The District Blog

7 Steps In 7 Days - Spooky Edition

Sun, 05 Oct 2025 14:00:05 GMT

I want to give you some spooky but easy ideas to

Begin practicing the 7 Step Method in just 7 days!

If you aren't already familiar with my 7 Step Method to Fill Your Cup First, then check out the blog post that I wrote at the very beginning of 2021 HERE to get comfortable with the method.

If you're already familiar with my 7 Step Method, then keep on reading for 7 super simple ways to implement the 7 Step Method in just 7 days this spooky season, spoil yourself, & fill you up!!!

Autumn is fully here! I can hardly believe summer is over already and that my girls returned to school over a month ago. This edition is inspired by spooky season, and it is full of Halloween inspired ways to weave my 7 in 7 model into your life with a touch of the spooky vibes, from tricks to treats. From pumpkin seeds to sticky candy apples this edition might scare you a smidge. This week, I'm giving you permission to spend some of your time prioritizing your self-care in more efficient, effective, and exciting ways. When you learn to do this, you are doing the prep work towards overflowing the best of you into your people more easily and more often. Let this spooky inspired edition help you to navigate the Halloween week without depleting yourself in the process and becoming a monster. The holidays are hard enough We shouldn't have to always be depleting ourselves. Overflow is best!

Filling Your Cup First

one day at a time.

Seven steps in seven days.

It just makes sense to me.

Here is the October 7 Steps in 7 Days:

Sunday: Back to the Basics

This "Sunday Soak" is one inspired by the popular Halloween party game, bobbing for apples. I won't have you sticking your face in cold water (but it does have real health benefits). One of the four cornerstones of getting Back to the Basics is nutrition, which means feeding your body to fuel it. Instead, this month I want you to soak some apples in a simple syrup, add in some fall spices like cinnamon and cloves, then line a pie pan with crust and place the apples into the crust, as neatly or randomly as you feel called, then bake it off in your oven. Not only is this a tasty, simple treat to enjoy around trick-or-treating, but it also makes a great addition to a holiday dessert table, whether Thanksgiving or Christmas, file this RECIPE away to have it on hand for the holidays. It may help you as your CMM responsibilities amp up over the next few months.
Monday: Mindfulness Moment

For our "Monday Mindfulness Moment" this month I want you to be mindful of the things you tell yourself. As the spooky season surrounds you with monsters, and ghosts, be intentional to take notice of the things you tell yourself about YOU. Step it Up this month when it comes to your self-talk. We can all be little scary from time to time, but you are NOT a monster, so don't talk to yourself like you are. Spend a little time in isolated quiet. What are the thoughts floating through your brain like ghosts of your past? Take time to sit with these thoughts, listing them out if you have to using THIS thoughts worksheet I made for you. Then take that list and cross each scary thought off, next, rewrite it with a spirit of hope and belief in yourself. Maybe you don't believe the positive thoughts yet, that ok. Write them anyway. Check in with yourself before and after this exercise. Our thoughts have impact over us, physically, mentally, even spiritually, and now is the time to begin digging up the bad thoughts and replanting more positive ones as the inevitable pressure of the last quarter of 2025 rapidly begins teasing you with self-doubt.

Tuesday: Do Something Little for You

Today is "Treat Yourself Tuesday" ! It's the time of the week where I give you permission to Do Something Little for You and spoil yourself, for taking time intentionally every day to improve your care. Halloween is a day filled with vast amounts of candy. Do something little for you and pick up a sweet candy treat of your choosing, JUST FOR YOU! This will give you the seasonal candy fix ahead of the main event without excessive hijacking from your kiddos carefully gathered collection of candy. You know how long it takes them to make a choice at the bowl, help them keep more so that time isn't wasted effort. Parent tax is still a thing of course, but doing this simple step will help you bring the candy tax down, eliminating some whining!

So, not terribly scary or overwhelming to apply to your week so far, right?

The second half of the week is when things start to get real fun!

Wednesday: Get a Hobby

For this month's "Wednesday Workshop" I'm getting you slimy or splattered. I want you to Get a Hobby this month that is probably something you haven't done in years! Inspired by the iconic symbol of Halloween, I'm challenging you to practice some pumpkin art. Whether you carve a jack 'o lantern face and stick a candle inside or paint a scene on its flesh full of details, I want you to get a little crafty with a pumpkin just in time for it to adorn your front steps alongside your children's! We can play too!

Thursday: Get Your A$$ Moving

Halloween parties are full of fun, and food, and calorie loaded beverages. I made "Thick Thighs Thursday" to be sure to encourage fitness all year round, not just during the warm summer months and not just in traditional fitness ways. This month we are going to Get Your A$$ Moving by getting you on the dance floor, literal or symbolic. It doesn't matter to me where you are at, only that you crank up the radio and dance it out. Alone, with your kids, with friends, just dance like nobody is watching, it's not scary, it's cool.

Friday: Dream Big

The weekend is here and that means that it's "Friday Funday" ! Halloween is typically filled with nightmares, but this year it'll be a breeding ground for dreams! Head into the weekend with a fall inspired, fearless dream session about how you can keep finding little nuggets of time, over the next two months, to retreat from the craziness of your life and take care of you. It is especially important as the holidays fill up our calendars. Three major holidays across 6 weeks doesn't mean you can't still seek rest and also recharge as the schedule gets crazy! Grab a notebook and pen before you find a quiet corner to plot and plan. Then, Dream Big Darling, frighteningly BIG! Make sure you're shooting for the stars and stop ignoring your dreams due to fear of leaving your comfort zone or doubt in yourself. The best things usually happen only AFTER you leave your comfort zone! Dream fearlessly darling! It can murder your doubt!

Saturday: Rest, Reflect, Reevaluate, & Restart

Celebrate "Self-Care Saturday" by reflecting, relaxing, and recharging yourself Darling! It is time for you to soak up some rest and relaxation before it's constant celebration or preparation! I hope 2025 gone well so far! We are officially down to the last quarter of the year! I also hope that you have truly begun to prioritize yourself more this year, and I hope this monthly blog series has helped you with that! As we usher in these last couple months of the year, now might be your last real chance to truly Rest, Reflect, Reevaluate, & Restart before the holiday season is here. How can you continue to easily & efficiently practice this prompt in an even more creative ways, targeting specific shortfalls in our care throughout the reminder of 2025 to ensure your habits and practices are at their peak before next year, while being the Chief Merry Maker of your home. These practices should also help you to prioritize renewal in your spirit, your body, and your mind! Resting is vital, reflecting is helpful, reevaluating matters, and restarting keeps you always growing!

If you haven't yet signed up to get on the Dazzling District mailing list so you can receive the monthly newsletter and other occasional communications, do so using THIS LINK . Don't wait, you'll be disappointed you did! PLUS, Coffeetalk made a comeback in a flashy, fun new way last year and I've committed to releasing it more consistently in 2025 as I've tried to step up my publishing game this year! Finally, thank you so much for being patient with me through the creating, defining, and building of this company, and for showing back up for me here with every new blog post! The repeat readers, loyal followers, and each active member of this little dazzling community all mean the world to me. I genuinely appreciate you more than you'll ever know!

~ Live Dazzling

Rebecca Jackson

*** I'm definitely regretting posting a schedule back in January, I think I was late with more than I was on time for. ��

But honestly, I'm guessing it isn't being noticed much, I have very few readers at this point, and that's okay.

With my kids back in school again, I anticipate the remaining editions to be out on time,

as I'll have more time to myself to write and create content easier again.

I am doubling down for the rest of the year and intend to maintain my schedule for this last quarter!

A previous version of me would have become discouraged through all these setbacks and missed deadlines that I've faced this year, and I would likely have disappeared and simply found a job to help my family with financial stability in this trial filled season. This version of me today realizes the assignment in the vision I was given when I heard the call to create this place. I launched a brand-new sales page on March 20th, just in time for you to have easy access to my unique digital products, downloadable journals and booklets I created to aid you on your Dazzling Quest! I also launched my new podcast "The Dazzling Show" on July 2nd to help encourage all of the moms out there to prioritize their self-care and begin practicing "The Art of Overflow"! Season 2 is here!

Season One is themed to help moms that are just trying to "Survive Summer" and you can Listen to it HERE !

Season Two will help you "Thrive thru Fall" and it will be rolling out weekly until Thanksgiving!

You can find my sales page here to access my unique tools I've made for you to use for yourself as well! ***

7 Steps In 7 Days - Autumn Edition

Sun, 21 Sep 2025 05:09:37 GMT

I want to give you some easy ideas to

Begin practicing the 7 Step Method in just 7 days!

If you aren't already familiar with my 7 Step Method to Fill Your Cup First, then check out the blog post that I wrote at the very beginning of 2021 HERE to get comfortable with the method.

If you're already familiar with my 7 Step Method, then keep on reading for seven super simple ways to begin implementing the 7 Step Method in just 7 days this autumn, to spoil yourself, and fill you up!!!

I'm definitely regretting posting a schedule back in January. ��

But honestly, I'm guessing it isn't being noticed much, I have very few readers at this point, and that's okay.

With my kids back in school again, I anticipate the remaining editions to be out on time,

as I'll have more time to myself to write and create content easier again.

I am doubling down for the rest of the year and intend to return to my schedule for the last quarter!

A previous version of me would have become discouraged through all these setbacks and missed deadlines that I've faced this year, and I would likely have disappeared and simply found a job to help my family with financial stability in this trial filled season. This version of me today realizes the assignment in the vision I was given when I heard the call to create this place. I launched a brand-new sales page on March 20th, just in time for you to have easy access to my unique digital products, downloadable journals and booklets created to aid you on your Dazzling Quest! I also launched my new podcast "The Dazzling Show" on July 2nd to help encourage all of the moms out there to prioritize their self-care and begin practicing "The Art of Overflow"! Season 2 is coming!

Season One is themed to help moms that are just trying to "Survive Summer" and you can Listen to it HERE !

Season Two will help you "Thrive thru Fall" and it will be rolling out weekly starting in October!

You can find my sales page here to access my unique tools I've made for you to use for yourself as well!

Autumn is fully here! I can hardly believe summer is over already and that my girls returned to school a few weeks ago. This edition is inspired by the splendor of autumn, and it is full of ways to weave my 7 in 7 model into your life with a touch of the fall vibes, from the cooler nights to the warm sunny afternoons. From pumpkin spice vs apple cider to stoups and cozy blankets. From farmers markets to binge watching The Gilmore Girls and falling leaves. This week, I'm giving you permission to spend some of your time prioritizing your self-care in more efficient, effective, and exciting ways. When you learn to do this, you are doing the prep work towards overflowing the best of you into your people more easily and more often. Let this autumn inspired edition help you to navigate the impending pre-holiday season without depleting yourself in the process. The holidays are hard enough We shouldn't have to always be depleting ourselves. Overflow is best!

Filling Your Cup First

one day at a time.

Seven steps in seven days.

It just makes sense to me.

Here is the September 7 Steps in 7 Days:

Sunday: Back to the Basics

This "Sunday Soak" is one intended to fully soak up the fall temperatures, inspired by the way the season still affords a nice warm sunshine to be present in mostly clear skies. One of the four cornerstones of getting Back to the Basics is personal care, which means showing you the person, some extra care. This month I want you to focus on your mental wellness. It may not feel like the sun's rays can still warm you as the weather cools down, but if it's still shining, sitting in the stream of its rays will warm you up quickly. Lather up your skin with sunscreen again, since you're going to be outside again. Whenever you get a sunny clear day, grab a towel, or blanket, or yoga mat, & hit the backyard or a nearby park. Lay out your towel/blanket/mat in the grass and then sit crisscross applesauce and take in a meditation sesh. Once your thoughts feel clearer and more focused, wander near the trees and gather a few leaves. Once home, assign each of these things a thought you heard in your soul, or a feeling you felt in your body, or an idea that popped in your mind with a marker, writing it directly on the leaf, further clearing and focusing your mind. Display your leaves in your office area as a seasonally appropriate reminder.
Monday: Mindfulness Moment

For our "Monday Mindfulness Moment" this month I want you to be mindful of the things you eat. As the season continues to transition deeper into fall and October gets closer, the leaves are turning faster and faster. Be intentional to take notice of the changes in nature around you and Step it Up this month by spending a little time in front of a window, or even out in nature, taking the time to observe the changes autumn is bringing our way. Maybe even use the time to be mindful of how you're feeling as the holidays creep closer. Check in with yourself, physically, mentally, even spiritually, especially as the inevitable pressure of the last quarter of 2025 rapidly gets closer taunting chaos and expense.

Tuesday: Do Something Little for You

Today is "Treat Yourself Tuesday" ! It's the time of the week where I give you a permission slip to Do Something Little for You and spoil yourself, for taking time intentionally every day to improve your care. Autumn's bounty is officially upon us and that means farmers markets are almost gone for the year. A multitude of squash and apples are available, and tomatoes are nearing the end of their peak season. Now is the exact right time to take advantage of the vast produce selection this time of year. Do something little for future you and begin stocking your freezer with a selection of ripe and in season apples, squash, stewed tomatoes, and other tasty fall vegetables to use all winter long. Perfect additions to the soups, stoups, or stews you'll crave as brisk autumn evenings turn into dark, cold winter nights instead. Plan ahead!

So, not terribly scary or overwhelming to apply to your week so far, right?

The second half of the week is when things start to get real fun!

Wednesday: Get a Hobby

For this month's "Wednesday Workshop" it's time to get a little cliche. I want you to Get a Hobby this month that works when the weather isn't great for outside activities. Autumn brings with it rainy days, and there is no better hobby for a rainy day, then reading a book. Grad a cozy blanket, a seat near a window, a cozy scented candle, and a bestseller, or a book you've been meaning to read, then get lost in its pages for a little while. If reading puts you to sleep, then take a nap, it's alright, but if the kiddos still need supervising, then swap the book for a Gilmore Girls binge sesh. Nothing says fall like hanging with Lorelie and Rory!

Thursday: Get Your A$$ Moving

So, Autum is my absolute favorite time of the year to take a run. The air is cool, so as your heartrate rises, and the sweat starts to form, and your body temperature increases, the coolness in the air keeps you a comfortable temperature, and golden hour is my favorite fall hour to run. I made "Thick Thighs Thursday" to be sure to encourage fitness all year round, not just during the warm summer months. This month we are going to Get Your A$$ Moving by getting you out for a cool fall run. Grab your tennis shoes, and get your body stretched well, then hit the sidewalk in your neighborhood, or a scenic running trail for a run.

Friday: Dream Big

The weekend is here and that means that it's "Friday Funday" ! Head into the weekend with a fall inspired, fearless dream session about how you can continue to find time, over the next few months, to retreat from the craziness of your life, especially as the holidays fill up our calendars, so you can still seek rest and also recharge as the schedule gets crazy! Start with your favorite between a pumpkin spice latte, or apple cider, then grab a notebook and pen before you find a quiet corner. Next, Dream Big Darling! Where do you want to be in life before the holidays next year? How do you think it would be fun and functional to get there? Oh, make sure you're shooting for the stars. Stop stifling your dreams due to fear of leaving your comfort zone. The best stuff happens when you leave your comfort zone! Dream fearlessly darling! It just may pay off!

Saturday: Rest, Reflect, Reevaluate, & Restart

Celebrate "Self-Care Saturday" by reflecting, relaxing, and recharging yourself Darling! It is time for your interim review ! I hope 2025 gone well so far! We have just a little more than a quarter of the year left! I also hope that you have truly begun to prioritize yourself more this year, and I hope this monthly blog series has helped you with that! As we usher in the last few months of the year, now is a great time to Rest, Reflect, Reevaluate, & Restart before the holiday season is in full swing. How can you continue to easily & efficiently practice this prompt in even more creative and specific ways throughout the reminder of 2025 to ensure your habits and practices are ready for the busiest season of the year, as the Chief Merry Maker of your home. These practices should also help you to prioritize renewing to your spirit, your body, and your mind! Resting is vital, reflecting is helpful, reevaluating matters, and restarting keeps you always growing!

If you haven't yet signed up to get on the Dazzling District mailing list so you can receive the monthly newsletter and other occasional communications, do so using THIS LINK . Don't wait, you'll be disappointed you did! PLUS, Coffeetalk made a comeback in a flashy, fun new way last year and I'm committing to releasing it more consistently in 2025 as I step up my publishing game this year! Finally, thank you so much for being patient with me through the creating, defining, and building of this company, and for showing back up for me here with every new blog post! The repeat readers, loyal followers, and each active member of this little dazzling community mean the world to me. I appreciate you more than you'll ever know!

~ Live Dazzling

Rebecca Jackson

When Tragedy Strikes

Wed, 17 Sep 2025 03:24:38 GMT

Every once in a while, something truly terrible happens, in a genuinely large scale, and it can feel very dark. In our world. In our country. In our hearts. It shakes us to our core. It tests our spirit. It makes us doubt things we believe. These truly terrible things often happen with large audiences, or large numbers of people effected. Our heart breaks for those we don't even know. We feel helpless in our corner of the world. It used to bring us together, lately it feels like with each truly terrible instance, we find ourselves even more divided than ever before. That is even more terrible. Even more heartbreaking. Making the truly terrible thing, become an even more terrible thing. It's an age old saying that "hurt people, hurt people" and it may be a bit played out, but it is entirely too accurate.

Hurt people DO hurt people. It starts with us. You, me, each person individually. Are we a hurt person who is hurting other people? Have we been one in the past? Are we slipping into this bad habit for the first time? WE have to ask OURSELVES these questions. We must hold ourselves accountable. We can't stop ignoring our own red flags, and trust me, we ALL have them. Society has become all to broken when people are walking into churches or schools, firing upon completely innocent people. Society has hit a new low when people are celebrating murder because they agree with the message the shooter was sending, or they hated the opinions of the victim. Society has reached a scary place when excuses are made more than accountability is taken. WE MUST BE PART OF THE HEALING!!!

I am more convinced than ever before that my vision for Dazzling District inc. is absolutely needed in this world. That, maybe God did plan the recipe to world peace inside of my brain, and I just have to not quit and work harder. Mental health is on the decline. People are taking less accountability in their own health and wellbeing. The income gap in increasing rapidly. The ones who can afford to take care of themselves well are chasing vanity metrics to "be healthy". The ones who can't afford the basics are getting lost in the gap, to their own detriment. The secret to being healthy isn't 3 square meals a day, it's fueling yourself for peak performance. The secret to being rested isn't sleeping 8 solid hours of sleep, it is equally valuing sleep, mental rest, and spiritual rest. The secret to being fit isn't hours of cardio and a six pack or a number on the scale, it's moving your body regularly so you can keep moving your body regularly.

When we chase the wrong goals, our self-care efforts will always fall short. When we think of our needs as the last priority, behind our roles and responsibilities, we are failing to fill ourselves up at all. When you picture yourself as an actual vessel for the will of God, then you can begin visualizing a cup, or a bowl, or a vase. And if you are that cup, bowl, or vase, then you serve the Lord best when you are full. Full of the fruits of the spirit. Full of positive intentions. Full of accountability. Full of the magic that God created us with. If we are intentional to make choices that fill us up, then we have something to pour into others. This is helpful to others, but pouring into them depletes you, so then you need to fill yourself up more. However, if we prioritize our own health, wellness, and care then we can become so abundantly full that we don't even need to pour. Instead, we can overflow.

Will you make a promise to yourself? Will you promise to be part of the solution, instead of being part of the problem? Will you try to fill yourself up first more often, instead of depleting yourself all the time? Will you do your best to not be another hurt person in this world just hurting other people? I built this place and have been working so hard growing it, and sharing my methods, and creating tools to help you start to slowly begin practicing these principles in your own life and remembering these 3 are realities.

Self-Love is the BEST (human) Love.
Self-Care IS NOT (ever) Selfish.
Healing is NOT linear (or quick).

World peace will only ever happen if we are ALL a piece of the solution. When tragedy strikes, we must not let the darkness consume us. We must double down on holding ourselves accountable for our own health and wellness instead. When tragedy strikes, we must be sure we overflow. Please check out my 7-Step Method to Overflowing in your own life. Overflow will spark the dazzling magic that was planted in your soul at the moment of your creation. There's magic in you. I just know it. Let Dazzling District be the place you learn to nurture it for the benefit of the whole world.

Be the best version of you!

Live Dazzling! ~Rebecca Jackson

#BeKindDarling

Fri, 22 Aug 2025 04:49:27 GMT

It's crazy out there, but it's crazier online! The world is getting scary for sure, there is no denying that fact, but Darling, it's even crazier out there in the socials. The content can be weird, or down-right wrong. The comments can be scary and cruel. The media is bias and confusing. You really don't know what is real anymore because of the vast growth in the Ai sector. It's really a jungle online, and if you aren't disciplined and intentional about your social media consumption, it could have very negative effects on your real life. Now don't get me wrong, I use many social media platforms, for personal and business purposes, but I have some rules for myself. After years of free-range consumption online, with no rules and no limits, it became imperative that I implement a few rules, or boundaries, for my social media consumption. If I'm not intentional, it effects my attitude and my mood. I only ever want to #BeKindDarling, whenever I show up on the socials, and I definitely don't want drama Momma. To prevent the drama, I do my best to stay in these boundaries.

#1 - I don't go on first thing in the morning. I start my morning with a verse of the day, a language lesson, &/or a workout.

#2 I don't use it to inform my news or world view. Instead, I watch my morning show of choice & a few evening news segments.

#3 - I am not on it when I have company or am in a social setting. Socializing in person will always trump my online socializing.

#4 - I try very hard to limit the number of hours a day/week/month that I spend consuming on social media, between work & personal.

#5 - I'm picky, I don't use them all, and I curate my feed and who I follow with intention to eliminate triggers popping up on my feed.

These boundaries I've set for myself on social media helps me to protect my peace and show up online as the best version of myself when I do spend time consuming social media. We have to work hard and be super intentional to protect our own peace, and manage our own joy injections, because if we don't prioritize it for myself, the world will chew me up and spit me out. I encourage you to be very intentional with your social media use and consumption. Nobody will protect your peace or salvage your joy better than you will. If you leave those responsibilities up to other people, or prioritize them last, you will be the one who suffers the repercussions, and you will always be disappointed by the world.

In addition to my personal boundaries for my social media use, I also made myself a Social Media Standard that I try to use. I've decided to make it sharable for you too! DOWNLOAD IT HERE then take a look here before you go!

I wish for your safe, joyful, productive scrolling!

Live Dazzling!

~Rebecca Jackson

Clean Up Your Finances to Plan For Your Future

Wed, 13 Aug 2025 00:57:24 GMT

Messy Money Habits keep you from reaching your financial freedom and setting yourself up to chase your Dreams!

The holidays are rapidly approaching and I'm sure, like me, you are keenly aware of this fact. If you are anything like me, your empty wallet is already whispering to you about its worry. Back-to-School did a number of my wallet, and it is already starting to fear the swiping that will take place from Halloween prep clear thru to 2026. This felt like the right time to drop this blog that I started drafting years ago, in April of 2021, but I never quite made it back to it long enough to finish it... until my own financial life was in complete chaos once again after my husband suffered his spine injury back in April 2025, nearly exactly 4 years later. Then, I touched back into this blog over the summer, for my own benefit, and I've been polishing it here and there, working on completing it since.

I'm finally ready to share it with you! Enjoy!

In order to keep from having messy money habits you can improve these practices in your life, leading you closer to financial freedom with magical money habits instead.

Let me break it down for you a little more.

M ake changes

E liminate waste

S top excess spending

S ave where you can

Y ou are worthy

M anage investments

O nly spend for need

N ever sacrifice quality for price

E levate your money IQ

Y our Legacy is shaping

We could all make some changes to our financial outlook. To make changes you have to first be brutally honest with yourself about your current financial outlook. Money is half mindset and half managing it. If you ignore bad money habits or bad money beliefs, they will run your life from behind the scenes. If you spend on wasteful things, you're bound to feel regretful as well, Make these necessary changes to become the manager of your money instead of the spender.

This is the natural next step. You should eliminate waste , in your spending, but also in your life. Where are you wasting tangible things in your life that is causing hidden wasteful spending? Are there places you can cutback in your consumption to eliminate excess spending? Ask yourself the hard questions to help you eliminate the waste and create abundance to benefit your family, your home, your dreams and your goals, all of which are ultimately to the benefit of your legacy.

To say it another way, stop excess spending anywhere you can. Do you spend a ton of money on clothing. Maybe it's craft supplies that rarely get used, or home organization stuff that you keep planning on implementing soon. Whatever things in your life that you are spending excessive amounts on, no matter how well intended, identify them and then minimize the expense they create in your budget

When it comes to buying the necessary consumables like food, toiletries, and paper products, it's best to save where you can . I'm not saying cheap toilet paper if you're used to a certain ply, but I am saying to coupon, or shop sale whenever and wherever you can to prevent excessive spending on the things you have to buy. There's no need to pay full price for the things we always know we need and use frequently, just plan ahead, shop the sales, and be prepared instead of spending unnecessarily.

The most important part of implementing these things is to acknowledge that you are worthy of having money come freely and easily into your life. You are worthy of spending, saving, or investing your money when it does come. You are worthy of financial wealth and abundance, but it will not just come to you, it needs to be nurtured and managed intentionally.

Moving past cleaning up your money habits and into how to make your money work for you, you should first make investments . Whether they be traditional investments in stocks and bonds on Wallstreet, or real estate investments, or small business investments, the way you personally decide to invest is entirely up to you, but it's a beneficial first step to making your money multiply and work for you. Simply spending gets you nowhere except needing to collect more dollars to spend. Invest, don't spend.

When looking for other ways to multiply your money you must continue the themes above by following one simple spending rule: only spend for need . You can justify the need however you choose, but need should fuel your spending. Not jealousy or envy, not insecurity or doubt, only need. Those other ways of fueling your spending are all going to create unhealthy spending habits. You worked so hard to eliminate messy spending habits, it would be a shame to slip back into old ways.

Looking for ways to multiply may seem like looking for the least expensive option is best, except this is flawed thinking because the lower the price, typically lower the quality. Lower quality means frequent need for repair or replacement. When it comes to making purchases, I encourage that you never sacrifice quality for price . Spend where you need to spend to increase quality and minimize additional future expense. When you buy cheap you pay for it, multiple times, and in multiple ways. Multiply your money by minimizing the number of times you have to spend it, accomplished best when you purchase better quality products.

Another way to multiply your money is to constantly be intentional to elevate your money IQ . It's not enough to make money and then to invest the money. If you don't elevate your financial IQ you will still lose your money, making bad investments, bad quality purchases, inconvenient expense timing, etc. Elevating your financial IQ should be a lifelong journey, where you continually grow your money mindset, financial comprehension, and also seek new ways to ensure money retention.

With all of this, as you begin implementing remember what it's all for. you are not just trying to grow dollars in your bank account, you are trying to be the one who defines you, it's all a part of your legacy shaping into what you want you will give future generations. Financial changes will affect future generations far more than they will benefit you. Growing wealth isn't about you now, it's about ensuring financial stability for your grandchildren and their grandchildren, the best ways you can.

Cleaning up the mess can lead you to true financial

F lexible fun

R ich culture

E ducation

E ntrepreneur potential

D estination travel

O pportunities

M oney in the bank and your pocket

When your money habits are clean and you have extra cash flow as a result you can partake in more flexible fun . Often times last minute opportunities or higher ticket purchases are impossible for a person with messy money habits. Being intentional to practice cleaner methods when it comes to managing your money truly opens up freedom to have significantly more flexibility when deciding how you have fun and where you can choose to do so. Lavish vacations, adventurous outings, and unique products and experiences all typically cost more and are rarely presented with extensive time to prepare. Without flexibility in your spending capacity, these things will be harder to achieve.

Being fortunate enough to be born into a wealthy family that affords rich culture in your life is not commonplace. This is why in a Monarchy there are the Royals & the Commoners, requiring significantly more commoners to make a kingdom run successfully. If you aren't one of the lucky ones born into wealth it doesn't mean you can't have a rich culture fulfilling your experience here on earth. It just means you have to be intentional in your choices, and practice clean money habits. Doing so will afford you the freedom to experience many opportunities to ensure a rich culture even though you don't have a royal title.

Sadly, in the world we live in, a good education can sometimes be hard to obtain. This is just another example of how clean money habits can make the difference. This disappointing truth about our schooling institutions may be too challenging for our society to fix, but we have power as adults. University prices are higher than they've ever been, and for many families, it's too steep a cost for them to manage, a frustrating truth for many. If this was your family as you approached adulthood, you can change the story. You can break the chain. Keeping clean money habits as an adult can afford you the ability to obtain opportunities to further your education with more ease

Every store, every restaurant, every product started with a person who saw entrepreneur potential in a vision they had and then decided to take a leap of faith. With clean money habits, your leap can feel much smaller than if you are chasing this dream with no padding in your bank account. It costs money to make money, and this is the reason more people aren't building their own companies. I can promise you I'd be further along in my own entrepreneurial vision if my money habits were cleaner at the start.

I knew nothing of true destination travel . I understood travel but not really travel based on the destination of your choosing. Honestly, I only understood travel based on your bank account. Until I was in the double-digits as a kid I believed that vacations were always camping. We never took big vacations, or really anything more than a camping weekend, until I was a teenager. As I grew up and had kids, I began to understand their reasoning. Kids are expensive, and so are vacations. Spending on luxurious vacations, or the freedom to just visit somewhere that you're interested in, is one of those unique benefits enjoyed by people with money to spare. Clean money habits help you accrue money to spare.

One of the best perks to having clean money habits that allow you to be financially comfortable is simply opportunities , plainly stated. When a musician you love it doing a show a few hours away, but you can't afford a reliable vehicle, it doesn't even matter if you can squirrel away the ticket money, you still can't get there. Lost opportunity. When your bestie is getting married in another state, cross country, if you can't afford to take days off of work to attend her wedding weekend or even to buy the plane ticket you both lose. Missed memories. Lost opportunity. When your kid gets the chance to participate in a school production, but the program fee and uniform expense is more than you can swing, you're disappointing your child. Another lost opportunity. Clean money habits, that help you accumulate extra money in the bank just growing, allows you to get to the concert, enjoy your friend's wedding for a whole week, AND also enjoy as many showings as you want of your kid's play, photographing every second.

The absolute best part of practicing clean money habits is having money in the bank and your pocket; there's no easier way to put it. Having clean money habits allows you to do all of the things (flexible fun, rich culture, education, entrepreneurial potential, destination travel, and opportunities) while still having money in the bank and also in your pocket. There is no better feeling, than to know you have extra money, just in case.

With all of this in mind, how will you begin cleaning up your money practices and minimize the wasteful spending?

I consider wasteful spending to be anything that:

1) Does not meet one of your core needs

2) Improve you as a human while still aligning with your values

3) Spark joy inside of you in a healthy and productive way.

Set some money goals... practical and out of this world BIG ones!

Live Dazzling!

~ Rebecca

Mornings Of Me

Thu, 07 Aug 2025 05:57:38 GMT

There was a time that I would never have called myself a morning person. There were times through the newborn stages where I'd have full belly laughed over the thought of waking up before nine in the morning by choice. I was so under slept and I had never really been a morning person, not even before kids. I've always considered myself a moonchild, I come alive under the moon and my creativity peaks in the twilight hours. However, for a number of years, I'd have different "Titus Women" at church encourage me to wake an hour before my family to get some quiet time with God before I started my day, and this always made me feel like they couldn't really remember how hard it was with little kiddos. It sounded ideal in theory, but attempting to implement this practice in my life only caused me shame and disappointment in myself back then. I had been in a season where I was living repetitive mornings of chaos. One day of surviving chaos after another. It was for this reason that I became curious about five years ago, about whether I could implement this practice in my current season of life, at the time my oldest was launching and my nest was slowly starting to empty. Less chaos.

My baby was in first grade, my oldest had just graduated and was starting college. I had tried to go back to work in my baby's kindergarten year, but that was quarantine year so, I had to quit my perfectly scheduled job to virtual school my kids, and in that year, I felt called to double down on building this business. I was consistently hitting the gym by then, and I noticed that many of my most convenient times to head to the gym, also happened to be the busiest times at the gym. This had me considering waking early for the first time in my life. I decided to try arriving at the gym by about five in the morning, so that I could get a half hour to an hour-long workout in before heading home to shower and begin waking my kids for school. I experimented like this for a week, and much to my surprise, I loved it!

I found myself being more productive at home earlier in the day, oftentimes getting our dishwasher emptied early in the day, and cooking a hot breakfast for myself, and even my kids occasionally too, after my shower but before school. The quiet gym was a welcome perk that encouraged me to increase the intensity of my workouts on some mornings. Getting chores, breakfast, and my workout in before nine in the morning meant I had more of my day to tackle projects, self-development work, and other household chores. It really cleared the way for me to get significantly more done during my days, while still tiring me out for bed nice and early, a feat that is anything but simple to accomplish normally. Plus, I still got to benefit from hours under the moonlight! I knew this wouldn't be an everyday practice, but I was excited to begin practicing my more disciplined morning schedule more frequently moving forward. I also came to realize, that even as my kids get older, there are always some situations where it isn't a season that it fits naturally. In the seasons I am not a part of the "Five A.M. Club", I skip the guilt and shame now too, entirely. I will not make myself feel bad for skipping when the season isn't right. Not every season is a five-a.m. season.

After I began experimenting with earlier mornings, I found myself beginning to wake earlier naturally. I don't know if it was the perimenopause, or the fact that I had intentionally began consistently stretching my waking hour to an even earlier hour, but I slowly became a morning person. Now, it's a very rare day that I am out of bed and moving much later than 9 a.m. ever, most frequently waking between the six and eight hours of the morning instead. The way that this practice rewired my brain and transformed my morning hours into "Mornings of Me" (or MoM hours), has improved my entire day. I start each day by pouring into myself, nurturing the overflow immediately. I'm not telling you to start waking up at 5-a.m. because I remember what it's like to be in the trenches with littles.

This blog was meant to be a beacon of hope to those moms still in the thick of motherhood right now, to show them hope for future seasons with more calm, and less chaos. It was also meant to be an example of how we are always changing and evolving as a person, and a mother, so you MUST reevaluate your needs and how you approach your care regularly. If you don't, your care practices will get skipped or become stale altogether, leading to a depleted, frazzled you, with no overflow to go around. Whether it's your mornings or your evenings, find time to recharge and replenish yourself darling! Everyone benefits when you do! Take care of YOU too!

Live Dazzling! ~Rebecca Jackson

7 Steps In 7 Days - Back to School Edition

Sun, 03 Aug 2025 05:53:23 GMT

I want to give you some easy ideas to

Begin practicing the 7 Step Method in just 7 days!

If you aren't already familiar with my 7 Step Method to Fill Your Cup First, then check out the blog post that I wrote at the very beginning of 2021 HERE to get comfortable with the method.

If you're already familiar with my 7 Step Method, then keep on reading for seven super simple ways to begin implementing the 7 Step Method in just 7 days this schoolyear, to spoil yourself, and fill you up!!!

I'm definitely regretting posting a schedule back in January. ��

But honestly, I'm guessing it isn't being noticed much, I have very few readers at this point.

With my kids returning to school soon, I anticipate the remaining editions to be out on time,

as I'll have more time to myself to write and create content easier again.

I am doubling down for the rest of the year and intend to return to my schedule!

A previous version of me would have become discouraged through all these setbacks and missed deadlines that I've faced this year, and I would likely have disappeared and simply found a job to help my family with financial stability in this trial filled season. This version of me today realizes the assignment in the vision I was given when I heard the call to create this place. However, because of the progress I've made in my mindset coaching, instead of quitting when I fell off my plan, I launched a brand-new sales page on March 20th! I launched it just in time for you to have easy access to my unique digital products, downloadable journals and booklets created to aid you on your Dazzling Quest! As summer kept quickly progressing, I launched my new podcast "The Dazzling Show" on July 2nd to help encourage all of the moms out there to prioritize their self-care and begin practicing "The Art of Overflow"!

Season One is themed to help moms that are just trying to "Survive Summer" and you can Listen to it HERE !

You can find my sales page here to access my unique tools to use for yourself as well!

Fall is approaching so quickly, I can hardly believe summer is nearing its end so soon and that my girls will return to school in just a few short weeks. This edition is inspired by the back-to-school season and it is full of ways to weave my 7 in 7 model into your life with a bit of a school vibe, from recess, to the cafeteria, with a permission slip for spoiling, then art class, and gym class too, before wrapping it all up with a fearless dream session to plan for your future and a proper interim review of what worked for you, and what didn't. This week, I'm taking you back to school to "school" you on prioritizing your self-care in more efficient, effective, and exciting ways. When you learn to do this, you are doing the prep work towards overflowing the best of you into your people. Let this edition help you navigate back to school with your kiddos without depleting yourself in the process. We shouldn't have to always be depleting ourselves. Overflow is best!

Filling Your Cup First

one day at a time.

Seven steps in seven days.

It just makes sense to me.

Here is the August 7 Steps in 7 Days:

Sunday: Back to the Basics

This "Sunday Soak" is one intended to transition you from summer to fall, inspired by the back-to-school season that is in full swing. One of the four cornerstones of getting Back to the Basics is hygiene, which includes skincare. This month I want you to focus on your skincare routine at a base level, by soaking your skin in sunscreen whenever you are out in the sun, for recess or other fun, especially as it begins to cool down as fall gets nearer. It may not feel like the sun's rays can still hurt you as the weather cools down, but if it's still shining, it's still a risk to your skin. So, be sure to lather up your skin with sunscreen anytime you're going to be out in the sun. Whether you're waiting for the school bus, walking them to and from school, or playing at the playground with them after school, sunscreen is helpful, with overcast skies or not.
Monday: Mindfulness Moment

For our "Monday Mindfulness Moment" this month I want you to be mindful of the things you eat. As the seasons transition over the weeks through August and into September, it is peak timing for great fresh produce. Make mealtimes the most mindful times of your day and Step it Up this month by spending a little time plotting a meal plan that includes a bounty of produce, then hit up a local farmer's market to stock up on the fruits and veggies you will need. Skip the cafeteria food or drive thru meals and be mindful to make delicious lunches yourself instead. Whenever you are preparing a meal, whether it's a quick breakfast, a lunchbox spread, or a more comprehensive dinner, use the time you spend on food preparation to be mindful of how you are feeling, physically and mentally, as a great check in with yourself.

Tuesday: Do Something Little for You

Today is "Treat Yourself Tuesday" ! It's the time of the week where I give you a permission slip to Do Something Little for You and spoil yourself, for taking time intentionally every day to improve your care. Summer's bounty is upon us, beautiful fruits are so ripe and in season right now that it makes this month the perfect time to incorporate some fresh, juicy fruit into a sweet treat you can enjoy as a tasty post-dinner dessert while watching fireflies in your yard as the warm summer nights become brisk autumn evenings.

So, not terribly scary or overwhelming to apply to your week so far, right?

The second half of the week is when things start to get real fun!

Wednesday: Get a Hobby

For this month's "Wednesday Workshop" it's time to try something a little different and head back to art class . I want you to Get a Hobby this month that is about light, gentle brushstrokes! Watercolor art is a fun way to get creative. I want you to watercolor three ways! First, start with a traditional watercolor pallet (you can get a basic pallet at a dollar store in the kid's art & craft aisle) and whatever paper you have on hand. Second, grab some markers, a cup of water, and a clean paintbrush. Grab another piece of paper and use the markers to draw a line drawing on the paper, with as many details as you feel led to include. Once you've finished drawing, paint over it with water strokes and watch how the depth of color increases. Last, grab a white tank top or t-shirt from a thrift store near you and grab a few dye colors to tie, dye your thrifted top, since tie dye is essentially watercolor with clothing! Plus, who doesn't love a tie dye top?

Thursday: Get Your A$$ Moving

Swimsuit season might be nearing it's close, but we don't need swimsuit season to stay fit. I made "Thick Thighs Thursday" to be sure to encourage fitness all year round, not just during the peak summer months. This month we are going to Get Your A$$ Moving by going back to gym class with 30x30x30 reps of one of the following 3 exercises: choose from - mountain climbers - squats - or leg lifts. Once you decide on your exercise, psych yourself up to complete three sets of thirty reps. Shoot for 3 minutes or less to complete each set and then resting for no more than 90 seconds in between your sets, because you really don't want to let your heartrate to slow down too much between sets for ideal fat burn. If you want to push yourself even harder, do one of the other exercises, or even better both of the other exercises, 30x30x30 too!

Friday: Dream Big

The weekend is here and that means that it's "Friday Funday" ! Head into the weekend with a fearless dream session about how you can continue to find time, more consistently, to retreat from the craziness of your life to seek rest and also to recharge as the schedule fill up again with school obligations and holidays in the weeks and months ahead! Dream Big Darling! Oh, and make sure you are shooting for the stars and not stifling your dreams due to fear of leaving your comfort zone. The best stuff happens when you leave the comfort zone! Dream fearlessly darling! It just may pay off!

Saturday: Rest, Reflect, Reevaluate, & Restart

Celebrate "Self-Care Saturday" by reflecting, relaxing, and recharging yourself Darling! It is time for your interim review ! I hope 2025 is off to an incredible start! I also hope that you have truly begun to prioritize yourself more! As we usher in a new schoolyear this month, now is a great time to Rest, Reflect, Reevaluate, & Restart . How can you continue to easily & efficiently practice this prompt in even more creative and specific ways throughout the reminder of 2025 to ensure your habits and practices are refreshed and renewing to your spirit, your body, and your mind! Resting is vital, reflecting is helpful, reevaluating matters, and restarting keeps you growing!

If you haven't yet signed up to get on the Dazzling District mailing list so you can receive the monthly newsletter and other occasional communications, do so using THIS LINK . Don't wait, you'll be disappointed you did! PLUS, Coffeetalk made a comeback in a flashy, fun new way last year and I'm committing to releasing it more consistently in 2025 as I step up my publishing game this year! Finally, thank you so much for being patient with me through the creating, defining, and building of this company, and for showing back up for me here with every new blog post! The repeat readers, loyal followers, and each active member of this little dazzling community mean the world to me. I appreciate you more than you'll ever know!

~ Live Dazzling

Rebecca Jackson

The Struggle is Real

Fri, 01 Aug 2025 17:49:33 GMT

When you've poured everything that you possibly can from your vessel, and you've got nothing left, it can feel like a desperate, hopeless place to be. Add to it the loneliness that often accompanies motherhood, the guilt that too frequently arrives handcuffed to your self-care practices, as well as the mixed bag of postpartum concerns, and you've got a recipe for empty cup syndrome. This is all before even considering that moms in their mid to late thirties with little ones are also navigating perimenopause symptoms that nobody told them would begin to show up in their thirties! It can feel like too much.

The struggle is most certainly REAL! Life is hard. This is a time-tested truth. It's a biblically validated truth. It is undeniable. Life can be so damn hard it feels useless to try. We can feel incapable of creating change or making a difference. It can feel hopeless. I know all of these things from personal experience. Except, that thinking gives the power to the problems, it minimizes our actual power as individuals, and it contributes the worst attitudes into the big picture that is our society. When we are depleted, we are our worst version of ourselves. As women, we so often pour into others to the point of our own depletion, and if we do so too frequently, we run empty, becoming burned out. This is why intentionally prioritizing our own wellbeing is truly in the best interest of the world.

Life is hard. It's tiring. It's draining. All of this is true. What is also true is the fact that keeping yourself from running completely dry is your responsibility. I'm here to tell you that there is a better way, a more dazzling way! You don't have to settle for depleted, hurting, desperate, and irritable anymore. You can begin to practice intentional self-care, compassionate self-love, and valuable self-discovery while making noticeable strides towards filling yourself up faster. You can seek help healing from your hurts, begin slapping some gold on your cracks, stopping the leaks, and allowing you to retain more of what you're filling yourself up with. Combing these things will have you overflowing in a way you've never known before. You will be noticeably more dazzling. You'll feel it. Other's will see it. Everyone will benefit.

