I’ve Gotten Ready Every Day in 2024 – Here Is What I’ve Noticed (& May’s Monthly REPORT)
If you remember, the Monthly R.E.P.O.R.T. is an acronym for reading, eating, playing, obsessed, rex, and treat. This is something that I just feel is fun to give you that look “behind-the-scenes” of what's going on over here in my corner of the world and give you guys some recommendations or things that you may want to try as well!
Reading
Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez(Fiction)
Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez(Fiction)
Just for Summer by Abby Jimenez(Fiction)
Eating (this is going to be very niche)
If you don't have a Costco membership, I highly recommend it. We just got one, maybe like six months ago. And to be honest we didn't need it until we had two toddlers eating three-plus meals a day. Now between meals for all four of us plus snacks for the kids, like all that stuff, we get way more bang for our buck at Costco!
We're becoming intentional with that lately because groceries are just outrageous. I swear, we go to the grocery store by our house and I walk out with like two bags of groceries and I spend 80 bucks. And I'm like, what did I even get? So we've been focused on Costco and in particular, the carne asada! Maybe I'm the last one to jump on this train… But I have been buying basics when it comes to proteins or carbs or veggies or whatever, mostly proteins.
This has been so much easier, number one: more time effective & number two: more cost-effective and it has just been really helpful to go about our meal planning that way just picking our proteins and then figuring out the meals Knowing that we have those in our freezer versus picking the meals and then going out and getting like all the separate ingredients.
Playing
This one is really fun! So if you're following me on Instagram, you probably have seen this, but I have lately been overwhelmed with the amount of TV my kids try and watch. We didn't get rid of the TV but we eliminated a ton of screen time because in Arizona when it's hot in the summer, our screen time goes up a lot because you can't go outside when it's 110 degrees out, you know?
I was starting to notice behavior stuff that I wasn't loving and I just wanted to get rid of the TV. I just was like, “I’m about to take it off the wall and put it in the garage,” to be honest. Lol But instead I put a blanket over it and I don't know what it is about the blanket, but it's like a visual reminder to my kids that the TV is not available right now.
Now they don't ask for it! We kept the blanket on the TV for like almost two weeks straight until the boys went to bed and then my husband and I would watch a show or something together. But we kept that on to kind of like detox. I think it was almost two weeks. Then we slowly but surely started implementing screen time at more scheduled times. And now we implemented it again so when the boys get home from preschool and daycare, they can watch an hour of a movie or so. I remind them once this is over, we're putting the blanket back on, you know, the TV. And they have been so good with it.
Anyway, all that to be said, I was also trying to find things to replace it with. I ended up finding this long easel paper to lay out a long strip of and started drawing townscapes. It sounds so silly, but I started drawing roads and parks and houses!
But the whole point was that the boys could color with me. So I basically would draw the outlines of everything and then the boys would color it, which is really fun & then they would drive their little cars on the roads. It's been really sweet and honestly so relaxing for me!
Obsessed
I have been getting ready DAILY. And I'm going to, once we go through this whole report, I'm going to talk more specifically about the getting ready everyday thing because it is something that I have been doing since the beginning of the year. Today is day 163 of me getting ready every single day. Which is crazy I committed to this, and I said I'm gonna talk about this more in-depth after the report if you're interested, but I committed to myself at the end of last year that I was going to go into 2024 unrecognizable, both in my habits, in my health, both mental and physical, in my business, and in my relationships.
I just wanted everything to be different. I've talked about this openly on the podcast that last year was tough for me with postpartum depression and getting diagnosed with ADHD and just a whole host of different things. And so at the end of last year, when I finally started feeling like I was getting my bearings and getting my feet back under me, I said at the end of 2024, I'm gonna be unrecognizable.
So we are six months into the year and I would say that I am doing pretty dang good at that goal. I am proud of the person that I am becoming this year. One of those things being to get ready every. single. day.
And that was one of the things that when I was journaling about, “who is Kate at the end of 2024?” Who is the person that I want to be at the end of, you know, next year or whatever. One of the things was, I get ready every day. So I'm going to talk about that a little bit more, but that's something I'm obsessed with right now. It is something that I, you know, now six months into it and I cannot recommend it enough. I just basically want to tell everyone about it because I've seen just a crazy difference in my life by a simple habit
Recommendations
Not everywhere is going to have this but I recommend looking into this because this was something that I found out our town had or our city had. It's a summer movie series for kids!
I know Harkins here in Arizona is a theater that does it, or if you have a different movie theater near you, reach out to them or go on their website and see if they have a summer movie series for kids. What ours does is show a movie, the same movie every day for a week.
