Episode 24: “This Too Shall Pass”: Burnout, Balance & the Quiet Work of Getting Your Spark Back

Episode Description:

In this honest and soul-stretching conversation, we open up about what burnout looks like right now—not the dramatic kind, but the slow, sneaky version that shows up as irritability, lack of motivation, and wondering why even the things you used to love feel heavy.

We reflect on Tom Hanks’ quote, “This too shall pass,” and how that one line hits differently in the thick of motherhood, changing careers, and trying to stay inspired when you’re just… tired. Christina shares her own experience with career burnout and what it’s been like to start questioning what’s next—possibly even returning to a 9–5. We also talk about letting go of the pressure to be constantly inspired and productive, and how to come back to yourself gently, one small win at a time.

Takeaways:

• Burnout in motherhood often shows up as low-key exhaustion, overstimulation, and a sense of losing yourself—especially when you're constantly "on."
• Career burnout can happen even when you’re technically doing what you love. Christina shares why she’s been craving structure, support, and the spark of collaborating with others again.
• It’s okay to question what you’ve built—and to want something different.
• “This too shall pass” applies to both the hard and the magical; nothing lasts forever, and that’s both comforting and bittersweet.
• You don’t need to wait for inspiration to strike. Sometimes, just doing the next small thing is enough.
• Letting go of the pressure to do it all can help you return to yourself. Rest is part of the process.

💗 Pink Spotlight
Each week, we highlight a moment, product, or practice that’s bringing us joy:

Kristina’s Pink Spotlight
Playing tennis with her 12-year-old son. It’s a shared love, and she’s cherishing the chance to do something together that’s active, bonding, and totally theirs.

Christina’s Pink Spotlight
Quality over quantity bags. This summer, she's been carrying two Quince favorites on repeat:

1. Taupe woven sling bag – 100% leather, two straps (shoulder + crossbody), fits all the essentials, and looks good with everything. It’s perfect for everyday and travel.
2. Ivory woven clutch – buttery soft, under $150, and the ideal event or date night bag.

Both are timeless, elevated, and have made getting dressed feel a little more effortless.

—

Don't forget:  Leave us a written review on Apple Podcasts, DM us your address, and we’ll send you a light pink beaded bracelet with a gold pink flamingo charm—just to say thanks for being here. 💕

We’re so grateful you’re here. If something in this episode spoke to you, send us a message or forward it to a friend who might need the same reminder. 

