self care – Coffee With Courtney

Saturday Coffee Thoughts: What Do Your Dreams Mean?

June 3, 2017 No Comments

Good morning world!

I hope you had an amazing week and that this weekend will serve as a time for you to rest your body, mind, and soul. If you are new to my blog then every now and again I write posts like this where I just share what is on my mind in hopes it will reach someone who might benefit or find enjoyment in it.

Grab a cup of coffee with me and here we go…

I woke up this morning from a wild dream that was so vivid I had to stop and take a moment to tell myself it wasn’t real. It wasn’t a nightmare it was just a dream where I was at work and my co-workers were in a fight over something small and I was struggling to choose a side. Then out of nowhere my gynecologist shows up along with my Oriental Medicine Dr. (DOM) and offers to give full pelvic exams right there in our warehouse. While the doctors were setting up I was asked to do a couple different tasks here and there while also paying attention to the doctors and signing consent forms for the exam. Just as I was handed a gown to change into I woke up.

(Not in the dream) Luna started rattling her cage in the other room which is her morning signal that she is ready for us to wake up and feed her breakfast.

Sometimes I have dreams and they make no sense and I can’t even piece together what could possibly mean but for this dream I know exactly what it all means.

I actually need to get my yearly gynecological exam and I have been putting off because it is hard to find a good doctor here who is covered by my insurance and then I have to ask for time off from work and blah, blah, blah. Excuses, Courtney! Go get your lady parts checked out!
My Oriental Medicine doctor gave me some herbs to take for my migraines and “trapped heat” and I have not been as diligent about taking them as I should be so his presence is probably a reminder for me to take them every day. Oddly enough this doctor also talks a lot about vivid dreams and how they can be a sign that you have heat trapped in your body.
The work conflict and me not being able to choose a side is probably about this general theme in my life where I struggle to make choices that I want versus what other people want. I want to please people and do everything but that is just impossible and I often feel extreme guilt because I can’t do what everyone wants me to do. The part where I am doing a bunch of random tasks while trying to pay attention also points to my over committing myself constantly.

I think this particular dream offers a lot of insight into where I need to go with my life. As you all know I am on a bit of a journey to change my life in new and positive ways. We are coming up on week 7 of this journey and I have made some significant changes but there is more to do! I think this week I need to focus on organizing my life mentally. I need to make a decision to be all in or not for some things, including this blog and my YouTube channel. A quote comes to mind that is perfect for anyone going through change:

“If you want to change your life, change your mind.” -Sister Hazel

Yes, that quote is from a 90’s band but it’s very applicable. You can move your life in any direction you want to but you just have to change your mind and perspective. Let go of what others may think and do what you feel is best. I have given that advice to so many people and it’s time I give it to myself.

So, those are the coffee thoughts for the day.

P.S. If you are putting off a doctor’s appointment make it this week! I will make mine too. 🙂

I want to do a Q&A so leave me any and all questions you may have for me about ANYTHING and I will answer them.

Talk to you soon!

self care

One Minute Stress Reducing Affirmations

March 29, 2017 1 Comment

Feeling stressed this week? Take 1 minute to reduce your stress levels with these affirmations. What is an affirmation? In this context, an affirmation is a small gift of encouragement you give yourself to reduce your stress levels.

Take a moment and repeat the following affirmations to yourself or out loud if your work area permits. You can also close your eyes to further relax for the moment.

“I will get through this.”

“This stress is only temporary”

“I will do my best.”

“I will recognize what is within my control and what is not within my control.”

“I will make this day the best I can.”

“Today will be a great day.”

“I will accomplish my goals.”

“I have the skills to take on this challenge.”

You can also use any other affirmation that you feel is applicable for your specific challenge or situation . If you are new to using affirmations, it’s OK to feel a little silly a first saying these things out loud. Once you see how beneficial this technique can be, that feeling of awkwardness or silliness will turn into a feeling of empowerment. You have the power to conquer the stressors in your life and succeed.

I also made a video on 3 easy ways to reduce stress and change your way of thinking about stressful situations. Check it out below!

I hope this post was helpful to you and I would love to hear about your techniques to reduce stress, stay motivated, and achieve your goals. You can leave me a comment down below or talk to me on the social media platforms below. Thank you for joining me to today and I’ll talk to you very soon!

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/c/CourtneyVal
Instagram: https://instagram.com/courtney.val/
Snapchat: courtney.val
Twitter: https://twitter.com/courtneywval
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/courtneywval/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CourtneyValYT

Email: courtney@coffeewithcourtney.com

health, self care

Spring Renewal

March 20, 2017 No Comments

Happy Spring!

