Etc
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15 Shows about Fascinating People and Places
I love when shows present real stories in an engaging way and bring incredible parts of the world to life onscreen. I think these 15 shows about fascinating people and places will capture your imagination and give you the opportunity to learn many new things. I sure learned a lot!
What drew me to these shows is that they make it fun to discover something new. It can be challenging to feel a sense of growth when you’re chronically ill, so I try to prioritize continuing to learn. TV can be wonderful in the sense that I can feel like I’ve visited a museum or gotten a glimpse of another country without leaving my home.
These 15 programs tell the stories of remarkable women, introduce us to amazing animals, bring history to life, and take us to new places.
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My Recent Reads – Fairy Tale Edition
I just realized its been over a year since I’ve shared my favorite recent reads with you! To narrow down my picks, I’m excited to share my favorite fairy tales I’ve read so far in 2021.
When it comes to picking books lately, I’m finding myself having trouble concentrating and feeling the weight of decision fatigue. When this happens, I gravitate toward my favorite genre: fantasy.
I keep finding myself coming back to fairy tales or books with elements of fairy tales. I think it’s been a helpful escape with so much going on in the world as well as all the challenges I’m continuing to face with my health. Fairy tale worlds feel both excitingly new and welcomingly familiar.
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Thoughts On “Sun Guilt” And How To Enjoy The Outdoors With Chronic Illness
Don’t worry, this isn’t a post pressuring you to go outside more or insisting you should get outside every day. With chronic illness and pain, sometimes this isn’t realistic. So let’s talk about ways to benefit from and enjoy being outdoors with chronic illness. For me, planning and pacing are key.
In fact, I’m giving myself permission to be outside less or not go outside at all, even on days when the weather is ideal. I’m trying to balance benefitting from nature with listening to my body.
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The Story Behind My New Blog Name: Starlight through the Storm
Ta-da! You may have noticed that my blog has a new logo as well as a new name! I thought I’d share a behind-the-scenes look at the inspiration behind both. I hope this will give you more insight into what you’ll find on my blog, as well as help you know a little more about the person who runs it.
I’ve literally been trying to pick a name before I even started blogging—over two years ago! (Yep, my blog had its anniversary in March and I kinda let it slip by. Oops!) I’m sure glad I didn’t wait until I had the “perfect” name picked before I started my blogging journey. (I think you should dive into blogging even if you don’t feel 100% ready.)
From poems to PR pieces, the titles have always been a challenge for me. So I’ve been brainstorming (for, ahem, years)…how to choose a blog name that sums up living with chronic illness, and not just surviving but thriving? I wanted to choose a name that sounded specific enough but was also broad enough that it would allow me to talk about all the things that bring me joy when my health turns life upside down—such as my faith, my love of words (and books!) and creativity.
Here’s the story behind coming up with a name for this blog, and why it’s special to me.
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How “Choosing” Helps on Bad Days + Free Printables
“Today I choose to”—these are powerful words to reframe thinking. I’ve started reminding myself that “I have a choice” to help me get through bad chronic illness days, and today I’m sharing my tips for “choosing” when we feel stuck. Plus, I’ve created three free printables to help you choose what you want to focus on, whether you feel stuck because of chronic illness, being at home because of social distancing during quarantine, or whatever challenges you might be facing.
I’ve found that I can tolerate most things if I feel like I have a choice. In other words, when I reframe my thinking and choose how to respond, I feel more in control and able to cope with a situation, even if that situation is far from ideal.
What got me thinking about this? Not too long ago I was lying in my recliner, where I spend a lot of my time due to dysautonomia, fibromyalgia, ME/CFS (myalgic encephalitis/chronic fatigue syndrome), and other chronic conditions. And I was frustrated because I did not want to be there, just watching TV. My mind was buzzing with all of the things I wished I could be doing. I didn’t want to rest, I wanted to do things!
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My Recent Reads – April 2020 Reading Recommendations
If you’re looking for book recommendations, welcome my fellow bookworms! Now’s the perfect time to get in some reading and discover new books to add to your TBR stack. Here are mini book reviews of some of my favorite recent reads.
This post’s collection includes two of my favorite books I’ve read recently, two that creeped me out more than expected, and two others that I enjoyed for their insightfulness and practicality.
If you’ve been following my blog posts recently, you know how excited I am about spring arriving. I love when the weather starts to get warmer because warm weather helps my health conditions and symptoms ease up a little. It’s been especially nice to get outside while much of the world is staying at home in quarantine.
I’ve been sitting outside, walking around a little bit, and taking photos of flowers that are starting to pop up around the yard. It’s kind of like a treasure hunt, or Easter egg hunt. I kind of feel the same way when I discover a book I love—like I’m the first person to find that particular blossom. So here are the not-so-hidden gems I’m excited about in the literary world. I hope the comfort of curling up with a good book helps you during these crazy times.
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Empty Calendar While Stuck At Home? Record The Good Things!
A lot of us are stuck at home or stuck inside right now, and if you’re like me, facing an empty calendar might make you feel blue. I originally envisioned this post for people who spend most of their time at home due to chronic illness, and I hope this topic will be helpful to even more people while we’re experiencing social distancing and self-quarantine.
While staying at home a lot over the last three years due to my health, I’ve found it helpful to look at my blank calendar as an opportunity—it’s the perfect place to record the good things. After all, we don’t have to be busy to be joyful.
This post will help you brainstorm ways your calendar can help you look forward to the future with a sense of anticipation, and look back on memories with a sense of joy and gratitude.
I know not everyone keeps a physical calendar, but if you keep a calendar on your phone or computer, you can use these tips too. Families can use these tips when using the calendar to keep a schedule and sense of normalcy for kids. You could also use this post as a prompt for bullet journaling if that’s the way you prefer to capture what you’ve been up to lately.
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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.
