Good morning and welcome to March! We got dumped on with 12+ inches of snow on Monday, so here in Boston, March is coming in like a roaring lion. That’s fine by me. I love nothing more than a cozy, snowy morning spent tucked inside with a warm blanket, cup of hot coffee and waffles. WAFFLES, you’re a dream.
Pretend you’re in my living room too. And we’re chatting away about a few things this morning.
Reading > Social Media
Why does this seem like such a simple concept, yet so hard to stick to? Social media, for me, is a love hate relationship. I really do think social media is a beautiful thing. It has the ability to spread important messages and connect people who might not meet otherwise. I mean, I met Alexis and Simi over social media and they are now real life friends who I love so much. But, social media easily distracts me from life. I follow a small amount of people who positively influence my life, but even after thoroughly filtering my social media I still find that scrolling is not good for me. A little IG scroll here and there is fine, but I find that not being on social media except to briefly engage with you all is SO GOOD FOR ME.
I get so much more done, but more importantly I see the world with more clarity + wonder. The limitations of my five senses mean I can only process so much at once – so many sounds and words and smells. But with social media, I can scroll and be inundated with information. It inhibits my ability to rest on an idea, to ponder, to wonder because there’s always more to look at and scroll through. And this teaches my mind to continually crave surface level stimulation that I find leaves me feeling restless.
I’m learning the less I’m on social media (for me that’s less than 20-30 minutes a day for business purposes only and at least 1 day of no social media per week) and the more I read instead, the more I’m able to think more deeply, contemplate things, see the beauty in the mundane moments of life and enjoy the people right in front of me. And I feel SO MUCH MORE RESTED. It’s wild how automatic picking up my phone and scrolling is because I feel I need to be stimulated at all times. So I’m typing all this from a place of learning. I’m learning to use social media less and instead pick up books more. And so far, it’s been a really good thing.
The Lunch I’m Into Lately
Momma Coale is in town this week which is always a good time and she made her chicken salad recipe for lunch. Why don’t I make chicken/tuna/egg salad more? It’s so much easier to make a wrap or sandwich out of a pre-made salad than to bring out turkey, cheese, lettuce, tomato, avocado and assemble a sandwich. In theory, sandwiches sound easy but I find them to take so much more time than I originally think. Am I missing something?! Chicken salad on the other hand, I can whip that up on Monday morning pretty quick and when lunch rolls around it takes me 30 seconds to throw chicken salad and some baby spinach into a wrap, roll it up and eat. Note to self: I accidentally bought the small Ezekiel tortillas in my hurried grocery run and obviously I needed the bigger ones.
Skin care
I’m not a skincare expert, this is simply my own personal experience. I have skin that is just genetically wrinkly. I think of my wrinkles as laugh lines letting me know I’m enjoying life 🙂 I’m very uninterested in spending tons of money and time trying to get rid of wrinkles. I feel like the pressure to prevent the aging process can be almost as intense as the pressure to be thin in our culture. Aging is a natural process. What I am interested in is caring for my skin the best way I know how. For me that means putting high quality, yet affordable products with fairly recognizable ingredients on my skin. And it also means having a simple skincare routine without a ton of steps.
I know some people enjoy more complex skincare routines or using several products and that’s great too. For me though, I’ve found if I keep it simple, it doesn’t overwhelm me. A month or so ago I discovered Skin Essence Organics and am loving their products. This is just 100% my opinion after finding these products on Amazon and purchasing them myself. I wash with the cleanser, use my toner, put on the moisturizer in the morning or rose hip oil at night and then put on the eye serum. A few times a week I use the exfoliant facial. So far, I love how super silky soft and hydrated it makes my skin feel! And while it’s not cheap, it’s also relatively affordable. I find that “natural” beauty products can be so dang pricey!! Since I’m not a big makeup person, this routine + a swipe of mascara and some chapstick works well for me as an everyday thing.
The dentist
Another thing I’m genetically prone to….cavities. Cute, right? I’ve tried everything over the years, but my teeth just love to create holes in themselves. I kid you not I’m the most avid brusher, flosser and mouthwasher around. What gives?! There are some things you just can’t control though. Just like we have a genetic set point weight and genetic predispositions to certain diseases and cancers…we also have genetic predispositions when it comes to our dental health. I haven’t had a cavity in a like four years which is NOTHING SHORT OF A MIRACLE in my world, but I do have the lovely delight of having a dental implant done next month on my very back molar that has been missing. Yes, I HAVE A MISSING MOLAR. Thankfully, you would probably never know because I have huge teeth and a small mouth. I had my wisdom teeth pulled when I was 11 to create some space. I’d probably benefit from zero back molars. Those suckers are hard to get back to and brush! Which is why a few years ago they decided to just my back left one yank out. And now it’s time to finally get that implant. So April 23rd should be super fun. Send milkshake recipes please.
