healthy habits Archives - Inspired & Strong | Making the Best of Every Day with Stacy

I saw this quote, and it made me think of my single friends and those friends who may be struggling in their current relationships or lack thereof. We learn from all of our relationships…friendships, spouses, partners, family. And some of those lessons are extremely hard. We need to believe that those lessons lead us to the ulitmate relationship where you can live, thrive and experience the greatest peace.

May your next lover be your life partner, not another life lesson. May it be the kind of love that brings peace, consistency, and growth, not another chapter you have to heal from.

In Family

A Poem for Dad

October 17, 2026 No Comments

Today would have been my dad’s 75th birthday. Happy Heavenly Birthday, Dad! I hope you all are celebrating up in Heaven today. My Prince has been working for the past two weeks, therefore, I have been alone with my thoughts. It has been a long two weeks. For some reason, I have had a dark cloud over me. I am not sure why, but I have been emotional and sad. I see how people go down the deep, dark path because I could have. I was thinking how sad it was to lose my dad when he was so young. And I thought of all the things that have happened over the last 14 years and how much I wish he was here to see them. How much I wish he could have met My Heart and how I wish he was here to call when I need advice.

I came back to Florida about a week ago, and I found a folder of poems that I wrote in high school. It made me realize how much I loved writing and still do. I need to get better at making my blog and writing in general more of a priority. Anyway, I wrote this poem for my Dad on June 16, 1990 for Father’s Day. Although these words are from 14-year-old me, they still ring true today.

Dad, for the wonderful man in my life

who always knows the answers

or he asks his wife.

Thank you for giving me advice

You always know what to say

whether naughty or nice.

Daddy, you have helped me so much

with basketball, softball,

sports and such.

But you leave the hard stuff to me,

hopefully everything will turn out

the way you want it to be.

You have taught me to do the best I can

that I can do anything

against any woman or man.

So this is for you, Dad, with all the love in my heart,

I hope we’ll always be together

and never apart!

Dad, I just want you to know how much you are missed. I want you to know how much I love you and how much I wish you were here. Even though I have shed a few tears over the last few weeks over the losses in my life, I realize how blessed I was to have been 36 years with you. I am blessed to know your smile. I cherish the lessons you taught me, and I look forward to celebrating your birthday with you one day in Heaven.

If you are feeling down or having a bad few weeks, it is ok. You can take some time to feel down, but then you have to pull yourself out of it. Have a therapy session with your therapist or friends and family. Try to find a positive in the day. Get out in nature, go for a walk, enjoy the sunshine, listen to the birds sing and then look for that little sign from Heaven that your person is sending you positive vibes.

In Weekly Wednesday Words

Too Easy

September 16, 2026 No Comments

Why do we find it so easy to hate and destroy each other rather than praising, loving, and building each other up? I don’t understand it, but I see it around me every day. Why can’t we spread love as easily as we spread hate? Let’s try to find the positive in each other and tell one another.

It has always been easy to hate and destroy. To build and to cherish is much more difficult.

~ Queen Elizabeth II

In Weekly Wednesday Words

Life

July 29, 2026 No Comments

I never heard this quote or anything like it until I met my husband. He read on Brian Kigh’s blog that E+R=O, which means Event + Response = Outcome. This closely resembles the quote below. Life is how we react to the events that are thrown at us. We can choose whether we react negatively or positively. We decide how strongly life’s events stay with us. Life is up to us. Choose wisely how you live it.

Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.

~Charles R. Swindoll

Photo by Binti Malu on Unsplash

In Weekly Wednesday Words

Your Job

June 17, 2026 No Comments

I think we all try to change people, and we need to realize that we can’t. People need to change for themselves. It is not our job to judge people either. It is our job to find people we want to surround ourselves with. Surround yourself with like-minded people who are always striving to be a better version of themselves and who can help you become a better version of yourself. If they are not, then they don’t need to be in your circle.

It is not your job to police anyone else’s behavior or educate them on who you think they should be. Your only job is to filter (for yourself) who gets a ticket into your world, and who needs to stay at the gate.

