“A woman with a voice is, by definition, a strong woman.” – Melinda Gates

I am changing things up on Toast to Post for the new year.  Being a twin mom to almost five-month olds and working a full-time job with an hour commute each way, I don’t exactly have an abundance of free time on my hands.  Toast to Post blog is my passion, but I had to find a way to make it work with my schedule.  One of the ideas I came up with is doing one post a week, titled oh so cleverly ‘The Monday Post.’  I’ll discuss different topics each week – everything from what I’m currently reading, trends I’m loving, what I’m wearing, a recipe I can’t wait to try, home décor ideas, holiday decorating, etc.

Goals

For the first installment of ‘The Monday Post,’ I’d like to start off with somewhat of a follow up from my last post (you can read here.)  I discussed why I’m not setting a new year’s resolution, but rather, setting 2019 goals.  By now, we are a full week into the new year, so you’ve probably been extremely motivated to work towards accomplishing your goals.  But we all know as time goes on, it becomes harder and harder to keep up with them.  Use this post as a reminder that you set whatever goal for a reason.  Remember the toothbrush analogy – just because you forget to brush your teeth one night doesn’t mean you quit and you’re done forever…. you’ll just wake up the next morning and brush them again.  The same rule applies for your goal – just get yourself back on track.  Something that I’ve found to be extremely useful in staying on track is journaling.  Two to three times a week, before going to bed, I pull out my journal and record thoughts, feelings, and experiences I’ve had in the last several days.  This helps me reflect on my goals for the year and determine whether I’m working to accomplish them.  For me, there is tremendous power in the physical act of writing something down. This journal from Pottery Barn (linked below) stays by my bedside for easy access and has become a great way for me to wind down at night.

Me Time

Me time: time spent relaxing on one’s own as opposed to working or doing things for others, seen as an opportunity to reduce stress or restore energy

There are many effects that stress can have on the human body.  Stress can affect your nervous, musculoskeletal, respiratory, cardiovascular, endocrine, gastrointestinal, and reproductive systems.  It can cause rapid breathing, headaches, high blood pressure, insomnia, depression, and risk of heart attacks, just to name a few.  One of the ways we can manage stress is to perform a stress reducing activity, aka “me time.”  Examples include running, yoga, meditation, massage, pedicure, game night, happy hour, reading, sleeping, etc.  I took some time out to get a massage last week, and I can’t even begin to tell you how amazing it felt.  Ninety minutes of complete stillness – no phone, social media, etc.  I walked out of the spa feeling refreshed and almost like a new person.  I was then able to focus the rest of the weekend on accomplishing items off of my to do list. I think we (speaking as a mom now) get so focused on what we need to do for everyone else in the family, it is hard to slow down and take time for ourselves.  It is so important to take care of yourself – because what kind of a parent/spouse/friend will you be if you are run down, unhealthy, and miserable? For other me time ideas, read this post.

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MCurrently Loving

This K. Carroll Accessories Harper Crossbody came as a late Christmas present, and I am obsessed with it. I have it in plaid, but it comes in 32 different colors. Perfect for throwing in your phone, lipstick, and key fob. Oh and did I mention it was listed as one of Oprah’s favorite things 🙂

I finished Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover right at the end of 2018. Tara does a fabulous job of retelling her life story from growing up in rural Idaho with a deeply religious father who always thought it was the end of the world to going to college (although never going to a public school) and finding success for herself. I got really caught up in reading fictional stories for a while, so throughout this book I kept having to remind myself that this is a true story and Tara really lived the events she discusses. Some of the events in her life seem like they should have been made up, too.

After much anticipation, the concert line up for the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo was released last week. The rodeo kicks off on February 25 with a performance by Kacey Musgraves and concludes on March 17 with a George Strait performance…….sigh. To find the full list of entertainers, click here.

Hope you all recover from your Golden Globes hangover and have a fabulous week! PS – Emily Blunt and John Krasinski are total #couplegoals. See ya next Monday for The Monday Post #2 – back to work outfits after maternity leave and what you can do at your desk/office that will work towards your fitness goals are a few things to be covered.

Cheers – MP