What If Your Midlife Crisis Is Actually Emotional Exhaustion?

Image created with Gemini

Why did I think I’d escape the good ol cliche โ€œmid life crisisโ€? Oh yeah, because I was sure I already went through one like ten years ago. Yet here we are.

I keep coming across reminders that I need to โ€œReclaim a part of myselfโ€. The random stale Camel from the pack I’ve had for 3 years because I quit smoking 6 years ago. A renewed passion for music and concerts (since I was the local ska princess 20+ years ago lol). And craving urbex, deep conversations, and fun parties.

Or at least an occasional break from homeschooling, making dinners, & attempting to clean the house (always a futile goal).

Is it a mid life crisis though? Or emotional burnout from all the bullshit I’ve been through the past few years (caregiving, stress, the world melting down)?

Yeah, probably both.

Could be worse though, I supposeโ€ฆ ๐Ÿ˜‰


๐Ÿ”ฅ Reclaiming yourself isnโ€™t selfish โ€” itโ€™s survival.

Got your own midlife (or burnout) story? Share it in the comments or repost with your own โ€œclues from the universe.โ€ Letโ€™s normalize the chaos.

Stay weird. Stay loud. Stay you. โœจ

If you liked this post, please give it a โ€œlikeโ€, share it with friends, and subscribe if youโ€™re new.

Rock on!

Solo Shows, Old Ghosts, and Decent Beer: A Night Out with Myself

Wall of Guitars at the Riviera Theater

(In case you missed it, you can read my pervious post for context here : Grief, Love, and Loud Music: Why Iโ€™m Chasing a Ghost at a Rock Show)

I had a pretty good time at the Reverend Horton Heat show! By myself. My absolute only real complaint was that the seats were super small & there was no โ€œpitโ€.

Before

My car has a power steering leak, but that sure as hell wasnโ€™t about to stop me lol! I parked in a slightly sketchy spot around the corner from the venue, on the street so I could get out easily afterward.

I ended up walking a block in the other direction to pick up a pack of sneaky smokes – they didnโ€™t have my Camels, so I settled for Marb Blacks. $15, oof! Good thing I’m not a regular smoker lol!!

Bought myself a can of Molson because they didnโ€™t even have Budweiser at the bar (though I prefer Rolling Rock). $7 for a can of beer! But it was worth it to not have to listen to screaming children all day LOL! Had some nostalgic fun hanging out in the venueโ€™s โ€œpatioโ€. It was unusually chilly, but refreshing.

During

How have I never heard of Zydeco music?!?

Nathan and the Zydeco Cha Chas were lots of fun! They encouraged everyone to get up & dance for most of their set, which was exactly what I needed! Nathan & the washboard player even wandered around the crowd & got everyone moving, & now Iโ€™m officially a fan! ๐Ÿคฉ

RHH did their thing โ€” solid as always โ€” but the crowd was kind of a buzzkill. I had fun singing along to most of their songs, but everyone else at the show is such a drag, itโ€™s absurd to me. Itโ€™s nice to see the band, but the crowd kinda ruins it for me to be honest – why go to a show if you’re not gonna dance?!? I got a shirt & a tote bag, and ducked out a little early to beat the crowd (cuz, yโ€™know, power steering). (Oh, and because my phone was dying & I wanted to make sure I knew how to get home lol.)

Him

I didn’t see him at all. I wasn’t looking too hard, but for all I know he’s dead ๐Ÿ˜‘ Or he moved to another state. Or he just wasn’t there. Or he was & I just didn’t see him. Lol. Either wayโ€ฆ

I’m disappointed that I didn’t get a chance to at least say hi. I left still feeling a bit lost. Something’s still missing.


But yeah, I left with a mix of peace and confusion. But overallโ€ฆ

It was a fulfilling time. I got to feel like myself for a few hours. Lots of smiles & dancing a bit hehe โ˜บ๏ธ

If youโ€™ve ever chased a memory to a loud venue or danced your heart out just to feel something real โ€” I see you.

Tell me about your favorite solo adventure, or a night that surprised you. Iโ€™d love to hear it.

And if youโ€™re new here, hit subscribe and stick around for more stories from the edge of chaos.

Rock on. ๐Ÿ–ค

Where I’m At #10

I prefer Rolling Rock… lol

โ€œWhere Iโ€™m atโ€ posts are just random updates about whatโ€™s going on in my life at any random time, based on the areas / roles in my life.

