Stephany Writes

Categories: About Me

Birthday Snapshots

Cupcakes for breakfast? Of course! It’s my birthday!

My mom and I met up for lunch at one of our favorite delis. I didn’t eat much (I had a late breakfast), but I did enjoy hanging out with my mom in the middle of her workday.

After lunch with my mom, I popped over to my favorite local indie bookstore, Tombolo Books. I took my time perusing their shelves before settling on a sapphic romance by one of my new faves and the latest book from Nita Prose. (I loved The Maid!)

After bookstore shopping, I went to Starbucks to get my free birthday drink. I had some time to kill so I found a cozy chair and read about 70 pages of this adorable romance while I sipped on my peppermint mocha. (I also got a warm cookie!)

I booked a facial at my local Hand & Stone spa for 4pm. I always love to do a facial or massage on my birthday—it’s the height of luxury! (And if you can afford it, I think you should do it as well!) I’ll be able to use my wellness reimbursement towards this facial so it was free for me. The hour flew by and before I knew it, my spa time was over and it was time to get back to the real world. Wah!

I headed over to my mom’s house after the facial because we had dinner reservations with my brother and his family. I kept trying to take a selfie and my younger nephew kept trying to “photobomb” me, ha.

We went to a new restaurant for dinner that wound up being very expensive, but my mom was gracious enough not to hate me for picking such a fancy restaurant, ha. Our dinner was delicious, though! And the restaurant let me choose a free dessert for my birthday. Best of all, they lit two candles and did not sing to me. Whew. Crisis averted!

An us-ie after dinner! My brother hates taking pictures, but he suffers for me. I love these people so much.

I have to give some love to my ladies! After dinner, I came home and started working on this post. Ellie wanted some extra attention, which I was happy to give to her.

And, finally, my Lila Bear. She was all tucked in for the night and ready for me to come to bed! Unfortunately, I had some tidying up to do and a nighttime routine to tackle.

All in all, a very excellent birthday. It was a great way to start this new trip around the sun!

How do you like to celebrate your birthday?

Categories: About Me

Thankfulness Survey (v. 2)

I’m back with Part II of the gratitude worksheet (which you can find here). Thanksgiving is tomorrow – ahh!

16) The prettiest thing I saw today was sunshine! After over a week of dreary, gloomy weather, the sun has come out and it has been amazing to see blue skies out my window all day.

17) When I look into the mirror, I’m grateful for the love I have for my body as it is right now. I spent way too long hating my body and wishing it was thinner. Are there days when I don’t love my body? Yes, of course. I’m human. But, for the most part, I’m happy with what I look like and I no longer hate this fat body of mine.

18) Three of my most prized possessions are Eloise, Lila, and my bed. I love all three very much for very different reasons.

19) I’m grateful my eyes let me see without glasses! Getting LASIK was such a great decision and I love being able to live my life without a clunky pair of glasses on my face. Being able to see the minute I wake up is such a delight!

20) Something I would never change about myself is my love of reading. I love being an avid reader. I love connecting with other people about books and the reading life. I love spending time working on my reading spreadsheet and book lists and all that fun stuff.

21) The best thing I tasted today was a handful of dark chocolate-covered pomegranates. Yum!

22) I love going online to connect with people! The blogging community is truly something special and I’m glad to have found my place in it.

23) I’m grateful for the way these things feel really cozy pajama pants, my cats’ soft fur, sunshine on my face, a hot shower or bath, and my hair after I’ve washed it.

24) Today I felt supported when I received a great comment from my boss after finishing my part of a project we’re working on. It felt good to be acknowledged!

25) When I look around my home, I’m grateful for all of the sweet Christmas decorations. My apartment is fully decked out for Christmas and I love the collection of Christmas decor I have accumulated over the years. I have signs and garlands and tiny sparkly Christmas trees and twinkly lights. It makes my home so cozy.

26) When I look around at the world, I’m grateful for people who step up. I am always so inspired by people who see a need and want to fulfill it. Those who rush to help in emergencies and people who donate time/energy/money when disaster strikes. People who march for causes they care about and call their elected officials when things are happening that they are not okay with. Sometimes it’s hard to think that your small monetary donation or going to a march is going to help a cause that feels so much bigger than you, but it does.

