My Habits
I'd like to share some of my habits that I do believe contribute to my health.  Inspired from my previous article "Ugh Sick AGAIN?!?"  So here it is:

Pursue something you love (for me its this blog, and many other things)

Commit a certain percentage of your income to a rainy day fund - I have several different accounts for different things, every time I get a raise I raise my contribution a little.  Even if its just 1%, this will accumulate quicker than you can imagine.

Choose one tiny aspect that you can improve you diet every month.  Right now for me, this is eating raw one day a week.  I'm already vegan gluten free (80% of the time).

Drink more water.  I do still drink water for 5 consecutive minutes, but now, I've also started drinking a full glass of water before I get in the shower, cleans with in and without!

Spend time outside.  However that might be for you, eat lunch outside, walk to do errands, if possible, garden, go for walks as exercise...

Sleep in.  I always allow myself to sleep in on my days off.  Being a flight attendant is very physically and emotionally demanding, ever since I started always sleeping in on my days off I almost never get sick.

Meditate, journal, just be still.

Commit to personal growth.  I am constantly working on myself, facing my beliefs/doubts/limitations/emotions. 

Set time aside for happiness, play, or simple pleasures, everyday.

I'm constantly working on myself, tweaking and questioning what works best for me.  I very strongly believe that the smaller the change or commitment, the more permanent it will be.  Maybe some of these will work for you, maybe they won't.  We are all different, and that is wonderful.  But if you want some changes in your life, and have no idea where to start or feel stuck, maybe one of my habits will provide inspiration for you.

Sending love, Jessica

Hello Friends,

This winter season has been a rough season for many people.  So many parents have complained that their kids have been sick non stop this year, and that each flu, cold, or episode has been worse than the last.  I would agree, I do think viruses are becoming stronger.  Afterall, they are an organism trying just as hard as we are to survive.  While I don't like it either, these viruses are doing everything in their microbe power to ensure evolution and survival too.  

Looking back to my own childhood, I used to really like being sick.  It was a time that I was allowed to watch all the TV I wanted, rest, and get extra love from my mom.  She would make delicious soup, and she was extra caring.  While I wasn't conscious of this at age 7, looking back being sick was nice. Comparing how "things used to be" to now.  I think its safe to say that there is significantly more stress in all of our lives now, compared to "before".  Or maybe just in my social circle.  What if being sick was actually a good thing?  And I'm talking about common colds and flus, not serious diseases that require months to years of medical attention, and normally include surgery as a cure.  But maybe there is a correlation too...  So what if being sick was actually a good thing?  When we are sick and allow our bodies to fight off what ever is going on inside us actually makes us stronger, so that we don't catch that strain again.  Does anybody remember when parents would bring their kids to play with another kid when they had chicken pox?  That used to be a common thing, because once they got the chicken pox, yes it was painful, but then we would never get it again in our life because our bodies now knew that virus strain, and developed anti-bodies against chicken pox.  
What is going on when we are sick?  We are slow, achy, and usually can only muster enough energy to sleep, read, or watch TV.  What if that is what we need?  I have noticed that life has become so fast paced.  There is a constant need to achieve, strive, develop or accomplish.  A lot of us are stretching ourselves so thin in time, jam packed schedules, and our budget/finances.  Parents hate it when their kid is sick, maybe for different reason, but often jumping to Tylenol or other pain relievers/fervor reducers. I'm not saying these are bad, but maybe we shouldn't jump to these quick fixes so easily.  When we are sick, the single best thing for our bodies is rest and hydration.  I am a very strong believer that it is not possible to get sick if we are fully hydrated and fully rested.  Maybe when we do get sick, this is our body saying "I need a break."

From being a flight attendant, and working at a preschool, and occasionally babysitting; I'm exposed to a lot of viruses.  And I don't remember the last time I was sick.  I think it has been over two years.  While I defiantly have my own stressors (see the article about my habits).  I do see a lot of different lifestyles. I see parents that are overworked, and don't spend "enough" time with their kids.  I say "enough" because the kids are often unsatisfied with how much (little) time they spend with their parents.  I've seen kids, being angry at one or both parents.  I've seen kids cry for me or another teacher, rather than their parents, because they don't feel comfort from their parents, they are literally with me more waking hours in the week than either one of their parents.  I see my friends, and myself, loading my schedule with work so that I/we can "get ahead."  Almost everyone I know and talk to, is cutting it really close with their finances, almost nobody has a reserve.  Most of us are just barely surviving, or even living on or credit cards, like some of my family members.  And our diet! Oh man, what we eat is so important.  I'm noticing that more and more people are developing allergies that they didn't have before.  Myself included.  I've developed a gluten allergy.  Maybe I was always allergic and didn't notice, but now the physical reactions are painful.  While I do typically eat very healthy, this week, I decided to try to eat more raw food.  I have so much less flem!  I know that's gross I'm sorry.  But I think that so many of us are going so fast that we just reach for whatever is close, and very often that is something processed and packaged.

