Happy Motivation Monday!!

 

Hey! It's Monday again! I hope you have a wonderful week. This week, don't forget to take care of yourself. Studying for major exams? Don't forget to take breaks every now and then so you don't stress yourself out too much. Take breaks in general when you need to and when you can. Do little things to treat yourself during the day. Please take care of yourself. Do your best. You can get through this day and this week. I believe in you!

♥

"You're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting,
So... get on your way!” 

-Dr. Seuss

Motivation Monday

I hope you have a great week! Take the path that leads to awesome. ♥

Celebrating Me: April 6th

 I'm sick and I feel sick. I've had a sore throat and a slight stomach ache since last night so today I consumed a lot of ginger ale, hot tea, and hot coffee. I'm probably going to make myself another cup of tea when I'm finished writing this.

I felt like today was a really long day. I spent most of it procrastinating. I did very little of what was on my to-do list today. Hopefully I can finish off my list in the morning. There's nothing that needs to be done tonight so I'll be okay if I don't stay up all night to complete my list. I need my rest! :)

I'm excited about the ton of Shea Moisture products I bought over the weekend. They were bogo at Walgreens so I treated myself. I used some of the skin products today and I loved them! I think my favorite from my little product haul is the Coconut and Hibiscus body wash. It smells amazing!

It's Sunday so I'm thinking about my upcoming week. I hope this sore throat does not turn into anything more. I don't want to be to sick this week, especially with the weather getting warmer. I'm excited for some new smoothie recipes that I'm going to try this week. I even got some fresh and beautiful ingredients today!

I'm currently reading Sister Citizen by Melissa Harris-Perry and I love it! I'm going to write more about it when I finish but I love it so much right now.

I caught up on a lot of my shows today while I was procrastinating! I watched Grey's Anatomy, Parenthood, Bob's Burgers, and Law & Order SVU. I don't regret my moments of lazy TV time today.

Today I love the skin I'm in and I'm glad that it's very moisturized and smells like coconut and hibiscus!!



♥

9, 10, Do it Again

9. If it feels wrong, don't do it.

If it feels wrong, it probably goes against your best interests. You know what works for you and what's best for you. Stick to that. If everything in you is telling you that this thing is wrong, then don't do it.

10. Say "exactly" what you mean.

The truth is important. Being honest with others means you are being honest with yourself. Don't worry about hiding how you truly feel to protect someone else. That's only going to hurt you. Don't worry about how someone else may feel about things that pertain to your life. Say exactly what you want to say because you deserve that right to be honest with yourself. 

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♥

Wonderful Reminders: Quote of the Day

"Comparison is the thief of joy, thus I will not compare my work to others. We are all special and unique and important in our own ways."

-Lauren at YourPersonalCheerleader

♥

Today, don't forget that your life is not a competition with anyone else. Don't compare yourself with others. It distracts from your own journey. Comparing ourselves to others does more harm than good. You are enough and you are wonderful just the way you are. Like the quote above, we are all special, unique, and important in our own ways. Don't forget how special and important you are.

Motivation Monday: Because of Them We Can

 Eunique Jones' Because of Them We Can campaign never fails to put a smile on my face. These photos of beautiful children as cultural and historical icons is so inspiring! Each picture is so beautiful and paired with an equally beautiful quote. I think this campaign is so special because it inspires people of all ages.

 On this Motivation Monday, start your week of being inspired by these special messages and photos. Check out the facebook page and website to see more photos by the talented and phenomenal Eunique Jones. You can even buy a book, posters, t-shirts, and more to take this motivation and inspiration with you always.

 

There is also a beautiful "Because of Them We Can Pledge"that encourages you to believe in yourself and pursue your dreams. It's really beautiful!

Have a great week! Song of the Day:

Comforting and Cozy Drinks

I love a great hot cup of tea or coffee. A good cup of coffee in the morning makes me do a little happy dance and a great cup of tea soothes my soul. I love how coffee is great before a busy day and as a great pick-me-up but my hot strong morning coffee brings me so much peace. I also love a great cup of tea. I feel that tea has healing and therapeutic qualities. I turn to tea for stomach aches, cramps, headaches, sore throats, and general body aches. Tea is just magical!

