Welcome to this week’s edition of 5 Bullet Friday! Every Friday, I post an exclusive blog post with the 5 coolest things I found, I’m doing, or quote I’m pondering that week. It could also include exclusive giveaways or a chance to interact with me, books, gadgets, articles, new hacks or tips, and – of course – all sorts of random stuff I dig up around the world.
What I’m Doing – This week I tried to maximize the time I spend in the morning before leaving for work. I usually wake up at 7 am, and literally just lay in bed scrolling on my phone. Let’s not lie to ourselves, when we do this it’s usually to get trapped in the Instagram/Twitter/Snapchat trilogy that never ends. That is until you realize what time it is (7:57 am – yes, that happened) and you jump out of bed only to rush getting ready and head out the door with no breakfast or a packed lunch.
So this week I tried something new. Before I went to bed every night I set my alarm for 6:55 am, put my phone on silent, and plugged it in the charger away from my bed on the dresser. I did this to essentially force me to get out of bed to turn off my alarm and by that time I’m out of the comfort of my warm and cozy bed and already standing and wearing my robe. Guess who had their morning coffee and breakfast all week? This girl!
Purchase I’m Enjoying – anybody with a toddler will tell you it can get overwhelming and EXHAUSTING. Especially when you are doing a road trip for more than 2 hours. We decided to buy our 2-year-old an Amazon Fire Tablet. It was incredibly cheaper than an iPad and does the same things I need it to do. We downloaded child-friendly apps that have increased his vocabulary and writing skills by drawing his ABCs.
To keep the screen from cracking when he obviously tries to smash it on the floor when he’s done playing with it, we purchased both a protective case and a screen protector. He has dropped it more times than I can count or would like to admit, but it is still in perfect condition! Totally loving this.
What I’m Listening To – If you’re a podcast fanatic like I am, take a listen to Mufti Menk’s podcast. He has great episodes on topics such as dealing with doubts, family values, and the effects of irresponsible speech – which I loved hearing about. He also does series that are super insightful, and he had a great one last Ramadan that focused on various topics and linked them back to fasting.
What I’m Reading – So, a new year obviously brings new year’s resolutions. One of my goals this year was to try to spend less and save more. I picked up Ramit Sethi’s book I Will Teach You to Be Rich. It has great tips for spending wisely and not having to give up purchasing the things you love.
I highly recommend getting a physical copy instead of listening to the audiobook because there will be sections that won’t necessarily be relatable to you. I personally skipped over the topics that dealt with interest. It’s also nice to have a reference guide handy when you want a refresher.
Quote I’m Pondering – “Everything we see hides another thing, we always want to see what is hidden by what we see.” – Rene Magritte
And those are my 5 random and interesting tidbits of the week. Make sure you stop by every Friday for another drop of my 5 Bullet Friday posts!