Stephany Writes

What I’m Reading (3.4.19)

Happy Monday, friends! I am feeling good after a really relaxing weekend. There were plenty of naps, as well as family game night with my brother, nephew, and mom. We played a three-and-a-half hour game of Monopoly where we had these bouts of laughing so hard our sides hurt. I’m still thinking about some of the stuff that happened and giggling to myself! Those are the best kinds of nights. <3

This week, I finished reading one book, abandoned another book, and am currently in the middle of reading three books. The book I abandoned, Tell Me More by Kelly Corrigan, was a surprising one to me. I think it might be a case of reading a book at the wrong time, so I may try to pick it up at another time, but I wasn’t connecting with it. The book also dealt with the death of the author’s father and best friend, and I’m still heavily grieving my grandfather’s unexpected and traumatic death, so that part of the book was too much for me to handle right now. I think I may try to come back to it in a year or so, when my grief isn’t so raw.

The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo (★★☆☆☆)

Dozens of my friends have read this book and loved it. So many five-star ratings and exclamations of how sweet this book is. So, I picked it up thinking I was going to read a really sweet love story… and was sorely disappointed in it. It follows Lucy and Gabe, two people who meet in college (on 9/11, no less) and have an immediate connection with each other. But life has other plans and they don’t meet again until a year later, and this time, their love feels fated. Unfortunately, when Gabe is offered a job as a photojournalist in the Middle East, they make the tough decision to break up because Lucy’s life and her career in TV is in New York, and she’s not willing to give it all up for him. What follows after that is thirteen years of pining, of desire, of love. Annnd… of really selfish decisions made on the part of both Lucy and Gabe. I found Lucy to be a difficult person to relate to and wanting to shake her due to the choices she made. Apparently, though, I was told that because I don’t have a past love like the one Lucy and Gabe had, I couldn’t understand why they felt this pull to one another. I call bullshit on that. I agree that there are just some loves we have where there’s an intensity and a connection that cannot be explained or replicated with anyone else. But I don’t agree that that means that love supersedes everything else. I don’t believe that it gives someone permission to hurt people in their lives and to make selfish decisions that can have massive ramifications.

I’m currently reading…

> Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren. Oh boy, do I love a good friends-to-lovers romance, and this one is delivering. I’m nearly finished with it (less than 100 pages to go), and it’s been such a fun read.

> The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes by Diane Chamberlain, on audio. I’ve had this book on my Goodreads want-to-read list for years (originally added it to my list in 2013!), and I chose it because it was one of the few audiobooks available on Overdrive that didn’t have a wait. I’m a few hours in, and it’s so intriguing!

> The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. I was never assigned to read this book in high school, so I’m reading it to fulfill my yearly goal of reading four “classics.” It’s a pretty hefty book (nearly 500 pages), so I imagine I’ll be sitting with this one for a little while.

What are you reading?

March Goals

And just like that – we’re in March! I am excited about this month because it should be a fun one and it should be a frugal one, as I am taking on my first of four no-spend months (more on that below). However, in February, my goals did not go as planned. I definitely did not have a 100% success rate like I did in January. It happens! Here’s how I did:

1) Organize all my files.

Complete! I shredded some older documents, switched over my 2018 files into my bigger filing box, and made file folders for 2019 documents. It feels good to have this done!

2) Give up candy.

Complete! I successfully resisted it and I think I may keep going with this goal because it was pretty easy.

3) Track my food.

Nope. I did not even attempt to track my food this month, heh. I am trying to eat healthier, of course, but I just don’t like the way I feel when I track what I eat. It makes me feel a little crazy, honestly.

4) Spend 10 minutes stretching every morning.

Oof. I did this maybe a few times but definitely not consistently. It just never became a habit for me (I should have put a reminder in my phone) so I kept forgetting to do it in the morning. My back still doesn’t feel great, so I may try visiting a chiropractor again.

5) Start my nighttime routine by 8 p.m. on weeknights.

Lol, no. I usually get home around six and if I start my nighttime routine at eight, that gives me exactly two hours to myself at night and that’s just not enough time to make dinner, play with the cats, watch a show, clean up, etc. Maybe starting my nighttime routine by 9 p.m. is a more reasonable time.

6) Work out every day in February.

Nope. I was doing well until I had a six-day slump in which I didn’t work out once. I got back on track after that slump and was doing good. But then, everything got totally derailed when I got all bit up while at an outdoor bar at the end of the month (mosquito bites in February – what?!) I ended up with allergic reactions to three of the bites that were on my feet. It made my feet swell up and the skin get very hot and tight, which meant going on long walks and wearing sneakers was not an option. What a weird reason to not hit my goal, but alas! I am only three days behind, though, on my goal of working out 150 times this year so I’ll definitely be able to get back on track in March.

