Tag: love

Love Is In the Air

Love Is In the Air

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Self-Love for the Win

“Love yourself first and everything else falls into line.”

                                                                                                          -Lucille Ball

 

 

This Valentine’s Day start with YOU!!

To love oneself isn’t selfish, it’s necessary.

It’s necessary for your mental health.

It’s necessary for your productivity.

It’s necessary for you to be able to love others, fully.

Have you ever truly listened to your inner voice? Pay attention, because what you say to yourself is crucial to your love and success in life.

We can be so critical of ourselves and fall into the trap of negativity that we can’t even realize our true potential. We compare ourselves to others, and we begin to doubt our abilities, our size, our beauty, our intentions, our very existence.

We are constantly bombarded with everyone’s successes and filtered pictures, great vacations and good deeds in the snapshots of social media that we lose sight of our own beauty (inside and out) and our worth in this world.

You are unique!

There is only one ‘you’ and you should be celebrated.

You are worthy, beautiful, a warrior, and special.

You must first find, within yourself, the joy of self-love before you can truly find joy in life. However, this does not come easy and can change and challenge you daily.

Are you listening? What are you saying to yourself? Is your self-talk positive or are you speaking negatively?

As an amputee, and being a part of this unique community, I can see first-hand how I could be negative and self-loathing. The world tells me that my body image is suppose to look a certain way, and I no longer conform to what is “acceptable”. Talk about a hard, internal battle. I stand in a grocery line only to see a size 2 woman on the cover of every magazine, looking gorgeous and happy. I don’t look like them, and I never will again.

I must fight the urge to compare myself, and fight to be positive about who I am, inside and out. This takes practice, perseverance, and fearlessness.

This Valentine’s Day I challenge you to love yourself FIRST! Find joy in who you are, how you were made, and believe that you are enough, JUST the way you are.

Valentine’s Day, this year, start with you….for the win!

 

Wake up and feel the breathe in your lungs.

You have a purpose!

Today, and this week, figure out what your purpose is and start by loving yourself. Love the good you can do and the good you can put out into this world.

When you love yourself you will find that you can be a light, bringing happiness and hope to those who are lost.

Listen to your inner voice and decide if you hear positivity being spoken. If not, it’s time to switch that up.

Begin with telling yourself:

“I am beautiful/handsome”

“I am strong”

“I am worthy”

“I have value”

“I am smart”

“I am compassionate”

“I am funny”

“I am kind”

“I am fearless”

“I am a Warrior”

“I am ENOUGH!”

Write these words down. Speak these words out loud when you need to hear them.

Find your strength and self-worth from within and not from the world around you.

You ARE enough! Believe it, and begin this Valentine’s Day by loving yourself first and watch how your life changes for the better.

Rise up, Warrior, and know you are loved!

 

Until next week, and as always,

Be Healthy,

Be Happy,

Be YOU!!

 

Much love,

 

 

 

 

Spreading Joy This Season

Spreading Joy This Season

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 33:46 — 35.7MB)

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Cheers to the End of Another Year!

 

As 2023 comes to a close and the holidays are now upon I want to wish you all a blessed and happy new year!

As I celebrate my 5th year anniversary of my amputation today I am realizing how blessed I have been with how much I have experienced, accomplished, and the people I have met through this journey.

I also know that the vibes you put out into the world come back to you 10 fold.

Our attitude is contagious. How we approach the world can either add joy to it or be a thorn. Which are you bringing to the world?

Today as you are experiencing the emotions of this season remember that many people are struggling. Some struggle with an invisible problem (missing a loved one, a rocky relationship, struggles with money or job) and other’s with something very real and visible (amputation, being alone, medical conditions).

Be kind.

Remember that we all struggle.

Spreading joy takes very little on our part and a smile goes a long way.

 

Finish this year strong and positive and reap the rewards of being kind and positive with the people you meet throughout your week.

