Focusing on the Positives » Living Life with Meredith

I had a whole blog post written & scheduled to be posted today but honestly, it just doesn’t feel right to share it given all that is happening in the world. So I’ll save it for later & write about something different today.

I’ve been thinking about what would be a good post to write in a crazy time such as what we’re all dealing with right now & I haven’t come up with much, if I’m being entirely honest.

Here’s what I have come up with:

Reminding y’all to be kind to others during this time—especially on the Internet. Good grief people, use some manners & be kind. Everyone deals with things differently & the current situation is NO exception. So, just be kind–even if people don’t agree with you.
Reminding you that your feelings are valid. If you’re feeling anxious, scared, or even well-prepared & calm, it’s totally okay.
Give you some ideas for what to do with this free time you may have right now. Whether you’re off work, working from home, or just need a break from all that’s happening in the world, here are some suggestions for what to do.

Here’s what I’m doing:

Cooking & baking! This week I’m making: Buffalo Chicken Sliders, Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup, Skillet Chicken Lasagna, & Honey Garlic Shrimp. Not gonna lie, pretty excited about all of it. I also just made Chocolate Chip Cookie Cheesecake Bars & once those are gone, I’m going to make some sort of cookies.

A recipe I'm baking while focusing on the positives: Chocolate Chip Cookie Cheesecake Bars

Working on our 2019 Family Yearbook. Every year for 7 years, I’ve made a family yearbook for us. I love it. It’s great to have to be able to look back on past memories & a good use of all of the photos we take-because that’s why we take them right? To have them to look back on. So let me encourage you to create your own family yearbook. Or your child’s baby book. Or that book from your super fun cruise or family vacation, or whatever it may be. It doesn’t have to be of the entire year. It can be from one big event. Do it! You have the time now & you’ll thank yourself later! I use Blurb to create ours because it gives me plenty of freedom to create each page exactly how I want it & I can add photos & text to each page. You can also use Shutterfly, Mpix, or Chatbooks. In the coming weeks, I’m going to share a post all about how I create my family yearbook but don’t wait—start now!

Reading! It’s no secret that I love to read. Last Friday I went to Books-A-Million (I lifted my ban!) to get some books for our (now postponed) vacation & walked out with 9 books. NINE. The sale section was AMAZING (and it usually isn’t) so I racked up! If reading is something you always say you want to do but don’t have the time, then guess what? You do now. Plus, it keeps you away from all of the crazy taking place on social media. If you need suggestions, here’s my recommended books for January & February. The picture below are of the books that I just bought so I haven’t had a chance to read them but I’m really looking forward to them all!

Books for me to read while focusing on the positives that I just bought

Working Out! Just because you can’t go to the gym doesn’t mean you can’t exercise. And if you’ve been saying for however long that you want to exercise but don’t have the time, now’s the time to start. I’ve been working out for years & I love it (which is absolutely hilarious & ironic given the fact that I used to be known as the “Girl Who Hates to Sweat”). For me, it’s now a routine & definitely a nonnegotiable when there’s a lot happening around me. You can still go for walks outside or work out in your living room. I do cardio, strength training, yoga, all of it.

For indoor cardio, strength training, dance, barre, kickboxing & more:

I LOVE & use Studio Tone It Up. I’ve been working out with them for about as long as I’ve been working out (soooo about 7 years now. Whoa. Almost 7 years. That’s CRAZY! Anyway…). I love them & in their app they have a variety of trainers that teach a variety of classes & I’m sure that there’s something there you can find that you’ll love. You can join a program or pick random workouts to do. You can filter by type of class, teacher, time, & equipment. They’re also letting new members use the app free for 30 days which is awesome! They also have a ton of workouts on YouTube which is where I got my start with them (though there’s less variety on YouTube with workouts & trainers).

For yoga:

I have 2 go-to teachers that I loooooove for different reasons but both have a ton of free classes on YouTube. The first is who introduced me to yoga: Bad Yogi. To me, she’s all about the stretching & movement. If I just need to stretch, this is where I go. If you need a little bit more of a turning inward (that sounds so cheesy), Yoga with Adriene is the way to go though she doesn’t usually get too deep nor does she push the yoga philosophy on you either. Both have classes of varying lengths focusing on various parts of the body or life situations. If you’ve never tried either, I recommend trying a short class from them both to see who you like best. If you don’t like either, rest assured there a ton of yoga teachers on YouTube.

TV. Is it wrong to say that I’m watching plenty of TV? Probably. But it’s true & it’s probably true for you too. I’m getting caught up on my shows & have a list on Netflix for what series or movies to watch next. I love Hallmark movies (the regular ones of course but I also love their Mystery movies!) so I’m watching those. As a family, we love 911, The Rookie, New Amsterdam, Chicago Med, Chicago PD, Law & Order: SVU, FBI & FBI: Most Wanted. Also, I’m realizing we really really like crime & medical shows, which I already knew but whoa. Writing it out & putting it on the Internet really sheds new light on that. As for my Netflix watch list I have: The Great British Baking Show (LOVE this show & I still have a couple of seasons left before I’m totally caught up), To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, The Crown, & Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life. I’ve watched all of Parks & Rec & love that show too. Oh & if you haven’t yet watched Virgin River, DO IT! It’s soooo good! We watched it in 3 days.

Other ideas: start working on that side hustle (or make more improvements to it), clean out & organize your home, learn how to do something new (knit, sew, cook for a few examples), I even read that some Ivy League colleges are offering a variety of courses/classes online for free that you can take! The list is limitless for what you can do to occupy your time.

I hope this helps give you some ideas for the free time that you have.