Stephany Writes

Categories: Best Of

Best of 2024 | A Month-by-Month Recap

Oh, 2024. What an interesting year! Working through this post, I see so many highs (I did so many fun things with so many people!) and so many lows (hurricane loss, physical ailments, mental health, etc.) But that’s life. It’s never going to be 100% perfect, but neither will it (hopefully) be 100% terrible.

This year, Elisabeth asked us to take a journey with her to write a book together, with each month of the year receiving its own chapter title. I managed to find all of my chapter titles and those will be headlining each year. Let’s get into it, shall we?

January – Settling Into a New Year

  • We were still in Tennessee on vacation when we rang in 2024, and we spent the first day of the year at Ober Gatlinberg. We did their mountain coaster, drank delicious hot chocolate, and went snow tubing!
  • I met Jenny! She was in Tampa with her family and we met up at Starbucks for a few hours of chit-chat. It was so lovely!
  • I got my nose pierced and it was so very painful, but I loved the delicate stud immediately.
  • I found an adorable chair with an ottoman on Facebook Marketplace and snatched it up! It was quite the ordeal to get it into my bedroom but there have been many wonderful reading sessions in that chair.
  • I had my final therapy session with my therapist. She had taught me a lot and I felt ready to take on life without regular talk therapy sessions.

February – The One With All the Appointments

  • I went strawberry picking with friends! I got way too many strawberries but it was a fun afternoon.
  • I had so many appointments: dentist and doctor and and dermatologist and a LASIK follow-up (<– my last one!). It felt like I was always rushing off to one appointment or another.
  • I was on dog-sitting duty one weekend for Chip and Lucy, and we had the best time together!
  • Bri and I celebrated Galentine’s Day for our 9th year in a row! We had pizza and cheesy bread and watched a rom-com. It was a delightful night!
  • In fun physical ailments, I had an allergic reaction to the topical lidocaine during a cavity filling and I had a scalp psoriasis flare after a few months of maintenance.

March – Everything’s Coming Up Stephany

  • My mom and I joined a gym – and we’ve been going strong since. Joining this gym was probably one of the best decisions I made this year!
  • I had my first ladies’ night with new friend Roxana, and we immediately clicked! We’ve had multiple girls nights in since then, and it was so fun to make a new friend this year.
  • I started going to a chiropractor to help with my sciatica pain and it really helped realign my spine.
  • I attended a pediatric cancer walk for Olive and it was a fun afternoon out with friends.
  • I went to the Florida Strawberry Festival with my mom and stepdad, and for the first time ever, got seriously nauseous on a ride (another sign that I’m getting old, sigh).

April – The Diagnosis

  • I did an at-home sleep test and learned a week later that I had severe obstructive sleep apnea. While I was concerned I had sleep apnea, the diagnosis was shocking—I didn’t expect my condition to be classified as severe.
  • Bri and I spent a Sunday afternoon exploring Egmont Key, a secluded island off the coast of Tampa Bay. It was such a beautiful day and we had a great time together!
  • I bought an Apple watch using my wellness stipend (we got $500 in 2024) and it’s probably not a purchase I would have gotten otherwise. I love my watch so much!
  • My mom and I went to an art festival where we quickly realized we were way out of our leagues. Most of the pieces were selling for $2,000 or more!
  • My scalp psoriasis started to flare with angry red patches on my scalp (underneath my hair, thank goodness) and lots of itchiness and pain, and the soonest appointment I could get from my dermatologist was in mid-June, sigh.

May – Highs and Lows

  • My scalp psoriasis continued to be unmanageable. I bought every product under the sun to try to help calm it down while I waited to see my dermatologist. I remember nights where I couldn’t sleep because I was in so much pain and the itchiness would not abate.
  • There were so many fun dates with friends: a Cinco De Mayo party at Bri’s house, a movie date with friends to watch The Idea of You, a girls night in with new friends, TopGolf with another friend to celebrate her birthday. My heart was very full.
  • I got bangs! It was such a fun way to add a little oomph to my appearance.
  • I took Eloise to the vet and we did blood work since I was a little concerned about her lack of appetite. While all other numbers were normal, she did have higher-than-normal calcium numbers. After some testing, it was determined she has idiopathic hypercalcemia. Basically, there’s not much to do here. As long as she’s eating fine and acting normal, there’s no further treatment needed. But she will need to get regular blood work done.
  • My mom and I spent a long weekend in New Orleans. We saw Nate Bargatze live, enjoyed the aquarium and some bookstores, went on a ghost tour, and tried to conquer public transportation (we failed). We both agreed we are “one and done” with New Orleans. It was a fine place to visit once, but we have no desire to return.

June: Battling My Social Anxiety Demons – and Winning

  • I paid $400 for emergency locksmith services when I got home from the airport after flying home from New Orleans. I couldn’t find my house keys anywhere in my luggage so I had to suck it up. And guess what I found in the very place I was looking (my backpack) after unpacking? My house keys. Of course!
  • I finally saw my dermatologist and we both agreed it was time to start steroid injections. They were painful, but I’d been having pain in those areas of my scalp for months now so it didn’t feel any worse than that. And omg, what a difference some steroids make! The pain and itching dissipated within a few days and I felt like a new person.
  • I spent a weekend in Illinois/Wisconsin with Kim! I got to meet her cats and her husband, and we explored so much of her area! We went to bookstores and a fun market and Chicago Pride. But the best thing we did was go to the Popcast Live! We are both huge fans of the podcast and it was a great evening. (Kim – please show Khali this photo collage. I’m hoping to get further into her good graces by putting her so prominently.)
  • Social anxiety was my demon this month, and I had to battle a lot of fear and worry leading up to my weekend with Kim. I knew I would have a good time (and I did!) but this is the way my brain works. It’s so tiresome.
  • There was lots of bookish delight this month! Not only did I find the most amazing bookstore in Wisconsin (Blue House Books in Kenosha), but I also did some book drop-offs at Little Free Libraries around my city and went to a book event in downtown Tampa with Bri.