~ Amy Young

Photo by Vonecia Carswell on Unsplash

In Weekly Wednesday Words

Do It Anyway

June 3, 2026 No Comments

People may not appreciate what you do or say when you are kind and honest. And many people may not like it when you find happiness. But you need to be true to yourself and not let anyone else bring you down.

People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.

If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway.

If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway.

The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway.

For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.

~ Mother Teresa

Photo by Viktor Forgacs – click ↓↓ on Unsplash

In Weekly Wednesday Words

What We Learn

May 27, 2026 No Comments

What we learn as we get older is that life doesn’t always go as we plan. We need to learn to control what we can and not worry about what we can’t. Life is going to throw us lemons so let’s make lemonade.

At my age, I’ve learned that most of what we worry about never happens, and most of what does happen we never saw coming. So here’s my advice: prepare for what you can, accept what you can’t, and spend more time living than worrying. The graveyards are full of people who died with perfect plans but unlived lives. Don’t be one of them.

Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash

In Weekly Wednesday Words

Be Present

April 29, 2026 No Comments

Let’s try to stay present in each moment. Enjoy where we are in life. Too many times, we are rushing or striving for the next greatest thing instead of just enjoying where we are and how far we’ve come.

You’re constantly worrying about the next part of your life without realizing that you’re right in the middle of what you used to look forward to.

~ Power of Positivity

Photo by Alexas_Fotos on Unsplash

In Fitness and Nutrition

Natural Remedy

March 11, 2026 No Comments

Herbalism seeks to restore balance (homeostasis) in the body, treating conditions such as chronic illness, digestive issues, stress, and skin rashes. It focuses on the whole person and root causes, not just symptom suppression, according to my Google search. My girlfriend is in recovery from a long battle with cancer. She started using a natural protocol recommended to her by this herbalist as a way of gaining strength and vitality through a more natural remedy. She, in turn, recommended the herbalist to me.

At the beginning of the year, I met with the herbalist named Lisa Hamilton. I have always been intrigued with natural remedies and feel it is a better path to health. I decided to meet with her to discuss issues as an aging (almost 50!!) woman, namely these ridiculous hot flashes that come way too often! It’s funny how conversations with your girlfriends change through the years, from ” which bar are we hitting this weekend to how are the kids to I miss the kids and where are we traveling to I am getting hot flashes and my hormones are all messed up!” I am sure our husbands are tired of the menopausal conversations.

Anyway, I don’t like how, as a society, we have a pill for this and a shot for that. I don’t want to take medications for the rest of my life; therefore, I decided to meet with the herbalist and see what natural remedies she may have for me. She analyzed my eyes and my tongue as well as my symptoms and started me on a protocol of homeopathic medicines and tinctures. It has been two months, and I am feeling better and spending less money than I was on synthetic vitamins and supplements.

Using a more natural remedy isn’t for everyone, but the roots of using plants to foster health and well-being are one of the oldest healing traditions on Earth. If you are interested in learning more about natural remedies, check out her website and articles in the links above.

Photo by Content Pixie on Unsplash

In Weekly Wednesday Words

Habits

March 4, 2026 No Comments

I saw this list of good habits the other day and thought it would be a nice starting point for making small changes in your life that add up to big things. Just reading nine pages of a book a day will add up super quickly. We have time for daily habits if we make time. Spend 10 minutes on meditation instead of scrolling through social media on your phone. Anything can be achieved IF you want to achieve it.

1 hour of exercise
2 cups of herbal tea
3 liters of water
4 balanced meals a day
5 colorful fruits daily
6 minutes of deep breathing
7 minutes of stretching
8 hours of sleep
9 pages of a book
10 minutes of meditating
11 minutes of morning sunlight
12 grams of nuts or seeds
13 minutes of walking after meals
14 deep belly breaths before bed
15 seconds of cold water on your face to lower stress
16 minutes away from your phone before sleep
17 seconds of gratitude for what you have
18 slow mindful breaths to end your day

Photo by Drew Beamer on Unsplash

healthy habits

Your Next Lover

A Poem for Dad

Too Easy

Life

Your Job

Do It Anyway

What We Learn

Be Present

Natural Remedy

Habits

Missing Gram

Letter to Gram