Everyday Life
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My Favorites – Hygge Edition
This has been the weirdest week and a half I can remember. It feels sort of like we are prepping for an epic blizzard. One that could last for a few weeks, maybe even months. As we cozied in this weekend at home, I started thinking about the things I love to have/use on cozy weekends at home. These things help me recharge and make me happy.
- A really good notebook and a great pen (I know that’s two – but they go together so deal!)
- My favorites notebooks are the Leuthtturm 1917 Medium A5 Dotted Hardcover notebook
- I always order the matching pen loop
- Sharpie fine point pens are my go to
- A cozy soft blanket -the softer the better (when I’m home, if I’m sitting, even if it’s 100 outside I will likely have a blanket – either the super soft Artisan de Luxe one I found at TJ Maxx or a quilt my mom or grandma or Mike’s mom made).
- Really good coffee – at home I make french press coffee from Dunn Bro’s beans every morning.
- Goat Milk Soap – I LOVE goat milk soap. I used to buy all my goat milk soap from my friend Heather, but then she got sort of busy with the amazing baby clothes company she owns and runs and as far as I know no longer makes soap. Now I buy from Glimpse of the Prairie – a ND company that sells locally in a few of the stores in my town.
- Chap stick – it’s an addiction. Want to see me panic? Happens when I realize I have no chap-stick on me. At all. Anywhere. I will even turn around for it.
- An oversized comfy sweatshirt from Loft’s Lou & Grey line, or Aerie’s.
- A good book – currently reading The Power of Consistency and It’s the Manager. Next up is The War of Art and Everyone Deserves a Great Manager. I almost always am reading at least 2 books. Some of these are for fun and some are for a course I’m taking personally and some are for projects/programs that I work on in my career as an HR professional. I find most have dual applications.
- Fantastic smelling lotion – when we were in Ireland we visited The Burren Perfumery. It was one of the highlights of the trip for me. Their lotion and soap was one of the only souvenirs I had sent home. Every time I put it on, I’m taken right back to Ireland, The Burren, Doolin and The Cliffs of Moher.
- Music – depending on the day, my music may be a soundtrack (typically from A Star is Born or The Greatest Showman), a playlist on Pandora (Ed Sheeran, , John Mayer, Irish Pop, Meditation Music, The Lumineers, Mumford and Sons, Lady Gaga, Pink, Michael Buble, Christmas Music -all year) it greatly depends on my mood!
- My iPhone or iPad (i was trying to leave it off, but let’s be real, it’s always near me, and sometimes helps me with #7 and #9!)
- I was going to stop at 10, but give the times we are in, I have to add yoga. It grounds me, recharges me, helps me control anxiety, and generally leaves me in a better mood. The awesome yoga studio I go to, Transitions Yoga, has made the best of the situation we are living in and has taken their classes to an online format while the studio is closed. And we are all thankful.
As we work our way through the next few weeks, don’t forget to take some time to recharge. Turn off the news, turn on some good music, grab a good book, take a yoga class, take the dog for a walk, paint or draw or sew or build. May we find some beauty in the slowing down.
Stay home friends – lets all do our part to help the healing.
- A really good notebook and a great pen (I know that’s two – but they go together so deal!)
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Sunday Scaries and Morning Routines
Happy Sunday from the icy tundra. We had freezing rain overnight which has turned our roads and streets into the equivalent of a skating rink. Which has meant that I’m working hard to not leave my house today! Let’s talk about Mondays. Do you get the Sunday afternoon scaries? Are you one of the people that loves or loathes Mondays? I fall firmly into the second camp but am working on my attitude towards Monday. I’ll let you know how that goes.
I mentioned in a previous post, 2020 Goals and Dreams, that I’ve been focused on habits over the past year. Really over the past two years. As a part of that, I’ve focused on my morning routine. On what sets me up for a great day, or at least a great start to the day, and allows me to feel more in control of my day.
I’ll share below what my ideal morning routine is. I don’t always make this happen, because of well, life. Sometimes I hit the snooze button (although not as often as I did before hearing Rachel Hollis say that every time you hit snooze, you are breaking a promise to yourself before you are even out of bed) And sometimes I need to start my work day earlier but don’t want to get up that much earlier to ensure my morning routine happens. That’s why this is my ideal morning routine. Also, the wake up time is what works most consistently for me. I’m a morning person – love the quiet morning hours. And I need to wake up fairly early because I am a SLOW mover in the morning. I like to take my time, ease into the day. Moral of the story – craft a morning routine that works for YOU.
4:45- 5:00 – Wake up, let dogs out, make coffee ( I know I could program the coffee. Unfortunately I can’t program the dogs, and I like the flavor of my French press coffee, so I craft that while they do their business)
5:00 – 5:20 – Meditate (I use either the headspace or calm app), enjoy my coffee, write in my Start Today journal
5:20 – 6:00 – Read, create, write – something that pushes me closer to my goals.
