Self-care

Self-care for women involves taking intentional actions to prioritize and maintain their physical, emotional, and mental well-being. It’s important to note that self-care is a personal and individualized concept, and what works for one person may not necessarily work for another.

Regular Exercise: Engage in activities that you enjoy, whether it’s going to the gym, practicing yoga, dancing, or taking a walk.

Healthy Eating: Nourish your body with a balanced diet that includes a variety of fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains.

Adequate Sleep: Ensure you get enough restful sleep each night to support overall health and well-being.

Mindfulness and Meditation: Practice mindfulness or meditation to reduce stress and promote mental clarity.

Therapy or Counseling: Consider seeking professional help if needed to address emotional concerns or life challenges.

Journaling: Write down your thoughts and feelings as a way of processing emotions and gaining insight into yourself.

Set Goals: Define personal and professional goals and work towards achieving them.

Learn Something New: Pursue a hobby or learn a new skill that interests you.

Read for Pleasure: Take time to read books or articles that you find enjoyable and fulfilling.

Quality Time with Loved Ones: Spend time with friends and family who uplift and support you.

Establish Boundaries: Learn to say no and set boundaries to protect your time and energy.

Cultivate Friendships: Foster positive relationships with individuals who share similar interests and values.

Pamper Yourself: Treat yourself to a spa day, a massage, or a relaxing bath.

Enjoy Nature: Spend time outdoors and connect with nature, whether it’s a hike, a walk in the park, or simply sitting in a garden.

Unplug: Take breaks from technology to disconnect and recharge.

Positive Affirmations: Practice positive self-talk and affirmations to build self-esteem.

Celebrate Achievements: Acknowledge and celebrate your accomplishments, no matter how small.

Forgive Yourself: Be kind to yourself and let go of self-criticism.

Remember, self-care is not selfish; it’s an essential aspect of maintaining overall health and well-being. It’s about recognizing and meeting your own needs so that you can better navigate the various demands of life. Adjust these suggestions based on your personal preferences and circumstances.

Self-care means taking good care of yourself. It is also about being kind to yourself and practicing self-compassion. However, not everything like drugs, alcohol, over-eating, or risk-taking that feels good is self-care. There is a big difference between self-care and unhealthy coping mechanisms. Self-care is good for you and has long-term benefits for the mind and the body. I catch up with Nadine and discuss self-care.

Nadine, thanks for connecting with me on social media. Please tell my audience something important about you?

Hi Jerry…I am pleased to be here. I am quite honored to have been blessed with this opportunity!  I come from a very small town in northern Saskatchewan where I grew up on a cattle/grain farm. I am the eldest of 4 siblings. I/we were raised to know right from wrong, always be honest, stand up for the truth, and what you believe in, and listen to your gut instinct, that first instinct will never steer you wrong. I was almost eaten by a mother pig when I was about 6 twisted my ankle at the age of 8 and thrown from a horse at about 12.  I am a Scorpio.

The most important thing that I can tell anyone that meets me or is around me, is that I am not what some people expect me to be.  I tend to have to find my way to make things seem right for me. I think in 3D, just because sometimes the answer looks obvious to some of us, sometimes there is always more than one way to look at something.  I like to march to the beat of my drum.

Talk to me about your blog. What is it about and who are you trying to reach?

My blog started as a place for me to let my emotions out. It is about self-care. I felt like I needed a bit of anonymity that Facebook could not give me.  I also knew I was at a crossroads, sort of, I knew where I had been, what I had done to overcome certain issues that arose in my life and I knew where I was going.  I started this blog as a place for me to share the journey I had been on and how I decided to take life into my own hands through self-care activities.  I was tired of allowing life to happen to me.  After some time to teach myself and my hubby how to talk positively to ourselves and learn to live life again, I felt that there were other people out there in this world who could relate to that.  After almost losing my hubby due to a heart attack, to losing his young daughter, to a move, the inability to find a job, to finding a job in another town and me moving again, to almost losing my hubby again and him having a quadruple bypass. I quickly learned that I had a choice and that choice was going to be positive and I was going to start living again.

We live with the fact that he may not be around in the next 10 years but we cherish the moments every day that we have.  We all have the same 3 choices in life…give up…..give in……give it all you’ve got…..and I know which one I am choosing. I guess I am trying to reach anyone in life that is struggling at this very moment, bad stuff happens in life that we do not always have control over but everything happens for a reason and it is our job to see what the lesson is in every situation even when the lesson is unclear.

I was reading your blog and you have been through a lot. Help me understand some of these challenges you have been through and how you have overcome them?

