Happy Friday! It’s time for another weekly wrap-up. This last week of March was such a good one for me. I have a slow, quiet Easter weekend planned, and I hope you can find some slowness and quietness in your weekend, too!

Highs and Lows

The high of my week was receiving incredible feedback about a work project. It was quite a stressful project—I had to write a 2,000-word resource page on an unfamiliar topic for a big-time client who had just signed a substantial content package. I wanted to impress them (and not, like, cause them to cancel their contract with my company because they hated the page I wrote—no pressure, right?) It took me two full workdays to write the page and I spent all weekend editing it, reading it over and over and over again. I wanted it to be perfect! Even still, I was nervous that the client wasn’t going to like it. I worried that I didn’t strike the right tone or present the information in the way they wanted it. However, all my fears were for naught! They loved it and were really impressed with the page. Whew. It was such a relief to receive such fantastic feedback from them and to know that all my hard work paid off.

(Side note: over the weekend, I thought to myself, “I really hope that my ‘high’ this week will be receiving great news from the client about my page.” And then my next thought was, “No, Stephany! You can’t think like that! You have to imagine the worst-case scenario to prepare yourself for that happening.” This is the first time I’ve ever actually recognized this thought pattern and was able to stop it in its track. That’s growth! And I did start to visualize the good scenario happening, so I’m really proud of myself for being able to challenge a negative thought and turn it around.)

The low of my week was receiving really sad news from a friend. I hurt when they hurt. <3

What I Read

The Duke and I by Julia Quinn (★★★☆☆)

This is the book that goes along with Bridgerton and is proof that the book is not always better. Ha. It was published in 2006, so I give it a bit of a pass, but in the 15 years since this book was written, a lot of new authors have cropped up in the historical romance genre that write much more compelling fiction. It was a fine read, although it was probably because I got to imagine Rege-Jean Page as Simon for the entire novel. Swoon. (Open-door romance.)

As Bright as Heaven by Susan Meissner (★★★★☆)

This book begins right before the 1918 flu pandemic hits the world and follows one family—a husband, a wife, and their three young daughters—through the pandemic and the years afterward. Timely story, eh? When the novel begins, the family has moved to Philadelphia to help out at the husband’s uncle’s funeral home. It seems like a great job… until a deadly flu sweeps the globe and they have more dead bodies to deal with than they can manage. The novel covers how the family coped during the pandemic (so many similarities to today!) and then shifts forward in time to discuss their lives afterward. I didn’t find the second half of the book to be as compelling as the first half; it seemed to meander in places and the ending left a lot to be desired. But overall, a solid book that left me feeling a lot of emotions.

Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris (★★★★★)

This thriller was sooo creepy. Almost uncomfortable to read. It’s about Jack and Grace, two people that, on paper, seem to be the perfect couple. He’s a successful lawyer and she’s his loving wife who beautifully hosts dinner parties for his colleagues. But everything on the surface is not what it seems. The novel dips back and forth between a present timeline and a past timeline, which fills the reader in on the back story of Jack and Grace—how they met and when everything went south. It was almost too creepy for me at times, but I just had to know how everything was going to turn out! A very satisfying thriller, for sure.

Thick: And Other Essays by Tressie McMillan Cottom (★★★☆☆)

I enjoyed this essay collection that covers a wide range of subjects, everything from being the “good” kind of Black person to failures in Black medical care to beauty standards in the Black community. It’s a solid collection with a whole lot of insight and reminders that life for Black women is systematically oppressive. Add this one to your reading list!

What I Spent

Friday, March 26th

• Facial upgrade and tip: $40
• Ubereats: $16
• Publix: $15

Saturday, March 27th

• No-spend day!

Sunday, March 28th

• Car wash: $10

Monday, March 29th

• Groceries: $54

Tuesday, March 30th

• No-spend day!

Wednesday, March 31st

• Ubereats: $17

Thursday, April 1st

• Target (body wash, shampoo, conditioner, dish soap, Post-It flags): $26
• Publix (lunch + some groceries): $23
• Patreon subscriptions: $22
• Ipsy subscription: $13
• Peloton membership: $15
• Rent: $1,045

Final Tallies

• Bills (rent): $1,045
• Food: $102
• Spa: $40
• Subscriptions: $35
• Toiletries: $23
• Health (Peloton): $15
• Auto (car wash): $10
• Savings: $10
• Shopping (Post-Its): $3

Monthly Goals Progress

Since it’s only the 2nd of the month, I haven’t exactly made much progress on my April goals. So, instead, I wanted to recap some of the March goals I still needed to accomplish when I published my monthly goals post:

• Cancel my gym membership. I *finally* did this! I did it yesterday and it took, like, 3 minutes. I can’t believe I waited so long!
• Log 3,000 steps every day. I logged a 3,000-step day on the 31st, so officially, I met my goal 28 out of 31 days. That’s great progress! (And yesterday, I logged a 4,000-step day so I’m well on my way to meeting this month’s step goal!)

