Favorite Things ~ 2021 Edition!

 This week is an absolutely wonderful topic: Favorite Things! 

So far my favorites list has grown. Charissa had some excellent choices and reminded me it's writing glove season, KAK left me craving ice cream, and Jeffe made me realize it could be fun to write a short for an anthology! 

Without further ado, I give you three things I’m loving right now:

BlueNose Coffee has the best hot drinks around. If you're ever in Minnesota, best make a swing through the southeast metro. My newest addiction is their eggnog chai latte—pure heaven! And it tastes even better while hiking in the snow.
 

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds is one of the top places I order my seeds through. I’ve always had excellent germination rates and receiving their annual seed catalogue is akin to the Sears toy catalogue arriving in the mail as a child! If you enjoy growing things you won’t be disappointed in their variety, or their beautiful seed packets!

Last but not least, a book. Pie Academy by Ken Haedrich is my go-to pastry book. There are pies in there I’d never heard of—but you can be sure I’m going to try them all out. If you’re a pie baker, or maybe you’re interested in giving it a go, Haedrich’s recipes are simple enough and the images drool-inducing enough to make it all worth the effort. 

There are a few of my faves…what are some of yours? What has you hooked right now?

Reading Yoga

 

Reading Yoga

Destress: What’s one thing you do to keep (or reestablish) your equanimity when life is too much?

If there were one thing we could do to destress…well, we’d all be doing it and thriving! So that’s the thing, it takes more than one trick to keep the stress at bay.

Jeffe gave a great run down on how our bodies are hard wired to respond to threatening situations: alligators. The Mayo Clinic has a nice little post if you’re interested. 

For me, I ignored the alligators for far too long and ended up with a chronic disease. Now I have an arsenal of tools to handle stress. No, they’re not perfect because when you throw some bugs into the system I flare up and then the mental struggle gets real. But here’s my top three bring-it-down-a-level tricks:

Yoga

I’ve mentioned before that I had to relearn how to breathe, here, and doing yoga is my daily reminder to reset. I known I’ll get knocked off my pillow again and again, but I’ll keep getting back on.

Reading

According to my Goodreads I’ve read 127 books so far this year, and I know I’ve got two finished ones sitting on my desk that are awaiting reviewing. Why so high this year? Because I read to escape and when I’m lost in another world or the lives of characters I leave my own stress behind. 

Get Outside

I’m incredibly thankful for my husky pup, Ullr. He makes me get outside—especially when I don’t want to. Inevitably, being out in nature is what I needed. It clears my head.  

I haven’t invented anything new, though I did manage to combine all three for my image for the week. And really, what's better than slow, concentrated movements that improve your health while being swept away into a fantastical world?! Well...regular yoga is great too. 

If you are feeling the pressure I hope you give some of our week’s suggestions a try. Trust me, don’t ignore the alligators. 

Is one of my top three a go-to for you? 

my reading yoga book stack—each one is highly recommended!