Transcript

0:00

I'm Christina and I'm t and this is the Pretty and Pink Again podcast where motherhood meets rediscovery. Hey. Hi. How are you? I am good. I'm good. Good. We're pivoting a little this week. So Dr. Lambert was called to the or. Mm-hmm. So she, we is gonna reschedule with us for a few weeks from now. Yeah. We were really excited to have that hormone discussion. And honestly, when I posted that on my stories, I got, so did you get a lot of questions manys? Yes. I got so many questions. I do too. We're gonna pocket those and kind of file them away. We're trying to reschedule that. But we also got a lot of really great feedback about last week's episode. I was really happy to hear that. We're all in this together. We're all exhausted and tired. We're all tired, and there was a lot of great conversations that were stemming from that topic last week. So if you haven't listened to last week's episode, go listen to it. It's Why are we all so tired? I know Every time we talk about anything like that, walks that line of parenting. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. I get a little nervous'cause I'm like, oh, we have to stay in Arlene. I don't know. It's, oh, it's always very well received by our listeners. I know. I think everybody just feels like a sigh of relief to be like, I feel that too. I feel like whenever I'm listening to something and somebody's like deeply honest about how they're feeling about something, and it just comes across like raw and organic and real. You feel like a weight lifted off of you like that you're not the only one feeling that way. And so it seems like collectively. With the few episodes that we have opened up on that, even though we say we're not a parenting podcast, we are parents and that's a huge part of our identity. Right. And so we don't necessarily know how to fix all of those things'cause we're not parent experts. But I think just sometimes talking about those things is important and it makes people feel seen and heard, yes. That is a place for that. We're in our new little space today. Yes. We have new chairs, new podcasting chairs. I know, I new look, this is really nice. I know. I feel really good. I know. I like this. You can look on our Instagram clip, but. This is perfect. I love it. And when I've been watching our videos through, all I do is fidget in the big chair. I fidget, I snack, I curl my hair. I'm surprised, surprised I have anything left on my head. I like fidget. I like couldn't get comfy. Yeah, we were in like oversized big, were, it was sofa, sweeper sofa chairs and they were just too, almost like too comfy. So now we're in like a little bit more of a sleek. Yes, but these are surprisingly comfy. I feel very at home. They're great Costco. Yeah. Love'em. They're perfect. Love them. Perfect. I know. And I have my hair slicked back in a body. You do. I'm loving this. Look on you. I'm obsessed. My babysitter Sophia, who I love so much did my hair this morning'cause she's a gymnast. So she always did hair like that was like part of her thing. She was a gymnast, she was a dancer. She always had to do her hair. So when she comes over she does my daughter's hair. That's like their thing. She does their hair. Yeah. And today I said, Sophia, can you do my hair too? You look so, and she was like, oh my gosh, yes. So she did my hair in like the best slick back bun. I never see you with like a slick back anything. So this is I'm loving the slick back now. It's gonna be my new look. I was inspired by you because you were saying, oh, I'm doing air dried hair, I'm doing Kylie Jenner curls. I'm like, oh, I'm gonna try that too. Just, I don't know, a little less effort, a little less heat and damage on my hair. So she took, she actually used my husband's brush because I don't have a. Brush, I have a comb or you need like a very specific bristle brush. Bristle brush or something to kind of like slick it back. Yes. So that it really like stays against the head. Yes. So she did a little middle part. Mm-hmm. But only maybe it's only like two or three inches. It's two inches. Yep. And then slicked it back. And then she separated the ponytail into two pieces. Tie'em in a knot. So the bun looks full and sleek and I love it. You need to do a tutorial. You have a do a, I'm gonna to do a tutorial. It looks so good. It's so cute and very, I'm loving the vibe. Effortless. I love it. A nice, cute, neat bun. So what else, how else was, how was your week? How was the weekend? Everything has been good. It's, we're just still enjoying summer. It's crazy. It's like the end of July already, I'm like, how did we get here? I feel like every summer I say that, even though it's been really hot, there's this like weird chill that's, there's already a crisp in Yes. Morning crisp. It's like a crisp air. And I'm like, no. Like, how are we here already? It's like you just know like, I'm like. and we still have a good month left, but it's just it's looming. It's coming. The crisp is gone today. Did you go outside yet today? Hot today. It's hot in the middle of the day. Hot today. It's hot today. It's hot in the middle of the day. But the first thing you were saying was crisp. Yeah, like there's just, I don't know, there's something that just happens when you start to near August where everything just changes and it just, it's like you can feel it in the air, literally. Yeah. And it's feeling like it's there. Summer's wrapping up. It's gonna be over before we know it. It's there. Mm-hmm. It's been, It's been hard for us even here to get it. You just, everybody is just in the thick of it in the middle of the summer. There's so much going on. It's been hard for us to land our guests this summer. So it's just been me and you a lot this summer. I know. But it's been nice. But for fall, we have a ton of people lined up. Chat. Lots of people lined up starting back. Yeah. We're excited. I know. So we're pivoting a little bit today. Like we said, we're gonna table the perimenopause and hormone discussion, it'll be worth the wait and it'll be the wait. And I also think we'll be able to get a lot more out of her. We won't be on such a constricting timeline. I know we're excited for that one, but today we were a little bit inspired by some of the conversations that we were having based off of last week's episode. Mm-hmm. And I thought that this was like a really interesting topic because I've been feeling this and chatting about it with very close circle of mine, but. It's this burnout. And we can kind of look at that a bunch of different ways. I feel like we could definitely talk about mom burnout. Mm-hmm. And I feel like that's a lot of where last week's episode, like the conversations were stemming from just mom burnout, how to feel a little bit more organized, how to get out of that rut if you are feeling very burnt out. I feel like after. A crazy summer and everybody being off of their routine. It seems like a lot of people are feeling very burnt out. It's just probably because you're really like out of your element, right? You spend a lot of the time of the year. In a much more structured environment. And then the summer, it's just a free for all. And I think after a