All about that HUSTLE!

Obviously, the opinions expressed in my blog are just that - opinions. Some you may agree with, some you may not. It's all good!

What I want to talk about today may ruffle some feathers and may come as a surprise to you. I wanna talk about the culture that surrounds your HUSTLE!

Chances are that you have a Facebook or an Instagram account and have seen meme after inspirational meme regarding your work hustle. It is often seen next to memes about coffee and being tired all the time.

Because they go hand-in-hand, right? You are not hustling hard enough unless you're spending 20 hours a day working, 6 hours daily in the gym, and 6 hours every Sunday meal prepping and posting about it on social media.

What a crock of shit, honestly. Where is there any room for enjoyment in your life if you're putting so much pressure on yourself to accomplish, to be, to succeed? When are you sleeping? Getting enough rest is such an overlooked basic necessity to be successful, less stressed, more focused. Adding extra cups of coffee or energy drinks won't get you there.

There are going to be periods of your life where you are working harder. Maybe you've started a new business. Maybe you just started college. Maybe you're planning a wedding. But these things aren't permanent and maybe you should ask yourself if you are doing a good job with the most important task of your life - taking care of yourself.

Taking care of yourself encompasses so much. It's fueling your body properly with healthy foods, adequate hydration, and exercise. It's making time to sit and be quiet in order to give your brain a rest. It's about laughing with your family and friends. It's about doing what you need to do to make your soul happy, too. Happy people tend to accomplish more and be more successful.

So don't give into the hype without checking your hustle -is it productive? (Is it getting you a clear result?) Are you kind to yourself when you have a set back? ARE YOU SLEEPING ENOUGH, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD?! Are you genuinely happy or are you constantly stressed out?

Don't be offended by this - as I stated above, it's my take on this shift in culture related to what is defined as our now-acceptable work hustle. Chances are though, if this has struck a nerve with you, you may want to think about why.

Unapologetically Alive...and wondering why kids are eating Tide Pods on purpose.

Everyone's talking about it.

There are silly memes everywhere about it.

Yes.  I'm talking about the Tide Pod Challenge.  It's pretty sad that I've heard of this fad because I don't tend to watch or read the news and although I scroll through my Facebook feed occasionally, I gravitate more toward the lighter side of it. It's kind of my 2018 thing - focusing on the things that lighten the mood and make my soul feel good instead of getting upset about the dramatic and bad.

I'm not sure what else I can really say about this ridiculous challenge that hasn't been said...I mean, my reaction is generally:

I'm not understanding why people are choosing to focus their energy on this. They're teens, I get it. Didn't we all do stupid shit at that age? If I had a teenager at home I'd say: It's dangerous, idiotic and does absolutely nothing to better the world. I mean, it's not even humorous ~ it isn't a comedy show gone wrong where one can derive some sort of enjoyment out of it and we can hope next time the comic hits the mark. It's literally just watching foolish people make themselves sick.

Why not participate in some sort of challenge that will benefit others and yourself? Something that will help you be a better person; something that inspires others to be better people?

Why not get involved in a charity challenge? Who can raise the most money for the charity of their choice!

Why not a fitness challenge? (I am loving these all over my social media feeds! Keep up the amazing work!)

A community service challenge?

A kindness challenge where you focus your energy on encouraging others in their healthy endeavors? (Seriously, it doesn't kill anyone to throw a few nice words at someone for their efforts in trying to lead a healthier lifestyle or hit a GPA goal in college. We could all use some more cheerleaders in our corner.)

A white teeth challenge? (This is one I'm doing for myself, actually! LOL! 2018 is also the year of better self-care for me, including my chompers.)

I'm just throwing off-the-cuff ideas out there but seriously. Why would someone choose to participate in a so-called challenge that has absolutely zero benefit?  At least the ice bucket/ALS challenge that was super popular a few years ago brought some sort of awareness to the disease, as silly as that was. I had never heard of ALS until that challenge and it was reported that the ALS Association reported mega donations from it.

I'm not about to get political, but "Make America Great Again" starts with us, as individuals, and our decisions. What are we going to focus on and put our energy towards? What are we going to inspire others to do?

Fortunately fortunate.

One thing I've learned about being in a relationship that comes with children is that time flies and little things that one once enjoyed (like blogging) tends to fall by the wayside because there's simply not enough time in the day to do it all anymore.

It's about prioritizing and getting enough sleep, ya know?! Especially since I'm still rocking the caffeine-free life. I enjoy my sleep. I enjoy my awake time. I enjoy it all.

So, one thing I've kept semi-quiet about is the fact I've been low-key house hunting since last July... but I didn't really take it too seriously until recently. I have looked at a bunch of houses between July and this weekend and nothing just worked out the way it should've.

One offer for a home in Round Lake wasn't accepted. I low-balled hard because the home needed a lot of work and, well, I don't shy away necessarily from hard work. But for $20k more, I could have a home that was in better shape overall.

Another home in Round Lake was bought right out from under my feet, basically right as I was viewing it for the first time with my realtor.

Another in Ballston Spa recently fell through because the inspection failed miserably and, while I don't mind some hard work, I want a house that's safe and sound and that one was not.  It was so pretty! But from what the inspector said - it was essentially a polished turd.

I am not worried if my future home's style is dated; I will update it as I go. My first house didn't quite reflect me; my ex-husband was all about the resale of it, not necessarily about it's representation of our personal style. So I am really looking forward to setting down roots and creating a beautiful home space.

It's a lot different house shopping with a good school district, good neighborhood, and enough house space and yard space in mind for two kidlets. I feel like the first time around, house hunting was easy. It was two child-free adults who prefer a country lifestyle over a city one. Now it's two adults (at least she and I have similar taste and style!) and two kids - there are a lot of factors to consider. It's about compromise and what's best for us all.

I just feel so fortunate to be where I'm at. Some people come out of a divorce financially and/or mentally ruined and I am fortunate that didn't happen. I have been able to take my time with things and not rush. I've been in a good position. As messy as life got in the earlier part of last year, me making a choice to leave a job and go back to one with steady hours and less flash and bang really gave me the ability to see clearly and take care of my sh*t. I don't know if I would've been able to do all this otherwise.

But...I may have found the perfect place this weekend :) So cross your fingers for me and my little family.