I love nail care and pretty nails. Having nice nails can make you feel put together, pretty, feminine and more attractive. Nice nails can be an expression of who are. The color of polish, the designs you get put on the nails, the length and shape of your nails are all up to you. Having healthy nails that look good doesn’t have to time consuming and you can do it on a budget. I have always had nails that break unless I keep nail polish on them. It’s so frustrating but I am learning how to manage my nails and help them be stronger.
Did you know that if you are over cleaning and maintaining your nails, you could actually damage your normal, strong, healthy nails? The risk for your nails to get a bacterial or yeast infection increases. Crazy huh? I guess there’s is such a thing as being too clean. LOL.
There are things you can do to have healthy nails:
Keep polish on them. Polish won’t harm healthy nails, however, it might be good to give your nails a breather and leave polish off once in a while. Always use acetone- free nail polish remover.
Eat healthy, well balanced meals and take Biotin. Biotin is a B vitamin. Biotin is known for making nails stronger and growing faster.
Keep your nails trimmed and file them regularly. It is important to keep nails smooth from snags and breaking.
Wear gloves to clean and do dishes. When your hands are immersed into hot, soapy water, your nails can become weak because chemicals in cleaners and soaps dry out your nails and your hands.
Avoid acrylic nails. They can damage your nail bed and lead to infections as well. If you are going to get acrylic or gel nails, use sunscreen on your hands to protect them form the UV light that affixes the acrylic nails and gel polish. Skin cancer is a minimal possibility but it’s better to be safe than sorry.
I am the first to admit that I love a good manicure with gel nail polish. Gel polish stays on so much longer than if I used regular nail polish. And it is flawless if applied properly. I think that there can definitely be a balance with having healthy nails and getting manicures. I love the girl that does my manicures. Each time I go she checks my nails to see if they need a break. If they do, she will put a clear strengthening coat on them and tells me to wait at least four weeks to do anything else to them. We need to remember that chemicals are being used on our skin and nails. It’s important to not get too caught up in the fun of having a great manicure and do whats right for our nail health. Find a good nail salon and follow their guidelines. You won’t regret it at all. Good luck with your nails everyone! Remember, natural is beautiful too!
What the heck is this right? I recently started having horrible pain in my feet. I was trying everything under the sun to get relief and I couldn’t get it under control. I just wonder if people are living with this pain because they have never heard of Plantar Fasciitis. I hope I can shed some light on this topic for you if you are suffering with this.
According to www.webmd.com, your feet have thick, fibrous bands of tissue that is called “fascia.” The fascia reaches from your heels to your toes. These tissues support the muscles and arch of your foot. If the tissues get stretched too far, you can get tiny tears in the facia’s surface. Hence, the foot pain. Plantar Fasciitis can cause heel spurs which are bony growths that will form in the foot.
What causes plantar Fasciitis? There are several things that can play a factor in this. Men usually do not get Plantar Fasciitis. However, they can. Woman are the unlucky souls that seem to have the most trouble with this. Plantar Fasciitis is more likely to strike if you are on your feet for several hours a day, overweight or as you get older and age.
Other things that will increase your risk of developing Plantar Fasciitis :
Wearing worn-out shoes with thin soles.
Have flat feet or a very high arch.
Frequently wear high-heels.
Have tight Achilles tendons or “heel cords.”
Have a unusual foot position or have an unusual walk.
My foot pain was getting so bad that it was debilitating. I couldn’t even walk through a grocery store to get groceries without having to come home and ice my feet. I had to figure out what was wrong and fix it.
I went to my chiropractor and told him about my foot pain and he did a few tests on my feet and new right away what was wrong. He was able to treat my Plantar Fasciitis with some ultrasound and graston technique. Graston technique is where a stainless steel tool scrapes the knots out of, in my case, the bottom of my feet. Painful? Yes. I am not going to lie. Very painful at times. Was it worth it? Absolutely. I also went to a good shoe store (Body ‘n’ Sole) and got proper inserts for my shoes. Between the inserts and the treatment from my chiropractor, I am happy to say that I am almost pain free from Plantar Fasciitis in less than a month! Thank the good Lord above! I don’t know how people live with that kind of pain. As you read this, I hope you are not suffering from Plantar Fasciitis, but if you are, I hope this has helped you in some way.