What is my point with these dental ramblings? That despite my entertaining dental track record, I actually enjoy the dentist. I loved my dentist in New York and I love my dentist in Boston and I find having to lay in a chair and do nothing while they do their thing in my mouth quite relaxing. Sometimes I actually fall asleep. I have a cleaning today (I go every 4 months to take extra care of these teeth) and I’m looking forward to it. Do you think I’m the weirdest person ever now? It’s okay if you do.
Ok, that’s a wrap. Share with me in the comments what you’d say if you were here on this coffee date with me!
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I listened to a podcast today that made me think of you and your blog – the episode of “You’re Wrong About” called The Obesity Epidemic. Really good info about diet/weight/health/socioeconomic factors. It was great to hear about intuitive eating and health at every size concepts in an unexpected place.
I’ll have to check it out!
That skincare line looks promising. I’m in need of a new moisturizer to go with my Target facewash lol.
Also, apparently pregnancy does a number on your teeth. There’s all kinds of research on this, so it might be worth looking into.
I’ve heard that about pregnancy and teeth – I need to look into it more because dang!
I am the exact same!! I lost the genetic lottery when it comes to my teeth. I even had to have root canals on my baby teeth. I also get my teeth cleaned every 4 months and take really good care of them. I don’t get as many cavities, but I am getting another crown (I’ve lost track at this point), had four gum grafts and just have the thinnest enamel ever. I am finally pregnant with my first (after a year of trying!) and am so grateful I had very little nausea and no vomiting. I was terrified I was going to be really sick and it would cause even more problems for my teeth!
Congrats on your pregnancy!!!! I have a gum graft in my future too, blaahhhhh.
I love this post because it’s so real & accurate. Just like weight, the status of our skin and teeth (and sadly, the thickness of our hair) is just plain old genetics. Women totally feel the pressure in those areas too. I’m lucky to have pretty good teeth, and my sister does too, though she started getting cavities like crazy after having kids. The dentist said that the pregnancies actually depleted the nutrients from her teeth and made them more susceptible to cavities. Crazy!
Yes I’ve heard that abouot pregnancy!!
I got my wisdom teeth out when I was twelve and I’ve never met someone out even close to that. Now I’m really glad I got them out young because it gets harder to make time for it the older you get. I hope your implant goes well!
You’re in good company!!
Haha! I just love your blog posts, you are a talented lady for sure. If we were on a coffee date, first of all I would be in heaven because I ❤️ The snow and cold days, which is amazing because I was born and raised in Texas. But I would say you hit the nail on the head with your thoughts on social media, I totally agree! Which is why I’m taking a break from it for Lent. I realized it is such a time suck and I want to crest more margin in my day. Also, you ARE crazy about going to the dentist, I mean I get what you are saying about just laying still while they do their work but I always feel yucky and nauseated after the dentist, not sure why but that’s my reason for not liking it! Thanks for sharing your thoughts 😊
I think social media is a great thing to “fast” from. And yes I’m totally odd to love the dentist haha
Also, these waffles are so so good! Had to share: https://www.google.com/amp/s/fitmd.co/2012/03/19/flawless-whole-wheat-belgian-waffles/amp/
I loved what you shared, especially the Skin care I’m going to combine it
with what I’m doing (https://bit.ly/2SJ1JsZ) to improve my results.
Just wanted to say that I love all your posts. After a few months of anorexic behaviour, it was you (and Kylie) who introduced me to IE and helped me get my period back. Thanks so much for just being amazing!
Also, I completely agree with you on reading > social media. I always feel so much more energised/rested when I use my downtime to do things like reading and writing rather than scrolling through stuff on the internet. (I mean, let’s face it – I’m never going to look back fondly on those hours spent on social media.)
You are such a light, Robyn! God bless you xo
So glad the content has resonated Kitty!!!
Have a restful weekend 🙂
Oh my goodness. Can totally relate on the dentist! I end up with so many cavities for no apparent reason and had to get a crown a few months ago but I still don’t hate going to the dentist! hahaha…glad someone else can relate 🙂
love for the dentist club! lol
those waffles look so good. recipe?
Thank you for posting!! I know in this season of life you mentioned it is difficult to create content after doing so for so long. I’d like to say I just love your blog posts. I like to sift back through them on days where I am struggling with body image, etc. So thank you for taking the time to connect with this community. Sending you all the good thoughts!!