while people get a little tired of that, you know? Right. or you can look at it the opposite way. In the way I've been looking at it in the summertime, I feel like I have more time to reflect. Yes. I'm not so structured. I'm not so in it where I don't have the time to think. In the summer, I have more of this time to think and reflect am I enjoying this right. Because sometimes. I feel like I get burnt out when I'm not fully enjoying something. You're'cause you're going through the motions because you have to. But when you are, you actually take a second to say. Why am I doing this? Why does this make me feel fulfilled? Why does this not make me feel fulfilled? What is something that is a must, a have to, mm-hmm. a chore? What is something that's supposed to bring me income? What is something that's supposed to bring me happiness? What are all of these things? Why sometimes do you feel stuck in this? Burnout and lack of inspiration or all of those things that kind of funnel into one, yeah. When I heard you say the word burnout, for me it felt a little bit like the lack of routine just because of the summer and stuff. But then for me, I also felt this, wow, I am feeling very burnt out just in my kind of creative. Space, like my entire job is to be creative. I have, right now my main source of income is being an influencer and content creator. And then I also have this podcast. So I feel like a lot of the time I need to be on and creative and it's tiring to always have to be like that. You know what I mean? So I've definitely been feeling this burnout in all sense of my life because I feel a little bit of burnout with the kids and then I feel burnout in my career. And so I do feel just in general. And you're supposed to be doing your career at home? Yes. In a place that you are feeling burnout. Yes. That is a recipe for, it's for a hard time. It is. It's tough to be in that space, you know? We'll talk through a little bit of that today. So something that. Inspired me recently was that phrase, this too shall pass. I liked that. This too shall pass to me always meant if you're in a bad space, if you're feeling sick, if you're feeling unwell, if something is hard, this will pass. Mm-hmm. But also the good things will pass too. That's true. And sometimes that means good things come to an end also. Yep. So whether that's like a career that you're in, a good career that you're in, sometimes that has to come to an end. Whether that's like summer. Mm-hmm. Like The good, summer that needs to come to the good things. Sometimes good things come to an end too. And then you're left with this, rediscovery phase. You're left with a pivot. You're left with maybe feeling unsettled. You're left for what is the next phase? You're, you know, there's a lot. There's a lot there for interpretation of what comes next. This two shall pass reminds me of my mantra, which is this is temporary. Mm-hmm. And I recite that to myself. I had a little bit of a longer mantra, but I kind of shortened it to, this is temporary when I'm having a hard time or when I know that I'm in a tough phase, whether it's one of the kids is sick or I'm not getting a great night of sleep, or I'm stressed about something with work. I recite that to myself of this is temporary, this will pass. You know, like That's usually like the next line of my mantra. And so that kind of reminds me of that mantra, but I like that you're also saying it that the good times sometimes, and then that doesn't mean like it in a bad way. It just means that sometimes there's just seasons for things and you move through, right? I know. So what do you think causes you the biggest burnout right now? Right now, if you had to pick I think it's a mix of obviously being home with two little kids that I, like we talked about in last week's episode, that burnout just causes that, chronic fatigue. But I also think, like I said, it's just in the line of work that I do, it's, it's hard for me right now to. Feel creatively inspired. And sometimes what I end up doing is trying to rely on what I'm seeing around.'cause if I'm not feeling creatively inspired to start something, to maybe create something from scratch, then You look to Instagram, you look to what's going on on the internet, and you adapt these trends that are going on. And I'm not really feeling very connected to any of those either. And what happens is that then sometimes I just pull back, like if I'm not feeling good about something, I don't push, I pull back. So if I don't feel like it's organic, if I don't feel like it's the right fit, I pull back and end up doing nothing. Which doesn't help, or I kind of do the same thing over and over again, which also is not the best. You need to adapt in this world and move forward and always be doing new things and trying new things and so I feel a little bit stuck right now. Okay. So your lack of inspiration right now as actually maybe career-based it is because when you think of like things that. Help when you lack inspiration. That could be in many different like facets. Think of like a workout, if you're not feeling inspired to work out, and maybe you've tried it, but you're not seeing results or you're not losing weight. Right. Or you don't like the workout, or you don't like the routine, or you don't like going to the class or whatever. Then you'll just stop. Yep. If you're not loving the clothing trends that are out there right now and how things are fitting on your body. These are all places that I've maybe have feel less inspired. Yes. I've, I agree with all less inspired about clothing trends right now. I think, professionally when you're feeling not inspired, that kind of. It is like a punch in the gut. It's hard. Hard because it also is your income. Yes. It's hard and it's what funds your life. Yep, it is. And so I've definitely been feeling, I think the last year, so we talk about last summer all the time. It's like last summer. I know what you did last summer. Summer. Summer. Last summer. I know what you thought last summer. That's. Our little phrase to each other, because I know what you were feeling last summer. I know. You know what I was feeling last summer we talked about this, that we both just kind of came head, right? Like we were both having a very tough time in each of our lives for very different reasons. And we talked about both of us. Getting it off of our chest. But then we were like, we're gonna do something about this. Yes, we're gonna, what's next? Right? And we both had this fuel to progress past the woe is me, I'm not feeling great. It's like, what's the next chapter? And I think that this year has really been. A lot of reflection, which we've also talked about and rediscovery, right? And I think that sometimes when you're in that phase, it's hard because you feel like not a lot is happening, but really there is a lot happening. And for me, I took this year to get myself healthy again. I needed to focus on myself. I needed to focus on sleeping. I needed to focus on eating well because I was just in a really bad place. I wasn't sleeping, I wasn't taking care of my body in any way, shape or form. I wasn't taking care of my mind. I was really on autopilot