Tea and coffee are just two of the things that I love that make me feel good. Jump at all opportunities to make yourself feel your best! You are important and you deserve to treat yourself. Sometimes it's just the little things that make all the difference!

Stay wonderful!

Books I Loved

Books about Girls

I want to share some books that I read growing up about real girls. These are books that I loved. These are books that were about life. I've loved these books because they made me laugh, they made me think about life, and they made me appreciate and celebrate myself and the people in my life. Sometimes they made me cry--these were my favorites. I think it's so important to have books that you love at every age. I've made a connection with the girls and women in these books. Because of these books, I'll always have a special place in my heart for reading and I'll always appreciate the way books can change your life.

These are all books I read and loved between the ages of 9 and 18.

• Imani All Mine by Connie Porter
• The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler
• Rhymes with Witches by Lauren Myracle
• The Skin I'm In by Sharon G. Flake
• Money Hungry by Sharon G. Flake
• Begging For Change by Sharon G. Flake
• Who am I Without Him? By Sharon G. Flake
• Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series by Ann Brashares
• The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kid
• Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen
• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
• Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen
• Here's to You, Rachel Robinson by Judy Blume
• It's Not the End of the World by Judy Blume
• Just as Long as We're Together by Judy Blume
• Staring Sally J. Freedman as Herself by Judy Blume
• Deenie by Judy Blume
• Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
• Blubber by Judy Blume
• Forever by Judy Blume
• Are You There God? It's Me Margaret by Judy Blume
• Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
• Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Bobbit
• Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
• The Color Purple by Alice Walker
• Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah
• The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
• Sold by Patricia McCormick
• Angus, Thongs and Full Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison
• Fault Line by Janet Tashjian
• My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult 
• Meet Addy: An American Girl by Connie Porter

Good Morning!

Happy Monday!!

It's the beginning of a new week. I started my day off with some self-pampering. My face really needed to be exfoliated. My skin is so confused by this winter air. After a weekend of nice weather, it's back in the 20's this Monday morning so I really need to make sure my skin stays moisturized! Here's a link to what I use on my face: http://thoughtsunderpressure.blogspot.com/2014/01/pamering-days.html. For the rest of my body, I use Palmer's Cocoa Butter.

I also had a great green smoothie for breakfast. I found the recipe here.

1 cup pineapple chunks
2 handfuls of spinach
1 banana
2 cups of water
handful of ice cubes

My hopes for the day are as follows:

• I hope I don't freeze
• I hope I have a good day
• I hope that I get to work on time and the I'm not waiting for the bus for too long. 
• I hope I remember to watch How I Met Your Mother tonight. I always forget that it's Monday until about 9pm when I've already missed it.

For your listening enjoyment:

I hope you have a great day! ♥

Just Finished Reading:

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

I really enjoyed this book!I'm so glad I took the time to read it. It's so incredibly moving. There were times when I didn't even want to put the book down. I loved it because it reminded me how important it is to hold on to love. I definitely recommend it to the people out there who stay up at night thinking about life and how we're all connected and are searching for meaning in our actions and stories.


Time for some quotes that I loved!

“She wants to know if I love her, that's all anyone wants from anyone else, not love itself but the knowledge that love is there, like new batteries in the flashlight in the emergency kit in the hall closet.”

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 “So many people enter and leave your life! Hundreds of thousands of people! You have to keep the door open so they can come in! But it also means you have to let them go!”

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 “I thought, it's a shame that we have to live, but it's a tragedy that we get to live only one life, because if I'd had two lives, I would have spent one of them with her.”

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“He promised us that everything would be okay. I was a child, but I knew that everything would not be okay. That did not make my father a liar. It made him my father.”

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 “But it was unnecessary.
There would be other nights.
And how can you say I love you to someone you love?
I rolled on my side and fell asleep next to her.
Here is the point of everything I've been trying to tell you, Oskar.
It's always necessary.
I love you,
Grandma”