July 2018 Self Care Challenge

I am so excited to get started on this self care challenge.  In the Summer we can forget to take care of ourselves.  Especially if we have kids out of school for the Summer.  This challenge is going to continue to go through December though.  I think that is PERFECT because we also forget to take care of ourselves during the holiday season.  I feel like October through December is a time of the year that we forget about ourselves.  (For the most current challenge click here!)

We need to remember to take care of ourselves and that is what this challenge is all about.  I am excited to introduce the challenge and share with you tips and tricks on how to apply self care in your life in small and simple ways.

My Monthly Focus

• Each month I am going to have a focus for the month, something that is really important for self care.  This is something I will make an extra effort on establishing a habit of.  For the month of July I plan on focusing on my physical health.  I plan on really watching the foods that go into my body.  Really making an effort to make good food choices.  Then of course to make sure I am getting enough exercise.  

I would love for you to join me on the monthly focus as well as the small and simple daily self love challenges.  All you have to do is take baby steps towards better health.  So if you don't exercise hardly at all then make it a point to move a bit more.  If you exercise regularly then make a new goal for yourself that works great for you. 

Then as far as good food choices just make it a point to increase your water intake if you aren't to where you want to me, cut back on junk food, and increase good food.  The key is small and simple steps towards a better you. 

Here are some of my favorite healthy apps, websites, services, and YouTube Channels I plan on using this month:

The Vibrant Life Studio
The Vibrant Bite (use code SHAMBRAY10 for $10 off your first month)
Yoga with Adriene
Jessica Smith TV
Sarah Beth Yoga
Jillian Michaels app
7 Minute Workout
Johnson + Johnson 7 Minute Workout

Explanation of contest

Another fun thing that I will be doing every month will be holding a contest to go along with the challenge.  Here is how you enter:

1. Download the self care challenge calendar.
2. Snap a picture of you completing the challenge each day and post it on Instagram with the hashtag #july2018selfcare.  Each picture that you post will be an entry into the challenge giveaway.
3. Also, leave a comment on this post below and tell me your personal goal in regards to the monthly focus (healthy food choices and exercise).  This will be worth 5 points.  
4. Also you have to follow Vibrant Life Studio in order to win!  

Prize

I am so excited to share with you the prize for July.  I have been using this service for over a month and I am beyond happy with it.  Let me give you a description of the service.  It is called The Vibrant Bite. 

• By using this service you can save money and time while eating and living a more healthy lifestyle
• Each Thursday you will receive an email with a complete menu for the week.  It will include 2 breakfast options, 1 lunch option, 6 fast and healthy dinner options, 5 quick and easy snack options, and the BEST PART a shopping list.  The email will also include 3 workouts (that can be done in 30 minutes or less and little to no equipment is required.) 

This giveaway will include one free month of this service.  After the end of the month you can choose if you want to keep the service going.  I am telling you it has saved my life!  For those of you who don't win then make sure to use this code when signing up for the service to get $10 off your first month: SHAMBRAY10

Breakdown of certain days "challenges"
Some of these links contain affiliate links which means if you purchase after clicking on the link I will receive a very small commission.  I wholeheartedly recommend these items and commission would never sway me to recommend something I could not think is worth every penny.

I have provided some suggestions, ideas, and tips for SOME of the day's challenges.  I know as a mom self care can seem selfish.  So here is the good news.  This first month we will take baby steps.  A lot of these self care challenges can be done as a family.  That way you can ease your way into self care.

1.  Watch a good movie as a family.  I have a lot of good movie suggestions to watch as a family.  Check out my list of movie recommendations on my Amazon page.

2.  Write in a journal.  Journaling is so important for self care.  It doesn't have to be long.  It can be really short, but journaling really grounds you.  It makes you mindful of your life and is a great way to reflect on the past and look forward to the future.  Here are some journals I love:
                                               -Floral journal
                                               -Self Exploration Journal
                                               -5 Year Journal

3. Write 10 things you are grateful for.  You could do it on a scrap piece of paper, put it in your gratitude journal, or put it in your regular journal.  Just write it down.  That is the most important step. 

