what's saving my life (vol. 5)

1) shredded chicken in the instant pot. the easiest meal prep ever -- perfectly cooked chicken that can be added to wraps, salads, or other recipes like enchiladas and casseroles! I follow the directions in this recipe, although I don't always add all the seasonings. and I generally cook 5 pounds of chicken breast at a time, so I increase the cook time from 10 minutes to 15, and allow natural pressure release. 

2) journaling. Mom gave me my very first journal for Christmas the year I turned 6, and I filled several more volumes by the time I reached college. eventually I got out of the habit, partially as I was blogging more regularly and just in general with the advent of smartphones and the addition of four kids :) in a recent session, my therapist asked me if I had ever journaled and if I thought it would be helpful to do that on occasion. I laughed and said I'd give it a shot. 

the OG journal. the cover is slightly stuffed for a pleasing squishy texture

written just a few weeks before I turned seven. the packing list (7 books for a three day trip) slays me!

and, oh. my. goodness. I forgot what happens to the noodly mess of my thoughts when I put physical pen to paper. I have always processed better through writing than through verbal communication, and assumed that typing provided the same neural feedback as handwriting. survey says -- that is wrong! before I knew it, I had filled up five pages of thoughts, reactions, ponderings and questions. there is something about physically forming the letters on the page that allows me to tap into deep thoughts and feelings I didn't even realize were buried underneath there. and of course, the huge difference between journaling and other forms of communication is that is for my eyes only, so I don't have to explain myself or provide backstory or worry about an idea being misconstrued. I plan to stash a journal in the car for quick check-ins when I'm shuttling kids around to activities. 

3) QR codes on parking garage tickets. I exclusively park in the Fort Duquesne & 6th Garage when I'm going to the theater, partially because it costs $8-10 on weekend evenings (compared to $25-30 at the nearby garages) and partially because the ticket has a QR code on the bottom. after the evening shows let out and the garage is flooded with fellow patrons of the arts, I wend my way through the melee of people standing in line to pay their ticket at the kiosks, walk up a few flights of steps instead of waiting for the ancient elevators, join the line of cars waiting to exit the garage, scan and pay on my phone in 10 seconds, and am out of the garage and on my way home probably before I would have even made it to the front of the kiosk line. it gives me a little thrill of excitement every single time. 

4)  Snack Selects from Aldi. I'm always on the lookout for higher protein snack options to throw in the diaper bag or the basketball bags. the trick is finding something relatively affordable, healthy, and that the kids will actually eat (otherwise the first two parameters are meaningless). we have a heavy rotation of applesauce pouches, fruit snacks, yogurt melts, pirate booty, bananas, and cereal bars in the snack tote. on a whim once I bought these little snack packs from Aldi and the girls love them! at $3 for a pack of three, they are affordable too. yes, it would be cheaper and generate less plastic waste for me to make my own, but you know what? my sanity is priceless. 

5) USPS package pickup.  maybe I'm just late to this party, but I had no idea that the regular postal worker can pick up pre-addressed packages at your house if scheduled at least one day in advance. I thought the 24-hour self-service kiosks were amazing enough and I've used them to buy stamps or drop off return packages on the weekends. I went to such a self-service kiosk this weekend and the package drop bin was locked! this put me in a conundrum as I was in a time crunch to mail back some unwanted Stitch Fix items within the 3 day return window. while despairing as the other kiosk locations were all at least a 20-minute drive away, I stumbled across the home pickup option on the USPS website! sure enough, I booked a time for the following day, left my package on the porch, and received a confirmation email that it had been picked up and tracking number that afternoon. amazing!!! 

Your turn: What's been saving your life recently? Any tried-and-true snack suggestions? Do you keep a journal?