Episode 29: The Second New Year

>>> Click here to read the computer generated transcript (note that the transcript isn't perfect)

Gabby: Hi, and welcome to the making an effort podcast, the podcast, where you get to drop in on a conversation between two friends, discussing all the things they make an effort with and some of the things they don't. And today we are talking about what I like to call second new year, which is kind of the back to school. You know, fall startup kind of vibe that we all get in at the end of August and beginning of September. And I like to call it second new year, because if feels like you get another shot at this whole thing.

Mel: It does. It's like, yep. It's a, it's a reset.

Gabby: It's a reset. It's a reset. Um, and so I thought, or not, I thought we thought it would be fun too. Just kind of talk about our plans for the fall. I feel like I need to say something right off the bat though. Being married to a Northern Irish person. I know that you guys call it autumn. Yes. And we have the word autumn in the states as well, but more frequently we call it fall. So I. We'll be calling it fall because I know that people who hear me as an American saying autumn are going to be like, wow, who does she send you? Look, she's so posh. And I'm just personally not ready to sustain that kind of abuse. So

Mel: yeah, that's fine. You can have your fall, I will. I will default to autumn probably.

Gabby: Well, we'll see what the up we're going to stay in our lanes. Yeah. Well,

Mel: I mean, uh, so yesterday, uh, we realized that our kids are going back to school in three days and we didn't have school supplies. So it's like, do we have any pencil cases in this house? And of course, any pencil kids. Was remotely, uh, like looked like it might do the job. The zip was broken. Of course. And then of course, you know, you get a message from the schools and please put, please try and have transparent pencil cases. So then you go on a whole like, okay, I need to find out why transparent is it makes it easier for the kids to like, get stuff out of their pencil case if they can see inside of it, you know? Um, Which is to me, just a bit of cuddling actually.

Gabby: You need them to really, what does it say? They say, I love island, the

Mel: graph and the graph for that HB pencil.

Gabby: no

Mel: they're living these days. You only have to look at their freaking pencil case to know if they have a rubber, but in my day, and by rubber. Eraser erased condom. Um, uh, in my day we didn't know where the hell the rubber was and our pencil case. And we had to rubbage, but no, no, our little precious children will say everything that's available to them. And they're transparent pencil cases. What a crock of shit.

Gabby: Tell us how you really feel about the

Mel: smell. Oh, so, uh, Dave, just Dave is like the most efficient person that you'll ever meet when he gets something in his head, he will upset they'll obsess until the job is done. So for instance, this pencil case thing, like we literally got this message from the school. Realized that we had no school supplies and by 5:00 PM, all the kids both had new lunch boxes, new bottles, pencil cases, full. Like school bikes from last year, because they weren't even light to bring skill bikes last year. So they're squeaky clean. Wait, they

Gabby: weren't no. Okay. Sorry. Yeah. Yeah. That's a whole nother thing, but

Mel: they're still bags are in tip top condition and they weren't even in school for mostly last year. Anyway, let's be honest. So, you know, everything was sorted by dinnertime and he is such a boss. Wow. I know back up Dave,

Gabby: way to go, Dave. I know you can't hear it. If I had one of those like applause tracks. Yeah.

Mel: It goes well for days I did. I did like, I feel like there is a little bit of like, My kids have been robbed a little bit of the experience of go into the stationary shop at the beginning of the school, like at the end of the summer, beginning of school term and pick a night they're stationary. Like I freaking loved that. I mean, yeah. Did you

Gabby: not love us? Oh, absolutely. I still have to like force myself to walk past like the binders and the notebooks. Yeah, absolutely. You don't need this. You don't need it

Mel: school 20 years ago. A year. You're good. I know. Oh, I know. I have a notepad though. I love a notepad, but, um, I still have like, yeah, I still. I think if I dig into the file of back to school second year, my, my mind goes to band like 10 years old. And you know, my dad taken me to byway or Walmart and the smell of, you know, new pencils, the smell of like binders and files and all of that, that is fresh. That's a fresh man.

