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October 21, 2024

Intentions for the Week

 

Intentions for the Week Workbook by Tracy Benjamin now on sale!

Intentions for the Week- Week 43 in 2024

Hi hiiiiii! Happy Monday, folks! Did you have a good weekend? Saturday morning I spent the first 2.5 hours off my phone (HOORAY) after waking up. This is something I am working on for a better morning routine.  I caught up on some housework, went to a birthday party, hosted Self-Check-In and did some meal prep: 

 

 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

A post shared by Tracy Benjamin (@shutterbean)

 

Let’s get down to business.

Here are my Intentions for the Week! 

CONTINUE READING

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October 20, 2024

My Everyday Life Week 42

Here’s what this past week looked like- My Everyday Life Week 42

Working on an Autumn altar. Pulling from my manifest kit. 

My Everyday Life Week 42 of 2024- Tracy Benjamin of Shutterbean.com

I lit a candle in a lid and it popped out…

My Everyday Life Week 42 of 2024- Tracy Benjamin of Shutterbean.com

And it looked like the moon! 

My Everyday Life Week 42 of 2024- Tracy Benjamin of Shutterbean.com

Getting ahead on my Currently Workbook!

My Everyday Life Week 42 of 2024- Tracy Benjamin of Shutterbean.com

Hosting Self-Check-In!  I have done it 34 Sundays in a row! 

My Everyday Life Week 42 of 2024- Tracy Benjamin of Shutterbean.com

CONTINUE READING

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October 18, 2024

I LOVE LISTS

What are We Doing Here? I love lists // shutterbean

I LOVE LISTS 

  1. What makes Swedish candy so good?
  2. How do you tell if your fish has gone bad?
  3. Meta tried to show us how AI fakes life.
  4. Chef-inspired crunch wrap supremes.
  5. How to get rid of sticker residue on jars.
  6. Objects celebrities took to the grave. 
  7. What’s the dirtiest spot in the kitchen?
  8. This dress in every color, please. Thank you.
  9. Whole Foods predicts how we’ll eat next year.
  10. I want my kitchen to feel like this again. 
  11. Speaking of – kitchen cabinet colors that never go out of style. 
  12. This must be incredible in person.
  13. The inspiration for Betty Boop! 
  14. This must be the place (tattoos).
  15. How to ripen green tomatoes. 
  16. Let’s look at hospital food photos.
  17. Lonelieness is an epidemic.
  18. How grocery stores are tricking you into spending more.
  19. These cookies need to go into my rotation soon. 
  20. Listening to: From Here to the Great Unknown

May include: A white card with a blue background and the text 'keep going!' in white with gold accents.

Keep Going!! (here’s a print from my shop)

Help me help you! Here are some deals! 

Here’s 40% off your first Thrive Market order.  – I saved $450 last year! 

Use my affiliate link to get a free month of Skillshare premium! 

Want extra discounts and cashback on online purchases? I use Rakuten religiously! 

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October 16, 2024

Keep Grief Weird- Season 1

Keep Grief Weird! Podcast with Tracy Benjamin and Dr. MC McDonald about GRIEF! https://keepgriefweird.substack.com/

In May, I launched a podcast called Keep Grief Weird with my dear friend, MC McDonald, PhD. We began recording episodes in October of last year, and the experience has been quite transformative!  On Keep Grief Weird, we embrace the quirky, the unexpected, and the deeply personal sides of navigating loss.  MC lost both her parents in her early 20s and I am close to 7 years (!) living without my Mom.  Recording has been an incredibly healing journey—one that’s allowed me to process my grief more openly while deepening my friendship with MC through honest, meaningful conversations. Together, we’ve created a space where we, along with our listeners, can explore the complex emotions of grief in ways that feel validating, and often, surprisingly lighthearted. (I especially love it when we bond over our shared 80s + 90s nostalgia!)

I’ve learned how to give my grief a home, to sit with it, and to navigate the inevitable waves that come with loss. Rather than being swept away, I’ve found ways to ride those waves, allowing them to pass without losing myself in them. While I’ve always known I wasn’t alone in my grief, this experience has shown me just how profoundly healing it is to share that grief in a safe, supportive space. Writing about my Mom helps too (see: Bev’s Salad Dressing/ My Favorite Pic of my Parents/ Finding Her Shoes at an Estate Sale / Bev’s Grocery Lists )

Grief is the Price We Pay for Love // I love lists - Shutterbean

On the practical side, I’ve gained experience producing and editing podcasts, creating video content, and managing a Substack—all of which have helped me grow creatively. Hooray for being a teachable adult!  (and a BIG thanks to MC’s brother, Jake for helping us with the music & our first 13 episodes!)

