Life

Well, I’m officially off-grid in terms of social media. I’m just over it! I feel like I could write a book on my feelings about social media. It’s something I’ve talked about in 2013 and again in 2019, and I think many people can relate that how our culture uses social media and how it impacts our lives can be tricky to manage.

I wasn’t on any platform for an extensive amount of time each day (maybe 10 minutes, tops?), but it still felt like too much. While there’s a lot of good that can come from social media, I don’t know if the positive aspects outweigh the negative aspects for me. What are your thoughts on social media?

Alright, onto a few favorites!

-Valentine’s Day books. I really love Valentine’s Day. And children’s books. Combine the two and I am one happy girl. Since our local libraries are still closed, I just had to get Sader Tot some new books 😉

All three of these books are super sweet and cute, but I especially love God Is Love. Speaking of Valentine’s Day… I really want to decorate for it soon. Do you decorate for “little” holidays like Valentine’s Day? I am all about anything that brings extra joy to our home!

-Taking a couple of dogs home. I texted Jimmy a picture of two huskies in our basement the other day while he was at work and he was so confused because they definitely weren’t Niva, haha.

I saw two huskies loose on our street and instantly remembered how it felt to have a missing dog, so I took them home and called their owners (yup, they were from two different houses!). They got some playtime in our yard with Niva and it kind of felt like a husky party, haha. We were all able to relate on just how good this breed of dog is at escaping!

-Seeing Jimmy’s work. Jimmy installed a cross at Light of Life Rescue Mission on Friday and sent me a photo. He tells me about things he does at work all the time, but it’s always nice to see what he’s up to!

-Researching. I’ve been doing lots of research on less toxic home/personal care items lately and am randomly enjoying it?! A few people have shared their favorite brands with me, which has been very helpful! I figured I can share what friends and family have told me about thus far!

Makeup/beauty brands: Mineral Fusion, Mary Kay, and Pure Haven
Cleaning/home brands: Puracy, Branch Basics, Grove, Norwex, Young Living, and Melaleuca.

I’m also researching making my own cleaning supplies. I have a great laundry detergent recipe, but I’d like to add things like glass cleaner, all purpose cleaner, toilet bowl cleaner, etc. to my list of DIYS. The caveat is that they have to be simple to make and effective. We’ll see if I end up going the route of DIYS (could be inexpensive, but a little bit of work) or just purchase from some of the brands above (easy to do, but pricier).

-Playing games with Sadie. Sader Tot is at such a fun age for introducing and playing games! I picked up a pack of kid’s yoga pose cards at Dollar Tree and we have had so. much. fun. picking cards and practicing the poses on them together. It’s definitely a great way to get some of her energy out when it’s too cold to be outside for very long 😉

We’ve also been playing Hungry Hungry Hippos and Elefun, which are both so nostalgic for Jimmy and I! Are there any games that you remember really well from your childhood? Off the top of my head I’m thinking of Mouse Trap, Clue, and Mancala as being favorites when I was younger.

What are some of your favorite things lately?

Good morning and welcome to the first Sunday of 2021. I thought it would be fun to go on a little (virtual) coffee date with you and just share what’s on my mind this morning.

–> If we were having coffee right now… I’d be sipping a blonde roast with cream. In fact, that was what I was sipping when I began this post. My sweet husband ran to Starbucks and got it for me! What is your drink of choice?

–> If we were having coffee right now… I’d tell you that Sadie had a scary high fever last night. We gave her Tylenol and she still felt warm an hour or two later, so I took her temperature on her forehead and it was 105 😳

Thankfully my sister (a registered nurse!) told me to take her temperature in her ear and it was between 102 and 103 in her ear. Still high, but much less scary than 105. I am so thankful for my caring sister who took the time to call us, give advice, and say she was praying for Sader Tot ❤

What we’ve been doing to treat her:

Rotating Tylenol + Ibuprofen when she has a fever
Using this chest rub to help with stuffiness
Diffusing and applying essential oils
Giving her elderberry gummies
Offering her food and fluids as much as possible
Giving her homeopathic cough and cold medicine
Snuggling and watching movies together 🙂

Thankfully Jimmy is still holding strong with no signs of sickness! Do you have any remedies for the common cold?

–> If we were having coffee right now… I would mention that Niva is blowing her coat again.

Huskies shed their undercoats twice a year, once in the spring and once in the fall. Niva was kind of late and blew her coat in July to cool off, so it makes sense that she’s just now shedding her summer coat to make way for her winter coat.

Our poor couches… and black clothing, haha. I wore a black t-shirt yesterday and by the end of the day it was covered in a combination of Sadie’s dried snot and Niva’s fur. Keepin’ it real over here 🤪 Needless to say, an undercoat rake has been helping a lot with the fur situation!

–> If we were having coffee right now… I would ask about your favorite natural products. I mentioned that I was trying to switch to non-toxic options for our cleaning supplies/medicine/etc. and now I’m adding makeup to the list. Sadie got into my eyeshadow, put it all over her face, and promptly got a rash that has lasted a few days.

I ordered this eyeshadow to replace it, and I’m now working on slowly replacing everything. Send recommendations my way, please!

–> If we were having coffee right now... I’d offer you a bar of chocolate. I found these for $1 each at the grocery store yesterday!

I’m thinking I need to do some baking with these if I don’t eat them before I get a chance to look up some recipes, lol.

–> If we were having coffee right now… I would tell you what I read about in my morning devotional this morning.

I’m studying the book of Hebrews with a study guide and the author was discussing Hebrews 3:2 and how Moses and Jesus were both faithful to their calling and said “We are never called to be successful, but we are called to be faithful.” I just loved that and thought it was worth sharing.

–> If we were having coffee right now… I would admit that I’m counting down the months until I can garden again. At the same time, I’m enjoying this season. I love cozy evenings on the couch with Sadie, Jimmy, Niva, and Malcolm. I love looking at the forecast to see if we’re going to get snow. Not much beats a warm bowl of soup, either!

Living My Full Life

Sunday Coffee Date

If we were having coffee right now, what would you want to talk about?