July – Spending Less, Doing More

  • I did a month-long spending freeze and I was surprisingly successful at it! I have attempted these freezes in the past and failed, but I think the key is writing regular updates for the blog. It keeps me honest. (I am an Upholder, after all.)
  • I finally had my CPAP Titration Sleep Study, three months after getting my diagnosis. It was awkward and uncomfortable, and I don’t think I slept more than a few hours. I had an amazing sleep technician, though, who made the process a lot less weird than it could have been.
  • We celebrated my mom’s birthday with an afternoon of fun! My mom, my brother, and I went to The Candle Pour to make candles and then we went out for lunch.
  • We took the dogs to the dog beach one sunny afternoon, and they did better than we expected! They loved floating around the ocean on a raft, although all Lucy wanted to do was bark at the birds. Chip loved exploring the beach while Lucy growled and barked at any dog who dared come near her. She’s a feisty one!
  • I had an anxiety spiral when my mom wasn’t answering her phone. Luckily, I was at Bri’s house recording podcast episodes, so we took a break once I started spiraling and sat on the couch. We watched soccer and she distracted me the best she could.

August – Transitions & Depression

  • My boss, someone I love dearly and who has championed my growth at my company, left the organization for a new role and I was devastated, to say the least. We had a going-away party for her and I stayed for over 5 hours!
  • I spent a few nights at my mom’s house for puppy-sitting duties! I love when I get to do this because hanging out with Chip and Lucy is my favorite thing. They are so cuddly and fun, and we enjoyed ourselves immensely.
  • We had a reunion with a former book club member who moved away a decade ago, but just returned to the area for good. She fit back in so seamlessly and it’s fun to have an extra member again!
  • My CPAP machine finally arrived at the end of August and it was a big adjustment learning to sleep with it, but almost immediately, I noticed a difference in my energy levels. Amazing!
  • My mental health was a struggle this month and I went through a depressive episode. I tried making some changes to my meds, but it didn’t make much of a difference. I just needed to wait out this period of feeling mentally unwell and eventually, it eased.

September – The Unexpected Goodbye to Gladys

  • I had another anxiety spiral when my mom didn’t answer her phone for a few hours, prompting me to write a post about the experience and also start thinking about going back to therapy.
  • I continued to use my CPAP machine and experience so many benefits from it, like improved energy levels and less brain fog! However, getting used to wearing the mask was a process! It was very uncomfortable for the first month.
  • I had a really fun evening out with some girlfriends. We made candles at The Candle Pour (second time this year!) and then went out for Mexican food. Afterward, we “tricked” Bri into coming inside so we could surprise her with cake! (It was essentially her birthday celebration.)
  • On September 26th, Hurricane Helene hit Florida. While the eye of the storm was over 200 miles north of where I live, Helene’s storm surge was intense and we felt its effects in the Tampa Bay area. The parking lot at my apartment flooded and so did Gladys, my beloved Kia Soul. After towing my car to the Kia dealership, I heard back a few days later that my car insurance was going to total Gladys. I was devastated. But two close friends (including the friend who just moved back to Florida in August) lost their entire homes to the flooding so I know they would gladly trade places with me.
  • I was without power at my apartment for six days, during which time I stayed at my mom’s house. I came home to check on the girls every day, growing increasingly worried as my apartment got hotter and hotter. I know cats can handle heat better than humans, but I went back and forth for a long time if I wanted to bring them to my mom’s house or not. In the end, I decided that would have been more stressful to them and luckily, before the apartment got too unbearably hot, the power came back.

October – Another Hurricane?!

  • My first night in my apartment since Thursday, September 26th was Thursday, October 3rd. I was so happy to be home with my cats and focused on putting my apartment back to order. (I had to throw out the entirety of my fridge and freezer and deal with all the mildewy car supplies I had shoved in my apartment after my car was towed away.)
  • But by the weekend, I was booking a VRBO for a week because another hurricane was barreling toward us. Hurricane Milton was estimated to make landfall midweek as a strong category 3, so my mom and I (plus the dogs and the cats) drove further inland to Ocala to wait out the storm. And as crappy at it was to spend the money on a VRBO and pack up the animals and our lives… I really enjoyed that week with my mom. It was nice having the one-on-one time with her! Thankfully, Milton veered south at the last second and we missed a direct hit. I didn’t even lose power this time around!
  • I got a new car! It was a weird time to car shop and buy because, well, just about everyone else who was doing so had experienced hurricane loss, too. (The car dealerships were swimming in money, for sure.) I picked out a 2025 Kia Soul and happily took whatever color they wanted to give me. She’s a red bombshell and Ruby is the perfect name for her.
  • A few days before Halloween, I noticed that I had a rather large lump in my armpit. I was fairly certain it wasn’t something serious (I’ve had a cyst in that area for years), but there was a little frantic Googling the night before my doctor’s appointment. Thankfully, it was just a very angry abscess. I went to my dermatologist to have it drained, although it took a few weeks for the lump to go away.