What I’m Recommending

The Popcast with Knox and Jamie – I know, I know. I’m late to the game with this podcast! I was a listener many years ago but fell off because I didn’t find it very compelling. But other friends kept talking about this podcast and I started listening to Knox and Jamie’s other podcast, The Bible Binge. I love that podcast so I decided to give The Popcast another try. I’m so glad I did! It’s perfection and I find their voices to be so soothing to listen to. As you might expect, The Popcast is about pop culture but it’s not just an average weekly recap about pop culture news. It’s so much more fun than that! Here are some of the latest episodes:

• A deep dive into the movie She’s the Man (yes, the one with Amanda Bynes)
• What Should I Watch Next? – Listeners told Knox and Jamie three shows they love and one they hate to get recommendations on what to watch next. (Obviously, a spinoff of Anne Bogel’s wonderful What Should I Read Next, which she fully supported—she’s even one of the people asking for recommendations!)
• An episode where listeners wrote in about their newfound hobbies (<– this episode had me dying with laughter).

What was the highlight of your week? 

Highs & Lows

The high of my week was book club! While it wasn’t a “traditional” book club in the sense that we all read a book together, it was a way for us to reconnect and get back in the flow of monthly meetings. Not everyone could attend but it was so very nice to see the ones who could and chat about our lives. We met outside in a park and kept our distance (aside from the quick photo we took together!) And we picked a book and meeting time for April, just like old times! It feels really good to get back in the swing of book club.

The low of my week was a lonely Saturday. I don’t get lonely too often—I’m usually very happy with my own company—but this weekend was one where I didn’t have any plans to see anyone, and Saturday felt especially hard for some reason. Thankfully, I made plans to go over to my mom’s on Sunday so at least I could interact with a human being at some point last weekend, but Saturday was a day of moping and wallowing and feeling sad. It happens!

What I Read

Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur (★★★☆☆)

This was a cute romance, the first female/female romance I’ve read. After Darcy and Elle have a disastrous first date, Elle is shocked when she finds out from Darcy’s brother (the one who set up their blind date) that Darcy said it went well. Thus begins their “fake relationship” (a common romance trope). Darcy begs Elle to pretend they hit it off and are now dating to get her brother off her back. Elle goes along with it, as she needs to bring a partner to her family’s Thanksgiving dinner to prove she’s not a failure at relationships. At times, I could very much tell that this was a debut novel (it could have used a tighter edit) but it was still very enjoyable and sweet. I don’t know if I fully bought into the love story, but in the end, I was rooting for them to make it.

Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal (★★★★☆)

Oh, what a fun story this was! I really enjoyed it. It follows Nikki, a Punjabi young woman living in London, who begins teaching a writing class for Punjabi widows. She thinks she’s going to teach them English so they can write letters and such, but after Nikki leaves a book of erotic stories (a gag gift she was going to give to her sister) in the room and the widows find it, they decide to start penning their own erotica. The novel weaves in these widows’ erotic stories, and some of them are very steamy! But it was also a really wonderful look at Punjabi culture, love, and family. I truly enjoyed every minute I spent with this book.

What I Spent

Friday, March 19

• Savings: $1,000 (thanks, stimulus check!)
• Student loan: $105
• Candy Crush: $7
• Amazon (e-book): $8

Saturday, March 20

• Pizza: $26

Sunday, March 21:

• Peacock TV subscription: $5
• Gas: $28
• Groceries: $75

Monday, March 22:

• Target (cleaning solution, body wash, toilet paper, and mouthwash): $35
• Medicine: $11
• Publix (Pub sub): $9
• Internet: $80

Tuesday, March 23:

• No-spend day!

Wednesday, March 24:

• Ubereats: $18

Thursday, March 25:

• Ubereats: $25

Final Tallies:

• Savings: $1,005
• Bills: $185
• Food: $153
• Toiletries: $35
• Auto (gas): $28
• Health (medication): $11
• Shopping (e-book): $8
• Entertainment: $7
• Subscriptions: $5

Monthly Goals Progress

• Log 10 Peloton workouts. I’ve logged 6 workouts, so I’m going to cut it close with this one! I need to get 4 workouts over the next 5 days, eeks.
• Dust off my Fitbit and log 3,000 steps every day. I missed two days this week, womp womp. One day, I was just feeling lazy and didn’t want to wear my Fitbit and the other day, I was so busy with work that I didn’t get out for a walk (and then didn’t feel like walking around my apartment to get in my steps). It happens!
• Spend less than $100 on personal purchases. Still doing well! I spent $8 this week so I still have a $17 buffer.
• Wash and vacuum my car. I’m doing this today! Hopefully.
• Cancel my gym membership. Another thing I’m hopefully doing today! Fingers crossed.

