Well heyyyyy,
As I write this, the kids are about to start school tomorrow. Mags is heading into 8th grade (in person), which is her last year of middle school, and Jags is heading into 5th grade (homeschooling), his last year of elementary school. How is that possible? As you read this, though, we’ll already be a little more than a week in.
We had one week less of summer this year since school ended at the same time it usually does, tail end of June, but started almost a week before Labor Day. That’s a first around here. They normally start a couple days after Labor Day. So I know we all say “summer flew by!” every year, but I actually feel validated this time because it really was shorter. 😂
I’m happy with what we packed into it, though. We did the beach more than usual, took a couple fun day trips to Montauk and a local water park, the kids saw their friends A TON, we went away for a week, some little summer-y adventures in between, and I’ve been doing a lot of prep for homeschooling — curriculum, materials, lessons, all the stuff that comes with getting ready. It was basically Camp Mommy around here while I worked from home with these guys (and always some extra friends or neighbors) in the house.
I also just soft-launched The Alive Club inside The Metabolic Edge (doors closed, but October waitlist is open), so if you see us doing things, trying things, making things, experiencing things, getting out of our comfort zone, you’ll know why. I’m really excited about it! What's the point in getting our health, body, and energy where we want it if we're not gonna allow those things to catapult us into living a big and fulfilled life?!
I’ve also been feeling very in the groove with my business lately. I love what I do, who I help, how I help, and I really love that people come to me in so many different ways — word of mouth, referrals from their doctors, social media, these newsletters. My client roster and brand work stay full, which is a pretty darn cool feeling, especially now that I’m homeschooling and pouring even more of my time and attention into my family, the kids, our home, etc.
Speaking of home, I have been on a serious decluttering kick. I wasn’t really bitten too hard by the Spring Cleaning Bug this year, but apparently she came back around for Fall. I’ve been scheduling one decluttering project a week, even if it’s tiny, and have been averaging a couple. You know when you get on a roll and suddenly you want to get rid of everything? Yeah. That.
I’ve taken this digital, too. Every day I type that day’s date without the year into my camera roll search — so today would be “August 31” — and go through all the pictures and videos from that date across the years. I’m deleting duplicates, blurry pictures, old screenshots, while also accidentally taking a little stroll through the past. I’ve sent quite a few random photos + videos to my husband, family and friends so we can all be reminded of something that happened seven years ago on August 31st. 😂 It’s been pretty cool.
Then I do my Duolingo lesson and feel ready to tackle the day.
Back-to-school time always gets me thinking about "cold and flu season", too, so next week I’m going to do an updated newsletter on exactly how I handle that for myself and my kiddos, because we do things quite differently.
I’ve been experimenting with a continuous ketone monitor lately. The company asked me to try it and give them some feedback, and of course I was interested because I love this kind of self-experimenting. It’s especially interesting for me because I’m not on a ketogenic diet, so I’ve been playing around with different things and watching what happens with my ketones in response to food, exercise, meal timing, sleep, etc. It’s fascinating to see the physiology you learn about in textbooks happening in your own body in real time.
All of this has me thinking about the beginning of a new season and how it’s the perfect chance to decide what you actually want to bring with you into it. Maybe it’s a new habit or slightly tweaked routine. Maybe it’s changing when you work out so your workouts finally have a permanent slot in your schedule and now you are really able to stay consistent. Or is there something you want to experiment with? Maybe it’s something you’re ready to let go of.
I’m curious if you’re changing anything up right now. Hit reply and tell me. I love hearing from you — I don’t write these just to hear myself think. Haha.
I hope you had a wonderful summer! And yes, I know it’s technically still summer, but we’re in that weird little overlap where we’re allowed to light pumpkin candles while still wearing bathing suits + cover-ups after coming home from the beach and waiting for our turn to shower.
I kind of love it. See you next week!
Stay wild + well,
Tara
A day in my life ...
I posted a clip from homeschooling one day last week and got a few DMs about my schedule and how I structure my days to “fit it all in.” So as I’m sitting down to write this newsletter for you, I thought, “Maybe other people are curious too?!” Or maybe not. This might be very boring. Haha! But I’m nosy sometimes too, so let’s do this…
First of all, as a mother and an entrepreneur, every day is different. Truly. Sometimes by a little, sometimes by a lot. But this will give you a decent peek into how I structure and time block many of my weekdays.
My alarm is usually set for 5:52 or 6:00. Straight to the bathroom — floss, tongue scrape, brush. A quick 30-second skincare routine. Then right into workout clothes I laid out the night before (when pajamas go on, workout clothes get laid out).
Next, I pour a big glass of water with electrolytes (usually a low-sodium one) and make some coffee. I’ll often use the red light while I sit down, take inventory of the day, and handle a little admin.
