- Sufjan Stevens’ new album Carrie and Lowell.
- I’m trying to wake up completely before drinking my coffee. To do this I exercise, drink one or two large glasses of chilled water and sit down and do some of my morning reading prior to coffee. I’ve found that feeling bright-eyed and bushy-tailed prior to drinking my morning cup-o-sludge helps me to get a boost from my caffeine rather than waking up feeling the need to have it.
- Lately I buy cheap coffee to save money (though I’ve been treating myself once a week with a friend’s high quality beans). When I make my gross coffee, I’ve found that putting cinnamon and occassionally cayenne pepper in the bottom of the cup before pouring adds a delightful spice to the experience.
- I’ve come to really appreciate ginger water. I just buy a few ounces of ginger root, blend it up, boil it with filtered water and strain out the pieces as I pour the water into a pitcher and repeat with the same pulp one more time. Just a couple of ounces of this ginger concentrate diluted with about 10 ounces of water is amazingly refreshing.
- Daring Greatly by Brene Brown. I’ve been reading a lot about the cardinal virtues (courage, justice, prudence, and temperance), and a psychologist friend recommended this book to me. I decided I would read it, thinking I would dislike it. It is actually filled with insight. I wish it included more research, but that’s okay. I highly recommend it to anybody who struggles with courage. Her main insight is that vulnerability is not weakness. Instead it is being vulnerable and acting anyway that is courage.
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