favorite things | James & Jax

Change Your Music, Change Your Mood

28. March 2013 · 3 comments · Categories: Anxiety, Depression, favorite things, life lessons, music, My happiness project · Tags: anxiety, depression, music, self-care, wellness

Call it post-vacation blues, the higher latitude & lack of sunshine, being back to reality, having way too much on my mind…. Call it whatever. But it doesn’t feel good. I’ve spent most of this week sad, depressed, anxious, PMS-y, and basically every other negative emotion you can think of. And even though I have tons of skills under my belt to help me handle this rough patch, nothing has really helped except distraction (for example, having a friend over for dinner, reading a book, or going for a long drive).

Until this morning, when I rediscovered, or actually kind of remembered, how much of an influence music has always had on my moods. When I’m feeling down, my gut and my head want sad songs. I want to cry along with the music because in some ways this is cathartic. Sometimes, usually when the mood first hits, I don’t want to push it away immediately; I want to feel it. But after a few days of feeling it deeply, I’m ready for something new, and I’m sure my friends and family are, too! Ha! So anyway, last night I made myself yet another mix CD for the car, consisting of songs that make me want to move my body and/or sing along loudly. Songs that don’t remind me of anyone or anything that could possibly bring me down.

I listened to the CD this morning on my commute, and I sang loudly and I dance-drove for 4 or 5 songs. And man, it was just enough. It felt great. It was bliss. I nearly drove right on by my workplace.

When I woke up this morning, I stayed in bed a while, obsessing on the things in my brain that were making me sad or anxious. I looked at the time repeatedly, wondering how late I would be for work because I couldn’t bring myself to leave my bed and start my day. It’s a few hours later now, and I’m feeling the opposite of that. Optimistic, even (maybe), about what might happen today–not that there is anything special planned, it’s just that you never know what the day will bring.

So here’s a playlist of a few of the songs I put on my mix CD–the handful of songs that changed my mood today.

How to Drink More Water

28. February 2013 · 5 comments · Categories: favorite things, Health/Fitness, Living better · Tags: goals, self-care, wellness

Every week, I see tweets and Facebook posts, and I overhear or am part of conversations about how challenging it is to drink enough water throughout the day. I admit this has boggled my mind. It has seemed fairly easy to me to reach my daily goal of “8 by 8.” That’s 8 glasses, 8 ounces each (for a total of 64 ounces).

But then I remember that it wasn’t always this effortless for me. It wasn’t until I was pregnant with Jax and constantly thirsty that I paid any attention at all to how much water I was drinking each day. And then after he was born and breastfeeding seemed like it would work out for us, I became fanatical about ensuring I drank 100 oz per day (I have no idea how or why I came up with that number).

Over nearly 3 years of breastfeeding, drinking tons of water each day became a habit. I typically don’t aim for 100 ounces daily anymore–at least not in the winter, but maybe on active summer days–but I am good at reaching 8 by 8 and I sometimes surprise myself by hitting 100 without even thinking about it.

Here’s how I do it:

I went to my favorite store (Target, duh!) and bought a cup with a lid and a straw in my favorite color (this one, if you’re curious). I fill up my green cup, which holds 20 ounces, once when I arrive at work each morning (or on weekends, I fill up with breakfast). I challenge myself to drink it by lunch at noon. After lunch, I fill up the green cup once more and challenge myself to drink it before I leave work at the end of the day. Then I merely have to drink another cup full of water between 5 and bedtime.

That brings my daily water intake up to 60 ounces. According to the Institute of Medicine, women should aim for approximately 9 cups of “total beverages” per day. That’s 72 ounces. Am I falling short by 12 ounces daily? Nope, because coffee counts toward that total. And goodness knows I drink at least 12 ounces of coffee (usually decaf, sometimes half caff) every morning. I often have an afternoon cup of herbal tea, as well.

Note: Food counts toward total water intake, but that’s factored into the amount recommended by the Institute of Medicine. (They suggest 2.7 L of fluid per day for women–2.2 L of which, or roughly 72 ounces, should be from beverages.)

If you’re not into the lack of flavor, try adding herbs and/or fruit to your water. There are so many awesome “recipes” for making your water more interesting over on Pinterest. I love to add a chunk of lemon to my water occasionally, and I fully intend to try out some more interesting flavor combinations this summer.

So there you have it. My advice, if you’re struggling to consume enough water, is to buy yourself a cup you love–consider it a fashion accessory! Then schedule fill-ups and treat them as self-care challenges. I bet you’ll feel more energetic and have fewer headaches! Come back & let me know!

Do you have any other tips for reaching your daily water intake?

Gratitude

06. January 2013 · 5 comments · Categories: Books, favorite things, Living better, My happiness project, Reading is fun · Tags: gratitude, Happiness

The other day, I finally finished reading Spontaneous Happiness by Dr. Andrew Weil. It had been on my must-read list since the day it was published, so when I saw it on Amazon for $3.20 a few months ago, I hurriedly bought it. It was a slow start for me, given I was reading other things at the time. Then the holidays came, and life became hectic.

But amid the chaos and busyness, I took solace in reading this book, which prescribed so many practical ways to “increase emotional resilience and shift [my] emotional set point in the direction of greater positivity” (p. 11).

While I was reading this book, the year changed, and because I’m active in social media, status updates and tweets about resolutions were everywhere. Which was a good thing, actually. This meshed with what I was reading and gave me pause to think about how I could incorporate Dr. Weil’s advice for happiness into my life by making positive changes–in particular, cultivating more gratitude.

