i haven’t sent a newsletter in over a year.
so hi, hello.
i was standing in line last sunday, waiting for pancakes, when i felt this existential dread. i wanted to run away, delete my social media accounts, and just stay in bed. i took the week to pray + think of how to move forward. i wasn’t really taking a social media break, but every time i opened my apps, i would almost immediately close them. i didn’t care about any of it.
if i’m being honest to the seven of you who are subscribed to this newsletter, what started it all was a silly little comment about something i posted to instagram. the person was not being rude or had any inclination of ill-will, but it hurt my feelings. and it wasn’t even about what they said; it was the reason behind my reaction: an incident in the past is what triggered my hurt feelings. i am over it now though. (i still find myself closing out of instagram after several minutes, but that’s not a bad thing!)
i was going to share this on the blog, but the new substack app got me all excited for this newsletter again. when i started blogging my weekly musings last year, i didn’t quite know what to do with this newsletter, so i let it be.
you can now read wildbloom in the new substack app for iphone.
now here i am, dusting it off + sharing the lessons i learned in Q1.
5 lessons learned in Q1:
unsubscribe from emails. i have tried those apps that block emails, but they don't fully work or you can only add one email account. so i made the decision to unsubscribe from all the emails i delete + never open. it only takes 20 seconds to click through + finish the process. it has made such a difference! i went from receiving 30-40 emails a day to 15 or less.
turn off notifications on my phone. i did this during a weekly fast from technology back in january. years ago, i turned off all notifications from my social media accounts, so i only had my email + a couple apps set up. after blocking all app notifications (except my cycle app, because NFP, lol), i noticed i didn’t absentmindedly grab my phone as much. highly recommend!
buy lint rollers in the pet section. we have two golden retrievers. i love our dogs, but their hair causes me SO much frustration. (mostly when i sit down at my work cubicle in the morning + notice i’m covered in enough hair to cover a small dog) i was recently shopping at walmart + realized i forgot to grab a lint roller. i was already on the other side of the store + didn’t want to walk back to get one thing. i was near the pet section, so i thought they might have one. sure enough, they had not just any lint roller, but an extra strong pet hair roller. IT IS AWESOME.
i am allergic to sriracha. on super bowl sunday, i was snacking on hard-boiled eggs drizzled with sriracha. immediate regrets. my lips were ON FIRE. and i knew what was about to happen because just a month earlier, i had the same allergic reaction: painful, cracked lips. i thought it was a new face wash, but i realized i had been eating a ton of sriracha back then as well. it has been a month, and my lips are almost healed. (thank you, aquaphor!*)
winter can be enjoyed. i set out with the purpose of delighting in winter. normally i just try to survive the cold, dark days. after reading the little book of hygge*, i was inspired to change that mindset. i invested in good winter outerwear. i read physical books by the light of the christmas tree. i sipped hot tea with raw, local honey. i took neighborhood walks. a positive mindset can make all the difference! it was a winter i will look back on with fond memories.
that is all for now. maybe i’ll be back in your inbox soon.
or maybe we will meet again in march of 2023. :)
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