Recurring Series

Three Things Thursday (v. 8)

Three confessions

1) While I really enjoyed my experience as a poll worker for the 2020 general election, I never want to be a poll worker again. It’s such a long day (you’re there from 6am until 8pm or later) and it can get a little boring. (Since Florida had early voting and mail-in voting during that election cycle, we really didn’t get a LOT of people coming in to vote on election day.) Anyway, I really need to get my name off my county’s poll worker list because I keep getting assignments for upcoming elections that I have to then cancel. Ugh.

2) I am really bad at burning my candles. It’s not that I’m “saving” them for some specific reason; it just never crosses my mind to light a candle. I even have a candle sitting out on my coffee table and I don’t remember the last time I lit it. It had to have been months and months ago. I want to get better about lighting candles, though. I do love the homey feel they provide! I just need to put a reminder in my phone or something.

3) I’ve been in my apartment for almost two years and haven’t used my dishwasher a single time. There just isn’t a point when you live alone! I handwash everything, and I actually really enjoy it.

Three of my most-used apps yesterday

1) Chrome (1 hour, 41 minutes)

2) Happy Color (1 hour, 11 minutes)

3) Overcast (59 minutes)

Three books I just added to my Goodreads TBR

1) The Love of My Life by Rosie Walsh – Anne Bogel really sold me on this novel during one of her recent podcasts, so I was quick to add it to my Goodreads TBR!

1) How to Not Die Alone: The Surprising Science That Will Help You Find Love by Logan Ury – Bri recommended this book to me, saying that one of her single friends is reading it and finding a lot of value in it. I don’t really like self-help like this (especially books that tout an outcome that the author can’t control, re: “find love”), but I’m intrigued enough to give it a try!

2) White Space, Black Hood: Opportunity, Hoarding and Segregation in the Age of Inequality by Sheryll Cashin – One of my Goodreads friends read this recently and had good things to say about it, so I added it to my list. Housing inequality is something I’m really interested in (I loved Evicted by Matthew Desmond), and I think this will be a really impactful read.

Three things I love about my cats

1) The way Lila will sleep on just about any article of clothing or pair of shoes on the floor. My stinky workout clothes? SLEEP. My bra? SLEEP. My gross sneakers? SLEEP. She’s a little mama’s girl, I guess!

2) The way Ellie will “talk” to me. I’ll ask her a question and she’ll meow back at me, so I’ll ask her another question and she’ll meow some more. It’s like we’re having a full-on conversation! I’ve been wanting to capture this on camera for a Reel.

3) How much the cats love their new tower! They spend so much time each day sleeping in the caves and Ellie has recently discovered that one of the top platforms is an excellent place to take a nap.

Three things that made me happy this week

1) A mid-week day off – I took a day off yesterday because I just needed a mental health day, and it was so nice! I took Eloise to a vet appointment (yearly checkup + rabies shot), ran some errands, took a nice long nap, and enjoyed book club with my ladies. It was wonderful!

2) Purchasing a new phone – I was able to lease a new iPhone 13 Pro for just $4 a month! The typical lease price for this phone is $46, so that’s quite the deal. I couldn’t turn it down! The phone is backordered so I likely won’t get it until next month, but I’m excited!

3) My mom and stepdad feeling better – My mom is back to normal after her bout with Covid, and I am so very grateful for that! She tested negative mid-last week. My stepdad is also on the mend. I was really concerned about him because he’s in his 60s and unvaccinated and while he seemed to get the sickest out of all of us, he’s also recovering well. I’m so relieved!

Three things on my Amazon wish list

1) ASUS Flip 2-in-1 Touchscreen Chromebook – Whenever I decide to upgrade my laptop, this is what I’ll be getting! It can flip fully over to become a tablet, which is why I’m eyeing it. I don’t know how often I’d use the tablet function, but I want to find out!

2) A mic stand – Bri and I are going to need to invest in mic stands when we start recording the next season of our podcast. This two-pack is very affordable, but I need to find out if it will fit our mics.

3) Bidet Toilet Attachment – Y’all, I really want a bidet. That is all I’ll say about that.

Three things on my to-do list

1) Create cover art for our podcast – I commissioned podcast cover art from an Etsy creator a few months ago, but I wasn’t super happy with it, so I decided to try to design cover art on my own. Thank goodness for Canva Pro and their array of podcast cover art templates!

