Let’s sit down for a coffee date on this Monday morning. I’ll be sipping on an iced vanilla latte, mmm!
If we were having coffee today, you might be a little surprised by my appearance. I was brave at the hair salon on Friday afternoon and got bangs! I also did a full balayage, so I spent a pretty penny at my appointment. But it isn’t something I’ll have to do regularly, so there’s that. I’m happy with the way everything turned out and it’s so fun to have bangs again!
If we were having coffee today, I might excitedly pull up my blog on my phone because it got an update! During my writing date on Saturday, I finally finished my blog recategorization project by cleaning up all of my tags and then decided to launch my new blog theme right then and there. I had already “favorited” a bunch of WordPress templates on Etsy and played around with some fonts I liked on Canva, so it wasn’t quite a spontaneous decision, but I did think I would wait longer than a few minutes to install the new theme. Alas, I decided it was time and I am so excited about a fresh, new look for this blog of mine.
If we were having coffee today, I’d probably talk about my chiropractor appointments. I have graduated to weekly appointments, but y’all, I gotta say, I’m not seeing much of a difference. I am still waking up every morning with pain and I still cannot walk around for longer than 10 minutes without pain. My Chiropractor in Collinsville, IL tells me that this is all part of the recovery process and things are getting better… but I am unconvinced. My plan is to finish out these chiropractor appointments (my last one will be in early June) and if the pain has still not gone away, then I want to try physical therapy. A friend gave me a referral to an orthopedist who worked wonders on her lower back pain, so I think that may be my next step.
If we were having coffee today, I’d discuss how I added my mom to “Find My Friends” and now can track her whenever I want! I don’t know if my mom is thrilled about this development, but I am! We’ve both shared our locations with each other indefinitely, which means now if I’m feeling anxious about her, I can just look up her location on the app and know she’s safe at home (or work, or wherever). It has done wonders for my mental health, I’ll tell you that! Sometimes I get anxious about something happening to her on the way home from dinner or a hair appointment, and now I can just check the app and see where she is! Technology can be a beautiful mental health resource for sure.
If we were having coffee today, I’d tell you about the most enneagram 9 thing I did at Target this weekend. I went to Target after my hair appointment to pick up a Mother’s Day card for my mom and see if there was anything else I could add to her gift. And I left with a new phone plan. ????? As I was walking down one of the main aisles to get to the book section, I passed by an AT&T rep who first complimented me on my tattoos and then asked how much I was paying for my phone plan. When he told me it was outrageous to spend $135 a month for one person and that he could get me a brand-new iPhone 15 Pro and a new plan for $85 a month, I started listening. And thirty minutes later, I had signed up for the new plan and walked away in a daze because I wasn’t sure what had come over me. I mean, how do I turn down spending $40 less a month on my phone plan?! And I get to upgrade my phone for free?! It was a no brainer, but it was also very enneagram 9 of me to do this because I was drawn in by the salesperson’s demeanor and wanted to help him make a sale. LOLZ.
If we were having coffee today, I might moan and groan about how hard it is to get everything I want to get done in a day. And I feel really silly about complaining about this when I am single, childless, and have a fairly flexible work schedule. And still! I am struggling to find time for chores and errands and exercise and blogging and reading blogs and reading books and podcast work and maintaining my friendships and dating and playing with the cats and goals I set for myself each month and and and. Things would be a lot easier if I wasn’t a napper (and I’m hoping my need for extra sleep will dissipate somewhat once I’m using a CPAP for my sleep apnea), but alas, I lose out on a lot of hours on the weekends because I just want to be unconscious. I’ve tried schedules. I’ve tried cleaning charts. I’ve tried time blocking. None of it works. I guess we’re all just trying to do the best we can? But ugh. Life.
If we were having coffee today, I’d want to know what’s going on in your life! What would you talk about with me?
Love the new look – both hair + blog!
Thank you! 🙂
I want to gently push back on your feeling that you shouldn’t feel busy or as busy as you do because you are single and childless. That is something I struggled with when I was single, too, but I did have a very full, busy life. It was a different busy than my current life because I had way more social plans – too many really but it took having children for me to learn to set boundaries! I HATED it when people with kids made me feel like I didn’t have a right to say I was busy but I very much was! And you are too so it’s ok to say you are busy with no disclaimer about how you know it could be worse. steps off soap box…
If we were having coffee today I’m sure we’d talk about reading. I just finished James which was amazing! And now I am reading ‘the money hearts book club’ which I just started and am enjoying. And I’d tell you I love your new blog theme and would lament about how much I hate blogger but how unappealing making the change to wordpress feels… and I’d tell you I love your haircut! And I’m sure we would talk about work and how overwhelming it feels at times and how ready I am for a slower travel schedule this summer.
