No judgement Zone ...
Judgement is breeding grounds for hate. To me , Judging implies that you know the whole story and regardless of how others feel or their beliefs, your answer is the only correct one. I bring this up because when I posted the pictures on the left on my Snapchat Story it fueled some unneeded judgement and sparked some rather cruel words. I’m not naive, I understand that things I post, write about, etc. can open up some debate. I welcome debate because I believe that debating to understand is how good decisions are formed. Debating with an open heart, leads to a world of possibilities; debating with a closed heart, keeps you stuck. Me posting a picture does not give you a story or give you insight to how I feel or even what I may believe. It’s simply a picture. Here’s what is not told in the picture to the left: I am Mother to a son that is passionate about Politics. He is a bit of a savant when it comes to anything political, you quiz him on anything historical or political and he can tell you the correct answer, even to the oddest questions. With that being said, I would follow my kid to the ends of the Earth if it fed his passion. I didn’t want to go that night, honestly I was dressed for the gym and was a little upset that he didn’t tell me sooner of his plans to attend, but he didn’t have anyone to go with, so I decided to go with him. Plus, I would get to see our former Vice President and how many times do I get that opportunity? I honestly couldn’t tell you much about Joe Biden, other than what I stated, I know he has had a hard life and was featured in some of the funniest memes to date. I went in with an open mind and happiness in my heart because I was spending time with my son doing something that he loves. It will definitely go down as one of my very favorite memories. My son has stood behind many different candidates. He doesn’t let their party’s define the people that they are, he researches each candidate and finds out about each and every one to the point that it is scary and he forms a decision based on the facts he finds. He doesn’t base his decision on one thing, he finds multiple facts to bring him to an educated decision. I am very proud of my son and feel we could all learn a lot from him. This beautiful world is made up of billions of people with different views, beliefs, feelings and opinions, that’s what make us all unique and amazing ourselves. How boring would it be if we all were the same? And how incredibly cruel of a world this would be if we all spoke out of judgment instead of understanding. Be kind, understand and before you form an opinion of someone, maybe take a listen to their story; you never know the possibilities it could open.
Maybe he is Instagram Worthy
I've posted this a couple times on social media, putting some funny songs to go along with his moves and I have gotten several comments that I should make a whole Instagram page for him. I'm thinking him and my other fun loving cat, Dewey, might have to make an IG appearance in the near future! I mean this cat begs for all of the attention, I'm certain if he could talk, he would agree of this decision; at least his hands in the air claim his compliance!!
TUNE INTO MY HEART
Celebrating Great Music
A couple of weeks ago a very good friend of mine texted me and told me to listen to this song, it took me a minute, but when the chorus came on, I was instantly in love with all that it had to say. Heartaches and loss is never an easy thing, but it unravels things in us that we could never get if life were easy, sometimes it even allows us the courage to love ourselves! Maybe you need to hear it, maybe you know someone else that needs to hear it, but it's definitely worth a listen or million listens!
Kennedy's Korner
One of Kennedy's favorite pizza's is Chicken, Bacon and Ranch. This weekend I had some leftover bacon and chicken so I googled what recipes to make with them, this recipe was the first one to pop up. It was by far one of the easiest recipes I have ever done. I'm always terrible about taking pictures, especially when the meal is completed, my bowl had a little more brocolli in it because I asked everyone else if they wanted some and they said no, except for Kennedy, she wanted exactly three pieces because as she said "Let's not get carried away!". After a couple of bites, she gave it a solid 9.5/10, I got docked a half a point because I put bacon in it. I reminded her that she liked chicken, bacon and ranch and she quickly told me, she likes it on her pizza, but not in her mac and cheese! (throwing papers in the air, I give up)...anyways if you like bacon in your mac and cheese, click here for the recipe! Might I add we had no leftovers, so I believe it won the heart of everyone!!
MY HAPPY
I came up with this section to showcase some things that have either changed my life, something I strongly support or have impacted my daily routine in some way or another.
