What do yogurt, the Department of Motor Vehicles, and mitochondrial health have in common?
Nothing. Except they all conspired to break me this week.
Let's title this week's newsletter: Humor, Hope, and Hip Hinges
😂 This Made Me Laugh (Eventually):
I am a plan-ahead person. A list for my lists person. A “book the dentist six months out and set a reminder” person.
So explain to me why I, on May 7th, suddenly panicked and thought, “Wait… do I have a REAL ID?”
Spoiler: I did not.
Naturally, I opened the DMV website, fully expecting to fix this in five minutes. Instead, I was met with this beautiful message: “No appointments available. Ever. Anywhere. Possibly not even in this dimension.”
Why did this surprise me? Unclear. Why did I immediately add “stalk DMV website for cancellations” to my to-do list like it was a normal part of my workflow? Also unclear.
But suddenly I was spiraling .... launch wrap-up day, full plate of work, homeschooling, no yogurt in the fridge, the DMV hates me, and my future self is going to be stranded at airport security like a criminal.
This is how it begins, I thought. Not with a big dramatic event, but with a browser tab titled “REAL ID appointment availability.” That’s the moment you know the nervous system is a little bit full.
So if you've had one of those "why am I like this?" weeks — congratulations, you're not alone. You're just human. Possibly a slightly feral one. And same.
(I took a breath, reminded myself of what was in and out of my control, and later ended up taking someone's cancelled time slot. For July, but whatever! One man's trash is another woman's treasure.)
🧠 This Made Me Think:
I was on an early walk this week listening to a financial podcast ... and the host said something that stopped me:
“People don’t budget because they don’t believe their future is worth planning for.”
I froze. Because all I could think about was health.
Most people don’t fall off track because we’re lazy. They fall off because they're not sure their effort will actually lead to anything different.
Because they’ve been disappointed before.
Because they're afraid to hope.
But here’s the wild part — hope isn’t just emotional. It’s neurological.
When you believe something good is coming, your prefrontal cortex lights up. That’s the part of your brain that makes decisions, resists impulses, sets goals, and initiates change.
In other words:
Hope is the biological spark for every new habit, every boundary, every step forward.
Not pressure. Not guilt. Not “starting over on Monday.” Just a whisper of belief that a brighter, stronger, more energized version of you is possible.
And that whisper?
Is the beginning of everything.
🏃♀️ This Made Me Move:
I’ve been walking more lately, but they’re shorter now as we begin our homeschooling day super early and my walking time is usually earlier than that. These walks are not long enough to hit 8–12k steps a day (our May Mini Challenge inside The Metabolic Edge).
So I started doing this:
🟩 I draw 16 little boxes on my to-do list. And I remember that 10 minutes of movement = about 1000 steps. AND that there are other ways to mimic the blood sugar stabilizing benefits by doing some "exercise snacks" every 30-60 minutes all day long.
Every time I do an exercise snack or move for ~10 minutes? I check one off.
✔️ Danced while making lunch? Box.
✔️ Pacing barefoot in the backyard on a client call? Box.
✔️ 10 air squats + 10 hip hinges between emails? Box.
✔️ 20-minute walk? Two boxes.
It’s messy. It’s flexible. It’s working.
By the end of the day: no box left behind.
Make your boxes. Let movement match your life.
Let hope lead the way.
🦋 You in?
Hit reply and tell me what the weirdest box-worthy movement you’ve done this week is. (If it involves your dog, laundry, or a rogue dance break, I definitely want to know.)
XO,
Tara