2) Cancel my massage membership – My massage membership is increasing by $10 to $70 a month, and that means it’s gone up by $20 since I became a member a few years ago. It makes sense for it to increase, but I just can’t stomach paying $70 a month for this membership, especially considering it’s nearly impossible to get in with my favorite massage therapist these days! I’m sad to lose my regular facials/massages, but it’s for the best.

3) Hang up my jewelry organizer – I bought a jewelry organizer to hang up all my necklaces and earrings and now I just need to hang it up and reorganize all of my jewelry. I’m hoping I can just hammer some nails into a wall and hang it up that way, but we’ll see.

Three things I’m looking forward to

1) Releasing our podcast into the world – We have a launch date: August 2nd! That’s when we will be releasing our trailer episode. I’ll be sure to add a link here when it’s live!

2) A getaway to Sarasota for Labor Day weekend – We haven’t done a book club weekend since 2019, for obvious reasons, and we were hoping to get a group together for a little weekend away this year. Unfortunately, 3 of our 6 members won’t be able to come but the other 3 of us are still going to get away for a long weekend in Sarasota.

3) A cruise in November – The cruise is still months and months away, but I am so excited for it! I know some people probably think we’re crazy to go on a cruise but I think we’ll be fine, especially since all cruisers/crew have to be vaccinated and have a negative Covid test to get on the ship.

Three podcasts on my to-be-listened-to list

1) The Ancients – One of my writers mentioned this podcast as her “share” for the day (I have one person on my team each day share something they’re watching, listening to, reading, recommending, etc, on our team Slack channel) and it is right up my alley!

2) Normal Gossip – I’ve heard really great things about this podcast that just discusses gossip sent in by regular people. Who doesn’t love a good gossip sesh?!

3) Fallen Angel – I love a good podcast docuseries and this one about the rise and fall of Victoria’s Secret looks to be very juicy!

Three things I’m doing this weekend

1) A writing date with Mikaela – I love our standing writing date! This week, I’m going to start working on show notes and Instagram posts for our podcast.

2) A 5K walk – One of the reasons I’ve been so lazy about going for my 5K walks is that I have to get up early to beat the heat and I usually don’t feel like doing that on the weekend, ha. I think I may try to go out on Friday evening for a walk, though. We’ll see!

3) A reading date – Hopefully, Amber and I will be meeting on Sunday for a fun reading date. We haven’t had one in a while!

What’s something that made you happy this week?

Categories: Recurring Series

Five for Friday (v. 84)

1) Emergency therapy

Monday afternoon, I had an emergency therapy appointment and I am so, so glad I reached out to my therapist and scheduled this appointment. I needed it. One of the things you should know about me is that I don’t cry in therapy. I don’t cry much in general, and I’m also not a therapy crier. I only cried once with my last therapist and it was really only my tears welling up for a few minutes. I always feel so vulnerable when I cry and I hate to do it in front of people. But hoo boy, I cried my lil face off in therapy on Monday. I couldn’t stop the tears! It felt like so many emotions came to the forefront during this session and I blubbered them all out to my therapist. It felt so good! So healing. So calming. Maybe I’ll cry in therapy every time now! We talked about my worries about my mom and now my stepdad having Covid but mostly, we discussed the loneliness I’ve been feeling and what has triggered these feelings. Part of it is that I’ve passed a year since I had my first date with someone I thought was going to be a long-term relationship; the fact that it turned out to be short-term and I haven’t gone on another date since has definitely triggered these feelings. Another part is my lifestyle and isolating myself a bit too much. Some days, I don’t talk to another human face-to-face from Sunday to Saturday. That’s six whole days of no in-person human connection. !!! So I’m going to try to build some “people time” into my weekly schedule.

I want to commit to going into the office once or twice a month (it’s still not fully open, but we can come in if we want). I want to go to a new coffee shop every Friday morning to work, and invite friends/coworkers along with me. And I want to make a plan one night every week where I’ll get out of my apartment and see people. I usually have a regular dinner date with my mom, my cousin, and my cousin’s daughter, and I want us to get on a monthly cadence with that. I have book club once a month. Mikaela has invited me over to have dinner with her family whenever I want (she’s the best; when I told her about my loneliness, this is what she suggested. “I can’t do much in this stage of life [three children ages 7, 2, and 4 months], but you are always welcome to come over and have dinner with us.”), so I’ll do that once or twice a month. And I really want to bring back my monthly lady dates with Bri, which we haven’t done in a while. It may sound like a lot, and it feels like a lot to maintain as someone who is generally pretty lazy about friendships. But it’s still less than I was doing pre-pandemic considering I’m home all day. And human connection is so important. I’m missing that in my life right now.

