This Week's Survival Kit

Antibiotics, Trader Joe's finds, and Doechii

Last week, I introduced a segment to free subscribers called “Survival Kit” that will replace “The Weekly List” UFN. Essentially, I am not consuming nearly enough content to create a list of what I’m reading/watching/listening to/making/shopping. My weeks right now are purely based off what I do to survive the week itself, so that’s what I’ll be jotting down in my notes app each week — whatever helped me get to Friday.

ICYMI: I sent out a hilarious letter a few days ago, sharing my Instagram followers’ submitted reasons as to why they brought their baby to the ER. It’s an incredible list that will make even the most insane feel sane, so I suggest you read it. At the end of that segment, I switch over the paywall to share that our part-time nanny started this week and all my thoughts on that.

All right. Now to this week’s survival kit.

Doxycycline

I am not a woo-woo kind of girly. One time, this girl I am convinced is/was a witch, suggested I shove raw garlic up my hoo-ha to get rid of my yeast infection, and that’s when I knew I could never ever be a holistic health diva. That said, I’ve been dealing with some gnarly ingrown toenails (they supposedly can be a postpartum thing. It never ends) and spent a week trying to treat them myself at home with hydrogen peroxide, Neosporin, bandaids, and warm epsom salt baths. They didn’t improve — in fact, they got much worse. One was so bad, it was horrifically infected and I could barely walk on that foot. So, off I popped to the Urgent Care on Monday night, got myself some legit antibiotics, and wouldn’t you know, my toe is almost fully healed? Thanks, Big Pharma. Thanks, Doxycycline.

Brocc Your Body’s Trader Joe Meals

Everything

broccyourbody

(Carissa) makes is great, but I am especially leaning on her very easy, very healthy Trader Joe’s meals lately. Her focus with these meals is making them cheap, fast, and protein-forward, and they’re a life saver. I don’t have the capacity right now to plan out elaborate weekday meals like I used to, so knowing I can bop down the street, grab every necessary ingredient from the same place, and be done is a miracle. Speaking of…

Walks to Trader Joe’s

We live in a wonderful, very walkable area with tons of restaurants and nightlife just a street away, including Trader Joe’s. It’s less than a half mile from our house, so when the weather is nice, I load Ziggy in the stroller and we stroll the leisurely 10 minute walk to TJ’s, get what we need, load it into the bottom of the stroller (obsessed with the Nuna for this reason and so many others), and head home! All in, it’s 30 minutes and a perfect midday escape/errand/activity.

Doechii.

Not to be that girl, but Doechii’s 2020 hit “Yucky Bucky Fruitcake” was on my 2021 Spotify Wrapped because I went through a phase of playing it on loop at the gym. But then I totally forgot about her until the Grammys on Sunday when I was violently reminded that she is everything. I am SO happy that she has blown up and is getting the love and accolades she deserves. This girl is a rare talent. A true artist. Grade-A bad ass. Her performance rocked me in the best way possible. Even Zac was rocked — I looked over at the him at the end of it and his eyes were misty (he has a thing about greatness. Big performances whether it’s sports, music, theatre… they move him). I’ve watched her performance several times, and still have her Tiny Desk to watch this weekend. I’ve been saving it so Zac and I can freak out about it together.

The permission to purge

I’m not a hoarder by any means. In fact, I delight in throwing stuff away — clothes, food, beauty products, you name it. I’m not a sentimental person when it comes to that stuff and just want to be cleansed of it. However, when it comes to greeting cards from family and friends, that’s a different story. I got a wild hair this week to go through the hundreds of cards I’ve saved over the years (amazing what little tasks you’ll come up with when you have a nanny!), and immediately started getting overwhelmed. I had to text my mom — the #1 sender of the cards — for advice. She instantly absolved me and gave me permission to throw away any card that doesn’t speak to me any longer (plot twist: I kept almost every card from her because they’re just so good, guys. The amount of time and energy this woman puts into a greeting card… it’s wild). I did get a big chunk thrown away, and just that small task made me feel normal and like I was doing things, so YAY.

Our new part-time Nanny

Need I say more? She started this week and will be here 3 days a week for 7 hours each time, and I’m incredibly thankful and can’t wait to act like a partner with her in the figuring-out of a one Mr. Ziggy-I-only-eat-2-ounces-and-get-full-and-don’t-grasp-the-concept-of-daytime-naps-just-yet-but-boy-am-I-cute Miller.

Have a great weekend, everyone. Until next time…

— EGM