Today marks the first day of Spring (and my dad’s birthday!). This time of year always makes me think of new beginnings and fresh starts. Just about one year ago I moved to Miami so I am reflecting on what has happened over the last year, the goals I achieved, the mistakes I made, and where I want to go from here.

Many people start new goals in January but for me, a fresh start feels more natural around Spring time. This past January I made New Year’s goals mainly out of obligation but I haven’t felt extremely motivated to focus on them until now. I think goal creation takes more time than most people realize because you have to evaluate your life on a few different levels to really know which goals you should be striving for. I say “should” because there is a difference between the things we should be doing and the things we want to do. There are many goals I want to achieve but I need to take a step back and look at what is truly best for myself, my relationships, and the direction of my life. For example, I want to attend Playlist Live in Orlando in May because I feel that will help me network for my blog and YouTube channel. When I really take a closer look what I should do is focus more on networking in my local community. I don’t have to wait for a specific conference to network and collaborate. Miami is full for content creators who want to collaborate and there are many opportunities to network here. I already have a few new collaborations in the works so stay tuned!

That is just one example but this same idea can be applied to any goal you have. This Spring I want to take a closer look at what is truly important to me and focus my goals around those things. I attended a South Florida Bloggers meet-up this past weekend and the speaker said a few things that stuck out to me. She asked us to ask ourselves why we blog and make content. The reason I have this blog or create any content that you see from me is to help people. I want to help others be happy, healthy, and enjoy life to the fullest. I created this blog and my YouTube channel as a form of self care and as a therapeutic outlet.

I know for certain that I want to focus my content more on wellness and create a space online (and in real life) for people to come and just enjoy life and be happy. I want to create an online vacation from the stressors of life.

Those are my few thoughts for this Monday morning. Let me know if you are doing any Spring goal planning or organization and we can help each other with our goals!

Have a beautiful week and I’ll talk to you soon! <3

self care

Video: Relax At The Beach-10 Minutes of Pure Relaxation

March 8, 2017 No Comments

Take a 10 minute break with me to the beach in this relaxing video filled with soothing music and the ocean sounds.

*If you don’t see the video above you can watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2572OgzbyRA

You can use this video:

As background music while you work
During yoga practice
During meditation
To help you sleep
To relieve stress
To calm anxiety
To help you focus
To create an at-home spa
To just relax wherever you are.

Let me know if you have enjoyed this type of video and I will make more! Let me know which kinds of locations you would like to see.

Have a great day!

diy, self care

Saturday Coffee Vibes

February 25, 2017 No Comments

Happy Saturday!

I hope your weekend is starting off well. Every Saturday I wake up, make coffee, and then plan out my weekend on paper. I have recently started bullet journaling and it is life changing!

Here is a photo I posted on snapchat (That’s why it’s not high-res)

I will do a more detailed post and possibly a video about bullet journaling but I think I should keep doing it a bit longer so I have more to share.

On item on my list is to share with you my recent trip to NYC. My morning coffee especially reminded me of my NYC trip because while I was in New York I tried several local coffee shops that have made “Best Of” lists. One of those coffee shops is Dough. It’s actually a doughnut and coffee shop. They have a couple locations, one being in the lobby of the Row NYC Hotel, where I stayed. I would wake up every morning and go down to the lobby for an Americano. Their espresso is really smooth and more on the fruity side.

I am working on a more detailed review post about the different coffee spots I visited, so stay tuned. In this photo I am holding my coffee from Dough Doughnuts as I stare out my Row NYC hotel window. I had a great view of the city traffic (and the snow!). My sweater says “Best weather is kimono weather” and I completely agree! I found it at Marshalls. My maroon glitter lurex tights are from We Love Colors. You can get your own here: https://www.welovecolors.com/shop/lurextights.htm

I just wanted to pop in to say hello and now I will get back to my coffee and content making. Lots of new posts and videos are coming soon for you this coming week!

Have a great weekend! Talk to you soon. <3

health, self care

Setting Intentions Vs. Setting Goals

February 22, 2017 1 Comment

Good morning!

I hope your day is going well so far. I hope you had restful sleep and are ready to take on the challenges of the day. I woke up this morning thinking about intentions and goal setting.

As you may know from reading this blog, I really love setting and reaching goals. The best way to keep myself motivated is to set a new goal, no matter how small, and then achieve it. Everyday when I create my “To Do” list I set a bunch of mini goals for myself and as the day goes by I get a lot of satisfaction from crossing off the goals I achieve. These can be as simple as, “Don’t forget to take vitamins.”