Last week it was Trolls, and this week it's Sonic the Hedgehog, next week I think it's Paw Patrol. You know, every week is a kid’s newer movie, but it's already been released. So it's not something that's currently in theaters. I took the boys to the summer movie series this morning at like 9:45 and it was $6 for us three to go! We brought snacks, the chairs were huge so both boys could sit together AND it’s a theater full of kids so no one really worries if someone is talking too loud or getting up to walk around! Not everywhere will have this, but it is worth looking into because it's cheap and it's just a good, fun thing to do in the summer when kids are out of school even if you have older kids.
Treating
I am going to SALESGIRL SUMMIT this week and I am so excited. I have not been on a professional development trip or a trip for my business since I was in network marketing. So that was at the end of 2021 and it was in Arizona. I haven't traveled outside the state for something that's work-related since 2019 because of everything, the beginning of 2020, January of 2020 I think was the last time, which is crazy because obviously everything got canceled in 2020 and then I had a newborn at the beginning of 2021. It was definitely an investment that I was making in my business. If you follow me on Instagram, you've seen me talk about the Sales Girls. I have been going through their program one of them being their Five-Day Challenge. I just really resonate with a lot of things they say and it’s shifted my mindset around sales. I feel that I’m approaching sales more confidently and differently!
BUT- I will say that I get a little sad. One thing about me is I don't really struggle with mom guilt. I know that's something a lot of people struggle with and I think I struggled with it more with my first, Luke. I struggle with it a lot less having to and then being a little bit older now and just kind of having, you know, just more things under my belt, I think, but I don't really struggle with mom guilt. However, when I do have to travel, without my kids, which has only happened 2 other times. And this is a 4-day trip, which is the longest I've ever been away from the boys. And like my husband's gonna be here. It's gonna be great. Like I am not worried about them at all. But I just am a little sad, and I'm going to miss them.
I just genuinely love being around them. I have a little FOMO that like my husband gets to hang out with them all week. And even though I get that all the time, I'm excited for them to have, you know, time with him more one-on-one. But yeah, I'm just gonna miss them. And I'm probably gonna ball my eyes out tomorrow.
I just wanted to share that because it's, just part of it. And I know some people don't feel this way. Some people want and welcome the “break.” And this is what I was telling my husband as I was thinking, I felt like I needed a break. I feel like I just want to take time for myself, for my business, and for this growth. This is the first time I've been on a trip like this since becoming a mom. I remind myself I'm doing this for my kids. They're my reason for going on something like this to grow and to grow our business, grow as a person, and pour into myself so that I can pour from the overflow and pour into their lives.
But it doesn't take away the fact I'm gonna miss them. So I'm treating myself to the Sales Girl Summit. I'm really excited. Like I said, it is, there's an event Tuesday night and then it's Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday morning. And then I fly home Friday night. I will get home right before bedtime. So I’ll get all the kisses and snuggles just before bed!
CIRCLING BACK…
to the “getting ready every day” thing and kind of talk about that a little bit more because it builds on the Sales Girls. So I got this idea from the Sales Girls Macy, who co-founded Guide Culture with her dad who is like the OG salesgirl.
She did a reel at the end of last year that was about, “20-million Dollar Macy” and then she spoke about their salesgirl protocol and part of that protocol is getting ready every day. If I'm being honest, I was like that's stupid I don't need to get ready every day to see massive change in my life… as if wearing makeup would make me more successful.
However, I'm gonna dive into that a little bit more because I have seen a huge shift in my life since committing to getting ready every day and following through with it. I have not missed a day in 2024. And for me, sometimes it's getting ready at 5 AM, and sometimes it's getting ready at 6 AM after my workout. Some days it's getting ready at noon or 1 PM during nap time because I didn't have a chance to in the morning.
So it's not always first thing in the morning and it doesn’t have to be! Getting ready every day is whatever your baseline is.
So there are really three big changes that I've seen in my life that I would say.
01 Created a Better Routine
This new routine created better daily productivity and this anchor in my day that is predictable. I've nailed the five-minute makeup, and so it's predictable. It's something that I can do quickly. It's like I said, this anchor and an expectation that I do this every single day. And I thrive on routine as someone with ADHD and someone with small children.
Sometimes routine doesn't work very well because you have to be flexible. But then again, that's the whole point of a routine is it can kind of flex and move with you. But it creates these anchors in your day!
This routine has been huge and it has helped me feel so much more productive. Just like when people harp on making your bed right after you wake up in the morning, you complete a task. Completing the task of getting ready every day, just makes me feel more awake and more productive.
02 More Confident
My confidence has grown so much not just from that of an outward appearance, but because of just how I feel and because it is making me find my style again. My style has been basically biker shorts, tank tops, light dresses, biker shorts, and an oversized t-shirt since having babies. And don't get me wrong, those are cute, but it wasn't my style.
