Musings on Momentum

design a life you love

Five Steps to a Restful Night of Sleep with TYLENOL® PM

I have received information and materials from ©Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. 2017.  The opinions stated are my own.  This is a sponsored post.  #ForBetterTomorrows #BetterTomorrows #FallBack #CollectiveBias

A little over a month ago, I was “casually” browsing adoptable dogs online when I came across a teeny, tiny puppy named Flynn who was in need of a forever home.  His adorable appearance and adjective-laced biography quickly won me over and, before we knew it, my husband and I were bringing little Flynn home.  Being a family of four has come with its challenges, the two most prevalent being a decrease in sleep and an increase in bumps, bruises, and puppy bites.

I may be guilty of not quite fully thinking through what the reality of a puppy would be like in our lives.  Flynn, our new addition, is a bundle of puppy energy and curiosity.  Sometimes this results in him hurling his little body at either my husband or myself full force; other times it takes the shape of accidentally nipping us during a play session.  However it happens, I have noticed that my poor body has been riddled with various bruises and scratches since he came home.  You know, the kind you don’t notice at the time of injury but the type you are suddenly acutely aware of when you’re unable to drift off to sleep at night due to lingering aches and pains.

Just like everyone else, my busy schedule does not have room in it for a poor night of sleep, particularly now that we have fewer hours of daylight to accomplish things in.  Luckily, I have picked up a few tips and tricks over the years to ensure that I quickly fall into a deep, restful sleep, regardless of what is going on in my life.  With the help of TYLENOL® PM and my recipe for Soothing Sleepy Time Golden Milk, you too can enjoy one peaceful night of sleep after another.

Hover over the above photo for a very special offer from TYLENOL® PM and Walgreens!

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When Life Gives You Lemons

When I originally wrote my farewell post, “Goodbye…At Least for Now” in May of this year, I was newly diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, an incurable degenerative connective tissue disorder, and in need of some quality rest and relaxation. As I attempted to wade through my initial diagnosis as quickly as possible with the goal of learning, processing and moving on to the next chapter of my life in mind, additional diagnoses were made and the full scope of the damage this disease has caused to my body started to become clear.

After processing the diagnosis and what it meant for the rest of my life, I wallowed. I wallowed HARD, guys. I perfected the art of wallowing. I could probably write a book on it by now. I traded blogging 30+ hours a week for doctor’s appointments and spending all my spare time researching every facet of this disease that I could. It was overwhelming, it was heartbreaking and, ultimately, it was unhealthy. Then, just like that, I came up for air and realized that I was over feeling sorry for myself and ready to move on.

I missed possessing hope for the future. I yearned for all the ways Musings on Momentum used to fulfill me both creatively and intellectually. More than anything, I longed for this blogging community. After a great number of conversations with my husband about whether there is space for this platform in my new reality, I realized that the only thing that doesn’t have a role in my life is the stagnant place I found myself in post-diagnosis.

WhenLifeGivesYouLemons

The last six months have been a journey as I have gone from building the life I thought I should be living, to living the one I have been given. I’ve had to let go of the preconceived notions I held about what I thought my future should look like to fully embrace the realities that now dictate it. Was it part of my plan to get these diagnoses? No, not in any way shape or form. But who of us plans on receiving the kind of life altering news? All any of us can do is pick up the pieces and learn anew.

So, I am back. I am still working through what my return to Musings on Momentum is realistically going to look like but I knew that I couldn’t stay away any longer. Over the next few months, you can look forward to a revival of decor, style and musical inspiration as well as a very fun London vlog that I’m dying to share with you all. I’m eager to embark upon this next chapter, even though it is going to look notably different than I planned on.

Self-Love and How to Be Your Own Valentine

With Valentine’s Day quickly approaching it’s nearly impossible not to feel completely inundated with images of doting couples. If you’re one of the millions who find themselves in a happy and loving relationship, the holiday likely leaves you with all kinds of warm and fuzzy feelings. However, if you’re instead one of the millions that doesn’t happen to fall into that category this year, or any year, you might be feeling left out in the cold with a great deal of ambivalence or worse, resentment, towards the holiday. I know I certainly did for the first 18 years of my life when I scarcely received valentines from my classmates, let alone from my crushes!

As each year passes, I realize more and more how important it is to remove any expectations I have for the day and to find ways to be, for lack of a better term, my own Valentine. I’ve found the best way to do this, not only in February but throughout the entire year, is to find ways to practice self-love in my daily life.

Self-Love Main

The term “self-love” is rather all-encompassing and means something different to each and every one of us. Broadly speaking, I view self-love not as being overly and selfishly wrapped up in feeding one’s ego like some are inclined to think, but instead as being focused on seeking out ways to nurture and care for oneself as a means for encouraging health and personal growth. In my own life, I have found that the best way to infuse a little self-love into my day to day is by treating myself to something special, kind and unexpected.

Treating yourself, by very definition, is a bit like choosing your own adventure. No two of us are exactly alike, therefore no two of us have the same definition for what taking special care of ourselves means. Today I’m not only sharing four of my favorite ways to treat myself and encourage self-love but also a special discount code to help all of you smile brighter in the year ahead!

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Gratitude in January

It seems like a telling sign that I’m sitting here writing this gratitude post completely astounded that January is almost over. It is already feeling like 2017 is going to fly by at record speed in much of the same way that 2016 did, so let’s take a few moments to slow down and reflect on how these first few weeks of the year have gone, shall we?

Now, before I begin discussing the positive things that this month has brought into my life, I do want to address my somewhat sporadic blogging schedule this month. Upon returning home from Venice and London I found that I really needed some quiet time to decompress. You can read more about why I needed to take a temporary step back here, but long story short I had a bit of a rough start to the year and needed to do a hard reset on life. I really appreciate all of your patience and support while I worked through some things and am excited to get back to a more regular blogging schedule going forward.

Gratitude in January

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Positive Wellness and Beauty

It had long been my plan to re-focus some of my blogging time and energy onto positive wellness and beauty in 2017. However, after this most recent trip abroad, it became absolutely imperative to me, both personally and in terms of cultivating the community I desire to on Musings on Momentum, that I stick to that strategy.

January is traditionally a month of fresh starts and new beginnings.  After all, it is the one time of year when we are most likely to lay out our hopes and dreams for the upcoming 365 days on paper. That’s a wonderful practice, but how many of us really stick to those resolutions 100, or even just 30, days down the road? I know that despite my best efforts I find myself dropping even my sincerest of goals just a few weeks into a new year once my post-holiday life gets hectic. It’s a common pattern that I’m guessing the majority of you can relate to.

Here’s my thought – what if towards the start of each month I discuss and focus on just one element of health or self-care that I find important and useful to address in my own life? It would certainly help me refocus my energy in a productive direction and it’s my sincere hope that it might do the same for all of you.

I enjoy my end of the month gratitude posts so much because they’re a way for us to collectively reflect on the good that each month brought into our lives. My goal with these beginning of the month posts is that they can work in much of the same manner and help this community support one another as we work towards living happier and healthier lives. We don’t all need to have the same end goal in mind, we just need to be there to encourage and cheer one another on.

Positive Wellness and Beauty

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