Stephany Writes

Categories: Life

Everything I Learned from Hurricane Irma – Part I

Well, I didn’t mean to go MIA for a week after being gone for the month of August, but those who follow me on social media knew I had a good reason for that: Hurricane Irma! This hurricane had everyone in the entire state of Florida scrambling – loading up on non-perishable food, boarding up their homes, filling up their tanks with gas, and making evacuation plans. Hurricane Irma, at one point, was the strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean and after ravaging some of the smaller islands in the Caribbean, it made landfall in Florida last Sunday, as a Category 4 storm in the Florida Keys. From there, the hurricane traveled up the west coast of Florida, gradually shifting to the east and weakening. Early Monday morning, the hurricane swept past Tampa (its eye-wall was just to the east of us) as a Category 1 hurricane.

Throughout the week, the storm track kept shifting. First, it was going to hit the west coast and then the east coast, and by Saturday, the track had the storm hitting the Tampa Bay area directly as a Category 3 hurricane – the likes of which none of us living here had ever seen in our lifetime. Yes, as a lifetime Floridian, I am well accustomed to hurricanes, but the truth is, the Tampa area has been extremely lucky and hasn’t been directly hit since the 1920s! I’ve never had to truly make evacuation plans (nor have I ever been under a mandatory evacuation, like I was with Hurricane Irma), so this was really a new experience for me. Somehow, Tampa continues to get lucky when it comes to hurricanes and it’s a good thing because our city is really not prepared for them. I mean, the roads here flood after a simple rainstorm! I can’t imagine the damage a Category 3 hurricane would cause.

In any event, my mom and I had tentative plans to ride out the storm at her work, if we needed to. Her building was built recently and can withstand a Category 5 hurricane, and they were allowing pets to stay, so that was our worst-case scenario plan. Other family members in the area traveled to Georgia to stay with my aunt and uncle (at one point, they had 11 people and 7 dogs!) while my brother and his family went to Kissimmee to ride out the storm with my sister-in-law’s family. On Saturday morning, the area where my mom lives was called for a mandatory evacuation, so the plan was set: we would ride out the storm at her work. And that’s what we did – packing up the car early Sunday morning and spending the day just kicking back there. I tried to read, did some freelance work, and spent a lot of time hanging out with Dutch and the other dogs. (The pets had to stay in a stairwell, and Dutch did fine there!) I also made sure to go outside often to take videos because I knew this was something I wanted to capture and remember.

So that explains my absence from the blogging world last week. Thankfully, my home is fine and while I was without power until Thursday, I was able to stay with my mom who never lost power (or Internet!). Things feel like they are beginning to return to normal, but other parts of Florida have just begun the rebuilding process and my heart breaks for the damage this storm has caused to the Keys and Naples.

After the storm passed, I started compiling a list of everything I learned during the storm and, well, it turned out to be a lot. More than I should put in one post. So I’ll be splitting this up into two posts, which sorta feels like overkill, but what can I say? I am wordy!

1) Dutch can fit inside a guinea pig crate. Early last week, my mom informed me that Dutch would have to be crated if he was going to go to my mom’s work. Dutch has never been crated with me (he was fully house-trained when we got him), so I needed to buy one. But at that point, it didn’t feel likely that we were going to need to evacuate, so I put it off until Thursday when I realized we probably needed to prepare to evacuate. So, I went to PetSmart… only to find out that all of their crates were gone. (Of course!) The only one available was one of those massive crates for $160. I asked one of the employees about their crates and she directed me to a guinea pig cage and said it might work for a small dog like Dutch. It ended up being the PERFECT size for Dutch.