Gabby: Oh, it's a yes. 1000%. I, okay. So I grew up in is Pakistan and w I don't know if this was like a, like us specific thing, or if other places do this, but like, so for our school, we would, first of all, we weren't allowed to. Uh, right with pencils. Like we were allowed to have pencils for art class, but everything else had to be in pen and you had to get wiped out. So there's that cute? AKA nail Polish nail Polish. Exactly. If you didn't put weight on your fingers growing up. Yeah. I mean, did you even have a childhood? Exactly. And the other thing was our notebooks all had like celebrities or pops. Yeah. You guys have that.

Mel: I didn't, because I am an OG play in Jan, so I would never have had right. I would never have been able to commit to that.

Gabby: Yes. Okay. So there's like a few, so like our notebooks, they were very thin. So you'd go through quite a few of them in. School term? Um, they're like Finn little booklets. They almost look like little like exam. I don't know, exam booklets, if you have those, I don't know if you do. Um, but they, on the cover, they would have like Brittany Spears, Backstreet boys, sometimes like local Uzbek artists. And you kind of like defined your personality by like which artists you picked. I know it's like we were not

Mel: alive about ever. That would have

Gabby: been like very rigid, like school uniforms. Although I had school uniforms too. I don't know. That's just what we had.

Mel: This is the situation in Northern Ireland. Well, it was when I was growing up with like school books and stuff. You went to school with your stationary supplies as in like your pencils. I suppose. Yeah. And, and I'm talking more like junior high, secondary school, your pans, and they must, they must be, have been a cartridge pan. So like a proper, like right. Cartridge, calligraphy type pan. Wow. Which is honestly when I say it out loud and I, I feel like. I feel like what I would feel like if someone told me that they used a Quill 1000 for that. And I just can say that just, I don't know if you saw like the old lady thing, just wash over my face. Gabby: It was like, as you were saying it, you were like, wow. It's like horse drawn carriage.

Mel: And so you'd have all that stuff. Right. And your tip X, which is what we called it instead of wide-eyed tip X. Um, and, but then you would get given your bigs for every subject, like, as in your textbook that you learned from, and then you're like writing book, like your, your, your notebook or your daughter as we would call them. And you had to back those books and paper. Do you know about, you know,

Gabby: yes, we, yes. We had to cover all of our books and paper. So

Mel: that was where you're like representation. Stepped in. Right. So hi, you back your book and what you back your books with was the statement. Are you a brown paper person or family? I guess it's more of a statement of your family. Are

Gabby: you, I was a brown paper person

Mel: say, or, you know, the wrapping paper from leftover birthdays or was it, um, some people were super cool and did like a magazine. Or, you know, like, oh, the other one was, but this was too fiddly for any of my family to ever be bothered with was the clear one.

Gabby: Oh no, but like, let's know what you're talking,

Mel: you know, like, and you have to pay it off. And then, and there was always, it always like gathered or bubbled or whatever. So nobody would ever be arsed with that. But now that I am thinking about it, I am just like, What was that all a bite.

Gabby: See kids not do that anymore. I don't know. No. Do they get given books? They do. Yeah. And they can just have them without covering them.

Mel: Yeah. Because we're not animals. Like, did you need to cover your set? A weird thing. No, either I'm thinking

Gabby: of this to preserve them. Maybe. I mean, I don't

Mel: know. I don't know. I just think, I mean, hi, precious is a 20 pay Jotter that you had to go home and like put your parents through the torture of bucking that shit. Like why is dumb? So dumb? I totally forgot. in cartridges and having them buy. Paper books is so stupid. I'm saying it is dumb, but yes, that backs. And I do, you know what I remember as well, is that feeling of, especially in Canada, because we didn't wear school uniforms that like, what are you going to wear on the first day back to school and yeah, you were going to. Let me think of a, of a Canadian fashion shop that I would have gone to Lisha toe

Gabby: shit. What? I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Canada. What the heck?

