Stephany Writes

Categories: Recurring Series

Weekly Wrap-Up (v. 1)

Hi, friends! Like I mentioned on Monday, I’m starting a new Friday series called “Weekly Wrap-Up.” Here, I’ll talk about my highs and lows for the week, the books I finished, the money I spent, the goals I made progress on, and some recommendations. I hope this becomes a new weekly series I do for years and years (like my “What I’m Reading” series was!) but we’ll see how I feel after putting these lengthy posts together week after week, hehe.

Highs & Lows

The high of my week was receiving two really sweet shout-outs from coworkers at a company-wide meeting. It takes a bit of effort to make these shout-outs (anyone can “shout out” an employee using a Google form, and the shout-outs are read during our monthly meeting), so I was really touched by their kind words! It made my day, for sure.

The low of my week was getting my period. Womp, womp. I only get a period about once a quarter due to the birth control I’m on, and I always forget how much it can change my whole mood! I was annoyed with myself for feeling so tired and unmotivated and crabby, and I had to keep reminding myself that all of this was likely due to my cycle and it’s okay if everything feels a bit hard this week. Why is it so hard to give ourselves the grace we’d gladly bestow on a friend?

What I Read

  • Only When It’s Us by Chloe Liese (★★★☆☆) – This college-aged romance had a lot of heart, but there was just something missing in it for me. Perhaps it was Willa, the female protagonist, who made a lot of aggravating choices (then again, she’s 21). Perhaps it was the pacing, which seemed a little off. Perhaps it was the fact that this book is being billed as frenemies-to-lovers but… uh… these two are not frenemies. They are friends who like to tease each other, but always with an undercurrent of admiration and flirtation. But there was also a whole lot to love about this novel, like Willa’s NCAA soccer career, watching Willa and Ryder (the male protagonist) fall in love, and Ryder’s family. I could have done without the mom-with-cancer subplot, though. It was a good romance, but not a great one. (Open-door romance.)
  • Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld (★★★★☆) – What if Hillary hadn’t married Bill is the premise of this novel, and it’s a fascinating exploration of women in politics and the effects of the decisions we make. I loved this version of Hillary, a woman who dated a very charismatic man named Bill Clinton in her twenties but broke up with him because he couldn’t be faithful to her. It was hard to parse out what was fact and what was fiction… and a little weird to imagine their sex life, tbh. But the novel really took off once she was free from him, and we follow Hillary’s trajectory over the next four decades. A fascinating read, and one I’d definitely recommend!
  • The Push by Ashley Audrain (★★★☆☆) – This thriller is getting so much buzz, and I was so excited to pick it up because a ton of trusted sources raved about it. And it was just… fine. I think it was unique enough to stand out from all the other cookie-cutter thrillers on the market these days, but it was really very depressing and the ending was deeply dissatisfying to me. It’s about a mom (Blythe) who has a baby and doesn’t connect with her at all. In fact, there is something seriously wrong with her daughter—or so that’s what the mom thinks. The novel loops back in time to discuss Blythe’s experience with her own mother and Blythe’s mother’s experience with her mother, but nothing ever really came of these different subplots. (Other than to show the ways in which Blythe was destined to fail as a mother?) Anyway, I didn’t love this novel but I feel like I’m in the minority here, so give it a read if you love a good thriller!
  • Know My Name by Chanel Miller (★★★★★) – What can I say about this book that hasn’t already been said? It’s incredible, difficult to read, inspiring, and heartwrenching. Chanel was known as Emily Doe in the Brock Turner sexual assault case, and here, she relives what it was like to go through every step of the process, from waking up in a hospital and going through a rape exam to the court case that delivered a just verdict but an unjust sentence. I knew this book would be hard to read, and it was, but it’s a must-read. It’s a wake-up call to the brutality rape victims go through, not just the physical act itself but everything that comes afterward.

