Stephany Writes

Categories: Recurring Series

Three Things Thursday (v. 11)

Three things that made me happy this week

1) Having Monday off – I’m really glad Juneteenth is now considered a federal holiday and that my company gives us the day off. (We don’t get all federal holidays off – only the big ones, like Memorial Day, Labor Day, 4th of July, etc.) It was super nice to stretch out my weekend with an extra day off.

2) Facetime calls with Mom – They’re always my favorite part of any day!

3) A gloomy, rainy Wednesday – I love these rainy days, especially working from home. I can be cozy at home and enjoy the rain and the dark thunderclouds.

Three podcast episodes I listened to yesterday

1) The Secrets of Hillsong on Good Christian Fun – This episode was so much different than their typical episodes, as it was just Kevin and Caroline and they had a really in-depth conversation about the Hillsong documentary and trauma in the church. I like that they came at this subject in such a respectful manner. (GCF is a comedy podcast so it’s usually all about jokes and giggles. I appreciate they didn’t try to make light of this documentary!)

2) Large Language Models and You on Stuff You Should Know – I was super excited about this episode that discussed AI and tools like ChatGPT. I loved the way Josh and Chuck explained how these tools came to be so smart. But the end of the episode about the future of AI and how it’s going to affect jobs was just so depressing.

3) The Wedding Singer Deep Dive on The Popcast – What a fun episode! I’ve never seen The Wedding Singer (can you believe it?) but I loved this fun deep dive with Knox and Jamie.

Three books I just added to my Goodreads TBR

1) Ander and Santi Were Here by Jonny Garza Villa, based on a recommendation from the Currently Reading podcast

2) The Whispers by Ashley Audrain, another Currently Reading rec (Ashley Audrain is the author of The Push, which I didn’t love as much as others seemed to, but I’m willing to give her another shot)

3) The Love We Make by Harper Bliss – a friend I follow on Goodreads gave this romance 4 stars and I’m always looking for great f/f love stories so I want to give this one a try

Three things I want to do in Charleston

1) Take a ghost tour – The best ghost tour also functions as a history tour, as you get to experience the way the city looked and functioned many, many years ago.

2) Visit some indie bookstores – I will be right next door to Blue Bicycle Books and within walking distance to Buxton Books so I will try to temper my enthusiasm.

3) Visit a plantation – I have decided that my mom and I will visit a plantation in Charleston. After much research, I believe McLeod Plantation will be a good choice, a place that center the voices of enslaved people and their history, and doesn’t glorify the free white people. There are more popular plantations but one of the tips I saw when I was researching how to visit a plantation in a respectful way said to stay away from any plantation that offers up their space as a wedding venue. From what I’ve seen, McLeod Plantation doesn’t offer that (they don’t even have their own website), so it seems like the best option.

Three things I say to my cats every day

1) “Lila, are you my best friend?” Sometimes, she’ll answer me with her high-pitched meow that sounds like “YEAH.”

2) “There you are! I missed you!” Eloise is usually never far from my side but she needs her alone time once a day. (She usually hides under the quilt on my bed.) So when she reappears, I give her lots of attention.

3) “No, it’s too early for yum-yums.” Yum-yums are what we call treats and it never fails that they think they’ll get their first portion at 9:30 am. No ma’aams!

Three recent Amazon purchases

1) This shirt that I will wear this weekend at the Pride Street Festival ($19)

2) This anti-scratch tape that I hope will deter Eloise from scratching up my new bed, which she seems to believe is just the largest scratching post ever ($14)

3) This headband organizer that will finally allow me to display my headbands in a pleasing way ($12)

Three shows I’m watching next

1) Queen Charlotte – I have heard so many rave reviews about this Bridgerton series, but I haven’t sat down to give it a watch yet. Sometimes, the anticipation is half the fun, right?! I’m planning on starting it soon, though.

2) Ted Lasso, season 3 – Once I finish Queen Charlotte, I’ll finally re-download AppleTV so I can watch the final season of Ted Lasso. I’ve heard mixed reviews, so my expectations are definitely a bit lower going in.

3) Daisy Jones & the Six – I can’t believe I haven’t watched this show yet. I loved the book and was super excited about the show, but the resulting buzz has been a bit lackluster. I want to at least give it a shot!

Three movies I’ve seen more than 10 times

1) The Princess Diaries – The summer after 8th grade, I watched this movie every. single. day.

2) Clueless – It’s a cult classic! The perfect movie to watch on a girls’ night in.

