We’ll be getting to know one another over the course of this podcast I hope, and in doing so let me give you a bit of a heads up as to what you can expect. Since this blog and podcast is all about following my own creative whims, I don’t always know what type of blog post or episode I’ll want to write, but I can tell you there will be some recurring themes, topics, and even names mentioned. So before we go further, I’d like to introduce you to a few supporting characters you’ll hear about probably pretty frequently.
February Focus: Decluttering!
This has been a long-time coming. Two years, really.
I’ll be honest, when we went into the pandemic, I was determined to get rid of excess everything to save my energy. Survival Mode felt temporary at that point and things like decluttering became something that turned from a regular thing to something I would do when everything was over and done with.
As you can imagine, that strategy didn’t work out too well. It’s not two years later and what started as small piles have become near-avalanches. It’s nowhere near what you’d see on shows about Hoarding Disorder, but every time I watch those shows, I can see that if I don’t stop and pay attention, those piles-turned-avalanches will meld together to form walls of just STUFF!
January Focus: Cooking at Home Challenge
Every January, I’m tempted to hop on board the health and wellness marketing train along with others starting their New Year’s Resolutions. I can’t help it. It’s like how after being out of school for 13 years, I still want to buy new pencils and notebooks every September. I’m trying to be more conscious of consumerism and how marketing contributes to these waves of interests, but sometimes I like to get swept up in it.
This January, even though I initially wanted to put some focus on my health and re-evaluate some things, instead I decided to focus on something that actually benefited us as a family. My husband, Mark, and I have been letting the pandemic be our excuse for ordering out and getting drive-thru a lot more in the last two years. But with prices rising and our growing boredom with the usual places around us, I had the idea to challenge both me and Mark to cook at home more.
December 2021 Roundup
When I picked the words Relax & Reflect for this month’s focus, I had a feeling “Relax” would somehow be harder than it sounds and I was right. By the middle of the month, our whole house was passing around one of the five colds our 4-year-old brought home from school this year and my plan to keep a lot of white space on the calendar turned out for the best.
I wrote about this in the mid-month entry, but one way I found to relax was when I picked up my childhood hobby of making friendship bracelets again. I’ve found it to be incredibly relaxing and a nice way to stim while watching TV or talking with Mark. I get into such a rhythm and it’s so funny how the muscle memory came right back.
Mid-Month Check-In — December Focus: Relax and Reflect
There's this internal conflict that hits around this time of year where there are simultaneous feelings of wanting to rest and recharge, but there's also a push to be productive and finish the year strong. I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who feels it, right?
Maybe that comes from the end of the year reflection and, as I alluded to in my Monthly Focus post, the disappointment we may feel as we look back at the year and find we didn't accomplish the goals we wanted to.
December Focus: Relax & Reflect
After last month’s focus on Writing and creating this blog, plus all the other life happenings lately, I really felt like I had no choice but to declare this month’s focus to be Rest and Reflect.
Most Decembers, this mode seems to happen automatically and I've learned to keep the holiday season from getting too overwhelming and overbooked. With the extra stress of my mom’s health being up in the air, plus the ongoing stress of parenting through a pandemic, I know this is as good a season as any to take it easy and not push for a big project.
Life Update + November 2021 Roundup
I took this photo the other day in the hospital while waiting for my mom to get back from an MRI. She had a seizure the last week of November after a mini-stroke/TIA a few weeks earlier. Her health has been up in-the-air and, to be honest, it’s been a really difficult time.
Like last month, I’m still sitting in what I now call my little Kitchen nook to get the sunlight first thing in the morning to help my mental health, but with so much that seems out of my control right now, the overwhelm has meant a few more dark days. I’m using flowery language a bit. I’ve had days where everything is just f*cking terrible and feel like they kick my ass.
Navigating Having Both Adenomyosis and ADHD
NOTE: I am not a doctor or medical professional. I am speaking from my own experience as someone who was diagnosed with Adenomyosis and ADHD. Please see full disclaimer at the bottom of webpage.
Imagine having a tough time with getting things done, and then on top of that, having another condition that actually physically stops you some days.
That’s what it’s like living with ADHD and Adenomyosis. These two conditions aren’t related, as far as I know. But for me, they’re both equally important to consider when it comes to being a mom, running a podcast editing business, and, oh, living in 2021 currently.
The (Kind of Morbid) Push I Needed to Press Publish
I published my blog last night. I'm oddly not nervous at all. It's my corner of the internet I created for me and those who may find my story helpful.
I bought the domain emilyoutloud.com and forwarded it to the site for now. And I put the link on my links page for my bio, though I haven’t announced anything formally yet.
ADHD, The Rocky Horror Roller Show, and Lessons Learned
If you ever want to literally hear the gears churning in my head, catch me on a day I’ve just had an amazing idea AND can plan it out and brainstorm it to my heart’s content!
With ADHD, this is actually a specialty of mine. I absolutely love that when I get an idea, sometimes it can hit me with such a force that I can pinpoint so many little details and also I’m able to zoom out and see it from a bird’s eye view to know what needs to get done and how. It’s a beautiful thing I credit my ADHD with being able to do.
November Focus: Write!
It’s November, and my friends who participate in NaNoWriMo (or NaPodPoMo for podcasters!) every year have finally inspired me and I want to get into writing this month.
November seems like the most idyllic time for writing when I picture it in my mind. Cozy sweaters, candlelight, warmth from a fire, or a heating pad in my case. It’s currently 6:51 a.m. and it’s been the first time in I don’t know how long I’ve woken up before my son, who is the loudest alarm clock on the planet.
Life Update + October 2021 Roundup
I took this photo this morning with no makeup, no filter, and with hair that I slept on when it was wet. I’ve been trying to get morning sunlight to keep my mental health on the up-and-up as the days get shorter. I like to make some tea and open the back door to watch the sunrise. It’s actually a nicer habit I find than sitting in front of my HappyLight, which I still love, but gives me a headache some mornings and it’s been hard to remember to use it, honestly.
I’ve been in a weird rut lately.
My son has his second cold this month. Ah, the joys of finally sending him to school, only for his schedule to be even more out of whack with unexpected sick days, on top of living in a pandemic where he has to be cleared by his doctor and multiple COVID tests to be able to return to school. Luckily, his tests came back negative and that’s a relief by itself.