So after last year and deciding to commit to this, I also was committing to finding my style, finding that five to seven-minute makeup routine. And it has been so good for me. It's forced me out of my comfort zone with style and having fun getting dressed again, like just trying different things, trying different styles, trying different trends, going back to wearing what I want to wear versus what I feel like I have to wear because it's trendy, but then also trying out different trends if I love them, not because I feel like I have to, but because I want to. And it has been so much fun.
Being super transparent right now too- I have not lost quote-unquote all the baby weight. I hate that term but I'm using it so that you understand what I'm talking about. I am NOT in my pre-pregnancy weight mom weight and I'm 100 % okay with that. The reason I'm telling you this is because I stopped waiting until I was, until I lost X amount of weight, or until I was in this size. So it's been fun to find my style again and all that good stuff.
Also, I get a lot of people’s thoughts are like, “Well, I work from home. So what's the point in wearing a cute outfit?” Or like, “I'm a stay-at-home mom. What's the point of wearing a cute outfit?” That shouldn’t matter. I'm wearing what I want to wear for myself and if my husband thinks I look cute, that's great too!
But I am here to tell you to just stop waiting to go somewhere to wear the cute outfit or stop waiting like because no one's gonna see you in the outfit. Wear it for yourself. Wear it because you picked that outfit out and you love it. Life is too short to just let it sit in your closet and never wear it or wear it that one time.
03 Ready for Opportunity
When I get ready, for me, it is an intentional outfit, like a matching set, workout set even, (just not what you worked out in LOL) an outfit I feel really good in.. whatever it is such as a dress, it can be jeans and a top, whatever it might be. The whole point is that it's an intentional outfit. I put intention into what I'm gonna wear and I feel really good in it. I have a style on my hair every day. Do my five-minute makeup routine. (For me, that is tinted moisturizer, blush, bronzer, mascara, sometimes brows, kind of depends, and then a lip color of some sort or even clear lip gloss.) So, that's kind of like my baseline. And when I do that, I feel more likely to get on my Instagram stories and talk about what I have to offer in terms of my programs or services or whatever that might be. I am more willing to say “hi” to someone walking down the street, introduce myself and see if they want to hang out.
Even if I see a mom at the park and think to introduce myself, as an introvert that takes a lot of energy, but ever since getting ready each day, I feel more up to it and inspired to strike up those conversations that I wouldn’t have before!
It’s not like I walk around with crazy hair, and go out publicly in my pajamas or anything before it’s just that I feel really like ready for any opportunity.
A perfect example of this is today I was taking the boys to the movie and had a friend text me that they had a photo shoot they were doing for a brand and a couple of people backed out last minute. And so she was like, “Is there any way you can come to Phoenix and do this photoshoot?” Just pop in and leave after a few and it would be so helpful for her. After I took the boys to the movies, they were still doing so well so we drove like 25 -30 minutes to where the photoshoot was and we got some great shots for them!
Then we went home and I didn't have to worry about things like, not having any makeup on or I'm not wearing a cute outfit. I was only wearing an athletic dress that I got from Target and a button-up shirt, kind of like wearing it, how you would wear like an open cardigan, you know, rolled up and with a cute pair of sneaks, but my hair was styled, I had my makeup done and I felt good. And so I was ready for that opportunity. And so you don't know what opportunity you might get. You might have someone who wants to jump on a Zoom call with you and chat about, you know, your services or your offer or whatever. And you want to be able to just like jump on in 15 minutes because you don't have to be worried about getting ready or five minutes or whatever it might be. Or you want to approach someone at Starbucks and say hi and introduce yourself because you see her maybe there all the time with her kids. And so you're like, maybe we should have a play date or whatever it might be!
I would encourage you to try it for the second half of the year. I want to challenge you to get ready every single day. Figure out what your baseline is. What does your get ready mean? Is it a 5-minute makeup routine, matching workout set, and your hair like is styled and not just in a messy bun? Maybe that's it for you.
Maybe it's just simply putting on an intentional outfit, throwing on some mascara, and styling your hair, even if it's throwing dry shampoo into it. Whatever your baseline is, you can figure that out yourself. Just make sure that you're challenging yourself from what you're already doing. And it's going to be something that makes you feel really good. And it doesn't have to look like anybody else's, just as a reminder.
And just do that for the rest of the year and see how you feel. Do it for a month, do it for 30 days, and see how you feel. Because I guarantee you will feel different. And it might show up for you in different ways than you expected. I feel like I'm, as silly as it sounds, I feel like I'm showing up better as a mom and as a wife. Because again, it's that routine, it's that productivity. I feel good. So I am putting out good energy.
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