Mel: It was cool. And it was pretty much the only shop in the whole mall, um, that like ever survived. Ricky's ritemans. I'm sorry. I can't remember. So

Gabby: Reiki is just, sounds like the back of someone's

Mel: truck or, you know, if you were lucky you went to like a mall and a Titan outside of small time in Chatham and got to go to some of the bigger shops, you

Gabby: know, so growing up we had, um, So my all the way through middle school, I wear a uniform and our uniforms were like legit, like either brown or blue dresses with tights and black shoes. And then you were a Pinafore. So like you could get your, you could like, you lit, I literally wore like a white apron Pinafore, like over your skirt. Over my address. Yeah. And you'd have, you could, you could buy them or you could have them made. And a lot of like, one of the ways that you like showed your personality was like, cause it, it was very common to have like school seamstresses. So like all of our, like we would, every year we would go to a seamstress, which sounds very bougie. And I promise you, I promise it's not, we would go. And we would like literally have. Someone make us a new new school uniform. I mean, when I went to high school, I was no uniforms. So obviously it was living my best life at American Eagle. yes. Like picking out my polo shirts. I like still, like, I like bought myself dislikes pins, straight buttoned down. Cause I thought it was just so preppy and cool and like classic and I wore it literally one day to school. Cause I was like,

Mel: do you feel you would wear that? I feel like you'd wear that now. Oh, I would wear

Gabby: it now for sure. I love a button up shirt, like, especially in oversize when this one was like fitted. So I think that was part of the discomfort, but then also I think, um, oh yeah. Like what 16 year old is like getting up at 6:00 AM on a Monday and thinking, you know what I'm going to wear today? Buttoned down when like literally our school, we had zero, I mean, more or less zero. School uniforms. So we could just like rock up in our sweat pants and a t-shirt if we wanted to. Wow. Which I did often, and it's like led to this amazing fashion. I have to say our

Mel: scale went through this. I'm not, I'm probably not going to say this. Right. But went through this fashion Paik where everybody was into wearing moderates Mo mudrooms. I'm going to have to, like, what are those, those

Gabby: long ones? Um,

Mel: they're like, Oh,

Gabby: uh, well, gotcha.

Mel: Oh my goodness. Maude robes. Yes. Oh, my word, look it up.

Gabby: I'm looking it up right now.

Mel: Um, they are like, it was like they thing and they came in all these different colors. They basically look, you basically look like you work in a hallway in a hospital. That's basically

Gabby: the lik, oh my gosh. Like basically they are just, um,

Mel: Scrubs scrubs, essentially everybody, those F my gosh,

Gabby: I'm so sad. I missed this. I think this was maybe like the year before my time everybody was at, cause I would've worn this. Yeah, for

Mel: sure. Sure. Like slight cheek scrub looking type treasures. That was a big thing. And I also remember, I also remember. Um, the beginning of grade 11, I think it was when everybody, everybody was wearing like fleece zip ups.

Gabby: Yes.

Mel: And I was like, I am going to need to get a fleece zip up. And I begged my dad. I was like, please, please, can I get one? There's a big basketball game tonight and I really want to wear one to it. So he brought me to like the like hardware store. Yup. Where are they sold? Like, like, because they were. For farmers, farmers, basically.

Gabby: Yes, they were because that's where you get like the outdoor Outfitters type vibe. Yes. So I

Mel: got my rent, please zip up from there. And I swaggered in to that basketball game, like, oh, I was the shit

Gabby: that feeling. I remember that. Yeah.

Mel: I was like, check out my new fleece from Tim's hardware store. So

Gabby: Hawks, I know my high school was like in a super affluent neighborhood and we were not. And so like, I was forever getting, like all of my classmates would have like, North face and like all the like brands of those types of things. And I would always be like, Burlington coat factory

Mel: factory.

Gabby: Oh, thought great stuff. Okay.

Mel: No, I'm just really into the thrift store. Okay. Yeah.

