Stephany Writes

Categories: Life

Monthly Recap | April 2024

BOOKS

In April, I read 9 books. My favorite was The Women by Kristin Hannah and my least favorite was The Eighth Detective by Alex Pavesi. Some other stats:

  • 78% fiction, 22% nonfiction
  • 4 print, 2 e-books, 3 audiobooks
  • 3.9 average star rating
  • 33% diverse

Ander & Santi Were Here by Jonny Garza Villa (print, owned) ★★★★★ | Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt (print, owned) ★★★★☆ | White Tears/Brown Scars: How White Feminism Betrays Women of Color by Ruby Hamad (audiobook, library) ★★★★★ | About That Night by Julie James (e-book, owned) ★★★★☆ | The Women by Kristin Hannah (print, owned) ★★★★★ | The Comeback by Lily Chu (e-book, library) ★★★★☆ | The Longest Race: Inside the Secret World of Abuse, Doping, and Deception on Nike’s Elite Running Team by Kara Goucher (audiobook, library) ★★★★☆ | The Eighth Detective by Alex Pavesi (audiobook, library) ★★☆☆☆ | The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise by Colleen Oakley (print, library) ★★☆☆☆

MEDIA

  • Mr. and Mrs. Smith (Prime) – I finally finished this TV show annnd… I wasn’t a huge fan. Everyone has been raving about the show, but in the end, I didn’t really like either person very much or think they should be in a relationship together. Also, I’m still very angry about something inexcusable that happened in the final episode, so there’s that.
  • The Circle, season 3 (Netflix) – Still working through some old seasons of The Circle! I enjoyed this season – they introduced some fun new twists – but I wasn’t too thrilled about the winner.
  • Beyonce, Cowboy Carter – This was my album to listen to in April and I thought it was fine. I don’t think her music is for me, which is okay! I am very glad that people are loving the album.
  • Taylor Swift, The Tortured Poets Department – This is not my favorite album from Taylor, but there are a ton of great songs on it that are fun to sing along to.

On The Friendship Paradox, we released three episodes in April. (Just the way the calendar shook out with five Tuesdays in April.) We talked about our reading habits, the enneagram types of our favorite TV characters (from The Office, Brooklyn 99, Parks and Rec, and Schitt’s Creek), and interviewed our friend Lynn, who is a bona fide enneagram 3.

PURCHASES

  • Drawstring backpack – I purchased this for the gym; I needed a way to carry my keys/wallet/sweat towel/AirPods/phone/etc while I’m bouncing around at the gym. Funny story: My mom bought the same backpack in a different color, but we didn’t coordinate this at all!
  • Eyebrow tinting kit – The eyebrow tint I got in March faded in just a few weeks, and since I don’t want to pay salon prices for eyebrow tinting, I picked up this tinting kit to see if it will work for me. It was $12 and can apparently provide up to 30 applications. I’ve yet to try it, so I will report back my findings when I do.
  • Breakfast sandwich maker – I already raved about this product in my Currently post from earlier this week, but had to give it another shout-out on my monthly recap post!
  • scunci No Damage Elastic Hair Ties – How do hair ties disappear? One day in April, I realized I was down to just two elastics. These are my favorite hair elastics. I like a tight hold and these are very stretchy, too.
  • Ninja chopper – I love making seven-layer bars but the whole smushing-the-graham crackers part gets old really fast. I finally purchased this chopper that did the work for me in a quarter of the time. That is a $20 well spent.

MOMENTS

Love this behind-the-scenes shot of our episode with Lynn. It’s fun to have a podcast where we can force our friends to spend an hour of their Saturdays talking all about their personalities!

The cutest bakery interns! Unfortunately, they aren’t the best helpers. They just keep waiting for me to drop food on the floor. Silly kids!

I finally got my sleep study done this month and I was diagnosed with severe obstructive sleep apnea. This means that using a CPAP machine while sleeping is going to be my new normal! It’s been a lot to process, but you guys have been so supportive and kind. It has really helped me feel less scared about all of this! I need to do one more sleep study, a CPAP titration sleep study, so that I can get properly fitted for my machine.

My mom and I strolled around an art fair in April, but we quickly realized we were out of our league with the prices. Most of the pieces were selling for $2,000 or more, and I can’t imagine a life where I would spend that much money on a piece of art! (I do understand the talent and grit that goes into being an artist, and I want them to get their monies! But I just will not be the one doing that.) I was able to find a very cute artist’s shop with reasonably priced prints. I picked up these two prints for my living room gallery wall. Aren’t they so colorful?!

