Mocktail Mania

Being pregnant certainly puts a damper in all things drinking, so I’ve recently spent some time investigating the mocktail scene to keep live interesting. The best part is that it’s currently Dryuary (Dry January, No Alcohol January…) so that means recipes are easy to find right now! Mind you, this is never the attitude I took before. It’s my birthday, and as such Dry January has never appealed to me.

My favorite is this margarita recipe, I have yet to remember to salt the rim of my glass, which I’m sure will only enhance the experience!

  • 1/2 cup limeade
  • 1/4 cup sparkling water- lemon flavored
  • 1/4 cup sparkling water- lime flavored
  • 1/4 cup orange juice
  • Ice

My second-favorite was  1 part cranberry juice, 2 parts orange juice, and 1 part ginger ale. The fizzy aspect is something I definitely find key to the experience! Also, we garnished this with an orange slice which makes it feel just a little more sophisticated :). After drinking quite a bit of these, we realized that really you could use any ratio of the three ingredients to your liking. I love it when things are versatile!

Do you have any non-alcoholic drink recipes that you swear by? Let me know in the comments!

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Re-Read Your Favorite Book This Weekend

I have never regretted sitting down to re-read a book. The bonus is that I almost always read it faster the second time than I did the first time, i.e. I could read it in a weekend. Granted, I don’t read many books over 400 pages and almost none over 500 pages, so there is that inherent constraint. The bottom line is, regardless of how long it might take you, re-reading your favorite book is certain to bring you joy.

You can re-read your favorite book when you’re in either a good or a bad mood. It’s sure to make a good mood better and to turn a bad mood around. Plus, with the availability of ebooks and audiobooks, particularly via your local library or Amazon, you can have this book at your fingertips everywhere you go to maximize your reading time. 

One of the books I’ve re-read a few times is Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There. I think the first time I read the book was around fourth grade, and I actually read it before Alice in Wonderland. Perhaps because I read it first, or perhaps because it is better, I’ve always loved it. Re-reading it takes me back to the simpler time of childhood which is completely unmatched. In fact, many (but certainly not all) of my favorite books are favorites because of the place I was in when I first read them, more-so than the book. Yet another reason re-reading books can bring you happiness. 

Drop a comment of your favorite book- whether a recent one or your earliest memory. I’d love to hear them!

(Featured Image: Janet Evanovich, Stephanie Plum Series #11, Eleven On Top)

Spend 10 Minutes Doing Something You Love

Many of us fall victim to getting caught up in the hustle and bustle of everyday life and adulthood that we forget to take the time to get in touch with ourselves. There are so many “10 minute moments” in a day, but we very rarely use them to their fullest. Think about the number of times you take a quick break from life to scroll through social media, or to just sit and be alone. There’s nothing wrong with either of these things, but would something else make you even happier? 

I personally am so quick to grab my phone and check Instagram whenever I have a minute or two of downtime. Then that minute or two turns into many more minutes. But when I really think about it, I’d feel better if I took the time to stretch and mediate instead. These can even be done in as little as five minutes and leave me with a much greater sense of satisfaction than any Instagram binge can. You could also go for a walk, read or write a blog post, pick up a craft, clean the bathroom, phone a friend, anything that makes you legitimately feel better.

I’m interested to hear how you would choose to fill a pocket of time. Let me know in the comments!

 

How to Work When You Really Don’t Want To

It’s not a secret that I’m a little less than happy with my current job. I try really hard to only communicate highlights with people that I don’t really know, and also to just focus on the things that make it good in conversation. I recognize the power of positive thinking, and the influence of our thinking on our memories. Although my day to day may be really challenging, I also want to look back on this year and think “WOW”. So how do I work towards WOW?

Every day I walk into work thinking “today can be different.” I used to use the word “will”, but honestly the disappointment and frustration that that led to was more harmful than good. I try to start each work day with a positive attitude. I also make a to-do list of both long-term (rolling) and short-term (daily-ish) goals that will help me to leave feeling satisfied. Put simply, rather than focusing on the things I cannot control, I focus on what I can control.

Even though other people still make the day challenging, and even though I feel like I’m simultaneously doing too much and not enough, when I look back on the past few months I really am happy with what I’ve chosen to do. The things that make me smile are a wide variety of moments, but they’re so worth it. 

An Introduction to Daily Posts

I’ve recently gotten back into Podcasts, specifically ones that are composed of short (under 20 minutes) episodes that come out more than once a week. It really got me thinking about working in “bite sized pieces” with my writing. This past year has been challenging in many ways. I’ve gotten my PhD, moved to a new state, gotten pregnant, among many other things. It has made writing and/or editing far less enjoyable for me than it used to be. Somehow, it was never unenjoyable enough to just walk away and forget about it. So here we are. Starting a new year, and a new decade, with a new plan. I’m starting out with a week’s worth of short posts that you can read quickly and easily that will hopefully also provide you with some motivation for your day.

Wednesday Wisdom: Making Black History

As I’m sure you’re aware, February is Black History Month. Growing up, I think the biggest complaint that I heard was that we got the shortest month of the year. Before I really understood too much, I would just celebrate that we got a month. Although I still strongly believe in celebrating our 28 (and sometimes 29) days of the year, I’m coming to realize some far more important things. For one thing, we cannot just treat Black History Month as a look at the past. The things that happened last week, month, and year are just as important. We are constantly shaping our history, and we need to act accordingly.

On top of always shaping our history, in today’s day and age it seems like there is always someone (usually a white man), who does something racist, but is too afraid of the word “racist” to admit what they have done. This tells me that we should be focusing on the 1800s history, the 1960s history, the 1990s history, and the 2010s history more than ever. On the other hand, it seems like the ally network has grown, but what’s annoying is that allies aren’t saying anything that hasn’t already been said. It’s jut that now people seem willing to listen. I could harp on this, or I could just be happy that we have a voice.

Some people might find what I’m saying depressing, and I completely understand why. For me, I feel like it’s far more important to focus on the victories and use them as fuel to keep going. Nothing will make you work harder than trying to prove somebody else wrong. But nothing will make you work longer than knowing that what you are doing is making a difference.