The high of my week was applying for an apartment! My mom and I toured this apartment over the weekend and they were running an incredible special: two months free rent + I could get the admin fee and application fee waived if I put in an application by Monday. Unfortunately, it also means I had to pick a move-in date far earlier than I expected and will be getting the keys to my new place the Saturday before I leave for London. !!! My current apartment’s lease isn’t up until November 9th, but I’m hoping I can finagle a way out of the lease early (keep your fingers crossed for me). In any event, this will give me plenty of time to slowly move into the new place and I’m not planning on doing the big part of the move (furniture + heavy boxes) until the week of October 20th, most likely. (Well, I’ll do it earlier if I can get out of my lease before November, but if not, that’s the plan.) It’s a two-bedroom within my price range. The second bedroom will be the perfect space for an office, and I can’t wait to show you guys when I’m all moved in!

The low of my week was more trigger finger pain. This time, it was my left finger. Last week, I got a steroid shot for trigger finger in my right index finger and it took away the pain completely! My left index finger has had some minor pain, but I figured since it was in my non-dominant hand, it wouldn’t bother me as much. But surprise! We use our non-dominant hand for a lot of tasks. The pain got progressively worse over the weekend, and I finally called my ortho on Wednesday. He was able to fit me in for a same-day appointment. It’s been almost two days since the shot and I have no pain. Modern medicine, how I love thee.

I’m currently reading Birding with Benefits by Sarah T. Dubb, which is a cute romance with older characters. (I mean, they’re in their early forties, but that’s unusual with romance novels!) I also just started Hestia Strikes a Match by Christine Grillo on audio.

A Reel I loved was this one that turns the TV show Schitt’s Creek into a horror movie. It’s so good!

A show I watched this week was The Amazing Race. I’m watching an older season, season 6. I knew this was going to be a tough season to watch because it features a character who is infamous for being essentially abusive to his partner the whole time they’re racing. These days, I don’t think his behavior would fly, but this was 2004 and reality TV was very different.

The best money I spent this week was $100 to apply for the apartment (which will be credited back to me). That was definitely an exciting purchase!

My plans this weekend include so many things! Today, Bri and I are meeting up to record two episodes of our podcast and then we may watch The Thursday Murder Club. Tomorrow, my mom and I are going to do some shopping and errands, and later, I have a writing date with Mikaela. And Sunday, my mom and I are going to a dachshund meet-up in Tampa (AHHH!) and then it’s football with the fam. If the Dolphins could actually look like a professional football team this week, that’d be lovely.

What was the high of your week?

The high of my week was sitting down with Amber to work through some more London logistics! One of our most-anticipated excursions was cancelled, leaving us with a bit of wiggle room in our schedule. I’m trying to be very careful not to over-schedule us because it’s so tempting to do that on a big vacation like this, but that’s not the way we like to travel. We have limited energy reserves and don’t want to be walking 20,000 steps every day! Plus, we have two day trips planned and those will definitely take a lot out of us. Anyway, it was a great planning session and we’ve nearly got everything figured out. We leave six weeks from Tuesday – ahhh!

The low of my week was nothing? That’s lovely to report! Between all of my medical appointments, depressive episode, and work stress, it feels good to be in a great place right now. The medical appointments are over, I worked through the depression (likely due to the birth control I started, which I stopped taking once I started feeling bad), and work is still a lot most days, but mostly manageable.

I’m currently reading three books! In print, I’m halfway through The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett. On my Kindle, I’m a little more than halfway through Every Summer After by Carley Fortune. And my audiobook is Bad City by Paul Pringle (I have five hours left). All of these books have been exceptional reads! Unless something crazy happens, I think I’ll have three five-star books in a row.

A Reel I loved was this hilarious dachshund Reel from one of my favorite doggo accounts. I laughed so hard!

A show I watched this week was a few episodes of season two of Next Level Chef. I will watch any cooking show from Gordon Ramsey, even if I have no desire to be a chef and hate cooking myself. I’m just always so impressed by these aspiring chefs!

The best money I spent this week was paying off my London balance! It feels so very good to have that monkey off my back (as a refresher: my mom and I always go 50/50 on vacations. She put all of our London expenses, like our flights, hotel, and some excursions, on her credit card and told me I could pay her back slowly.) There will be some expenses coming up, as we still need to book a few more things, but those should be minimal.

