Stephany Writes

Categories: Life

Monthly Recap | November 2019

We are firmly in December (eeks!) and I’m just now getting around to posting my November recap! I was hoping to get this ready before I left on my cruise, but I ran out of time. Here it is!

READING

I finished 9 books in November so I’m sitting pretty at 119 books for the year. It’s doubtful I’ll read more than I did last year (134 books), I’ll get close to that number! And I’m happy about that. Anything over 100 is ridiculous anyway, lol. Here are my top three from the month:

  • Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi, which will most likely be my favorite book of the year. Incredible. Everyone needs to read it.
  • The Duchess Deal by Tessa Dare, a really fun historical romance that I couldn’t find any faults with. Romance fans, get your hands on Tessa Dare’s novels!
  • The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary, which was a really cute and fun book that had surprising emotional depth. Loved every minute I spent with this novel!

WATCHING

My TV watching was way down this month. I just felt less inclined to turn on Netflix for some reason. I think it had something to do with NaNoWriMo – I didn’t want to get sucked into a show. (You’d think this would mean I read less, too, but that wasn’t the case.) Anyway, I did start season five of Schitt’s Creek and I’m about halfway through it. Aside from watching an episode a week of The Office to keep up with the Office Ladies podcast, that’s all I watched this month!

LISTENING TO

  • Slow Burn, season three – Slow Burn is back! I really enjoyed the first two seasons of the show, exploring Watergate and then the Clinton impeachment. I was curious what the next season would be – and it was something I could have never expected! This season, it’s exploring the murders of Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G. Both rappers died in the mid-90s, a time when I was most definitely not listening to their music. (On account of being very young and very Christian.) So, there’s a lot I don’t know about their lives and deaths and the story is MUCH more interesting than I imagined.
  • What a Day – I like to listen to a short news podcast first thing every morning. Previously, I was listening to Trevor Noah’s Daily Show podcast and really enjoying it, but since it’s a TV show in podcast form, there’s a little bit of a disconnect + there are MANY weeks with no episodes. What a Day is put out by Crooked Media and I’ve been listening to it for a few weeks now. I like it, but don’t love it. I feel like the two hosts aren’t super compatible together and there’s an awkwardness to their exchanges. Maybe just some growing pains, but if there is a must-listen daily news podcast that any of you recommend, I’m all ears. (Ha, pun intended.)

BUYING

  • Asics GEL-Nimbus 21 ($107) – I can’t remember the last time I bought new running shoes, but it’s been a few years at least. I really need to set a yearly reminder to replace my shoes! I finally had enough and went to Dick’s Sporting Goods one evening to try on a bunch of shoes and really loved the way these Asics felt. I need to buy inserts because they do make my arches cramp after walking in them for too long, but other than that, they’re just what I wanted!
  • Heating pad ($25) – I can’t tell you how many aches and pains I get where I think, “I could really use a heating pad right now.” This month, I’ve been struggling with some neck pain from the way I sleep and when even a massage didn’t ease the ache, I finally broke down and bought a heating pad from Target. Welcome to your thirties, Steph, where buying a heating pad is worthy of talking about on your blog. (Honestly, I’ve become so boring. You should see my Christmas list this year. Full of boring adult things like a cooking pot and dust buster.)
  • Mice in sweaters ($3) – I couldn’t resist these tiny little mice dressed up in their fanciest Christmas sweaters. The girls love them (literally, as I’m writing this bullet point, Ellie is batting one all around the room).

THE GOOD

  • Running of the Wieners 2019 – Chip participated in his second annual Running of the Wieners race! This race is exactly what it sounds like: a whole bunch of dachshunds racing against each other. It’s the cutest thing! Last year, Chip ran vertically across the field rather than horizontally so we were hoping for a much better performance this year. And he did so well! He ran straight to my mom who was waiting at the finish line, but got distracted at the last second by a toy another dog parent had. He ended up coming in second in his heat, but I was so damn proud of him!
  • My first hibachi experience – Can you believe I’ve never had hibachi? I’m a picky eater and just assumed I wouldn’t like it, but I was way, way, way wrong! We went for hibachi for November’s book club (if someone in book club has a birthday that month, they get to pick where we eat/what we do!) and it was really fun and I thoroughly enjoyed my meal. I can’t wait to go back!
  • Winning NaNoWriMo 2019! – Yay, I did it! I wrote 50,000 words in my novel in 27 days and I am so proud of myself for getting it done. It is not easy to sit down and force yourself to write every day, especially if you’re not in the habit of it (I definitely wasn’t), but there’s something about NaNoWriMo that puts a fire in me to get shit done. Next up: finishing my novel!
  • A lovely Thanksgiving – We had a small Thanksgiving dinner this year with just my mom, me, and my brother and his family. It was really nice! We had turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and so many desserts. And, of course, a delicious chocolate cake for my birthday!

