P.S. This May, I loved…

Nostalgia, Snake Plants, Birth Charts and Rabbit Holes - The monthly bonus article for May🪴

Hey there you!!

Welcome back and if you’re new, I’m so glad you’re here!!

How are you and how was your May?

It’s been a little bit of a wild ride the last couple of weeks at the Jo residence. You might have seen my note earlier in the week about my youngest who has just turned eight months old and decided to start teething…

His bottom two teeth have pushed their way through within a few days and by the end of the same week, his top two teeth decided to join the party!!

He’s coping so well (He gets that from me 😉) I’m just amazed to be honest, he’s so little. And then my eldest came down with a cold a few days afterwards, which I’m sure we will all catch in a matter of days!! It’s been real fun over here!

I hope that May was kind to you and that you’re enjoy the month of June so far. I can not believe that we are half way through the year…it scares me a little if I’m being honest.

Ok friends, let’s get into this shall we??

P.S. This May, I Loved…

Me Time

As I write this post, I’ve got a blanket snug over my legs and a coffee to my right, plus a Deliciously Ella Peanut Butter Oat bar to my left.

And my is house is quiet.

Everyone is fast asleep and this right now, is my time and I’m savouring every delicious minute of it.

I’ve noticed recently how much I need these few minutes to myself, not to do anything outlandish, just to be able to plan, write, read or sometimes just think or day dream.

And I genuinely look forward to this little ritual which gets me out of bed instantly in the morning.

It may change at some point, I’ve given myself the talking to about expectations, because I’m sure as you know, things can change at the drop of a hat with little ones…you think one thing is happening and they decide on your behalf that something else is happening instead…it’s just the way it goes, no point getting upset over it.

So as of right now, in this peaceful moment, this is my time and I’m going to enjoy it for as long as it lasts.

Meditation

I started meditating again within the me time, just for 5 minutes, but I can’t seem to fully let myself go.

I can’t zone out like I used to, something is holding me back, but I’m going to keep persisting and trying because it really used to work for me.

I would feel beautifully refreshed and at peace after I had done either a full body scan, breath work or visualisation.

Affirmations don’t really do anything for me, so I don’t tend to press play on these ones. I know a lot of people recommend affirmation meditations, but I just don’t feel them as I’m repeating the words during the session or even remember them through out the day, which is frustrating.

I remember Louise Hay really recommended affirmations in her book “You can heal your life,” along with a few other well known people in the wellness industry, personal growth space.

I’ve also tried writing my own affirmations to no avail and have come to the conclusion that maybe, they just aren’t for me.

Any pointers would be greatly appreciated.

Sunny days

Sunny days to me feel like hope and I am beyond excited that we are going to (hopefully🤞🏻) experience more sunny days than not, now that Summer is fast approaching.

Whether it’s a sunny morning on a frosty day, a sunlit autumnal walk in the crunchy leaves, I will take countless sunny days over, days and days of cloudy grey skies.

If you’ve been around since I started on Substack, you might remember that I really struggled back in February. Looking back now, I’m putting it down to the weather. Every day of that month was dull, and it was mentioned that we hadn’t at that point, had any sun since 2026 has started…

I think this whole heartedly means that I need to live in a sunny climate for my own mental wellbeing, maybe even become a travel writer on Substack??

I’m putting this idea out there in the ethos to whoever is in charge of this kind of voodoo✨

Plants

I started adding more plants to my home a few months ago and it came after reading an article online about creating clean air in your home.

So we took a trip and brought a few snakes plants and some Ivy, after doing a bit of research, and we’ve now got to the point where the snake plants need to be repotted as we have got lots of baby ones growing in the same pots as the original ones.

In May, to my absolute amazement, one of the snake plants started flowering!!!

And my goodness it smells divine, especially at night time. All I can smell is a heady, vanilla, jasmine scent on my way to my bedroom and I just love it.

The flowers have now started to fall off as I’m writing this but I’m hoping that they come back again at some point.

Apparently it’s because the plant is root bound, so I’m not sure if I want to repot this plant for self-fish reasons even though it’s the right thing to do…

I also purchased three beautiful flowering cactus’s from our local garden centre and they are super cute. My son chose the colours and he did pretty well. They’ve made a great addition to our kitchen.

I just want my home to be filled with plants and flowers, is that too much to ask?!

Birth charts, Enneagrams & A little bit of a rabbit hole…

Ok I couldn’t think what to call this section- maybe personal growth?? Well, we’ve got the above title which I think sums it up pretty well.

I can’t quite remember how this all started, but I ended up spiralling after doing a Myers Briggs test at the beginning of May (I’m a INTJ- T, if you’re interested) which lead to me doing more online tests and then researching and reading articles.

But guess what? I finally know that my rising sign is Gemini!! Happy days.

I also put my birth chart, enneagram and Myers Briggs information into Chat GPT and that was pretty interesting. Again, another rabbit portal was opened…

The only problem is, I’m not sure about my Enneagram results…I’m getting conflicting information, one website is sure I’m a one, where as another insists I’m a four. I feel like I’m a One if I’m being honest with myself.

It all take me back to when I was younger and I used to be obsessed with reading a book called, Purple Ronnie’s star signs. (Anyone else remember Purple Ronnie from the 90s, all the cards and books and other great things???)

I was a bit shy about this interest because nobody else seemed that interested in horoscopes at school and I was (always) worried about what people thought and after a while the interest just sadly, disappeared.

I also loved doing the quizzes in Sugar and Bliss magazine when I teenager, trying to figure out who I was and what I actually liked.

So going down this rabbit hole has been quite nostalgic for me and it’s been nice to catchup and learn and understand more about who I am. I just really wish I’d ignored the pull in the opposite direction when I was younger…lesson learnt!

If you are at all interested in any of these things and have any tips, please share away, I’d love to know more.

Articles I shared in May

Well speaking of nostalgia, May definitely held so much of it for me.

I was blown away by the response from everyone around the article “I want a 90s kind of summer.” It has been phenomenal, and I’m super grateful for all of the love, messages and restacks that I received.

I really hope that you all have the summer season of your dreams, whatever that means for you and your family and before I get too emotional, here’s what you might of missed in May:

I want a 90s kind of summer

What I’m Doing Instead of Scrolling This Summer

The Lost Magic of Bored Summer Days

Well that was a lot, a real jam packed May edition. I’ll be back with another monthly bonus article next month and in the meantime, wishing you a real sunny June!!

Jo, Your Precious Seconds ✨

(None of the items/people mentioned in the article were endorsements and all physical items were purchased by me.)

(The banners have been created using Canva and the photos are either my own or from Pinterest (labelled). Thank you so much to Canva and Pinterest and all of the photographers, artists and team who allow me to share my words along side their stunning work.)

If you know of anyone that may be interested in this post, please feel free to share away. And just so you know, I really appreciate you 🫶🏻