30 days of self-care.
Indulgent? Selfish? Unrealistic?
OR…..A richer life? Feeling happier? Being able to give more?
Sounding good?
I think so! I have signed up to do an online workshop for the entire month of June: the 30 day self care blueprint.
At the moment I am struggling with life a little. I am struggling to find balance and to improve my health. I need to refocus and make some changes, but I am finding this difficult to do on my own.
The universe works its mysterious ways and I heard about this program via Facebook. It’s the brain child of two fabulous women, whose work I have been admiring for a little while now. Deb Dane, from Home Life Simplified and Kirri White from Happy Mums at Home are to be our mentors.
The more I read, the more I realized that this was the perfect opportunity for me and the motivation I needed. 
Now, here’s where it gets exciting for you.
Because I was an early bird, I scored a FREE, second place in the course for a friend. It’s an opportunity I would like to open up to our community here on the blog, as a thank you for all your support. I am so happy that my overseas readers can finally enter a giveaway too!
Okay, so if this is sounding exciting (and a little bit scary) then what I want you to do, is go and take a look at the website. Have a read and find out all the details. If it is still sounding like something that resonates and you can make the commitment, come back and enter!
This giveaway has now closed. Thank you for entering.
How to enter:
* First, you must be a member of my blog community, so make sure you have signed up. Go over to where it says “like my blog” on the top right hand side and add your email address.
* Now, all you have to do is comment on this post and tell me what your perfect hour of self-care would look like for you, in 50 words or less.
* The lucky winner will not be chosen at random (like I normally do for giveaways). I will choose the winner, based on what answer appeals to me the most. I know I am setting myself up for an incredibly difficult task here, so I may have to enlist some help from my family if it goes down to the wire!
* Please leave your first name and last initial on your comment and make sure you subscribe to the comments, so you will know if you are the winner! I will remind you on Facebook as well.
* Righto? Go! You have until Wednesday the 23rd of May at midnite to get your entries in. Entry is open to everyone, all over the world!
♥ I am so looking forward to this – I have butterflies when I think about it! ♥
Hosted by Three Lil Princesses
I am so excited about this…thank you for bringing it to our attention, Sonia. What a wonderful program…A friend and I had a very long and deep conversation last week about just this topic…our need for self-care but our inability to give it to ourselves…now…for my entry…of course…I would LOVE to go on this journey with you…
My hour of self care would absolutely include bikram yoga (maybe the last 15 minutes of a class…the best bit, lol) followed by a replenishing organic veggie juice from my favorite cafe…then, some time in nature, a walking meditation along the beautiful beach where I live. Oh, and a smile 🙂
Hi Sonia,
Wow, this programme sounds great. A big challenge as I also don’t spend enough time on myself. In fact, I had a balance recently (it was a process related to kinesiology) and that was one of the things that came up. So I was reminded that I really need to think about myself and that it is important, even though I do forget about me sometimes!
For the me-time I would love to include: a massage, a walk along the bay or a beach on my own, coffee and something scrumptious to eat at a place with a beautiful view. Just having an hour was really difficult, Sonia, as I’ve already taken up way more than that, but if I could extend it even more I would watch a movie with friends and read an uplifting book, especially if I can do it while lazing in bed in the morning!
Look forward to hearing about your experiences of self care as you go through the workshop, and thanks for sharing with us on your blog.
Cheryl G
Sorry what is ‘self care’? After having 3 children in 16 months (twins plus one), really difficult and painful pregnancies including liver failure, one of my twins developing infantile anorexia (complete food refusal!) from 9 months and being tube fed for 8 months after multiple hospitalisations including for malnutrition. She still battles with food daily. My other twin rages nearly daily now and my other child refused sleep (mostly slept 1 to 3 hours at a time for 2 years). All this in place I have no family support (moved up from Melbourne to Brisbane when 5 months pregnant with the twins), little friendship, and a new relationship (my partner and I were together only 3 months before finding out I was pregnant!). There is more to my story but I think I will stop now and go to the positive…
My beautiful girls are 3 and 2 now and things are slowly getting easier. Every day brings a special moment for me. Laughingly it can be as simple as Miss A eating some apple!