Gabby: Oh, that's rafting was like, yeah. I don't think

Mel: there's any comparison of the thrift stores in north America to here. Like I do love a charity shop rummage for sure. No doubt. Have bagged some amazing bargains, um, great stuff, but there's nothing like a value village or a salvation army thrift store. They're just not the treasures, the treasures that are, you know, to be fined anyway. That's that is, I've got all the tails now, but back to scale, I know

Gabby: I really,

Mel: really do.

Gabby: Um, but let's, let's pivot. That's dependent. I don't even know this is like the most rabbit trail. I think we've ever been on this podcast. Here we are. I love it.

Mel: But I, but I do want to know in terms of like second new year for you as an adult come September, what does that feel like? What's like going on in your head? Are you getting all like gee'd up? Are you feeling like motivated?

Gabby: Yeah. So I guess the reason I tend to think of it as second new year is on a personal level is cause I kind of reevaluate all the goals that I set at the beginning of the year and kind of. You know, like I'm not a huge, um, new year's resolution person, but I do like to have goals. And I do like to have, when I'm in my healthy Enneagram four state, you know, you kind of go into that one wing. And so there's like a really like orderly part of my heart that like really gets excited about like having a plan and having like. Teed up, ready to go? Um, so I guess, I mean, this year, I'll just say what I'm working. This September. Um, I kind of took a break from my planner, which if you guys have followed me for any amount of time, you know, I'm obsessed and the biggest evangelist for my daily page planner, which I will link in the show notes. Um, so I kinda took a break from that for the summer, just because our schedule is all over the place and. Whatever, but now I'm back on it. And I am happy to say that I have been checking things off my to-do list, like nobody's business. Um, so I got that going. Um, I, I'm kind of, re-evaluating some of like, you know, the goals that I set for what I want to accomplish in my job. Um, and I'm feeling pretty good about those. Are you going to say what

Mel: those are or not really? Um,

Gabby: I can say what they are. They're put it

Mel: into the universe. Gabriela.

Gabby: All right. Um, so I guess the only reason I was kind of being, not shady about it, but a little evasive is because they're not. They're not that impressive because I actually have been taking a conscious step back this year. Um, so a lot of my career quote, unquote goals for this past year have been. Doing the right stuff, not all the stuff, which is my normal go-to is I love to say yes to stuff saying no to things and also picking the right things. Um, and I think that's been a good goal. And I think I said, I said yes to too many things in August. And so I'm feeling the fresh. Uh, inspiration to try to try and step back again and say, Hey, like it's okay. If there are seasons that feel a little bit less busy. And then I guess the other thing that I've, I've kind of got going is, I mean, for the last two years, three years, um, I have had a Peloton, which I love, and I I've been so grateful because Danny just never did well. In any of the childcare programs that are local YMCA or anything like that. So when Chris is on the road, especially, it's been like the greatest tool for me to work out at home and have a kind of, you know, the freedom to do that as a work from home mom. Um, but I kind of just felt like I needed a switch up because I've been doing this for literally years. Um, so I just signed up for it an eight week. Program through a girl. I follow online called Rachel Rachel. Good eats is her Instagram. Um, yeah, handle and I'm on week two and I've really enjoyed it. There's something about like being like, oh, I've ticked off. Like, you know, the exercise for today and there's four of them. Usually she has four a week and then like a little bonus fifth day, if you're feeling, you know, like you're ready to take on the world. Um, I usually just make it through the four and it's just been fun. Cause like there's certain, like she has sets certain goals. So like Tuesday is like arm day. And, or like upper body day and, you know, Thursdays are lower body. And so just like getting distract kind of track your progress that

Mel: way. Is it like, um,

Gabby: no, it's, it's a PDF. So I just kind of like set up my laptop, put on some music and work through the exercises, um, on this PDF. And so like, it's kind of fun to just have like something structured, like to kind of put some structure on a part of. Like that part of my life. Um, yeah. I don't know. What about you? What does second new year look like for you? Hmm,

