My Inner Shakti

finding strength in everyday things

Nine Lessons from Nine Years of Blogging

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Happy 9th birthday to My Inner Shakti!

I can’t believe I started blogging nine years ago! I remember it like it was yesterday.

My very first blog design!

Even though blogging has changed completely since 2011, I still love it just the same. I foresee myself keeping up with my little corner of the internet for another 9+ years at least. Mainly because y’all would miss me! 😉

I thought I would share the nine biggest lessons I’ve learned from blogging to help celebrate this momentous occasion! And of course, lots of chocolate will be consumed today as well!

In no particular order…

  1. Don’t focus on other people – what they think, what they might say, etc. When it comes to things like this, it’s more about them anyways!
  2. If you feel a strong pull to share your creativity (whatever that looks like) with the world, do it…NOW! When it comes to blogging, there’s honestly no time like the present. And trust me when I say, once you get started, you’ll wonder why you didn’t do so much earlier.
  3. Don’t focus on the numbers too much. They should never be your driving force. Those who are meant to find you will do so when they are meant to find you.
  4. You passion/creative outlet doesn’t have to turn into a side hustle or your full-time job. Sometimes it’s better to let a hobby stay a hobby.
  5. Your blog will grow and change as your life grows and changes. That’s ok. I started out mainly writing about my healthy living journey. I now mostly write about motherhood. Not because I don’t love healthy living type stuff, but because being a mom is front and center right now. That’s also where a lot of my creativity and ideas are. So that’s what I write about. It’s a lot simpler than we make it, people!
  6. IRL > online life. Every now and then, forget about your blog, your IG page, and social media in general and live your life. Don’t write/share about it either. Let IRL stay IRL!
  7. Don’t ever compare your journey to anyone else’s. Creativity is unique to each of us. There’s no use in comparing, so just keep doing your thing!
  8. Use whatever your thing is to connect with like minded people. It’s WAY more fun that way!
  9. If something truly brings you joy, find a way to keep it in your life. I connected with so many bloggers early on who I LOVED. Sadly, most of them no longer blog. I know time become scarcer as we get older, but I truly believe that the things we love always deserve a place in our lives. Find a way to keep going!

And that’s all she wrote, folks!

I know I say this a lot, but THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for making time to visit this little space of mine. Every single interaction means the world to me! MIS would be nothing without youuuuuuu!

Lots of love!

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High 5 on a Friday

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Guys, how is it already January 17, 2020!? It’s really wigging me out with how fast this year is already flying by! And honestly, when I look at my calendar, it doesn’t look like it’s stopping any time soon!

Anyway, let’s get right to it – my five things this Friday…

One

My sister and I are headed to LA next weekend to visit my grandparents, and I could not be any more excited – to see them and spend some quality time with my sister! We don’t have any major plans…just trying to squeeze in some authentic Mexican food! My grandparents live with my aunt and uncle, so it’ll be so nice to spend some time with them too.

Unfortunately, I’m not taking Kaiden with me. He’ll get some good old quality time with his dada. I originally wanted to, but then thought against it when I realized I would have to do everything on my own. Of course, my sister would be there, but I don’t expect her to wake up two hours early (time difference) with us or go comfort a crying Kaiden in the middle of the night like I would of Vishnu. Not to mention all of his stuff, etc., etc. This would not allow for optimal quality time with my grandparents, and that’s the whole reason for the trip. Maybe I’ll regret this decision once I’m there, but I’m thinking it’ll be a-ok!

ALSO, on a related but separate note, I’ll finally get to try Nishi Mami’s Cookie’s when I’m in LA! I placed my order with the other day, and I’m so excited to do a taste test with the family! More to come!

Two

I owe you guys a 2020 reading/book update! I’m deep into the Nicholas Sparks’ book that I didn’t actually read (returned the other one to the library), and I’m really like it. It’s called Two by Two, and it’s a little different than his past books. Still very romantic and dramatic, but it has a different/normal feel to it. I’ll share more when I’m done!

Speaking of the library, two of the books I placed holds on are ready for pickup – The Next Person You Meet in Heaven and Ghosted! I’m so excited, but also a little nervous because this means I need to get my read on and fast! Maybe this is the fire I needed under my butt to make nightly reading a priority.

