friday’s “secret”: know the things that are saving your life

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What's Saving My Life, Write Now

Too often, we go through life knowing exactly what is ruining our life, what is messing everything up, what we need to change in order to make everything better. I know I do. On any given day, at any given time, I can tell you what I wish was different in my day-to-day life without much thought. What I can’t tell you is what is saving my life, what things are making my life easier, happier. Today’s “secret” is that in order to be happy, I should focus on what things are saving my life, what is working for me today.

Anne Bogel feels that February is “the cruelest month”. I would feel the same except my hubby and I celebrate our wedding anniversary at the end of it and we try to take a trip someplace warmer and sunnier than our home. This year, we plan to return to the scene of the crime, Las Vegas, Nevada, where we were married ten years ago, after exactly three years of dating. Thirteen years with this guy; can’t believe it! “Time flies when you are having fun.”

In spite of the Blizzard of 2016 (view of said blizzard from my front window pictured above), we have had some remarkably nice days with sun and warmth. This has allowed me to take my half marathon training outside and running outside always saves my life. I love listening to the sound of the birds and the bullfrogs that live in the mini pond in our neighborhood.

And nothing is so good after a cool run as a hot shower when it’s all said and done. Being very cold natured, I am always so grateful for running hot water and heat in the winter time.

And finally, writing (how many of you caught that intentional misspelling in the pic; like my play-on-words there?) both here in the blog and in the journaling that I have started doing again in the mornings is saving my life write now. It feels so good to put pen to paper and write through my thoughts and feelings, getting clarity in the process. And by the way, this is my 50th post on this blog! Hooray!

All in all, I feel like I am doing pretty good with staying relatively happy and contented this winter. Seems like changing my mindset about the cold, as discussed in this article about the Norwegians, may actually be helping. I think I have only asked my hubby if we could more further south one time so far, a remarkable feat for me.

In addition to being Friday’s “secret” this post is a very special link-up with Modern Mrs. Darcy especially for all of us who abhor these dreary and cold winter days and long for spring time and sunshine and warmth. Check out what other people are doing to enjoy life this winter here.

What is saving your life, right now? Oh please, do tell.

enjoy life…

what i learned {january 2016}

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Beach. What I Learned

“The body keeps score and it always wins.” -Brené Brown

I was sick for a week this January. I had pushed myself hard in December: not sleeping well, getting up early, pushing my body and working out harder than I have been in a while, a lot of responsibilities and guess what, “the body always wins.” When you don’t take care of yourself, the body will make you take care of it.

First, I learned that I whatever I do, I must keep up, what Gretchen Rubin refers to as, my foundational habits: Getting proper rest, staying hydrated, eating better, and keeping my stress levels down. These habits allow me to be at my best self and able to function at an optimal level.

Simply TuesdayAnd second, while I am doing that, I must always stay in the present moment. Living too much in the future and in the past ruins the present, and surprisingly, increases my stress level! Who knew? So while, I was sick, I did everything that I could to listen to my body and rest. I drank hot tea, read, and caught up with my favorite television shows.

I am currently reading Emily P. Freeman’s book, Simply Tuesday: Small-Moment Living in a Fast-Moving World. I am finding it to be a great book to start my day and I am enjoying savoring it slowly. I am linking up with her and others to tell you what we learned this month. Check out all our collected wisdom here.

What have you learned recently?

enjoy life…

what i’m into – that’s keeping me sane {january 2016}

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After the busyness of my December, and a wonderful vacation with my family the first week of January, my body succumbed to a flu-like virus and had me down and out for the second week of January. I spent the third week of January getting my bearings back. Happily, I still managed to do a few things this month that helped keep me sane.

  • I have read four books this month and I am on target for my Goodreads Reading Challenge this year. I reviewed one on January’s edition of Quick Lit. The other three, I will review during next month’s edition. I also completed one category of the Modern Mrs. Darcy’s Reading Challenge. One down, 11 more to go. I am really enjoying my lighter reading fare that I have continued this month. Staying sane.
  • I have started listening to Modern Mrs. Darcy’s new podcast: What Should I Read Next.  There have been four episodes all ready and I have enjoyed each one. My To Be Read list of books has grown considerably. I wonder if I may ever be a guest because I would love to hear her personalized recommendations for what I should read next. One can dream (sigh).
  • I have made some progress on another one of my intentions for 2016: removing things that are not useful, beautiful, or loved. I used the Martin Luther King holiday to clean out my closet and am moving on to my books in the next week. I am excitedly working on my posts to share with you soon.
  • I began training for my half marathon in April. It’s kind of cold for me to be running outside so I have been training on a treadmill. The bad news is that it is harder to run on a treadmill than outside. The good news is that it is harder to run on a treadmill than outside. I will be thrilled when I can take my training outside permanently. Although one time, I got so tired of running on the treadmill, I did take it outside in spite of the cold. But I did complete the miles for the day; very proud! Running again makes me realize that I MUST run regularly in order to stay sane.
  • I participated in the Love Notes Postcard Project {14} this month, the first of four rounds this year. I LOVE this project and had the pleasure of interviewing its creator, Jennifer Belthoff. If you missed it, you can read it here. My partner, Susan, was awesome! I loved her postcards.
  • My birthday was this week. Received the gorgeous flowers, pictured above, from the Hubby created by Ron and Mark of InBloom Floral Design Studios. They are amazing!

Once again, I will be linking up with Leigh Kramer and her What I’m Into Link-Up. You can check out what other folks are into here.

Let me know what you’ve been up to this New Year in the comments. I LOVE comments!

enjoy life…