Okay, so two out of six goals complete isn’t my best but it’s better than zero, right?! And I am happy that I abstained from candy for all of February. Here’s what I’m hoping to accomplish in March:

1) Accomplish my first no-spend month of the year.

One of my goals for 2019 is to do a no-spend month once a quarter, and March is the month I’ve decided to do it for Q1. A no-spend month means only spending money on essentials, so I won’t be eating out or doing any shopping or spending money on experiences this month. I do have a few things already planned: lunch with my work book club, an author event, dinner with a friend, a waxing appointment, and my local book club’s monthly outing, but that’s it. I won’t be making new plans or saying yes to spontaneous dinners out. It won’t be easy but will totally be worth it.

2) Reorganize and redecorate my bathroom.

This is another item on my 2019 goals list, so it will feel good to mark this complete! I have been slowly accumulating items to redecorate my bathroom (new towels, a new shower curtain, a new shower caddy, etc.) and I’ll finally be able to switch everything out this month. I’m also planning to reorganize the cabinet under my bathroom sink because it is a mess right now. After seeing this photo from The Home Edit on Instagram, I decided this was exactly what I needed – drawers! I purchased a set from Target and I’m excited to pull everything out and reorganize this cabinet so it works better for my needs.

3) Watch the first six episodes of Game of Thrones.

I have had so many people tell me I need to watch Game of Thrones, but I’ve never seen a single episode and I’m not sure if the show is right for me. As a highly sensitive person, I can’t watch a lot of scary or gory or intense TV shows or movies. I’ve never had the inclination to watch Game of Thrones, but recently promised one of my coworkers that I would watch the first six episodes and give it a fair shot before writing off the show as something not for me. (Apparently, it took him six episodes to truly get hooked, which is why he wants me to watch six episodes.) I’m going to give it a fair shot, but if the first episode messes me up, I won’t be continuing.

4) Drink less soda.

I know, I know. Having goals that can’t be measured is a no-no! But I know what this means for me. It means not buying soda to keep at home (which I’ve already started doing and now keep Polar seltzer on hand for when I need the carbonation), opting for water when I’m at a restaurant, and not succumbing to the vending machine at work. It should be an attainable goal!

5) Hang my jewelry organizer.

I got a jewelry organizer for Christmas and I have yet to hang it because I need to borrow a drill to do so. I’m going to try to borrow a drill from my brother so I can finally get this done.

6) Make a writing portfolio.

I’ve been thinking about doing this for a while, and it’s finally time to make it happen. I have a portfolio page on this blog, but I want something a bit more professional, so I’m researching options and then hoping to spend a few hours building it out.

Operation Write My Novel | February Recap

After having a very successful writing month in January… February did not go so well. It was a combination of feeling mentally unwell and being busy and just letting excuses get in the way of writing. It happens! It’s the reality of trying to write a novel while also working a full-time job, maintaining a blog, and trying to have a social life. But since I am committed to writing these posts and keeping everyone updated on what the novel-writing process really looks like, here’s my honest recap:

Week 5 (January 28 – February 3)

  • Words written: 4,046
  • Chapters written: 1
  • Things researched: “record sleeves,” “vinyl records,” “filched definition,” “unique drinks to make,” “bijou cocktail history,” “affectionate names in french to say to a friend,” “french foods”

I had such a fun time writing this week, even though I had to really challenge myself to sit down and do it. Some weekends, I just don’t want to worry about writing! But alas, as one of my cheerleading coaches once told me when I didn’t go to practice one evening (I was ten, by the way): “This isn’t a ‘want’ thing.” So I sat down and wrote, and lo and behold, it was fun! The whole chapter involved my two characters meeting for the first time and getting to know one another.

During my writing date, I edited chapter 3, which was probably my most difficult chapter to write. Once I finished editing it, I said to my writing partner, “Are you ready to cry your fucking eyes out?” Because that’s basically what this chapter does. Or, at least, that’s what I want this chapter to do. It needs to have an emotional impact, so I wanted to know how she would react to it. And… once I finished reading it, she told me she needed to take a minute because she was so emotional. YASS. Actually, I needed to take a minute, too, because it really was! Whew. But at least I know I’m hitting the right emotional tone with that chapter.

