Stephany Writes

Categories: Recurring Series

Ten on Tuesday (Vol. 44)

1. How do you feel about Groundhog’s Day?

I have no opinion of Groundhog’s Day. I don’t get caught up in what ole Phil is doing on February 2nd, to be honest. I live in Florida and we have had summer-like temperatures for most of the winter season. I wasn’t too concerned with his opinion of winter this year.

2. What color are your fingernails right now?

No color. I never paint my fingernails. Anytime I apply nail polish myself, it looks so sloppy and makes me feel like my nails are suffocating. I like the natural look better.

3. Do you like riddles?

They are fun to try and figure out, but I’m usually pretty bad at doing so!

4. When you were 10, how old did you think “old” was? At your current age, how old do you think “old” is?

Hm…interesting question. For me, I think there was such a wide range, even starting with high schoolers! I think “old” to me was just maturity and independence, not so much an age.

5. Do you wish on stars?

No.

6. Do you recycle?

Yes! We recycle plastic bottles, aluminum cans, paper, and glass. Our apartment now has on-site recycling cans to make the process even easier. I think it’s irresponsible not to, unless your community makes it too difficult.

7. On a scale of 1-10, how good of a cook are you?

I would say 7 or 8. I am not a bad cook. I just don’t like to cook.

8. Do you color your hair? Professionally or at home?

I get my hair colored professionally. While I could do it for much cheaper at home, I can’t get the same results that I need from my salon. And I just like having someone else do it and know she’s not going to screw it up! Hehe.

9. On a scale of 1-10, how do you rate your manners?

An 8? Sometimes, I think my social anxiety gets in the way of my manners and my brain completely shuts down. I don’t mean to be rude or unfriendly, but sometimes it’s not in my control. I will say I always say “Please” and “Thank you” and always, always, always hold the door open for someone, even if it means I have to stand there for more than a few seconds. (Such a pet peeve of mine!)

10. Who are the last 5 people you have texted?

Melissa, Amber, my mom, Kate, and my boss.

Ten on Tuesday is a weekly series run by Chelsea of Roots and Rings.

Categories: Recurring Series

Fill-in-the-Blank Friday {2}

Happy Friday! My weekend will be a bit crazy. Saturday morning, I start a four-week boot camp, then I have a spa date to get my hair color touched up, my hair cut, and my eyebrows waxed. Saturday night, my brother and nephew are coming over and then Sunday is the Superbowl! My mom and I host a small get-together at our place. It’s not much but it’s still fun.

No weigh-in post for this week, instead kept it light for Friday with a “Fill-in-the-Blank Friday” post! (Hosted by Lauren.)

1. If money wasn’t an issue, the first thing I would cross off my life list is traveling. One of my big travel dreams is to visit Germany since I’m half-German and feel so connected to that country. I’d just like to experience that culture for a week or two! And to travel across Europe, experiencing new cultures, tastes, and sounds. I feel so sheltered in my traveling experiences that it’s one of my big dreams to see the world and step out of my comfort zone.

2. Harlequin romance novels are something I like that other people think is weird. (I have found a few good writers amongst the cheesy ones! But I love the silliness of these stories, sometimes. A nice break from reality.)

3. If my life were a movie right now, the title would be “Surviving the Quarterlife Crisis.” Must write about this soon. It’s been on my “to blog” list for a while but I have never gotten around to it.

4. Three things I am looking forward to this month are the Superbowl, hopefully starting my blog move/redesign, and meeting MELISSA!

5. My favorite song to sing in the shower is nothing. I don’t sing in the shower, but I can belt it out good when I’m alone in the car!

6. If I found out the production of Victoria’s Secret yoga panties was ending this month, I’d go out and buy as much as I could tomorrow.

7. One thing I’ll never grow tired of is Dutch’s excitement every time he sees me. We’re pretty much attached at the hip. He’s never going to die, right?

What is one thing you’ll never grow tired of?

Categories: Recurring Series

Everyday Moments: January 2012

1 – Taking down the Christmas decorations and putting our apartment back to normal

2 – A strong run

3 – A long, refreshing chat with my mom and grandma

4 – Breakfast for dinner. We went hog wild and bought cinnamon rolls to eat with it. I’m not even kidding when I say I was looking forward to those rolls all day.

5 – Waking up from a nightmare to find my mom alive and well. It was so scary and so vivid.

6 – Leaving work at 1pm to start my Orlando vacation! Also, a package in the mail that contained my new Kindle cover. And shopping at Premium Outlets in Orlando and getting some seriously good deals. (What can I say? It was a good day.)

7 – Watching my nephew experience Disney World for the first time.

8 – My mom finishing her second marathon, on a bum knee and fighting the mental battle to quit for a good part of the last half.

9 – Picking up Dutch from the boarder’s after a very long three days without him.

10 – Quiet moments before work, reading a fantastic book.

11 – Selecting a winner for our latest giveaway.

12 – Getting back into the mode of tracking what I eat.

13 – A nap after work

14 – The 49ers winning their playoff game.

15 – Sleepy snuggles and kisses with my favorite boy.

16 – Texts with a blog friend who completely gets me. And makes me feel less crazy.

17 – Joining a new Bible study and feeling so welcomed and accepted.

18 – A great loss on the scale

19 – A warmed-up chocolate chip cookie. Yes, it was 6 points but totally worth each point.

20 – A busy day at work after four very, very slow days.

21 – Sleeping in, a two-hour nap, and a very relaxing night in.

22 – Filing my tax return and finding out I’ll be getting enough to pay off my cruise deposit and pay for my excursions in Jamaica and Grand Cayman. AWESOME!