in a lot of parts of my life. And so I feel like this last year, that was my goal was number one, get myself healthy. Mentally, physically, and emotionally, and I think that I could say check, check, check to all of those things, but at the same time, I also was like, where does that leave me? Then? Like creatively, career wise, I loved starting this podcast. I feel like it brought me back to the like OG blogger days of starting something from scratch and like learning something new and the collaborative aspect of it. And I just have loved it. It's filled my cup. So like I think beyond what I even thought it could, but. My other business, I feel a little bit stuck and I have no shame in admitting that I've been doing it for 15 years. Mm-hmm. And I think that if you do anything for a long period of time, you could get stuck from. The repetitiveness of things. In my case, I think it's because it's constant reinvention. It's like once you get going with something, everything changes so then you have to start again. And I think the people that have done it really well. There's many people that have done it really well, many influencers that have done it really well. But it's hard and I'm sure that there's a lot of hardships on the other side that maybe people don't show you, you know? Right. but you're saying what you've been enjoying consuming lately. And not even as a content creator, but as a consumer are people that are experts. Yes. Like doctors. Yes. Like actually one of the doctors in Nick's group is doing this. Mm-hmm. And he. Like people that are experts in fields that are like stylists, like maybe that are, maybe they are not even doing the content creation themselves. Maybe they're hiring somebody to do the content creation. Yes. But they're the main character. They're the product. Yes. And that is seems to be doing very well right now. I like that because I like consuming content. That's a great point, and I'm glad that you brought that up because I have, I've sent you things and I've said that out loud before that I. Always enjoy people who are quote unquote experts. And I know sometimes we shade that, where we're like, what? Are you even an expert? Or is this just content? But I think there are a lot of people on social media that are indeed experts at things, whether they're a stylist I'm trying to think in terms of like things that would relate to me. Whether you're a stylist or maybe you're a makeup artist or something, but like you have something else, you have a trade, you have a trade. Besides, you have a license being an influencer, right? Because for some reason I take that just a little bit more seriously. And so I You have a trade in marketing and media? I do. And digital media? I do. You had a profession doing this. I did. I worked. You, You might be one of the content creators that really does take that as a badge of honor in a career. Because you did do this I did it for my job before job for myself, right? Correct. So I feel very like. Okay. Invested in this space and but Christina, you are so good at that space. Like sometimes I like to just throw things up because I'm like, you do, but it needs to just be done. Yeah, it needs to just be done. It needs to be done today. And you're like, no, it's off center. It needs to have this marking on it. It needs to have these words, if you throw it up. People are gonna scroll right by it. I love, it's gonna look like trash. I do, I love branding.'cause you know how to brand. Even with this podcast, like you knew we needed to have a concept, a visual, like a mission statement. A mission statement. I'm saying like the, those are all skills that not everybody has. Thank you for saying that. You know, And I think your skill is that sometimes I have to remove some of that because I can get too hung up on the everything being perfect. And you always said to me that, and we've said this on the podcast before, done this. Yes. You've said that things need a heartbeat, right? Yeah. So I think the combination of us like together it works and like it works in this business as well and I'm so grateful for it. I think that this has just really allowed me to open my eyes a little bit to be like a. Maybe like what else is out there? Like, I love this so much. Yeah. The heartbeat for your other profession, you're just reevaluating it. Yeah. Like I you're doing a pulse check right now is that pulse still there? Does it need to be revived? It's right now. Does it need to be revived? It's feeling faint right now. Do you need to pivot? Yes. And try something new with it. I know, I've been telling you forever that I think you should do content creation for other people. So many people that have trades that have a talent mm-hmm. but they don't know how to like, use it, put it together and use it and share it. Yes. I think that, I've just realized, I think that podcast has helped me realize that there's so much more. To me than just me. I feel like my business has been all about me. Like my Christina Reishi, which used to be Oso Glam blog, you know, which was a blog at one point that I don't upkeep anymore. But all of that was about me. It was my narrative, it was my story, it was my things that I wanted to share. And with this podcast, it was. Obviously us and our experiences, but it's allowing other people to come in and share their experiences. It's connecting with our audience. Yeah. Less in a deeper way than it's about, than ever about. It's less about us. There's a lot of question asking when you ask a question to somebody else. Yes. Usually have to ask the question yourself. Yeah. You sometimes you don't know the answer. Yeah. Then you have to find out what the answer is. It's a lot of growth. Yeah. It's a lot of learning. And it's very inspiring work. It is. So when you are doing something that's inspiring, sometimes it points out other things in your life, right? It does. That are not inspiring. I think that's actually probably what this did. And I think I'm using that as a good thing. Like I think that this is pushing me. For more. And it's maybe not more me, it's maybe more something else. And so that's just where I've been. And I feel comfortable saying that because I don't know what that looks like, but I know that it's what I want. And I know I'm not sure what that, what that even means. But I think that this podcast is all about being honest and lifting the veil and not lying to myself. Mm-hmm. And not trying to put up a facade for any reason. And so that's just where I've been feeling. So stay tuned. I don't know what that even means yet. I have things that I've been thinking of and, but you put it out there. Yeah. And. It's funny, I think I recognized it first. First. It's funny how the world works sometimes when you put something out there big or small. You don't know what that's gonna, you know it. I think sometimes just admitting that to yourself. So if you're stuck at a job, if you feel, you're stuck in something. Sometimes it's just number one, saying it out loud, saying it to a friend, saying it to a family member I'm not happy at this. Or, I don't feel fulfilled any longer. What does that mean? For moving forward. So I'm just