3 Things for Your Tuesday

1. Coffitivity. I recently discovered how I simply cannot listen to music while I’m writing. Sad. I have entire playlists full of Christa Wells and Ellie Holcomb goodness, dedicated to writing and each time I turn them on, I can’t seem to turn the volume down low enough to be able to still concentrate. I have become increasingly more easily distracted in the last couple of years and I find that having someone talk to me or sing to me just does. not. work. Can anyone identify? Enter Coffitivity. Coffitivity is a self-proclaimed as a site that “recreates the ambient sounds of a cafe to boost your creativity and help you work better.” And let me just say, it works. Imagine being at Starbucks or Panera and being able to turn down the volume of the tables full of loud people around you until they are at just the right “doesn’t distract me– but helps with the dead silence” volume. Loud guy bragging about his super cool blahblah sports car? Turn him down a notch. Bunch of high schoolers talking about how Sloan and Trey broke up in front of the whole school? Turn them down just a smidge. Someone else’s toddler (this time.) expressing their displeasure over having to sit in a high chair? Lower that screeching sound just a bit. That’s coffitivity. And unless you want to listen to a coffee shop in Paris or Brazil or the like, it’s free! I have really enjoyed having this neat little tool. And it helps an introvert who thinks she’s an extrovert have the illusion of noise without the actual noise.

2. Jessica Turner of The Mom Creative has written a truly indispensable book for women. The Fringe Hours: Making Time for You is an excellent tool for every woman who wishes she had more time to do the things she enjoys. Reading, cooking, crafting, running, writing, whatever it is that you wish you had more time for– this book is filled with success stories, helpful practical tips and Jessica’s kind but honest approach to the age-old problem of wanting to do something for yourself but not finding the time. The book releases February 15th, but I happened to notice it is on Amazon right now for the Pre-order price of  $7.49!!!! Which is crazy inexpensive. This book is helping me rethink the way I plan my days and it has been really encouraging that margin really does exist, no matter how full our plates are.

3. Ok. Whatever you’ve done today, you need to stop and see this video. I mentioned Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors the other day, (thanks to my Lance for taking the last 8 years to expand my musical horizons beyond movie soundtracks and Celine Dion.) They have released this fun little video of one of their new songs. There are silly costumes and plenty of fun dancing. Don’t take yourself too seriously, just watch it. And if you’re an Ellie Holcomb fan, she’s the Princess Leia who is married to the Bearded Banana. How fun is that? Very fun. AND, I believe you can get their last album for free on Noisetrade here.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnoYg1iNdJ8]

 

(** #2 includes an amazon affiliate link. Basically this means I get a small monetary “thank you” from Amazon if you choose to buy this book by clicking through my link. No strings attached, they just like to reward bloggers who recommend them. 🙂