Wellness In Progress: April 2025

[itsfi]

April 2025 BWell Card

We're already into month 4, BIC. I don't now about you, but keeping up with some wellness activities has been a bit more challenging lately. Incorporating a few new activities to this wellness bingo board this month to help with a refresh to our self care activities. 

▶️  How To Play - There are several ways to go about this wellness challenge, including, but not limited to:

• Go for BINGO, 5 consecutive squares, whether they be 5 squares in a row, in a column or diagonal
• Pick a row or column and work your way through the activity noted - you can aim to do a square a day, moving on to another row or column each week.
• You can pick a different square you want to work on for each week
• Select activities that interest you or challenge you and work towards checking off those squares
• Choose at random what self-care activity you want to engage in for the day

Feel free to check back in weekly, periodically or near the end of the month with your progress on your BWell Card. We love hearing about and being inspired by what you're doing for your self-care.

☑️  How Do I Earn A Square? - Do an activity that fits within the activity described in the square. For a more detailed description of the self-care activities listed in the squares or examples of how you might go about those activities, check out April 2025 BWell Activities. These are just examples or suggestions, of course; if you have a self-care activity that falls within that description, mark off that square as being completed! Feel free to share your progress and activtities you've undertakend. 

⚠️  Make Adjustments As Needed - We are all at different stages of our wellness / self-care journey. While it can be good to challenge ourselves, sometimes, it's best to take make adjustments. I'm not at expert at this at all, and if there's an activity that is not something you are ready for, or one that you should not engage in, make the adjustments you need to, or just skip that square altogether.

• Be Safe. Consider weather conditions and your health and physical condition before engaging in any activities listed. For activities you're unsure of, especially the physial ones, before starting an activity, consult with your physician or health care professional before make any adjustments, if and as appropriate.

• Duration For Activities. As you will see, some activities include in parenthesis a time period. These are arbitrary and should be taken as a suggestion. If you are able to safely spend more time performing the activty, go for it. If it's better to start out with a shorter time period, do so. If you're starting out or are aware of certain conditions that may make it more challenging to engage in the activity listed, please discuss with your physician or health care provider before starting, and adjust accordingly.

Practicing wellness is a process, one that takes time and effort. Sometimes it's about finding what works for you, while other times, it's all about hitting your stride and maintaining your routine. We have our good days ... and our bad ones. Self-care can be a very personal effort - what works for one person may not work for someone else. And, that's okay. It doesn't hurt to have some support and encouragement along the way. Or just knowing that there are others working towards wellness. Wellness takes work. Let's do the work together, BIC!

[CorgiMommy]

@caitbird great way to make it through the bingo card.  Love your experience at Sephora and the delicious meal mom made.  

[caitbird]

@CorgiMommy  thank you! It is always fun participating in this challenge.

[itsfi]

I loooooove your self care activities @caitbird, and, your collage is spectacular!!! I hope you had a fabulous time with the wellness activities and with putting the collage together! 😍

Oh my goodness, that Southwest scramble looks delicious! 😋 Well done caitbird's mama!

100%, progress over perfection. Remember, you don't have to be perfect to be amazing. And, you, dear caitbird, are amazing!

Yes, yes, yes to the lash application service; I tried it for the first time after reading about @danielledanielle's experience on the Sooooo... How did it go? The Beauty Studio Service Thread 

Your fur babies are so cute! 🐈🐕

[caitbird]

@itsfi  thank you so much, you are so kind! 💜 I really did have fun with all the wellness activities, and with the collage too. When I was little my mom always said I was the first one into art class and the last one out, and I guess I've never lost that fondness for creative activities, even if these days it's more digital collages than finger painting 😅

Thanks for the reminder about the Beauty Studio Service thread - will try to post about my experience there!

[itsfi]

Your art class story is so heartwarming @caitbird ❣️ It's wonderful to have an outlet for creativity, and digital collages are another fabulous storytelling medium. As is fingerpainting, at any and every age.

It's great to hear how everyone goes about the wellness activities - insightful and inspiring. It's fun to pick up different ways to go about an activity and lends itself to new ideas for other avenues for self-care.

