I'm not going to lie to you... yesterday was rough. It all started when I dropped my phone on the floor and shattered the screen.

Funny story, this is a replacement phone that I bought for just $10 after I shattered the screen on my last phone and no... there isn't a case for it to protect it from breaking.

Next, I took my oldest son to the dentist for some dental work, which turned out to be far more involved than even the dentist thought it would be. The dental work ended up costing more than we had planned and we will have to go back for more.

On top of that, it was just a dreary day and I felt very overwhelmed by everything. Overwhelmed seems to be our theme so far this year. It's something I am working on and have taken a look at my schedule to see what I can stop doing in order to make things a little calmer around here.

I knew that I had to ignore my own invitation to the pity party I was throwing. I had to find a way to turn my day around.

1. Take a break

When the boys went to their rooms for their rest time I took a brief break. I made a little coffee and put it in one of my cute mugs.

(I have a growing collection of whimsical mugs and I am not the least bit sorry about that.)

I savored the coffee and perused cute photos on Instagram without feeling guilty for getting sucked into social media.

2. Find something uplifting

It's so easy to get sucked into the pity vortex, especially when life feels like it is piling on.

So I turned to YouTube where I found some lyric videos from my favorite worship band, Rend Collective. It's hard to feel pity in the midst of worship.

3. Open a window

Yes, it was dreary, but that didn't mean I couldn't open the shades and let the slivers of sunlight into my house.

There have been scientific studies that show how sunlight can have a positive impact on our moods. So crack open those shades and see your mood improve.

4. Play

I also broke out a new tub of Legos yesterday and I sat on the floor and helped Ryals build a house, an airplane, and a pencil. (Yup, a Lego pencil.) This perked up not only me but my kids as well.

Focusing on an activity that required the use of my hands and the creative part of my brain seemed to improve my mood and was a great distraction.

We have way more control in our days and our moods than we give ourselves credit. It's something I need to remind myself of often.

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