2) You need more than non-perishables. I went to the grocery store on Tuesday, armed with a list of “what to buy during a hurricane,” and bought a ton of snacky non-perishables (cookies, crackers, granola bars, beef jerky, tuna fish, etc.) Anything that wouldn’t need to be refrigerated and would be able to eat without using power. Well, I didn’t exactly think about the time before the hurricane hit, when we still had power and could cook and keep food cold. Our city basically shut down starting on Saturday up until Tuesday, so we were stuck with what we had left in our cabinets, fridge, and freezer. I should have prepared better by cooking some hearty meals that could be popped into the microwave to heat up while we were at my mom’s work. We made it work, but our meals were rather sad on Sunday and Monday.

3) Group text messages with friends are a godsend. I had two group text messages going during the storm – one with my book club girls and one with my coworkers. They were a godsend, especially my book club ladies because many of us were anxious and fearful and my friend, M., helped calm us down with her more pragmatic approach to the storm. At one point, I was having panic attacks about still being at home when it felt like everyone around me had evacuated I texted them and they calmed me down. I honestly don’t know what I would have done without those group threads!

4) I have so many people in my corner. One of the more amazing things I experienced from Hurricane Irma was the outpouring of love and support from all over. Friends reaching out to me to make sure I’m okay and asking if there was anything they could do meant the world to me. There’s something comforting knowing that I’ve got people in my corner, people who are concerned for my well-being, Dutch’s well-being, and my family’s well-being.

5) I did not need four cases of water. Oh, boy, I went a little crazy-train with buying water once it became certain we were going to get hit by this hurricane. I went to Publix on Tuesday afternoon and bought four cases… and I did not need that many cases of water. Oh, well, better safe than sorry, right?

6) I cannot read when I’m stressed out. I had hoped to get a lot of reading done before, during, and after the storm, but it just didn’t happen. I was too anxious and stressed out before the storm hit to focus on reading, so I basically just refreshed my social media feeds and talked to friends. I didn’t even read a ton when we were at my mom’s work to ride out the storm. I did some freelance writing, Mom and I played some games, we took a long walk around her parking garage, and the rest of the time was spent checking on Dutch, walking him, feeding him, etc. My reading has picked up a little after the storm passed, but man, reading is difficult when I’m stressed out!

7) We have the best meteorologists in Tampa. Honestly, we do. Between Denis Phillips’s calm and informative updates and Paul Dellegato’s more nuanced take on the storm, I always knew what was going on and what the effect would be for our area. They helped me feel prepared for whatever would happen and I am so thankful for the hard work of all our area meteorologists – they truly put in so much work to keep us informed.

8) The Tampa Bay area is amazing. You know, Florida gets a lot of shit from people who live in other states. I recently listened to a podcast where someone was like, “Ew, Florida, why are you going there?” and I immediately wanted to delete the podcast from my feed. (Seriously, guys, it’s not funny anymore. Get some new jokes!) But you know what? Florida and the Tampa Bay area in general are amazing. It was incredible to see how our community came together during this storm. So many people opened up their homes to those in flood zones (and afterward when millions of Floridians were without power for days). I saw a woman in Publix share her cart with another woman. A local shop gave away free plywood to people in need. Restaurants were sending customers home with bags of ice to keep their food cold if they had lost power. We came together and it was a beautiful thing.

9) I will buy the shit out of some hurricane snacks. Cookies, Little Debbie snacks, Cheetos, white cheddar popcorn, Oreos, M&M’s… oh boy, I’m going to need a sugar fast after this hurricane. Hurricane snacks are a real thing and it’s amazing how I reverted to a five-year-old when buying them. I just wanted all of the sugar because I knew that if I was going to be stuck inside for days at a time, I’d want comfort food.

10) It’s amazing to be so close to Mother Nature’s fury. Throughout the day, I took videos of what was happening outside. The winds started around 23 mph in the morning and steadily increased – in the last video I took (around 9:45pm), they were around 45 mph. It was both horrifying and awe-inspiring to be so close to Mother Nature’s fury and to realize what a tiny person you are in this universe. Mother Nature is going to do what she wants to do and there is truly nothing you can do to stop it. I think that’s what is so scary about natural disasters – it reminds you that we are tiny human beings on a big bad planet.

