As we close out our monthly CAVARTS theme of “May Flowers,” I’d like to spend a few moments focusing on one of the sweetest gifts that nature provides us: the opportunity to notice beauty and practice mindfulness.

As part of our Healthy Living theme in MSI month, today’s post will talk about Women’s Health.

As a woman, there are vital check ups that can prevent future health problems and very well may just save your life. I did some research and found some tips and guidelines on how to best care for your body and what tests and screenings may be important for you based on age, pre-existing conditions, etc. 

Today is Memorial Day, a day that is incredibly important to all of us here at Challenge America. While we know that remembrance and honor should not ever be contained to a singular day, we do want to pause and thank each of you for the service and sacrifices you have made to defend our freedoms.  The individuals in this community share a deep love and loyalty for our country, and have sacrificially chosen to lay their lives on the line in a myriad of different ways to protect our nation.  

I am excited to announce that our incredible partners at Tandy Leather are hosting a giveback event this Memorial Day. 5% of sales proceeds this Monday, May 27th will be donated to our organization to support CAVARTS!

Today’s post is going to feature an interview with a Dietician, Tammy Murray. Tammy has a Masters degree in dietetics and has experience in long term care, hospitals, Women & children’s health and nutrition counseling. She has been practicing for 40 years. Today, I interviewed Tammy about Women’s nutrition and how you can prioritize your health through nutrition as a woman. 

Gardening is such an incredible art form that reaps amazing benefits - stress relief, exercise, mood elevation, improved mindfulness - the list goes on!  Whether you’d like to plant a few herbs or vegetables to contribute to your kitchen, press into your artistic side through designing a beautiful landscape, or bring a bit of color into your home through a patch of cut flowers, the opportunities for creativity in gardening are endless.

Today is National Talk Like Yoda Day, another opportunity to continue on with the Star Wars marathons in the month of May! This silly holiday commemorates the release date of the movie The Empire Strikes Back, which was released in the United States on May 21, 1980 and was the film Yoda made his debut appearance in. 

Today is International Tea Day and though the name sounds like it’s just a day about brewing that extra cup, there is a lot more to it than just celebrating tea for all of its soothing, yummy goodness! ☕

Today we honor and remember the life of Malcolm X, civil rights activist and unwavering advocate for Black self-determination and self-defense. 

Today, I want to talk about walking! As someone who looks forward to my “mental health walk” everyday, I want to give some encouragement and tips to get you started as well. Taking a short, brisk walk has so many benefits! To begin, walking has been shown to lower risk factors for cardiovascular problems, decrease body fat, decrease blood sugar levels, improve your lipid profile and reduce chronic stress. 

Here are five actionable tips to help you set yourself up for a successful week of training and prioritizing your health:

What better way to celebrate our CAVARTS monthly theme of “May Flowers” than through song? 💐 Music can meet us as a comfort when we are feeling low, and it can also be an amazing way to mark milestones, usher in new seasons, and add vibrancy to a special experience or season.

Today is Military Spouse Appreciation Day. Today, we want to honor and thank all the Military Spouse’s that have been in the trenches along with their partner. Whether you are a military spouse, have a military spouse or know military spouses, you know how difficult it can be at times to support those that are serving our country. To go along with our monthly theme of healthy living and to honor Military Spouse’s Day, today’s post is going to talk about self care. Self care is investing in yourself in order to show up better to life, relationships, friends, or just yourself! Self care looks different for everyone, but the need for it is very important! 

Today, we want to share a bit about using stunning May Flowers to brighten your everyday life.  Many of us incorporate these buds into our artwork, but have you ever tried integrating them into your home or environment?  These things of beauty are meant to be admired, so let’s give ourselves every chance possible to spotlight them!🌷

Living in the midst of a diet culture, it can sometimes be difficult to think about food with joy and not feel remorse immediately afterwards. Many people struggle with their relationship with food and find it difficult to find happiness in the foods they are eating. Today, we want to encourage you to think about some foods that bring you joy and tell us about them.

Today is Star Wars Day, the perfect day to celebrate the iconic art style and world building that we were gifted to us all when the first movie was released on May 25, 1977! 

In addition to the incredible writing, sets, and acting, some of the world’s greatest film score writing and modern orchestral music came from the Star Wars franchise. The original motion picture soundtrack for Star Wars was composed and conducted by legendary American composer John Williams and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra. The score for Star Wars was recorded over the course of eight sessions that took place in Denham, England in 1977.

In honor of our Military Sisterhood Initiative monthly theme of “Poetry for the Soul,” today’s post is going to talk about Slam Poetry. 

Please note that the poem shared in this post touches on ideas of suicide, sexual assault and military trauma. Be advised when listening.

In honor of our monthly theme of “April Showers” coming to a close for the CAVARTS community, I wanted to share a bit about a concept that we can take along with us throughout the entire year to help make our rainy days, chilly days, and life in general just a little bit cozier!

Co-presented by the Department of Veterans Affairs and the American Legion Auxiliary, the National Veterans Creative Arts Festival is a culmination of VA facility competitions in art, creative writing, dance, drama, and music for Veterans enrolled in the Department of Veterans Affairs national health care system. 

Today we get to celebrate our beautiful Mother Earth. What an amazing honor it is to celebrate all the things this beautiful planet has to offer; from lush rainforests to snowy mountaintops, it feels nearly impossible to see every bit of beauty our Earth has to offer.