Author: Essentially Better Living

I am a mother, teacher, blogger and essential oils educator. I'm passionate about pursuing a healthy lifestyle and a closer relationship with God.
Are You Ready for It? What to bring to a Taylor Swift concert…even if it rains…
product reviews · Uncategorized

Are You Ready for It? What to bring to a Taylor Swift concert…even if it rains…

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If you’re planning to see Taylor in concert, it’s a huge event in your life! You want to make it as memorable as possible, and for everything to go as smoothly as it possibly can. Being in a stadium with thousands of other fans can mean being on your feet and also stuck at times, whether that’s waiting in line or at your seat. You want to be as comfortable as you can because you’re there for awhile! Here is our thoughtful list of the items you will want to have on hand at the show, especially if you’re in an outdoor stadium with a rain chance!

Earplugs. It can get really loud at a concert! The screaming of those around you may take it’s toll and may even induce a headache. You can still hear Taylor through these while blocking out unwanted noise nearby.

Travel Blanket/Shawl. We bought this for a flight to Hawaii, but it was perfect for Taylor’s show! It’s extremely lightweight, but just perfect to stay warm when temps drop in the later hours of the show.

Speak Now Purple Dress, Evermore Shacket. Sparkle rhinestone fishnet tights. It is fun to dress for one of Taylor’s eras! These two items are just a couple of ideas to get you thinking about which era you might choose.

Lanyard. This was a great solution for our debit card to keep it handy but also protected at the show.

Hot Hands. I questioned if we would even use these, but it did get cold enough to appreciate them!

Portable charger. This was my favorite thing that we decided to bring. This is a two-pack on Amazon and you can have one for yourself and one for a friend or family member. You can take pics and videos throughout the show without worrying about your phone dying.

Clear bag two-pack. Most stadiums and arenas allow up to a 12x12x6 bag and these are precisely that size. They worked perfectly!

Portable flats. These darling ballet slippers fold and take up very little space in your bag. They are perfect for once you are settled at your seat and want to slip out of your shoes and give your feet a break.

USB short cable two-pack. To use with your portable chargers. These are lightning cables for iphone.

Rain coat/rain poncho two-pack. You can never be too prepared. We used our multiple times. So grateful for these! I also saw those around us come back to wet seats and they were able to sit on their ponchos.

Waterproof phone pouch. This was another extra item that I questioned if I would use. There was about a 20 minute period that it did rain hard enough to use this! I was able to keep taking pics in spite of the rain.

Here is the Amazon link to all of these items. This is an affiliate link and I appreciate you reading my post. Please like and comment below with other suggestions for the show that I may have left out.

Check out my Instagram story on what to bring to Taylor: https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cr89BPcJS7X/?igshid=NjZiM2M3MzIxNA==

Madeline, Age 9
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Madeline, Age 9

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On the way home from school, I asked Madeline what her top 10 favorite things were right now. I fully expected her to take some time to think about it, and tell me later. But she was able to name 10 for me in less than 5 minutes. Here they are in what I remember being the correct order, although I may have shuffled a few from what she actually said.

10. Her friends

9. McDonald’s

8. Watching Dance Moms and YouTube

7. Playing games on her ipad

6. Riding horses (and Girl Scouts ties because Girl Scouts is what lets her ride horses)

5. Animals

4. Soda

3. McFlurry

2. Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream (the rest of our family eats healthy so her list is making me cringe a little!)

  1. Her family and her friend Charlotte. (tie)
The Stranger Things Experience Atlanta
adventures with kids · travel with kids

The Stranger Things Experience Atlanta

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This year for Christmas, I bought my thirteen-year-old daughter tickets for the Stranger Things Experience. I had done a lot of reading about it, and followed the experience on Insta, so I somewhat had an idea of what we were in for. But the experience truly exceeded my expectations.

When my daughter first started encouraging me to watch the show with her, I was hesitant because I don’t love scary shows and movies. They have a tendency to give me bad dreams. However Stranger Things was different for me. I really got invested in the characters and the story line was so well written, I “needed to know” what happened next and so I got drawn in. She had asked multiple times to go to the NYC experience, but that is a long and pricey trip for us. But she doesn’t ask for a lot, so when the opportunity came along for us to go in Atlanta, less than five hours away, I took it!

When you first arrive, the signage, branding and attention to detail, even to the outside of the building, is impressive. The porta potties were even impressive to us, with an employee inside managing them. There were stalls, and they were immaculately clean. There was a place for ice skating and marshmallow roasting which we did not have time to do,. Lots of selfie opportunities.

