Happy Thursday! I hope you’ll sit down and refill that cup of coffee or glass of wine, depending on the hour, as it is time for a virtual date. A lot has transpired since our last date together. Even though I am smack in the middle of a whirlwind work week before we head out on vacation, I’m in a far better place than I was a few months ago. Life continues to speed by faster than ever, but I find myself waking up smiling and going to bed feeling content I have a lot to share with you all today, so here goes.
If we were sitting together today, I would tell you that the baby weight is finally gone. As of this morning, I weight exactly what I weighed in August of 2016. My mom and so many other wise friends and women always told me that it took nine to ten months to put on the weight, so it will take at least that long to take off the weight. They were right! It took almost thirteen months but I am proud that I didn’t drive myself crazy. I didn’t obsess over numbers on the scale or the size on a clothing tag. My body shape is not the same as it was before, since I now am the proud of owner of hips and a few more curves.
If we were sitting together today, I would tell you that I am really enjoying my workout routine these days. For the past month I’ve been doing Pilates 2-3 times per week, running 3-4 times per week and walking everywhere. Once maternity leave was over, I suddenly started sitting more than ever before. I wasn’t walking or commuting into the city for workouts or trekking all over to meet friends or run errands. Instead, I was walking a 1/3 of a mile to the nanny share and back each day. I’ve increased my average step count each week since this realization from around 5,000 to 9,000. On weekdays, when I’m working from home, I’m taking 20 minutes during the day, typically during a conference call that doesn’t require a computer, to walk outside. I’m also taking the “long” way to nanny share and home each day with Katie. I’ve come to enjoy this time together as we have a very one-sided conversation about the day, the weather and everything we are passing along the way.
If we were sitting together today, I would tell you that I am so proud of my dear friend Theodora. I have learned so much over the past year, as I’ve watched her go through the grief process following her mother’s death. I am a far better friend now than I was two years ago, due in part to the things I’ve learned from her as I’ve done my best to support her through this difficult time. The other night, during a tough moment, she told me how sad she is for her friends who will go through the grief process at one point when they lose their mother or another loved one. As someone who still has both her parents, this of course struck a chord. Needless to say, I’m making a more conscious effort to connect with my loved ones via phone and in person. I’m thankful that this year we’ve chosen to use most of our vacation time to be with family. Next week we are heading to Avalon, New Jersey for a week of beach and sunshine with Bo’s parents and cousins and then in August we’ll be down in Savannah for 10 days. I’m going to focus on enjoying the moment and creating memories during each of these trips. (You can read more about Theodora’s journey in this Women’s Health article.)
If we were sitting together today, I would tell you I love the new Question feature in Instagram. It’s been so fun to respond to the questions people have on topics ranging from weight loss to baby schedules. It reminds me of back in the day when people used to leave a ton of comments on blog posts. I love how easy Instagram made it for friends and followers to ask questions and it will hopefully decrease the DM which tend to get easily lost.
If we were sitting together today, I would tell you that I’m so excited to head upstairs in a few minutes. I’ve fallen out of the habit of reading before bed but am focused on getting back in the habit. I find that I sleep better when I spend 20 or 30 minutes relaxing in bed with a good book and putting away my phone. It gives my body and mind a chance to relax before going to sleep. Right now I’m reading two books – Educated and The Identicals. I’m having a hard time making it through some portions of Educated so find that I can enjoy it more when I read it every other night. In a perfect world, I would get back to the evening routine that makes me happiest – apply relaxing hand cream, light a candle, read for 30 minutes, turn off the lights, and meditate for 3-5 minutes using Headspace.
If we were sitting together today, I would tell you that I celebrated feeling good about my body by buying new clothes to enjoy the rest of this summer and on our two upcoming vacations. I guess I’ve become accustomed to living a more streamlined, simplified life because after trying everything on, I decided to return quite a few items because I just didn’t “need” them. I ended up keeping my favorite v-neck t-shirt in a bright red and athletic gray, these fun pull-on shorts , this easy, breezy t-shirt dress, these jean shorts, and these white jeans. If you need summer clothes, JCrew has 30% off sale items and Jcrew Factory has up to 60% off!
If we were sitting together today, I would laugh about the fact that I’ve come to realize that some household chores drive me bonkers. Emptying the dishwasher and putting away folded clothes are always the last on my list. What is your least favorite household chore? Every two to three weeks we have a maid cleaning lady come and do deep cleaning but in between, Bo and I do our best to keep the house looking and feeling nice. When the house is clean and organized, we are both much happier people. We typically use the spare bedroom as a “junk room” and then put things away during the weekend. Some people have junk drawers and we have a junk room. I’m not sure what that says about us but for now, it works. We typically have a small pile of folded clothes, things that need to be returned/exchanged and boxes we have to cut.
Photos: Anna Rachel Photograph