Let’s chat about challenges…I did touch a bit above I think…..so when my hubby had his first heart attack, we spent almost an entire day waiting to stabilize him so he could be airlifted to a bigger, more capable center, and our life changed drastically, everything from the groceries I bought to the food we ate, that was entirely for his health but as I look back now, choosing to switch out a lot of our eating habits has helped us hugely.  With the loss of his daughter, I would say I will probably never understand that except for the fact that she probably taught me to love more openly and wholly, we never know when someone will leave this earth and this is something that maybe I had to learn the hard way but it has definably softened my character. When we purchased our second home in another town for his work, I did not have the opportunity to move any time soon, we had to sell our first home before I could move, that took a few years and when I finally did move, I was unable to find a job.  Fast forward a bit from there, I moved back to the town we sold our first home in and have been working back there for the last 5 years, at some point we will hopefully be reunited back in the same town and under the same roof.  Throughout all of the challenges I could have chosen to lay down and stay surrounded by a dark cloud and the negative thoughts, but I was not about to let that happen to either one of us.  This is the time when Essential Oils walked into our lives and they helped our healing journey tremendously as well. Oddly enough, I live in a 21′ camper in a nonelectrical campsite all summer long and I love it!! Life does not get any better than that! 

What does women’s empowerment mean to you?

To me, I think women’s Empowerment means being able to take life into your own hands.  Being able to get up in the morning and feel organized…. feels like a million bucks!!  Whether that is through uplifting quotes, a tip from me on how to organize your to-do list, a simple ‘looking good’ post, affirmations, journal tips, or self-esteem builders, for me, building my confidence was key!  I tried several things and altogether I found a routine that has worked for me and it always comes back to having the courage to change and the accountability to be courageous, not just for yourself but for others as well.  We all struggle but if I can help lessen the struggle. then I am doing what I set out to do.

My mission statement for my page is ‘To empower myself and others to live a confident, abundant life with authenticity, honesty, and integrity.

How have marriage and motherhood made you different?

Honestly, I am not married but I have been with the same amazing man for 20 years, this year.  We have no children together but we did raise his girls for some years.  I think walking the tightrope of the stepmother is a tough role but rewarding just the same. I am not sure what else I can say in this department.

I find writing very cathartic. How about you? How has writing helped you?

Yes, writing has helped me let go of some of the things I was struggling with inside.  It makes a lot more sense when I can write it out…. almost like a counseling session for me. It is self-treatment.

Do you also work besides blogging on self-care treatments?

Yes, I work full-time as a prep cook in a train station restaurant. I also run an essential oil business.

What have been some of the challenges you have faced as a blogger?

As for challenges, I want to say it has been finding followers but every good thing happens at the right time, exactly as it is supposed to.  Plus, the SEO thing still boggles me but when I write from the heart, that’s not a top concern of mine.

How has faith, food, finance, and family made a difference in your life?

For me, I don’t want to say I do not believe in God. I believe there is a God or guidance out there of some sort and he or she works in mysterious ways but always has my best interests at heart.

Food has played a major role in our home. I have always been a vegetable eater, hubby, not so much but we have been able to switch out healthier choices where we can.  Finance has made a difference for me in how I budget and again, I learned the value of budgeting at a very young age, we were a farming family so we had struggles in the early years when you are starting a farm and a young family all at the same time, even though I was young I understood.  Family, I think family is who has shaped the person I am today in terms of instilling values as those are quite often learned in the early years, we have the ability to shape ourselves throughout life but the foundation is laid down in the early years.

If there is one piece of advice you have for my audience what would that be?

If I could give someone one piece of advice, it would be to take every day in stride and not spend too much time dwelling on the small stuff, even when you may think at the time, it is really big.

In the whole scheme of things, all that energy you are spending worrying about is not doing anyone any good.  The solution will come, you will learn to breathe and make it through whatever situation it is.  A few months ago I ran a 3 Day Self Love Photo Challenge, and in this challenge, there was a task every day…the basis is to post a photo of yourself with an explanation for whatever the daily task is, and one day’s task was to post a photo of yourself when you were younger and then explain a few positive, life-affirming things that you would like your younger self to know.  It was an amazing experience and every time I do it, the participants learn a lot and I do as well.  But the biggest takeaway women took from this challenge is the fact that we all struggle, we are all women, but when we learn that we all struggle at one point or another, and we as a society can really work together and understand what each is going through, we can become united.  The one thing that hit home for some of these women is judgment and how easy it is to judge ourselves and others and sometimes we do not even realize we are doing it. So do take care of yourself. Self-care is important.