Embracing Change: Weight Loss and Mental Alignment

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Every so often, I have moments when I feel led to compile some weight loss pictures. I do this not for anyone else, but for myself. Before I go deeper let me just say my eyes are truly deceiving. I have struggled with weight for many years. I know with full confidence that your eyes can lie. I’ve been harder on myself. This has led me to forgo taking pics or tracking progress. It made me feel like progress wasn’t actually happening. This time is different. This time, I’m mature enough to be intentional. I’m disciplined enough to make better choices. This is even when others around me are doing different things. This time I’m consistent in my efforts, This time, I’m focused on more sleep, less distractions and more mental awareness. I’ve had to undo so many habits, and rewire my brain to think differently. This isn’t just weightloss. This is a lifestyle change. It requires what feels like an extreme sacrifice. But it is really just freedom. Its an internal change that really activates everything else. It was a mindset change that said, I love myself enough to try new things, to be bad at said new things, to wait and see results, To allow room to make mistakes and I love myself enough to try, even when trying seems impossible because of current circumstances.

It has taken me so long to see the woman on the far left. While most of the battle was in the kitchen, it was really in my mind. Our minds are so powerful. One simple thought can spiral into a world of deception. It can make you believe you can’t change the things you want to change. I started reducing my social media intake even more. When I do get online, I’m seeking content that feeds my soul and keeps my thoughts at peace. P.S., that kind of content is hard to come by these days. My mind had to align with my body and goals before I started to see really big changes. Alignment is everything. For once in my life, I feel a sense of alignment. Things are slowly coming back together after a long time of brokenness.

I hope this post finds you and embraces you like a warm hug.

Your mind is a garden, your thoughts are the seeds, you can grow flowers or you can grow weeds.

Till next time beautiful people

Sincerely,

Deidra Marie

Traveling With Toddlers: A Challenging D.C. Adventure

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Let me start off this post by saying, traveling with toddlers is HARD! Nobody warned me, lol. Charles and I questioned every bit of this trip. Was it the best idea, no, did we regret every minute of it, YES, were my kids happy, big YES. There were a lot of things at play that made this one of the worst trips I’ve ever been on.

  • Most of D.C. was blocked off for celebrations and activities happening that weekend. My husband had planned this trip months ago. Only a week before did we discover all this stuff was happening the weekend we planned to go.
  • My son was a little under the weather. He was feeling okay, but not 100%. Needless to say, he was a bit whiny and over the heat, which is definitely not his baseline. He’s a chill kiddo. Still, he was slightly sick. Walking the city in the blazing heat, he was just over it.
  • Speaking of heat, it was HOT!!! I mean, it’s June, it’s to be expected. But, the streets were blocked off and there were no Uber’s in sight, we had a challenge. We had to walk over a mile in high sun to get to our destination, the museum.
  • My mother-in law and aunt in-law traveled with us. They are awesome, but old school and prone to unsolicited parenting advice. Moms who know what I’m talking about understand exactly where I’m going with this.
  • The hotel wasn’t that great. The AC was broke. This made the rooms and lobby area humid and muggy. Our television wouldn’t turn off either. Maintenance came 3 times to figure out what was going on. They only told us it would have to get unplugged for the duration of our stay.
  • Due to all the festivities in the city during our visit, most restaurants were closed. Others had odd hours. Note to self, help my husband plan the next trip, LOL.

Even with all the messiness of this trip, there were some good moments to look back on. We visited a yummy restaurant right outside of D.C. called Orleans Bistro and Grill in Fredericksburg, VA. The food was amazing and definitely worth the visit if you’re local. I did snap some cool pics. My daughter was over the moon to have finally taken her first metro ride. My 70 year old aunt in-law challenged herself. She walked the full mile to the museum in the scorching hot sun, might I add. She was very proud to have done this. I was proud of her for sure! Charles and I got a chance to explore the city ourselves for a few hours too. We went back to the museum and almost made it through the whole building. We said we’d come back just us one day. This was my second time in D.C. and there is still so much I haven’t done. All that said, there were certainly moments of joy for sure.

Here are some snaps I captured. They will definitely be filed away under “I’m hot, I’m tired, I’m over it, but the kids are happy so it doesn’t matter” album.

Enjoy the pics.

Till next time.

Sincerely,

Deidra Marie

A Weekend Recap

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Somehow, I made it through my first dance season with Charlee. I never thought in a million years that I’d be a dance mom. Yet, here I am. I drop her off at dance practices and navigate the complexities of toddler tutu’s and tap shoe sizes. Sidebar, tap shoe sizing for toddlers is crazy. Either Charlee’s feet have grown overnight, or it’s just inconsistent sizing across the board.

We had a busy lineup last week. Charlee graduated pre-k and had her big dance recital. An unsleepover celebration followed, which really just ended up being a bunch of exhausted kids. The parents hoped the next toddler meltdown would end quickly. In any case, me and my dance mom friends survived the weekend and now summer can officially start.

By the way, in between all this craziness, I shot my first dance video for a friend of mine. I don’t do much videography. I really lean into my comfort zone, which is photography and photography editing. However, this was a much needed confidence booster. I’ve never truly seen myself as a videographer. I went to school for communications. I specifically remember my video production professor saying I was a much better actor. He said that videography wasn’t it for me. That stuck with me. I lost the motivation to learn more about it. I lost the motivation to practice and fine tune my problems areas. All that said, I always end up making videos. These are either for clients or brands I’ve worked with in the past. This has forced me to fine tune those weak areas. I did exactly what my professor advised against. I’ve significantly improved since then. It’s a skill set I’m proud to say I have. Lesson for the day…your purpose will follow you no matter what people say. So you might as well do the thing that you aren’t good at. Especially if it’s your calling. Just because others don’t see it, doesn’t mean you can’t work on it. Another lesson, you’re not always going to be good at it the first time you try. You have to keep working at it. Discipline and consistency breeds results

Anyway, didn’t mean to go off on a rant. At my big age, I’m learning so much more. I actually have time to sit with my thoughts. I have children that hold me accountable and are counting on me. This is my favorite and least favorite thing about parenthood. I love that they look to me as the example, but it’s a lot of pressure.

Keep scrolling for even more pics from last week’s shenanigans.

Enjoy!

Until next time, friends!

Sincerely,

Deidra Marie