Three

Vishnu and I never got K a Christmas present. That was very intentional. He got so many new toys from his grandparents, so it was a little unnecessary. My BIL and his fiancé got K a set of these Manve magnetic tiles. Kaiden did really well with them at first, and then he was getting increasingly frustrated every time they stuck to one another. It was getting to the point where I just had to hide them. I then noticed that K played with Magnatiles at school, so I asked his teacher if he gets upset when they fall apart or when things don’t go his way. Of course, he’s at school so he’s an angel. Ha! I asked Vishnu if he thought K would do better with actual Magnatiles, and he said, “Let’s find out.” So we got him this set and called it his belated Christmas gift. He still gets frustrated but not as much. I can that a win! Now Vishnu and I can play with the other set… 🙂

Four

I’ve talked about it a bit on Instagram, but Kaiden has been LOVING his weekly soccer class. We went to a free ‘tryout’ class when he was 18 months, and it was a disaster. But now? He runs around on his own and sometimes doesn’t even need or ask for us!

It’s kind of cool to see your kid excel and enjoy something without you having to push it. We’ll see how long this lasts, but for now, I really enjoy watching him concentrate, laugh, and have fun on Sunday mornings.

FIVE

I recently shared a post on Instagram about my workout system. Essentially, what I fall back on when motivation isn’t quite enough. If you recall, I shared a fitness challenge I did with my friends a while back. Well, now I’m doing that same challenge but with Vishnu, my sister, my BIL, my other BIL, and his fiancé. It’s a family affair!

Essentially, we have to get at least 12 workouts in every month. A workout = 30 minutes of intentional activity. You can’t double up. If you don’t get 12 in, you owe each person who does $5. Simple!

Hoping this, along with my system, keeps me accountable all year long!

Tell me…what are you reading right now? I’m building out my 2020 list and want to include some good reads this year!

No portion of this post is sponsored.  However, affiliate links are included. There is no extra cost to you, but I do receive a small commission on anything you buy through my links.  Thank you for reading and supporting My Inner Shakti!

The Start of Potty Training

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I say the ‘start’ because I think it’s going to take a bit longer than I originally imagined it would. There are people who claim they’ve potty trained their kids in 3 days flat, and I thought I was going to be one of those moms. Turned out I was wrong! But that’s ok. This is truly one of those things you have to do at your child’s pace.

I got a lot of questions and requests on IG to share what we’re doing, why we’re doing it, the products we’re using, tips, tricks, etc. So that’s what today’s post is about. But please note, we are not some magical success story. Like I said, this is going to be a journey for us and this is just the starts.

Why now?

A lot of people told us we were starting too early. But I really wanted to start right after K turned 2.5 for a few reasons. One – in case it didn’t go according to plan and took longer, we’d have more time (and that’s what happened). Two – his school won’t move him up to the next classroom until he’s potty trained. Three – I have some travel coming up between now and the middle of the year, so I needed to factor that in when thinking about Kaiden and what he would need at this time. Essentially, for K, it’s better to have minimal disruptions to his routine for him to feel comfortable with something as big as this.

Approach

Ok, so because I wanted to see if the 3 day method would work for us, I had Vishnu take a Friday off (I already have off), and we kept K home from school too.

The plan was to stay home Friday-Sunday and take Kaiden to the potty every 15 minutes. We did that…kind of. It didn’t end up being every 15 minutes because after a few rounds Kaiden was getting super annoyed. Haha! We kept him commando from the waist down the first 1.5 days and then let him wear underwear. Also, if K successfully went pee in the potty, he got one M&M. And if we went poop (which he didn’t), he would get two M&Ms.

We also transitioned him out of diapers and only used Pull Ups for naps and night time sleep.

We did end up leaving the house for soccer class on Sunday because I think we were all a little crazed from being inside for so long!

So that was our ‘simple’ approach. We didn’t quite stick with the original plan as strictly as we probably should have, but in retrospect, I think we’re fine!

I would never include pics from K’s potty training journey any where, especially not on a public blog. So instead, you get a cute picture of him sleeping! Ha!

Where are we now?

