👋March comes in like a lion

It's Monday. I'm here for you.

Jen Glantz

Mar 04, 2024

My mom always tells me how March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb.

I always ask her how and why and what that means, as if I forgot.

But I didn’t forget.

I just like hearing her say:

Like most things in life, the month starts off stormy and ends so sweet.

The most unusual things happen to me in the month of March.

I met Goofy (the dog) on March 25th.

I met Adam (the husband) on March 19th.

I married Adam (the husband) on March 19th.

I went into labor with Gemma (the baby) on March 19th.

I held Gemma (the baby) in my arms on March 21st (it was a longggg labor)

Yet all of those things started off kind of rough and ended up so sweet.

Welcome to the Monday Pick-Me-Up. I want to share three extremely personal stories with you this month about Goofy (the dog), Adam (the husband), and Gemma (the baby).

Ps. If you know anyone who would get excited reading these Monday emails, could you share this with them?

March comes in like a lion

Hi, friend! I swear I poured all of myself into last week’s post that I couldn’t figure out what to write about this week. So instead of a long read, here’s a short one. I jotted down some of things that I’ve been thinking obsessively about.

What are you worth?

Every month on the 25th, I take about 10 minutes to check out where I stand financially. I just go through my bank accounts, investments, and retirement funds, add up the numbers, and jot them down in a spreadsheet. Then, I compare it to previous months to see if there are any big changes. It's been my routine for about three years now, and I gotta say, it's pretty cool to see how my net worth has slowly crept up over time. It's not skyrocketing or anything, but doing this helps me spot any mistakes or overspending.

I inspired (…begged) Adam to start doing this too. Even though we keep our finances separate, it helps us have good convos around money moves, goals, and accountability.

8-Minute Phone Calls

Lately, I find it incredibly hard to respond to text messages. I’ll read a message, reply in my mind, but never find the actual energy or time to write a response or press send. Entire friendships have been stunted because of my texting behavior. But I have become absolutely obsessed with picking up the phone and calling friends. 90% of my friends are long distance. I crave their voices and find it easier to really catch up with them when I can hear what they are saying, or trying to say, and ask the right questions to get them to open up even more.

TBH, some of these calls last 90-minutes to three hours. We make agenda’s for the calls. If we think of something during the week, we’ll say: add it to the agenda, write it down in our notes app and share the details on the call.

I can’t stop thinking about this 8-minute phone call concept where you set a date with a friend and only chat for 8-minutes. I’m not sure how well this would work but it’s something I want to try. It’s hard to find long stretches of time, when both people are free, for long lingering calls. Perhaps these short sprints can take the place of unanswered text convos, especially during a busy phase of life when you want to remind someone that you love them but don’t have it in you to type out the truth.

Ps. The only way I have been able to conquer text message responses these days is by taking 5-minutes, every night, at around 9pm, to look at the missed messages and type out an email responding to each one. I send myself the email and then copy and paste the response to each person. An unusual process, I know. But it works for me!

Time Should Feel Slow

If you ever wanted to slow time down, you need to bring something new into your life or routine. It really does feel like magic. When you're stuck in the same old routine, days start blending together like a never-ending cycle of sameness. But when you throw something new into the mix, time seems to pay attention. It's like your brain gets a jolt of energy, soaking in every little detail of the new experience with excitement.

So, next time you're wishing for more hours in the day, remember this: you don't need a mysterious spell or some secret formula to slow down time. It's just a matter of embracing something new.

Easy Meals to Cook

I’m in my Saturday morning cooking era. I’m really enjoying making easy — like 3 or 4 ingredient only — easy meals. I made these muffins for Gemma (and for myself) and they were delicious and filling. My goal this week is to test out these squash pizza boats. Looks easy, but I wonder how delicious they actually are. I’m still making this dish 2x a week. Please send me any/all easy and veggie recipes that you adore.

Books for Blahh

I have two go-to books that I read on repeat when I’m feeling down. The first is this one. I gift it to everyone with a broken heart. This next one is great for someone who wants a pick-me-up but doesn’t have the strength or courage at the moment.

Go-To Gifts

My friend mentioned the other day that she has go-to gifts for different things: when someone has a baby, gets engaged, is having a bad day, etc. So when those moments happen, she can just click buy now on the item and send it their way. This makes the gift giving process so easy. I’m thinking of making a list of gifts for different life moments, in all price points, that I can use as my go-to. I’ll share it with you too but let me know (in the comments below) what your go-to gifts are.

The Face Mask Was 👎

I tested out this face mask from Amazon (pictured above) and wow it was awful. It felt so heavy on my face, the LED lights were blinding, and it hurt. My face was stinging. Maybe the more expensive ones are the real deal but this one was not it. I am still loving this though. My skin feels so soft after I use it at night.

I Am Constantly Thinking About…

How important it is to be so intentional about your life. Your time here isn’t endless. There might not be as many tomorrows as you think there will be. I remind myself of this constantly.

⚡Instant Pick Me Ups

📚: I’m not reading anything new this week because I have spent all of my free time watching Love is Blind season 6. I don’t regret the time I invested in watching the show because it has been a fun way to unwind after a long work day.

🎵: I am guilty of listening to this song 16 times on repeat. Gemma listened too.

🛍️: Calling these leggings out as my absolute favorite. A bit pricey but I always wait for a sale.

: A fun fact about me is that I wore clip-in hair extensions for 10-years. Right after I met Adam, I decide to throw them away. I told him I got a haircut (major LOL). But postpartum hair has been a journey and I grabbed these from Amazon. I sort of love them - what do you think?

Ps. a full list of pick-me-ups are right here.

Why you’re getting this: I'm Jen Glantz and this is The Monday Pick-Me-Up newsletter. I've been sending it every Monday, for 9-years, to thousands of awesome humans, just like you. Thank you for letting this email live in your inbox. It truly makes my heart explode with joy.

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