2) Books

I am really grateful for all of your supportive comments on my post from Monday, encouraging me to pick up more light-hearted reads right now. When I’m going through a mental health crisis, I probably don’t need to read about heavy, serious topics! I put down Mediocre for the time being and I’ve been solely reading romance novels this week. I also set aside Missoula on audio in favor of the second book in the Truly Devious series. A fun mystery is much more my speed right now! Thanks for reminding me that I do not need to be so tied to my TBR list—sometimes, I need to be a mood reader and take care of myself!

3) A new toy

On Wednesday, the girls’ birthday present finally arrived—a brand-new cat tower! I had the hardest time deciding between two different cat towers and when I finally decided on the one I wanted, it was out of stock. It was back in stock last week, so I bought it and was so excited when it arrived on Wednesday. It’s so much bigger and fancier than the tower they used to have and Eloise has already taken to it. She loves climbing up to the tall platforms to survey her kingdom and taking naps in the little caves. Lila has been inspecting the tower and curled up in one of the caves for a time, but is still a little supicious of it. I bought this tower because it has two cool hammocks and Lila loves sleeping in a hammock. I hope she uses them!

4) goodreads_reviews

My new favorite Internet find is goodreads.reviews on Instagram. The person behind this account screenshots hilarious 1-star reviews of books and I spent one night last week swiping through their archives and giggling to myself. (And it was during a period of high anxiety, so I needed the relief!) Here are some of my favorites:

5) Weekend plans

What are your weekend plans? This one will be a busy one for me, and I am so grateful for it! There have been a lot of low-key weekends, which are good and fine and needed, but too many of those in a row can make me feel lonely. Tonight, I’m planning on ordering pizza and watching a standup special (I’m thinking Iliza Shlesinger’s Elder Millenial). Tomorrow, I have my writing date with Mikaela, I’m recording two podcast episodes with Bri, and then having a belated birthday celebration with my mom and family. (Mom tested negative for Covid on Monday!) And on Sunday, I’m going to check out a new coffeeshop in Tampa and probably take a nice long nap in the afternoon. 🙂

How do you combat loneliness? What are your weekend plans?

Categories: Recurring Series

Quarterly Budget Review | Q2 of 2022

Happy Thursday! It’s time for my quarterly budget review for the second quarter of 2022. I have to admit: I have been so, so bad about keeping up with my budget and detailing my spending. I used to do this during a Tuesday morning meeting but that meeting got removed from my schedule so now I don’t have a built-in time to record my spending and it has fallen off my radar so easily! Case in point: In late June, I opened up my budgeting spreadsheet only to find out I hadn’t recorded a single purchase made all month. Eeks! I am trying to figure out a better system for myself so I don’t get as behind as I was.

Something I want to mention is that I’ve changed this budget update a bit. I’m not simply giving you the percentages (although you can view them in the image below). I’m giving you the real, hard numbers. Since I’m only talking about my own spending, I figured I might as well. I always love knowing how much people are spending down to the dollar (and also how much people make as a salary, but that’s a topic for another day), and I know other people are nosey like that, too. 🙂

Here’s how my spending shook out from Q2:

Bills ($5,836; +$104 from Q1) – I spent a smidge more money in this category in Q2, due to a higher electric bill and some of my other monthly bills increasing by a few dollars.

Rent ($1,118 per month)
Electric (averaging $108 per month, which is an increase of $22 per month from Q1)
Phone bill ($112 per month)
Water ($48 per month, which is the exact same as Q1)
Internet ($80 per month)
Student loan ($112 per month)
Car payment ($367 per month)

Food ($1,973; +$184 from Q1) – I spent a lot more money on fast food and restaurants in Q2 than I did in Q1. Surprisingly, my grocery bill stayed about the same as did my Ubereats orders. Here’s how everything broke down:

56% in groceries ($366 per month)
26% in Ubereats orders ($168 per month)
7% in fast food ($46 per month)
6% in Starbucks ($37 per month)
5% in restaurants ($40 per month)

Travel ($1,802; +$1,041 from Q1) – It was quite the expensive quarter for travel, mostly because my mom and I took our week-long vacation to Niagara Falls/Canada! Most of this category is comprised of what I spent on our trip, including paying for one of the hotels we stayed at, the adventures we went on, souvenirs, and the rental car. I also included my passport renewal, the cruise deposit for our November cruise, and cat-sitting fees.