Inside, you will have your bag searched, receive your VIP badge if applicable, show your tickets, and be told no pictures until the Mix Tape area. This was hard for us, because there were so many times where you would really want to take pictures! I understand now, looking back, because you are Hawkins Lab Sleep Study subjects, and the whole thing that made that part of the experience awesome was the suspense of not knowing what was going to happen! If people photographed it and posted about it, it would ruin the experience! That is why I am not going to share what happens in that part of the experience in that post. I would hate to ruin it for future attendees. Just know that it was so realistic and magical that it absolutely blew us away.

I do recemmend getting the VIP tickets. We were treated to free VIP drinks at The Upside Bar. Any drink you want. I got a Demogorgon cocktail and my daughter got an Eleven Mocktail. My cocktail had a cute Luxardo cherry and Stroopwafel garnish. We also received a free gift that I also don’t want to reveal and spoil the surprise because it was way cooler than anything I thought we would get!

My cocktail and her mocktail from The Upside bar

In the Mixtape Area, we struggled with what to do first. So many photo opps! You can take a picture with Vecna, a Demogorgon, and at the different “shops” or stations they had set up in the perimeter.

We started by looking in the gift shop area. They have many shirts and other items to offer, however, I would wait until you make it all the way around the enter Mixtape Area. There are shirts and items for sale in each individual area, in addition to the stand alone gift shop.

The photobooth! I remember these from when I was a kid! You go in and close the curtain, then a three-second countdown for a series of four pics that print out once you step outside. I am laminating ours as bookmarks and a keepsake. There is a five dollar cost.

The Byers Living Room! If you take a few minutes in here, and not just take a picture or selfie, you will really appreciate the attention to detail! Also it is so fun to see all of the props and clothing actually worn by and used by the characters on the show that are on display throughout Mixtape.

The Byers living room

Rink-o-Mania. I asked about roller skating, and one employee shared with me that they too wished that attendees and employees could roller skate. I believe it is liability issues and space issues that prevented them from actually allowing participants from roller skating.

Scoops Ahoy! This area was so nicely done. The ice cream is very good – we have butter pecan. The girl who served our ice cream was so pretty with nicely done 80s makeup and very friendly. In the sailor costume of course! They had the boat seating area for photos, then you could have your ice cream in the concessions food court area.

Surfer Boy Pizza. I hesitated to spend the money, but my daughter had been in pursuit fo the frozen pizzas at a grocery – we were never able to find the cheese. At the Surfer Boy Pizza bus we could get the three cheese, so she and I split a slice. It was not quite lunch time – ha!

The Arcade and Family Video. It was so fun for me to play Dig Dug check out all the VHS movies. A real blast from the past as a child of the 80s.

To sum it up, this was a very well done encounter and I would recommend it to any fan of the Stranger Things series. If you would like to read more about our mother daughter trip to Atlanta you can find that here.

The Dwarf House Chick-fil-A in Hapeville, GA
adventures with kids · foodie · travel with kids

The Dwarf House Chick-fil-A in Hapeville, GA

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In case you didn’t realize it, there is a Chick-fil-A that exists that has menu items you can’t find at a regular Chick-fil-A, including burgers. It is the flagship location, the very first one, originally built in 1947. It has a dwarf theme, complete with a dwarf-sized door that you can enter, and dwarves for you to find once you’re inside! There is an outdoor area for kids to play. It has been recently and beautifully renovated and deserves your time and visit next time you are in the Atlanta area, especially if you are at/near the Atlanta airport. It is right by the airport!

This Chick-fil-A was a must stop for my thirteen-year-old daughter and me. We read about it before our visit and studied the menu, so we had an idea of what we wanted to order, and even planned our hotel stay based on its location.

I would recommend coming for breakfast in hindsight, because the thing I most wanted on the menu was only available before 10:30 am: the Chicken minis and eggs!

My daughter and I opted to have dinner here for this main reason: There were so many things we wanted to try that we knew it would be a LOT of food. More than you would want for lunch. We did not opt for the burger because we felt one of the whole missions of Chick fil A is to “Eat Mor Chick’n” so getting a burger felt wrong to us – ha! She got the loaded waffle fries as her meal and I got the chicken and eggs. As we often do, we asked for an extra plate and split each dish with one another. The portions are HUGE.

The loaded waffle fries were good but not awesome, only because we did not love the pimento cheese they used on top. The plus side of the loaded fries is that there are Chick fil a nuggets on top. We did devour all of those.

