Hiya friends! I just officially finished week 8 of quarantine and I kind of can’t believe it. The hours, days, weeks and months have flown by and yet… also dragged on? If that even makes sense. I feel like I’ve lost all concept of time, as evidenced by the fact that I haven’t posted an update like this in quite awhile! If you’re new here, I created On My Mind to act as a place to share what’s on my mind and heart lately. I view it as a catch up sesh, like a virtual coffee (or wine) chat between pals, but try to stick to a format of sorts so it’s not just paragraphs of me rambling (let’s be honest, I still ramble).
WORD OF THE WEEK | Breathe. I always hold my breath. Whether I’m stressed or excited, working hard or spacing out – ya girl forgets to breathe. I could write a whole post on this (and maybe I will!) but this week I’ve revived my breathing techniques to help with stress management, emotional reactivity and physical movement. Breathe in…breathe out.
LOOKING BACK | This week flew by! It was such a pleasant surprise because I feel like last week – when it rained almost every day – was about 10 years long. I don’t know about you, but my mood is very impacted by the weather! I love starting my day off outside but it’s hard to do when there’s a torrential downpour! With so many days of sun in the forecast this week, my goal was to take Bruce on at least two morning podcast walks and… I did it!
WHAT I’M EXCITED FOR | My weekly zoom call with my team! I organize a virtual happy hour for my team at work every Friday at 5:00pm and every week there is a new theme! If you have any zoom calls coming up – business or personal – I cannot recommend themes enough. Having one gives us something to chat about (other than the news – blegh) and helps us learn more about one another! Need help with some theme ideas? Here’s a list of what we’ve done already:
ONE THING I LEARNED | Meditation is hard but it is so helpful. One of the things I’m working on during quarantine is sitting with myself (you’d think that would be easier to do now, but in many ways it’s more complicated!). I process and work through my feelings by both reading and journaling and recently added meditation to my toolbox. I’m actually not new to meditating – C and I are both trained in TM – but I am new to consistent meditation! When we did our TM training in 2016, I stuck with it for about a month before ultimately giving up. Looking back, I don’t think I was ready to sit with the stillness. I told myself I was “bad” at meditating because, for the life of me, I could not quiet my mind. Even though I was told that that was okay, it wasn’t something I felt okay with. Fast forward to now, and I’m starting to make peace with myself and my monkey mind. I’m learning that mindfulness is like a muscle that you can only strengthen by actually meditating. I’ve been rotating between the Calm app and Insight Timer and have noticed that when I meditate in the morning the rest of my day is just…better. I’m calmer, more level, less reactive and generally happier. Truthfully, I haven’t been meditating during the day as much as I would like to, but we do a sleep meditation every evening before bed. Which brings me to…
ONE THING I’M PROUD OF | Our MMH challenge! C and I shared on Instagram that we are doing a Move, Meditate, Hydrate challenge during quarantine. The goal: MOVE (walk 10K steps or do an at home workout), MEDITATE (this one is obvious) and HYDRATE (drink 1/2 our weight in ounces in water) every single day. Truthfully these are things we should be doing anyway, but making a challenge out of it has really helped keep us motivated! We’re tracking it with a handmade graph that I taped up to our door (this was pre-Bertha – our most recently quarantine purchase). If we each get our MMH in a day, we give ourselves a gold star and if we get 10 gold stars in 2 weeks then we get to order in a nice meal! The key to success is having an accountability buddy and a reward that we both are excited about. Stay tuned for more updates!
SNAPSHOTS | Some unedited #lifelately highlights from my camera roll…
Thank you building workers! / The fluffiest explorer / Family snuggles / Chef C in action / Happy Birthday Grandpa! / Northern Central Park / A favorite quote / The BEST washable shoes / Spring make up / A fluffy pup / C’s latest hobby: coloring / A serene spot in Central Park
BROWSING, READING, LEARNING, LISTENING
I get asked a lot about the masks we wear in my stories. Unfortunately the black ones we have are from Amazon and are completely sold out, but we also have custom I LOVE NY ones from Apolis (a sustainable, mission-based brand I love to support). Bonus – they are washable! Did you know you should wash your fabric masks often? For details and other mask tips I’ve found this article on how to wear a mask and this one on how not to wear a mask to be particularly helpful!
Have you listened to Brené Brown’s podcast Unlocking Us? I am totally hooked. Truth be told, I am new-ish to Brené (like, have I been living under a rock? Quite possibly) and have found her wisdom, research and words to be so comforting during these weird times. More podcast recs to come!
Speaking of Brené, her episode with Glennon Doyle was one of my favorites! I just ordered Glennon’s book, Untamed, and I cannot wait. Her book tour was cancelled so I’ve been listening to her on the podcast circuit (her episode with Marie Forleo was great too) and it’s gotten me so excited to dig in! I typically read on my kindle but I grabbed it in hardcover – I know that I’ll want to have it in my hands for underlining and note taking 🙂
Last but not least, my dear friend Claire sent me this book of poems by one of our favorite writers, Morgan Harper Nichols. MHN is one of those humans who I have never met but I strongly connect to – every time I read something she writes, it speaks to me on the deepest level. Her poetry is moving but applicable, touching but thought provoking. And, amazingly, all of her work is inspired by real interactions and stories – typically her words and poems are responses to letters and messages she receives from her readers.
Also, since I’ve been doing so much reading and working on screens I finally ordered these blue light glasses! Why I love them: they have my (small) prescription plus blue light protection, they were super easy to order and they are helping tremendously with my eye fatigue and headaches – even more than my normal glasses alone. Highly recommend!
#ICYMI
Easy Eats: Dairy Free Loaded Mac-N-Cheese
IGTV: Spring Inspired Clean Beauty
That’s all for now, folks! HAPPY FRIDAY and don’t forget to breathe 🙂
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