Categories: Life

A Recap of August

Hello, friends! Goodness gracious, I missed this blog so much! Don’t get me wrong – it was nice to get away and I definitely needed the break, but writing is part of my self-care routine, so it was tough to not have this outlet last month. I’m so happy to be back!

August was a fantastic month for me in so many ways. I went to a Rays game with my mom, my nephew, and my brother and it was nice to have a few hours to sit with my brother and just chit-chat. I had some nights out with my girlfriends where we enjoyed good food and even better conversation. We held book club at my complex’s pool, which was a joy and reminded me that I need to spend more time at the pool. (Don’t worry – Florida will have summer-like temps for the rest of the year, most likely, so I can still enjoy pool time!) I voted in my first local election (yes, I’m one of “those” voters who has only voted for presidential elections – changing that!). I read 13 books and finally joined Book of the Month Club (<– referral link).

Even though I didn’t write any posts in August, this blog went through some massive updates. I had to switch from the small web hosting company I was using because my blog’s size has gotten too big for their server. Oops. I guess eight years of consistent weekly posting will make that happen, eh? I’m now hosting my blog through HostGator and the process of switching over was easy-peasy. I also updated my “About Me” page because it felt a bit dated and decided to launch a new blog design because I was growing tired of my old one. It’s amazing how much behind-the-scenes work goes into blogging, even for something I do as a hobby!

Dutch is doing well, though the arthritis medication the vet put him on did not help with his nighttime restlessness. We had more than a few sleepless nights, and it got so bad that I made an appointment with the vet to discuss his issues. We decided to take him off the arthritis medication and put him on an anti-anxiety medication since we think his restlessness is due to his dementia more than his arthritis. And, so far, he’s sleeping soooo much better. It still takes him some time to fall asleep, but generally not longer than 30-45 minutes and he can settle down pretty easily as long as I rub his back (<– mhm, yes, I do this). He’s only been on the anti-anxiety meds for about a week, so I’m hoping within a month, he’ll be falling asleep and staying asleep much easier. (I can’t tell you how much I need that!) Other than his restlessness, he’s doing great! We’ve even got his liver levels back to a normal range, which is outstanding. He’s a healthy little dude and all his issues are more age-related; not much you can do about dementia, blindness, or deafness – just part of the aging process!

Early in the month, I found out that I had six-and-a-half days of PTO that I hadn’t used, and that prompted me to give myself two long weekends in August/September. I took a Friday and Monday off at the beginning of the month and gave myself a five-day weekend for this Labor Day weekend, which has been outstanding. I’m not even sure how I have so many days of PTO, but I’m not going to question it! I haven’t gone anywhere with these long weekends because I’m trying to save money and I’d like to take a long cruise next year, but it’s just nice to sleep in, laze around, and make my own schedule.

I celebrated four years at my job – I can’t believe it’s been four years already. It went by in the blink of an eye. And I can’t believe that I’m still just as happy today as I was when I started (and, actually, probably happier!). I had a terrific review with my bosses and was given a great raise, so I’m pretty darn happy with where my professional life is at. I’ve never aspired to the corner office or self-employment in my professional life, so I really enjoy being where I am now: feeling comfortable in my role, being given challenging tasks when I ask for them, and growing by leaps and bounds every year. It also helps that I love the people I work with immensely – many of whom I consider to be my friends.

So, yes, August was a good month and it was nice to be away from social media and blogging. I missed it immensely, especially blogging as I was itching to write a blog post after just a week away. But it’s also good for me to step away and just live my life without having to document it for social media or my blog. I tried my best to take as few photos as possible (which is a weird goal to have, I know, but I just wanted to do stuff without trying to find the perfect photo opp) and live in the moment. That said, there’s a reason that I have a blog and why I’m on social media. Writing is my happy place and there’s truly something about connecting with people online and sharing my life with others that makes me feel good.

How was your August?

