Blogging is a way to escape. A place where you can write what you’re feeling or think the world should know. When I first started this, I was still finding out what I liked, and what worked best for me. Over that time, things have definitely changed. Im constantly learning new things. How to improve what I read, write and live about. For example, I used to goal orientate my months to the EXTREME. This caused me to panic and stress out when I couldn’t meet those goals. This year I decided against that and to just live and learn through the year.
Just Read
For the month of January I decided to go with the theme of “Just Read.” I chose this theme because I haven’t been reading as much as I’ve wanted to. With Nursing school starting, I’m bombarded with textbooks instead. While I am learning from them, I’m not relaxing with them. This month I picked up my book of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and started to read. It’s almost the end of January and the book is more than halfway read. One way I kept up on my reading so far was to try something new and kind of fun. Everyday of the month I would read the amount of pages pertaining to the date. For example, today for January 28th I read 28 pages. It’s a nice and straightforward way of keeping up with something.
What was the last book you read for fun? Any books you would suggest to read?
“The library is inhabited by spirits that come out of the pages at night.”
My poor face has been needing a little extra love from me lately. Wearing N95 masks with another mask over it just doesn’t help. Plus, the weather has been changing back and forth from hot to cold and my working environment (EMS) can get sweaty at times.
I always love when I can find enough time to pamper myself, especially my face. I noticed that my face was starting to break out more than usual. I have large pores and I started to see excess oil and my face looking a little dull and tired. My problem areas for oil are especially on my nose, chin and forehead. So this skincare routine I was more focused on that and just making sure that my skin was clean and fresh, and free of pollution that it collected.
To start off this pampering routine I threw my hair into a bun and put on my Alien Teddy Headband. I wanted to add a little fun into my night. For an overall wash I used Kate Somerville’s wash. Then to fix the oil problem on my nose I decided to use pore strips to take care of it. Next I let my face relax a little bit and used the Matcha Tea Mask all over. The mask is used to pull the pollution from your face. After I washed my face, I saw that my pores were clean, my face felt more smooth and it definitely felt better overall. After that, (what’s not shown) I spray my face down with Strawberry Face Mist from The Body Shop. This takes about 30-45 minutes to complete.
Have fun with pampering yourself! Light your favorite smelling candle, put some music on and wear comfy clothes. I would say make a snack but it’s a little hard to eat while you’re wearing a mask. I hope you enjoy a pampering day. Down below are the items I used and where to find them.
“Beach Rules: Soak up the sun. Ride the waves. Breathe the salty air. Feel the breeze. Build sandcastles. Rest, relax, reflect. Collect seashells. Bare-feet required.”
There will be times in your life when it feels like you’re constantly going. I know I have, and recently it has been non stop. I am very much a down to earth, all about nature, breathe in the trees and feel the energy from the earth type of chick. I try to get out into nature, whether its at a park, a trail, the ocean even just cloud watching on a hill, but I haven’t since my last trip to Yosemite. So its been a while sadly and I think I’m starting to feel the little bit of “sadness” you can say of not stopping to “smell the roses.” Whenever I’m at work I try and catch the sunrise. I have the 5am-2pm shift so its perfect sunrise time. Its not always a guarantee that i’ll be somewhere to capture all that amazingness but the other day I was really excited that I could. Granted it wasn’t out on a lake watching it rise or enjoying a big cup of hot coffee or tea but it worked. We were on our way to our next call and thankfully I was sitting shotgun this time. We came through the valley and behold! The sunrise. It gave us just a moment to relax and get ready mentally for the next call. It sent its calming waves to us. When I took the picture I realized that nothing will ever be picture perfect. Its more about just being in the moment and being positive about it and to look forward to more moments that you can have.
I wish I could go and fully enjoy the sunrise. Capture all of its glory really sink into that feeling. In all honesty its hard and I like that I can just enjoy even just an inch of it. I try to stay positive throughout the day and its stressful. In the field i’m in, it will only get more intense. I try my hardest and little things like this help me along the way (:
“The secret to a good morning is to watch the sunrise with an open heart.”
This past weekend I did my “Weekend Warrior” duty. I also saw it as an opportunity to FINALLY finish my book that I received as a gift from Christmas of 2018 The Pact by Jodi Picoult! It is now September 2019….Almost a year. I had made a resolution that I tried to stick to which was: Read one book a month for pleasure. That was it. I had no idea that it would be this difficult to find time to actually sit down and get back to the enjoyment of reading. I finally did it everyone, almost a year but I finished my first book of the year. I was happy when I ended up finishing all my training and coursework I had to do for the weekend because that meant I had time to read. I was actually super excited that I could finish this book. I had started it the beginning of the year but then life hit and it felt like I had no time to just unwind with my book. So I sat my happy self down and in between tasks, conversations, and helping other Sailors I managed to get 3/4 of the book finished. I was instantly drawn into the book after getting over the first two chapters (a slowish start) and I couldn’t be happier. I was so involved in the book I felt so torn for Chris! I don’t want to give anything away but be ready to have your heart strings tugged. Picoulthas an amazing way of writing and its almost as if you are there inside the book experiencing her story. Go take a breather, pick up a book and immerse yourself in a different world. In a different story give your brain a different form of entertainment and joy.
Becoming A Bookworm Again
Growing up I always had my nose in a book. I loved going to those Scholastic Book Fairs that they would put on in the school library. My mom would enroll me in the summer reading programs at our library. I mean I was going through books like nobodies business. I loved going to the library, the smell of books, the peacefulness and calm the library held. The history, imagination and unknown stories these books told. It is a magical feeling how you can immerse yourself completely into a book you are reading and lose track of time and I missed that feeling. As I grew older it became harder but I still managed to read more for my pleasure in my free time. These last few years it became harder. Not enough time, always working or just constantly tired. The last time I really read I think was my 2016 deployment. Mainly for the fact that I had a lot of free time on my hands. I read more than a dozen books. Either from the ship library or my kindle that I bought specifically for deployment. Usually I would read before “Taps” or more commonly lights out. It would wash away the stress of the day and it would be quiet and relaxing. If I didn’t read before bed I would read outside on a catwalk and sit above the ocean as we were sailing. It was definitely a sight to hold. Enough about me though! Here is a little bit about the book!
The Pact By Jodi Picoult
A little synopsis of the book. The Pact is a story about two teens who have literally grown up together since birth, and are seemingly destined to be together. Chris and Emily have lived next door to one another for seventeen years. They are closer than siblings and their families even wish them to be married. And yet their lives are forever altered by a dark “pact” one night that has one child injured and the other dead. This pact, or secret, of the title’s namesake is one that will cause both sets of parents, as well as the person whos reading, to seriously question morality, as well as the underlying themes of friendship and love. Picoult definitely tugs at your heartstrings and leaves you to ponder certain questions of your own. This is a book you want to finish immediately. It’s a book that has you realizing you have read through 100 more pages more than you said you would before bed. This is a good read from me. Thoroughly enjoyed it and can’t wait to read more from her.
“The right idea is the one you can’t stop thinking about; the one that’s in your head first thing in the morning.” – Jodi Picoult
Katie Writes 