The kids get up and get themselves ready. Breakfast for them. A little chat time. I typically go for a walk, but lately I’ve been subbing that for quick morning sun and an indoor bike session because of these negative temps we’ve been having. Then I get Magnolia off to school. But not today. She was up a bit overnight with some bellyaches, and while she’s much better now, we played it safe and kept her home. Thankfully we don’t get sick often in this house, so even if we were overcautious today, it’s no biggie.
Shortly after that, it’s time for homeschooling Jagger. We have dedicated “school” time and tasks, but I consider learning to be constant, so homeschooling is never really done, if you know what I mean. We take breaks between tasks, projects, or subjects for fresh air and movement, and I’ll usually eat my breakfast during one of those breaks. I often start laundry, answer emails, and reply to clients during those pockets too.
When lessons are done, it’s time for my workout. On Wednesdays, we have conditioning, core + HIIT in The Metabolic Edge, and I love that I can just show up and do it without thinking about it. Sometimes I’ll film a clip or two for IG stories, but admittedly not often enough lately. I’m working on it. I think those 2.5 years of posting every single bit of every single workout left me still needing a break. I’m getting back there — just not sharing every detail of every workout ever again. Haha. That was a lot!
Quick shower, get ready. Six-minute makeup routine. Today was supposed to be a hair wash day, but I pushed it back and used dry shampoo to save time.
At 12:00, I taught a workshop on red light therapy inside The Metabolic Edge. We covered who it’s for, what it can do, what it can’t do, who should use caution, protocols — and I admitted to using it for something I can’t officially recommend to anyone else. We have a good time on our live events. When I don’t have workshops or Q+As, I usually have calls with clients, potential clients, or business meetings (brands, software, etc.). I try to keep 1–2 days per week free of calls for deep work / backend stuff. As a solopreneur, I'm doing my own bookkeeping, website design, all the stuff you see and don't see so I carve out some time for that too.
The rest of this part of my day is mostly work — but with mom life woven in. I’m still making food, chatting with kids, doing a quick house reset, helping where needed, flipping laundry, eating my own lunch, taking my supplements. I try for a quick nervous system break here. It could be 2 min of sun and breathing. Or grounding. Or using the vagus nerve stimulator for a 4 min. sesh. Or reading something. Work-wise, I’m doing client programming and check-ins (onboarding someone new this week), communicating with guest experts for The Metabolic Edge, and writing this newsletter.
I also have brand work today — contracts to review, a few photos to take, emails to return. I’ll fit in a quick study session soon. I’m sitting for an exam in June that will expand my scope and practice, and I’m SO excited about it. I’m gonna put a few minutes into a pitch deck this afternoon for something I invented and planning some upgrades — that part excites me and terrifies me. Lots of imposter syndrome popping up there, which feels like a good opportunity to practice kicking its butt.
And then there’s content. I try to weave Instagram stories in throughout the day as I can (is there something specific you love when I share? I’m always trying to keep things fresh, helpful, and maybe a little entertaining for you). I usually create a new reel or post daily, but since the one I tried to upload last night wouldn’t go through, I’ll probably just recreate it and try again later.
Depending on the day, in the late afternoon / early evening there might be appointments, activities, music lessons, etc., so I’ll put work down to play chauffeur or oversee if it’s happening here at the house. Ninety-five percent of the time, we have extra kids here. Our house has become the neighborhood hangout, and while it’s loud and chaotic, I kind of love it. “Remember when you wished for what you have right now?”
Today we had a tutor scheduled, but I canceled since we have a kiddo home sick. So I’ll work and mom straight through until about 5-ish, when I transition into mostly-just-mom mode. Homework help, finish laundry, dishes, make dinner, hang with the kids, straighten up. My husband gets home and joins in. I usually spend a few minutes before bedtime setting up and time blocking for the next day, then it’s kiddo bedtime routines and family stuff.
Once the kids are asleep, it’s adult time. We hang out and actually catch up. Maybe watch a show. We’ve been watching Homeland lately — old, but I never saw it before and it’s so good. Oh, and dandelion tea with a little lemon is definitely happening tonight.
Then wind-down mode for me. Magnesium glycinate. Alarm set. Workout clothes laid out. Phone on airplane mode. Heat turned down. Mouth tape on. Ideally it's 9:00, but realistically we’re not usually done with kid stuff until 9 or after, so lately bedtime has been more like 10:15 / 10:30.
I have tons of energy all day but am EXHAUSTED by nighttime — and that feels good. Without sleep, nutrition, exercise, and circadian rhythm support, I think I’d be wiped by 3 PM. Taking care of my mental and physical health is the only way I can even attempt to keep all these hats balanced at once.
If you made it all the way down here, you’re a champ. HA! I didn’t link anything I mentioned, but feel free to hit “reply” if you want more details on anything.
XO,
Tara