Penny Pincher Fashion

Fashion, Beauty and Style

  • Home
  • Fashion
    • Popular Posts
    • Spring
    • Summer
    • Fall
    • Winter
    • SAVE or SPLURGE
    • Mom Style
      • Outfit Ideas
      • Beauty
  • Capsules
  • 365 Outfits
  • Shop
    • My Feed
    • Gift Guides
    • Under $100
    • Under $50
  • About
  • Contact
    • Amazon
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    • Twitter

Fashion

Breaking Down

I don’t write these types of posts often, because it’s uncomfortable for me to be completely vulnerable…but, through the years, I’ve learned that sometimes the best thing we can do as women is to acknowledge our struggles and weaknesses & share what we are going through.  Just simply saying it out loud can help so many others feel less alone in their journey.  True transparency is important to me and is something I always want to maintain on this site – at the end of the day, I’m a real woman dealing with real problems just like everyone else.

Since finding out that I had Lupus in 2014, I have truly become an advocate for my health – I took matters into my own hands, I researched tirelessly, educated myself and made significant dietary & lifestyle changes in an effort to improve my symptoms.  For the first year, it was incredibly successful in helping me avoid the steroids and chemo drugs that doctors assured me I would need to manage my disease.  I was so grateful when I was declared “in remission” by my rheumatologist – that was something I took great pride in because I had worked hard & sacrificed so much to achieve it.

Over the past few months, however, things have been on a steady decline.  There were a series of events that occurred: I had a pre-cancerous lump removed from my breast, we tragically & unexpectedly lost someone close to us, a dear family friend was diagnosed with cancer and my son’s tics became more invasive.  On top of those emotional stressors, my  husband had some significant changes to his job, we took on new leadership responsibilities at our church & my everyday workload began to increase.  All of these things happening back-to-back felt like a heavy burden on my shoulders that I was having difficulty carrying.  I did my best to manage my regular routine, but it seemed like there were less and less hours in the day and it was impossible to get everything accomplished.  I dropped my mid-morning exercise class in an effort to get more work done, I started eating lunch at my desk rather than taking a step away from my office & I began having a hard time falling asleep at night while an endless to-do list ran through my head.  

It became the perfect storm and quickly contributed to chronic levels of stress in my life.  Unfortunately, stress causes inflammation in the body quicker than poor eating & sleep habits combined.  And when you have an autoimmune disease, the greater the inflammation = the worse your symptoms.  I began feeling really sick again & made an appointment with a functional medicine doctor to have some extensive testing done.  When we received the results, I was devastated.  My inflammation levels were off the charts – almost back to where they were when I was first diagnosed.  Despite my continued clean eating, the stress in my life and my inability to deal with it in a healthy way was causing my disease to flare again.

Certainly being the primary provider for our household comes with a certain amount of pressure, but I recognize that my “job” is in no way as difficult as an ER nurse or teacher or a full-time medical student or a single working mother (in terms of stress).  What it came down to was my own flaws: my type-A, perfectionistic, OCD tendencies were working against me.  On the outside, everything seemed fine and I was hitting all the goals I needed to.  But on the inside, I was suffering…and it was self-inflicted.  I couldn’t allow myself to skip a day or miss the mark or take a break.  It was full speed ahead at all times & in all areas.  In short, I was my own worst enemy.  


I know I’m not alone in this, which is part of the reason I wanted to share my story today.  So many women feel the compulsion to always say yes, to be all things to all people, to have everything together – a clean & organized home, a successful career, well-behaved children, a perfect wardrobe.  Though it may look good to others, what keeping all these balls in the air actually feels like is complete misery & utter exhaustion.  And that is no way to live our lives.  I think it’s time to let a few balls drop.  To learn to say no more often.  To make time for the things that bring us joy. And, perhaps most importantly, to give each other grace when we do all of the above.  


A messy home or wrinkled clothing or an unruly child doesn’t mean we are “less than” – in fact, I would argue that it makes us even more beautiful because we are showing what is REAL in a world that’s filled with smoke & mirrors. When we allow our imperfections to be visible, we are less likely to stress about them & more likely to simply embrace the craziness of this life.  I certainly don’t have it all figured out and, I don’t know about you, but I’m in full support of us all joining together & collectively quieting the voice in our heads that says we have to. 

04.02.15 Kimberly

Related Posts

  • Winter Wardrobe Challenge
  • Closet Reveal ~ Part 1
  • Ruffled Floral Dress
  • Essential Espadrilles
« Polished Pastels
Dark Florals »

Comments

  1. Heidi says

    April 2, 2015 at 3:32 pm

    Hugs! We're all too worried about trying to be perfect all the time when really we should be focusing all of our energy on our health and well being. You've got to take care of yourself. Don't worry about putting on airs for others.

    http://jax-and-jewels.blogspot.com

SALES ALERTS

Disclosure

Penny Pincher Fashion is a part of several affiliate networks. This means when you click on links to various merchants on this site and/or make a purchase, this may result in a commission that is credited to PPF. Also, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I take the responsibility of recommending products very seriously & will link to items that I personally love.

Instagram Snapshots

Let’s connect

Copyright © 2011–2023 Penny Pincher Fashion LLC · All Rights Reserved · Privacy Policy · Terms & Conditions · Design by High Note Designs, LLC

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings.

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.

3rd Party Cookies

This website uses Google Analytics to collect anonymous information such as the number of visitors to the site, and the most popular pages.

Keeping this cookie enabled helps us to improve our website.

Please enable Strictly Necessary Cookies first so that we can save your preferences!

Privacy Policy

More information about our Privacy Policy