THE BAD

  • Not exercising – I logged barely any workouts in November, which I’m blaming on NaNoWriMo. The evenings were reserved for writing and most days, I wasn’t getting into bed at a decent hour so I never really wanted to wake up at 5AM to work out. I think I logged 7-8 workouts, which put me way behind on my “150 workouts” goal. (A goal I won’t be marking complete, seeing as I can’t exercise right now! Argh.)
  • A sore neck – I mentioned this above, but I dealt with this really annoying neck issue for about two weeks in November. I think it was due to my sleeping position, but isn’t it weird how you can sleep one way for months and months and months (years, even!) and all of a sudden, your body is like, “NOPE!” That’s how it felt. Suddenly, the only way I could sleep without my neck hurting was to sleep with one flat pillow. (And as someone who loves sleeping with MANY pillows, this felt very weird to me.) I tried everything to ease the discomfort: icing it, using a heating pad, getting a massage… nothing helped! And then the pain just disappeared. So weird!
  • Loneliness – I tried not to make too many plans in November because of my writing goal, but it led to many days of loneliness. I don’t get lonely that often, but this month was proof that I need to make plans at least a few nights out of the week to keep my spirits up.

Tell me something good that happened in your life in November!

Categories: Life

Monthly Recap | October 2019

READING

I read 9 books in September, putting me at 110 books for the year. Woop! My top three favorites were:

WATCHING

  • Queer Eye, season 2 – I forgot how much I love Queer Eye! I watched season one but never went back to it. (And season 5 is coming next year, eeps!) I loved this whole season and cried at the end of every episode. It’s such a feel-good show.
  • The Office, season 1 – I’m rewatching The Office! And there’s a reason for that, which I’ll discuss in the next section. I’ve watched the first few episodes and, ugh, this show is just so good. One of my faves for sure.

LISTENING TO

  • America Dissected – This is one of the newer podcast series by Crooked Media and it is fascinating. It covers all different topics in the healthcare industry, from why prescription drug prices are so high to antibiotic-resistant superbugs to anti-vaxxers. The information is very accessible and the host, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed is so engaging and fun to listen to.
  • To Live and Die in LA – This true crime miniseries follows the strange disappearance of Adea Shebani, a struggling actress in LA. Adea’s family felt like the police weren’t doing much to find her, so they enlisted the help of a private investigator. The series is fantastic, with each episode ending on a cliffhanger that could feel contrived, but is totally working for me. I also love the host – he’s compassionate but still tenacious.
  • Office Ladies – Pam and Angela have a podcast! I was super excited when I heard Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey were going to host a podcast about The Office. I’ve listened to the first three episodes (covering episodes 1-3 of season one of The Office) and it’s fantastic so far. I love hearing the behind-the-scenes tidbits and learning more about the production of the show. While both ladies feel a bit awkward on the mic, I am hoping they will loosen up over time and it won’t feel as scripted as it does.

BUYING

  • Bed Head Rock N’ Roller Curling Wand ($25) – While in Boston, one of my friends curled her hair using this funny-looking bubble curling wand and I was so amazed at how it gave her perfect curls that I asked to use it… and then promptly ordered one for myself. It is an idiot-proof way to curl your hair and gives me the best curls that stay all day. I highly recommend it.
  • Fintie Slimshell Case for Kindle ($15) – I’ve had my Kindle Paperwhite for a few years now and… haven’t ever had a cover on it. (Bad Kindle user!) I just like the feel of my Kindle without a cover and it hasn’t even gotten that scratched up, surprisingly. But I’ve been feeling the need for a cover and a quick Amazon search brought me to the Fintie Slimshell cases, which have all sorts of fun colors and patterns. I opted for the “Z-Moroccan Love” pattern and I am SO very happy with my purchase!
  • Mad Love Keava Footbed sandals ($23) – I need to overhaul my entire shoe collection, replacing everything with shoes that are more supportive for my feet because I’ve apparently entered that stage of my life. I constantly deal with foot pain, from my heels to my arches to the balls of my feet, and I think it’s time to invest in supportive inserts as well as overhaul many of the shoes I wear regularly (you know, the ones I got because they were cheap, not because they were supportive). I’m starting with sandals and I bought these fake Birkenstocks. I’d like to invest in real Birks in the future, but wanted to try out the style first at a more affordable price point. I like them so far.