I went out with some coworkers to a very cute restaurant in downtown Tampa: Melting Pot Social. If you have a Melting Pot near you, you know it’s a fondue restaurant—Melting Pot Social makes those fondues individually sized. I got a cheese fondue with pretzel bread, tortilla chips, apple slices, potatoes, tomatoes, and more. For dessert, I opted for the salted caramel chocolate fondue and enjoyed that with strawberries, pretzel bars, pound cake, and Rice Krispies. Mmm!

Funny story to end the evening: I drove everyone to our dinner and we found a parking garage right next to the restaurant. There were only maybe 20 or so spots available for people eating at nearby restaurants and the rest of the spots were for residents of the apartments next to the parking garage. Well, we decided to risk it and park where the apartment residents are supposed to park. What’s the worst that could happen? None of the spots were marked! Um, well, when we came back to the parking garage, we realized there was no way to get to the third floor where my car was parked. You had to swipe a pass to get in the elevator and to open the doors of the stairwell. So what did we have to do? We had to hike our asses up three ramps of the parking garage (after gorging on fondue!) to get to my car. Ah, well. It makes for a good story, right?

Bri and I had a lovely lady date in April, visiting a new-to-us restaurant called Pia’s Trattoria. I WILL BE BACK! This was an excellent Italian restaurant, and that’s mostly because their homemade ciabatta was to die for. We didn’t realize we would get an entire loaf of bread when we ordered the bread, but we did, and while we put away an impressive amount of the loaf, we had a good amount to take home. The next day, I made an open-faced egg sandwich on the ciabatta for breakfast and then an incredibly delicious grilled cheese sandwich for lunch. I’ll be dreaming about that ciabatta for a long time.

Eloise turned 6 years old this month! She got lots of fun toys for her birthdays, including a racecar scratching pad, some purees, and a few teaser wands for playtime.

At the end of the month, Bri and I had a fun adventure day at Egmont Key, a secluded island off the coast of Tampa Bay. We took a ferry to the island and spent a few hours roaming around and laying on the beach. It was such a wonderful day!

LOOKING FORWARD

What’s in store for May? Lots of good things…

  • Ice cream social book club
  • A Cinco de Mayo pool party at Bri’s
  • My trip to New Orleans with my mom
  • Seeing Nate Bargatze live!
  • A girls’ night in with some new friends
  • My first TopGolf experience
  • The Tampa CATstravaganza!!!
  • A hair appointment where I’m 95% sure I’m getting bangs (eeks)

What was an April highlight for you?

Categories: Life

My Experience Doing an At-Home Sleep Study

Last week, I did my first-ever sleep study and was lucky enough to do it at home (read: my insurance refused to cover an in-clinic sleep study). The main reason I asked my doctor for a sleep study referral was to find out if I have sleep apnea. For those unaware, sleep apnea is a condition where the muscles at the back of the throat relax during sleep and constrict the airways. With lessened oxygen getting to the brain, the brain sends a quick signal for you to wake up so you can reopen your airways. Often, people will gasp and then fall right back to sleep. These little wakeups during the night are so slight that we often don’t even register them, but they can happen upwards of 30 times a night for some people.

There are a few reasons why I am concerned about sleep apnea:

  • Snoring – I am a loud snorer and I will snore in any position. On my stomach, on my side, on my back… your girl is sawing logs. One of the characteristics of sleep apnea is snoring in all different positions. (Many people snore while sleeping on their back, but moving to their side curtails it.)
  • Blood oxygen levels – Last year, I started using a Fitbit to track my sleep and that’s when I learned that my blood oxygen levels throughout the night are lower than they should be. From my very light research on the subject, blood oxygen levels during sleep should be at least 96% and I’m averaging 89%-91%.
  • Daytime sleepiness – I am a very sleepy girl. I take a nap almost every day if I can. I can easily nap for 3-4 hours in the afternoon and still go to bed at a reasonable time and sleep through the night. I can also have coffee/caffeine in the evening and it doesn’t affect my sleep.

I’m very glad I was approved for a sleep study because at this point, I just want to know what I’m dealing with. Last Tuesday, I picked up my sleep study kit at a local hospital and prepared myself for a weird night of sleeping.

