5 things I’m loving right now

The holidays are headed right for us, have you noticed? Before all the holiday preparations, excitement, and let’s face it, dread, fully envelope us, I thought it would be nice to pause and think about what I’m loving–what is working for me right now, in ordinary time.

1. Going sugar-free. Yup. I did it. It’s been a couple of months now since I started the Trim Healthy Mama (let’s just call it THM, shall we?) eating plan to get my blood sugar issues under control. It has helped me get  out of pre-diabetes territory, which I find a huge relief.  The plan is simultaneously easy and hard to do. But the one thing that is definitely working is getting off of sugar,  with all its ups and downs and cravings. I do use stevia-based sweeteners, which I used to lump in with all other “fake sugars”, but in fact, after lots of research I have found that stevia is a natural sweetener, and thank goodness for that! I made it through my first Halloween ever eating no candy, and feel like I am free!
2. All things British TV. I just binged-watched Poldark Season 3 and loved every minute of it. One day I am definitely going to need to read the books that started it all.  Other recent favorites include Victoria and To Walk Invisible: The Bronte Sisters. Long hours of sewing are even more enjoyable when streaming some lovely British TV.
3. FlyLady. Have you done FlyLady? This one deserves its own post. I have started and abandoned FlyLady half a dozen times in my life. But I keep going back to it, not because I need help getting my house clean each week. I have that down. What I need help with is the deep cleaning. Making space in my schedule for all the little (or not so little) things that I don’t clean on a weekly basis. I’m talking about moving the furniture to vacuum, cleaning out the drawers and cupboards, cleaning the ceiling fans–stuff like that. And her Zone system, tackling one area of your home per week and knocking these tasks off 15 minutes at a time makes a lot of sense to me. I’m still struggling to implement it, but I will keep pushing forward.
4. Morning Pages. I carry a lot in my head. I’m always thinking, thinking, thinking. And taking time every morning (or even just some mornings–no perfectionism here) to get what is in my head out on paper really helps me make sense of it all. Or at least it get it out of my head. I’m hoping to go into the holidays this with some clarity, purpose, and intention.
5. The Next Right Thing podcast. I am no stranger to Emily P. Freeman’s writing–but her podcast resonates with me on a different level.  From her podcast intro: The Next Right Thing “is for the second-guessers, the chronically hesitant or anyone who suffers from decision fatigue.” Yes, yes, and yes. At less than twenty minutes per episode, it is just the kick-in-the-pants I need some days.

So that’s it for me. What are you loving right now?