“Arranging the Ideal Coffee Meeting for Spring”

Hi! Hey there!

This week’s vibes are a bit off, to be frank. Seems like a perfect moment to jot down a lot of words for all to see!

I’m here for two main reasons:

1. Recently, I’ve discovered that the small conversations in my life have been incredibly uplifting. Typically, I don’t realize how much I need these moments, but after a brief interaction with someone – even just a quick text or a chat in the driveway – things start to align again, and I feel more like myself.
2. I’ve felt somewhat stagnant lately, both with food and in life. I’m attributing it to the weather – can we do that? I just have this persistent blah feeling, and one of the best strategies I know to navigate that is to be upfront about it. It’s completely okay to feel blah sometimes. I’ve been in this place before. The sun will shine again!

So today, let’s create the internet version of a casual chat! You’re stopping by my house, we pause to greet each other, I’m petting your dog and asking about your kids, and if you have any travel plans for spring break, and soon we’re delving into topics like anxiety and Severance!

It’s like a coffee date.

Sick Kids, Anxious Mom.

This week I shared on Instagram that our kiddos are under the weather, and it’s really impacted my nervous system. When they’re unwell, I become quite anxious.

The illnesses have been routine: common coughs, fevers, ear infections, and sleepless nights. However, my nervous system reacts to these events as if I might need to dial 911 at any given time. To be honest, I might! You just can’t be sure, and I truly mean this, which is my struggle.

This heightened awareness, combined with me being under the weather myself and spending half the week in my daughter’s tiny twin bed, has left me feeling drained.

What surprised me the most is hearing from so many of you this week who said you relate to this, too.

Not just with sick kids at home, but also the anxiety that comes alongside it. I’ve heard this from friends in real life and online. Here’s a summary of what I’ve gathered:

• You feel anxious when your little ones are crying and can’t explain what’s bothering them.
• You wrestle with whether your child is okay. Should we visit the clinic? The ER? What’s the next step?
• You may not have kids but still experience significant anxiety with your pets, who also can’t say what’s wrong.
• Your children are adults now, but you still feel that same anxiety when they are sick in their 20s or 30s. Because once a mom, always a mom.
• You’re in the medical field – I’ve heard this from several of you! – and even while treating sick kids all day, you still get anxious when your own kids are ill. (Honestly, this is a bit of an eye-opener because I usually see you all as fearless heroes who know everything!)

In my case, I recognize that some of my personal anxieties are exacerbated by past medical trauma – times when everything seemed alright but then they weren’t at all. I know many of you have endured similar situations.

Is this a downer? It could be! Welcome to my mind this March!

Maybe I’ll check back in when I learn how to avoid the nervous jitters when the thermometer shows “103.5” or battling with adrenaline at every midnight coughing fit. Or… perhaps I’ll be navigating this for the long haul. If you have any secrets, please share.

I found it really comforting to hear from so many of you this week, helping me feel less isolated, and just less odd. Thank you.

What I’ve Been Cooking

These chicken bowls have become a weekly staple since January because I’m obsessed with the cilantro pesto!

In addition, I’ve whipped up a good number of berry muffins and carrot cake cupcakes (coming soon – I want them to be just perfect), cottage cheese pizzas, this delicious sweet potato soup multiple times, and a lot of buffalo chicken burgers.

But Also, Kind Of In a Cooking Rut.

Meh. This has to be a fairly common occurrence, even for those who enjoy cooking.

I’m not short on ideas or enthusiasm; I have so many fun things I want to try and countless recipe ideas swirling around in my head.

I think I just lack the time, space, and energy to execute them properly.

The everyday demands of life – laundry, school, doctor visits, work, news, sticking to a protein-rich diet and weightlifting, etc. – have felt just a bit more overwhelming these past couple of months. I often don’t have a serene little chunk of time in the day to prepare a lovely dinner exactly how I’d like, or perhaps I’m just fatigued and struggling to carve out that time.

However, what I genuinely appreciate about this rut, and that slight sense of being stuck, is it’s leading me towards a new SOS series! I’m not saying this just to be positive – I truly get excited when my real-life situations inspire me to seek solutions to problems that I think many of us encounter from time to time. That’s the direction I’m heading in now.

SOS recipes are my specialty. My favorites. My most relatable. I’ve felt a bit stuck, but it’s guided me towards something great, and I’m eager for what’s on the horizon. I’ll likely launch this new collection in April / May! Stay tuned.

The Small Joy Of TV

Friends, I’m really into TV right now. Especially when paired with a couple of gigantic cookies.

Our daughters are in a phase where bedtime is quite regular, and we don’t have evening sports or activities. Bjork and I nearly always enjoy an hour of television together at the end of the day, and snuggling up on the couch in my pajamas at 9 PM to watch a show together is genuinely one of my happiest spots.

I have a personal guideline that I cannot engage with intense or graphic shows – refer back to my earlier thoughts on anxiety – so my favorite series are just on the edge of intriguing, captivating, slightly thrilling, but not so violent or frightening that I’ll be restless at night.

Current favorites, ranked from award-winning to delightfully cheesy and lovable:

• Severance
• White Lotus
• Survivor
• Amazing Race
• Occasional Bachelor

Honestly, Severance might just be the finest television I’ve ever experienced. It’s clever, intricate, and softly eerie in a fantastic way. And the visuals! The cinematography! I could discuss this show for ages.

God bless entertaining television and those who create it. It’s been one of my small joys lately.

Solvi Says

I typically share a Sage wisdom in these coffee date posts, but this month I have a genuinely touching lesson from my daughter Solvi. She wants us to know:

The way you are is precisely how I love you.

Feeling behind? Struggling? Thinking you could be doing better? (ME!)

Guess what – the people who care about you are so grateful you are part of their lives. The way you are is how they appreciate you. Your pets, your children, your parents, your partners, and friends. They aren’t focused on your areas for improvement – they’re thinking about how much they adore your laughter, how much they enjoy going to the park with you, and how wonderful they feel when they hug you. They love you just as you are right now.

Be kind to yourself. Being human can be tough. You’re doing wonderfully.

Thanks For Being Here.

If you’re reading this, you’re likely receiving our emails, following us on Instagram, or just checking in once in a while. Thank you – your genuine, human presence in this corner of the internet makes it a joyous place for me.

I hope you feel cherished today!

And if you’re a mom who feels anxious when your kids are under the weather… ME, TOO! Xo