Happy Summer! I hope you are having a lovely Memorial Day weekend, and that you take a little time to remember the reason behind the holiday. It’s not just to kick off summer, as terrific as that is. It’s a day to remember the sacrifices by so many soldiers and sailors to guard our liberty. As the mom of a soon-to-be Naval officer, this holiday has some sharp edges now.
However, I thought it would be fun to keep it a little lighter today and share a few of my favorite content creators from around the web. Ten years ago I would have described this as my favorite bloggers but social media has changed incredibly. I looked around my house the other day and realized how much of my life is shaped by what I find on the internet. Here are some favorite things in my life right now and who pointed them out to me. I do link to all of these products and websites; none are affiliates.
A Really Good Shower Cap—Kate of The Small Things blog. Kate’s one of my favorite follows on Instagram; her sweet family reminds me so much of my own, 15 years ago and if my make-up had always been on point. I know she doesn’t have perfect patience but she does a good job of hiding it! She’s a hair and beauty blogger. One of many things I adopted at her suggestion was a shower cap! I don’t like to wash my hair every day, and during this pandemic I have really stretched the limits of what is appropriate. A proper, terry-cloth-lined shower cap has been a game changer on my second-day hair. (And also third day, who am I kidding.) Seriously, try it. My hair stays neat and dry, and the time in the cap gives my dry shampoo a moment to really take hold. I also use Kate’s technique for drying my hair, and I flat iron fearlessly because of her, but the shower cap was the surprise winner.
A “TBR” list—Anne of Modern Mrs. Darcy. TBR is “To Be Read,” and until about two years ago I just would pick up the next book that appealed to me. If I heard someone talk about a book on the radio, I either ordered it right then or promptly forgot about it. Now I grab my bullet journal and jot down names whenever a friend mentions a book, or I hear about one, or I have an idea for something I’d like to read. My reading life has prospered because of it. I find that my obsessions change periodically, so everything on the TBR isn’t necessarily interesting after a while. Happily it’s not a “required reading list.” It’s just a way to keep great books from slipping under the radar. Anne’s an incredible book blogger, and I love her podcast, but I find that I have to stop listening sometimes because the sheer volume of books can be overwhelming.
A Bullet Journal—Edie of Life in Grace. About that bullet journal I mentioned above…bullet journals changed my approach to life. Seriously. Edie and Anne (above) waxed poetic about theirs so much that I decided to give it a try. I now carry a little 5 x 7 Moleskine journal most places, and it’s always in my purse. I keep my to-do lists in there, along with a basic daily calendar that I consult in concert with my on-line calendar. I have a list of the books I’ve read, and my TBR list lives there, too. Every vacation gets listed! When I go to a meeting, I take my notes in it. One notebook for everything. Total game changer. Have you tried it?
Daily Vitamins—Menopause Taylor. I’m a “woman of a certain age,” approaching menopause and full of questions. Dr. Barbara Taylor is a retired OB/GYN who has made it her mission to inform women of the research-based solutions to all the problems that come with perimenopause and menopause. She has a huge YouTube library. I started taking a B-complex and D, along with calcium and magnesium, at her suggestion. I have also done a private consultation with her. I’m still in the process of implementing her recommendations in other areas but I will let you know!
Bird Watching–Carlos Whittaker. I discovered Carlos via Emily P. Freeman. He’s a Christian speaker and writer, but it’s his Instagram stories that I love so much. This spring he followed two robins, LaLa and LuLu, as they nested, hatched and raised their babies. The excitement was truly contagious. During the pandemic I have spent more time than ever in my own backyard, and I have loved my bird feeders (as you can see above). Carlos makes it seem a little less weird, if only to me and not my kids. But I also recognized what was happening when one of my little cardinal couples started hanging out with some brown birds in the grass on Sunday morning. Those brown birds were their babies! Fledglings who were just learning their way around the yard and feeders. What a treat.
The Bible—The Daily Audio Bible Podcast. This really is the grandaddy of all influences in my life. DAB was the first podcast I subscribed to. I had finished Eric Metaxas’ biography of Bonhoeffer as my first audiobook and was blown away at what a great experience it was. So I looked around for a way to read the Bible this way. DAB was what I found…or maybe it found me. I’m on my eighth year of going through the entire Bible in a year and can’t imagine my life without it now. Somehow the stories never get old, and I’ve come to associate different parts of the Bible with times of year (Isaiah in September, I’m looking at you). If you’ve ever, ever thought about trying to read through the Bible in a year, but get stuck in Numbers, try DAB. You can jump in where we are, right now, today. Don’t feel like you are behind. Just start.
And one final note. I have found Instagram to be a haven of humor and love and beauty during the pandemic. It’s been a treat to see how people occupy themselves when they have a little more time at home. You can follow me over there, @cldrury. All the people I mentioned here are linked in my Instagram stories today. And I’d love to know who you like to follow!
