11 Things I Can’t Live Without

Oh Snap, I’m Out of Mountain Dew!

by Andrea Watson

Good day, loves! You read that right. I’m getting ready to drop a top eleven list on your eyeballs (or something like that). In this self-revealing post, you will learn about the 11 things I can’t live without. It should be fun! And I hope that you will drop me a line and let me know what things you can’t live without. I would love to hear all about it!

One: Music

It’s true. Music helps me to process incoming information, my own thoughts, and my own emotions. No matter what type of mood I’m in I have a favorite type of music for that. Happy? Yelawolf, Andre Nickatina, or other rap. Sad? Evanescence or something like it (Tori Amos, perhaps?). In the mood to f@$k Sh!# up? Punk rock or metal. Feelin’ the Halloween spirit? Loreena McKennitt or Marilyn Manson (I go both ways). What I’m trying to get at is that I really can’t adequately process emotion without music. It may be a weakness, but it is a problem with a most excellent solution. I use YouTube because I don’t have to pay for it, and although the adds are a bit annoying, I can listen to streaming tunes all day long if I wish. And I do wish. I simply hook up my phone or laptop to my bosbos speaker via bluetooth, open up the YouTube app and boom! Music for as long as I want it, in any genre I can think of. (Whew! That was a lot of technology-ing for me!).

Two: Chromebook

This bit of magic, my friends, is why I am able to create blog posts so often. Sure, I started out on my Android phone, but when it comes right down to it, screw that! It may not be a “real” laptop, but then, Pinocchio wasn’t always a “real” boy, now was he? Still a good story. If I wait long enough for my Chromebook to behave, maybe it’ll turn into something more fleshy. Like a normal laptop (I…Need…Money!). For those of you who got that reference, good job. But seriously, I would have quit writing by now if my sister had not given me the money for this wonderful machine. No, it isn’t compatible with a lot of the Playstore apps, but I don’t really need every app in the store. It works just fine for me and I love it.

Three: American Spirits

I know, I KNOW…I am totally anti-tobacco use. But how then, can I smoke? Well, I’ll tell you. I became addicted to smoking at the age of 14 (cigarettes were TONS easier to get back in ancient times) after my mother died. Back then I really just thought that ruining my body was cool, and smoking may be a place to hide when life gets to be too much. Of course, I was wrong on both counts. Being the educated yet somehow dumb woman I am now, I still smoke. After all these years. It’s disgusting. I hate the way it tastes, I hate the way it makes me feel and I hate that I cannot stop regardless of nicotine packages, outside support, or those stupid stop-smoking campaigns I see everywhere I go. So I don’t mean to be hypocritical. I was just hooked way early before I really knew about the damaging effects caused by smoking. Could be that it’s too late for me but not for you? IDK. Whatever the reason, it is what it is.

Four: My Notebook

Yep, I am one of those strange humans who still uses a pen and paper (OMG Becky!) I write down all of my ideas, important information, passwords, and everything else that is relevant to my writing, technology use, and learning. I seriously can’t live without. It’s just as essential as my Chromebook. I have to have it to get any writing done. Since I also write for money, it’s super important that I have these tools right next to me at all times. Or else there is just no income for me, and that sucks big time. Have I succeeded in conveying the message that my notebook is super important? Okay good.

Five: My Witchy Table

I mean my altar here. We all know I’m a witchy person and that’s fine for me. I have my altar in my living room, just where it belongs. It is strewn with elephant figurines, crystals and rocks, incense, sage, my witchy bowl, knives, and other stuffs. Not only does my altar facilitate my religious practices, but it also fills my home with a certain vibe. And it’s a good one. I feel at peace when I look at it. It also adds beauty to my living space.

Six: My Best Friend

Yes, the same best friend I talked about yesterday in my Life With Boys post. Today he is sick and sleeping. Poor guy! Most days he works hard as a painter. His name is Ty and I love him. Seriously, life sucks when he is not around. I only met him a couple of years back, but he is the bestest friend I have ever had, excluding my sisters.

Seven: Gatorade

Yes, I drink a lot of calories but I’m working on it! Gatorade is an awesome sports drink. It keeps me hydrated plus it’s delicious. Now, Powerade has a few less calories (if we don’t count that god-forsaken yucky zero stuff), and I love it too. But Gatorade is where it’s at. I like the blue and red flavors personally, and my sister prefers orange (ew!). As you can see, I have almost finished mine already. I have to be quick when I buy these, because Lucien and Ty love Gatorade too and they disappear in a flash.

Eight: Aussie shampoo

After a lifetime of searching for the “perfect” shampoo, I have finally found something close to it. I use Aussie “miracle moist” shampoo, and I buy the big pump size. This, and the same type of conditioner keep my thick, ridiculous hair pretty much tamed, clean, and easy to comb through (when I bother to do it).

Nine: Art Supplies

I require paints, brushes, colored pencils, graphite pencils, charcoal, pastels, sharpies, rubber cement, scissors, gel pens, regular ink pens, and more. I know, I’m a bit high maintenance when it comes to art supplies. But seriously, how I am supposed to cater to my own artistic whims if I don’t have a wide variety of stuff to use? The answer is I can’t. I need all these things. Like I mentioned in my post Art 101: Please Try This At Home, I often mix mediums. Why? Because I like to! It adds something extra to each piece. So I keep a drawer full of all kinds of stuff under my side table that sits next to me in my work space.

Ten: Ajax

Okay, so yeah, this is a household cleaner. So? When I want a clean tub, which is always, I reach for my Ajax. I like it way better than spray cleaners because it has a texture I can work with. I want to be able to see that I have scrubbed every inch of tub when I use it, and with spray cleaners you can’t do that. With ajax, the cleaner stays where it’s supposed to and really gets scrubbed around in a way that I can see it. I love that. It’s a little different to rinse off than spray cleaners, perhaps a bit harder, but I’m totally fine with that.

Eleven: e.l.f. Tone Adjusting Face Primer

I don’t always makeup, but when I do, I use e.l.f.’s tone adjusting face primer before a drop of foundation touches my skin. e.l.f. has every kind of makeup product you could ask for, and their products are priced so that I (queen of cheap-asses) will buy them. My favorite is the face primer because I have a skin tone that is a not smooth (come on, I’m old). The purple face primer evens out my skin tone and prepares my face for foundation. It comes in a pretty pump container in a 14 ml size.

So there you have it, my sweetlings. A list of eleven things I cannot live without. It’s always good to take inventory of our lives and really find out what types of things we rely on from day to day. And if we don’t like what we see in this inventory (hello, cigarettes!) then we can always work toward changing that list. Until next time dear readers!

Andrea xo