Sephora

itsfi · ‎04-30-2025

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:

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.

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

itsfi

Hey BIC, keep posting your May activities here. For June wellness bingo, check out Working Towards Wellness: June 2025

[NOTE: trying out something new. You'll see "Working Towards Wellness" as the working title for wellness bingo for June. Same concept as "Wellness In Progress", just trying out a different name.]

Spoiler

Tagging a few folks from May's bwell bingo. Apologies if I missed someone. Please feel free to tag folks who I may have missed and/or who you think may be interested in taking part in the June BWell activities.
@ather @blackkitty2014 @byme4u @caitbird @CorgiMommy @curlychiquita @jaaayp @peculiarzmakeup @PrettyPaint @Samtian

Tagging a few folks from May's bwell bingo. Apologies if I missed someone. Please feel free to tag folks who I may have missed and/or who you think may be interested in taking part in the June BWell activities.

blackkitty2014

Oh no, I’m lazy and forgot to post. I’ll try to post mine tomorrow @itsfi 😘

byme4u

QuietTime Finally caught up my journal! Quite a task, but definitely worthwhile.

Listen to music Very little dancing as I was driving.

30 minute stretch @itsfi Thanks for the 10 minute increments they are amazingly easy and make me feel great!

I'm afraid that's all I accomplished this month, but I feel really good about my journal.

itsfi

That's so awesome that you were able to get in a lot of journal time @byme4u. 😃 Great to hear the 10-minute stretching increments are working out - sometimes breaking it up into something more manageable helps so much, and makes it easier to get it in with the things we already have on our schedules.

You accomplished a lot. Really. Quality over quantity. While it's great to do all the things, it's even better if they are meaningful acts of self care, in the way we need. That's not to say it's not a good idea to try to get in some exercise and hydration every day. But, if I'm doing crossword puzzles every day when what would serve me best in my present place is to spend some of that time instead on journaling, or getting enough sleep, or eating healthy/healthier, or setting boundaries, etc., then yes, another square marked off but is it the most beneficial one from a personal wellness perspective?! All that to say quality over quantity. If spending time journaling was the only thing you did, that would be fantastic!! You were able to do that, and feel good about it. That's amazing. The additional stuff is the extra - both good, but made even better because you were able to do something (journal) that was what you really needed at this time.

byme4u

@itsfi Thank you for the words of encouragement! I really appreciate the quality over quantity especially since I didn't do as well with the squares. It really felt good to get caught up on my thoughts, feelings and general day to day happenings.

itsfi

100% agree @byme4u. It can be very easy to fall into the mindset of just putting our heads down and getting through what we need to do each day and I completely get that. Been there, done that (and still do it, grrr!!) Sometimes we just have a lot on our plates or have a heavier load to shoulder. It's so nice to be able to sit down and take the time to get caught up with ourselves, all the things going on with, to, through, around us. Kudos to you for making the effort and putting in the work to do that! I'm so happy you were able to catch up and that it was so meaningful and beneficial for you. #inspiring

itsfi

Still a few more days left in the month of May, but this will be the last check-in for the month for me. I came close to marking off the "Catch up with a friend" square, but next month worked out better for both our schedules so next month it is! Self-care activities from the past week are marked with an orange heart 🧡 in the below wellness card.

Learning a new skill (or sharpen an existing one) - I've been working to hone my photography skills when I can. It's mostly been of products, food, and landscapes.

Practice Gratitude - Spending time during the day, be it morning, afternoon or evening, to acknowledge and recognize those for whom I am grateful. The other day, I did this by expressing by gratitude to a stranger for her act of kindness and by sharing about her good deed to pretty much every person I came in contact with that day and the next and ... here. I had a late-morning meeting the other day. I'm not usually in that part of the city at that time of day, as most of my previous meetings there are either done earlier in the mornings or at the end of the day. Parking was a challenge, but I thought I lucked out by finding a space around the corner and up a block from my meeting spot. So I parked, got out of my car and proceeded to walk down the hill and over to my meeting location.

I had just turned the corner and I heard someone shouting "excuse me" and "excuse me, Miss" from a distance, a couple of times. I looked up to see this woman looking in my direction from her car. She asked me if I had just parked on X street, and mentioned that if I had, I might want to move my car because she saw they were starting to ticket cars for street cleaning one block over. Oh! Ruh-roh! 😲😲😲 After a couple of effusive "oh my goodness, thank you so much!" on my part, I darted up the hill (ugh!) to move my car. Very grateful for that woman's kindness, for taking the time to seek me out to tell me this. She saved me from what would have been a near $100 fine. Much gratitude for her going out of her way to help me out (when I didn't even know I needed the help). I'm putting her Good Samaritan act on my list for ways I can "pay it forward!" in the future.

Free Space - Have been making more time to stretch, concentrating on certain areas of my body that are sometimes overlooked when I go go through some general stretching beore and after a workout.

Arts - Crafts - Hobbies - Spent some time this week working on next month's wellness bingo card, which will be posted over the weekend, once I put the final touches on the card and write up the description of self-care activities for June.