like playing around with that. I don't think that I'll ever give up anything. I think that there's like room in my life for a lot of things, but I think that there's just like next steps of okay, what else? Then what else can we bring into the mix? Like. Let's bring something else that fulfills me a little bit more. Mm-hmm. I also think sometimes when you get out of your routine, that sort of creatively inspires you, right? So sometimes when you travel, like you just said this mm-hmm. last week, with your beating, you say when I'm not feeling creative, I can't create. So sometimes when it. It takes you a second to jolt and be like, oh, if I travel somewhere, if I do something and it sparks some creative energy, sometimes you just need to get outta your right or you have to be out of the house. Yes. Like Igniting your senses? Yes. In the bead store, like you feel the weight of the beads. You smell things you talk to somebody, somebody tells you how to do it. Actually, like the owner of the store when I was there showed me this like new technique that she did this like not technique like I could and then wanna try it. I could technically do all of that behind my computer. I could order beads online. I could watch a YouTube video and see how to do it. None of that is as inspiring or invigorating as when you're out there in the open. So it's so true. And I do, I think when you put things out there, things come back. I actually have a whole bunch of orders I have to fulfill today. Good for you. But just it's all good things and sometimes lack of inspiration. Will, you know, recognizing that will help lead to more To new things. To new things, yeah. To more. I wanted to tell you, so yesterday I went to that career fair at Westminster. I know. And so my friend Katie. Works at Westminster. And how I met her was again, like things just work out in weird ways. So I had met her a few years ago at the polo grounds when I was actually there for an event for the Phillies Night out selling jewelry, and she bought jewelry from me. And then last summer I met her at Fox 61 News because OAH Strides was nominated for the Connecticut Impact Awards for a business category. There were six categories and Katie was working at Covenant Prep. And their school was nominated for a Connecticut Impact Award. So both of us ended up being finalists, so we re-met there. So anyways, we've become friends and a lot of stuff that Strides does, there's like a lot of overlap with her job, it's been great. We've been able to collaborate, et cetera. So she was running a career fair. Now she works at Westminster and asked me to come and I laughed at first. I'm like, Nick, what am I gonna be presenting? I'm in a room with a vascular surgeon. Mm-hmm. And I'm in the room with a guy from Fox 61 News, i'm an imposter. I'm gonna be talking about podcasting and that's like a little bit of that like self-doubt and imposter syndrome that I have. What am I even good at? What am I even like important, I'm sure everyone feels that sense shouldn't bullshit that I feed myself I went to the event yesterday and my table was full all morning because this is actually a job and something that kids are interested in. Yes, of course. And I was so excited to share my expertise and our knowledge and how we do it and how anybody can do this. Mm-hmm. And how, if you have an idea. Yep. And you had said this too, if you can be an expert in something, then you can share it. It's so true. But it was just, it was very cool to talk to the youth to be able to inspire them. But what then ended up happening was is I was inspired by them. And their eagerness to learn, and then they were asking me like, what did you go to school for? I'm like, I went to Quinnipiac. My bachelor's is in biology. Like you can pivot, you can change, you can grow, you can learn, you can try new things. It goes back to that message that we always say sometimes it's just like recognizing and like it's okay to pivot. It's okay to want something different. It's okay to want. Maybe more of something or less of something, right? And it's all about that rediscovery. But if you don't have the space to give yourself permission to even let those thoughts in your head, then you won't get anywhere. And sometimes it's just like that breakthrough moment. I think for us, it was both of us last summer of like, we're not gonna live like this anymore. What else do we need? What else do we want? What could we do? And this helped so much of that. So I want. The message, like if you are feeling burnt out in any way, I think that sometimes like just trying to really like look within and be like, what lights you up and how can I do more of that, and start there. But then if there is, I hear from people all the time, like I've been, a content creator for 15 years. The amount of girls, women who reach out to me and ask me, like, how do I start? It's like you just start. You just, there is no. How to you just start sharing. Everyone has a phone, everyone has, we're using our phone to record this. We grabbed some a quick My daughters have been doing Get Readys with me. Yes. Because they, have you been seeing Mila's? Yes, of course I get Readys with me. Yes. This is from Target. This is from where like you can everywhere. You funny it and even for us, I have also gotten the question about how do you start a podcast and you just do, like you have to just start it. We can obviously walk anybody through the steps of starting a podcast, but like you have to just want it and do it, and I think that's. I guess I'll like to reflect a little bit, I guess I've done that a couple of points in my life and I have step back and really be proud of that, of putting myself out there, not once, but twice, you know, in two different kind of avenues. And you've done it now too, and it's amazing. It really is. It's fulfilling in a certain way, but. It's just an interesting kind of thought. So with your burnout, you think that the first step for you though was the wellness. The wellness. I think it depe. I think that will depend on where anybody is at in their life. But for me, I was feeling a ton of burnout for very different reasons last year. And yes, for me it was getting myself healthy. So sometimes it's not always a fix or what's next. Sometimes you have to sit in it. You have to stop and stop. Maybe you have to stop, put something back into yourself first. Yes. Before you maybe see like a different outcome or have another output or something like. Like that for sure. I think it's putting one foot in front of the other. I remember last year, we've talked about this in bits and pieces, but I remember last year I knew that I was not in a great place. I feel like if you saw me, you knew I was not in a great place, but I needed therapy. I needed somebody to talk to, like a professional. And I remember feeling how. Daunting that felt of a task I had to go get a therapist and sometimes. Things seem so simple and they're just not, you know, it's like when you're just in a low place, anything feels like simple things are hard and you're not feeling great. Yes. Simple things are so hard. Yeah. But you just have to take one bit at a time. And I've