PERSONAL – Whole Heartily

Resist Gossip

“Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

Let’s be done with gossip.

Gossip is not beneficial, it is not positive, it is not kind; it’s damaging, it’s negative, it’s hateful.

There are members of my extended family (and I know it doesn’t stop there) who treat gossiping with all the seriousness of their life’s purpose and it is beyond disturbing. My hands are not clean either, I’ve gossiped and it is thrilling when you’re right in the middle of gleaning and spreading all the juicy details, but it’s bad behavior and a bad habit. Bad habits are best dropped before becoming bad character.

I love my daughter and I do not want her growing up judging or disparaging others. One of my resolutions is to stop gossiping and I invite anyone who’s reading this to join me.

It’s time to stop; resist gossip.

I created this sticker, that can be purchased here and used as a reminder!

Happy New Year 2023!

Happy New Year Friends! I wish you all the best and sincerely hope all your hopes and dreams for 2023 will come to fruition. These last few years have been rocky, to say the least, but its a time for fresh starts and new beginnings, so let’s make the most of it!

I believe in making resolutions; they give you the focus to complete certain tasks. Resolutions can be made any time of the year, and should be in some cases, but it’s traditional to make them for the fresh start of a new year and it’s all in good fun!

I’ve set 12 resolutions for 2023, check them out!

Expand my garden.
Go greener.
Organize the whole house.
Play and complete 12 video games.
Read and complete 12 books.
Re-carpet the living room.
Re-floor the main areas of the house.
Resist gossip.
Send anniversary and birthday cards out on time.
Set aside 1 hour a day to work on my dreams.
Set aside times of the day for intentional screen-time.
Take Zoey to Disneyland.

Be Prepared – First Aid Kit Checklist

Do you have a first aid kit in your home? In your car? I didn’t until just recently, when I realized it’s better to have it around and not need it, than need it and not have it around!

As a starter, I purchased this one, and I will be purchasing another one for my car. If I need anything that isn’t included in this kit I can always purchase it to fill in the blanks, but what does a first aid kit ultimately need and why?

The Red Cross recommends that all first aid kits for a family of four include the following:

P.S. I did not create this infographic. If the creator contacts me I can credit them properly!

Emergency First Aid guide
2 absorbent compress dressings (5 x 9 inches)
25 adhesive bandages (assorted sizes)
1 adhesive cloth tape (10 yards x 1 inch)
5 antibiotic ointment packets (approx. 1 gram each)
5 antiseptic wipe packets
2 packets of aspirin (81 mg each)
1 breathing barrier
1 emergency blanket
1 instant cold compress
2 pair of non-latex gloves
2 hydrocortisone ointment packets (approx. 1 gram each)
1 gauze roll bandage (3 inches wide)
1 roller bandage (4 inches wide)
5 sterile gauze pads (3 x 3 inches)
5 sterile gauze pads (4 x 4 inches)
Oral thermometer (non-mercury/nonglass)
2 triangular bandages
Tweezers

You can increase the numbers of each item if you have a family of larger than 4 or as you see the need. It is also recommended to include any personal items such as medications and emergency phone numbers or other items your health-care provider may suggest.

As I educate myself more on being prepared, I will update or redo this post with any updates!

Find the Time to do What you Love!

Does anyone else find it harder to carve out some game time now that you have a child? It’s ok, I’m right there with you!

It is challenging to balance providing all the love, support and attention our little ones need with mommy time and/or daddy time, but both are important. So here is my hot take: We all need a time to do what makes us happy to ensure our perpetual happiness around our children. If we are happy and treat them as such, then they will grow in the sunshine of our happiness rather than the cloudiness of our grump. Caring for our children is important, self-care is important.

Playing video games brings me joy and eventually I would love to share that joy with my daughter. Currently she shows some interest, but she’s not quite there yet, so I mostly carve out time to play while she’s sleeping. I wake up early, I utilize her nap time and/or I stay up after her bedtime. There are other things I need to get done too, but If I have the time I will play. I finish games at a much slower pace now, but that’s alright! It all sparks joy!

What brings you joy? When do you find the time to do what you love?

Let’s Bring Positivity Back into Gaming

I am a positive gamer and this is a safe space for us all to express our love for games without negativity!

I play games to enjoy and relax. I lose myself in whatever a particular game has to offer, whether that be the plot, the characters, the creativity, the graphics; I appreciate all video games and their creators. If a game does not pique my own personal interests, I don’t attack it, I move on to one that does.

If it’s necessary to review a game, I provide constructive feedback and information, supported by specific examples to help improvement. This feedback should always be offered in a friendly manner with good intentions and that’s exactly what I do!