THE GOOD

  • BOSTON – Our annual girls’ trip is in the books, and it was a fantastic four days! I enjoyed traipsing around Boston, especially going to an apple orchard and walking the Freedom Trail.
  • A fun night out – A friend wanted to celebrate her birthday with dinner and drinks downtown, and I had a blast! It was the weekend before Halloween so downtown was a little nuts and filled with people in costume, but hey, get a few drinks in this girl and I’m A-OK with crowds. 😉
  • Chip duty – My mom went on a work trip in October and asked me to watch Chip for her, which I was delighted to do. He is just the best boy, even if he is way more rambunctious than Dutch ever was (even when he was a young pup!), and makes me so happy!

THE BAD

  • Anniversaries – October is forever going to be a hard month for my family, as it is the month Grandma and Pops died. It was hard to see these days pass and remember what they were like for us, especially Pops’ death, as it was so unexpected. I remember thinking when I got to the hospital that Sunday that I’d only stay for a few hours (rather than all day, as I had been doing) since I had some freelance work to do. I had no idea that within a few hours of arriving at the hospital, Pops would no longer be with us. So tragic.
  • Feeling my weight – There’s no other way to put it, but I could definitely feel how much my weight slowed me down on the trip to Boston. I could barely keep up with my friends and felt like such a slowpoke! I have a short stride as it is, but it was more than that. It was just a general feeling of slowness. Not to mention, my feet, ankles, and calves ached so much each day. It’s just a reminder that I need to work on my fitness and try to lose some of this extra weight I’ve gained over the past few years.

ANTICIPATING

  • Turning 32 – It’s my birthday month and I’ll be 32 this year! I keep forgetting I’m not already 32, so that’s weird.
  • Thanksgiving! – I looooove Thanksgiving. Mostly because all of the food is my favorite: turkey, mashed potatoes, and stuffing? YES, PLEASE! We’ll have a small family celebration this year with my mom, me, my brother, and his family, which will be nice. (My stepdad will likely be on the road, womp!)
  • Cruise #10 – Oh, surprise? My mom and I booked a cruise that leaves at the end of November. It was rather spur of the moment for us, but I mentioned offhand one evening how much I enjoyed the birthday cruise we took a few years ago and she followed up the next day with two options for me. HA. It’s a four-day cruise out of Fort Lauderdale and I’m very much looking forward to it!

How was your October? What’s something you’re anticipating this month?

Categories: Life

5 Things I’m Doing to Help the Environment & 4 Things I Need to Do

Let’s get real for a moment: the planet is in trouble. We’re in crisis mode and if we don’t make serious changes to the way we live, this planet is going to be a scary place for our children and grandchildren. It’s troubling that the current administration is filled with climate change deniers when the proof couldn’t be more blatant. It’s scary to think about the irreparable damage that will be done if they’re given another four years in power.

Sooo… happy Wednesday? 🙂

In all honesty, thinking about our planet and the systematic change that needs to happen to try and turn things around is something that’s always on my mind. I’ve been taking some small steps over the past year to try to lower my environmental impact because I’m pretty fond of Earth and would like it to be around for a long time after I’m gone. Here are some of the steps I’ve taken:

1) I stopped using paper towels. Earlier this year, I used up my last set of paper towels and decided not to buy any more. Paper towels are one of the easiest ways to cut down on your environmental impact because they are truly unnecessary, especially for everyday use. Now, I keep reusable wipes on hand whenever I need to clean up a spill. I’ll throw them in the washer with my towels and they’ve lasted four months. (Here’s what I use!)

