What's Saving My Life Right Now

Even in winter, we still get glorious sunsets out our back door.
I just don't always step out in the cold to take a photo.
This one was from October. 

Tomorrow is the half-way point of winter. I'm joining with other bloggers to knock out those winter doldrums and share what is helping me get through these gloomy, cold days of winter. Maybe one of the things listed below will be just the thing to get you through the rest of these 6-7 weeks of winter. I'll be linking up with Modern Mrs. Darcy and others. Be sure to check out the link up HERE, on Friday, February 2, 2018, to see what's is saving our lives this winter.




I saw "The Greatest Showman" over Christmas break and I am OBSESSED! Oh my gosh, I had goosebumps through the whole movie. I couldn't wait to find the soundtrack on Spotify and listen to it on repeat. I've also watched all kind of making-the-movie videos. It truly is an amazing film and I'll be buying it the second it goes on sale! My favorite songs....."This is Me" and "From Now On". Hugh Jackman wowed me in Les Miserables but I was speechless after this performance.

A few years ago my husband gifted me a flower delivery every month. He has continued it and that delivery of flowers brightens my day. They usually last 1-2 weeks depending on the arrangement and make me feel special no matter what time of year it is, but especially in the winter.




Our daughter asked for this Hair Brush Straightener for Christmas and I watched it on Amazon for several weeks and the price never budged, then Ulta ran a special right before Christmas with free gifts with purchase and I snagged it. The BEST GIFT EVER. Is it terrible that I use it maybe more than she does??? I love it. I can be done straightening my hair in like 1 minute....seriously. My hair is thin so I can pretty much make one trip around my head and I'm good. Our daughter's hair is thicker and longer so it takes her a bit longer, but way shorter than if she used a straightening iron and much less frizzy. It's a win! Incidentally, it is cheaper now on Amazon than what I paid for it before Christmas.



I'm really trying to reduce my soda consumption. When I was subbing for 13 weeks, I got into a bad habit of having a 20oz soda a day. The machine was right there and it has my favorite....Cherry Pepsi...always stocked up. So, now I try to just treat myself once a week or so. Instead, I'm back to drinking La Croix or Zevia. They are perfect for that bubbly fix when you are tired of plain water. No sugar...no aspartame.

I reviewed Adagio Teas a few months ago, HERE. I loved all their flavors, but they are looseleaf teas. It was new to me and I didn't have a good set up for steeping them without the leaves and herbs slipping through into my mug. Then I found it! I love this mug set. It's perfect for steeping looseleaf tea and I have had it way more often than I would have before I found this mug.



I bought this journal for myself for my 45th birthday. I realized if I kept it every day for 5 years I would have a collection of happy moments to take me to my 50th birthday. Especially with our two sons graduating this year and next and our daughter shortly after, I knew there would be moments I wanted to be intentional about remembering. I keep it on my nightstand and have written in it every night since October 2017. It's great because there is only enough space to write a couple sentences. That's it. Every day I'm forced to find something great or some bit of happiness to remember. So, far, I've been able to find a bit of joy in every day.

Sometimes to get through winter, you gotta have a little laugh. The WTF Weather app is just that. It's snarky, rude, and crude (uses swear words often), but I love it. It makes me laugh when I check the weather. I can't wait to see what it says about our crazy spring/summer stormy weather here in Iowa.

Finally, I chose my #OneWord for 2018 and I'm really trying to keep it in the forefront of my mind. See my post HERE if you missed it earlier this year. I spent several hours last night sitting next to our Senior going through college scholarship applications. College. Scholarship. Applications. It's real and it's happening and I am focusing on EMBRACING the journey. My mom just recently gave me a bag full of "my stuff" that they found in the back of a closet. It was full of my college applications, early college visit materials, and paperwork from my first year of college. Oh, my! It made me stop and think about how my parents must have felt sending me off....the costs...the distance...all the unknowns. I wasn't their first child, but I was a late-to-the-family baby and I was the only one to go to college. So, I stopped to think about how my mom felt and then...I called her. We had a really great chat about how she felt and how I'm feeling about all the overwhelming paperwork and emotions. It was the perfect time for her to find that sack of papers and the perfect time for me to go through them.

What Was Saving My Life Last Year

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