Week 6 (February 4-10)

  • Words written: 0
  • Chapters written: 0
  • Things research: n/a

Oof, I took a zero for this week. I think I just needed a weekend off after five straight weeks of writing and editing all weekend long. It was a good break and I did not feel bad about taking the zero. I was also in the middle of a depressive episode this week, and I just didn’t have the mental stamina to sit down at my laptop and write about a fun and happy romance. Life happens, and I know I’m going to have weeks where writing was impossible.

However, I did end up editing a chapter because I met up with my friend for our weekly writing date and was able to focus enough to read through one of my earlier chapters. This chapter was interesting to edit because I switched between past and present tense throughout this chapter. This is weirdly something I do often when writing. My novel is supposed to be in past tense but I slipped into present tense for a few paragraphs here and there. So… a lot of my editing this week was fixing my tense mistakes. Heh.

Week 7 (February 11-17)

  • Words written: 1,503
  • Chapters written: 1
  • Things researched: n/a

I wrote the majority of this chapter during my writing date because I was a little busy this weekend, as I had adopted Lila and was focused on getting her settled into her new home. 🙂 A good excuse, don’t you think? Thankfully, I still got my chapter for the week done because it was a short chapter. I wasn’t able to edit any of my previous chapters this week, which puts me a little behind. I may need to add in a few extra writing sessions soon so I can catch up.

Week 8 (February 18-24)

  • Words written: 0
  • Chapters written: 0
  • Things researched: n/a

Oops, another goose egg for the month. I don’t even have a great excuse for this one, only that I had a busy weekend and in the free time I did have, I didn’t feel like writing. I feel like I’m getting into more of the “meat” of my story and it’s typical for me to lose steam now. This is when I started really doubting myself and having such resistance to writing. This week, I couldn’t push through the resistance.

During my writing date, M. and I spent the first hour having a super deep conversation about dating, relationships, and the baggage we bring to each. It was cathartic and necessary but it also meant that I didn’t really feel like beginning to write when I knew I only had an hour to get anything down. It’s a silly excuse because getting any words down is better than getting no words down but alas, I did not do so. I think I may add in an extra writing session once a week throughout the month of March to help me catch up from a very lackluster February. Oof.

What I’m Reading (2.25.19)

Happy Monday! I have three book reviews for you today so I’m definitely back on track with my crazy reading pace after a slow start to February reading. I’ll probably end up rounding out the month with three more books to bring my total to 10 books read in February. Yay!

Here are my reviews:

The Last King by Katee Robert (★★★★☆)

After Beckett’s father dies, he is shocked to find out that his father willed his childhood home to his aunt, a woman both Beckett and his father detest. Beckett is determined to learn how this happened, so he begins to flirt with his aunt’s assistant, the beautiful Samara, in order to find out. Samara has her own motives for getting close to Beckett, though, as she’s been tasked by his aunt to get some dirt about Beckett so she can force him to sell his father’s company to her (a long time ago, Beckett’s aunt was passed over for CEO for the company Beckett now runs, and she’s held a grudge against the company and Beckett ever since). But, as with every romance novel, this is not a story of revenge and backstabbing. It’s a story of Beckett and Samara, who cannot deny the chemistry between them even though they try to. This romance is steamy but I loved it so much. Beckett and Samara were so perfect for each other, and their chemistry jumped off the pages. Samara was such a badass heroine, and I was so glad to see her get a happy ending.

Landwhale: On Turning Insults Into Nicknames, Why Body Image Is Hard, and How Diets Can Kiss My Ass by Jes Baker (★★★☆☆)

Jes Baker’s memoir of living as a fat person in a fatphobic society is difficult one. She takes readers deep into her life, starting with her childhood and the troublesome relationship she had with her father, and moving into adulthood and what it’s like to date and travel and live and be as a fat person. I found portions of this book to be illuminating for me, especially her thoughts on dating, but most of her essays didn’t fully meet my expectations. I can’t even put my finger on why I didn’t fully love this book; maybe it’s just that I’ve read my fair share of body positive memoirs and this one just fell short in terms of writing and the depth explored in the essays.

There, There by Tommy Orange (★★★☆☆)

There, There is a novel that seeks to explore the experiences of urban Natives, those who never grew up on a reservation and may not even feel much of a connection to their Native culture but still feel a pull to understand this part of themselves. Each chapter introduces a new character, and it was hard to keep them all straight, so at one point, I just stopped. I looked at each chapter as a short story, a new exploration of all the ways racism and poverty and addiction affects the Native population in different ways. Each chapter mentions a powwow, which is the culmination of all the stories and how they all begin to converge into one. It’s an ambitious novel, but it didn’t fully pull me in like I wanted it to. There were just too many characters and it was hard to build empathy for any of them.