2) I am no longer buying plastic baggies. I haven’t actually replaced my plastic baggies with a reusable option – mostly because I got overwhelmed by all the choices on Amazon and all the differing reviews. But I’m actually not sure if I even need a reusable option because it’s been six months at least and I’ve been doing fine by using plastic containers. I might end up investing in a small pack of reusable baggies just to have them on hand, but it’s not something I’m too worried about right now. (Although, please, if you have a tried-and-true reusable baggie option, let me know!)

3) I recycle. My apartment community doesn’t have any sort of recycling program, which is annoying, but I still do my best to recycle all my paper products, plastic bottles, aluminum cans, and glass containers. I have a reusable bag hanging in my kitchen to store all my recyclables and when I have a few bags filled up, I’ll take them to a nearby recycling center.

4) I use my own dishes at work. It’s amazing to recognize how much is wasted in one office on a daily basis. I have my own plate, bowl, and utensils, which I use instead of grabbing a paper plate or plastic fork when I’m eating. I’m not perfect – there are times when I use paper/plastic products and I need to bring in a dish towel to dry my dishes after I wash them, but I’m trying! We have a recycling container in our office, too, so I try to recycle whatever I can throughout the day.

5) I got rid of single-use wipes. Ah, those blessed single-use Clorox wipes. I used them religiously. Especially when I had Dutch and he was having daily accidents. So easy to clean up messes! But they’re also terrible for the environment. I can’t remember when I stopped using these – probably sometime last year. I used up my last container and decided I wasn’t going to replace them. My life doesn’t feel that much different without them!

Okay, now it’s time for some brutal honesty because I am not perfect and there are many other things I need to do. Here are some of the items that are on the top of my list:

1) Replacing tampons with a Diva Cup. I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time, but I keep putting it off. “Next month, I’ll buy the Diva Cup.” “Okay, I’ll buy one more pack of tampons and then I’ll buy the Diva Cup.” I know it has partly to do with sticker shock at the expense of a Diva Cup ($40 compared to $10 for organic tampons that last me three months since I have a very light flow.) I’m also intimidated by the learning curve of using it. But I need to make this change!

2) Bringing a reusable cup with me to Starbucks. I visit Starbucks at least once a week and I’m still using their disposable cups. Argh! This would be the easiest change to make but I’m resisting it for a very silly reason. Basically, I’m confused about how it works. I’m not the type to get a regular coffee; I’m more of a latte girl. So, do I just give them my PSL order, hand them my cup, and they just… make the drink? In the cup? What if I only want a grande size and my cup is a venti size? Why does this feel so insurmountably difficult? It’s dumb. I KNOW it’s dumb, and yet, I keep putting off purchasing a reusable Starbucks cup because I’m scared of looking stupid and not knowing what to do.

3) Replacing single-use makeup remover wipes with machine-washable cloths. I have a pack of makeup wipes that I’m using now and once I finish it, I’m committed to using machine washable cloths instead of single-use wipes. An easy change that will be better for my face as well as the environment! (Here’s the link to the cloths I’m thinking about buying!)

4) Always using my reusable bags when shopping. I’m pretty good at this, but I could be way better. I’m probably at a 75% average of bringing my bags with me when I’m grocery shopping, but I wish I was at 100%. I also need to get better at bringing my own bag to Target and other stores. I even keep a reusable bag folded up in my purse but always forget it’s in there. I *do* recycle my plastic bags, though! My grocery store has a bin to recycle plastic bags and it seems like they are actually recycled, so there’s that!

What are some of the ways you’re lowering your environmental impact?

Categories: Life

Monthly Recap | August 2019

READING

I read 10 books in August, which is my average. I’m at 89 books read for 2019, so I’ll meet my goal for 100 books sometime in September. Woop! The top three books I read were:

WATCHING

  • Big Brother – With three episodes a week, this show takes up most of my TV-watching time. This season is pretty boring, though, and I still don’t have a favorite to win. Nobody? Nobody would be okay with me.
  • Big Little Lies, season 2 – I finally finished Big Little Lies! Season 2 was much slower-paced than season 1 and I can’t say I necessarily liked it. It was fine, but also felt unnecessary. Meh.
  • Where’d You Go, Bernadette – I really liked this movie! I read the book way back in 2013 and there was very little I remembered about the plot. This is my favorite way to watch book-to-movie adaptations, though. Who wants to watch a movie only to complain about all the ways it’s different from the book? Not me. As a movie, I thought it was fun and quirky and lovely. I recommend it!

