There's a gift within the peace...
What does it mean to be content? Most often when people think of the word content, they think “ho-hum”, “going with the flow” or “floating through life”. What I think content means is a place in life where we get to take the time to breathe and appreciate where we are at. Life is a continuous flow of good days and bad. Highs and lows. Every point in our life is a constant mixture of hills, valleys, mountains, peaks and everything in between. When we get the opportunity to reach the very tops of the mountains that is when we get to experience the feeling of contentment. We get to look around, give gratitude to the battles we endured to get where we are at and really take the time to appreciate the people we have become up to this point. People think that being content is boring, not challenging and keeping us from reaching our full potential, I believe being content is allowing us to further appreciate all that our life is. Not long we will be tasked with another challenge, whether that makes us slide down the amazing mountain we are on or catapult us onto the next mountain peak we’ve been waiting for; either way we will never be exactly where we are right now. Bask in the simplicity, be grateful for the mundane, appreciate the people you’ve been given, the person that you are and know that being content is exactly where you need to be at this very moment. We’re all destined for greatness, sometimes we are just given a little extra opportunity to enjoy this beautiful thing called life. Some call being content boring, I like to call it a gift.
Purrfect View
Snug as Dewey in a Blanket
I'm super thankful for all of my fury friends! Honestly it breaks my heart to think that not all animals get to experience the life my animals get to have. Some day, I will have an animal sanctuary, but until then, I will just love these fur-balls the best way that I can.
TUNE INTO MY HEART
Celebrating Great Music
This song is GOLD! I've been having a hard time finding songs lately that I put on repeat until I found this gem! It's got a great beat and one I turn up extra loud in my car! If you are looking for a good song to add to your playlist, give this one a whirl!
Kennedy's Korner
Kennedy has been wanting to do this for awhile now. She wants to critique the restaurants that we go to, she thinks she is an expert on the best burgers (she probably is because that is all she seems to ever order). This weekend we made a family trip to The Potosi Saloon. I have been there before, but the rest of the family hasn't. Of course, this is the one time Kennedy didn't order a burger, she ordered the Teriyaki Chicken sandwich (which she gave 7.5 out of 10)! We all started with the pretzel (which is bigger than your head), Kennedy deemed it pretty good, but not as good as the concession stand in Monticello (apparently, they have the best)! We ended with a cookie, which we all shared and loved. Kennedy gave the whole restaurant 8.5/10...for her, that's pretty good (she's a tough critic).
(We will work on this segment, but here's a sneak peak of Kennedy's Korner)
Supper is Hard
When I was a child dreaming of becoming an adult, I didn't realize that laundry and trying to figure out what to make for supper were going to be this exhausting. I am going to try and feature some of my family favorites each week for those of you that might be struggling like I do. This was a winner with my whole family! Devyn even said "You should make this more often!"...that's a huge win in my "Adulthood book"! I hope your family finds it just as good! https://belleofthekitchen.com/2017/03/09/crockpot-chicken-noodles/
The One Where Shea just learns to love life...
This is the part of the blog where I tell you all the things fitness I have been doing and what I'm eating or not eating, but for the first time in a really long time, I am just learning how to enjoy life!
I have done a lot of "diets" this year and I think what I learned is the more I restricted myself from things, the more I wanted them and the more I would gorge myself when I got the chance to eat whatever it was that I was denying myself. I found out a couple things about myself...
I love food. Yes, that isn't a newsflash, but when I would limit myself or watch everything I put into my mouth, I would constantly obsess over it and it was all I thought about.
I wasn't loving myself in the "here and now". I was too busy thinking "I can't wait to get to such and such a weight so that I can look good!"...I didn't fully comprehend, that while I love/loved myself, I always thought I would be more lovable if there was less of me.
Life just got a whole lot better when I stopped worrying about what I put into my mouth and started just focusing on loving the person that I am, right now!
Do I need to clean up my diet? Most certainly! But I really need to just appreciate the beautiful human I am without thinking that if I look this way or if I look that way, I will be better for everyone! I still love to exercise, it is one of my favorite things, I am just learning not to step on the scale every day and trying not to let food control my every thought and move!
Self love is a hard road to hoe. It's frustrating, it's got multiple levels and it's constantly changing. The beauty of self love is that each and every day, we unlock something in us that cracks open a new layer we didn't know existed. I thought I understood what it was to "love me"...turns out, I've only just begun to understand the beauty that I hold.
" I cant think of any better representation of beauty than someone who is unafraid to be herself."-Emma Stone
Nothing Butta love for you all!