Reviewing games is useful, but one of my favorite things to do is create unconventional guides for the games I enjoy! I’ve created guides for the animal locations in Okami, the stray bead locations in Okami, the alchemy recipes in Ni No Kuni, and more! I love helping people find what they’re looking for and I intend to make more guides this year so stay tuned!

Are you a positive gamer? Please introduce yourself, I would love to hear from you! What’s your favorite game?

2022 New Year Resolutions

Happy New Year Friends! I wish you all the best and sincerely hope all your hopes and dreams for 2022 will come to fruition. These last few years have been rocky, to say the least, but its a time for fresh starts and new beginnings, so let’s make the most of it!

I believe in making resolutions; they give you the focus to complete certain tasks. Resolutions can be made any time of the year, and should be in some cases, but it’s traditional to make them for the fresh start of a new year and it’s all in good fun!

I’ve set 22 resolutions for 2022, check them out!

Buy a sketchbook & fill it.
Celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary.
Celebrate Zoey’s 3rd birthday.
Expand our kitchen garden.
Finish my tattoo half-sleeve.
Finish the Spanish lessons in Duolingo.
Meditate 5 times a week (or more).
Paint 3 Bob Ross paintings.
Pay off my Navient loan.
Plant 3 fruit bearing trees.
Play & complete 22 video games.
Practice yoga 5 times a week (or more).
Reach my earnings goal by December.
Reach my goal weight.
Read & complete 22 books.
Refurbish the play car & give it to Zoey.
Refurbish the playhouse & give it to Zoey.
Research & create a haircare regimen for myself.
Research & create a nail care regimen for myself.
Research & create a skin care regimen for myself.
Take Zoey to Disneyland.
Watch & complete 22 movies I’ve never seen.

I’m going to do my best to fulfill each and every one of them so if you’re looking for ideas, inspiration or just to follow along in some good fun follow me here and on my instagram for updates!

Our New Christmas Family Tradition

Have you ever intentionally created a family tradition? I haven’t, until now!

My family and I grew up watching the Charlie Brown/Peanuts holiday specials around this time every year with our parents; they all have a special place in my heart, but none more than It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, and A Charlie Brown Christmas!

Continuing on with these good feelings and memories, embellishing it to make it our own, here is our new Christmas tradition:

The Friday before Christmas we will make our own marshmallows and hot chocolate, then sip it while we watch A Charlie Brown Christmas!

It’s simple, yet fun and heartfelt like any family tradition should be! Create happy feelings and the happy memories will follow! Feel free to use this idea for your own family tradition, or take it and change it to make it your own!

Our New Thanksgiving Family Tradition

Have you ever intentionally created a family tradition? I haven’t, until now!

Continuing on with these good feelings and memories, embellishing it to make it our own, here is our new Thanksgiving tradition:

The Friday before Thanksgiving we will gather and/or create buttered toast, popcorn, pretzels and jelly beans, all the food the kid’s feast on in Thanksgiving Charlie Brown. We will snack on these treats while we watch A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving!

Our New Halloween Family Tradition

Have you ever intentionally created a family tradition? I haven’t, until now!

Continuing on with these good feelings and memories, embellishing it to make it our own, here is our new Halloween tradition:

The night before Halloween (or a few nights before), we will carve our pumpkins and light them for the first time. After, we’ll sip on cold or warm apple cider (depending on the weather) and watch It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown!

My AncestryDNA experience

Have you tried AncestryDNA or something similar? I finally treated myself to a basic AncestryDNA kit this Mother’s Day past, and it has been very enlightening, slightly surprising, and fun!

Unbeknownst to me, I am a whole lotta Scottish! I expected English and Irish, I’ve been told about relatives from those regions my whole life, but I suppose I missed the mention of any Scottish ancestors. I felt the need to create a family tree before, but now I am very enthusiastic about finding out more about our ancestors; where they came from, who they were!

So let me take you through the process…

Once purchased, they mail you a package. I strongly suggest activating your kit as soon as you open it and find the activation number. If you don’t activate your kit before sending it in, you may never get your results back!

Before you start collecting your saliva sample, make sure you don’t eat or drink anything at least 30 minutes before drooling into the test tube. Follow the instructions within the kit to submit your sample.

Once you mail it out, you can follow your progress on the AncestryDNA application or on the website, whichever is easier. They’ll send you notifications every step of the way until your results are in!

I’d love to hear about your experience with DNA testing! What were your results? How did the whole experience make you feel?

Please let me know if you have any questions!