6:00 – 6:45 – Shower and get ready
6:45 – 7:15 – Breakfast
7:15 – 7:45 – Head to work and get settled in.Again, this is my ideal routine. Quite often, I hit snooze and only get to making coffee, meditation and my Start Today Journal. Sometimes, I add movement into my morning routine, and it would consistently be in my ideal morning routine if I didn’t need to be to the office around 8. Instead, I have found that I prefer to fit in the things I listed above in the morning and then go to a yoga class or do a yoga video in the evening. One thing I used to do EVERY morning that I am trying to break the habit of is checking email or social media. I used to start every morning by checking my work email while I made coffee. Then on to Facebook and Instagram. I’d waste the best hours of my day with mindless scrolling.
When I get serious about my morning routine I’m able to handle the unknowns of each day better. I’m calmer, more centered and more focused because I’ve already taken time for myself before the day even started. Do you have a morning routine that you follow? -
2020 Goals and Dreams
Do you start each year with resolutions? Goals? A word you are going to focus on? I don’t do New Years resolutions because I know myself well enough to know I will break them by January 5th. Not January 15th, January 5th. If I make it that long. And for some reason, I’m kind of an all or nothing girl. If I say I’m going to do something for a year, and then slip on January 3rd, it’s really hard for me to not throw my hands in the air and say efff it! Also, I have a bit of a problem with anyone, including myself, telling me what to do…so there’s that. If you’re familiar with Gretchen Ruben’s four tendencies, it may make sense that I keep getting Rebel as my result, but that’s a topic for another post.
I do however, have goals. But they aren’t new for 2020. I’ve been using Rachel Hollis’ Start Today journal since October. I fell off the rails a bit in late Nov/Dec due to the emotional mess those months were, but have jumped back in. And truthfully, those are goals I’ve been working towards for at least the last two years. I also pick a word that I want to be mindful about each year. A mantra of sorts. In 2018 my word was Intentional. I wanted to be more intentional with my choices, my time, etc. That word carried over into 2019 but I also added Habit with the goal to be intentional about my habits. Both the habits I wanted to create, and the ones I wanted to break. As with anything, I wasn’t perfect, but I made a ton of growth in the areas of yoga, meditation, showing up for myself, and decreasing social media.
When I was thinking about my word for 2020, I circled through several, while hearing Freedom as a quiet whisper in the back of my head. When I stopped ignoring it and embraced it, chills ran down my arms. There are a variety of areas that I want to intentionally incorporate freedom into my life, but the first area will be freedom from negative thinking. And freedom from mindless scrolling. And freedom to create with no expectations. And freedom to dream BIG audacious dreams. For months, every yoga class I’ve gone to, when asked to set your intention or mantra for the class, Freedom is always what pops into my head. So I guess this year instead of choosing a word, the word chose me!
I’m excited to see how Freedom plays out in my life in 2020. I have a feeling it will bring exciting, terrifying and challenging growth. I’d love to know if you set goals or resolutions!
If you, like me live in the frozen tundra, I hope you stay warm this week! -
Introductions
Hello! Grab a cup of coffee, pull up your favorite chair and cozy blanket and join me. Let’s get to know each other!
My name is Kristen Jahner. I reside in balmy North Dakota (as I type this we’ve just had our first winter snow storm…in early October…and currently have 14 inches of snow on the ground). I share my house with my husband Mike, who I’ve been married to for 20 years, our son Trey, who is currently away at his first year of college, a Corgi named Xander, and Great Dane named Cooper.
By day, I am a Human Resources professional. As of September 2019 I have spent 12 years as an HR professional with a large manufacturing company, most recently as the HR Business Partner for North America Product Engineering and Procurement.
By night, I am a creative dreamer, chasing a multitude of personal goals. I am passionate about creativity, living YOUR best life, leaning into your Strengths, intentionality, travel, and designing the life you want to live. I sometimes get distracted by shiny objects, I LOVE a really good cup of coffee, deep meaningful conversation with my friends, and the beach (ironic isn’t it).
I have many creative hobbies (see previous note about shiny objects), including writing, photography, hand-lettering, painting, crochet and whatever new creative venture catches my eye. Mostly, I love learning a new process, sometimes solely for the thrill of learning.
Going back to that love of the beach. There is something so soothing about the waves crashing against the shore, and the feeling of sand under your feet. I’m not sure where a love of the beach and ocean came from, since I’ve spent all 41 years of my life in a totally landlocked state where there is no beach in sight. For 9 months of the year, there is the North Dakota version of white sand. During those 9 months, I dream of moving to Arizona (yes I know there are no beaches there), or California, or Oregon or let’s be honest, anywhere but the frozen tundra!
Newhoo…I digress (that will happen frequently, I promise. Hope we can still be friends). I decided there are far too many thoughts just circling in my head. So a few times a week I will be putting them to paper (or virtual paper) and sharing them with any of you that would like to follow along. Hope to share a cup of virtual coffee and conversation with you again in the future.