Health ($1,042; +$953 from Q1) – A big jump in health-related costs from Q1 to Q2, and that’s because I’m paying $120 every time I have therapy. Right now, I’m going to therapy every other week so it’s about $250 a month. It’s not cheap (and this is through insurance; it sucks having an HMO plan, ugh). I am very grateful that I can afford this because there was a time in my life when this was not something I could have even considered. Other health costs: my monthly Peloton membership and some medicine.

Shopping ($1,022; -$517 from Q1) – Ooh, look at that! I spent so much less on shopping in Q2! Good job, me! Here’s what I spent:

Clothing – $359 (I had a Stitch Fix order and bought house slippers, some workout clothes, new pajamas, a jacket, leggings, and a t-shirt)
Beauty – $256 (skincare products, nail polish + accessories, makeup + accessories)
Hobbies – $121 (recording equipment for our podcast + some cover art templates from Etsy)
Books – $69 (five e-books, two print books, and two Book of the Month add-ons)
Home – $59 (a pack of washcloths, new bath towels, liner paper for the kitchen, and a new shower liner)
Accessories – $57 (fanny pack, a pair of earrings, sun hat, headbands, travel pill container, travel case for my hair straightener)
Tech – $40 (a portable phone charger)
Home organization – $24 (two organizing bins for my supplies closet)
Other – $20 (a pool float and a back scratcher)
Kitchen tools – $9 (a kitchen scale that does not work… fun times)
Office – $8 (a new calendar)

Savings ($950; +$475 from Q1) – Look that that savings number, baby! Whaddya know, setting up automatic savings will actually help me save money! I set up an automatic monthly deposit for car insurance ($100), my mattress fund ($100), my pet fund ($50), and my Christmas fund ($50). I also have a recurring deposit of $25 that goes into a “rainy day” fund every other week. Originally, I was using this to save up for a Macbook but now I think I’m going to use that money to buy a robot vacuum. I want a robot vacuum, dammit! I was also able to deposit an extra $250 into my mattress fund this quarter!

Spa ($668; +$338 from Q1) – I spent a lot more in my spa category this quarter since I had a very expensive hair appointment! Thankfully, I only need to color my hair every 6 months or so now—the blonde holds so well! I also got one pedicure this quarter and paid for my massage membership + massage tips.

Subscriptions ($304; +$14 from Q1) – A few extra subscription services this quarter: I had AppleTV for two months (just canceled it, since I only got it to watch Ted Lasso) and a new Patreon subscription. I would really like to get my subscriptions under $75 but it’s hard to figure out what to cut out. My current subscriptions are Patreon ($19), Netflix ($17), Spotify ($11), Paramount+ ($11), Second Nature for bimonthly air filters ($20 every other month), Peacock ($5), Book of the Month ($16 but not every month), Befunky photo editing ($7). I could probably drop Spotify. I very rarely listen to it. I’d also like to drop Peacock but it’s the only place to watch The Office and I watch an episode a week to keep up with the Office Ladies podcast. Blah.

Auto ($184; -$451 from Q1) – Q1 included my biyearly car insurance payment, which is why the difference is so stark! Taking out my car insurance payment, I actually spent $101 more this month, which is due to a few more trips to the gas station in Q1. (I still don’t know how I only filled up my car with gas ONCE in Q1.) I also paid for some car washes.

Supplies/Toiletries ($161; -$189 from Q1) – I was wayyy underbudget for this category in Q2! I budget $100 a month and averaged $54! Wahoo! I spent a lot more in Q1 on supplies/toiletries because I was building up my backup supplies closet, so I was buying two of everything when things had to be replaced.

Pets ($143; -$120 from Q1) – (Apologies to NGS for how low this category is.) A pretty easy quarter for the cats! I bought treats ($52), food ($40), litter ($30), toys ($10), and a new water bowl ($11).

Gifts ($101; -$104 from Q1) – I feel like there were more birthdays/celebrations in Q2 but I spent less money somehow. Who knows?!

