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Our New Valentine’s Tradition

One of my “resolutions” is to be more intentional about reaching out to both of my grandmas on a weekly basis. One of my favorite topics to talk about with my Grandma Bryan is her experiences in motherhood and being married to my Pap. For those of you who don’t know, my Grandma and Pap…

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Strategic Screen Time for Kiddos

It seems like during COVID, screen time in our household skyrocketed. Balancing the needs of work and home was exhausting and sometimes screen time was necessary to accomplish schoolwork or participate in meetings. Last year, my husband and I decided we wanted to limit screen time for our kids. They were constantly begging to watch…

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My Relationship with Writing

In my “About Me” section of this blog, I shared that these entries are an attempt to develop a healthier relationship to writing after getting my doctorate. I decided a blog post to explain may be helpful for those interested. Anyone familiar with academia will tell you that writing is a significant part of the…

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My 2025 Ins and Outs

I’m the type of person who does a lot of reflection at the beginning of each new year. I love planning how I’d like the year to go and setting a few personal and professional goals. This time of year also coincides with my birthday, and this year I celebrated a milestone birthday, so reflection has been THROUGH THE ROOF. If you’re on social media, you may have seen a variety of accounts posting their “Ins and Outs” for 2025, and I’ve decided to do the same.

2025 Ins:

  • Skincare – Skincare seems to be trending like crazy with younger generations, and apparently I’m just catching on. I recently found a brand that I love (Kat Burki), and while it’s an investment, it’s made my skin feel so much healthier.
  • Heatless curls – For those of you that know me personally, you may know that I absolutely hate doing my hair. I never felt like I had the time and would constantly go to my ol’ faithful mom bun. I made the decision to ditch the bun, and thanks to a stocking-stuffer from my husband, I’m newly-obsessed with heatless curls. They’re easy to set and make me feel put-together.
  • Scheduled quality time – In an attempt to get back into a routine post-doctorate, I’ve started scheduling set quality time with my husband and kids. My husband and I have a scheduled date night, childcare already covered, each month and it has been a game-changer! I’m also in the process of scheduling quality 1-on-1 time with each of my boys every week. My 5 year old is particularly excited for the FREE Lego-Club that we’ll be attending at our local library! Making sure these events are scheduled allows me to plan and also makes sure this time gets prioritized.
  • Free, or low-cost activities and hobbies – Going off the scheduled quality time with my family, I’ve been focusing on making most of the activities we do free or low-cost. Our favorites lately have been the library, and a low-cost “Play Space” where our local gymnastics center allows kids to go wild on all the equipment, all for the price of $5. My newest obsession is water aerobics at our local rec center (don’t judge me, it’s a solid workout), all for the price of $5 per session.
  • Being active – I got a FitBit this year and as someone who is extremely goal-oriented, it has been a game changer. Nothing brings me more happiness than finishing a day with over 10,000 steps, and knowing that I did things like play tag with my kids, dance, go for an intentional walk, or participate in one of my new hobbies to achieve that goal.

2025 Outs:

  • Make-up – This one has always been a hard no for me, and I’m sticking to it.
  • Scrolling – When I’m with my kids, husband, or anyone else I want to prioritize time with, my phone goes screen-down. It’s way too easy to spend time scrolling while life passes by, and I’m setting an intention of not having my phone attached to me.
  • Obligations – While a lot of my “ins” focus on scheduling, I’m over obligations, or things I feel we should do in order to make someone else happy, despite it not being a positive thing for our family.
  • Losing weight – I seem to start every year with some crazy weight loss goal. “I’ll lose 20 pounds this year, or by X date.” While I may lose a few pounds, I end up burning out because the goal isn’t realistic and it’s normally achieved by things I don’t enjoy. By shifting my mindset to being more active rather than losing weight, I’ve noticed I’m starting to lose weight, and I’m actually enjoying the process because it feels sustainable.
  • Imposter syndrome – I’ve struggled with imposter syndrome since I started my PhD. Throughout school, I worked part-time and raised my boys. It was difficult for me not to compare myself to those in my cohort, many of whom were in leadership roles within their organizations and did not have children. I’m leaving imposter syndrome behind and embracing the fact that I got my doctorate while raising 3 young children.

I’ll plan on doing a mid-year check-in on these, because we all know that when we plan, God laughs. It’s important to note that these are indicative of my priorities this year, but sometimes things changes. While I’m hoping these Ins and Outs continue to be something that I prioritize, I’m also eliminating the pressure to continue them if at some point they don’t suit me or my family.

If any of these resonate with you, let me know, or if you’ve created your own Ins and Outs, feel free to share. Happy 2025, all!