I know this seems like a pretty basic and obvious statement, but when we get caught up in our own schedule and agenda we often miss helping someone in need, or miss an opportunity to brighten someone else’s day.

 

We all fight battles, we all need kindness shown to us.

As you struggle through your own situation (for me it can be phantom pains like I’m dealing with as I type this) there are others going through something even more difficult and debilitating, making it hard for them to function or find joy during this time of year, making them feel alone and isolated.

We are in charge of our own attitude and only we can choose to see our glass half full.

So where are you with your situation,  half empty or half full?

The next couple of weeks, as I take time off to be present and with my family, I challenge you to watch the world around you. Look for ways you can make it better. Smile more, see the silver lining in your situation, find ways to bring happiness and positive vibes into the world… then watch to see how those vibes come back to you and change your life.

I hope and pray you are able to find happiness and joy during this time of year and that good health befalls you this new year.

Change your perspective, change your life.

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!!

And as always,

Be Healthy,

Be Happy,

Be YOU!!!

 

Much love,

 

 

Love Yourself….

Love Yourself….

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 36:56 — 39.4MB)

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Where You’re At

 

Ever felt alone, even though you are surrounded by your support, your family, your friends?
As an amputee, it can be hard for anyone to really grasp what we are feeling when it comes to nerve or “phantom” pains. To explain it, doesn’t do justice, yet we can deal with it 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I know I do.
There are many times that, even though we are surrounded by people who love us, we feel alone and having to handle pain and problems that accompany bring an amputee by ourselves. It is in those moments that we must rise up, become stronger than we ever thought we could be, and fight through the pain.
This can only be done when we treat ourselves like our own best friend. We must love who we are enough to support ourselves with positive words and thoughts, words we would lend a friend in need. Sometimes that is harder than it should be as we struggle in silence.
When we feed ourselves words of affirmation, love, positivity, and forgiveness, we give ourselves the greatest gift, a fighting chance to rise up stronger. We must learn to love ourselves, where we are, now, so we can gain a healthy mindset and live a full and healthy life.
Start today. Begin by affirming that you are worth love, happiness, and good health.
Speak positive words into your heart and mind.
Practice this daily, even hourly, if you need to, until it becomes second nature to be a positive person.
Your future self will thank you for it!!
Until next week, and as always,
Be Healthy,
Be Happy,
Be YOU!!!
Much love,
Angie

 

You Don’t Know What You Have Until It’s Gone

You Don’t Know What You Have Until It’s Gone

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 44:17 — 44.6MB)

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I love my leg, what can I say. But it’s a love/hate relationship the first week of having a new socket put on. Like a new pair of shoes that need to broken in before you run a marathon, a new socket- even made perfectly for your limb- has it’s own personality that you need to get use to. It will hit your thigh differently, rub your groin raw, bump the end of your limb til it bruises, and then…. after some perseverance, patience and a glass of wine (or two), you hit your stride with your new friend and all is right with the world!😉

 

But at first you may be reluctant to change, frustrated to tears, because yet again, you must endure what you thought you were done with. It’s hard to face the music when you know what’s going to happen…AGAIN. There’s just no escaping that reality, but you must push through, because the gains to be made and the reward to getting through that first week, or so, is amazing!

You CAN do it.

Pick your chin up, put your leg on, and dance!!!

 

Dance like no one is looking,

Sing like no one is listening,

Live like each day is your last!

 

Will it be easy, no! But nothing ever great came easy.

Strive for greatness each day. Each day, make your mark, set a goal, live your life.

If you must, do things that will distract you from the moments of pain, I do. I stay really busy! Sitting down and reading a book does not distract me, activity does. Shopping, cleaning, working out, playing with my dog, asking a friend out for coffee. Somedays we just need a distraction while we break in the new fit. That’s ok. Your goal is to get comfortable in it and the only way to find comfort is by wearing it and pushing through some pain of newness.