My plans this weekend include a lot of fun things! Today, I have a hair appointment and then I might try to finally watch Working Girl. Tomorrow, I’m going to the dog beach with Chip, Lucy, my mom, and my stepdad. And on Sunday, I have my writing date with Mikaela and then a dog birthday party to go to. (How many times can I tease my brother for throwing a birthday party for his dog? SO MANY TIMES.)

What was the highlight of your week?

The high of my week was seeing Superman! My mom and I had a lovely movie date on Tuesday evening to see the movie, which was so, so good. I’ve had a movie hangover after seeing it and just want to go straight to the movie theater to watch it again! David Corenswet can get it. *fans self*

Some of the movie hits too close to home, though, because Lex Luthor’s actions are way too familiar (jailing his enemies, trying to get rid of all the “aliens,” starting a separate task force to round them all up, working with the government on these specific initiatives, etc.). It was all a bit too prescient.

The low of my week was an official diagnosis of moderate carpal tunnel syndrome. Yes, the doctor’s appointments continue! It’s finally time to deal with this carpal tunnel pain, which I first saw an orthopedic about back in May. The earliest appointment for a nerve conduction study to diagnose the severity of my carpal tunnel syndrome was July 22nd! I had the study done on Tuesday and it was quite the weird experience. The doctor put a bunch of electrodes on various parts of my hand and wrist and then would use a different electrode to deliver a mild electrical shock through my nerve, causing the muscles in my hand to jump. This was testing how quickly my nerves responded to electric signals—the slower the response, the more severe the carpal tunnel compression.

I don’t have the exact results of the test, but the doctor was confident enough to diagnose me with moderate carpal tunnel syndrome. The good news is that this can easily be reversed with surgery and I likely wouldn’t need to have the procedure redone. The bad news is that things are getting progressively worse and I will likely need surgery at some point. It’s a lot to think about! I have a follow-up appointment with my orthopedic next week to go through my results and talk about my next steps.

I’m currently reading only one book! This is unheard of for me, but I finished an audiobook earlier this week and have gotten a bit behind in my podcast feed so I’ve been prioritizing podcasts over audiobook listening right now. The book I’m reading is Someone in the Attic by Andrea Mara, which is a super creepy thriller. You can tell how creepy it is just from the title! I’m enjoying it so far and very curious how everything will unfold.

A Reel I loved was this incredibly sweet “first look” video. The pure happiness in this man’s voice! This is the goodness we need right now.

A show I watched this week was Big Brother! We are in full swing with the Big Brother season and I couldn’t be happier. This show is a commitment (it’s on three times a week and I also listen to live feed recaps every day), but I love it so much.

The best money I spent this week was $50 on some new clothes from Old Navy. I desperately need new shorts, and I love the way Old Navy shorts fit and feel on me. So I finally did a little online shopping over the weekend. I got three pairs of shorts and a fun sleeveless top for $50! (Funny story: I was ONE PENNY short of getting free shipping on my order, so I found this $2 swimsuit sarong in their clearance section. Gotta get that free shipping!)

My plans this weekend include a fun girls’ weekend in Orlando! Bri and I are hitting the road to Orlando on Saturday morning where we plan to have a very low-key weekend with Jackie. On the agenda: cuddling with Jackie’s pets, reading, and being lazy. On Sunday morning, we’re going to a “Painting With Alpacas” event that seems like it will be a blast! And maybe I’ll convince them to go to a bookstore? Maybe.

What was the high of your week? What are your weekend plans?

The high of my week was meeting Moose! My brother and his family recently adopted this adorable dog who had a very bad previous owner. He didn’t take Moose for walks (even though he lived in an apartment!) and underfed him. So Moose has a lot of anxiety right now and needs a lot of tender loving care. Which he is definitely getting now! He is the sweetest boy and the whole time my mom and I were at my brother’s house, Moose kept bringing us toys to play with. It was so cute! I’m totally in love with this big, goofy dog!

The low of my week was my period. I used to have easy-peasy periods—four days, normal flow, little cramping. But in the past year, my periods have gotten really bad. They are lasting longer, way heavier than they used to be, and the cramps are awful. Once or twice during every period, I am usually up in the middle of the night running a hot bath for myself because it’s the only thing that makes me feel better. I heard that periods tend to get much more intense before a woman starts going through perimenopause. I’m only 37, so a bit young for that, but who knows? The easiest thing to do is to get on birth control, which is not my favorite, but I’m not sure how many more of these intense periods I can deal with.