4.  Read a book as a family.  Check out my list of books on Amazon that are great family reads! 

5.  Declutter a part of the house that needs it.  If you have been following me then you know I love timers.  That way you can commit to a time frame and not get sucked down a rabbit hole.  I usually think 15 minutes is a great place to set the timer.  It is long enough to make progress, but not too long to be daunting.  

9.  Replace a negative thought about yourself with 2 positive thoughts about yourself.  If you just think one positive thought then you just balanced them out, but I want you to be "ahead" with the positive thoughts.  I like to think of the opposite and then add one more positive thought.  So replace, "I am stupid" with "I am smart" AND "I am strong." Involve your whole family in this.  Try to catch every negative thought and replace it with 2 positive ones! 

10.  Meditate.  Since I am a religious person a lot of time my "meditation" is spent in prayer.  So I pray and then I am quiet and calm while "listening" to an answer to my prayer.  However, I also love to actually meditate.  I love to use the app, Calm.

11.  Clean something in the house that is bothering you.  Here is what is on my list: clean window tracks, clean hard water out of my sinks, clean my oven glass.  Now I just need to pick one.  That will be the hard part.  

12.  Do yoga.  My favorite people to do yoga with are both on YouTube, they are Sarah Beth and Adriene.  I also love using the Down Dog app.  Try and get your whole family to do it with you! 

14.  Host a BBQ.  If this day doesn't work for you then use this day to get it all planned for in the future.  The goal here is to take care of yourself socially.  It can be a small BBQ or a neighborhood one.  

16.  Make vision boards.  Involve your family.  Here is a good pin to help you get your kids involved.

17.  Meal plan at least a week.  If you are feeling ambitious then do it for a whole month.  I SERIOUSLY love meal planning a month at a time.  If you have your eyes on the prize for this month then guess what?!  (Use code SHAMBRAY10 at checkout for $10 off your first month).  They provide the whole meal plan! 

18.  Go for a walk.  Try and involve your whole family!  It doesn't have to be long, but it certainly can be. 

19.  Go to the pool.  Once again this is a great family activity! 

20.  Call or visit a family member.  I always like to visit my grandparents, because they LOVE visits and calls,  The purpose of this is to serve others and that makes you feel so much better.  It is self care disguised as service. 

21.  Write thank you notes.  I ALWAYS have 3-4 different styles of thank you notes at my house.  There is always someone that can be thanked.  

23.  Teach your kids about money.  We give our kids allowance once they hit age 4.  Then we start teaching them to only use 70% of that.  You should "live within" the 70%.  Then we give them more responsibilities on things they need to pay for as they get older.  However, they have enough money in allowance to pay for it IF they spend wisely.  Here is a list of responsibilities and respective ages that go with those responsibilities.  (We got the 70% figure from Dave Ramsey.  20% goes straight to savings and 10% goes to charity).  

24.  Talk as a family about how to be a good friend.  I love teaching with books.  I also love teaching through movies.  They are both ways to teach without kids thinking they are actually being taught.  I also put together a post with Family Home Evening Ideas.

27.  Hike as a family.  If you want to get your hands on an awesome book then check out this one!  (That one is for Salt Lake City, but if you want to find one for near you then go to the search menu and type in "60 hikes within 60 miles and then type in a major city near you.  There are a ton of options.)

28.  Make mindfulness jars.  I have been meaning to make these.  So I am excited to actually do it now! 

29.  Assign chores as a family.  There is something powerful in asking the kids about which chores they want to be involved in.  I like to get my kids opinion on as much stuff as I can.  Obviously I can't do that with everything, but I try as much as I can.  Here is a list of chores that are good for certain ages.  

30.  Try a new craft as a family.  Some of my easiest crafts have been from a wood craft store.  They have the whole kits so you can do one along with each of your kids doing a separate one.