November – The Month Where I Wrote Every Day & Turned Another Year Older

  • Kamala lost the election and I was devastated. I can’t believe we have to do this again.
  • My mom and I spent a day volunteering with Feeding Tampa Bay, which was such a rewarding experience.
  • I lost my wallet and had to go through the rigamarole of replacing everything, including my license, debit/credit cards, and FSA card. Thankfully, I didn’t have any cash in my wallet! It was an annoying process, though.
  • My brother and his family adopted a puppy! They named her Cici and she is delight in the purest sense of the word.
  • I re-started therapy with a new therapist and to say we clicked immediately is an understatement. We had an instant rapport and I love how she gives me tangible things to do to help with some of my anxiety spirals.
  • I turned 37 years old on Thanksgiving. My birthday was understated this year due to the holiday and my emotions were very tender on this day for some reason. It wasn’t my favorite birthday but hopefully better ones are ahead.
  • I completed another year of NaBloPoMo, and I’m so glad I did! It’s such a crazy but fun creative experience.

December – Savoring the Season

  • My mom and I spent the first week of December on a lovely cruise! It wasn’t a vacation without some bumps (like an excursion getting cancelled and my mom taking a fall), but it was very relaxing and fun.
  • I got two more tattoos! Tulips on the inside of my right ankle and an anchor on the inside of my left ankle. These symbolize my relationship with my mom: tulips are her favorite flower and the anchor is because she’s my anchor, my safe place, my rock in this crazy, messy world.
  • I took Lila for a bath, which was an experience. (She did fine with the first part of the bath, but did not love getting rinsed off. She also did not care for the blow-dryer.) She came back to me looking like she lost 5 lbs because she lost so much hair! (The woman who took care of her gave her a really good brushing before and during the bath, which she said Lila loved.)
  • The holiday season was a delight, specifically book club’s Christmas party, going to see the lights with my mom in our favorite neighborhood, a special screening of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation at a local movie theater, and decorating Christmas cookies.
  • I spent NYE with friends and my mom at Bri’s house. We played games, ate great food, and did our best to stay awake until midnight.
Categories: Best Of, Goals

Best of 2024 | Wrapping Up My 2024 Goals

It’s the final day of 2024 – can you believe it? I sure can’t. This year has flown by, as all the years tend to do. Every year, I love setting yearly goals because it’s fun to think about everything I want to accomplish and the steps I’m going to take to get there. As I’ve said before, I’m A-OK with not marking every single goal complete. These goals are for fun and pleasure (for the most part) and while I take them seriously, I do not beat myself up for not accomplishing all of them. With that disclaimer, let’s dive into my final 2024 goals check-in!

HOME (3/5)

1. Create a book nook in my bedroom. Complete! While I still need to hang up bookshelves and some bookish prints, I’m going to mark this as complete for the year. I added a reading chair with ottoman, a table with a small lamp, and a cozy blanket so it’s a wonderful little reading area of my bedroom.

2. Finish my living room gallery wall. Complete!

3. Move to a two-bedroom apartment. Not complete. I decided to stay put for another year.

4. Buy a new area rug and a new coffee table for my living room. Not complete.

5. Reorganize my home: add shelving to my kitchen, hang an organizer in my kitchen pantry, and buy new organizing containers for my closet. Complete! The shelf was hung in March. I hung a headband organizer that I already had on the pantry door to organize small items like cat treats, oatmeal packets, snack bags, etc. And I added organizing containers to the shelves inside my pantry to make it easier to store things.

MONEY (2/5)

1. Switch to a rewards credit card. Not complete.

2. Complete monthly budget posts on the blog. Complete!

(December’s post to come next week!)

3. Add at least $1,000 to my emergency fund by the end of the year. Not complete.

4. Pay off the majority of my LASIK bill. Not complete.

5. Complete a no-spend month. Complete!

HEALTH (4/5)

1. Figure out an exercise routine that works for me. Complete. Joining a gym was such a great decision I made this year!

2. Lower my resting heart rate. Complete. I know I lowered my resting heart rate by more than a few notches this year, thanks to engaging in a new workout routine that includes HIIT classes, cardio, and more.

3. Use my standing desk more often – get to a place where I’m standing for two hours each day. Not complete. Standing is hard work! Next year, I’m hoping to invest in a walking pad because I think I might be more inclined to use my standing desk if I could get some movement, too. (My wellness stipend would pay for the majority of it!)

4. Get a sleep study done. Complete!

5. Be able to comfortably walk 3 miles regularly. Complete – while I haven’t tested this goal, I feel pretty confident I can walk 3 miles comfortably thanks to the extra time spent at the gym.

HOBBIES (3/5)

1. Read 100 books. (110/100) I’m finishing up my last book of 2024 today, which will put me right at 110 books read for the year.

2. Read 6 books by Agatha Christie. (6/6)

3. Reach 100 listeners per episode on the podcast. Not complete. We completely fell off our podcast recording schedule once we got hit with the hurricanes and then Bri’s work schedule amped up (she works in retail marketing, so the holiday season is a busy time of the year for her). Hopefully, we can get back on our podcasting game in 2025 and set some new goals.

4. Update the blog with a new theme and reorganized categories/tags/pages. Complete! The big recategorization project is DONE and I launched a new blog theme in May. I’m so happy with the way it turned out!

5. Watch one season of a show every month. (6/12) Not complete. Womp, womp.

  • January: Only Murders in the Building, season 3
  • February: The Bear, season 1
  • March: Mr. and Mrs. Smith, season 1
  • April: New Girl, season 1
  • May: Suits, season 1
  • June: Bridgerton, season 3

FUN (5/10)

1. Spend a long weekend at Rainbow River. Take a solo vacation. Burn through one candle every month (6/6). Complete! A simple, satisfying goal. I loved burning my balsam fir candle throughout December!

2. Get my nose pierced. Done! (But then I had to remove my piercing because the CPAP mask was irritating it so much, so I’ll have to get this piercing redone at some point.)