  • planner : Well, I was planning on hosting a baby shower for my step daughter, but she hasnโ€™t talked to anyone (myself, her father, her aunt) in like 3 weeks so weโ€™re assuming her mom is setting something up for her. Which is unfortunate, but we canโ€™t let it bother us. So, I donโ€™t know what Iโ€™m planning right now lol. Hubby & I have our 6th wedding anniversary coming up, so weโ€™ll have to figure something out for that.
  • self (body & mind, emotion & education) : Iโ€™ve lost 10 pounds so far!!! Iโ€™ll share a separate post on that sometime soon, to share what Iโ€™ve been doing. My mind is clearing up a bit after that concert, but I still donโ€™t have enough time to do all the things I want to do lol (such is the human condition, eh?) And Iโ€™m tempted to go back to college & get my RN certification (more on that in a future post tooโ€ฆprobably).
  • marriage : 6 year anniversary coming up! Weโ€™ve been doing a little better each day since we respectfully aired some grievances, soโ€ฆyay!
  • mom (BooBoo & Bubby) : The girls are good. BooBoo has been obsessed with toads – she even put a teeny tiny one in her unicorn makeup bag & tried to make a pet out of it lol! And Bubby is in love with the concepts of โ€œqueensโ€ & โ€œprincessesโ€, and being very elegant & wearing beautiful dresses hehe!
  • homeschool teacher (1st grade & PK) : Freaking out as usual. Lol. I have my letter of intent submitted; so now I have to compile an IHIP. BooBoo finished Easy Peasyโ€™s Phonics class & has started Sight Words – the placement test suggested sheโ€™s not ready for 1st grade reading, but Sight Words seems too easy for her (maybe Iโ€™ll skip a few lessons?) (I could probably use to skip some math lessons too lol). I want to start a different PK2 curricula for Bubby soon too, because I donโ€™t think sheโ€™s catching on as much as Iโ€™m comfortable with Easy Peasyโ€™s PK.
  • zenBLITZ : I NEED TO MAKE MORE TIME TO WRITE!!! Let alone create digital products & whatnot. ๐Ÿ˜ญ
  • homemaker (finance, cleaning, gardening, prepping, travel) : All is pretty well. Lots of focus on cleaning up the yard.

Currently

eating : Mulberries, blueberries, & wild blackberries – picked fresh daily! ๐Ÿ˜‹

drinking : Lime water, coffee, wine

watching : Music videos

reading : I gave up on โ€œEverything is Fuckedโ€ for now. Thinking about picking up โ€œHow to Win Friends & Influence Peopleโ€ (a classic) or โ€œThe Whole Brain Child. Not sure yet. (Any suggestions?!? ๐Ÿ˜‰)

playing : Dolls with my kids

buying : Cheap plants from a local greenhouse

listening to : 90โ€™s punk & ska, hehe

celebrating : 6 years of marriage, 8 years of dating!

pinning : journaling, self care, pretty colorful pics

planning : anniversary

feeling : ok

Where are you at? Let me know in the comments!

Rock on!!

Grief, Love, and Loud Music: Why Iโ€™m Chasing a Ghost at a Rock Show

Image generated with ChatGPT

I feel the need to revisit a topic I wrote about a couple months ago, because Iโ€™ve since had a lot of thoughts floating around my head.

I wrote then about my friend who felt that he was in love with me; and as much as I absolutely loved the shit out of him, I never wanted more than a friendship.

We havenโ€™t seen or talked to each other in over a decade.

But heโ€™s been on my mind quite a bit lately. To the point where Iโ€™m going alone to a concert heโ€™ll probably be at (if he even still lives around here) – not just to see if I can pull anything from the ashes, but also so I can get the fuck away from screaming children & feel like a human for a few hours LOL. (Iโ€™m literally trying to write this right now with screaming children running around because I havenโ€™t had time to work on anything. I can practically feel the smoke coming out of my ears.)

The Past

Over the last couple months, a ton of old memories have been flooding back. And there was a lot of love there. Like, a LOT. I never even realized a lot of the things I do now because I was so young (in my 20โ€™s), and always so scared of losing him.

I always worried so much about him cuz he was always dealing with so much stress, and I wanted to be there for him as much as I possibly could. I still do.

He had such an adorable smile, and he gave great hugs. I loved talking to him because he was so different from me, yet still so similar. He was encouraging, flattering, and really really sweet. Not to mention resilient as fuck, and I admired the hell out of that. He’s always been one of my absolute favorite people I’ve ever known.

He was also pretty brutal at times. (Though, isnโ€™t everyone?) I loved him too much for that to scare me offโ€ฆuntil he blatantly told me to fuck off. Soโ€ฆthat sucked.

The Present

Iโ€™ve moved on with my life. I hardly thought about him for a long time – Just fleeting thoughts, wondering how heโ€™s doing, wishing he were around to share bits of my life with. Overall, I was too busy living.

I donโ€™t know what sparked him back in my mind. I really donโ€™t.

Iโ€™ve noticed that grief works in cycles, at least for me. Part of me thinks this might just be my brain still grieving the relationship we had. Especially since I never fully understood why we donโ€™t still have that.

Little random things keep happening too, that remind me of him. Which makes me wonder if the universe is trying to tell me something. Which might be silly. But it also might not.

The Future

So, Iโ€™m going to see Reverend Horton Heat. He introduced me to them a million years ago, and theyโ€™ve since become my favorite driving tunes.

I wonโ€™t get my hopes up about him being there. But they kinda are, I’m not gonna lie. lol

I wonโ€™t get my hopes up about him being happy to see me. But I donโ€™t really care (not gonna lie). If heโ€™s not, Iโ€™ll still enjoy the show. And a couple beers. And no screaming children.