When you prioritize your needs and your wellness, you can fill yourself up so abundantly that you overflow into your people. It's not just bubble baths and glasses of wine, or trips to the salon for a manicure and a hair transformation. It's truly factoring your mental wellness, your physical wellness, and also your spiritual wellness. When you are prioritizing all of your needs and wellness, mind, body, and spirit, you will begin to flow goodness into you, God's vessel. When this happens enough, factoring all three components consistently, eventually you will no longer need to pour into others, you'll be abundantly overflowing the best of you into the world instead. With these three components functioning at their peak and aligned, you will ignite the Dazzling Spark inside your soul, allowing you to truly activate your personal God Gifted Superpowers so you can use them for the good of all the world.

Pouring depletes, so overflow your abundance instead! Prioritizing others and their needs above your own is noble, but dangerous. Even Christ went away to be alone when He needed to prioritize His own spiritual wellness amidst the incredible responsibility He was given here on earth. We are called as people to pour love into our world. We are called as women and mothers to care for and nurture others. You can't do that well when you are first not pouring love over yourself. You can't do that when you are first not caring for and nurturing yourself. We are called as responsible contributors of society to be civil and productive towards world peace. Except we can't do that when we don't first create peace in ourselves. We are a broken society, amidst a broken world. We need to stop being radical about others and our beliefs of them, we should get radical about our own care and wellbeing. It stands a better chance of creating peace in our world if you ask me. Each of us, overflowing the healthiest, most joyful, and loving parts of us into the world together. Collectively, it will take all of us sparking our dazzling and overflowing the best of us into the world to fix this broken planet. It starts with you. I pray you use this place to begin the quest; He put it on my heart to build it for that purpose, and to keep it running from my own abundance!

Live Dazzling! ~Rebecca Jackson

7 Steps In 7 Days - Podcast Edition

Sun, 27 Jul 2025 05:29:08 GMT

I want to give you some easy ideas to

Begin practicing the 7 Step Method in just 7 days!

If you aren't already familiar with my 7 Step Method to Fill Your Cup First, then check out the blog post that I wrote at the very beginning of 2021 HERE to get comfortable with the method.

If you're already familiar with my 7 Step Method, then keep on reading for seven super simple ways to begin implementing the 7 Step Method in just 7 days this summer, to spoil yourself, and fill you up!!!

My apologies, again ... I'm definitely regretting posting a schedule back in January. �� But honestly, I'm guessing it isn't being noticed much, I have very few readers at this point. This month I had planned to make it a patriotic but since it's posting at the end of July instead of the beginning of July, I'm switching it up and making it a podcast themed episode! What do I mean by that? I mean that each day will tie into listening to my NEW podcast! This is perfect because recording and editing the podcast is what set me so behind when it came to working on this 7 in 7 blog, so why not tie the two together?!?

I am doubling down for the rest of the year and intend to return to my schedule!

A previous version of me would have become discouraged through all these setbacks and missed deadlines that I've had this year, and I would likely have disappeared and simply found a job to help my family with financial stability in this trial filled season. This version of me today realizes the assignment in the vision I was given when I heard the call to create this place. However, because of the progress I've made in my mindset coaching, instead of quitting when I fell off my plan, I launched a brand-new sales page on March 20th! I launched it just in time for you to have easy access to my unique digital products, downloadable journals and booklets created to aid you on your Dazzling Quest! As summer keeps quickly progressing, I launched my new podcast "The Dazzling Show" on July 2nd to help encourage all of the moms out there to prioritize their self-care and begin practicing "The Art of Overflow"!

Season One is themed to help moms that are just trying to "Survive Summer" and you can Listen to it HERE !

You can find my sales page here to access my unique tools for yourself!

Summer is my favorite season. I love the abundance of fruit and fresh veggies that this season brings. I love the sunshine, and warmth it brings to the days. I love being in and around the water. I love the longer days and firefly filled nights. As the summer days get longer though, we can so easily fill the days with exciting experiences and ambitious adventures, that sometimes occupy more time than we realize. Before we know it, we've neglected our care. This is one of the reasons I decided to start my podcast, so that I could help other moms prioritize their needs at it gets hotter and harder to survive summer, and every other season too! This month's 7 in 7 is going to be focused on the self-care practices inspired by the long days and warm nights of the summer months! I'm sharing this month's installment of my reoccurring blog series, "7 Steps in 7 Days" to offer solutions for weaving my 7 Step Method into your life with more ease as the days get longer. I've put together a week's worth of ways for you to practice some bonus self-care this month, while listening to my new podcast, in the middle of your everyday life. The goal this month is super simple but effective ways to help you prioritize you with headphones on! Whether you practice them all this week or spread them out from now into next month, these ideas may help you fill your cup first this July! I hope you have a comfy pair, you're going to need them!

Filling Your Cup First

one day at a time.

Seven steps in seven days.

It just makes sense to me.

Here is the July 7 Steps in 7 Days:

Sunday: Back to the Basics

This "Sunday Soak" takes you out to the sidewalk. One of the four cornerstones of getting Back to the Basics is rest, and I find physical activity a great way to help tire me out for good rest. It doesn't have to be some intense physical activity, or even for very long stretch of time. It can be as simple as grabbing your headphones, slipping on your tennis shoes, and hitting the pavement for a little walk around your neighborhood while you listen to my new podcast "The Dazzling Show"!

Episode One talks about Frazzled not being a Default!
Monday: Mindfulness Moment

For our "Monday Mindfulness Moment" this month I want you to be mindful of the things you listen to, and the places you spend your time online. We can be careless sometimes with the things we watch and listen to, allowing negative crap to seep in when we don't intend it to. If this continues, you'll be thinking pretty crappy in no time. Step it Up this month by seeking ways to slim down your time spent on social media or binge-watching garbage tv and then replace it with something that encourages you to spend time on yourself, like listening to my new podcast "The Dazzling Show". Episode Two discusses that Self-Care is not Selfish!

Tuesday: Do Something Little for You

Today is "Treat Yourself Tuesday" ! It's the time of the week where I give you permission to Do Something Little for You and spoil yourself, for taking time intentionally every day to improve your care. Summer is here in full effect and the beautiful weather won't stay forever, making it a fabulous time to treat yourself to your preferred summer cocktail and find a quiet spot to relax listening to my new podcast "The Dazzling Show"! Episode Three covers that Healing is not Linear!

So, not terribly scary or overwhelming to apply to your week so far, right?

The second half of the week is when things start to get real fun!

Wednesday: Get a Hobby

For this month's "Wednesday Workshop" it's time to try something new. Get a Hobby that always wanted to try! Maybe it's a glass blowing class, or painting ceramics at a local studio. Maybe it's picking up a new sport or writing poems! A fun hobby that also gets you moving is a great double duty self-care activity, and writing poems can be a great way to clear your brain, Darling! The goal of this prompt is to play in a new way, encouraging continued growth in your self-care! If the hobby you choose can accommodate it, pop those headphones on and listen to my new podcast, "The Dazzling Show". Episode Four handles the topic of Joy not being the same as Happy!

Thursday: Get Your A$$ Moving

As the days have become longer & the nights have become warmer, I've chosen this "Thick Thighs Thursday" to benefit from both of those things. Grab a pair of tennis shoes and hit the pavement again, slowing growing your fitness. You can decide, running this time or walking again, I don't care at all what you choose as long as you Get Your A$$ Moving as you navigate your neighborhood just a little before dusk to benefit from the slight temperature drop once the sun begins going down. Don't forget to wear bright colors so you are easy to spot by drivers out on the road though. Plus, lookout for critters! Make sure you don't forget to grab those earbuds too so you can listen to my new podcast "The Dazzling Show"! Episode Five is all about how Play is not always being Childish!

Friday: Dream Big

The weekend is here and that means that it's "Friday Funday" ! Head into the weekend daydreaming about how you can continue to find time, more consistently, to retreat from the craziness of your life to seek rest and also to recharge this summer! Dream Big Darling! Oh, and make sure that you head over to my podcast website to subscribe so you don't miss a single episode! New episodes release on Wednesday's and there are four left to release from Season One!

Saturday: Rest, Reflect, Reevaluate, & Restart

Celebrate "Self-Care Saturday" by reflecting, relaxing & recharging yourself Darling! I hope 2025 is off to an incredible start! I also hope that you have truly begun to prioritize yourself more! As we usher summer in this month, now is a great time to Rest, Reflect, Reevaluate, & Restart . How can you continue to easily & efficiently practice this prompt in even more creative and specific ways throughout the reminder of 2025 to ensure your habits and practices are refreshed and renewing to your spirit, your body, and your mind! Resting is vital, reflecting is helpful, reevaluating matters, and restarting keeps you growing! I will take a short pause on my podcast "The Dazzling Show" before heading into my second recording season "Thriving Thru Fall" and I can't wait until then!

If you haven't yet signed up to get on the Dazzling District mailing list so you can receive the monthly newsletter and other occasional communications, do so using THIS LINK . Don't wait, you'll be disappointed you did! PLUS, Coffeetalk made a comeback in a flashy, fun new way last year and I'm committing to releasing it more consistently in 2025 as I step up my publishing game this year! Finally, thank you so much for being patient with me through the creating, defining, and building of this company, and for showing back up for me here with every new blog post! The repeat readers, loyal followers, and each active member of this little dazzling community mean the world to me. I appreciate you more than you'll ever know!

~ Live Dazzling

Rebecca Jackson

Raise Them Up

Tue, 22 Jul 2025 19:04:09 GMT

This year has been a doozy for my family, that's for sure. We had a happy start to the year with my oldest home to celebrate New Years with us after 3 years without her home. We were all dolled up and dancing, taking selfies, and sharing our families favorite New Years Eve foods and traditions for one magical evening before she went back to her new home in another state. After she left, we amped up for a very busy year ahead, except no sooner were we reaching an early peak (financially and otherwise), when we faced our first real hurtle of the year. My husband got hurt and was out of work for an undetermined amount of time. It was a big faith moment for me. It has required a level of faith is what I believe and a new level of faith in my God. Faith that He would provide. Faith that He would heal. Faith in the goodness of God throughout this entire process. And through it, my God has been so good.

When it first happened. I was scared, and I was doubtful in our community post quarantine. It had been seven and a half years since we had stopped regularly attending church service at the church that we had called home for over ten years after a season of church politics left it feeling unsettling to our spirits. We had transition to attending Sunday service virtually via a church from a different state, one we felt called to move to in a future season of life. Though we weren't attending Sunday service at our previous church home, I had maintained plugged in via women's study groups and vacation bible school over the summers through 2019, but fall of 2019 I had phased out of the women's study group, as it no longer felt like it aligned for me in the season I was in. In the summer of 2020, there was no vacation bible study due to quarantine. It felt like a chapter in a book closing. We were sad, but our oldest had just graduated high school and we were preparing to move her to college, it likely would not have been feasible on the calendar even without quarantine.

I didn't expect to wind up entirely disconnected from the community of people we had grown and raised families beside for all of those years, however, some moved, some passed away, some simply grew apart from us in the years since, but we found ourselves okay with a smaller circle while we were in this season anyways. I do strongly believe that sometimes God does isolate us to grow us. Through this season I may not have been connected to study groups or church communities, but I was definitely still connected to God, with my praise and worship music, my independent bible study, and a constant stream of different devotions keeping me learning, and a constant dialogue with God happening in my spirit. I would be lying if I said that I didn't feel guilty that my kids were no longer connected to youth groups and children's Sunday school, because I definitely felt guilt pangs periodically over the years. Except, my kids had each experienced different changes in their own seasons, slowly straying or exploring different beliefs. This was why I doubled down in my own faith walk. Confident in the promises of Proverbs 22, more specifically, the promise of verse six which says,

"Direct your children into the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it." - Proverbs 22:6

I fought the urge to lecture or discipline them for exploring their own beliefs, instead I focused on my own walk and modeling the best I could while I prayerfully considered my hopes and dreams for who they would become as adults. This year has confirmed to me so much in my own faith beliefs, and it has also shown me the fruits of the truth in this verse. In the last 6 months, my girls at home have all returned to and/or grown in their faith and faith practices, all 3 choosing to get baptized again, or in the case of my youngest, for the first time, in a beautiful sunset beach baptism ceremony last week. It made my momma heart beam to watch them make this declaration of their faith in Jesus, our Lord and Savior. Since then, my oldest at home began researching local churches to find a vbs (vacation bible school) for our youngest to attend since all of her vbs moments were when she was younger than five, and she has no memory of them. Add to it that her age next summer will prevent her from attending instead of being a helper. My oldest girl at home found one, registered our youngest, and signed up to be a helper at a church she's never attended, simply because she wants to get back into vbs.

The Holy Spirit spreads faster than wildfire when it's nurtured and your actions demonstrate that it's working inside of you. By simply raising them with the seed of the spirit planted and nurtured in their younger years, I was doing the directing part well. Setting them off on the right path. Even when we completely stopped going to our previous church home, I was still nurturing my own faith in a way that my children could see it, thus when they became older, they returned instead of leaving it. Now I fully understand that as my girls are still growing, and are at various different stages of growing up, therefore, they may stray again, possibly even further, and now I have fruits from my experiences to remind me of the truth in Proverbs 22:6 and if it does ever happen again, I'll just pray over this verse.

I fully pray that something in this blog has given you some hope that encourages you to lean into your faith in this motherhood season, and remember this verse, and the other values found in the Proverbs.

Live Dazzling! ~Rebecca Jackson

Embrace Your Domestic Load

Mon, 30 Jun 2025 20:53:37 GMT

By Finding Your Unique method to "hustle & grind"

In full transparency, I started this blog 5 years and 3 months ago before it got put on the back burner, about the time I started a virtual branding intensive program, and I found myself putting it on a hard pause. When I next approached it, a year later, it didn't feel aligned to write at that time, my home was a uniquely new state of unorganized chaos. So, I ended up putting it on an even harder pause. I definitely thought at some points in these last fifty-one and a half months that this blog would eventually end up scrapped altogether. Except, I'm no quitter. It sat in the depths of my blog edits, amidst my many other published blogs, nearly forgotten. Until today! I hope you enjoy it, now that I've finally finished and published it. Maybe you even take some new perspectives away from it, to apply to your domestic duties, and aid in increasing the joy you experience around your home and within your responsibilities.

When it comes to balancing the domestic load in your life it helps to do your best to embrace it with...

E mpathy (for yourself & others)

a M otivated spirit

B oundaries (you hold)

R ules

A ccountability

C ompassion

E xcitement

Everyone has domestic responsibilities, but women definitely seem to carry the biggest load, with moms carrying the top 1% of the biggest loads. Fighting or resisting these domestic tasks and chores only makes it harder for you, in inevitably, worse for your people. This is why the key to achieving Domestic Goddess standing is embracing the load. It all starts with an embrace.

I'll break it down a little further.

I know that empathy may have confused you at first reading, because by definition it means the ability to understand and share the feelings of another, so how can you practice empathy with yourself? You can do so by remembering that you are not just wife and/or mother, you are daughter and friend. Would those people in your life truly look at you with the same condemnation & judgement of the job you do attempting to successfully navigate your domestic responsibilities? If you can easily assume that you are capable of providing them empathy, then you should turn that empathy inward as well, looking at yourself as your best friend. Balancing an impossible number of tasks and responsibilities is no simple feat. You deserve to give yourself empathetic grace just as easily as you would give it to others. Considering the things that overlook for the ones you love and care for, and the grace you freely give others, I think it's necessary you treat yourself to the same heaping amounts of grace and kindness darling. If you won't, who will?

Next, a motivated spirit can make all the difference, but motivation can be so hard to grasp hold of for many. In the event that you are one of those people whom motivation frequently evades, then here's a few things I do to kick my own motivation into overdrive. First, I like to remind myself of the why behind the tasks I'm unmotivated to do, Then, I like to bribe myself a little with a post task reward, something as simple as watching the most recent episode of your favorite reality show, just give yourself a prize at the end of the process. Lastly, I try to celebrate my accomplishments upon completion, even if it's no more that telling myself good job and admiring the finished product.

Boundaries are an obvious one, except if you don't hold the boundaries you set, then the boundary isn't even a boundary. This is why the next one is, boundaries that you actually hold. Holding a boundary firm is the only way to use this one effectively, and if you don't hold the boundary, you'll find the same people breaching them over and over. When it comes to your home and your family you have every right to set and hold boundaries, not to block yourself off from the world eternally, but to protect your peace now.

When it comes to the domestic duties in your life, having rules that you apply to them, can help you accomplish them easier. Simple rules, like emptying the dishwasher promptly upon its completion so that you and your people can fill the dishwasher instead of the sinks new dishes accumulate. Or folding and hanging your clothes once they finish drying, so they won't get wrinkled and stall future loads. Maybe you make a rule that the lawn gets mowed every Monday, or that your fall cleanup of your yard must be done prior to Halloween, or that the trash cans get to the curb every evening before pick-up prior to it being dark outside. You know which duties make your life the most challenging. Take some time to assess and assign. Assess your tasks, assign rules wherever it makes sense. These rules become "house rules", not just "your rules". Make sure that those in your house know these rules will apply to everyone moving forward. This way, when a chore is assigned or a task is delegated, there can be no excuse when it's not done according to the rules, and this will help spread the responsibility around. You're not the only one living in your home.

With rules in place, this next one becomes handcuffed in importance to your rules, and that's accountability . If you set rules, if you assign chores, if you delegate tasks, then you must be sure to hold yourself and the others in your home accountable to them. It's not enough to make the rule, just like it wasn't enough to set the boundary. You must have follow through for it to work, accountability ensures that the rules you set are taken seriously and applied to. If there is no accountability, then your rules will fly right out the window, whether you mean them to or not.

Hand in hand with empathy, I consider compassion to be a great one as well. There will always be unexpected things, trials, tribulations, and sadly even traumas. When these things happen, duties will slip, and when they do, ensure you lead with your compassion, for yourself and/or others. When grief comes, chores go by the wayside. When pain happens, some duties aren't possible. When shit hits the fan, the fan doesn't always get cleaned up right away. THIS IS OKAY! Life happens without any care about our plans, or rules, or intentions, and giving ourselves an easy pass in these instances keeps your guilt from returning to them and repairing wherever possible.

Excitement makes many things better and this is no exception. When you look at your domestic duties out of a place of obligation it snuffs out any excitement you could possibly encounter right out the gate. When you look at your domestic duties out of a place of blessing it's like creating a spark of excitement in your soul that can only ignite further or inevitably get snuffed out again by obligation. My recommendations for sparking excitement in your soul begins with how you start your day. Do you roll out of bed frustrated and tired, or rested and ready? Do you spend your day complaining in chaos, or dancing through the craziness? Do you end your evenings drowning it out with your guilty pleasures until crashing, or do you end your evenings peaceful and calm, counting your blessings? Your mindset and how you set your days up matters. Look for ways to focus on blessing and create excitement in your days and the duties will drift into play, making your days feel less like surviving it and more like thriving in it!

My advice is to Hustle & Grind your way to Domestic Goddess standing!

H ousework schedule

U nique purpose

S cheduled obligations

T o-Do list my tasks

L egacy focused priorities

E xercise or physical activity

G o to supplies

R ituals: daily-weekly-monthly

I ntermittent R&R

N ecessary planning

D elegating

These are going to be shorter blurbs, because I feel many of these are somewhat self- explanatory. I don't buy into traditional hustle & grind culture, and I don't think you should either. I believe it's a patriarchal concept that doesn't benefit us women at all, not in mind, body, or spirit. It just creates stress and often times it magnifies the chaos needed to be coordinated.

I'll break it all down a little further.

I believe that having a housework schedule can help you feel less overwhelmed and stressed with all the things that we need to get accomplished around our home. There's no need to do all the things all of the time. Schedules can help us get it all done while still spreading it out across a month or a week without feeling the pressures all at once.

We all have a unique purpose , and so do many of the things that need done in our lives and our homes. Each task has a unique purpose. When we remember to tap into the unique purpose of our tasks it can make them feel less annoying while helping us appreciate the purpose of the task so we can appreciate its completion with more joy and less frustration. Plus, when we recognize the purpose no longer aligns, it helps us eliminate waste in our tasks.

As chores aren't the only responsibilities included when we think of domestic duties, I want to touch on scheduled obligations and how they can make our calendars more organized and also allows us to manage our schedule in a way that spreads out the obligations when we are doing so on a calendar or in a planner. There will be no more double bookings or rushing places last minute because you forgot something else and schedule things too closely when you do keep your obligations scheduled well.

I like to keep a running to-do list of my tasks because then I can always reference it and update it. Plus, I absolutely love checking things off of my to-do list. When I to-do list my tasks , it helps me feel more on top of all the many layers of my domestic duties and it helps it all feel more manageable. I also feel less likely that I'm going to forget something, because my list helps me remember.

When it comes to putting things on our calendars and schedules, we can easily minimize the stress and pressure by prioritizing things that are legacy focused priorities . Not everything we convince ourselves matters actually does matter in the big picture. When being the CCO (chief chaos officer) of your home, it helps to gauge tasks, chores, and activities that actually matter for your family's legacy and not just help and encourage you to keep up with the Jones

As for getting everything done, you may feel tired or exhausted, and I find that in my experience, when I am intentional to include exercise or physical activity in my days, I benefit from it two-fold, neither having to do with weight loss. First, I find that it increases my energy and helps me feel younger and more capable of accomplishing my tasks, and second it helps me to be tired enough to get to sleep earlier, allowing me more rest, so I can wake even more energized to tackle a new day of tasks.

When I have chores to accomplish around my home or my yard, the first thing I do is head to my go-to supplies for the chore. Having some go-to supplies on hand can make tackling tasks so much easier because you know where they are and can go to them promptly and reliably to help you get the task done. There are a few keys to making this work for you. To start, you have to have the supplies on hand, then you also need them to be in a reliable place where you intentionally store them, and lastly, I encourage they be in a convenient location to the task at hand, so you don't have to travel far to gather them. A cleaning caddy, a supply closet, etc.

Taking the house schedule and scheduled obligations a little bit further, rituals -daily - weekly - monthly , create a deeper connection to your schedules, transforming some of them into ritual practices instead. The difference is that a ritual is a series of actions followed without change or wavering. Typically, people consider rituals solely religious practices, but I believe much of our self-care and our domestic responsibilities can be executed ritualistically as well. You can have a shower ritual just like you can have a bathroom cleaning ritual. It's about finding the most effective and efficient way to execute the task, then applying those steps in a ritual way, without veering or even thinking in some cases.

Taking time in your days for intermittent R&R can be a game changer in productivity. With intermittent rest and relaxation in your days you are giving yourself permission to not always be on, even in your waking hours. When our brains are constantly firing, we are significantly more likely to burnout and become entirely unproductive altogether, with potential for a lengthier recovery time. Just scheduling in a few breaks into your day. like when we were in preschool, where you stop all the tasks, stop the brain wracking, and stop overthinking, you can give yourself a refresh in the middle of your tasks, making returning to them less annoying

Now, I've cover scheduling in a few different ways, and scheduling is a huge piece of navigating all the domestic demands with less confusion, except scheduling only covers part of the equation when it comes to more peacefully tackling tasks and productively getting things done. The other part of the equation is necessary planning . You can have it on the schedule, you may even have some home rituals in place, but if you reach for the go-to supplies and they aren't there, you're stuck. This is why you must also factor planning the necessary parts of the task or chore, to ensure you can accomplish it once you begin.

To close it all out, I saved the BEST one for last. It is the single step that makes all of the rest even easier to navigate and manage. Souper magical, almost like waving a wand and saying, "Wash the dishes", delegating is a vastly under used option. As moms I think we often feel like we have to do all the things, all of the time, except that's completely wrong, and impossible. You physically can't, and trying to really only punishes your home, your family, and also yourself. Delegate some of those tasks, chores, and even obligations. You deserve some help, even if you have to bribe (your children) or pay (for a professional) to get it done still! Hire some help! Expect your husband and your kids help too!

If you made it to here, thanks for reading and let me know what you think of my concepts and ideas. Will you try them? Do you already? Have they helped your domestic load? I want to know! I want you too, to become a domestic goddess darling!

Live Dazzling!

~Rebecca Jackson

7 Steps In 7 Days - Summer Edition

Fri, 20 Jun 2025 03:01:55 GMT

I want to give you some easy ideas to

Begin practicing the 7 Step Method in just 7 days!

If you aren't already familiar with my 7 Step Method to Fill Your Cup First, then check out the blog post that I wrote at the very beginning of 2021 HERE to get comfortable with the method.

My apologies, again ... I'm definitely regretting posting a schedule back in January. �� But honestly, I'm guessing it isn't being noticed much, I have very few readers at this point. When I started working with a mindset coach unexpectedly in February, I didn't anticipate it playing a role in me losing focus and momentum on my blogging! She's had me working on a more focused plan to execute my vision for Dazzling District inc. and also in believing that I am capable and called to be the founder & CEO of Dazzling District. In doing so, I've gotten so excited about the projects I'm working on towards that vision plan we've created in our coaching sessions. I nearly completely forgot to write my March, getting it out late. Then my husband hurt himself, and my April issue got put on the backburner, so it came out a little late too but still in time for Easter. I had hoped to be back on schedule for May, but I underestimated how long my husband's injury was going to keep me occupied and distracted.

I had also hoped to be back on track for June, but I completely forgot to factor in the fact that the first half of June was going to be crazy busy and exciting as we geared up as a family for our oldest daughter's college graduation trip. Fortunately, God provided just enough real-life miracles and blessings from friends and family so that we were still able to take this trip to watch her walk for her college graduation, becoming a 1st Generation graduate! Woohoo!!! We are proud, and impressed with her accomplishments, and we are also beyond excited for her future as a Video Game Producer! I am doubling down for the last half of the year and intend to return to my schedule!

A previous version of me would have become discouraged through all these setbacks and missed deadlines, and I would likely have disappeared and simply found a job to help my family with financial stability in this trial filled season. This version of me today realizes the assignment in the vision I was given when I heard the call to create this place. However, because of the progress I've made in my mindset coaching, instead of quitting when I fell off my plan, I launched a brand-new sales page on March 20th! I launched it just in time for you to have easy access to my unique digital products, downloadable journals and booklets created to aid you on your Dazzling Quest as summer keeps quickly approaching, and the kiddo's even get closer to summer break!

You can find my sales page here to access my unique tools for yourself!

Summer is my favorite season. I love the abundance of fruit and fresh veggies that this season brings. I love the sunshine, and warmth it brings to the days. I love being in and around the water. I love the longer days and firefly filled nights. As the summer days get longer though, we can so easily fill the days with exciting experiences and ambitious adventures, that sometimes occupy more time than we realize. Before we know it, we've neglected our care. This month's 7 in 7 is going to be focused on the self-care practices inspired by the long days and warm nights of the summer months! I'm sharing this month's installment of my reoccurring blog series, "7 Steps in 7 Days" to offer solutions for weaving my 7 Step Method into your life with more ease as the days get longer. I've put together a week's worth of ways for you to practice some bonus self-care this month, in the middle of your everyday life. The goal this month is super simple but effective ways to help you prioritize you with a focus on hydration! Whether you practice them all this week or spread them out from now until next month, these ideas may help you fill your cup first this June! I hope you have a wonderful Summer Solstice!

Filling Your Cup First

one day at a time.

Seven steps in seven days.

It just makes sense to me.

Here is the June 7 Steps in 7 Days:

Sunday: Back to the Basics

This "Sunday Soak" takes you to the kitchen. One of the four cornerstones of getting Back to the Basics is Personal Care and it includes Hydration. In this exercise you can hydrate yourself while you hydrate your nuts by soaking them! Nuts provide a great source of protein; but they can be rough on the digestive system. This month I'd like to encourage you to explore soaking your nuts to boost the enzyme activity in them as well as for better nutrient absorption AND improved digestibility! Hydrating your nuts can make them better for you in multiple ways!
Monday: Mindfulness Moment

For our "Monday Mindfulness Moment" this month I want you to be mindful of the wasted time & money hidden in your personal hygiene routines. By clean and colorful, I mean foods with minimal human touch before it gets on your plate while also representing a variety of colors in your meals. Step it Up this month by slimming your routines down to the basics and eliminate complicated or expensive products that you don't consistently use or benefit from. Start with your skincare products & routines then move into your other practices. Eliminate the waste and gain time and money!

Tuesday: Do Something Little for You

Today is "Treat Yourself Tuesday" ! It's the time of the week where I give you permission to Do Something Little for You and spoil yourself, for taking time intentionally every day to improve your care. Summer is getting closer and that makes me think about life as a kid, where summer meant vacations. Whether it was a big trip or a simply a week of camping, these are some of my fondest summer memories. When summer arrives and I get nostalgic, I want to pack a bag to sneak away on a vacation just for me! Inspired by this permanent summer desire I seem to have, and the trip I just took with my family to my daughter's graduation, I want you to pack a little day bag & sneak off, for a little while, even just an hour, to a place where you can find a little peace & relaxation all alone or with some peaceful company!

So, not terribly scary or overwhelming to apply to your week so far, right?

The second half of the week is when things start to get real fun!

Wednesday: Get a Hobby

For this month's "Wednesday Workshop" it's time to explore something new Get a Hobby that will get you moving for fun! Maybe it's skateboarding, maybe it's dancing, maybe it's learning a new sport, just make sure it's an active hobby! A fun hobby that also gets you moving is a great double duty self-care activity Darling! The goal of this prompt is to play in the dirt, cultivating a new kind of growth, encouraging you to!

Thursday: Get Your A$$ Moving

As the days become longer & the nights become warmer, I have chosen this "Thick Thighs Thursday" to benefit from both of those things. Grab a blanket or a yoga mat & head to a quiet place outside, just before sunset... to Get Your A$$ Moving by doing some stretching to help relax your body for the evening, maybe even sneak a yoga pose or two into the mix also, the goal is to promote calm and also physical activity.

Friday: Dream Big

Saturday: Rest, Reflect, Reevaluate, & Restart

Celebrate "Self-Care Saturday" by reflecting, relaxing & recharging yourself Darling! I hope 2025 is off to an incredible start! I also hope that you have truly begun to prioritize yourself more! As we usher summer in this month, now is a great time to Rest, Reflect, Reevaluate, & Restart . How can you continue to easily & efficiently practice this prompt in even more creative and specific ways throughout the second half of 2025 to ensure your habits and practices are refreshed and renewing to your spirit, your body, and your mind! Resting is vital, reflecting is helpful, reevaluating matters, and restarting keeps you growing!

If you haven't yet signed up to get on the Dazzling District mailing list so you can receive the monthly newsletter and other occasional communications, do so using THIS LINK . Don't wait, you'll be disappointed you did! PLUS, Coffeetalk made a comeback in a flashy, fun new way last year and I'm committing to releasing it more consistently in 2025 as I step up my publishing game this year! Finally, thank you so much for being patient with me through the creating, defining, and building of this company, and for showing back up for me here with every new blog post! The repeat readers, loyal followers, and each active member of this little dazzling community mean the world to me. I appreciate you more than you'll ever know! Happy Summer Solstice!

~ Live Dazzling

Rebecca Jackson

The Taylor Swift Effect

Fri, 30 May 2025 03:57:19 GMT

In my memoir...

I have a chapter named "Celebrating in the Seasons" and in that chapter I have a section called "The Taylor Swift Effect".

Today felt like the EXACT right day to share this section as a preview of my book to celebrate Taylor owning her masters!

Here's the excerpt from my book, first draft, limited editing.

Doing It Broken

Taylor Swift wrote a song about doing it with a broken heart, a song that women around the world heard upon its release and felt immediate connection with. Me included. In the song she writes and sings about a season in her life where she was literally waking up and going through the motions with a broken heart and how she acted like it was her birthday every day just to get through a day without crumbling. Taylor freaking Swift. This is a great representation for celebrating in the middle of the pain, even if you are making up the reason to celebrate. Every single day we wake up we have a reason to have woken. Whether we have connected with the reason yet or not. We are not all Taylor Swift with billionaire level purposes, but that doesn’t mean ours isn’t still an important one. Not to mention, “I Can Do It with A Broken Heart” proves that even at her level, she still must navigate and persist through pain to serve her purpose. She changed lives at every one of her tour stops for the Era’s Tour all while writing those sentiments into her next album, through a broken heart.

No matter the pain you are pushing through, there is a purpose towards which you are pushing. Sometimes, until we connect with that purpose, we just need to latch on to a reason to celebrate that day, every day, even if we are grasping at straws, or making it up as we go. I lived that season. Making it up as I went from the moment I graduated from high school until the summer I was celebrating my 10th wedding anniversary. I had lots to celebrate but I was simply swinging desperately from one reason for celebration to the next reason, grasping for each one and holding onto it until I could reach the next celebration. This accidentally served me well because I was actively looking for silver linings in these years. The level of which I celebrated varied, the financial burden of celebrating at points was tricky to navigate, but we managed. We managed, God provided, lessons were learned, and memories were made, so many memories were made.

Fix Your Focus

I was swinging from one reason for celebration to the next. Like a dazzling Tarzan-like version of Jane. The parties, the planning, the way my neurodivergent brain thrived bouncing from theme to theme, craft to craft, event to event, project to project, purchase to purchase, until all of the swinging ripped my arms right off my body, still dangling from the branches while my body plummeted to the bottom of the jungle floor. It was in this season of life where my very last strings of competency and joy were no longer holding me together. I was getting complacent in my life, and it was exactly then that I began to breed contempt in my life for those around me whose celebrations looked the way I wanted mine to be. In my season of swinging from celebration to celebration, somewhere along the way I had stopped holding onto the thing we were celebrating, and instead I was holding on to the validation and praise my fabulous celebrations were obtaining for me. What started as a genuinely joy filled survival mechanism transformed right before my eyes into a machine of doom and gloom. The stress, the exhaustion, the expense, the inability to not compare to the celebrations of those around us. It all took the joy right out of each reason.

My focus had shifted, and it was on the neighbor’s yard, so I was not properly maintaining my own yard, simply trying to keep up with the Jones, (whoever they are). I needed to fix my focus on the things that I was supposed to be focused on all along. I had set out in this celebratory trajectory as a scared new mom to hold tightly onto the causes for celebration and give me something joyful to cling to through the trials of being a young, unprepared mother. Somewhere on that road I used the celebrations to do the same thing, but I was seeking different goals in what registered on the joy meter. These new goals were rooted more in envy than joy, thus the joy meter stopped climbing but the excuses to celebrate kept multiplying. This only perpetuates a cycle of disappointment and comparison. Focusing on the wrong goals nearly cost me everything, and it did not really gain me any friends either, just a bunch of people who wanted to be invited to my parties. Major fail.

The Taylor Swift Effect

I mentioned Queen Tay-Tay earlier in this chapter and now I am going to talk about her again, for an entire subsection. Taylor Swift and I have been on a journey together. One she knew nothing of, and one I only became aware of recently. Through the stages and seasons of both of our lives we have been on our own journeys of course, but her journey has played an interesting part in my journey. What I have come to affectionately call, The Taylor Swift Effect. In this section I will detail my fan journey, in eras (stages), seasons, and triggers. Get ready to hold on, it is going to be a wild ride, Darling!

My T.S. Era’s

My Swiftie Era Began: Taylor Swift (2006) I entered my Swiftie era when her first album dropped. I was already a mother, my oldest had just entered preschool, I was actively making decisions towards growing our future, engaged, planning a wedding, and shifting my employment to encourage ease of purchasing a home for my little family to begin to bloom in. I remember thinking how impressive it was that this young girl, 7 years my junior, was taking the music industry by storm and I loved that the future of music was growing to include musicians like her, that my daughter could look up to as she got older.

I was not spending much money on music back then, but I loved every one of the songs from that album that were released as singles, and I’ve come to appreciate the additional songs over the years as well. Afterall, before meeting my husband, I had been “Tied Together with a Smile” plenty of times before, I had my own “Picture to Burn” (or a few) from when I was a teenager, I had felt many “Cold” shoulders from mediocre boys through all of school, and I had always felt on the “Outside”, assuming I would be heading into my future a lonely single lady looking for “A Place in This World” . In this season though, I had found my best friend and the partner I would choose to do life with instead. Despite my launching into adulthood going less than stellar, I was deciding to “Stay Beautiful” even if I did not believe it yet.

My Fearless Era: Fearless (2008) When her second album dropped, I was in the middle of so much new, entering my own personal “Fearless” era. I was settling into my roles as wife and mother of two daughters (roles I never imagined playing), now feeling capable and empowered because I was doing this life, for the first time, with a partner I trusted. I had survived “Fifteen” which was a feat in and of itself. I had stressed over more than a few boys in high school. I had navigated post-graduation (2001) in a chaotic and grieving America, yet somehow, I had begun my own “Love Story” .

All through school I felt like the girl who was always a good, dependable friend, who knew the real them, but never got picked to go to the dance with. Hearing this album, for the first time as I was settling into life, newly married to the boy who did see me, who rode in on his “White Horse” (really a beat-up blue Corsica) and did pick me, and who did appreciate me as a best friend AND lover, all felt full circle for me. Finally, someone had said “You Belong with Me” . He had been there to help me “Breathe” through some hard shit already. The days of asking boys to “Tell Me Why” and telling them “You’re Not Sorry” were in my past. My future was going to be filled with telling one incredible guy every day that “The Way I Love You” is magical and I will love you “Forever and Always”. I was living “The Best Day” on repeat as my little family kept growing. This season was filled with “Change” . I had no idea how hard life would soon get.

My SAHM Era: Speak Now (2010) I was settling into life as a mother of three by the time this album dropped. Embarking on my first holiday season as a stay-at-home mom, feeling a little lost in my own outcasted and lonely corner of the world. I was speaking plenty, but mostly only to my kids, and they did not reliably listen. The pressures of parenting and the fading of the honeymoon stage had me worrying how long my husband would still be “Mine” if I didn’t figure my shit out. It had become a regular occurrence that our arguments let “Sparks Fly” even if they were the wrong kind of sparks to be flying less than 5 years into our marriage. I wanted to go “Back to December” when I was still growing our third daughter and life seemed easier.

My oldest was quickly approaching tweendom, at eight and a half, this album reached into her and grabbed ahold of her soul, immediately transforming her into a Swiftie herself. I have fond memories of blasting this album with her, belting out the lyrics alongside “Mean” with her while painting her room to give her bedroom a big girl makeover. I was desperately trying to craft “The Story of Us” to share with everyone else, reflecting only perfection and hiding the struggles we were living through in our marriage. I was feeling like everything was spinning so fast around me and I wanted to press pause on life so I could catch my breath. Praying intensely to make sure my girls “Never Grow Up” and pleading with God to keep us living in a happy “Enchanted” little family bubble together forever. I was feeling my marriage threatened and it had me thinking I needed to find a solution “Better Than Revenge” and I was also hopeful my kids were oblivious and “Innocent” through it all. I was “Haunted” by the potential of my marriage ending in divorce, with a “Last Kiss” .

This was the last of Taylor’s albums that I consciously appreciated for a while. Over the next few years, I struggled with post-partum anxiety, rage, and depression, which stuck around and morphed into normal depression and anxiety. I was living a new normal and feeling the least connected to my body, my true self, or my true voice since becoming a mother. I was reconnected with a church community for the first time in over five years, and I was feeling a need to fit into the mold of a good, traditional stay at home mother and wife… whatever that mold is. I was craving connection, and an identity separate of wife and mother, but I was lost as to how to attain them. I was desperate for the days when I felt like a success, “Long Live” the glory days.

My Rage Era: Red (2012) I was living my own personal “Red” era by the time this album dropped. I was living in a minefield of triggers, perched up on my high horse, oblivious to the fact that the album had even dropped. Consumed with my church life, I was listening to the local Christian radio station only. I was a year past my adult baptism, and I was showing extraordinarily little fruit of that decision because I was doing so much well-intended, but wrong, and severely lacking quality connection. I was living in a state of perpetual judgement, surrounded by people I was busy trying to convince that I was worthy and holy. I was trying to find my people in the church community, and it was making me feel anything but a “State of Grace” . I was sliding down a slippery, “Treacherous” slope towards a conservative Stepford wife existence.

My husband and I were in a tricky season, lacking connection, lacking intimacy; we were lacking trust in each other at that time. I was insecure, lacking in authentic faith, and as much as I wish I did not, I remember it “All Too Well” . I was staring down the barrel of what felt like a “22” but really it was just my 30th birthday. The days of being young, optimistic, and excited about our future together seemed to be far in the rearview mirror now. Before getting married, we had both declared being unwilling to divorce. We had never planned to break up at all, let alone say “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” , yet somehow in this season I remember the D-word being uttered. I was desperate, I plead “Stay, Stay, Stay” and after a long, exhausting, and emotional discussion we were communicating again, better than ever before. Back on “Holy Ground” in our marriage, grateful to have avoided a “Sad Beautiful Tragic” outcome. In the months and years that followed, I was hearing an inner dialogue replay from our discussion that evening. It was of us debating back and forth, which of us was actually “The Lucky One” in our relationship. Everything changed for us that night. I listened to all but three of the songs on this album for the first time well after that season in my life ended.

My Legacy Era 1989 (2014) I appreciated this Taylor era in proximity to my two oldest girls listening. My second daughter officially got bitten by the Swiftie bug at the age of seven with the release of “1989” . My oldest daughter was approaching thirteen and she ushered her sister into the fandom with dance parties. The summer before this album dropped, my last paternal grandfather passed away, leaving my grandmother a widow after nearly 70 years of marriage. His death created a “Blank Space” in all of our lives. Funerals have a way of putting certain things in perspective. His funeral was no exception. It had me thinking back over the years, generationally in my family. I was seeing things in a new way. I was recognizing a pattern in the “Style” of relationship that many of my familial relationships had become. Things I would spend the next five years trying to unpack until I could eventually begin to “Shake It Off” entirely. For my husband, it had him thinking of our own family legacy. He softened to the idea of trying for a fourth baby, as our relationship had only been strengthening over the last few years. We decided quickly to try again. When this album released, right before Halloween that year, we had just announced our fourth pregnancy. I was trying to stay clear of all relationships with “Bad Blood” because I was incredibly sick that entire pregnancy. I had to take care of my well-being as a priority.

Never in my “Wildest Dreams” would I have anticipated having daughters, but I should have been teaching “How You Get The Girl” seminars because, we found out that winter that our last baby would be a fourth daughter. We all excitedly awaited her arrival, my three older daughters all taking turns bonding with the belly, I could not help but think nightly that “This Love” is amazing. My house was mostly “Clean” and I was nesting super hard, despite feeling sick much of the time. I was trying not to miss a beat as my SAHM load was at maximum capacity. I was beginning to realize that I was so wrapped up in being mom, wife, and daughter, that I was forgetting who I was, but back then I did not yet know this was where I was. I was trying to convince myself that everything was going fine, even though I felt a little like Alice in “Wonderland” not sure what to expect next. Putting on a happy face became a regular occurrence in this season of my life, secretly inside I felt scared of the future.

My Pit Climbing Era Reputation (2017) In the 3 years between the last album release and the release of “Reputation” so much had changed. In our lives. In the world. This album dropped the day after my second daughter turned ten and, in her eyes, it was like a personal birthday gift from Taylor Swift. Her Swiftie heart grew three sizes that day. I on the other hand had been through the year from Hell and my patience was at an all-time low. I was at an all-time low. I think my Swiftie heart shrunk 3 sizes with this album release and a hard shell slowly began to form around the Swiftie inside me. I have something to admit, “…Ready For It?” In 2017 I was ridiculously jealous of Taylor Swift and her big, fabulous life. She was still looking for the one who would make her feel loved and seen, all while living her best life, and I was sick of it. I needed her to find her “End Game” because the drama always surrounding her was working my last nerve.

