As you read this, I hope you’re safe, healthy and have some sense of peace during this insanely stressful time that we’re all experiencing. I cannot believe we’ve all been going through COVID-19 for the past two months and counting.
What started out as taking precautions and being extra careful has turned into a new way of life for us all. As many of you know, my husband and I live in the NYC Metro area, specifically across the water in North NJ. The virus has hit this part of the country quite hard and the effects can be felt everywhere.
We’ve been safe at home and pretty much self quarantining for 2 months. Nate’s job quickly rolled out work from home back in early March and as you guys know I’ve been job hunting and getting my entrepreneurial vibe on for a year now! It’s crazy to me that on my one-year anniversary of leaving Macy’s was also the around the same time COVID-19 started to hit crazy. Macy’s actually furloughed hundreds of thousands of workers due to the pandemic. I guess in hindsight, had I not left and stepped out on faith I would be one of the thousands of workers devastated by that decision. God always has a plan, you hear me??
In any case, over the past few weeks, my husband and I have been in a constant state of peace. As the lead pastor of our church says we are warriors and we were built for such a time as this, I guess that’s what’s really getting us through. In addition to feeling pretty secure and at ease because of our faith, I’ve been filling up my days with some passion projects that have really started to flourish. In today’s blog post, I’m going to share with you 5 things I’ve been doing since quarantined that have been keeping me sane.
1. Meditating, Praying & Worshiping & Working Out
Having a morning routine during this time is super-critical to keeping your peace of mind and creating some sense of normalcy. To be honest, Nate and I have had this routine for months now, so maintaining it while quarantined has been pretty easy. We wake up around 7am every day and work out together (yes, together! I have the videos to prove it.) Two weeks ago, we finished P90X3 which as a brutal 90-day workout from P90X on Beachbodyondemand. We saw our bodies transform and wanted more! So, after the 90 days, we just started a new 60-day program. Working out is great for physical strength but it also gives you mental clarity and an overall feeling of joy. I’ve enjoyed the internal and external results.
After we work out, we both go into our different routines. For me, It’s a shake and shower. After that, I meditate for 10 minutes using my calm app. Then I read my daily Gabrielle Berstein spirit junkie affirmation. Followed by a Bible app devotional that both Nate and I share together. After that, I start my day, whether that’s a phone call, emails, content planning, brainstorming or working on my new e-book! After working out and meditating, some days, all that’s on my schedule is to relax and watch tv, let’s be honest lol
2. Cooking, recording and sharing my content on TikTok
If you guys have been following me for some time, then you know that I LOVE to cook. It’s a form of meditation and therapy for me. I just enjoy the kitchen and creating something homemade. I also always share my cooking on Instagram stories. I never really took it too seriously until the other day. I decided to start sharing my videos on tiktok but actually catering to the way people on the app like to watch videos. I did a voice-over and edited showing my dish from start to finish. That video went viral and now has over 60K views in less than a week. Needless to say, I’ve been spending more time on the app and sharing my videos there as well.
3. Having an IG LIVE Cooking Party every Friday at 7pm Est
About 6 weeks ago, I decided to go LIVE, like everyone else lol but I wanted to do something that I knew people would enjoy. I figured since people loved my cooking stories that they would love to cook along with me too. I host a cooking live party on my IG every Friday. Tomorrow is my sixth week hosting it and I have had a blast doing it! We’ve made cajun shrimp alfredo, baked ravioli, broiled lobster with stuffed crab baked potato, shrimp rundown, and tomorrow saffron risotto with pan-seared salmon. It’s a party! You’ve got to join us, girl!
4. Writing a cookbook
When I’m not going live, working out, praying or tiktok-ing, I’m working on my first e-cookbook, which I literally just finished editing yesterday. Every time I share a cooking video, the first question I get asked is can I have the recipe? Most people don’t realize that it takes a lot of effort to create a recipe let alone write it all down, photograph it, and make it into a legit thing. Due to this demand for recipes, I decided to start sending out weekly e-mails of free recipes that are requested on my Instagram. I’ve been doing this for the past 2 months and wanted to take it a step further by crafting my first e-cookbook that will be available for purchase next week!
5. Leaning into my strengths
I think the biggest takeaway during this time is that I had the capability to do everything I’ve listed about all along. For the past year, I’ve been home similar to how we’re all home together now, but I was sooo worried about getting my next corporate gig that it started to takeover. I forgot about my true creative side and I wasn’t leaning into my strengths nearly as much as I am now. It’s sad that it took a global pandemic to get me to wake up and just go for what I want. Nonetheless, I’m here now, and I’m going for it!
I hope that you’ll support me along the way and that if you have certain dreams and desires that are inside of you that you will GO FOR IT, too!
Stay tuned for more to come from @asiliglam!
