Things That Made Me Happy This Month | January
Things I did, bought, ate, or drank this month that brought a little joy.
The month that’s lasted 50 years, yeah? Some people love the fresh start of January. I usually feel like it’s just a bleak 31 days, if I’m honest. The holidays are over, winter is just winter-ing (we had a good stretch of below-zero temps this month), and I’m over it.
If you’re new here: hi, I have anxiety, and we talk about it a lot 🫠 Many moons ago, my therapist explained to me that anxiety brains love black-and-white thinking. To us, things are categorized as either A or B, this or that. They do not like gray areas. But life is gray. Very rarely do our days fall squarely into the “good day” box or “bad day” box.
So, I’m actively working on the gray. And something that’s really helping me is consciously picking out the good in the ordinary—things that bring me joy, even on a hard day. Because even the hard days are stuffed full of good moments. And when you’re on the lookout for them, you’ll realize your day is far more good than it is bad.
So, friends, here are some things that made me happy this month:
Introducing a paid subscription here on Substack. If you missed the update, I added a paid subscription option to my Substack! A portion of all proceeds from paid subscriptions will be donated to a different foundation or cause each month (we’re kicking things off with the ACLU for February).
These Meri Meri construction-themed party goods. Remember that baby who was just pulled out of my belly three seconds ago? Yeah, he turned TWO last week. TWO YEARS OLD. And he’s saying words like “actually” and “excavator” and “stethoscope.” Speaking of excavators, he is positively obsessed with them. We’re hosting his family birthday party this weekend, and I grabbed a few things from Meri Meri. With excavators. Because obviously.
I Hope This Finds You Well. THIS BOOK. IS ADORABLE. I gave it five stars on Goodreads, which is a big deal for me. It’s about a woman in a monotonous corporate job who, through an IT mix-up, gets access to her entire department’s email inboxes and DMs. It’s cute and hilarious and secretly beautiful. I loved it. It’s also currently on Kindle Unlimited, KU has really been stepping up their game.
This pink gingham Hydrojug. I’m a sucker for drink receptacles. My love runs deep, and I’m fairly certain David has snuck one or two into the dumpster when I wasn’t looking because he’s convinced I have too many. (No such thing. Go away.) When I saw this, I had to have it.
The Pitt. If you were as obsessed with ER as I was, you’re going to flip over this new show on MAX. Noah Wyle (aka hottie Dr. Carter circa 1998) plays an emergency physician in Pittsburgh. It’s just so good, and from what I’ve been hearing on TikTok, pretty accurate to life in the ED.
This toy Dyson. Second only to his love for excavators is his obsession with our vacuum. We got him this fake Dyson that looks IDENTICAL to our real vacuum, and it even makes noise. He loves it.
The Tangle newsletter. One thing that has made me infinitely more sane this month is not watching the news 🙃 If you want to be completely unplugged right now, love that for you. Personally, I feel a strong need to stay tuned in in a healthy way (as in, not doomscrolling), with an unbiased source. I’ve mentioned this newsletter before, but I’m still relying heavily on Tangle right now. It’s incredibly neutral—it offers a straight recap of the day’s events and includes opinions and sources from the left, right, and center. Highly recommend.
Olive & June Gel Polish. I’ve been a gel girl forever. During lockdown, I bought a gel kit and taught myself how to do it. I do LOVE dip, but it’s expensive, and I just don’t have the time to keep up with it. O&J released a gel kit a few months ago, and I snagged it immediately. DIY gel absolutely has a learning curve, and removal is the hardest part. But I love being able to do it from home.
Goodles. We get the “regular” Goodles for B at Costco (which are by far the best tasting boxed mac & cheese), but we found fancy flavors at Target. DANG, MAN. The Twist My Parm flavor is unreal. We added some chicken for more protein, threw together a side salad—boom. Dinner.
Good things coming. We’re starting to plan for baby #2. YIKES. We met with our doctor earlier this month to come up with a game plan for the year and I’m excited, scared, nervous, grateful—all the things. The roller coaster that is IVF is a wild one, but I’m grateful to have a shot.
What made you happy this month? Share with us!
Happy almost February! Thanks for being here!
What a fun list! Best of luck for your plans for baby #2!!