So, your getting married. The time has come to plan the wedding of your dreams and profess your love in front of family and friends. Sounds easy enough right? Well, it can be. It can also very quickly turn into the most stressful time of your life.
You may know exactly what you want for your wedding or you may be feeling very overwhelmed with all of the decisions that have to be made. You will probably find that there is a lot more that goes into planning a wedding than you thought, but if you focus you will conquer it all!
Before we talk about the things that will help you plan, I want to encourage you and your soon to be spouse to stay true to yourselves with what you want for your wedding. I have seen so many wedding plans get so complicated and confusing because the Bride and Grooms family or friends think that their ideas should be incorporated into the wedding. Now, I am not saying that you shouldn’t ask for help or take suggestions from your friends or family. I am saying that if you are going to plan according to what other people think you should do, there will be regrets on your end. I know how hard it can be to speak your opinions especially if you are a non-confrontational person and also when someone else is helping pay for your wedding. The truth of the matter is that if a person is pushing their opinions about your wedding onto you and they use the threat of them paying for your wedding as a way to get what they want, then they really do not have your best interest at heart. Standing firm in what you want as a couple for your wedding is a great start to boosting your marriage.
Now, the fun stuff! Yay! Here are some things that may be helpful when planning your wedding.
Hire a planner! Just do it! A planner has insights for you and also has relationships with vendors. Also, this is a great way to keep your wedding true to what you want. The planner will be there for you and will run everything by you so that things don’t get thrown into the planning that you don’t want.
Start a wedding folder. This is a great way to keep track of your ideas. Look through bridal and food magazines for inspiration on what you think you might want.
Pick your wedding party. Decide who you want to stand with you as you say your “I Do’s.” Everyone will be excited and will want to know who your going to ask. Again, think about the big picture. In ten years, when you look at your wedding pictures, who do you want to see standing there with you? Who will support your marriage? Who can you not imagine getting married without? Don’t take this lightly. You will find it is more important than you might think.
Budget. Everyone knows that a wedding is expensive. Be realistic. Use your resources and figure out what is most important to you to spend your money on. This will be different for every couple. It’s a personal preference. Some couples will want to spend more on the ceremony than the reception. Others will want the opposite. Some couples may want to spend more on real flowers instead of fake flowers. There are lots of ways to cut the expense if needed.
Make a guest list. Invite people you want at your wedding and not people that you feel obligated to invite. Remember this is about you, not them. If you haven’t talked to Cousin Sue in 10 years, you probably do not need to invite them. More people doesn’t always make it a better wedding. If you are on a tight budget, as painful as it may seem, if you reduce the amount of guests you invite, the less the cost.
Reserve a date and venues. This can be overwhelming as you need to decide if you want to have the wedding and the reception at the same location or if it is best to do it at separate locations. It is best to try to not have a lot of travel time between the two locations if you decide on separate location.
Hire florists, caterers, bands, photographers, babysitters for children at wedding. It is important to do this as soon as you know the date of your wedding as a lot of these professionals are booked months, sometimes a year in advance.
Reserve hotel rooms for out of town guests. Typically, find hotels that are close to the reception so people don’t have far to go. Especially if alcohol is involved.
Hire a designated driver. If you are going to be serving alcohol at your reception, you can hire someone to make sure your guests get home or to their hotel room safely.
Register. Pick two or three of your favorite retailers and register so that you can be blessed with gifts from your guests.
Purchase a dress. Of course!
Shop for bridesmaids’ dresses. You should do this at least 6 months in advance in case the dresses have to be ordered or need any alterations.
Meet with the officiant. The efficient will help confirm all legal documentation that you will need and also help you design your ceremony and what will take place on the day of the wedding.
Arrange any transportation. If you are needing limos, minibuses, trolleys, cars, horse and buggy, etc… the sooner you figure this out the better.
Book the rehearsal and rehearsal-dinner venues. This can simple or fancy.
