special time so below I will share some things we have done that are economical and creative to keep that spark poppin off with hopes you and your mate strike up that spark too (SMILES).

10 Date night Ideas

1. Pack a picnic and go to local park and enjoy lunch and each other.
2. Go for a ride in the car day or night and talk and enjoy site seeing.
3. Go for a long walk holding hands and spending quality time together.
4. Cook a romantic dinner at home with candles and the whole romantic atmosphere and enjoy a quiet romantic evening at home together.
5. Grab ice cream and visit a local park.
6. Bike riding together a great way to get exercise and spend quality time together.
7. In summer months check your area for free concert series and take a blanket pack a picnic and pop a squat on the lawn and enjoy some good music and even dance together.
8. Find a great spot to watch the sun set and watch it together while holding each other.
9. Go fishing together (My hubbys favorite) and enjoy fishing together for me that means watching him fish as I read a good book and celebrate his sportsmanship when he catches fish.
10. Dress up and go out to a nice restaurant and enjoy dinner and go dancing together.  

The important thing is spending time nurturing your marriage, because we can get so caught up in the duties of parenting, working and running the house that you lose sight of each other and your relationship aside from your other commitments. Create your own memories and enjoy each other.

Family

Our food theme: Subs and strawberry shortcake for dessert
Our movie pick: Moms night out
(we opted out on popcorn since my hubby wanted chips)

 For your own family movie night

Family movie night is a great way to spend time with family and take in a good movie. This can also be a very budget friendly way of entertainment for those of us with large families. Look for some family friendly movies HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE. Pick a food theme for example: Mexican, Subs(above for our family movie night), Personal pizza (make a spread of different toppings, make small personal pizza dough, let everyone top theirs with toppings of choice and then bake them all together on a large cookie sheet), or whatever foods your family likes. Pick 1-2 movies that you and your family will enjoy. You can do popcorn to enhance the movie experience. Enjoy this with your children and this can become a family memory and staple for family night.