Categories: Life

10 Things I Loved in June

1) Freelancing. After a freelance slump for a few months, I picked up some writing gigs in June and it was so nice to get back into the swing of things. I enjoyed having a break from freelancing because it allowed me to focus more on my novel and gain back some free time, but it was a hit to my budget. My freelance income solely goes toward debt repayment and savings, so it’s not like I use it for bills or anything like that, but it just feels like I’m able to get ahead a bit more when I have extra income coming in. I’m excited to be working with a new company writing short articles (2-5 a week), and one of my old clients contacted me for some content editing tasks. Hooray!

2) My mom joining my gym. My mom has been very anti-gym, preferring running as her main form of exercise. She hasn’t been able to run lately because the mosquitoes are so bad now. My mom tends to be more prone to getting bit and she has tried everything under the sun to protect herself. She’s just naturally sweet and the mosquitoes flock to her! She decided to join my gym because she just wasn’t working out at the level she wanted to (she’s not a fan of cardio machines, but loves doing exercise classes) on her own. So yay! I’m so happy to have a workout buddy.

3) Getting a massage that didn’t hurt. This is huge for me, guys. I have been a firm believer that massages are just “not for me.” I figured, due to being highly sensitive, my body just couldn’t handle massages – even simple pressure hurt too much. But I was having some neck pain and I decided to get a massage and see if that released some of the tension I was experiencing. I asked the massage therapist for a light, relaxing massage and boy oh boy, did she make me a believer in the therapeutic benefits of massage. She was phenomenal and I felt so loose and relaxed and happy throughout the entire appointment. I was actually upset when our hour was up – usually, I’m watching the clock closely, praying for the hour to be over as quickly as possible. I’m going to try to make massages a quarterly part of my budget because the one I got this month was so beneficial, both physically and mentally.

4) A pool day with friends. Early in the month, a friend sent out an invite to a bunch of girls to come over to her place for a pool day. Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t ideal (June was a crazy rainy month!), but it was fun to spend a few hours with my girlfriends, chowing down on guac and chips, teaching them how to use Instagram Stories, and laughing our butts off.

5) Getting tough with customer service. On my trip to Puerto Rico, the face of my Fitbit cracked. I don’t even know how it happened! I just remember looking down at it when I was relaxing by the pool and seeing a huge crack down the middle of the screen. So, I googled and saw that there was a 50/50 chance Fitbit would replace my tracker for free. I took a chance and logged onto their online chat to see about getting my Fitbit replaced. At first, they didn’t want to do anything about my issue, aside from giving me 25% off a new Fitbit (um, no). But I decided to channel my inner customer service badass and got tough with them, explaining that this was my first Fitbit and how unhappy I was that my screen just cracked for no reason and the only thing they wanted to do was give me a slight discount? Well, friends, getting tough worked because, after all of that, Fitbit sent me a brand-new tracker free of charge! I’m not one to ever get tough with customer service reps (tough in a respectful and nice way!) because I’m the opposite of confrontational, but I wasn’t taking no for an answer this time around – and it worked!

6) Going to a baseball game with my nephew. My mom’s work regularly gets tickets to the Rays games, and when she got tickets for a recent game on a Monday night, she asked if I wanted to come with her and my older nephew, J. Of course I said yes! My nephew has suddenly morphed into this serious baseball fan who knows stats and players and trivia. It’s so cool to see my nephew just fall in love with baseball. He thoroughly enjoyed himself at the game and made us stay until the last inning, even though the Rays were losing. I’m not someone who would ever call herself a baseball fan, but watching the game through the eyes of my eight-year-old nephew was pretty darn special.

7) The revamped Stuff Mom Never Told You. I was really sad when Cristen and Caroline announced they were leaving Stuff Mom Never Told You. I honestly thought it was the end of the podcast, but in May, SMNTY came back with new hosts and a new look and feel! I am really, really enjoying Emilie and Bridget’s viewpoints and they’ve talked about some really interesting topics, like Women and Pyramid Schemes and The Resistance Will Be Marketed. If you’ve never listened to SMNTY before, I encourage you to give it a try. It’s such a wonderfully uplifting yet informational podcast.

