Lifesavers

Today on Modern Mrs. Darcy the topic is the things that are saving your life right now. Sometimes it's hard to look past all the things that are killing us, or making life hard, so here is my quick list of the things that are saving me right now. Please note these are all fairly materialistic, everyone in my family is in good health and we're all safe. This list is just meant as a fluffy escape.

1. Whole30: I'm going to write a separate post about this, but today is DAY THIRTY for me, and I survived. Dare I even say I thrived? If you're not familiar, Whole30 is essentially an even more strict iteration of the Paleo diet, which I've rolled my eyes so hard and so long at I think they're kinda stuck that way. Thirty days of zero dairy, grains, legumes, sugar (including honey, stevia, agave and maple syrup), chewing gum, and happiness. kidding on that last one. kind of. The point is to reshape your relationship with food and eating to fuel your body instead of feeding your happiness/sadness/boredom, whatever the blue plate special may be. I thought for sure I'd be chomping at the bit to shove my face full of all the things that were on the negatory list for the last month but the truth is, I feel great! I did not find the promised tiger blood, but that's probably because I'm more unintentional tiger mom, and that shizz is exhausting some days. My kids ended up eating a lot better because the only day they had dessert all month was when I made dinner for someone else and saved a few brownies back for them.

2. Beachbody workouts and a treadmill: Pairing a consistent commitment of 30-50 minutes a day in my schweddy basement with Whole30, I've started down the path of a healthier and stronger me. From December 5th to today, my before and after photos make me happy. Having the flexibility to work out around the schedule of my life has been invaluable.

3. Audible and my Paperwhite Kindle: I've missed having the luxury of time to read. With Audible I've blown through several books in the last month, simply because I can listen while I'm cooking dinner, folding laundry, waiting at one practice or another. I highly recommend listening to anything by Joshlyn Jackson because she narrates them herself and her inflection is perfection. I have learned to listen to the sample before purchasing because I couldn't get past the first chapter or so of Curtis Sittenfeld's Eligible. The narrator was awful with a capital A. The kindle, specifically the paperwhite, enables me to take a bunch of books on the go, but without the distraction of social media lurking in the background.

4. Dry Shampoo. For reals. Dry shampoo can take you from messy hair, actually do kinda care thank you, to presentable and ready to rock your day in about 5 minutes. I have learned to embrace the fact that washing your hair every day doesn't do your locks any favors, especially when your hair is as processed as mine. I just picked up the new Doo.Over by Kevin Murphy. It smells good and works really well without leaving your hair feeling dry.

5. Podcasts. Much the same as Audible, they're something I can listen to on the go, and I've especially started listening to them while I knit in the evening as opposed to watching Netflix. The ones I'm currently digging the most are Pantsuit Politics, What Should I Read Next, NPR Politics, My Favorite Murder (very guilty pleasure. see what I did there? Guilty? #sopunny), Sweet Georgia and Stash Local Podcast. Find them on iTunes or however you listen in!

6. Driving a beast of a rig. I got in an accident last week that could have been much worse had I not driven a large, super safe car. Between the car's design and good, properly installed carseats, we were both totally fine, just carless for a day waiting for the other driver's insurance to come through on a rental.

7. Last but not least: Knitting. knitting and working with yarn seems to both fuel and soothe my soul these days. I'm participating in the Yarn Love Challenge on instagram this month, which features a different photo challenge each day, you can follow me there!