It’s been a little over 10 days since our introduction to potty training, and I’d say Kaiden is getting the hang of it slowly but surely. He does fairly well with peeing in the potty, tell us when he has to go, can thankfully hold it, etc. That being said, he still has accidents, especially when he’s distracted!

In terms of pooping in the potty, he’s not there yet. And I read that this part can take a lot longer. We did have one semi-victorious incident, but that’s it!

We’re lucky in that Kaiden’s school also works with him/us on this journey. There’s a potty in his room, and the thinking is they also learn by watching other kids go. And his teachers are great about taking him regularly and talking to him about the experience (sounds strange but telling a toddler they’re turning the potty water yellow is a great way to get them to go!).

Final Thoughts

Expect this to be a longish process and really just go with your kid’s flow (literally!). Like most things parenting, your experience will just depend. Don’t compare yourself to other people and their experiences…just do what’s best for your child. They will eventually get it!

For us, I’m hoping that in the next couple of months, we’re able to say we’re daytime potty trained! Fingers crossed!

A few other notes – expect some type of regression when starting this process. For K, it was in the sleeping and behavior department. His nighttime sleep was punctuated with random wake ups, so we had to work through that for a few days. And he went from being independent and generally really happy to whiny and clingy (with me!). Thankfully both were short lived! And finally, try to stay as calm as possible. This can bring out some frustration from you and your partner (I speak from experience) but know that it does get easier and focus on the wins!

Tools

Here are some of the tools we used to help us get started…

Underwear – I got K three packs of this Sesame Street underwear since he loves the show and all the characters! It runs a little small, so keep that in mind when ordering.

At home potty seat – We opted to not get a separate mini potty for K, as a lot of friends (and his teachers) told us that would be yet another thing to ween him off. We really like this particular seat – basic but does the job!

Folding (portable) potty seat – We have yet to use this, but I keep it folded and in K’s diaper bag for when he starts going places without his Pull Ups!

Chucks – So I had no idea what a chuck was prior to starting this process. Vishnu brought some home from work and told me that we had to use them (we asked my BIL to also bring some home – helps to know doctors!). We kept one on the couch and one by K’s potty, and boy did these bad boys come in handy! Especially when we had messy accidents. Having a chuck around made clean up a lot easier. They aren’t cheap by any means, but this is definitely a must have IMO!

Leave any questions you have in the comments! OR if you’re an experienced parent who’s been through this before, please share your thoughts, ideas, tips, product recs, etc.

No portion of this post is sponsored.  However, affiliate links are included. There is no extra cost to you, but I do receive a small commission on anything you buy through my links.  Thank you for reading and supporting My Inner Shakti!

Weekend Recap – Food, Fun, and Whines

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I haven’t done a ‘weekend recap’ type post in a while. Mostly because I have no energy to sit down on a Sunday night and recount everything we did. This weekend I committed to blogging a little bit every night so that my Sunday night, all I need to do is put the finishing touches on this bad boy and hit schedule.

Still didn’t get my s*** together enough to post on Monday morning. As K would say, ‘ay, ay, ay!’

Anyways, let’s dive right in…

Friday

Friday was a lot of fun. The morning started the way most Friday’s do. I got up, made breakfast, got Kaiden ready, got ready myself, and went to Trader Joe’s. After coming home and putting all my groceries away, I put some lentils on the stove for the falafels my sister and I planned to make for lunch. I also made a batch of these blender muffins…sooo good! I then headed to the gym for a 30 minute HIIT class. #sohard!

My sister was over 30 minutes after I got home from the gym, which gave me some time to shower and relax. After she got here, we started making lunch. She tackled the actual falafels (for the sandwiches), while I got the veggies ready for roasting and made the sauce.

When we finally sat down to eat (my BIL was also over at this point), I was in heaven. This was such a satisfying and delicious meal. The falafels themselves were so flavorful, and the sauce is perfection – so creamy, a little tangy, and just finger licking good! A must make recipe IMO!

After lunch, we headed to our annual optometry appointments. No change in my prescription…phew!

After we got home, I made Chocolate Covered Katie’s Deep Dish Brownie Pie. You guys. Make this. It’s so good. You can’t taste the black beans…I promise!

