You get the phone call or email that a friend has just been diagnosed with [insert crappy diagnosis here] and you don’t know what to do. Do you call? If you call, what do you say? You opt not to call because:
1. You aren’t sure you should know.
2. You don’t know what you would say because you haven’t been in their shoes.
3. Or your friend must be swamped and you don’t want to bother her.
So, how then do you help a sick friend?
As a breast cancer survivor, I’m not sure whether I love October or fear it. Seeing the spectrum of pink colors everywhere can be overwhelming. It’s a constant reminder that I’m sick. And yes, I know that thousands of women and men are afflicted with this disease yearly, so the pink promotion isn’t about me being ill. But sometimes, I just get inside my head. My thoughts go to the scary places that we all want to push away. And sometimes, I just want to cry.
I love to celebrate and create happy times around any holiday. So the Mother’s Day countdown has begun in our house. My son has started coloring cards and is already planning a trip to the store to buy my gift. What I love most about these holidays isn’t always the present itself, but the sentiment behind it. Sure, if I was sent a brand new diamond-studded Apple watch, the healthy gadget girl in me would jump for joy. However, it would be much more meaningful if the giver attached a note saying, “we know you love to power walk for hours; this watch will keep you on time and connected while also tracking your health data.” Thoughtful. Useful. Fun.
I love to create thoughtful gift ideas and am excited to showcase this year’s list of useful, fun and healthy Mother’s Day gifts for the wellness enthusiast.
Have you ever come home from vacation nearly 10-pounds heavier than you were before you left? Did you give yourself the “I’m on Vacation” approval to eat anything at anytime? I’ve been there and done that. Ate gluttonously for weeks, then returned home with little motivation to eat better and exercise. Now my daily diet isn’t about losing weight and looking pretty, it’s about being well. Over five years ago, on my first real vacation after I started eating clean, I challenged myself to enjoy my vacation while maintaining my healthy lifestyle. I also gave some thought on how to help my family indulge, just not excessively.
As an adolescent social-butterfly, believe it or not, I adored the library. I seldom read teen books or investigated research. However, I craved connections. In addition to my childhood adventures with friends, I found other dynamic connections through books and magazines. I used to walk up the rows of the local library, likely procrastinating doing my homework, but also amazed at all the knowledge within those shelves. I grew from a kid that liked fictional stories to one that loved inspirational words and non-fiction information.
Now, as an adult, I enjoy going to the library to be inspired to write, connect to my passions and learn more. While tweens and teens today have so much data at their finger tips, I believe that they can connect to themselves, find their voices and learn healthy habits through a good book. Sometimes it’s hard to know where to begin, so we’ve created another healthy kids book list in hopes of inspiring your kids to enjoy healthy habits. We started with 50 Children’s Books that Promote Fitness and now we’re excited to have added 15 Health Inspired Tween and Teen Books below.
Looking for last minute stocking stuffers or gifts for your teachers, friends and colleagues? Give the gift of clean beauty by making your own exfoliating sugar and salt scrubs. It’s easy. All you need are a few items and a few minutes. Check out our simple steps below or watch the tutorial from our latest WTNH-TV wellness segment on how to make a basic skincare scrub.