Treat yourself well.

Though I’m not always the best practitioner, I’ll be the first to remind you to treat yourself.  And not just to a manicure or an episode of Hunted (the UK version is really fun) while the kids nap.  I really want you to treat yourself well.  

For me, this feels more important than ever as I seem to have taken up several new part-time jobs (worrying, calling my senators’ offices, writing letters and trying to stay both informed and stable) in addition to keeping the rest of our lives afloat.

Treating yourself well may look differently from one person to the next, but it shouldn’t be complicated, time consuming or costly.  Here are a few ways to treat yourself well… and fairly easily, at that (regardless of how many days we’ve been snowed in or the current state of the Union).

STAY HYDRATED + TAKE A BATH

True Life: I am still guzzling from the giant (28 oz.) water bottle they gave me in the delivery room before Nick was born.  Semi related: Crushed ice is the best ice.  I’m sure you’ve heard plenty regarding the benefits of staying hydrated and drinking enough water.  If you’re looking for an easy way to up your intake, stick a straw in your glass.  According to Runner’s World, you’re likely to drink more water through a straw than simply by sipping.  

Baths take more effort, but the benefits of a good soak are significant.  I love using one of these inexpensive fizzing epsom bath bombs from Whole Foods (find them in the Whole Body section) and then treating my skin to Organic Bath’s Nourish night balm (completely obsessed).

TRADE SCREEN TIME FOR CREATIVE TIME

Hunted and the Super Bowl (oh, and bits of the Grammys last night) aside, I haven’t been watching much TV at all lately.  While I’m left in the dark about plenty of things (namely the weather), the lack of television news seems to be keeping my blood pressure in check.  It also gives me more time to paint, more time to read, and more time to learn (of particular interest at the moment: reading an illustrated atlas with Grace each day, catching up on Get Messy tutorials for watercolor and all kinds of other lovely things, reading about how to streamline meal prep + hoping to figure out how to explain the sun and moon to three-year-olds).

I’ve also been limiting my small screen time, tucking away my phone for hours at a time when the kids and I are home during the day.  It’s admittedly much more challenging for me to drop the phone than the TV, but hey.  Working on it.

SIMPLIFY YOUR MEALS + SAVE YOURSELF AN HOUR

When you eat well, you feel well.  Simple as that… but not so simply accomplished, I realize.  I’ve gotten back in the habit of prepping my meals and snacks ahead of time, and ensuring I have plenty of nutritious, whole options on hand (and fewer, you know, Cheez-Its options on hand).

I also take advantage of grocery delivery services like Instacart (they deliver to Southie from our local Whole Foods Market in the South End) every now and then.  It saves me an hour (or however long it takes to wrangle two toddlers, get to the store, get home, find parking, and get the babes + groceries upstairs) and also keeps me on plan and on budget, eliminating the risk of impulse purchases.  

RETHINK YOUR HEALTH PRODUCTS + CONNECT WITH OTHERS 

These days (thankfully!) there are plenty of options when it comes to safe and clean beauty products.  I’ve been making a conscious effort to make the best choices I can when it comes to make up and bath products (shoutout to my wonderful cousin who is a Beauty Counter consultant <3), but hadn’t really considered what was in my feminine care products until someone from LOLA recently reached out and shared a complimentary sample.

Yes, I’m talking tampons.  Did you know there are no FDA requirements when it comes to disclosing what your tampons, pads and liners are made of? And there have been precisely zero studies conducted on the long-term effects of using artificial fibers in tampons.  And yes, I get that buying different feminine care products might seem like a bizarre way to treat yourself well.  But I hope you know I wouldn’t mention this if I didn’t think it was worth your consideration.

You can learn more about LOLA products (and use the code OnTap for 60% off your purchases through 2/14) and their impressive charitable work on their website.  LOLA allows you to easily customize your products (tampons, liners, pads), assortment and delivery frequency.  New customers get 2 boxes for the price of 1, or 3 boxes for the price of 2 (discount is applied automatically).  Perhaps you’ll consider donating your free box to a local women’s shelter?  Menstrual care products are often the most requested but least donated items at shelters.

And that brings me to this: Caring for and connecting with others can be such a powerful way to treat ourselves well.  Reaching out (especially when I’d prefer to draw inward) always leaves me feeling more hopeful, less isolated and more prepared to tackle what lies ahead.  

Go on and treat yourself (well).  And maybe buy yourself some flowers, too.  Oh, and happy almost Valentine’s Day!

Disclosure: I received complimentary product from LOLA, but all opinions are my own.  This post contains referral links.  As always, I truly appreciate your support.

Also On Tap for Today:

• If I had an extra hour and an extra 100 balloons, I‘d be making this right now from Oh Happy Day!
• Running out of indoor activities…
• Crafting the ultimate Gaga/Beyonce/Adele playlist (hoping there are enough songs to make it 4 years long)

When was the last time you treated yourself?