Then it was time to pick Kaiden up from school. When we got home, he was so excited to play with his masa, masi, and dada. We ended the night just the two of us since my sister and BIL went home, and Vishnu went to his program’s holiday party.

And that was Friday in a nutshell!

Saturday

Looking back, Saturday started off a little weird with K, but I just assumed it was something that would pass and that we should just roll with our plans. Vishnu even called it out as we were getting ready. Like, “K doesn’t seem like himself. He’s extra whiny.” I figured we should keep with our plans and he would adjust like he usually does.

I was wrong. We went to the library to return books, play and pick out some new ones. About 30 minutes in, Kaiden started acting a little too rowdy. We reminded him where we were (the library…shhhh!) and what would happen if he continued acting the way he was (re: we would leave). Guess what…we ended up leaving with a screaming toddler in tow.

He ended up calming down in the car a bit, so we headed to his haircut appointment. The library must not be his thing because he was a gem for the duration of his haircut.

We got home, gave K a bath, ate lunch, and then napped…all of us!

We spent the rest of the afternoon/evening playing, dancing, and hanging out. Once Kaiden was down for the night, Vishnu and I finished the last two episodes of The Americans. If you need/want a new show to watch, make it this one (it’s on Amazon Prime). SO GOOD!

One note – make this Mushroom and Wild Rice Soup if you own an Instant Pot. It tastes like Thanksgiving in a bowl!

Sunday

Sunday started with soccer (K still loving it) and a trip to Costco (also still loving Costco).

And again, when K napped, mama napped. I was tired!

Our afternoon/evening was filled with books, music, a little TV, and some dinnertime fun with salads!

Overall, it was a fun weekend with little bits of whines and cries! Man, toddler emotions are just…so tiring! And I can only imagine how K feels…haha!

Oh well. It’s a new week. Let’s make it a good one!

State of Our Household [2.5 Years]

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First of all, I can’t believe Kaiden is 2.5. I know it’s the most cliche thing to say, but time really does fly when you have a little human in your life. Zoom zoom!

Overall, 2.5 feels like such a turning point. I’ve seen such a change in K in small ways and big over the past six months. Putting aside the fact that I’m his mom, it’s been so amazing to witness. Like how did my little mush of a baby turn into such a big boy?!

With that, let’s dive right in…

State of Kaiden

Let’s kick this off on a positive note. Kaiden is an incredibly sweet and kind child. While he’s not super outgoing, he thrives when he’s around people. You can just see his eyes light up when he’s with loved ones! One of my favorite things about him is that he is empathetic. Ok fine, maybe not fully, but I can tell that he feels for others by his actions and words.

Kaiden is also still very much a mama’s boy! And I can’t lie…I love it. We’ll be sitting on the couch together, and he’ll randomly look at me and say, “HUG!” So I have to put down whatever I’m holding and hug him! My heart! My favorite thing to do with him is just cuddle and hold him super tight…and cover him with kisses! Not looking forward to the day when he doesn’t want to do that anymore…

Personality wise…the other thing about him that stands out for me is his sense of humor. He’s a funny guy! While he’s not exactly cracking jokes just yet, he definitely has some really good comedic timing. I don’t quite get how a 2.5 year old can say things at the perfect time, but this guy…he’s full of surprises! Hand in hand with this, he loves to laugh. And trust me when I say, his laugh is contagious!

In terms of food and sleep, we’re doing great with one and ok with the other. Can you guess which is which? He loves food and will try most things. It’s still hard to get him to focus on eating sometimes, but we’re working on it. He still loves Indian food, pasta, and almost all fruits and veggies. Now don’t get me wrong, we still have days/nights where a picky little monster comes out, but most days, he’s good.

In terms of sleep, we were doing really well and then potty training (more on this next week) came along and all of that went out the window. We can usually put him down at 7:30 and expect him to wake up between 5:30-6. Nowadays, I’m in his room about 3x between 7:30-8 just to get him to fall asleep. He’s also up multiple times throughout the night and then he still wakes up at 5:30 most days. Man, oh, man! I thought sleep would be the least of our worries as he got older…I was wrong! I’m hoping as the potty becomes his new norm, we can ease back into more sleep. Fingers crossed!

