Wellness In Progress: May 2025

[itsfi]

Hello, BIC! We have another month of wellness bingo!

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and, for this month, we're adding a few new ways to go about caring for our mental health. Some activities are ones that have been part of previous BIC BWell bingo cards; some are activities from past months, reframed in new ways; and some squares include new ways to care for ourselves.

Whether you elect to check back in with activities you've done this month; whether you'd like to work through the activities in the privacy of your own space; whether you're doing this on your own, with a friend or group; whether you've been on here for a while or this is new to you, welcome! So great to have you here!

For more information on how to go about wellness bingo and for a brief description of the activities described in the squares, check out these posts: 

• How To Play / Participate
• Description of May 2025 Wellness Bingo Activities

Spoiler

@ather @blackkitty2014 @byme4u @caitbird @CorgiMommy @curlychiquita @danielledanielle @Mellmars1185 @peculiarzmakeup @PrettyPaint @Samtian @Shosh85 

Apologies if I inadvertently forgot to tag someone. Please feel free to tag anyone I've missed or anyone you think would be interested. 

[CorgiMommy]

@Samtian salmon and couscous,  I am in !

[Samtian]

@CorgiMommy I would definitely make it again!

[PrettyPaint]

@Samtian That dinner sounds delicious. I've never tried Hello Fresh.

[Samtian]

@PrettyPaint It was. We really enjoy it. Helps us try things we've never heard of or would have considered. Also helps keep us away from fast food. 

[caitbird]

@Samtian  great job! That salmon and couscous recipe looks delicious! Good for you for taking care of yourself at work. 💜

[Samtian]

@caitbird Thank you. It's past time, I'm not getting any younger!

[jaaayp]

OOOOH @Samtian I would love to see your photography!!!

[Samtian]

@jaaayp Thank you! I work with people mostly, you can see my website at www dot blackhoneyportraits dot com 🙂 

[ather]

@Samtian  Salmon on couscous sounds delicious! Great job!! 

[Samtian]

@ather Thank you!!

[itsfi]

Salmon and couscous sounds delicious @Samtian; making a note to give it a try later this or next month. Ahhhh, music and aromatherapy; both can be so helpful with unwinding, destressing. You have such a beautiful collection of wax melts and candles. 

[Samtian]

@itsfi Thank you. I'm trying to use the candles more than once before rotating. Cause they will never go away at that rate. But then I forget about the hundreds of melts I have lol. 

[itsfi]

Ohhh @Samtian, that looks faaaancy and flavorful. 🤩 That looks like Israeli couscous in that dish; like the addition of zucchini and tomatoes. Mine will be a more simplified version of this but I’m taking notes for the future.

[Samtian]

@itsfi It is Israeli and it was delicious. This was a simple quick recipe. 

[caitbird]

Wellness In Progress - May 2025

I feel like I've had a pretty good month for wellness so far. I didn't get bingo yet, but I've checked off some wellness activities that I'm pleased with already. Here's what I've done so far:

💜Catch up with a friend - Last week, I went over to visit a neighborhood family whom I've been friends with for many years. I was there to go over some things before house-sitting and petsitting for them before they left for a trip, but since they had just finished cooking a late breakfast they very kindly invited me to join them. The food was delicious, and it was really nice to sit and chat and catch up with them.

💜Have a healthy meal - last night, my mom made bean, roasted vegetable, and ricotta tacos, which we had with some mango. A bit messy, but oh so delicious!

💜Music - listen, sing, dance - I have been listening to music every day when I can, either with my music library on my laptop on shuffle, or my current CD in my car (still listening to Archie Fisher, might switch it up soon though) on repeat. Currently listening to Leonard Cohen as I type this.

💜Exercise - 30 minutes - I had a bit of misfortune this past week, as my car battery died 😭. It was a couple of days before I could get it to the shop for a replacement, and during that time I was petsitting for a couple of neighbors, so I had to hoof it back and forth to their houses. Between that and walking the one neighbors' four dogs several times a day, I was definitely getting my 30+ minutes of daily exercise in! So, there ended up being a silver lining to the unfortunate situation.

💜Hydrate hydrate hydrate - Both of my reusable water bottles have been seeing heavy rotation so far this month, as I always try to have one with me at all times to help me keep my water intake where it needs to be. Especially with the weather warming up, I'm trying to be mindful of drinking enough to stave off those nasty dehydration headaches.

💜Practice gratitude - I've tried to get into the habit of thinking of a few things I'm grateful for every day, whether big or small. Today was a good day, in fact I've had a stretch of pretty good days (car troubles notwithstanding), so I'm very grateful for that; I'm grateful for good food, family, and beautiful, sunny spring days like this one. I'll try to remember to post to Gratitude Thread! 🙂  this week.

💜Free space - I was finally able to see my therapist for the first time in ages (schedule conflicts/my sleep issues have led to several appointments being rescheduled), which is always a positive thing. I've been seeing the same therapist for almost 15 years now, and she's great, so I'm very happy to be (hopefully) getting back to having regular appointments with her again.

💜Aromatherapy - I have been enjoying a variety of perfumes and scented candles this month. Today's fragrance was NEST New York Lychee Rose Eau de Parfum 1.7 oz / 50 mL eau de parfum spray  and I am currently burning DW Home Orchid Incense candle.

Overall, this month has been fairly successful on the wellness front so far, and I hope to keep that up!

[CorgiMommy]

@caitbird sounds like you have been working hard taking care of yourself,  nicely done!

[caitbird]

@CorgiMommy  thank you so much! 💜

[jaaayp]

Love your wellness updates @caitbird may is mental health month so I love that you were able to see your therapist this month!! ❤️ 

[caitbird]

@jaaayp  thank you so much! I am back to weekly appointments with her now, it really helps me so much!

[Samtian]

@caitbird Great job! Sorry about the car battery. 

[caitbird]

@Samtian  thank you! The car battery dying was definitely unfortunate, but thankfully my car is back in working order now!