But when we are sick, how do we treat ourselves?  We slow down, we take naps, we eat more soup, fruits and vegetables.  We just focus on feeling better.  I don't know if you've ever noticed, but if you feel stressed out, and want to feel better already!!!!  Doesn't it seem to linger on forever?  Sometimes even more than a month.  Talk about annoying!

I'd like to encourage you to slow down, allow time for rest, allow time for happiness.  Work on incorporating more fruits and vegetables into our daily diets, and work on reducing financial obligations, so that there can be a rainy day fund, a few months of bills for backup, or maybe even pay off some outstanding debts.  

I do think that getting sick is just a symptom of what's going on in our lives, and maybe its not such a bad thing to be forced to rest.  Its an opportunity for us to re-evaluate and check in,  AND a chance for our bodies to become stronger. 

Wishing you love, happiness, and Health in 2017 and beyond!

Hello <3
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Many people have heard of dream boards.  Some people have heard of manifesting.  What is manifesting?  Manifesting is attracting something into your life, by the power of your desire.  Now it is actually that simple, and at the same time its not.  For some people it is actually that easy, they say I want that, and bam, its in their life.  I have been studying the power of the law of attraction for a few years now.  And anyone can use the law of attraction.  Anyone can apply the power of belief and desire to their life right now, including you!  There are many resources that you can turn too to develop the power that is inside you, but for this article I want to share one tool that just makes me really happy.  

I love doing dream boards.  I always have, even before I understood what manifesting was.  Several things that I have wanted and not understood how I would ever get it, or if it even existed, have come to me.  I am so grateful to the universe and all of you (the players) in this wonderful universe.  Dream boards are wonderful for many reason, one its a starting point, sometimes I don't know I want something until I see it, then I say "oh yeah! I want that!"  Its very fun to do, I will put music on and make some tea, or pour a glass of wine, and work on my dream collage.  I actually have a book dedicated to this, so I call it my dream book.  Its fun to dream, its fun to enjoy the pictures of things I want, men I want, places I want to go, and all the things I want to do, have, or experience.  Doing my dream board also helps me clarify what I do want and what I don't care for so much, this can be useful, as its very easy to keep going in our pattern, even though it may not necessarily be the direction we still want to go.  While I'm not critical during the process, when I am finished I notice certain patterns.  Sometimes I am surprised.  And my favorite is when I look through my book, and realize, "Oh wow, I did that!  or I have that now <3"


Here is a picture of my vision pages in my book that I did today :) Of course I want these things, but weather I get them or not, I noticed I was happy just in the process, and that was enough for me :)


Lastly I'd like to share a tip I have learned over the years.  Its important to pick people that look similar to you in the images.  If you are blonde, black, Asian, Indian, whatever your heritage... pick people that look similar to you (if possible), doing, loving, being, having, achieving whatever it is that you want.  Or you could go so far as to create that image and take a picture of yourself in the scenario you want to experience!  I have taken pictures of myself in front of houses I would like to live in before haha :) Try to be quick so nobody asks you any questions.  And most importantly have fun!

I'd love to see your vision boards <3
May your dreams come to you quicker than you imagined!

Has a friend or someone you know tried to get you into one of those schemes? Those groups that are like a cult where they promise you you'll get rich, but you only pay money?  Some people also call these MLM's or Multi Level Marketing.

I actually think these are fantastic.  I have been a part of two, and my mom has become an associate in another.  And I'm really proud of her, she is pushing her limits, and starting to believe in her dreams.  She is reaching out to people she hasn't talked to in a long time, re-connecting with some people that she really would like in her life again, but because life gets hectic the distance just grew and grew.  She is more optimistic and more fun to be around because she is challenging herself, and getting results.  