Quiet Time - Meditate - Journal - Breathe - I used to run out mid-afternoon once or twice a week to grab a cup of coffee. I'd count the 15-20 minute walk to/from the coffee shop as my break as I'd tke the coffee back to my desk and continue working. I've been trying to cut down on my coffee intake. This past week I used the time I would otherwise spend on my afternoon coffee run to journal (and stretch a bit too).

CorgiMommy

You could check off Catch up with a friend since you did schedule time next month. @itsfi

itsfi

@CorgiMommy, thank you. I'll wait until next month when it happens to count it.

AmandaWestt

I love wellness bingo — it’s a fun and mindful way to stay on track. Mental Health Awareness Month reminds me how closely physical and mental health are connected. Small habits really do add up, and it’s been motivating to try new things each month.This year, I’ve been focusing on feeling better overall, and one thing that’s really helped is Mounjaro. It’s great for managing weight and energy. If you’re curious, you can Buy Mounjaro Online — it’s been a solid part of my routine.

itsfi

@AmandaWestt, was there a specific activity you were referring to? Or a particular BIC member to whom you were directing your question? For the latter, you can tag them by using the @ + <<their user name>>. If you type in the "@" it should pull up a listing of the most recent posters to this thread. For example, when I type in @, the following box/feature comes up -

itsfi

Mid-month check-in

New activities completed over the last 10 days noted with a green heart 💚

Exercise (30 Minutes) - Resistance bands, weights & walking with a weighted vest (thank you @ather!) - I'm working my way back to a more consistent schedule.

Prioritize Sleep - Went to bed at the same time for all but two nights over the last week-and-a-half.

Fun in the Sun - Walked to the park, and then spent some time exploring

Speak Kindly to Yourself - Not always the easiest thing to do but it is meaningful and worth it

Aromatherapy - I went through another round with several fragrances from some discovery sets this week, including the Sephora Favorites Fruits & Flowers Travel Spray Perfume Discovery Set w/ Redeemable Voucher, which is part of my Shop Your Stash Challenge: The Spring 2025 Edition - I haven't decided which fragrance to redeem just yet, but have started narrowing down the ones I'm more partial to.

Checking in with … Yourself - I wanted to do this but found myself putting it off 😑 and then decided last night to pull up the questions and answer the ones I could or felt comfortable bringing up (even with just myself).

Plan a Screen-Free Day - Planned and completed! 👍🏼🙌🏼 Well, partially. Turned on the “Do Not Disturb” feature and silent mode, and left my phone on the charger from 7:00am - 4:40pm. Not technically a full day for me but full enough as far as completely disconnecting from my electronics for anything other than essential activities.

Digital Detox Before Bed (30 Minutes) - This practice ebbed and flowed this week, some nights involving more than 30 minutes; other nights, barely getting to 5.

Seasonal Fruits & Veggies - It's smoothie season for me and I made a smoothie earlier this week with kale, chard, spinach, pineapple, and some strawberries from the farmers market. Makes for a refreshing drink to sip on throughout the morning.

Read - Audiobook - Podcast - TV/Movie - Slowly (like a snail's pace slowly 🐌) making my way through a short story by way of audiobook. I’ve been listening to a chapter or two as I’m folding laundry or tidying up.

Checking In With Yourself Questions

Samtian

@itsfi fantastic work! I'm hoping to get a blender thing next check to start making smoothies. Did you post your thoughts on the fragrances?

itsfi

I'm excited that you might get a blender @Samtian. Smoothies are nice to have in the summer - both because they're cool and refreshing but also it's an easy way to get in fruits and veggies. I posted reviews for the discovery set and for 6 out of the 8 scents. I'll upload the last 2 later tonight or tomorrow morning. I have a bit of catching up to do but am planning on working on brief summary to post to the The Perfume Challenge by the end of the week.

ather

@itsfi You are doing amazing!!! And those pink nails are gorgeous!! I’m glad you’ve been more consistent with working out! Yay! 😀 is your shoulder feeling better?

itsfi

@ather, thank you so much!! I feel like I'm better with getting activities checked off at the beginning of a month and then it starts to taper off in the middle of the month to the end (ummm, like right now, 😅😬).

My shoulder is better today. I think I figured out what I've been doing that keeps exacerbating it or prompting it to come back - I tend to put more weight on it on a daily basis - it's the shoulder that I wear my handbag, grocery / shopping bags, or backpack / laundry bag when it's slung over just one shoulder. So it constantly bears more weight than my other shoulder. I've been trying to refrain from doing that as much as possible, or try to remember to (it's a bit of a habit to put those items over that shoulder). Doing more shoulder stretches (including when I'm brushing my teeth) and alternating hot and cold compresses on it a couple of nights during the week has been really helpful, too. 👍 I spent some time working on it last night and that helped a lot - the muscle on that side feels on even keel with the corresponding muscle on the other side this morning.

ather

@itsfi I feel like this month I didn't get anything checked off.... there is always next month!!

Oh no!! Well I am happy you have figured it out! Hopefully it helps with the healing process!

itsfi

@ather, you get to check off the free square!

I've been very conscious of and deliberate with carrying bags on the other shoulder. The first time after realizing what was causing its recurrence I instinctively put my grocery bag on that shoulder and "ouch!!!!" Since then, I've been a ton more mindful to use the other shoulder and it's helped a lot. As has doing stretching exercises for it throughout the day. <<pats self on back>> 😀