a failed experiment
seven on Sunday
Dear Bookish Friend,
This has been a warm week and in many ways I feel like I didn’t get much done because I was either outside or bringing my kids somewhere fun. Summers are definitely not the time for productivity for me, which can be hard as someone that likes productivity and efficiency, but I’m trying to be okay with knowing this is a season of fun and family time.
Links shared in this post may be affiliate links, which means I make a small portion of the sale at no cost to you.
01 - super glue to the rescue
So, I’m a bit of an accident prone person. Like in my video this week, I tend to spill water, often. I fall down the stairs more than a grown adult should. I also have a tendency to accidentally cut myself on the regular, be it with a knife in the kitchen or a razor in the shower.
This week I cut one of my nails with a razor, it was jagged and kept getting snagged but it was in a place where I couldn’t just cut it, my fix in this kind of situation is to use super glue, it works get for nails or skin, trust me, I’ve got a decent amount of experience in this area.
02 - Audible hack
I’ve shared about this before but I just went to cancel my Audible subscription and got offered a great deal for the next year, which I snagged. I recommend giving it a try if you want Audible but don’t want to pay full price!
Want more Audible hacks and info? Check out this post.
03 - kids bowl free
A few months ago I signed my kids up for the Kids Bowl Free program and this week we took advantage of it for the first time! If you’ve never heard of the program, it’s across Canada and the US and your kids get two free bowling games a day (!!) from May-August! I think for most alleys, including the one we go to, you still need to pay for the shoe rental but it ended up only costing $12 for all four kids to bowl two games, I recommend checking out. You can still sign up and use it for the rest of the summer!
04 - reading this week
Over on my membership/Patreon we’ve been having our monthly reading challenge. This month I wanted to challenge myself to finish some books. I did pretty well, definitely finished some, also definitely started some more . . .
My current physical read is Karabos which is releasing in the autumn. I haven’t had a ton of time to sit and read but I’m loving the book when I can squeeze a few minutes in. The world Lyndsey Lewellen has created is so unique!
05 - my failed experiment
A couple of weeks ago I shared I was experimenting with these sleep headphones and I wanted to check back in. In short: they didn’t work for me. I can see how they would work for some people but I am just too light of a sleeper to handle something on my head at night. So, I ended up returning them.
Now I’m onto my next experiment: trying out these little guys. I will report back again after a few weeks!
If you have any tips on how to stay asleep, or for a couple people in my family: how to fall asleep, let me know!
06 - new shoes
Last year I bought what have become my absolute favorite pair of shoes, they are Converse, but not the high-tops and not the flats, they are a mid-top. I have walked in them soooo much but now they are starting to fall apart a bit, so I ordered two new pairs in two different colors since they were 30% off! I got this basic color and this one for something different.
07 - propagating all the plants
I’ve been using some of my rare indoor time this month to try to propagate.all.the.plants. So far I’ve been decently successful. My goal is to get an indoor greenhouse going soon so I have some plants to focus on in during the bleak of winter.
Do you have some favorite indoor house plants? I don’t do succulents well but I’m open to trying out some other plants!
It’s been such a smoky week! It’s been rare to see a blue sky.
in case you missed it
I’ve been getting back into the groove after our vacation, here’s what I’ve shared lately:
Christian fiction with little-to-no romance - a list of ten great books!
how to encourage reluctant readers - I’ve got fourteen ideas for you!
July book deals - I keep adding more deals as I come across them!
July book club - open for my members and Patrons, we get together and chat about some of our recent favorite books!
historical fiction recommendations - I have a list of 15 I’ve read recently!
Let me know what you been enjoying or been inspired by lately!
Chantel
DISCOUNT CORNER
* check out the current Audible deal
* see if you can get Kindle Unlimited for free
WHERE TO FIND ME
* my YouTube channel where I like to talk about what I am reading
* my Instagram
* my Patreon - lots of fun bookish extras!
* my YouTube membership - basically the same thing as Patreon, but on YouTube instead!
Super glue - why didn't I think of that for nail repair.
