Like a portal maybe? We are going through a portal.
Happy Sunday, bbs.
I did an ice plunge this weekend and I'm fully aware that I'm following trends on TikTok. I have been watching people submerge into ice baths (or bodies of water) for a while now. Oh my God, they take you in this tiled room and they tell you to shower and then to make the shower colder little by little and then to stand in front of this bathtub situation and they tell you to practice your breathing all calm and certain and all of the sudden it's the wildest thing when you get in. It was very much like time slowed down. I only made it 2 mins instead of the recommended 3, but I felt absolutely amazing after. Like a winner. Like a boss. I am pretty sure it amped me up all day. I am going again tomorrow.
Hacks. Tips. Tricks. I need ‘em. I collect ‘em. I am easily influenced. Today on super snowy day I thought I would share a few of my little life hacks and then I will share a small spoken word piece turned wannabe-essay about menopause and maybe if you're young you can ask questions or if you’re older you can tell us all about it. Also, please feel free to leave some hacks of any kind in the comments. Love you so much.
*I have a small, clear acrylic box on my kitchen counter with three things of sunscreen in it. I never forget to apply it this way. It just always sits there. I use three products: Supergoop Glow Screen. Beauty of Joseon. Alastin HydraTint Pro Mineral Broad Spectrum Sunscreen.
*I set numerous reminders on Alexa that encourage me to drink water, remind me of my badassary and to add to my gratitude list. Please let me tell you that the gratitude list thing is real. Some recent additions to mine: thankful for the new pistachio Starbucks cold brew /thankful for my customers/wildly thankful for love/thankful my dad and I talk each day/my arms are strong/I am growing kinder/athleisure as life.
*I keep a hot sauce in my car. I bought this bougie car a couple of years ago during my midlife crisis and it has a built-in cooler underneath the console. A secret kinda. My kids don't even know it's there. I keep things in there like skin care, small bottles of prosecco, soda pop. Snacks. But the thing is you can always just get a small Coleman cooler and stick it in your trunk or your wayback and put things in it. My dad does. I ice roll my face on the way to work. I do what I want.
*Buy a book each month. Or rather, procure one. You can start now. At the very least you can read one each month. You still have time. My books this year are going to be hacks. I mean, I am going to read for pleasure, but I am going to learn a few things too. I'm reading books about menopause. I'm reading books about small business for dummies. I'm reading biographies of famous women. Italy. Peter Gabriel. What are you reading?One book a month.
*I hope you are on the 12 months of journals with me, January is slowly getting filled. I like the domestic and somewhat dull nature of this new journaling. I'm removing any need to write beautifully, just saying things like I was diagnosed with influenza A today /my son sat with me quietly on a love seat and we talked about the future /Oh my God I love to eat blueberries and cottage cheese / it was so cold today that wore socks/. Things like that. But I feel like I’m documenting my life way better than in love poems or Instagram blurbs. I really will tie these journals up in a bow and I really will put them away in my steamer trunk and I really hope my sons find them someday. Just buy 12 cheap notebooks. It's still January & you can still do this with me—let's become archivists.
*I set a timer a reminder on my iPhone every 12 weeks to check in with my kids and what that means is I do a scan of them and try to find out what they're interested in because things change so quickly. I try and focus on more than normal everyday life, and I ask them (text them) if they need anything.
Like I say:
Do you need anything?
Am I giving you enough?
Am I too much?
What are you thinking about when you go to sleep?
Shit like that. Life goes fast. Check in. With yourself too.
*Make a fake doctor appointment every three months. Nobody bothers you when you are at the doctors. Go to a park or a bookshop or sit in your car and eat a snack. Write. Escape your life for a tiny bit. Be off the grid. It’s thrilling.
I read this piece on Perimenopause couple years ago at a show and I always meant to turn it into an essay or something really interesting, but it just sat on my computer. It came to me in an elevator. I wrote it on the back of a creative brief at work. It was a pretty big hit at the event when I read it. I was funny, guys! I sang in parts of it. I held the attention of people even while talking about blood. I could see women nodding. Women of a certain age. My friend Hatton had asked me for a copy and a few people wanted me to record it… I just never did…I really don't have it fleshed out or interesting yet, but I do find it to be relevant to me and my late 40s friends. We talk about it a lot. It is a weird time.
Like a portal maybe? We are going through a portal.
IDK, imagine me reading it to you, ok? All sassy, dramatic and sincere.
On hearing Katy Perry ‘s Roar in the elevator at work while rocking a toilet paper origami sanitary pad.
The average age of menopause is 51 years old. I am not there yet, but I will be soon because these 40s they flow fast and certain much like the blood that still pours from me. My mother is dead and in addition to asking her numerous things…I forgot to ask her when she started menopause. I mean it’s kind of something you can expect