What I Spent

Friday, March 5th

  • Target (tampons, ibuprofen, eye drops, laundry detergent, a mouth guard, and a big bottle of multivitamins) – $100
    • Note: I bought $53 worth of laundry detergent since Target was running a deal of spending $50 on laundry products to get a $15 gift card.
  • Phone bill – $122
  • Electric bill – $89
  • Water bill – $51
  • Candy Crush – $7

Saturday, March 6th

  • Lunch from UberEats – $18
  • Dinner from UberEats – $26
  • Spotify subscription – $11

Sunday, March 7th

  • Lunch from McDonald’s – $8
  • Chewy order (gifts for Chip’s birthday, litter, and food) – $79
  • Groceries – $45

Monday, March 8th

  • No-spend day!

Tuesday, March 9th 

  • No-spend day!

Wednesday, March 10th

  • Paula’s Choice (cleanser and moisturizer) – $37
  • Publix (Pub sub, ground coffee, chocolates, and a Dr. Pepper) – $23

Thursday, March 11th 

  • No-spend day!

Final Tallies:

  • Bills – $262
  • Food – $120
  • Toiletries – $100
  • Pets – $79
  • Beauty – $37
  • Subscriptions – $11
  • Entertainment – $7
  • And $15 added to my no-spend fund! (I add $5 every time I have a no-spend day.)

Monthly Goals Progress Report

  • Log 10 Peloton workouts. So far, I’ve logged 3 beginner-level cycling workouts. I love the app so much! (I’m “stephanywrites” on there if you want to follow me.)
  • Start using MyFitnessPal to record what I’m eating. Every day, I think about doing this, and then time gets away from me and I get overwhelmed about inputting everything I’ve eaten for the day. Oops.
  • Log 3,000 steps a day on my FitBit. I am achieving this! There have been many nights of walking around my apartment to get those last 500 or so steps, and it’s also forcing me to get out of my apartment during the day for a quick 10-minute walk. But it hasn’t been too difficult so far.
  • Spend less than $100 on personal purchases. I’ve spent $75 already this month so the last few weeks of March are going to test my resolve!
  • Play with the cats every day. I’ve only done this twice over the last 11 days, but we’re working on it!

What I’m Recommending This Week

  • A meat thermometer – I bought a meat thermometer last month when I read a blog post (all about the right way to cook delicious, juicy baked chicken—this system works) that said they are crucial when cooking meat. Why did I not realize how important this little kitchen tool is until now?! While I’ll usually slice into the chicken breast to make sure it’s cooked all the way through, that method is really a no-no when it comes to cooking meat (it releases the juices or something?). So now I just poke my thermometer into my chicken breast to check that it hits that 165° threshold and I’m good to go! It’s so simple and I can trust it a lot more than my own two eyes.
  • Heaven Bent podcast – Season 1 of this podcast followed a revival at a church in Toronto and it brought back soooo many memories for me, as my own church went through a revival when I was in middle school. Sometimes, I’ll think back to that experience and how weird it was (but how, in the moment, it felt so normal). There were people lying all over the church “slain in the spirit,” people getting “drunk” on the Lord, people speaking in tongues, fire and brimstone preaching. It was a wild time, and I loved that this podcast showed both sides of the equation: the people who truly believe in revival and the healing/hope it brings and the people who were incredibly skeptical about it. (Season 2 is all about Bethel Church, which has its own kind of wild flavor.)

What was the highlight of your week? What are you reading now?

Categories: Recurring Series

Everyday Moments of February

Hi, friends! Happy March! It’s good to be back in the saddle after my blog break in February. The break was exactly what I needed, even though I very much missed this blog and chatting with all of you! I feel refreshed and re-inspired, and I have a whole bunch of blogging ideas that I can’t wait to work through over the next few months. 🙂

I kept track of my favorite moments of the day throughout February, so this will give you a good idea of how my month went!

1 – Sitting on my couch for 45 minutes at the end of the day to finish a book I couldn’t put down. (Dear Emmie Blue – 5 stars!) There were dishes to wash and an apartment to tidy, but I just couldn’t care enough about my chores when I had such a good book in my hands. I love it when a story can transport me like that!

