Buckle up because this blog outlook for February is chock-full of my thoughts on habits, reading, writing, and life.

If you are new here or haven’t seen me in a while, let me quickly introduce myself. I’ve been blogging for ten years, I have two cats, and a boyfriend. I write occassionally and have gotten more aligned with making it a daily practice and not a random one. And I have thoughts and teaching expereince rooted in educational values, personal & emotional growth, and spirituality. Yeah, that about sums me up in less than 50 words.
Now, what in the world is going on in Danielle’s world? Continue reading to find out!

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02.2024 TIS

word of the month: pamper
In the chaos that has become our world, there’s moments in my day where I feel frazzled by life. On those days where I have booked my days solid for six hours, there comes a point where the mind, body, and soul shuts down. I hit a major downslope of writing for the past four years and I find myself, needing to return to a favorite art form of mine- writing.
For the lovely month of February, I am going to pamper myself to be kind and gentle with how I speak, act, and live my day to day life. With the additional day added to this month for Leap Day, this will give me the chance to continue working on keeping my schedule and energy stable. Pampering can be as simple as bubble baths and glorious food. Pampering can also be how I interact with the world through kindness and patience.
When coming up with the word of the month and the affirmation for February, this sentence came to mind while I was enjoying a bubblebath. A rare luxury in my world. Thus, pamper became my word of the month and adds another layer to my affirmation for the month.

affirmation of the month: I pamper myself with patience and presence.
As I await results from medical appointments recently done, I find that it is easy to spend mental energy on negativity.
Or when a goal I have set is taking longer to come to fruition, I find that my impatience fuels my inner anger and frustration. With regard to mental health and emotional wellbeing, there’s toxic habits I fall into that do not help my long-term goals. This is where patience sets in. How can I grow into being kinder to myself in my life? Through relearning patience and showing inner kindness to myself, I can embody the positive aspects of myself.

There’s times when I find my mind ruminating on the past and on the tasks I have for the future. Heck, even close together! Remember that time when you were stressing about bills and you couldn’t even get up for the day my brain says – and then I find myself in a negative loop cycle as if breaking negative habits will never change. Being in the moment and present tense can give me the grace to live, think, and talk in the present. I’ve become better at decreasing the amount of time I spend multitasking with digital media and that’s improved my writing and focus for virtual tasks. When my house is being cleaned, I enjoy listening to a new podcast episode or even an audiobook. This allows me to use my mind to focus on cleaning and the story I am hearing.
Slowly, I’ve been able to slow the thoughts in my mind thanks to some pre-bedtime techniques that have allowed me to be present with my breath and to utilize silence to relax before sleeping.

How can you pamper yourself today?

habits I’m working on: Showing up for myself and my responsibilities.
Three weeks ago, I came down with a double-ear infection and covid-19. That took me out for a week, making it difficult to stick to the habits and ritual-like routines I had reestablish at the beginning of the year. Last week, I got to start again and focus on building small habits that could impact my day and keep me going to work, volunteering, and participating in society. I may write another blog post about this internal struggle I go through frequently between consistency and nuerodivergent thinking.

drinking: I’m keeping it simple as the weather warms up here in Oklahoma. WATER, tea, coffee, hot chocolate & occassional sodas. With winter here, I enjoy pepermint and heavier latte and caffiene drinks to keep me going through the day. Today, I changed it up slightly at Panera Bread, where 45% of this blog post was written. If you’ve ever had the charged lemonades they taste WONDERFUL! You just have to be careful because they contain strong caffiene and can throw your body into overcharge if you drink too many cups of the lemonade. Just Google ‘Panera Bread Lawsuit’ if you haven’t heard about the legal issues they are facing about their charged lemonades.

@operation_niki

Saw this recipe & I had to try it & put the Niki twist on it! Sooooo so good! 🤤 😋 #Recipe #clean #CleanTok #cleanhome #dinner #phillycheesesteakpasta #macaroniandcheese #bakedmacandcheese #organizedhome #momtok #food #Foodie #mealprep #dinneridea #quickandeasymealidea

♬ original sound – Niki’s Side Of Cleantok

eating: with warmer weather teasing me, I’ve been eating the last of the heavy cold weather foods I have on hand, to prepare my pantry for lighter produce and veggies.
With the return to daily commutes and going to work, there’s been a stability of PB&J’s, soups, and leftovers I take with me a few days a week. This helps me save money, use the food and sustainable resources I have, and to occassionally try out new foods.
I would love to read your comments on any new reciepes you’ve found and are wanting to try! Below is a TikTok of a favorite content creator, Nikki, who made THIS stunning dish! Maybe I’ll make some for next week!