In hindsight, I know it had absolutely nothing to do with Taylor, but I was triggered by her. Her voice, her music, her name. The more I dug into my own grief journey, the more easily I felt triggered. I was quickly growing over it all as far as Taylor Swift was concerned. “I Did Something Bad” and I basically ignored this album for years. I had no time to care about her or this album, “Don’t Blame Me” I was in the fight of my life, in a very “Delicate” place of survival, drowning in grief. Ironically, her energy in this album is pretty on point for where I was at in life in this season. I was hurting, broken, and constantly saying, “Look What You Made Me Do” to everyone around me, transferring all accountability and projecting my pain onto those around me by the time the holiday season was in full swing. Hurt people, hurt people and “So It Goes” predictably that my relationships were disappearing, and my reputation was slipping to an all-time low. I was anything but “Gorgeous” and if I could have escaped my life with no repercussions in a “Getaway Car” by the time this album was released, I would have. I was forgetting to let God be the “King Of My Heart” and it was apparent. Christmas Day of that year is my least favorite Christmas memory ever. I was a mess screaming “This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things” at my family, mere hours after opening presents to celebrate the birth of our Savior. “Call It What You Want” but I called it an Unholy Hot-Mess Express. By the time we were celebrating “New Year’s Day” I knew it was time for change.

My Self-Love Era Lover (2019) I was no longer living in a pit, I had been transformed over the last year into a cup, a vessel for the glory and goodness of God; I was still figuring out how not to be triggered by this woman’s existence. I was filling my own cup finally, and I was reaping rewards in my life and in my relationships, but I was still learning about the value in controlling my own joy meter to keep my cup from getting shook up and spilled so easily. I was in my self-discovery season, on the heels of my most difficult years. I was reconnecting with my authentic self, and I was looking into the mirror at the reflection of myself in this season, regularly thinking to myself “I Forgot That You Existed” girl! Some days it was declared in annoyance at the reflection of the Basic Becky in the mirror, some days it was declared in youthful, excitement, and with grace from Saint Lynn looking back at me from in the mirror.

I was also navigating a “Cruel Summer” of my own, knowing it was the last summer before my first launching summer. This was our last summer of memory making before it all changed on us. The next summer I would be celebrating my oldest daughter’s high school graduation and preparing to launch her to college and into her future. Any parent who has done this knows it is a cruel double-edged sword between being proud, nostalgic parents, excited about their future, and being sad, grieving parents, looking at day-to-day life without them. I was in a wonderful place with my husband, my “Lover” and I were in synchronized bliss. On a personal level, I was fighting inner demons with the patriarchy. I was letting myself feel frustration with “The Man” for the first time, and I was finally recognizing the many disadvantages my femininity had cost me. I was angry I had to choose family over career, because the world is not designed for a woman to thrive at both family and career.

I could see a future where my kids were less reliant on me, and because of the choice I made to stay home to raise them, I had lost footing in the career world and was not sure where that left me once they were all launched. “The Archer” in me was growing weary and worried that I had no direction to soar in once my kiddos no longer needed me to be as hands on in their lives. I had always been so free-spirited as a child, yet adult responsibility had grounded me so long I needed to figure out how to fly on my own again. My husband was being really encouraging, telling me to try things and explore different business ideas. I fell in love with him again over and over in this season as I thought to myself a lot, “I Think He Knows” . He did know. He knew I needed to figure out how to love myself again. He knew there was so much to love about me, and so much potential in me but I could not see anything he saw. I thought I had squandered my potential to stay at home parenting instead. In this season I knew he was my soulmate, with zero doubt. If I had it to do over again, I would have married him with “Paper Rings” no question.

Most of 2019 felt like I was going to endure a “Death by a Thousand Paper Cuts” because of all the little difficulties I was experiencing this year while trying to discover, love, and heal myself all at the same time. I kept telling myself it was worth it, and when I would look in the mirror I would insist to my reflection “Soon You’ll Get Better” . There was no “False God” needed, my Savior was keeping me on track as long as I remembered to set the tone and have the foresight to seek the still small whisper. When I found myself enraged over the latest paper cut, I would whisper inside, “You Need to Calm Down” because I was trying with everything inside me to keep focused on my quest. Each little victory left me an “Afterglow” that I would cling to until my next small victory. I was living on a rollercoaster that year, rediscovering the things that lit me up, and diving deep into all the things “Me! ” I was even finally diving into the hardest stuff. My husband was an enormous support through this. I was regularly thinking that “It’s Nice To Have A Friend” , even if the only friend I felt close to at the time was my husband, it was the best and most consistent support I could have asked for. I was slowly trying to blossom a few new friendships again separate of him. Closing out 2019 I felt like I was truly walking in glorious “Daylight” finally, after years on the bottom of a cold dark pit.

My Full Cup Era Folklore (2020) By the time this album dropped it was getting easier for me to keep my cup full, and though Taylor was still a major trigger for me, I was considering ways to begin building a writing legacy of my own and pour back into the world. I was at a personal peak in life, despite preparing to move my oldest into college for the first time, in the middle of a pandemic. “The 1” thing that was trying to bring me down in 2020 was Covid-19. Covid closed the world down for quarantine that spring on the day my third daughter turned ten. She came home from school that day scared about the extended spring break we were getting due to quarantine, and sad about the cancellation of her big sleepover birthday festivities thanks to the pandemic. When it continued for more than two weeks, my oldest grew increasingly depressed by the cancellation of all the things that the last half of Senior year had previously been full of. My second Swiftie was in a weird stage of teendom that isolation from the lockdown only enhanced. My baby was missing her new friends from preschool, the first non-sister friends she had ever had. Tears were streaming, from all directions, for all different kinds of reasons, and my best consolation was to let them all cry and wipe the tears with the sleeves of my “Cardigan” .

I was focused on a website for a business vision I had received. I had begun building it at the beginning of lockdown. I had been procrastinating putting the idea into action for months because I did not know anything about real website design. When I was trauma schooling all my kids at once, it suddenly seemed like the exact right time to begin another impossible task. I had been building the website for nearly 4 full months when this album came out and I was definitely working towards a purpose that was still being revealed to me. Many believe there are no more truly incredible generational companies, that we have seen “The Last Great American Dynasty” but, while the world was in a lockdown, I was busy brewing up a plan to build a Dazzling Dynasty. While we all felt like we were existing in “Exile” separated from those outside our home, sorrows streaming from our eyes while we binged streaming services to distract ourselves, I found a way to help “My Tears Ricochet” by treating my broken season like a “Mirrorball”, and retracting light from all the broken pieces of myself. My goal in doing so was to create a truly, beautifully dazzling display of what you can be on the other side of an intentional quest to prioritize your care.

I had created a method I was using, “Seven” simple steps, over and over again I ascended the steps, ensuring I was filling my cup first. By “August” I was actively, intentionally taking time for myself and though I was far from perfect, I was genuinely telling my family that “This Is Me Trying” . Flawed, basically still broken, but being glued together with gold a little more each day. I was not participating in any “Illicit Affairs” but, to an outsider, it may have looked that way. Every evening there was something pulling me out of like clockwork once the kids were winding the down for the night. Like an “Invisible String” pulling me out the door and down the street every single night. It was not a person; it was a thing that I was being pulled out of my house to do every night. Some may think it makes me a “Mad Woman” that I enjoy going for a run, or sneaking out to the gym daily, but in 2019 I’d had an “Epiphany” and realized that physical activity like a run, or some time in the gym, is actually a mental sanctuary for me. I could find “Peace” in my head with great ease when working out or running. I was able to only focus on myself, and I was benefiting. Five days after this album came out, I completed my first 5K distance run, the evening after I moved my oldest into her first college dorm. It was no “Hoax” , just plain old mental sanctuary that I looked forward to. Taylor was not even on my radar at all as I headed into fall. I would come to appreciate this album, but it would take a few years before I would listen to it for the first time.

My Dazzling Era Evermore (2020) This album came out four days before my 38th birthday. Taylor Swift was a bigger trigger than ever before, my second Swiftie daughter was growing increasingly obsessed, ecstatic about the rerecord announcement and I was feeling the financial pressure of college for my oldest approaching. The thought of Taylor making more money off rerecording her entire music collection was annoying to me, especially ahead of the second new album that would drop that same year. To say that in this season of my life, the drama surrounding the rights to the master recordings of her music collection seemed an awful lot like “Champagne Problems” to me, would be downplaying it.

We were financially needing me to have an income, so when the kids all went back to school in the fall, including my youngest, and I had no kids at home for part of my day for the first time in a decade, I went out and got a job. I had gotten a one in a million, perfect for my mom taxi schedule, well paying, new job, only to have to quit it eight weeks later because my kids were ordered back to virtual schooling until January and my new employer had no work from home solution to offer me. If I could not show up to the office, I would not be able to keep my job. Unemployed again, I was feeling worthless about my financial contribution to our home. We were desperately needing me to bring in a second income now, more than ever as prices for everything had begun climbing. I doubled down on my dazzling mission and website.

The Pandemic Holidays were approaching, and though I was feeling financially stressed, I was excited about my new dazzling mission, and I was entering my Dazzling Era, having launched my Dazzling District website on December first of that year. I was just waiting for the world to think my business idea was brilliant and I knew a “Gold Rush” would commence towards my bank account. I was no longer feeling down in the dumps about the holidays like I had been the previous year, saying things like “ ‘Tis the Damn Season” at holiday gatherings just trying to “Tolerate It” . This year was different, the holidays were filled with “Happiness” thanks to the extremely decreased number of merry making tasks I had to tackle. I felt so light, like a discarded saltwater taffy wrapper blowing down the boardwalk at “Coney Island” kind of light. Once Upon a time, “A Cowboy Like Me” has been known to make the holidays way too complicated in years past, details so intricate that I may have had people looking for real reindeer at my holiday events. Quarantine Christmas left way less details for this Chief Merry Maker to consider.

So, “Long Story Short”, when this album came out, I was unimpressed and wholly uninterested, which really ended up being a shame because ultimately this album became an instant favorite once I gave it a listen. I just wasn’t ready for it when Taylor was ready to give it to me, days before my birthday, like a personal gift to little old me. I needed “Closure” before I was ready to receive it. I needed to be a little removed from this vulnerable season I was in; creatively vulnerable and financially vulnerable. In time it would become one of my top five Taylor Swift albums for “Evermore” .

My Reawakening Era Midnights (2022) In the nearly two years between “Evermore” and the release of this album I had been working my writing, creating, and branding efforts as a full-time gig around my family obligations. I had been floating through life on my new, dazzling autopilot and I was existing in some sort of “Lavendar Haze” , writing, creating, and branding to the will of the mission I had been given. I had begun actively considering the possibility that I was the “Anti-Hero” in my story. That I needed to better activate my own hero powers. This album is responsible for softening the bitter, hard shell I had plastered around the Swiftie trapped inside of me, but it didn’t begin softening it until after solidifying it with one final coating of volcanic rock.

This album came out right as my second daughter was settling into her freshman year of high school and my oldest daughter was in her 3rd year of college, living in another state full-time for the first time. Our third daughter was having a rough year in middle school (aren’t all middle school years rough though?), and my baby was in second grade already. I was in my reawakening era, trying to grow a business and a brand in line with this reawakening and dazzling version of me. I was in the middle of writing this book, and I was still staying home (instead of working full-time contributing financially), because my husband and I had both agreed that this book, my brand, and the vision God gave me for Dazzling District was worth getting prioritized in this season of life. My bank account disagreed. I had been investing time and energy into my vision for Dazzling District, but it felt a little like “Snow on the Beach” in the middle of a summer vacation, disappointing. I was working on my vision, but all my effort was not translating into financial gain. It was a frustrating time in my life. It felt like God had given me an enormous assignment I couldn’t begin to handle, and then said, “You’re on Your Own, Kid” before walking off. I was losing clear direction.

My high school freshman got on the pre-sale list for Era’s Tour tickets and when I went to surprise her with tickets as a belated birthday present, I realized that I couldn’t even afford two tickets in the nosebleeds of the closest tour stop, hours away. I was hoping to buy three so I could take my two resident Swiftie daughters, and instead I learned I could barely afford one of them to impossibly go alone. I was heartbroken. I was shattered. I was enraged. I cried tears as dark and warm on my cheeks as “Midnight Rain” and then I got mad. I spewed a whole muck of disgusting rage fueled things and her name was no longer spoken without conflict for months. “Question…?” Was I wrong? Yes. Was I willing to pull some “Vigilante Shit” to get tickets to a tour stop? Yes. Was I “Bejeweled” and privileged enough to pull a magic trick like that off in my real life? No.

My brain was instantly a “Labrinth” replaying all of my angry, jealous, rage fueled rants about her in my head. I considered that my misfortune may have been my “Karma” for being such a judgy green monster, but the monster was a master of rage and it was still inside of me and every now and again the “Sweet Nothings” in my joy center would get replaced by the ranting of the rage fueled green “Mastermind” . Over time, hearing my second born Swiftie play this album on repeat ultimately began wearing away at the judgy green monster. This album planted Taylor prominently back on my radar moving into 2023. I was officially curious again. It was an exceptionally dazzling album.

My Full Swiftie Era TTPD (2024) If you would have told me at the very start of 2024 that this would be the year that I became engulfed in Taylor Swift’s entire musical library, rereleased albums and all, I would have laughed in your face. Like ugly, deep, snort-filled, awkward laugh, right in your face. It was the absolute last thing I would have expected to end up on my 2024 BINGO card, but alas when she started teasing for “The Tortured Poets Department” I could not fight the curiosity. It was like my intuition had been in on a secret that I would only discover, on April 19th, 2024, when I arrived home from dropping kids off and promptly started to listen to the surprise double-album drop… which I had predicted. I’m getting ahead of myself again.

First, let’s just say, in the 18 months since the “Midnights” album release, my faith was being tested. Big time tested. I was feeling “Down Bad” thanks to financial strain like I had not known my entire adult life, with no solution in sight, except faith in the mission. Faith in the Dazzling vision I felt I had been shown. Faith in the assignment for peace that I had been given. Or was it not faith at all? What if it was delusion instead? I was still wrestling with this internal debate. As 2024 started, I knew that I was in the middle of a season where I was leveling up for the first time in my personal Quest to Dazzling. I was in my first rest, review, and reapplication process since creating the process and methods and it was more challenging than I had imagined. I figured, having the steps and the foresight to walk them in the correct order would go more smoothly than it did. It was better than the first blind attempt to ascend while I was still constructing the steps, but it wasn’t easy. I imagined it feeling easier and going more smoothly, but through it all, God was providing. Exactly enough, and always on time. Some of the most miraculously coordinated provision that even my creative ass couldn’t have written. I was feeling miraculously confirmed in the assignment He had given me, time and again, in miracle after miracle, finding peace where logic says fear alone should live, on the road to write this book.

By Spring, I had this “Fresh Out the Slammer” kind of feeling about life, like now that the sun was shining on me, anything was possible. It had been years since I’d left the pit thinking. I had been living my life as a vessel for 5 years, focusing energy, means, and grace on taking care of me, guilt free. I had again navigated one of the more challenging seasons in my life, and experienced the biggest miracle I had ever witnessed, to date. Life wasn’t perfect, but it was going well. I was looking forward to a summer vacation because our finances, though not in an exceptional state, were much improved and financially we were back in a place where it felt safe to get away for a family escape. It had been 3 years since we had been family vacationing with all four of our daughters. On the last trip we had enjoyed a stay in Hilton Head at a vacation home for an extended weekend after spending most of a week with my father and stepmom in “Florida!!!” We had enjoyed our trip then, and were in need of another escape weekend, with just the six of us again, so I was planning a Jersey Shore family vacation this time.

A younger, less healed me would have struggled to take any kind of vacation after the financial trials we had just come through. A younger, more controlling me, stuck in a scarcity mindset, would have felt “Guilty as Sin” for spending even a dollar on another vacation, but I had committed to leaving the scarcity mindset behind. I was no longer going to deny the ability for God to take care of me and my family, to provide for a life and a vision that He anointed me with. I felt empowered in my assignment with even more conviction on the other side of the miracles He had worked in my life in the previous seasons. I had wasted so many hours worrying, stressing, wracking my brain, and problem solving in the past, trying to fix my own problems, and it wound up all being in vain. Most of the energy and time that I had committed to the problems that needed solving was completely wasted. None of it contributed to the eventual solutions in the slightest. Why ever would I waste anymore time denying the assignment? I was ready to stand on a hill somewhere and shout to the world, “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?” I felt like I had experienced another epiphany kind of moment, were suddenly all the trials, all the delays in my execution of the vision, all the continued struggle as I ascended to the next level of my Dazzling Quest, all of it made sense again.

When I began writing this book, I had assumed that I had already lived everything that I was supposed to include while writing it. I was so wrong. On April 19, 2024 it all made sense. I had come home to continue writing, pushing towards a goal of having the first draft finished so I could take a printed copy for my oldest daughter when we were with her on our vacation. After just the first few songs, by track 3, I was excited. It slowly began clawing into my soul in a dazzling way, once I had started listening. By track 7 I was feeling inspired by the energy I felt filling my workspace. When track 9 began I was bouncing out of my skin through to the end of track 11, feeling as if electricity was running through my veins. When “I Can Do It with a Broken Heart” came on, I felt a wave of representation rush over me. It was a magical feeling. All the complicated feelings I’d had in the past for this woman just disintegrated in the opening few lines of that song. For the first time in over a decade, I was identifying very personally with one of her songs. I could feel “The Alchemy” in the air that morning. As the final song of the first album, “Clara Bow” was beginning I was deeply dug into my laptop writing. Instantly I knew it would be a song I loved forever, but as the lyrics “This town is fake, but you’re the real thing. Breath of fresh air through smoke rings. Take the glory, give everything, promise to be, dazzling.” came out of my speakers the first time, my head shot up so fast to look at the screen that I’m surprised I didn’t give myself whiplash. It was as if the conclusion song for the “TTPD” was written directly for my mission and my vision. An unofficial anthem song, gifted to me by the one and only Taylor Swift. Maybe, my biggest constant trigger through my entire initial quest to dazzling and the vast majority of my second ascension up the staircase. As if Taylor herself was saying to me “Imgonnagetyouback” . I may have had opinions, many unfair, many uneducated, ones about her over the years, but ultimately, she got the last laugh because with one single song, she stole my fan heart right out of my chest, and I became a full-fledged Swiftie, loud and proud about it now. It was so full circle for me. I did not get my first draft finished on time, but I was not interested in rushing the writing. I made peace with the missing of that goal, and I proceeded with my vacation. It was magically divine. It was perfectly aligned. It was an absolutely dazzling trip. About a week after we returned home from that family vacation, I realized the Taylor Swift Effect on my life, and then I immediately knew this section of the book would need to materialize. This was never a section I ever imagined including before April 2024, however, it is such a relevant fiber running through my entire adult life.

This double album drop hit so many little personal God-instances it was absolutely wild to me. As I listened, this woman who once was my personal “Albatross” was singing songs that gripped me deep in my soul, of themes that felt personal, vulnerable and familiar to me. It was like deep diving into my soul with an album packed with God-instance moments that felt hidden in the lyrics just for me. Starting with the fact that I had predicted it intuitively. I had been seeing some fan theory on social media about the potential for a surprise 2nd album announcement when TTPD was released, mirroring her 2020 surprise double album year. I heard this theory and had a feeling. Personally, I was having a year that mirrored 2020 but in a leveled-up sense. I had this feeling Taylor may have been experiencing something similar. I asked my resident Swiftie her thoughts on it, she wasn’t really buying it as much more than crazy fan theory. I told her I could see its potential. Between the Era’s tour and her new Superbowl caliber relationship, she may have a lot to share creatively. I thought, maybe “Cloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus” might agree with me, but not my girl. So, if you are not a Swiftie you may be asking, “How Did it End?” as I’ve already said it was a double album, but it was better than an announcement of a second album.

I was happy to wake up on April 19th 2024 to have my daughter confirm exuberantly that I had been right. Taylor had leveled it all the way up by not just announcing a double release, but rather by releasing this double album hours apart, with thirty-one magnificent songs. I couldn’t help but personally correlate that with the virtuous woman, the Proverbs thirty-one. Every song on this album sounded to me like she had done her work as a woman, she had gone through shit of her own, she had endured her own traumas despite being blessed with her financial freedom, she had processed it all and come out of it all more dazzling. Hollywood had once felt “So High School” to her it seems, and instead of digging her feet into it while shouting “I Hate It Here” it sounds like she laid it all on the recording studio floor with these songs. Not that she would not have more to write or produce, simply that she was ready to leave the stories of her past behind her with the release of these songs. Songs jam packed with healing, with self-love, with growth, with feminine rage, with power, with dazzling! By the time she was singing “thank you aIMee” I was thinking, thank you Taylor, thank you for the soundtrack to my dazzling feminine self-discovery journey.

In this season, no longer do “I Look in People’s Windows” wondering if their celebrations are better, or if their success comes with more ease. I’m no longer concerned with anything other than “ The Prophecy” I heard the still small voice whisper into my soul at the start of my Dazzling Quest. I have said goodbye to “The Bolter” inside that wants to run from my mission, from my purpose. The one where I ignite a Dazzling Spark that ignites across the nation, infiltrating the whole damn world with the power of the still small voice, the tools to turn yourself into a vessel, and the steps to abundantly overflow the most magical stuff into the world. Taylor has given women the soundtrack, to almost every era we could face. I hope you let my testament, “The Book of Dazzling”, be “The Manuscript” you turn to when you need reminding that you have magic and a purpose inside you, and you can live life dazzling right in the middle of your everyday life.

Do the Dazzling Thing

We all have hard things happening in our life and we all have difficulties yet to face. We cannot be prepared always for everything. We cannot really anticipate the trails until we are in them. To do the dazzling thing, is to live life intentionally for the benefit of keeping your cup overflowing. We don’t all have the means to escape on a pilgrimage to find ourselves. We can’t all process our feelings, and traumas, and blessings, and gifts by creating an epic library of fabulous songs. But, we do all need to go on a pilgrimage to find ourselves. We do all need to process our feelings, traumas, blessings, and gifts. If we live our lives in a way that promotes abundantly overflowing, instead of depleting, then when the hard stuff comes, when the seasons filled with trials are upon us, and our cracks start to appear, we can more easily slap a little gold on the cracks, and replenish before we deplete further, or run dry.

End of excerpt

If you made it to here, you're a real one! Hopefully you are even more excited about my memoir being published. If so, take a peek at THE BOOK page here on the website and sign up to get insider info through my publishing journey. Now a message just for Taylor, in case her eyes grace this EVER, at ANY point, for ANY reason:

Congratulations Taylor Swift! I am grateful for your entire music library, and the journey we took together, separately. I am so happy for you that you reacquired your masters! As a creative, I have respect for the desire to own all of your creative rights, this truly is something to celebrate! There are a few things we have in common, that I find amusing and like to think connects us in some cosmic sense.

1.) We are both Archer's and Millennials; I was born December 15th, 1982.

2.) I have ties to PA and Cleveland, Ohio. I call one home my whole life, and the other has my heart when it comes to sports. Plus, my sweet oldest daughter currently calls the other home. I actually know someone from Cleve. Hts. that knows Travis too!

3.) I don't have any tattoo's either. You don't put a bumper sticker on a Lamborghini, right?

4.) We are both truly visionaries, with ideas so big they feel impossible to others, yet inevitable to us.

5.) We've lived parallel era's and have both built up great legacies and fortune. Mine in children and years of marriage, yours of vast musical babies and wealth. I hope this next season swaps our results, allowing for you to amass the soulmate, best friend, lasting love and the growing family, you've longed for, and I would be tickled pink if mine allowed a fraction of your wealth and fame.

Thank you for your musical genius & creative dedication!

~ Live Dazzling

Rebecca Jackson

Letter To 17-Year-Old Me

Thu, 29 May 2025 03:12:13 GMT

There was a trend going around...

One where you write a letter to 17-year-old you.

Can you even imagine actually being able to go back?

When I first saw this trend, it was going around social media, encouraging people to post their "Letter to 17-year-old me". I had seen a few other people's iteration of the trend, and then I decided to give it a quick try on my Threads account. I'm usually resistant to participating in internet trends. Unless it's for a good cause (ice bucket challenge) or genuinely connects to something inside me. This one connected. I could picture 17-year-old me with extreme ease. I thought for a second and typed out my attempt within my character limit. Within seconds of posting it, I knew I wanted to turn it into a blog and make it a longer, more comprehensive, proper letter to my younger self.

Here's my original attempt that I posted on Threads a few weeks ago.

I met 17-year-old me for coffee today

She was in big jeans & a hoodie. I was in leggings & a hoodie

She was early, I was running late (4 kids)

She told me about an ex she just left. I told her I met a great guy about a year later, he's the best husband & dad

I told her to always believe how great a mom she WILL be. She told me she’s proud of ME

She asked if I was happy, I told her joyful, it's better

She asked if life was what I dreamed it would be. I told her NOPE! Darling, much better! ��

Below, you will find the full letter. As I write this, I am the mother of 4 daughters ages 23, 17, 15, and 10. My oldest daughter will graduate college this summer (just a handful of weeks away from today), my second girl begins her senior year in the fall, my third daughter will be a sophomore in high school, following closely behind #2 for her high school graduation, and my baby just turned ten yesterday. I'm entering a new season of life, a new season of motherhood, a new season of personal and professional heights.

Dear Becky, Wednesday, May 28th, 2025

It's been a longtime coming. Yes, I called you that , even though now, we fully go by Rebecca. Like, everyone except mom, dad Len, and minimal family (that we don't see very often), refer to us as Rebecca now. Let me tell you about that. It was about the time we got our first job after graduating from high school when we began going by Rebecca. It was only professionally at first. After a little while though, we realized we preferred it. Being called Becky didn't feel authentic. It was a nickname we felt disconnected with, and in our thirties, we started pushing back. We also realized that it was kind of a trigger, and it didn't feel aligned. Now let's get down to it. The real reason I'm writing this letter to you at 42 years old.

As a child, nobody protected your spirit in this world. At least not in any way that felt safe to "little you". You felt that you needed to live life smaller, feeling shushed and also maybe even unintentionally shrinking your creativity. This made you grow up to be a little untrusting of your relationships and constantly anticipating being called "too much" or "too loud" by the people you surround yourself with. The season of life you are in currently, is a final attempt at a blatant rebellion of this narrative of you before submitting to a "Good Girl" existence post high school. If I could give you one single piece of advice for this summer, it would be to slow down and soak up your last summer as a child, before this world begins recognizing you as an adult this winter. Make better choices through summer and you won't start your senior year in out-patient rehabilitation for substance abuse. Focus on your future as the opportunity for you to show the world who you are and what actually matters to you, instead of trying to disguise your pain, and prove your independence through irresponsible decision making.

Once you graduate next summer will feel jarring. Your closest childhood friend will be moving far away, across the country, on the exact same day you will walk for commencement. This will make you feel an entirely new level of disconnection and loneliness. Look to fill this void with productive projects that will contribute positively to the world. Don't let yourself carry the opinion of guys too close to your heart. You'll meet the best one for you the holiday season after you graduate. Life will be complicated, you will feel confused and disbelieving, but it's okay to fall. This one makes you feel safe enough to begin healing the hurts from those who came before him. He will make you feel seen like no one has ever made you feel seen before. You will doubt his loyalty, you will question the chances it works, and ultimately you will decide to trust him with your heart. It works out for you both, and even though right now you hate the idea of kids, you'll end up with some pretty epic kids anyways. Being a mom will be the single most challenging and equally rewarding experience of your life. Plus, try not to doubt yourself so much, especially as a mom. Your kids still thin you are pretty cool, even as teenagers and young adults, and let's be honest, that is the real measure of success! You will come to become the most dazzling version of you as a result of the love that surrounds you as you head into your forties!

Lastly, I'd like to leave you with a few pieces of advice. Call them mantra's, life tips, or foundational pillars to build your entire adult life on. Whatever you want to call them, these tips are some of the most important things, that took me too many years to learn. I feel like if I could impart this wisdom, worded this way, to you before you become an adult, a mom, and a partner and wife, it may have saved ma a whole lot of trouble and trials in my twenties and thirties.

1. Self-love is the most important love there is. It's the absolute best, always what you need kind of love that we all need

2. Self-care is not selfish at all. It's basic survival and if you aren't doing it for yourself, it won't get done, and you will suffer.

3. Healing is necessary even though it's uncomfortable, and it's not a linear journey that ends, it's a messy new normal.

4. You are not a participant in life, trying to climb out of a pit and scale mountains, you are a vessel to be filled abundantly.

5. In life you must fill your own vessel as a priority so that you are the best version of yourself to overflow into your people.

6. Perfect is an illusion so, don't waste your time chasing it. Those pretending to be perfect are typically hiding the most.

7. Legacy and contribution to society matter far more than status or bank account balances and investments. Be kind.

Now that I've gone full grown woman on you, head into summer with a positive mindset, a few productive goals, and the intention to soak up every second of your last summer as a child, savoring and remembering as much as you possibly can!

~ Live Dazzling

Rebecca Jackson

7 Steps In 7 Days - Mother's Day Edition

Sun, 18 May 2025 05:26:28 GMT

I want to give you some easy ideas to

Begin practicing the 7 Step Method in just 7 days!

If you aren't already familiar with my 7 Step Method to Fill Your Cup First, then check out the blog post that I wrote at the very beginning of 2021 HERE to get comfortable with the method.

If you're already familiar with my 7 Step Method, then keep on reading for seven super simple ways to begin implementing the 7 Step Method in just 7 days this spring, to spoil yourself, and fill you up!!!

My apologies, again ... I'm definitely regretting posting a schedule back in January. �� But honestly, I'm guessing it isn't being noticed much, I have very few readers at this point. When I started working with a mindset coach unexpectedly in February, I didn't anticipate it playing a role in me losing focus and momentum on my blogging! She's had me working on a more focused plan to execute my vision for Dazzling District inc. and also in believing that I am capable and called to be the founder & CEO of Dazzling District. In doing so, I've gotten so excited about the projects I'm working on towards that vision plan we've created in our coaching sessions. I nearly completely forgot to write my March, getting it out late. Then my husband hurt himself, and my April issue got put on the backburner, so it came out a little late too but still in time for Easter. I had hoped to be back on schedule for May, but I underestimated how long my husband's injury was going to keep me occupied and distracted.

A previous version of me would have become discouraged, and I would likely have disappeared and found a job to help my family in this trial. This version of me today realizes the assignment in the vision I was given when I heard the call to create this place, and because of the progress I've made in my mindset coaching, instead of quitting when I fell off plan, I launched a brand-new sales page on March 20th! I launched it just in time for you to have easy access to my unique digital products, downloadable journals and booklets created to aid you on your Dazzling Quest as summer keeps quickly approaching, and the kiddo's even get closer to summer break!

You can find my sales page here to access my unique tools for yourself!

Spring is about renewal and rebirth. Along these lines spring can be a great time for cleaning and detoxing as well. I wrote a blog back in 2021 about detoxing your mind and one about detoxing your spirit. These are both practices that I've tried to incorporate into my life intentionally each spring. You can read the mind blog HERE and you can read the spirit one HERE . This month's 7 in 7 is going to be focused on the self-care practices inspired by spring and the upcoming summer months! I'm sharing this month's installment of my reoccurring blog series, "7 Steps in 7 Days" to offer solutions for weaving my 7 Step Method into your life with more ease as the weather continues to warm up. I've put together a week's worth of ways for you to practice some bonus self-care this month, in the middle of your everyday life. The goal this month is super simple but effective ways to help you prioritize you with a focus on nutrition! Whether you practice them all this week or spread them out from now until next month, these ideas may help you fill your cup first this May! I hope you enjoy and have a Happy Memorial Day!

Filling Your Cup First

one day at a time.

Seven steps in seven days.

It just makes sense to me.

Here is the May 7 Steps in 7 Days:

Sunday: Back to the Basics

This "Sunday Soak" brings another approach, still in the kitchen though. One of the four cornerstones of getting Back to the Basics is NUTRITION. This month, I want you to stock up on some fresh produce and get some of them soaking in your fridge for easy, healthy snacking throughout the week! We could all do with drinking more water, and I challenge you to do so this way and freshen it up a bit. A super vital, basic part of taking care of yourself is to consume enough water except basic doesn't have to be boring. Fueling ourselves with clean & colorful fresh foods provides us more energy!
Monday: Mindfulness Moment

For our "Monday Mindfulness Moment" this month I hope to encourage you to make mealtime m indfulness moments with intention towards eating more clean and colorful foods. By clean and colorful, I mean foods with minimal human touch before it gets on your plate while also representing a variety of colors in your meals. Step it Up in the healthy eating game with simple steps like preparing Mason Jar Yogurt Parfaits to store in the fridge for a quick grab & go breakfast. Homemade or store-bought yogurt topped with fresh organic berries and a homemade granola can be tasty while also being clean and colorful. You will thank yourself tomorrow morning when you are eating a tasty treat with no effort! I've included my favorite recipe in a free pdf formatted file that you can download right here as a BONUS gift just for you!

Tuesday: Do Something Little for You

Today is "Treat Yourself Tuesday" ! It's the time of the week where I give you permission to Do Something Little for You and spoil yourself, for taking time intentionally every day to improve your care. Mother's Day last week may have stirred up some feelings, if it did, that's perfectly normal. Many mother daughter relationships are complicated. Also, grieving your mother is the most authentic way to celebrate, as Mother's Day was actually first formally celebrated in 1908 to honor a mother (Ann Reeves Jarvis) who had passed away on the second Sunday in May and was missed by her daughter (Anna Jarvis). If this is the case for you spoil yourself with something that brings you a little joy. If it was a perfectly enjoyable day for you, then spoil yourself in some way fun little that easily sparks joy for you anyways Darling! You deserve it too!

So, not terribly scary or overwhelming to apply to your week so far, right?

The second half of the week is when things start to get real fun!

Wednesday: Get a Hobby

For this month's "Wednesday Workshop" we're going to try growing in the dirt. Pick up some potting plants, soil and a few planters to start. Flowers or Herbs. Veggies or Vines. It doesn't matter what you choose. If the fruits of your labor feed your body or your soul, they are still providing nutrition to your life. It may even have a way of enriching your experience in life, grounding you to the earth in a fresh new way. The goal of this prompt is to play in the dirt, cultivating a new kind of growth, encouraging you to Get a Hobby ! Grow something for YOU! I've included a Gardening Planner, a BONUS too!

Thursday: Get Your A$$ Moving

This month I want you to jump into gear & get your flex on! This "Thick Thighs Thursday" was chosen to encourage you to Get Your A$$ Moving and your heart pumping with a simple 2-part training circuit! Stretch your arms and then your legs for 5 minutes before you begin the circuit. Start by jumping rope 20 times, then drop the rope and grab 2 small hand weights for 10 butterfly reps on your side and then 10 arm lifts in front of you. Next, set the weights down and grab the jump rope again. Repeat this beginner 2-part training circuit 5x with no rest. Finish your last 10 reps & flex them arms!

Friday: Dream Big

The weekend is here and that means that it's "Friday Funday" ! Head into the weekend daydreaming about how you can continue to grow as summer rapidly arrives! Take some time to consider how you want to alter &/or improve your self-care over the next few summer months. Dream Big Darling! Don't wait another season to decide it's time to prioritize you by cleaning up your self-care practices, habits & rituals! Begin nurturing them NOW! Dream of an even healthier and more joyful you. If you take time to do this intentionally over the next few months, you could be fast on your way to a shiny, dazzling & true, new you by the end of June! Celebrating an independently overflowing you by Independence Day!

Saturday: Rest, Reflect, Reevaluate, & Restart

Celebrate "Self-Care Saturday" by reflecting, relaxing & recharging yourself Darling! I hope 2025 is off to an incredible start! I also hope that you have truly begun to prioritize yourself more! In preparation for summer, now is a great time to Rest, Reflect, Reevaluate, & Restart . How can you continue to easily & efficiently practice this prompt in even more creative and specific ways throughout 2025 to ensure your habits and practices are refreshed and renewing to your spirit, your body, and your mind! Resting is vital, reflecting is helpful, reevaluating matters, and restarting keeps you growing!

If you haven't yet signed up to get on the Dazzling District mailing list so you can receive the monthly newsletter and other occasional communications, do so using THIS LINK . Don't wait, you'll be disappointed you did! PLUS, Coffeetalk made a comeback in a flashy, fun new way last year and I hope to release it more consistently in 2025 as I step up my publishing game this year! Finally, thank you so much for being patient with me through the creating, defining, and building of this company, and for showing back up for me here with every new blog post! The repeat readers, loyal followers, and each active member of this little dazzling community mean the world to me. I appreciate you more than you'll ever know! Happy Memorial Day!

~ Live Dazzling

Rebecca Jackson

7 Steps In 7 Days - Easter Edition

Mon, 14 Apr 2025 03:51:20 GMT

I want to give you some easy ideas to

Begin practicing the 7 Step Method in just 7 days!

If you aren't already familiar with my 7 Step Method to Fill Your Cup First, then check out the blog post that I wrote at the very beginning of 2021 HERE to get comfortable with the method.

My apologies, again ... I'm starting to regret posting a schedule back in January. �� But seriously, I started working with a mindset coach unexpectedly in February, and it has played a small role in me losing focus and momentum on my blogging! She has me working on a more focused plan to execute my vision for Dazzling District inc. In doing so, I've gotten so excited about the projects I'm working on towards that vision plan we've created in our coaching sessions, that I nearly completely forgot to write my March, getting it out late. Then my husband hurt himself, and my April issue got put on the backburner so, this one is coming a little late too! With this being a holiday edition, I wanted to still get it to you for Holy Week. My May edition should post as scheduled again, provided I don't face anymore monkey wrenches. Because of the progress I've made in my mindset coaching, I launched a brand-new sales page on March 20th! I launched it just in time for you to have easy access to my unique digital products, downloadable journals and booklets created to aid you on your Dazzling Quest as summer quickly approaches, and the kiddo's get closer to summer break!

You can find that sales page here to access those tools for yourself!

Spring is about renewal and rebirth. Along these lines spring can be a great time for cleaning and detoxing as well. I wrote a blog back in 2021 about detoxing your mind and one about detoxing your spirit. These are both practices that I've tried to incorporate into my life intentionally each spring. You can read the mind blog HERE and you can read the spirit one HERE . This month's 7 in 7 is going to be focused on the self-care practices inspired by spring and, more specifically, by Easter. Easter is a spiritual holiday celebrating the resurrection of Christ. Inspired by the resurrection, I want to encourage you to resurrect a calmer, more cared for you! I'm sharing this month's installment of my reoccurring blog series, "7 Steps in 7 Days" to offer solutions for weaving my 7 Step Method into your Holy Week, with more ease this Easter. I've put together a week's worth of ways for you to practice some bonus self-care this month, in the middle of your everyday life. The goal this month is super simple but effective ways to help you prioritize you! Whether you practice them all this Holy Week or spread them out from now until next month, these ideas may help you fill your cup first this Easter! I hope you enjoy and have a Happy Easter!

Filling Your Cup First

one day at a time.

Seven steps in seven days.

It just makes sense to me.

Here is the Spring 7 Steps in 7 Days:

Sunday: Back to the Basics

This "Sunday Soak" I want you to soak some fruit, be it berries or citrus. Get yourself a pitcher and drop some berries or citrus slices in the bottom before filling it with water . We could all do with drinking more water, and I challenge you to do so this way and freshen it up a bit. A super vital, basic part of taking care of yourself is to consume enough water except basic doesn't have to be boring. In honor of Jesus, the living water, let's improve our water consumption this week in a tasty, fruity way to help our body ensure effective hydration, supporting recovery and a regulated nervous system.
Monday: Mindfulness Moment

For our "Monday Mindfulness Moment" this month my desire is for you to be Mindful in your faith. Grab a notebook or journal and practice a 10-minute mind dump. Set a timer & begin dumping your mind, in no specific order. What do you believe and why? Dump your thoughts about your spiritual beliefs on the page until the timer goes off, then step away & just breathe... be present in the moment and mindful of those beliefs. Maybe you have a specific theme you'd like to explore further? Healing? Self-Love? Spiritual topics like chakra's, sacred spaces, or creative outlets? If you're seeking focused journaling, or thought purging, visit my digital download store to shop my personal creative solutions.

Tuesday: Do Something Little for You

Today is "Treat Yourself Tuesday" ! It's the time of the week where I give you permission to spoil yourself just a little bit, for taking time intentionally every day to improve your care. Easter is about here! Just days away! In my home that means many decadent food traditions are in the works. To start celebrating Easter, treat yourself to some guilt free holiday food, be it sweet or savory, I don't care! Enjoy it in moderation & don't get too egg-cited or you'll be one sick Bunny! Holiday food can be rich and high calorie. I challenge you to add a fresh, bright dish or two into the mix this holiday week too!

So, not terribly scary or overwhelming to apply to your week so far, right?

The second half of the week is when things start to get real fun!

Wednesday: Get a Hobby

For this month's "Wednesday Workshop" we're going traditional for Easter. Grab some eggs, if you can find them, or draw some egg shapes on paper, then get to decorating! Get creative with some fun egg coloring methods. Whether you are painting wooden eggs, paper mâché eggs, or real eggs. Decorate them in your kitchen, dining room, craft space, or even just outside in your yard, so you can soak up the spring sunshine to warm your soul while you color your eggs.

Thursday: Get Your A$$ Moving

As the holiday weekend approaches, this "Thick Thighs Thursday" was chosen to encourage you to get moving intentionally for physical wellness. Take a walk and observe the beauty of the outdoors, as spring sprouts around you. If you feel compelled and capable, pick up your pace to a jog or even a run instead, and let yourself sweat a little!

Friday: Dream Big

The weekend is here and that means that it's "Friday Funday" ! Head into the weekend daydreaming about how you can continue to grow this spring! Take some time to consider how you want to alter &/or improve your self-care over the next few months. Don't wait another season to clean up your self-care practices, habits & rituals! Begin nurturing them NOW! If you take time to do this intentionally the next few months, you could be shiny, dazzling & true by June!

Saturday: Rest, Reflect, Reevaluate, & Restart

Celebrate "Self-Care Saturday" by reflecting, relaxing & recharging yourself Darling! I hope 2025 is off to an incredible start! I also hope that you have truly begun to prioritize yourself more! In keeping with the spring renewal and refresh theme, how can you continue to easily & efficiently do this in even more creative and specific ways throughout 2025 to ensure your habits and practices are refreshed and renewing to your spirit, your body, and your mind!

If you haven't yet signed up to get on the Dazzling District mailing list so you can receive the monthly newsletter and other occasional communications, do so using THIS LINK . Don't wait, you'll be disappointed you did! PLUS Coffeetalk made a comeback in a flashy, fun new way last year and I hope to release it more consistently in 2025 as I step up my publishing game this year! Finally, thank you so much for being patient with me through the creating, defining, and building of this company, and for showing back up for me here with every new blog post! The repeat readers, loyal followers, and each active member of this little dazzling community mean the world to me. I appreciate you more than you'll ever know! Happy Valentine's Day!

~ Live Dazzling

Rebecca Jackson

7 Steps In 7 Days - Spring Edition

Thu, 20 Mar 2025 03:11:03 GMT

I want to give you some easy ideas to

Begin practicing the 7 Step Method in just 7 days!

If you aren't already familiar with my 7 Step Method to Fill Your Cup First, then check out the blog post that I wrote at the very beginning of 2021 HERE to get comfortable with the method.

