wow. my last post was almost a year ago, & since then so much has happened. so much has changed, & i'm not really sure where to start or if i even want to share. however, i have been eager to post for the last couple of months, but the times that i usually have the urge is when i'm at work. & unfortunately, blogger happens to be blocked, which is a pain, because although i continue to write about my private thoughts in my journal, there have been plenty of times where i've wanted to journal publicly.

so, to get the flow going again, i decided to come back addressing self-care, & how a lack of it can really drain your battery. since 2016 i have been on a work high, & it's not because i want to be, but because work just happens to follow me. i know you're probably thinking...how does work exactly follow someone, & why are you complaining? since i started my own business, i have had four other jobs in rotation. one only lasted 3 months because internship, my 9-5 & kaybella were keeping me busy & kicking my ass. my internship was mandatory, so i had to complete that in order to graduate. plus, it was extremely fun, but my body didn't like the the fact that i was working 7 days straight for a year. 

my mood got so bad, that everyone around me was noticing the changes. i was always tired & always mad. at one point my supervisor told me to drop in hours, & that i didn't want to do, because i was enjoying the lifestyle that i had at the time. not to mention i had a two week trip to africa at the end of the year planned (more on that later). did i mention that i was also in the process of buying a home at the end of 2016? talk about added stress. to top it all off, i had severe bronchitis for 6 months. it was so bad, i was in & out of the hospital monthly, taking different medications just to see what would not work, constantly coughing, throwing up & not getting any sleep. life definitely became a roller coaster once i started internship. it's like a switch was flipped, & i went from happy one minute to hell the next (then back again).

needless to say, i made it out of the storm. i graduated with my master's in december of 2017 after just landing from africa, & walking into two new contract jobs. i ended the last quarter of the year with my biggest kaybella sells to date & things were beginning to slow down again. however, the end of december rolled around, & work increased again. along with work increasing, so are my headaches & level of fatigue. lately there have been periods during the week, where i go from happy to a very low mood due to fatigue & one job in particular. 

so, at the beginning of april, i decided to start having "should-less" days. days where i do what makes me happy, which sometimes includes nothing at all. i have cut back my not so fun workload (i.e. contract jobs & 9-5), & instead spend time doing what i love more (i.e. kaybella, quality time w/friends & family or sleep). i have started taking hot yoga classes, hiking & biking since it's warm, epsom salt baths (the best), completing DIY projects around my spot, attending church more & actually going to bed when my body is asking me to shut down. another thing i am pushing myself to do, is more weekend getaways, that are cheap & don't require too much activity. 

my current slogan at work is to take it easy. not to stress about work or the people who work there. lol. i tell myself that everything is temporary, & that this is only a step closer to what i really should be doing. so, to sum it all up - DO LESS! have a day where you do nothing but wake up, eat, be a bum (i.e. binge watch shows, take a nap and/or relax w/a good book), then go back to sleep. i promise you, once you take a time out once or twice a week, you'll begin to feel a lot better.

until next time,

kay.

here we are 5 days into the new year, & i still feel the same way i did just a week ago in 2016. if i had to come up with two words to describe my 2016, it would be content & turbulence. content in the first half of 2016, then turbulence in the last half of 2016. 

in the beginning of the year, i launched my online store, was accepted into an amazing art school for my internship, my nephew was born, i wrapped up my last graduate class, had endless evenings spent poolside with friends, almost rekindled an old friendship with a jerk, applied for my first home & even had time to squeeze in a quick miami vacation for my friend's birthday. however, came august, all hell broke loose.

turbulence - in the sense of instability & disorder. it's like the universe came & knocked me off my high horse. never in my life have i been so humbled in such a short amount of time. it was like every time i turned around, something else would occur, which resulted in more stress. first it was my home buying process. as most of the stories we hear, it is never a smooth ride. to make a long story short, i went after a short sale property, & at the 11th hour, i found out almost half of the neighborhood is behind 2 months or more on their HOA fees. which for me meant one of two things: either i put down 20% or some of those people pay their HOA fees up to date. so, i backed out. i worked on that home for 4 months & some shit like that happened last minute. multiple obstacles got in my way with that house, so i took those all as signs. i'll try again next year. 

