

A Master List Of What To Do When You're Bored In The House Bored
I think we can all relate to Tyga and Curtis Roach's "Bored in the House" hit. It's quickly become the anthem for the mandated quarantine that none of us saw coming. I have to admit, as an introvert, I thought I would smash this season and happily balance working from home and rest with no problem. But instead, I found myself laying on the couch thinking I'm going crazy, as the days turned into weeks, and the weeks turned into unthinkable months.
But Bishop Tyga inspired me to just make the best of the situation. While each of us is navigating through this season differently, we can't escape the fact that we're bored in the house, bored in the house, bored.
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1. Dance with your favorite celeb: We're still waiting on Debbie Allen's next virtual dance class!
2. Tackle a 1,000-piece puzzle: There's no shame in pulling out your childhood self (it can actually be therapeutic).
3. Perfect your chef-ness:Has there ever been a better time for trial and error recipes?
4. Master cornrows: If this season has proven anything, it's the need to know how to do cornrows (our wigs, crochet hairstyles, and scalps will thank us).
5. Refresh your face with a clay mask:Skincare is still vital when we're indoors. Make sure you end the quarantine with smooth, glowing and healthy skin.
6. Remove your artificial nails (and/or give yourself a mani): Grab some 100% acetone, a nail file and get going! When you're done, refresh your nails with a strengthener/hardener.
7. Do the #SavageChallenge on TikTok: Might as well join the club, sis.
8. Start a YouTube channel: We're all online anyway. Why not document these moments with the vlog you've been wanting to start since… forever?
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9. Get help via teletherapy: Everyone is handling this time at home differently. Fortunately, therapists are still on-call if you need to talk things out.
10. Take an online workout class: While our Netflix and chill status is going strong, we still need to keep our bodies moving.
11. Switch out your wardrobe: When we first started this journey, winter was still going strong in some areas. By the time we get to go back outside, it'll be spring (maybe even closer to summer). So let's update that wardrobe.
12. Get your spirit right with a Bible study: This quarantine can be much worse if we don't feed our spirit and build our faith. Doing a Bible study daily or weekly can bring much-needed encouragement.
13. Become a pro at applying lashes: Girl! If there was ever a time we've been graced to fix this, it's now. 'Cause Lord knows it takes forever to get this right.
14. Have a Netflix watch party via Zoom: Our interactions don't have to stop just because it feels like the world did.
15. Do the big chop: You'll be walking out of quarantine empowered! Plus, you have plenty of time to figure out what works best for you.
16. Tap into your green thumb: Plant a garden, sis! It'll water your mental state and your home. Don't forget your face mask and gloves.
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17. Get into calligraphy: Press "Go" on those random habits you've been wanting to start.
18. Download a mental health app:From anxiety to stress and adjusting to our new normal, mental health apps have the capacity to help keep us on track.
19. Fall in love with a new podcast: They've been proven to bring us together, whether it's for entertainment, inspiration, girl talk, or all of the above.
20. Curl up with a book: It wouldn't hurt to grab a journal too!
21. Binge-watch Nailed It!: It brings much-needed laughs, to say the least.
22. Knit something! You might end up with your own clothing line.
23. Go to an IG quarantine party: From DJ D-Nice changing the game with his Club Quarantine to the Verzuz battles featuring the likes of Lil John v. T-Pain and Swizz Beatz v. Timbaland, Instagram parties have plenty to offer.
24. Paint a picture/grab a coloring book: We're all about getting through quarantine sane, and by any means necessary; especially for those with kids at home.
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25. Play Monopoly: This classic made its way back into our homes long before the quarantine. But anyone who's played knows that one game lasts long enough to keep everyone entertained for hours at a time.
26. Plan your next trip: One of the best things to do while inside, is to make a plan for where you want to go when it's over. No place is too big or small (unless it's around the corner).
27. Indulge in cocktail therapy: We can't mix and mingle, but you sure can mix that cocktail, love.
28. Create a vision board: Whether you're spending this time resting, on your grind, or both, it's not to let to map out your dreams and desires with a good old vision board.
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Charmaine Patterson is a journalist, lifestyle blogger, and a lover of all things pop culture. While she has much experience in covering top entertainment news stories, she aims to share her everyday life experiences, old and new, with other women who can relate, laugh, and love along with her. Follow Char on Twitter @charjpatterson, Instagram @charpatterson, and keep up with her journey at CharJPatterson.com .
Smile, Sis! These Five Improvements Can Upgrade Your Oral Hygiene Instantly
This article is in partnership with Sensodyne.
Our teeth are connected to so many things - our nutrition, our confidence, and our overall mood. We often take for granted how important healthy teeth are, until issues like tooth sensitivity or gum recession come to remind us. Like most things related to our bodies, prevention is the best medicine. Here are five things you can do immediately to improve your oral hygiene, prevent tooth sensitivity, and avoid dental issues down the road.