Charity ($50; -$26 from Q1) – My goal is to donate $25 a month to a specific charity, but I fell a bit short of that goal in Q2. I donated $50 to the Tampa Bay Abortion Fund at the end of June for very self-explanatory reasons.

Entertainment ($37; -$123 from Q1) – This category makes me sad. I guess I didn’t do a ton of things with friends this quarter! I need to schedule at least one fun adventure day a month with friends. This category needs more of a workout!

Final Thoughts

This felt like a very spend-y quarter for me, but it was mainly due to my trip. I’m not usually spending nearly $2,000 in my travel category in one quarter! (It should come as no surprise that I am not a frugal traveler, and do not wish to be.)

Like always, I feel really embarrassed about my food budget. I know that I shouldn’t be—a budget needs to work for my lifestyle and nobody else’s and I’m just not someone who is only going to eat out once or twice a month. That’s not my lifestyle! Still, I’d like to keep my budget in that $600 per month range. I am not too far off target (>$200) and some of that can be attributed to inflation, but I could also try to do better.

I’m proud of some of the improvements I made to my budget! I spent $500 less on shopping, added a whole lot of money to my savings, and brought down my supplies/toiletries budget by a big margin. And I’m able to afford therapy for myself now. I wish therapy was way more affordable than it is, but I’m glad that it is a resource I can utilize when my mental health is having a rough go of it.

What’s something you are so grateful you are able to afford (big or small!)?

Categories: Recurring Series

Everyday Moments | June 2022

1 – Ellie was being clingy today, which means I got more snuggles from her than usual. Not complaining!

2 – A negative Covid test. I woke up with a scratchy throat and I was worried it was Covid, and I surely didn’t want to get Covid right before my vacation. All clear!

3 – Our Flexible Time Off announcement! It’s so cool to have unlimited time off. (I know a lot of people scoff at unlimited time off because most people end up taking off less time than usual, but I am most certainly not one of those people.)

4 – I did a fun Target spending spree for some vacation odds and ends.

5 – A day at the dog beach with Chip and Lucy. They did so good at swimming in the ocean with their floaties!

6 – Getting my referral bonus. I will never not love the fact that one of my dear readers was hired by my organization, based on a comment she left on one of my posts asking if my organization was hiring. And we were! And she got a job! Oh, happy day!

7 – Waking up from a dream about Grandma. In the dream, she came down from Heaven to catch up with her family and we got to have a nice, long chat. She told us all about what her and Pops were doing in Heaven. I woke up from the dream sad but also happy that Grandma visited me. And it got me thinking, how nice would it be if we could have these visits from our loved ones every so often? Man, I would love that so much.

8 – Making it to Canada! I was so nervous about crossing the border by car but it was super easy. It’s fun to be in a different country! (And so nice that every time we pay for something, we say, “Well, it’s really not going to cost that much,” with the exchange rate between CAD and USD, ha.)

9 – We spent today in Toronto. My favorite thing from today was successfully navigating around downtown Toronto in a rental car!

10 – Seeing the Horseshoe Falls in all of their glory.

11 – Seeing the Niagara Rapids. They’re so powerful!

12 – Visiting Niagara-on-the-Lake and browsing in an old-fashioned bookstore. It was so quaint!

13 – Cave of the Winds! Maybe the most amazing experience of my life.

14 – Reuniting with my girls! It is so good to be home.

15 – A lazy day at home. I got some reading done, outlined a podcast episode, and wrote the first vacation recap for the blog. And I took a 4-hour nap, too!

16 – Eloise has been so clingy since I came home! She won’t leave my side for anything. She missed me!

17 – Welp. It happened. I tested positive for Covid. Today, I mainly laid on the couch and watched Cheer and MasterChef. At least I’ll speed through some of the shows I’ve been watching!

18 – Day 2 of Covid. My mom brought me supplies from Target like popsicles and cough drops, and left it at my door. It’s good to have a mom.

19 – Day 3 of Covid. Here’s a positive: battling Covid today means I didn’t have time to get sad about Father’s Day.

20 – Day 4 of Covid. I finally started sleeping better after three days of really crappy sleep. Hooray!

21 – Back to work after two weeks off and it feels good to get back to my routine, especially after spending the last four days being a lazy bum on the couch.

