Care for a cup of coffee? Excellent. Pour yourself one and I’ll freshen up mine, which currently is half caff with a splash of heavy cream.

So, let’s chat… How’s life going for you? How is your mental state? Your physical state? What challenges are you working on? How are your relationships? Are you sleeping well? What goals are you focused on?

I’d really love to hear those answers, but at the very least, answer them in your own head. I don’t have a structured life check in for myself, but periodically it’s nice to ask those questions and see where it leads my thoughts. So, let’s do it today. //takes big sip of coffee//

How is life going? It’s going great. Ever since going through my dad’s illness and death I’ve been acutely aware of how lucky we are to have times in life where nothing major looms over our every day. It’s made me immensely grateful for even the most average days. I know there will stormy days ahead at some point because that is life, but while I’m in this season I will remind myself what a fortunate place it is to be.

The less emo answer? Life is good.

How is your mental state? Physical state? Mentally I am good. I am sleeping well and have goals and projects and people I love occupying my days. I feel I’m in a good rhythm and doing things I enjoy: teaching my kids, nourishing my family with food, learning about herbal remedies, staying active, planning trips. We’ve also kept up with going to church and I like it for us; soul food.

Physically I’m a little sore from leg day and think today should just be a walking workout kind of day. I feel strong and healthy and am realizing that the less I drink alcohol the less I want to. I had one martini Saturday night and spent Sunday feeling “dulled.” Not hung over in the slightest, but just less sharp and energetic. Younger me is rolling my eyes saying lame, but turning-40-this-year me is vibing with this I-like-feeling-my-best-at-all-times version of myself.

What challenges are you working on? Decluttering the house. I know I need to get rid and sell things, but the task feels too time consuming. Family albums. It occupies a lot of my mind for something I refuse to work on; it feels daunting to try and catch up, but I’m determined. Picking our next history unit. I feel we need to do ancient but I’m so much more interested in US. Figuring out how to get enough protein in David for him to hit some of his goals he’s working towards. I picked these up on sale at Costco and they’ve been helpful! 21 g per burger.

How are your relationships? With family? Excellent. I feel really close with and grateful for David right now. The girls and I are bonded and I’m really enjoying this stage. I get to see mom this week to celebrate her birthday and our family chat text keeps me in the loop with my brother and SIL. We just got to see David’s parents and are planning another day to see them soon. Until we all get on that giant family compound I’ve always dreamed of, this will suffice.

Friendship wise, I don’t spend time with my friends nearly as much as I would like to. We all seem to be in a very consuming chapter of our lives playing the roles of wife, mother, household CEO, working woman, etc. Sometimes I stay so busy I don’t really realize it until I get the chance to have a chat or go for a walk with a friend and I feel like, ahhh, that was wonderful!

What goals are you focused on? Writing an e-book. I have had one I’ve been working towards in any spare minutes I have that I’m really excited about and hope to have accomplished by the end of summer.

I’m also focused on planning out our summer travel at the moment. We are spending a week in Maine with my family and I’m trying to figure out the details of getting there and back. Definitely looking to road trip and perhaps I need to brush up on my geography because it blew my mind when I pulled up the map and realized just how far up there Maine is- wow! If you have made that drive or can offer any tips, I’m open to them.

As for today, I plan to take Finley on her regular morning sniffari in a few. The girls have their alarms set for 8:30 and want to jump right into school and practicing piano so we’ll have time for a trip to Aldi to price out ingredients for their Cake Pop Business Plan they have to present to David. We also want to swing by the garden center to celebrate the official first day of spring and pick out a few seeds to plant; we’re thinking cucumbers. David and I will work out this afternoon and I’ll make dinner, pork tenderloin, to enjoy after K gets home from soccer. Which brings me back full circle on this post- ordinary goodness!

Thanks for stopping by the blog today! I hope you checked in with yourself with these questions (and share with me if you feel so inclined) and use the answers to motivate yourself to have a wonderful Monday. As Kaitlyn always says- “you’ve got this!” 😊