Mel: I love second new year. Um, what does it look like? Well, I think, um, I I'm doing, I have had, uh, like. Little mini realization about part of my business that I am going to be rejigging. Yep. Um, cool. Because I, because I have like an amazing team that I work with, I like my, uh, I have an operation. Um, manager that runs all of the behinds behind the same stuff in my business, Helena. She listens to this podcast, uh, and like does the transcript and stuff for us. So she's amazing. Um, but, but like that means that my business rhythm and what I'm offering program wise and stuff is usually planned out for a full year. So I know, like I have a bird's eye view document of when I'm launching a new program, like another round of a program that I run, um, like when I'm going to be delivering that, when I've got different, different things coming up, and I would have like old Mel would have hated that kind of, that kind of like advent. Planning type thing, but I have really, really loved knowing what I'm doing. I guess it's kind of been a year in and play us like my previous operations girl, Ellie did this for me. She's amazing. Um, and, but I've, I just was looking at the other day and I was like, there's too much here. And I. Well, as it's really similarly to you just want to simplify some stuff. So I was, I was like, I went to this online virtual conference for coaches this week. Um, it was just like a one day thing and, and I had a few realizations. Um, and so that means that I'm going to be combining like a couple of my programs into one. Which I'm excited about. Um, that's really fun and I would love to hire another team member this year. Um, so I'd love to bring another coach into the business. Um, but then my other stuff is like, I like, you know this about me. I have a real decision paralysis in my house. Um, I love my house so much. But I am so afraid to do stuff to it. Why is this, what is wrong with me? And so one of my big goals between now and the end of the year is finally fricking decorate written the upstairs of our house because it has not been touched in since basically since we moved in and yeah, which is like eight years ago, then that's ridiculous. So. Um, so I've started to make progress on that. And I think that's my big kind of like, let's really. Stop procrastinating on decision-making Mel. Like it's just a, it's just a pant color. It was just a bad, like sorted out. So there's that. And then, you know what, I've been loving my netball. I'm going to stay committed to that. And I think we're going to have a little bit of like a social lake. So we're going to be like play an actual competitive matches Gabby: know. Cool. I wish I could watch you play. That would be so cool. Oh, my word,

Mel: I was there last night and I was a bit like scared of going because I, you and I both had a very similar injury this week where we hurt our neck. What was, that was weird. Wasn't that?

Gabby: I actually, yeah, that was very strange. Yeah. Like I was like, I hopped on Marco polo and I was like, guys, my neck. And like literally the next day were like, guys, I can't move. Oh, it was so weird. I was like curse.

Mel: So I was really like, um, I dunno, just nervous about turn something. Cause netball is. It's not like a gentle sport. Really. It's quite a, like you're running around. I, um, I'm always near the goal. So I'm always like in the position that I play, I'm like either defendant or attacking the go. And I have a big wingspan because I have, I'm a tall girl, so it's a lot of like jumping in front of the ball to like stop it and stuff like that. And I was nervous that I was going to wake up today and all of that. All of my neck was going to be saved again, but it's been fine. So I really liked before I'm really enjoying that. So I'm really looking forward to keep in that going, um, in the autumn as well. One of my other goals for this, for the autumn is to see my friends more. Yeah. That's a good goal. Yeah. Or to like do more like social things. So, yeah, I just, you know, with all of the restrictions and different stuff that we've dealt with over the last, I just still feel like I'm stuck in that like every, every night to Netflix night. And I just want, I want to be like, no, I'm going to arrange to go to dinner with my friends, or it's absolutely fine for, for DIA and I to like ask someone to sit in with our kids in the evening. Like we just don't do that enough. Yeah, and I really want, I want to do that more. I want to do that and I want that. I want to make an effort. Oh,

Gabby: oh, we didn't

Mel: have a little siren or something. We did. Sorry. Gabby: We, yeah. Why are we so into sound effects? It's been a very sound effect.

Mel: That's very Um, I. Well, I dunno. Oh yeah. I want to make an effort way to see, um, like my friends that live in England a bit more here and know that there's no reason why I couldn't go over to see Estelle Manchester for a weekend, or I couldn't go to see Michelle for a weekend or race, you know, like just I could do that. Yeah, you can. Why, why do I not do that? I mean, I know why I don't do that because of.