This morning I am not focusing so much on goals but more on intentions. What’s the difference? A goal is something you are going to complete in the future and an intention is something you are aiming to complete right now in this present moment.

For example:

Goal: I will clean my house tonight.

Intention: I will clean up as I go right now.

In the past couple of weeks I have been thinking about these two ideas very much and how they can be applied to my life. I set a lot of goals but maybe I should shift my focus to setting more intentions?

The example I just gave about goal vs. intention is action based but let me give you another example that is more thought based.

Goal: I want to be a more positive person overall.

Intention: I will think more positively in the present moment and stop negative thoughts as they come.

This example is more along the lines of where I am focusing my energy. If we can stop negative thoughts or doubts in the present moment and as they come then this intention will lead us to our bigger goal of being a more positive person overall.

Intentions are truly the starting point you never knew existed for your goals. I believe when you focus on setting your intention you will be more successful in achieving your goal. It’s like preheating your oven. You could probably put cookies in the oven and then heat it, but it will take a lot longer for the cookies to bake. If you preheat the oven those same cookies will bake a lot faster and probably taste better.

Take a moment today and set your intention for the day. My intention today is to be mindful and aware of everything around me. The goal I have associated with this intention is to enjoy the day more through the practice of mindfulness.

I live in a big city (Miami) so sometimes I push mindfulness to the side because there is so much to take in around me, it can be overwhelming. I think the key is being aware but knowing what to take in and what to let be.

I am going to get ready for work now and continue my day. I hope everyone has a great day and let me know your thoughts about goals and intentions! You can chat with me on any of my social media sites listed below:

Email: courtney@coffeewithcourtney.com

Talk to you soon! <3

30, 30 before 30, advice, benefits, challenge, free printables, life, mindfulness, organization, planner, self care, well being

30 Before 30: My Self Care Plan

January 18, 2015 No Comments

Happy Sunday!

Today I am working on one of my “30 Before 30” challenges which is to make and stick to a self care plan. Over the past year and a half or so I have come to realize how important self care is to maintaining overall health and prosperity. There are so many amazing benefits of having and sticking to a self care plan. It’s a total game changer. Even if you already feel happy and healthy, you should still make a self care plan. You will feel even better!

So, what exactly is “self-care”? It’s simple. Self care is the conscious and active nurturing of oneself.
This means you take or make time to care for yourself. I know it sounds ridiculously simple but so often it is easy to put personal needs on the back burner due to work, school, or family obligations.

It is also important to remember that each person’s self care plan will look different. I once went to a self care seminar where a woman raised her hand and asked the presenter “How am I supposed to create time for my favorite hobby when I don’t even have time to take a shower alone some nights?” This woman was a busy working mother of two children. The presenter pointed out that maybe for her a self care plan would include: “Take shower alone twice a week.”

The point is that you don’t have to list a bunch of extravagant activities in your self care plan. First start with basic personal needs. Do you make time each day to eat well? Do you make time to get enough sleep? Are you drinking enough water? These small changes will make a big difference. Once you have the basics worked into your routine you can add hobbies, Netflix marathons, and nights out.

Another practice that goes along with self-care is mindfulness. This practice will also help you enjoy each day and activity to the fullest. If you’re interested you should check out this article from TIME magazine that shows how practicing mindfulness can actually help your professional success. http://time.com/3670202/daily-mindfulness/

Ready to create your own self care plan?
I created some printable worksheets to get you started. I also included my completed self care plan as an example. Every few months or so I will re-evaluate this plan and see where changes need to be made.

Click on the box at the right hand corner of the document below to download my printable worksheets including: “My Self Care Brainstorming Sheet”, “My Complete Self Care Plan”, & “Self-Care Idea List.“

30, 30 before 30, adventure, advice, all natural, and green, clean, cure, headaches, health, lean, migraines, nutrition, oil pulling, raw food, self care, sleep, Tone It Up, veggies, wellness

NEW! 30 Before 30 Challenge: Raw Food & Lifestyle Challenge

January 11, 2015 No Comments

Happy Sunday!

I hope you all are getting ready to rock another week. Tomorrow I will be starting a very exciting journey into being the healthiest person I can be. One of my “30 Before 30” challenges is to get myself into the best health possible. So, I created a detailed nutrition, exercise, and lifestyle challenge.

I made a whole video about it which you can see HERE.

Over the past 5 or so years I have overcome a multitude of food and health issues but there are still a few health related things I want to focus on. Specifically, I want to figure out why I continue to get daily headaches/migraines. My doctor has found a prescription that I can take to alleviate my migraines but I just don’t feel that is completely sustainable. What if someday I can’t afford the medicine? What if I start to feel negative side effects? I really want to look closer at my lifestyle and listen to my body to see if there is something I can do without taking medicine to cure my headaches.