I’m currently reading…

> The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo. I’ll finish this quick novel today, as it has been moving fast for me. It’s a novel that so many of my friends have loved but there’s something about it that’s rubbing me the wrong way. I’m interested to see how it ends, though, and how I’ll feel about it.

Next up on my reading list is…

> Tell Me More: Stories about the 12 Hardest Things I’m Learning to Say by Kelly Corrigan. So excited to dive into this nonfiction book this week! I’ve had this on my TBR list for a while, and it’s a pretty slim book (under 250 pages) so it should be a quick read for me.

> Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren. Ooh, am I excited for this contemporary romance! I added it to my Amazon cart on a whim a few weeks ago, and I can’t wait to start reading it this week.

Quick Takes on a Friday (v. 2)

1) Our itinerary for Ireland is set! We will visit Galway, the Cliffs of Moher, Kilkenny, the Rock of Cashel, and Dublin (with possible stops to Waterford and Belfast planned but we’re leaving it open-ended for now). We have hotels booked in Galway and Kilkenny and I’m planning on booking this tour to see the Cliffs of Moher. Eeks – it’s all coming together!

2) Another coworker told me this week that she’s leaving, which means I’m the last one standing in our friend group. It just really kinda sucks, even though I’m happy for my friends who have moved on to bigger and better things. I deeply miss the days when our group text was blowing up, gossiping about coworkers and talking about things happening in the office, but I’m trying to forge new bonds with the coworkers around me. It helps, but I still wish my friends were here.

3) Yesterday, I realized that I’ve been using expired milk in my scrambled eggs in the morning. The expiration date on the bottle is February 2! What’s crazy is that I swear I bought that milk two weeks ago so was it already expired when I bought it? I usually check the label but I guess this one slipped past me. I feel okay, though, and I’m just mixing a small amount in my eggs that I then heat up so maybe I’m killing all the bad bacteria?!

4) I keep having dreams about Grandma and Pops. They’re never in the same dream, and the dreams are both so vastly different. My dreams about Grandma bring me such peace and comfort. We’re just hanging out and she’s taking care of me, as she always did. My dreams about Pops are disturbing, as he’s here and healthy and fine… but he never responds to me. I’ll talk to him and ask him questions, and he just acts like I’m not there. I wake up from those dreams so upset because that is the opposite of how Pops was, and it breaks my heart all over again.

5) I’m happy to report that Eloise and Lila are getting along! They are not best friends yet, but these things take time and Eloise definitely takes a while to warm up to people. (Kind of like her mom, heh.) Lila has been an absolute ANGEL, though, and her sweet little face makes my heart so happy. She’s so easygoing and snuggly, and it fills my heart with such joy that I get to keep her forever!

6) After weeks of being scared to do it, I filed my taxes this week and I’m pleased to say I am getting a decent refund. I had convinced myself that I was going to owe money this year because I made a not-insignificant amount of money freelancing in 2018 and I’ve been getting less money withheld on my paychecks. I keep hearing horror stories of people who owe money this year, and I am so thankful I am not in that boat.

7) Next month I am attempting my first of four no-spend months and I am both nervous and excited about it. I am excited because March is a three paycheck month for me so I’ll be able to make serious progress on both saving for Ireland and paying off my credit card. But I’m nervous because I keep thinking about things I want to buy and I’m scared I won’t have the willpower to resist once March rolls around.

Have you ever attempted a no-spend month? 

What I’m Reading (2.20.19)

I didn’t put up my weekly reading update on Monday because I had much more exciting news to share, so I’m publishing it today! Last week, I finished three books (and all were five-star reads!) so I’m back on track for my usual reading speed. 🙂 I’m pretty sure I’ll finish another three this week, so I’m feeling good about my reading life right now. Here are my reviews:

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery (★★★★★)

I was worried that my reread of Anne of Green Gables wouldn’t hold up, that maybe the story was only meant for younger me. I am pleased to announce that the opposite is true, and I enjoyed this book so much the second time around. I read it at the perfect time, when I really needed a story that was sweet and light-hearted. For those unfamiliar, Anne of Green Gables follows the precocious Anne Shirley as she is adopted by Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, a brother and sister pair, at the age of 11. Throughout the book, she gets into a fair amount of trouble, as a girl with a big imagination is wont to do, and readers follow her journey from ages 11 to 16, watching her grow into a beautiful, kind woman. I loved every single page of this novel, and was sad when it ended since it meant stepping out of Anne’s world for a bit, but I’m excited to read the next seven books in the series.

