just a thought @jenmccurds-blog - Tumblr Blog

muesli, flax, Greek yogurt, and fruit 🙌🏼

how to start the day

1 liter of water. As soon as you wake up. No excuses. Thank me later ;)

mindfulness

mindfulness was a word, or a concept rather, that seemed so yogi and elusive to me a few years back. it sounded outlandish and far-off, something that people who burn incense and light candles know about (i’m sitting in a room with burnt incense and lit candles. dot dot dot.)

but with time and a proper understanding of the word, i now know and love the idea behind the concept: bringing us back to the present moment.

in a modern-day society so cluttered with to-do’s, goals, tasks, and lists, it is surprisingly difficult for us to actually live in the present moment. it seems we are always dwelling on the past or ruminating about the future. sometimes i’ll be standing at a checkout counter at the grocery store or waiting between takes on set and I’ll just realize my mind spiraling out of control with some frustration of a past event or anticipation of a future one.

firstly, WHY? come on, mind, give me a break. secondly, since I can’t really answer the why, I asked, HOW CAN I CHANGE IT?

you guessed the answer. mindfulness. with active mindfulness attempts throughout the day, it is possible (and wonderful) to check ourselves and make sure we are living in the moment. the current moment requires nothing of us but to live in it and RELAX. how nice does that sound? maybe it would’ve sounded nicer if i hadn’t written it in all caps. RELAX in all caps is kind of an oxymoron. anyway...

i don’t recommend taking all your mindfulness advice from me. i am so infant to the concept and really trying to gather my bearings on it, so try picking up a book from barnes and noble (one minute mindfulness by donald altman is a great place to start) or i’m sure there is even a mindfulness app you can download. whatever you choose to do, i think learning about the concept and practicing it even once a day will show you great results in focus, positivity, and awareness.

good luck!

au naturelle

chicken veggie curry bowl * 4 oz cooked grilled chicken * curry powder * 1/2 cup chopped yams * 1 cup kale * 1/2 cup cooked brown rice * 2 teaspoons olive oil steam yams and kale with curry powder to taste. (place in a pot with 2 inches of water, let cook for 15 minutes then remove from heat and let sit for 10). chop chicken into bite sized pieces and mix with brown rice. add olive oil and some curry powder to taste. drain veggies. add chicken and rice to veggie mixture. yum. :D

confidence

i’m up in Toronto working on between season 2 and the makeup artist, Robbi, is so sweet. she gives me coffee shop spots, words of advice, and best of all, good book recommendations.

one of the books Robbi mentioned to me after we had a conversation about growth and 2015 was a book called The Confidence Code, by two high-level journalists named Katty Kay and Claire Shipman.

in the book, Katty and Claire do tremendous amounts of research and conduct hundreds of interviews in an attempt to get to the bottom of confidence and understand why it seems that males have it more easily and readily than females.

which brings me to my blog post’s key question… WHY DO MALES HAVE CONFIDENCE MORE READILY THAN FEMALES?

For proper theories and real scientific research, go check out the amazing book, but for a little salty shit-shooting brain rant, here goes:

the fact that males have confidence more readily than females should simply not be a fact. we as women are not only equally as smart, clever, and motivated as men, but also we have that sweet, sweet bonus of intuition which, when not second guessed or over evaluated, can really serve and enhance our decisions and life path. (also, we're prettier) ;)

the reason I think men have confidence is that they CHOOSE TO, or they fake it till they make it, either way! They let insults and critiques slide off them like water off a duck’s back. women, or my experience with them (and myself personally in the past), can sometimes take other people’s judgments of us as truths. we can second guess ourselves, our views, our appearances, our opinions, all based on other people’s disapproval of them.

wrong wrong wrong. We as women should stand up for ourselves at every bend. We should know what we believe in and fight for it in a calm, convicted way. We should stand by our own sides and know that our voices are powerful and strong, not shrill or bitchy. We should believe we are beautiful and believe it truly does not matter what anyone else thinks about us. we should be our own best friend.

what are your thoughts on confidence? Do you have it? Do you want more of it? How can you build your own?

hair treatment mask I made this hair treatment mask last night before I went to bed and then fell asleep hahha, so I used it this morning. it's healthy and nutrient-packed so it will help your hair to shine, smooth, and grow stronger. * 2 eggs * 2 T olive oil * 1/2 c water separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and pour the yolks into a small bowl. add olive oil and water to egg yolks. mix together. this is super messy so I recommend applying in a bath tub. pour all over your hair and massage into your scalp. leave in for 15-20 minutes. rinse with warm water, then shampoo and condition your hair.