2 – Taking a really lovely nap on the couch in the middle of the day.

3 – Starting my day with a great workout. I’ve been on the struggle bus this year with working out (have only hit my goal of working out 3 times a week once, ugh), but damn if I’m not always glad when I actually do the workout.

4 – Spending time with my mom and ending the night with a delicious “pizookie” (a cookie baked in a skillet).

5 – A long nap. My body really needed the rest, I think, and I was zonked out for a good 4 hours.

6 – A day full of reading! I participated in the #24in48 readathon, which challenges people to read for 24 hours over a 48-hour period. I ended Saturday with 8 hours of reading (3 hours of audiobook listening and 5 hours with print books).

7 – Another day filled with reading—I read for 7 hours and hit my goal of reading for 15 hours total. Yay! Another bright spot was attending my mom’s annual Super Bowl party, although the game itself was a major disappointment for us. Bleh.

8 – Making a delicious dinner (pesto chicken pasta). I’m trying to up my cooking game this year, even though I don’t feel confident at all in the kitchen and I’m always convinced that whatever I make will be disgusting.

9 – Giggling through an episode of Best Friends with Nicole Byer and Sasheer Zamata. This podcast brings me such joy!

10 – Filing my tax return! This is always very straightforward for me, especially since I’m not doing freelancing anymore. I was pleased as punch with the tax refund I am receiving this year—wahoo!

11 – A SUCCESSFUL SURGERY FOR OLIVE! What a relief. I am just so, so grateful to this surgeon and the medical team at Boston Children’s Hospital. They saved her life and I am just over the moon with happiness that she was able to have the surgery and make it through with no issues.

12 – Meandering around Target. It’s been a while since I went to Target just to walk around and see if anything struck my fancy. (Typically, I just use the curbside pickup when I want to get something at Target.) It was so nice!

13 – Galentine’s Day! Bri and I took a trip to Sarasota to go to the Ringling Museum. It was so fascinating to learn all about the history of the circus, its cultural significance in the mid-1900s, and what it was like to be part of the circus (either as a performer, a trainer, or a cook). Of course, I’m not here to tout the amazingness of the circus and, in particular, the way circus animals are treated. I am VERY glad that Ringling Brothers/Barnum & Bailey have been shut down. As a piece of our history, though, it was interesting to learn about how a circus was run and how it came to be the spectacle it was.

14 – A very boring Valentine’s Day where I deep-cleaned my apartment, went grocery shopping, and ran a few errands. I also slept in until 11, which was amazing!

15 – A super productive Monday! Typically, I have a hard time getting going on Mondays but I just felt inspired and productive all day. I didn’t even need my usual hour-long siesta!

16 – Today is Lila’s “gotcha” day! Two years ago today, I walked into an animal shelter and walked out with her! Even though I was planning on getting a second cat, I didn’t think it would be so soon after adopting Eloise (two months). But it was the best decision because Lila Bear is the sweetest, most playful baby ever! We celebrated with lots of snuggles and a special breakfast of wet food. 🙂

17 – Olive getting discharged from the hospital! She’s made amazing progress since her surgery and it makes me so emotional because she has beaten every single odd set in front of her. A miracle, indeed.

18 – Helping my mom pick out a book to read at Target (I chose “Evvie Drake Starts Over” for her.) Originally, she picked up a romance I had recently read (The Roommate) and said, “Do you think I would like this?” And I responded with, “I will not let you read this book. It’s way too steamy for you.” And then we laughed about that because she used to be picking out the appropriate books for me. (She let me read anything in the children’s/young adult section in the library, but I always wanted to read from the adult fiction section so she would select one or two for me—always Christian fiction, of course). And now the tables have turned and I’m the one picking out books for her! Hehe.

19 – Taking a really sensational Friday afternoon nap. I slept hard and it felt really nice! (Are we seeing a pattern here? Those Friday afternoon naps are EVERYTHING to me.)