Preparing for the sleep test

In my sleep kit, I had a few items:

  • Paperwork to fill out about my sleepiness levels and how I slept during the sleep test
  • A nasal cannula
  • A sensor with a velcro strap
  • A plastic pulse ox
  • Medical tape
  • An extra battery for the sensor

The sleep center also sent me a quick video describing how to set everything up, which was super helpful. It all seemed very straightforward, so I put all of the equipment on my bedside table and then sat down to fill out one set of paperwork, which was the Epworth Sleepiness Scale. I had to determine how likely I was to fall asleep during certain tasks, like reading, watching TV, sitting in a meeting, being the passenger in a car for longer than an hour, etc. My final score was 10, which I learned is right on the cusp of being concerning. (Anything under 10 is normal, but 10 and above means you should seek medical attention.)

Getting ready to sleep

I got into bed right around 10:30 p.m. and read for a little bit, and then decided it was time for sleep! First, I got my nasal cannula in place and locked it into the sensor, then I strapped the sensor around my chest (right at the top of my boobs). I slid on the pulse ox on my right index finger. Lastly, I taped down the nasal cannula (with one strip of medical tape on each cheek) as well as the pulse ox, as they had advised me to do in the video. And then I just had to turn on the sensor and make sure everything was hooked up correctly.

Annnnd… that’s when things got tricky. Once the sensor is on, it should quickly flash green on three different areas to let you know everything is hooked up and working correctly. Well, my nasal cannula and pulse ox were good to go, but the sensor for the belt itself kept flashing red. I kept trying different things—tying it really tight around my chest, then more loosely; strapping it around my midsection, then higher on my chest, etc—but nothing got that sensor color to change. Eventually, I just said, “fuck it” and went to sleep with everything intact and hoped for the best. I figured that as long as the oxygen/pulse numbers were being captured, I’d hopefully be okay.

Sleeping

As I mentioned on Friday, my sleep was a mess during this test. I like to sleep on my stomach or side, and it was impossible to sleep either way with all of the stuff strapped to me! I could sort of sleep on my side, but I had to be angled a specific way and it was very awkward. It took me a long time to fall asleep (I even tried listening to some ASMR videos on YouTube to help me drift off, but they didn’t really work), and when I did, my sleep was very choppy. I felt like I woke up at least every hour and then had trouble falling back asleep. When my alarm went off at 6:30 a.m., I was really happy to get up and get all of this stuff off me! (In hindsight, I probably should have set my alarm for 7:30 a.m. so I could have captured at least another hour of sleeping data, considering how long it took me to fall asleep.)

One of the requirements of the sleep study is that I had to log at least 6 hours of sleep in order to gather enough sleep data. I don’t think I fell asleep until at least midnight and then I was up so early that I’m very concerned I didn’t log enough hours. If I have to do this again, I’ll give myself a bigger buffer for sure.

The end

When I woke up, I took everything off and then pressed “off” on the sensor. If all of my data were gathered correctly, the lights would all flash green. If they weren’t gathered correctly, the lights would flash red. Can you guess what they flashed for me? RED. Ugh! I was so mad. I called the sleep center to relay my problems, and the person on the phone gave me a little bit of hope that they may be able to gather enough data since everything else seemed to be working fine. Their sleep sensors are apparently pretty old and sometimes have weird issues like that. WONDERFUL!

I filled in the other set of paperwork, which was all about how I slept during the sleep study. Poorly. I slept poorly.

I brought back the sleep kit to the hospital and now I wait to find out if a) I need to do this again and b) I have sleep apnea.

Of course, the silly thing about all of this is that if I do have sleep apnea, I’m going to have to sleep with a CPAP machine, which may be even more uncomfortable than what I had to wear during the sleep study. So let’s pray for a negative result!

Have you ever done a sleep study? Any questions for me regarding the study?

Categories: Life

Time Logging | March 25-31, 2024

The last week of March, I logged all my time for a full week. This is the sheet I use to log my time, and yes, it is very tedious. I wouldn’t want to do this for more than a week, and doing it on a yearly basis is about all I can handle at this point. But it’s a fun exercise to look at how I spend my time and see what patterns emerge. Why do I do this exercise? Simply to learn how I’m spending my time. For me, it’s not about looking at the data to figure out how I can more efficiently spend my time. I mean, I already know I spend a lot of time on my phone. I don’t need a time log to show me that. But it’s cool to see a breakdown of exactly how I’m spending my time, and now that I have three years of data (2022, 2023), I can see the patterns more clearly.

