Learning to be a Wife: Life Lately: Week 2

This is what the past week looked like.

This book will stay with me for a long time.

It helped me realize that a little discomfort is not only tolerable but beneficial - that new, stressful experiences are often what transform fleeting moments into lasting memories.

At its core, the book teaches us to lean into discomfort to expand our internal capacity, leaving us more resilient and better equipped to handle what comes next.

Favorite quotes:

"If you want to have amazing experiences you have to put yourself in amazing places."

"Learning new skills is the best way to enhance awareness of the present moment."

"Building 'the capacity to be alone' (the ability to be alone with yourself and not feel uncomfortable or like you have to distract yourself) may be just as important for you as forging good relationships."

"The World Health Organization found that the constant stream of decibels we live in is, quite literally, taking years off our lives."

"You act like fulfilling a checklist (get a good husband, then get a good car, house, etc), but this plan will never materialize perfectly. And even if it does, then what? You don't settle, you add more items to the checklist. It's the nature of desire to get one thing and immediately want the next thing, and this cycle of accomplishment and acquisitions won't necessarily make you happy... Researchers at San Francisco University found that titles, wealth, and possessions ultimately improve our wellbeing only insofar as they fulfill our basic needs...There isn't much long-term difference in the well-being one gets from living in a modest house versus a McMansion... The researchers found a paradox: being overly materialistic leads to unhappiness."

"Fully recognizing one's own mortality may be an important aspect of the humble and grateful person. Perhaps when we recognize that death is a reality we all must face, we may then realize 'life is not only a pleasure but a kind of eccentric privilege.'"

"Without conscious discomfort and purposeful exercise - a forceful push against comfort creep - we'll only continue to become weaker and sicker."

New year, same breakfast.

Evening stroll.

Cottage cheese has been my sidekick all week: sheet pan dinners, ground beef with sweet potatoes, spaghetti… and honestly, I'm into it.

Adding little touches to make my house cozier.

Inspired to reread the Bible again this year.

Taco (bowl) Tuesday.

Fun times in the office celebrating Mars bringing Kellanova into the family.

Free lunch Thursday.

Spotted a green M&M in the wild. :)

My sweet manager and I.

See also: she is the best.

This was beautiful and heartbreaking.

Favorite quotes:

"The work of the artist is to freeze time."

"The past can't change. But memory can, which is almost the same thing."

"I've learned how big of a dream it is to have a small life. That the cost of ambition is high."

"There are two kinds of grief: grieving the loss of what was and grieving the loss of what wasn't."

"It's not that you don't need anyone - just that you don't need everyone."

"We begin to say goodbye as soon as we say hello. Death is a corollary of birth, and to welcome life is to guarantee loss."

"Life is a life-threatening condition."

This weather is giving porch sitting and windows opened.

Call with my besties is always good for the soul.

Carpooling with a coworker this week led to a fun exchange about our favorite sparkling water flavors, which inspired me to add a few of her go-to choices to my grocery list.

After a week of clouds, these blue skies are like a deep, refreshing exhale.

Weekend brekky.

While LaCroix Key Lime and Waterloo Blueberry Lemonade remain my favorites, I found myself enjoying LaCroix Peach Pear - and now Bubbly Bellini Bliss has earned a permanent spot on my must-buy list.