I appreciate that, Lisa! Sometimes I do feel as if I don’t have the “right” to complain as much as other people because I’m not taking care of tiny humans, but my life *is* very busy in its own right and that’s okay to grouse about sometimes.
I really want to read James! I’ve heard really good things.
I wish the move from Blogger to WordPress was easier. I did it fairly early in my blogging journey so it wasn’t as bad. But doing it now would be really scary!
Ooh! I love coffee dates! And I love the hair and the new blog look! Lots of excitement on this Monday. Bummer about the chiropractor though- i don’t know, it seems like people either love or hate chiropractors. I think your plan is good- finish out this treatment plan and then make a change if you need to.
Time is a weird thing- yes, you don’t have kids but you’re doing extra things other people aren’t, like maintaining a blog AND a podcast, and a fairly busy social schedule (definitely busy compared to mine!) But then there are people who have five kids, a full time job, read a ton of books, etc. (WE HAVE DISCUSSED THIS! ) It’s almost like time moves differently for them or something. Whatever time you have gets filled up and there never seems to be enough??? Like you said- it will probably help when you’re getting better sleep at night and don’t have to nap as much- notice I didn’t say eliminate naps completely. i love naps : )
Yes, maybe that’s the key to all of this: We all fill up our times in different ways. It’s because I don’t have kids that I can fill it up with a bunch of activities and hobbies and such, but that can swiftly become overwhelming if I’m not careful. Thanks for your kind words!
Eliminate naps forever? Never! 😉
Love the new blog theme and the bangs!
Thank you so much! I appreciate it!
Yay new hair new blog theme! Both look great! And also yay for a cheaper phone plan! See if you hadn’t gotten the cut you wouldn’t have been at Target afterwards…
Being single, being a couple, and being a family all have their pluses and minuses but having done all three, I did feel tapped out at times when I was single. It wasn’t so much the time as it was that I had to do EVERYTHING. Now the tasks might be a little more complicated when they’re for four people, but I’m only doing some of the adult chores and not all of them. So your gripe is legit.
You make a great point about the fact that living alone means I’m doing everything when it comes to chores, household maintenance, etc. If I make dinner, I’m in charge of the dishes. I have to handle all the cleaning tasks. Etc. While it would be nice for someone else to handle all those annoying to-dos, then I’d have to, you know, LIVE WITH SOMEONE ELSE. Blegh.
Thank you so much!
I have thoughts on chiropractors, but they’re quite derogatory, so I’ll say no more. Chances are pretty good that chiropractor will try to get you to sign up for a bunch more appointments because they want you to go for the rest of your life.
I am childless and I also feel like there’s not really enough time in the day. After I work, take care of my pets, workout, and cook/eat, it’s time for bed. I honestly don’t know how parents find time to PARENT, you know?
I would love to hear your derogatory thoughts on chiropractors at some point, haha. I started this whole journey going THREE times a week, then twice a week… and I’m seeing no benefits, which is just crazy to me.
I don’t even know how I would do ANYTHING if I had kids to take care of. How people manage to find time to blog amongst parenting is mind-boggling to me.
There is a saying in German: Alles neu macht der Mai – May makes everything new. And you sure embraced that!. New hair, new blog theme, new phone…
I’d say you got stuff done… just not the boring household stuff.
Ooh, I love that! I have definitely embraced the newness of May for sure. <3
Thank you - sometimes I just need to be reminded that I'm not failing in all areas of my life!
I noticed the new blog look right away! Love it! And LOVE your new do! Can’t wait to see those bangs in person soon.
I am so glad My Friends is helping with anxiety with your mom. That is wonderful.
The phone plan made me LOL! Who was your service provider before? I hope AT&T is good there! It’s what I have on my work phone and it barely works at my house.
Do you think you are the type of person who no matter what would always want to get more done in a day? That is what I’ve realized about myself and I’ve had to let go of that. It’s hard and I am working through it, but it’s helping me feel better about moments of just being, because that should be on my to do list too. All that being said, how you spend your time as a single, childless (wow, no wonder the girls didn’t get you anything for MD 😉 ) person is just as important as how anyone else does! Complain AWAY!!!! And keep in mind you have US hussle culture working against you.