Loaded waffle fries

The chicken that you get with the chicken and eggs IS the chicken they put on the Chick fil A sandwich. What this really did for me was showcase how delicious the chicken itself is when you strip away the bread, pickle and mayo. It was so good and juicy! The eggs can be cooked any way you like. I picked over easy and loved running pieces of my chicken through the egg yolk. You get to pick two sides. We picked toast and hashbrowns, but looking back I wish we had chosen the mac and cheese.

Do yourself a favor and save room for pie, or get a slice to go! It is amazing. They have lemon, chocolate and coconut. We opted for lemon and it was some of the best I’ve ever had, with generous meringue on top, graham cracker crust and vanilla wafers along the side. It is chilled, like an ice box pie.

Set aside time to take pictures before or after your visit. The exterior and play area will definitely call for selfies to be taken and is highly “instagrammable.” There are hoola hoops, the dwarf door, and a waffle fry climbing structure. They also have souveniers to purchase. My daughter got a Dwarf House mug.

To sum it up, allow yourself an hour or two to take in all that his unique Chick Fil A has to offer. You can find out more about our mother daughter trip to Atlanta here.

Mother Daughter Trip to Atlanta
adventures with kids · travel with kids

Mother Daughter Trip to Atlanta

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After Christmas, I took my thirteen-year-old daughter to Atlanta for a quick overnight trip. I wanted to share about our trip to help other moms who may wish to do the same, including tips on how to avoid traffic, ways to save money, things to do and where to eat.

We live in north Tennessee, so it’s about a 4-5 hour drive to Atlanta. I did quite a bit of reading and research about how to avoid Atlanta traffic because that was my one reservation about going in the first place. Atlanta traffic is notorious for being awful!

My first tip is to really thank carefully about how to avoid high traffic times. Leave early in the morning and think about rush hour traffic in major cities and how you can avoid them. For us, I knew we would be driving through Nashville, so we left early enough to avoid the 8-9am commute traffic. We got through well before that. I also knew we wanted to stop at Buc-ee’s on the way there to gas up and grab a bite, so I wanted to arrive before the lunch rush. We achieved that too! We wanted to arrive in Atlanta avoiding any lunch or rush hour traffic and accomplished that as well.

Buc-ee’s in Adairville, GA

I was fine with taking I-24 to get there, because while I wanted to avoid I-75 and I-285 in Atlanta, we also wanted to spend as little time on the road as possible and maximize our time having fun.

If you do travel to Atlanta the week of Christmas I read up on the best days to drive and days to avoid. December 26-27 because of after-Christmas traffic, and December 30 is not recommended due to New Year’s traffic. So we chose December 28-29 and these proved to be good days to travel.

When considering time on the interstate, consider spending as little time on 75 as possible. We did get caught in some I-75 traffic as we neared Atlanta, but not for long because we exited EARLY to check out Lenox Square and the Buckhead area, one of the nicest in ATL.

Lenox Square in Buckhead

Once we exited, we never used an interstate or highway the rest of our time in Atlanta. We stayed on the east side of the interstate which generally are the nicer and safer neighborhoods. On your maps app, select “avoid highways” and you can steer clear of the hectic, white knuckle Atlanta traffic. We had a GREAT experience driving through the quaint and charming Atlanta neighborhoods. This also allowed us to discover some great finds and ideas for future trips to ATL.

We saved money by eating brunch and dinner only. When we did eat, we ate well. The portion sizes at most restaurants are enough for 2 or more people so we would choose a dish with large portions and split it, asking for an extra plate. This allowed us to save money and not overeat. We also saved money by using our Marriott points so our hotel stay was completely free. You can find out how to get a Marriott Bonvoy rewards card and why we love being a member here. We strategically planned to stay near where we had dinner which was the unique and charming Dwarf House Chick Fil A, so we did not spend time and gas driving. We could head to our hotel and relax right after dinner. This Chick Fil A was the very first one and you can learn more about why it was so special and why we loved it here.

Dwarf House Chick fil A

We had brunch at the highly rated Sun in My Belly. It did not disappoint. I was looking for somewhere that could make an amazing latte (mine had a pretty design on top) and an outstanding meal. SIMB fit the bill on both counts. We added it to our bucket list for places we must revisit next trip! As an added bonus, it was only 5 minutes away from Target and our Stranger Things Experience, which was the event that brought us to Atlanta in the first place. You can read about our experience here if you would like to know more. The Target was a Super Target, and had a Starbucks and Ulta inside. It was not crowded at all and we love Target so much that looking back it was one of our trip highlights.