Well.balanced.life_lisa
This week I'm spotlighting Lisa Millin.
She's a Chiropractor by day, Crossfit trainer by night and does all the amazing things in her "free" time! Lisa has been a pivotal part of both my personal life and my gym life. She is definitely someone I look up to, admire and respect on so many levels. Her pep talks in the gym and out of the gym are something that I always look forward to. She has made me think twice about eating something, has taught me how to look closer at nutrition labels and always makes sure I have correct form while working out, not to mention she's a great time always. She calls her "talks" after working out "lectures", I call them some of the best lessons of the day. She has started a Instagram page where she shares some of her favorite recipes, gives some nutritional insight on things and even throws in some great words of wisdom. I believe that we are all trying to become the very best versions of ourselves and I believe what she has to say will help aid in our growth. I am not sure I will ever get the pipes this amazing human has, but I enjoy all the knowledge she has to offer so that at least I can give it a try. Search Well.balanced.life_lisa on instagram or click this link Well.balanced.life_lisa and see all the goodness my dear friend has to offer.
The One Where Shea Finds Her Speed...
I'm an all or nothing kind of person. I either go (tongue in cheek) "balls to the wall" or I just sit and "flounder". There has never been an in between for me. This is both a blessing and a curse. About a month ago I was going to start cleaning up my diet...I use diet loosely because it's not a diet I'm doing, I'm just trying to get better nutritionally. At least that is my mentality now. At first I was just going to give up everything (soda, junk food, all the bad stuff), I was going to start working out (working out in the morning, running after work, working out at night)....I was going to go hard until I got to where I wanted to be. This lasted for about a week...minus the running because, well, I think we are on a break for a moment and then I started back to my old ways again. I let myself fall for about one day and then I recollected myself and asked myself the question, "Why do you think that your success is going to come all at once?"...it was a turning point in my mind. I have always wanted those instant results and would get frustrated when I didn't get them and now I was forcing myself to slow down.
So, I started looking at small ways I could change and started focusing on my victories regardless of how small they might be. Two weeks ago I didn't set out to give up pop and I may even have some every now and again, but for some reason, right now, sparkling water satisfies me in the same way that pop once did. This, actually, is a huge victory because I used to drink 3 bottles of Diet soda a day, I have had three glasses in two weeks and none in the last week. My water intake has increased 100 percent and I am starting to find a healthy balance of physical activity in my daily routine. Have I lost a significant amount of weight, no, l really haven't, but I am starting to just use the scale as a guiding tool, not a reason to turn to or away from food, heck somedays I don't even stand on it at all...another HUGE victory!!
Why do I tell you this and why do I think that you will care? Many people are just like me. They think that if they go "balls to the wall" they will get the results they are looking for. They get frustrated when they aren't seeing those results and they give up. Do I think hard work aids in victory, absolutely! But, I also believe that if we stop focusing on all the things we should give up or all the things we should be doing and we just start to focus on small things, eventually those small things add up to huge victories.
I probably didn't start using cruise control on my car until I was about 35, I felt it a useless tool while driving, ever since I can't go without it. I think for the very first time in my life, age 42, I'm starting to figure out the cruise control in my mind and I'm slowly understanding that I don't have to be the fastest or the slowest, I just need to find my own speed and stay there and eventually I will end up right where I am supposed to be.
Maybe you are feeling stuck or that you think that you just can't do it. Whatever it is in your life, learn to take little bits at a time. We didn't get instructions on how to live this life or a picture of what it is that we are supposed to look like after we are done being built, we were given an incredible heart, a beautiful mind, strength, determination and a drive in us to keep going at whatever speed we feel necessary. Be proud of you always, don't get caught up in your falls, learn from them and always, always be kind to all humans including the amazing human reading this, they sometimes need a little bit more.
"How you love yourself is how you teach others to love you."-Rupi Kaur
Nothing Butta love for you all!