20 – Meeting up with Amber for a coffee date at a new place (they had the cutest indoor seating, but it was all closed down. I can’t wait to go back when things are back to normal and we can sit inside and read!). Afterwards, I picked up my mom for lunch and pedicures, which was wonderful.

21 – My nephew’s birthday party! He turned 6, which feels unfathomable, and he had a great time jumping around with his friends at a trampoline park. Was it super COVID-safe? Not really, as you aren’t required to wear masks while jumping or while in the party room and social distancing was not really a thing, but I wore my mask and tried to social distance as much as I could.

22 –  Ordering a spin bike! I allocated a portion of my tax refund for this spin bike (it was around $300) because it’s something I’ve been thinking about getting for a really long time. One of the things I know about myself is that I need to make exercising as easy to do as possible, otherwise, I’ll find thousands of excuses for why I can’t do it. Having a spin bike in my apartment? Gonna be hard to come up with excuses! (At least, that’s the hope!)

23 – This update from Mikaela:

24 – Dinner with my mom! Also, feeling very grateful for my car’s brakes this evening as I came very, very close to rear-ending someone who had come to a complete stop at a yield sign. Honestly, I’m not sure how I didn’t hit this car but I am so grateful for good brakes.

25 – A day off for doctor’s appointments! I had my annual visit to the gynecologist as well as a dental exam. Then I came home and took a long nap on the couch. Divine!

26 – Another day off! I took Lila to the vet where I was told she’s edging toward being overweight (HOW DARE THEY—she’s perfect) and that I should start brushing her teeth (HAHAHA). I also got a massage, which felt amazing.

27 – Seeing Olive and fam! I am so glad I was able to visit with them today and see Olive. She was in such a great mood—laughing and smiling and playing and crawling around. It warmed my heart! Olive resumes chemo next week (her treatment plan called for 8 rounds of chemo + surgery) so I’m glad I got to visit with them before all of that.

28 – A shopping trip to Trader Joe’s. I don’t go to TJ’s all that often since it’s a bit of a drive (20 minutes, compared to the 3 minutes it takes to drive to Publix), but I had some specific items on my grocery list this week that I figured I’d have better luck with at Trader Joe’s. While I wanted to buy oodles of snack food, I stuck to my shopping list (aside from adding a box of chocolate chip ice cream sandwiches to my cart—I’m only human, after all).

Categories: Recurring Series

Everyday Moments of January

Hi, friends! Happy Monday and happy February. I’m changing things up for my monthly recaps in 2021 and going back to a format I did for a few months way back in 2012. (Hard to believe 2012 is almost a decade ago!) I’m documenting the little moments of happiness I found in every day. It’s a really fun exercise to do, especially in January when I struggled with my mental health a lot. Even on the dark days, I could find something to be grateful for.

1 – Ordering another 8-cube bookshelf from Target. I have two of these already (one that functions as my TV stand/organizer and holds my Book of the Month books, and another in my bedroom that is a full bookshelf). I wanted another one for my dining room to hold more books and help with organizing, but the white finish has been out of stock for weeks! Maybe it had something to do with the holidays because it was back in stock today and I ordered that sucker so fast, I didn’t even have a chance to add the fabric bins I wanted to get. Oops!

2 – Spending time with my mom. We got pedicures, had lunch, and then went furniture shopping so I could test out sectionals. And then I took a 3-hour nap that was SENSATIONAL!

3 – It was hard to find the good in today. I tripped over a hose at my mom’s house and injured myself pretty badly. Then, my Dolphins played like crap and missed the playoffs. And my sub order that I picked up was completely wrong! It was a comedy of errors, honestly. However, the patio furniture I ordered from Amazon arrived a full two weeks before it was supposed to so that’s something positive!

4 – A really delicious Pub sub for lunch! It fueled me through a really intense afternoon of brainstorming.

5 – Getting really great news from Mikaela that Olive’s tumor appears to be shrinking and she found a surgeon willing to do the surgery! And not just any surgeon, but one of the best liver specialists in the country!