Order a cake. Attend several tastings. Good tasting cake is everything!
Hire a hair and make-up artist. Look for someone that is good at the style you are trying to achieve. Someone can be a great hair stylist or make-up artist but not good at the look you specifically want. This is much easier if you know what you want to look like on your wedding day.
Choose Music. Create a list of music to be played during your wedding and reception. If there is something that you do not want to be played make sure to include that.
I am sure there are other things that can be added to the list above but hopefully this will help you with your decision making that can seem so overwhelming when planning a wedding. Take it one step at a time and remember to be true to you and make this your special day, the way you want it to be. I hope if you are getting married soon, that you have the wedding of your dreams and have a fantastic time.
I also want to say that if the big fancy wedding is not for you, think about a destination wedding or a very small ceremony with a few people attending of your choosing and then have one heck of a reception to celebrate. What ever your taste or style is, enjoy and be blessed. Happy weddings everyone! I would love to hear your wedding story. Please feel free to comment.
I have been reflecting a lot lately on what it is going to be like for my girls to raise their own children. To be totally honest, it really gives me anxiety. I personally feel like this world is getting harder to survive in. Let’s face it, it’s already hard enough to parent even when you have support and everything is falling into place as you hope it would.
I find myself thinking about how things are so different from when I was raising my girls. I think about all the challenges that are present now that I didn’t have to think about or worry about. Times change and people change which is what makes the world go round but it does scare me.
Remember when it was safe to let your kids ride their bike around the block? I do not feel like that is the case any longer. Kid’s are getting stolen right out of their own homes now a days. Remember when you felt like if you ever needed anything, your neighbor would help? A lot of people don’t even really know their next door neighbor. Remember when it was safe to stop and help someone who’s car broke down on the side of the road? Or you would feel a sigh of relief if you were broke down and someone pulled over to help you? Now, if were being honest, at least for me, if someone pulls over to help me, I am praying that it’s truly a nice person that won’t do me any harm. I hate that this is how our world is now. I want my grandkids to be able to play and be able to be a kid. I want my daughters to not to have to worry about their children getting kidnapped. The list could go on and on. I am told that I worry too much about things that I can’t control. I am trying to get better at giving my troubles to God but the minute I turn on the news and hear the horrible events going on in this world, I am remembering when…
I hope and pray that my girls are able to enjoy life with their kids and have safe places and activities for them. I think that sometimes I feel anxiety over the world that my grandkids will grow up in because I miss the simplicity of how things used to be when my girls were little. Times really have changed things and I know it’s perspective too. There is an old saying that says “You don’t miss something that you never had.” I love this saying but hate it too. I don’t have grandkids YET, so yes, here I am worrying about something that is in the future, but I have come to the conclusion that just as we thought our grandparents were outdated at times and old fashioned, so will my grandkids and it will all be ok. I will be the crazy grandma that worries too much.
I would love for you to comment on this post and let me know how you feel. I know I can’t be the only one to think about these things. Or at least I hope not! LOL. Thanks for reading everyone!
This is for all the girly girls and even for the not so girly girls. You don’t ave to be girly girl to want to feel pretty. Feeling pretty can mean different things for different people. Hopefully my ramblings about this subject will help you find what makes you feel pretty and special.
I am a Mom of two daughters and I have ten nieces that are all girls. That’s right! All ten born within seven years. Needless to say boys are a rarity in my family. Lol. It’s not just my family that I have noticed this tendency for girls to navigate toward certain things that make them feel pretty. It is twenty-seven years of nannying other peoples children that I base my opinion off of that little girls are drawn to things that make them feel pretty.
First, I will talk about my youngest daughter. She is now a Cosmetologist and Make-up artist. She is more of a girly girl than my oldest daughter. I knew by the time this child was eight months old that she would be in the beauty and fashion industry as a professional. She had a fascination with shoes for as long as I can remember and it was undeniable. She would sit for hours trying on everyones shoes and pretending to tie them. Then, Oh Lord! She had to walk in them and fall because they were too big, time and time again, but that didn’t bother her.