Here’s how I spent March 25-31, 2024!

My top categories

  • Sleep + napping (36.9%) – I continue to spend over a third of my life unconscious. The first year I did this exercise, I was astonished by this number but now I have come to accept it. I’m a girl who likes sleep! In 2024, my sleep percentage (between sleeping and napping) was the exact same as 2022. (36.9%, which is a smidge lower than my overall percentage in 2023.)
  • Work (14.1%) – I like that while work is still one of my top categories (as it has to be), it continues to stay steady around this 14% range. I’ve mentioned before that I feel like being a people manager has freed up some of my time, and it has. I’ve always been someone who likes to work smarter, not harder, and I think I’ve been able to be an efficient worker without logging long hours.
  • Social (9.9%) – My social time was way up this week and that’s because I had a very full weekend with social time on Friday afternoon/evening, nearly all day Saturday, and on Sunday afternoon. This is atypical of me, as my social percentage was way lower in 2022 (6%) and 2023 (5%).
  • Phone (5.9%) – My phone percentage was down .4% from 2023 to 2024, so that’s something! In reality, I still spent 10 hours on my phone over the course of the week. TEN HOURS. I could read a few books in that time! Alas, I do love my phone games and sometimes scrolling Instagram Reels brings me such delight. I’m not going to stop that, but I think I can try to lessen how much time I spend on my phone.
  • Blogging + computer time (5.5%) – I didn’t separate blogging from computer time as I’ve done previously. However, I still ended up spending less time overall on this hobby of mine (6.7% in 2023 and 6.4% in 2022).

Surprises

  • My reading time has decreased by 1% each year – In 2022, I spent 5.4% of my time reading. In 2023, I spent 4.3% of my time reading. And this year, it was a measly 3.3%. It was a busier week for me than usual, so I’m hoping that’s the reason for the decline and not because I’m losing interest in my favorite hobby. Say it isn’t so! (It isn’t. I know it isn’t. I’m just dramatic.)
  • My morning/evening routine percentage continues to increase – In 2022, I spent 4.1% of my time on my routines. In 2023, that number was up to 5%. And this year, I’m at 5.5%. I don’t feel as if I’m doing anything different that makes my morning/evening routines increase. Maybe I’m just getting slower? Ha.
  • I spent less time on the phone with my mom – In 2022 and 2023, I logged 4 hours of time on the phone with my mom over the course of the week. This year, it was only 2 hours. Of course, I did see my mom on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday so in the end, I spent a lot more face-to-face time with her!
  • Medical showed up on my chart for the first time – I had a few doctor’s appointments and I started doing icing sessions for my back, which I categorized as “medical,” which is the first time I’ve ever had this on the list. It’s true what they say: Your body does start falling apart the older you get.

A few notes:

  • I am not a perfect time logger. This is supposed to be a fun, not stressful, exercise so I don’t place any pressure on myself to be perfect at it. It’s okay to make guesstimates! Nobody is checking your work.
  • I do a lot of tasks at the same time: eating while watching TV, reading while icing my back, playing games on my phone while listening to a podcast. When that happened, I would categorize the time as my main task. For example, if I watched TV while eating dinner, eating would be the category since I was watching TV because I had dinner in front of me.
  • I tried to work in 15-minute intervals throughout the week, which was actually very helpful for my brain! Not everything, of course, but if I wanted to take a break while working, I’d wait for the next interval on my spreadsheet so I could categorize it more easily. (It’s 2:38? Wait until 2:45 to take a break!)

Have you ever time logged? What hobby do you spend the most time doing?

