Category: What I’m Into

what i’m into – keeping me sane {february 2019}

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I invite everyone to share your link to your What I’m Into blog posts in the comments. And I would love for Leigh Kramer’s What I’m Into community to live in this space now that she has decided not to host the link-up.   Let your community know that you are doing so.  We’ll do this every month, next on Monday, April 1.  I’d be honored if you would spread the word.     

This month is the Love Month. And for me the Hubby, not only is it Valentine’s Day, but it is also our anniversary.  It’s been thirteen years and, for some reason, I am very proud of that.

This month has been busy for me, despite my intention to hibernate this winter. But it has been a good busy and I have accomplished more than I thought I would when I decided to use the winter to rest.  I attended Toya Poplar’s Silent Writing Retreat 2019.  I have to admit, that the silent part was hard but I met some wonderful writers and it was a truly amazing, unforgettable experience.

I also volunteered as Event Coordinator at The CornerStone Initiative’s C4 Conference. This is my second year being a part of this conference and it is unlike any conference that I have attended. The focus is on collaboration, love, and compassion.  Peter Greer of Hope International was the featured speaker and he spoke about Mission Drift in organizations and in individuals. He’s also a genuinely good guy. He was a pleasure to work with during the conference. If you are in the Huntsville area, you should check it out next year around this time.

I’m working on one of my intentions for 2019 – to “create home”. I am using Marie Kondo’s KonMari method to purge my belongings.  Stand by for my post about clothes and you can check out my intro post here.  All I will say right now is that it has been life-changing.

I feel rested but for good measure, I will extend my hibernating tendencies to March.  Spring is just around the corner. Yay!

What about you? What have you been into that’s keeping you sane? Do you find the winters difficult? Got any tips for me?

Be sure to link to your posts in the comments below.  I can’t thank you enough for being a part of this community.

enjoy life…

 

 

what i’m into – keeping me sane {january 2019}

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 I would love for Leigh Kramer’s What I’m Into community to live in this space now that she has decided not to host the link-up.  I invite everyone to share your link to your What I’m Into blog posts in the comments. And let your community know that you are doing so.  We’ll do this every month, next on Friday, March 1.  Please spread the word.    

 In addition to our monthly practice of recording what we’re into, I’m also linking with Modern Mrs. Darcy, listing the things that are saving our life right now.  It is the middle of winter, and a lot of individuals find winter difficult.  I know I do. But Anne believes (and I happen to agree) that “by pausing at its halfway point to share the things that are helping us through it, we’ll lighten the load.”

January is my birthday month – a highlight in the middle of the depressing weather. But the circumstances (cold, dreary, wet, filled with sickness, colds, flu, etc.), have a way of making everything difficult.  So, I have tried very hard to incorporate strategies and events to keep things interesting throughout this month.

I hosted my first New Year visioning party, Enjoy Life 2019, with a few close friends in my home. I combined all the different exercises that I have done over the years into something that rang true for me. While thinking about what I want to accomplish this year, this quote by Danielle Laporte inspired me: Humanity is depending on you doing what is meaningful to you.

This month, I featured Becky Glaze on the blog, with my first Enjoy Life Interview in a long time.  It was so much fun – check it out here.

Additionally, this month I took the opportunity to go to my parents’ condo in Daytona Beach for a personal writing retreat.  A friend accompanied me and we had a wonderful time.  There was lots of laughter, discussion about books, writing, and warm beverages.  I was also able to run outside on two different days and enjoyed the glorious Florida sunshine, which is always good for someone who is susceptible to seasonal affective disorder.

Unfortunately, I returned home to realize I had developed a serious cold and my son had contracted pink eye.  On the up side, I had to stay inside: drinking lots of peppermint tea and orange juice, reading, and, of course, playing the Sims 4.

What about you? What have you been into?  What’s keeping you sane? What’s saving your life right now?

Be sure to link to your posts here and head over to Modern Mrs. Darcy to get some more ideas.

enjoy life…

P.S. This is the last weekend to enter to win a travel size of Clean Beauty Cleansing Balm.  I LOVE this cleanser for the winter. It keeps my face hydrated through these very drying months. Enter by subscribing to my blog and/or following me on Instagram.  Winner will be announced next week!

what i’m into – keeping me sane {december 2018}

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I would love if Leigh Kramer’s What I’m Into community could live in this space now that she has decided not to host the link-up.  I invite everyone to share your link to your What I’m Into blog posts in the comments. And let your community know that you are doing so.  We’ll do this every month, next on Friday, February 1. Please spread the word.    

I have a confession to make. During the Holidays, I have struggled to retain my sanity.  Even though I intentionally pulled back from engagements (went into a form of hibernation, so to speak), my anxiety and SAD managed to rear their twin ugly heads more often than I had hoped.

What helped was taking a moment to be still, to breathe, and then to write.  I wrote down what I was feeling in the moment, what I was anxious about, and all that I had to do. I did this on several different occasions throughout the month. Surprisingly, once I had written it down, turned the hazy shapeless thing into something concrete, I knew the next right thing.  And I did that thing.  One time, it was making a list of all the holiday dishes that had to be cooked.  After compiling that list, I wrangled the recipes and wrote out the shopping list.  That was to mitigate what I hoped would be many anxiety-inducing OMG last-minute runs to the grocery store.  It didn’t.  The Hubby had to go to Walgreens Christmas morning to pick up Reynold’s wrap.  Oh well.

Another time, the next right thing involved looking at my blog’s editorial calendar and seeing all of the posts that I had planned for January.  I am so excited about what I have in store for you on the blog this year and, yes, I do try to draft some content in advance. I looked at what had been drafted and what needed tweaking. I questioned which of my planned posts would be better served at a later date when I had more time to devote to it.  I found two that could wait; one of which will make its appearance in early February so be on the look out for that.

There have been number of references to the next right thing in this post and last month on  my sisters’ guest post. If you haven’t taken a look at that already, you really should.  Also, check out the impetus for all of this: Emily P. Freeman’s podcast, The Next Right Thing. It’s one of the things that has kept me sane this month. And for those of you who would rather read your content than listen to it, Emily has a book coming out in April of this year, The Next Right Thing: A Simple, Soulful Practice for Making Life Decisions.  Of course, I have preordered my copy.

What about you? What have you been into?  What’s keeping you sane? Let me know in the comments and link to your own posts (if you have one) about what you’re into this month.

enjoy life…