then i started internship in combination with a full-time & part-time job. i thought i would be able to go part-time at my full-time job to balance all three, but that did not go as planned. so i quit my new part-time job after 3 months cause it was making me sore, swollen & tired due to being on my feet for hours in the hospital. plus, the team i worked with wasn't of much support. it's sad cause i really wanted that additional experience. 

even with quitting my new job, i am still barely above water. i'm spending about 65 hours per week at work (w/mandatory overtime) & interning. luckily, i intern at a university that was out for a month and a half for the holidays! 

i can't forget that i have had the flu since mid december (still coughing & have a headache), & that i had a severe family emergency that really took my family by storm. i wasn't even interested in the holidays, in work or school. at times it was even hard to get me to hang with my friends. i just have't been motivated to do anything really between august & december. all i have been wanting to do is hit the reset button on life & rest.

overall, i am blessed that i was able to see another year. i am happy that i still came out with more highs than lows, & that everyone i care about is still here with me. i find myself reflecting more now than ever about life. here's what i plan to do moving forward:

self-care: i'm a huge advocate of self-care, & usually is really good at it, but fell off pretty bad towards the end of last year. i plan to first start with my inside. eating healthier, exercising more, decreasing my intake of alcohol & dining out, while increasing the amount of times i detox. & most importantly, going to the doctor & dentist regularly. on the outside i want to work on my skin & hair care routine & indulge in more bubble baths for relaxation & detoxing. 

practice patience: yeah. don't have much of it, but i do plan to really put effort into being more patient. it's difficult when you're a millennial who's use to instant gratification. at times, having to actually wait for something, makes me anxious, but being impatient causes me stress, & stress is something i don't need nor want. i'll just take it one step at a time.

take more breaks: this includes vacations (especially after internship), reading more books, walking during my lunch instead of being on my phone. taking 10 minute breaks a couple of times while at work, not running errands every off day, but actually resting or going to the spa.

do less talking: last year & probably the year before, i ran my mouth so much. this has resulted in good & bad reactions. either way, i need to sit back & let my actions do the talking. this will also keep me out of trouble. as a child, i was super shy - came college, that all changed. i really want to get back to being more of a listener. i find myself more at peace then.

invest & save: if it's one thing i really want this year, it's an increase in income. i'm talking more than i've ever made & saved. i have some ideas in mind on how to accomplish that. i plan to consult with some professionals about investing. 

figure out how, not what: lastly, we can all talk the talk, but can we walk the walk? it’s so easy to say what you want to do, but ask yourself how you’re going to do it. it’s so important to list the actionable steps in order to be able to do so. this year my two words are increase & execute. i’m great at planning, but often get lost in the details of execution. everything i do this year should lead me back to those two words in some way. the questions i’ll be asking myself this year are “will this allow you increase in some way?” & “is this helping you execute your goals?“

hello!

i'm kay, the author of ohheykay.

i thought i would introduce myself before diving into all of the awesomeness coming your way in the new year.

some of you might be familiar with me from my old blog, cmorekayeeshia or my youtube channel (which i'm also going to start back working on).

i started blogging back in 2011, after dealing with severe burn out at work. i wanted to do something fun for a change, and fell in love with blogging. fast forward to now, i am still having fun, but wanted a fresh start. i am getting back into the swing of things, and i want to touch on some new topics.
for a more indepth introduction, check out the about me sections.

if you have any questions, feel free to send me an email to shopkaybella(at)icloud.com or leave a comment down below.

check out my social media links (to your right) for current adventures & news.

i am so excited to have a fresh start! i have a few things in store for the new year!