Categories: Life

Monthly Recap | March 2024

BOOKS

In March, I read 8 books. My favorite was The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton and my least favorite was Black Girls Must Die Exhausted by Jayne Allen. Some other stats:

  • 100% fiction
  • 3 print, 2 e-books, 3 audiobooks
  • 3.7 average star rating
  • 50% diverse

The Many Daughters of Afong Moy (print, owned) ★★★★☆ | You, with a View by Jessica Joyce (e-book, library) ★★★★★ | The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton (audiobook, library) ★★★★★ | The Exiles by Christina Baker Kline (audiobook, library) ★★★★☆ | Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie (print, owned) ★★★★☆ | Heartbreaker by Sarah MacLean (e-book, library) ★★★★☆ | Black Girls Must Die Exhausted by Jayne Allen (audiobook, library) ★★☆☆☆ | Come and Get It by Kiley Reid (print, library) ★★☆☆☆

MEDIA

  • Love is Blind, season 6 (Netflix) – I mainly watch this show for all the online discourse. It’s so messy! I even finally signed up for Hunter Harris’s premium substack to get her full thoughts on all the couples, which did not disappoint.
  • The Trust (Netflix) – A new reality show where a group of people can choose to share a prize of $250,000 or vote one person off each night to give them a bigger piece of the prize. This was a fun show, but I think there needs to be changes to the format if they try to do it again.
  • Mr. and Mrs. Smith (Prime) – I have only watched two episodes of this show, but the goal is to finish season one in April!
  • Taylor Tomlinson: Have It All (Netflix) – Bri and I were supposed to see Taylor Tomlinson live in March, but her show was canceled at the last minute. WAH! So instead, we had a girls’ night in. I loved Taylor’s comedy special and was delighted to learn she is bi-curious and I am RIGHT HERE, TAYLOR. LET’S DO THIS!
  • Corporate Gossip (podcast) – I talked about this podcast on my last Currently post so I won’t get into too much detail here. I finally got through their entire archive of episodes and now I can’t wait for season 4 to release soon!
  • Florence + the Machine, Dance Fever (music) – My album for the month of March. This album came out in 2022, and I enjoyed it! Favorites off the album: Free, Dream Girl Evil, Cassandra, Heaven Is Here, and Daffodil.

On The Friendship Paradox, it was the month of moms! We interviewed Bri’s mom and my mom to learn more about the personalities (Bri’s mom is an enneagram 1 and my mom is an enneagram 9!), raising us, and our relationship today. It was a really fun time!

PURCHASES

  • Apple watch – Using my wellness stipend for an Apple watch was an excellent decision! I love it so much and it’s come in handy during those hard workouts at the gym.
  • 3-in-1 charging station – My Apple watch came with that very annoying USB-C charger and the only place I could plug it in to charge was my laptop. So I decided to invest in this guy so I could easily charge my phone, watch, and AirPods. It’s not a super-fast charger but it works for my needs.
  • Short-sleeve pajama set – When I thought I was going to do an in-person sleep study, the scheduler mentioned that I would need to wear a two-piece pajama set. I mostly sleep in nightgowns these days because they’re comfortable for me. So I bought this short-sleeve sleep set for the sleep study that never happened, and I really love it. It’s very comfy!
  • Small countertop shelving unit – I’ve had my eye on one of these small shelves for a while now and am very happy with my purchase. I keep it on my kitchen counter and it fits perfectly under one of my cabinets. I use it to organize my meds, coffee supplies, and other small kitchen items.
  • Chip clips – The simplest product but one that brings me a ton of joy. I recently realized my life would be a lot better if I had a good assortment of chip clips to close up all sorts of bags in my kitchen, from frozen veggies to, well, chips. I bought this pack on Amazon and they’re magnetic so I don’t even have to worry about storing them when not in use!
  • I’m Dead, Now What! Organizer – Someone asked me to link to the exact “I’m Dead, Now What?” book that I bought, so I’ve linked to the one I bought. Are there better ones out there? Possibly! I went for one that had a nice aesthetic but wasn’t too pricey.

MOMENTS

March kicked off with February book club. (Yes, we sometimes have trouble coordinating our book club meetings with work travel and vacations and other commitments, but we make it work!) We had a murder mystery party and please make sure you properly fawn over my friend Lynn’s beagle, Mugsy, who dressed in a suit for the occasion!

My mom, my stepdad, and I spent a Saturday at the Florida Strawberry Festival, which was a lot of fun. We really enjoyed some strawberry shortcake and some of the rides. What we didn’t love was the ride we went on before we left the festival. My mom and I were seated in a car together but the way the wind moved within this ride, it caused me to lean all the way into my mom and nearly crush her to death. She could barely breathe because she had my entire weight pressed up against her body. And then the ride started spinning in a way that made me so nauseated. I’ve never gotten sick from a ride, but the nausea was so bad I had to close my eyes until the ride came to a complete stop. OOF. I think my mom and I have both retired from carnival rides at this point.