BUYING

  • Yeti BEAST 30-ounce tumbler ($25) – I mentioned this purchase in my goals post on Wednesday, but I just need to express how much I love my Yeti tumbler. It’s the perfect tumbler for people who love their drinks to stay cold for a really long time. It keeps my ice frozen for, like, 10-12 hours! Hours! Once, I kept it in my car on a hot day while I went for an hour-long walk and when I returned, the water was still ice cold! It’s friggin amazing and the exact purchase I needed to help me drink more water.
  • “Rock Your Body” t-shirt ($18) – I bought this shirt for the Backstreet Boys concert last month and while I wish it were a bit bigger (pretty sure once through my washing machine shrunk it to a size I can’t wear unless I lose a good 15-20 lbs), it worked perfectly for the concert! Everyone was wearing cute BSB t-shirts at the concert but I was pretty happy to find that nobody had mine. Woop!
  • Clothes from ThredUp ($80) – I told myself I would never order ThredUp again because their return policy is such bullshit. (Essentially, you have to pay to return items.) But they were offering me a 35% discount and scrolling through the clothes was so cathartic to me one day that I ended up placing an order. For $80, I got a pair of slacks, four shirts, and a dress. The slacks ended up being too big but all the shirts and the dress fit me perfectly so it wasn’t a wasted order like last time, thankfully.

LISTENING TO

  • Lover – Listen, everyone wants to have a hot take about Taylor Swift these days and mine is that I unashamedly love her music and find it so fun to sing along to. Her new album is no different, and I have it on repeat.
  • Over My Dead Body – There’s a new season of Over My Dead Body! This one hits close to home as it follows the feud between an exotic animal breeder in Oklahoma and the owner of an animal sanctuary in Tampa (Big Cat Rescue, which has been on my list to visit, eeks!) The content is pretty disturbing, honestly, and I’m glad there are only six episodes because I’m not sure how much more I could take.
  • Root of Evil: The True Story of the Hodel Family and the Black Dahlia – Another supremely disturbing podcast, one I would not recommend for sensitive people. (I probably should have turned it off after the second episode, in all honesty.) It’s graphic content at its worst with descriptions of a brutal murder as well as sexual abuse and trauma. Listen at your own risk!

THE HIGHS

  • An afternoon with my nephew – My mom wanted to have an afternoon with my older nephew before school started for him and invited me to join in the fun, which I was happy to do! We had lunch at Panera and then went to my new favorite place, Practically Pikasso, to paint. He picked out a dachshund piggy bank (he’s obsessed with my mom’s doxie, Chip) to paint. I painted two cat ornaments! 🙂 It was a nice afternoon with him!
  • Backstreet Boys! – It was so fun to see BSB in concert. They played all of the hits we all know and love, along with some of their newer stuff. They put on such a great show and it was super special to see them in Orlando because that’s where they all began their career and you could tell how meaningful it was for them to return to a sold-out arena. Both Kevin and Howie got choked up talking about it, which was just the sweetest thing!
  • A weekend in Orlando – The BSB concert was in Orlando and, thankfully, one of the girls in my group lives there and we were able to crash at her super-cute apartment. My friend, B., and I arrived in the afternoon before the show and we spent the time catching up, gossiping about work (I met all of these girls through work!), and pre-gaming with a BSB playlist. It was also nice to not have to worry about driving home after the concert! We all got up around 8 the next day, had leisurely breakfast, and headed home.

THE LOWS

  • Indigestion – Ugh, I had a terrible week in the middle of August where I would experience severe indigestion every time I ate (mostly, bloating, stomach cramping, and nausea). I was also having this intense back pain, although that went away on its own after a few days. It got so bad that I was up until 2am one night, unable to go to bed because my stomach hurt so bad. Thankfully, I was able to get an immediate appointment with my doc and was put on an acid reflux diet + prescription meds. I only followed the diet for a week (oops) because I really think the indigestion was caused by stress and not an actual physical condition. Stress always manifests with physical symptoms for me.
  • Hurricane Dorian – Ah, Dorian. We had a bit of a scare in the Tampa Bay area, enough that gas stations were running out of gas and every pump had a wait. And every grocery store was wiped clean of water and bread. Luckily for us, she turned east and away from Florida. The Bahamas was not so lucky and the images coming out from there are utterly devastating. I can’t believe how slowly the hurricane moved through the island.