They Can’t Kill Us All: Ferguson, Baltimore, and a New Era in America’s Racial Justice Movement by Wesley Lowery (★★★★★)

Wesley Lowery is one of the most influential voices reporting on police killings and racial justice, and this book was so powerful. It begins with Michael Brown’s death because that’s where Lowery began his journey, as he traveled to Ferguson to report on the protests and was arrested with another journalist at a McDonald’s (they were both released pretty quickly). The book chronicles the next few years after Michael Brown’s death, as the Black Lives Matter movement begins and gains a following. It details more deaths from black men at the hands of police and the protests that follow. It’s an infuriating read, a book that had me exclaiming out loud multiple times because I was so enraged. If you’re committed to becoming a better ally and learning as much as you can about racial justice, this book is a must read.

I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh (★★★★★)

Oh boy, do I love a good thriller, especially one that makes has me flipping back to the beginning of the book when a big twist is revealed. I devoured this thriller in a few days because I just could not put it down, although I’ll admit that the beginning 40% was slow and read more like a police procedural than a thriller. But I knew a twist was coming and I could not predict what it was for the life of me! This book is about a hit-and-run accident that kills a little boy, who was running across the street to his home when he was struck by a car. The driver drives away and what follows is a story about how this little boy’s death reverberates through the community, especially between the two police officers who are tasked to find the driver and bring him or her to justice. Definitely add this one to your list if you love a good thriller. (Although content warning for violence against women, which is quite graphic in parts.)

I’m currently reading…

Landwhale: On Turning Insults Into Nicknames, Why Body Image Is Hard, and How Diets Can Kiss My Ass by Jes Baker, on audio. (I really need nonfiction authors to calm down on the length of their subtitles, sheesh.) I’m about halfway through it and it’s been… okay so far. I think Jes Baker has an important story to tell but I’m not sure it’s fully landing with me.

The Last King by Katee Robert, as my romance pick for the week. I’m nearly finished – I have maybe 30% left – and it has been such a steamy read! Whew! I would have no problem rating it five stars right now, but we’ll see how all the loose ends tie up.

There, There by Tommy Orange, for book club. I’m a little over 100 pages into this novel, and I’m really enjoying it. It’s much different than I imagined and there are a ton of characters and I’m not yet sure how all of their stories will relate, but I’m looking forward to finding out.

What are you reading?

And Then There Were Three

I’d like you to meet the newest member of my little family. This is Lila. She is nine months old, and I adopted her this weekend from a rescue.

I’ve been thinking about adopting another cat for a while. Originally, my plan was to adopt two kittens, preferably siblings, but then Eloise came into my life in the most serendipitous way possible. And I think adjusting to cat mom life with one cat who was just out of the kitten stage, rather than two rambunctious kittens at one time, was exactly what I needed.

But I wanted Eloise to have a sibling. I waited until she was settled in her new home and comfortable with me before beginning a search. It’s been a little over two months since I adopted Eloise and in that time, she has blossomed and has become my little shadow. Last week, a friend came over and kept remarking about how different Eloise seemed from the first time she met her. She’s now queen of the castle, just as I had hoped.

I had been following my shelter’s website for awhile and continuing to fall in love with kittens, only to see their pictures removed the next day. I finally decided to take a trip to the shelter with a fellow cat-loving friend on Saturday just to look. Maybe I’d find my furever friend, maybe not.

Lila was the first cat I saw. She was one of their newer rescues, arriving at the shelter a week ago. Like Eloise, she was found by a cat rescuer. Lila showed up one day outside the rescuer’s home and while she was trying to coax Lila inside, Lila was attacked by a tomcat. Lila ran away but showed up at the rescuer’s house again a few days later, and this time, she was able to trap her and bring her inside.

Lila’s cage had a warning. It said, “I’m shy. Please go slow and play with me in my cage.” How could I not fall in love with a cat who had that warning on her cage? Kindred spirits, I tell you.

I stuck my fingers in the slats of her cage and she immediately came up to me and rubbed against them. Then she flopped down in a playful manner and continued to rub her face all over my fingers. She was so in tune with me from the beginning, so playful and adorable.

It was instantaneous love. I tried looking at the other cats at the shelter, and also tried to convince myself that it was crazy to adopt a cat so soon It felt so spontaneous! (This is also how I felt before adopting Eloise, ha.) But I also knew that if I left the shelter without her, or if I looked on their website next week to see her picture gone, I would be devastated.

