I meant to post this 10 days ago but the holidays got in the way. Posting this now as my son just woke up from his nap so sorry if there are typos!
I have been enjoying my little family so much lately. My favorite moments are in the morning. We turn on the Christmas tree lights, sit by the fire, and watch our son do tummy time. It has started snowing more consistently, and the coziness level is 10/10.1 I envision this song as the soundtrack:
I deleted the Substack app from my phone a while ago because I would spend too much time scrolling my home feed mindlessly during middle-of-the-night feedings. Now, I wait until Substack sends me a digest email and I can only access the articles via email. I love that I don’t receive emails each time one of the publications I follow posts. This means I spend almost no time scrolling through my home feed now. But sometimes I still do it (even though the user experience is very bad without the app) and I stumble upon new golden nuggets such as this one2:
One of my favorite Youtubers, Katherout, has a podcast where she discusses her “taking and leaving list” for the month.
So I decided to do a taking and leaving list for the year - aka a list of things I love and do not love.
Taking:
The library. Libraries restore my faith in humanity.
Ronald McDonald House. If you are looking for a place to donate to before year-end, consider this wonderful organization!
Ronald McDonald House: a nonprofit family & children's charity dedicated to supporting families with sick children in their time of need.
When my son was in the NICU for 10 days and I thought I would die of a broken heart, this place really saved me. We stayed there so that we could be as close to the hospital as possible instead of driving across town every morning and night. I learned that wonderful people in my community provide homemade meals to RMH out of the goodness of their hearts! I am just so touched by the kindness of strangers!
Coldplay. I went to a wedding in March that featured an electric violinist. He was incredible. He played “Adventure of a Lifetime” by Coldplay and I was mesmerized!
Did you know Chris Martin wrote this song about Jennifer Lawrence? LOL. This experience made me go back and listen to newer Coldplay albums that I had previously written off. Loving Coldplay has always made me feel basic and mockable. But I don’t care!
How I feel about Coldplay (and Elf). I listened to “A Sky Full of Stars” so many times this year while pregnant. I was so excited to meet my son. I knew he would light up my life and he does! He is a ball of light and love. He’s the smiliest little babe!
My Kindle Paperwhite. I love my Kindle (even though I know Amazon is bad)! I always say that it would be my answer to Tim Ferris’ question on his podcast: “What purchase of $100 or less has most positively impacted your life in the last six months (or in recent memory)?” 3
My local “Buy Nothing” group on Facebook. I know - everyone hates Facebook - but hear me out! I deleted my FB in 2018 but reactivated it in 2021 to sell mostly everything I owned before my husband and I embarked on our nomadic adventure. I had to keep my account active because my husband needed to buy a cheap desk and chair from FB Marketplace every time we moved (which was as frequent as every 2 weeks) because he needed a good remote work setup. When we moved into our house 2 years ago, someone (I think it was my mom) told me about the existence of “Buy Nothing” groups.
“The Buy Nothing Project is a global conglomeration of community-based groups, founded in Bainbridge Island, Washington, in 2013, that encourages giving of consumer goods and services in preference to conventional commerce.”
At the moment, I am not emotionally strong enough to watch the new “Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy,” but belonging to this group and giving/getting wonderful treats from my local community has been a delight.
My new espresso machine! This was gifted to me from another FB group that I am in (specifically for moms) and I am having a ball using it! One of my secret dreams is to be a barista.4
My steaming/frothing needs work. Hormone health. A friend of mine is in med school and she has been trying to get me to care about my health more for years. I am finally starting to listen to her! My husband has been a health nut for a while. He hates seed oils and processed junk. Unfortunately for me most of the things I love are full of seed oils and processed junk (pretzel goldfish and most things from Trader Joe’s). My friend shared a podcast with me called “Balanced Beyars.” It’s 3 sisters from New York and they are a riot. I wish I had a sassy sister! But I don’t so I pretend I am their 4th sibling.
Leaving:
The industrialized beauty complex. I’ve written about this before but this year I felt firmer in my resolve. I stopped dying my hair in 20225 and I don’t wear makeup anymore. Read
if you are interested in this topic.Instagram. I deactivated my account in 2021 and used to sign in and stalk people sporadically but it always made me feel like crap. I don’t log in anymore and I am happier for it.
Alcohol. I was sober for all of 2024 (I was pregnant for 7.5 months of the year to be fair) and it was not hard at all! I don’t miss alcohol.
Neither taking nor leaving:
Money. I’m still obsessed with money. I wish I was less fascinated by it but I can’t help it! I love to listen to
’s podcast “The Money with Katie Show” and Ramit Sethi’s “Money for Couples” (formerly “I Will Teach You To Be Rich.”)
Baby-related stuff (skip this section if you think baby stuff is boring6)
Taking:
My postpartum group. It’s so wonderful to have friends going through the same life phase as you!
Hands-free breast pumps. This changed my life! Now I can multitask and pump while I’m in class!7
Nourish, move, love (NML) Youtube videos.
Moms on Call. Following this schedule has been magical. My son sleeps like clockwork!
The Nara app. I don’t know how people raised children without an app to track when they woke up and when they ate. My brain is mush without this app.
Leaving:
Bougie baby stuff. We got played and bought a bunch of overpriced baby stuff that I don’t even like.
Uppababy stroller. My neighbor gave me a beat-up Bob stroller that is far superior.
Nurture & Glider. I wish we had spent less on a glider. This one is silly!
Keekaroo peanut changer. My son is already too big for this and it’s also rock-hard. It doesn’t seem very comfortable. I don’t get the hype.
Evil grad school professors. Ugh I wish I was leaving this one but unfortunately, I can’t. But I would if I could!
Neither taking nor leaving:
The Snoo. This technically qualifies as “bougie baby stuff,” but I am torn on whether I love or hate it. At first, I thought it was a waste of money. Then I fell in love with it when it would soothe my little bub back to sleep in the middle of the night. He became a wonderful sleeper and I would credit the Snoo! But now, his head is quite flat and we are going to have to pay thousands of dollars for him to wear a helmet for 3 months 23 hours a day. I am not pleased.
What are you taking and leaving this year? Wishing you health and wealth8 in 2025!
Although I am not built for living where it snows, please send help (aka help me buy a little spot in San Diego).
This post reminded me how much I used to love frog and toad. I am toad. My husband is frog. Toad is more needy and neurotic. Frog is tall and chill. I copied
’s photo for this post.Apparently, these are now more than $100. I bought mine in 2015 for less!
I actually was a barista for a day in 2023 and I recorded a little audio summary of my experience on my more personal page if you’re interested in listening. You have to request to subscribe to it.
I have tried to embrace being a “curly girl” but I hate having wet hair! I am much too impatient and I do not own a diffuser. So I still brush my naturally curly hair which is WRONG. One day I will figure out how to style my hair.
I think baby stuff is boring. I will never judge if you unsubscribe because you think I’m boring now. I get it!
I’m 99% sure my classmates hate me because of the vibrating noise my pump makes but oh well!
I define wealth as time freedom, not dollar amount.
My son loves “A Sky Full of Stars” because it’s featured prominently in the movie Sing 2. When he sings the “you oooo” part it makes me want to cry every time.
I was a fan of the Keekaroo bc it’s so easy to clean. We always lined it with burp cloths to make it softer.
I never got the Snoo, but the flat head stress is so real. We escaped the helmet but had to do virtual PT.