I just donโ€™t want to waste any more time. I hate wasting time, cuz tomorrow is never promised and the โ€œALS gene time bombโ€ ticks louder in my ear every year.

If thereโ€™s ever anything I can do about anything, I always want to do it now.

And itโ€™s so hard to connect with people these days, especially since COVID – Iโ€™d rather hold onto those I know I love, while I can.


Lifeโ€™s too damn short to wonder what if forever.

If youโ€™ve got someone on your mind lately โ€” a friend, a flame, or even a ghost โ€” maybe this is your nudge to reach out.

โœจ Drop a comment if youโ€™ve ever chased closure, connection, or just needed a night to feel alive again. Iโ€™m listening.

And hey, wish me luck. Either way. ๐Ÿป

Where Iโ€™m at #9

โ€œWhere Iโ€™m atโ€ posts are just random updates about whatโ€™s going on in my life at any random time, based on the areas / roles in my life.

  • planner : Hm. Iโ€™m not much of a planner anymore, heh. Normally Iโ€™d be all about adventures this time of year, but we donโ€™t have much time to work with because of homeschool & kidsโ€™ extracurricular activities. Next party weโ€™re due for is Tie Dye, but only one of my invited guests is gonna be able to make itโ€ฆI think (which is fine cuz SiLโ€™s my fave lol) – Iโ€™m looking forward to dying some onesies for my step granddaughter hehe. Then BooBooโ€™s bestieโ€™s bday party is gonna be at some bumper car thing, so that should be fun. And Iโ€™m hoping to go to a concert by myself later in the month (cuz OMFG I need some โ€œmeโ€ time!!! And I need to see if my old friend is still aroundโ€ฆcuz I miss him too muchโ€ฆ)
  • self (body & mind, emotion & education) : Hmmmโ€ฆ Iโ€™m hanging in there. Iโ€™ve been on a pretty strict but enjoyable diet & exercise routine, and Iโ€™ve lost about 5 lbs the past month! More importantly – I feel pretty great (except my scoliosis is pretty mad at me, but whatever heh). My mindโ€™s been a bit chaotic though, to be honest. Lots swirling around my mind – been trying to get it to go somewhere, but itโ€™s still fighting with me. (Shouldnโ€™t force it, I know. Meditate & be patient, I know.)
  • marriage : Doing pretty well! Trying. Heโ€™s been doing pretty good, & Iโ€™ve been trying to support that. Iโ€™m just glad things are finally settling down after the chaos weโ€™ve been navigating together the past couple years.
  • mom (BooBoo & Bubby) : The girls areโ€ฆkids. LOL. Small children are terrorists, I swear (is my blog being flagged for using that word?!? LOL) Everyone has their cycles – theyโ€™re in a particularly challenging time right now lol
  • teacher (K & PK) : Oh boy. Among thoughts swirling & not going anywhere productive is homeschool. Iโ€™ve got so much to do, & I want to do so much more, but I have to find time to do it, andโ€ฆAAAGH! Plus, Iโ€™ve gotta get all the legal stuff situated for BooBoo to go into first grade – yippie skippie hehe. Theyโ€™re doing good, though. BooBoo can read like a champ at this point, & sheโ€™s been really enjoying working on math more. Bubbyโ€™s starting to identify more letters & numbers, so I guess patience is key with dyslexia (though weโ€™re not completely sure if sheโ€™s dyslexic or just stubborn heh). Both girls are enjoying the KiwiBox Tinker Crate, where they have to assemble their toys & understand how they work before they use them (yay STEM! lol)
  • zB : Ugggggh. (Sorry for all the frustration LOL!) Iโ€™m sick of writing SEO optimized, audience focused, butter & sugar bullshit content. I’ve enjoyed what I’ve written, butโ€ฆ While algorithms & Google trends love articles like โ€œ26 ways to be more vibrant than Blippiโ€, I’m kinda making myself nauseous lol. I’d like to maintain the edgy self help bend, but not exclusively. Entertainment, communityโ€ฆand whatever’s truly on my mind at the time – that’s where I’d like zenBLITZ to head from here on.
  • homemaker : Fuck all that. Like, all of it. LOL. Noโ€ฆfinances are fine, cleaning isnโ€™t as important as other things, yardwork is my jam when itโ€™s not fucking raining, and thatโ€™s it. I refuse to make travel plans until the skoolie is ready to go, & itโ€™s very much not, so…

Currently

eating : Lots of fucking salads! LOL

drinking : Water, wine, & coffee

watching : Poker Face is pretty good. And Twisted Metal. Younger, of course.

reading : Still working on โ€œEverything is Fuckedโ€ by Mark Manson, but Iโ€™m struggling to find time for it lately

playing : with the kiddos

buying : stuff to tie dye

listening to : All kinds of stuff I forgot I liked!

celebrating : Summer!!!

pinning : Green Day, homeschool, exercise

planning : Tie Dye party, baby shower

feeling : Unsureโ€ฆ

Where Iโ€™m At #8

โ€œAll I want for Easter is my 2 front teethโ€ ๐Ÿ˜‚

โ€œWhere Iโ€™m atโ€ posts are just regular updates about whatโ€™s going on, based on the areas / roles in my life. Any particular goals Iโ€™m working on will be highlighted, so you can easily see what Iโ€™m actively working on improving. Leave a comment & give me ideas for things youโ€™d like to see me write individual posts about!