8) Finally getting my tattoo. I finally did it! I’ve had people ask me why I decided to do it now, and I have to say that it was due to my friend, M., who made it happen. She just decided we were going to go for our consultation and then made the decision of us getting it done the following weekend. Since I’ve been dragging my feet about getting my tattoo for three years, I needed her to make me do it! The tattoo experience was so much more painful than I was expecting (apparently, I didn’t reach the magical endorphin stage that happens with tattoos – mine only took 15 minutes), but it wasn’t so bad that I’d never get another tattoo again. I’m really happy with my new tat, though, and it feels so perfectly me.

9) A bookish DIY event. Near the end of June, I got together with some of my friends for do-it-yourself book totes! It was the perfect event for me because it didn’t require too much artsy creativity. All I had to do was mix up the paint color I wanted and then just dab it onto the tote through the stencil. All of our bags turned out so perfect and I’d do this event again in a heartbeat.

10) My first dental cleaning in over five years. Look, I’m not proud of this, but it is what it is. I am terrified of the dentist and once two years had passed without a dental cleaning, it was just easier to not go. I didn’t want to be berated about not getting a cleaning (my last two dental hygienists had done that), so even though I’ve been paying for dental insurance for the past five years, I’ve never used it. Finally, though, I got it done. It took less than 30 minutes, it was so easy, and my teeth felt so damn clean afterward. The best part was that nobody even said a word about my lack of dental appointments. (WHEW!) And yes, my next appointment in six months is all scheduled and on the calendar. There’s no reason for me to not get my twice-yearly cleanings done anymore!

What was the best thing that happened to you in June?

Categories: Life

What It Means to Grow Up Poor

It means never staying in the same house or apartment for very long. By the time I was 18, I had moved at least 10 times, maybe more since I can’t really remember life before I was five. Sometimes, we moved because of an eviction notice (perks of having a father with an addiction to gambling) and sometimes, we moved because the rent was raised too much. I never had that family home that seems to prevalent among other people my age. Home was constantly changing.

It means not getting to do all of the fun extracurriculars that other people around me got to do. I remember stuffing down invitations to baton twirling classes (this was a thing in the 90s, I guess) and Girl Scouts deep into my backpack because I knew my parents couldn’t afford it and I didn’t want to make them feel bad. It meant that when I came home from school one day and excitedly exclaimed that I had gotten a part in a play, my mom didn’t react with the same level of excitement. Instead, it was worry about how to afford a costume for the play. While I did cheerleading for a year in elementary school and a year in high school, as well as a year of t-ball, extracurriculars just weren’t something we had the money for.

It means I wasn’t one of the lucky ones who was given a car for her sixteenth birthday. All of my friends got cars, both brand-spankin’-new and older models, but I was the one who constantly had to bum for rides or cross my fingers that my mom would let me borrow her car when I needed it. It felt shameful and embarrassing, and I just wanted to be like every other person in my high school who got to zip off to school and work and dates in their car.

It means college was a privilege, not an expectation. I was the first in my family to go to college, and that in itself was an amazing accomplishment. I was lucky enough to qualify for financial aid as well as a state-funded scholarship program that covered 75% of my tuition and my books, but I still had to take out a few loans to cover the rest of the fees. The majority of my friends don’t have to worry about school loans – their parents paid their way through college. That wasn’t my reality and it isn’t the reality of those of us who grew up poor. There just isn’t extra money to set aside for college.

It means I never learned proper money management techniques, something that has followed me into adulthood. Truthfully, I’ve stopped letting my low-income childhood define how I view money now, but I also can’t deny that I didn’t grow up in a household that taught me how to properly manage my money. I didn’t know anything about emergency savings or 401ks or investments or any of that. I knew more about check advances and loans than I did about good money behaviors. I had to teach myself how to manage money in a responsible way.