3. Get more tattoos. Complete! I got two tattoos on my ankles in December.

4. Take a cake decorating class. Not complete. The only classes I found were pretty expensive, so I gave up on this goal.

5. Find a dry shampoo that works for my hair. Not complete. I tried a few, but probably not as many as I could have. I think I’ve basically given up on using dry shampoo, though. My hair is just the type that needs a daily wash.

6. Listen to one new album every month. (7/12) Not complete. I tried my best!

  • January: Olivia Rodrigo, GUTS
  • February: Noah Kahan, Stick Season
  • March: Florence + the Machine, Dance Fever
  • April: Beyonce, Cowboy Carter
  • May: Billie Eilish, HIT ME HARD AND SOFT
  • June: Gracie Abrams, The Secret of Us
  • July: Maggie Rogers, Don’t Forget About Me

7. Learn how to back into a parking space like an overconfident white man. Not complete. I’m still very timid when it comes to backing into parking spots, ha.

8. See a Dolphins game in person. Not complete.

9. Buy new luggage. Complete! I bought a new carry-on in May.

10. Start working through the “I’m Dead, Now What?” planner. Um, complete? I only worked through one section, but this goal was to “start working” on it, so…?

In the end, I accomplished 14 out of 30 goals – but there were a few “half-completed” goals on this list that I didn’t count (like the album goal). I’m happy with my progress, although I do wish I had made a lot more headway on my money goals than I did. I really struggle with those! I’ll be unveiling my 2025 goals tomorrow because you know your girl’s got some 2025 annual goals!

How do you feel about annual goals/resolutions?

Categories: Best Of

Best of 2024 | The Year in Blogging

I love putting together this post at the end of every year because it means I get to think about my year of blogging. This is a hobby I purely pursue because it’s fun for me, but it is also one that takes a lot of work! There’s a lot that goes into maintaining a blog, whether it’s making my editorial calendar, writing blog posts, editing and adding pictures, responding to comments, and reading and commenting on other blogs. One of these days, I’m going to track all of the time I spend on my blog on a weekly basis! I’m sure it’s a lot more than I expect.

Anyway, in this post, I’m talking about some of my most popular and favorite posts of the year as well as some blogging stats. The only time I look at these stats is to put together this post, so it’s always a surprise to see how things shook out!

By the Numbers

  • 84.800 unique views
  • 20,100 visitors
  • 1,006 words per post on average
  • 3,000 comments
  • 165 posts
  • 135 countries represented in my views (with the United States, Canada, and Poland being my top three)
  • 234 subscribers

I am happily surprised by these numbers – every single category saw some sort of growth in 2024. Unique views were up 34% from 2023, visitors were up 40%, and comments were up 13%. I added more countries to my traffic as well as 28 more subscribers. It makes me feel good knowing my little community here is growing and this blog is reaching more people.

I wrote more blog posts this year (+11) and my average words per post went up (+122 words) so I was not as concise with my posts as I was in 2023. What can I say? I like to write a lot of words!

My Top 5 Blog Posts of 2024

(Blog posts written in 2024, in order of most pageviews.)

  1. And Now, Milton – The end of September and the beginning of October were really hard. I wrote this post the day before my mom and I evacuated to Ocala to escape our second hurricane in as many weeks. Hurricane Milton was estimated to make direct landfall on our city as a possible category 3 hurricane, and we knew we needed to get out of town. I found a VRBO that would allow us to bring all four pets – plus, it had a fenced-in yard to make taking the dogs out 1000x easier.
  2. Inside a Panic Attack – After having a really bad panic attack one day in September, I decided to write about what it actually feels like. I’m proud of this post and I think it gives people a better glimpse of what it’s like to have an anxiety disorder.
  3. Hurricane Helene – I wrote this post two days after Hurricane Helene happened. My car was at the Kia dealership and I had an insurance claim pending to see what would happen to her. I was without power at my apartment, but luckily, my mom’s house had power so I was able to stay with her. It was a really weird, scary time. I had never dealt with hurricane loss like this before.
  4. No-Spend July: Recap #2 – I’m not sure why this post was one of my most popular of 2024, but apparently, it was a hit! I did a “no-spend” challenge in July and documented my progress every week on the blog, which was a great way to keep me motivated. This was only the second week of the challenge, but I was going strong!
  5. A Monday Morning Coffee Date – This is another random post that made the top 5 and I think it’s because I published this post after I launched my new blog theme. I told everyone to click out of their feed reader so they could see the new digs, and apparently, you guys listened to me!

My All-Time Most Popular Blog Posts

  1. I’m 27 and Scared to Move Out (+433 views)
  2. On Being a Socially Anxious Introvert (+90 views)
  3. 10 Things I Like About Myself (+372 views)
  4. “What is meant for me is already mine.” (+1,036 views)
  5. Rules for Living with a Dachshund (+175 views)

Another year where these five posts remain in the top spots. I first started tracking these stats in 2019 and this list has not budged since then! I’m impressed at how many views these posts continue to receive, even though they were written so long ago. We’ll see if any other posts can crack into the top 5 in 2025!

Other Favorite Posts

  • All of my posts about my journey to a CPAP machine – I wrote all about my CPAP journey, from doing an at-home sleep study to doing an in-clinic CPAP titration study to my first week on CPAP therapy. It was a wild ride, especially considering I did my at-home sleep study in April and didn’t get my CPAP machine until the last day of August.
  • My Bookish Red Flags – I fooled people with this post, as everyone thought I was going to talk about the red flags I see in my reading. Instead, I talk about some of the bad habits I have as a reader, such as reading my books in the bathtub.
  • A Day in the Life of Eloise and Lila – Have you ever wondered how Eloise and Lila spend their days? Wonder no more! I wrote an entire post detailing their very busy lives. As expected, there were a lot of naps, playtime, and staring out the window.
  • My Thoughts on the NYT Best Books of the Century – When the New York Times came out with their best books of the century list, everyone in bookish circles was talking about it! I finally climbed on the bandwagon a little late to talk about what I thought about the selections and what books I would have added to the list.
  • Where Do You Keep That? – I wrote this post after listening to an episode of The Girl Next Door Podcast where they did a fun segment of this very name. And it spawned a whole new life in the blogging world, especially with Elisabeth (and now I’m copying off Elisabeth’s other posts to continue this series!)