Gabby: Well, it w you legitimately just get out of the, out of the way, like a year of not traveling or connecting with your people is definitely enough time to get out of the way. And the mindset of thinking about connecting, especially when it's not fun. Over whatever, you know, like I think all this stuff, it's just like, it's also hard to figure that stuff out.

Mel: Residual trauma. From the last time I went on an airplane as well from, do you remember that? I don't know.

Gabby: Where are we talking to that? You texted, you texted me cause you were, it was like a big storm and all this stuff, right?

Mel: The storm was the last, it was like the cherry on top of an absolutely horrendous flying experience. Cause it was like. A storm had delayed my flight for like 12 hours. And I was in the airport for a lot of that waiting, waiting, waiting, and then it counseled. And then I had to get my friend that's come pick me up again. And it was all fine. And then I didn't know if the next flight was going and the next day, and it, it got delayed until it was like one in the morning and it took off in the middle of the storm. And this guy was, did I tell you about the guy that was sitting beside me? I don't know. Oh, It was so weird. So there's two, two parts to this story. I think yes. One, I sat down at the very, at my S my seat was at the very back of the plan and I sat

Gabby: down so worst place to sit if it's going to be a bumpy ride or some way,

Mel: and this guy sat beside me. And he got out his phone and he was pretty lit. Like you'd had a good few drinks. I could smell alcohol off them. And as you would, like, what else do you do? And at an airport. And, um, he got out his phone and we're still on the, like on the tarmac. And he had this app open that showed like the wind spades in the air. Right. So, and he's, he kind of starts talking to me and he's like, just have a look at this. He says, I fly says I fly pretty much twice a week. Oh my gosh. And he's like, I'm. He said, that's why I have this. He says, but I'm telling you now we shouldn't, we shouldn't be flat. And he showed me like, oh my gosh, no, like the red circle of like wind on this, on a screen. And he's like, that's where we're going. And we shouldn't be, we shouldn't be going into that. And I was like, um, I, I have become quite an anxious flyer. I was really

Gabby: started crying. I would have

Mel: started. Yeah. Well, I actually got really cross with him. I was like, I'm going to need you to shut up and not speak to me. And then he was like my joke in the definitely flat definitely be, oh, it would be all right. We'll be okay. And I was like, no, don't. I said, honestly, uh, really I really need you not to speak to me. And so he was sitting, I was in a three, three person saying, and he was sitting, I was sitting at the window, he was sitting on the aisle and then a guy came and sat in between. And I ended up talking to talking to this guy. I was like this dude to your left, just like, he's just really pissed me off. I'm so anxious. And he was such a gentleman. He like talked to me the whole flight. Like he just, I was like, I just need to be distracted and come down here. Um, oh, he was such a sweetheart. He really. Like he, yeah, we just had such a lovely conversation, took my mind off it. Um, and anyway, I've never been so glad to get home to land and Belfast. Like Dave Kim pick me up. Um, I like could have cried. When I saw him, cause it was just such an important day. And then literally I think three weeks later, the pandemic kicked off and nobody was going anywhere shortly after. Anyway. Anyway, is there any other things that you like, like to do to mark a new season? That's what I wanted to ask you.

Gabby: Um, so every season I kind of make bucket lists, so I had summer bucket list for like, for our family and they're usually just, you know, Really fun things. Um, I usually make a Christmas one, um, and I'll probably make a fall one. And usually they are a combination of like, just fun things that are not hard to do, like pumped up patches. Yeah. Like, yeah. Stuff like that. It could even be a, yeah. I was like, do a, like a fall themed craft with Danny or, um, you know, like. Some kind of recipe or, you know, it watching assert like watch all the Harry Potter movies or, you know, something kind of fall and spooky. And I don't know. I don't know. I like to do a bucket list just to kind of like have some intentionality around each season. So I'll probably

Mel: make one of those.