  • planner : I SOO want to do a BuJo again, & it just doesnโ€™t make any sense lol! I use my blog BuJo, but I miss setting up daily pages for my life – adding stickers & washi, & just having a linear notebook. Itโ€™s such a waste of time & money though. Notion has been rocking my world for like a year now lol. Anyway, Iโ€™m planning for BooBooโ€™s 6th birthday – I hope she has fun!! Our little tea party this past month was cute & fun (& I found out Iโ€™m gonna be a step grandma! Omfg!! ๐Ÿ˜ญ) And I really need to plan a concert or 2 this summer – itโ€™s been too long (last show I went to was Flogging Molly in 2019 ๐Ÿ˜ญ)!
  • self (body & mind, emotion & education) : Well, Iโ€™ve been on a pretty interesting DIY diet & doing more intentional exercise, & itโ€™s all been going pretty well (as far as I can tell) – I feel better, overall. (Stay tuned for my next post to see why Iโ€™m going crazy with it now, heh.) I set up a class that Iโ€™ve been taking with ChatGPT on various topics within Stoicism, Buddhism, & psychology, & Iโ€™ve been loving every second of it!
  • marriage (relationship & libido) : Allโ€™s pretty good hehe. Weโ€™re both working on being more intentional with our time together. I got my wedding rings resized, & so Iโ€™m super excited to be able to wear them all the time again!!!
  • mom (BooBoo & Bubby) : The girls are good! Both are super excited to get outside more!
  • teacher (K & PK) : Schoolโ€™s been chugging along. They both love science & art. Bubbyโ€™s doctor agrees that sheโ€™s probably dyslexic, so I need to have her tested with the school soon – Hubbyโ€™s dyslexic, so heโ€™s been working with her to identify letters more โค๏ธ
  • zB : Iโ€™m loving writing this blog! ๐Ÿฅฐ I started a weekly newsletter (sign up here!), & Iโ€™m hoping to expand it a bit in the future, but Iโ€™m glad Iโ€™ve got it started hehe. Iโ€™m working on my social media strategy this month, but Iโ€™m a bit behind because I needed to write an extra post for the month heh. Thatโ€™s ok though – โ€œThrow the timeline out the window, itโ€™ll take what it takes!โ€
  • homemaker (finance, cleaning, gardening, prepping, travel) : Uhโ€ฆ Allโ€™s pretty good! Lots of cleaning to do, but at least Iโ€™m keeping up with maintenance fairly well heh. Iโ€™ve decided to say fuck it to the garden this year; hubby can do what he wants, if he wants. Same with travel – Iโ€™ll wait til our bus is ready to camp in before I bother to start making plans.

Currently

eating : Vegetables LOL

drinking : black coffee โ˜•

watching : Echoes seems pretty interesting. Younger is still a favorite! Alpha Males has been pretty funny!

reading : Everything is Fucked by Mark Manson

playing : Nothing, really

buying : Birthday gifts for BooBoo, & Pair Eyewear (Iโ€™m excited – hopefully theyโ€™re not too dorky hehe)

listening to : โ€œWish I Knew Youโ€ by The Revivalists, โ€œRevolution Radioโ€ by Green Day, & โ€œBurritosโ€ by Sublime are current favorites

celebrating : BooBoo!!

pinning : Green Day, exercise, fashion, & food

planning : BooBooโ€™s bday

feeling : Ok. My backโ€™s been bothering me a lot though ๐Ÿ˜•

Where I’m At #7

Yum!

โ€œWhere Iโ€™m atโ€ posts are just updates about whatโ€™s going on in my life at any random time, based on the areas / roles in my life. Any particular goals Iโ€™m working on will be highlighted, so you can easily see what Iโ€™m actively working on improving. Leave a comment & give me ideas for things youโ€™d like to see me write individual posts about!