If you’re a blogger, what’s a post you’re proud of writing this year? If you’re not a blogger, what are your favorite types of blog posts to read?

Categories: Best Of

Best of 2024 | End-of-Year Survey

1) What did you do in 2024 that you’ve never done before? 

  • Went snow tubing
  • Got my nose pierced
  • Went strawberry picking
  • Started seeing a chiropractor and getting spinal adjustments
  • Stayed over at a blogger’s house!! (Thanks, Kim!)
  • Experienced hurricane loss – my car got totaled due to flooding

2) Did anyone close to you give birth?

Yes, my former boss/good friend gave birth to a baby girl in February and my cousin gave birth to a baby boy in September.

3) Did anyone close to you die?

No.

4) What places did you visit?

New Orleans, Chicago, and the Bahamas.

5) What would you like to have in 2025 that you didn’t have in 2024?

A stricter budget, an earlier bedtime, and more dates

6) What dates from 2024 will be etched in your memory forever?

September 26 – the night I watched my parking lot fill up with water and my car get flooded

November 6 – the day I woke up and immediately learned that Trump was going to win the election. What an awful, terrible day.

7) What was your biggest achievement this year?

Advocating for myself. I had to advocate for myself multiple times this year. For example, I had to get my doctor to approve a sleep study to find out if I have sleep apnea (and it turns out I do). I also had to advocate for myself with my dermatologist to be super clear that my scalp psoriasis was affecting my quality of life and we needed to take drastic measures (so I started steroid shots).

8) What was your biggest challenge?

My physical health was quite the challenge this year. Between feeling tired all the time and then finding out I have severe obstructive sleep apnea, needing chiropractic adjustments for my sciatica, dealing with really terrible flares with my scalp psoriasis condition, and having two massive cysts in my underarm that erupted and needed medical attention… well, my physical health took a beating.

9) Did you suffer from illness or injury?

I never got ill this year, so that’s a positive! I did deal with some injuries, like sciatica and inflamed abscesses.

10) What was the best thing you bought?

Ruby! She’s a beautiful 2025 Kia Soul, and I love her with my whole heart. Getting a brand-new car was not on my 2024 bingo card, but Hurricane Helene had other plans for me.

11) Where did most of your money go?

The majority of it went to bills and food.

12) What did you get really, really excited about?

Honestly, I’m not sure if there was anything I got super excited about this year. It was not exactly the best year for me for a variety of reasons, but I know I had a lot of anticipation for my cruise in December and for the holiday season.

13) What authors did you discover in 2024?

Some new-to-me authors I discovered in 2024 include Ashley Poston, Jessica Joyce, Rufi Thorpe, Jesse Q. Sutanto, Ally Carter, and Alison Espach. And I read the debuts of the following authors this year: Andrew Boryga (Victim – ★★★★☆), Shelley Read (Go as a River – ★★★★★), Freida McFadden (The Housemaid – ★★★★☆), and Ali Hazelwood (The Love Hypothesis – ★★★★☆).

14) What do you wish you had done more of? 

More dates, more therapy, more reaching out to friends

15) What do you wish you had done less of?

Less spending money, less worrying, less laziness

16) How did you spend Christmas?

Oh, it was such a good day! I slept in until 8:30, had a bowl of cereal, and then snuggled under the couch with a Christmas blanket to drink my coffee and read my book. After that, I made mashed potatoes for our family dinner (watching episodes of The Circle while doing so). Then, I got ready quickly, transferred all of my presents down to my car, and headed to my mom’s house. We had a lovely time opening presents (you guys, my mom and brother chipped in together to get me an iPad! I was astonished!) and then eating dinner and dessert. We also watched the Chiefs game and I was pleasantly surprised that Netflix was able to pull off such a massive live stream! (Good job, guys.) I got home around 5, gave the girls their presents, and then lounged on the couch for most of the night.

17) What was your favorite TV program?

The Circle was a really fun discovery this year – I’m quickly working my way through their seasons (I’m on season 5!). I also discovered Suits this year, although I haven’t done a great job of bingeing the series. (Fun fact: After watching the first episode, I told my mom about the show. She watched the ENTIRE SERIES before I had finished season 1. Ha!)

18) What did you want and get?

I wanted to sleep better and got that, thanks to my CPAP machine. I had no idea how exhausted I really was until I started experiencing good sleep with my machine.

I wanted to make some strides in my fitness habits, and I definitely improved in that area! I joined a gym, started attending HIIT classes, and now have a four-day-a-week exercise routine.

19) What did you want and not get?

I wanted to go for more walks outside and I definitely struggled with that (but hey, this is mostly because I’m now getting my exercise in a gym setting so…)

I wanted to play with the cats more and that was a struggle. WHY?!

I wanted to save more money and, aha, nope.

20) What was your favorite film of 2024?

I’ve been dreading this question. I only saw three movies in 2024: The Idea of You, We Live in Time, and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. How sad! If I had to choose a favorite movie from that list, I’d choose We Live in Time, mostly because Florence Pugh is EVERYTHING.

