#slowliving — Public Fediverse posts

We live in a culture obsessed with optimizing every minute—turning hobbies into side hustles and rest into "recovery."

When did we stop doing things just for the simple joy of doing them?

What is one activity you still do purely for fun, with zero pressure to be productive or monetize it?

#Mindfulness #Productivity #SlowLiving #Hobbies #Life #Discussion

We live in a culture obsessed with optimizing every minute—turning hobbies into side hustles and rest into "recovery."

When did we stop doing things just for the simple joy of doing them?

What is one activity you still do purely for fun, with zero pressure to be productive or monetize it?

#Mindfulness #Productivity #SlowLiving #Hobbies #Life #Discussion

We live in a culture obsessed with optimizing every minute—turning hobbies into side hustles and rest into "recovery."

When did we stop doing things just for the simple joy of doing them?

What is one activity you still do purely for fun, with zero pressure to be productive or monetize it?

#Mindfulness #Productivity #SlowLiving #Hobbies #Life #Discussion

We live in a culture obsessed with optimizing every minute—turning hobbies into side hustles and rest into "recovery."

When did we stop doing things just for the simple joy of doing them?

What is one activity you still do purely for fun, with zero pressure to be productive or monetize it?

#Mindfulness #Productivity #SlowLiving #Hobbies #Life #Discussion

We live in a culture obsessed with optimizing every minute—turning hobbies into side hustles and rest into "recovery."

When did we stop doing things just for the simple joy of doing them?

What is one activity you still do purely for fun, with zero pressure to be productive or monetize it?

#Mindfulness #Productivity #SlowLiving #Hobbies #Life #Discussion

A quiet life is underrated

#SlowLiving #Photography

A quiet life is underrated

#SlowLiving #Photography

A quiet life is underrated

#SlowLiving #Photography

A quiet life is underrated

#SlowLiving #Photography

A quiet life is underrated

#SlowLiving #Photography

A butterfly morning 🦋

Our little caterpillar completed her metamorphosis and became a beautiful Swallowtail butterfly!

It felt like Christmas morning, as I came down the stairs and saw her perched upside down on the tulle in the habitat box the kids had made for her.

When we found the caterpillar in our garden, the kids decided to “raise” her in a diy caterpillar habitat. Then, they named the caterpillar Cali.

Of course, we weren’t really sure if the caterpillar was male or female, but the kids decided it was definitely a girl. Lol

We waited a little bit before releasing Cali because her wings were still damp and needed time dry off.

Once we felt it was the right time, we brought the butterfly box to the front porch and slowly opened the tulle we had placed on top of the container.

Cali didn’t fly out of the box right away, though. Her wings weren’t ready just yet. So, we spent some time ohhing and ahhing over her. 🥹🦋

Two of our neighbors walked by wanting to know why we were huddled together and the kids were squealing with delight.

We showed them Cali calmly resting on Travis’ hand, and one of the neighbors said she thought the butterfly was beautiful. 😊

And then all of a sudden, the butterfly fluttered her wings and flew off of Travis’ hand and onto Zephaniah’s chest.

The kids squealed again, and Zephaniah froze. But he had the biggest smile on his face.

A few minutes later, the butterfly flew up into the air and fluttered away.

💜 XO

Sunday at the library 📚

Took the kids to the public library after Mass. It was supposed to be a quick trip, but you know how that goes—going to the library is hardly ever quick with four kids in tow. 😂

Here are a few of the books the kids checked out. 📚💜

Zephaniah (9) loves Vox books. He likes to follow along with the narrator reading the book aloud.

Vox books has helped him with his reading skills, too!

Zechariah (11) always checks put at least one Minecraft book when we go to the library. This time he got four Minecraft books! 😄

He loves playing the game and creating so many designs. The books help him learn new ways to build and create.

I spotted this one on the “New Books” shelf. The little cowgirl riding her horse caught my eye.

Zaya and I watch a lot of the Canadian TV show Heartland, so I thought she’d love to read this book.

Silly Zhen (13) found this book in the nonfiction section of the children’s library and she thought it’d be a funny read. 😂

When Zaya (6) saw the illustration of Bob Ross on the cover of Rima and the Painter, she immediately grabbed the book and excitedly showed me the book.

“Look, Mommy!” Zaya said to me happily pointing at the Bob Ross illustration. “It’s the painter we watch on TV!”

💜 XO

Broken sunflowers still bloom 🌻

In the springtime, Travis and I discovered volunteer sunflower sprouts growing in between the sidewalk.