Make-up was another adventure for my youngest. She wasn’t allowed to wear make-up in public until she was thirteen years old. This made her so mad because as young as eight years old she was watching videos and self teaching herself techniques that were pretty awesome if I say so myself. But her Dad stuck to his rule of no public make-up until thirteen years old. She would spend hours upon hours applying full on make-up, taking it off and trying the next technique. Practice makes perfect right? Even as young as two years old she would say she was getting her “pretty on.” Love this girl so much.
As my youngest daughter grew up into a an older child, my vision of her in the beauty field became even more evident as she became quit talented at doing fancy hair styles, beautiful make-up designs and she started making videos and doing other peoples hair and make-up for events and special occasions. Her talent is way more than she realizes and way more than I envisioned. God has big plans for this girl and I am so excited to see them unfold. Yes, proud Momma here. Looking back as she has evolved, it is true that starting out at such a young age, she was drawn to the pinks, purples, sparkles, shining and glimmer things that little girls seem to love. Oh, lets not forget the pretty, painted fingernails and toe nails. I think at one point, I had over one-hundred bottles of nail polish.
My oldest daughter, who was not as much of a girly girl, preferred books over a lot of the things that I talked about for my youngest daughter. Although my oldest daughter enjoyed girly things, it wasn’t a every day desire. Nancy Drew would always win over sparkles and glitter and a the library was the always the best idea ever. Still, as a little girl there was that same tendency to go for the pink and purple and the glitter and shiny things. Now that she is grown and is a Police Officer, she wears minimal make-up and usually puts her hair up in a pony tail or bun. Let me tell you though, don’t be fooled. The girl can rock the make-up and hair if she had something to dress up for.
Now, referring to the all the children I have had the honor to nanny for, all of them at different ages, different races, different family backgrounds, low income, middle income, high income, you name it, I have probably seen it over the past twenty-seven years. Yet, one thing that is true, all these little girls, no matter what their story is or what background they come from, they all lean toward the girly, sparkly, shiny and shimmering things. Have you ever went to Dollar Tree and bought the cheap tiaras with the sparkles and gems and the colored beaded necklaces? You know they probably won’t last longer than a week but you buy them any way and when you give them to the girls, they are on cloud nine. The smile and sparkle in their eyes are forever ingrained in your head because these things are fun, girly and shine and shimmer. They love it.
Finally, Let talk about how us big girls like to go get pampered! Yes! As teens and adults, we love spa day, mani and pedi days, going to get our hair cut or highlights put in. We routinely get our eye brows waxed and do the girly things that make us feel pretty and special. I don’t feel guilty, do you? Also, it might be something like taking your car to get detailed or washed that makes you feel pretty. It may be getting a new shampoo or body scrub that smells good or buying a new outfit that you look great in. What ever makes you feel pretty you deserve it. Go for it. I should say that I am not encouraging other, more important bills or priorities that you need to pay attention to, but budget to treat yourself once in awhile. Self care is important.
Things you can do to help you “feel pretty.” Get a manicure or a pedi. I love the gel nail polish on my natural nails and the hot stones with the pedi are amazing. Buy a piece of jewelry you love, buy a outfit that you know you will look fabulous in, Get new shoes. Shoes can make or break an outfit. Try a new eye color or lip liner. Go out of your comfort zone. Live a little. Lol. Get a new hair cut or color. You know you will rock it! Put perfume on or take a hot bubble bath. Find what works for you and do self care! You are worth it. Please leave a comment and let me know what you do to “feel pretty.” Hugs!
I have very fine, thin hair. I feel like I am always stuck with the same hairstyle because I don’t have enough hair to do different styles. Although I am limited on styles, I have found these things to help my hair grow.
Apply warmed coconut oil or conditioner your hair. Massage your scalp with the tips of your fingers in a circular motion for about five minutes. Rinse and blow dry. Because my hair is so thin and fine, I always use mousse in my hair for added volume. You can try gel but it doesn’t work very well in my hair.