It means vacations were not a thing. We took one family vacation to Ohio when I was around eight or nine, which mainly involved us just driving around to my dad’s old hangout spots and seeing family. We took day trips to Disney World from time to time, and twice spent a week at the beach, but that was about it until I graduated from college and my mom and I took our first cruise. Vacations aren’t a thing when you’re barely getting by, which is why it irritates me so much when people talk about travel as if it’s this grand thing everyone should want to do. Or that people prioritize travel over other things and that’s why they travel so often. Travel is a privilege that many people cannot afford, and my family certainly could not when I was growing up.

It means always having outdated cars that embarrassed the hell out of my brother and me. There was the church van my mom drove for a while when she was in between cars. There was the old car my uncle gave us where the windshield wipers had to be operated with pliers and a friend once remarked to me that she thought the car was going to fall apart every time she saw me open the door. There was the car that stalled every thirty seconds when it was in reverse (no joke – my mom, brother, and I uncontrollably laugh when we remember a time it took us at least 10 minutes to reverse from a parking spot one morning). And the car that had to have a bungee cord tying down the front hood because it wouldn’t stay closed. We can laugh at these horrific cars now, but man, were they embarrassing when I was a kid.

It means fights upon fights upon fights. It means nights when I crawled underneath my bed with a pillow, crushing it over my ears to drown out the yells and screams. Finances are what married couples fight about most, and thus, it’s what my parents constantly fought about. In fact, I think that’s all they fought about. (Well, also my dad’s gambling addiction and how much time he spent away from home.) But finances were the crux of every fight, and I grew up fearful every time money was brought up.

It means that I might not have had all of the money to do whatever I wanted, but I did have all the love in the world. I never doubted, not once, that my parents wanted what was best for me and loved me and my brother fiercely. They tried to protect us from their money problems as much as they could. My mom gave up so much so that my brother and I could have a good life. She didn’t even have a room of her own to sleep in for seven or eight years after my parents separated! She would go without whenever my brother or I needed something and tried her damnedest to make sure we were happy.

And we were happy. We may have been poor, but we were happy. I don’t believe in the adage that money cannot buy happiness because hell yes it can, but I also believe that you can be happy even when you’re worrying about money. I had a mom who loved me beyond belief, who cheered me on in everything I did, who was sitting front-row seat with a beaming smile at that play she worried about affording, who didn’t blink an eye when I told her I wanted to change majors when I was nearly done with college. She let me drive her car whenever I needed it and let me live rent-free as I finished my schooling.

Growing up poor was not the path I wanted to take, but it was the path I was given, and I’d like to believe I have done everything to rise above it. I am solidly middle class now, and I can afford to save and take vacations. I still worry about money all the time because of the way I grew up, but it reminds me never to take my life and what I’ve accomplished for granted. I was the first in my family to graduate with a Bachelor’s degree, and that’s a significant accomplishment when you grow up poor. I wasn’t supposed to have these opportunities, but I saw how my parents struggled and I never wanted that for my life. I wanted something different, so I did everything in my power to make it happen.

Categories: Life

My Apartment: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

I moved into my apartment nine months ago now, and I realize I’ve never done any sort of apartment tour. Alas, I won’t be doing that today (I’ll sprinkle some photos throughout this post, but don’t expect anything exciting. I’m no decorator.) But Kate wrote a post last week detailing the good and the bad about her new apartment, and it sparked a blog post idea in me. So, let’s chat about the good, the bad, and the ugly about my apartment.

The Good

It’s small. My apartment is tiny at just 515 square feet. It’s composed of two sections: the front, which features my kitchen and living room, separated by a large kitchen island; and the back, which has my bedroom, bathroom, and walk-in closet. It’s so tiny that I can essentially see my front door when I’m laying in bed. It’s so tiny that I can have a podcast playing on the other side of the apartment and still clearly hear it. But I love the size. I toured this apartment back in 2014 when I was originally looking to move out on my own, and it stuck with me over the next two years. It’s just absolutely perfect for me, as a single lady living with a 10-lb dachshund.

