What Would You Tell Your Younger Self?

What Are The 10 Things You Would Tell Your Younger Self?

There have always been certain things that, if given the chance to tell my younger self, I would definitely share some well-earned knowledge. However, it was more difficult than I originally thought to come up with ten things. I've experienced a lot in my life and I wouldn't necessarily want to change those events because it's made me who I am today. However, if given that miraculous chance - I would definitely whisper quite a few things into my ear. The tricky part actually is, would I actually listen to my older self? I'm so darn stubborn that in itself would be the crux in the entire situation. I also wonder how my life could possibly be different if I did follow my own advice... provided by bullet-points, here are the ten things I would definitely tell my younger self.

MY YOUNGER SELF

• FAT DOESN'T DISAPPEAR - I actually just read recently how the fat in our bodies contracts and expands. It is why when we lose weight it is more easily re-gained. I would want to tell myself when I was in my early twenties to continue to care for my body. I had worked so hard to lose the weight I had carried before. After I had my son and my life drastically changed, I was dealing with daily chronic pain (I still do) and I totally dropped the ball with physical therapy (I didn't make time fore myself). I should have fought for that more, I would tell myself that I need to fight for my health, go to physical therapy and have a plan to continue to care for my body with what works for me. Whether it be a modified plan for exercises, yoga, whatever! At least I would have that knowledge and would have a plan that I could utilize and have some comfort in. But, I would definitely tell myself to INVEST that time and effort!
• FAIRY TALES ARE FICTION - There's no such thing as "Happily Ever After". I grew up watching Disney movies and have always dreamed of that one man that is my soul mate that would save me. I would tell my younger self that the only person that can save me is myself. If you put stock in others to save you then you'll be disappointed - every time. I keep wondering if I should tell my younger self how disappointing that department has actually been? But, I wold definitely tell myself that kind of love is fiction, it's not necessarily not real but, I should focus more on myself. I guess I would tell my younger self how my past relationships have ended. It would definitely change my outcome now! I know if I told my younger self that the man I married would end up cheating on me and everything else, I wouldn't even have gone down that road. So it would totally change everything! It makes me wonder how different my life would be now.  
• BE SELFISH - Make choices in your life for yourself, not what other people want. If you want a wedding, have a wedding, don't accept anything less. I am stubborn, so to a degree I do what I want but, there is a side of me that if I love someone I would do whatever they wanted. Because I loved them I wanted to appease them, even if it went against what I truly wanted. Don't fear what other's will think of you or that they'll think any less or love you less - if they do that's their fault - if they don't like it, don't let the door hit them on the way out.This could have saved me so much stress and anxiety and would definitely change everything. Never compromise yourself or what you want out of life. I do believe in compromise in relationships but, don't sacrifice yourself or who you are. It's been my experience the other person won't make those changes for you... so, why change for them?
• STAND UP FOR YOURSELF - I never really spoke up for myself until I had my son and had no other choice but to be an advocate for him. Just brush it away too when people think you are being a bitch for speaking your mind, if they think that then you need to reevaluate that relationship too! I would tell my younger self to stop thinking that the world will end if you upset others - it won't! You have to have respect for yourself or others won't respect you either. Your needs should be more important to you than what other's think of you.
• SAVE MONEY - Things will inevitably happen, if you aren't able to save money then you need to look at your career. I would tell my younger self to go for a career where you could make more money. Although, I believe I worked with special needs students to prepare me to care for my special needs son, however if events changed and my life altered because of those changes, I would definitely want to be more financially secure. I would definitely tell my younger self to take more care with my credit and to make more of an effort in that area. This will be important to have the security that I wish I had now.
• WRITE - My mom always use to tell me that I should write, even when I was younger. So, I would tell my younger self to listen to our mother's advice and write. Get involved in the writing field and pursue that career, go to college for writing, and really invest yourself. I'm just getting started in the Self-Publishing and Indie field, I often wonder where I would be if I had jumped in much earlier when I should have. I remember when I first went to Community College after I graduated from High School and ended up dropping out because I didn't want to waste my parent's money, because I didn't know what I wanted to do. I would tell that younger self to take those classes and pursue writing, it's where you will flourish.
• COMFORT EATING - Don't do it! Along with telling myself to respect my body and continue to take care of it, when I was in my early twenties I read every food label and was much better about caring what I put in my body. I would tell myself to continue that, while it may taste good and send those chemicals in my brain the sensation of feeling better, that in reality I will feel much worse when I'm feeling depressed about gaining weight and not being able to fit in those clothes that I love so much. Respect yourself and your body! I would also whisper in my ear to pay more attention to the chemicals on the labels - to care more about the poison going in and what possible long-term effects that it can have.
• INVEST IN FRIENDSHIPS - Make more time for the people in your life that make time for you. If people can't make time for you, then it should tell you that they don't want to be with you. When I was married this happened with my own husband, he couldn't make time for me, that should have been a huge red flag. I would tell my younger self, before you sacrifice your friendships for your relationships, why? You should not sacrifice them! Go out with your friends and do you. If the person you're with is jealous or is manipulative, then that's another huge red flag - of their own guilty conscious. Don't ruin your friendships with other people to appease your partner - NEVER!
• DON'T STOP COORDINATING - You have this insane ability to pull-it-together - don't ever stop! I would tell my younger self to continue to coordinate Cousin's Night, it's very important! It saddens me now that we don't get together as much as we should, so I would definitely tell my younger self to keep up that tradition at all costs. You know your persistence pays off *wink*
• YOU ARE WORTH IT!! If you think you are not, then it's toxic and leave - immediately! Most importantly - LOVE YOURSELF!!