21) What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I turned 37 this year and my birthday fell on Thanksgiving. It was actually kind of a letdown to have my birthday on Thanksgiving. At the risk of sounding incredibly selfish, I felt like the holiday overshadowed my birthday. I mean, it is what it is. A Thanksgiving birthday is just a lot more fun when you’re a kid, I think.

22) What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

I wish I could have moved into a two-bedroom apartment. While I don’t regret staying in my one-bedroom apartment for another year (especially because my rent is $500 cheaper), it would be nice to have a bigger space and an extra bedroom to use as a home office.

23) Who kept you sane?

My mom. She’s my rock, my anchor, my safe place.

24) What are five things you are grateful for this year?

  • My cats – These girls are my everything. I love when Eloise makes me scooch over in my office chair so she can sit right next to me and when Lila jumps on the bed in the morning and pokes me with her paw for pets. I had a health scare with Eloise this year, but it turned out to be nothing, and I am so grateful for that.
  • My home – I love my apartment and I love that I can live independently and alone. Living alone is one of my favorite things and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
  • My friends – We have unlocked deeper levels of our friendship dynamics this year. It’s been a hard year for a lot of us but we’ve made it through with each other’s support. Whether that’s supportive texts or spontaneous dinners or helpful advice, we’ve lifted each other up in our times of need.
  • My new therapist – I’ve only had three appointments with my therapist but she’s already changing my life. It feels like such serendipity that we found each other!
  • My mom and my brother – My ride or dies. I wouldn’t be where I am today without them. I am so grateful for our relationship, our closeness, and our inside jokes.

25) Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2024.

You are your best advocate. If something doesn’t feel right, if the treatment regimen isn’t working, say something. You deserve to feel good and to live your best life. I have a really hard time speaking up even when I’m in a doctor’s office because I don’t want to be a burden. And I’m always worried I’m not going to be heard. I had to fight to get a sleep study and had to be very clear with my dermatologist that I needed drastic measures for my scalp psoriasis. And it’s not as if my doctors weren’t amenable to these treatments, but I did have to use my voice to make sure they happened. And I am so very glad I did.

26) What would you rate your level of happiness on a scale of 1-10 this year?

I think I’d give it a 6. This year was a weird one. Nothing exceptional happened, but also nothing terrible happened. It was just one of those years where things were just okay. My mental health was up and down and, like I’ve mentioned, I dealt with quite a few physical health issues that put a damper on my year.

27) If you could change one thing that happened this year, what would it be?

Oh, I really wish the storm surge from Hurricane Helene hadn’t flooded my car and destroyed the homes of two of my friends. That would have been really cool.

28) How have you changed over this past year?

Well, for one thing, I’m getting much better sleep now than I was at the beginning of this year and for many years prior! Being on a CPAP machine has been life-changing. Before being on CPAP therapy, I was having 40+ apneas an hour (a period of time where I stop breathing for 10 seconds or more), my blood oxygen levels were 90-91% on average (some nights, they even dropped below 90%, which is terrifying), and I was getting less than 10 minutes of deep sleep every night. I was also waking up almost every morning with a headache, needed a nap to get through every day, and experienced a lot of brain fog. I’ve now been using my CPAP machine for four months and my blood oxygen levels are now normal, I’m sometimes getting upwards of an entire hour of deep sleep (the ideal range being 1.5-2 hours), and I feel a whole lot more energized and alert. It’s been an amazing change to my physical health.

29) How did this year surprise you? 

It’s been a constant refrain in this post, but all of the physical ailments I dealt with this year were a surprise. I did not expect to be diagnosed with severe sleep apnea and I did not expect to need steroid shots in my scalp to calm down my psoriasis. I did not expect to need so many trips to the dermatologist.

And I really did not expect to deal with the aftermath of hurricanes. My city is still reeling from the damage. My friends are still living in temporary housing (this is month three for them and will probably be another few months before they can move back home). Our beloved Tropicana Field is still without a roof. It was just in the past week or so that all of the debris that was piling up on people’s lawns got picked up by the city. It will be a long rebuilding process for our city.

30) Show us one of your favorite photos from the year.

This was such a fun night! I love this picture of the six of us with our flower bouquets, and I love the beautiful representation of our friendship that I feel from this picture. This was a night filled with love and laughter and so many compliments. I’m so grateful for these ladies and how we have gotten through 2024 together.

What was your biggest achievement and challenge in 2024?

Categories: Best Of

Book Club 2024

Last year, I decided to do something crazy and recap the entire year’s worth of book club experiences. I have been attending this book club for most of my adult life and we are so much more than friends who meet once a month to talk about a book we read. We are a core group of friends. We have been there for each other through some of the hardest times and some of the best times. To be honest, this year was a hard one for most of us. Just about everyone had something major happen in their lives, and because of that, we tried to make book club a fun, enjoyable place for everyone to come and be lifted up. We read a lot more romance than we normally do and opted for light-hearted reads over heavy ones.

Here’s how our book club works: We have six members (we added a seventh member in September, which means we’ll be switching things up in 2025!) so each member gets two months. When it’s your month, you come prepared with three book selections that we’ll vote on and then an experience. My first month was March so when we had February book club, I had my book selections ready. During February book club, I also announced the experience I had chosen so we could schedule the date.

That’s enough preamble! Here’s book club 2024!

January

  • Book selection: This Time Next Year by Sophie Cousens
  • Overall book club rating: 3.6
  • Experience: Pasta bar and PowerPoint night

This was the perfect way to kick off 2024! We all gathered at Bri’s where we brought items for a delicious pasta bar and then snuggled on the couch together for PowerPoint presentations. We laughed hysterically through almost everyone’s presentation, and it was a very good time. My presentation was on the reality TV futures of each member, which was a delight to think about.

