ET Sparkles

I’m not so self-absorbed that I think everyone I know reads this tiny little corner of the internet I’ve carved out for myself. After all, it’s essentially me word vomiting all over the webpage. However, I do sincerely hope someone out there finds my topics even somewhat remotely interesting. Anybody? Bueller? That being said, I can’t expect much growth. My Instagram is a private account and I have no plans to make it public, at least while I’m still teaching. When I leave teaching, and yes, I do plan on leaving teaching, I’ll consider making my account public. I truly enjoy writing and want my words to be read by anyone who feels they can relate. Now that I’ve shared that, I’d like to ask you, dear reader, what do you enjoy reading? Are you here to read about my health/wellness/weight loss journey? Are you here for monthly favorites? Do you like some of the one off topics I share? I’d love to hear your feedback and provide more content that you’d like to hear me discuss. I will contin...

Without further ado, I bring you my top items in the following categories for the month of March: books, makeup, skincare, food/drinks, miscellaneous, and shower things. Let's get to it, shall we? Book: The Coworker by Freida McFadden Oddly enough, one of my sixth-grade students recommended this book to me. Suffice to say, she's well-read for her age. This book had me hooked from chapter one. I'm not normally one for thrillers or suspense in stories, in fact, I typically enjoy books on the opposite end of the spectrum. My cup of tea would be of the YA and romance genre, mainly because I'm a big wimp; however, this book may have converted me.  Dawn Schiff is the reliable employee. She shows up to work on time every day and takes her breaks at regularly scheduled times. Like clockwork, her coworkers know where she is at any given moment. Natalie Farrell is Dawn's coworker and desk mate. Natalie is described as the beautiful and popular employee in the office. She is e...

Most days I come home from work and disassociate on the couch for thirty minutes to an hour. Is my time spent productively? Absolutely not. My time is spent scrolling through my TikTok feed. Now, you might be wondering, how on earth can you spend an hour scrolling on TikTok? Well, if you don’t have an account, let me explain. To put it simply, you fall down a rabbit hole. TikTok has this power to pull you in with short form content that’s informative as well as entertaining.  I've learned quite a bit from TikTok if you can believe it — anything from random life hacks, beauty hacks, cleaning hacks, all the way to news headlines from my local authorities. Among all the hacks I’ve learned, it would be remiss of me to not also share that the majority of my FYP (for you page) is dog videos. That won’t come as a shocker to those that know me well.  When I asked my husband what he enjoys about TikTok, he mentioned about how interesting it is to watch sub par food reviewers. You see, ...

First post back in over a year... No pressure. I figured I'd jump right back in with The Wellness Check , my personal check-in on my own health and wellness journey. Where do I even begin?  In January of this year I decided to make some big changes. Quit smoking, start exercising, and start eating less. That all went great until I got sick. All things good went out the window. No gym, a packet of smokes, and of course all the takeout because who wants to cook when they’re sick? But the smoking I’ve found to be the most upsetting. Unforgivable, I might even say. I write this post from my car as in a matter of urgency. I’m currently waiting to head into my 2:00 PM doctor’s appointment to, fingers crossed, get help with losing weight. I’ve been pretty open about my struggles with my weight here and on social media so I have no qualms with sharing this part of my journey. I also find no shame in accepting the fact that I need help in the form of medication.  I’ve been prescribed w...

Let’s talk about boundaries. Merriam Webster defines a boundary as something that indicates or fixes a limit or extent. In English, (and I say that with sarcasm) it means setting a limit. Last year, I talked about wellness and posed the question, ‘is wellness making us unwell?” This year, I think I have a better grasp on that question, and I’d like to discuss that in today’s post.  bound.a.ry NOUN something that indicates or fixes a limit or extent. bound.less ADJECTIVE having no boundaries. When I wrote my first piece for this blog, The Wellness Check: What is Wellness Anyway , I was at a point in my life where I felt confused and truly unwell. Lost in a world of intuitive eating, hyped up skincare, and body positivity, I had no idea what would work best for me. Ultimately, what I learned is this, you have to be willing to set boundaries in a boundless society. What do I mean by boundless society? Well, it’s simple really, our screens are flooded with many things, but in the New...

One of my favorite holidays is right around the corner... Valentine's Day!  Also referred to as St. Valentine's Day, the holiday is traditionally a day where you express your love for someone with loving gestures and/or small tokens of appreciation. The history of the holiday itself is vague, however, some believe it's origins stem from Lupercalia , a Roman festival held in mid-February. This festival celebrated the coming of spring and other things related to fertility and pairing off men and women, but I digress. Later, Pope Gelasius I forbid this festival and is believed to have replaced it with St. Valentine's Day.  I think there are people out there who dislike the idea of Valentine's Day because they may not have a special someone in their life. But the fact of the matter is, we all have at least one person be it a romantic partner, a family member, a friend, or even a pet!  Now Valentine's Day is something I always celebrated growing up. I don't belie...