Chip turned 6 on March 16! He’s the best boy. He was such a rambunctious, crazy puppy who would only settle down and sleep if he was in his crate. I remember my mom saying, “I just want him to snuggle next to me on the couch!” Well, now he is a big snugglebug and my mom is his favorite person in the whole wide world. (I can relate!) I can’t believe he’s already six!

I joined Crunch Fitness! I haven’t belonged to a gym since before the pandemic, but I am really glad that my mom wanted to join this gym because I’ve been really happy with my experience so far! We’ve done a spin class, yoga class, and personal training session ($10 with a new membership), and we’re signed up for a HIIT class tonight. We’re trying out as many new classes as we can right now, and having fun doing it.

Sweet Olive had a pediatric cancer walk this month and I was more than happy to attend! (Even if it did make my sciatica act up.) We got to walk around Raymond James Stadium (where the Bucs play) and go onto the field, which was fun! I think Olive had a good time, which is the most important thing.

When our Taylor Tomlinson lady date got cancelled, Bri decided to bring the night out to us. We had the best night in with a girl dinner (lots of dips and crackers and veggies!) and then popcorn and candy for the show (which we watched on Netflix). The best part of this night was that Bri’s friend Roxana, whom she met on a plane a few months ago and is now besties with because that’s how Bri operates, came over and I got to meet her! We are hoping to do these nights in once a month if possible because we all enjoyed our time together so much!

I started seeing a chiropractor this month to help with my sciatica. I am so glad I did this. I’ve had sciatica before and I’ve always just tried to make it go away on my own with heat therapy and stretching, but this time, I knew I needed more comprehensive care. My chiro is amazing and I’m hoping to start seeing results soon!

Lucy turned 3 on March 29th! I can’t believe this little nugget is already three… I love her so much and I’m glad I was able to spend part of my Friday with her. We went out for ice cream and then had dinner (where they had a doggie menu!) so she was eatin’ good on her birthday.

March book club… in March! We had a great time on Saturday. We made candles at The Candle Pour, went out for lunch at a Mexican takeout restaurant, and then wandered around a market for about an hour until our candles were ready to be picked up. Such a fun day out with my ladies!

What’s something you watched in March?

Categories: Life

Monthly Recap | February 2024

BOOKS

In February, I read 8 books. My favorite was Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez and my least favorite was The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston. Some other stats:

  • 88% fiction, 12% nonfiction
  • 5 print, 3 audiobooks
  • 4.1 average star rating
  • 25% diverse

Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez (print, owned) ★★★★★ | Thank You for Listening by Julia Whelan (audiobook, library) ★★★★☆ | Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano (print, owned) ★★★★☆ | The Art of Scandal by Regina Black (print, library) ★★★★☆ | A Town Called Solace by Mary Lawson (audiobook, library) ★★★★☆ | How to Be Yourself by Ellen Hendriksen (print, library) ★★★★☆ | Morbidly Yours by Ivy Fairbanks (print, library) ★★★☆☆ | The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston (audiobook, Spotify) ★★★☆☆

MEDIA

  • The Circle, seasons 1 and 2 (Netflix) – I just started watching this reality TV show on Netflix and I really enjoy it. It’s such a unique concept!
  • Love is Blind, season 6 (Netflix) – This show is so messy. Why do I keep watching it?
  • The Traitors, season 2 (Peacock) – Season 1 was definitely a whole lot better than season 2, but I’m still enjoying this season and rooting for a Faithfuls win.
  • The Floor (Hulu) – This silly game show hosted by Rob Lowe had me hooked in January and February! It’s so easy to follow along with, which I appreciate.
  • Surviving Y2K (podcast) – I love a podcast series produced by Dan Taberski, although I didn’t love this one as much as I’ve loved his other podcasts (Running from Cops and 9/12). Y2K was a wild time, though, wasn’t it?
  • Who Killed JFK? (podcast) – I didn’t realize there was such a big conspiracy about the JFK assassination! (Where have I been?!) This podcast hosted by Rob Reiner and Soledad O’Brien was incredible and I learned a lot.
  • Noah Kahan, Stick Season (music) – My album for the month of February was Noah Kahan’s Stick Season, which came out in 2022. I liked it a lot! Favorites off the album: She Calls Me Back, Homesick, and Everywhere, Everything.

