Happy new year! I survived Q4, just barely. Oh man, that was a tough run for me. It’s like you can plan in advance and prepare all you want, but unfortunately you cannot bottle up energy and save it for when you need a holiday spirit boost. Bummer. Alas, we are here in the new year. We are weary but we did all the things!
First, I want to say thank you to everyone who wrote to me for the Perelel Health giveaway. I enjoyed reading your messages, and getting to know you and your stories better!
Second, I present to you:
Today’s Dilemma: The Preschool Lunchbox
My little one is starting preschool this year (WHAT!!!!!). And to distract me from all of the emotions of witnessing my baby grow up and one day get her driver’s license, and experience her first heartbreak, and leave the nest, I’ve decided to focus my overthinking on toddler lunchbox research. For weeks now I’ve been ruminating on these 3 - OmieBox, Bentgo, and Planetbox. Question for my more experienced parents, which lunchbox do you favor and why?
Please vote and leave a comment on pros and cons.
The Mechanics of Mental Housecleaning
To reiterate, my brain is still recalibrating from the holidays. So today I’ll share my recalibration process. The past few weeks I’ve been introspective, reflecting on lessons I learned in 2023, auditing the highlights as well as the areas that I want to focus on.
Here’s what I’m doing this month to get thoughts in order for a fresh 2024:
Mel Robbins Best Year Ever Workbook: If you know me, you know I’m a big Mel Head. Listening to the Mel Robbins podcast got me through a lot of tough moments and gave me courage to make some meaningful change in my life. A couple of weeks ago she published a podcast episode called “Make 2024 Your Best Year Ever” that comes with a free workbook companion to download, and I’m definitely going to take some time to fill it out!
A vision board via Life With Marianna podcast: I’ve never made a vision board before, but I’m down to give it a try this year. Marianna Hewitt has a podcast episode about goal setting and vision boarding. I’m follow her guidance and I also called a girlfriend and set up a little date night this week to have snacks and cut up magazines.
A great purge: We are reviewing all of our contents as a household and purging items we no longer need or have never used or have grown out of. I’ve set up a redistribution center in the garage for items to sell, donate, pass along to another baby, etc.
Thinking about these auditing exercises in preparation for the year ahead, I found myself in a profound state of melancholy and I couldn’t figure out why at first.
A Transitional Period in the Face of a New Calendar Year
After slamming a wall of postpartum depression, I initiated a period self rediscovery in early 2023.