Please, though, know your body. What works for me may not work for you. Listen to your doctor, prosthetist, or PT-whom you trust. Let them guide you when you don’t feel confident or strong enough.

Today’s Call to Action was brought on by the tragedy of the loss of a friend.

*Embrace someone you love today, and tell them you love them!

*Be gracious and kind to those around you, even the ones who are mean or angry, we are all fighting a battle.

*Reach out to a long lost friend or relative, or someone who you sense has withdrawn and become distant. It isn’t about you, they may be fighting a battle you have no idea about and they could probably use a friend. Someone willing to see them for who they are in their heart and not how they have been acting.

Above all else, love one another. We each have our moments, our battles, our valleys. Love always wins!

Please don’t forget to subscribe to my website and podcast so you don’t miss an episode! Next week I will have my prosthetist, Randy West, on the show talking about how to know what’s working and when to move on!

Until next time,

Be Healthy,

Be Happy,

Be YOU!

 

Much love and admiration,

Angie

 

 

Enjoy the Journey

Enjoy the Journey

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 24:17 — 21.5MB)

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Traveling Home Once Again

Me and Dad traveling back to Chicago after his stay with us.

 

Coming in for a landing, Chitown.
City lights, oh how I’ve missed you!

 

 

O’Hare Airport doing it up right! Love this airport.
God Bless America and the Veterans who fought for our freedom.

 

I am HOME!  Chicago will always be my home, no matter how long we may be apart. Every year my family travels back to Chicago, where most of our family lives, for visits; one in the summertime, and one near Christmas. The pandemic made other plans for us this past year. We were very overdue for this trip.

Since I haven’t traveled much for almost 2 years- no flights, at least, I was a little rusty on packing. I hate packing for trips as it is, but when you are an amputee or have other medical issues, then packing becomes a bit more time consuming and anxiety building. There are so many things to remember to bring, then having to make sure it all fits. Whew! What a task.

This podcast is very unique as it is the first one I have done away from my home setup. This one may sound a bit different because I used different equipment and actually recorded outside on the deck at my parent’s house-you may hear cars and wind in the background. But keeping with my “keeping it real” vibe, this shouldn’t surprise you, and actually I am pretty impressed with the quality of this episode, all things considered.

I hope you can feel the love I put into this one, as I was recording in a place my Mom and I use to sit and chat when I’d come visit. I recorded on the deck that holds many memories of BBQ’s with my whole family over, moments where my mom was standing and smiling down at me while I played with my boys in the grass below (grass was always fun to play in since we have none in Arizona!), watching her watch her hummingbirds flit in and out of the deck’s feeders, and so many more. I have laughed, listened, cried, and hugged the people I love on this very deck, it only seems fitting to have an episode done here, too, to add to the memories.

Being here in Chicago has been such a blessing, even through the pains I have been feeling in my residual limb. As I discuss in this episode, though, we need to see past these painful moments and live for the positive things going on around us, or we will miss the good in life. What I feel today, may be gone tomorrow and I don’t want to miss any more moments with my family, so I resolve to buck up and push through, knowing less painful moments are on the horizon. I pray you do the same. We are all on a journey, and this journey will be filled with endless ups and downs. We need to take the good with the bad and know that with every hard episode we go through, a better, more joyful one will be right behind it.

Don’t fret. Don’t think negative thoughts. Chin up, Warrior, life will get better.

Find the positive when it seems like it’s not there. Surround yourself with positive people and keep your chin up in the hard moments, realizing that this will pass and it’s just one moment in your life.  Your attitude will dictate your outcomes, so stay positive, happy, upbeat. Even when you’re hurting, find the strength to smile. You’ve got this, Warrior, you’ve got this!!!

 

As always:

Be Healthy,

Be Happy,

Be YOU!!

Chitown 2021- We Are BACK!!

 

Cubs win! Cubs win! Cubs win!!

 

Water Tower- Michigan Avenue

 

Much love,

Angie

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