I’m officially passing the two week mark of having a head cold that make me sound like Batman in the morning and leaves my head stuffed with cotton for the rest of the day- but I’m resolving to come back on Tuesday in Full Force. I have pictures of how my garden transformed from cute & bonsai sized into a Jurassic-era like rainforest situation where had I not fought it tooth & nail on a regular basis, I’m quite sure it would have sent my mint plants into the house to kill me, steal my identity, and take over my house & blog.

It’s a fact. Mint is insane. And I may or may not be loopy from cough syrup.

For now, while I’m speaking in sentence fragments & trying to stay up past 9:30 every night, here are a few of my favourite things that just work:

1. Lemons & Honey. If you have a sore throat (welcome to my life!) slice up lemons, lay them flat, put them in a freezer bag & leave them over night. The next day you have perfect single portions ready to go & your lemons won’t spoil if you need them over a few days! Just pop one in a mug before adding boiling water & honey to taste.

2. Patricia Wexler “Acnescription” starter kit. I hate having trouble with my skin, but it happens a lot and when you are as fair skinned as I am (they had to re-take my drivers license picture three times because the flash washed out all of my features, no joke) it’s impossible to hide a break out. The Patricia Wexler kit from Bath & Body Works is brilliant and while it’s mixed in with all the anti-aging stuff, don’t be fooled! I don’t usually pitch products, but this one is so good I can’t help myself – it’s absolutely killer and at only $30 it’s worth trying. Even if I feel like I’m dying, I love that I’m not breaking out. That’s worth something. [here]

3. Give yourself access to your time. If there is one thing I chronically do, it’s over commit myself. I love making  people happy & making connections, and part of me is afraid that if I say no to projects I’ll miss out on something. I’ve recently realized that by saying yes all the time, I’m giving all of my time away…which kind of devalues it. Aside from blogging & after personal commitments I take maybe an hour to actively engage in my interests every week, and that’s probably by listening to news & history podcasts while walking the dogs. What amazing things could I do if I had access to my time? It’s not about ‘making time for me’, it’s about trying to end my over commitment/burnout cycle for good. It’s taking a 2 hour chuck of time I might spend talking with an acquaintance over after work drinks, and putting that toward writing in my journal, doing something where I’m actively engaged with Mister, or making cards for the first time in a year. It’s about investing in reciprocal relationships & finding ways to spread the responsibility out more evenly in my friendships. I’m writing down the things I want to be doing in my spare time & putting them in my planner every week so I remember that I deserve to use my time too. And so far, it feels really good.

4. Vegan S’mores. They’re SO GOOD. Even on a Thursday afternoon when I realize that I’m so behind I’m going to have to bring my school work with me on a super fun Minneapolis road trip, vegan s’mores make me feel better. And yes, that heading could have also read “eating my feelings” but having the word vegan followed by almost anything makes it look better, am I right?

What are you figuring out these days?