Warning : Itโ€™s been a rough month, Iโ€™m not gonna lieโ€ฆ

  • planner : Well, I set up a whole fondue party, only one of my guests RSVPd (however, 2 of the guests RSVPd to that guest instead of me, and at the last minute one of those guests informed us she was bringing 3 additional people)โ€ฆso, luckily, my youngest caught a cold & I had to cancel the party LOL. We did, however, enjoy an overnight stay at a local hotel! We went out for a nice ambient dinner & took advantage of the pool at the hotel, which the kids absolutely loved! I would definitely recommend this kind of โ€œstaycationโ€ to anyone who needs it! Next month, weโ€™ll be hosting a tea party for the girls, but Iโ€™m only inviting the one guest who RSVPd to the last one lol – fuck everyone else (sorry, not sorry). Not sure yet what mini adventure weโ€™ll be embarking on – Iโ€™m thinking maybe rollerskating or mini golf. Weโ€™ll see!
  • self (body & mind, emotion & education) : Iโ€™ve been quite unhappy this month – lots of stuff on my mind. One big thing is that I had annual lab work done & my doctorโ€™s office said my cholesterol is a bit elevated and so I need to improve my diet & exercise and do follow up lab work in six months (Iโ€™ll be working on a related post soon!)
  • marriage (relationship & libido) : Heโ€™s been driving me crazy. Iโ€™m working hard to figure out how to deal with it.
  • mom (BooBoo & Bubby) : The girls are good! BooBoo got her yellow belt in karate, and Bubby started gymnastics this past month! I think Bubby caught her cold at gymnastics though because a lot of the parents there donโ€™t seem willing to keep their kids home when theyโ€™re sick (literally every little kid there is snotting all over the place – so gross!) So now weโ€™re all sick (especially me & Bubby!)
  • teacher (K & PK) : Having lots of fun with school, and BooBoo is always surprising herself when she can read things! Bubby is identifying more letters, but Iโ€™m still a little concerned that she might have inherited hubbyโ€™s dyslexia – so, we just go a bit easy with her, & push her pace a little but not too much.
  • zB : I actually upgraded my site! LOL. I wanted to start a weekly newsletter, and I needed a proper domain, so I finally bought zen-blitz.com – and Iโ€™m excited hehe! (Sign up for my weekly newsletter here & get a free set of journaling prompts!)
  • homemaker (finance, cleaning, gardening, prepping, travel) : Really havenโ€™t had time for much of any of this stuff (except for planning the overnight trip to the hotel).
  • witch : Trying to meditate more often. Hopefully my mind will calm down a bit soonโ€ฆ

Currently

eating : Gazpacho pasta salad! lol

drinking : Chamomile mint tea with honey

watching : White Lotus & The Baldwins on Max, and Sisters Feud, Alpha Males, & Younger on Netflix. And the new Daredevil series on Disney+, but Iโ€™m not sure how much I like it yet.

reading : Everything is Fucked by Mark Manson

playing : Fruit Merge on my phone

buying : Shoes for everyone but me heh

listening to : Stray Heart by Green Day

celebrating : Spring!

pinning : Green Day, homeschool, self care, journaling

planning : Tea party, mini adventure, & garden

feeling : Kinda shitty, to be honest

Where I’m At #5

โ€œWhere Iโ€™m atโ€ posts are just random updates about whatโ€™s going on in my life at any random time, based on the areas / roles in my life. Any particular goals Iโ€™m working on will be highlighted, so you can easily see what Iโ€™m actively working on improving. Leave a comment & give me ideas for things youโ€™d like to see me write individual posts about!

  • planner : I have a lot of projects planned for February! Iโ€™m finishing up my digital audit as Iโ€™m writing this, which is always quite a relief – I must have deleted a zillion things I didnโ€™t even know I had! I still have to audit 10 years of Google Photos, but thatโ€™s another project all its own. (ETA : I realized I should add auditing my PKM to the list too, because the chaos Iโ€™ve created there is stressing me out – โ€œactionability โ€ฆ only save things that contribute to current projects & areas โ€ฆ itโ€™s not a museum of knowledge if you donโ€™t absorb or utilize the information!โ€) Next monthโ€™s projects include a โ€œWhat a Crock-Potluck Revival Partyโ€ (we havenโ€™t had a crockpot party in a while, so I thought weโ€™d get back on that wagon), I want to make an โ€œOh Shit!โ€ notebook (in case I get hit by a dump truck & my husband needs to know things he doesnโ€™t normally care about), as well as planning for fun stuff in warmer weather (travel, tattoos, concerts, etc)
  • self (body & mind, emotion & education) : Forever working on my eating habits – I’ve been focusing on eating more consistently throughout the day because I have a bad habit of barely eating until dinnertime, and then going a little too crazy (cuz I love my dinner recipes! ๐Ÿ˜‹) I’ve been sleeping kind of crappy because I really like my quiet time in the mornings, and I should probably get back to my exercise routine, butโ€ฆnot right now ๐Ÿ˜† My brain’s been doing pretty good lol – Lots of fun ideas abound, feeling pretty chill (albeit a little cabin fever), and learning all kinds of interesting things about blogging!
  • marriage (relationship & libido) : Not doing too bad here, actually! Humor keeps things interesting lol
  • mom (BooBoo & Bubby) : The girls are doing pretty good, though I’m sure they can’t wait til it’s warm enough to go outside every day! They’ve been keeping busy drawing, painting, & playing with their dolls mostly. And enjoying a little bit of Legs Marvel Superheroes on Xbox hehe
  • teacher (K & PK) : They’ve been doing really well with school, though it was hard getting back into the rhythm after the holidays. BooBoo surprises us (& herself!) every day with how well she can read already, and Bubby is getting really good at tracing lines
  • zB : Having a lot of fun (& driving myself absolutely crazy!) trying to choose which direction to go with everything related to the blog & products to create & everything. I know I’m overcomplicating everything though lol! I’ve been learning a lot about SEO, optimization tools (like Buffer for automating social media posts), and everything in between. (My brain hurts. ๐Ÿคช)
  • homemaker (finance, cleaning, gardening, prepping, travel) : Everything’s fine & dandy here! I need to rebalance our general finances, which I keep putting off. Been maintaining the cleaning, but not really making any progress (no time!) And I’m looking forward to travel & garden planning soon!