Eat a healthy diet. Make sure you are getting vital vitamins and minerals along with eating plenty of protein. Also eat foods high in vitamin A, B, C and E, iron, magnesium, copper and selenium. Include a good mix and variety of foods. Our bodies need vitamins to come from food and not just supplements. It is important to drink milk and eat cheese, yogurt, eggs, peppers, avocado, fish, beans, fruits and as many veggies as possible. You can also enjoy fueling your body with fruit and vegetable juices. The list can go on and on. Get creative you would be surprised what you come up with.
I flip my hair upside down for a couple minutes a day to allow blood flow to improve circulation which is suppose to help hair growth. I also blow dry my hair upside down for that extra volume. Blow drying hair upside down doesn’t make it grow any faster but it does give it a lot of extra volume.
Try to stay stress-free if possible. I know, easier said than done right? From what I have read in many different articles and have heard from my daughter who is a cosmetologist, is that stress disrupts the normal hair cycle and sends hairs to enter what is the called the fall-out-stage. Get plenty or sleep, spend time with nature and God to keep stress away.
I haven’t tried this yet, but it’s next on my list. My friend told me that she uses aloe vera to help her hair grow. Yep! Just apply dress aloe vera gel mixed with lemon juice and leave on your hair for about twenty minutes. Shampoo as normal to remove aloe vera from hair. You can use aloe vera once a week.
If your hair is not growing or thinning, please speak with your doctor about it. There are some medical conditions and factors or medications that can play a role in hair loss and thinning. It never hurts to be sure that there is not a medical problem causing concern.
Please feel free to tell me your tricks to hair growth. I am always looking for fun, new ideas. Now go pamper yourself!
Hey there! I am not an expert in marriage by any means, but I have been married for twenty-six years. I met my husband when I was too young, at fifteen years old. So we have traveled a lot of road together and I am here to tell you that marriage is not always a walk the park. There are lots of highs and lots of lows. You have to die to self and fight to stay alive in this world today where it is very much the norm to get a divorce if you get ticked off at your spouse. It is easy to give up.
Being a young bride at nineteen, I had no idea what I was doing. I thought I did. But I didn’t. It’s so easy to think that life will be a bowl of cherries and that love will get you through anything. It’s true, it may, but it’s hard and ugly sometimes. You have to have stamina and commitment. I am about to share my personal struggles and triumphs along the way and why my husband and I choose to say “I love you, but I don’t like you”.
Some of my opinions are probably different from some brides that were older when they married, but maybe not. I am not here to judge anyone or make anyone else view marriage the same way I do. I hope to be able to encourage anyone that may feel or be experiencing the things I talk about.
We were married when I was nineteen, he was twenty-three. Yes, that was a huge age gap for the age we both were at, which is one reason we dated for four years before marriage. And still, looking back I know we weren’t really mature enough to be a healthy married couple. We did it though! Come hell or high water we were going to make it work and prove everyone wrong that we weren’t too young. Well, so far we have succeeded, but not without bumps along way.
Due to me having Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and Endometriosis, we had our children right away. My husband had absolutely no experience with children and I absolutely believed I was born to be a Mom and that was the most important thing for me to accomplish in this life. He of course wanted me to be happy and he did want children as well, but we really weren’t prepared for what was going to hit us financially or emotionally. We hadn’t talked about raising kids, paying for kids, birthing kids, educating kids, etc. You get the point. We were so young and really were in our own world. Now don’t get me wrong, I am not resentful at all that I had my girls young. I just know that some struggles wouldn’t have been there if me and their Dad had been a little bit smarter or maybe I should have been more thoughtful and more of a planner. I can talk about all the things I should have done but I am not going to bore you with that. I am glad I have the experiences I have and everything happens for a reason.
My husband was not established in a career when our first daughter was born and jumped from job to job trying to figure out the best way to support his family. I stayed home with the baby as we couldn’t afford childcare. I ended up doing daycare and teaching childbirth classes to help ends meet, but oh how the struggle was real. Three years after my first daughter was born we welcomed a second daughter. As much as I don’t like to admit it, lack of money caused a lot of problems between us. We didn’t have two nickels to rub together half the time and it was stressful. We were late on our bills, we used food pantries, I was angry that we let ourselves get into this situation and for many years the anger engulfed me and the person I used to be was gone. I became so focused on how to survive every day that I forgot about uplifting each other and our marriage. My husband felt guilty and frustrated all the time so times were difficult. It became easy to be frustrated or angry with each other and not extend grace to each other like we did before we were married. This is still one of our struggles today after almost 27 years.