The first one that I joined was Life Leadership.  The friend that invited me was someone that I wanted to be closer with and more like. So I went to a meeting, and of course I was skeptical, BUT I kept an open mind and read the intro material.  I was hooked!!!!  It was completely inline with what I believed and wanted for myself.  And I was looking for something different in my life.  I wanted to meet more ambitious people that were chasing their dreams, working on themselves, and supportive of everyone else doing the same.  I also really liked my mentors.  Besides the only way to truly know if it was for me was to give it a real shot, I could always quit; plus membership was what I would spend on a college class anyway, but this had the potential to make money, not to mention my life also improving.  A few weeks later my mom joined.  This was a really wonderful thing, because we have opposite personality types, and communicate very differently, resulting in a lot of misunderstanding. Because of this MLM we were reading all of the same books, which I really enjoyed reading.  Many great things came from this: My mom and I developed the same language, many of my habits changed for the better forever, I got my finances in better shape.  I was always pretty good with my money, but because of the books we were reading I improved, which I am grateful for, I am an avid reader now - always reading 2-3 books at a time, ALWAYS seeking knowledge.  Before Life (as the people in the community would call it) I would seek out entertainment.  Don't get me wrong there is noting wrong with entertainment.  But I was feeling extremely frustrated with where I was in my life, and even more frustrated that I had no clue how to get to where I wanted to be.  You have to put time and effort into getting the things you want.  It wasn't going to come to me through the TV while binge watching my favorite TV shows.  I knew this, and yet I'd still sit and watch TV... and feel frustrated.  At Life Leadership I was meeting lots of new people, I re-connected with a high school acquaintance, that became my friend, I went for a promotion that I would not have gone for otherwise (I got the promotion).  And overall I was just feeling more hope for my future.

Then I joined Bonvera, another really great vehicle to help get you to your dreams.  I'm still a part of Bonvera, while I don't participate very much, I really like that there is a community of good people that I can plug into at any time.  A group of people that are supportive, welcoming, and chasing their own dreams yet at the same time happy to help you chase yours.  Bonvera is actually really convenient too, I use it for my own personal use, and this saves me time.

My mom is now a part of Arbonne.  Their make-up is amazing, the lipstick is such good quality.  While they sell plenty of other things, I now buy my make-up from my mom.  I'm so proud of her for taking a chance, and now she has found a vehicle that is inline with what she believes; and brings in a little extra income :)

Zeal, is another great one, I had two friends that were involved in Zeal.

If you are interested in any of these groups, you can go on facebook and post about your curiosity.  Someone in your circle of friends and acquaintances is a part of one of these groups, and can get you more information.  The benefit and potential is amazing, all it takes is making a few changes and challenging yourself to get outside your comfort zone.  Which successful person has ever stayed inside their comfort zone???  What you get from being a part of one of these communities is completely up to you.  Do you want to be a millionaire?  Do you want to improve your salesmanship? Do you want convenience?  A different social circle? Meet some new people?  A new challenge?  Just to learn in general?  Some different options in life?  Or maybe just a better life in general?

Now why do these schemes not work?  For one of two reasons, maybe both.  Either you don't want to put in the work or the group of people you have joined are not honest.  There have been MLM's in the past where a lot of people did get screwed over.  And it was because somewhere down the line somebody was corrupt.  That is just like anything else.  If you are in a good group of people you will do well, if you are lead by someone that is corrupt then things will eventually fall apart, maybe even crash and burn.

Personally I wanted to meet new people, to learn, and have a better life in general.  I got those :) Plus a little extra money is nice too!  Whoever thinks you'll get rich quick is wrong.  None of the groups I have been a part of ever promised that, you have to put your work in, but yes the potential to become very very rich is there.

Its out there, waiting for you to chase it, go get it!

A few months ago I wrote about drinking water for five minutes straight to see what would happen.  I imagined it would be a positive habit to try on.  I've been consistent with my idea and I like the benefit!  

I simply set my timer, sit down and focus on drinking water for the entire 5 minutes.  I do get a little full of water... But I have noticed that I feel more hydrated, if there was a tickle in my throat it goes away, and over the course of a week, I noticed my skin got better.  I feel like I've even been sleeping better.  In general I just feel better through out the day :)  Yes I continue to drink water as I normally would through out the day too :)  Personally I think there is more benefit to do this in the beginning of the day, but I'll do it at night as well.

I'd like to encourage you all to try it too.  Or pick a new habit that you can do for 5 minutes or less.  What would you pick? Always eat a fruit or vegetable before you eat anything else?  Do 5 minutes or planks, sit ups and squats?  Meditating? Just focus on your breathing and breath as deeply as you can for 5 minutes?  This one I like to do in the car, since I'm just sitting there, lol.  

E-mail me or comment below on a habit you love, picked up from someone else, or are trying out.  
I'd love to see what works for you!
<3