We also released two episodes this month for The Friendship Paradox. We interview our dear friend Mikaela all about being an enneagram 1—it is one of my favorite episodes we’ve done! And we also talked about our attachment styles.

PURCHASES

  • A new purse ($24) – I treated myself to a new purse in February and I love it so much! It’s a tiny little backpack that I can wear as a crossbody. I like not having to dig through a bigger purse to find my wallet/keys/phone. Everything is within easy reach!
  • Laptop backpack ($30) – The new laptop I received for Christmas is so much bigger than my old laptop, and it meant it wouldn’t fit into my laptop carrying case! Whoops. I went on the hunt for a cute laptop backpack and found this one, which ended up being one of the things I treated myself to for hitting my goals.
  • Sterilite Clear View Storage Bins ($4-$6 each) – I love these storage bins because they are stackable and also come with very easy-to-use latches in bright purple. I got a bunch of these in February for my closet reorganization project (6 quart and 15 quart sizes).
  • La Roche Posay Glycolic Acid ($44) – I’m trying out this glycolic acid since it’s supposed to remove dark spots and even out skin tone. We’ll see! I plan on using it for a few months and if I don’t see a difference in my skin, I’ll try something else.
  • Hanes underwear ($17) – Have you refresh your underwear drawer yet? I used to love going to Victoria’s Secret and picking out a bunch of cute pairs of underwear, but now I just search for a 6-pack on Amazon and call it good. I don’t love the pack I got (I should have gotten the bikini style instead of the hipster style), but oh well!

MOMENTS

At the beginning of February, a group of us got together to visit Parkesdale Market (which is world-famous, apparently, and Barack Obama visited it during a 2008 campaign stop!) for strawberry shortcake and then go strawberry picking. It was such a fun day! I’m ready to go back.

Silent Book Club with my mom is one of my new favorite things! She’s recently gotten back into reading, as I’ve mentioned before, and it’s fun to have another way to connect with her.

Okay, this is a super-weird photo but I had to document my swollen lip after my cavity filling! What a crazy experience. I believe I had an allergic reaction to the topical lidocaine (which has never happened before). It probably also didn’t help that I was chewing on that side of my lip after my procedure and because I couldn’t feel anything, I likely chewed off the top layer of skin under my lip. Oops? Live and learn, friends. (The lip was back to normal size the next morning, although I had a nice little wound under my lip for a few days.)

Bri and I had such a fun Galentine’s Day together! We ordered cheesy bread and pizza and watched Never Been Kissed, a movie I can still quote to this day. Is it problematic? Sure. But did it still give me the ooey-gooey feelings that only a 90s rom-com can give me? Oh yeah.

One weekend in February, I was on dog-sitting duty! Hanging out with my besties Chip and Lucy is truly not a hassle. They are so fun and cuddly and silly. I love being with them! (I always stay at my mom’s house when I watch Chip and Lucy because it’s much easier than having them at my apartment. Sadly, the cats are not very fond of the dogs.)

Lila had her annual vet appointment this month and while I was convinced she had lost weight, she was up by almost a pound. Sigh. I talked extensively with the vet about how to get her to lose weight and it likely comes down to separating the cats while eating. Ughhh. I also talked with the vet about drugging Lila for these vet appointments. It took me fifteen minutes to get her in her carrier and that involved poking her with a broom to get her to come out from under the bed, chasing her around the apartment, trying to bribe her with treats, moving my couch to get her to come out from under the furniture… all the while she is meowing at me so sadly and breaking my heart. The vet gave me a few doses of Gabapentin to hopefully help make her a little more agreeable (read: high) when it comes to things like going to the vet, getting brushed, getting a nail trim, etc.

I had a big stack of books sitting in my closet ready to be sent to new homes. One Sunday morning, I plotted out a bunch of different Little Free Libraries within a 10-minute drive from where I live and went on a fun adventure of finding these beautiful little bookish spaces in my community and adding a few books into each one. It was a delightful journey!

I had another LASIK follow-up appointment and everything looks perfect! I was given the green light to start using my ceiling fan again (hooray!) and also basically “graduated” from my post-procedure follow-ups. My next appointment will be in about another year and from there, I can go every few years for eye checks. I’m still in this weird mode of reaching for my glasses every morning and then remembering I don’t need them, which is always an exciting re-discovery!

What was a top moment of February for you?