When it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be. You know?

I took her home on Saturday and have spent the weekend trying to introduce her and Eloise slowly. Eloise hasn’t been too keen on our new family member just yet. The one time I brought Eloise in the room with Lila, Eloise took one of her toys and when Lila tried to get it back, Eloise batted at her head and hissed at her. Sooo. It might be a process for them to fall in love.

Lila, though, she’s been an angel. She’s spending a lot of her time hiding under my bed but will emerge if I sit down on the floor and call to her. She will come up to me for pets and even flop down in my lap, and it’s honestly the sweetest thing ever. It warms my heart.

Of course, I have some reservations. I worry that Eloise will think I don’t love her enough. I worry about them never actually getting along. I worry about the financials of taking care of two cats. I worry that I haven’t handled the introduction as well as I should have. I worry that I may be turning into a crazy cat lady. (<– okay, that’s a joke. I don’t care if I’m a crazy cat lady!)

But it’s normal to have these worries, especially if you’re like me and seem to thrive on worrying about every possible worst-case scenario. It’s not a small step to take, adopting a cat, and it’s going to take some time for all of us to get used to this new normal. I am so, so happy, though, to have grown our family with this new little baby. Lila is the perfect addition, and now we are a full-on girl power home.

Welcome to your new furever home, my little lady love. I’m so happy you’re here.

Friday Questions (v. 11)

Was this week super long for anyone else? Whew. I am just happy we made it to Friday, but it was a rough week for me. My mental health hasn’t been the greatest lately and Valentine’s Day is always a tough holiday for me (even though I wish it wasn’t), so I’m just happy I made it through and now I can focus on the weekend. It will be a good weekend, I hope, with the right amount of downtime and social time. I think part of my mental health struggles have been spending a little too much time alone, so I think this weekend should rejuvenate me.

Today, I’m continuing my Friday Questions series with five more questions from the Real Talk Radio podcast. Enjoy!

1) Tell us some of the best advice that you’ve ever received.

“What is meant for me is already mine.” I saw this quote on an Instagram post a few years ago and it has stuck with me ever since. It reminds me that I won’t miss the things that are meant for me. I can’t pass them by. The soulmate I ache for, the book I want to publish, the travels I want to do… they will all be mine if they are meant to be mine. For someone who has an anxiety disorder and loves to worry about every little thing, this quote gives me so much peace. We are all on the path we are meant to be on, even when it looks vastly different than what we thought it would look like.

2) If you could only watch one TV show for the rest of your life, what show would it be?

This one’s easy – FRIENDS! I have been rewatching the show recently (I never watched it straight through) and each episode makes me laugh and takes me out of my life for a bit. It’s a comfort watch, a show I turn to when I need to just forget everything for a while.

3) Of everything you’ve spent money on in the past few months, what’s the one purchase that’s made you the happiest?

This one is hard because I find it enormously difficult to buy things. A little bit of guilt or fear always accompanies my spending. I would like to say that the purchase that has made me the happiest is my flight to Ireland but I was actually really apprehensive to buy the tickets and I’m still very nervous about it. They’re good nerves but I wouldn’t exactly say I’m happy, at least not yet. Maybe when the trip starts to feel more real and we have more things booked. (And my credit card doesn’t look as scary as it does now, heh.)

But I think the purchase(s) that made me happiest (and yes, cheating a bit here) were my Secret Santa gifts. I ended up drawing the name of my girl, B, same as last year, so I had to really get creative with my gifts and find stuff that was different than my usual picks for her but that she would still love. And every time I found something for her, I felt so happy thinking about her reaction.

4) What’s something that only those in your close inner circle know about you?

I am pretty transparent on my blog and on social media, especially about my struggles, so I wasn’t sure exactly how to answer this question. I don’t keep too much to myself, but there are also a lot of things in my life that I’m not comfortable talking about online. For example, while I’m happy to talk about my dating life in broad terms, I don’t get into the nitty-gritty of it. I won’t talk about the dates I’m going on or the people I’m meeting because that feels a little too personal. I will vent about problems at work or issues with my family to my friends, but I keep both of those off my blog because it’s not the right place for it. So, while I try to be as transparent as possible online, I am not here to tell anyone else’s stories or air any dirty laundry.

5) What’s something you’re not doing or haven’t done yet because you’re afraid?