I have also been having some outward symptoms that I think point to a need to change my nutrition. I haven’t had acne in years and all of the sudden my face thinks it is 18 again. My hair and nails have also become very dry and brittle. As far as my body and “being in shape” goes I do hope that my challenge will help me create a body I feel good in. I am not trying to lose weight but I think if I treat my body well it will shape itself into a healthy form.

Besides those physical things I want to develop a healthy lifestyle that makes me feel emotional good. I used to suffer from severe depression and I have come such a long way. I feel so much more alive that I ever did but I want to keep moving up and working towards feeling the best I possibly can. A few years ago I wasn’t completely sure I deserved to ever be insanely happy but now I KNOW that I deserve true emotional happiness so I will do whatever I can to achieve that.

One of my favorite personal mottos is “Feel good, preform well.”

Goals for my challenge:

Eat fully raw foods until 4pm. I will eat raw fruits and veggies for breakfast and lunch. After 4pm I will have a cooked dinner.
Eat a lean, clean, and green dinner. If you are a Tone It Up girl then you will know this means getting in lean proteins, non-processed foods, and lots of greens.
Drink 2 liters minimum of water/ day.
Limit processed foods and strive to stay away from them completely.
Keep daily journal of foods, how I feel after eating, and recipes/meal ideas.
Keep section in journal to document headaches & migraines. Look for triggers.
Set sleep schedule and stick to it. I am aiming for 8-9 hours of sleep each night per a recommendation from my doctor.
Limit or eliminate alcohol intake. I don’t drink much but alcohol can trigger headaches.
Exercise regularly. I want to train for a 1/2 marathon so running will have to become a new friend. I am also focusing on improving my yoga skills.
Oil pulling. I did a whole video about oil pulling which you can see HERE. I found when I did oil pulling my headaches were greatly reduced. I just fell off the wagon so it’s time to hop back on.
Start meditation practice. My dad has encouraged me to do this and I want to give it a shot. He says it helps builder a stronger, more focused mind. My goal is start with just 5 minutes.

I will be documenting this challenge on my Instagram account (courtney.val), on this blog, and also on my YouTube channel. Subscribe or follow at the links below. If you are doing a similar challenge I would love to know and we can support each other!

Thank you for being here and I hope you have an amazing week!

Courtney

Instagram: http://instagram.com/courtney.val

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbpfO5F6gkN8wjSsCrzOnDg

Twitter: https://twitter.com/courtneywval

30, 30 before 30, challenge, fun, goals, inspiration, instagram, motivation, reading, self care, vlog, youtube

30 Before 30 Challenge

November 12, 2014 No Comments

Hello there!

I have decided to challenge myself to something a little crazy. While searching for birthday items for my husband’s 30th I can across a lot of “30 before 30” pins on Pinterest. Many of the ideas related to a birthday scavenger hunt or 30-beer birthday cake but I have something else in mind.
I decided to make a list of 30 things I want to complete over the next year before I turn 30. Not only will this adventure be really fun and inspiring I think it will take the sting out of turning the big 3-0.

This past Sunday (Nov, 9th) I officially turned 29 so the challenge has begun. I had planned to have this post up on Sunday but life got hectic and that just didn’t happen.

On to the challenge….

Here are 20 of the goals on my list. I have a full set of 30 goals in mind but I want to leave a little wiggle room in case I get inspired or want to change something. After all, this is my challenge so I can do what I want. Ha!

I will be documenting this journey through this blog, Instagram, Twitter, and my YouTube channel. See below for all the links to follow me.

THE LIST:

1. Get Certified Medical Interpreter’s License
2. Reach 3,000 YouTube subscribers.
3. Read 30 Books in the next year
4. Run a 10k.
5. Start learning French.
6. Visit a new city.
7. Teach Luna (my bunny) 1 trick.
8. Write someone a letter every month.
9. Vlog (video blog) for 30 days
10. Invest in a better video/photo camera and lighting set-up.
11. Upgrade blog and buy domain.
12. Pay off my car.
13. Go Skydiving.
14. Go to a concert
15. Volunteer
16. Master 5 recipes
17. Take one photo a day for a year.
18. Make Christmas cards and send them out
19. Take care of dental work I have been avoiding.
19. Stay up all night and watch the sunrise.
20. Make and stick to self-care plan.

Thank you for joining me on this journey! If you have tried something like this before I would love your advice.

Follow Me Here:
Instagram: @courtney.val
Twitter: @courtneywval
Youtube: Courtney Val