6 – Today was a dark day, as insurrectors took over the Capitol building to stop the certification of the election. Reading the news felt like living through a dystopian novel. I couldn’t stop doom-scrolling and feeling hopeless about the state of the Republican party. How can anyone support a party in which the leader encourages insurrection? But the good of today? Both Democratic candidates won their Senate runoffs in Georgia! Thank heavens for Stacey Abrams, amirite?

7 – My patio furniture is finished! (I found out after putting together one of the chairs that it won’t fit through my tiny patio door fully assembled. I had to disassemble it and put it together on the patio, argh.) It is so beautiful, though, and makes me the happiest.

8 – Finally finishing a book I was slogging through (We Keep the Dead Close) and doing a three-episode binge of Bridgerton. THIS SHOW. ALL OF THE HEART EYES.

9 – Spending the entirety of Saturday with my family to watch the playoff games.

10 – Starting a really great book and reading nearly 200 pages in one day. (EDIT: This one makes me laugh because I ended up giving this book 3 stars and felt “meh” about it overall.)

11 – Spending the whole day anticipating watching more episodes of Bridgerton after work. Around 5, I kept thinking to myself, “You get to watch Bridgerton soon!!!!”

12 – Finishing Bridgerton. SO MANY FEELS. What a perfect show. What a perfect DUKE.

13 – Spending 2.5 hours in the evening on a video chat with some of my favorite coworkers. We used to get together regularly but didn’t talk very much to one another in 2020 when we all started working from home. We’re hoping to do these video chats once a month! Seeing them was SO NEEDED!

14 – Being able to stop working at 5:30! It’s rare for me to be able to stop working that early—with working from home and living alone, it’s easy for me to work later in the evenings than I’d like (and also, it takes me a while to get going in the mornings, ha, which is why I want to establish a better morning routine). But it was nice to realize I had finished everything on my to-do list and could sign off before the sun went down!

15 – Getting my first facial! What a lovely experience. My esthetician was so friendly and we talked all about my skincare routine and what I’ve been trying to do. She told me my pores are super clear and the only issue seems to be my breakouts (which are related to hormones more than anything else). I’ve always been a little self-conscious about my skin so it was nice to be told that I have great skin!

16 – Sleeping in until 11:30! I can’t remember the last time I slept so late, but it felt great!

17 – Having a quiet morning at home. I puttered around, reading and working on a blog post. It was really nice!

18 – Chopping off about 7 inches of my hair! I was so ready to go shorter as my long hair has felt almost unmanageable lately. It was much needed!

19 – Today was a really hard mental health day. My energy felt really low—I took a nap on the couch at 9:30 am after being up for a couple of hours because I just didn’t have the energy to sit at my desk. I ordered grocery delivery because I needed some essentials but couldn’t summon the energy to put on real clothes, drive to the grocery store, and shop. I ordered takeout for dinner because I didn’t have it in me to cook. It was just… not a good day. I think it was related to an argument I had with a loved one that really brought me to a low place of feeling like I’m just “too much” for people. But thankfully, I had my girls. Being able to snuggle them and pet them and have them run to me when I talk to them was what I needed to get through my day.

20 – BIDEN IS OUR PRESIDENT! Watching the inauguration was the hope and inspiration I needed. And seeing Kamala Harris sworn in as the first female VP was incredible.

21 – My sectional arrived! It is even more beautiful than I thought and so, so comfy. I took a nap on the couch and can attest that it is a very comfortable place to sleep. (Almost too comfortable because I seriously had a hard time waking up from my one-hour siesta!)

22 – Making a really delicious dinner for myself. It’s rare for me to cook on Friday nights, but I just felt the desire to do so. I’m always nervous about making new recipes but this one turned out amazing and it’s one that will be added to my meal rotation for sure. (One-pot garlic parmesan pasta.)

23 – A slow Saturday to myself. I made myself cinnamon rolls for breakfast, spent time on my patio reading, ran some errands, took a long nap, and completed a really tough (for me, ha!) strength workout.