There is this cool literary group in my city that I’ve been dying to join, but my fear has prevented me from doing anything about it. My fear is two-fold: the fear of not being good enough and the fear of joining a new social group. They also run a silent reading event once a month and I desperately wanted to attend it this month. For weeks, I had saved the date in my calendar but when the day arrived, I chickened out. I’d love to join this group and get more involved in the literary scene in my city but damn if my fear hasn’t stopped me from doing anything more than glancing at their website and Facebook page every few weeks and wishing I had the guts to join.

What TV show would you pick as the only one you could watch for the rest of your life?

My Experience with Catered Fit, a Meal Delivery Service

I really, really hate cooking. It’s something that stresses me out, rather than relaxes me. I don’t take pleasure being in the kitchen and I get annoyed at how easily a mess is made when I’m cooking. I don’t even particularly enjoy home-cooked meals, at least not at the level other people seem to. If it was financially feasible (and healthy) to eat most of my meals out, I would.

I’ve been fighting with this side of myself for a long time. Every healthy living blog I follow talks about spending hours in the kitchen on a Sunday meal prepping, and has all of these elaborate recipes to try, and none of that appeals to me. Sure, I could attempt it and would probably do it for a few weeks before I’d get burned out.

But if I really want to build a sustainable healthy life, I need to stop fighting against my absolute hatred for cooking. I need to  accept it and figure out how to eat healthy without requiring hours and hours of time in the kitchen.

Enter, meal delivery services. I’ve heard about them before but I always get a little spooked when I look at the prices. It’s not cheap because you’re paying a lot for the convenience. In January, I decided to give it a try just as an experiment. I selected Catered Fit as my meal delivery service of choice because, well, they came up first in my Google search (the power of SEO, my friends). They also seemed to offer a pretty reasonable rate for their delivery service.

So, I signed up. I was hoping this would be a great kick start for me, allowing me to lose some of the weight I put on over the holidays and showing me a sustainable way to eat healthy on a daily basis. I wasn’t sure how long I wanted to try the service. I just knew I wanted to give it an honest attempt and see if this was the answer to all my healthy living woes.

Catered Fit has a wide range of programs you can try. They have programs for vegans and vegetarians, as well as athletes and those following a Paleo diet. You could also choose to add on extra items, like snacks, dessert, cold-pressed juices, and cold-brew coffee. I opted for the combo package, getting two fully cooked meals delivered right to my door every day (they were delivered between 3pm-9pm the day before). Typically, I chose something for lunch and something for dinner, my two biggest downfalls when it comes to healthy eating. All I had to do was pop the container of food into the microwave for a few minutes, and voila, lunch (or dinner) was served.

At first, I was really excited about this program. Every Wednesday afternoon, I got an email telling me that next week’s menu was up and I would hurriedly rush over to the Catered Fit member portal to look at my meals. In those first two weeks, I was salivating over the menu options and most days, I had trouble selecting just two meals. This impressed me because there were only six meals to choose from (three for lunch and three for dinner) and I am an incredibly picky eater, so I thought I would have a hard time choosing even one meal.

The other thing that impressed me? How friggin delicious every meal was! I was half-expecting each meal to taste like a Lean Cuisine (because that’s what they always reminded me of) but they were so tasty. I guess it helps that each meal was made fresh daily, not something flash frozen and then just heated up. Out of the 34 meals I received, I think there were less than five that I didn’t enjoy. Mostly, I gobbled up every meal and felt so satisfied with it. I didn’t feel like I was depriving myself or on some crazy diet.

I also loved getting my nightly deliveries because I was always surprised by the meals. Since I had made my selections sometimes a week prior, I always forgot about what I requested until I opened up my freezer bag to see what was inside. It was like a little present to open!

So, what caused me to cancel my membership when it all seemed to be so perfect? There were a few things that prompted the decision. First, during the third week on the program, when I clicked over to the member portal to pick my meals, I was disappointed in the selection. Nothing appealed me. The meals were a little too outside my comfort zone or something I knew I wouldn’t like. I ended up picking meals for each day but I didn’t get that feeling of satisfaction when I finally finished selecting my meals. I also ended up canceling one day of deliveries because there was absolutely nothing on the menu that I wanted. I was hoping it was a fluke. This week was also a weird week for me in general, since I had dinner plans one night and lunch plans two other days, so I had to pick out breakfast and lunch/dinner rather than just lunches and dinner. (And I wasn’t too impressed by their breakfast options; they definitely weren’t filling enough for me.) But the same thing happened the next week, and it was really disheartening.