Developmentally, my favorite thing over the past six months has been his language and cognitive development. I don’t know how many words he knows, but it’s a lot! He speaks in full sentences, asks questions, and even infers things from what we say. CRAZINESS! In terms of cognitive development, he really as a great memory and can remember things we’ve told him or that he’s seen/heard days later. I just love watching that little brain work!

Physically, he’s a little on the smaller side, but our pediatrician said that he comes from a smaller family so we can’t expect him to be huge. HAHA. But don’t let my skinny man fool you. He’s got energy for DAYS! He is always on the move. And I don’t like being that mom who brags, but I really do think we have a little soccer star on our hands. Even Vishnu thinks so! He’s great at handling the ball, and has a really strong kick. I’m so glad we enrolled him in soccer classes, only because they help him burn off some of his energy and do something he loves and is good at!

With that being said, Kaiden’s favorite things are still balls. Any and all balls! You guys, he’s obsessed. He’s also into legos and just random items…mostly things that he can knock down with…you guessed it…balls! I actually love that he’s not a toys kid. He can literally turn anything into something. #likehisdaddy

With ALL of that being said, there are a few things we are working on. First, when Kaiden gets upset (usually when we are upset with him), he gets mad. When he gets mad, he tries to hit us. And he also uses the phrase, ‘Go away!’ When he does this, I have to take him in his room and talk to him very calmly about why we don’t do and say those kinds of things. Now, randomly, he’ll say, “Don’t say go away.” As in, I’m not supposed to say that, right? We’re working on it!

If you follow me on Instagram, you know that we have embarked on our potty training journey. It’s…interesting. I have hope that we’ll get there in a couple of months, but like everyone who’s done this before says, you have to go at your kid’s pace.

And of course, there are those toddler meltdowns and tantrums that often come of left field. I’m at a point now where I tell him that when’s done feeling his feelings mommy will talk to him.

Other than THAT, we’re all good over here. HAHA! #alwayssomething

State of Mama

You guys, this is probably the best I’ve felt in the past 2.5 years. Don’t get me wrong, it’s been a beautiful and magical time, but it’s also been hard. But now, I feel like I’m in my groove with being a mom (not saying I have all the answers, just that I feel like I can navigate the ups and downs with more confidence), Vishnu and I are solid, work is going really well, I have something really exciting happening in the background (more to come when I can share…promise!), I’ve found some great friends in Chicago, etc.

My mom shared with me that she sees a difference in how relaxed I am now versus before. She said that things don’t seem to stress me out as much now. I think a lot of that has to do with the kind of kid Kaiden is. He really is a lot of fun 90% of the time.

So year, overall, things are good. It’s always a juggle trying to balance work, home, family, friends, travel, etc., and it still stresses me out when things start to pile up, but I’m slowly learning that everything works out as it should. Stressing about it only makes the situation worse.

State of Dada

You guys, since we found out that Vishnu matched for fellowship AND that he passed his boards, he has been the most relaxed I’ve seen him in the past eight years. It’s like my old Vishnu is back! I’ll take him for as long as this lasts, as stress is kind of a given in medicine.

Most importantly, this means that Vishnu and Kaiden have been able to spend more time together in the past six months, which I know means the world to Vishnu. We were even able to celebrate our first Christmas as a family this year!

Vishnu still has other work responsibilities that take up his time and a few other things happening in the background, but overall, I think he’s doing well. He’s taking better care of his health too, which makes me so happy!

Next up, fellowship (another busy year!) and job hunting!

Can you believe that in less than 1.5 years, we’ll be moving again…and hopefully to our forever city! I can FINALLY see the light at the end of the tunnel!

Well, that’s all I have folks! If you got this far, thank you for reading and caring about my little family. 🙂

Until next time!

Home for the 2019 Holidays

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It’s not too late to talk about our time in Atlanta, right? I hope not because I’m doing it!

So, as I mentioned in a previous blog post, we spent the days leading up to Christmas and a few days after in Atlanta. And if I’m being honest, this was one of my favorite trips home since Kaiden was born. HE was just the best – fun, playful, and just so damn cute! Even my mom agreed that this trip was fun because he was in a good mood 99% of the time.