My apologies, again ... I'm starting to regret posting a schedule back in January. �� But seriously, I started working with a mindset coach unexpectedly in February, and it has played a small role in me losing focus and momentum on my blogging! She has me working on a more focused plan to execute my vision for Dazzling District inc. In doing so, I've gotten so excited about the projects I'm working on towards that vision plan we've created in our coaching sessions, that I nearly completely forgot it was already March! Fortunately, I'm still dropping this blog just barely before Spring has officially sprung! Because of the progress I've made through the mindset coaching, I am launching a brand-new sales page tomorrow on March 20th! I'm launching just in time for you to have easy access to my unique digital products, downloadable journals and booklets created to aid you on your Dazzling Quest!

Spring is about renewal and rebirth. Along these lines spring can be a great time for cleaning and detoxing as well. I wrote a blog back in 2021 about detoxing your mind and one about detoxing your spirit. These are both practices that I've tried to incorporate into my life intentionally each spring. You can read the mind blog HERE and you can read the spirit one HERE . This month's 7 in 7 is going to be focused on the self-care practices inspired by spring. Spring is a magical time of year where life begins waking up all around us. Animals waking from long winter slumbers. The trees and the plants all sprouting new signs of life, that will soon be bright, colorful leaves and flowers. I'm sharing this month's installment of my reoccurring blog series, "7 Steps in 7 Days" to offer solutions for weaving my 7 Step Method into your weeks, with more ease this month while finding ways to do so in nature. Inspired by the magic that spring brings, I've put together a week's worth of ways for you to practice some bonus self-care this month, in the middle of your everyday life. Whether you practice them all in one week, spread them out from now until next month, or only practice one or two over the course of the month and then a couple more next month, these ideas may help you fill your cup first this spring! I hope you enjoy!

Filling Your Cup First

one day at a time.

Seven steps in seven days.

It just makes sense to me.

Here is the Spring 7 Steps in 7 Days:

Sunday: Back to the Basics

This "Sunday Soak" brings a new "spin" then you're used to. Get your sheets and curtains off all of your beds and windows, then give them a good soak in water with a few drops of lavender essential oil before washing them. Often the linens in your home get overlooked in all the household cleaning. When they get overlooked during the winter they collect dust. Dusty, stale linens is no way to have your household linens as the weather finally warms and the windows begin to get opened up. We don't want that stale dust blowing all over your home. Freshen them up ! If lavender isn't your favorite relaxing scent, then pick one you love. I appreciate bergamot, citruses, vanilla, or a simple cotton/linen scent.
Monday: Mindfulness Moment

For our "Monday Mindfulness Moment" this month my desire is for you to be Mindful and not Mind Full. Grab a notebook or journal and practice a 10-minute mind dump. Set a timer & begin dumping your mind, in no specific order. Dump your thoughts on the page until the timer goes off, then step away & just breathe... Maybe you have a specific theme you'd like to explore further? Healing? Self-Love? Spiritual topics like chakra's, sacred spaces, or creative outlets? If you're seeking focused journaling, or thought purging, visit my digital download store to shop my personal creative solutions.

Tuesday: Do Something Little for You

Today is "Treat Yourself Tuesday" ! It's the time of the week where I give you permission to spoil yourself just a little bit, for taking time intentionally every day to improve your care. Easter is almost here! Just a month away! In my home that means many decadent food traditions. To start celebrating Easter, treat yourself to some guilt free holiday food, be it sweet or savory, I don't care! Enjoy it in moderation & don't get too egg-cited or you'll be one sick Bunny!

So, not terribly scary or overwhelming to apply to your week so far, right?

The second half of the week is when things start to get real fun!

Wednesday: Get a Hobby

For this month's "Wednesday Workshop" we're growing our vocabulary with some fun word play. Pick up a word search or crossword puzzle book from the local discount store, or take the word play digital with an app instead. The goal is to play with words for this month's hobby to grow your brain! Pick your word play way, and head to a park, or even just outside in your yard, so you can soak up the spring sunshine to warm your soul while you grow your brain.

Thursday: Get Your A$$ Moving

As the outdoors continue to bloom & blossom, this "Thick Thighs Thursday" was chosen to encourage you to continue to explore outside. Don't just hit the yard though. This time I want you to get on some boots, or safe tennis shoes, and head outside somewhere with a trail for a nice spring nature hike! Find some new blooms and blossoms this month while you hike up a sweat, have your phone charged and ready or a camera on hand to snap some photos of spring around you!

Friday: Dream Big

Saturday: Rest, Reflect, Reevaluate, & Restart

Celebrate "Self-Care Saturday" by reflecting, relaxing & recharging yourself Darling! I hope 2025 is off to an incredible start! I also hope that you have truly begun to prioritize yourself more! In keeping with the spring renewal and refresh theme, how can you continue to easily & efficiently do this in even more creative and specific ways throughout 2025 to ensure your habits and practices are refreshed and renewing to your spirit, your body, and your mind!

If you haven't yet signed up to get on the Dazzling District mailing list so you can receive the monthly newsletter and other occasional communications, do so using THIS LINK . Don't wait, you'll be disappointed you did! PLUS Coffeetalk made a comeback in a flashy, fun new way last year and I hope to release it more consistently in 2025 as I step up my publishing game this year! Finally, thank you so much for being patient with me through the creating, defining, and building of this company, and for showing back up for me here with every new blog post! The repeat readers, loyal followers, and each active member of this little dazzling community mean the world to me. I appreciate you more than you'll ever know! Happy Valentine's Day!

~ Live Dazzling

Rebecca Jackson

7 Steps In 7 Days - Valentine Edition

Fri, 14 Feb 2025 07:22:20 GMT

I want to give you some easy ideas to

Begin practicing the 7 Step Method in just 7 days!

If you aren't already familiar with my 7 Step Method to Fill Your Cup First, then check out the blog post that I wrote at the very beginning of 2021 HERE to get comfortable with the method.

If you're already familiar with my 7 Step Method, then keep on reading for seven super simple ways to begin implementing the 7 Step Method in just 7 days this Valentine weekend to spoil yourself and fill you up!!!

My apologies, it's a few days later than previously scheduled, the "ick" has hit my home!

Valentine's Day is all about love, but it doesn't HAVE to mean romantic love. I wrote a blog back in 2022 about platonic girlfriend love & celebrating Galentine's day instead. You can read that one HERE . This month's 7 in 7 is going to be focused on the SELF-LOVE Valentine's celebration. Because of my "ick" delay, by the time you are reading this, it will be Valentine's Day (if it's not already over), and that makes NOW a perfect time to do something extra to fill YOUR cup, so you can maximize the benefits of love season this year! As a Valentine's gift, I'm sharing this month's installment of my reoccurring blog series, "7 Steps in 7 Days" to offer solutions for weaving my 7 Step Method into your weeks, with more ease this month. Inspired by the stereotypical romantic love this season celebrates, I've put together a week's worth of ways for you to practice some bonus self-love this month for yourself, in the middle of your everyday life. Whether you practice them all in one week, spread them all out from now until next month, or only practice one or two over the course of the month and then a couple more next month, these ideas may help you fill your cup first this February! I hope you enjoy!

Filling Your Cup First

one day at a time.

Seven steps in seven days.

It just makes sense to me.

Here is the Valentine's Day 7 Steps in 7 Days:

Sunday: Back to the Basics

Take a "Sunday Soak" . This month's soak takes you back to the bathtub Darling! Last month you explored an alternative type of soaking, but this month I want you to soak your whole body again! This time step up the pamper factor! Hit the closest drug store, or grocery store, and pick up an inexpensive bouquet of roses (or an alternative flower) and then add some rose petals to your tub water &/or line the bathroom vanity with candles to ramp up your relaxing atmosphere!

Monday: Mindfulness Moment

For our "Monday Mindfulness Moment" this month I want to encourage you to practice it in silence. I tried to ease you into this practice of mindfulness by helping you find activities that sort of sneak up on you, providing Zen time with ease. This time, I want you to intentionally sit in the still, calm, quiet to get comfortable in it. First, light a candle, or incense, and turn on an essential oil diffuser to help you set a calming "Mindful Nook" atmosphere. Lower the lights, but do not turn them off or you'll likely dose off (at least if you're like me you will). Once you have the scene set nicely for your mindfulness moment, sit comfortably, on a mat or cushion on the floor or on furniture, and start practicing peace in the silence.

Tuesday: Do Something Little for You

Today is "Treat Yourself Tuesday" ! It's the time of the week where I give you permission to spoil yourself, just a little bit, for taking time intentionally every day so far, to improve your care. In honor of Valentine's Day that just passed, treat yourself to something sweet! Don't overindulge or you'll regret it later but, treat yourself to a little chocolate or a pastry as a sweet reward on your Journey to Dazzling, Darling! Hit the store this weekend for discounted Valentine's treats before they're all gone, to make it a more affordable splurge (even though you deserve gourmet chocolate!). *Be sure to brush well after!"

So, not terribly scary or overwhelming to apply to your week so far, right?

The second half of the week is when things start to get real fun!

Wednesday: Get a Hobby

This "Wednesday Workshop" we're getting crafty in a new way. Have you ever heard of nail art? You only need 3 materials and 1 tool. Supplies are a wooden board, nails, and assorted colors of craft thread (not sewing thread). The tool is a basic hammer. First search for nail art image/design ideas online, maybe even find a free template. Once you know the image or design you want to create, you need to determine the threads required to match your desired colors or the theme of your chosen image or design and make a list of those colors needed. As soon as that's done, you can head out to the store and get craft thread in the coordinated colors. To do this, pop into a home improvement, hardware, or even a craft store. Pick up a piece of finished wood your preferred size (determined by your desired effort, time of project and, display space) and some medium length nails from the store. Then enjoy some chill time creating simple art!

Thursday: Get Your A$$ Moving

Love month is inspiring this month's "Thick Thighs Thursday" ! I want you to show yourself a little love, by moving your body in whatever way your body loves! Physical activity can be fun, if you are focused on fitness activities you already know you love! Maybe it is taking a brisk walk, or a spontaneous dance party. Maybe when you were younger you used to love shooting hoops or going skating but now that you are grown with responsibility, you rarely make the time to do it anymore. I don't want it to be overwhelming, it's simply about finding a physical activity you already know you love. Remember to look for a solution that is a fun way to move your body AND also one that isn't intimidating but is joyful!

Friday: Dream Big

The weekend is here and that means that it's "Friday Funday" ! Head into the weekend daydreaming about how you can up your game in your self-care as the spring thaw slowly sets in. As the weather warms, and spring gets closer, begin setting a plan and making mini benchmark goals to achieve your spring self-care goal and then start implementing your plan! Don't focus on the big dream or goal once you start working the plan, keep focused on the benchmark goals. Focus on the little ways you can son to start prioritizing your needs! Don't wait another season to begin prioritizing your care.

Saturday: Rest, Reflect, Reevaluate, & Restart

Celebrate "Self-Care Saturday" by reflecting, relaxing & recharging yourself Darling! I hope 2025 is off to an incredible start for you! I also hope that you have truly, finally begun to prioritize you more this year! How can you continually do this in even more specific ways throughout 2025? Spend this day, resting and reflecting, then intentionally evaluating your care practices and rituals so you can continue making positive strides towards DAZZLING in March!

If you haven't yet signed up to get on the Dazzling District mailing list so you can receive the monthly newsletter and other occasional communications, do so using THIS LINK . Don't wait, you'll be disappointed you did! PLUS Coffeetalk made a comeback in a flashy, fun new way last year and I hope to release it more consistently in 2025 as I step up my publishing game this year! Finally, thank you so much for being patient with me through the creating, defining, and building of this company, and for showing back up for me here with every new blog post! The repeat readers, loyal followers, and each active member of this little dazzling community mean the world to me. I appreciate you more than you'll ever know! Happy Valentine's Day!

~ Live Dazzling

Rebecca Jackson

Buzzing Love

Thu, 06 Feb 2025 20:33:07 GMT

The world was buzzing with excitement over a new season

of Bridgerton that released in May 2024!

Back in the middle of May 2024, the first 4 episodes of the highly anticipated

Bridgerton Season 3 released on Netflix causing quite a stir, and the exciting

remaining 4 episodes of Season 3 released a month later with much hype!

Much like the first two seasons, when this third season released it was anticipated with intense excitement. Though, unlike the first two seasons, season three released in two separate four-episodes parts. I stumbled into Season One shortly after it came out back at the end of 2020 and had no idea what to expect. It was a show I found that I enjoyed immensely, right from the start. I have a weakness for historical dramas, with a preference for those revolving around a genuine love story, any additional royal elements are a welcome bonus. I also had just finished binging through some of the various shows that Shondaland had given to the world by then ( Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, How to Get Away with Murder, and Scandal) and I was waiting/looking for more work from her. Bridgerton, checked all those boxes and so many more I didn't even know needed checking.

By Season Two's release in March of 2022, I was excited and anxiously awaiting the next installment of this big family period drama and romance (big family dramas are another show type I'm a sucker for). Season Two didn't disappoint either. I enjoyed it, I was left wanting more and knowing I would have a couple years wait for the next season. Pleasantly surprised by a spin-off focusing on Queen Charlotte that was released in May of 2023, I found myself looking even more forward to a new season. Now, I probably don't need to clarify this, but I rewatched all previous episodes prior to each of these additional season releases. By the time the third season was releasing earlier this May (2024) I had watched everything that came before, at least two times through; the earlier seasons, three and four times. I was officially a fangirl, though admittedly having not read any of the books this series is based on.

I have become rather enthralled since watching this third season. The first two seasons properly hooked me, and I thoroughly enjoyed each of those seasons in their own right, and the topics they discussed, and the themes they explored, but season three hooked me, deep into my soul. I became consumed by it, and in desiring to become consumed further by it, I completed a few rewatches on the entire series, including the single season spin off of Queen Charlotte over the remainder of 2024. It has inspired a new content series. I plan to spend some of the time we must wait for season 4 wisely as a fan (S4 is set to release in 2026). In my new content series, I will be sharing topics and themes related to self-discovery, self-love, and self-care, that I recognized while watching the series, as well as simply discussing my uber fandom of Bridgerton. I will include some of the parallels to my story, some parallels to my brand goals, and additionally, just my general girly obsession with the show.

If you haven't yet watched Bridgerton, my new content series will still be beneficial. You don't have to watch the show (available to stream on Netflix) in order to appreciate, benefit, or participate in reading my Bridgerton content series, but I do however encourage you to consider it because it is SO GOOD and you just might be as pleasantly surprised as I was when I watched it. If you decide not to watch it, have no fear, it's a goal of mine to keep my content inspired by my observations and feelings of the show, and how they parallel themes I already discuss, and I ensure you I plan to discuss these themes within the context of my brand pillars, goals, mission, and steps. My plan is not to simply gush about the show, though if you have seen the show, and are a fellow fan, you'll probably understand how hard this is, and you'll likely appreciate my Bridgerton content series a little more.

Over the spring and summer, I hope to touch on the topics of:

Generational Chain Breaking & Healing

Grief & Growth

Prioritizing Personal Care

Seeking Your Own Path

Owning Your Awesomeness

Intimacy and Self Pleasure

Secure Match Vs. Love Match

The Soulmate Connection

Daring to Dream Big

Standing In the Light

So, basically Shondaland knocked it out of the park and made quite an impression on me.

Journaling

Tue, 04 Feb 2025 16:00:02 GMT

Writing Thoughts Out

It's a little wild to me that I am finishing this blog series.

When I decided to do this blog series a year ago, I never knew it would take so long and cause me such personal warfare. Over the first 3 months that I was attempting to write this series I was, however, met with many obstacles in this project. From technical hiccups costing me progress, to personal struggles staying strong, focused, and motivated while writing it, completing it was not as straightforward as I would have liked. After finally laying out my plan for the series in the first blog published 9 months ago, titled Refreshing Your Spirit , I continued pushing through delays and challenges to publish the other blogs in this series. Today, I give you the final installment. It took more weeks and months to get all of these installments written but, I guess, when you are trying to encourage others in their spiritual wellness, you will likely meet delays and challenges.

The final topic is journaling. A topic that I have openly struggled with , having mentioned this in previous blogs, on my social media accounts, and also in my memoir that I'm working towards self-publishing this year. I know the benefits of this spiritual practice, and this is why one of my 2025 goals is to improve my own implementation of it in my life. As for why this is a beneficial spiritual practice, I would say most importantly it's because it is a financially accessible tool for mental health, it helps you clear your head. Writing your thoughts down can be beneficial for mental health reasons, for nostalgic reasons, for physical health reasons, and don't forget, for spiritual reasons too!

Some reasons journaling can benefit you:

Purging thoughts and feelings from your brain onto paper so that you can organize and process your thoughts more clearly to promote good mental health.

Letting you make note of sayings, stories, struggles, and triumphs to easily recall at a future time when you're in need of nostalgia

Helping you to track meals, workout, aches and symptoms, weight, and other fitness and health details to stay on top of your physical wellness.

As a spiritual tool to allow you to immortalize the spiritual ups and downs, trails

and triumphs to recall in faith in future times of need.

Now, journaling does not look the same or mean the same things depending on who you speak too.

Journaling Tactics

Eclectic Journaling
Chronological Journaling
Thoughtful Journaling
Creative & Fun Journaling
Organized & Tidy Journaling

L et me dig into each of these journaling tactics a little deeper.

I believe that eclectic journaling could incorporate journaling styles like junk journaling, bullet journaling, or scrapbook journaling. A what feels right to you, ride your vibes style of journaling.

Prompts: Trackers, a little bit of doodling or drawing, notes & quotes, theme pages, &/or events. Esthetic: Playful & Unique

I think that chronological journaling would include a significantly more traditional journaling style like a daily, dated diary. A what can be documented, and loyally consistent vibes style of journaling.

Prompts: Transformations, healing journeys, organization journeys, or progress tracking. Esthetic: Nostalgic & Orderly

I know that thoughtful journaling can combine this journaling style and any other style of your liking to be most effective. A this needs purposefully processed, fully intentional vibes style of journaling.

Prompts: Goal setting, discernment, dreaming, meditation, travel, fitness, &/or gratitude. Esthetic: Intentional & Useful

I'm sure that creative & fun journaling might feel similar to eclectic journaling in essence, but this is more focused than that. A pick one eclectic style and consistently creatively use that as your vibe style of journaling.

Prompts: Junk, bullet, scrapbook, art, photo, short story, or colorful font & quotes. Esthetic: Creativity Driven & Enjoyable.

I imagine that organized & tidy journaling could be satisfying and fulfilling to some, it's not my go-to style though. A clean, structured, formatted and routinely practiced vibes style of journaling.

Prompts: Planners, calendars, categorized notebooks, business, &/or may be chronological. Esthetic: Routine & Structured

I've given you much to consider when it comes to incorporating journaling into your life. There are many styles of journaling, many different reasons to journal, and many different benefits to be gained from incorporating this practice into your life in some way. If this blog has inspired you in any way, to begin any kind of journaling work of your own, then I would love to hear about it!

~ Live Dazzling

Rebecca Jackson

Meditation

Mon, 20 Jan 2025 18:34:07 GMT

Mindfulness Matters

Promote Calmness in Your Life.

Meditation is known to reduce stress, increase balance, bring peace, and promote calmness in your life. I started realizing these benefits myself nearly 6 years ago when I began incorporating the practice of meditation into my own life. The benefits of incorporating a meditation practice into your life can arguably be endless. In fact, according to this article on mindful.org that discusses meditation,

"When we meditate, we inject far-reaching and long-lasting benefits into our lives: We lower our stress levels, we get to know our pain, we connect better, we improve our focus, and we're kinder to ourselves."

WOW! Doesn't being kinder to ourselves sound great?!?

I went to Wikipedia to learn their definition of Meditation, it is below:

"Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique to train attention and awareness and detach from reflexive, "discursive thinking," achieving a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state, while not judging the meditation process itself."

I have tried multiple styles of meditation in my 6 years since first experiencing meditation for myself. What I've found is that I prefer different styles at different times, for different reasons. I find that in order for it to work correctly, it must be done with very personal intentions and with very personalized details. The where's, the why's, the when's, and the how's, these are the things you must decide if you desire to have a regular and effective meditation practice in your life. Your where might be laying on your bed, taking a walk outside, or sitting upright, crisscross applesauce on a mat on the floor. The why should vary and change consistently as your life evolves. The when may change in different seasons of life as well. As for the how's, I can help you with that. There are basically three styles of meditation.

Meditation Styles

Self-Led
Guided
Group

Now, let's break these 3 styles of meditation down in a little more detail.

Meditation that is self-led is the most minimal, focused, and individual in nature.

It also requires very little outside contributing factors. Meaning, no music, specific location, or detailed instructions are required in order to achieve this type of meditation session. That makes this meditation style a minimalist's perfect means for meditating. Self-led means, you determine when you need to meditate and allows you to just snap into a meditation session with little preparation or notice. This style of meditation requires a focused subject, because you set the pace and the direction of your thoughts, therefore an unfocused mind will struggle to stay on path, rather letting their brain run around. You'll find yourself chasing after a thought like the squirrel from the "Ice Age" movie series chases that acorn. With clear focus however, the subject can navigate intentionally through their thoughts in a very individualized nature. Focus will afford you the most beneficial process and will allow you the most effective opportunity to achieve your individual goal. To help you achieve the focus required for this style of meditation I encourage you to set the scene. light a candle, turn down the lights, turn on an instrumental song of your choice. Sneak away from distractions for a moment.

Meditation that is guided is the most personalized and intentional in nature.

It is also the most frequently used style of meditation for me. Guided meditation can mean so many things, this is why I consider it the most personalized style. Choosing the guided meditation that calls to you is a very personalized thing, based on your needs, goals, and understanding of meditation resources. You can find many guided meditations on YouTube. In addition, there are a number of meditation apps available to download on your devices. These are convenient because they offer quite a library of different topics to guide you through, aiding in keeping you focused. These apps also download to your device allowing it to travel with you quite nicely, anywhere you travel too. The catch with this style is that you must intentionally remember to use the resources and tools. My personal favorite guided meditation resources are " Calm " and also " Headspace " both offer apps and can have expenses attached, I've included links to both websites so you can access that information. I DO NOT WORK FOR EITHER COMPANY OR COLLECT ANY AFFILIATE BENEFITS OR INCOME. I also enjoy both in ways that cost me no additional expenses each month. I watch Headspace on Netflix with my existing subscription and the Calm social media accounts are, to say it simply, hilarious and absolutely great! Check them out!

Meditation that is practiced in a group requires the most confidence and courage by far.

It is intentional, planned out, and by far the hardest for me to accomplish. I said this very same thing about thoughtful composed prayers. When it comes to spiritual practices, I struggle the most with intentionally setting aside time for these practices at length. This is a season of life where I am busy and being pulled in six different directions at almost every moment, this makes intentionally setting time aside for these practices extremely challenging. Group meditation requires intention to practice, as there needs to be planning to execute it, and in most cases, it also requires some financial expense. You must intentionally seek out a group meditation experience, be it in an in-person class or a virtual one, with membership fees or other expenses included. This all truly requires preparation and planning so, spontaneously practicing group meditation is truly a rare opportunity. But above intention, planning, and potential expense, group meditation requires vulnerability because quite frankly, you never know what things meditation will bring up, or what feelings will accompany those things. Because of these factors, exploring group meditation likely requires a confident and courageous person to explore this style of meditation. Is this you?

Meditation is a great tool to be used for many purposes.

There are many reasons one might practice meditation. Whether it be focused meditation for problem solving & achieving goals, body scan meditation for targeting concerns & healing, mantra meditation for confidence & belief building, mindfulness meditation for increased presence & gratitude, spiritual meditation for faith & legacy growth, visualization meditation for dreaming & goal setting, meditation is a great tool to be used for many purposes . regardless of what you use it for in your life. I encourage you to explore where meditation fits into your own life.

But wait, There's MORE!

I have another spiritual practice, that I consider in the category of meditation, because after my personal experience, it was the most "hands on" meditation I have ever experienced. This is the practice of reiki. My husband treated me to my first reiki session as a birthday present for my 40th birthday. It was transformational and unique to say the least. At some future point in time, I may cover it in a blog in more detail but for now, let me just introduce the practice.

"What is Reiki?" you may be asking, well:

Reiki

according to reiki.org

Reiki is a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing.

It is administered by "laying on hands" and is based on the idea that

an unseen "life force energy" flows through us and is what causes us to be alive.

If one's "life force energy" is low, then we are more likely to get sick or feel stress,

and if it is high, we are more capable of being happy and healthy.

The word Reiki is made of two Japanese words -

Rei which means "God's Wisdom or the Higher Power" and Ki which is "life force energy".

So, Reiki is actually "spiritually guided life force energy."

My desire in writing this blog is to encourage you to evaluate the place that meditation has in your life by sharing with you the place that meditation has in my life. The goal was not to convince you to meditate, unless it's something that you feel will fit into your life or is something you're curious of. I believe that spiritual journeys should be authentic, not forced. If meditation has a place in your life, I only encourage you seek the still small voice inside of you to help make the decision and discern the details of your meditation practices. Faith is believing in something bigger than you, something that you cannot explain. It allows you to relinquish control in the things you can't control and offers you the opportunity to remember your place in the big picture. Faith can free you of the anxiety and stress that often occur as a result of living life by little more than white knuckling your way through, trying to control the journey, the narrative, and the perception of others. Meditation can be a great spiritual practice if you open yourself up to its benefits, and do I hope this inspires you to consider where meditation fits in.

~ Live Dazzling

Rebecca Jackson

7 Steps In 7 Days - Post Holiday Edition

Sun, 05 Jan 2025 21:30:07 GMT

I want to give you some easy ideas to

Begin practicing the 7 Step Method in just 7 days!

If you aren't already familiar with my 7 Step Method to Fill Your Cup First, then check out the blog post that I wrote at the very beginning of 2021 HERE to get comfortable with the method.

If you're already familiar with my 7 Step Method, then keep on reading for super simple ways to begin implementing the 7 Step Method in just 7 days this hibernation season and recover from the holidays!

2024 is over, which means the busy holiday season is over, that makes NOW a perfect time to do something extra to fill your cup, so you can maximize the benefits of your hibernation season this year! As a post-holiday gift, I'm sharing this season's installment of my reoccurring blog series, "7 Steps in 7 Days" to offer solutions for weaving the 7 Step Method into your weeks with more ease this winter. Inspired by the primal urge to hibernate the winter months away, I've put together a week's worth of ways for you to practice some bonus self-care this month from home, in the middle of your everyday life. Whether you practice them all in one week, spread them all out from now until next month, or only practice one or two over the course of the month and then a couple more next month, these ideas may help you fill your cup first this January! I hope you enjoy!

Filling Your Cup First

one day at a time.

Seven steps in seven days.

It just makes sense to me.

Here is the Post Holiday 7 Steps in 7 Days:

Sunday: Back to the Basic

The first "Sunday Soak" this year will take you out of the tub and the shower too for t his month's soak ! This month it's about soaking up some of that magical, mood warming Vitamin D! It may be cold (record breaking cold in some parts of the country right now), it may be snowy (unusually snowy in some places), but the sun is still shining Darling (or will soon enough in some cities). G etting out for a short soak in the sun will help boost your Vitamin D for sure and it just might ward off that annoying S.A.D. (Seasonal Affective Disorder) too! Take a walk in the sun to start the week! Stay warm!

Monday: Mindfulness Moment

Hibernation season is ripe for a "Monday Mindfulness Moment" in the calm after all the holiday chaos! For this month's mindfulness moment let's really step up your mindfulness! Begin seeking intentional time in a "Mindful Nook" that I challenge you to create somewhere near your bed. Let it encourage you to more easily escape for a mindful moment of your own time before you start your days in the morning, or as a means to wind down before bed! Begin by using the space to start implementing a 15-minute evening ritual, so you can wind down before bed! Once that is second nature, begin implementing a morning ritual too, it will help start your day in a more dazzling way.

Tuesday: Do Something Little for You

To practice "Treat Yourself Tuesday" this month I want you to FEED YOUR BODY and do it in a CLEAN & COLORFUL way! It's the time of year that we all want to begin eating better, so use this as an excuse to do just that! Do it by treating yourself to a super splurge worthy salad from your favorite place! Open your favorite food delivery app and order in a bougie salad to enjoy from the comfort of your warm and cozy home (remember to tip your driver well for helping you AND delivering goodness to your door, especially in crumby weather). Don't even worry about the calorie count, just get used to eating fresh & bright for now! You can clean up the toppings & dressings another time!

So, not terribly scary or overwhelming to apply to your week so far, right?

The second half of the week is when things start to get real fun!

Wednesday: Get a Hobby

This "Wednesday Workshop" I want you to explore succulents for a nature-based hobby. I'm not much of a gardener, and it is the dead of winter, but a little greenery always helps boost a mood, and succulents are just so cute! Get a little dish then hit the nearest garden center today to pick up some succulents and a small amount of garden gravel. Create a cute little arrangement and then it can go in your "Mindful Nook" hanging or on a shelf or table to bring a little nature inside!

Thursday: Get Your A$$ Moving

Now, I know it's colder than usual, but that's no excuse to pack the extra insulation on your body so, for this month's "Thick Thighs Thursday" I want to kick up the sweat factor! Run in place: 3 minutes on -1 minute off - 3 minutes on! If you have a treadmill, then just switch between running 3 minutes on and walking during the 1 minute off. Remember, the goal is only to get those thighs moving, thick or not. No body shaming here, just a cheeky name dear! Don't stress over speeds or machine resistance, or numbers on a scale. It's about being healthier, not smaller. Now get moving Darling! Sweat it out!

Friday: Dream Big

It's the weekend and that means "Friday Funday"! Head into this weekend recalling some pivotal moments from 2024 where you dreamed big, dared to fail, and use those moments to motivate you for your future! This New Year, 2025, gives us the chance to keep dreaming, keep daring, keep failing, and keep growing through it all. Failure creates growth after all, learn from it & keep going! Let 2025 be your most Dazzling year yet! Lay your 2025 goals out and give yourself focus!

Saturday: Rest, Reflect, Reevaluate, & Restart

Celebrate "Self-Care Saturday" by reflecting, relaxing & recharging yourself Darling! 2024 is like water under the bridge... gone by. Now is the time to begin prioritizing YOU! How can you intentionally do this even more in 2025! Life should be about more than chasing goals and dreams. Be intentional to set some personal care goals into the mix. Goals like, resting more, or taking more baths, or eating less processed food. The sky is the limit, but consider YOU into your goals!

If you haven't yet signed up to get on the Dazzling District mailing list so you can receive the monthly newsletter and other occasional communications, do so using THIS LINK . Don't wait, you'll be disappointed you did! PLUS Coffeetalk made a comeback in a flashy, fun new way last year and I hope to release it more consistently in 2025 as I step up my publishing game this year! Finally, thank you so much for being patient with me through the creating, defining, and building of this company, and for showing back up for me here with every new blog post! The repeat readers, loyal followers, and each active member of this little dazzling community mean the world to me. I appreciate you more than you'll ever know! Happy New Year!

~ Live Dazzling

Rebecca Jackson

Time Spent in Scripture

Sat, 04 Jan 2025 18:17:52 GMT

Scripture

Simply put, scripture does not mean the Holy Bible,

it means revered texts of the world's religions.

Can that be scripture from the bible? Yes. But if the bible isn't your religious text of choice, then substitute the revered texts of your religion. For me, it's the bible. I was saved at a youth retreat when I was 13, and by saved, I mean that I came to know Jesus Christ and learned of his sacrifice to save humanity from its sin, and I asked Him into my heart. I was later baptized in the very same sanctuary that I was saved in, recommitting my faith twenty years later, as a wife and mother of three. For me, it's always been Jesus. I used to struggle with religion, and the hypocrisy that I once believed religion to be hand-cuffed to. Until I was saved. It was then that I began to slowly come to understand the grace of God, and the man named Jesus, who hung on a cross for the sins I would inevitably commit.

I've been in a relationship with Jesus since that November evening in the mid-nineties. I have not however, always had a relationship with scripture. I received my first bible for Easter from my parents around the second grade, and when I read the scriptures in it, I fell asleep. It was a "Precious Moments" bible though, so occasionally I would be successful paging through it and looking at the pictures. I remember going to Awana on Wednesday nights occasionally when I was in grade-school with a friend and her family. We used to get "Bible Bucks" to use for treats if we memorized bible verses. I remember earning a few "Bible Bucks", but not enough to ever redeem them for a treat. I also, don't remember a single verse I "successfully memorized", so there's that. When I became a mom I intuitively knew, I would need to grow my faith to get through it. So I started trying to do better with scripture.

I am not a whiz am memorizing scripture, still to this day I only have a handful of mostly memorized bible verses. I did however, learn alternative ways to incorporate scripture into my life in the seasons where I was in the thick of it with littles and couldn't even prop my eyelids open for time in scripture. Eventually life slowed down, a little, my girls got older, and I began having a little more success at a table with my bible and a journal, but those scripture sessions are still mostly few and far between. The following ways are my go-to solutions for sneaking scripture into my life.

Some alternative solutions for scripture:

Listening to faith-based music
Talk radio/podcasts aligned with your faith
A weekly church sermon, virtual or in person
Books, fiction or non-fiction by authors of your faith.

Now, ideally you do find time for actual scripture reading from your bible, on hand or in your phone.

I use a bible app to help me increase my time spent in scripture. I find more success with the bible on my phone screen than I do with a bound copy of the bible, and I've come to a point in my life where I can give myself grace for that choice. Truly, God doesn't care how I connect with His word, just so long as I do connect with it. Plus, my Bible app has some very cool features so I can grow my scripture time, track my progress, bookmark and note thoughts I have while reading, and come back to those notes and bookmarks at a later time with ease and no clutter in my bible pages. It even rewards me for reaching milestones using the various features, and it awards me with digital ribbons! Who doesn't want to earn digital awards?!? Seriously though, it has really changed and improved my scripture practices, and my faith is benefitting from that, in turn benefitting my spirit and my life. I hope I've encouraged you to consider time in scripture and where it fits into your self-care practices. If you are inspired, fill me in on your journey! I'd love to celebrate your faith progress with you!

~ Live Dazzling

Rebecca Jackson

Prayer Time

Thu, 12 Dec 2024 22:53:13 GMT

To Pray or Not to Pray

Prayer is a personal thing.

Who you pray to. How you pray. Where you pray. What you pray over and about. The frequency of your prayers. Whether you even choose to pray or not. All of these factors are very personal decisions. Prayer is something that I have found is very beneficial to my self-care practices, and it benefits both my mental health as well as my spiritual health. For some, prayer is very ritualistic. To others, prayer is almost a last resort. To me, prayer is a tool I use to remind myself I am not in control and to allow me to be in communication with my creator. In my life intentionally making time for the practice of prayer while also maintaining a fluid, almost constant state of prayer, allowing for spontaneous prayer in the middle of life life-ing, is the most beneficial way of practicing prayer time in my days. It's not always consistent. I am always working on growing in it.

So, I'm not here to teach you how to pray.

I do want to encourage you to discover its place in your life though.

I find that personally, when I show up for myself in my prayer life, the universe and the powers that be, shows up for me. The what's, the where's, the why's, even the how's are entirely outside of my control in nearly all instances, yet somehow, the details still manage to work out in a way that ultimately benefits the bigger picture for my family and for those in our orbit whom my prayers are directed. In my own prayer life, there are typically 3 types of prayers I frequently utter in faith.

My 3 Prayer Types

Desperate Cry
Conversational Chat
Thoughtful Prayer Session

L et me explain these 3 types of prayer a little further.

My desperate cry prayer is the most minimal, basic, and primal in nature.

It comes out of me hardly more than a word, "Jesus" and it is typically accompanied by tears and sobs.

Sometimes it is simply a whisper, other times it comes out of me as if it were bellowing from the bottom of my being. Depending on the season in my past, these types of prayers are uttered more frequently than in other seasons.

My conversational chat prayer is the most spontaneous and authentic in nature.

It is also the most frequently uttered regardless of the season of life I am in, and it happens like breathing.

These prayers are rarely audible, unless it's a communal in necessity, and these prayers often happen while I'm driving.

The conversational chat focuses on a wide range of things, from little details of life to bigger, more pivotal life issues.

My thoughtful prayer session prayer is by far the type of prayer I manage the least.

It is intentional, planned out, and by far the hardest for me to accomplish, when I do, I am grateful I managed.

These prayers are thought out, and typically lengthier in nature, both things my hyperactive mind struggles to focus through. I long for a season that I have the spiritual strength and maturity to be more disciplined in these prayers.

As a rule, if my thoughts are composed at all while I am praying, I typically abide by the following prayer outline:

A.C.T.S.

A - Adoration of my creator.

C - Confession of my misdoings and missteps.

T - Thanksgiving of my many blessings.

S - Supplication of my desires.

My desire in writing this blog is to encourage you to evaluate the place that prayer has in your life by sharing with you the place prayer has in my life. The goal was not to convince you to pray, or in any way sway who you pray to, or how you choose to pray. I believe that spiritual journeys should be authentic, not forced. If prayer has a place in your life, I only encourage you seek the still small voice inside of you to help make the decision and discern the details of your prayer life. Faith is believing in something bigger than you, something that you cannot explain. It allows you to relinquish control in the things you can't control and offers you the opportunity to remember your place in the big picture. Faith can free you of the anxiety and stress that often occur as a result of living life by little more than white knuckling your way through, trying to control the journey, the narrative, and the perception of others. I hope this inspires you to consider where prayer fits in.

~ Live Dazzling

Rebecca Jackson

7 Steps In 7 Days - October

Fri, 11 Oct 2024 19:51:31 GMT

I want to give you some easy ideas to

Begin practicing the 7 Step Method in just 7 days!

If you aren't already familiar with my 7 Step Method to Fill Your Cup First, then check out the blog post that I wrote at the very beginning of 2021 HERE to get comfortable with the method.

If you're already familiar with my 7 Step Method, then keep on reading for super simple ways to begin implementing the 7 Step Method in just 7 days this autumn to keep you overflowing into the holidays!

Summer is over, which means the busy holiday season is right around the corner, that makes NOW a perfect time to do something extra to fill your cup, so you don't burn out by Thanksgiving! As a pre-holiday gift, I'm sharing this season's installment of my reoccurring blog series, "7 Steps in 7 Days" to offer solutions for weaving the 7 Step Method into your weeks with more ease this autumn. Inspired by Halloween, I've put together a week's worth of spooky little ways for you to practice some bonus self-care this month in the middle of your everyday life. Whether you practice them all in one week, spread them all out from now until next month or only practice one or two over the course of the month, these ideas can help you fill your cup first this October! I hope you enjoy!

Filling Your Cup First

one day at a time.

Seven steps in seven days.

It just makes sense to me.

As I was creating, developing, and fine-tuning my 7-step method to fill my own cup first, it quickly became apparent to me that it was perfectly aligned to 7 days in a week. After launching the brand and beginning my first iteration of the Coffeetalk Newsletter, I created a monthly column sharing how you could challenge yourself through the week and accomplish something for each step in a single week using the 7 Step in 7 Day practice. It was so fun that I decided to turn this into a regular seasonal blog to share this year. I've been inconsistently producing it, only a few times so far in May & July , then I took a few months off, as I decided when in the month to release it, and how frequently to release it throughout the year. I've decided that for the remainder of this year it will post seasonally, during the first full week of the month. This is the fall post. I will post a post-holiday one in January. In 2025 I will post them according to a schedule I'll be releasing soon.

Here is the October 7 Steps in 7 Days:

Sunday: Back to the Basic

Take a "Sunday Soak" inspired by spooky season. Light some candles, burn an incense, stream some hauntingly chill music, turn down the lights, and turn up the moisturizing. There is nothing scarier than dry, scaley, ashy skin! Well, maybe there are scarier things, but still, be sure to exfoliate your skin to eliminate all of the dead, dry skin from the last bit of summer heat. Not to mention the clogged pores from sunscreen residue and sweat build up. Exfoliating helps deep clean your pores, so they are ready to absorb the moisture from your soak. Rinse yourself thoroughly to prevent future build up and then apply your favorite moisturizing lotion to set your skin up right for colder months ahead.

Monday: Step-Up the Game

Start the day with intention by taking a "Monday Mindfulness Moment" . When the stress of the impending holidays starts to spin in your head, it may easily manufacture monsters in your mind that will haunt your thoughts. Be proactive to ward off those mind demons and begin building mindfulness into your days. Practice a 15-minute morning ritual that targets a 5-minute activity for your mind, a 5-minute activity to wake up your body & a 5-minute activity to set your Spirit in a positive direction as you head into your day. It will help to keep the monsters and demons at bay in your brain.

Tuesday: Do Something Little for You

This is not a trick, "Treat Yourself Tuesday" is the time to spoil yourself just a little bit, for taking intentional time daily to improve your care. Grab your broom stick and fly straight to the store so you can pick up one new personal care or hygiene product that you have been eyeballing but have still been hesitant to try. Don't splurge so big you break the bank but treat yourself to something little that will keep you excited about continuing your new Journey to Dazzling!

So, not terribly scary or overwhelming to apply to your week so far, right?

The second half of the week is when things start to get real fun!

Wednesday: Get a Hobby

Hump days are perfect for a "Wednesday Workshop" to act as a pick me up in the middle of the week. Halloween is the time of year you dress up and pretend to be someone you're not. For this hobby workshop I want you to take inspiration from that sentiment and enter your "Bob Ross Era". Head to the nearest art supply store, or even a Dollar Tree, and pick up some fall-colored paints, a few brushes, and a small canvas or two. You don't have to produce a Renaissance caliber painting, but spending a little time playing with the paints can be relaxing and fun. Now just paint!

Thursday: Get Your A$$ Moving

The week in nearly over and before it ends let's sneak in a "Thick Thighs Thursday" . The only goal it to get those thighs moving, thick or not. No body shaming here, just cheeky naming dear! Get up and get moving here, do 3 sets of 7 squats, if it feels good, do 3 sets more! In fact, Halloween falls on a Thursday this year, maybe you challenge yourself to do sets of squats while you wait for your goblins in between houses as they trick or treat the night away. Heart pumping fun!

Friday: Dream Big

When the weekend arrives, there's nothing freaky here, just "Friday Funday" dear! You don't need a Freaky Friday swap of your own to live a different life, just a daydreaming session and some practical actionable steps to work towards. Head into the weekend with some daydreaming, for your weekend, your month, maybe even the next year! Make a list, or random notes of the things that come up for you in your daydreaming session, this will allow you to take action next. Start with those dreams and then break them up into smaller, more manageable steps to achieve your goals!

Saturday: Rest, Reflect, Reevaluate, & Restart

Celebrate "Self-Care Saturday" by reflecting, relaxing & recharging yourself Darling! It's easy to get caught up in the chaos of the week without taking time to properly rest or taking time to reflect on your choices or the things happening to and around you. This step is about intentionally creating time in your life to check-in, rest, reflect, and reevaluate before heading right back into the chaos cycle yet another week. How you take care of yourself matters and it deserves to be reevaluated from time to time, for your benefit. Ask yourself some questions. How do you feel after a week of your own love & care? What worked? What didn't? Now make some adjustments and then try again!

If you haven't yet signed-up to get on the Dazzling District mailing list to receive the monthly newsletter and other occasional communications, do so using THIS LINK . Don't wait, you'll be disappointed you did! PLUS Coffeetalk made a comeback in a flashy, fun new way this past April! Finally, thank you so much for being patient with me through the creating, defining, and building of this company, and for showing back up for me here with every new blog post! I appreciate you more than you'll ever know!