22 – I had a day full of meetings, but it felt really nice to do my hair and makeup and wear regular clothes and talk to people again.

23 – A quick fix for my oven. The perks of that renter’s life! (The bottom heating element in my oven blew out as I was cooking a frozen pizza the night before. Called my landlord in the morning and it was all fixed by the afternoon. Easy-peasy!)

24 – Going out to eat with my mom and stepdad. It was so nice to be in public again!

25 – A writing date with Mikaela! Game night with my mom and brother! Feeling like a human again!

26 – Running some errands (a Goodwill drop-off, returning books to the library, returning some items to Target, and doing a grocery store run).

27 – A spontaneous lunch date with my mom! Our fave Chick-Fil-A is finally done with renovations and it looks beautiful inside.

28 – A really helpful therapy appointment. We’ve been working through a lot of the way my past has played into the expectations I hold myself to in the present, and it’s opening some pathways that I didn’t know existed.

29 – Book club at IHOP! We weren’t able to meet last month so we had a lot of catching up to do.

30 – A really refreshing midday siesta. Needed!

Categories: Recurring Series

Currently in June

Feeling… devastated and sick to my stomach about Roe v. Wade being overturned. It’s the first time a constitutional right has been revoked, and it sets a precedent for more constitutional rights to be at stake. Here’s the truth: I used to be pro-life because that’s what you are when you’re a Christian. You believe that abortion is wrong. But I’m staunchly pro-choice now because why? Because the government should not have control over what happens to my body. Because it is my body and my choice. Because I should not be forced to go through the physical and emotional turmoil of pregnancy if I do not want a baby. Because the government wants to say that they are pro-life but we’re one of the only developed countries without paid parental leave, without universal healthcare, without services to help parents and children in need. Because the government wants me to bring a child into a world where they can be gunned down in their classroom, in their church building, in the grocery store. At this point in time, guns have more rights than women in America. And that’s a chilling realization. (And hey, maybe you’re still anti-abortion; that’s totally your right! But please remember, making abortion illegal will not stop abortions. It will cause more women to die. Making abortion illegal will also have an impact on access to contraception, on people going through miscarriage, and on families doing fertility treatments. There is a whole lot at stake here, and this is not a victory for anyone.)

Watching…

Ted Lasso, season 2 – Season 2 of Ted Lasso was a lot more serious and poignant than season 1, focusing on mental health and anxiety. There were some really weird episodes in this season and the character arc of one specific character was upsetting, but overall, I liked it a lot and I’m excited for the third (and final!) season.
MasterChef, season 8 – After reading a book that centered around a cooking show that seemed similar to MasterChef, I decided to watch an old season of the show. I forgot how much I love this show! It’s just so good and makes me cry (happy tears!) because the contestants’ stories are so lovely.
Cheer, season 2 – I loved season 1 of Cheer and was excited that they came back for season 2. This season centered more on the rivalry between the two community colleges that are consistently 1 and 2 in the national cheer championship—Navarro Community College and Trinity Valley Community College. There was also a really impactful episode about sexual assault in the competitive cheerleading community (stemming from one of the cheerleaders on the Navarro squad being found guilty of a wide range of sexual assault on minors).
So You Think You Can Dance – I’m watching the newest season “live” (i.e., on Hulu a few days after it airs) and it brings me so much joy and happiness. And who knew I would end up loving Jojo Siwa as a judge? She’s fantastic!

Listening to… American Elections: Wicked Game. This podcast is perfect for my history-loving soul. The podcast is working through every presidential election in American history, starting with 1789 with the election of George Washington and continuing through to 2020. The whole podcast is complete so I’m enjoying dipping in and out of the episodes (I just finished the 1804 election between Thomas Jefferson and Charles Pinckney). The episodes are cinematic, in a weird way, and I’m learning so much!

Grateful… that I’m feeling back to normal after my bout with Covid. I’m really glad my symptoms didn’t linger around too long. It was a really intense few days of feeling miserable and then multiple days of feeling fine but dealing with annoying symptoms like the dry cough and congestion. And, of course, getting that sexy raspy sick voice. Ha. I’m still testing positive for the virus (as of Friday morning), but since I’m no longer contagious, I’m allowing myself to be out (masked) in public. It’s been so nice to be among the living again!

