10 Things I Can’t Live Without

Good morning and Happy Monday! I hope that those that celebrated Mother’s Day yesterday did so with an abundance of love. Mother’s Day is by far, my favorite day of the year. It’s like one giant tribe celebration of like-minded exhausted people and friends. I love it. I was spoiled by my 3 men with tons of love, and some GREAT cards.

For example…

I got roses from my 6 year old. “Eema” roses actually, it means Mom in Hebrew:

I got this card from my 9 year old. So sweet – he used my name in beautiful french adjectives:

And I got this card from my husband. He will no doubt kill me after reading this, but aaaaah, it’s too good not to share.

If you don’t hear from me by Wednesday, assume the worst and call the police. 😉

Alrighty, moving on…

Today I’m spilling the beans. Many of you have asked me over the years about my favorite things. The things I do, the things I love, the things I can’t live without, the things that have kept me healthy and sane (on most days). So, today I wanted to share with you 10 things I simply cannot live without:

1. Music. I play music when I wake up, when I work, when I cook, when I drive, when I…. never mind. 😉 You have asked me countless times to share my playlist. So, after an hour of figuring out how to export my playlist and upload it in the correct format, here you are. This is my work, play and everything in between music.

2. My Keurig. I simply LOVE coffee, and for all those trying to cut it out of their diets, you may as well SHOOT me if I do. I don’t have many vices, and my limit is two cups a day: one cup while I’m feeding the kids breakfast, and the other cup after the gym, or while I’m writing, also in the morning. My favorite flavor K-Cup is Green Mountain‘s Nantucket Blend. I can’t always find it in the grocery store, but when I do, I stock up. My ultimate favorite coffee is Douwe Egberts (which is very difficult to find and which I have discovered out only tastes good if you actually OWN the Douwe Ebgerts $5,000 percolator from England), followed by Illy.

3. Meditation. Don’t laugh girls, it’s my drug of choice. I used to quietly sit and meditate using breath-work only, but since the Oprah and Deepak Chopra 21 Day Meditation challenge, I now enjoy guided meditation. I recently bought this on iTunes. Get it, lie down, breathe, close your eyes, and meditate. It will change your life. It has changed mine – read more about how I found meditation.

4. As many hours of sleep before midnight as possible. Countless studies show the health benefits of sleeping as any hours as possible before midnight, but I have been living this way my entire life. If I am home, my bedtime is 9:30pm. Yes, I end up tivo-ing most of my favorite shows. But this has been my secret weapon. If you wish to feel more energized during the day, program your body to go to bed 10 minutes earlier each night until a pattern develops.

5. The Period Tracker App. Oh my goodness, ladies, this one is a must! I won’t give you all the intricacies of the app, but whether you’re trying to get pregnant (mazel tov by the way), or trying to avoid getting pregnant (like me), this is every girlfriend’s best friend! I learned about this app on a girl’s night. A must.

Oops, now you know when I’m due.

6. Early Date Nights. During the weekdays, I rarely speak to my husband for more than five minutes. Dinnertime is about connecting as a family. And you already know my bedtime is 9:30 (this doesn’t make for a happy hubby), so one of the ways my marriage thrives is via date night. Whether my parents take the kids and we stay in, or if we go out for dinner, it’s how we reconnect as partners. But, the key to date night is starting EARLY. What’s the point of date night if you start and end late with no time to spare? The beauty is returning home early, getting into bed together, and still having time to connect – be it watching tv, talking, reading together, or the grand finale– ’nuff said. Early date nights – a must.

7. My nightly bath. Without fail, this happens. Candles, soft music, the works. It’s how I de-stress and unwind 365 days a year. It’s never missed and a huge priority for me. I call it my daily “me time.”

8. Cindy Crawford’s Meaningful Beauty. No, no one is paying me to say this. And don’t laugh at me. I was the loser sitting EVERY SATURDAY MORNING mesmerized by those Cindy Crawford Meaningful Beauty infomercials. The way Dr. Sebagh opened those canteloupe’s from France and claimed to have found the fountain of youth in his serum? I watched for 6 months and then got suckered in one day.  My visa is charged every quarter, but my skin has never felt better. I know there’s a sucker born every day, but I love me some Dr. Sebagh cantaloups!

9. Staying Active. So, it’s true, I had a pretty decent metabolism for 35 years.  I have been active my whole life (I started out as a ballet dancer and then ballet teacher), but since the slowdown of my metabolism, the key to staying healthy and happy for me, has been MODERATION and SWITCHING IT UP. So contrary to most experts who say you need to burn baby burn, and “no pain no gain,” I aways work out moderately at the gym. I never max myself out – maybe I’m lazy, maybe I’m unmotivated, but it feels better on my body when I give it my all, and not my max. Yes, maybe I’ll shed some more pounds (or cellulite) if I max out, but I’ve never had an injury, and I just feel healthier this way. I also never do the same exercises each time – some days strength training, some days yoga, pilates, hip hop, TRX, core, spinning, walking, running. I work out 3-4 days a week (usually only 3), and I keep every day different. That’s how I stay interested, and fit too. I think moderation just works.

10. The Constant Reminder that Thriving in Life is about CHOICES, Compromises and Trade-offs. I coach women around the world and the biggest complaint I hear is, “I’m exhausted and over-stressed.”  As a working mom, believe me I am tired too, but when I feel depleted, I remind myself that life is a choice. Meaning, you are in control of your life EVERY SECOND – you call the shots. If you are on the brink of burnout, figure out where you can cut-back financially in your life and work 4 days instead of 5. Feel like a human pretzel? Answer NO the next time you’re asked to co-chair an event at school. Do you see where I’m going with this? You always have choices – remember that.

So there you have it! There are about 20 more things I can’t live without, but maybe one day I’ll write part 2. I also want to leave you with my favorite quote on this Monday. It’s by a wise man, actor Alan Alda.

“Be brave enough to live creatively. The creative is the place where no one else has ever been. You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. You cannot get there by bus, only by hard work, risking and by not quite knowing what you are doing. What you will discover will be wonderful: Yourself.” ~Alan Alda

Beautifully said.

I’d LOVE to know, what are some of the things YOU cannot live without? Share your best secrets with our community!