But that wasn’t the only reason why I decided to cancel. I also felt like the portion sizes were a bit too small so I was always reaching for a snack just an hour or two after eating a meal. (In one meal, I received exactly four pieces of broccoli. FOUR. I don’t know about you but when I roast broccoli as a side, I give myself a large portion because it’s… broccoli. I don’t necessarily need to portion control that.) They have an “athlete” version of their plan but I’m not an athlete burning thousands of calories a week (or even hundreds, let’s be real here), so it didn’t make sense to choose that plan. I also wasn’t doing their “weight loss” version, which is just their Paleo plan. I chose Classic, which is supposedly for people who just want to maintain their weight, buuuut I’m skeptical about that. (Although, come to think of it, I didn’t lose any weight for the three weeks I was on the program so maybe it does work?!)

But the main reason why I canceled my Catered Fit membership was the price. I just could not justify spending nearly $150 a week for ten meals. I try to average $75 a week in groceries, so I was basically spending double the price. The convenience was nice. It was so nice to not have the think about meal prepping or cooking or doing the dishes. It’s so much easier to not talk myself into swinging by McDonald’s on my way home when I know all I have to do for dinner is heat up my meal. But, ultimately, I couldn’t justify the cost anymore.

I think I would like to have Catered Fit as an option for weeks when I’m too busy to think about grocery shopping or cooking but want to eat healthy, home-cooked meals. Or for weeks when I’m feeling uninspired by cooking. But it’s just not something I can do regularly.

The bottom line is, would I recommend Catered Fit? Absolutely. Unfortunately, the service is only available in California and Florida, but there are most likely similar options near you. I think it’s a great program and I had a really fun time using it. I would highly recommend checking out some sort of meal delivery service and just trying it out for a few weeks, especially if you’re like me and hate cooking. It was a good experiment but now I’m ready to figure out how to make eating healthy sustainable and budget friendly.

Have you ever done a meal delivery service like this?

What I’m Reading (2.11.19)

Happy Monday! I actually didn’t know if I’d have a “What I’m Reading” post ready for today because I haven’t spent a ton of time reading this week. At least, reading books for review/tracking purposes. I have been reading – about Ireland! My mom and I settled on our itinerary but it required a lot of research and reading on my part. I checked out Rick Steves Ireland 2019 from the library and have spent my week pouring through the pages (while skimming a lot of the sections, which is why I’m not counting it as a book I’ve read) so I can figure out what we need to see, what we can skip, and how to build an itinerary that will allow us to see the best sights without completely overwhelming me (I cannot go-go-go all the time). And work was insane this week, so I didn’t even spend any time reading on my lunch break (unheard of for me!). I’m hoping this week was an anomaly because I don’t like reading so little.

Anyway, I do have a book review for you because I finished a book! And I’ll probably end up finishing 2-3 next week, so I should be back on track. 🙂

99 Percent Mine by Sally Thorne (★★★★☆)

I’ve been greatly anticipating Sally Thorne’s followup novel to her bestseller (and my all-time favorite romance), The Hating Game, so I was so happy to get my hands on 99 Percent Mine. Within the first few pages of this novel, I knew the story was going to be dramatically different with much more complex characters. (Which just showed me that Thorne is not a one-trick pony and has a vivid imagination.) It involves a woman named Darcy who has been in love with her twin brother’s best friend, Tom, since she was a teenager. And then, after Darcy’s grandma dies, both Darcy and her brother inherit her cottage and must renovate it and sell it – those are their grandma’s instructions. Lo and behold, Tom is the man who is going to renovate the cottage – and he’s single for the first time in eight years. The story has Thorne’s typical snarky humor, and I just loved how lively and realistic her characters were. They didn’t feel like caricatures, but real, breathing people with passions and interests and pain and depth. Their romance was sweet and fun and downright steamy. While I didn’t love this with the ardent fervor that I loved The Hating Game (there were times when Darcy frustrated me and I wished the author had given her a bit more agency in her life), I still really enjoyed this novel and I hope we don’t have to wait three years for her next romance!

I’m currently reading…

> Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery. I’m still working my way through Anne and I am just loving every second of it. I was worried that I would reread this book and not understand why I loved it so much when I was younger, but I can totally see why it captivated me. Anne is such a wonderful character! She’s made me giggle multiple times. 🙂

> They Can’t Kill Us All: Ferguson, Baltimore, and a New Era in America’s Racial Justice Movement by Wesley Lowery. On a much different note, I’m reading this important book about racial justice and police violence in between pages of Anne. I’ve had this book on my TBR for a while now, and I’m glad I’m finally getting around to reading this because it’s important and necessary.

What are you reading?