27) I love that I have the ability to daydream about goals! Bri and I just released a podcast episode about goal-setting, which was so fun to talk about because setting goals is one of my most favorite things. I love this time of year because I get to reflect on the past year and think about the goals I want to accomplish next year. It’s so fun!

28 – I love it when I see animals on my Instagram feed! I love that so many people post funny Reels and photos of their pets. My newest favorite IG follow is It’s Ya Boy, Winston who is the sassiest little dachshund you ever did see!

29) The nicest thing I have felt on my skin today was a very hot towel on my face. My favorite part of my skincare routine every morning and evening is my hot towel. I turn on the faucet as hot as it will go and wet my washcloth (the water is often so hot that I can’t keep my hands underneath it for very long!) and then I rub the washcloth all over my face to get it wet before cleansing it. It is the most luxurious thing I do for myself, honestly. It feels so good.

30) I’m grateful that I’m learning how to approach my eating habits and unlearn diet culture. I discussed this at length yesterday, but I am just so grateful to have found a dietician who truly understands me and wants me to live my best intuitive eating life without the nonsense of diet culture.

What’s the prettiest thing you saw today?

Categories: About Me

Some Things I Wish I Liked (v. 2)

Suzanne gave me the inspiration for this post, and she got it from Elisabeth. And in the midst of writing this post, I realized I had written something similar last NaBloPoMo, so maybe this is a new NaBloPoMo yearly post? Ha. Here are five more things I wish I liked:

Alcohol

Sometimes, I like alcohol. A fruity cider or cocktail can be delicious. But sometimes, alcohol makes me break out in hives and sometimes, I get a drink that’s just a bit too strong and I end up diluting it with ice cubes. I’ve yet to find a type of wine that I enjoy. I find beer disgusting. And even if I do order a drink that is tasty, it’s still never as good as an ice-cold Dr. Pepper.

Having explored various activities recently, I found that participating in https://cliftoncocktailclub.co.uk/cocktail-making-class/ was a uniquely enjoyable venture. The class was structured in a way that catered to both beginners and those with some experience, ensuring everyone could learn something new while having a great time. The atmosphere was welcoming, and the instructors were incredibly knowledgeable, sharing their passion for cocktail making with all of us.

Early Mornings

I want to like early mornings. I used to, mostly out of necessity. I worked the early-morning shift at a daycare in college so I was out the door by 5:45 a.m. Monday-Friday. When I was working in an office, I needed to be out the door by 7 a.m. most days, which meant if I was going to exercise before work, that alarm was going off at 5 a.m. or earlier. But the pandemic changed me and I am no longer someone who can handle early mornings. I find it difficult to get my day started, I’m constantly behind on my morning routine, and it’s a good day if I’m at my computer by 8:30 a.m. (We have flexible start times, but still. I don’t love that I get my day started so late!) Can I retrain myself to love early mornings, or do I just need to accept that they’re not for me anymore?

Tomatoes

I’m stealing this one from Suzanne. Life would be so much simpler if I liked tomatoes. There are so many recipes that I immediately snub because they have tomatoes. I find tomatoes to be slimy and gross. They ruin meals. But I wish I liked them! People talk about eating tomatoes on their own like it’s some sort of treat and I just cannot understand that life.

Music

I’m not a music person. I don’t seek out new artists to listen to and I barely know what songs are popular these days. I listen to my Taylor Swift playlist on Spotify and that’s about it. I wish I had more of an affinity for music, but it’s just never been something I’ve been attuned to. Maybe it’s because I was “forbidden” from listening to anything other than Christian music growing up, and listening to secular music felt like sinning against God. I don’t know. Whatever it is, it’s meant that music just isn’t something I’m into.

People

Okay, this one is going to make me sound like a terrible person but let me just get it all out. I wish I liked getting to know people. I wish I was someone who could make small talk with my neighbors and knew everything about their lives. I wish I enjoyed group events and didn’t get so nervous about being around people and having to make conversation. I wish my mind didn’t blank out when I’m trying to talk with someone new. I wish I didn’t get annoyed if a grocery store clerk chatters on about her day. I think my social anxiety really plays a role in the way I interact with people. Social anxiety makes me suddenly aware of my body and the way I’m standing and my facial expressions and if my stomach is protruding too much and omg, will they ask if I’m pregnant? Social anxiety makes my mind just erase all of my thoughts completely and stringing together a coherent sentence feels impossible. The world just begins to feel very loud and overstimulating very quickly, and man, I wish it just felt normal to me.

