Here are 10 things that I, as a middle-aged adult, cannot imagine living without today…and these are not in any particular order…
10 things I cannot live without today
Category: My favorite books and movies
Count Your Blessings…
I can’t believe it’s August already which means that Summer is almost over, Boo! To add insult to injury, the changeable weather in Connecticut has me feeling kinda blah…If you too are finding yourself feeling some kinda way and are looking for solutions, here’s my list of ways to shake it off (smile).
First things first, Count Your Blessings. I’ve been known to throw a pity party and not invite anyone but myself and that never ends well. The quickest solution is to start counting my blessings no matter how large or small. Works like a charm…
Take a Mental Health Day – sometimes you just need to forget about work and take the day off, strictly for the purpose of resting and relaxing your mind…
Get organized – Declutter – Put things back where they belong – sometimes just getting organized takes a load off your mind and makes you feel accomplished (smile).
Surround yourself with positive people. Life is too short to be made miserable by another person(s). You can truly ‘do bad all by yourself’ as mama used to say (smile).
Listen to music that you absolutely love – the 70s is my Go-To decade so you’ll find me listening to one or more of the following musical genres: Soul, Rock, Pop, R & B or Disco. It instantly puts me in a good mood.
This is not necessarily going to be easy but try turning offthe desktop, the laptop, the cell phone, etc. for even a few half hours at a time. You’ll be amazed at how good you feel.
Read a bookby your favorite author or grab a self-help book. Either one will do the trick.
Take a power nap – quick, short naps not only rejuvenate you but they improve your mood, alertness and performance.
Exercise for life – make working out a part of your daily life – not a dreaded thing to do. Whether you belong to a gym, or work out at home, it’s one of the best ways to combat stress, reduce fatigue and improve your sleep.
Get involved in a sport that you have not played in years. I used to play a mean game of badminton as a child so playing it again recently brought back some fond memories.
Play with pets – whether they are your own, your friends or your neighbors – pets can easily bring a smile to your face and make your worries go away.
And finally, Count Your Blessings, again…if you have a sound mind, good health, family, faith, friends and work, you’re already ahead in the Game of Life.
Movie Buff
From as far back as I can remember, I have always loved going to the cinema to see a movie. Coming from a large family of 9 (two parents and 7 kids) my mother Jean, who was the original Hollis movie buff, would, on a rainy day, load all 7 of us Hollis kids in our two-toned station wagon and drop us off at the Saturday matinée. And we were never without our snacks. My mother was the ultimate planner so on one of her many trips to the supermarket, she would buy large bags of candy and miniature chocolate bars and then proceed to put them in smaller Glad baggies with twists so she could save $$ at the movie concession stand. To this day I cannot watch a movie at the cinema without having something to snack on (smile).
I saw 3 really good movies last week while on my Staycation in Connecticut. All 3 of these movies had just opened at the theaters in 2016. However, these movies were all from Red Box so we watched them right from the comfort of our living room. Things are real different today then they were back in the day…Brand new movies don’t stay in the theaters long so you don’t have to wait before plunking down a mere $1.59 to rent them from Red Box. Or another option is to pay $4.99 or more and watch them On Demand from your local Cable TV service. Unless it is truly something that has to be viewed on a super large screen for the visual and audio effects, I am okay with watching it on our own big HD TV screen at home with the volume turned up real high (smile).
Incidentally the 3 movies we rented from Red Box couldn’t have been more different from each other in genre and/or story line.
The first one was a comedy called Central Intelligence starring The Rock and Kevin Hart. I don’t want to spoil it for anyone who has not seen it, but I was really surprised at the serious undertone it took with the whole Bullying aspect that is so prevalent in today’s society.
The second was a drama called Legend of Tarzan starring Alexander Skarsgard and Samuel L. Jackson. I have to admit that the idea of seeing another Tarzan movie made me queasy (my childhood memories of Tarzan movies were not pleasant to say the least) but my S.O. James assured me that this one was done well…he was right and I was pleasantly surprised…Enough said (smile).
And the third was a foreign flick and drama (my personal fave) called The Lobster which my S.O. James handpicked for me. It stars Colin Farrell and Rachel Weisz. Can’t say enough about this movie except you should absolutely see it as it will open your eyes WIDE to a whole ‘nother world…and make you feel grateful for your own (smile).
Those are my movie picks ~ Apprecier le films!