Working Towards Wellness: January 2026

[itsfi]

Happy New Year, BIC! Let's start 2026 with a fresh, fun and fierce month of self-care à la wellness bingo!
If you're new here (to BIC and/or to wellness bingo, welcome!! If you've taken part in a round of wellness bingo before, welcome back!

Self-care can be a very personal thing - what works for one person may not work for someone else. Practicing wellness is a process - it takes time and effort. We will have our good days and bad days - moments when we are thriving; and others when we need to pause, take a deep breath (or multiple ones, for that matter), and reset. 

Working towards wellness is a life-long, evolving process that takes into account our individual needs and circumstances. Self-care is not about perfection, but progress. Likewise, wellness bingo isn't about winning or being the first to get bingo or clear the board. It's about finding what practices we can incorporate into our daily / weekly / monthly routine to support, maintain and/or improve our quality of life. All while having some fun along the way. 

Getting Started

To help you get started with this month's game of wellness bingo, here are a few links that may be of interest to you:

How to Play / How to Post 
Description of Wellness Activities

• Rows 1 & 2
• Rows 3, 4 & 5

Looking forward to hearing about your wellness practices this month. Please join in as you feel comfortable. 

[Shosh85]

❄️2026 Self-Care Focus

Spoiler

I made a goal for myself that I'd make some long overdue doctors appointments this year. I finally got a mammogram and pap smear done last week. I had been putting these off for a long time...... I'm just a little uncomfortable with those kind of things, but I'm glad I bit the bullet and got it done.✅ 

❄️Aromatherapy 

Spoiler

Just recently bought a new incense holder and new scents to try.  👍 

❄️Brain Teasers

Spoiler

I play a lot of Boggle - that's always been a favorite of mine. I used to play the board game with my sister a lot when I was younger and I still love it. 

❄️Give Yourself Permission To.....

Spoiler

..... ask for help. That's something I've always struggled with and still need reminding that it is ok to ask for help.

❄️Digital Detox

Spoiler

This is actually something I don't need to work on, because I never really use my phone before bed anyway. By the time the day is over and I've finally got my kids to bed, I am exhausted and want to go right to bed too. 

❄️Stretch

Spoiler

I make sure to do neck stretches everyday. I found out not long ago that I had arthritis in my neck and my Physical Therapist gave me a neck stretching routine that I'm pretty religious about following. 

[shaeschaeshea]

@Shosh85  I'm not a fan of doctor visits either but you're right, they have to be done. Good reminder to schedule some for myself.

[Shosh85]

@shaeschaeshea  yep, some of the things that are good for you, just aren't fun to do ........ adulting can be hard sometimes 😅

[itsfi]

Brava to some great and inspiring self care activities @Shosh85! And, congrats on BINGO! You're set up for a few more, too. Woohoo!! 🙌 Oh, wow, your new incense holder is stunning! 😍

I'm really happy, inspired by and proud of you for giving yourself permission to ask for help. Asking for help is one of the most profound forms of self care, but I find it's also one that can be so much easier said than done. Good on you shosh! 

I'm gonna pretend I didn't see that Tetris app; I don't need another app, or game, lol. 

[Shosh85]

Thanks so much, @itsfi!

...... what Tetris app? Not sure what you're talking about 😉

[nuinui933]

Hi everybody, sorry I'm late on posting. 

Yellow highlighter - 1st full week of the month

Prioritize sleep - been trying to go to bed earlier. An hour earlier was harder than I thought but I’ve been able to do half hour earlier for most of this week.

Movie and crafts - I’ve was watching one of the neighbor’s kids the other day and we watched The Naked Gun and made origami lucky stars.

Stretch - my body has been feeling a lot more achy lately in the mornings. My boyfriend suggested using the foam roller and that helped. It’s hard enough to get up 10 minutes earlier to do it first thing in the morning and even worse since it’s so cold too. I’m definitely awake by the time I’m done. Lolololol.

Red highlighter - 2nd week

Aromatherapy - got some new candles and I couldn’t help trying them. 

Check ins - my younger brother came to visit and we got to have some good chats. I also had a good talk on the phone with my sister in law (oldest brother’s wife).

Digital Detox - Oof no being on my phone or laptop before bed is harder in the winter. I did it for the 30 minutes once last week but only barely. I kept wanting to reach for my phone. 

Blue - this week so far

Self care focus - I picked two things to focus on for this year - get fit (I want to lose 10 pounds and also build some muscle in my arms) and work on journaling regularly

Financial wellness - made a mini budget last night. Mini because it was for my discretionary funds. I have a budget already for my necessities. 

Joy list - I put this one off at first because I didn’t know how hard it would be but it turned out to not be so bad. I listed a few things and I will add more when I think of things or get good ideas from hearing what other people do.

