It’s truth-telling time: I’m a recovered shopaholic. For real. In my early twenties I went a little nuts with credit cards and spending and, well… things got out of control.
Since then I’ve had to learn to live without the things I really want but can’t actually afford. And, let me tell you, that took some getting used to. After several years of trying to focus on what I have instead of what I want, I’ve come to appreciate the little things that I can’t live without. I know these may sound silly, but they make me one happy {busy} girl!
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Reuseable Shopping Bags
I’m not kidding, I couldn’t live without these things! We are a family what is always on the go, and this is how we get from point A to point B with all our stuff. We could never fit everything into one regular diaper bag. I use reusable shopping bags to carry my work stuff in, to bring snacks and drinks to the beach, to heft books back to the library… You get the picture. I even wrote a post in my beginning days of blogging about how reusable shopping bags help you save time and money! I know I’m not the only one who lugs around everything but the kitchen sink when she leaves the house. Any other “bag ladies” out there? 😉
Coffee
I tried giving up coffee once and it was pretty scary. For one thing, I get up at 4:30 for work. Also, I have no brain cells before my first cup of coffee. It’s a miracle I can get myself showered before I’ve had my caffeine fix. Although, I’m not gonna lie, I often forget to wash my face and at least once a week I’m pretty sure I condition my hair twice because I can’t remember if I did it already so I condition it again. I’m basically a morning zombie that is cured by coffee.
Morning Quiet Time
So, technically I could sleep in an extra 15 minutes if my morning quiet time wasn’t so darn necessary. It only takes a few minutes to read my devotional and reset my brain to a positive mode for the day, which I think is totally worth it. I’m a whole different (and nicer) person on the days when I’ve taken those extra moments to myself before starting the day.
Chocolate
Back in my early days of blogging I actually wrote a blog post about chocolate. How dorky is that?! I can’t help it. I’m in love with the stuff. And then after my awesome Christmas Teacher Gift haul I discovered salted caramel chocolates from Trader Joe’s. This is the stuff of heaven, I tell you.
Friends
Oh boy, would I be lost without my friends. I’ve got a fantastic network of encouraging, supportive ladies both online and in real life who are the only reason I’m halfway sane today. This busy mama doesn’t have a lot of time to go out and do fun things, but that’s ok. Because one day my kids will be gone, I’ll have tons of time to myself, and my friends will still be there. They’re that good of friends.
Want to make my day? Be a friend, share some chocolate and coffee with me (or better yet-put ’em together and let’s make a café mocha!), don’t judge me for all the bags I carry around, and know that if I’m in a “not-complainy” kind of mood it’s probably because I got my morning quiet time in.
Those are my simple, can’t-live-without things. What are yours?