Please don’t think I’m whinging but I’m 42 and I’m so so so tired! My perfect self care hour would be to let myself cry, maybe even fall apart a little bit as its been a time of having to be strong for everyone and fight so many battles for my family but along the way I seem to have lost “me” and most importantly of all I seem to have misplaced my “happy”.
Angeline M
PS In that hour if at all possible I wouldn’t mind a pedicure – my feet look a little “gargoyle”.
Biggest hugs to you Angeline. Kirri and i were so touched by your story and by Nic’s gesture below that we would love to have you join the course as our guest. Can you email me at debradane@homelifesimplified.com.au and we can arrange to add you to the course. We can’t wait to get started – feel free to cry and let it all out – I am sure there will be others doing the same. It is so hard being strong for everyone else for so long – you will be amazed at the wonderful women who have been signing up and I am sure you will find wonderful support with us all. xxx
Deb @ home life simplified
Hi Sonia,
I was going to wax lyrical about sitting in a groovy bookshop, you know the ones that are like a maze with stacks of books everywhere, and wrapping myself around a pile of recipe books.
But I have decided to ‘give’ my hour of time (and thus my entry) to Angeline above. I know this goes against the idea of ‘self-time’ but sometimes being a woman is about knowing when others’ needs are more important than our own. I am blessed with a long, healthy relationship, three healthy children and a space in our lives at the moment absent of serious stresses. Angeline, I wish I could offer you more, but hang in there mate you are clearly doing a fab job and are definitely deserving of some self time.
Nic.
what a wonderful gesture, you gorgeous lady <3
Sonia – I am just catching up reading all these wonderful entries and would like to keep Nic in the draw for the course and instead Kirri and I would love to offer Angeline a complimentary spot in our ecourse. We think everyone should be in the draw no matter what their situation is as one of the key points we make at the start of the course is that we are all coming from different starting points, but will move forward from there.
We know the group environment can be a great support for Angeline as she takes this time for herself and look forward to meeting anyone else who joins us in June – we are so excited by the group of women who have signed up already. The vibe is so wonderful and we just know it will be an amazing month of self-acceptance and self-care.
Deb @ home life simplified
Thanks so much Deb, you are a wonderful lady!! xxx
I have nominated you for the Beautiful Blogger Award. To accept this award, you are asked to thank and link to your nominator, display the award badge on your site and nominate 6 other blogs for the award. See my post http://healthykidshappymama.com/2012/05/20/beautiful-blogger-award/
thanks Andjxx – that’s lovely !! 🙂
I was actually just saying to my husband that I am going to start putting ME first… well, giving myself a little more importance than constantly at the bottom of the priority list! 3 boys in 3 years 3 months… one haircut in over two years, psoriasis breaking out, clothes don’t fit, no more than about 4 hours sleep in a row (and that’s a REALLY good night) in probably two years, trying to maintain an immaculate house while trying to sell it for over 7 months… should I continue? I hate the mummy guilts, I cannot justify putting myself first but I have had enough and figured I really need to look after myself NOW or else it is seriously all going to fall apart around me (or at least, I will fall apart!)!
An hour of self care for me (apart from an extra hour’s sleep please!) would be to sit in a park on a warm sunny day and read a book just because I want to and I can!
An hour of self care………….. myself and the dog on the beach for a walk for an hour! I haven’t done that in 8 years, I use to walk everyday along the beach (mind you I lived in burleigh heads!!)! Can we cancel out the time spent driving to get to the beach (gracemere to emu park takes 40 minutes!!!)…….
Thank you for the chance at an awesome prize. I would have a haircut (first in 12 months and bub is 11mths) and ask for an extra long hair wash as I really enjoy that. I would also make a promise o maintain my cut every 8 weeks. It is the simple things 🙂
Angeline M truly deserve it!
Have had a sick child whi is now in perfect health. But Angeline’s post reminded me of those hard times. Out of compassion, I would like to envourage you to choose Angeline M.
Karina D
I knew this was going to be incredibly difficult to choose a winner for this giveaway! In the end, my head could not pick as all the answers were great! So, I chose with my heart and where my intuition led me …… and the winner is ….. mamacino!! Congratulations!!
There is still time to sign up to the e-course if anyone else was interested. It is going to be fabulous! Sonia xxx