1) Go Easy On the Rough Brushing: Brushing your teeth is and always will be priority number one in the oral hygiene department. No surprises there! However, there is such a thing as applying too much pressure when brushing…and that can lead to problems over time. Use a toothbrush with soft bristles and brush in smooth, circular motions. It may seem counterintuitive, but a gentle approach to brushing is the most effective way to clean those pearly whites without wearing away enamel and exposing sensitive areas of the teeth.
2) Use A Desensitizing Toothpaste: As everyone knows, mouth pain can be highly uncomfortable; but tooth sensitivity is a whole different beast. Hot weather favorites like ice cream and popsicles have the ability to trigger tooth sensitivity, which might make you want to stay away from icy foods altogether. But as always, prevention is the best medicine here. Switching to a toothpaste like Sensodyne’s Sensitivity & Gum toothpaste specifically designed for sensitive teeth will help build a protective layer over sensitive areas of the tooth. Over time, those sharp sensations that occur with extremely cold foods will subside, and you’ll be back to treating yourself to your icy faves like this one!
3) Floss, Rinse, Brush. (And In That Order!): Have you ever heard the saying, “It’s not what you do, but how you do it”? Well, the same thing applies to taking care of your teeth. Even if you are flossing and brushing religiously, you could be missing out on some of the benefits simply because you aren’t doing so in the right order. Flossing is best to do before brushing because it removes food particles and plaque from places your toothbrush can’t reach. After a proper flossing sesh, it is important to rinse out your mouth with water after. Finally, you can whip out your toothbrush and get to brushing. Though many of us commonly rinse with water after brushing to remove excess toothpaste, it may not be the best thing for our teeth. That’s because fluoride, the active ingredient in toothpaste that protects your enamel, works best when it gets to sit on the teeth and continue working its magic. Rinsing with water after brushing doesn’t let the toothpaste go to work like it really can. Changing up your order may take some getting used to, but over time, you’ll see the difference.
4) Stay Hydrated: Upping your water supply is a no-fail way to level up your health overall, and your teeth are no exception to this rule. Drinking water not only helps maintain a healthy pH balance in your mouth, but it also washes away residue and acids that can cause enamel erosion. It also helps you steer clear of dry mouth, which is a gateway to bad breath. And who needs that?
5) Show Your Gums Some Love: When it comes to improving your smile, you may be laser-focused on getting your teeth whiter, straighter, and overall healthier. Rightfully so, as these are all attributes of a megawatt smile; but you certainly don’t want to leave gum health out of the equation. If you neglect your gums, you’ll start to notice the effects of plaque buildup, which can irritate the gums and cause gingivitis, the earliest stage of gum disease. Seeing blood while brushing and flossing is a tell-tale sign that your gums are suffering. You may also experience gum recession — a condition where the gum tissue surrounding your teeth pulls back, exposing more of your tooth. Brushing at least twice a day with a gum-protecting toothpaste like Sensodyne Sensitivity and Gum, coupled with regular dentist visits, will keep your gums shining as bright as those pearly whites.
Russell and Nina Westbrook Dish On The Key Ways To Avoid Resentment In Relationships
Russell and Nina Westbrook are one of those low-key, unproblematic couples we don’t talk about enough. They met in college and got married in 2015. They also have a beautiful family with three kids. While Russell is an NBA star, Nina is a licensed family and marriage therapist and a mental health advocate.
She recently launched the podcast The Relationship Chronicles with Nina Westbrook, and in the latest episode, she had none other than her husband on as a guest. The college sweethearts dived into important topics from marriage to children and how they navigate it all.
One of the topics they touched on was dealing with resentment in your relationship. The former MVP highlighted the sacrifices his wife has had to make in order for him to pursue a career in the NBA, and that’s why it’s also important for him to support his wife whenever he can.
“For me is respecting and understanding what your partner do and the time it takes,” Russell said. “Not kind of downplaying what they do, understanding the time and energy and effort they're doing to make sure whether it’s their job or making sure home is taken care of, and understanding that, I think that is the challenge of not being resentful.”
Nina agreed and also shared her thoughts on resentment. According to her, one of the best things couples should do is have their own identity and passions outside of the relationship in an effort to be fulfilled.
“I also think that when you’re in a relationship, that’s why it’s so important that each individual kinda pursue their own passions and follow their own dreams as I feel like it only becomes or leads to resentment when one person is not feeling fulfilled in what they're doing in their lives,” she explained.
“And so, they will start to look at the other partner who’s happy or excelling or promoting or moving along in their journey, then they’re left feeling stuck like they sacrificed themselves, their happiness, their career, their future and have not pursued it in the name of the relationship or their partner. So, it’s so much easier to avoid those feelings of resentment when you’re each equally pursuing your passions.”
The couple has many passions that they work on together and separately. Outside of basketball and his family, Russell has become known for his eclectic style and started the fashion brand Honor The Gift. Nina has her podcast, and she also started the mental health website Bene. Together, they run the Why Not? Foundation, which works with kids in underserved communities.
“I’m a firm believer that one person can’t be everything to you, so you have to sort of seek out those different friendships or groups or hobbies or activities that help to fulfill you,” Nina concluded.
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Feature image by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images for Religion of Sports