Stranger Things Experience
Sun in My Belly
My latte at Sun in My Belly

Other notable highlights and places we would like to visit on a return trip include: East Pole coffee in Buckhead, Krog Street Market, Virginia Highland area (best food), Ponce City Market (give yourself a whole day for this, or have a clear agenda in mind. It is huge!) My biggest regret was not allowing more time for Ponce City. There was so much we wanted to do and so many places we wanted to try in the food hall but just ran out of time.

Ponce City Market

My final piece of advice is to consider your daughter and what she would LOVE. I don’t know about you, but as a mom, if my daughter’s bucket is full, mine is too. Avoid too much touristy stuff and seek out things to do and places to eat that will bring you both joy.

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One Day You’ll Be In a Position to Give More at Christmas – Claim it!

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This is a prayer for the mama who either has enough money for a few of their children’s reqeusted Christmas gifts, OR all of the obligatory giving.

You are a very giving person, so it pains you when you can’t:

  • Give more to your child’s teachers. You would love to give each of them a $50 or more gift card. They so deserve it!
  • Get all of your coworkers gifts, and nice ones at that.
  • Contribute to the donations for your bosses and custodial staff. There is no extra money at all, But one day there will be. Claim it!
  • Give money for the coworker getting married, having a baby and who just lost a loved one.
  • Buy exactly what your nieces and nephews want and give them money or gift cards to get anything else their heart desires.
  • Get your child everything they asked for in their Canva presentation,
  • Get all of your children’s coaches and music teachers gifts.
  • Get all of the holiday decorations your children have begged for.
  • Give more to your church, homeless population and initiatives in your community that feed the hungry.
  • Get your child the Australian shepherd puppy they want which is the only thing they asked for, and cost anywhere from $500 on upward.
  • Get a new home so that you can and your children can be proud to have friends over.

Say a prayer right now, that one Christmas VERY SOON, you will be able to do all of these and much more. God hears our prayers!

Peppermint: Young Living Starter Bundle
essential oils · natural lifestyle

Peppermint: Young Living Starter Bundle

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Peppermint is one of those oils I never want to be out of, at home for my family, or in the classroom as a teacher.

Here are some of my favorite uses at home:

1. In the seasonal trio! We always keep rollers of lavender, lemon and peppermint around our house. We also diffuse this trio often.

2. My almost 13-year-old daughter suffers from migraines so diffusing peppermint is our first line of defense for her.

3. Peppermint added to Panaway is very cooling and soothing for the joints. I keep a roller or serum around with these two.

In the classroom:

1. My students favorite diffuser combo is one I call candy shop. It’s just Thieves and Peppermint in equal amounts. It’s also the diffuser blend I often choose when teaching oil classes. Everyone always comments on how good it smells.

2. Peppermint on a cotton ball. Each year I have students who suffer from headaches or severe allergies, and often don’t have a parent who can bring them anything because they are at work, and I can’t dispense meds. They are miserable! I will give them a cotton ball with just a drop of peppermint on it and tell them to sniff it. I always get rave reviews.

You can find Young Living peppermint HERE: https://www.youngliving.com/us/en/myaccount/wishlist?listId=63137ee4caaee6000ab0f1f1&enrollerId=2183425&sponsorId=2183425&userName=angie

Lavender: Young Living Starter Bundle
essential oils · natural lifestyle · Uncategorized

Lavender: Young Living Starter Bundle

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Lavender. It is known as the Swiss Army knife of oils, and for good reason. It’s probably best known for sleep and anxiety. But did you know lavender also helps with soothing the skin, and even promotes hair growth?

Lavender is also a main ingredient in so many of our favorite rollers: seasonal roller, face roller and focus roller!

Here are some of my favorite uses:

1. Add to diffuser along with cedarwood to promote a good night’s rest.

2. Add a few drops to coconut oil to make a soothing rub for sunburn or dry skin.

3. Make a mermaid hair spray by combining with cedarwood and rosemary. Eight drops of each these added to an 8 oz spray bottle, then fill rest of the way with water.

4. Add to diffuser along with lemon and peppermint to help support clear breathing when everything is blooming. This is our seasonal blend.

5. Apply it to back of the neck (brain stem) along with vetiver and cedarwood to help with focus.

6. You can benefit just by inhaling lavender directly from the bottle. It will help with anxiety and calm you.

If I was stranded on an island and could bring only one oil, it would be lavender. So grateful for this amazing oil!

What’s your favorite use for lavender?

Writing as a Habit
writing

Writing as a Habit

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At church this morning, our pastor talked to us about praying as a habit. I was really relating to everything he was saying, but I was equally relating each of his points to writing as a habit.

You see, writing is my favorite hobby in the world, and yet I have not opened my laptop to write all summer. Until today. During this morning’s sermon, I was asking myself why that was? If I’m a teacher who’s off for the summer, and I have tons more free time, then why haven’t I written at all, three weeks into my summer break?