3) Tommy Boy – Growing up, this was my brother’s and my favorite movie. We still quote it incessantly!

Three apps I used the most yesterday

1) Happy Color (2 hours)

2) Overcast (54 min)

3) Messages (36 min)

Three plans I have this weekend

1) Record the final episode of season 5 – We just released our first episode of the season, which is all about travel. It has been a lot of fun to reminisce about travel experiences this season.

2) Attend the St. Pete Pride Parade – This will be an all-day event and I am trying to prepare myself for a big day. It’s my first-ever Pride parade and I’m really looking forward to it!

3) Attend the St. Pete Pride street festival – This is an event that my girlfriend’s whole family loves attending, so I’ll be going with them. I’m very curious to see what it’s all about!

Categories: Recurring Series

TGIF (v. 54)

The high of my week was doing an art class with my mom! We were the only people in the studio at the time, so we got to have one-on-one attention, which is MUCH NEEDED for us. We are not artsy people in the least. My mom made a large porch sign and I made a lazy Susan, which I’m going to put on my dining room table. Since the designs were painted on using stencils, it was basically foolproof for the two of us. I’m really happy with the way my piece turned out, and I can’t wait to go back and paint something else.

The low of my week was still dealing with my scalp psoriasis issue. And honestly, it’s my own fault because I’m not using the treatment as much as I should. It’s a liquid treatment, which makes for a very messy process when I have to rub it on my scalp. The liquid drips down my neck and chest. (I tried applying the liquid with my head upside down but then the liquid GOT IN MY EYES. So that’s a no-go.) Plus, after I put it on, my scalp and neck tingle for a good hour, which is so unpleasant. It makes my hair oily and my skin tingle. Can you see why I conveniently forget to put it on regularly? Maybe it’s time to call my derm to see if she can prescribe something else that I may be more apt to use regularly. Hmm.

One nagging task I marked off my to-do list was booking things for our Charleston trip! I planned out our itinerary a month or so ago and booked a few dinner reservations, but hadn’t done anything since then. This week, I booked a few tours and a brunch reservation so things are coming along! We leave in a few weeks, yay!

I’m currently reading three books! On audio, I’m listening to Marrying the Ketchups by Jennifer Close. I’m nearly halfway done and very much enjoying it. In print, I’m reading Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malindo Lo. This was my pick for our June book club, so I hope everyone enjoys it! And on my Kindle, I’ve got a historical romance going: A Duke in Disguise by Cat Sebastian.

A podcast episode I enjoyed was Games We Love, Hate, and Made Up on The Girl Next Door Podcast. There are a lot of topics that Kelsey and Erica cover that I can’t relate to as a childless person. This one was right up my alley, as someone who loves a good game night and does a lot of game nights with kids (my nephews). My favorite part of the episode was when they talked about what can be, ahem, challenging about playing games with kids and Kelsey’s immediate response was how kids never seem to know when it’s their turn. OMG! Speaking right to my soul there. The amount of times I have to say, “It’s your turn” to one of my nephews (and honestly, sometimes to my brother or my mom) during a single game night is too many to count. It drives me crazy because I’m all about moving the game along at a regular pace, and kids are not about that life.

The best money I spent this week was on a new nightgown. I love wearing nightgowns these days. They are just so comfortable to wear around the house! I only had two, though, and one of them is getting a little worn out so it was most definitely time for an upgrade. I bought this one off Amazon and it is so very comfortable! (Runs big, so size down.)

My plans this weekend include a lot of fun things! Today and tomorrow will be my busy days, as I am going to my girlfriend’s house for game night with her friends. There will be nine people in total so it will be a big group, but hopefully a good time. I’m going to stay over Friday and we’ll have a lazy morning. In the afternoon, we’ll head to The Cheesecake Factory to have lunch with her parents and her younger brother, all of whom I’ll be meeting for the first time. Eeks! The rest of my weekend will be spent recharging my batteries. I do not have any plans on Saturday evening, Sunday, or Monday, and I plan on keeping it that way!

What was the best money you spent this week? 

Categories: Recurring Series

Five for Friday (v. 94)

1) A bookstore photoshoot

I had this idea in my head that I wanted to introduce the world to my girlfriend via a cute, Pride-themed photoshoot in June. I’ve also never officially come out on Instagram so there were some coworkers and even some family members who didn’t know about my queer identity. On Friday, we met up with Bri and her husband to take photos at our favorite bookstore (owned by a queer couple!) in downtown St. Pete. Even better: there was a Pride kickoff party happening nearby that same day! Bri was an amazing photographer and took well over 100 photos of us both inside and outside the bookstore. (We took a few photos outside the bookstore and then when we came inside, the booksellers clapped for us and were more than happy to let us take photos inside.)