24 – A coffee date with Amber! We went to a cute donut shop near us and spent two hours catching up. Also, mini donuts fresh from the oven? The beeeest.

25 – A great update from Mikaela about Olive! She has sailed through this round of chemo with very few side effects and, though they’ve had to do some routine outpatient appointments at the hospital, she’s been healthy enough that she hasn’t had to be admitted. (What a relief, as they were in the hospital 13 out of 21 days for the last cycle! Just 4 days this cycle for inpatient chemo.)

26 – A last-minute dinner date with Mom. It was so nice to get out and spend some one-on-one time with her.

27 – Making BBQ mini-meatloaves for dinner. So good!

28 – Hanging up curtains! I needed these to block the sun while I’m on video calls since I sit in front of a large window at my desk, and I really love the way they turned out!

29 – My mom coming over to see all the new furniture at my apartment! Since she was last over, I got a new kitchen table, sectional, and patio furniture. We had a lovely night together, playing a Friends-themed trivia game, watching lots of episodes of the exceptionally funny British sitcom Miranda, and ordering takeout for dinner.

30 – Lady date with Briana! We made plans to visit a cow farm in Plant City (about an hour from where we live) and it was so much fun! We got to feed and pet a horse, donkeys, goats, and cows. The farm was incredibly beautiful, too, and run by a really young couple. Afterward, we stopped for lunch at a BBQ restaurant.

31 – A slow day at home. I slept in, did some reading and work on the computer, did a quick grocery shop, took a nap on the couch, etc. It was the most lovely day!

Quick programming note: I’ve decided to take the rest of February off blogging. I just need a little break as I’m starting to feel a little burned out and uninspired by blogging. I’ll be back on March 1, hopefully refreshed and full of blogging ideas to dive into. <3

Categories: Recurring Series

Three Things Thursday (v. 4)

Who’s up for another Three Things Thursday blog post? I had fun putting this one together. 🙂

Three confessions:

1) My mental health hasn’t been great lately and my motivation to blog has been waning. I know I could give myself permission to step away from the blog for as long as I need it, but I’m so worried that if I do that, I’ll never get back in the habit of blogging. Ugh.

2) Even though the Bucs are my hometown team, I’m rooting hard for the Chiefs in the Super Bowl.

3) I have this recurring dream that I’m grocery shopping and I’m the only person in the store wearing a mask. It feels so scary! And I get so mad at all of these imaginary people. “We’re in a pandemic, people!” Sigh. Is this what my dream life has come to?

Three recipes I’ve recently made:

1) Mini BBQ cheddar meatloaves from Iowa Girl Eats.

2) One-pot garlic parmesan pasta from Damn Delicious.

3) Crockpot Santa Fe Chicken from Skinnytaste.

Three books I always recommend:

1) In the Country We Love: My Family Divided by Diane Guerrero. While this isn’t the most well-written book, it gives a personal look into immigration and the struggle to become a citizen. Diane was only 14 when her family was deported. Since she was born in the U.S., she wasn’t deported with them, leaving her alone in a strange land. It’s a heartbreaking book but it forever changed the way I viewed immigration reform.

2) The Hating Game by Sally Thorne. This is my go-to romance recommendation, and it stands out still as my favorite romance novel of all time. I’m so excited this book is being made into a movie (with Lucy Hale as the female protagonist which is just such excellent casting).

3) Come as You Are: The Surprising New Science that Will Transform Your Sex Life by Emily Nagoski. I think this is a book every woman should read, whether you think you have an awesome sex life or if you struggle with it. I’m part of the latter camp, someone who has never had a huge sex drive and always felt like there was something wrong with me because of it. This book made me feel so seen and understood and it transformed the way I viewed my own sexuality. It’s a must-read!

Three iPhone apps I recently downloaded:

1) Book of the Month. BOTM has been telling me to download their app for months and months, and I finally did so this week.