I'm a firm believer in a bed-time and a routine for falling asleep. But one thing to consider is light - when my boys were little and shared a room, the youngest need a night light and the older one needed total darkness to sleep, so he has been using a sleep mask since he was seven or eight. He's now eighteen and still needs total darkness to sleep. Sleep mask make great stocking stuffers for him :)
My husband was having trouble with sleep over the last year. Things like waking up in the middle of the night and unable to go back to sleep, sometimes trouble falling asleep, or just not resting well. He works a a hospital and is up at 5:30am so this was a problem. He tried this...
https://www.amazon.com/MaryRuths-Liquid-Magnesium-Sleep-Multimineral/dp/B0CZ4FT2JT/ref=sr_1_38?crid=1UD140IGXC0KK&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.rQmnEpkyRlg_mi0zeVyXq4blUfjB74v8d-TYvnADypvXkPi7IDKf9Rb1yuNUEqa6YiHxbprcH06FZ0BQv4rxQy3f6ivguEW0psoIYWA6U_Ypn84PUOlR_p9O7SUTsjmh9rhq-WHV9H110gPpIhjUAdFmonOIlBD-GrkThFziviUHQtQdjfsetJ0KPkyiX3mz0mYqwADA0K8TZ8EUR6ctr7g0xFL9CH3uezWuifvM0oGONHTWGgiTVIt_H8mFo4Le_nboIPd7CGZFyeRGdZ8UckX35JRcXDrYEji-YgVcgME.wPvkVwre3yeJlI8DKmZ33qmgS-_QCgLThtBuiCef0p8&dib_tag=se&keywords=mary%2Bruth&qid=1785098137&sprefix=mary%2Bruth%2Caps%2C202&sr=8-38&th=1
...and it has made a huge difference.
Sleep....highly recommend BiOptimizers Magnesium Breakthrough.
Other things I do (i worked on these over time but all at once).... blackout curtains, cool room, no blue light 2-3hrs before bed (so no looking at the phone or TV) but i also use the redscreen Twilight that's in your settings on your phone. I replaced all of my LED lightbulbs (full of blue light) with incandescent bulbs so it's a calming, warm light. NO overhead lights after 6-7pm. Salt lamp in my bathroom, salt lamp by my bed. I covered the refrigerator and stove light with several layers of red tape that's meant for the red brake lights on your car if they get busted. I go to bed around the same time every night no matter the time of year (9pm) (but I also don't have kids to worry abt but by 10pm at least).
I've heard for some people eating a protein snack before bed can help get to sleep and stay asleep....or eating a small bit of something when you do wake up during the night. I've done fruit before. I've also taken this during the night if I can't get back to sleep https://www.amazon.com/Shaklee-Stress-Relief-Complex-Caplets/dp/B00E1U4POW/ref=mp_s_a_1_4_pp?crid=1UB5J8SMXT69E&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.H5zv2uOmdd1qRDnJPcUqffM1QilU6m50nBzvsspfiVb-az9t6LD0hkCMS0jllJT7V5AyoRDHJU1IWG0KRK0K2Byq7aNgucbWOag5DNrw3lFKnG1AtP-ouFLWAHnYiHge4Lu-lmab83BlckdZSAR6z8tHvauI-dFFBIOCMeU0d6rKmfP6ugzJXF8zoegSXzi0Gjcfy0xuARSz22zLzmhqVQ.oY8REON6Op7RPI_XboeFXVXWIXfpw17dy8bhZo7zDcA&dib_tag=se&keywords=shaklee+stress+complex&qid=1785108772&sprefix=shaklee+stress%2Caps%2C172&sr=8-4
And it's helped. I haven't had many issues with sleep tho once I quit the carnivore diet and started eating whole food carbs again. Also the progesterone I take for my bioidentical hormone replacement helps me get to sleep plus all the other things. If my cat wakes me up after 1am, I'll take the Stress complex because something about trying to get back to sleep then is hard for me (I think it's a cortisol thing which is why the stress pill helps or eating a small mouthful of something... no I don't brush my teeth then, but I take a sip of water and swish... it's fine until morning.) 😊