ANTICIPATING

  • My gym opening – !!! YOU GUYS. I got an email yesterday that our gym will finally be open on Friday. I can’t believe it!
  • A friend’s baby shower – I can’t wait to celebrate her and her little bundle of joy!
  • A book signing – I’m going to local author Lisa Unger’s book signing with three friends and very much looking forward to it.
  • A friend’s birthday party – I can’t wait to spoil one of my dearest friends for her birthday this year. (Kisses, B.!)
  • My nephew turning 11 – I still can’t believe this is happening. ELEVEN?! ELEVEN?!?!?! How is that even possible?

Tell me a highlight from August for you!

Categories: Life

Operation Write My Novel | July Recap

Hello and happy Friday! I am pleased to see the weekend, most especially because it looks to be a fairly low-key one for me. Saturday will be busy: blood work, a writing date, and family game night, but Friday night and Sunday are plan-less and I’m hoping to keep them that way!

Today, I wanted to give another update on my novel, even though this update isn’t as great as I wanted it to be. But I’m still writing and still working toward this goal and that’s all that matters, right? Right.

July 8-14

  • Words written: 1,037

I had a pretty good writing date this weekend and wrote 1k words! However, I ran into a roadblock with my novel: I had no idea what I wanted the next scene to be about. I knew I wanted it to be from the hero’s point of view and introduce his conflict, but I couldn’t figure out what the scene should look like. So I spent some time plotting the next handful of scenes, which was really helpful.

Let’s talk about outlines for a sec, though. I really love working off a full outline, but what I keep discovering as I write is that the overarching story can change dramatically as I get to know my characters better and understand their motivations. I outlined my entire WIP at the end of last year and I’ve already had to blow it up when I decided to change the inner conflict of my hero. So, now I’m only outlining a few scenes at a time (around 4-5). I think this is going to work much better for me because it takes much less time to brainstorm a few scenes every few months than to spend a month or more outlining an entire novel. But it also means every now and then, I’m going to hit a roadblock when I finish writing what was in my outline and will have to dedicate time to figuring out the next part of the novel.

July 15-21

  • Words written: 0

Womp, womp. No writing for me this week! I had a very busy weekend and during my writing date, I had to complete a project for work. I’m feeling very discouraged about my novel right now because I’m just not making the time to write like I need to. I really need to figure out a different system for me. Maybe challenging myself to write for 30 minutes a day? Or maybe challenging myself to write 1,000 words during my weekly writing date + adding a separate writing time in the middle of the week? I’m noodling over a few ideas.

July 22-28

  • Words written: 0

Another unsuccessful writing week. Oof. My friend and I canceled our writing date this weekend (she was sick) and it was a busy weekend for me, so I didn’t make time for novel writing. July was a very busy month for me, but I need to figure out a system of writing even when life is busy. I’m never going to finish this novel if I don’t figure it out!

July 29 – August 3

  • Words written: 1,429

Look at that! I wrote some words! I am hoping this is the start of my upswing when it comes to writing. I had a delightful time writing this week, too, which was a nice change from how I have been feeling about my novel. (The writing has felt really hard lately, which I know is par for the course, but man, I hate it.)

My goal right now is to have 40,000 words in my WIP by the time November rolls around. I’m planning on participating in NaNoWriMo (writing 50,000 words in 30 days), which, if I am successful, will ensure I can use December to put the finishing touches on my rough draft. Currently, I have just under 23,000 words in my WIP so I would need to write around 1,400 words per week to make the 40k goal happen. That feels very doable!

This feels like another lackluster writing update, but so it goes sometimes. I’m starting to realize that I need to figure out a better schedule for writing so I can hit my word count goals and make sure the rough draft is done by the end of the year. Right now, I’m relying on NaNoWriMo to help me catch up and I don’t love that, because I’m worried about being able to complete NaNoWriMo. But I’ll worry about that when the time comes. For now, I’ll focus on aiming for 1,400 words weekly so I can be in a good spot when November rolls around.