Friday Favorites - What Is Saving My Life Right Now

That title is a bit dramatic, isn't it??  Ha!  I was listening to Kendra Adachi's podcast this week, The Lazy Genius, and she puts these episodes out every once in awhile and they are among my favorites.  So, because it's been a long, boring, cold, snowy week I thought this would make a great Friday Favorites post :). I link up with Andrea and Erika each week - head over to their blogs to see what they are up to as well as others that link up!

I will tell you what is not saving my life right now - technology :/. First, I couldn't log onto Blogger this morning to write this - the two step authentication wasn't coming through on my other devices.  I had a moment where I thought I might be locked out for days, my account was hacked, all.the.thoughts.  I don't know what it was, but I finally was able to get logged in.  Then I tried to airdrop a picture to add to the top of this post and that "failed".  I'm such a techie flunkie - I feel like things should just work and when they don't I don't have the capacity to figure it out.  My Google Photos aren't updating/syncing with Blogger so. . .well. . .no pictures today.  Not that I had many anyway. . .just wanted to show you my beautiful Valentine's flowers that are still going strong!

Well, here we go anyway. . .these are not literally "saving my life" - just trying to notice the "little" things that make life comfortable in this season :)

Lip balm/hand cream - boy, it's been a dry winter!!  My Olive Tree People consultant gifted me with this Oliveda Lip Balm in October and it is absolutely "saving my lips" - ha!  I wanted to get it for stocking stuffers for my people but it was sold out in December - I just went to the website to get that link for you and it appears it is still sold out.  It must be saving a lot of lives right now!!  My consultant also suggested that I use it on my cuticles and that has been a good solution also.  Mostly, though, my kids have got me hooked on the Trader Joe's hand cream and that is what they all got in their stockings instead this past Christmas.  Kendra (of the Lazy Genius) says to "decide once" and that - the hand cream - is one of my "decide once" go-to gift basket gifts usually.

(FYI - I only link for your convenience - I am not an affiliate of/for anyone)

Music - one of the pictures I can't airdrop is the one I just took - I'm sitting on my sofa with Spotify playing through the living room television.  I was talking to a friend about "how to stay energized" this week and "how to get through bouts of being down" and I told him that, for me, it's music and sunlight.  Those two things solve a lot of motivation problems for me.  

My phone alarms - I truly live by them.  Again, would show you a screenshot if my airdrop was working.  Back before these pocket computers we now carry around I used an egg timer for tasks around the house and, of course, have always had an alarm clock.  My mom tells me how much my snooze alarm would drive her nuts when I was in high school - I worked very late nights so mornings would come quickly!  When I was in the classroom the kids got very used to my alarms. . .I hated "watching the clock" and didn't like them packing up five minutes before the end of class so made a deal with them - that when my alarm went off three minutes before class was supposed to end that I would finish the sentence/thought that we were working on and they could pack up.  It worked really, really well.  I have alarms for everything which, I think, helps me to "stay in the moment" on any task I'm on - I know I have an alarm to alert me with enough buffer to finish what I am on and time to switch to the next task.  

All my "warm" stuff - seriously, if you could see me right now, the fireplace is on and I am under my new electric blanket that Kelley suggested in one of her recent posts :). Radar (Erin's dog) chewed a wire out of my old blanket and I had put this one on my Amazon wish list as a "someday" purchase when Kelley had mentioned it.  Since my birthday was soon after the doggie ruined my other one the girls (and Radar) bought me this new one.  Also, my heated steering wheel!!  Seriously, I have never had one before, never thought it was important (my must-haves when we were car shopping were/are heated seats and a sun roof) but it now this will be an "essential" too - ha!  What a "champagne" world I live in, I know :). Anyway, I hate, hate, hate the cold weather so much. . .my warm socks "save my life" - last year Robert & Ellie got me a great pair for Christmas, this year Stephen did. . .my kiddos know me!

My job - is it fair to say a job is "saving my life"?  I think it's more that it's something I am grateful for and this one, compared to where I was this time last year, is so.much.better.  I liked the people and industry I worked in prior but I wasn't the right "fit" - this job I'm in right now is just perfect for me.  I'm on a team (my last two positions I was "on my own") and have a very specific niche.  Plus, my hours are generally flexible to a degree, which I am not used to but am enjoying the benefits!  Having "something to do" each day, a purpose, direction, certainly is something that is important in living a life I love, for sure.

Tennis & pickleball - I enjoy playing these sports so very much and truly wish I got to play more.  I really, really like the people I play with and soon these sports will be combined with SUNSHINE. . .life is looking up!!

Reading - between daily blog reading (so thankful to the ladies that blog multiple times a week!) and my library books or books I've downloaded on Audible, I love having something to read/listen to as I do mundane tasks or just huddle under blankets in the evenings.  I have always loved reading - I grew up with a grandmother and mother who were/are avid readers - and am thankful for this past time.  I did switch over to a Kindle many, many years ago and now use the Kindle app on my iPad but still enjoy the occasional "real" book - mostly on the boat or beach or by the pool.  You really can't beat the convenience of always having something to read at your fingertips and my iPad provides that :). 

Upcoming planned trips - it's always good to have something to look forward to, right?  Except for a couple of trips to Ohio and Thanksgiving in Murfreesboro I truly don't think we've done anything since our August lake weekend with the family.  I like staying busy - ha!  Next weekend Tom & I are heading to Florida for my brother's birthday, the following weekend is my sister's annual hiking trip (this year Chattanooga) and we have our Ireland & London trip as well as many, many trips to the lake (I hope) this summer.  Since it's also our 30th wedding anniversary this year I'm hoping to get one more "something" in there. . .we'll see.  

I'll finish this with a picture that belongs with this post - one of my favorite profile pictures because it truly captures the best of everything (outside of Jesus and my family) to me :)

Please comment with something that is "saving your life" right now!!!  Maybe it's something that will add value to my life too :). 

Happy Friday!
Love,
Jenni