That means so much that you are finding the old content helpful!! <3
Ah, I loved this post! It really felt so cosy and friendly! I hear you about feeling tempted to be constantly stimulated on a really shallow level. It really struck me when you said that it leaves you feeling restless. I hadn’t realised, but I think it does the same to me. I’d like to get more into books but after a rough few years I find it hard to commit to a whole book. What books are you into at the moment? Some recommendations would be great!
Haha, I’m certainly not with you on the dentist! I think I must have really tender teeth because I find it quite painful, even just the clean. But a few weeks back I came off my bike and broke my jaw, and couldn’t really open my mouth or chew for a few weeks, so I know exactly how you feel with asking for milkshake recipes! Smoothies with lots of banana, oats and peanut butter worked well for me, and lots and lots of soup! Hope that goes ok for you.
I know you’re feeling like a change from creating blog content, but I just have to say I LOVE reading these. But, I’ll keep tagging along whatever platform you use ^_^
Maybe I’ll do a post with my favorite books I’m reading!
So glad you enjoyed this post Rachel 🙂
Hey Robyn!
I just wanted to let you know that I was missing two adult teeth (so weird!) and had a dental implant for a molar a few years ago. If it’s the sameness kind I got, I found that it really was almost a painless process! Aside from the novicane shots which I hate, everything else was a breeze. Praying all goes smoothly and as painless as possible for you!
I’m SO GLAD to hear it went so smooth!! Thank you for the prayers <3
you’re right about the social media thing! i’m trying to get more comfortable with leaving/ignoring my phone more often, and not being so concerned with what i’m missing online. i love reading anyway, but it’s so much easier to focus on and enjoy a good book when your phone isn’t constantly interrupting!
hope you find rest in more reading emily 🙂
Skin care can be so overwhelming. I’m super acne prone (although less-so since eating more and making my hormones happier!), and I’ve gone through periods where I’m OBSESSED with getting perfect skin. Which is a little sad, and stupid, and not that important, but I try to be kind to myself when I feel vulnerable about my skin. Anyway, I think your skin is gorgeous! You have such great skin tone, you always look really healthy and glowy. We don’t compliment strangers enough, and I actually HAVE had people tell me my skin looks good and I’m always like whaaaa?! So I just thought I’d tell you that, I’ve never noticed any wrinkles haha.
oh you are sweet Mary 🙂 Know that just like we can’t have a perfect body, perfect skin is a fruitless pursuit too. I hope you find and continue to find freedom in that truth <3
Last night I was (mindlessly) looking through IG and was just scrolling at my own posts over the years. I caught myself feeling jealous of my own life as I have portrayed on social media (and I’m not that active on IG, I maybe post 1x/month). I caught myself thinking “Wow my life looks so effortlessly cool and fun” which is in direct contrast to how it feels right now. It doesn’t feel effortless, it feels like a lot of work, constant ups and downs, getting pulled in many directions, yes there is the occasional fun but even most of that fun required planning and effort (eg a mini-trip, a date with a friend, a costume at a party). It was a weird sensation, to feel jealous of my own life. but also exemplifies how ONLY seeing the curated lives of others can make us feel bad about ourselves. I’m not sure what my ultimate take-away was, but looking at social media fewer minutes a day is a good step.
Okay, this post and your phrase “genetically wrinkly skin” inspired me to cut my hair! I just don’t have long hair genes but I keep trying to grow my hair long. I’m going to work with what I have.
Also, I totally agree with you about sandwiches. I started making 5 lunches at 1x and take one each to work so that I don’t end up doing all the pulling stuff out of the fridge, putting away every day.
Love your blog. you do amazing work!
Well, to begin with, I’d love to be hanging out with you. I have followed you for many, many moons, Robyn, and I have to say I respect and appreciate all that you do. I love the transparency with which you share your life. I truly look forward to reading and listening to your messages. You give me plenty to think about. Thank you for making me a better person and the world a better place.
This is a great recipe for anyone getting started. I didn’t know where to start, but I jumped in and started doing the small but important things and started to see the results. There is no reason you can’t do it too. So get started today and the results will follow. Most important is implementing the steps and recipes. Something that helped me on my journey is right here, you should definitely check it out: https://bit.ly/2YctC0o
Awesome post all around. I have been contemplating how to reduce time on my phone. That constant surface stimulation is feeling so wasteful to me right now, yet it’s hard to put it down. I am being more mindful and tracking my use via an app with the goal to have screen time down each week. It was helpful to see you articulate all of that.
I developed dental issues in the years I was pregnant or nursing almost continuously. It seemed like it was one root canal after another. Eventually my body attacked the roots of one tooth and it had to be removed and an implant done in its place. The implant was really easy overall. I did have some swelling and bruising on my jaw but the pain was completely controlled with the ibuprofen the dr prescribed. It healed right on time and I’ve never had an issue.
You are a light Robyn. Know that you are so appreciated.