Recurring Series

Five for Friday (v. 110)

1) The elephant in the room.

We’re only a few days into the new administration, and I am struggling, you guys. I vacillate between feelings of despair and rage with every new story I see. It’s so bad already and this is only the beginning. I hate that we’re back to this nonsense. I hate that these idiots are celebrating. I hate that every time I open Instagram, I see another crazy story. I hate that Monday could have been a day filled with joy and history and hope, and instead… we got Nazi salutes and stupid speeches about renaming the Gulf of Mexico.

We have a long four years ahead of us and sure, we survived it last time but this time feels different. This time, he has people bowing at his feet and all of the tech bros at his side doing whatever bidding he wants them to do. He has staunch loyalists on his team and I don’t trust the Republican party to stand up to him. Hell, there are some Democrats I’m looking at sideways these days. But what can we do but resist? Call our elected officials and volunteer for organizations fighting the good fight and do what we can to take back the House and Senate in the midterms. I know I’m looking into ways to get involved, especially locally, and I’ll share more as I figure out what I’m going to do.

2) Stupid bloodwork.

Let’s talk about my bloodwork. The last time I got bloodwork was March and my doctor was fairly concerned with some of my numbers. I was prediabetic and had high cholesterol/triglycerides. I joined a gym and later, found out I had severe obstructive sleep apnea. I hoped that working out at a higher intensity and being on CPAP therapy would improve some of those numbers. Did I clean up my eating? I mean, somewhat. I definitely drank less soda and tried to cut down on the sugary snacks, but I could have done a lot better.

Anyway, I went for labs in early January and was not happy with the results. The scariest number was my A1C that now puts me firmly in the diabetic category. (6.6% – anything over 6.4% is considered diabetic.) I saw my doctor on Monday and was scared she was going to berate me and make me immediately go on medication. Thankfully, none of that happened. She was kind and helpful and supportive. She is giving me three months to clean up my eating and after that, we will do more labs and see where I stand. I don’t have family history of diabetes, which my doctor said is a good thing since this means it likely can be controlled with my diet.

What really stuck out to me is what she said if I was officially diagnosed with diabetes. “This isn’t a punishment,” she said over and over again. “If we need to get you started on diabetes treatment, it’s to ensure you can be the healthiest version of yourself.” I needed to hear that. I have been really down on myself for letting things get to this point because it’s something I can control. “I’m going to be that fat person everyone hates,” I moaned to my mom when I got the bloodwork back. “The one who’s the strain on the insurance industry!”

Maybe this is the wake-up call I needed, though. Maybe it needed to get to this point where I’m about to be put on diabetes medication (which will also entail being put on a statin and cholesterol meds, since all of those are connected). And now it’s time to really hone in on my eating habits so I can return to my doctor this spring with good news.

3) Nerve pain.

Sometime in December, I started noticing carpal tunnel symptoms that were getting progressively worse. Every morning, the thumb, forefinger, and middle finger of my right hand (my dominant hand) would go numb as I tried to operate my mouse. I was waking up with throbbing pain in my thumb at night. The left side of my right hand just felt weak and sometimes I would feel dull pain radiating around my wrist and hand throughout the day. Sometimes if I tried to pick something up with my right hand or even pet a cat a certain way, I’d feel a sharp pain. I figured it was carpal tunnel syndrome and started wearing a splint at night, which helped a lot, and taking ibuprofen when the pain got worse.

When I saw my doctor on Monday, we talked about the symptoms I was experiencing and she does not think I have carpal tunnel but rather radial nerve pain. And hey, guess what one of the causes of radial nerve pain? Diabetes. My treatment regimen now is to wear a thumb splint to bed (finally got one yesterday!), ice my wrist and hand twice a day, and use topical lidocaine if the pain gets bad. And the hope is that by cleaning up my eating and lowering my A1C number, I can solve this condition, too.

4) Frozen Florida.

Okay, let’s talk about something less alarming than politics and medical conditions. It’s COLD in Florida! And I mean, it’s cold enough that northern Florida saw snow–one city saw a record-breaking 8.8 inches this week. Is climate change real, or are historic weather events continuing to happen throughout the globe? While we’re not going to get any snow here in the Tampa Bay area, we are seeing some very cold weather (for us, at least). The warmest it’s been the past week is the mid-40s. One morning, I took a look at my thermostat and it was 59 degrees in my apartment! (I didn’t have the AC or heat on.) I swiftly turned on the heat because I am not about that shivering-in-my-home life. And yes, I know that cold fronts in Florida are laughable for those of you up north, but remember, weather is relative and us thin-skinned Florida people are not used to this kind of cold!

