Playful Rooted

What a week it was in America last week. What an uncomfortable time to be an American. What a strange reality it is that being an American can mean such different things to different people. What an embarrassment, a disaster, a disgrace. Where do we even go from here? Where will America be in five years? My brain can’t handle it, and my heart, of course, cannot either.

What helps me a little bit in times like these is thinking of the things that are still good. The world is ugly and cruel and vicious and, yet, still beautiful. So instead of completely focusing on the suck today….here are some Things That Don’t Suck:

P.volve

I feel like I’m always yakking about some new workout that I’m loving, but PEOPLE. P.volve is truly, honestly THE BEST WORKOUT I have ever tried.

I’ve always hated repetitive circuit training in other workouts (like when you do a set of exercises in a circuit and then repeat the whole circuit once or twice or three times. Gag). In P.volve, there is none of that! You never repeat a set of exercises. It’s one and done with each thing you do, which is gold in my opinion.

It’s also low impact but high intensity, meaning that you can get a GREAT workout (sweat drips down my face every time) without pushing yourself to some extreme breaking point. P.volve is founded on physical therapy, so even though it’s hard, it’s also restorative. Even the most difficult movements feel good. In addition to strength, the workouts focus a ton on mobility and flexibility, so it’s essentially training your body functionally for actual life. It’s something I find myself actually wanting to do, instead of dreading, simply because it feels good and makes my body feel better, not worse like some workouts do. Can you tell I’m a fan!? It’s so good. I’m hooked.

Winter Reading Challenge

Our local library does this reading challenge every winter; if you read five books in eight weeks, you get a free mug! I’m a real sucker for a mug. From my LONG “to-read” list, I’ve finally narrowed down my choices to these five:

• Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb
• The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix Harrow
• American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
• Anxious People by Frederik Backman
• The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

(I linked to Amazon there because I think that’s the easiest place to read descriptions and reviews. But try to support your local library or an independent bookstore!)

I’m very jazzed about each of them for different reasons. I tried to pick diverse reads for this challenge, and I think it will be an interesting eight weeks!

A “Planner” for Moms Like Me

I saw a version of this planner at my friend Taylor’s house (hey T!), and I immediately knew I needed one. I’m calling it a planner because technically it is a planner, but I don’t use it for any actual planning. Instead, it’s PERFECT as a mom journal.

If you’re like me, maybe you have baby books for each of your kids….that are still unfinished. (I have one picture in Luca’s from when he was seven months old. One. Picture. And I think all that’s in Sawyer’s right now are ultrasound photos. #goodjobmom)

But anyway, see how this planner has a horizontal space with a few lines for each day? I guess that’s where you could theoretically plan stuff. But I’m using this handy layout to record small or big or special things that happen during the day. For example, Sawyer now demands a blanket to snuggle up with before we read books. It’s the cutest thing EVER. Thus, that gets written down. Or when Luca recently read his first sentence (“see me eat”) — that one definitely got written down! It’s just a great, easy way to record the small slash huge things that I’ll be so pleased to look back on one day. And it’s way way way simpler than a baby book!

BizzyBCrafts headbands

These headbands are ubiquitous throughout the community of curly-haired girls, and I jumped on the bandwagon several months ago. Since then, I’ve turned my sister and my mom both onto them! They’re the best headbands I’ve ever tried; so soft, stretchy but not tight, and they actually stay in place. I think I have about five or six now, and I wear one several times a week. It’s a great way to feel a little more put together with just one easy accessory!

Also, I love that this is a (very!) small business. It’s literally one woman who’s based out of New York, and she packs each order individually along with a personalized note. She’s kind and hardworking and really pays attention to detail. I love supporting her and voting with my dollars. Highly recommended!

That’s my list for today. If you’re still here, it would make my life if you’d comment with a Thing That Doesn’t Suck! We all need more of those things these days, amiright?? Breathe in, breathe out….and try to focus on the good.

xo!