Welcome back to Monday Joys! It's been a week, and yes, I'm well aware it's Tuesday! I'm just trying to keep you on your toes 🤣

Anyways, I've been thinking about this week's joys a lot and really looking forward to sharing. I used to hate writing, which is comical now, considering that's a huge part of my literal job. But isn't that how it goes? I'm grateful to my parents for teaching me how important it is to learn to write well, and to my difficult English teachers who pushed me (no matter how annoying it was - ha), because it's allowed me to share my creativity with you all!

Anywho, let's get to the things that are bringing me joy this week. Give them a read, listen, or look to take a break from the mundane, grab a breath when you feel like you're sinking, or just because you like them. Take what you need and what you want from them :)

my monday joys

​#1 A Little Life: A Novel. This is our book club book this month, so I can't take credit for finding it. And when I started it, I thought Ugh, boring. It's about 4 college roommates who live in NYC together. But, it's really picking up! There's so creativity in it, some mystery, some science. I haven't finished it, but the overarching theme seems to be about the struggles each of us faces, no matter our background and whether past or present. We are all going through something that the world can't see, and while we might not want to share about it, we always appreciate kindness. So above all else - be kind.

​#2 Tetragrammaton with Rick Rubin - Jack Johnson. Okay, this is a new listen for me and I can't speak for the rest of the podcast. But, the slogan is "interviews that may blow your mind," and that's how I feel about this. Jack Johnson is rarely interviewed on podcasts, so listening to him talk about how he built a career that works for him and has his family at the center of it is inspiring. But what really caught my attention was him talking about his love of surfing. He grew up on the water, but he talks about how strange it is that surfers catch a single wave, which represents the very end of something's long, long journey and I think the same strange reality applies to life. The last 30 seconds of the wave are what we, as humans, know and look for, but that wave has seen and done so much before arriving on the shore. Just how can we spend an entire lifetime building something only for the world to see either our success or downfall at the very end. But we forget how far we've come and that after crashing, we become new, a new wave, the next version, whatever it is, we continue and we persevere.

#3 Smoothies! I've been very into smoothies again lately. One of my favorites is this berry one with ginger and maple, or our PB cup shake. Both are high in protein and fiber without protein powder! We've been taking them to the beach to have as part of dinner plus snacks, crackers, etc (beach going food ya, know?).

#4 Corn sweat. Ok, this is an odd one, but my mind was blown when I learned this was a thing! Check out this article about it. It says, "The process -- known by the scientific term 'evapotranspiration' -- is the natural process by which plants move water from the roots of the plant to the surface, according to Ohio State University. The water then evaporates into the atmosphere, making the local region feel more humid." So while the Midwest is humid, it's even more humid thanks to corn! 🌽

#5 Rapid fire! Ok, I don't want to bore you, so this will be rapid fire. First - swim lessons! I will never not sing the praises of swim lessons, particularly private lessons. It is the best thing you can spend your money on since drowning is a leading cause of death for infants and young children. Next up, Goodles (the best mac and cheese that happens to be high in protein) is at Aldi - score! And finally, our money-saving tip for enjoying our weekend coffee shops is we pack a cooler with our kiddo's favorite drink and our zucchini protein bread (bakery style, of course). This way we get a fun drink and don't buy ourselves a pastry, and our kiddo gets his chocolate croissant, but we don't have to buy a drink for him.

And that's what's bringing me joy this week - let me know what's bringing you joy, listening reqs, or something you're proud of or excited for this week!

I hope you have a great day, and may your Monday be less Monday-y!

Talk soon!
Mika (& Dan 🤪)

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