5) Weekend plans.

I don’t have too much going on this weekend! I have no plans tonight so I may try and zoom through the last 200 or so pages of The Shell Seekers because I am dying to move onto a new book. Tomorrow, I have book club with my girls and we are doing brunch at a fave local spot. And Sunday, I have a writing date with Mikaela and then the NFL championship games later on. I’m so sad that there are only three games left in this season! I truly do not care who wins any of these games, so go sports!

What are your weekend plans? Do you wish it was in the 40s where you live?!

Categories: Recurring Series

TGIF (v. 70)

The high of my week was attending a fun author event last night! My friend Lynn gifted me this event as a belated birthday gift and it was so much fun! The event was held at my favorite local indie bookstore and I really enjoyed hearing the author speak about her writing process and her journey to becoming published. She’s a debut author and at one point, I was standing inside the bookstore when some of her friends came in, and the author was like, “Can you believe this?” I thought that was so sweet! She was just so happy to be promoting her book and I can’t wait to read it soon. (The book is Let’s Call a Truce by Amy Buchanan.)

The low of my week was disappointing blood work results. I was really hoping to see some improvements thanks to exercising more and being on CPAP for a few months, but nope. Things actually got worse in a few key areas (cholesterol and A1C). I know I need to clean up my eating, but this is the kick in the pants that I need a full overhaul of my diet. I’m not healthy and I really hate seeing all of those red squares when I look at my blood work.

I’m currently reading three books! I am working my way through The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher, which I’m reading to fulfill my goal of reading four 500+ page books this year. I’m a little less than halfway through and enjoying it! I’m also rereading a favorite romance (Making Up by Lucy Parker) and on audio, I’m listening to Distress Signals by Catherine Ryan Howard.

A Reel I enjoyed was this series about training shelter animals to become therapy pets from the Michigan Animal Rescue League. It basically entails one of their volunteers telling the animals all of his intrusive thoughts and it is genius. Plus, the animals are adorable and have great names – my favorite is definitely Oven Mitt, ha. (Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 for your viewing pleasure!)

A podcast episode I enjoyed was The Popcast deep-diving what’s going on between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni. When all of the news came out about Blake Lively’s lawsuit against Justin Baldoni and I realized Knox and Jamie were on their holiday break, I was devastated. I needed a deep dive STAT. So I had to wait a bit for this discussion, but it was well worth the wait!

The best money I spent this week was $12 on breakfast after bloodwork. This is probably the last time I can have this breakfast (or at least for a very long time) but I couldn’t help myself to a Sausage Egg McMuffin from McDonald’s since it was right on the way home. After fasting for 12 hours, that breakfast sandwich tasted delicious!

My plans this weekend include not much! I’m going to do an early morning workout at the gym on Saturday and I have my weekly writing date with Mikaela. And it’s a full weekend of playoff football! There are two games on Saturday and two games on Sunday so I’m looking forward to them. (And lots of family time!)

What was the high of your week?

Categories: Recurring Series

TGIF (v. 69)

The high of my week was getting more tattoos! You can see what I got on the photo above. These tattoos are for my mom—tulips are her favorite flower so I got two tulips on one stem to symbolize our relationship, and the anchor is because she is my anchor in this wild, messy world. I love these tattoos so much. They came out so beautifully! And now… let the tattoo healing process begin!

The low of my week was the unexpected departure of a colleague. I’m always pretty shaken up when people leave our organization—I don’t know why it affects me so much! I guess I just really dislike change. Bah.

I’m currently reading The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett in print. I just started this book yesterday and didn’t realize it was so short! (120 pages) I’m zooming through it.

A Reel I enjoyed was this very enjoyable Christmas prank. I always joke that I’m the favorite kid so I should absolutely play this same prank on my brother. (Also, my mom sent me this Reel on Instagram so…)

A podcast episode I enjoyed was the most recent Patreon episode for Sarah’s Book Shelves Live. The whole group (Sarah, Catherine, and Susie) came together to discuss their DNFs for the year, which was a fascinating discussion. I’ve become a lot better about DNF-ing books and that’s mostly due to Sarah who is ruthless in her DNF-ing. I loved this discussion on what books they DNF-ed, what books they wished they had DNF-ed, what books they are glad they didn’t DNF, and why it’s good to DNF. (If you took a shot every time I said DNF, congrats, you’re drunk.)