talked to some of my girlfriends about this and you need to open up to people, I think, and you need to get a little circle around you that can kind of like cheer you on, open up to your friends, to your family, have people. Feel that can kind of be a little bit accountable for you, to cheer you on or maybe help you out a little bit. And then I think it's just one foot in front of the other. And I think that when you get to a place of clearing and you feel at peace, right? Like with whatever is going on, then I think is the time to like look for more if more is what you're kind of desiring, right? Yeah. But I think you need to get yourself to a good baseline and be in a very clear head. Wow. And I think that's what the last year for me has been. That's amazing. That's amazing that you were able to do that. How you feel. How do you feel like about how do you feel about thanks for asking. I don't always get asked that. Like I know. Always feel I know. How are you doing? Actually? Thanks for asking. Yeah, no, so I feel better. I feel better mentally. I was feeling very like sick and unwell, and I feel better in that sense. I feel more fulfilled. I feel like. I was adding a lot before, but I wasn't adding things like maybe in the right order or maybe all that I liked, or I just feel like I was so scattered and so everywhere, so I like you or maybe not like you. I cleared the plate and I became a little reclusive last summer, but I think I needed that in order to, before I could add things back in. Yeah, so it's similar. Yeah, similar. And then. I started this podcast with you in January and I think it's changed my life because it brought back that like work flame and fire, like this organization, the deadlines, the things like that. Like I didn't realize that I was craving and that I need it. Yeah, and I love it and I don't necessarily. I didn't think I needed to say like I had a job, but I guess something, I guess I did need to tell myself like, you do have some other purpose. You do have some knowledge, like you are good at certain things. You, I guess I did need that you did for, you probably didn't even realize it and I didn't realize I, I'm probably so busy. With the kids and with like life outside yourself that you didn't even realize what you needed. Yeah. But again, I often, I minimize my, like my background, but I do have expertise in some things you do. I don't have expertise in a lot, but one thing that I do excel in is asking questions and connecting with people. You are such a natural host, so I feel like this has just been, but even just finding people. In the universe that wanna also come in and talk and share. I know he does a ton of the prep work behind the scenes where you're like finding the guests and finding the topics and we have really good guests coming up. Yeah. We're so excited about that. The a h ADHD specialists. I know. I'm just saying we have these natural conversations and anyway I'm feeling much better. Okay. And I know a lot of this. I know a lot of that is from this. Some of it was the wellness journey, some of it was from therapy and medication. Some of it was just me having to accept that this is a time in my life, right? Like some of a lot of it is also accepting, lowering your standards and accepting that you don't like something. I totally agree with that, yeah. Like yesterday I was driving in the car with the kid just from here to Farmington, to the kid's baseball game, and I was sitting in the backseat. My one son was playing in a game and he gets car sick. So I was like, fine, you can have my seat so you're not sick for the game. And I got there the last 15 minutes were miserable. It was absolutely freaking miserable. How do you kids sit in the backseat of that car? No wonder you scream every time we're in the car together. A little taste of it. I'm just saying not every moment is gonna be, of course not so grand. But I think I'm feeling better because I've accepted the environment that I'm in. I wanted to tell you last week when you came over with the kids. Mm-hmm. It is so fun to have little kids here. Oh, it is so fun. And I know it's hard for you, obviously, because they're your little children. I know. And I was there and I like forgot. Yeah. Like that. I have a, I have a pool and you have two non-swimmers, but they are so fun. I know. And so freaking cute. Well, You are just so good. You could, I just love that. Could just tell, you could just tell with t that she's just like such a mom at her core because it just comes like you. You don't even have to like. Flip a switch, like you just like instantly become anybody's mom. They're just so cute. I just love them all so much. We have to tell the story because I shared it, my girl. I shared it on my, I shared it on my I'm up laughing because it was so funny. I shared it on my Instagram and I was like, I hate to throw you under the bus, but. I forget if it was last week or the week before, but one of her, no, it was our summer our summer series where we shared like a bunch of hacks that are working for us and tease claim to fame, which honestly was such a good tip and I did get a lot of great feedback about that. Yeah. Is that work a grill? Learn how to work a grill Moms like, so that you get to go outside and get the moment of peace. That, the guys usually do'cause they're sit sitting out there, you know, watching steak cook and you're inside with the kids screaming and so it's do a little switcheroo there. And people loved that hack. I think that's great, except when we came over, we invaded tea's house, my whole family, and there's so much going on because. Six kids between us all. Yeah. And there's, like you said, there's a pool and Gino was here, your sister-in-law, and we're all trying to eat and feed everybody. And there was a lot going on, so I was distracted. Exactly. Couple of glasses of rose and, and Tea Man's the grill, right? She, I'm like, oh, here she is. Here she, she's gonna, she's gonna show us all. I'm like, ready? I got my phone, I'm like, ready to go. I'm like, here she is. Live, right? Like live action. Oh yeah, live fire. Live action. The grill proceeds to light on fire. I think it may have been. It was the corn. It was the corn that, because I threw the corn in the hust. In the hus on the grill. I know. But like I've done that before too. And I don't know, it was just, it was And your didn't light on fire? I don't think it did, but I maybe, I don't know. But you, I don't know. Am I supposed to put the corn on the top?'cause I put it right on the flame. I didn't think it was gonna catch on fire. I don't know. We need to Google that. I don't, I have no idea what you're supposed to do, but I. As this is happening, tee's like manning the grill. My daughter Layla's coming over with a pretend vacuum. Oh. She's like vacuuming the area that tees like under her feet. I'm like, Layla, get out of the way. There's a grill. Like all of a sudden the grill lights, fire lights on fire. Literally like a movie, like goes, what do I do in flames? Nick, switch with me. You were like, go was in the pool with my kids who were fighting and screaming and yelling. Yeah. And I was like, I'd rather put up this