~ Live Dazzling

Rebecca Jackson

Chakra Aligning

Wed, 09 Oct 2024 04:06:25 GMT

Chakras

With origins tied to Buddhism and Hinduism, chakras are essentially defined as a series of energy centers, or portals, in the body, and they are believed, in some traditions, to regulate your physical and mental well-being. Each chakra is believed to be connected to vital organs in your body. When all seven chakras are balanced and unblocked you reach alignment, which is considered a sign of physical and mental health. Each chakra controls the energy flow of a portion of your body and requires targeted and specific healing modalities to balance or unblock. Activation by way of meditation, yoga, and mantras can enhance your overall health and well-being.

Over the last 5 years, I have been on an intentional mission to learn about, begin unblocking, and then aligning my own chakras. This blog is a compilation of the things that I've learned on that mission. I'm going to break them each down a little, but just know, I am not a health or wellness practitioner of any kind. So, before we get started...

Some professionals who can assist in your chakra work:

holistic therapists
yoga instructors
acupuncture practitioner
reiki practitioner

Now, we're going to get into the seven chakras. The what's, the where's, the why's, even the how's to unblock and align.

The 7 Chakras

Root
Sacral
Solar plexus
Heart
Throat
Third-Eye
Crown

L et's dig into each of the chakras a little deeper.

Your root chakra is located at the bottom of your tailbone. The perineum in men and the cervical area for women. Its role is to connect the physical, bodily energy with the earth itself. Grounding. It's linked to survival, breathing, eating, sleeping and physical security. When your root chakra is balanced, a deep sense of peace will be present, along with a feeling of safety and the knowledge that your needs will be met. Healing begins here! Healing and Growth.

Affirmation: I Am safe and grounded. Color: Red

Your sacral chakra is located below your belly button, in the pelvic region. Its role is to be your creative identity as a human, to be your “place of self” and to motivate joy. This chakra is linked to life enjoyment. Enjoying the fruits of your labor, and other pleasurable things like artistic expression, food, and even sex too. When balanced, your sacral chakra will slow you, to truly enjoy the finer things in life without overdoing it. Balance and Joy.

Affirmation: I enjoy pleasures of life Color: Orange

Your solar plexus chakra is located above your belly button by 2-3 inches, in the stomach. Its role is to help your self-confidence and personal power exist together in harmony. This chakra is linked to bravery and boundary setting. Warrior energy is a great way to summarize it. When balanced, your solar plexus chakra encourages high self-esteem bonuses and a high self-worth. Strength and Worth.

Affirmation: I Am strong, and I know my worth Color: Yellow

Your heart chakra is located in your chest, in the heart space. Its role is to be the state of unhurt, to nurture love, compassion, and kindness. Love is the most healing of all the energies and this makes the heart chakra an important one to understand. Fundamentally this chakra is linked to love and empathy. When balanced, the heart chakra allows you to easily practice love and empathy, to yourself as well as towards others. Love and Empathy.

Affirmation: I Am loved and loving Color: Green

Your throat chakra is located in the middle of your throat. Its role is to be the official seat of self-expression. It helps you to speak up. It is linked to voicing one’s preferences, beliefs and values, smoothly, authentically and confidently. When balanced, your throat chakra allows prioritizing your physical well-being, lovingly and openly speak your truth. Confidence and Inspiration.

Affirmation: I Am able to speak my truth. Color: Sky Blue

Your third-eye chakra is located between the eyebrows, connecting to the brain’s pineal gland. Its role is to be the mystic energy, beyond wisdom, in expanded states of consciousness. It allows you to transcend beyond your 5 senses and the material world. Your third-eye chakra is linked to a connection to the divine, intuition. The potential for extrasensory perception and even psychic abilities have been linked to pineal gland powers. When balanced your third-eye chakra ensures you are in tune with the spiritual world and the physical world, connected to both soul and ego. Divine Purpose.

Affirmation: I Am able to trust my intuition. Color: Indigo

Your crown chakra is located at the top of your head, resting on the crown of your head. Its role is to connect your pure consciousness to the Universe. Your connection to God, as you deem it. The crown chakra is linked to who you are, your unique ego, beyond you. When balanced, your crown chakra reflects true enlightenment has been achieved as you have discovered the secret to who you really are and why. Enlighten and Connect.

Affirmation: I Am the Divine Color: Violet/White

After learning more about chakras myself, it dawned on me one day, a connection I hadn't noticed before. What if my 7-step method was just a creative reimagining of the 7 chakras? I believe that the human body is an incredibly intricate thing, and I believe every intricacy is intentional. To me, it only makes sense that our creator would create specific portal points in our human design for targeted soul connection. When I recognized the connections between the chakras and my steps, it felt like a true God-instance. When creating and practicing my self-care practices and rituals, I now consider my chakras as a metric. If this blog has inspired you in any way to learn more, consider, or begin any chakra work of your own then I would love to hear about it!

~ Live Dazzling

Rebecca Jackson

Pockets Full of Rocks

Fri, 06 Sep 2024 05:00:11 GMT

Crystals & Energy

When I was a little girl, I loved collecting "pretty rocks" as I called them. Crystals were just pretty rocks in my understanding for many years. The prettiest of rocks. The connection between crystals and energy came in my thirties. As a child, the idea that rocks harnessed some sort of energy or power would never have been introduced to me, it would have been considered witchy. Anything witchy was immediately ruled out as Satanic and evil. In my thirties, as I was actively working my faith journey for the first time since I was a teenager, I was also actively stripping away the beliefs and ideals that had been tied up into faith as it was presented to me. I was breaking chains around a box that contained God, so that I could open the box and let God out, allowing God to be the enormous, all consuming, ever present being I was taught to believe He was.

I was in my mid-thirties when I pulled the last of the chains off the box, and had managed to slide the lid slightly ajar. It was then that I became aware of the energy work that could be done using crystals. I had known about LCD technology since it's mainstream inception, but the fact that liquid crystal displays were using the power of crystals to transfer the electrical energy and generate the light display on the screen had somehow not been intellectually absorbed by my brain. Liquid Crystal molecules were essentially doing an intricate dance with light and electricity to produce the vast majority of display screens available today. It surprised me when it finally set in.

Crystals were JUST rocks, right?

Rocks had ZERO power, right?

To imply rocks had some sort of POWER would be wrong, right?

Rocks with power, well that's equivalent to SORCERY, right?

Magic, sorcery, enchantments, it was all evil, right?

Evil = Satanic.

UNTIL, that is, I broke the chains off the box, and freed God from the constraints my mortal mind could fathom. I let myself begin to believe God to be as BIG, as MIRACULOUS, and as absolutely MARVELOUS as God is. Everything here is God's creation, right? God created everything, right? Everything had a purpose, right? Then, maybe rocks can have power.

Once upon I time, I believed that science, the study of things and beings and nature, was trying to disprove the faith I had been instilled with. Then I grew up and realized that if it's my faith, I get to decide the details of that faith, I was allowed to take God out of the box. I got to define what the presence of God would be to me. I stopped looking at science as the study of all things to disprove God. I started feeling like maybe it all just confirmed the big, nuanced, complicated, and intricate ways that God's creation was designed by Him to be. A planet filled with life and energy. Life created with free will and for a purpose. Energy in all kinds of ways and many different places, for many different purposes. If I believe in His creation, then I believe in the power and purpose attached by God to every single thing He created. It is all truly connected, and when I began looking at it this way, pretty rocks started to mean more too. I started collecting crystals intentionally. I started placing them in my home and throughout my life to help me navigate life with a more positive energy field surrounding me and my family.

Now, you will find crystals in some form or another, in every room of my home, and rarely do I not have one adorning me in my jewelry, or tucked into my pockets, or even my bra! Some of my favorites to wear are:

rose quartz - love, trust, emotional healing

amethyst - protection, cleansing, intuition

jade - love, good luck, prosperity

hematite - grounding, clarity, manifestation

lapis lazuli - vision, truth, awareness

tiger's eye - balance, grounding, discernment

citrine - imagination, clarity, manifestation

malachite - protection, leadership, confidence

quartz - manifesting, amplifying other stones

snowflake obsidian - persistence, overcoming difficulties

sunstone - joy, optimism, courage, emotional support

moonstone - intuition, inner work, patience

Every stone in my collection has a purpose, and they all look quite dazzling too! If this inspired you to begin having pockets full of rocks, please share that with me! I'd love to hear about your collection, you can even tag Dazzling District on the socials to share pictures of your collection of crystals with me in all their DAZZLING beauty!!

~ Live Dazzling

Rebecca Jackson

7 Steps In 7 Days - July

Thu, 11 Jul 2024 15:23:10 GMT

I want to give you some easy ideas to

Begin practicing the 7 Step Method in just 7 days!

If you aren't already familiar with my 7 Step Method to Fill Your Cup First, then check out the blog post that I wrote at the very beginning of 2021 HERE to get comfortable with the method.

If you're already familiar with my 7 Step Method, then keep on reading for super simple ways to begin implementing the 7 Step Method in just 7 days with a patriotic spin!

Happy Independance Day! This means that summer is in full stride and that makes NOW a perfect time to do something extra to fill your cup, so you don't burn out by August! As a gift I'm sharing this season's installment of my reoccurring blog series, "7 Steps in 7 Days" to offer seasonal solutions for weaving the 7 Step Method into your weeks with more ease. In celebration of Independance Day, I've put together a week's worth of little ways for you to practice some bonus self-care this month in an independent way. Whether you practice them all in one week, spread them all out from now until the end of the month or only practice one or two over the course of the month, these ideas can help you fill your cup first this July! I hope you enjoy!

Filling Your Cup First

one day at a time.

Seven steps in seven days.

It just makes sense to me.

Sunday: Back to the Basics

This "Sunday Soak" takes the soaking out of the house and into the great outdoors, Darling. Be it in a pool. in a pond, a lake, or the ocean, I don't care which you choose, just soak yourself in some water outside this time, to help achieve a little relief from the warmer summer temperatures!

Monday: Step-Up the Game

For our "Monday Mindfulness Moment" this month I want to continue the outdoor theme by encouraging you to practice some mindful time outside, watching the sun either rise or set, depending on your preference. Watching the sun open or close a day has the ability to put life in perspective so seek some of that.

Tuesday: Do Something Little for You

Today is "Treat Yourself Tuesday" ! It's the time of the week where I give you permission to spoil yourself just a little bit, for taking time intentionally every day to improve your care. Summer is a fabulous time to treat yourself to a beautiful vase of flowers. Whether you pick them fresh or purchase them from a local florist, adding fresh flowers to your space can brighten any day when you see them, so pick up a bouquet today! !

So, not terribly overwhelming to apply to your week so far, right?

The second half of the week is when things start to get real fun!

Wednesday: Get a Hobby

For this month's "Wednesday Workshop" it's time to "take a page" right out of elementary summer break, get a little summer reading in Darling! It can be a book you've read already, or one you pick up new, I just think you should do a little reading to spark some thoughtful entertainment. Books make a great hobby!

Thursday: Get Your A$$ Moving

As the summer continues to tick on, your ability to be active outside only increases. This "Thick Thighs Thursday" basically just needs you to find a way that feels natural to you to get outside and get active. Take a hike, go for a swim, ride a bicycle, or play a round of golf, with clubs or discs, just enjoy this warmer weather season while it lasts.!

Friday: Dream Big

The weekend is here and that means that it's "Friday Funday" ! Head into the weekend daydreaming about how you can continue to push yourself to seek freedom from the doubts that are keeping you from achieving great things this summer! Set your sights on something big for the fall and begin goalsetting for it!

Saturday: Rest, Reflect, Reevaluate, & Restart

Celebrate "Self-Care Saturday" by reflecting, relaxing & recharging yourself Darling! I hope the first half of 2024 was Dazzling! I also hope that you've begun to prioritize you more! How can you continually do this in even more specific ways during the last half of 2024?

If you haven't yet signed-up to get on the Dazzling District mailing list to receive the monthly newsletter and other occasional communications, do so using THIS LINK . Don't wait, you'll be disappointed you did! This year the mailing list is going to start receiving more regular communications again! PLUS Coffeetalk made a comeback in a flashy, fun new way in April! The July edition arrives in inboxes today and August's will arrive on 8/8/2024 so, get on the mailing list now. Finally, thank you so much for being patient with me through the creating, defining, and building of this company, and for showing back up for me here with every new blog post! I appreciate you more than you'll ever know!

~ Live Dazzling

Rebecca Jackson

Smudging the Negativity Away

Thu, 27 Jun 2024 14:00:38 GMT

Sage

Burning bundles of sage, or as some say, "Smudging" yourself and your home, can be a helpful and cleansing practice for your spirit as well. A quick Wikipedia search will tell you that:

"Smudging, or other rites involving the burning of sacred herbs or resins, is a ceremony practiced by some Indigenous peoples of the Americas. While it bears some resemblance to other ceremonies and rituals involving smoke from other world cultures, notably those that use smoke for spiritual cleansing or blessing, the purposes and particulars of the ceremonies, and the substances used, can vary widely among tribes, bands, and nations, and even more so among different world cultures."

I wasn't familiar with this practice until I was a newly married 24-year-old standing with my mom in the first home my husband and I would buy together. She mentioned that I should burn sage to cleanse the house from evil before we settled in too much. I remember thinking it was an odd thing for my Catholic mother to say. She didn't believe in any kind of witchy stuff and burning sage to protect from evil sounded kind of witchy to me. Witchy, hippie, I didn't know, it just didn't sound like something I had ever heard my mom say before then. Typically, she was all about praying to protect from evil. I had our second daughter days later and was released to go home to our empty house the next day. As we settled in, I never cleansed it with sage. I never thought about it again. I just moved in and moved on with my life. Ironically, the most challenging years of our life were on the heels of that decision. I'll never know if it would have mattered, but as we settled into our new home, hosting the whole time, we may very well have benefitted from me considering this practice more seriously sooner.

Early on we had a pretty wide-open door policy at our home. We were used to people just dropping by with no warning, because they were in the neighborhood. We were hosting parties, and hosting sleepovers, and hosting house guests, and couch dwellers. We were constantly opening our home up to the energy that others brought with them, and I was doing absolutely nothing to protect my home or prevent the emotional and spiritual chaos our kindness and open-door policy was causing. In the wake of my personal lowest season, as I was dissecting and rebuilding and deconstructing and remembering parts of my life that had gotten suppressed, or ignored, or completely blocked out, I began to see many things very differently and the burning of sage was one of those things. I became curious, and in 2019 I remember purchasing my first smudging kit from a little shop by my home. I walked in and out of every room, burning the sage bundle and a palo santo (because that's what was in the kit I bought) and reciting a prayer that was more like a discussion than a poem. I can't really explain it, but over the weeks and months after that, the energy in my home felt different.

I became an immediate believer in the spiritual practice because my spirit was feeling a difference. It was then that I began more consistently burning sage and palo santo, and since then, I have continued to widen and expand my use of smudging, burning other herbs and resins for a multitude of additional benefits. Now I own my "inner witch" and look at it as an extension of my faith. Before 2019 I was unsettled in my spirit, a little unsettled in my faith, and as a result, I became increasingly unsettled by many things as I worked through some difficult and vulnerable parts of my life. I was further unsettled at the idea of doing a relatively simple ritual that could bring peace back into my spirit.

At that time, I felt like the hard stuff I was going through was somehow penance for all of my wrong doings. I felt deserving of such punishment, largely because my focus was gone, my faith was wavering, and I was giving power to the wrong voice in my head. The voice of evil, who wanted me fearing, and doubting, and growing weaker. When I reconciled this, I realized that the more I felt unsettled, the more I was probably going in the right direction. If evil was steering my spirit in those seasons, then I would certainly get triggered or unsettled by things that may actually help me heal, grow and come into alignment with my purpose as I actively tried to let faith steer my spirit. A faith I had deconstructed and was reconstructing for myself.

For me, smudging is an integral part of my self-care rituals and routines, as I have come to a place in my life where I value energy and maintaining the integrity of my energy field is a priority. I seek to source my herbs and other witchy items from reputable local businesses to me who take great pride in maintaining the integrity of the practice, aiming to be mindful of over-harvesting and appropriation by sourcing from indigenous suppliers. As I continue to move through life defining reconstructing my faith, and deciding what spiritual practices and beliefs fit into my spiritual practices, I find it an incredibly educational and informative process to navigate. I hope to have contributed a little bit of information to help you determine if smudging is a spiritual practice that feels right for you.

~ Live Dazzling

Rebecca Jackson

Breathing for the First Time

Thu, 16 May 2024 23:00:01 GMT

I was in my 30's before I learned how to truly breathe...

I reached a personal low in my life after a season of extreme loss and grief in 2017 & 2018.

I found myself broken into pieces in a pit of my own creation and I didn't know how to put myself together or get out of the pit. In 2019 I began making sense of the mess and moving forward, letting my faith begin to guide me back into my authentic, feminine energy. In 2020 as the world faced quarantine and the pandemic, I was feeling more dazzling than I ever had before, but I was still a hot mess of unpacked crap I was slowly working through. It was during that season that I learned how to breathe for the first time. It was transformative and it felt like a divinely coordinated experience from beginning to end. This exercise refreshed my spirit.

As the ugly mess in my spirit began unraveling in 2018 and 2019, I realized very quickly that breathing exercises would have profound impact on my life as a whole. Breathing was always something that I just assumed we all knew how to do and that our bodies just did naturally, until I was a teenager and experienced my first panic attack. I couldn't breathe normally. I became, in that moment, very aware of just how challenging breathing could become at times. I struggled for a very long time with hidden panic attacks, and never really tried to educate myself or heal, I just focused on hiding them. Then I learned about taking ownership over our breathing and focusing on more than just shallow day to day survival breathing, and it helped me to navigate them more openly. I was able to activate entirely new levels in my own healing which was the catalyst for the spiritual awakening that I had coming.

At first, I just used breathing exercises, like box breathing, to help me calm down, focus on my inhales and exhales, slow my thoughts, and manage my anxiety attacks. The skill greatly benefitted me as I continued to unpack my crap in 2019 and 2020. It was early in 2021 when I discovered breathwork. I discovered somatic healing and how to use these practices to help regulate my nervous system. I took a huge leap out of my comfort zone and signed up for a virtual breathwork session with a healing coach I had discovered through Facebook. It was a free, group session experience so it was low risk in that sense, but it was a virtual group session, and nothing about that felt low risk. I stepped scared in faith. I signed up, I arranged my afternoon to afford the time window for me to be on during the live stream instead of opting for the "safer", recording option. I showed up, and I believe I even engaged in the comments during the live session. All of these things were outside of my comfort zone.

She went through her introduction and gave us a brief background, less than 10 minutes, and then she dove right into the breathwork and somatic healing of it all. You know, the reason we were there. I respected that she got right to it and didn't feel the need to validate herself or sell her services excessively. It was straight to the healing of it all. It didn't take too long into the process for me to feel like a total weirdo, sitting crisscross applesauce, in front of my computer, fully doubting it all, and as she talked us through an opening visualization, in a matter of seconds I was feeling myself grow more comfortable. This particular healing session was geared towards fear and being afraid of being seen. After the opening visualization, she got into the teaching. Discussing some of the human experience, nervous system, somatic (body based) healing, and how these things are connected. Breathwork is just one tool in what can be an arsenal of ways to help regulate your nervous system. Others include, tapping, dancing, shaking, embodiment practices, and even more.

Today we are just focusing on the breathwork, as we did in this group session, though I personally have experimented with a few others myself. Breathwork was the gateway for me to begin exploring more ways to heal and regulate my nervous system. So, what is breathwork, well lucky you, I'm a great note taker! My healing coach for this session, Lydia McClain, defines it as, "an active form of guided meditation that utilizes conscious, dynamic breath to safely release stuck emotions from the body". She also says:

Emotions are energy in motion
Feel to Heal
It's work, but it works!

~Lydia McClain

I didn't know what to expect after she finished her lesson and got us laying on the ground to begin the full breathwork exercise. I was a little scared, and I was feeling the anxiety in my nervous system elevate ever so slightly from the calm the introductory visualization had set in motion. She had just given us a brief lesson on how it worked, and it left me unsure. I continued stepping in faith through the process, and even though I had intended to stay crisscross applesauce, I followed suit, cleared barely enough space on my crazy messy, cluttered floor, and I laid down trusting the process.

Now, for me to go into too much detail about the process or my experience would be unnecessary. They'd be details that wouldn't matter, because it will be different for you. What I will tell you is that it was unlike anything I had ever experienced. I finished feeling lighter, a little tingly, and incredibly refreshed. I felt capable of being seen and taking up space, things I hadn't felt comfortable doing since I was just a very little girl. After 20-30 minutes of active breathwork, I could understand how it works. I could feel how it works. By the completion of my hour-long group breathwork session, I had experienced how it worked. I couldn't re-explain the how like Lydia did, and my notes were scattered in that section, but this is what I did get:

It helps the body self-heal, by tapping into the nervous system. and helping to release trapped emotions.

This happens because your bloodstream is pumped with oxygen, stabilizing part of your nervous system,

pushing back the part of your brain responsible for thinking, allowing you to fall into a trance-like state

that will allow it to access deeper healing. The increased H2O also means decreased C02 which has

something to do with PH levels in your body, making you more alkaline and purified from the inside out.

Whew. All that translates to, lighter. You feel lighter, relaxed, and refreshed. Or at least I did! It was the single best thing I did in the beginning of 2021 to level-up my healing in a dazzling new way! It unlocked and released so much I didn't even realize I was still carrying, subconsciously. I definitely recommend finding a guide, or a healing coach to encourage you through the process. Lydia was a Divine find for me on Facebook. It comes down to trusting your intuition when you begin this particular part of your quest. Let me know if you decide to give breathwork a try.

~ Live Dazzling

Rebecca Jackson

7 Steps In 7 Days

Thu, 02 May 2024 14:10:19 GMT

I want to give you some easy ideas to

Begin practicing the 7 Step Method in just 7 days!

If you aren't already familiar with my 7 Step Method to Fill Your Cup First, then check out the blog post that I wrote at the very beginning of 2021 HERE to get comfortable with the method.

If you're already familiar with my 7 Step Method, then keep on reading for super simple ways to begin implementing the 7 Step Method in just 7 days!

With Mother's Day Coming Up, NOW is a perfect time to do something extra to fill your cup, and maybe even include mom in the fun too! As a gift I'm introducing this reoccurring blog series, "7 Steps in 7 Days" to offer seasonal solutions for weaving the 7 Step Method into your weeks with more ease. In celebration of Mother's Day, I've put together a week's worth of little ways for you to practice some bonus self-care this month as spring settles in. Whether you practice them all in one week, spread them out from now until Mother's Day, or only practice one or two over the course of the month, these ideas can help you fill your cup first this May! I hope you enjoy!

Filling Your Cup First

one day at a time.

Seven steps in seven days.

It just makes sense to me.

Sunday: Back to the Basics

A new take on the "Sunday Soak" . Normally when one thinks of a soak, they are picturing a tub. That is a great way to get Back to the Basics for sure. This month's soak takes you out of the bathroom though, and into the kitchen! Spring is a great time to start to bring more fresh produce into your diet! This month I challenge you to stock up on some produce then give them a good soak to clean them, aiding in ease of consumption, adding a bright and fresh touch to your meals!

Monday: Step-Up the Game

Start the day with intention by taking a "Monday Mindfulness Moment" . I'm big on morning rituals, and this is a great place to start practicing mindfulness as a beginner. Being mindful of the first choices we make after waking is an incredibly valuable way to start your day and take ownership over its trajectory. Practice a 15-minute morning ritual that targets a 5-minute activity for your mind, a 5-minute activity to wake up your body & a 5-minute activity to set your Spirit off in a positive direction as you head into your day.

Tuesday: Do Something Little for You

Tuesday is "Treat Yourself Tuesday" ! It's the time of the week where I give you permission to spoil yourself just a little bit, for taking time intentionally every day to improve your care. With the warmer sunny days of spring upon us it has me thinking about all of the yummy treats that can be made with lemons; lemonade, iced lemon cake, lemon bars, lemon poppyseed muffins, lemon dressed citrus fruit salad, lemon vinegarette salad dressings, baked fish with roasted lemon slices. So, this month I want you to treat yourself to a lemon inspired treat... savory or sweet. Because sometimes life gives you lemons, and they can be turned into tasty treats. You deserve a little treat for treating yourself right!

So, not terribly overwhelming to apply to your week so far, right?

The second half of the week is when things start to get real fun!

Wednesday: Get a Hobby

Nest is "Wednesday Workshop" and we're getting out in nature with a camera. Pick up your phone or preferred camera and get exploring! Find some signs of nature springing to life and get creative with your camera. You might even capture a background worthy picture to update your home screen with this spring! Add an inspirational quote and, wah- la!

Thursday: Get Your A$$ Moving

As Spring brings warmer days, I want this to inspire a "Thick Thighs Thursday" challenge! Get out the exercise or yoga mat and find some comfortable, yet clingy workout clothes so you can head to your backyard or local park for a spring yoga session! You know your skill level, but whether beginner or pro, get your blood pumping with a little yoga in the sun!

Friday: Dream Big

The weekend is here and that means that it's "Friday Funday" ! Head into the weekend daydreaming about how you can clean up your self-care as spring keeps appearing! Don't wait another season to clean up your self-care practices, habits and rituals! You deserve to thrive in this life, not simply survive it!

Saturday: Rest, Reflect, Reevaluate, & Restart

Celebrate "Self-Care Saturday" by reflecting, relaxing & recharging yourself Darling! I hope 2024 is off to an incredible start! I also hope that you have truly begun to prioritize you more! How can you continually do this in even more specific ways throughout 2024!

If you haven't yet signed-up to get on the Dazzling District mailing list to receive the monthly newsletter and other occasional communications, do so using THIS LINK . Don't wait, you'll be disappointed you did! This year the mailing list is going to start receiving more regular communications again! PLUS Coffeetalk made a comeback in a flashy, fun new way LAST MONTH! The May edition arrives in inboxes on 5/9/2024 so, get on the mailing list now. Finally, thank you so much for being patient with me through the creating, defining, and building of this company, and for showing back up for me here with every new blog post! I appreciate you more than you'll ever know!

~ Live Dazzling

Rebecca Jackson

Refresh Your Spirit

Thu, 18 Apr 2024 15:00:00 GMT

and recharge your soul!

The entire foundation of the Dazzling District brand & company mission is built on the need for solid and personalized self-care, designed to care for your mind, body, and spirit uniquely. For you and created by you, with the help of some tips, methods & best practices. Shortly after I launched the website and blog, I wrote a 2-part Spring Cleaning Blog Series focused on detoxing your Mind and Body (if you haven't already read them use those links to do so ). D etoxing your Spirit is necessary to personal healing and growth too. It may be the most important of the three to focus on, however it is often the most difficult to do. It requires confronting ourselves with a level of vulnerability that many of us were never taught or demonstrated as children. This makes being capable and comfortable enough to do so, challenging and ultimately a little scary too. But it's necessary to prioritize your soul health, it's just as important as your gut health, your oral health or your heart health. Confronting our own spiritual toxins and roadblocks takes a real warrior soul, one that I know lives inside your heart.

If you have already read and begun to implement the other 2 blogs in my Spring-Cleaning Series, then you have already begun to "Detox Your Spirit" (use the links posted above if you haven't yet read them) . By detoxing your mind, you have hopefully begun removing some of the things that negatively impact your spirit. By removing toxins from your mind by way of unhealthy technology patterns, viewing choices, listening choices, and other things you introduce to your mental health that influence your self-talk, you will begin the journey by clearing space for peace and reflection. These two things will begin the snowball effect that is necessary to achieving a true spiritual cleansing.

Once you "Clean Your Mind " and move on to "Detox Your Body" then you have already continued your journey to "Detox Your Spirit" by allowing your mental health to continue improving while beginning the balancing of your gut health. By completing these other detoxes ahead of time you set the stage for a truly empowering spiritual cleansing. Which order you choose to attack them in however, is yours to decide. If you feel more limited in your mind as a result of a desperate need for a mental reboot, then begin by cleaning your mind. If you feel that the state of your body and physical endurance is where you are being most limited in personal growth, then begin by detoxing your body. This journey is yours to take, so I strongly encourage you listen to your heart to determine where to begin it and then check out the other blogs on those topics to do so.

If starting right here, with your spirit is where you feel most called to begin, then I hope you do so, keeping these things in mind. Where you go to begin to "Detox Your Spirit" once you are ready, is a little harder to break down into an action plan because, it must be the most self-guided and vulnerable part of your Mind-Body-Spirit Spring Cleaning Journey in order to achieve an authentic spiritual cleansing. Below I offer you a few of the means that I personally prefer to practice in obtaining a clean spirit. I am by no means an expert in knowledge of, or devout in practicing many of these methods, as I am still actively working on improving & healing myself, walking in my own spiritual journey. This is the main reason that it's taken me nearly 3 years to get this blog to a place I was ready to share it. I've spent years finding the practices that worked for me and exploring all these different ways for myself. I encourage you to explore these ideas in your own life as you see fitting to an authentic spiritual cleansing for yourself. If other practices feel aligned for you, then those are the practices you should be exploring. The goal is an authentic cleansing for your spirit.

In my personal Journey towards spiritual cleansing, I found healing and comfort in the practices above. Hover over the pictures above to see my personal spiritual cleansing practices. A few I was familiar with from my youth but had not really allowed myself to explore in any real personal or vulnerable way. Others I had only heard of, and due to confused, limiting, and in some cases, inherited beliefs, I had never even allowed myself to begin to explore them. In my circumstances, after I hit my personal rock bottom of self-value and personal worth, I was confronted with the reality that change needed to happen in my life, and it needed to begin in me first. In my mind, in my body & in my spirit.

For me, it was glaringly apparent, as I sat in the bottom of my pit, that I had let the body part of the equation fall to such an unhealthy place in my life that the repercussions had imposed devastatingly in the other two areas. Though at that point, I was so low, I was only focusing on the most tangible piece of the equation, weight loss, and for mostly vain reasons tbh. I am not proud of that last point, but it is my truth all the same. As my body quickly began to feel healthier than it had, maybe in my entire adult life, it became easier for me to focus on the benefits of my detox for all the many reasons besides the weight loss. It also became apparent that it was even more necessary and far easier for me to begin executing my mind cleanse next.

The spiritual cleansing began somewhere in the middle of these other self-care exercises. It began slowly, a few uncomfortable truths revealed to me at a time. Things that, at first, I tried to ignore, suppress & bury, but also the types of things that have a way of rearing their ugly head at unexpected times before fully imploding us entirely when we least expect it. That's exactly what happened to me. I spent a few months unraveling the mess in my spirit that all of my years of ignoring, suppressing & burying had created. I did so with the help of these practices.

Breathing Exercises

Sage Burning

Crystals & Energy Healing

Chakra Aligning

Time Spent in Scripture

Prayer Time

Meditation

Mindful Journaling

Each of these practices have had transformative results for me in my personal care journey. So much so, that each one will be the focus of its own blog, in a series I will be sharing over the next number of months. For each practice listed, there is a story of spiritual cleansing, and I will share my experiences and best practices to keep in mind as you explore your own spiritual cleansing journey. As each blog posts, you will also find links being added to the list in this post for easy access to them all in one place. Whether you read my experiences in the other blogs, or simply seek out intentional ways to reach spiritual cleansing, it's important that you do. The peace that can be found, and the weight that can be lifted from doing so has the potential to accelerate your progress in a profound way.

~ Live Dazzling

Rebecca Jackson

A New Greener Era

Thu, 04 Apr 2024 20:00:00 GMT

Ohio stepped into a new greener era

as 2023 came to a close

As of December 7th, 2023, Ohio officially became

the 24th state to legalize adult use cannabis.

This now means that Ohioans that are 21 years and older are permitted to possess up to 15 grams of edibles or extracts and 2.5 ounces of cannabis. Additionally, home growing up to 6 plants per person or 12 plants per household is also now allowed. As an Ohio resident, this new law is rather exciting to me, a closet “stoner girl” since high-school, I can now boldly step out into the light. It will soon be regulated, safer, and easier to obtain for all of the health benefits that I personally find from the consumption of it. Of all the parts of my personal care preferences, it may be the most controversial. Consider this blog post my official "coming out" as a "stoner girl"! After years of living as a mom with this detail of me hidden and stifled from the outside world, I was very grateful to cast a ballot that would support my truth.

Cannabis, Coffee & Christ

This is my unconventional truth.

Christ, Coffee & Cannabis.

The three things that keep me going.

These three things, as unconventional as they seem grouped together, are the three things that literally keep me functioning in a way that allows me to stay properly tuned into my dazzling and aligned with my purpose each day. Let me walk you through my process:

Christ

I start every day with a short morning ritual that takes no more than 15 minutes total and can be done from my bed. Five minutes focused on each, my mind, my body, and my spirit. I begin the day reaching for my phone to turn off the alarm, while I stretch my body in bed, waking my muscles up for the new day. Then I promptly make the choice and open the verse of the day to begin my day with a bible verse and short daily devotion to help put my spirit in alignment. Most days I have to navigate through dropping off 3 different children at 3 different school buildings, enduring 3 drop-off lines in the process so, the last piece of my morning ritual is to properly affirm my mind that I can tackle what I face that day. That I am in fact capable, worthy, and chosen, no matter how I feel in that moment. I do so by reciting a handful of affirmation statements before leaving my bed for the day.

Coffee

Once I have successfully delivered all 3 girls to their respective schools, I follow the sound of my local siren to retrieve what I started calling, my magic potion, my magical cup of joy, otherwise known as, my coffee. My preferred, handcrafted warm beverage of choice has magical results for me. It sparks joy as I look forward to chatting with my local baristas regularly. It sparks excitement as I anticipate it almost like a reward for having successfully completed my morning mom duties getting my kids out the door for school each day. It sparks inspiration as I sip on it during my morning “Me Time” after returning home and beginning my day, deciding which direction to direct my energy. It sparks purpose as it quite literally fuels me for my daily responsibilities, and it gives my soul a sweet and delicious hug. It is in fact, a magical venti potion.

Cannabis

After waking, starting my day, and retrieving my magic potion, I eventually make my way to the final piece of the puzzle that is my peak functionality, my morning "Me Time" when I consume cannabis to help a myriad of things. From encouraging my appetite, to calming my anxiety and nerves. From relieving pain from the physical repercussions of growing four tiny humans in varying weight seasons, to relief from old back and neck injuries from teenage escapades and accidents. From focusing my thoughts and assisting with my neurodivergences to boosting my spiritual connection and creative endeavors. Cannabis is a one bud wonder. The miracle "drug" that grows from our soil instead of being made by pharmaceutical companies. The plant from my Creator, instead of a pill from Big Pharma. My natural miracle solution, to my many, very human problems.

Now, I confidently consume cannabis in a variety of forms, and I consume it with daily consistency.

While I was living inauthentic, scared, and doubting myself I had no peace. No peace at all.

Now, I'm fully clued into how controversial my beliefs on this topic are, and I'm not sharing any of this to begin debates or argue the merits of my belief, or to try to convert you into a cannabis consumer. I shared this topic because it's an authentic struggle I experienced and an area where I lived surviving my way through the internal controversy. Feeling the very tangible pull inside me from my contradictory beliefs. Only in listening to the still small voice inside me, and studying scripture, was I able to come to a complete personal peace on the topic. After many a prayer session, after many life seasons, and after complete collapse and total transformation, I was finally able to have full peace in my consumption of cannabis as a believer of Jesus Christ. While I was living inauthentic, scared, and doubting myself I had no peace. No peace at all. I lived in the center of a paradox that felt impossible to escape. I was drowning in shame over contradictions the world had taught me. However, during my "Self-Care Quest to Dazzling" I began peeling away the things that humanity had put on me and pulling out the things that humanity had woven into my faith. I was on a quest to find my most authentic me. The one that I was created to be, by my Creator. I wasn't letting humanity dictate my decisions.

I WAS GOING TO KEEP SEEKING THE STILL SMALL VOICE.

~Rebecca Jackson, creator/Dazzling District Inc.

I believe this is why everyone should embark on their own "Self-Care Quest to Dazzling". I felt called to create this place, Dazzling District Inc. because of this belief. There is magic inside of you whether you realize it or not. By embarking on an intentional "Self-Care Quest to Dazzling" you can get in tune with the still small voice inside of you and navigate to more effective and efficient self-care solutions. Doing so will allow you to live life from a place of abundance so you can overflow your magic into the world around you. Don't deplete yourself for others anymore, instead discover the most authentic version of you so you can live a life overflowing with joy, excitement, inspiration, and purpose.

Being honest and vulnerable with yourself can help you to calm the chaos in your mind and magnify your mindfulness moments, multiplying your joy tenfold. Discover all the dreams you've been too uncertain to dream. Spark excitement in your routines and create truly inspired rituals to ensure you set yourself up for magical results. Get excited about taking care of yourself again Darling! It just may be the key to living life dazzling and true to the bright shining light that you were created to be. If this overwhelms you, have no fear, I'm here to help! I've been working on products and tools to encourage a Dazzling & True life to help myself on my own quest and I'm sharing them with you in brand new ways this year!

Follow along, on Threads, on Instagram, on Facebook, on YouTube, using the links at the bottom of the page, and most importantly, here on the website so you are always in the know! If you have not yet signed-up to get on the Dazzling District mailing list to receive the monthly newsletter and other occasional communications, do so using THIS LINK . Don't wait, this year the mailing list is going to start receiving more regular communications again! PLUS Coffeetalk will be making a comeback in a flashy, fun new way THIS MONTH! Finally, thank you so much for being patient with me through the creating, defining, and building of this company, and for showing back up for me here with every new blog post!

~ Live Dazzling

Rebecca Jackson

Fight that Frazzled Feeling

Fri, 08 Dec 2023 16:00:01 GMT

...so, you can float right into 2024 Dazzling & true to you!

Are you feeling "Frazzled"?

Not just a little bit down, or undermotivated, but like all out "Frazzled"?

Fearful, Restless, Anxious, Zealous, Zany, Lonely, Envious &/or Discouraged???

It's been a crazy year, in this uncertain and ever-changing world. No matter where you are reading this from. In such uncertain times it's easy to begin to feel frazzled. Don't be ashamed or embarrassed if this is how you are feeling as we near the end of this year Darling. The end of this year is upon us, and you may be ready to already see 2023 as a thing of the past, but there's still time to close out this year on a more dazzling front. We are only weeks away from ending 2023 and ringing in a brand-new year, now wouldn't it be nice to do so feeling more dazzling than before Darling? The first thing you have to do is acknowledge the frazzled feelings. Pretending they aren't bubbling under the surface won't help anybody.

The holidays can be hard enough if we are honest. Real life isn't all Hallmark movie moments and hot cocoa kisses. Real life is trickier than that. Often the holidays bring time spent with family and friends, sometimes including relationships that carry tension or toxicity. This can be draining on entirely separate levels than just the hustle and bustle of the holiday season alone. This can make us frazzled by the end of the year, regardless of how challenging or successful our year was before we headed into the holidays. When we're already frazzled heading into them, it escalates even worse. After a busy holiday season, the end of a year always feels a little like a welcome vacation from socializing for me. Like it or not, holidays sometimes bring out the worst in us, no matter how much we wish they didn't. I don't know about you, but I know I can become FRAZZLED:

F earful of how certain encounters may go, or whether this will be the last year with an aging loved one...

R estless over all the never-ending tasks /details to manage through the holidays, expenses, logistics, etc...

A nxious about making "magic" happen for your littles, or pulling off the perfect holiday party among so, so, so many other reasons to feel anxious this year...

Z ealous about making the holidays perfectly merry as the Chief Merry Maker (CMM) in your home...

Z any yet determined to deliver on all of the magic one associates with the holiday season...

L onely regardless of how many other people are in the room with you...

E nvious of others whose holidays seem more magical, more expensive, more fabulous & probably more Instagram perfect than yours...

D iscouraged by unmet expectations, negative social encounters, or your inability to obtain holiday joy...

I always feel a little extra tired, extra rundown, and extra ready for summer to begin by the end of the winter months, especially after all of the extra obligations the end of the year can put on the to-do list & calendar. End of year holiday concerts, programs, performances, shows, contests and celebrations... just trying to list the extra things makes me grow weary! Then add family and possibly even work holiday events too and it's enough to have you hiding under the covers all of January just to recover! By the end of the year, I'm always ready for a fresh year, this year is no exception. I'm excited for the new year ahead of us and the slower pace that winter hibernation brings to my home, though I'm not terribly excited for the snowy days and colder temperatures. I prefer warmer weather, the sunnier days, and these things call to me all the other months of the year. Especially in the dead of winter... so, if I'm not careful, I can find myself fully frazzled as a result of too much cold weather and hibernation on the heels of the holidays.

Not being a fan of colder temperatures while still living somewhere that has a cooler climate most of the year, summer can't arrive soon enough for me! As I write this, my city is under its first weather warning for the season, anticipating inches of snow and cold temperatures. I know from seasons past, and lessons learned that NOW is the time I must begin to

prepare for my own success as the colder weather comes more regularly for a while. It's a delicate balance to maintain until the weather begins to warm up, months from now. I must do so intentionally. If I'm not intentional, then before I even realize it's happening, I can "recover" myself right into an even deeper state of frazzled simply because I lacked productive intentions during the winter months.

Now, to be clear, I don't mean intentions to be extremely productive, I mean productive plans to recover myself intentionally. One implies hustle culture, the other implies alignment culture. Here at Dazzling District, I only wish to encourage hustle towards true alignment with one's authentic self, one's lived experiences, and one's direction towards a true healing journey that can point you towards your truly unique and divine purpose. It's when we are intentional to seek true alignment that we can genuinely spark our most dazzling purpose.

If you are feeling frazzled at all, experiencing any of the things listed above or, maybe even all of the things, I feel your pain. I've been to that fully frazzled place, and I am not ashamed to say it. I was carrying all the things. I was prioritizing everyone else first. I felt guilty spending any time or money on myself, and I was growing increasingly resentful of the very things I had been blessed with. I didn't know who I was when I took off my roles, I didn't remember what I truly enjoyed, and I was so lost as to how to begin correcting any of these problems. It was somewhere between Halloween and Thanksgiving in 2018 that all the things that I had been balancing and all the roles I had been playing started to crumble and crash down around me, as if in slow motion, until the end of 2018. I don't think I have ever been so eager or more frazzled than I was ringing in 2019. If this feels like you in this season, I've been there. Like walking burnt toast burn out.

I've been beyond frazzled, and this place here, Dazzling District, is the place I was called to create as a result of navigating my way from fully frazzled to dazzling and true to myself by spring of 2019. After the emotionally tumultuous end of 2018, I started January of 2019 by intentionally setting out on a quest to focus on myself with no guilt. To prioritize my needs, care, love, and healing into every single day. To discover the things that light my soul on fire. I wasn't even looking for a divinely unique to me purpose. I wasn't really even looking for a purpose to be honest. I was simply hoping to spark a little joy, a little excitement, and maybe even a little inspiration.

Instead, I was pleasantly surprised at the culmination of a 3.5-year quest, I sparked all of those things AND SO MUCH MORE! I sparked my DAZZLING!

I've spent much of this year working on a book that details my story, my process and many of the lessons I learned on my quest to spark my dazzling, including my methods. The foundation of the book was inspired by a 9-part blog series that I wrote at the very beginning of this website, brand, and blog, in 2020. I may have been quiet here on the District Blog this past year and a half, but I have been working on the book as a priority in my writing since feeling called to begin it at the end of 2022. I did however want to be sure to encourage you to get a head start on your 2024 intentions. I recommend that you head over and start reading the blog series that inspired the book and begin implementing the methods and steps as you feel capable. My hope is not to add more things to your already busy holiday schedule, but to encourage you to actually prioritize focusing on your care in the midst of the seasonal chaos, to encourage more joy through these last weeks of the year. If you do so, I have no doubt you will turn the New Year even more dazzling than you are today. Start the blog series HERE

Look for more updates on the completion of the book and opportunities for you to support and encourage me through the publication process, along with chances to have your opinions considered durin g the book launch!

