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Things I’m Doing For My Health Right Now
I’m a huge advocate of being proactive when it comes to your health, so I today I’m sharing some of the ways I’m doing this right now.
Lately, I’ve had the feeling that no matter what I do for my health, it feels kind of futile. That’s one of the sucky things about being chronically ill—you can do all the right things, and still be, well, chronically ill. Plus, I’ve been dealing with the cold weather (one of my triggers), health set backs, and—oh joy—new symptoms. It’s frustrating and ironic when your health is one of the things keeping you from being proactive about your health.
Thus, this blog post. I thought it would be helpful to record the ways I can be proactive about my health, and how these actions do help, even if just in a small way.
Some of the items on my list may look a little random, or not the kind of things you would associate with “health.” Most of these things aren’t specific to helping any one health condition, like my dysautonomia, fibromyalgia, asthma, autoimmune disease, ME/CFS, etc. But I’ve been trying to pay attention to what is zapping my energy or causing me stress. Viewing a problem as an opportunity to improve my health helps in two ways: 1) this helps me clarify a goal (less energy output or stress) and 2) this helps motivate me to make positive changes (by reminding me that this is important to my overall wellbeing). This clarity and motivation is enough to break through my brain fog and exhaustion so that I’m able to work on my health.
My hope is that this post will help you take a look at what you’re doing for your own wellness, or inspire you to think of new ways you can include more self care in your life. And when you make that list, I hope your reaction is similar to mine: I might be limited in what I can do for my health right now, but I’m doing the best I can.
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Free Writing Contests And Resources For Finding More
NOTE: This post was originally published in May 2018. I updated the contest deadlines and reworked parts of the post for clarity February 2020. I also updated links so they lead to the most current book editions.
Finding opportunities to get your writing published can feel very daunting, so I want to share some literary contests that can help you get your words in front of an audience. I’ve had eight poems published in literary journals, and I’m slowly working on getting more of my writing out into the world. I’ll also share tips I’ve discovered and resources I’ve found helpful in my search for writing contests.
Literary journals are a great way to get published. Some exist solely online, others are print, and many have a blend of both. They often accept poetry, short fiction, short nonfiction, artwork, and photography. If you want to get published and you’ve never explored literary journals, now is a great time to dive in.
I’ve compiled a short list of literary journal contests that are free to enter. The prize money for these contests is pretty modest, but its a great start. The contests with large cash prizes often charge a submission fee, and I wanted to create a post with only free opportunities. The resources at the end of this post will help you find more contests, whether they be free or pay-to-play.
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A Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free Starter Kit: My Go-To Shopping List for Food Allergies
I remember sitting in the doctor’s office and hearing I had to give up dairy. He had a strong suspicion it was aggravating my asthma. (He was right.) I didn’t know where to start when I found out I had food allergies.
My brain was going through the list I had kept for the last week, tracking everything I ate. There was milk, or butter, egg, or cheese in everything. What on earth was I going to eat? Carrots? I already had several food allergies to deal with, so this was going to be a challenge. I faced a similar challenge when my allergy tests suddenly showed a new allergy to gluten a couple years ago.
At the time, I wished I had a friend to walk with me through the grocery store to help me find food that I could eat. I’m going to be that friend for you! While I can’t actually shop with you, I’ve created this list to give you a place to start.
Finding out you have food allergies can be very daunting. It’s hard to know where to start when you’re trying an elimination diet or cutting out whole food groups. It felt like a huge potential waste of money to pile items into my cart, wondering if I would even like any of them. And, unfortunately gluten-free and dairy-free foods have a bad rap for being tasteless or gross.
Although I’ve tried some weird things over the years, the good news is that there are many, many allergy-free options that are delicious! This list is made up of the options I love best, so I can save you some of that trial and error.
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My Reading Goals For 2020
Setting achievable goals has been a helpful tool for me to gain a sense of accomplishment despite chronic illness. It’s a healthy way to push back against the limitations imposed by my health (or lack therefore). Dysautonomia, fibromyalgia, ME/CFS and my other conditions may try to stop me, but I’m going to keep learning and pursuing my love for reading!