I’m pretty sure the sunflower seeds were left behind in the wintertime by the birds and squirrels when I put up bird feeders.

So, we gently moved the sunflower sprouts to our garden bed.

We managed to “rescue” six of the eight sunflower sprouts we found in the sidewalk. All six of the sprouts recovered from transplant shock and grew strong and tall.

But as many gardeners know, sunflower stems can still be fragile, especially during storms or when pesky squirrels are rummaging through your garden. 😏🐿

The beautiful thing about sunflowers, though, is that they are resilient plants.

Despite nature’s challenges, sunflowers will try very hard to keep growing, even when broken. Sometimes they just need a little help.

This is something I have learned this gardening season.

I was able to save one broken sunflower plant by trimming down the stem and placing it in a vase of water.

The sunflower still bloomed, and the bees loved it!

Another sunflower plant with a broken stem (thanks squirrel! 🐿😏) Travis was able to make a stick-based cast for it.

And the other day, that sunflower bud still bloomed!

It makes me happy that even though a couple of our sunflowers experienced hardships, we were still able to give the flowers a chance to complete their life cycle. 🌻😍

Despite being broken, the sunflowers served a great purpose by attracting the bees to our garden to pollinate our food plants (like our peppers 🫑 and tomatoes 🍅).

And perhaps there’s a lesson to be learned from broken sunflowers that keep blooming anyway. 😉🌻🙏🏽

💜 XO

Despacio. One word. My grandmother's entire yoga teaching, without the yoga.

She said it to her plants, to herself, to a ten-year-old who didn't know she was learning.

What word from someone you loved carries the most?

#slowliving #yoga #embodiedwisdom
#spanishyogi #breath #contemplativelife
#yogajourney #presence #clararamirez

Enjoying the view

We had appointments and errands to run in the city, so we stopped by Michigan Central Station to take a break at Roosevelt Park in Detroit.

The kids were amazed by the view of the historic train station from the park, and it reminded me how much Roosevelt Park has changed over the years.

I really like the new walking paths and seating throughout the park, especially the swings.

I enjoyed seeing people walking, riding bikes, reading books, playing catch, and simply slowing down to enjoy the afternoon.

I wish I had taken more photos, but honestly, I was feeling a little anxious after my annual doctor’s appointment. Now I’m waiting for my lab results, along with the biopsy results from an unusual spot I found on my skin.

I just needed a quiet moment in the park to slow down and let my mind rest. 😌

💜 XO

It’s all coming together 🌻

I’m decorating my front porch with my new thrifted folding tables. ☺️

Groceries and thrift store shopping day

I found some great thrifty finds for under $24! ☺️

Sunflowers and tomatoes 🌻🍅

A new sunflower bloom 🌻 and blushing tomatoes 🍅

Drawing with the kids 👩🏽‍🎨

Today, I enjoyed a calming activity with the kids—sketching and coloring flowers. 🌸 The flower activity was part of a science lesson for the kids to draw, color, and label a flower with pollen.

I turned on a jazz playlist to help us focus on our artwork, and as we were creating our sketches, it started to rain.

Perfect timing! 🌧☺️

We discussed shapes we could see in the image of the flower.

One shape that stood out to Zaya (5) and Zephaniah (8) was the middle of the flower reminded them of a hexagon.

So, together we sketched a hexagon shape onto our sketch pads.

Surprisingly, drawing a hexagon is not as easy as I thought it would be! It took me several tries to finally get the six sides connected to form the shape. 😆

Next, we discussed the vibrant yellow color of the pollen and its purpose. We also made connections to the flowers and vegetables growing in our garden.

There was something unexpectedly joyful sitting at the kitchen table with Zaya and Zephaniah, drawing and coloring together.

Keep in mind I am not an artist 😅.

However, the children told me they thought my purple flower looked amazing, and really, that’s all the recognition I needed. 🥰

💜 XO

Somewhat clear skies

It feels good to be back outside now that the air quality is improving.

An unexpected visitor 🐣

A summer storm left our patio garden with one unexpected little visitor. 🐥

A front porch garden harvest 🫑

Enjoying a small garden harvest right from our front porch! 🫑🥬

Somewhat clear skies

We’re still under an air quality alert (because of the wildfire smoke), but today the atmosphere was much better than last Wednesday afternoon.

And the temps were a little cooler with a nice breeze.

We’ve been able to get out and enjoy the park again.

I just love visiting parks tucked away in neighborhoods near our house. The neighborhood parks feature a playground with paved walking paths good for walking and riding bikes or even skating.

One of my favorite features is how the walking paths go around the playground making it easier for us to keep an eye on the kids while we walk.