Currently

eating : crockpot dinners

drinking : hot lime water, & hot grapefruit water (way better than lemon water!)

watching : Hubby keeps trying to make me watch movies. I don’t generally have the attention span for movies. Blink Twice was pretty good. Back to Action was pretty terrible. The show Younger hasn’t been too bad. And surprisingly, the series Maxton Hall has been pretty interesting. And Ripley, omg, that was actually pretty good lol!

reading – Nothing. I haven’t really had much interest in any particular books lately. But I’ve kept up with my Daily Stoic Journal every day!

playing : Board games with the girls, especially Candy Land hehe โ˜บ๏ธ

buying : Not much. Went a little crazy on Temu because I really needed a new winter coat. I also ended up with a couple gifts for hubby, gloves, some new eyebrow rings, and a bunch of other things I’ll be surprised to see when they come ๐Ÿ˜…

listening to : My โ€œTunesโ€ playlist on YouTube – lots of Green Day & Foxboro Hot Tubs, Reverend Horton Heat, & โ€œWish I Knew Youโ€ by the Revivalists (me & hubby’s dating anthem hehe)

celebrating : Midwinter & Valentine’s Day

pinning : wallpapers, self care, Green Day

planning – projects, a party, goals

feeling – generally good, but a bit restless!

Where are you at? Let me know in the comments below!! ๐Ÿ˜€

Where I’m At #4

โ€œWhere Iโ€™m atโ€ posts are just random updates about whatโ€™s going on in my life at any random time, based on the areas / roles in my life. Any particular goals Iโ€™m working on will be highlighted, so you can easily see what Iโ€™m actively working on improving (and see that I do try to practice what I preach). Leave a comment & give me ideas for things youโ€™d like to see me write individual posts about!

Hi everyone! Itโ€™s been a rough month for my family – we all got COVID mid-November, & apparently weโ€™re all still dealing with the aftermath. Yeah, seriously. My kidsโ€™ pediatrician told me I was probably misdiagnosed with a sinus infection because she said theyโ€™ve regularly seen some COVID symptoms lasting up to 15 weeks. So thereโ€™s that.

On a better note, our holidays were lovely, & I hope yours was as well!

Letโ€™s get into how December went for meโ€ฆ

  • planner : I actually just switched up my Notion setup a little bit! My main dashboard is now a gallery view of the PARA method, with โ€œProjectsโ€ being the equivalent of my planner. โ€œAreasโ€ are the equivalent of the roles you see here, with each area having a separate page & each relevant page having a section for tasks & notes. I like it a lot so far! Also, Iโ€™m really excited to move into a new journal! Iโ€™ve made an entire year fit into an A5 Stalogy for the second year in a row, & that poor notebook is about to explode!
  • self (body & mind, emotion & education) : Iโ€™ve really been struggling with my diet & exercise ever since I first got sick; thatโ€™s a real challenge for me – picking back up after illness. (Something for me to work on!) Iโ€™ve really been enjoying journaling & writing my blog posts; havenโ€™t been terribly interested in reading any books lately (I keep trying to read Tim Ferrissโ€™ 4 Hour Workweek because I like his writing style & some of his ideas, but I just canโ€™t stay interested.) Emotionally, Iโ€™ve been pretty up & down because of being sick. Bleh.
  • marriage : Weโ€™ve been rediscovering old ways to have adventures, considering the weather. Itโ€™s been fun going โ€œwindow shoppingโ€ & spontaneous restaurants for dinner!
  • mom (BooBoo & Bubby) : The girls have been great, despite having a very persistent cough. Their favorite Xmas gifts included some Magna Tiles, Miraculous Dolls, & Furblets lol
  • teacher (K & PK) : Weโ€™ve been taking it easy this month, to prep for & enjoy the holidays. Weโ€™ve worked through the curriculum a little bit when they felt like it, but most of this monthโ€™s education centered around the science of the changing seasons, measuring ingredients for homemade treats, playing games, & doing holiday worksheets.
  • zB : Had to move some things around because I was really struggling to maintain focus this month, & I wasnโ€™t sure if Iโ€™d have enough posts ready for the month, but I somehow managed to pull everything together & Iโ€™m excited to share those with you!!!
  • homemaker (finance, cleaning, travel) : I donโ€™t even wanna talk about the finances this month LOL – I just keep telling myself โ€œtis the season!โ€ Iโ€™ve gotten a lot more cleaning done with us not focusing so much on school, so thatโ€™s good. And Iโ€™ve been trying to plan some interesting adventures for these cold & snowy months – Weโ€™ll see what happens!
  • witch – Nothing going on here; I really should try to find some time to at least meditate more regularly, though I do a little bit every night.
  • reseller – Absolutely nothing going on here, besides a couple of sales. Iโ€™m still very much in limbo about how I want to go about my whole resale business right now & in the future. Itโ€™s just not a priority.