The best money I spent this week was $10 on a smart plug. I have to thank Elisabeth for this. My mind was blown when she wrote about smart plugs in her gift guide earlier this week. I have been looking for something like this! Here’s the story: I use a four-drawer dresser as a makeshift nightstand and had to rearrange a few things so that my CPAP machine was at arm’s length. This way, when my alarm goes off, I can take off the mask, throw it on the floor, and turn off my machine without getting out of bed. Great! The problem is that I had to move my lamp out of arm’s reach. This means if I want to snuggle up in bed, reading, I have to physically get out of bed to turn off my lamp when it’s time to go to sleep. What a first-world problem, I know, but it means I usually just wait until I’m ready to go to sleep to get into bed. But with a smart plug, I can use an app on my phone to turn the lamp on and off! What the what! I thought I needed something fancier to have smart technology in my bedroom. The plug should arrive today and you can bet I am getting that bad boy set up and ready to go ASAP.

My plans this weekend include all the things! Today is my last day of work for the rest of the year, tonight is book club’s Christmas party, tomorrow will be spent making sugar cookie batter and doing a quick run at PetSmart for last-minute gifts for the pups in my life, and Sunday, we’re making Christmas cookies with the whole fam. YAY!

What was the high of your week? What are your weekend plans?

Categories: Recurring Series

Monday Morning Coffee Date

Happy Monday! Let’s have a coffee date to catch up, shall we? I am drinking a peppermint mocha, of course.

If we were having coffee this morning, I would begin by gushing about my Secret SANta! I got the woman of the hour herself: San! She put together a wonderful package for me, including a nice big mug, peppermint mocha creamer, a handmade ornament, and a Starbucks gift card. I was so thrilled with my gift. Thank you, San!

If we were having coffee today, I would tell you that I am firmly in the holiday spirit and really enjoying December. I am not someone that struggles to get into the holiday spirit, but last year was a little weird since my mom, my stepdad, and I left on a trip the day after Christmas. So I never put up a tree and we celebrated Christmas early. It was so nice to get out my tree this year and fill it up with my favorite ornaments. I’ve had this tree for a few years and I’ve noticed that some of the lights have burned out but it’s not enough to be noticeable to other people, I don’t think. I still need to figure out a present for my stepdad, but other than that, all of the presents are ordered and ready to go! And it will be a very Christmassy week: going to see the holiday lights, book club’s Christmas party, and making Christmas cookies with the fam. YAY!

If we were having coffee today, I would want to tell you how much I love my new therapist. I am fully in love with this woman. She is so encouraging and helpful and just plain amazing. She was born to be a therapist. And I love that she gives me tangible ways to help me through my anxiety spirals. When I told her I was having some anticipatory anxiety about January (and how boring it will be compared to the excitement of December), she gave me some tips for bringing myself back to the present moment. (Like deep belly breathing and pulling up a YouTube meditation video). When I told her how much change triggers my anxiety, she was like, “Great! We can work on that!” And, like, it just never occurred to me that I could get better at my fear of change? I could learn to embrace change? What a concept! In January, my health insurance is switching from an FSA plan to a low-deductible HSA plan, which means these therapy appointments will be more expensive. (Right now, I pay $30 a session since it’s a flat deductible.) But I will do whatever I can to keep going to this woman twice a month because I have a feeling she’s going to change my life.

If we were having coffee today, I might admit that I think it’s time to break up with my dietician. I love my dietician and she has helped me unpack so much of my diet culture baggage, but I think she leans a little too far in this “eat whatever you want!” mindset. I know that losing weight is going to be a big goal of mine for 2025 because I need to improve my bloodwork numbers and I am hoping that losing weight will allow me to get off CPAP therapy. But I find that whenever I bring that up to her, she dismisses my concerns. I need a dietician who is going to help me figure out how to eat in a way that will get me the weight loss I need without falling back into my diet-y ways. I’m unsure if I want to find a different dietician or just go it alone for a few months and see how I do.