Not on the Mailing List yet? You should be!

Ta-Ta for Now!

~ Rebecca

Sometimes You Need a Break

Wed, 22 Nov 2023 12:00:01 GMT

Content Creation is Hard.

Like, content creation is so freaking hard. It makes you vulnerable to create, and then to share your creations with others requires more vulnerability. It opens you up to criticism when views are high, and engagement is flowing. Imposter syndrome is real, and it will kick your a$$ when engagement is low or "nobody's even looking."

It is a draining process to create content, and it's capable of burning even the most organized, strategized, and experienced content creators out. I am none of those things. By spring of this year, I was feeling Imposter Syndrome like a Mo-Fo and my vision for this brand, which once felt crystal clear and defined, suddenly felt very blurry and unclear. Branding a business is deep! If you've never done it, it's a whole lot more than a concept, a logo, a name, and some colors. When I created this brand nearly three years ago I had only a smidge of the concept and a whole lot of faith. I was taking a giant leap of faith when I launched the website and social media accounts. I tend to leap into things with only a fraction of the vision and none of the details. Unprepared to say the least. I take a leap-out-the-airplane-and-learn-the-parachute-on-the-way-down approach to many things (except actual skydiving).

If you've been here since December 2020, I appreciate you most! You are the ones who watched me flop around through most of 2021 like a fish out of water trying to define, refine, and relay the niche, vision, and mission for Dazzling District. While I participated in a branding coaching series in 2021 and as I dug deeper into the learning and coaching, when I began to feel my dazzling flicker. In 2022 I continued navigating life, building a business, and maintaining my dazzling with a little less success. You were here for that too. Each month that passed my dazzling flickered and flashed a little less, but I kept showing up, because you were showing up here too. If you are reading this at all, I appreciate you sooo much! You found your way here when the universe aligned it, and for that I am grateful. In the beginning of November, I filed for S-Corp status and obtained an official business EIN to level the brand up to official business from hopeful hobby. Committing in faith to a vision that was growing blurry to my human eyes, on my human timeline. I knew that if I genuinely believed He was calling me to this, then He would make the way even when I couldn't see the way. I was supposed to be obedient. Filing wasn't forcing it; it was filing in faith. I filed. I panicked. I froze.

I lost all focus by the end of the year, life outside of the brand was getting intense. Enter 2023, it all just intensified.

January 2023 came in like a wrecking ball... nod to Miley Cyrus... and I knew I needed to use lessons I had learned in seasons past to get through this new season without ending up on the brink of full collapse... again. It wasn't the worst year ever, for that I am thankful; it certainly was not the best year though.

On January 2nd, 2023 (the eve of the day my three youngest daughters were supposed to return to school from the holiday break) the transmission on my family van and children's school transport vehicle just quit. We knew it was going, but it was then that it finally quit. It quit with 4 payments left on the loan. Two months after receiving my EIN number.

January is historically a challenging month for me, post-holidays hangover, seasonal depression, cold, wet, snowy weather, these things alone make January a month I know I need to be more diligent in my care. Add isolation from having no functioning means of leaving my home and the nostalgic feeling of being a teenager dependent on your parents help to get you places, except now I'm 40. THIS particular January was gearing up to be one of the more challenging ones. I may have had a few emotional meltdowns throughout the first quarter of the year still, but I didn't collapse despite the financial strain and isolation. I was still "working the brand vision" and creating content for social media. I made a concerted effort to remain focused on my care routines and we shelled out a whole lotta dollar, dollar bills y'all, to get the transmission fixed, ($4579 to be precise) and a few months later the van was back in our possession and running. Until March when a myriad of other things needed addressing... still not paid off, but oh so close. We nickeled and dimed our way through more repairs. I made the final payoff on the loan as we headed into the second quarter of 2023.

I was optimistic that the year would only improve from there. Cautious, but optimistic. Cue April, we celebrated Easter and navigated into the second half of the month excited for better weather approaching. Then I opened up papers in the mail from our mortgage lender that stopped the airflow in my body for an entire minute. Without going too in depth into my family's personal financial woes and all the nitty gritty details, let me just sum this part of the year up as the "Money is a real-life need" portion of the story. Shit got really tight. Between college expenses for our oldest girl, van repair after van repair, the ever-increasing cost of groceries, gas and utilities, my SAHM-life for 13 years, and trying to start a non-traditional business, in a confusing economy, on a shoe-string budget with no team of staff or investors, it was a crisis point for me and my vision. It was a crisis point for me and my mission. It was a crisis point for me and my faith story. I was in crisis.

First thing I did? I cried out, audibly, loud, and in complete crisis, for my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I literally dropped to my knees and sobbed in fear, in panic, in complete disbelief that I was sitting in this position, slumped in a heap on the ground, in the midst of an internal crisis like this, again, after everything I had overcome and learned in 2019. I felt like all of my magic, all of my dazzling, all of my spark that I had worked so hard to ignite, was sputtering, and trying to fight extinguishing. I began to doubt that I had discerned the still small voice of God in my heart correctly. I began feeling like a failure in so many areas and as I was the common denominator, I began to doubt myself. Feeling all of this, I took it to Him in prayer. I've prayed ugly before, this wasn't the ugliest, but it was definitely an ugly prayer kind of situation.

I heard, "Be still daughter. I've got this too".

I doubted instantly, with a list of "But, God's..." a mile long. Every tangible, flesh fueled piece of the problem I couldn't hash out in my own human mind, buzzing around like static in my brain. I was growing physically nauseous. My body was trembling. I'm at the hot flash season ladies, I felt like I was literally burning in the pits of Hell.

I heard, "Be still daughter. I've got it all figured out already. Do you trust Me?"

*Gut punch* Sobbing ensued.

I heard, "Slow down. You're trying to run daughter, and I haven't even hardly begun to give you the assignment. Pace yourself so I can prepare you. This is all part of the preparation. You just focus on the basics for now."

The basics. The things He had walked me to in 2017, my most challenging crisis season to date. The tools God gave me to be prepared to pick my broken pieces back up when I was trapped in a pit of despair, so that I could escape the negative cycles and patterns that plagued my life in that season. The season that changed everything for me. The season that brought me to this brand. The season that became the catalyst for the assignment He would place on my heart, to build a community that encourages, nurtures, and empowers women to empower themselves enough to ignite their own dazzling and seek out their truly divine purpose in this universe. The season that ignited my own Dazzling Spark in the first place. He was reminding me of the things that He wanted me to focus on. I obeyed. I made my way in blind faith through the next few weeks. By May 1st I was fully embracing that I was going to survive this season by focusing on getting back to the basics. All things publicly for the brand halted.

If you follow Dazzling District on either Facebook or Instagram, you may have seen my story announcing a sudden public halt at the beginning of May. I intended at the time, to resume content creation, publicly posting and writing blogs, emails & newsletters again by the end of the summer, but that plan changed. During the month of May I had learned to practice extreme faith. I was walking through a season where my faith was being tested like it never had been before. I was stuck in a season of waiting when all I wanted was to be doing! Something. Anything. This is why, when overwhelm set in early the 2nd quarter of the year, I knew I needed to put the brand and its social media presence on the back burner. I can't preach what I'm not effectively practicing, so I let myself step back and start ascending my personal staircase to dazzling once again. God was preparing to take me to a new level. I let myself fill my cup first.

I filled my cup & Threaded my faith in humanity back together this summer and with guidance from the still small voice, I found my own voice again.

In July Meta launched Threads , its newest, text-based social media app and having never entered the Twitter-sphere, I curiously tip-toed back into social media. I heard a whisper inside telling me to ignore my fear of mob-mentality & Twitter-trolls and just curiously explore this new place with little expectation and the goal of being authentically, uniquely, me. I complied. Playing around on Threads was therapeutic. At first it was a little like shouting into a void, slowly it began to morph into a more active and engaging community filled with positivity. All the reasons people were beginning to dislike the competition were somehow magically void on Threads. It felt a little like the cool-kids-club. A fantastical, positive space in the wide world of the web, and one where other Creatives were seeking respite from the toxic nonsense that they faced everywhere else in the online space. I began to use the voice I had found again, to share authentically, and without an agenda for the first time since launching the brand social media. When I did, the community began to grow. As this was happening, the chaos unfolding in my personal life was working itself out, while I fought every urge inside of me to meddle and problems solve where God had clearly told me to trust Him. My faith was growing, and my dazzling was sparkling again. By the time my kids were beginning school this past fall I was confidently still waiting.

The downtime I took this year has not gone unused or squandered. Though I was being steered by the still small voice and hearing a call to prioritize my rest, my nutrition, my hygiene, and my personal care, I was still productive in ascending my personal staircase to dazzling once more, and I was intentional to continue listening and looking for opportunities to discern my divine purpose and assignment from the Author of the Universe. I learned even more about myself, I grew, I challenged myself in scary new ways, and ultimately, I am coming back with a more refined version of this dazzling vision. A year ago, I prayed and meditated over my intention word for 2023 and the word I felt called to was COURAGE. I believed then that I was going to live with more intentional courage in 2023 but I thought it was going to look so very different than it did. I thought it was going to be the courage to show up in different ways, I never expected it was going to be the courage to pull back. That's exactly what it looked like though. The courage to pullback, to learn, grow, challenge, and refine this dazzling vision.

In January, while meditating on my business and brand goals for this year, I felt very called to focus on 3 things:

1.) THE BOOK, before anything. The book first, the brand is the book. The book is the cornerstone of this brand.

2.) The Business Plan for the business, for the building, because this was never meant to be an online only brand.

3.) The Box Subscription conceptualizing, because Happy Mail is the best mail, and it keeps us connected from afar.

The book, the business plan, and the box. Those were the 3 things and until I focused on them, none of my social media posts, engagement, or analytics would mean a thing. None of it would matter, it would all be vanity. The book will be the tool I use to speak to people's hearts, the business plan will be the tool I use to open the doors that will allow me to speak to people's minds, and the box will be the tool I use to get in their home to speak to people's spirit. These three things will be the tools I need to build a community that encourages , nurtures , and empowers women to empower themselves to ignite their own dazzling and seek out their truly divine purpose in this universe . This year in my social media halt, I let go of the metrics, I let go of the vanity, instead, I focused on myself, my mission, and the vision that was given to me for this place. These 3 goals were with me all year. I worked them, I developed them, I let myself listen for the direction without steering the details too much or holding on too tight to one the vision.

I WILL GO AS IF I'M GUIDED, EVEN THOUGH I FEEL I'M GUESSING.

~Steven Furtick, pastor/Elevation Church

My pastor gave me the quote above this past week during Sunday service and I scribbled it down, sure not to forget it. It struck me immediately when he said it. I'd been working on this blog all week, and thought it was about done, then Sunday during church these words hit me. I didn't have these words until that moment, but I feel like I have been living them all of 2023. I've been going as if I were guided, even though I felt like I was guessing. It was in this quote that I felt quite confirmed in the direction I chose to take this year. In the brand. In my personal life. In my family. I was being guided, by the still small voice in my heart, but I definitely felt as if I was guessing. To others, maybe I looked even more flighty than I normally do. To those who know me well, I may have looked downright delusional. To complete strangers, I may have even looked inconsistent or untrustworthy. Hell, half the year I may have even agreed subconsciously with most of these things, except there was a certainty inside of me that I knew I couldn't explain to others, and as scared as I was, I leaned into my faith. I leaned into the whisper. I listened to the still small voice for direction, and I created more moments to seek the still small voice whenever possible.

I have a plan going forward, for returning to the public side of this brand, but you know what they say about plans? You make a plan, and God laughs. Maybe I'll say, I have my assignments. The book. The business plan. The box. I don't know the details yet, but I'm more focused on the assignment and in my faith than ever before, and I'm excited to see where He takes it all. If you want to follow along with my journey to make 2024 the year that I finally get the book published, I invite you to do just that. Follow along, on Threads, on Instagram, on Facebook, on YouTube, and most importantly, here on the website. If you have not yet signed-up to get on the Dazzling District mailing list to receive the monthly newsletter and other occasional communications, do so using THIS LINK . Don't wait because starting soon, the mailing list is going to start receiving more regular communications! Coffeetalk will be making a comeback in a flashy and fun new way. Finally, thanks for being patient with me this year, and for showing back up for me here!

~ Live Dazzling

Rebecca Jackson

Create a Sacred Space

Tue, 05 Apr 2022 18:22:15 GMT

A Sanctuary for Self-Care

The enormous value found in this concept & the attention that should be placed on the topic are widely overlooked by many. Myself included. Living in spaces that easily aid in our relaxation and ability to care for ourselves, in all of the areas, makes living a life Dazzling and true to ourselves even more possible. When we don't prioritize the spaces in our life, we open the door to distracted and draining energy to enter our homes and our bodies. All that does is drag us down. You deserve a space that charges you up Darling!

When it comes to creating sacred spaces,

there's one person that comes to mind, my friend Erin,

the Creative Director

at Three Little Lions

read an excerpt from her below

We often refer to our homes as our sanctuaries, but in the true meaning of the word, is your home really your retreat from the world? Does it create a calming space for relaxation and rest? Is it clean, organized, and a place that allows you to flourish in all ways? Or is it a space where you want these things, but think it is something for “later” and later never comes?

Creating a home that is your sacred space of calm and serenity in even the most difficult of times isn’t something to dream about. As an artist and interior designer, I’ve spent a lifetime building spaces that transform lives and I’m happy to share a little insight with you on how you can do this on any budget using what I call the PEACE method. Give your home the same selfcare you give yourself… and if you aren’t giving yourself selfcare, that’s an entirely different and highly necessary conversation.

If you still feel overwhelmed and would like professional guidance, I can help you. Follow me on Instagram at @ three_little_lions_store or Facebook at @ThreeLittleLionsStore or email me at erin.isabella@icloud.com to book a free consultation.

Yours in Interior Design,

Erin

Creative Director at Three Little Lions

Create a sacred space in your home

using Erin's P.E.A.C.E method

P: Place

Place objects with deliberate intention. Sometimes we buy a piece of furniture or decorative object with no defined placement in our home or worse, put it in a closet or storage unit and forget about it. Flip the script. Define what you are shopping for and where it will go in advance. This way you avoid unnecessary clutter and making purchases you don’t need.

E: Explore

Explore your style. Magazines can be great inspiration, but is that room decor really you? You can take the inspiration of a minimalist space but if you aren’t a minimalist at heart, your home will not reflect you—and it should. Be adventurous but know yourself and decorate for who you are, not who everyone else says you should be.

A: Attune

Be attuned to how your space is laid out and the affect it has on how your home feels overall. If you want a space that welcomes you with calmness, there cannot be a pile of coats, bags, and shoes at your entry point. Energy distribution is vital to a well-functioning space so arrange and organize that entryway that makes storage easy and instant.

C: Create

Identify the need and create the solution. In other words, you must focus on designing the home that works for you one space at time. Create storage systems that meets your needs and don’t let clutter pile up. Buy the best you can afford and upcycle when an item no longer serves your needs. Don’t be afraid to brighten up a space with colour whether you rent or own your home using paint or removable wallpaper.

E: Edit

Be alert for ways to edit your home because as you grow and change, so will your home. Look for opportunities to freshen a space in simple ways. An old couch has new life with a new cover or a throw. Throw out old candles and replace with new ones regularly. Buy some new mirrors and place them around your home to bounce light throughout the space.

Armed with Erin's PEACE Method , I hope you can tackle carving out sacred spaces in your home to more easily promote a peaceful & recharging energy in your space!

I hope that her wisdom helps you tackle this area of your self-care

as we enter the season of "Spring Cleaning" !

Stay Dazzling!

Ta-Ta For Now!

~Rebecca

Galentine's Day Get Together

Tue, 15 Feb 2022 22:43:44 GMT

Today's the best day to stock up on discounted Valentine's goodies for a Galentine's Get Together!

If you have never taken time to celebrate "Gal"entine's Day instead of Valentine's Day, you should consider it this year! Get some of your gal friends together & have a little pamper session to show yourselves a little self-love! I have done this twice in my life, once in highschool as a bitter, single teenager & once 5 years ago, in the middle of my thirties, as a happily married woman and overextended mother of 4. Both times I hosted "Gal"entine's Day get togethers, I was motivated by different desires & feelings; both times I achieved the enjoyable, relaxing evening of fun & memory making that I had set out for. I shifted the focus of the day from "Romantic Love" to "Personal Love" and it made ALL the difference.

Personal love allows you to fill yourself up, with the care, kindness & attention you crave, so that you can Fill Your Cup First & worry LESS about how others make you feel.

Your value lies in YOU after all, not their opinions or feelings OF you!

7 Ways to

Show Yourself Some Love

Practice reciting affirmations into a mirror
Treat yourself to a sweet treat you miss.
Take time to do meditation or breathwork.
Soak in the tub or try a face mask.
Get glammed up just because!
Have a Dance Party, NO love songs!
Invite a few close friends over to join!

Here are a few of the things I considered & prepared for my

"Galentine's Get Togethers"

Sweet Treats & Decadence: let yourself enjoy some treats and don't be afraid to make them decadent! Share a recipe card or two, or three with friends so they can take home!
Fun & Frills: plan a game or activity that is just fun, maybe even silly, and frill it up a little to add to the fun! Consider picking up a few goofy prizes or sample products as favors.
Affirming Reminders To Go: put together some notecards with affirmations written. Give a stack to each guest and encourage them to read them one at a time as they need.
Pampering & Playing: think of a couple mini pamper session tasks, maybe a mask, manicures, or how about a masseuse? Don't forget to play some relaxing music too!

Now WHO are you going to celebrate with?

Now, procrastinate no more, hit the discount section of the store tonight where all the clearanced Valentine's sweets & decorations have gone to pick up some cheap supplies & start creating a plan!

So, text or call a few gals & shoot for this weekend!!!

~Stay Dazzling

Rebecca Jackson

Pamper Yourself Darling

Tue, 01 Feb 2022 23:30:02 GMT

Pampering means different things to different people...

Self-Care is SUPER "on trend" right now, but I don't believe it's trendy, it's neccessary .

Many believe it's expensive & excessive , but I think it's BEST when it's efficient & effective .

You'll hear that many products are indulgent , I argue the best ones are a little "basic" .

Self-Care & Self-Love have been given a bad rap by some, labeling them as selfish , but I maintain that they are ESSENTIAL !

With these beliefs of mine laid out up front, it's time to get to the good stuff!

This blog is about really upping your self-care game to full on " PAMPER "ed status!

Depending on your beliefs around self-care in general, you may find it helpful,

you might find it unneccessary & wasteful...

The idea may feel unattainable or far fetched for you at all, let alone right now, and that's fine.

If you are NOT to this place in your "Dazzling Quest" that's ok Darling. I encourage you give it a read & consider putting in on the back burner of possibility for the future, when you are more ready or willing, instead of just chucking it right out of your mind altogether.

You might just suprise yourself.

Once you start to “flex” your “PAMPER muscle”

it will get easier to do and you will get even stronger,

allowing you to pamper yourself even easier!

Pamper & Rest

Both words will likely either be music to your ears or met with a sarcastic & cynical thought. What was your reaction?

Are these easy practices to incorporate into your life,

or do they simply come with more stress?

I know how you feel!

With some practice, I’ve transformed into a Master of Pampering Myself!

Looking back, I struggled, like driver of the local "Struggle Bus" kind of struggled…….

I could not, would not, DID NOT prioritize either of these words into my self-care.

Like AT ALL & it nearly killed me. I don’t want that to become YOU so I put together a little “Cheat Sheet” of sorts to help you PAMPER yourself with more ease Darling,

then the “Rest” will follow!

When you take time to practice these 6 tricks,

the guilt & procrastination will fade.

You will be naturally choosing to pamper yourself & rest:

P.A.M.P.E.R

P ush away the guilt:

You deserve to feel spoiled & relaxed!

You carry so many responsibilities. You support so many other people & their needs.

You seek ways to solve problems & help others. It’s time to return the favor to yourself!

A llow yourself the time:

The simple fact that you read this blog won’t eliminate your life’s responsibilities making

this work into your life today, and I don’t expect that to be the case for you. SO, give yourself permission to carve some time into your calendar where it makes sense for you… THIS MONTH

M ake a little plan:

Don’t just hope it works out for you. Make a little plan for your pampering so you can execute the plan for your own relaxation benefits Darling! Don’t talk about it, BE about it!

P repare to succeed:

Be sure you’re successful by preparing the needed components for your pamper sesh...

AHEAD of time! Do you need to schedule an appointment? Are there things that need to be picked up from a store? Does the space you plan to use need a relaxing pick me up? Don’t wait for a monkey wrench to ruin the plan, prepare for the plan!

E xecute with no excuse:

Now you need to actually execute in order for any of the other tricks to matter.

Otherwise, they are just wasted time & money. DO NOT let someone else’s need, or an unwanted interruption, or anything short of an emergency cause you to break YOUR plan. You made a date with yourself & it’s rude to cancel a date last minute, especially this date!

R elax & enjoy yourself:

The plan came together Darling!!! YOU did this for yourself, I am proud! NOW just relax & enjoy the fruits of your planning & prep! Don’t forget to thank yourself for your time, & effort, & care!

Now, push away the guilt & get started on your plan!

Shoot for sometime in the next 30 days!

~Stay Dazzling

Rebecca Jackson

Cleaner Meals With Planning

Tue, 25 Jan 2022 22:50:05 GMT

Healthy eating is easy with my simple meal planning secrets!

The idea of eating healthy can be a little scary for many. The thought of losing creature comforts you've grown accustomed to enjoying, when you weren't worrying about eating healthy, can be intimidating. So much so, that people oftentimes NEVER make changes to their eating habits, with devastating repercussions for their body. This absolutely has to

STOP!

Eating cleaner can literally add years to your life and help your body become even stronger than ever before. When we fuel our body properly, it can run like a machine when we need it to. Nutrition & hygiene are both areas of your self-care that are important & equally as easy to overlook or compromise when life gets busy & stressful! To ensure that you are caring for and fueling your body well, I’ve put together 3 P’s to help! Flying by the seat of your pants isn’t really a sustainable way to care for yourself at all, ESPECIALLY not in these areas! When you take time to exercise these 3P’s , the healthy & helpful choices will come more naturally in both your nutrition & hygiene practices:

Preparation, Purpose, & Planning on THE DAILY!

Preparation :

Be prepared with the products & tools on hand, that work best for you! It will make using them the instinctive next step!

Purpose:

Know the purpose that each product and tool plays in your nutrition or hygiene & why they work for you! It’s essential in avoiding wasted time, energy, or money!

Planning :

Take time to create a plan of attack within your hygiene routines & meal planning! It will ensure you’re doing what needs to be done.

These 3P's work for both, but now we're going to dig DEEPER into applying them to your nutrition. When it comes to cleaning up your nutrition, a detox is a helpful place to start making real change in your Mind & Body, which also benefits your Spirit. Read the blog I wrote last spring using the link below & Join Me in February for my next Detox!

“Detox Your Body”

Beyond detoxing, meal planning and prepping ahead are the most valuable tools you can use to navigate eating "Clean & Colorful". To help eliminate the overwhelming feelings that can begin to set in when you decide to start eating healthier, I put together some S.I.M.P.L.E. SECRETS to unlock this particular self-care super-power with more ease and frequency! So take a deep breath, and remember that true transformation takes one intentional step after another. When you take enough small steps, you will begin to see great distance covored on the road to your own DAZZLING transformation! NUTRITION is no exception. So, let's get to my secrets, shall we?

Six

S.I.M.P.L.E

Secrets

S tart with realistic expectations or you WILL quit.

You've never done this before, OR it's been a long time since you last tried, likely with little to no success.

So, THIS time isn't magically going to be a completely different story, especially if you approach it trying

to do all the things at once. Starting with realistic expectations, about what you will and will not be able

to actually execute, will save you stress right out the gate. This means you should sit down to prepare with

realistic expectations

I mplement the changes slowly to avoid struggles.

I recommend implementing this in stages, one course at a time. Whether you start with breakfast,

lunch or dinner, rolling out this new prep & planning approach to your meals slowly, one stage at a time,

will help you avoid unecessary challenges along the way. Struggle is inevitable when executing change

but, you don't need to take it all on at once and implementing changes slowly will help ensure that you

avoid struggles

M ornings require extra prep & planning, always.

If you're anything like me, mornings never seem to go smoothly, even when you are proactively trying.

Now, this isn't to say they CAN'T go smoothly, it's just to say that, in my opinion, when we NEED them to

go smoothly, they rarely do. It is because of this that I typically begin with breakfast when I start to clean

my eating up. For many reasons, enough to fill a whole seperate blog, but mainly because if I can make

an improvement there, the rest WILL fall into place, in time. Because mornings require extra prep &

planning, always

P lay with new ingredients & cultures, find new flavors.

When you are trying to eat cleaner & more colorful, it's easy to fall into a trap of repeating the same things

over and over until you eat them to the point that you would rather not eat them ever again. By playing

around with new ingredients & cultures in your meal planning it will force you out of your comfort zone, challenging you to try new things and find new go-to meals. Once you begin to play, you will expand your

favorites list increasing the variety in your meal planning with new, delicious ingredients & cultures to

find new flavors

L et yourself slip up from time to time, without guilt.

When you start eating a more clean & colorful diet, you will likely begin to feel guilty on the occassion

that you slip up and consume something "less than perfect" and you need to adjust your thinking,

if this is the case. It's okay to slip up and eat some "junk" from time to time, cheat days or cheat meals

are totally fine, especially when you are just beginning. So to have the best chance of success, it's best

to eliminate the shame from the equation altogether, let yourself slip from time to time,

without guilt

E xplore even if it leads to failure, failing is how we learn.

You are embarking on a big undertaking, don't expect to execute it flawlessly right away.

There will be slip ups from time to time. You will forget to pull something out to thaw. You will

buy the wrong ingredient, or make a dish wrong. Some recipes you try will not be delicious and

some will become gems that you can't imagine how you ever survived without them! Remember

failing is how we learn

Now that you are armed with the 3P's & my Six SIMPLE Secrets I hope you feel more empowered to Eat Clean & Colorful!

~ Stay Dazzling

Rebecca

Eat Clean & Colorful

Wed, 19 Jan 2022 05:13:03 GMT

Fresh foods pack more of the good stuff & in such colorful ways!

Ok, ok, we've all heard it before, "Eat the Rainbow"!

E xcept this is no longer an effective way

to encourage healthier eating, because, well...

Carbs can come in ALL the colors, along with dyes AND a whole mess of other colorful additives often found in packaged food!

So, I've changed our home's Healthy Eating Motto to "Eat Clean & Colorful" instead.

I am by no means saying we MUST eliminate all the carbs from our diets.

I know, I know, they are friggin' tasty still! Am I right?

BUT too many of those things will act like sludge in our system

AND they won't fuel to the most Dazzling potential!

NOW, I want to encourage you to consider this motto in your home too!

I put together 7 of my best tips & practices

DO's & DON'T's to keep in mind when trying to clean up your home's diet & incorporate MORE colorful food into the meal mix with LESS pushback!

Let kiddo's be involved in choosing the fruits & veggies, they will be MORE excited and curious to try some new options, this way you have LESS complaining.

Stick to the perimeter of the grocery stores, you find MORE fresh products there and LESS of the prepackaged, meant to stay good for months products. If is stays on the shelf that long, imagine how long it stays with your body... EEEEW!

Consider putting time & effort into Meal Planning & Freezer Meal Prepping a little MORE frequently, to help lead to LESS food waste. Fresh ingredients don't stay good as long so, rather than letting them spoil, use them for fresh options to stock your freezer with for a future meal with little effort!

Take time to make sure you DO put together a grocery list & stick to it, you must be prepared with a plan, so you DON'T impulse buy!

You definately DO what to familiarize yourself with your local produce seasons so you DON'T end up paying peak off season pricing for your fruits & veggies.

Consider talking with some of your friends who DO already eat clean & colorful to get recipe reccomendations so you DON'T have to wander through the neverending online recipe supply & experiment to start out at first.

The internet can be an overwhelming place when researching for changes.

When you DO decide to splurge do it with caution and DON'T do it very often so to ensure the most effective, long lasting results for your body!

In closing let me leave you with a little equation that I like to consider when I am making my own food plan.

5 colors in the meal or snack / at least 3 food groups each meal or snack x 7 small snacks & meals in total = 1 day of food choices

ie. Breakfast Edition:

I eat an egg scramble & fruit for breakfast as a go-to AM solution that works for me.

yellow, white, green egg scramble with swiss, & button mushrooms topped with diced avacado , red & blue a dish of fresh blueberries & strawberries / protien (egg) , dairy (swiss) , fruits & veggies (spinach, avacado, blueberries & strawberries) x breakfast , snack, snack, late lunch, snack, dinner, snack

A Successful Breakfast to contribute my 1st meal of the day. When the other 6 snacks or meals of the day are approached with clean & fresh ingredients like this it's a WIN!

* This model is based on my personal lifestyle and meal planning approach which is built around my regular physical activity & 5-7 intentional intense workout activties a week. Your exact calorie intake needs & how you break that up into your meals may require alterations to the numbers of snacks & meals in the equation*

I am NOT a certified nutrionist & I have ZERO formal education in nutrition. T hese are simply my best practices as a lamen trying to navigate the vast, ever-changing food trends presented to us as consumers, while listening to my own body in the process. Be sure to speak to your Physician before making any changes to your diet to ensure you approach it safely for your body & it's specific needs.

~Stay Dazzling

Rebecca Jackson

Hygiene Your Way

Tue, 11 Jan 2022 16:30:55 GMT

Hygiene is a personal thing, so make sure it is personalized .

As that chilly time of year sets in, where the colder temperatures make everything feel more dry, it's important to keep yourself hydrated, and that extends to your personal hygiene. Moisturizing is a critical step, for your skin, for your hair & especially for your body! Keeping yourself clean & moisturized also helps to minimize the risk of passing germs.

Especially important these days!

When it comes to the methods & products you use to execute this pivotal piece of your

self-care practices, it will largely depend on your personal needs. As different as we each are, so are our needs, especially in our hygiene & personal care.

5 main areas

that you should focus your moisturizing & hygiene efforts

H20 Consumption

Skincare

Hair

Oral Health

Bathing Rituals

You don't need drawers & shelves filled with products, you just need to cover these

12 core products: drinking water, face cleanser, toner, moisturizer, a vitamin C serum for youthful perks, shampoo & conditioner, toothpaste or tooth powder, a reliable toothbrush, dental floss, soap & lotion that promote moisturizing.

Slim down your shopping list!

There are a zillion companies out there playing on the self-care industry. Overloading our shopping lists with serums, and lotions, and potions, and products that are

designed to make you think you need THEM ALL!

I'M TELLING YOU, THIS IS A LIE!

Most of those "solutions" are not designed to target your specific needs!

You don't need to be spending hundreds & thousands of dollars a year on all kinds of solutions for your self-care. That is not a financially sustainable plan. You must eliminate the fluff and allow yourself not only the financial freedom, but also the freedom of time, space & energy spent on inefficient and ineffective practices. Hygiene is an incredibly personal thing, so it NEEDS to be personalized, individually to reflect that. When you are using things because they are trendy instead of because they are an authentic solution for YOU, you are missing ALL of the marks. Genuine care comes when we are vulnerable & authentic with ourselves about where we are and what we need.

Self-care is NOT a trend so you shouldn't approach it that way!

Now Darling, I hope you feel more empowered to do hygiene your way!

Here are 4 Tips to Help You On Your Way!

Clear the clutter from your cabinets & linen closest. Get rid of those products you never use, that either didn't work or that you are not motivated to use consistently. Trim your hygiene & personal care products down to some tried & true solutions for you.
A s your needs inevitably change, only explore new ideas and products that are attainable & practical for your life & budget. Wasteful spending only adds stress to your life.
Align your spending power with the brands & companies whose mission & ethics match your own. When you are conscious to spend your money with these things in mind, you're adding to a healthier, more Dazzling world!
Making your care too complicated, overwhelming or expensive will counteract the

good you are trying to do before you even begin. Simplify Darling, it helps!

~Stay Dazzling

Rebecca Jackson

I'm tired

Sat, 25 Sep 2021 13:00:02 GMT

Choosing To Live One Day At A Time

It was just
National Suicide Prevention week

& it's about to be the end of

National Suicide Prevention month

heres my story...

I'm tired. Beyond tired, really. I am exhausted emotionally, mentally, and physically. I know, I took an unexpected hiatus from the District Blog, ALL SUMMER LONG..... and I apologize for the distance. It's not you; it's me. I swear! I have had a hell of a summer, busy, busy, busy. I have made memories with my loved ones, some that I will cherish, and some haunt me. I have grown and pushed myself out of my comfort zone more times than I can count. I have put myself out there in social situations all summer. I have encouraged others through discussion, comments, posts, reactions, and support, regularly. I have set goals and strived to achieve them, in some cases with success, and in others, complete and utter failure. I have pulled myself up by my proverbial bootstraps. I have endured and powered through all the setbacks, disappointments, and shortcomings to live another day.

But I'm exhausted. Because of some shallow friendships, distant friendships, a history of toxic best friends, and Covid for that year of isolation, I lack real connection with anyone outside my immediate family and dependents. I used the Covid year well. I have healed from traumas, challenged myself in new areas of my faith & my care, and spent an entire year focused wholly on working at being my best self. It sparked a movement in my life, a sense of purpose in my being, and at the same time, I'm not sure how much longer I can keep going at this pace.

I'm tired.

I love my husband. I love my children. I love my parents & my brother. I love the friends that are in my life. I love them all so much more than myself. I am tired, though. Like so tired, and oh, I have this other thing too...mental illness. Depression, anxiety, PTSD, and a slew of other neuro-divergent issues, plus an underlying belief that it's all a waste of time. No matter how hard I try, nothing will matter or make a difference. No one really cares if I live or die except those who depend on me (...my husband & kids) and those who raised me (...my dear old Mom & Dad). I feel they would all be better off without me anyway. Those icky, you don't matter thoughts that live inside my brain. Every. Single. Day. It's not an ego thing, it's a trauma thing, it's a pain thing, it's an "at my worst" thing. I'd probably prefer complete anonymity, but I don't think I'd have lasted nearly 40 years without my connections, that, and the fact that I now understand I have a Divine Purpose, so I must choose to live. One Day at A Time .

I don't remember how old I was the first time I "fantasized" about death. I've been in the midst of a battle between life & death since at least middle school, let's say, between 7th and 8th grade. Back then, it was a weak battle. It was once-in-a-blue-moon lows, and the occasional daydream about dying, complete with whatever fictitious display of grief would occur due to my death. It wasn't so much a desire to die as it was a curiosity about "what if?" I'd say it started the year after I lost my first grandparent, my grandpa Chet. Although I grew up in a generally normal family, with two loving parents, he always had a way of making me feel "seen." We lost him suddenly. It was super quick. I had missed my only chance to say goodbye here on earth because of a careless decision, and it rocked me. The aftermath of his passing rocked me even harder and across many seasons. It was about then that it started to feel like everything came undone in my head. All the easy-going, carefree years as a child were gone for me the moment I found out my grandpa had died. During this time, it should be noted that I was involved in a toxic friendship that I was unaware of and had been in since grade school. A friendship with someone who, many years later, I discovered was a textbook narcissist. She was my closest friend and confidante at the time, and I didn't stand a chance against her manipulative tactics.

I was "saved" in the middle of 8th grade, almost exactly a year after my grandpa's passing. I really thought that accepting Christ into my heart would "solve" my "problems." I was sadly mistaken. The fact that I had accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior simply wasn't enough for my head or my heart. I trusted He loved me, but I also believed I failed Him every time I was weak in thought, which caused me to distance myself from religion. I really didn't get the grace thing back then. I couldn't "do it" correctly, and I was failing at being good. My head was broken, which meant I wasn't ever going to be good enough for God to use, so I failed faith. Then at the end of 8th grade, I got hit in the head with an 8 lb. shot put during track & field practice. A head injury that was never addressed medically, though back then there was much less concern or understanding around head injuries, I digress. My head didn't crack, I hadn't passed out, no ambulance came, the coaches simply called my mom at work. They told her what happened then they left me alone on the curb outside of our school, with a goose egg the size of Ohio now growing on my head, to wait for my mom to arrive. My head was even more broken, and now it hurts a lot too.

I decided around the middle of 9th grade that I was changing my approach. I would just live this life in full force, with no cares until my time ran out, hopefully, sooner rather than later. My self-esteem was at an all-time low; I hurt myself to feel things; I became significantly "extra" in my appearance in order to be seen; I said outrageous things to be heard, and I went to insanely dangerous places to see if I would survive. These are my "Hellion Years." I call them this because, well, I was a hellion, but also because I frequently recited my motto, "I'm going to Hell for sure. I've already bought my ticket; now I'm just waiting to die." This motto carried me from the middle of 9th grade through high school and past graduation.

This motto carried me from the middle of 9th grade clear through high school and past graduation. The contents of those years could fill an entire novel on dangerous living and stupid choices, and how to accidentally survive them. It also landed me in outpatient rehab for drug abuse to start my Senior year. This would be the "fix" as far as my parents were concerned, or at least as they hoped & prayed. Sadly, it fixed my drug use, and not much else. I peed clean for 12 weeks. I attended AA meetings and felt incredibly isolated & alone within them. I sat through a tormenting circle of shame ceremony to satisfy the rehabilitation program and I completed the program successfully, but not much else in me had changed. To be extra sure I was "better" my parents had me attend therapy once a week, in place of rehab, until they felt good about my sobriety. I cooperated to satisfy them, but absolutely nothing got accomplished in those sessions. Prior to my stint in outpatient rehab, therapy had been broken for me.

Let me paint the picture, ........there I was, 16 years old, sitting in a therapist's office (18 months before rehab) essentially for feeling irrelevant & invisible to the the world around me. Those deeply rooted thoughts and feelings were confirmed when the licensed medical professional, who was billing my parents insurance diligently to help them discover the root of their daughter's drug use problems, actually fell asleep in her chair, across from me, while I was mid sentence, mid session. ALL FEELINGS VALIDATED. I am irrelevant, unimportant, invisible and apparently also boring as all hell. I doubled down at that point on my motto. I would live until I pushed this body to the limit & then I would have peace in death.

Except I didn't die.

So now there we were, practically 2 years down the road from that traumatic therapy session, finished with outpatient rehabilitation. I'm supposed to do this all over again. Open up, trust and act as if THIS therapist cared about anything but making money. NOPE. I showed up. I made small talk. I never got deep. I played her games while she billed my parents until I persuaded them to let me pee clean one more time and then stop going to therapy entirely. After that, I went back to my old ways, minus the hardcore drugs that should have killed me. Instead of the drugs, I spent the rest of my senior year carelessly existing, partying with alcohol (duh, because I was an addict, not an alcoholic). I hung out with the few people who claimed to care until I was free of school and could do whatever I wanted. In this decision-making season, I was sexually assaulted by my date in his car, in my driveway, after missing my curfew one night. That messed me up more, but then my assailant apologized on his own, which made me feel like he really cared. So, I told nobody what happened, and I dated him for a few more weeks until he left me, feeling even more irrelevant. I stayed silent and in pain, but I showed the world a mostly well-adjusted young adult excited to graduate and I buried that trauma.

My curiosity about death had escalated. I no longer wondered what if. Now, I was picturing and planning scenarios for if I ever got to the point when I finally just quit. Somehow, I powered through towards graduation, hoping the end of my pain was in sight. I was hoping that once I graduated, I'd be free and that my freedom would bring me happiness. I celebrated Commencement in June 2001. I said goodbye to my best friend. The only true healthy friendship I had back then. The next day, as she flew across the country to start her new life where her family had moved, I rolled into summer, all ready to chill for a few months before deciding what was next for my life. I had very few "give a fuck's" left about being "good" at this point in my life. I'd reached an age where I felt my life was mine to live, which made choosing to live a little easier, but my decision-making was still a little questionable. Significantly less dangerous, but still questionable. I had a world of opportunity ahead of me, I just needed to get to it, and anyone who didn't like the way I approached my life could pound salt as far as I was concerned. I would live for my happiness, and I did for a bit longer and coasted through summer.

On September 11th, 2001, I awoke to the national news, which showed planes flying into buildings and people leaping to their deaths to avoid the collapse and inferno that would inevitably consume them. I saw people who wanted to live being given no choice, and it was all unfolding on the television at a rate I couldn't begin to comprehend. My father and I happened to be in a hotel room in the middle of a cross-country motorcycle trip to visit that friend who had moved a few months earlier. As an active firefighter, my father was overwhelmed by the news coming out of the tv, and I was just confused. I never felt more like a child again than I did at that moment. THIS is the world I live in??? How could THIS be happening? It was all wildly confusing to my mind. We somberly packed our few belongings and reloaded the motorcycle to continue our journey, my father listening to the radio for updates on the way. I was lost and perplexed in my own thoughts. Then we stopped for gas, and my real-life reality set in.

I'd seen my physician before going on this trip with my dad, and he performed a pregnancy test on me. The over-the-counter tests I took were negative even though I was "late." My mom encouraged me to see the doctor to be sure. Until I was at this gas station parking lot, I had forgotten entirely about that test. I thought for sure it was a fluke that I was late because I was taking birth control. While we were stopped, my dad got a call from my mom. She was calling to tell me I was definitely pregnant, and my results had come in that morning. The morning of September 11th, 2001. A day when thousands of other people were losing their own lives or the lives of their loved ones. That was the day God decided to tell me I was expecting a new life.

My mother was literally on the phone with the doctor's office at the same moments’ tragedy struck the first tower that same morning in New York City. I was terrified, I was broken, I was amazed. I WAS CHOSEN. I was chosen to become a mother when I didn't even think I belonged. I was chosen 3 short months after receiving my high school diploma. I was given this incredible blessing that I felt I did not deserve while so many were having their loved ones ripped away by hatred. I would be responsible for a whole life besides my own, and I had absolutely no idea how I would do it. I had no idea what God was thinking. I was so uncertain.

***DISCLAIMER*** I waited until now to post this blog instead of sharing it ON September 11th for three reasons:

1. On the 20th anniversary of that fateful morning, I wanted the focus to remain on those who lost their lives.

2. I was SUPER occupied that weekend, moving that little being that was once in my womb into her first college apartment!

3. It was important to me to use this story to remind people that the horrific events of that day outlasted their commemoration on the calendar.

We should remember that day more than just on the anniversary.

Now back to my story...

I tried my hardest to stay present for the rest of that trip 20 years ago. It would be almost two weeks before I returned home to face the father of my child and the real-life decisions I needed to make because of this discovery. I had a new appreciation for life on that trip. I am fully aware that living for a baby is not a particularly healthy way to live. Still, at this point in my healing process, it was the reason I continued to choose my own life. I slowly felt drawn to the future again in a positive way. I arrived home a few weeks later. Sadly, my relationship with the baby's father deteriorated very quickly on the other side of this news. Don't misunderstand; he was incredibly excited about the news. I quickly got past my fear of being a parent, thanks to my incredibly supportive & encouraging parents. Still, our relationship was not founded on very stable ground, and the pressure that this news had bestowed on us was absorbed very differently by each of us .

I absorbed this pressure in the way I do most things instinctively, driven by purpose and service. I saw this unexpected pregnancy as a great responsibility and my life's purpose from that point forward. I could honor this situation and the baby born of it best by loyally committing to serve a selfless role as a mother. One that forced me to look at every choice and decision I made through a new lens, one that prioritized the innocent, defenseless, developing baby in my belly. The baby's father looked at this news as the solid foundation our "love story" would be built on. Except without a solid foundation, having a baby does not make things easier. He proposed, I said, not now. Before we committed forever, I wanted to give our relationship more time. He became controlling and more possessive by the day. He was paranoid that I was cheating on him with any male I encountered outside of my own father & brother. He isolated me from all my high school friends and then focused on isolating me from my family. I became a prisoner. I only felt safe to stay home in our tiny apartment and read until it was time to make dinner for him to enjoy when he got home from work each day. I wasn't allowed to read after dinner because that would take my attention away from him. Through my own healing journey, I later realized that it likely threatened his stability in our future, as he was not a very solid reader. He was four years my senior and never received his diploma or GED.