Currently

eating – Lots of soup!

drinking – Hot lime water ๐Ÿ˜‹

watching – Beast Games, Xmas movies, Lincoln Lawyer, & finished Royal Pains just in time for it to leave Netflix!

reading – Blog posts

playing – โ€œBeat the Parents โ€œ & โ€œWould You Rather?โ€ (card games from the Dollar Tree that I got the kids hehe)

buying – All kinds of stuff we donโ€™t need, just cuz itโ€™s discounted post-holiday (we really need to put the brakes on! LOL)

listening to – Rain!

celebrating – My youngest is turning 4! ๐Ÿฅณ

pinning – self care, journaling, homeschool stuff, & Green Day lol

planning – Kiddoโ€™s bday, goals

feeling – Excited for a new year!

How was your December, & what are you looking forward to in January? Let me know in the comments below!!

And if youโ€™d like, feel free to use this free desktop background I made on Canva for whatever youโ€™d like (I was just screwing around while I was sick, hehe) ๐Ÿ˜˜

See you next week!!

Where Iโ€™m at #1

โ€œWhere Iโ€™m atโ€ posts are just random updates about whatโ€™s going on in my life at any random time, based on the areas / roles in my life. Any particular goals Iโ€™m working on will be highlighted, so you can easily see what Iโ€™m actively working on improving (and see that I do try to practice what I preach). Leave a comment & give me ideas for things youโ€™d like to see me write individual posts about!

