The month of January is 31 days but every year it feels like 300. It’s cold and dreary in IA and I am dying to have a full day of sun and warm weather.
I spent part of the month sick with the flu or cold or some form of plague that kept me in bed for 3 days and a cough that lasted 2 weeks. But it has given me some time to think about what I want for 2023 and beyond in the way of goals for myself, my business and as a family. One of my goals is to be better with my blog/website. It often falls by the wayside because I have so many other things going on but if I write it down I have to do it right? Starting small with doing a few of my favorite things post for each month, I am putting it out in the universe to help keep me honest!
Here are a few of my favorite things from the month of January.
Book: I listened to my first ever audio book and I loved it. I know that the Royal family can be controversial and many people have strong feelings towards them but I frankly love Royal history and learning anything I can about them. I think Caleb and I have watched every documentary about them on Netflix, and I have read many books about them including Prince Harry’s new book “Spare” . I chose to listen to it because I saw that he was reading it, I am a sucker for an English accent so I gave it a try! His voice is so soothing and there is something about a person reading their own story to the reader, it is a bit of a longer book and took me almost a week to listen too, I felt a type of void when it was over because I spent all those hours with his voice in my ear.
As far as the book goes I liked it and recommend it to anyone who loves Royal history, the book is broken up into 3 parts, his childhood, military and early adult life and his married life. I liked hearing about his life that I didn’t know as much about including how he handled when his mother was killed, his time in the military and the longest standing sibling rivalry with Willy, I have to admit that before reading the book I didn’t really like Meghan but that is because I was only reading what was put out in the press and whatnot, after reading the book (and yes this is only one side) I feel like she is treated unfairly and blamed for many things that are not her fault. Again I would love to hear William and Kate’s side of the story as well as King Charles but we probably won’t ever get that.
I read this on audible, I got a free credit when I signed up for a 30 day trial, I am not sure if I will continue with more audiobooks but that is one way you can listen to it or of course you can read the book.
Meal: One of my other goals for 2023 is to be better about meal planning and meal prep. I used to be so good about the meals for the week on Sunday and sticking to the plan but it seems like we are so busy lately that it gets pushed aside and dinner time is always a last minute thing which means stuff isn’t thawed out so we either order food or eat random things we find around the house. Lunchtime is something I often forget about because if I don’t have anything planned and prepared I am probably not eating, I am making it a point to eat all 3 meals a day instead of snacking or waiting too long to eat then binging chips or candy.
One of the easiest ways to ensure that I am going to eat lunch is to prepare protein ahead of time. Each week I have planned out my lunches and cooked whatever I can ahead of time. One week it was ground turkey, I used that to make salads each day with Sweet Kale mix I buy at Costco, I also meal prep sweet potatoes along with the turkey and then can throw all this in a pan to make a warm salad which is perfect on these cold days. Another week I bought a rotisserie chicken from Costco and took it off the bone which is also great for salads, flatbreads, or cauliflower fried rice.
Purchase: I have become a skincare junkie over the years, I love trying new products and I am a sucker for anything that will help with my under eye bags. I have had an ice roller for a few years now that I bought on amazon for probably $10 but I keep seeing people talk about The Skinny Confidential ice roller and how it is way better, it is a metal roller instead of plastic and all the reviews are raving so I ordered it. It is more of a splurge purchase but I have been using that thing multiple times a day. I use it in the morning when I first get up for some all over depuffing, if I have time I will also use it after my shower right after I apply my Vitamin C serum. It’s also great at night to help soak in that nighttime moisturizer.
It’s also great if you are breastfeeding and you get clogged ducts you can use the cold ice roller for pain relief and roll along the clog to get things moving again. Get your’s here!
I have two purchase favorites because I just couldn’t decide.
My second favorite is the multi-shaker bottle from Brumate, don’t get me wrong I have acquired plenty of shaker cups throughout the years and kept them all for whatever reason but he I will be recycling most of them now. This one is so handy because it doesn’t require a ball like most shaker cups. It has an agitator at the top that mixes up your drinks better than the shaker bottle I have used but honestly the best part is that it is insulated and keeps my drinks cold for a long time. I am a person that needs my drinks to be brain freeze cold or burn the esophagus hot and not in-between. It also has a nice handle for carry and a hole in the middle to add a straw!
Here’s to the end of a dreary January and hopefully February brings lots of love and sunshine!
*The link’s in the post do get me a very small commission and as always thank you for shopping my links!