Your turn! What’s something you wish you liked? Do you agree or disagree with me on any of these points?

Categories: About Me

Depression Toolkit

I think I am starting to feel the beginnings of a depressive episode. I had one during the holiday season last year—there is so much I love about the holiday season, but then the devil on my shoulder likes to say things like, “What if your whole family died and you had nobody to spend Christmas with?” And then I get sad and depressed, thinking that one day Christmas might look a lot different than it does right now.

As luck would have it, I had an appointment with my psychiatrist yesterday and I was able to talk to her about these feelings. (Side note: Does anyone else have trouble with that, “How are you doing?” question from your therapist/psychiatrist? I always give the pat, ‘I’m doing well,” answer until I realize no, dummy. They want to know for real. This isn’t the grocery check-out clerk who is making small talk!)

Right now, the main symptoms I’m experiencing are fatigue, lack of motivation, and lack of focus. Brain fog, I guess you could call it. I just find it very hard to get out of bed in the morning and get my day started. Sometimes I spend an hour or more just scrolling through my phone and trying to get my day started.

My psychiatrist and I worked through some ideas for how to keep the depression at bay without changing my meds (she left that decision up to me, and I declined for now).

A better sleep routine

My psychiatrist said that it’s important to be asleep by at least 11 p.m. because our brain does the most repair work during the hours of 11 p.m. and 2 a.m. I don’t know how true this is or what “repair work” fully entails because I wasn’t able to find anything about it in any sort of scientific publication. She mentioned that my late bedtimes could be leading me to feel foggy and fatigued because my brain isn’t able to do all of the repair work it needs. It sounds a little hokey, I can’t lie, but I’m also willing to test it out and see if I feel better and more focused after adhering to a 10:30 p.m. bedtime for a few weeks.

Sunshine and walks

My psychiatrist is a big proponent of sunshine and how it can affect our mental health. This week has been so dreary and I haven’t seen the sun in almost a week, which means I haven’t been going on my walks. (This was just an excuse. I could have gone on my walks, but ugh. It was so dreary!) She encourages me to “get sunshine on my eyeballs” daily as that affects melatonin production, which in turn, affects my sleep. My goal is one 15-minute walk every day.

Routine, routine, routine

I thrive in a routine. As much as I wish I could be more free-wheeling with my time, I work so much better when I know exactly what I’m doing during each hour of the day. So, I need a routine and here’s what I’ve come up with for weekdays:

  • 6:30 a.m. – 7:00 a.m.: Alarm goes off and I have 30 minutes to myself. I can snooze the alarm, scroll Instagram, play a game on my phone, whatever I want.
  • 7:00 a.m. – 7:30 a.m.: Get up, brush teeth, feed the cats, take a shower, and get dressed. (If it’s a non-shower day, I can read a book on the couch once I finish the above tasks.)
  • 7:30 a.m. – 8:00 a.m.: Eat breakfast
  • 8:00 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.: Morning routine
    • Morning skincare
    • Make bed
    • Put away dishes from last night
    • Take meds
    • Do my hair/make-up (if needed)
  • 8:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.: Working block (ideally, I’d use Pomodoro to keep me on task and keep my break times minimal)
  • 12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.: Break time
    • Eat lunch
    • Go for a walk
    • Read blogs/work on blog posts
  • 2:00 p.m.- 5:30 p.m.: Working block
  • 5:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.: Chores
    • I need to be better about doing cleaning chores around the apartment. I want a dedicated time each day to work on this. I’d pick one cleaning task per day and any other miscellaneous tasks. I’d also use this time to scoop the litter boxes so they don’t need to be done during my nighttime routine.
  • 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.: Dinner + a TV show
  • 7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.: Dedicated time for blogging or reading (maybe I switch off each day?)
  • 8:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.: Nighttime routine
    • Nighttime skincare
    • Tidy apartment
    • Load dishwasher
    • Brush teeth
  • 9:30 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.: In bed (reading, scrolling on phone, ASMR videos, etc.) with lights out at 10:30 p.m. at the latest

This is, obviously, my ideal schedule and it doesn’t include things like naps and or weeknight plans. But at the very least, it gives me a broad idea of what I should be doing at specific hours of the day so I can stay on task and get stuff done. My goal is to try to follow this schedule as much as possible over the next few weeks and see how it changes the way I feel.

