It's Finally February!
New Routines, Practicing Gratitude, & Reintroductions
☕️ Tea Recommendation: Earl Grey with Sweet Cream
Hey friends,
We have finally made it out of the trenches of the past three months that was January lol I spent this past week regulating my system and instituting some routines that I let drop off at the end of the year. Which inadvertently led me to create a spin on three of my solid ones:
Audiobook Walks - Normally I try to walk in the morning. But as much as I like the cold, these past few mornings have been waaay too cold for me. So I decided to walk during lunchtime. So far, so good.
Wind Down/Night Time Routine - I’ve had issues with sleep for the past nine years, so I’m constantly trying to find different ways to trick my mind into letting me truly rest. That said, I’ve also depended heavily on sleep aids and melatonin throughout the years. So this week, instead of catching up on TV shows, I decided to journal and read my current reads until my eyes felt heavy. Then I‘d turn on sleep sounds and nod off. I won’t lie some nights were better than others. But I plan on continuing this into next week.
Weekly Meal Plans - Knowing exactly what I’ll be eating and making on what days has definitely taken a weight off my shoulders and helped me develop better eating habits. This week, I got to experiment with making chicken fajitas as well as kimchi fried rice, and air-fried wings. Which both turned out great if I do say so myself.
Practicing Gratitude
Last week while cleaning up, I found a box that had a few trinkets and items from various book boxes I’d received over the years. What arethe odds that I’d find a journal with the Spanish word for gratitude (Gratitud) on the cover? If that wasn’t a sign that I chose the right word for the year, then I don’t know what is lol
Part of my new wind down routine is to write in my gratitude journal. Each journal spread is filled with prompts, written in both Spanish and English, that help shift your mindset toward gratitude while also acknowledging maybe some of the harder moments as well.
Not gonna lie there were some rough days when I had to think really hard about what I was grateful for. But by yesterday evening, I realized just how much I was looking forward to doing this.
Although I’m still trying to figure out what book box I received this journal from, I did manage to find the company, JZD! If you’re interested, I recommend getting one for yourself.
Reintroductions: 2025 Edition
I know that I practically say this at the top of every year, BUT, I have some amazing things coming down the pipeline in 2025! However, to avoid the inevitable burnout I feel when I attempt to do too many things at the same time, I plan on slowly rolling these things out.
Starting with Substack & Instagram! I’ve made a few changes here, including a brand-new email banner and signature!
On Instagram, I’ll be posting a Meet the Content Creator post, as a way to reintroduce myself, this newsletter, and what’s to come! I’m excited to share more topics that I’ve been mostly keeping for Kim’s Tea Room as well as a couple of other surprises that I’m working on. If you happen to follow me over there, please give the post some love!
Just like that, we’re finally at the start of a new month but we’ve also reached the end of another week and newsletter. What are you looking forward to this month? New routines, goals, etc. Tell me all the things!
Loved reading this! I've also tried doing better with 'no electronics' after a certain time in the evening to focus on reading/writing. My problem is sometimes wanting to lay down in bed and read, but my face has met a hardcover book one too many times lol. Otherwise, I've noticed it helps me relax before sleep, so hope it works for you too.