As for the book, it wasn’t one of my favorites. I wanted it to be steamier and more of a traditional romance, so it didn’t give me exactly what I was looking for. Other book club members really enjoyed it for what it was: a sweet contemporary fiction novel. Sometimes that’s what we need!

February

  • Book selection: The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston
  • Overall book club rating: 4.4
  • Experience: Murder mystery night

In February, we all gathered at Lynn’s house for a murder mystery party! During January book club, Lynn handed us printouts that explained who our characters were and how they related to the murder mystery party. We were also given instructions to dress as our characters (if possible). My character was Mary Wollstonecraft and originally, I thought I had found the perfect dress at ThredUp but then the dress got sold out from under me. Wah! So I just wore a dress with a cardigan and called it a day. We didn’t love the setup of this murder mystery as much as the one we did last year. That one had an actual script we could follow while this one was a lot more of a free-flowing conversation. We figured out the “whodunit” but it was very confusing to get there. Live and learn!

As far as the book discussion went, I was the lone dissenting opinion. I gave it 3.5 stars and everyone else gave it 4 or 5 stars. I think the narration really affected my rating. It just wasn’t very good and I should have read it in print. Everyone else really loved the clever plot and writing style.

March

  • Book selection: The Exiles by Christina Baker Kline
  • Overall book club rating: 4.25
  • Experience: Making candles

March book club was such a great one! For the experience, I chose candle making at a lovely place called The Candle Pour. I’ve now made four candles from this shop and each time, I try a little something new. For this candle, I opted for something coffee-scented. We had a great time making candles and afterward, we had lunch at a nearby Mexican restaurant and then walked around a pop-up market. We all ended up buying something from this market (I bought a print of a cat in a cowboy hat that says “Meowdy!”) so we all went home with handmade candles and something special from local vendors.

The book was on the heavier side for what we’ve been reading lately, but everyone really liked it! It taught us a lot about Australia’s history and how difficult it must have been to be a woman without any resources. (The novel is about three women who are found guilty of various offenses and sentenced to live in Van Diemen’s Land, a penal colony in Australia.) I remember having a really good discussion about this book and the way it impacted us.

April

  • Book selection: The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise by Colleen Oakley
  • Overall book club rating: 3.3
  • Experience: Dinner and an ice cream social

This was a really fun Friday night book club! First, we all met up at a local Mexican restaurant where we enjoyed some seriously delicious food. Then, we drove over to a really cute ice cream shop to have an ice cream social! We even had a reserved table and everything. The ice cream was outstanding and the conversation was even better.

Our book club pick for the month came with mixed reviews. I wasn’t a huge fan of it (I gave it 2.5 stars) and neither was another friend in book club, but everyone else gave it 4 stars. I just didn’t enjoy the writing or the convoluted plot. It also had an unsatisfying ending, in my opinion. But others really enjoyed it and thought it was a cute, fun story! So, YMMV.

May

  • Book selection: Text Me When You Get Home by Kayleen Schaefer
  • Overall book club rating: 3.9
  • Experience: Flower arrangements

Oh, this was one of my favorite experiences of the year! We got together at Bri’s house to do a flower arrangement night. I believe we ordered pizza to keep things easy and after dinner, we got to work. Beforehand, one of my friends had gone to a flower wholesaler to get a whole bunch of different flowers and plants so we could all make something different. We brought our own vases to put our arrangements in, which made things even more unique! What I remember most about this night is how complimentary we were of everyone’s creations. We were just gushing about how everyone’s flowers turned out, and it was such a sweet, supportive environment. And that’s what I love most about these women.

The book that was chosen was one I had read years ago (2019) and I remember it fondly. It is such a great representation of the kinds of female friendships I want in my life—and the kind I have now! Everyone else really liked the book, too. Honestly, I can’t remember much about the discussion of the book. I think we all just really enjoyed the book and felt very seen by the author’s perspective.

June

We didn’t take a book club picture in June!

  • Book selection: Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters
  • Overall book club rating: 2.9
  • Experience: Breakfast for dinner

In June, we went to a diner that’s fully run by people in the queer community to have breakfast for dinner! The food there was phenomenal and I am itching to go back.

Our book club discussion was probably the most involved one we had for the entire year. While the book itself didn’t meet our expectations (aside from one member who gave it 4 stars), I do think it led to an in-depth conversation about the trans community, motherhood, and what we owe to the people in our lives. For the most part, our group does not have personal history with the trans community so there is a lot we don’t know. Still, I do think we were able to have a respectful but fully honest conversation about our misconceptions and what we learned from reading this novel.

July

  • Book selection: Go As a River by Shelley Read
  • Overall book club rating: 4.1
  • Experience: Mexican food and making picture frames

I loved this book club experience and was so impressed by Lynn who suggested it. What a unique, cool idea! We all met at Lynn’s house and then traveled together to a local Mexican restaurant for dinner. I’m pretty sure we all ordered margaritas and ate our weight in chips and salsa. Afterward, we reconvened at Lynn’s to make picture frames. We had all sent her the picture we wanted to frame and she had picked up the frames + printed out the pictures for us. We all pitched in to bring craft supplies. I brought a few books and had to reassure my friends a few times that yes, it’s okay to rip out the pages and cut them up for the frames! The majority of us ended up doing book pages, ha, but we all had a different spin on it! This was such a fun, relaxing night and I loved every minute of it.

The book was one I had read the month prior and given 5 stars. I just loved this book, even though it was pretty heavy and sad. We talked about some of the more visceral scenes in the book and about the perseverance of women. I don’t remember everything about our discussion (I really should do a recap in my Notes app for this end-of-year post, eeps) but I do feel like we had a pretty heartfelt conversation about the book.