What I’m Recommending

• This toy ($6), which I bought for Chip for his birthday and he has yet to destroy it! (My mom jokes that he finds it a very frustrating toy to play with since he can’t figure out how to destroy it, haha.) It’s a toy for “power chewers” but I’ve gotten him toys categorized like that before and he’s destroyed them within minutes. This one has staying power! If you have a destructive chewer, check this one out!
• This adorable video of this little 4-year-old singing and dancing to Selena in the car. I have watched this video dozens of times because this little girl is so cute and her expressions are hysterical. I love her!

Tell me something good that happened in your life this week!

Highs & Lows

The high of my week was hard to choose! There were so many great moments from this past week:

• Attending the Florida Strawberry Festival with Briana. We had such a great time!
• The first official game night of 2021 with my mom, my brother, and my older nephew. So many laughs!
• Celebrating Chip’s third birthday on Tuesday. He got soooo very spoiled!

The low of my week was experiencing a really difficult mental health day on Monday. I don’t really know what was up, but I was on the struggle bus all day. I found it hard to focus on work, hard to shut off my depressive thoughts, and hard to summon the energy to do much. And then, of course, that night, I couldn’t sleep at all and was tossing and turning until 2 a.m. Ugh. Thankfully, my moodiness didn’t last all week, but man, those low days are brutal, aren’t they?

What I Read

I only finished one book this week—is this a record for me? Maybe. I’m oh-so-nearly finished with the romance I’m reading and halfway through my audiobook, but those reviews will have to wait until next week.

Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower by Brittney Cooper (★★★☆☆)

This was an interesting read, although the author sometimes talked in circles and it inhibited the point she was trying to make. I really liked the emphasis on Black feminism and there were quite a few times I felt convicted by her words; it made me recognize all the ways white feminism is so limiting and excluding. Also, her chapter on dating gutted me because, as someone who has been single for a very long time (and not always by choice), I could feel the sadness and loneliness in her words. All in all, worth a read but not a standout for me.

What I Spent

Friday, March 12

• Dominos: $28

Saturday, March 13

• Strawberry Festival (parking, admission, lunch, and treats): $47
• Publix (Pub sub and drinks): $15

Sunday, March 14

• Groceries: $55
• Toiletries (3 bottles of body wash): $15

Monday, March 15

• Lunch from Chick-Fil-A: $9
• Dinner from Ubereats: $29

*This was my low mental health day, and you can see how I self-soothe: fast food and takeout.

Tuesday, March 16

• No-spend day!

Wednesday, March 17

• No-spend day!

Thursday, March 18

• Publix (mostly groceries + a Pub sub): $32

Final Tallies:

• Food – $113
• Entertainment – $47
• And $10 added to my no-spend fund (I add $5 every time I have a no-spend day.)

A very low spending week for me! Hooray!

Monthly Goals Progress

• Log 10 Peloton workouts. I’ve logged 5 workouts so far this month. I’m certain I’ll get this goal done, yay!
• Dust off my FitBit and log 3,000 steps every day. I’ve met this goal every day this month! Some days have been very easy and other days have been very hard. So it goes!
• Become Google Analytics certified. I’ve currently finished all of the lessons in the first unit (there are 4 units) and passed the first assessment so hooray! I don’t know if I’ll complete this by the end of the month, but I’m working on it.
• Spend less than $100 on personal purchases. I didn’t buy anything “personal” last week (I nearly spent $30 on handmade candles at a booth at the Strawberry Festival, but held strong!) so I’m still sitting at $25 left for the month.
• Play with the cats every day. Ugh, I’m still not doing this daily! I’ve only done this 4 or 5 times this month. My poor cats.

What I’m Recommending

• This long read from Rebecca Traister about Andrew Cuomo and his toxic workplace. It’s quite horrifying, a train wreck I can’t look away from. (Will this man step down already?!)
• Office Ladies broke down my favorite episode from The Office: Dinner Party! It was so fun to hear the actors talk about their experiences filming this episode, and how hard it was to get through some of the scenes (like when Michael showed Jim and Pam his tiny “plasma” TV). It’s such an iconic episode of The Office, and I loved the thought and planning that Jenna and Angela put into making this podcast episode.

Tell me something good that happened to you this week!