THE ONLY LIMITS YOU SET YOURSELF

Links

E! Online - 30 Things I Wish I Could Tell My Younger Self

Huffington Post - Advice to My Younger Self

TED - What advice would you give a younger you?

What would you tell your younger self?

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CHALLENGE ACCEPTED #3

I've decided to just add two months together to try to catch up. October is a rough month for me anyway because it is the month that my son passed away and was born, so it's a difficult month to get through which I'll go into more depth alter. November was busy because I dove head-first into getting my second book published, which I'll go into more about as well. So here we go, the third and fourth installment of "No Mean For A Year Challenge"! This was originally started in an attempt for self-respect, teaching me how to condition myself for greater things, and I must say it's WORKING!

OCTOBER

Originally October was going to be the month I took charge of a healthier me, it wasn't the right time to start this just yet; one thing at a time. October is especially difficult for me because my son was born October 28th, 2002 and he passed October 6th, 2013. It was his one year anniversary of gaining his angel wings. We did a lot of healing things to honor his memory, I have an entire Facebook page dedicated in his memory. We shared pictures of his precious time here on earth and I shared some great memories. Last year to honor his birthday (which was only days after his passing, so it was excruciating) we released balloons that we had written personal messages on with the hash-tag #HonorKaleb. Although, after reading about how dangerous this is for wildlife, we decided not to do that this year. His plaque was finally placed on his grave site, so my mother and I went and purchased big beautiful synthetic flowers and things to place in the vase. It was sad but it felt good also to finally get his site looking nice. 

Needless to say, I didn't have much time for the month of October to even think about dating or the opposite sex; which is a good thing! And yes, I've slacked off a lot with journaling. I think every day was a lot to take-on. In retrospection, I think it's good to journal every day in the beginning to condition your brain and to get someone started in the right direction. It was really good for me to focus on loving myself - which honestly, I still have a hard time with - but, I'm learning. I've already learnt so much, I know I definitely deserve better than what I have put up with in the past. This time is all about me and what I need, no more sacrificing of myself for others, no more of the altruistic BS. In this attempt I sat down and considered goals to accomplish this year. These goals include a couple different blogging challenges (this one included) along with my publishing goals. Writing has becomes more than something I just do, now I consider myself a writer and if someone asks me what I do I replay "I'm a blogger and writer" which has helped me to get over some social anxieties as well. With these goals printed and posted so I had visual reminders to keep me on track, I dove head-first into the writing realm. I finished my first rough draft of my second book toward the end of October. 

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Delicious Quick & Easy Breakfast Bites

Breakfast Bites

Watching my two nieces in the mornings before school it can be a challenge to put breakfast on the table, especially if the morning is already rushed. Kids easy get bored with cereal options, and if you've been watching the Monsanto fiasco's, they're adding their ingredients into cereals without our knowledge. So what can we do to provide healthy alternatives? If you haven't heard about Monsanto and their crusade to include their ingredient in our foods, it's sickening. Let's just put it this way: Monsanto is the same company that created Agent Orange. My dad was exposed to this chemical during his service in the military, because of this he now receives benefits because of the long-term damage (including diabetes).

As most mother's and caregivers know, it can be quite a circus getting the kids out the door in the morning. So, in saving time I've prepared breakfast in advance and wanted to share. We have tried them out and they are delicious! This is a similar recipe that my family has used for many Christmas Morning Breakfasts (Breakfast Casserole). It's just modified to meet our needs and easier to prep and cook.

What You'll Need:

Muffin Baking Sheet - 12 count

(we used cupcake liners)

1 package (pound) sausage

12 eggs

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup chopped spinach

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

Prepped Muffin Baking Sheet w/Cupcake Liners

First Step -

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Prep muffin sheet with inserting cupcake liners and spraying lightly with a baking spray. Brown sausage in a skillet. While the sausage is cooking crack the 12 eggs into a large mixing bowl, adding salt and pepper. We used bagged spinach, washed, dried, and then cut to preference and added to mixture.

Egg Mixture

Once the sausage is browned and crumbled, mix into bowl along with the shredded cheese and mix well. Spoon mixture in about 1/3 full (the eggs will expand when cooked, don't overfill). Cook for 25-30 minutes, test with toothpick - if you insert toothpick and it comes out clean then they are finished. I cooked mine for a solid 30 minutes. After you take them out of the oven, you can use tongs to remove the Breakfast Bites to cool. Once they are cool you can store them in the fridge and then pop them out and heat them up in the morning through the week. This recipe yielded 24 Breakfast Bites. Enjoy!

Added Sausage, Spinach & Cheddar Cheese

 Links 

Allrecipes.com - Sausage Egg Muffins Recipe

Allrecipes.com - Scrambled Egg Muffins Recipe

Top Breakfast Cereals that Contains Monsanto's GMO