writing: From my local library, there’s a new book on my bedside table. Write for Life by Julie Cameron. If her name sounds familiar, she’s written over thirty books about artistic and creative development. I’ve read and own a copy of The Artist’s Way and will work through The Listening Path someday. I had no idea she made a six week program for writers so I spent part of my Saturday reading through week one’s readings. She writes that in order to write, you need to set aside time for two things: morning and daily quota pages. I however, realize there’s a need for three writing exercises: journaling pages; morning ‘free write’ pages; and daily quota ‘project’ pages. Last year, when I worked through the Artist’s Way for the fifth time or so and realized there was a flaw to the writing process and program, for me.
Originally, I was using morning pages as my journaling time. The hour or so spent journaling would help me process goals, life events, and problem-solving. Venting has always been fun in my journals as I am wrapping up my 25th journal since 2007. And at the end of each session, I wouldn’t have done any creative freethinking and project based writing. When reading week one’s activity from Cameron’s recent release, I’m glad she added the daily quota pages. That’s blogging for me and writing articles for clients.

This past weekend, I wanted to try out my theory and it was a bit confusing at first but now since I’ve gotten the hang of the three writing sessions, I feel more productive than before. Here’s the breakdown:

* Journaling (Mental Health) pages during the first two hours of my day. This is necessary to declutter my mind in my little notebook and prepare for the day. Average daily page sometimes up to five, depending on how much time I have.
* Morning (Free-write) pages at any time during the day. This is where Cameron’s artistic program comes in handy. No one reads my original ideas and thought processes on how to develop a story or styling used to describe a setting. This one needs to be at a minimum of 1 1/2 pages to 3 pages by hand in a journal, loose notebook paper.
* Daily Quota (Project) pages can be done anywhere and at anytime. This is the one I type up and showcase to the world. Blogs, articles, writing contests, magazine articles- you name the category and I’ll find myself writing about that topic. It’s helped me to share my thoughts with the world, which is something I’ve been lacking for the past four years. Heck, I’ve been blogging for ten years and I hit a slump. Now, I just gotta write my way out.

reading: Every time I get to this section of the blog, I always write “come back to my blog and website for the next TBR post, where I discuss what I’m reading this month!” And then that project sits tucked away in the draft folder on my computers or on loose paper in a red folder.
So while that statement is still true I wanted to share right now some books by the numbers for February:
+ 13 books checked out from the library
+ 1 audiobook from the library
+ 1 personal library book I’m reading off and on

SO yes, I WILL post about the books I’m reading and researching with this month in a future February TBR post! I will also write about the books I completed in January. As always, feel free to follow me here on WordPress and any social media accounts for the latest lifestyle posts and updates.

learning: Spanish on Duolingo! You can add me as a friend and we can improve our language skills together and challenge each other to be consistent! I spend about 15 minutes during one session and typically before bedtime.

watching:

events this month: February is a BUSY month! Volunteering begins on Thursdays this week till June; a local writing group is meeting up on Saturday and then I’m going to play board games with friends; I will be doing an astrology talk on Sunday morning; SuperBowl party at my house with friends is on this upcoming Sunday; and finally, The Friends of the Library Sale will be the last weekend of Febraury at the OKC State Fairgrounds! The events of this month don’t include regular hanging out or phone calls with friends, either. As someone who can burn out on social interactions, I will be finding small moments of solitude daily to rest, reset, and recharge. Tonight, for example, I will spend at least two hours at the apartment in solitude with the cats. I am grateful my boyfriend reminds me daily to seek solitude to cut through the noise. Some days, this helps me evaluate what my social priorities are so that I can keep a simpler planner and happier lifestyle.

listening: For the most part, my music tastes are in the same cycle of previous genres I’ve mentioned before.
1920s jazz, 90s country, and classical music. There’s some current pop music I like, except I tend to stay in my own bubble and favorites.

enjoying: This slow return to life.
My depression knocked me down the last five months of 2023 and I have slowly been emerging from a winter spent in seclussion from the world. I have to make sure, however, that I refrain from burning myself out on being an active community member. I will need to set time weekly to disconnect from social media, troubling world news, and advertisements so I can connect with what makes ME happiest. And I hope you are able to take some time out this month, too. Finding serenity and joy are the two greatest challenges in our modern society.

feeling: alright and in a flow. While my boyfriend goes on a walk in the sunshine, I am assembling the final touches of today’s blog post. There’s a simplicity to my schedule today and one that continues on for the rest of the week: write, rest, ‘work’, and craft. This has been my system for the last three days and I have enjoyed the lack of pressure. The only aspect of my life I am making sure that I work on is to keep plugging away at the daily life grind. More on this in a future blog post!

what I’m excited about: All the new opportunitites to be a part of communities I enjoy!
Some of my excitement for upcoming events (those that are or are not mentioned) maybe a future blog post for this website! I may share links to join the two organiziations I am thinking of right now that could always benefit from donations, memberships, and advocacy!

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Life. Creativity. Empowerment.