2) Tile Master. One of those silly iPhone games that I downloaded because it looked interesting from an ad I saw on another game. That’s how they get you!

3) Patreon. I became a patron of the Currently Reading podcast and needed to download Patreon so I could grab the special RSS code to put in my podcast player so I could listen to special episodes.

Three TV shows I’m watching now:

1) Superstore. This sitcom makes me cackle with laughter. It’s so good! I’m halfway through season 1 and it’s been the perfect show to bring me down from my Bridgerton high.

2) Younger. I started watching this show because so many people rave about it and it definitely feels like a show that’s in my wheelhouse. I’m about six or so episodes into season 1 and I’m not completely in love with it yet. But I’m going to keep watching to see if it gets better!

3) The Office. I’m watching one episode a week to follow along with the Office Ladies podcast. And yes, this means I had to subscribe to Peacock to keep watching since The Office was taken off Netflix. Ugh. At least it’s only $5 a month.

Three of the newest podcasts I’ve added to my feed:

1) The Bible Binge. I didn’t know I needed a pop-culture version of the Bible, but this podcast is quickly becoming one of my favorites. Knox and Jamie of The Popcast fame recap stories of the Bible but in a really fun, engaging way. Every Bible character gets their celebrity counterpart and the hosts bring in the historical context surrounding each Bible story, which I find really interesting. (There are so many Bible stories that I know by heart but have no idea what was going on historically during them.) They even have a Bible scholar review their episodes and give a “gentle rebuke” about anything they got wrong. If you want to learn about the Bible in a really fun way, listen to this podcast!

2) 10 Things to Tell You. I’m currently making my way through the backlist of this podcast and I like it a lot. Every episode really makes me think. The episode is about digging deep into life’s big questions and sharing the messy, hard parts of ourselves. The host, Laura Tremaine, asks really pointed questions to get you thinking, stuff like, “What do you assume about others?” “What do you do when you’re lonely?” “What were your family rules growing up?” It’s a little navel-gaze-y, but then, I have a blog where all I do is gaze at my own navel soooo. It’s right up my alley!

3) Best Friends with Nicole Byer and Sasheer Zamata. I love this podcast! It makes me burst out laughing in every episode, and that’s rare for me to do! Each episode is about an hour long and is really just Nicole and Sasheer chit-chatting about what’s going on in their lives. They also answer a friendship question from a listener, and I really love their approach to friendship and the advice they give. It’s the kind of podcast I’m always excited to turn on because I know it will be an enjoyable hour of listening.

Three big purchases I want to make this year:

1) A new TV. Gosh, I am so ready for a new TV. I’ve had my tiny little 28-inch TV for about six years now and it’s time for a change. I have my eye on this gorgeous 50-inch smart TV but I will be patient and sock away some money every month until I can afford it.

2) A new mattress (and really luxurious bedsheets). My mattress is more than 10 years old, which is around the time that it needs to be replaced. But mattresses are so expensive! And I don’t want to go cheap here. Provided those magical $1,400 stimulus checks come through, I’m planning on using mine on a new mattress as well as some luxurious bedsheets.

3) A spin bike. I’m not exactly sure where a spin bike would fit in my apartment, ha, but I’d really like to get one so I could finally jump on the Peloton train. I’m not going to shell out $2,000 for a Peloton, but I’m thinking a cheaper spin bike (in the $400 range?) and using the Peloton app would work just fine.

Three recent Amazon purchases:

1) A new 2021 daily calendar. I bought a daily calendar at the beginning of January but I don’t really like it. I thought it would be fun because each day is something different (like movie trivia, or a random fact, or a crossword puzzle) but it’s actually kinda silly and I’m not loving it. So I bought a different calendar titled “365 Facts That Will Scare the S#*t Out of You,” haha. One of the facts on the box was about how our pinkie toes can just self-amputate for no reason, which I thought was wild! I love crazy facts like that so I’m hoping I enjoy it!

