Hello!

Hello everyone! I’ve been asked “what makes you happy” or “what do you enjoy doing” or “what are your hobbies” or some variation thereof a lot in recent months and I didn’t have a clear cut answer to those questions outside of spending time with my family. I struggle with anxiety and depression, which have been pretty out of control for the past year or so. I come up short when asked about my hobbies, because my life seems to be dominated by my uber stressful job and constant doomsday thinking (thank you, anxiety), which doesn’t leave a lot of time or headspace for activities that I actually enjoy. I feel like my whole identity as a person is simply “working mom”, and I struggle a lot with working mom guilt. I’ve been told multiple times that I need to find a hobby or just things I enjoy doing. So then I started to think about what I like doing; things that don’t take too much energy or effort, because I know that will lead to me not doing them, unfortunately. One of the things I love most is to read, because books get me out of my head and my constant worrying and overthinking. Although I do love a good novel, I tend to gravitate towards romantic comedy books. Don’t judge. They’re light, easy reads that I can easily read in the evening throughout the week or binge read on the weekends. I also love shopping, mainly bargain shopping. There’s nothing better than finding an amazing deal on something. I never pay full price for things if I can help it. I love following other blogs and/or social media accounts that find deals for others, and I would love to be able to do the same. So….what do you get when I want to document the good times (and maybe talk through the bad), my love of reading, shopping, and deal finding? A blog where I can memorialize the memories I want to hold on to forever, talk through my struggles (and maybe hopefully help myself and others), keep a “book journal” while simultaneously providing book recommendations, and steering others to some good deals on products I love. I’m not sure if anyone will read this, but I’m hoping I can help others while navigating this working mom life and trying to find my joy.