Self Care

I always have grand ideas of being awesome.

Which, as we all know, doesn't always turn out.

However, lately I have been trying to make more of an effort. Just not in the way you would normally think.

I've heard lovely things about the internet that you have to take care of yourself, and then you can go on to do awesome things. I have been trying that. I'm not so sure it's working, but let me tell you, it is fun!

One of the things I have been doing is taking care of my skin. Acne is my nemesis, and being a girl, it is a super difficult thing to keep in check. I have a few different products that I have been trying to use on a regular (read: daily) basis, and so far so good.
It's great to take a few minutes and do something that is literally just for myself. There is no benefit to doing all of the slathering and rinsing and scrubbing, other than to have tingly, tight, and smooth skin for about two hours (before it starts getting ick and oily again!).

I've found some yoga-ish stretches to do to care for my back. I do a lot of sitting, as I'm at a computer for 80% of my day, and my computer chair is in desperate need of an upgrade. I get a shooting pain for simple things such as folding laundry right at the bottom of my back - it's the ever so slight bend downward that gets me.
While I haven't been doing this every day, I do need to remember to take a few minutes and stretch out. To help my back, and to just, well, move! Sitting all day isn't good for you, and even just stretching is supposed to have great benefits (I don't want any of that, just to be able to fold laundry without pain!).

And cosmetics! I painted my nails a bright yellow the other day (which needs to be removed, as it's chipped half off already) and it was fun. Plus, I'm not picking at my nails as often, which is another benefit.
With working on my skin, too, I've been more apt to use foundation and powder on my face. For no reason other than the products I have are for oily skin...and I already have had them for a while, might as well use them. I don't feel that I need makeup (I go 99% of the time without), but it is fun to have a play every once in a while. Plus, I can claim that it's supposed to help my skin-battle!
I've worn more mascara the past few weeks than I have in probably the last 6 months. Just because.

Does any of this take a lot of time?
No, not at all.

Is it worth the effort?
Of course.

Something I am not very good at is doing things for myself (beyond sleeping, which even then I still don't do right!). I think working on these things, even as simple as washing my face twice a day, is probably a good step in the right direction.

If I want to be happy with myself, and what I'm doing, I have to actually be doing things to be happy with myself about. Just working on the blog, or on a video game, or in a notebook is great, but that can't be the only thing that makes me feel good about my use of time!

I've noticed that I feel better with clear(er) skin - it makes my face feel awesome, and I love it.
I feel better after stretching out - even if it means I have to risk being "attacked" by the dogs, since I'm on the floor with them. While I have yet to see any less back pain, I'm still hopeful.

I even did my hair last night. For no reason. It was clean, and I wanted to break out the curling iron. So, I did. We didn't go anywhere, nobody came over, and it certainly didn't last if I wanted to go anywhere today (my hair is awesome, but doesn't hold style for nothin').
No real reason, but something fun. For me. And I did it and I actually quite like it. I used way too much hairspray, but meh, oh well!

The beauty of it is that all of these things don't take very long. There's still plenty of time left in my day to get things done. Still plenty of time to dedicate to crafty things, or working here. Still plenty of time to spend with the Mister, or cleaning up the house (even though I haven't been, the time is still there for it!).

Plus, it's much more productive than staying in bed and watching YouTube - as fun as that is!

I'm on the lookout for more things like this, so if you have any, please do point me in the right direction!

~Havok

P.S. I have a dedicated Pinterest board for all this stuff! Are you following me on Pinterest yet, to see what else I pick up?