I feel like when we are young and seeking a mate we look at life through rose colored glasses. I know I felt like we could conquer the world and as long as we had each other, we could get through anything. God tested me with this attitude. My husband was working construction and got hurt on the job. We went through eight years of work comp. People think work comp is great, but insurance companies starve you out, which means they don’t pay you and make you take them to court to get money to live off of. I practically had a nervous break down several times during this time frame. I had my girls that made me get up every day and work my butt off to provide for us as my husband had five surgeries in four years. The struggle was so real. Pain changed my husband. He wasn’t the man I married. He wasn’t fun and easy going any more. He became depressed and angry. It was during this time in our life that I had to say to him, “I love you, but I don’t like you.” That’s a hard truth. He was my best friend, gave me two beautiful children and dang it, we had plans for our family. One thing is for sure… God’s plans are usually different from our own. Looking back now, I am thankful that God knew what he was doing because we sure didn’t. Nobody really knew how bad it was for us. Over time we lost our home, became isolated and no longer wanted to socialize and spent every waking moment surviving each day. We didn’t like each other anymore and yet we had to depend on each other to survive. Neither of us would give up on the other even though there were so many harsh feelings. I know I married this man for great, fantastic reasons and qualities, but life had beaten us down so mush that we seeing the negative way before the positive. The struggle was real.
I write these struggles specifically to let you know that marriage can get dark. Very dark. It can also be wonderful and fabulous. In my case, I feel like I was extremely young at fifteen years old to even be able to comprehend the magnitude of what it meant to be a wife and to know what I would want in a spouse. Keep in mind here, that I am not bashing my husband. He is a good man and a great father that would die for us girls. The issue is that I didn’t know what to look for. What was my type? Yes, I thought my husband was very handsome and was a great person, but that can’t be the main reasons you get into a relationship. A person can be a great person but that doesn’t mean they are your match. Also, I don’t think he knew what he wanted, we were just attracted to each other and had fun driving around in his car and shopping together, so in my mind, we got along fine. We never took the opportunity or knew to take the opportunity to really dig deep into who each other was. I feel like I ended up forming to be who he wanted and not totally becoming who I was meant to be. Being totally honest and real with you, it is still one of our biggest struggles in our marriage.
I encourage everyone, no matter what age you are, to listen to the opinions of the more wise before you make the life long commitment to marriage and to be totally honest with yourself and to your possible spouse with what your wants, needs and criteria are for marriage. If you want six kids and your possible spouse only wants two, that is a problem. Discuss money! You don’t have to be rich but you both will be much happier if your on the same page about who’s making the money, how much money you need to live off of, how much money to save and spend, etc… Talk about raising kids, does your spouse expect you to cook, clean or massage feet? Even the little things can turn into big things. The big things can turn into little things if talked about between you and consideration is made for each other. Communicate, even if it hurts. Another thing my husband and I say is “I would rather hurt you honestly, that hurt you with a lie.” It’s in life’s darkest moments that reveal our true selfs. “I love you, but I don’t like you.” is our way of expressing unhappiness to each other without degrading or using more hurtful words that would be hard to recover from. I hope you find hope and encouragement in this post and be blessed. Please let me know what you do in your marriage to stay happy and considerate of each other.
I can only imagine that “home” has many different meanings. I was very blessed as a child. My parents divorced when I was four years old and even though they were no longer married, they co-parented very well and remained friendly for my sake. I had two older sisters. One was sixteen years older than me and the other one was eleven years older than me. So growing up, I had many homes that I stayed at and it wasn’t until I was older that I realized how different I was from the majority of my friends. Most of my friends had the normal family or at least in my mind they did. They had both parents living together, they had siblings, usually younger, and of course the family pets.