[Shosh85]

@nuinui933 It's so great you've been able to check so many things off on the board! Nice job!
Love stretching with a foam roller -  My physical therapist set up a daily stretching routine for me and it includes using a foam roller. Glad to hear it's helped you a bit 😉

[shaeschaeshea]

@nuinui933 I like your idea of mini budgets, that seems less intimidating and more easy to do. I might try that.

[itsfi]

Wow, you've gotten in some great self-care activities this month @nuinui933; good job! I spy a few BINGO's, congrats!

I hear ya on the foam roller; they can work wonders for getting out knots or tight spots but it can hurt a bit getting to the feeling better part. 😅 Love candles; have you discovered any new favorites?

[nuinui933]

@itsfi 

This is such a cute gif, thanks. I found this hinoki candle made from rice wax at a little stationary store around the corner from a cafe I like to go to sometimes. That's been my fav, it's a bit of a splurge so I don't burn it too often but it's very calming and relaxing.

[itsfi]

Oh wow, that candle sounds amazing @nuinui933. The stationary store too, that could be a dangerous place 💸

[Samtian]

Week 3 is the hot chocolate cup! 

[curlychiquita]

Exciting, @Samtian!

[Shosh85]

Two BINGOS?! Nice job @Samtian! ...... now I really want some hot cocoa... and maybe some marshmallows 😋

[itsfi]

Oooh, nice work @Samtian! Cheers to hot chocolate and to your BINGO!! 🙌🏼 You’re hitting so many fab wellness activities.

 

[itsfi]

Since my last check-in a couple of weeks ago,  

New activities marked with the green scarf (last week) and beige/brown earmuffs (today). 

I'm on the tail end of a cold and have been prioritizing sleep - and doing a bang-up job at digital detoxing throughout the last couple of days, if I do say so myself! 🤣 I'm fine; the worst is behind me and I'm now just making my way through boxes of Kleenex 🤧 and keeping the area around my nose adequately moisturized, lol. I will say that getting a full night of uninterrupted sleep does do wonders for reducing the appearance of puffy under eyes and dark circles, so some good has come from being sidelined with a cold.

Not really doing much but working on staying hydrated and rested gives you spare time to think, and I spent some of that time reflecting on a few things for which I'm deeply grateful, including: 

• Cozy socks 
• Long showers
• Life's quiet moments
• Blessings in disguise
• People who are genuinely happy for other's success
• The little things, the mundane, every day things in our lives - because that's where real life happens
• Stepping off the hamster wheel
• Long weekends
• My electric blanket - one of the best gifts I have ever given to myself!
• That prioritizing sleep square! I'm going to be hitting repeat on that several times this week and making more of an effort to be better at it.

Give myself permission to ... spend an extra 10 minutes in the shower.  I'm sure this will happen again this and next week. This morning, I included a little aromatherapy into my routine by way of this anihana Shower Steamer - Orange Crush - even though it was just a day that my sinuses impacted by ability to smell, it sure was nice to breath in the zesty and refreshing citrus scent. A quick and easy way to add a little extra touch to a 10-extra self-care moments, ahhhh .... 

Going to shift my attention to a few other things this week, like some home projects, but will aim to check off the joy list and hobbies squares later this week or sometime next week. 

[nuinui933]

@itsfi 

I like that you list every day small things in your gratitude list. I love my cozy socks too. 

Off topic, but are those cat eye nails? Are they gel? I like the color, it's brown but not too brown, lol, that sounds weird but some are too dark or too yellowy on me.

[itsfi]

Cozy socks are the best @nuinui933 and this is the perfect season for them! Yes, these are a cat eye design on my nails. I did them with regular nail polish, magnetic top coat and a magnet. The cat eye design would come out better with magnetic nail polish as the base color but I only have a couple of those. lol, I get it. Browns can be hard, but I feel like there are more wearable ones with different undertones now, since mocha mousse was a color of the year last year and brown has been trending. The base color  is OPI Chocolate Mousse mixed with a couple drops of a chrome glaze topper with an irridescent finish (Londontown Starry Chrome Glaze) and then I use a couple layers of a magnetic nail polish topper and a magnetic.

[Shosh85]

@itsfi  So happy to hear your sickness is coming to an end and that you've been able to get some sleep and rest! Even just a little extra sleep definitely makes a difference. 

I love shower steamers and this one looks and sounds refreshing! Glad you gave yourself permission to enjoy your shower a little longer 😊

[itsfi]

Yes, yes, yes @Shosh85!!! Every little bit of sleep counts. I often wish we could have nap time as part of the daily routine! 💤 Oh, these shower steamers!! One of my favorite finds from Target. Gives me a spa like experience without having to pay spa prices. 🤣 

[CorgiMommy]

Love your Bingo chips, very creative @itsfi