Anticipating… writing and publishing all of my vacation recaps. I promise they’re coming! I usually write and publish all of my vacation recaps right after I come home, but getting Covid threw a wrench in my editorial schedule. But the first one will be published on Wednesday and the rest of them to follow afterward. It’s been fun to relive my vacation through these recaps and to sort through all of the hundreds of photos I took while I was away. It’s always such a beast to organize my photos after a vacation since I take soooo many pictures and videos and then have to cull down the collection to something more manageable.

Loathing… bouts of loneliness. These little moments of loneliness come to me at night, usually as I’m snuggling in bed to read for a bit before going to sleep. For me, there is something so vulnerable about this time of night. It’s when my anxiety can truly get the best of me. This is when I feel the most alone, when the pull to pick up my phone and swipe through my dating apps is highest. I was having a really rough night a few days ago and then I looked up and realized both cats had jumped up on the bed and were snuggled up next to me. It reminded me that I’m not alone but… as much as I love my ladies, they aren’t a substitute for real human connection. I’m missing that. I don’t know what the solution is, I know I could be better about reaching out to friends; there are a few people in my life that I’ve been thinking about setting up regular phone chats with to build that stronger human connection that I need. And also, the solution to these bouts of loneliness may be that there is no solution. Maybe it is what it is. We’re not robots; we’re humans with really complex emotions and loneliness is one of those emotions. It’s okay to have these dark moments, as long as we find our way out of them.

Struggling… with my cleaning schedule. Listen, I don’t know how people with larger households and more on their plates do it when it comes to cleaning. It’s hard enough keeping up with the cleaning tasks for my small apartment where it’s only me and two cats! I’ve tried doing a daily cleaning schedule (on Mondays, I clean the bathroom; on Tuesdays, I vacuum my room; on Wednesdays, I sweep and mop the living room, etc.) I’ve tried setting aside one day a week for all of my cleaning chores (not a good plan). None of it works for me. My floors usually have to get to a state of extreme filth for me to get the motivation to finally mop them, and then I’m just disgusted at myself. And don’t even get me started on how long I go between washing my sheets. I consider myself a tidy person; I tidy my apartment every night and never go to sleep with dirty dishes in the sink. But completing my cleaning chores on a regular basis is just a constant struggle.

Excited… to have unlimited PTO! My company announced this new program earlier this month and I am so thrilled about it. Every time my company sends out a survey to ask how they can improve, I always write down, “Unlimited PTO” because it truly is the greatest benefit. Being able to take a mental health day or schedule a long vacation without worrying about depleting my PTO budget for the year? Amazing.

Needing… to get organized for our podcast! Originally, we were hoping to release the first episode in early July, but things had to get pushed back when I got Covid (we planned to record our last two episodes of season 1 the Saturday I was miserable with Covid symptoms and the next weekend we can both meet to record isn’t until mid-July). So, now it’s looking more like an early August release. August will come swifter than we imagined, though, so I need to get organized so that when things get started, I don’t feel overwhelmed. So far, I’ve created a separate Google calendar just for the podcast where I can keep track of when we’re recording and when episodes are being released. I’ve updated the editorial calendar where we’ve listed out all of our episode ideas (so far, we have seven seasons planned out with 5-6 episode ideas for each season). Next, I need to create an ongoing list on Todoist for all the little tasks I’ll need to do throughout each season (write show notes, schedule social media posts, etc). It’s mind-boggling how much work goes into a podcast!

Buying… Niagara Falls souvenirs! I love buying a magnet whenever I travel—my fridge is full of different magnets from all around the world and it’s so much fun to have them as a reminder of my travels. I also bought a fun tank top, coffee mug, and Christmas ornament. It delighted me to peruse all of the different tourist shops around Niagara Falls and find the perfect style for all of these items. (Although the Christmas ornament was bought at Niagara-on-the-Lake.)

Loving… my cuddly girls. Oh, they have been so sweet this month. Before my trip, Eloise was being especially snuggly and lovey-dovey, almost like she knew somehting was up. (This was before I got my suitcase out!) And when I came home, Eloise didn’t leave my side for at least a week. She snuggled up right next to me when I was sleeping and was always nearby when I was up. Lila wasn’t as forgiving as Eloise when I returned from my trip; she needed at least a day to let me know she was NOT HAPPY with my decision to leave her for a week. But with enough treats, she decided to forgive me and snuggle with me.

What are you loving and excited about?