In the realm of personal development, the significance of mental health cannot be overstated. It’s essential for individuals to have access to reliable resources that can provide insightful assessments and actionable guidance. A professional’s insight into one’s mental health can illuminate the path forward, helping to navigate the complexities of treatment options and therapeutic strategies. Access to comprehensive psychiatric evaluations by qualified professionals is crucial for anyone looking to understand and improve their mental health, ensuring that each person’s journey is as informed and effective as possible.

What time do you usually go to bed?

Categories: About Me

Thankfulness Survey (v. 1)

In 2013 and 2019, I completed this fun gratitude worksheet (which you can find here). It was very interesting to look back on my answers—in a not-surprising turn of events, a lot has changed in a decade! I thought I’d return to this worksheet to reflect on all of the different ways I’m feeling gratitude and thankfulness right now. Part II will come next week. 🙂

1) I’m most thankful for my ability to live an independent life. It’s something that can be all too easy to take for granted. I am able-bodied, I am financially secure, and I was born at a time when I didn’t need to be married to have something as simple as a bank account. I love the independence that comes with living on my own and making my own schedule, and I am so grateful for the ability to do that.

2) At this moment, the thing I love most about my family is their acceptance of me. Since the last time I completed this survey, I have come out to both my mom and my brother. Even though I know they love me and want what’s best for me, I was worried about how coming out would change our relationship. Did they need some time to process this news? Yes, of course, and I don’t fault them for that at all. But it didn’t change our relationship at all, and perhaps even made it stronger now that I’m not hiding such a big piece of my identity from them.

3) Something that made me smile today was watching the girls get excited when I brought out some Christmas garland. What is it about shiny garland that they think is the most delightful place to sleep? We have beds, girls! Lots of them!

4) The best thing I smelled today was the scent from my air freshener. The scent is from Bath & Body Works and it’s “pumpkin apple.” I kept getting a delicious waft of it as I worked in my kitchen this evening.

5) One of the memories I’m most grateful for is book club vacations. We have had many wonderful trips, although we’ve put our vacationing on hold starting in 2020. We’re hoping to make a 2024 vacation happen. I miss traveling with my friends!

6) Thank goodness someone taught me how to French braid my hair! I am thankful to my friends for showing me in person and helping me figure out the mechanics of it. I’m also thankful to YouTube tutorials that helped me get the intricacies of French braiding down pat. I was able to cross off a 2023 goal because of it!

11) The best song I heard today was New Romantics by Taylor Swift. I had to run some errands during lunch and queued up my Taylor Swift playlist on Spotify to get me through the driving.

12) When I look inside my closet, I’m grateful for the clothes that make me feel good. I no longer wear clothes that don’t make me feel good. If I feel awkward or uncomfortable in something, it goes straight into a bag that I’ll take to Goodwill. Life is too short to wear clothes that don’t make me feel amazing!

13) I’m lucky that I’m smart enough to figure out how to help myself. I am a problem solver by nature, so this means when I’m going through any sort of anxiety spiral, stressful moment, or depressive episode, I want to solve the problem. Sometimes, there is no way to solve it, but oftentimes, there is. It’s scheduling an emergency therapy appointment, taking a mental health day from work, or reaching out to a friend. I have learned what I need to do when I do start feeling mentally unwell, and I make it happen.

14) In this moment, what I love most about my friends is their honesty and vulnerability with me. Mental health is a big subject within my friend group because we all struggle in some way, and knowing these friends have my back when I’m going through something hard is priceless.

15) I’m grateful that my hands can hold a warm Starbucks peppermint mocha because it is FINALLY peppermint mocha season, and I am here for it!

What has made you smile today?