2) Selfie ring light. We’re expected to be on camera now during meetings at work and I quickly realized I did not have a good lighting setup where I’m sitting. There’s a big window behind me and it backlights me. I bought some room-darkening curtains for the window (even closing the blinds doesn’t help the lighting problem) as well as this ring light to upgrade my lighting situation. Here’s hoping it works!

3) A set of 11×14 picture frames. One of my goals for this quarter is to frame all of the Etsy prints I bought in November, and I wanted some bigger frames for some of those prints.

Three TV shows I will never watch:

1) Game of Thrones. My sensitive little heart would not be able to handle all the gore and violence!

2) Breaking Bad. Another show that would be a bit too dark for me.

3) This Is Us. I watched half of the first season of This Is Us and it was way too emotionally manipulative for my tastes.

Three things I’m doing this weekend:

1) Getting a massage. I have a feeling I’m going to really enjoy this massage because I’ve had some muscle soreness due to a strength workout I did over the weekend. Yay!

2) Visiting a cow farm. My friend Briana and I are going to take a trip to this adorable cow farm on Saturday morning, and I’ve been looking forward to it all week!

3) Naps on naps. This is looking to be a three-nap weekend, even with all my plans, and that’s basically the best type of weekend for me.

Tell me one book you’re always recommended and/or a TV show you’re currently watching!

Categories: Recurring Series

Five For Friday (v. 64)

1) The best news of the week: My dining room table was assembled on Wednesday! I am so glad I splurged on the professional assembly services because I really did not want to worry about putting it together. (Of course, the technician who came in made it look so easy!) Wayfair has very strict COVID policies in place (he wore a mask and gloves the whole time and we stayed six feet apart) so I felt comfortable having him in my apartment. And I’m just so, so happy to have a beautiful dining room table to stare at all day (haha—it’s in my line of sight when I work!) I already have some cute Christmas decorations on the table because that’s the kind of person I am. 🙂

2) Eloise’s “gotcha” day was on Tuesday! I can’t believe it’s been two whole years with this bundle of love. I went back through some of the first videos I took of her and they brought back so many great memories. She was a sweetheart right from the beginning and I love thinking about how shy and uncertain she was with me in the beginning. Now, she’s my feisty, chatty, lovable little lady who is never far from my side. I just love her so!

3) I took a spill yesterday when I was bringing one of my bar stools down to my car (sold those bad boys quickly!) I was trying so hard to be extra careful while I was walking down the stairs, stepping both feet on a stair before going to the next. But I ended up falling while almost near the bottom and landed right on my knees. Thankfully, my ankle survived the fall without getting injured but my knees are definitely not happy with me. They’re just skinned up and bruised, so nothing major, but they hurt something fierce. I also pulled a muscle in my left calf so I’m just hobbling around like an old woman. Sometimes I wonder what life would be like if I wasn’t always so scared of getting injured. Literally, the first thing I said when I fell was, “I knew this would happen!”

4) I didn’t realize until this past weekend that I never received my car registration renewal in the mail last month, and I’ve been driving around with an expired tag for over a week! Ooooops. I’m not sure why it never came through—I changed my address with the DMV immediately when I moved. When I tried to do it online, the system told me that the tax collector doesn’t have my insurance information on file, which is weird, because I’ve had the same car insurance for over two or three years now. I have an appointment this afternoon at the tax collector’s office to get it all sorted out, so I’m hoping it’s a quick fix.

5) I purchased an at-home food sensitivity test that I’m excited to try out. I am fairly certain I have some food sensitivities, given the way I (ahem) digest certain foods and feel extremely bloated after some meals. I am guessing I will have some sort of sensitivity to dairy, gluten, and citrus foods but we’ll see if anything interesting pops up! I am a little worried about doing a finger prick blood sample, but my cousin is a nurse so worst-case, I’ll have her help me out. 🙂 I haven’t been feeling great lately, health-wise, and I’d like to start experimenting with cutting out certain foods/food groups to my diet to see how it changes the way I feel. So having this information will just be a helpful step in the right direction!