If we were having coffee today, I might talk about my cats! Eloise’s gotcha day was on December 8th, which means I’ve been a cat mom for 6 years now! I still remember the moment I saw her. She had been rescued from the streets by a woman who nursed her back to health, got her fixed, etc. She was closed off in a room in this woman’s house because her other cat was not friendly to Eloise. The woman brought Eloise out to meet me and it was love at first sight. Immediately, I knew that we were meant to be together. I can’t believe we’ve had six years together and how much friggin JOY she brings to my life. She is the epitome of a velcro kitty who likes to be near me at all times. She sleeps tucked in between my legs at night and makes me share my office chair with her so she can snuggle close to me while I’m working. As I’m writing this blurb, I’m sitting at my dining room table and Eloise was sitting on my bed, staring at me (the bedroom door was open). I said to her, “I love you!” And she got up, trilled at me, and then jumped on the dining room table to get pets. She is such a goddamn lovebug.

As for Lila, I am going to attempt to take her for a bath this month! It will be her first time. Cats don’t normally need to be bathed, but Lila has some matting issues and will not let me brush her, so I found a pet spa that offers this service. And not to get too TMI, but she needs some, ahem, clean up around her “potty area” (as the pet spa calls it, lol). I’m going to drug her up and hope for the best. She’s usually pretty chill at the vet so I hope she’ll be the same at the pet spa. One of my favorite things Lila does is that the minute she hears me turn off my CPAP machine in the morning, she jumps on the bed for cuddles. She’ll let me cuddle her when I’m wearing my mask at night, but it feels like she’s just waiting for the sign that it’s almost time for me to get up, which means she can scooch in for cuddles and kisses in the morning when I’m half-asleep.

What would you tell me at our coffee date?

Categories: Recurring Series

What I’m Reading (11.24.24)

Pretty Face by Lucy Parker (★★★★★)

E-Book • Owned (Amazon) • Contemporary Romance • 2017

Short synopsis: Lily Lamprey is determined to prove herself in her first role as a stage actress. Sparks fly when she catches the eye of the director, Luc Savage. As their romance deepens, both their careers are put at risk, testing their love and ambitions.

This romance was a reread for me, and oh, I loved it just as much as I did the first time around! I think this book is when I really noticed Lucy Parker’s talent as a novelist and she became an auto-buy author for me. There was so much I loved about this novel, between the sweet romance, the complicated family dynamics, and getting a glimpse into what it takes to put on a stage production these days. I loved the rapport between Lily and Luc—they had sizzling chemistry but also a very sweet way of caring for one another. Please do yourself a favor and pick up a Lucy Parker romance if you haven’t yet!

The Very Nice Box by Laura Blackett and Eve Gleichman (★★☆☆☆)

Audiobook • Spotify • Fiction • 2021

Short synopsis: Ava Simon, a designer at a Brooklyn furniture company (basically an IKEA knockoff), is startled by her reaction to her new boss, Mat Putnam. As an unexpected relationship between them blossoms, things begin to unravel for Mat and Ava realizes everything is not as it seems.

I had a very strange reading experience with this book. The book is marketed as “suspenseful” and I was expecting something a bit more dark and twisted than what I got. Instead, about 70% of the book was a bland romance between a woman who had a hard time opening up to others and a boring white man who expected the world to fall at his feet. Snooze. Finally, just about a few chapters to the end, things picked up and the suspensefulness I had been promised was delivered. By that point, though, I was tired of the book and didn’t feel like the payoff was worth it. I needed more of a build-up to the big reveal rather than it all happening at one time. It was also just hard to feel invested in the story between Ava and Mat when I knew something crazy was about to be revealed, so why are we spending pages and pages and pages with them and their budding romance? Meh.

Our Woman in Moscow by Beatriz Williams (★★★★☆)

Print • Library • Historical Fiction • 2021

Short synopsis: In 1948, Iris Digby and her family mysteriously vanished from London, sparking rumors of either a Soviet kidnapping or defection. Four years later, Ruth Macallister receives a postcard from her estranged twin sister, prompting her to journey to Moscow under false pretenses to rescue Iris and her family.

This was a great historical fiction novel! The Cold War era fascinates me so much, but I find that there is little I know about it. This novel took me on a journey of a small part of the Cold War involving a woman whose husband is a Soviet spy and her sister who knows very little about her life. I’ve read many novels by Beatriz Williams and this one felt a lot darker and heavier than her other ones, while still having her signature lightness with some romance thrown in to keep things from feeling too dark. I wanted a little more from the ending—it felt very rushed and I would have liked another chapter or two to explain everything—but other than that, it was an excellent novel that had me on the edge of my seat at the end!

What are you reading?