fire than that fire. Say that. Famous last words. Animals loved it. I was like, that is the best thing I ever heard. Say, Nick, come and put out the fire you. The food was okay. It was still fine. The burgers were the best burgers I've ever had. I know we had delicious burgers. We had just a really nice summer night. I like that. We get a couple of those every summer where we just have like our families together. We had, it's very sweet. Yep. I, the kids are, the kids always leave so happy when they leave from here and they always have such a good time, but it was. So funny. Yeah. I was like, this could not have been more perfect. And I happened. I got it. You documented it? Yeah, I documented it. I was like, yep. And the grill is on fire and here we are. And listen, I didn't claim to be an expert. You did it. You just said learn how to do it. You didn't how to do an expert. I need to learn how to do it too. Or maybe I need to learn how to clean my grill. Yeah. But I was over at Jessica's, our neighbors, the other. Just the other day, just like chatting with her and she was like, Ooh, I have the grill on. I'm gonna grill. I'm like, good for you. But I didn't realize she was referencing because she listened to the podcast. Yeah. So she was basically trying to tell me like, oh, I'm taking your advice. I didn't, it like went over my head. I know, but I said it. Are like women gonna be like, like everybody's gonna be manning the grill and like lighting their girls on fire. Okay. If you have corn ladies, ladies, like start easy if you're not a pro at the grill like I am, not like I've grilled very few things, but, oh my gosh. Actually I think it might be my girl because my girlfriend's husband was here one day and he lit it on fire once too. So maybe it needs to be cleaned. Oh, so okay, guys closing out already. I know already. All right. Do you have a pink spotlight or do you need a minute? No, I need a minute. Alright, I'll give you mine. Okay. So I've been playing tennis with my son, Joseph every night. It's so fun. We've been going over and playing singles. The other night. We played doubles and we've been playing every night. I love that. Like every single night. It's so much fun. Oh, I love that. He loves that with you. It, like represents a lot of different things. Your kids eventually become like you actually end up doing stuff with them. Oh, like this is something that I'm not just like teaching him to do and move over, stand here. I had to do a lot of that to get to play with him and it's so much fun. Now you guys are like doing like a hobby together that you both like a hobby. It's not like. Thing. So today he, that's so nice Today he had tennis lessons and he ended up canceling,'cause he has tennis elbow and he wanted to rest it. So I was like let's go. Come for a walk with me. Come for a walk with me. And so I made him put in Airbus and listen to music. I love it. And we like went for a walk. You guys are just like spending a lot of quality time together, which is just nice. It's not a lot of time if you think about it. It's good quality time. It's a good quality thing. Like it's fun to do something with your kid when you like connect with them on it. Yeah. It doesn't need to be. Hours of shared space. It's an hour of tennis or like a walk. I love that. That's so nice. That is my pink spotlight playing. I know. Doubles with my little buddy. I love that. That's your oldest? Yeah, that's my oldest. It's so much fun and he's getting to be such a terrific, I know tennis player's so cute. I know he's teaching kids too. Yeah, he is. Yeah, he has his last day tomorrow. So anyways, love that. That's my spotlight for the week. Oh my God, he got so big. It just, he's like a reminder of like how time really goes by very fast. And that's like why they say time is very fleeting and sometimes that comes across very annoying, especially when you're in like a tough phase of motherhood or just in general, you know, you're like, wow, it does go by really fast. But even since when I've known him, it's like he was a baby. He was a baby. And so it's, it is just. Crazy. Like when you start to see them like literally growing up, like literally growing up. Yeah. It's just a really. Weird but amazing feeling. Yeah. But this is fun. Yeah. I'm not wishing, I'm not wishing the time away. I am not like hoping to rewind back like I'm just, for him in particular, I like this. Oh, this side.'cause he's still, I love that like a baby. But he can, he's like almost as tall as I am. I know he is wear the same shoe size and I know he can play tennis, which is oh, I love it. Which is so cute. That's a really nice thing. So we had a lot of quality time together this week. Love. They were all home. I went in the pool, I got my hair wet. Good for you. I saw that. I've been seeing this reel and I'm like, I need to get on this, but it's be the mom that gets your hair wet. Have you seen this one? No, I haven't. I like that statement because first of all, I'm a girl that never gets my hair wet, and it's because I, it's usually absolutely loath drying my hair. So if I have dried hair. I hate getting it wet. Right. I'll do it. If you've done it, you don't wanna ruin it. Yes, exactly. And I will be like strategic about getting my hair wet. Like I'll do it on a day that I need to wash my hair. And I'm like, okay. Like great, this is a great day to get my hair wet, but like you will not find me with a fresh blowout or like freshly washed hair, even close to getting my hair wet because I'm not doing it again. But I guess for the sake of the kids, I have to. Learn to be a little bit more fun. It lit them up. My sister and I both did it'cause my sister's kids were over here on Monday and then my brother-in-law was here'cause he's off on Monday. It was like a Saturday, but it was a Monday. And the kids were having a cannonball contest and my niece was like, auntie, you do one. That was all I needed to to hear. And you did. And I was like, how can I say no to her? I know, oh, that's really fun. I'm just gonna do it. So then I did it that my sister did it. I love that. And we had a wet hair day. Okay, you know what? Mine, actually, I'll just piggyback off that statement that I'm gonna try to be the mom that gets my hair wet because I'm usually not, but I feel like it is fun. Okay. So mine, I, I teased a little bit of this a few weeks ago, but just my obsession with Quince mm-hmm. right now. So I feel like since becoming a mom too, I have like extremes with things. Like I'll either be like an Amazon girly or like a target girly, where I'll get something, fairly inexpensive, if I don't wanna like spend a lot of money on it. Or I go the other extreme where I'm buying something for thousands of dollars and babying it, right? And I feel like since becoming a mom, I've really invested in more totes like, so, like bigger bags that I can fit a lot of things in and like use as a diaper bag or like use as just like the catchall for the kids stuff and like to make sure I have all that stuff. So I feel like my totes have gotten like a ton of use, like my expensive totes. Mm-hmm. But I don't really have like anything in between and I, you guys know I've