Perhaps the most rewarding part has been building our community. By episode 16, we started receiving listener letters, which deepened our connection with the people we’re serving. It’s been a year of personal and creative growth, and I’m grateful for every moment of this journey.

Now that we’ve laid the foundation in season 1, we’re excited to dive deeper and get even more “woo woo” and weird in season 2!  As MC and I plan the next season, we’d love to hear from you! If you have any questions about grief or a weird grief story to share, email us at keepgriefweird@gmail.com.  We are also open to having guests on our podcast, so keep in touch!  

(you can follow us on: Spotify / Substack or anywhere you listen to podcasts! 

Keep Grief Weird- Season 1:

2- MC’s Grief Origin Story

3- Grief Waves

4- The First Year

5- Death Anniversaries

6- The Stuff

7- Disenfranchised Grief

8- Music & Grief (Tracy’s fave!)

9- Grief Brain (MC’s fave)

10- Grief Types (Tracy’s fave!)

11- Grief Models

12- On Healing, Where to Begin

13- Grief is Both/And

14- What No One Told Us

15-Grief & Other Relationships

16- Listener Letters

17- Only the Good Die Young

18- Myths about Grief

19- Finding Meaning

20- Season 1 Recap!

Our podcast is made possible by the support of our listeners! By becoming a paid Substack subscriber, you’ll get access to exclusive video versions of our episodes. We truly appreciate your likes, subscriptions, and positive reviews—they mean the world to us. Thank you for helping us Keep Grief Weird.

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October 14, 2024

Intentions for the Week

 

Intentions for the Week Workbook by Tracy Benjamin now on sale!

Intentions for the Week- Week 42 in 2024

Hi hiiiiii! Happy Monday, folks! Did you have a good weekend?  This weekend we had some baseball stuff and went over to my Dad’s house to see the Blue Angels but it got canceled due to the weather!  I worked on editing photos, reset myself in the kitchen, cleaned out fridge, and did some meal prep.

Here look, I wrote it out:

 

 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

A post shared by the handwriting club (@thehandwritingclub)

 

 

Let’s get down to business.

Here are my Intentions for the Week! 

CONTINUE READING

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October 13, 2024

My Everyday Life Week 41

Here’s what this past week looked like- My Everyday Life Week 41

Didn’t see the Northern Lights but I did have a light show while working out this week. 

(these are the lights I love

My Everyday Life Week 41 of 2024- Tracy Benjamin of Shutterbean.com

I did enjoy watching the moon this week! 

My Everyday Life Week 41 of 2024- Tracy Benjamin of Shutterbean.com

We also had some good clouds. 

My Everyday Life Week 41 of 2024- Tracy Benjamin of Shutterbean.com

The last of my zinnias. 

My Everyday Life Week 41 of 2024- Tracy Benjamin of Shutterbean.com

CONTINUE READING

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October 11, 2024

I LOVE LISTS

What You Allow is What Will Continue- I love lists // shutterbean

I LOVE LISTS 

  1. What is a dirty soda?
  2. How are holograms created? 
  3. You can visit famous music video locations. 
  4. Let’s look at Dairy Queen photos from the 1940s-1960s.
  5. How do hurricanes get their names?
  6. California is banning sell-by dates.
  7. Nintendo created an alarm clock!
  8. What are the best TV finales? 
  9. Time to make some pumpkin biscotti. 
  10. Etsy has so many cute pet costumes.
  11. I’d love to live in a mid-century modern home.
  12. Trader Joe’s birthday cake hack looks good. 
  13. Speaking of… Autumn products at Trader Joe’s!
  14. How to prep fridge/pantry for hurricanes.
  15. Photos of Hurricane Milton from space. 
  16. This is my child’s ideal Thanksgiving dessert. 
  17. Reading up on all of the Mr. Beast controversies. 
  18. I love a house with so many books! 
  19. Lessons learned from Ina’s memoir. 
  20. Weekend reading: From Here to the Great Unknown

Favorite Workouts compuled by Tracy of Shutterbean.com

Need some workout inspiration? I got you! Here are some of my new favorite youtube workouts!