August

  • Book selection: The Art of Scandal by Regina Black
  • Overall book club rating: 3.0
  • Experience: Pajama party, nacho bar, and game night

In August, we had the best pajama party! We gathered at Amber’s condo for the night where we enjoyed a nacho bar and sangria. This sangria became a cult favorite for our book club. It has a high alcohol content so we were all feeling it after just one bottle! (The brand is Capriccio, if you’d like to fall in love the way we have.) After dinner, we played the game I brought, Over-Rated, which is in the style of What Do You Meme or Cards Against Humanity. This game brought us so many laughs and inside jokes, and we truly had the best time.

The book wasn’t a hit for our book club, unfortunately. I enjoyed it but everyone else rated it 2 or 3 stars and some didn’t even feel like reading it. The book has a big political throughline, which turned a lot of people off. I really liked the political element, but that’s because politics fascinates me. For others, they wanted less of that and more of the romance. Fair enough!

September

No photo taken

  • Book selection: Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto
  • Overall book club rating: 4.6
  • Experience: Hunt a Killer

September’s book club was a bit strange. We held it in between hurricanes (what a wild thing to say) and one friend couldn’t make it because, well, she was going through the worst thing: a completely destroyed home. We were also hoping that this would be the first book club meeting for another member who had recently moved back to Florida after a decade living out of state, but her home had also been destroyed (way to welcome someone to our state, Mother Nature). And since my car had been totaled during Hurricane Helene and I was currently without a car, a friend picked me up and drove me home.

The five of us who were able to attend enjoyed an evening at Bri’s house. We ordered pizza and then gathered in her living room to play Hunt a Killer. We were exceptionally bad at the game this time around, ha. I think we placed four guesses until we got the right one. I was very adamant who I thought the killer was and forced us to make the first guess, and I was very much wrong, so I kept my mouth shut for any further guesses. I’m not cut out to be a detective, I don’t think! Anyway, Hunt a Killer is such a fun game and I hope this is something we can do on an annual basis!

Our book selection for September was a hit for everyone in our book club – everyone gave it 4 or 5 stars! We all fell head over heels for Vera Wong and would like to make her an honorary member of our book club. We also really enjoyed the mystery as a whole and talked about what parts of the plot we guessed before they were revealed.

October/November

No photo taken

  • Book selection: The Roommate by Rosie Danan
  • Overall book club rating: 3.75
  • Experience: Naughty Cocktail Party

Okay, buckle up. This book club experience might throw you for a loop. We combined October and November’s book clubs into one (due to hurricane craziness and also knowing that November is always a hard month to schedule book club due to the holidays/schedules/etc), and we did a sex toy party! One of my friends had done one of these parties with another friend group earlier in the year and brought it up as a possibility for a future book club experience. And you know what? We were on board! This was a crazy night. There was a lot of wine and sangria consumed, a ton of laughter, and some really open conversations about sex and sex toys and pleasure. And yes, there were lots of toys bought that night.

This was one of my favorite book clubs of the year, and not just because of the sex toys. But one of the things that has happened this year in book club is becoming way more open and honest about our sex lives. We talked about sex in long-term partnerships, sex with new partners, self-pleasure, and all of that fun stuff. It has allowed us to unlock an even deeper level to our friendship. As someone who grew up in purity culture and was told sex is only permissible inside of marriage (heterosexual marriage, of course!), I have had to really come to terms with my own feelings around sex and self-pleasure and how to talk about it without those feelings of guilt and shame. And I think I’m getting there!

The book we chose this month was a steamy romance but it didn’t land with everyone. One member thought it was too steamy so she stopped reading it. Other members wanted it to be even more steamy. As for me, I thought it was one of the steamiest romances I’ve read in a while! I really liked it, though.

December

  • Book selection: One Day in December by Josie Silver
  • Overall book club rating: 2.7
  • Experience: Christmas party

Our annual Christmas party took place this past weekend! We always do this as our December book club experience and while we try to have a book on tap to read, it’s not a focus of the event. (This year, three of us had read the book but two of those three read it years ago, lol.) We all showed up to Bri’s house dressed in our Christmas pajamas, had a delicious potluck, made really terrible gingerbread houses, and played some fun games on Jackbox. We also did our second annual Favorite Things gift exchange. This year, I gifted everyone a One Line a Day journal. I’m finishing up my third year of using one of these journals and I love it so, so much. It’s so much fun to see exactly what I was doing/thinking/feeling at this time during previous years! Everyone was really excited about my gift, which made my heart grow ten sizes!

Here’s some of the other Favorite Things from my friends:

  • A 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle
  • A flower vase with a bookish theme
  • A bottle of Capriccio sangria, cozy socks, Lanolips lip balm, and chocolates
  • A $10 Starbucks gift card
  • A bundtlet from Nothing Bundt Cakes
  • A bottle of the best-smelling handsoap, an Alani energy drink, and a cucumber chip clip (<– there’s an inside joke to this)

And that’s book club 2024! I can’t believe I’ve written 2,500 words about all of our book club experiences for the year. Whew. I did this last year, and it’s quite the undertaking, but oh my goodness is it a delight to go back and remember everything we did over the year. We had some really great times!

To finish off this post, here are some of the book club stats for the year:

  • Genre breakdown: romance (4), contemporary fiction (3), historical fiction (2), nonfiction (1), mystery (1)
  • Overall rating: 3.7
  • My format breakdown: print books (6), audiobooks (4), e-books (1)
  • Highest-rated book of the year: Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto (4.6)
  • Lowest-rated book of the year: One Day in December by Josie Silver (2.7)

Do you belong to a book club?