  • planner : Iโ€™m loving Notion. I forgot that I enjoy moving blocks around like I used to when WordPress first started using that system (I think before I even originally started this blog!) So once I realized you have to play with Notion on a computer and not your phone, a whole new world opened up for me lol! Now I pretty much do everything on Notion, and I love every second of it!!!
  • self (body & mind, emotion & education) : My #1 goals right now is to eat more mindfully & exercise more. So, Iโ€™ve been making sure that I eat a lot of protein & produce every day, trying to eat more consistently throughout the day (since Iโ€™m the type to graze a little & then go overboard at dinner), and paying attention to my portions. Itโ€™s a lot of work, but Iโ€™m definitely making progress because I feel a lot better (and thatโ€™s the goal!) Iโ€™ve implemented a quick 15 minute exercise routine every morning, I do a little exercise with my kids when we do school, and Iโ€™ve been doing a few minutes of yoga at night. And I started a habit I like to call Squatty Potty LOL (nothing to do with the Shark Tank idea!) – Every time I go to the bathroom, I do 5 squats lol! I like it actually!! ๐Ÿ˜† As for mind, Iโ€™ve been trying to write in my A5 Stalogy journal more often, and Iโ€™ve been working on a proper PARA PKM setup on Notion (of course).
  • marriage (relationship & libido) : My second most important goal! Hubby & I have been through a lot over the past couple years, so Iโ€™m really trying to focus on improving our marriage right now. Iโ€™ve been reading a lot of articles on the topic, and making sure that I am giving all the affection that I want to get. And itโ€™s been working! Weโ€™re pretty happy right now, though thereโ€™s always improvements to be made. A lot of it has just been a shift in perspective. As for my libidoโ€ฆ Iโ€™ve always had a low libido. Even though Hubbyโ€™s a wonderful lover, I just donโ€™tโ€ฆI donโ€™t know! I really donโ€™t know. Iโ€™m always trying to do too many things, honestly, and I have trouble slowing down to make love I guess! But Iโ€™m trying. Iโ€™m making sure we donโ€™t go very long without some intimate time, and I try to flirt with him a bit every day. We used to get yelled at in restaurants for making out at our table LOL, but we have kids now, so we donโ€™t even get to go out on dates hardly ever, unfortunately. Which is another thing Iโ€™ve been working on correcting. Anyway! I took a course on DailyOm last year which focused on tantra called โ€œSacred Sexuality: Open the Energy of Intimacyโ€, which I really enjoyed. I might try another course they have, โ€œRadical Intimacyโ€, which seems to touch on a lot of similar ideas. Weโ€™ll see.
  • mom (BooBoo & Bubby) : As Iโ€™m writing this, Booboo is sick. Sheโ€™s just got a bit of a cold. I blame the triplets she was hanging out with at the library, even though they didnโ€™t seem sick. Gotta blame someone, right?!? LOL! I always get nervous when she gets sick because she had a fever seizure the one time, & it freaked me right out. But sheโ€™s in good spirits. But very snotty lol. Bubbyโ€™s doing great! She really loves watching Baby Bus on YouTube, which is actually fairly educational! And she also loves playing with dolls.
  • teacher (K & PK) : School is going pretty well. I dropped Busy Toddlerโ€™s Playing Preschool year 2 for Bubby for now because I felt like it was too advanced for her, and weโ€™re just doing Easy Peasy All in One Homeschoolโ€™s Kindergarten & Preschool. Theyโ€™re really enjoying it! Boobooโ€™s been working through phonics (she had a lot of trouble & irritation with sight words), and sheโ€™s doing absolutely awesome with it! She can practically read anything she tries to!
  • zB : My โ€œIkigaiโ€! Iโ€™m having a lot f fun doing research & making a plan to take zenBLITZ to a whole other level by blogging more and eventually working on more products & services such as workbooks, printable stationery, & eventually private coaching. Iโ€™m just too excited!!!
  • homemaker (finance, cleaning, gardening, prepping, travel) : Uh, yeah. LOL. Iโ€™ve actually been keeping up with housework fairly well. I just audited the fridge, freezer, & pantry, and I found a bunch of stuff in the pantry that we need to get creative with before it ends up in the trash. Hubby used up the Frenchโ€™s fried onions last night in a delicious green bean casserole. Finances are going well. Gonna need to wrap up the garden pretty soon – weโ€™ve still got zucchini, tomatoes, peppers, & herbs producing goodness (when the groundhog lets them!) Ya know, I got one of those motion sensors that are supposed to deter animals, but I donโ€™t think some of them give a crap about it! It emits a high pitched noise when it gets set off, & Iโ€™m the only human I know who can actually hear it. And it drives me crazy! Why doesnโ€™t the groundhog care?!? Prepping & travel are on the backburner. Weโ€™re usually pretty well prepped for events like snowstorms, power outages, or pandemics lol. We did just get a Jackery portable power station, though, & Hubbyโ€™s all excited & wants to get some new solar panels for it. Itโ€™s pretty awesome, Iโ€™d definitely recommend it! And as for travelโ€ฆ I had plans to go on a nice road trip, but that got derailed by Hubbyโ€™s household projects. Especially since he wanted to turn his mini school bus into our camper, & itโ€™s not quite ready yet. Maybe next year.
  • witch : Iโ€™ve been meditating daily, and playing with my Happy Grimoire (Iโ€™ll have to share that soon, itโ€™s pretty sweet!) And we did a nice little homeschool lesson designed by ChatGPT for Mabon, which we all really enjoyed : Booboo learned a bit about equinoxes (sheโ€™s really into โ€œspaceโ€), we read about an orchard, we baked some muffins, and we went on an autumn scavenger hunt. It was really fun. We still gotta get to the local orchard, and make a collage with our scavenger hunt findings though! Iโ€™m looking forward to planning for Samhain soon!
  • reseller : Ugh. I donโ€™t really enjoy reselling anymore. I have a goal to get the shops in full gear for Q4 so I can at least make enough money to pay off my associated credit card, but I have no enthusiasm for it! I think next year Iโ€™m just gonna pivot to local sales so Hubby can have something to do cuz thatโ€™s really why I got into it in the first place. Iโ€™d rather focus my efforts on zenBLITZ!
  • Other things Iโ€™ve been interested in lately :
    • Digital Minimalism : Trying not to spend too much time on my phone. Laptop is for morning productivity. But Iโ€™m trying not to get too distracted by reading stuff throughout the day. Iโ€™m working on being more intentional about the content I consume, I should say.
    • Capsule wardrobe / daily uniform : I didnโ€™t realize I already pretty much have a โ€œdaily uniformโ€, but I do have certain items I wear for certain occasions. And I didnโ€™t realize I already pretty much have a capsule wardrobe, but I kinda do! I limit myself to certain numbers of certain items! I review my wardrobe twice a year, when I switch my closet to summer or winter clothes! I do need to pair it down quite a bit now because thereโ€™s a lot of things that either donโ€™t fit me or I donโ€™t like, so Iโ€™m glad Iโ€™ll be switching my closet for cold weather soon lol!
    • Meal prepping : I was always really against meal prepping. But I got inspired by Shutterbeanโ€™s super lax meal prepping philosophy, and Iโ€™ve tried it out the past couple weeks, and I really like it! I donโ€™t prep every single thing, but I prep whatever I feel is manageable to help the week go more smoothly. More on this in a future post!

Currently

eating : protein & produce!

drinking : water, coffee with ID Pumpkin Spice creamer (itโ€™s the only pumpkin spice I really like hehe)

watching : The Mayfair Witches, The Penguin, Resident Alien, Sweet Tooth, Dead Boy Detectives

reading : The 4 Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss, Good Morning Good Life by Amy Landino, & The Homeschooling Starter Guide by Gina Riley. I read a little bit of whatever strikes me each day.

playing : Russian Roulette with my free time LOL

buying : groceries ๐Ÿคช

listening to : YouTube planner videos

celebrating : my birthday soon!

pinning : homeschool ideas, recipes, planner spreads

planning : a very busy October!

feeling : tired, optimistic, excited