Taking Care of Myself - Guest Blogger TRISTI PINKSTON & a Great Giveaway

Several months ago, I got a nice review of Gifted from a fellow writer/blogger. We were both going to be attending the LDStorymakers Conference, and I looked forward to meeting her. But both days of the conference came and went and I hadn't had a chance to say hello. Then as some of us got ready for the Whitney Awards in the restroom, there was Tristi. We had a short conversation and she turned out to be as nice as I expected she would be. Tristi has just finished a cookbook, so I invited her to do a guest post on the blog. Read what she has to say and then enter to win a copy of her cookbook.

To enter, leave a comment about a healthy change you've made in your life. For more entries, facebook this posting, twitter this posting or post it to your own blog and leave another comment. Be sure to leave a comment for each entry.

We'll end this contest and pick a winner on Friday at midnight. (Sorry, this giveaway is just open to US residents.)

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I’m a wife and mother, a Cubmaster, an author, editor, virtual book tour coordinator, a homeschooler, a blogger, a media reviewer, a daughter . . . the list goes on, and I’m sure that when you sit down to make your list, it looks something like this.  We all wear many hats, and we get so busy scrambling from thing to thing that we push our non-priorities to the side to make room for the most important things in our lives.  All too often, we push self-care to the side, thinking that someone else’s needs are more important than our own.

I’ve heard “fill the well” so many times, I’m practically drowning in it, but it never clicked with me. I was raised to be the peacemaker, the selfless one, the serving and giving one, and any time I would stop to do something for myself, I felt guilty, like I should be still out there serving and giving. 

Recently, though, my body has been shutting down.  It’s giving me signals that it can’t keep going at this pace, and you know what, it makes me mad.  I want to keep pushing and pushing, but now my body is pushing back, and I’ve had to embark on a journey of healing and recovery.  My doctor has been repeatedly emphasizing that my kids need their mother—and what a great way to turn Mommy guilt to a better advantage, right?

I wrote my new cookbook, “Bless Your Heart,” to help those who are interested in heart health to learn how they can prevent future heart problems by lowering the sodium in their daily diets.  It’s not just for those who already have heart conditions—isn’t it better to prevent a heart attack than to recover from one?  Heart disease is the #1 killer in our country right now, even beating out cancer for the top spot, and sodium contributes to heart disease.  I wanted to give others some delicious, quick, easy meals they can serve their families and to help them put their heart health front and center on their priority list.

Am I now taking 100% better care of myself?  No, but I will tell you this—when I look at where I was three months ago, and where I am today, I’m a rock star.  Rock. Star.  And every day, as I continue on this journey and choose to get enough rest and choose to exercise and choose to eat a nice salad with my lunch, I get closer to understanding what it really means to love myself, because at the end of the day, if you don’t love yourself, you’ll be miserable, and I don’t choose to be miserable.