Although, my family was different, I loved it, even though I thought all my friends had the normal family that somehow had passed me by. My life was interesting for several reasons. Because of the fact that my sisters were so much older than me, I would frequently stay with them and I felt very at home with them. They played a huge part in raising me seeing that they were so much older when I was born. I was always included in their life activities and it was like I had a separate home with each of them. I was one lucky girl. On top of having my sister’s homes to go to, my Dad remarried and in the summer I would go stay with him. Much of my time spent with my parents were between the states of Illinois, where my Dad lived and California, where my Mom lived. So between my two sisters and both my parents, I already had four homes to consider my home. But that’s not all! At some point (I don’t exactly remember when) but my Mom was struggling with depression and I went to live with my Grandparents. They were wonderful and I felt right at home there as well. I was a well loved kid. Thank goodness. I had five wonderful homes that I was considered to be a part of. It wasn’t as if I was a guest either. I truly was wanted and felt like all these different houses were my home.
So when asked what does “Home” mean to me? I will probably have a very different answer than some of you reading this. I personally think that “home” is the place that you feel wanted, safe and loved. Where you can lie your head down and night and sleep knowing that you are in a good and welcoming place. A place that you will wake up happy.
Home at my oldest sister’s home meant talking, giggling so much and not really knowing what we were giggling about. Home with her was being together and cooking tacos. Oh, the tacos! I still love tacos. Her home was my home because together we shared so much. She taught me how to be Sassy too! I was the little sister that wanted to hang out with the big sister and luckily she loved me enough to include me. Thanks Sis!
Home at my other sister’s house meant talking and being silly. I always remember grocery shopping with her and being included in day to things. I remember going boating and eating at restaurants with her and my niece. I babysat a lot for my niece and I loved it so much. Her home was home to me because we made memories and jokes that nobody else understood.
Home at my Grandparent’s house meant lots of food and fun times with family. Grandma would cook every day and expect people to show up. She would start cooking every morning, not knowing how many people would be there for lunch or dinner, but somehow she always had enough for everyone. The amounts of food that woman could cook in such a short time was amazing. Home meant desserts too. I don’t remember a time where there wasn’t something sweet after a meal. Yes, I do blame Grandma for my sweet tooth. Home meant pure silliness and dancing and playing video games with Grandpa. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t beat me. Those were the days. Home meant love, joy and time spent with each other.
Now as an adult with my own home and family, the meaning of “home” to me is different. Home to me is still where the love is and where I feel safest, but home is where my family and friends come. Home is a warm and inviting place where we share stories, memories, make new memories, love each other and if I am being totally honest, occasionally have a disagreement or argument. But because it’s home, that’s where we can be honest and open with the ones we love. Home is my happy place where I go to escape the rest of the world and try to make sense of all the crazy stuff going on in this world. Home is where my grown children come to visit. Home is where we give each other hugs and forgive and encourage each other. Home is what we make it. It’s like legos. You learn to build a home one brick at a time. There is not the perfect home, but there is a home that is perfect for you.
I would love to hear your stories of what “home” means to you. Please share if you feel so inclined. It would totally make my day to hear from you. Have a great day!
If you think about it, communication is the key to life or maybe I should say is the key to finding success in life. We use communication every day. Communication isn’t just talking. It’s in our actions, it’s in our body language, it’s how we say things and how we put extra effort into someone else to tell them we care about them. Communication can be as simple as speaking to someone you know or maybe don’t know. Your communication can cause someone to have a great day or a horrible day. It’s up to you to decide how you communicate and it can be a lot of work for people who struggle with positive communication skills.
I really want to talk about tone of voice. Think about it. When your talking to a child, most likely you are using a more quiet voice and not screaming or yelling your words to them right? If it’s a baby or a young child you probably even change how your voice sounds. I know I do and my family tells me I sound silly, but I don’t mind. Kids love it. It makes them more comfortable. No, I am not suggesting that you go around talking in a funny, little voice to everyone. I am suggesting that paying attention to tone may help you have successful communication with people.