Fred wants some blueberries.

honesty is the best policy

i don’t care how you slice it, it always is. being polite is a misnomer in the conversation of existence.

from a young age, we are taught to smile and nod yes, tell grown-ups we are doing fine, not voice our opinions to our peers, and “behave”. i believe this is the opposite of what children should be taught. if you’re a kid reading this or if you know a kid who could benefit from hearing this, please share this thought:

tell grown-ups exactly how you feel, voice your opinions to your peers no matter how far off the map of popularity they may be, and never, ever, ever behave. walk, run, dance, think, daydream, whatever tickles your fancy, but do not succumb to the boring normality of “behaving”. do you, my friend.

as we get older, our honesty is tucked aside even further as we naturally blend into the societal norms of adolescence, young adulthood, and adulthood. we laugh at jokes that aren’t funny, give pats on the back when we’d rather give a few truthful words, and pretend to like things we don’t like, all in an attempt to connect with people on a deeper level. this is ridiculous! let me assure you, any amount of false anything you show to anyone will and could never amount to even the smallest grain of connection. the only way to connect with someone truly and honestly is through honesty.

daily challenge for you: be as honest as you can with yourself today. starting with yourself is always a great place to start because you’re so aware of your own nuances and habits.

good luck. love yourself.

easy egg mask

* 1/4 cup egg whites * 1 T. lemon juice * 1 T. honey (preferably the gooey, not raw, kind)

make sure skin is free of makeup.

whisk ingredients together in a small bowl.

splash warm water on face to open up pores.

apply some of mixture to face with a cotton ball. avoid applying under eyes and eyelids. (warning! the mixture is super drippy. wear a grubby t or put a towel on your chest.)

leave on for 15 minutes. rinse with warm water and a wash cloth.

self-love

Hi! If any of you follow me on instagram (@jennettemccurdy, proud plug) you’ll know that I’ve been on quite the self-love kick lately. It’s true. I don’t hate myself, as crazy as that sounds.

And that’s just the thing of it.... why does it seem crazy or hokey to express self-love? Why do we sometimes view it as false or put-on? Well, I think because we aren’t loving ourselves. Any time in the past when I’ve snickered or laughed off someone’s seemingly grandiose view of themselves (it’s happened more than a few times), it is only because I myself felt small.

Nowadays, I really do sense more positivity and uplifting messages in the world, but yet there is still this wide net popular idea of glorified self-depracation, used to make the deprecator seem cool/self-aware/in touch/humble. I’ve come to believe that this just isn’t true. Putting yourself down or acting like you’re not that great is just not that great. You are depriving yourself of the love you most deserve - your own.

In the past, I have been quick to brush off a compliment or attribute a success to some chance luck. I could easily poke fun at myself or apologize for no real reason. I was the mistress of self-deprecation. Even many of my tweets and vines came from a place of a lighthearted discontent with myself. Sometimes I feared losing that self-disrespect because honestly, I felt I would lose my sense of humor, and that is something I really appreciate in myself. (In case you didn’t know, I am hilarious.)

Well I’m here to assure you, whatever you may be worried about losing if you ditch your self-deprecation, whether it be humor, kindness, humility, friendliness, etc. YOU WILL NOT. You could never lose that beautiful part of yourself by losing the ugly part that is self-deprecation. In fact, whatever you’re worried about losing will shine that much brighter when you lose the self-effacing because it will have the room to grow and come from a more mature, seasoned place. Your kindness will be deeper, your humor will be richer, your friendliness will be purer, and you will absolutely feel a difference.

With time, perspective, and lots of looking inside, I am proud and happy with how much I’ve grown and who I’ve become. I enjoy my company, smile for no reason, and am able to accept love from others in a purer way because their love is simply additional to that which I feel for myself.

Now before I get too far ahead of myself, let me explain. I think that in NO WAY should bragging/conceit/arrogance be mistaken for self-love. That is the opposite. The only reason people feel a need to be over the top with any of those qualities is because they are deeply deprived of their own nurturing, or so I believe.

From my heart I just hope these words are encouraging to you. I hope you find them empowering and take a few minutes to think about how you behave and why you behave that way. Don’t do anything for the approval or acceptance of others. Accept yourself and watch your world shine. I ain’t kiddin’. LOVE YOURSELF <3

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