As his doubts about our future rose, so did his temper, until one night after an accident occurred during a "fun game night" with a couple in our building with whom he was friends. In jest, he hit his head during a lighthearted competitive moment, and I can only assume he was embarrassed. Our evening ended abruptly when he yelled at me and stormed out the door. I uncomfortably bid our friends good night and walked home alone. He came home over an hour later, berated me again, and then angrily "apologized" for leaving me there while backing me into the corner. It was the first time I was truly frightened of being with him. I stood there trying not to show my fear while he explained that he had to get out of there before he hit somebody, emphasizing his point with his fist to the wall next to my left ear. I flinched, and at that moment, I knew I couldn't stay. I called my mom the next day crying. We planned for my dad to come over with his truck and load my things up. I went back home to my childhood bedroom, humbled, uncertain, and overwhelmed. For the first time in a really long time, though, quitting life wasn't even on my mind. I escaped what I can only assume would have become even more unhealthy & even more dangerous, and I was motivated to live again.

I thank God that I was pregnant, because in that moment, without her growing in my womb, I would have just stayed. I would have cared less about my saftey, hell I may have instigated further in the fight, in an attempt to not look scared, and unintentionally escalated the situation further, but I didn't because I was so focused on the safety of that baby, above my own. I stayed silent & trembling, for that evening. Then I used the first window I could find to get out. I hadn't left him though, just our apartment . We spoke later when he called angry, after he was home from work, and I was not there, and dinner was not ready. I answered and I told him I was not leaving him, not for good. I told him that I needed space and that I thought it would be easier for me to find decent work where my parents lived so that I could save money before the baby came. I told him this time apart would be good for both of us, and I told him it wasn't a forever move, just a for now move. I truly believed it at that moment. We ended the call with him in an emotional place, and me not sure how to make us both feel better about the whole situation.

The situation got worse in the short term; moving home to my parents only angered him and made him more desperate. In one breath, he accused me of cheating, saying the baby wasn't his, and in the next breath, he was begging my forgiveness, saying he could not live without me. I was still trying to maintain the relationship, just living apart for now. We would make plans a few times a week, but they almost always ended in us fighting and me arriving back to my parents in tears. His friends all thought I was emotional and overreacting. They understood why he felt rejected, I mean I was pregnant with his baby, and I had moved out right after finding out. Anyone would be angry, right?

Our relationship came to a final head, about a week before Halloween, after a night of bowling in a group setting, with all his buddies, and a few of their dates. I had a great night, at least until the end. I was having a good time, socializing in a real way, for the first time in a very long time, and it actually seemed easy. I was cautiously optimistic, but as the night wrapped up, I noticed his mood shifting and his temper begin to flair. He had been drinking, and he pulled me aside to tear into me about ignoring him and being more interested in everyone else there than I was with him. I was blindsided. I didn't feel that way at all. I had gone out of my way to interact & engage with him. I felt confused, and more broken. The debate turned into an argument, as I chased him out the front while the entire bowling alley was emptying around us now. He was again accusing me of cheating and it not being his, shouting it at me across the parking lot, humiliating me further. I froze

I was standing in a crowd of people walking by looking at us, thinking God only knows what about me? I was holding on for my own well being, and that of my baby, but I knew, in this moment, that I was not capable, or equipped to hold him together as well. I shouted back as he walked away from me, that it was over, and that he wouldn't see me or hear from me until after the baby was born. He left me in that parking lot, and went home with his buddies, in their car. I had gotten a ride from them, and just as I was starting to realize I was stranded, one of his other friends who had driven alone, came up beside me, ushered me to his car, and drove me home. Mostly silent, while tears streamed down my face. I doubled down on my request for space after that and pushed forward towards the due date. I would no longer stand for the verbal abuse as it was making me feel terrible as a whole, and my support system was reminding me, that everything I was feeling was affecting the baby. He continued trying to contact me, but I refused. I never got an official restraining order, because living at home with my father felt safe enough to me

I got a decent job in sales, fully feeling the weight of becoming a single mom, I met a guy unexpectedly at that job, and I started building a network of friends again. That guy became a little "thing" in my social life pretty quickly. I couldn't explain it if I tried, but it felt right, he felt safe, it felt as though I had always known him, and I trusted him. I was a teenager still, so I don't pretend to have done any of this perfectly, but I do believe that my decisions made in faith, led me to my perfect soulmate. As the due date rapidly approached, my ex had begun having his friends stalk me at work. They would walk around the big box store I worked at, circling my department looking for information. I made a difficult decision to not have my ex present at the hospital when I was scheduled for my labor to be induced, because I didn't want a tense enviroment and he had frightened me a few too many times.

I wanted our baby to be born into a positive atmosphere. I checked into the hospital for a routine induction of labor, a terrified 19-year-old. After 11 hours of labor, I was handed the most beautiful and perfect little being I had ever laid eyes on. My heart felt like the Grinch on steroids. It erupted inside of me, and my first, genuinely Divine mission was delivered to me screaming. She had the pinkest skin I'd ever seen and the most perfectly pursed lips in the most dazzling crimson I'd ever seen. She looked like she was wearing red lipstick from the moment she made her grand entrance! I felt a love I never really knew existed until that moment. We were released from the hospital 4 days later, and I took my sweet little bundle of joy home to my parents' house, just before dinnertime that day.

As my family was settling into our evening, taking turns soaking up baby snuggles, I was contemplating what the next steps would need to be legally to protect her, now that she was separate from me. As perfect as everything felt, I was no stranger to the harsh realities of this world, let alone the tumultuous situation I had brought her into. It was in the middle of that contemplation, that I was interrupted abruptly in thought, by my ex, walking right in the front door of my parents' house. It happened fast, where I was sitting in our back living room gave me the most precise and perfect line of sight to see a narrow window through three different doorways, only really visible from one seat in the room, the one I was in. I saw him shove my mother across the front foyer, he was screaming at me all the way across the house, charging towards me. That guy I was seeing regularly, immediately flew to my mother's side, putting himself between us. Without a moment of hesitation, my father shoved my sweet baby girl into my arms and told me to lock myself in the back bathroom, more screaming, muffled by the door and the distance, and then I heard tires squeal.

The tires were his, and he had been drunk, or at least smelled of alcohol, and he had nearly hit a tree speeding around the corner at the end of our road before flying into a tree lawn & then speeding away, as I later came to learn. Our night, my first night home with my daughter, ended with a police report, a very angry screaming call from him while the officer was still at our house, and some advice to him from the officer to seek his rights through more productive and legal methods. I stumbled my way through the next week and 3 days on very little sleep (ahhhhh, newborns) and adrenaline. My Momma Bear mode had been activated. My brain was fried with possibilities, and littered with worst case scenarios for our future. I was now, genuinely concerned about his wellbeing, angry as hell, but realizing he was struggling way more than I had cared to realize until then. Hurt people, hurt people, right? I was concerned about how all of that would impact our future, tied together, forever. Raising this beatuiful daughter. I was frazzled, fried and in need of a moment that was easy.

It was two weeks to the day after my daughter was born, when I decided to attempt to sneak out for a quick meal with the new guy. We had not even been gone for a full hour, when my mother called frantic sounding, and wondering when I would be home. The rest of this story will go quickly, to avoid details that aren't mine to share, and to be respectful. I arrived home moments after my mother called to discover that she was frantic because she had just recieved a phone call from the Sheriff's office, and they needed to speak to me to confirm my whereabouts, and to ask me to identify my baby's father by his tattoo's. They needed to confirm his identity. He had taken his own life, in his car, alone, with the paperwork from Job & Family Services on the seat next to him. My name on those papers was the only information they had to go off of to begin contacting his next of kin. Our daughter, who I would now be raising, alone, because I had not seen how broken he really was sooner. Because I had not been able to help him, or get him help.

I was shocked, I was broken more, and I had this feeling that it would take me almost 20 years to unpack.

It was in that moment that my suicidal thoughts ended. I had been so deep in my own fight for survival that I wasn't able to see how desperately he was fighting. I didn't have the tools or the knowlege, or understanding to help him choose to live. I did however realize, the first time I got REALLY low in my single mom walk, that I did have a responsibility to continue choosing to live. I'd like to say that at some point in the last 20 years that I had healed enough to stop wanting to die in my lowest of lows, but I can't say that yet. As it turned out though, I had picked up at least one thing in my season of AA meetings, I realized that I couldn't get too bogged down by the future, and the weight that multiplied on my shoulders when I looked forward in my lowest points. I had to take it "One Day At A Time". It is a battle I will likely fight the rest of my life, but I can say, that every day I choose to live, is in part inspired by my daughter's biological father, and the fact that I couldn't help him when he was here.

I now embrace that the best way I can honor him, is to be present for as much of our daughter's life as God blesses me with days on this earth to witness. I must cheer her on for both of us. It is because of this that I say, I am tired. Beyond tired, and on many days, ready to quit. I choose to live because, my story has taught me, that SO MANY don't have that priveledge. Regardless of if they were capable of choosing to live and had that choice taken away, or if they felt that choice was too big a burden to carry any longer and, ended their time here, either way if they are looking down, watching the pain their loved ones are enduring as a result of their loss, they would choose to live again. If they could choose to, if they were able to be here with their loved ones, one more day, I believe they would choose it every time.

That guy I met at the very start of my single mom journey, became my boyfriend for nearly 2 years, before he graduated to fiance & inevitably became my husband after 5 1/2 years together. He is the only daddy my oldest knows this side of Heaven, and he has been a shining star in that role, one I genuinely believe her biological father would respect and appreciate if he were able to tell us. My husband and I added 3 additional daughters to our family, and our tiny little palace is overflowing with love, and their junk! We have now been together for more than half of my life and I feel enourmously blessed to have him in my corner. He has been my rock. Being with him hasn't been a perfect story or an easy road, but what longstanding EPIC lovestory is ever easy, and that is what makes it perfectly ours.

The pressures of marriage are real. The pressures of being grown ass adults are real. The pressure of my entreprenueral journey is real. The pressure of raising 4 daughter is real. All of these pressures remind me daily, of how truly blessed I am, and how important it is that I make my own Self-Love, Self-Care & Healing ALL priorities in my days. It is only with these things, and my faith in God Almighty, that I can continue to wake up and choose to live.

Thank you for reading this, it was long, and filled with triggers for some of you.

If you find yourself in crisis as a result of reading this, please know that it is through sharing, that healing can grow, and this is what motivated my sharing. I hope you seek the support you need to begin the journey to healing in y our own life.

Your life matters. You have a purpose.

Help is just a phone call away! Use this link to ask for help

If you are a victim of domestic violence or find yourself in an unsafe situation, you deserve to feel safe.

Seek Help! Find a step towards freedom & support that can help you! Your life matters. You have a purpose.

If you are in an unsafe situation seek safety! Get Help!

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Remember to clear your browser history after visiting the website above.

I don't write this to illicit sympathy, or for it to come off as a cry for help. I share my story because, I believe it is my responsiblity, in this world we live in, as it evolves and changes around us, to do my part to break the stigma of Mental Health and bring it into the forefront of discussion. It is through my trauma and pain that I have come to realize true purpose, beyond living for another human. This snippet of my story shows , that in my case, temporary purpose in another was the literal key to unlocking my freedom, but as other parts of my story will tell, living for another is not a longstanding solution, and you certainly won't thrive that way. We must seek purpose in our own life, seperate of the roles we play for others. It is the only real way to seek a healthy balance in life & our care. My pain & trauma has made me a person capable of sitting in the hard stuff, of processing and communicating in the midst of great pain & trials, it has also made me a safe place to share. I am not liscensed in any medical profession or practice and I do not claim to be a therapist, but I am a real person who has walked through real pain and trauma and found purpose within it. I don't say this to toot my own horn, but rather to motivate you to toot yours instead. You, like me, have walked through your own scattered mess of drama, pain, hurt, damage, trauma & trials. Whether your story shares simmilarities to my own or not, you have survived, and you chose to live today!

For that, I want to celebrate YOU!

Keep Choosing to Live Today!

If you made it to the end of this story, and were inspired by anything at all in it's contents,

drop me a comment. I would love to celebrate you. I would love to connect.

YOU are the reason I do this crazy entreprenuer thing anyways.

I have been called to create this place, for all the people who need a place to go, that says to them:

"Hey you! You ROCK at this living thing! I see you with all your scars and bruises, and I think you look Dazzling, not despite them, but BECAUSE of them! YOU have had life throw it's absolute best load of crap at you, and you wash that shit off the very best you can every single time! Your light is bright! It's Dazzling Darling! I know it's sparkly like a diamond, trust me, it's there! You just have to make the choice to live TODAY, tomorrow will be there tomorrow, you can tackle it tomorrow. Start today & do the work to chip away all of the crap that's hardened around your Dazzling heart! It's HERE, at THIS place, Dazzling District, where you can come to pick yourself up and begin a quest towards, Healing, Growing & Thriving so you can become even more sparkling than before!

Darling YOU ARE Dazzling!"

WELCOME to the REALM!!! I really do hope you come back & visit.

Find Dazzling District on the Socials so we can become old friends!

~Stay Dazzling!

Rebecca Jackson

founder/creator

Detox Your Body

Thu, 22 Apr 2021 20:09:57 GMT

An extension of cleansing your mind

This step is the natural second step for our Spring-Cleaning series after kicking it off with our " Clean Your Mind " blog because your mental health & physical health are connected. There are proven studies that show that your gut health & your mental health are directly connected, this means if you have consistent stomach & digestion issues, you are far more likely to also experience difficulties with your mental health. It's for this reason that when I notice the signs that I am starting to experience deterioration in my mental health, I know that it's time to evaluate my gut health a little closer and begin my "go to" detox solution. I have been using my preferred detox solution for 2 years and had been following the company for at least 4 years prior to finally making my first purchase. I was immediately sold on the product after just a few days and knew that it would be one of my Platinum Level Tools in my "Self-Care Toolkit" for many years to come.

What initially intrigued me about the company was that the founders created their solution to target their own personal health concerns from an all-natural and science-based approach to healing. I personally prefer to keep as many things in my life all natural as possible, to minimize the number of toxins I am exposing myself & my family to on a day-to-day basis to begin with, so this aspect of the company was a huge asset to me. Now this entire blog is not a pitch to convince you to try my exact approach to detoxing your body. I personally have tried many different approaches in the past and never really found one that did the trick. It's about listening to your body. In my experience, once I had successfully completed the 1st 3 days of my chosen approach, I felt noticeable changes in my body, and improvement in my gut health that seemed almost too good too soon. Not to overshadow the fact that my moods and overall mental health genuinely, no bullshit, were greatly improved and it felt almost as if the clouds had parted in the skies for the first really clear, sunny day in my mind, for too many years to count.

Prior to making my first purchase I was worried that I wouldn't enjoy the flavor, because I had attempted a few other options in the past and didn't enjoy the taste of them at all. I was used to having to gag them down and quit after 2 or 3 days, before I noticed any improvement but, I was willing to take a chance because I was Hella curious about this one, so I pulled the trigger. The flavor was an incredibly pleasant surprise, and I very much enjoy and look forward to consuming my detox teas each day. My mental health wasn't the only thing to benefit though, my waistline shrunk too, as a natural result of the lack of bloating. I had become so used to living with an unhealthy gut and not even realizing it, that I had no idea how much better I would feel just improving my gut health and genuinely detoxing my body of the bloat & toxins. I even dropped some pounds in my first 30 detox cycle as a result of flushing so much gunk out of my body. By the completion of my first week on the detox I literally felt like a completely new woman. It was like unlocking the "Pandora's Box" of my "Self-Care Potential". I thought to myself, just this simple addition to my "Self-Care Toolkit" made such an incredible improvement in my mind, my body & my spirit, now I'm curious what other little additions or substitutes I can make and how this concept of self-care could snowball for me in my life. It was truly a transformational moment in my life and for just a little bit of cash and a little step in faith towards a better me.

so now, I will give you the specifics on my chosen detox

our very 1st "Dazzling Brand Props!"

Where we give "Props" to brands we think are simply Dazzling!

Teami has been a true Godsend in my life and I was thrilled to realize that in choosing this solution for my wellness I was also empowering another female entrepreneur in her journey to impact change and chase her personal dreams for success! It is always important to me to take my financial support of companies seriously, to be sure my dollars spent not only have positive impacts on my life, but also positive impacts in the world. Plus, it was a total BONUS to learn that the more consistently I purchased, from their expansive line of products, the more rewards I earned! Physically in my body AND tangibly in product rewards. Aside from the detox tea, that is the cornerstone of the company, they also carry a wide array of other tea blends, wellness powders, tumblers, tea accessories, skincare & other beauty accessories. Many I have adapted into my own personal "Self-Care Toolkit" and it's because of this

that I want to encourage you to consider giving Teami's 30 Day Detox a chance in your life too!

This is by no means a sales pitch, as I mentioned earlier in this post, my only motivation is to help YOU achieve

a healthy gut health/mental health balance so you can begin to unlock your true DAZZLING potential!

As a gift of encouragement I can offer you a referral discount code!

IT’S A WIN, WIN!

Give yourself $15 off your first order of over $50 and join ME as a part of the Teami Communitea!

Apply the referral code : REBECCA458

at checkout to recieve your discount & then be sure to check them out on social media

to go scout them out & follow their accounts too!

Check out this excerpt from teami's website about the 30 Day Detox

Ready to kickstart your healthy lifestyle?! We believe that maintaining a healthy gut is vital in living your happiest, healthiest life! Feeling your best truly starts from within, which is why we created this 100% natural, plant-based detoxifying cleanse!

The Teami Detox Starter Pack has everything you need to succeed on your journey! The purpose of the 30 Day Detox program is to naturally help cleanse, reset and refresh your body in just two simple steps.

1) Drink your Teami Skinny every morning.

2) Drink your Teami Colon every other night before bed.

This program is perfect for everyone's lifestyle, no matter where you are at in your current wellness journey! Our blends are created with the highest quality, premium loose leaf tea, and lots of love to help you get the best results.

Our Teami Detox Starter Pack includes:

Teami Skinny
Teami Colon
Teami 30 Day Detox Calendar
Teami Tumbler 20oz
3 Insert Set to customize your tumbler!
FREEBIE #1: You'll receive a detox accountability E-book with the best detoxing tips!
FREEBIE #2: You'll receive our 23 Healthy Recipes E-book with simple, delicious recipes you can make at home!

GMO-Free, Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, and Sugar-Free!

Join our Facebook Group "the Dazzling 30 Day Detox Club"

by clicking the link below to recieve encouragement for a healthier tomorrow!

I hope to see you there!!!

~Rebecca

Founder & Creator of

Dazzling District

Clean Your Mind

Wed, 31 Mar 2021 17:59:43 GMT

Reboot Your Thinking

Whether you already believe it or not, the 3 statements in the signs above are true!

You matter. You are not alone. Don't give up!

Ok, now that we have the most important part of this post out of the way, let me give you a little insight into our idea of how to begin to "Clean Your Mind" and reboot your thinking. It is important to state, that I am not a medical professional of any kind , if you are dealing with anything more intense than a cluttered mind and lack of focus then I recommend you speak with a trusted medical professional to properly achieve a healthy approach to your Mental Health. If you can't seem to focus your thoughts and you are finding your mind cluttered with one or more of the annoying tendencies like negative thinking, overthinking, excessive social media stimulation, anxious thoughts, procrastination, rehashing past hurts, among others, then we have a few recommendations you may find helpful.

Reboot Then Reprogram Your "Mind Habits"

I believe that the most essential step of cleaning your mind, is to "Reboot Your Thinking" . Your thoughts have power over you and your life. What we think, will influence what is. It's as simple as that, so if you allow negative "Mind Habits" to begin to develop, then those habits will have negative repercussions on your life. Remove toxic mental patterns, Reboot your system, then let the Reprogramming begin! We put together this short video to help illustrate our tips to "Reboot Then Reprogram Your Mind" by eliminating those negative "Mind Habits" and reprogramming your thoughts with more positive habits in their place. In less than one minute you can remind yourself of the negative "Mind Habits" that need to find their way to the trash can in your mind and which positive "Mind Habits" that you can activate instead. Check out our Facebook & Instagram pages to save this video for daily viewing!

This is a process that we must keep repeating. Just like technology in this day in age, and it's rapid need for Updates , your mind is your own Personal Super Computer and as so you should:

Update & Reboot Regularly

Files that no longer serve you need to be put in the trash

& then it needs empti ed immediately.

F ear

I nsecurity

L ost opportunities

E nvy

S elf pity

Programs that go unused or that no longer benefit you need to

be removed to free up space for new, more efficient programs.

P atterns

R outines

O pportunities

G atherings

R isks

A ctivities

M onetary waste

S chedules

Reprogramming is something that needs to be done regularly, otherwise,

just like a computer, your mind will start to run bogged down & that will slow YOU down.

R est

E xercise

P ersonal care

R egular meals

O penminded thinking

G ratefulness

R adiant spiritual growth

A cceptance of self

M ental health

M onetary responsibility

I nspiration lead dreaming

N etworking

G oalsetting

Next is Time To Clean Up Your "Mind Diet"

Just like your body, what you consume will effect you. If you consume unhealthy things, you will become unhealthy. This is why it is important to put together an effective diet for your mind. Things that increase your brains ability to function and that feed your mind. The most common culprits for toxic consumption are to evaluate the listening, viewing, reading and social media interactions that you are partaking in. In addition the company we keep has a way of rubbing off on us and so, evaluating those who we allow to share our social time can also be helpful. Lastly, the activities that we engage in, are they positive & productive activities that challenge us, or do they encourage a lazy existence? Though it may feel uncomfortable to dig deep & critic ourselves, our habits and our own personal choices for comfort, doing so can offer great benefits to your mind and in turn your entire life.

It's okay to admit some "Uncomfortable Truth's" & to encourage you to Be Brave...

Here's one of my "Uncomfortable Truth's"

I spent the better part of the month of March focusing on cleansing my "Mind Habits" & my "Mind Diet" because I was feeling myself begin to "Pitfall" . On my personal & family blog The Dazzling Domestic Dreamer I wrote a blog awhile back about what I consider "Pit-falling" and how I seem to find myself in a perpetual cycle of "Pit-climbing" within my own struggle with my personal Mental Health. I feel free to drop over there to read the blog titled "Pit-climbing" , to get a better understanding for this term as I will frequently use it. You see, if you haven't explored the website, and you haven't seen anything I have written before this, it's important that you know, I am a Mental Health Warrior and proud to say I have survived 100% of the "Pitfall Moments" in my life so far. This means I am also now excellent at seeing them coming and now that I have an attack plan, when I am diligent for my own best interest, and I don't let myself choose to ignore the warning signs, I can usually apply a little preventative maintenance and catch myself before I hit the bottom.

I have felt pain, agony, shame, fear, loss, guilt, desperation, hopelessness and so much more, and for a very long time, my acute awareness of just how broken I was, had kept me a prisoner in my own brain. From the point that trauma first afflicted my life as a young teenager, I became a broken minded person, healing was something I was never quite capable of achieving, mostly because I hadn't gone about any true efforts to heal. Instead I suppressed, I buried, I ignored, I lied to myself and occasionally others, and I put into my brain the Programs that I believed would serve me best instead, in many cases, ones I strongly believed in, however misguided. Many of these Programs weren't designed to run in my Personal Super Computer but I forced them to anyways. Due to the heavy file load I was allowing to take up space in the file room of my mind, I became very bogged down, slow running, and altogether drag-ass-y.

That was right before I hit my absolute worst "Pitfall Moment" ever, in my life thus far, and the point that I knew it was a matter of life or death that I figured out how to begin healing my mind, my body, & my spirit before it was too late. It was also the very beginning of our Dazzling District Brand Journey, though at the time I had no idea, or even hope for a " Divine Purpose" this awesome! I went through a season of great healing, self-discovery and personal growth that spanned 7 years and culminated in a personal awakening I could have only dreamed of before. So when this March began & I was feeling a "Pitfall" in my very near future, (not nearly to the magnitude of the one that caused my healing journey to begin, but a "Pitfall" all the same, and when not careful, a little stumble can turn it to a full on swan-dive to the bottom), I got vigilant, and I did a little "Update & Reboot" for my mind this month instead of following a more stringent posting schedule like I had originally planned for the second half of this month. Because of this, I am more confident, more motivated, more purpose driven, more focused & more inspired then I was on March 1st, so that is what I like to call "A Dazzling Success" ! So March may be over but Spring has just begun and now it's time to continue "Marching Into a Clean Spring"!

After the Easter holiday weekend...

we will spend the remaining weeks of spring sharing blogs here

& tips on our social media to help you:

Detox Your Mind & Spirit

Clear the Clutter in Your Home & On the Go

Clean Up Your Diet & Drink Habits

Concentrate on your Career & Cash flow

Focus on your Future

So be sure to Sign up for our Newsletter & Follow our Social Media Accounts

so that you don't miss anything!

Create Volumes For Bonus Payoffs

Fri, 12 Mar 2021 17:30:15 GMT

Choose your style & frequency, but be sure to choose to journal your journey for BONUS rewards!

Ok, right out the gate on this one I am going to drop an "Uncomfortable Truth" ...this is a BONUS step for a reason, it is the one step I have yet to begin consistently executing in my own personal self care system. One that I know to have great rewards when executed consistently in a way that is fun for you, but alas I have a huge brick wall in front of me in this specific area. I can't seem to get myself into a consistent routine, though I have tried many times, have a pen, marker, and pencil collection that would make many jealous. I have acquired more cute notebooks, journals and well intended planners than I can count, and yet I can't seem to implement this step in any really effective way for myself. However, the fact that I have the collection of journaling materials that I have, and that I have started and stopped in dozens of new collections of pages bound together for this purpose, tells me one thing. That I am committed to figuring this step out for a reason.

A reason I know in the core of my heart, and that is because, it is an incredibly rewarding practice. One that if executed in your life on a consistent basis, can prove many personal rewards, as well as serving as proof in your life of the volumes of things you have come through. Things you have celebrated. Things you have survived. Seasons you have struggled in only to find your way through it to thrive again. Seasons where your celebrations with loved ones lost can serve as reminders when grief is so consuming you can barely handle it. Seasons that can show you, undeniable proof of growth when you need a little reminder of just how Bad Ass you really are. A Dazzling Warrior, we already know it to be true, but this practice can help you prove it to yourself when you need the most honest reminder.

Whether it be a handwritten diary style, random thoughts collected, creative sparks of inspiration compiled, or more of a photo scrapbook version, it doesn't matter. What's important is that you find a way that feels easy and fun for you. If adding this step is a layer of Personalized Self-Care that you want to implement, do so in an open, honest & creatively inspired way that really speaks to the type of person that you are, it will only add to the effectiveness in the process. Do your best to not be overly concerned with it looking "perfectly pretty" (this is likely a piece of my own brick wall, but not the whole wall). Putting your thoughts, your trials, your triumphs, your journeys, your rewards, your dreams, your goals, your deepest spiritual feelings, and sometimes even your past, down onto paper begins a whole new way of getting in touch with yourself, truly & deeply, and doing this will only ensure you attain your most truly Dazzling self!

Now I haven't found success in a consistent approach, but I do still have "Volumes" to draw on, from some scattered seasons, in various stages of my life, across a variety of mediums. When I find myself in a introspective place, or struggling exceptionally with something that I can't find peace in, I will dig through my "Volumes" and look for places that I see great personal triumph. I will reread things that I previously wrote that reminds me I can endure, that I have grown, that I can survive this too. In todays technological age, it is all to easy to get comfortable substituting this step with an app, or a digital document, or some other technology based substitute. THIS IS NOT THE SAME THING . Though these methods may seem like they can provide similar benefits to journaling, they don't provide the one final benefit that matters maybe more than the personal gain.

The ability to put your handwriting into the book as your hand brushes the page & maybe smears a little ink, proof to future generations that your hand was there, and that that's how you wrote your "t's" & "y's".

Your fingerprints pressed deep into the washi tape you used to adhere a photograph of you and your first child on the day they were born, with a note about the moment scribbled next to their crib card.

A picture with your grandpa, the last time you saw him alive, next to a story about how much it meant to you to have them in your life and a personal memory recalled.

The original sketches of an idea you went on to work hard, hustle and fight to make a reality, eventually turning into success,

all laid out like nothing on a cocktail napkin folding into an envelope tucked into the pages and pages of creative process, so that someday younger generations can see it and get inspired by the effort.

A poem you wrote one evening when you felt all too sad about a high school break-up only to get past graduation and meet

the partner of your lifetime months later, proving that God Blessed the Broken Roads too for when your children

worry if they will ever fall in love, like for real.

The tangible proof that you lived, that you loved, and that you impacted the world by your presence in it.

I am all too familiar with grief. I have loved and lost more people near and dear to me than seems fair at my age. I know so many people who haven't had a "close loss" until their 30's or even 40's and those people, I consider so very lucky for having not endured the pain, the heartbreak and the emotional turmoil and trauma attached to losing someone you love dearly sooner. For me, I would cherish these little things had they been left behind, the breadcrumbs of their life. The notes they took when it seemed as if nobody else cared, the celebrations when they felt on top of the world. I am a mother, and I am in a season of life savoring every last interaction with my last living grandparent, watching as my mother cares for her in these late stages of life, and I know she cherishes those moments with her mother, who has blessed this planet for over 90 years. As a family we still grieve the loss of her husband, the family patriarch, and love of her life for over 70 years before his passing almost 7 years ago.

The love wrapped into their legacy are the things that inspire my own little family branch, in their big old family tree. I hope to leave for my girls, proof that our family legacy is built on true love for generations before & for generations to come. Love of ourselves as the truly dazzling creations we are. Love of our family and the generational growth of that love. Love of each other and how our encounters with others can lead to so many blessings we don't even see. Love of them and how being their mother has profoundly changed me. Love of their father, and proof of how well he loves me, because I believe these are the things that healthy generational love are built on. My girls will look to be loved how recieve love, how they see me recieve love from their father, and how love surrounds them, and we live our love story with that fact in the forefront of what makes our relationship work.

Now I didn't go off onto this tangent because I believe I am a qualified relationship expert, or because journaling should only be used for your love stories, rather I did because, simply put, Love is a great example of how journaling can be beneficial on a generational level when discussing legacies. Also, because in my own life, this is an area I feel called to begin my journaling journey once again.

With that being said I want to invite you to begin the journaling process. No matter which step you are on,

Step #1 - Back To The Basics

Step #2 - Step Up Your Game

Step #3 - Do Something Little Just For You

Step #4 - Find Yourself A Hobby

Step #5 - Get Your A$$ Moving

Step #6 - Dream Big

Step #7 - Don't Quit. Keep Updating & Evaluating Your Needs

Start NOW with this BONUS step and begin journaling your "Journey To Find Your Dazzling" so that when you get through the steps and start over again you will have begun creating your own "Volumes for BONUS Payoffs" in your personal care growth. Watch our social media pages for ways to earn prizes or a shout out on our pages for joining our "Journey In Journaling" club! To join the club, simply post a picture of the journal you plan to begin your journey in and tag Dazzling District in the post on Facebook or Instagram and then watch for a message inviting you into the club with more details!!!

Don't Quit. Keep Updating & Reevaluating Your Needs

Mon, 01 Mar 2021 03:24:55 GMT

Life is a journey, Your needs will change just like the seasons do, so commit to reevaluating your needs regularly to keep your cup full so you can continue Dazzling!

The conclusion of our "7 Steps to Finding Your Dazzling" blog series focuses on the absolute most important step in our system. This step is most easily summed up as, "To Complete, You Must Repeat" . Basically, once you get to Step #7 as you work through the system, instead of checking the last box, patting yourself on the back and putting the system to the side with the satisfaction of completion in your efforts and then inevitably letting life overtake your priorities again and drain your spirit, you should celebrate the success and repeat the system again. Our needs are everchanging. Our circumstances are never set in stone. Curveballs come in life when we least anticipate them. Priorities change as we grow and mature. Life seasons alter and evolve with every choice we make. Therefore, it should be no surprise that the best ways to care for ourselves will change just as frequently as life rolls on. It is because of this that our last step, Step #7 - Don't Quit, Keep Updating & Reevaluating Your Needs is a short and sweet step to implement. It is the most important step to truly attaining the goal of Living Life Dazzling & True , it is the shortest blog in this series to read, but it takes the most determination & intentional living to execute and it is never really complete.

Starting High School soon? Learning to navigate life in a dorm on a college campus for the first time on your own? Entering your first professional career avenue fresh out of college? Skipped college all together and are navigating bills and hustling to chase your dreams around a job that pays those bills? Heading into a season filled with wedding plans & Honeymoon talk? Navigating life solo with some friends on the sidelines? Focusing on your career and enjoying/surviving the dating scene? Welcoming a new baby, your first or fifteenth? Buying a house, moving out on your own for the first time, relocating near or far? Surviving a trauma or loss? Starting over after divorce? All of these things, and a list longer than I could begin to type, are reason that you need to remember to start back at Step #1 and naturally, authentically to you, work through these steps again. You are worth so much, and in turn you deserve to prioritize yourself, regularly, consistently, and perpetually. Only when you can embrace, and put into practice these steps, through & through, will you truly ensure that you keep your own proverbial "cup" full, and only with a full cup can we truly face the world with strength, purpose and compassion. Don't Quit . Not on yourself or this process and we know you will discover the most Dazzling & True version of you that has been buried deep inside all along! We know it's true. Love Yourself! Fill your cup first! You deserve your time & effort. So... REPEAT!

Dream Big

Sat, 27 Feb 2021 21:26:15 GMT

Don't wait until you are asleep to dream, start NOW!

We are almost through our "7 Steps to Finding Your Dazzling" blog series, based on the methods I created as I personalized my own self-care and found my Dazzling again. This blog is our shortest blog in this series, based on Step #6 - Dream BIG . This step is one of the hardest steps though, if not THE hardest of all 7 Steps, that's why we kept the blog short & sweet. The reason this step is so hard is because, this step requires that you dream while awake. Dreaming while you are sleeping is easy. Dreaming while you're awake is a different story.

Dreaming while you are asleep packs no expectation, zero logic or realistic understanding. Sleeping dreams are dreams without any anticipation of them coming to be reality. Here in lies the difference. If you believe in dream interpreting, they may pack lessons or warnings, but for the most part they are forgotten as soon as you wake and you go on with your literal existence. Unlike dreaming while awake. Once you let yourself begin to dream with your eyes open, the reality of what it takes to achieve the dream for real, often times just becomes a red stop light in your brain. For many that stoplight never changes to green because the overwhelming feelings of impossibility take over. What they don't do is just disappear though. Once you let a daydream into your mind, it becomes like an earworm. It will make it's way around your brain, looking for an avenue to bring it to fruition, or in the minds of some, it will navigate into all the worse case scenario routes within your mind before turning your creative brain to stone. Paralyzing it with doubt & disappointment until it eventually just freezes entirely, never to dream again.

This is why, for most, we were all so much more creative and willing to daydream when we were children, our childlike view of the world made all the things seem possible. As we become adults though, we are introduced to Logic and Reason , they are the enemies of Dreams & Faith . As more of our adult life becomes rooted in tasks that require Logic & Reason , the more we forget to pull Dreams & Faith out of our "Tool-Box for the Mind" . The more easily we become reliant on Logic & Reason , the more dusty those unused tools become, and in turn, the more Logic & Reason settle into the steering position, and run your mind. Often times they run you into a completely robotic and uninspired existence, without the use of Dreams & Faith ever being awoken. THIS is why Step #6 - Dream BIG is the hardest step, but truly one of the brightest, most inspiring steps in your entire "Personalized Self-Care Routine" journey when implemented properly & regularly. This step requires us to dream without borders or limits. We must really take chances on ourselves and open ourselves up to disappointment and doubt in this step. That can be scary and oh so exciting at the same time. If we want BIG rewards in our self-care and in our life in general, we have to be willing to dust off the unused tools in the "Tool-Box for the Mind" and put them back into use AND we have to put Logic & Reason back into the toolbox on a regular basis. Now go get yourself a notebook or a journal or a sketch book & ask yourself this question....

"If Failure wasn't an option and Money didn't matter,

WHAT would you be doing tomorrow ?"

Now go spend this last weekend in the month of Love showing your Future Self a little love and put on paper what your answer to this question is. Don't be scared. Don't feel silly or childlike. Just do the thing, take the step, be brave. Go Dream BIG!

Get Your A$$ Moving

Fri, 26 Feb 2021 16:02:46 GMT

There is no substitute for physical activity in a well rounded Self-Care Routine, so squeeze it in...

Now if you read the title to this blog and a small part of you panicked or wanted to cry, then you are probably sitting in a similar place to where I was when I reached this part of my Journey to find my Dazzling. I was painfully aware of how little I intentionally added physical activity into my life. I was painfully aware, and terrified to see how far I had really fallen off track, and I had no real idea where to start that didn't overwhelm me. I knew however, that it was something I absolutely needed to do. My life was going to slowly continue fading into an even more sluggish version of existence. I had watched as my energy had been disappearing, my interest in doing anything that challenged my body physically had gone virtually extinct, and I felt terrible about it, and myself as a result.

As I sat in this reality, the Uncomfortable Truth that I had just bravely revealed to myself, I knew something needed to change. I knew that I was worth putting the effort into and so are you. If I am completely honest here though, I only kind of new I was worth the effort when I came to this step in my personal #JourneyBackToFit because, when I addressed this step, I was in the process of navigating my own #JourneyToDazzling and creating the "7 Steps to Finding Your Dazzling" method. As I navigated my journey I stumbled, doubted, stopped and started in my efforts to find my value & uncover my own dazzling. The "7 Steps to Finding Your Dazzling" method came to be after I had identified, evaluated, and implemented these 7 steps in my own life, however my journey was longer, harder and filled with more pain than necessary , in part because I tackled them very out of order. When tailoring the process to a sharable method, I positioned Step #5 - Get Your A$$ Moving where I did in the process, because I believe it is an intimidating step for many and, if you tackle it after successfully addressing the other steps in the process then, I believe the intimidation factor is naturally decreased some.

By achieving some balance in Step #1 - Back to the Basics , Step #2 - Step Your Game Up , Step #3 - Do Something Little Just For You & Step #4 - Find Yourself A Hobby then you should have achieved a natural boost in confidence and also your "Joy Supply" should be well on it's way to fully stocked before tackling the physical activity step. I tackled it barely surviving, much of my basic care lacking, and with a fully depleted "Joy Supply". Now my journey was rewarding and successful, but it was hard, and long as a result and it really took awhile before I had any real balance in my fitness efforts. Hindsight being what it is, I didn't realize how out of order I had prioritized this part of my self-care until AFTER I had begun exploring the other steps. Once I had successfully identified the first four steps, and worked on growth in my weaknesses within them, it seemed that this one became even easier for me to implement.

Allowing ourselves to work through the process in order and, take time to naturally balance each step before adding the pressure of the next step, is the most effective way to approach personalizing your self-care and wellbeing. Getting overwhelmed in the process doesn't aid in your ability to heal, grow and care for yourself effectively. Trying to find quality balance in any new fitness habit before you have navigated taking care of your basic needs, permitting yourself to look for ways to improve upon those basic needs, and doing little things for yourself to prioritize your own need for joy, will basically just make this step an inevitable failure. Trust me, I learned the hard way. If you try to challenge yourself too hard, too fast, you will break your own spirit and your own will to achieve. All that does is give you more to feel "bad about yourself" for. Build the foundation before you try to break yourself moving too quickly. When and only when, you feel mentally prepared to begin, start this step, and start it small.

Allowing ourselves to slip into the foggy existence of bare minimal physical activity however, will only ensure our own downfall.

DO NOT SKIP OR PROCRASTINATE THIS STEP. It may be the most magical step of all. I promise you. Our body was made to be used, to be moved, and to be challenged, and doing so also helps our mind and spirit in return. Getting moving in an intentional way will provide a multitude of positive payoffs in your life, the first of which will likely be a positive boost of endorphins into your system. Those endorphins will almost act like a tease to get you back at it the next day. When you know your mind will feel an uplifting boost from the physical activity, it gets easier to approach the temporary physical discomfort that you may experience.

To begin implementing this step into your life I recommend starting small, but it is important that you do start. Getting your heart pumping from positive, intentional activity has so many health benefits and there are plenty of studies to prove that. Head to Google and do a quick search on the health benefits of physical activity and then take your pick to start reading. I am not a health specialist or any type of trained or educated physician so that is an area of this step I do not feel qualified to discuss the technical side of the benefits. What I do want to talk about instead, are the personal benefits of adding physical activity into your Personalized Self-Care Routine . Those personal benefits include, but are not limited to, a natural increase in energy, a positive boost to your thinking and your confidence, improvement of sleep, even an increase in appetite among many others. If you focus on small steps towards increasing your physical activity, you will feel your body start asking for more, you will find your mind begins to challenge itself just a little further each endeavor, and your spirit will likely feel uplifted as a result of the boost your mind and body will feel. Instant Personal Care Trifecta achieved from just a little bit of physical activity!

Finally, don't feel obligated to get into a 5 day a week, 45 minute work-out regimen when you get to this step. Again I point out you are best served to start small, and the gym doesn't even have to be a part of your physical activity. Dance, take a walk, intentionally park at the back of the parking lot just to take more steps on your way to the door. As you feel your strength grow, challenge yourself a little further. If the gym membership is a tool you choose to add to your Self-Care Toolkit, then don't let the fee become a waste of money, get in there once or twice a week to start, and put the blinders on when you walk in the door. It can be so tempting to watch what other people are doing. It can feel easy to compare ourselves or our weight to that of those around us at the gym, it can also be natural to feel incredibly out of place, especially if you are very inexperienced. I will offer boatloads of tips tailored for the gym in other blogs down the road, but for this one I just want you to focus on walking through the door and challenging yourself. Just be your own competition and try to do a little more that the last time with every visit. Also, reward yourself for taking the scary step into the gym, if you decide the gym is right for you. There are SO MANY ways outside of traditional gyms to find physical activity though. The important thing is that you do find a way to "Get Your A$$ Moving" so you don't freeze up like the Tin Man. Now go get moving, and remember, I am not a trained physician or licensed fitness professional, so seek guidance from your physician before changing or adding any intense or new physical activity into your "Personalized Self-Care Routine" and start small to avoid any pain or damage from starting to intense.....and REMEMBER TO HYDRATE!!!

Find Yourself A Hobby

Wed, 24 Feb 2021 21:49:31 GMT

Hobbies are incredible Joy Producers, take one up, new or old.

The next step in our "7 Steps to Finding Your Dazzling" Blog Series is where we think all the fun really truly starts to happen. This step is all about exploring yourself and the the things that you enjoy doing and learning about new things you don't really enjoy. You can find new things you are good at, or discover some the things you find joy regardless of your skills, or lack there of. Step #4 - Find Yourself A Hobby is the point in our process where you truly find the things you enjoy. Not the things you have to do. Not the things that are obligations or responsibilities in your life. Those things sometimes require us to draw from our "Joy Supply" , no matter how fixed or necessary they may be in our lives, they are not always "Joy Producers" . This step is about creating "Joy Producers" in your life so that when you need to draw on that "Joy Supply" in hard or trying times, you can get by a little easier and have the supply of joy needed to draw from in those seasons so that you don't run dry.