I’m currently reading three books. I’m still slowly marching through Stamped from the Beginning. I’m nearly at the halfway point, though! It is not a very engaging read, but I’m determined to keep on. I’m also reading The Three Lives of Cate Kay by Kate Fagan, although I haven’t picked up the book since Monday. Oops! And on audio, I have about two hours left of Pete and Alice in Maine by Caitlin Shetterly. I don’t think I like this book at all, but it’s a short audiobook so I’m just powering through.

A Reel I loved was this adorable Reel that Kim sent me. I love the internet when it’s used for things like this. People are so creative!

A show I watched this week was New Girl! I am nearly done with season 2 and it has been such a delight. I can’t believe I took such a long break between watching seasons 1 and 2! Gah.

A podcast episode I enjoyed was Power Ranking the Books of 2005 on the Book Riot podcast. This was a fun walk down memory lane! While Jeff and Rebecca’s taste diverge from mine quite drastically, I enjoyed this look back on some of the top books of 2005 and what made them stand out. I totally didn’t realize this was the year Twilight was released!

The best money I spent this week was $25 on lunch yesterday. Yesterday was not a great day; I was very moody, work was “something else” (to borrow a phrase from Birchie), and my cramps were not letting up. So I decided to order something off Ubereats for lunch and it was a great decision. I didn’t have the energy or desire to make something at home, and this was easy, simple, and satisfying.

My plans this weekend include nothing much! I don’t have any plans tonight so I’ll probably try to finish up season 2 of New Girl. Saturday is another low-key day with no plans until game night in the evening. I might do a mini-reading retreat in the morning/afternoon to see if I can finish The Three Lives of Cate Kay before May is over. And Sunday, I will do a workout at the gym, have a writing date with Mikaela, and run some errands. It will be a lovely mix of downtime and productivity!

What was the high of your week? What’s a show you watched this week?

The high of my week was doing kitten yoga with my friend Amber. Our local cat cafe in Tampa, Cats & Caffeine, has a fun event a few times a month where you can do yoga surrounded by cats! It was such a fun time, and I definitely got my heart rate up during the workout, too! The cats were a delight to watch throughout the class, and some lucky participants had cats curl up on their yoga mats to snooze away. After class, we got to play with the cats, which was probably my favorite part of the night.

The low of my week was learning that Eloise is going to need dental work. Sigh. I knew this would be coming at some point. The vet gave me an estimate of the cost (on the low end: $1,300), which nearly made me faint. I’m going to see how other vet practices in my area compare before making a decision. I mean, I’ll pay whatever is necessary but that feels wildly expensive!

I’m currently reading three books. On audio, I’m halfway done with The Third Gilmore Girl by Kelly Bishop, which has been as delightful as I expected. I’m working my way through Stamped From the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi. This book is dense and every day, I set a timer for 20 minutes and read as many pages as I can. My pace is slow, but I’m learning a lot. And finally, I am rereading a beloved historical romance, Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean.

A Reel I loved was this very appropriate cat video. All cat owners can relate!

A show I watched this week was Survivor’s season finale! I won’t give any spoilers for anyone else who is watching this season and hasn’t watched the finale yet, but it was a pretty good one. I liked this season and especially the Joe and Eva dynamic. That brought such a different level of humanness to what can be a very strategic and cutthroat game. I watched this season while listening to the “official” Survivor podcast, On Fire with Jeff Probst, which was such a neat experience. It was cool getting all of the behind-the-scenes details about how the show is made!

The best money I spent was $10 on a mystery coloring book. A friend told me about this coloring, and I was all in. Each page starts off blank, except for tiny circles scattered across the page, each marked with a number. The numbers match up with certain colors and as you fill them in, little by little, a picture begins to take shape. How cool is that?! I really love that it’s color-by-numbers, too, so it’s truly a mindless activity that I can do while watching TV or listening to an audiobook.

My plans this weekend include not a whole lot! Tonight, I am planning on making nachos and finally watching Dirty Dancing. Tomorrow, I have a pedicure scheduled in the morning and then my mom and I are going on a shopping extravaganza. Sunday, the only thing on my agenda is my writing date with Mikaela. And Monday is Memorial Day! I will probably go to my mom’s house for some pool time.

What was the high of your week?