Hey there Reader,

I hope your Monday was amazing!

I'm a little excited today. I actually had a wonderful day and I wanted to mark that since it's taken a while to get back here again.

In case you're new here, I got diagnosed with Lupus and RA in September (can you believe that was 3 months ago?). Last year, I got diagnosed with Hashimoto's and I thought that was the worst of it since I already have Epilepsy too. So yeah, it's been a ROUGH 2 years.

Now you get why I'm so excited today right?

I'm starting to see the work I've been doing at the gym, in my habits, and the meds paying off. I'm actually in the middle of a flare up and it has been manageable, which I hope is what I can continue to expect.

All of this really made me want to write to you. Because I want to show you all the little things I've been doing that have helped me in this direction. Believe it or not, a lot of it is creative!

Aside from medication, which is now starting to take effect, I've been trying to be more mindful and kind to myself.

This summer I was listening to music, struggling on the elliptical, and this song came on and I broke down. It was even before my Lupus diagnosis and it just sounded like it was my body singing it to me.

I realized how abusive I am to my sweet body. The one that's carried my children, the one that's dealt with Epilepsy, the Hashimoto's and now two more diseases. Through it all, it's still fighting. And I've been ungrateful, demeaning, looking at it in the mirror, always feeling it should be "more". Meanwhile, it's a walking miracle... that's STILL fighting.

So yeah, I changed my song... literally.

I've been spending more time listening to my body. Resting when it needs it and not beating myself up when I need to stop. It's really helping.

I've also given myself permission to be creative in whatever way I want, not just with illustration or digitally and that's what I wanted to show you.

Mindfulness through Crochet

I started this sweater a while ago and I had to restart it as I learned more about this yarn. I haven't beat myself up about it because honestly, I can't wait to wear this sweater! I finished thew hole back panel a couple of days ago, and in that little bowl is the beginning of a sleeve!

Strengthening Relationships through Sewing

My mom and I have gotten to spend some time with several crafts and one of our favorites is sewing. We started making bags and we've had SO much fun with it. Here are the latest two we've made, and YES, I'm making more (there's a sneak peek at what I'm making now)!

Illustrating for Breathing

I always say illustration is like breathing for me and it's never going to change. Of course, I'm working on something and I shared about it here on Instagram.

​If you're curious about it, check out this link. It's the first time I'm doing this so we'll see how it goes.

Those are all the things that have been keeping me busy, happy, and healthy lately.

What have you been up to?

xx

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