The Kitchen Table: Self Love.....Part II

Happy V-Day ladies, or should I say, “Happy Day of Love!”

Valentine’s Day is supposed to be a day of love, but somehow it has turned into a day for lovers, which by the way leaves a lot of people out. But that is the way of the world and all manmade holidays, but the good thing is…we have control over how we let them affect us. And besides, it doesn’t matter if you are one half of a couple or not, ALL women can use a big dose of “Self Love”!

When Jennifer turned her blog in last week, I was very excited to say the least. Because I could really relate to the things she was saying and felt many other women would too. And though I have walked in Jennifer’s shoes of having anxiety attacks when spending money on myself, I am glad to say that is not the case at this time. Which is kind of amazing because it means I’ve gotten to the point in life that I know I deserve things and its okay to think about myself?

I started loving on me back in November of last year when I realized I had been neglecting myself for well over a year. I started with simple things like drinking more water each day, eating more whole grains, moving around more and cutting a lot of junk and sugar out of my daily diet. But January was the “I’m gonna give it all I got” starting point!

I celebrated my birthday from January 4th to February 4th! I brought it in with a bang and went out the same way. I was both practical and not so practical. In other words I tried my best to find balance in how I spent my money. ~Smile~ For starters I replenished all my vitamins (which had run out months ago), and my facial cleansers. It is the little things like these we should stay on top of because they affect our health and over all attitudes about ourselves. I even purchased a yoga matt and one of Jane Fonda’s latest exercise videos. When I went food shopping I stocked my cabinets with healthy snacks, nuts and other goodies so I wouldn’t over eat or eat a lot of the wrong things.

Now you know the practical side, so let’s look at the not so practical. I bought a ring, books, CD’s (I love my music) and a DVD. I was also given several DVD’s on my birthday, along with jewelry, and money. Before my move in the fall I let all my magazine subscriptions expire, so as part of celebrating me I renewed 3 of them for 2 years each! But my splurge gift to me was a Dooney and Bourke pocketbook! That’s right girls—that was my special treat. And you know what Jennifer was also inspired to buy one! I must say, “We really love them!!”

My new ring inspired me to make sure I used my cuticle oil every night (well, most nights..LOL!!); I’ve started taking better care of my face since I’m restocked on facial cleansers. But I didn’t stop there….I needed a new fragrance. I love smelling good for me. I didn’t buy any clothes, because I’m looking forward to the spring and buying new pieces then, but I am focusing on making myself a high maintenance woman on my terms. That means that I don’t plan to do all my pedicures and manicures myself. Here and there someone else is going to do it for me. I no longer plan to use old makeup, which for health reason should have been thrown out years ago. When we hear the phrase “High Maintenance” we think…money, money, money!! But it really just means taking better care of yourself like Jennifer said yesterday, it can be as inexpensively or expensively as you like or can afford.

Here’s a comment posted on Jennifer’s blog yesterday: "I read the title of the post and had a bath with a delightful, delectable "Phoenix Rising" bath bomb from Lush. It was amazing - just watching the bathwater change colour and the smell. Because I quit smoking on Valentine's Day, 23 years ago, I always do something just for me - this year it was a bottle of "Daisy" by Marc Jacobs. This was the first time I've bought perfume for myself”……Now this is what we’re talking about!

Self love is to love you inside and out. It means you make time for yourself on a regular basis. I love to read for enjoyment, and if you feel the same then make sure you eke out some time each day just to read, or be quiet and listen to music.

We all have different needs, but one thing we all have in common is that we all have the need to care about ourselves.

Yesterday Jennifer posted pictures of herself on Facebook after her makeover. She was Hot! LOL!! She is a beautiful young woman without makeup, but as she said, she just wanted the makeup because it made her feel good! It is her way of “loving on Jennifer”!

So, I’m with Jennifer…”What do you need to do as an act of self love? What is Valentine’s Day (the day of Love) going to mean to you? We shouldn’t depend on others to make us feel beautiful or worthy. The Blood of Jesus has taken care of that, so what are you going to do to celebrate you? Whatever it is my dear sisters….have fun!!