[CorgiMommy]

@byme4u don't stress about filling up the bingo card just have fun with it.  Love the dancing and the stroll around the mall!

[CorgiMommy]

@byme4u me too and it reminds me to take time for self care

[itsfi]

Such a fun way to get BINGO @byme4u! Marvelous work! 🎉

Yes to singing and dancing to the oldies - that's a good one! That's awesome you're making your way through a journal - we can't always get it in every day, but every little bit counts and can be so helpful! Oh wow, you should be so proud of yourself for all that work on your yard - that's such an accomplishment! 🙌

No worries about not completely the bingo card - if you do, great; if you don't but are able to get in some self-care time this month, great!!  That you are getting in a little TLC for yourself is what's important. 

Let me see if I describe a way to get the bingo card on your reply/comment. If you go to the original post, hover over the bingo card with you finger (on your phone) or place your cursor over the card and right click. Under either approach, a window should pop up with options to either save the bingo card or copy the image. If you save the card, you can attach it to a reply post by selecting the camera feature at the top (see pic below) and then selecting the photo (the bingo card) you want to insert. 

If you copied the image, you can paste the image onto the dialogue box for the reply/comment.

[itsfi]

You're very welcome @byme4u; thank YOU for both the acknowledgment 🤗 and for sharing your wellness activities. 😍 I wholeheartedly agree - it's been fantastic to see and hear what self-care activities people are engaging in - it's encouraging, inspiring, fun, and, yes, absolutely, sparks new ideas for different ways to give ourselves some TLC. 

I like the idea of the bingo card because if I want to go for bingo, I can or if I just want to focus on certain activities in a given month, I can do that as well. There have been months when clearing the bingo board isn't even on my radar and then another month will come around and it's check, check, check for going through the various activities in the square. It's nice to have on hand as a reminder to do just one thing that day towards my self care, even if it's small or even if it's repeating an activity. It's also fun to make a game out of it.

A new card for May (how!! is it that it will be May in a matter of days?!!!) will be up next week. I'll tag you when it's been posted.

[AmandaWestt]

It sounds like you’re working on some great wellness activities with your bingo challenge! Staying committed to wellness, especially when life gets busy, can sometimes be a bit of a struggle. Incorporating new activities is a perfect way to keep things fresh and exciting.If you’re looking for a diet challenge to complement your self-care journey, the 30-day tuna diet might be worth trying. It’s a simple, protein-packed diet plan that can help with weight management and overall health. The tuna diet emphasizes lean protein, which can support your wellness goals and provide that extra boost for your energy levels.You can learn more about the 30-day tuna diet and how it might fit into your wellness plan here: 30-Day Tuna Diet.

[itsfi]

Hey there @AmandaWestt! 👋 Welcome! Definitely give it a try and see how or if it is something that you might incorporate, in whole or in part, in your self-care. 

[PrettyPaint]

@byme4u Hi! I remember you from the masking thread, and it's so good to see you. I'm so very sorry for everything you experienced during the pandemic. That's such a powerful quote. Hope to see you more on the boards if you feel up to it. 

[itsfi]

@byme4u, I do remember you from our masking days 😊 - the very first thread that @ aaliaa put up all those years ago. We all learned so much together about masking, talking about masks, working through all the masks, etc.  It's so good to hear from you! It brought a smile to my face to see you post. 

The pandemic took so much from so many and I am deeply sorry for how it's impacted you. My heart was heavy as I read your post here, but so uplifted to see you back. Please know that there's nothing you did that we would need to forgive - life happens and it can happen hard and throw us off the course we were on. Sometimes that means we have to step away from things, like BIC, without a word. For whatever reason, or no reason at all. I get that. 

I appreciate you jumping on in and your quote is so profound and thoughtful. What a true and meaningful statement. 💗 

I hope you are finding healing and hope, in big and small ways, each and every day. 

[itsfi]

So many interesting masks indeed @byme4u! Love the variety and options but my goodness, it’s hard to keep up. How often are you masking these days? Any favorites?

[itsfi]

@byme4u, we do what we can. Masking can ebb and flow, for a host of reason - skin needs, time, life, etc. That's great that you're almost through with the Ahava; that shows consistency, which, as with so many things, including masks!!, is key!