been on the quince ba bandwagon. Mm-hmm. I've talked about how I did my capsule wardrobe for both spring and summer. Mm-hmm. Through them. I'm gonna do another one for fall'cause I just love their pieces, but do not sleep on their bags. They are a a hundred percent Italian leather. Most of them. And I found two this summer that I am obsessed with and like they have become my everyday bag and. One of them has become my everyday bag and one of them has been like my going out if we're going to dinner. Mm-hmm. Or if we have an event or something like, is that the ivory woven one? Yes, I want that one. I have an, I get it Ivy. It looks like the Bottega clutch, but it's woven and it's beautiful. It's like an ivory. It's so soft. But it's also not a knockoff. It's not, no, it's not a knock. It's inspired by, but I love that it's. Woven and like it, when you touch it, it it's mushy. It's mushy. Like it doesn't, it's not plasticy. You're not gonna hear it like crinkle. You're not gonna hear it like plasticy it won't scratch like it won't do. I feel like the cheapy stuff sometimes it works, but even the expensive stuff, scratches like lamb skin, Chanel. Yeah, like shit, scratch it. It does. Who wants to take that out? Know it. So this is, so then you end up, like to your point before you end up babying it, you baby it, I don it away. And especially when I'm doing stuff like. With the kids. Like I have a few like nice bags, but I save those more for like special occasions. If we're going to an event or if Raja and I are on vacation, I tend to take that stuff. But when I'm doing stuff like with the kids, I just don't have that stuff around you. Or you like go to a cute dinner with your kids. Do you wanna wanna with your kids if you want, if you're going somewhere nice. With your kids and you wanna throw that bag in the big bag. Yes. It's nice to have an in-between. So Quince has just absolutely beautiful pieces. The other one that I got was this like tote sling bag. And it's like a perfect, it has two handles on it, so one of them is short, so you can like literally throw it over your arm, like over your shoulder. And then one of them is long, so you could wear it as a cross body. And the size that I got is. Small, but it's not, it fits like everything that you need, like all the essentials. That sounds good for travel because when you travel you need like passport wallet, like this would fit all of it, all the essentials. And if you only have one bag on, you can quickly put it in The big bag to go through that is, it's a perfect travel bag. It's like just, and it's just a perfect, it like hugs to your body when you're have it cross body, it fits right under your arm, so it's not bulky. Obsessed with it, and I love it. It's a beautiful like toy color, so I feel like it works all year round. All seasons. And then the hardware is gold. It's like chunky gold. It's not chinsy, it's not gonna scratch. The quality's just amazing. And the price point, both of those bags were like under one 50, so they're like not. Extremely expensive, but they're not super cheap. So I feel like it's just like a nice midpoint. Yeah, and I have been asked about both of those bags. People have stopped and asked me like out and about, so I'm like, and I'm like, oh, they're from Quince. You know, Like I feel like, I'm like, do you have it? I don't have it with me.'cause I have my tote. Of course, when I'm bringing a lot of stuff, I don't have it, but I will share. It on the Pippa page, but I've posted a few reels about it. But I just feel like, again, it goes back to that like quality over quantity, and I'm just feeling like that in every aspect of my life. Like it's, I love the, find all about quality friendships. Quality foods. Yep. Exactly. Quality time. Quality time quality, everything. Exactly. Like I just think that's, it's just so nice and I just, I love that price point. I know people were going like bananas over it when I was posting it. And because it's just, I, the it, the quality is just great and it just makes me feel good to have something like nice, but that's not crazy expensive. It's just like nice. It doesn't have a label, nothing like that. It's just. It's just a good find. I know this is like off topic, but I have lots of bags obviously that have labels. I've been less and less inclined to buy them lately. Yeah. I feel like it's just that like less is more like, and it's funny'cause in the summer I feel very, very, less is more I don't know why, it's just, I feel like because you're just like, whatever. Like it just feels good. Just be, it's the vibe. It's the vibe. Vibe. In the winter though, like when it's the holiday season, I'm like. More is more. Right? Give me the sparkles. Give me like all the layers. The fur Leo, the fur, Leo the, yep. Gimme all of that. Give me the labels. Then I just feel like when you're just in the winter and you just like need, you're like grasping for like anything to make you feel good and like glam. But I know, but sometimes in the sun simmer, I feel like it's just feels good to just be like, Ugh. Like less is more. Okay. But yeah, I love it because we're in that season, we're still in that season. We're gonna embrace the season. And that's how we'll wrap up this episode. Yes. I love it that we're trying to embrace the season. Mm-hmm. We know that mom burnout is a thing. Mm-hmm. But also on this episode, we kind of talked about a little bit of what career? Career burnout too. Career burnout too. And just like life burnout. And it's like life burnout. Know, I think that's just, I'm sure it's something that a lot of people can relate to. One aspect of their life. Maybe it's not career, maybe it's not with the kids, but Yeah, I think burnout's just something that is just a human thing that everybody goes through. Right. And it seems like both of us go through that when we're not feeling inspired. Mm-hmm. And looks, and we're both always looking for new ways to inspire ourselves. For sure. So that's for. That's healthy, that I'm proud of us for doing that. Yeah, me too. Yeah. So this has been a great convo, guys. Make sure to subscribe. I know we say this. We've been trying to remind you, we are giving away bracelets, Christina has one on. Show them. I do. I have this beautiful bracelet. I'll make sure to post a picture too. This is the one that we're giving away. Yes. Yes. So we're And sending out. We are giving away. As a little thank you, if you subscribe and write a review for us. We are giving away a little, a beautiful handmade. Pink bracelet. It's like a light pink bracelet with a gold flamingo charm on it. As a thank you, we're gonna send them to anybody who writes us a review as a token of our appreciation. It really helps the algorithm and it helps other women. It helps other women. Find us. Yep. Which is important. We're building our Pippa community and we're so grateful for anybody who's already left us a review. If you already have left us a review before we announce. This still send us an a DM with your address and we're just sending them to anybody who does it just as a thank you for being a Pippa. Yes. All right. So we'll see you all next week. See you next week. Bye bye.