The short answer was simple. It hasn’t been my habit. I have so many habits this summer that most people would find admirable. I wake up between 5 and 6am every morning and go for a sunrise walk. I have my coffee, I read, I listen to uplifting podcasts. Writing is not on that list. I get ready, make breakfast and usher my children out the door for various summer activities. Before I know it, it’s time for dinner and bedtime. Where did the day go?

Life is busy and people are heavily scheduled. But the answer to how to make writing a habit has a simple answer too. Just like my morning sunrise walks and podcasts, just like making breakfast and coffee, writing needs to be intentional and planned. I’m an essential oils educator, and a quote I like to use with people when they tell me they don’t have time to learn about oils, is a quote that applies to those of us who love to write but claim we don’t have time: “We find time for the things that matter to us.”

For most people, the best way to form a habit is to do that activity at the same time each day. For me, I’m feeling that the morning would be the wisest time for me. The time I’ve been reading and listening to podcasts, absorbing content, could be spent creating content. And I feel like this comes and goes in waves for me as a writer. I would love to hear from those of you reading this blog post who write: Do you find that you have seasons where it’s important for you to take a break from creating content and to absorb and take in the creativity of others’ content?

I could be hard on myself for this long hiatus, but I do feel it’s served me. I get so many ideas and feel so inspired from the seasons where I am just a consumer of content. Though quite a bit of time has passed since I’ve written a blog post, on my phone, I keep a note on my Notes app titled “Blog Post Topics.” I add to it every day! Almost every book and blog post I read, almost every sermon or podcast I listen to inspires me and ignites my own creativity so that now as a strive to get back on the writing horse, I have this exciting list of ideas to fuel my passion.

They say it takes 30 days to form a habit, so then dear reader, I plan on carving time out for myself these next 30 days, and I will follow up at the end of that 30 days and report back to let you know how it’s going.

I hope this has inspired someone else who loves to write but for whatever reason has not been. If you have any words of wisdom for me and others who may stumble open this blog post, I would love any and all ideas for how to make writing a habit and show up for this extraordinarily soul feeding hobby.

health · kids · parenting

Turning off your thoughts: a guide for kids.

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I teach sixth grade, and every day I share a thought for the day (a positive quote) with my students. Today’s thought was “One of the greatest addictions people have is the addiction to thought.” I talked to them about how when we think about addiction, we usually think about being addicted to video games or soda or TV, but thinking can also be an addition. In fact, these days most of us can find ourselves addicted to thinking, especially negative thoughts. I asked students if they ever have a hard time falling asleep because they can’t shut their brains off. In all four of my classes, every hand went up. I asked if they would like to know a way to stop it, and I had their full attention.

I had them do an experiment. I had them close their eyes and listen for a sound: the sound of the heating/air unit. It makes a soft white noise sound. Then I asked if they noticed that while they were listening, they weren’t thinking any other thoughts. They agreed that was true.

I explained they could practice that same process at home at night when they’re trying to go to sleep. I also used the word “meditation” at this point and several kids made faces at me. I asked them if when I said the word “meditation” they thought of sitting in a cross-legged position and saying “ohm” and they laughed. I explained that meditation isn’t really about that, that it’s quieting the mind.

Then I asked if anyone had a sound machine in their room. Some said yes, but most didn’t know what a sound machine was. I explained that sound machines can play ocean wave sounds (my favorite), white noise (and what that means), thunderstorms (my father-in-law’s favorite), and one with crickets and birds chirping, which I would personally find annoying. Some students shared that you can have Amazon Alexa play ocean or beach sounds too.

I encouraged them to try this and really focus on listening to and really focusing on whatever white noise sound they chose, then to let me know if it made a difference for them.

We also talked about how tapping in to any of the five senses can help bring you back to the present moment. You can feel the fabric of your jeans or shirt. Like when I’m driving, I will feel the texture of the steering wheel or the fabric of the seat and it will calm me and ground me. In my classroom, during cold weather months, I play a video of a fireplace during classwork time, and during warmer months, I play a video of ocean waves or beach scenery. Both of these are calming and students tell me they help them to be calm and to “turn their brain off” of whatever may be bothering them. Then they can refocus and get back to work.

Our brains tend to have so many tabs open and we can feel so overwhelmed that we don’t know where to start. By practicing mindfulness and having techniques to stop thought, we can turn off the tape playing in our minds of what has already happened or things that we may be anxious about happening in the future. We can be here. Now. In the moment. Namaste.