Kim, you made me laugh for a long time with this comment, re: “(wow, no wonder the girls didn’t get you anything for MD 😉 ).” NO WONDER.
I had T-Mobile (formerly Sprint) before. It was fine, but I was paying a lot of money for one person AND I could never get the hotspot to work well. Mikaela has AT&T and I had to use her hotspot once and it was lightning fast! So I’m hoping it will work better where I am.
I think it would be hard to get everything I wanted to get done in a day, honestly. Keeping up with blogs/comments, PLUS work on the podcast, PLUS get at least 100 pages of reading done, PLUS do some chores, PLUS a workout, PLUS playtime with the cats… it’s a lot, and I have to remember that a) this is a good problem to have and b) nobody can get it all done in a day.
Your hair looks great! I’m so glad you don’t have haircut regret.
No haircut regret! That’s always the worst, isn’t it?!
YOUR HAIR LOOKS AMAZING OMG
I have that Find Your Phone app and my husband and one son are on it – I can’t add my other son for some reason. We had this app when they were younger, but I try not to stalk them, and just thank god that such technology was not available when I was a teen. Hoo boy. That would have been something. But it is helpful because my husband stalks ME when I’m out grocery shopping, so that he knows exactly when to come out to help bring in the groceries. Either that or he thinks I’m having an affair with someone at Costco, who can say.
My dear friend, *I* have trouble finding enough time in the day to do everything AND I DO NOT HAVE A JOB. And I have grown children! So no need to feel anything except that life is busy, and days have a way of filling themselves, and you are doing a great job at life! xoxoxo
Thank you, friend!
I can imagine how comforting Find My Friends is for parents! (And probably annoying for the teenagers, lol.) I was a very boring kid growing up so there wouldn’t have been anything too spicy if my mom had had it for me, haha.
A Costco affair, you say?! At least you have a good cover by always coming home with groceries. 😉
A new blog design AND bangs?! Loving the new looks! I’m so afraid of chiropractors. I went a lot when I was young, but the cracking and anything near my neck just freaks me out! I’ve had good luck with PT for my neck, shoulder, and back in recent years. Hoping you find some relief soon!
Thankfully, my chiro uses a different technique for spinal manipulation so there isn’t any cracking but, alas, things are not where I’d hoped they’d be after two months of treatment. I hope a PT can help!
I love the bangs! I feel like people have lots of trepidation about bangs, but I love how they frame people’s eyes.
I read an essay by Ursula Le Guin once where she said something to the effect of when people ask her what she does with her free time, she says she has no free time – her time is filled by living life. I think about that a lot….
I feel like when I have a lot of time, I tend to take longer to do things and make decisions very slowly. So ironically, I get more done when I have less time because I tend to zip through things without overthinking them. Or I just move it off my plate. Last week, though, I hit a wall mentally and I just could. not. motivate. It was pretty much just take kids to bus/work/eat/sleep. I had a couple mornings free, but I just couldn’t rally to do anything.
I needed something to soften my face, I think, especially now that I don’t have glasses to hide behind, haha. It’s a fun change and I’m happy with the decision!
Okay, that makes a lot of sense and makes me feel better about sometimes finding it hard to get off the couch and get my nighttime routine started. If I go to bed late, I can just take a nap the next day to make up for it – something I couldn’t do when I worked in an office, which made me much more strict with my bedtime/nighttime routine!
Girl, I feel you so hard on that last point… I feel like my day is ALWAYS too short to get everything done I need – and want! – to get done. You don’t have to have kids to feel busy I guess… it’s just another kind of busy.
I wish I had any advice but I am also still trying to figure out how to make it all fit.
I love your new blog layout (yay for a facelift!) and the bangs are cute. You’re so brave!
I’m going to be annoying and comment on your post and others’ comments. Sorry, not sorry. 😉
1. LOVE LOVE LOVE the theme and the bangs. You are so brave!
2. Thank you for pointing out that tech can be *helpful* for mental health. Think of your… is it a coloring app? I think? That is a big positive thing for your mental health, right?
3. I’m with Engie. I have very low opinions of chiropractors. I don’t offer them readily, though. 🙂
4. I’m also with San – it’s a *different kind of busy*. Oh, and also Birchie. I have this thought often – yes, life would be *easier* with someone else around. Someone who could grocery shop, or clean the #@%(* bathroom, or hit Target for a few things. But that would mean… living with someone. So, yeah, no. 🙂
Yesss – while it would be nice to have someone to help with chores and errands…. that also means living with someone else and ehhhh.