When trying to look for something new, it's important that it be something you enjoy, not something you are necessarily good at, or something that comes naturally. It's only important that you enjoy it. So many of my favorite hobby's are those that I am terrible at, but still find great joy in the process or the attempt. Golf for example, I remember thinking it was so weird that I enjoyed playing it after finishing my first full round at nearly triple the par. I laughed the whole way home from that round though, I had enjoyed quality time with someone I love, AND to top it off I got to be outside in warm and beautiful weather. For me in that single round of golf I stockpiled the joy. In some cases the company I keep while participating in the hobby is where the majority of the joy is produced. In some hobbies it is more based on the location, in other hobbies it is the refined focus and ease of enjoyable productivity that produces the most joy. In the best hobbies, you can get all three, the activity, the location and the company all encouraging a super "Joy Supply" refill!

Here is an illustration we hope you find helpful when beginning your hunt for a new hobby!

Now like we have been sure to point out in each of our previous blogs in this series, Step #1 - Back to the Basics, #2 - Step Up Your Game, & #3 - Do Something Little Just For You it is important to remember to approach this step at your own pace and within your own abilities and needs. It's not about completing the process, the real results come from the process and being sure to personalize this process specifically to you is the absolute best way to achieve Dazzling results! Though this illustration shows you the 5 hobbies we all need in our life, this step is about choosing one. It may be an addition to an existing list of hobbies, it may be your first one, but choosing ONE is your only objective. Once you choose, give it a real try. Don't just "one and done" the experiment. The goal is to genuinely give a new hobby a try and sometimes true joy in a hobby only comes after persistence has played a role. Try it a few times, try it a few ways, try it with different company, try it in a few places, just try and experiment, safely and within reason. Consider picking up an old hobby again, one that sparked joy easily in a past season of life, maybe adapt an old hobby to consider new additions in your life. Just look for ways to grow yourself and find joy at the same time for play. We all need to remember to just have fun. Now go find yourself a hobby and don't forget to drop back because our last few steps in this Blog Series will be dropping quickly!

Do Something Little Just For You

Mon, 22 Feb 2021 05:45:48 GMT

Besides the Basics, and beyond stepping up your game,

now it's time to do something little just for you!

This next step in our " 7 Steps to Finding Your Dazzling" Blog Series is Step #3 - Do Something Little Just For You . Now first let me say, this step is really a short & sweet one, but may be the 2nd most important step in our series, the most important step being #7. We'll get there soon enough though, so don't rush the process. As discussed in our previous steps, we don't encourage you to rush through the steps just to check them off the list. We want to make sure that we are effectively implementing each step into our lives and maintaining a natural ease and balance within the current step in the journey we are on, before progressing to the next step. Ok, so let's get back on track with Step #3. When I say I want you to "Do Something Little Just For You" what I mean is, I want you to find something, entirely unnecessary to most, that makes you want to do a little "Happy Dance" then go on with your day, confidently, with a smile firmly planted on your face and a spark of joy in your heart. It doesn't have to be the same thing everyday. It doesn't have to be a big grand gesture to yourself. It doesn't even have to be something tangible.

It can be as simple as actually taking time to pick out some jewelry from your collection to add a little bling to your wardrobe for the day. It can be taking a few moments of quiet time looking out the window sipping coffee or tea. It can be treating yourself to a manicure once every few weeks so that your hands are a dazzling reminder of how fabulous you are every time you look at them. It can even be taking 5 or 10 minutes out of your afternoon to have a silly dance party, by yourself, or with your spouse or your kids. It may even be a reiki session or cleansing your home with sage to give your body or home a healing spiritual boost. It doesn't really matter specifically if you choose one of these things, or something different, it is only important that it be something that genuinely is just a little something extra, just for you, to aid you in Dazzling through your day in the most authentic & true way!

Look into your days, your weeks, and your months and look for little, seemingly insignificant things that make you smile just because, or that give you a warm hug deep down in your soul, or that make you feel a little extra confident as you step into this crazy world. Once you identify some of those things, those places, and those practices in your own life and routines, begin to look for ways to intentionally choose to incorporate them into your life more consistently where and when possible. The goal here is to give yourself little "Joy Injections" on a consistent and intentional basis so that when life tries it's best to knock you down, or pull the rug out from underneath you, you have a little secret stash of joy to pull from. This is why we strongly believe this is the 2nd most important step. It is important to say here that you can get a little overzealous in this step really quickly if you aren't careful.

Do not allow these additions or alterations to your " Personalized Self-Care Routine" to add pressure or stress to your self-care practices or your day to day responsibilities. This is very important because, as the saying goes, you can have too much of a good thing and when it begins to complicate your schedule or your budget it can snowball quickly into a stronghold, addiction or serious life complication if you aren't careful. This is why we encourage that you really do look for something little, something inexpensive, and something relatively easy to incorporate with some regular consistency. One of my personal favorite ways to do this is to listen to music, very loudly, while I get chores done during the day when my family is gone at school and work. I get time to myself on a normal weekday, and even though I do use the majority of that time to work on creative & business efforts, I do normally spend at least an hour of that time doing some everyday chores. When I do so, I like to crank the music up & turn on my Amazon Music Playlist. It makes tackling my sink full of dishes or never ending laundry cycle seem a little more bearable and it also usually plants an uplifting earworm into my head to help carry me through the rest of my day.

On my way through these " 7 Steps To Finding Your Dazzling" , this step was a gamechanger. It caused me to look at my days and figure out ways that I could intentionally seek joy at no expense. So when I did, I tapped back into how important a role music always has played, and still does play in my personal comfort & self-care practices. With this realization through intentional seeking, I learned that when I was really able to begin to incorporate this step into my day to day choices, I was more joy-filled and then in turn, I made intentional choices to incorporate it more consistently and far more easily. I created a " Joy Circle" in my life with a little intentional introspection and effort. I have always found music a place that I could make peace with my spirit and process my thoughts more easily and when I let myself get into the rhythm, it usually leads to a little dance party for my body. For me, doing something little for myself can include most anything, as long as I turn on the right song or playlist. Music is truly a great way to hit the " Personal Care Trifecta" in any act of Self-Care.

Now that you have Step #3 laid out for you, we strongly encourage you take a little time today to do something just for you, and we recommend your first act of implementing this step should be to introspectively take notes on times, places and seasons in your life when you found it easy to store up joy. Then pull from that note taking session, easy and inexpensive ways to tap into the joy from those seasons. Whether it be an edible treat, a tangible memory or a simple shift in your aesthetic or environment, we encourage you to begin implementing some of these "Joy Injections" into your " Personalized Self-Care Routine" as soon as you're ready!

Step Up Your Game

Wed, 17 Feb 2021 18:04:42 GMT

With the basics covered, now is the time to

Step up your Self-Care game a bit

Now there's no need to feel pressured to move through our 7 steps to your Personalized Self-Care Routine as quickly as you can read them. This IS NOT a race to completion. Our 7 steps are designed to be a personalized journey. In order for these steps to work you must get to a place where you are feeling filled up and balanced in each step before moving forward to the next step. Once you feel like you have a solid handle on each step and, have personalized it effectively to you and your needs, then and only then, should you begin adding to your personalized self-care routine with the next step. Step #2 in our 7 step journey to creating your Personalized Self-Care Routine is to Step Up Your Game . After you have finished Step #1 Back to the Basics and you have evaluated where you stand in regards to the most basic self-care practices, Personal Care, Basic Hygiene, Nutrition & Rest, it is time to step up your game.

If you are anything like I was when I evaluated my basics self-care practices, you likely noticed one or more area where you may have been lacking a little in effective practices. Hopefully you have worked towards improving those areas that you were coming up a little short for yourself, instead of shaming yourself over the realization. Life gets busy and even with the best intentions, we will slip up sometimes, and it's important that we look at these as areas for improvement instead of looking at them as areas you are failing at . It's also why I encourage creating morning and evening rituals. Rituals make it easier to incorporate intentional decisions that target the most important pieces of your Personalized Self-Care Routines and, to help you do so, you can go download our Templates Here that we have designed so that you can fill them in with your personalized rituals and display them near your bedside, to help you remember to practice them like the rituals they should become. Your Morning and Evening Rituals are also great places to begin to Step Up Your Game when it comes to your Personal Care, Hygiene, Nutrition & Rest practices. Take a look at these examples below and remember, these are examples for you, not checklists for you, it's important to personalize your rituals to your specific needs and preferences.

When it comes to Stepping Up Your Self-Care Game , the key is to look for small ways you can add to and enhance your most basic self-care practices. In doing so look for ways to comfort & care for your mind, body & spirit , as this is what I like to call the "Personal Care Trifecta" and, every other step in the journey to find your Dazzling will build on this foundation. It can be as simple as stepping up your hygiene routine by implementing a Self-Care Substitute like a relaxing bath in place of your shower every month, or even once a week. When doing so it is important to additionally look for small items that you can incorporate into your Self-Care Substitute to intentionally comfort your yourself, trying to touch on as many of the mind, body, spirit elements of the "Personal Care Trifecta" as possible. In the relaxing bath scenario, consider this, to touch on the Mind element you could consider choosing a relaxing playlist that inspires a calming vibe. To touch on the Body element, kick up the bath's relaxing potential by adding an Epson salt, moisturizing bubble bath, or bath bomb to the water to add a bonus bit of care for your skin and/or muscles. To complete the "Personal Care-Trifecta" you could cover the final element, Spirit, by adding some essential oils diffusing by the tub, or a candle, and turning your bath into a mini meditation session. Allow your mind to clear as you feel your body relax in the tub, focus on your breathing and just let your spirit take your mind on a relaxing journey.

This is just one example of looking for a place in your Self-Care Journey that you can Step Up Your Self-Care Game

Here are a few more examples:

Q. Do you currently journal to help you clear your Mind?

If the answer is no, consider taking it up to hit the mark for a personal

comfort habit for your MIND to help you process your thoughts, catalog your trials & triumphs,

or discover the hopes & dreams in your heart through creative writing prompts.

Step It Up: Consider ways to hit the Trifecta by looking for tricks or tools that help you comfort your

BODY like a cozy chair to journal in, by a window for sunlight or, wrapped in a blanket for warmth .

SPIRIT consider starting your session reading a brief scripture or devotional to encourage a

spiritual focus to your journaling.

Q. Do you incorporate any intentional heart pumping physical activity into your day?

If the answer is no, consider taking it up to hit the mark for a personal

comfort habit for your BODY . Any physical activity is an important part of self-care,

but real heart pumping activity serves many additional benefits.

Step It Up: Consider ways to hit the Trifecta by looking for tricks or tools that help you comfort your MIND Challenge yourself to push a little more with each intentional act of heart pumping physical activity. Start with a single song dance party without resting, once a day. After a week kick it up to 2 or 3 songs intentionally and watch your mind feel challenged and boosted by the increase.

SPIRIT consider finding songs to listen to that encourage a mindful headspace while you get your

heart pumping, whether it be uplifting, motivating or directly related to your faith .

Q. Do you currently practice breathing exercises to help calm your Spirit?

If the answer is no, consider taking it up to hit the mark for a personal

comfort habit for your SPIRIT .

Step It Up: Consider ways to hit the Trifecta by looking for tricks or tools that help you comfort your

BODY sit in an upright position, crisscross-applesauce on a mat or carpeting, or upright, shoulders back in a chair with your feet flat on the ground.

MIND before you begin the breathing exercise, diffuse some essential oils that encourage focus and mental clarity like, peppermint, spearmint or even a sweet orange. Not a fan of essential oils? (um...why not??? ) Try to find a candle that hits on some of those scents in place of the diffuser.

These examples are not intended to be embraced by every reader, exactly as described in each of the scenarios above, especially if doing so causes you any kind of pressure or anxiety. Instead they are here to serve as examples. A jumping off point for your brain to begin to look at the care you currently give yourself from a different perspective, to encourage you to step it up even just a little. Don't settle in your self-care, personalize it so that you can capitalize on the focus and attention you pay to yourself with intentional decisions that benefit you. W ith a few simple additions to your Self-Care Tool Kit you can easily begin to step up your game consistently. The better we care for ourselves, the better prepared we can be to care for others. It is this that way of thinking that has motivated me to encourage you to begin building a Self-Care Tool Kit of your own and, to assist you with this, we are running a GIVEAWAY on our social media accounts that will provide one lucky winner with a Super Self-Care Starter Tool Kit Gift Set . So be sure to visit us on our Facebook & Instagram pages to find out how to enter and for more details about the raffle we are running that will conclude on 2/28/2021 with our winner to be announced on 3/1/2021. Best of Luck! Now go Step Up Your Self-Care Game Intentionally!!!

Back to the Basics

Fri, 05 Feb 2021 00:00:03 GMT

Step #1 on the Journey Towards

Creating A Personalized Self-Care Routine

The first step to creating a well rounded Personalized Self-Care Routine is to get back to the basics . The basics of your personal care , your basic hygiene , your basic nutrition and, your basic needs for rest . Although the specifics to how we actually execute these practices into our life will look differently for each of us, the basic recipe for survival is the same. Personal care, hygiene, nutrition and rest. Skimping in any of these areas or neglecting their importance can quickly lead to disaster in your day to day ability to sustain. These things ARE NOT luxury, they are the most basic things you should be doing for your survival.

Personal Care: the Mind-Body-Spirit Trifecta

So let's start with the personal care, to me, this means the care you put into your "personal" being. This is the care you give yourself; emotional, physical, and spiritual comforts. This can present itself in many different practices, from meditation, to affirmations, to yoga, to unwinding with a cozy blanket, to spiritual devotion time. It's not about doing it all; it's about doing what works for you, in your lifestyle, in your preferences, in your beliefs. The important part is that you are proactively doing things to improve yourself, mind, body and spirit. Not to sound cliché, but the trifecta of personal care hits comfort for your mind, your body and your spirit. We give so much of our time caring for those around us and, can too easily allow this time spent to fill our schedule, causing us to forget to take time to care for ourselves. It is a foundational piece of Self-Care, one we should afford ourselves as easily and as compassionately as we offer it to others. This Mind-Body-Spirit Trifecta is the perfect foundation to begin to build your Personalized Self-Care Routine on top of, even when it feels impossible to balance all of life's demands. Make time for your comfort, it matters.

*If you are in Danger or Crisis we encourage you to Get Help. You are so worth it. You are loved and worthy. Don't wait.

Please Contact one of the resources linked below

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

Call 1-800-273-8255

National Domestic Violence Hotline

Call 1.800.799.SAFE (7233)

The NAMI HelpLine can be reached Monday through Friday, 10 am–6 pm, ET.
1-800-950-NAMI (6264) or info@nami.org or Visit Their Website

Mental health difficulties like anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder can lead to substance abuse problems and, conversely, using substances can worsen mental health conditions in some people. Dual-diagnosis treatment can help address both issues simultaneously. Learn More @ MentalHealth.net

Need help breaking free from addiction? 1-866-306-408 6 Call 24/7 for treatment options.

Basic Hygiene: Begin A Ritual

Basic hygiene seems like a no-brainer, sadly however, it can be one of the first Self-Care tactics that deteriorates when life gets crazy and busy. Don't let yourself fall into this destructive practice. Basic hygiene practices like bathing or showering, brushing our teeth, washing our hair, moisturizing our skin, are all practices that encourage a clean and fresh approach towards living, and they should be practiced regularly. You should incorporate them into your morning and evening rituals daily. Hours easily pass, in and out of days and, before we know it we can miss one or more of these practices if we don't make a point to create rituals. A ritual is a lot like a habit, except it packs more commitment and conviction then a habit does. A habit is a repetitive practice, often times, that we develop without realizing or intentionally working towards. A ritual is entered into with intention and for a reason that we connect with on a spiritual level. There is an intentional rhythm and reason to each step of a ritual. If you haven't already established morning and evening rituals, to practice daily at the beginning and end of each day, then it's something I encourage you to implement to incorporate these basic hygiene practices, as well as the rest of your basic Self-Care practices. It does not benefit you to skip these practices, so work towards developing rituals that take into account your specific needs, preferences and practical abilities.

*If you struggle to financially afford basic hygiene, feminine & personal care products please email me @ dazzlingdomesticdreamer@gmail.com with " Dazzling Basics Request" in the subject line and your Name, address & personal request in the contents. I would absolutely love to encourage you & send you a small Dazzling Basics Bundle to help you on your journey towards creating your Personalized Self-Care Routine to get in touch with your Dazzling Diamond!

Basic Nutrition: The Secret Energy Boost

Nutrition is your fastest way to improve energy. If you are lacking in energy, your nutrition is probably a key component to the shortage. A well rounded diet will fuel your body and your mind to allow you to successfully enter into your tasks with the ability to endure. Now, I will be the first to admit that this step can get overlooked as a whole, and sometimes the junk food tastes good, or the comfort food is needed regardless of the calorie count. I am not saying there can be no exceptions. Rather, I encourage the exceptions, on occasion, when unavoidable or necessary, but those situations need to be the exception. The rule needs to be to succeed at consuming a well rounded diet that hits all the nutrients your body needs. I specifically label this basic component to your Self-Care Routine as Nutrition and not Diet for a reason. I have come to the firm belief that the only real way to achieve success over basic food battles is to throw away the "diet" mentality and make peace with food, adapting healthy eating as a lifestyle. This step isn't even intended to produce weight loss, it is solely intended to produce a basic foundation for your nutrition. Beginning to break bad food patterns and eliminating wasteful energy sabotaging selections from our food repertoire in many little ways, can change the entire Self-Care game in BIG ways.

* If you suffer from a specific food addiction or eating disorder we encourage you to seek professional help from a trusted Doctor, Nutritionist or Phycologist to begin the journey towards healthy eating habits. Use the links below to take a step towards a healthier tomorrow

Food Addiction Treatment information Eating Disorder Treatment Information

Basic Rest: It's More Than Just Sleep

Sleep. This is a non negotiable element to the most basic version of a Self-Care Routine, but as I type this on the cusp of midnight, with a new day rapidly approaching, I am not oblivious to the fact that, sometimes, just sitting in the quiet of the night or early morning can be a refreshing change of pace. The thing is, sleep still needs to happen, even if not in the most "traditional" hours for it to take place. Don't beat yourself up about how "traditionally" you execute this piece, or any of the other pieces, in your Self-Care Routine. I don't call it a Routine because we want uniformity. I call it a Routine , because in your personal life, you should come to a Routine way of approaching your Personalized Self-Care. Sleep is a part of your Self-Care Routine that can easily have catastrophic effects on your health, well-being, and motivation if skipped altogether. Being sleep deprived is dangerous on so many levels. Proper hours of sleep must be included into your routine, wherever and whenever you get it in, so that your mind and body have the ability to rest & recover from the effort they put in, sustaining you while you do your best to run them ragged each day. The thing is though, this basic step in your Self-Care Routine is labeled Rest instead of Sleep because, when you are sleeping is not the only time you should be affording your mind and body to rest. If you wake up every day and just hustle and grind from the moment your head lifts to the moment it lays, then you are leaving out your spirit entirely. How do you connect yourself on any spiritual level when you are running through each day? Life is not a sprint. It's not about getting to the finish line fastest. It is a journey. One that should be traveled over time and, with intention, in the moment. Let yourself rest occasionally, it's perfectly acceptable. In fact, it's more than acceptable, it is the 4th and final piece of successfully achieving Step #1 - Back to the Basics in your Personalized Self-Care Routine.

* If you suffer from Insomnia we encourage you to speak to your Primary Care Physician and discuss with them

exploring the options below today to get you to a more restful state of living.*

Top 10 Natural Sleep Aides of 2020 Home Remedies

You are capable of Amazing things!

Now that I've laid out the foundation and, covered the basics for creating a Personalized Self-Care Routine, it is important that you evaluate your current practices and, be honest with yourself about where you stand in regard to each of these basic practices. This is not designed to be a shame session where you come down on yourself for not measuring up. This is an evaluation of where you are as you enter into this journey. Do not judge yourself or the reasons these basics may have slipped out of practice. Do not dwell in the results of your evaluation, they are your beginning. From there you will start to build practices and rituals personalized to the healthy methods that work best for you on your #JourneyToDazzling! To help you start your journey, I've included a

Love Yourself Progress Check-In

I know personally, when I came to this point in my journey, I was actually quite surprised at how poorly I was executing the basics. Now, I could have doubled down on failing at these practices and, I could have added a shame party to the mix. Instead, it acted as an eye-opening realization to me that, whether intentional or not, I had placed myself at the bottom of my own priorities, to my own detriment. I have personally always struggled with good Self-Care practices in seasons past, out of guilt. Guilt that prioritizing myself meant I was selfish and valued myself over everyone else. I believed that if I wanted to be a "good person" I wouldn't worry about my needs at all and, instead, I would pour all of that focus and energy into other people and I would be provided for in return. In my backwards logic, I thought if I poured enough into the world, the world would pour back into me and we would all be filled up. In theory, I still understand my old logic, however, in practice I learned how very wrong my thinking was. That thinking implies that the world around me is doing the same thing, not worrying about themselves; which in the majority of cases, they aren't, and in the cases where they are, they shouldn't.

In order to have anything to pour into others, you must first be filled. You must also keep filling yourself, otherwise after pouring out into the world, you will find yourself empty again. The foundation & basics laid out here for self-care are just the beginning. In the next few weeks I will lay out my other steps to creating a Personalized Self-Care Routine that really works for you, but until then, I encourage you to get Back to the Basics of Self-Care and start refilling your cup again!

Be sure to sign up for our Newsletter so you always know what's coming!

Now go take sometime and take care of you!

Soup, it's what's for Dinner

Mon, 18 Jan 2021 21:59:34 GMT

Warm your soul with Soup to avoid the winter blues

It's that chilly time of year where the colder temperatures make heading out less desirable to many, and there's nothing like a bowl of delicious soup to warm you up when you return from an adventure during the winter months. January actually happens to be National Soup Month and I think it is incredibly well placed. On the other side of the holidays, where we can easily eat heavier than we realize in the midst of seasonal celebrations, soups can be a great solution to sneaking more proteins, grains & veggies back into your diet again and, in a healthy way at that.

Not only can they be a great solution for healthier recipes, but they are also great "Make Ahead Recipes" and, many soup recipes can be adapted to make a great fresh from the freezer solution to homemade soups, making them great winter meal solutions for busy people. Their convenience isn't the most appealing side of soups in my opinion though. In my family soups are, and always have been, one of the most consistent comfort food items served. Most of the soups we love & frequently make are made based on recipe's that have been passed down over the generations with cultural influences relevant to our family's heritage. Having one of these soups prepped and ready in the freezer, can make for a very conveniently timed helping of some delicious food that warms you & fill you up from the inside out while tugging at your sentimental heart strings. For me in particular, this soup would be the soup being highlighted this week, Hungarian Beef Soup.

Now this isn't necessarily a traditional version of the recipe, but it is our family lineage's interpretation and I have so many fond memories of smelling it cooking, and settling in to enjoy a bowl with a dollop of sour cream after a long day of playing in the snow, or a day where I spent my time curled up reading as the snow fell outside the window when I was a child. This soup means winter to me, and when the chill of winter starts to set in. As the weight of being an adult, after the holidays, facing a new year of expectations begins to sit heavy on my mood, there is nothing that can warm my soul, take me to a place of reminiscent peace, and put my heart back into perspective faster, than whipping up a batch of this soup for my family to enjoy! Follow along as I celebrate & share this delicious recipe!

Celebrate with me!

This month I am celebrating National Soup Month on the social media accounts with a new Soup every week for 4 weeks! Last week the soup was another favorite in my home, Zuppa Toscana. I have a "Grocery List" for each soup that drops on our Facebook & Instagram Timelines on Mondays, some short-cut creating "Prep Steps" that we will share in our Social Media Stories on Wednesdays, and the full recipe for each will be available for download HERE on Friday's and, to view in the grid on Saturdays, alongside the "Cook Day" videos. These videos will be available on the NEW YouTube channel as well, so they can still be viewed once they leave my stories. To be sure not to miss any of the delicious, soul-warming fun I have planned, make sure you follow Dazzling District on Facebook & Instagram and subscribe to the new YouTube channel to see the full collection of "Cook Day" videos and all the other fun YouTube content I have coming up!

7 Steps to Find Your Dazzling This Winter

Fri, 25 Dec 2020 14:00:02 GMT

7 Steps to Creating

A Personalized Self-Care Routine this winter

Creating a Personalized Self-Care routine is a necessary component to uncovering your dazzling, however in the winter months it can be even more important to help prevent and minimize the risks of Depression or Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). When building a personalized Self-Care Routine it is important to be realistic about your circumstances and abilities or you are setting yourself up for failure. The goal to be achieved from your Personalized Self-Care Routine is that you create a plan that is not only attainable, it is also important that it be something you desire to implement with some natural excitement... and ease... or it absolutely will not work. We give so much of ourselves and our time to other people and causes, it's important to take some of our time back and reallocate it to ourselves and to things that improve us as women without feeling guilty about it! So make the choice to value yourself and let these 7 steps help you get started in the right direction for 2021.

1.) Don't overlook your rest, nutrition, basic hygiene & personal care... this is the most basic step to self-care.

2.) Step up your personal care game, in small, manageable w ays that should make you feel dazzling on the daily. Focus, not only on personal pampering, but also, on improving your mental & physical health.

3.) Do something little , just for you, that sparks joy in your heart every single day, even if only for 10 mins.

4.) Find a hobby , either a new one or tap back into an old one that still easily ignites inspiration inside of you & sparks a creative fire in your soul.

5.) Work at findin g fun & easy ways to make consistent daily decisions to be active and sneak fitness into your days to maintain balanced self-care.

6.) Allow yourself to daydream freely and do it daily, weekly, & monthly. T hen have a goalsetting session so you can begin to lay out the smaller steps you need to take, to make your dreams your actual reality .

7.) Don't Stop. Don't quit. Do not throw in the towel on yourself.

Don't stop working at building your own personalized self-care routine & continue reacquainting yourself with the ever evolving you, because

before you know it, you'll be realizing that you are truly Dazzling Darling!

Now, it is very important that you know and understand, that these steps are not to be read and implemented immediately, all at once, right off the rip. That would be insane an completely unmanageable, so don't even think about it, please. Instead these steps are to be approached more like karate belts, though admittedly none of my girls did karate so I only have a vague understanding of it. My understanding of karate is that you master a belt color and then you get to move up, that is how our steps to creating a personalized self-care routine are designed. You are to approach the 7 steps with the sole purpose of successfully achieving balance in the first step, then you can move on to implementing the second step, and so on, until you have successfully evaluated, implemented and attained balance within all seven steps while continuing to refine yourself in each previous step. This is not a race to attain perfection, it is a journey to self discovery and how best to care for yourself.

This journey should take as long as it needs to, and really should never technically stop, because you should reevaluate your implementation & execution of each step on a semi regular basis, since we are ever changing and ever growing beings, our needs are ever changing as well. It's time to make the decision to invest in yourself next year. Choose you & step into the New Year ready to focus on step one and finding balance within the most basic step this winter! By spring you will be well on your way to creating your personalized self-care routine and Dazzling your way through 2021! Be sure to sign up for our newsletter so you never miss a tip or seasonal trick to achieving balance in your self-care journey.

Make the most of the New Year with Intention

Wed, 23 Dec 2020 03:42:13 GMT

A new year is a great reason to make and keep resolutions. Right? Whether it’s eating right or cleaning out the garage, getting back in shape or tackling a new project you have always dreamed of. A new year has a way of making us all want to do better in the next 365 days. So we set resolutions. We set out on January 1st ready to change it all over night, and if you are anything like me, we leave it all behind before the spring cleaning begins, and we chalk it up to yet another failed New Year's Resolution. If that sounds like you, every year, or maybe you actually make it until summer before slipping or quitting, that's ok, you are in good company. This was my pattern too. Every year I would tell myself this is the year, every year I would decide on a resolution, and every year I would fail.

Until 2020.

I went into New Year's Eve 2019 prepared to throw out the entire "Resolution Tradition" as a whole and I was convinced I would be better at the end of 2020 for doing so. I celebrated the ball drop (at 12:03 a.m. because we paused the countdown so my 3rd daughter could run to use the bathroom, parenting...) and enjoyed my evening heading to bed with a light heart, full of joy that I'd wake the next morning to a new year with no silly resolutions pressuring me in this new year. This new decade we were starting. Then I awoke on New Year's Day and all day long I had a series of thoughts plaguing me, popping up randomly throughout the day. Nagging in my head & Plaguing me, or so they felt at first to plague me, but they were too kind, too patient, and too filled with grace to be my "internal voice". I realized they weren't there to plague me, they were there calling to me from my heart, and I needed to not just HEAR them, but LISTEN, so I did & they sounded like this...

"why do you think you can only fail yourself?"

"Intention Matters."

"it's not always about the finish, sometimes it's about the journey."

"Trust your Heart Daughter..."

It was this last thought that made me pause & realize where these "thoughts" were coming from, not my head, rather my heart. I said earlier that I knew it wasn't my "Internal Voice" and I knew this because, truth be told, my "Internal Voice" is rather mean, quite ugly, and sometimes down right evil. I know we can all be our harshest critic, but that is an understatement most of the time when it comes to me, and my head voice calls me lots of things, but it never calls me Daughter. That is reserved for my earthly father, and my heavenly father, and on January 1st, 2020, my heavenly father was trying desperately to get through to me, and miraculously, I wasn't too stubborn to let Him. It was then that the magic... or miracle began to happen.

He gave me a few single words to meditate and pray over, the first was:

intention

[inˈten(t)SH(ə)n]

NOUN

a thing intended; an aim or plan.

"she was full of good intentions" · [more]

synonyms:

aim · purpose · intent · objective · object · goal · target · end · design · plan

...and just like that I had a new tradition... There would be no more RESOLUTIONS, instead they'd be INTENTIONS.

Though they are similar words, to me they deliver a similar message in very different ways, and the difference in their implication, made all the difference to my head AND my heart. Look at the difference...

resolution

[ˌrezəˈlo͞oSH(ə)n]

NOUN

a firm decision to do or not to do something.

"she kept her resolution not to see Anne any more" · [more]

synonyms:

intention · resolve · decision · intent · aim · aspiration · design · purpose · object · plan · commitment · pledge · promise · undertaking

You see, to me the difference in their implications was the addition of grace in the definitions.

See, the definition of a Resolution focuses on the FIRM decision TO DO or NOT TO DO something. Very strict implications, which my mind quickly equated to failure in the past when a misstep occurred. The definition of Intention focuses on the thing INTENDED; the AIM or PLAN. Simplified, I translated it to mean:

Resolution = Focus on The Result

Intention = Focus on The Process

With that realization I was able to put my focus on my effort and my journey to the finish, instead of determining this, likely unattainable, "Finish Line" and feeling like a failure if I felt short of it. For my brain, this shift in vocabulary made all the difference. I was able to successfully complete my first New Year's Intention, it took me 38 years to do it, and I pulled it off in an unprecedented pandemic year, but with this change in thinking, I was able to. I now truly & wholly believe, ALL things ARE possible, when our focus is clear and on the right thing. One thing to remember is, we just may not always know what, all the things are, so we must also be willing to be flexible and extend grace, to ourselves and others on our journey through life.

I hope this revelation I had last year, helps you remember that the focus, when trying to make big change, in your days, in your years, in your life as a whole, and in this world, should remain on the process. Life will happen around you and to you, without any warning, and not always in ways we would wish for, so the finish line may likely move and change, and that's not failure. Just because the "Finish Line" changes, doesn't mean you won't still get there. Plus, it's in the process where all the good stuff takes place anyways.

Now, below, you can take a look at 4 simple tips I put together to help you keep your #NewYearsIntentions in perspective so that you can #STAYFOCUSEDin2021 and make it your most #Dazzling one yet!

1) Make a list

Lists are great ways to stay on track, but they can easily become overwhelming in the wrong context. So write down some big things you want to accomplish and some smaller things, too. BUT, then you must meditate or pray over these things on your list, to narrow it down to one thing, from the whole list. Take that one idea and meditate or pray over it, until you have a single word filled with INTENTION, and a FOCUS on ONE thing to PLAN towards.

2) File the list away until next year

Don’t forget where you file it, so that you can touch back with it and see how your goals grow or change, but focusing on a list all year will become all too much, and you will likely, become overwhelmed or just quit altogether. Just because you don’t achieve all the big goals right away doesn’t mean you’re not making progress, but progress takes time and as they say, "Rome wasn't built in a day" so you CAN'T expect to CHANGE YOUR WHOLE WORLD over the course of ONE YEAR either.

3) Reward yourself, OFTEN

When you have your word, and you've planned how you intend to focus on implementing it, you will see yourself gain confidence as you keep choosing to work towards your intention, and with that confidence will come smaller successes. As you achieve these successes, make sure to REWARD yourself and CELEBRATE the PROGRESS.

4) Think positively

Positive thinking is a major factor in obtaining the success you are working towards. Stinkin' Thinkin' will only ensure failure. So instead of mulling over things that didn’t go quite right, beating yourself up with guilt or shame, and wallowing in your disappointment, when you find yourself inevitably feeling this way at some point, just remind yourself that you are working towards progress and that in order to succeed you must first fail. Then look back at your rewards earned through your journey to remind yourself of the things that have gone well. Next, take a minute to meditate or pray over your Intention word again, to remind yourself where & why you started in the first place. Finally, shake it off and keep PROGRESSING towards the finish, ADAPTING to any changes that arise, and giving ENCOURAGEMENT to yourself along the way.

Best Wishes, for a SAFE, HAPPY & HEALTHY New Year!!! Come on in 2021, we've been waiting for you all year!!!

#HaveADazzlingNewYear #DazzlingInto2021

4 Easy Ways To EnJOY the Holidays

Sat, 19 Dec 2020 03:42:13 GMT

The holiday season is typically one filled with hustling and bustling. This can cause for stress and overwhelming feelings this time of year. This year, as if the holidays aren't stressful enough, we have to navigate the stressors of an unprecedented pandemic, which brings a whole mess of new and confusing factors to consider. Regardless of your circumstances and the effects this pandemic have had on those circumstances, there is still reason to find JOY in this season though. If for no other reason than that, you are blessed to have the chance to still celebrate the season. With one week until it's Christmas morning we wanted to give you a toolkit to survive the season and actually enJOY the season. We hope these 4 tips can help stop the stress from spinning constantly in your head and embrace the season, with the loved ones you are blessed to still have time here on earth, to find some moments of JOY even if the celebrations look differently this year.

Be in the moment

In this day in age the number of outlets, devices and other distractions vying for your time & attention can feel insurmountable when not managed diligently. Take time this season, and always, to be self-aware of the ways you aid in the distractions and steal that focus back from your distractions to redirect it on whatever loved ones you have near to you through these challenging times. Whether it be family, friends, or coworkers. We may all be in "different boats" sailing through this "societal storm" but we are still ALL in this storm, and taking that into consideration can remind us to embrace the little moments where we can find them, because these days they mat seem even shorter on supply than normal. Don't just embrace for them when they drop in your lap though, seek them. Don't take for granted the little blessings sprinkled amidst the storm, because focusing on the blessings still instead of the storm can make all the difference in your survival chances, physically, emotionally & mentally. Not only that, but we are never promised a tomorrow, so if God forbid these are the last holidays you get to enjoy with any of your loved ones do you want it to be a memory filled with distractions? Turn off the technology (unless it is necessary for the quality time) and be in the moment. Leave the work distractions at work (or in your newly thrown together home office), be present in the celebrations. Be in the moment.

Focus on Traditions

Traditions are a huge part of our families celebrations, regardless of the season, but especially at the holidays. This year many of our traditions had to be left out of all the seasons...from spring, through summer and fall, and now Christmas. In our home, we have always focused on traditions as much as we have because they are an incredible way to share generationally during the holidays. This year even though many of our traditions had to be eliminated due to safety concerns and gathering size restrictions, we have still made our best effort to continue the traditions we could, reimagine a few to fit into the unprecedented times, and where neither option was available, we curbed the tradition for this year only, we discussed the tradition and why we love it, what we will miss most about it, the JOY they invoke and, what we look forward to about them when a more traditional means for celebrating is allowed again. In the mean time, we also looked for a new tradition or two to sneak into our season, to bring fresh JOY to the season, and to commemorate this unusual year into our future seasonal stories. Focus on traditions.

Keep It Simple

I always recommend incorporating good planning and a few well utilized shortcuts into your holiday season to help keep it simple. On a normal year, I could do an entire blog series on tips for entertaining through the holidays & keeping it simple, especially if you were planning for a big crowd. However, this year, it seems like a complete no brainer. The pandemic is already adding enough uncertainty and confusion to the season, so don't add to it with unrealistic and entirely unnecessary steps that will take you out of the JOYfilled moments. Look for cheap or free entertainment by cracking out some board games or a deck of cards, throwback game night style. Eliminate lengthy & messy cleanup by looking for biodegradable disposable products to keep the sink and stovetop from filling with time consuming dishes. Less bodies means less waste when switching out to disposable, so this year you can save yourself the guilt and extend a little grace to the dishwasher at the same time. Take the chaos out of the menu & the kitchen by planning your meals small and with shortcuts, especially this year. No one likes to spend quality time at the holidays by slaving away in the kitchen the entire time, but with less guests in attendance this year, do your self a favor and prepare some meals that are low maintenance in the prep department, and if possible prep as much ahead as possible. Crockpots, Instapots, electric roasters and air fryers can be our friend in this area. If you have traditional recipes that you can reimagine to take some of the work out of it, do it. If there was ever a season to improvise a little, this is the year. Plus, this is the year to try a new recipe, if there's one you've wanted to try for a holiday meal, but you've never wanted to mess with the traditions, now's the time. You may even pick up a shortcut or recipe or two that you love enough to implement every year, saving you future time & effort! Keep it simple.

Document the Moments

When it comes to the holiday season, documenting is often so overlooked in the midst of the excitement. I know that I go into every holiday hoping to capture some great moments on film, or digital file, and I am usually pretty successful. Still, it never ceases to amaze me how many moments we miss simply because we forget to take a moment every now & then to intentionally document. Now I am not talking about a full documentary approach to each holiday get together, that would basically negate my "Be In the Moment" advice, but I am talking about not just flying by the seat of your pants in the celebration. I mean going with a camera, or fully charged device (whose battery will last even longer when you are only using it for picture taking instead of distractedly scrolling or gaming). I mean speaking up and asking those you do celebrate with to participate in a photo for cherishing in future years, by future generations. Even if you have to creatively space for the photograph, have fun with it. Consider it a fun twist . If a virtual gathering is happening in place of an in person gathering, learn how &/or practice the recording process so you are ready the day of. You will be grateful you made the decision to intentionally document this year especially. Document the Moments

Now with your tool kit fully detailed, go head into this Christmas week prepared & ready to enJOY your #DazzlingMoments & #CelebrateTheSeason this #DazzlingChristmas with your loved ones, near or far!

Be Still in His Presence This Christmas

Wed, 09 Dec 2020 03:42:13 GMT

This year has been a doozy, that's for sure. At every turn, we were thrown curveballs. So many that even the greatest ballplayers in our country weren't able to keep up without adapting. From shutdowns, to protests, to tremendous loss and hardship. This year really did it's best to get us all to throw in the towel. To fall into a pit of desperation and despair. All the challenges lined up this year, to kick off the new decade with a line of trials, but if you are reading this, then you have surpassed them all.

You have survived, you live to push on another day. That is always a blessing, but in this pandemic year filled with social unrest, it is even more worthy of praise. You are worth celebration, and waking up to face another day, no matter how challenging it may be, is still better than the alternative. It means you have another chance to impact change. Change in your life, and change in this world. That is something worth celebrating. This universe still has a purpose for you here on earth, so take a few moments in the middle of the gift-giving and merry making, no matter how different it looks this year, to BE STILL in His presence this Christmas. After-all, He is the reason for the season.

Doing so can give you exactly the reminder you need to push through the tasks more joyfully and with the clarity to do so more efficiently, allowing you the blessing of more time to be in the presence of your loved ones this Christmas as well, whether in home or by video chat. Prepare your heart to be open to receive all the blessings that are still out there to be poured down on you as we celebrate this Christmas and the true gifts that it represents, and near the end this Terrible-No Good-Very Bad Year, shifting our focus towards the New Year ahead. I encourage you, to grab a warm beverage, a cozy blanket, and curl up in a quiet corner with your preferred method of bible reading, be it device or book, though I prefer the book for a more tangible words to heart absorption. Spend a few moments, even if it's only 5, not even reading, just being still. Be still if nothing more, He hears your heart, and in the still is the best place to hear His. It's exactly the recipe to easily get you in the Christmas "Spirit". Now go celebrate the birth of Jesus, and have a truly blessed holiday!

The District Blog

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7 Steps In 7 Days - Autumn Edition

When Tragedy Strikes

#BeKindDarling

Clean Up Your Finances to Plan For Your Future

Messy Money Habits keep you from reaching your financial freedom and setting yourself up to chase your Dreams!

Mornings Of Me

7 Steps In 7 Days - Back to School Edition

The Struggle is Real

7 Steps In 7 Days - Podcast Edition

Raise Them Up

Embrace Your Domestic Load

By Finding Your Unique method to "hustle & grind"

7 Steps In 7 Days - Summer Edition

The Taylor Swift Effect

In my memoir...

Letter To 17-Year-Old Me

There was a trend going around...

7 Steps In 7 Days - Mother's Day Edition

7 Steps In 7 Days - Easter Edition

7 Steps In 7 Days - Spring Edition

7 Steps In 7 Days - Valentine Edition

Buzzing Love

The world was buzzing with excitement over a new season

﻿ of Bridgerton that released in May 2024!

Journaling

Writing Thoughts Out

Meditation

Mindfulness Matters

7 Steps In 7 Days - Post Holiday Edition

Time Spent in Scripture

Scripture

Prayer Time

To Pray or Not to Pray

7 Steps In 7 Days - October

Chakra Aligning

Chakras

Pockets Full of Rocks

Crystals & Energy

7 Steps In 7 Days - July

Smudging the Negativity Away

Sage

Breathing for the First Time

I was in my 30's before I learned how to truly breathe...

~ Live Dazzling

Rebecca Jackson

7 Steps In 7 Days

Refresh Your Spirit

and recharge your soul!

A New Greener Era

Ohio stepped into a new greener era

as 2023 came to a close

Fight that Frazzled Feeling

...so, you can float right into 2024 Dazzling & true to you!

Sometimes You Need a Break

Content Creation is Hard.

Create a Sacred Space

A Sanctuary for Self-Care

Create a sacred space in your home

using Erin's P.E.A.C.E method

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Today's the best day to stock up on discounted Valentine's goodies for a Galentine's Get Together!

Pamper Yourself Darling

Pampering means different things to different people...

Cleaner Meals With Planning

Healthy eating is easy with my simple meal planning secrets!

Eat Clean & Colorful

Fresh foods pack more of the good stuff & in such colorful ways!

Hygiene Your Way

Hygiene is a personal thing, so make sure it is personalized .

I'm tired

Choosing To Live One Day At A Time

It was just National Suicide Prevention week & it's about to be the end of National Suicide Prevention month heres my story...

Detox Your Body

An extension of cleansing your mind

so now, I will give you the specifics on my chosen detox

our very 1st "Dazzling Brand Props!"

Where we give "Props" to brands we think are simply Dazzling!

IT’S A WIN, WIN!

of Bridgerton that released in May 2024!

It was just
National Suicide Prevention week

& it's about to be the end of

National Suicide Prevention month

heres my story...

Besides the Basics, and beyond stepping up your game,

now it's time to do something little just for you!

With the basics covered, now is the time to

Step up your Self-Care game a bit

Step #1 on the Journey Towards

Creating A Personalized Self-Care Routine

7 Steps to Creating

A Personalized Self-Care Routine this winter