I have my own washer and dryer. You guyssss, I cannot live without a washer and dryer in my apartment. I’ve done it before and there is just nothing more convenient than popping in a load of wash whenever I want to. No schlepping it over to a laundry room and hoping there’s a washer available! This washer and dryer is a bit of a downgrade from my previous two apartments (it’s stackable), but it works for me. I do a few loads every week it seems, between my clothes and throw rugs and Dutch’s blankets and my sheets, so my water bill is never quite my favorite to receive, but the convenience is everything to me.

I have beautiful wood flooring. I mean, it’s fake wood, but whatever. It’s gorgeous and it’s exactly what I need since I have a senior-aged dog who has tons of accidents. Cleaning up pee from wood floors? Not a prob, Bob! Of course, he does tend to pee in my bedroom, which is carpeted, but I recently learned that a steam vacuum cleans up stains from that like magic. Hooray! Anyway, I love my wood flooring so much. It’s perfect!

I’m on the first floor. Since I have to take Dutch out 6+ times a day, being on a first-floor unit was a must. Having to carry him up and down stairs is not my idea of a good time, and it’s just nice to be able to walk right out my front door whenever he has to go out. (It’s especially great when it’s 3AM and he needs to pee, sigh.) Thankfully, I haven’t had any problems with loud upstairs neighbors and I count my lucky stars for that.

The Bad

I can’t use my patio. I have a great view of a pond from my patio, but I never go out there because it’s just not comfortable to sit outside on my patio. It’s unscreened and I know I would spend more time slapping away mosquitoes or freaking out about bees/wasps than enjoying myself.

The appliances drip. My apartment has really old appliances and plumbing, so both my kitchen sink and tub have fickle faucets that have to be screwed tightly in order to keep them from dripping. I’ve had maintenance look at the sink and tub, but whatever they did (or didn’t do?) didn’t fix the problem.

The apartment gym is terrible. Ugh, this gym, you guys. I haven’t had to belong to an actual gym in years because I’ve had great apartment gyms to go to. The one at my last apartment was phenomenal and even had spin bikes! But this one is tiny and only holds an elliptical, treadmill, recumbent bike, and some free weights. And that would be okay, but the gym doesn’t open until 6AM on the weekdays and 8AM on the weekends. Since I have to be in the shower getting ready for the day at 6AM, that means no morning workouts and I really enjoy working out in the morning much more than I do in the evening. But, hey, this terrible gym forced me to become a member at LA Fitness and now I get to do spin again, so maybe it was for the best.

The Ugly

My cabinets are hideous. They were the first thing I noticed when I walked into my apartment for the first time and I think the first thing I texted to my mom was, “The cabinets are so ugly!” And then I immediately started googling tips on covering up ugly cabinets. I’ve decided to leave them be, mostly because I’m not much of a DIY-decorator person. And now the cabinets don’t really bother me. Don’t get me wrong – I still hate them and I wish there was something I could do to make them prettier, but I just try to pretend they aren’t as hideous as I think they are.

The oven is super old. The refrigerator and dishwasher are both brand new, so the oven sticks out in my kitchen with its off-white color and coil cooktop. I’ve lived in fancy apartments for the last few years that had glass stovetops, so it was a bit of a bummer to have to go back to an old oven with a coil cooktop. And the oven really does not cook well. It gets smoky really easily – even if I’m just roasting veggies! – so I don’t really love using it.

And there you have it! Truthfully, even though I had a few more “hates” about my apartment, I truly love this little place of mine. Sometimes, I look around and think to myself that everything here is mine and this is my life and I’ve built it all for myself. It feels surreal sometimes. I love my little apartment so very much and I’m proud to call it home.

What is something you love and loathe about your current home?