Gabby: Yeah. I don't know. I, I would like, there's a blogger. I follow who. Has done this for years. And I think especially after becoming a mom, I was like, there's all these things that I would like forget, or these experiences I would want to have with Danny in certain times of the year that I would forget about, or be like, oh, I wish we had done that together. Or I wish we had tried this. And, um, and then I was, and she makes these bucket lists and I was like, I should just do that. And you know, if we don't do them, it's not a big deal. Like this year, I put a lot of outdoor stuff on our summer bucket list and Danny has such a low, uh, heat threshold tolerance. Like if it's not, if it's over 60, sorry, 50, if it's over 76 degrees, which I have no idea what that is in Celsius, um, Fahrenheit, he will, he won't go outside. So. A lot of respect, that list didn't happen. It didn't happen this year. I'm like, that's fair enough. I don't, it's not a fun bucket list. If you're just miserable

Mel: outside the whole time, the forced bucket list is not the one, that's it?

Gabby: No. And this is supposed to be like something that is a burden it's supposed to like inject some fun and just intentional. Yeah. Yeah. Into a busy season. It's not supposed to be like a, you must do this

Mel: just to help kind of help you to remember to do those things, I suppose. Yeah. Yeah. That's cool. So Gabby will have a principal ready for.

Gabby: I know I do design them myself on canvas too. So it'd be, I could make a little,

Mel: make a little principle and she's also transitioning into being a mommy blogger. Gabby: I would love to. Okay. Here's my honest truth. I would love to be a mommy blogger, but genuinely, I just it's a lot of work if you've ever even tried to come out with scheduled content, right. Original scheduled content regularly. It's hard work and I just don't have that kind of creativity, but I admire that. I admire the people who do,

Mel: do you have mommy bloggers? Like I used to follow loads of mommy bloggers back in the day when I was, I know that golden era on the periphery of being a mommy blogger. Um, who did you follow? Um, I think.

Gabby: I was, I kind of discovered mommy bloggers at the tail end of their, their Colton era. Um, but I mean, I still follow a beautiful mess. Yes, yes. I am a big fan of what they do and they're also local kind of, so I think there's a little bit

Mel: of, they're only recently mommy bloggers, aren't they?

Gabby: Yeah, exactly. Um,

Mel: both of them.

Gabby: So I think that, I think. Maybe I just resonate with their timeline a little bit more. Um, cause we, yeah, I think Elsie just adopted her first girl around the same time Danny was born. So, um, let's see. I don't know who else I used to follow. Who did you follow?

Mel: So I followed, um, TASA. Oh, yeah. I w I only Davis, um, I followed, Hey, Natalie. Jane, do you remember her? Not, no, no, not the fat rat. Um, she lived in, you know, and New York and an apartment and with her little kid and her husband, and then I, I'm pretty sure that'll kind of. Did not go well for, uh, after that, I don't know. I can't, she's kind of not really doing anything publicly like that anymore, but I did love her stuff. I, I, and then I wouldn't, I'm not sure if it was like mommy blogger, but it was, I mean, I still follow a cup of Joe. Like that's a cup of Joe's. Um, yep. But she did. I think she did do a lot more kid parenting content back when her kids were younger. Um, I'm trying to think, eh, trying to think, trying to think. I can't remember. Anyway, that was, uh, that was a nice time. It was a nice time. Uh, yeah, well,

Gabby: I think that's kind of everything that I had for back to school. Second new year vibes. Yeah. Yeah. You feeling good?

Mel: Um, yeah, I feel ready. I feel, I mean, we've got one more weekend of the summer as we're recording this, um, and kids are back to school on Tuesday, so I feel like I am ready for. A bit of routine and just a way, but a personal space, to be honest. Uh, I believe that for sure. So, well, here we go. If Gabby: you have any second new year traditions or back to school, life hacks that you want to tell us about, you can always hit us up in our DMS on Instagram, or you can email us at hello@makinganeffortpodcast.com. Um, otherwise until next time. We'll talk to you later. Bye everybody.