I really enjoyed setting reading goals for the first time last year, so I’m going to continue to challenge myself again this year. (My natural inclination would be to read a lot of fantasy, historical fiction, and young adult fiction, but I like stretching outside my favorite genres.)
I hope this inspires you to set manageable, fun goals for yourself in the new year. Happy reading!
Here are the reading goals I’m setting for myself this year.
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Q&A with Jenna Ziegler “I thought I was letting go of my dream job. Turns out, this decision led me to this new career that brings me joy I didn’t know possible.”
A few years ago, I was planning to start a writers’ group, but due to my health changing unexpectedly, I was never able to get one up and running. So I was pleasantly surprised when blogging made that happen in a way I didn’t expect. Blogging allows me to connect with other writers, and I get especially excited when those writers love the creative side of writing, like fiction and poetry. That’s one of the reasons I’m thrilled to be able to introduce you to Jenna Ziegler, a chronic illness blogger and aspiring novelist.
Jenna runs the blog The Comical Colon, where she shares her medical journey in a comical light to encourage others to share their unique health journeys. When I found her blog, I immediately sent a link to a friend who was recently diagnosed with colitis because I knew she could benefit from Jenna’s informative and upbeat writing.
When chronic illness threatened her opportunities to have the schooling and career she desired, Jenna found that her health also brought new options for pursuing her love of writing. She’s been blogging since March 2018 and she’s also an aspiring author. Jenna shares about her writing journey (including participating in NaNoWriMo) plus numerous helpful chronic illness resources in this interview.
I hope you’re encouraged by this conversation with Jenna on chronic illness, faith, and perseverance.
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My Recent Reads – December 2019
Looking for book recommendations? Here are mini reviews of some of my favorite recent reads!
One thing I do love about the colder weather is that it’s the perfect time to curl up with a book. I’m writing this post a couple weeks before Christmas—I hope you all had a wonderful time celebrating! In the days after Christmas, I hope you are able to have time to relax, maybe with a new book, or maybe dreaming of a new book you can get with a gift card that appeared under your tree. I know it can be tempting to slip back into hustle and bustle, but I’m reminding myself to pause and slow down, not letting the peace of the Christmas season slip away. I invite you to do the same as the year draws to a close.
(Also, here’s an update on how I did with my reading goals this year, as well as tips for setting your own goals.)
Here are some of the books that I’ve most enjoyed and have recommended to my friends. I hope you enjoy these suggestions!
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Tips For Setting Reading Goals & How I Met Mine
December is a great time for reflecting on the past year. The last few years, I’ve spent some time at the close of each December recording some of my favorite things from the last year, including favorite books. This year I’ve enjoyed keeping track of my favorite books in “real time” in my mini book review posts.
This was also my first year setting reading goals for myself, and I like how my goals helped challenge me as well as give me direction when choosing books. It helped prevent me from getting into reading ruts due to brain fog.
I’ve already started thinking about what reading goals I’d like to set for 2020. But first, I’m going to record how I did with my 2019 goals (read my post about setting these goals here). And, I have some tips for anyone who wants to set goals for the following year.
Here’s how I did meeting the five goals I set.
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DIY Felt Christmas Banners
Today I’m sharing an idea for an easy, festive Christmas banner, which makes a perfect gift!
I made these banners for my dad to decorate his office at work. I love being able to make homemade gifts for my family. However, I have found it can be challenging to find gifts I can make for men. I’m good at making cute scarves, papercrafts, and jewelry—things which aren’t exactly on my dad’s wishlist! If you’re in a similar boat, this banner is the craft idea you’re looking for.
After being unable to turn up an ideas even after searching Pinterest, I came up with the idea of making a felt banner. My dad was looking for something to bring a touch of holiday cheer to his workspace, and I knew Dad wouldn’t want something bulky taking up space in his office. I saw this felt and loved the rich colors. They look festive and Christmasy, but not girly.