When you are talking to a boss or going on a job interview, you tend to carry yourself a certain way. You want the job right? You dress to impress to communicate that your professional, you answer questions to the best of your ability without saying “Um” too many times and you don’t walk away from your boss while he’s still talking to you. It speaks volumes when you put an effort to make the other person feel heard and acknowledged through communication. It’s not always easy, but I do feel these are reasonable standards to go by.
One thing that I do not like personally is when people won’t look at you when you are talking to them or they are talking to you. Eye contact is something that I feel is no longer being taught with the younger generation. I am not sure why but it really bothers me. I feel like when people won’t look at you when talking to you or being talked to, that they may be hiding something or arebnot trustworthy. Am I alone in this thought process? I understand that there are people with anxiety and some disorders that may be the reason and I am not down playing that. I just think it’s important to be comfortable enough to be able to look at someone when they are talking to you.
I absolutely hate it when people point or shake their finger at you when they talk to you. Stop doing that! It’s belittling and demeaning. It makes you look like a “Know It All.” It comes across as overbearing and sometimes as bullying. I get it that some people are animated and need to do something with their hands when they are talking, but for me, pointing and shaking their finger at me causes me to focus on their finger instead of what they are saying. Just throwing this out there for people to think about.
Another big thing that can cause a problem in relationships and communication is a person’s body language. If I am telling someone something and they have their arms crossed, rolling their eyes or looking away as I am speaking, this is very disrespectful and I will call you out right there. If I am trying to have a conversation with someone and they are paying more attention to their phone than to what I am saying, I will probably ask you to repeat what I just said. Most of the time the person can’t tell me. So frustrating. Put the phone away and actually communicate people!
People communicate differently. I understand that and I am not asking for perfection. I just want people to be aware in today’s fast paced world to slow down and take time to listen, talk and respect each other not only in professional atmospheres but also at home with your kids, spouse, siblings, grandparents, the waitress, the cashier, etc… Think about how many people you communicate with every day. A smile or a wave of the hand can be a friendly hello. Communication is key to many different types of relationships.
Most importantly, I have found that having good communication skills will actually help in scenarios that there is miscommunication. Having good body language, staying calm, having eye contact, talking respectfully and with good tone can go so far in helping a uncomfortable or upsetting situation. Work on it folks! It’s not rocket science but it doesn’t always come natural either. My husband is very socially awkward. All this that I have discussed here is not a natural or easy thing for him. He thinks I am over the top with some things too. LOL. All I want to do is encourage better communication so that relationships, rather casual or professional can be improved and easier. Thanks for reading my ramblings. Please share your thoughts with me on this topic. Would love to hear from you.
Thinking about this procedure makes me cringe! Poor kitties!!! I feel very strongly that declawing your cat is a very cruel and inhumane thing to do. I have spoken with many people about declawing and there is a big misconception of what really happens when a cat is declawed. When a cat is declawed, the last digital bone is amputated which does include the nail bed and the claw on the front toes. I can’t even imagine the pain that these poor kitties go through when this is done. It makes me sad to think about it.
Let’s talk a little bit about why cats like to scratch on things. Cats like to pull their claws over and through surfaces that have resistance. Cats natural tendency to do this helps them exercise muscles that they would use while hunting and mouse chasing. This is also a way for them to relieve stress, mark their territory and remove worn pieces of nails. There really is a logical reason that cats scratch. Yes, it’s so frustrating when your expensive furniture gets ruined due to a scratchy cat. I do get it. My cat tries to sneak in a few scratches here and there on our couch.
There are things you can do to lessen this tendency with your cat. Trim your cats nails, provide scratch posts and cat toys, use deterrents such as double sided tape on furniture or there is a brilliant product called Soft Claws that can really make a difference. My cat responds very well to me clapping. When I see her start to scratch on the corner of the couch, I clap loudly and say “NO.” She doesn’t it at all and usually will run away all ticked off at me, but she didn’t scratch. Get creative. Be patient and love your kitty. Please save the paws! Don’t get a cat before researching cat behavior so that your not resentful toward your pet about behavior that is a natural instinct for them. I know that people will disagree with me on this topic and I just beg that before you go through with declawing your cat you talk to your vet and do your research. Let me know your thoughts!