23 – A relaxing night of catching up on Bible study homework. The TV and laptop didn’t go on at all. It was divine!

24 – Staying in control of my eating, even when I didn’t want to.

25 – A great drop on the scale on a mentally tough week.

26 – Fun dinner with my co-workers.

27 – Babysitting my nephew who was in a super good, super fun mood.

28 – A coffee date with a new friend, buying a new Bible, and finally purchasing my bridesmaid dress for my brother’s wedding.

29 – A lunch date with my grandparents, a long afternoon nap, and #twookclub!

30 – A coworker brewing Columbian coffee when I got into work. I was functioning on 4.5 hours of sleep and needed something strong to get me through the day. It worked!

31 – 9 hours of sleep, speaking up more about scary, personal subjects in Bible study

 

Everyday Moments is a series I started after reading Kathleen’s posts about tiny moments of happiness that happened each day of the month. I keep a file on my computer and every day, I sit down and think about what made me happy that day. There’s always something to find, even on the worst days. This is my way of finding happiness in the little moments.

I’m giving away a copy of Jessica Keener’s new book, Night Swim. The giveaway ends TONIGHT at midnight so leave a comment on the post to be entered! I’m announcing the winner tomorrow.

Categories: Recurring Series

January Was About…

  • Watching my mom run her second marathon
  • Dealing with the news that my grandma’s colon cancer had come back for the third time, but that it was treatable and would require no chemotherapy.
  • Making plans to start a huge move to self-hosted WordPress
  • Major, debilitating anxiety at work that had me searching for a therapist because I know the things I’m feeling are not normal and I need someone to talk to about it
  • Watching the San Francisco 49ers in the playoffs, even though they didn’t make it all the way. Still amazing.
  • Realizing how intricate the mind is and how easily things can go wrong, triggering a downward spiral of depression. (Not mine, but a family member’s that required an ER visit to the psych ward. A scary, scary day.)
  • Joining a new women’s Bible study.
  • Getting into a running groove and finally starting to feel like it was all coming just a little bit easier
  • Rejoining Weight Watchers and rededicating my life to health and wellness. And losing 3 pounds in the process.
  • Watching my nephew experience Disney World for the first time. Nothing like the most magical place on earth through the eyes of a three-year-old.
  • Meeting a new friend for coffee
  • Reading 8 books. This includes two 400+ page books. I don’t know how I did it, but I’m well on track to reading 75 books this year!

Don’t worry. My “Everyday Moments” post will be up tomorrow. I just wanted another way to remember the month. What can I say? I’m forgetful. And don’t forget! I’m giving away a copy of Jessica Keener’s book, Night Swim. Go here to read the review and enter! Giveaway ends on Wednesday at midnight.

Categories: Recurring Series

Wine and Love, V.11

Linking up with Nora today for another fun Wine and Love post.

W(h)ining About…

> Football games last weekend. Oh, man. Last weekend was not a good weekend for special teams now, was it? First, a crushing loss in the AFC Championship game where the Ravens kicker missed an incredibly easy field goal that would have tied the game. It sent the idiot Patriots to the playoffs and made my heart absolutely hurt for Kundiff, the kicker, because you know he was sick over missing that field goal. But nothing compared to the 49ers game. As you know, my brother is a HUGE fan of the 49ers. I mean, I think he still owns his child-sized Steve Young jersey from when he was a kid! Watching that game was so stressful with a heart-breaking end. But seriously? I never saw the Niners making it to the NFC Championship game, nor playing as well as they did. (Jim Harbaugh for Coach of the Year? I think so!)

> Work anxiety. I have no explanation for it, other than little things that happen that I let spiral into these big, huge spiraling thoughts that would make absolutely no sense to a normal person. Tomorrow, I’m planning on making an appointment with a doctor and seeing about getting a referral to a therapist. (Or should I just make an appointment with a doctor and a therapist? I don’t know how these things work…) In any event, the past few weeks have shown me that I desperately need to figure out what is going on and how to fix it.

> Sadness in my family. My family is going through a rough patch right now. I want to protect certain people’s privacy with everything that’s happening, but suffice it to say, January has not been a great month for us. Things seem to be on the track to healing, but any prayers you could shoot our way would be greatly appreciated.

Loving…

> Making big blog plans. I finally made the first step in the big process of moving my blog to self-hosted WordPress which was contacting WordPress and All Things Thesis Goddess, Doniree. It’s a big process of securing a domain, moving all my posts (I’m closing in on 500!) over to a new site, as well as buying Thesis and setting that up. It’s all too much for me so I’m happy to hand the reigns over to Doniree and her team. I find her rates to be super reasonable for all she’s going to do for me. If you’re looking to make the switch to self-hosted WordPress, highly recommend checking her out! The whole process won’t start until late February, but I’m so excited to get started!

> Bible study. I’m really, really loving my Bible study. I still have a problem with opening up in the small group portion of the night, but I am loving the Beth Moore videos. She has such a powerful testimony and this absolute joy when she talks about Jesus. This week’s lesson hit me really hard in the best way. Beth Moore has a way of really getting to the heart of the matter and cutting to the core of the Christian faith. She’s an incredible lady.

> Finishing the #twookclub January book. Spoiler alert: I loved this book. It wasn’t getting the best reviews from other people reading it, so I went into it expecting to be bored and annoyed by the female lead character. Instead? I found myself completely captivated by the characters and ended the book with this utterly happy feeling in the pit of my stomach. I loved the writing, loved the characters, and cannot wait to discuss the novel with #twookclub. (Our chat is this Sunday at 9pm EST for anyone who wants to join in!)

What are you w(h)ining about or loving this week?