I recently discovered that I was way out of touch with myself. However, I believe this to be a common occurrence at my age (thirty-something), as well as with someone in a similar predicament - meaning a lot on their plate. I believe in my case that in my vigorous pursuit of happiness, I simply forgot to be happy with myself. Forgot to love myself, but this is easy to assess because working a full-time job and going to school full-time is very exhausting. I feel like I don't have time to do anything else except for get rest....and that's when I can do that. In addition to these responsibilities, being a single mother of three also contributes to my lack of self-maintenance because I am constantly giving to them. You tend to lose yourself even more when you have others to be responsible for.

In coming to the realization that I had let myself go a bit, in many areas along with the physical, I decided to get back on track. After all, the new year is a perfect time to reboot and evolve. With this, I created a 10 step plan for how I'm going to take better care of myself this year and going forward. My hope is to start a new tradition, with myself, by doing these things. In sharing my goals I hope to be an inspiration to others, especially other working mothers.

Love yourself more!! And shine brighter in 2009!!

Taking Care of MYSELF 2009

1. Have a physical done..... So often we forget about our internal health. We have to keep up with our bodies. Make an appointment with your doctor and get yourself checked out.
2. Go to the dentist..... Same as with above, and even worst most people have a phobia about the dentist, but dental hygiene is an important part of our overall health. Get your teeth checked and taken care of.
3. Start a skin care regiment..... My mother always tells me, "If I would have started taking care of my skin better when I was your age, I would be in way better shape now." I have nothing more to say on this subject. lol....
4. Start working out..... Awe, please don't moan. You knew this one was going to be up in there, but I'm going to do Belly Dancing :o), it's really fun!! Some of my more talented and adventurous girlfriends are taking pole dancing classes:o).Shhhhh....
5. Starting eating better, healthier..... Its not that you can't eat what you want, well maybe you can't, but just because your eating healthier doesn't mean you can't eat good.
6. Do daily affirmations..... Do you ever look in the mirror and tell yourself I love you? Well studies have proven that this form of affirmation can actually help with ones self esteem. So get in the mirror and fall in love with yourself today!!!
7. Self-Correction...... Well in addition to loving yourself, in order to grow you must look at those things or areas in which you can improve. Pick one character flaw and work on correcting it. We'll never be perfect, but we can try to be better.
8. Start getting my hair done..... While this is not one of my favorite activities, I do overly enjoy the after-effects so I'm going to start getting my hair done at least once a month no ifs, ands, or butts. :o)
9. Start getting a manicure and pedicure..... Over the past year, year and 1/2, I have weaned myself off of acrylic nails, but not until recently have they been strong enough to withstand a manicure...so now I'm ready. Again, I do not enjoy the task of going, but I do enjoy the look.
10. Treat myself..... I know your probably saying, well gosh haven't you done enough of that, um.. well no....the final and last ingredient in taking care of and pampering ones self for the new year would be to buy yourself something. Yes, treat yourself to something nice. I've decided that I'm going to buy myself something every pay period as a reward for working so hard. Whether that be a small pair of earrings or that really nice bag I've been eyeing, I'm going to budget accordingly and pick up that gift.

Remember ladies, Take care of yourselves, Love yourselves more because its time to shine brighter in 2009!! & Know that through GOD all things are possible.

Starr Cody