Shades of Ay

Self care is essential! I can't let the irony of the moment pass as I'm currently battling a cold and doing a terrible job with even the most basic things to get better, like getting enough sleep. Reminder, especially for women, you have to put on your oxygen mask first, before you can help someone else. When I'm stressed and anxious I find that crafting, reading, and writing  are great ways for me to calm down and focus on something other than my current source of stress. Plus, I'm a huge book nerd, so I have this life long love affair with books. That's a whole other post :) I keep several journals and notebooks, each with a different purpose. One is a personal journal, that will never see the light of day, another is a gratitude journal, one is a notebook I walk with for random thoughts, and I keep note books for my crafting hobbies, noting things I've learn or things I want to make some day. I crochet and I'm currently teaching myself...

Hey there and thanks for visiting! What exactly is this blog about? It's bits and pieces of me. My life as a 30 something Black woman, living with anxiety, managing it and exploring self care.  The name Shades of Ay, refers to me, Ay is one of the many nicknames, I've accumulated over time. Some days I feel bright and vibrant and other days gray and washed out. Shades of Ay encompasses that spectrum of feelings and me. Some days, there's no rhyme or reason behind when anxiety strikes. It can pop up during an every day routine moment, like grocery shopping. Other times, I can tell you exactly what's the trigger, ie driving to a new and unfamiliar place, aka rising stress levels. Stop me if you're heard this story before... There's an event at the Merry Blue Green Place, on February 29th. Great!  Hmm...not familiar with that name...Okay lets see what Google Maps says...It's an hour from home... What's the best way? Can ...