2) Meeting all the people

My girlfriend and I are definitely in the “meet all the people” stage of our relationship. I’ve met her brother and her best friend, and she has met Bri, Bri’s husband, and my mom. (!!!) I think I was way more nervous to meet her brother than I was on our first date! I like to think I’m a likable, personable person, but I’m also incredibly shy and have social anxiety, and that can sometimes come off as standoffish. But meeting all the people has gone really, really well so far. Bri and her husband adored her, which made me really happy. My mom also loved her, and we had a really great dinner with the three of us. I also got the stamp of approval from her brother and best friend, which is such a relief!

Next up is meeting more of my girlfriend’s friends (we’re doing a game night next Friday) as well as her parents (which will be lunch the following day). Whew! We have had to put on our extrovert pants this month, but it’s all totally worth it.

3) Cancer-free

This whole post has been filled with wonderful news, but this is the BEST news: My family member was declared cancer-free this week! He’s been doing chemo and radiation for a few months now and had scans done last week. When he went in for treatment this week, he was told the scans came back clear and he was done with treatment. He got to ring the bell and everything! I am so, so happy that he is cancer-free and can get back to his normal life again.

4) A milestone birthday

On Monday, my dad turned 60 years old. Estrangement is such a hard thing, and it feels especially difficult when I don’t get to celebrate with him on his birthday. Father’s Day is also right around the corner, another day that can be fraught for me. I’ve been pretty sad this week, thinking about my dad and wondering if he has anyone to celebrate him on his birthday. I hope he did.

5) Weekend plans

It will be a fun-filled weekend for me! Today, Bri and I have a lady date planned. We are going to hit up a BBQ place for dinner and then head to this super-cool museum in downtown St. Pete that’s doing a Pride Immersive Experience. We’ll check out the exhibit and do a scavenger hunt, which should be really fun. On Saturday, I have a writing date with Mikaela in the morning, podcast recording with Bri in the afternoon, and game night in the evening. (WHEW!) And Sunday will be more of a low-key day!

What are your weekend plans?

Categories: Recurring Series

Five for Friday (v. 93)

1) On Friday, I had my mole removal appointment at my dermatologist. Once they numbed me up, it was pretty easy! I just laid on my stomach with a pillow under my head and chatted with the dermatologist and her assistant about weekend plans. When my mom changed my bandage the next night, we were a little shocked to find out that I had seven stitches from the procedure! I had a mole removed last year and only had to get two stitches, so seven feels like a lot! I haven’t exercised much since the mole removal because I’m a little scared about popping a stitch since it’s in a bit of a precarious area of my back (a place where the muscles pull a lot). I’m going to attempt some low-intensity cycle classes this weekend and see how it feels, but I’m going to stay away from any strength classes until the stitches are out (next Friday!).

2) During my mole removal procedure, we got to talking about game nights and trying to find games like a 3 player card games that would interest a wide range of ages (we usually have an 8-year-old, a 14-year-old, and three adults). The assistant told me about this game called Fishbowl that sounded really fun. We played it on Saturday night and really enjoyed ourselves! Here’s how it works: everyone writes down 5 different words on five sheets of paper, folds up the paper, and puts them in a bowl. The game is then played in three rounds and on teams (our teams were my brother and my youngest nephew, and my mom and me). During the first round, you pick out a folded piece of paper from the bowl and play like Taboo. You’re able to give clues about what the word is and give as many clues as you want (without, of course, giving away the word). Once all folded papers have been played, they all go back into the bowl for round two. During round two, it’s charades. You have to act out the word on the piece of paper. Same as before, when all folded papers have been played, they go back into the bowl for round three. During round three, you can only give one word to describe the word on your piece of paper. The genius of this game is that, after the first round, you will know all of the words being played (if you have a good memory). So guessing the word can get easier as the rounds go on. Let me know if you play this with your family!

