Three Things Thursday (v. 4)

Who’s up for another Three Things Thursday blog post? I had fun putting this one together. 🙂

Three confessions:

1) My mental health hasn’t been great lately and my motivation to blog has been waning. I know I could give myself permission to step away from the blog for as long as I need it, but I’m so worried that if I do that, I’ll never get back in the habit of blogging. Ugh.

2) Even though the Bucs are my hometown team, I’m rooting hard for the Chiefs in the Super Bowl.

3) I have this recurring dream that I’m grocery shopping and I’m the only person in the store wearing a mask. It feels so scary! And I get so mad at all of these imaginary people. “We’re in a pandemic, people!” Sigh. Is this what my dream life has come to?

Three recipes I’ve recently made:

1) Mini BBQ cheddar meatloaves from Iowa Girl Eats.

2) One-pot garlic parmesan pasta from Damn Delicious.

3) Crockpot Santa Fe Chicken from Skinnytaste.

Three books I always recommend:

1) In the Country We Love: My Family Divided by Diane Guerrero. While this isn’t the most well-written book, it gives a personal look into immigration and the struggle to become a citizen. Diane was only 14 when her family was deported. Since she was born in the U.S., she wasn’t deported with them, leaving her alone in a strange land. It’s a heartbreaking book but it forever changed the way I viewed immigration reform.

2) The Hating Game by Sally Thorne. This is my go-to romance recommendation, and it stands out still as my favorite romance novel of all time. I’m so excited this book is being made into a movie (with Lucy Hale as the female protagonist which is just such excellent casting).

3) Come as You Are: The Surprising New Science that Will Transform Your Sex Life by Emily Nagoski. I think this is a book every woman should read, whether you think you have an awesome sex life or if you struggle with it. I’m part of the latter camp, someone who has never had a huge sex drive and always felt like there was something wrong with me because of it. This book made me feel so seen and understood and it transformed the way I viewed my own sexuality. It’s a must-read!

Three iPhone apps I recently downloaded:

1) Book of the Month. BOTM has been telling me to download their app for months and months, and I finally did so this week.

2) Tile Master. One of those silly iPhone games that I downloaded because it looked interesting from an ad I saw on another game. That’s how they get you!

3) Patreon. I became a patron of the Currently Reading podcast and needed to download Patreon so I could grab the special RSS code to put in my podcast player so I could listen to special episodes.

Three TV shows I’m watching now:

1) Superstore. This sitcom makes me cackle with laughter. It’s so good! I’m halfway through season 1 and it’s been the perfect show to bring me down from my Bridgerton high.

2) Younger. I started watching this show because so many people rave about it and it definitely feels like a show that’s in my wheelhouse. I’m about six or so episodes into season 1 and I’m not completely in love with it yet. But I’m going to keep watching to see if it gets better!

3) The Office. I’m watching one episode a week to follow along with the Office Ladies podcast. And yes, this means I had to subscribe to Peacock to keep watching since The Office was taken off Netflix. Ugh. At least it’s only $5 a month.

Three of the newest podcasts I’ve added to my feed:

1) The Bible Binge. I didn’t know I needed a pop-culture version of the Bible, but this podcast is quickly becoming one of my favorites. Knox and Jamie of The Popcast fame recap stories of the Bible but in a really fun, engaging way. Every Bible character gets their celebrity counterpart and the hosts bring in the historical context surrounding each Bible story, which I find really interesting. (There are so many Bible stories that I know by heart but have no idea what was going on historically during them.) They even have a Bible scholar review their episodes and give a “gentle rebuke” about anything they got wrong. If you want to learn about the Bible in a really fun way, listen to this podcast!

2) 10 Things to Tell You. I’m currently making my way through the backlist of this podcast and I like it a lot. Every episode really makes me think. The episode is about digging deep into life’s big questions and sharing the messy, hard parts of ourselves. The host, Laura Tremaine, asks really pointed questions to get you thinking, stuff like, “What do you assume about others?” “What do you do when you’re lonely?” “What were your family rules growing up?” It’s a little navel-gaze-y, but then, I have a blog where all I do is gaze at my own navel soooo. It’s right up my alley!

3) Best Friends with Nicole Byer and Sasheer Zamata. I love this podcast! It makes me burst out laughing in every episode, and that’s rare for me to do! Each episode is about an hour long and is really just Nicole and Sasheer chit-chatting about what’s going on in their lives. They also answer a friendship question from a listener, and I really love their approach to friendship and the advice they give. It’s the kind of podcast I’m always excited to turn on because I know it will be an enjoyable hour of listening.

Three big purchases I want to make this year:

1) A new TV. Gosh, I am so ready for a new TV. I’ve had my tiny little 28-inch TV for about six years now and it’s time for a change. I have my eye on this gorgeous 50-inch smart TV but I will be patient and sock away some money every month until I can afford it.

2) A new mattress (and really luxurious bedsheets). My mattress is more than 10 years old, which is around the time that it needs to be replaced. But mattresses are so expensive! And I don’t want to go cheap here. Provided those magical $1,400 stimulus checks come through, I’m planning on using mine on a new mattress as well as some luxurious bedsheets.

3) A spin bike. I’m not exactly sure where a spin bike would fit in my apartment, ha, but I’d really like to get one so I could finally jump on the Peloton train. I’m not going to shell out $2,000 for a Peloton, but I’m thinking a cheaper spin bike (in the $400 range?) and using the Peloton app would work just fine.

Three recent Amazon purchases:

1) A new 2021 daily calendar. I bought a daily calendar at the beginning of January but I don’t really like it. I thought it would be fun because each day is something different (like movie trivia, or a random fact, or a crossword puzzle) but it’s actually kinda silly and I’m not loving it. So I bought a different calendar titled “365 Facts That Will Scare the S#*t Out of You,” haha. One of the facts on the box was about how our pinkie toes can just self-amputate for no reason, which I thought was wild! I love crazy facts like that so I’m hoping I enjoy it!

2) Selfie ring light. We’re expected to be on camera now during meetings at work and I quickly realized I did not have a good lighting setup where I’m sitting. There’s a big window behind me and it backlights me. I bought some room-darkening curtains for the window (even closing the blinds doesn’t help the lighting problem) as well as this ring light to upgrade my lighting situation. Here’s hoping it works!

3) A set of 11×14 picture frames. One of my goals for this quarter is to frame all of the Etsy prints I bought in November, and I wanted some bigger frames for some of those prints.

Three TV shows I will never watch:

1) Game of Thrones. My sensitive little heart would not be able to handle all the gore and violence!

2) Breaking Bad. Another show that would be a bit too dark for me.

3) This Is Us. I watched half of the first season of This Is Us and it was way too emotionally manipulative for my tastes.

Three things I’m doing this weekend:

1) Getting a massage. I have a feeling I’m going to really enjoy this massage because I’ve had some muscle soreness due to a strength workout I did over the weekend. Yay!

2) Visiting a cow farm. My friend Briana and I are going to take a trip to this adorable cow farm on Saturday morning, and I’ve been looking forward to it all week!

3) Naps on naps. This is looking to be a three-nap weekend, even with all my plans, and that’s basically the best type of weekend for me.

Tell me one book you’re always recommended and/or a TV show you’re currently watching!