Hi! After a particularly longish 3 days of work, I feel like the ground gobbled me up and spit me back out.

just kidding. I am not challenging life to come at me. I know better by now.

But yeah, the past few days were a swirl of deadlines, panicky vibes, and just stuff no one wants to think about on the weekend. Maybe it’s just because it was the first week I had to dip my toes back into full-on work after my semi-sabbatical, or maybe it’s because those 3 weeks I had off let me reflect on all the ways living like I was is not how it’s supposed to be, but I am exhausted to what-feels-like my honest to god bones. I had planned to finish up some freelance work during the week, and that intention was all-for-naught. I am going to work really hard to make sure 2019 is not going to repeat 2018 – where I was so exhausted by the weekend that all I wanted to do is lay low. On the train home last night at nearly 8 p.m., I (half asleep) joked to my friend – “not to make excuses, but this is why nothing ever gets done in our lives.” So, yeah.

On that note, I’m really here not to bitch and moan, but for the accountability portion! I am excited to report my results thus far.

I am down to two sodas a day, for a total of approximately 24 ounces of diet soda per day. I am surprised at how quickly I’ve been able to cut the amount back since I started mere days ago with a horrific caffeine migraine. I am going to keep pulling back just as swiftly, so unless I am getting excited over nothing, I should be soda-free by next week!

I am implementing the dry January idea with drinking and spending (outside of already planned events and bills) – and I am doing better on the drinking front, surprisingly. I didn’t have one drop of alcohol, not even when it was offered for my boss’s birthday toast. The spending isn’t horrible, but I have to buckle down. My intention is to have 15 or more no-spend days, and I’ve spent money the last three days (the first two I didn’t).

For exercise, I am probably not going to the gym until February, once the crowd thins. For now I am sticking with a mix of workouts from SELF and 30 day Yoga with Adrienne challenges. Other than last night, I have done that every day.

I have a ton of freelance work to do this weekend, so I am in fact laying low. I hope your new year is off to a great start!

Here are some links I think you should check out:

In Case of Emergency Binder from Smart Money Mamas – in the spirit of getting my shit together even more, I wanted to simplify all my info and documents (medical, financial, etc.) in the (hopefully) unlikely chance that something bad happens to me. If that happens, my family won’t have to scramble or stress to figure out what’s what. The binder is already organized and outlined for you, so all you have to do is follow the worksheets to get organized and ready – ICE. $29, but use code NEWYEAR19 before January 7th to get a 20% discount.

Cystic Acne solution – Although my skin has chilled out a bit, my early 30s were really fraught with random cystic (hormonal) acne – the kind that sit under the surface and both look and feel gross… and there was nothing I could really due except wait it out. This patch is amazing – I have on my wishlist (because, dry January), but what a great fix in a pinch!