So K and I flew down to Atlanta the Friday before Christmas. The flight was ok, as in Kaiden didn’t nap but he was fine (just a little seat kicking, but I’ll take that over a meltdown/tantrum). My parents picked us up from the airport. It took us almost 2 hours to get home! Atlanta traffic is no joke!

Our days at my parents’ house were filled with no real schedule but lots of good food, lots of playtime, and lots of fun! I was also able to squeeze in a couple of friend dates – dinner with some of my close college girlfriends and coffee with one of my besties!

We also squeezed in a visit with Santa at the mall. Get this, it was the same Santa as last year! Also, when asked what he wanted for Christmas this year, Kaiden said ‘yogurt.’ HAHA! Where do they come up with this stuff?!

We left my parents’ house on Christmas Eve and made our way over to Vishnu’s parents’ house. He actually arrived late in the evening that day, so Kaiden and I got a few hours with his parents until then.

We celebrated Christmas at Vishnu’s brother’s and fiance’s place, Niel and Neelam, with my parents, my in laws, and the majority of Neelam’s family. We ate some delicious home cooked food and sang karaoke. It was a blast!

The rest of our days were spent hanging out around the house and eating more yummy food!

I attended a cookie exchange party at my best friend Roshni’s house one night. So much fun! I made The Table of Spice’s eggless chocolate chip cookies. This is what dreams are made out of, people!

The next morning, we headed back out with K in tow to visit with Alina, Roshni’s baby girl! She was born back in September, but I hadn’t had the chance to hang with her yet! She’s just THE cutest!

And that pretty much wraps up our trip home at a high level! I’m so glad I had another week before work started back up because I definitely needed a vacation from our vacation!

And now we’re days into 2020! How did that happen? Let’s make it a great one!

How did you spend your holidays?

My 2020 Word – Intentional

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If you follow me on Instagram, you may have happened to catch that I shared my 2020 word of the year. At the time, it was surrender. After much thought, I came to the conclusion that surrender didn’t meet my goals for the year. For how I wanted to speak, act, think, relate, etc. But intentional, as broad of a word as it is, definitely does.

A little context

Let me back up a little. I love everything about the new year. The clean slate. The opportunity to set goals and hopefully achieve them over the next 12 months. January is also my birthday month so there’s that too!

With that being said, I found that the resolutions I made every year were really just micro goals. What I wanted was a guiding principle. Something I could remind myself with when I got off track or needed a little kick in the butt. That’s when I decided to declare a word of the year every January. That word would fit my goals and overall desire for the year. The one that comes to mind from previous years is patience. That should probably be my word every year. Haha!

Why intentional?

Ok, so why intentional? Well, I want to be more purposeful/purpose driven in 2020. Whether it’s about what I’m eating, how I’m working out, how much time I’m spending on my phone, and most important, how I’m spending my time with Vishnu and Kaiden. I want the majority of my thoughts, words, and actions to be intentional and purposeful.

An example

I know it won’t be possible for every single thing I do, but 80% of the time, I want to have a clear intention behind why I’m choosing to do something or why I’m not choosing to do something. The best example of this comes with food. I often just eat because I like to or because something is available. Cookie? Sure. Cheese plate? Would love to? Wine? Duh. I know it sounds silly, but I’m not someone who gives a lot of thought to how much I’m eating or how mindfully I’m eating. And while it hasn’t caused any complications just yet, I did see how that mindlessness manifested itself over the past month or two. I want to have clear intentions for why I’m choosing to eat something, how much I’m choosing to eat, etc. I want to be a more intuitive eater, and I think having a very clear intention when it comes to food will help.

Like I said, the best and most clear cut example I have is in regards to food, but intentionality applies to everything.

I truly believe when it comes to our day-to-day life, we either run it or it runs us. And when you’re intentional about your thoughts, words, and actions, YOU are leading your life in the direction you want to take it and not vice versa.

One of the reasons I went with a Passion Planner this year is to help me stay intentional and plan my time out accordingly. It all makes sense now!

Tell me – do you do the whole resolution thing or do you opt for a word to help guide you? Please share regardless!

No portion of this post is sponsored.  However, affiliate links are included. There is no extra cost to you, but I do receive a small commission on anything you buy through my links.  Thank you for reading and supporting My Inner Shakti!

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