“Regularly practicing grateful thinking can move your emotional set point for happiness by as much as 25 percent in the right direction…. From the research data that I have reviewed, I consider expressing gratitude to be one of the very best strategies to enhance emotional well-being, right up there with fish oil, physical activity, and managing negative thoughts. Like forgiveness, gratitude can be cultivated” (p. 189).

You may remember me telling you about the gratitude app I’ve been using for several years. Well, I’m happy to say that since 2013 began, I haven’t missed a day (mostly due to the 7:00 pm alarm that reminds me to write my list each night)!

I’m kicking that up a notch. I’m bringing back the art of letter writing, for one thing. Some of my friends and family can expect letters expressing my gratitude to them for being who they are. I excitedly bought cute handmade stationery from Etsy the other day to make letter writing even more fun for me and maybe for the recipients.

Photographs also are a fun way to capture moments of gratitude. It is easy to re-conjure feelings of gratitude simply by accessing a few photos. So, I leave you with my visual reminders of gratitude this past week.

Lipstick for the Legs

26. December 2012 · 1 comment · Categories: Ad-free sponsored, favorite things, Websites to look at · Tags: fashion

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of No nonsense for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

I actually googled "how to wear colored tights" the other day. That's how terrible my sense of style is these days. I fail at even the simplest things, things at which I used to excel. "Too busy momming" and "I just want to be comfortable" are my main excuses for not trying as hard as I once did.

But it's time to put the jeans back in the drawer for a while, because No nonsense has made it pretty easy to change up my look with minimal effort and maximum comfort.

No nonsense mailed me a pair of brown leggings and a pair of green tights and asked me to give them a try with my wardrobe. I suspected it would be easy to pair the tights with a work outfit, given that green is my favorite color and I like to dress up for work and have plenty of green-friendly clothes to work with.

Here's what I did:

I paired a "denim" skirt from LOFT with my green tights and some clunky brown peep toe heels. Cute & comfy. The tights were very soft, very comfortable. Easy to wear during my 8.5-hour day. Jill Martin, fashion icon from Access Hollywood and who is now partnering with No nonsense, calls No nonsense tights "lipstick for the legs" and I cannot agree more. For a girl who loves makeup, these tights are an effortless way to add a little more color to an outfit–and unlike lipstick, the color doesn't wear off an hour into your day!

The brown leggings were equally comfy and easy to wear. They were my Christmas Eve day outfit, paired with a tan belted sweater and tank top. I failed to snap a pic of that outfit–or maybe I just don't want you to see me without makeup! But here's a "mom look" I put together on Polyvore, and it's WAY cuter than what I wore:

Source: jamesandjax.polyvore.com via James&Jax on Pinterest

What I loved most about the sample pairs of No nonsense I received is that they're incredibly soft. Or maybe it's that they're inexpensive–I can buy a complete wardrobe of tights and leggings for the same price as one pair of jeans! And they're comfortable. And No nonsense tights and leggings are offered in so many colors (like lime green, my favorite!), at so many locations (all of my local drug stores and my local Target all carry No nonsense tights and leggings).

I dare YOU to be daring and try a bold pair of No nonsense tights. They'd look awesome with your New Year's Eve outfit, I bet!

Check out No nonsense on Facebook and Twitter for more ideas how to wear their products.

Being Girly

26. December 2012 · 2 comments · Categories: favorite things, My happiness project, Raising a boy · Tags: Happiness, just for fun, self-care, values

Lorac eyes Having a boy has made me cherish all things girly. Lately, my femininity is reaching new heights, which both intrigues and delights me yet also appalls the me I once was–the girl in black fishnets, dark lipstick, and safety pins way back when.

My style–and girlyness–evolved much from adolescence to adulthood. Years ago–I’m talking YEARS AGO (aka, late 90s)–my makeup consisted of a few lipsticks (all dark), black eyeliner, maybe a brown eyeliner, mascara certainly, and foundation–pale. I lived in gray and black clothing, matched with Doc Martens (which, funny enough, my husband just bought me for Christmas!) or Chuck Taylors–covered in poetry and safety pins. Then I graduated college, landed a real job at a newspaper, and suddenly found myself in a world of khakis and jean skirts. Not a boot in sight–unless it was purchased at Macy’s. I adapted, got all girlified, new clothes, new lipstick, the whole deal. And I kinda liked it.

Then I had a baby, and the makeup got dusty for a while. My baby turned into a little boy and, being an only child, he turned to me to be his playmate. No practical reason to apply lipstick when you’re crawling around the floor racing cars with a kid.

However…

As Jax became more and more independent, I found more time to apply makeup in the mornings. I rediscovered my love for it. And I love it all! I am now one of those women who don’t leave the house without a swipe of mascara on my eyes and a smear of color on my lips. My face is a fresh palette every day, and I’m having fun decorating it!

When this boymom feels exasperated by all the testosterone in the household–we even have a male dog–she puts on that rosy lipstick. Playing cars on the floor with Jax is fun and there are few things I love to do more than that. But smashing cars together with pink fingernails is so much better.

Taking a cue from my friend A’Driane, I’m experimenting (a little) with color. Color makes me feel pretty–who knew! I still wear a ton of gray and black, but I might now toss a yellow scarf around my neck or trade my silver hoops for some dangly purple earrings. Even on a Monday! Fancy!

This Christmas was the girliest ever. LORAC, Too Faced, and Lush dominated under the tree. There will be no laying around in my pajamas, unshowered, today–too much new makeup to try out! I think I’ll stray from my usual neutrals and give my eyelids a pop of color. If I don’t look like a clown, maybe you’ll find me on Instagram.