Currently Reading: Iron Flame - 50% completed (still havent made progress) Currently Watching: Love Has Won: The Cult of Mother God Currently Listening: Silence (my favorite sound) Current Mood: Anxious
In this email you will find:
Black Friday Cyber Monday Reflections | What I am Looking Forward To , includes Recipe Links | 10 Cyber Monday Sales |
Black Friday Cyber Monday reflections
This was our 5th Black Friday Cyber Monday on our account, and it about did me in. I still have a lot of anxiety and self-doubt from quitting my job (when does that go away?!) and put a lot of pressure on myself. I did things a little differently this year and accepted more paid partnerships than we had in the past in hope I would not have to be glued to our phones all holiday weekend. Not the case. Even if I was not on the phone, mentally I was still on the phone.
Working on commission is stressful because some months are good and some are meh, and it is hard to adjust from the dopamine highs to the lows without feeling like a failure. Even though you know that there are peaks and valleys, it is still so hard to accept that there are peaks and valleys. My brain always tells me “you are not working hard enough.” Or “people do not like you anymore.” Or “you have sold everything you are going to sell and you need to find more stuff to shill.” It is also hard to not work 24/7 when you know there is so much money that could be made. Like if I just only sleep 6 hours a night and work the rest of the time, I can make enough to re-do my kitchen. But the mental sacrifice is never worth it. I am always in the worst mood, and I feel like 1 week of being in a terrible mood takes like 3 weeks to make things right with your partner again.
What I am looking forward to
De-cluttering
My mom died November 25th 2018 and my dad died December 15, 2020 - so I still kind of hate the holidays. Another thing that adds to my mom guilt - because I just why can’t I just fake it? However, looking back on it - I do not think I ever enjoyed decorating for the holidays, or anything for that matter. It seems like so much effort for how little time everything is up.
I am looking forward to slowing down. I still have to get through some gift guides, but I have been trying to declutter my house for what seems like years. My goal is 10 things a day. I learned this from @Johnice.Katz. Just tell yourself 10 things and usually you will keep going. Or sometimes it is just 10 things.
Holiday Travel
We are also doing something we have never done - travel during the holidays. I was really depressed in October and already needed the sun back. I surveyed followers for family friendly all inclusive resorts in Cancun. Originally, I was planning on going when Rebecca was out of school but could not get over how expensive it was to travel then! I had several teachers reach out and tell me to just take her out of school. Especially now while she is young and it is easier to make up work. So we moved our travel dates up by 12 days and saved 65%!!! And we are using reward points, so basically shopping math is telling me its free. I am so excited! I have already made a list of all the books I want to read there. Because for some reason I just can’t relax enough to read while at home.
Meal Planning
I basically did not cook at all in October save for like 5 meals. And just did easy dinners in November. I barely have an appetite because of Mounjaro, so it is hard for me to even think about food. But I am to the point of being sick of eating out and sick of easy, quick meals. I want to go through my cookbooks and Pinterest and try out some new recipes and make some of my old go-tos. I have to admit that a lot of my go-tos are from my Weight Watchers era, but I mean if the food is good, its good! Some of my favorite easy weeknight meals:
Garlic Green Bean Stir Fry - also good with tofu that has been tossed in oil and air fried then added in at the end. Chef Keysh Lasagna Soup Recipe - Linking to his PDF of holiday recipes because everything he makes is so good! Spaghetti + Meatballs - I mean, it is just so easy. I love to buy these pre-made meatballs. Or these for extra added veggies. The LA Chop - I do not include the raddiccio, but love this salad. I add in extra chickpeas and usually just use pre-sliced salami and sub out fresh mozz pearls for the provologne.
10 Cyber Monday Sales
My all encompassing curated picks can be found here. But these are some important ones I wanted to highlight, too!
J. Crew: I was a little disappointed in the Black Friday JCrew Sales, but they are really bringing it for Cyber Monday. My top gift recs? The eco pajamas are so soft AND you can get a monogram - same with the oversized cashmere wrap that Rebecca is obsessed with. Free monogramming for gold members, I think?
Well, it happened. I fell in love with the Bird Buddy. If you missed our full length review, I have a highlight dedicated to it. We really love it. I got it for my brother to test out and you can also give access to friends and family to look at your app and the birds that come around. We have so much fun with it. It is the cheapest I have seen it and in stock at Best Buy. I also linked our other window bird feeder that is a best seller and requires no app.
Meater Long Range Meat Thermometer - My Description speaks for itself. It really is so good.
Pillow Cube - now comes in cooling! I always receive so many DMs about how this product has helped with neck pain and sleep! It really is so good and this is the lowest price I have seen since Prime Day! It takes a little while to get used to - especially if you are used to sleeping with more than one pillow - but it has drastically cut my migraines.
Victoria’s Secret Bra - Missy always gets questions about which. bra she is wearing and a lot of the times it is this! Runs true to size and 40% off right now. I also linked to this bra that is $20 and a top seller - makes the girls look good. Size up in band size, stay true to cup size. And our favorite nipple covers are on sale. I use these in my bathing suit in addition to dresses I don’t want to wear a bra with.
Paravel luggage - 40% off. I love the carry-on I have from them. Missy also bought. We also like Beis, which is 25% off everything on their site, which never happens. And Missy’s favorite backpack is more than 30% off!
10 Amazon Beauty Picks - Amazon has some really good deals on a lot of my favorite beauty items
Target clothing - 30% off! Including the shoes, outfits and leggings we love!
Rayban - 30% off - Last chance to get Raybans 30% off. I bought the Mega Hawkeye in NYC and had no idea how much I would love them. The best part is that you can do Prime Try for 7 days without being charged for some of them! I ended up getting the non gradient pair. too. Also linked the Mega Clubmasters.
Snooz Sound Machine - This may be on discount for longer than today - I am unsure. But 20% off is the best discount you will find using code MSMMBI20.
Thanks for reading! I hope you all have a great week!