Tag: staying sane

what I’m into – keeping me sane {March 2021}

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This month has been very busy for me and I have gotten through it by intentionally taking time to rest and reset. That’s what’s been keeping me sane.

So that’s it for today’s post. I’m resting. LOL

Thank you for being here. Tell me what you’ve been into this past month in the comments or by linking your own roundups below.

We will do this again next month, Monday, May 3.

enjoy life…

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…

what I’m into – that’s keeping me sane {july 2018}

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This month has gone by in a world wind and has been a tad overwhelming. Here’s what I’ve been up to and how I have stayed sane through it all.

  • For the first time my family and I went out to see the local fireworks show during the Fourth of July. I don’t know why I haven’t done this before; OK, that’s not entirely accurate. It’s because I dislike the crowds. However, we were fortunate to get a viewing spot where we had an excellent view of the show while remaining in our cars.  Win-Win.  I love fireworks and have determined to make it a yearly tradition with the Buddy Man from now on, crowds or not.
  • We are blessed to have celebrated my grandma’s 80th birthday early this month. This included a surprise birthday celebration in her home town which, according to my mom, caused us all to “lose about 10 years of our lives” trying to keep it a secret from her.  She is very inquisitive so you can imagine.  We pulled it off and it was amazing.
  • This was followed by a trip to my parents, accompanied by my grandma, with the intention of her having some one-on-one time with her great-grandson. She and the Buddy Man have a great relationship and it was so nice seeing the two of them together over the course of several days.
  • My sister and her family flew in for the birthday celebration and it is always good to spend time with them.
  • I attended a Silent Writing Retreat at Lake Guntersville hosted by Toya Poplar.  Met some good people and wrote some stuff.
  • I have conducted a couple of interviews with some very interesting people that I will be featuring on the blog in the upcoming months. I’m excited!

All this traveling and spending time with and around others (while wonderful) can drain an introvert like me who recharges with alone time and being in the comfort of her own space.  So, I stayed sane…

  • with a lot of reading. See this month’s Quick Lit post. Several page-turners kept me up at night which was probably counter-productive but a small price to pay.  I had to find out what happened next.  It’s nice to retreat into another world for a while.
  • by continuing to make my home an inviting space. I started the journey of rooting some of my plants and placed them around my house in glass vases. Greenery will improve any space. Thanks to Joanna Gaines for that tip. I also used Mr. Clean Magic Eraser to get some scuff marks and dirt off the doors of my home.  I gotta tell you, they look like new.
  • One thing that I have always wanted to do is to volunteer at a nonprofit organization that is doing wonderful work and I want to devote a certain number of hours per year to this endeavor. I got started this month with a couple of hours to the CornerStone Initiative in Huntsville, AL.

With another trip on the horizon, albeit to the beautiful Miami, I am having to be intentional about my activities and self-care routines.

Per usual I’m linking up with Leigh Kramer. What about you? What are you into that’s keeping you sane?

enjoy life…