I’m coming at you a little later than usual on this warm and sunny Friday (it’s 80+ degrees in Chicago today!), but hey, I made it!

Yesterday was one of those days that started out great and ended with me asleep on the couch at 8 pm.  I just couldn’t keep my eyes open, and my energy levels were so low.  Thankfully, that all changed this morning when I got to sleep in for an extra hour while Vishnu watched Kaiden.  However, as I got out of bed and walked into the living room, I felt a little guilty for ‘sleeping in.’  When I mentioned this to Vishnu, he told me not to.  “You got up at 1:00 am and 5:45 am, babe.”  Even still…little pangs of guilt remained for a bit.  This mommyhood business is a funny thing, I tell you.

I suppose it’s a good thing I woke up for those feeds, as Vishnu works a week of nights starting tomorrow.  Wish me luck!  Honestly, I’m not too worried.  By the time Vishnu leaves, Kaiden will already be asleep, so it’s just that 1a/2a feed that I’ll have to tackle on my own.  We shall see… 🙂

Oh also, speaking of Vishnu and work.  I was totally wrong about his schedule last weekend.  I thought he worked a 24 shift from Saturday am to Sunday am, but it turns out he only had to work a 12 hour shift on Saturday (8a to 8p).  Finding that out made my weekend!  Also, I should probably look at my calendar every now and then, as I had it correctly noted in there.  Oops!

I started Dr. Brene Brown’s newest book this week.  It’s called Braving the Wilderness, and like all of her other books, it’s fantastic.  I’m on chapter 3, and her words are resonating already.  I highly recommend checking out her work.  She has the 5th most viewed TED talk in the world, she’s written four books, there are countless articles/interviews you can Google and read…the options are limitless.  Her work is truly life changing.

Braving the Wilderness - Brene Brown

So I shared in last week’s post that we got an Instant Pot.  I’ve used it three times now, and I can honestly say I like it a lot.  While not every recipe is ‘instant,’ it does cut down on cooking time and the number of dishes needing to be washed.  I can tell this new device is going to take lot of experimentation and patience to learn, but once we get it, I can see us using it every day.  I mean, my IP lasagna soup turned into IP pasta, but it tasted delicious so there’s that!

Instant Pot pasta

Other than that, this week was pretty normal…ish!  I have a handful of weeks left before I go back to work, so just trying to enjoy every second with my little guy.  More on that coming soon!

And for my favorite links of the week…

Marriage after kids…kind of a different ball game!

Totally on board with this way of life

So simply put but so true

#3 and #8 really ring true

Problem solving v. question posing – love this

Meditation, weight lifting/yoga, walking = happiness

“To know if sparks are going to fly, Joel says, nothing is more telling than an old-fashioned face-to-face.”  ABSOLUTELY!

Sometimes the best of intentions have severe consequences

LOL…yes to all!

How delicious does this look and sound?  And it’s vegan!

It’s squash season, y’all!

Cue the tears (and no, we are not giving K a brother or sister any time soon!)

Have a wonderful weekend!

No portion of this post is sponsored.  However, there are affiliate links included. There is no extra cost to you, but I do receive a small commission on anything you buy through my links.  Thank you for reading and supporting My Inner Shakti!

By Parita

5 thoughts on “Friday Things + Favorite Links”
  1. Hi Parita,

    I am a long time silent reader of MIS. I wanted to come out of my shell and let you know that I absolutely love your Friday links. I enjoy reading the curated articles that almost always offer something new to take away. 🙂

    By the way, as a fellow Indian and Chicago resident, I relate to many things you write here!

    1. Hi Janani! Thank you for commenting! I’m glad you enjoy reading my Friday posts as much as I enjoying putting them together. 🙂

  2. I looooove Brene Brown!! Most of the things my yoga instructors say to base their class on is a quote from her. She really is so insightful!! I will need to check this book out 🙂 Also: don’t feel guilt!! You’re such a genuine and selfless person so I’m not surprised that you’d feel like that, but you really are doing an amazing job. You and V both are! <3 xo

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