3) Eloise now believes that the best place to sleep during the day is on my laptop keyboard. And I probably created a monster because I let her stay there all day Wednesday since it wasn’t messing up what I was doing. Since I have a wireless keyboard that I use, her being there didn’t cause my computer to act all weird, even though she was literally holding down a bunch of keys at one time. But on Thursday, it did cause some issues. She started adding “jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj” to documents, highlighting a bunch of text at one time that I didn’t want highlighted, and once even almost reported one of my emails as phishing. So, I had to move her off the keyboard all day long on Thursday. I even tried to create a cozy nest on the other side of my desk with a blanket and she wasn’t having it at all. I don’t know why a bumpy laptop keyboard is more comfortable than a cozy blanket, but cats are weird. It’s my own fault for letting her sleep there on Wednesday but look at how cute she was:

4) I have developed the most painful pimple on my right cheekbone. Did I think I was still going to be dealing with hormonal pimples in my mid-thirties? No, no I did not. But here I am, and every time my period is about to come, something erupts on my face and it is super unpleasant. And this pimple hurts. It hurts to sleep with the right side of my face on my pillow, it hurts to wash my face, it hurts to smile. I’ve been applying my little pimple reducer gel to it daily, and even that is so, so painful that I can’t do it more than once a day. Ugh. Hormones suck.

5) It’s a three-day weekend around here! Yay! I have a lunch date with my girlfriend this afternoon and then book club this evening (we’re doing Greek food and shuffleboard, with possibly dessert afterward). Saturday, all I have going on is my writing date with Mikaela, which we’ll be doing later in the day. And Sunday – who knows! Originally, it was going to be booked with podcast stuffs (recording two episodes), but Bri isn’t feeling great so we may have to cancel. If so, that frees up a day to spend with my girlfriend, so I’m not too mad about it, ha. I’d love to do some sort of pool day/cookout at my mom’s on Monday—just have to get her and my stepdad on board, which I think I can do. 😉

What are your weekend plans?

Categories: Recurring Series

One Picture Per Hour: Sunday, May 21st

I’ve seen a few bloggers do these “One Picture Per Hour” posts, which is a different way to do a Day in the Life type of blog post. Since Sunday was a pretty busy day in my world, I figured it would be a fun one to document. Let’s dive in!

7:15 am – I’m up a little before my alarm and lazing around in bed. The cats are being extra cute!

8:22 am – Wrapping up my book for Silent Book Club. Every meeting, we’re encouraged to bring a book to swap. We wrap up the book and put a few details about it that won’t give anything away (sort of like Blind Date with a Book). Then, we do a White Elephant swap!

9:32 am – I arrive early for Silent Book Club. My girlfriend is already there and she brought me a bagel! (We found out on our first date that we would be attending SBC together, so it’s been a fun little thing for us to do every month.)

10:35 am – Silent reading time! I brought The 1619 Project and Happy Place. I read two chapters of The 1619 Project and then have time to read two chapters of Happy Place before the hour was up.

11:44 am – This is the book I ended up with in our book exchange. I’m always down for a good thriller, and the book I unwrapped was The End of Her by Shari Lapena.

12:53 pm – I’m at Bri’s for podcast work! We recorded our new intro for season 5, our season 5 trailer, and the first episode. We had a good time!

1:52 pm – We’ve finished recording for the day and Bri’s sweet pup, Titan, is sleeping with his mouth open and looks so derpy that I have to take a picture of him. He’s such a sweetheart, I swear.

2:33 pm – Leaving Bri’s house, and of course, I’ve got my Taylor playlist going.

3:14 pm – I stop at the grocery store on my way home and I do something I have never done: I pick up a bag of peanut M&Ms, open them up, and eat them while I shop. I was starving and started to have a hypoglycemia episode so I needed to get some sugar in my system ASAP. (And yes, of course I paid for them when I finished shopping!) It’s my own fault for not eating since the morning (what was I thinking?!), but live and learn.

4:32 pm – A very, very early dinner for this girl! I watched a few episodes of Happy Endings while eating and playing on my phone. Much needed!

5:36 pm – I finally sit down at my laptop to start working on this post. Ellie wants me to stop everything I’m doing to give her all of the pets, so I oblige.

6:25 pm – I’ve been sitting at my laptop for a while. In between writing this post, I’m reading/commenting on blog posts and trying to catch up on my email subscriptions. Lila jumps up on the table and gives me a green-eyed stare. How can I deny her anything?!

7:28 pm – I got started on my nighttime routine so early today! I’m never starting my nighttime skincare this early. What a delight! Here’s my routine: cleanser, BHA exfoliant, toner, niacinamide, mandelic acid, lactic acid, and moisturizer.

8:35 pm – It’s time to curl up in bed with Ellie and read until I get sleepy. In the past week, I have really been trying to get into bed by 9 and turning off the lights between 10-10:30, and I’m doing pretty well. I am certain I’ll be asleep by 10 tonight for sure!

What’s something fun you did yesterday?