It feels good to see people out jogging, walking, riding bikes, and playing at the playground again.

Last week’s thick smoke made everything look like a ghost town because no one was out walking in the neighborhood or at the parks. Traffic was even lighter than usual.

I know the kids are thrilled to be back at the playground.

They’ve had the best time going to the park three days in a row. They asked me if we can go everyday. Lol 😅

Travis and I enjoy walking together while the kids play at the playground, so I think we just might make evening walks part of our nightly routine! ☺️

💜 XO

An unexpected visitor 🐣

A summer storm left our patio garden with one unexpected little visitor. 🐥

A front porch garden harvest 🫑

Enjoying a small garden harvest right from our front porch! 🫑🥬

Attack of the ravenous cabbage caterpillars 🐛

My broccoli never stood a chance. 😏🥦🐛

Pool day ☀️

It was another hot day, so the kids and I spent some time at the pool today. The temps reached 94°F, but i think the weather app said it felt like 102°F! 🥵

I’ll be honest—for most of the summer, I kept putting off going to the pool because I don’t particularly like wearing a bathing suit. 🫤

But once we got in the pool and started swimming around, I really started to enjoy myself! 😄🏊‍♀️

It made me realize I need to just relax and take a break sometimes, stop being so hard on myself.

I mean, it is summer after all. Lol ☀️😊

Mj (24), my oldest daughter stopped by to hangout with us at the pool after she got off from work.

She has her own apartment in our neighborhood—just three minutes walking distance from our house.

It’s nice having my daughter live in the same neighborhood as me. I really enjoy having her live so close by to us.

I’m so glad we went to the pool around 1 p.m. and hung out for a couple of hours because the weather unexpectedly got bad later in the day.

All of a sudden, around 6 p.m. the air quality became hazy and unhealthy because of the wildfires in Canada. 😲 (We live about 40 minutes from the Canadian border.)

The atmosphere became very smoky outside as if the entire neighborhood had finished shooting off fireworks. You could even smell the burning wood!

I’m keeping Canada and all U.S. states affected by these wildfires in my prayers! 🙏🏽

💜 XO

Productive Monday 😎

I got so much accomplished on this busy Monday! 🙌🏾

One habit that has improved my life the most 🙏🏽

This daily habit has had the biggest impact on my life…🙏🏽💜

Flight of the bumblebee 🐝

Finally! Our first bumblebee sighting of the season! 🐝🌻

A Day in the Life at Duffney’s Bird Barn

https://duffneysbirdbarn.wordpress.com/2026/07/13/a-day-in-the-life-at-duffneys-bird-barn/

Arguments over literal truth feel like a distraction, a misdirection, while the real thing is happening elsewhere. But what is the real thing, the real message?.
https://tonyearnshaw.substack.com/p/existential-musings
#reflectivewriting #faithandlife #mindfulreading #slowliving#contemplativereads #haiku
#poetry #poetrycommunity #writing #writingcommunity

Some success looks beautiful on the outside and is quietly empty on the inside.
The whisper you hear at 2 AM — when the house is still and notifications have stopped — that isn't failure.
That is wisdom.
A life built on inner peace isn't a small life.
It's the only life that was truly yours.
🔗 https://observations.in/finding-inner-peace-the-new-definition-of-success/
#InnerPeace #PersonalGrowth #Mindfulness #ReflectiveWriting #SlowLiving

Create a front yard that feels warm and welcoming #garden #gardendesign #frontyard https://www.allforgardening.com/1765782/create-a-front-yard-that-feels-warm-and-welcoming-garden-gardendesign-frontyard/ #BackyardGardenTransformation #CountrysideAsmr #CountrysideLife #DiyVegetableGarden #FrontYardGarden #FrontYardLandscape #FrontYardLandscapes #FrontYardLandscapingIdeas #FrontYard? #GardenBefore&After #GardenDesign #gardening #GrowFoodAtHome #NatureRelaxation #RaisedBedVegetableGarden #RuralLife #SlowLiving #Welcoming

Not me out here living my best life… one tiny moment at a time 🦥✨

Sometimes it’s not about doing the most—
it’s about actually enjoying where you are.

Vegas is loud.
Vegas is fast.

…but I’m choosing slow, soft, and unbothered energy today.

Even if your life feels chaotic right now,
you’re allowed to pause… sip… and just exist for a minute.

Tiny reminder:
You don’t have to rush your life to make it meaningful.

#VegasVibes #LasVegasLife #TinyButMighty #SlothLife #SlowLiving #VegasContent