Stephany Writes

Categories: Recurring Series

Five for Friday (v. 66)

1) One of the most exciting parts of my week was buying a new trash can! Yes, a trash can! I’ve had the same old trash can since I moved into my first apartment in 2016 and it was definitely time for a change. A trash can is just one of those things you don’t think about upgrading, you know? At least I don’t. I spent $50 on my new trash can, which feels ridiculously expensive, but it’s shiny and fancy and looks great in my apartment. Yay, trash cans!

2) I spent most of last week in a spiral of anxiety that this lump in my left armpit was cancer. I was pretty sure it was just an infected cyst since I’ve had this lump looked at before and my doctor has reassured me it’s not cancerous (while telling me she will happily refer me to a specialist to have it biopsied if I want). Usually, it’s just a tiny bump under my arm, but it had doubled in size over the last week and grown increasingly painful. So, of course, I googled what it all meant and worked myself into a panic. Thankfully, it is just a cyst and my doctor even proved it to me by, um, squeezing it. (TMI?) I’m on antibiotics and using a warm compress on it a few times a day to help drain it. And it’s gotten so much better from this time last week! I couldn’t even put deodorant on without pain. It’s probably half its size and no longer painful, so yay! I am so thankful it is not something serious because, whew, was I imagining some awful scenarios in my head last week. Health is never something I will take for granted, that’s for sure.

3) Speaking of health, one thing that I have been struggling with lately is my physical health, a la working out. The last time I worked out was Mother’s Day! Whoops. My schedule was all messed up last week and whenever I’m out of my routine, I find that exercise is one of the first things to go. And this week, I just haven’t had any motivation or desire to work out. I even woke up early to exercise yesterday but only did one loop around my apartment complex before calling it quits. Ugh. I just need to get back to it and stop making excuses, but I also don’t want to come to exercise from a place of shame because that’s not motivating or healthy. Maybe I need to do some low-impact Peloton workouts to get me back in the swing of things? I dunno.

4) I bought a new brush for the girls last month because I was taken in by an Instagram ad that promised my cats would love the feeling of this brush on their bodies. Eloise took to it right away and loved getting brushed. She would trill at me and rub her face all over the brush like she was telling it how much she loved it. Lila, on the other hand, was terrified of it. She ran far away from me every time I picked it up and showed it to her. And she is the one who needs to be brushed frequently because she’s fluffy! Very, very fluffy. Finally, I was able to show her how much Ellie loved getting brushed, and then, all of a sudden, she let me brush her and fell in love with it! Now she’s letting me brush her every day. The first time I brushed Lila, I brushed out enough hair to knit a sweater. (Okay, maybe not that much, but it was seriously a pile of hair!) I just love brushing them, though. It’s so soothing! And when they don’t fight me, it’s even better. Now if only I could get them to let me brush their teeth. THAT would be a miracle.

5) I don’t have much going on this weekend, aside from my monthly lady date with Bri. We are going kayaking at a preserve near me and are prepared to do it as lazily and slowly as possible. 🙂 I may also head over to my mom’s for some pool time. It’s Chip’s last weekend as an only child! (Lucy comes home Monday!)

What was the last mundane purchase you got excited about? What are your weekend plans?

Categories: Recurring Series

Five for Friday (v. 65)

1) It’s been a crazy week around here, as I have been on Chip duty since Monday. My mom and stepdad left early Monday morning for a lovely island vacation (so jealous!) so I’ve been sleeping over at their house since then. I hate being away from my kitties every night, but I visit them every day and give them lots of treats to make up for my guilt. My mom and stepdad come home tonight so I’m excited to sleep in my own bed and not have to leave the girls alone! It’s been fun to hang out with Chip, though. He’s a good boy, even if his barking can drive me up the wall sometimes. Eeks. Dachshunds, man!

2) I took three days of PTO this week, and it was really lovely! I didn’t do much (I know a lot of people don’t like using their PTO as “staycation” time, but I find it to be rejuvenating!) but I did have an eye exam on Tuesday that revealed very little change to my eyesight (yay!) and a massage on Wednesday where my therapist worked on my lower back/sciatica region a lot. Typically, I like very little pressure when it comes to massage (one of those HSP things: I’m sensitive to massage pressure), but I let her really go to work in that area since I knew I needed it. It wasn’t pleasant but my lower back hasn’t felt tight or achy since! During my time off, I also spent lots of time reading (finished three books!) and swimming in my mom’s pool. It was a great time!

3) My mom has an official adoption date for Lucy: May 24th! I am so excited! I will definitely be taking time off work to go with my mom to pick her up. It’s been really fun to watch her grow from a tiny blob who couldn’t even open her eyes or walk to this feisty little doxie who bites other dogs’ ears and climbs over them to get to food. Eeks! I can’t wait to hold her!

4) Yesterday marked two weeks post-second vaccine, so I am officially fully protected from COVID-19! Wahoo! And the CDC just released guidelines that fully vaccinated people can go maskless indoors and outdoors. I don’t know how I feel about not wearing a mask indoors (will people think I’m anti-mask?! But then, if I do wear a mask, will they think I’m anti-vax?!) but it’s one step closer to normalcy, and that’s exciting to think about.

5) My weekend plans include a doctor’s appointment and spending time with Chip this evening. Tomorrow, I have an appointment to get my AirPods looked at since one of them is having a weird crackling issue (which could be an Apple defect that they’ll replace for free, fingers crossed!) and game night with the fam. And Sunday should be a low-key day at home, where I’ll most likely be doing lots of cleaning. Fun times.

What are your weekend plans?

Categories: Recurring Series

Three Things Tuesday

I decided to forgo this week’s “What I’m Reading” post since I only finished one book and instead do a fun “Three Things Tuesday” post. I love putting these together. 🙂

Three childhood memories:

  • Playing Blind Man’s Bluff with my dad. Did anyone ever play this game when they were younger? It’s a version of tag when the person who is “It” has to be blindfolded. We always had so much fun when we played this game, especially because my dad always tried to trick us if we were “It” by shouting in one corner of our home but then running to the opposite one. It’s a treasured memory of mine.
  • The day my brother and I found out we were getting a dog! We had wanted a dog for so long but my parents didn’t want to get our hopes up, so they kept things quiet until the day they picked us up early from school so we could pick up Minnie, our adorable beagle/terrier hound, from the SPCA. It was the best day!
  • My dad waking my brother and me up every morning with, “It’s that time of the morning again!” To this day, my brother and I talk about how annoying it was to be woken up that way, but we have a hint of fondness and nostalgia when we talk about it.

Three shows on my to-be-watched list:

  • Ted Lasso. Everyone talks about how amazing this show is, but I need an AppleTV subscription to watch it. The second season is coming out soon, so I may just wait until then so I can watch multiple seasons at once!
  • 30 Rock. I watched a season or two of this show, but I didn’t quite “get” the humor. I’m willing to give it another shot, though, so it’s on my TBW list.
  • The Queen’s Gambit. A TV show about chess wouldn’t typically be at the top of my TBW list, but everyone has raved about this show so I want to give it a try someday soon!

Three recent Amazon purchases:

  • Wireless mouse ($10). My wireless mouse has been acting up for the past week, and changing the batteries didn’t help. I think the sensor is failing or something, so I decided to buy a new mouse. Easy-peasy.
  • Four Hundred Souls, edited by Ibram X. Kendi ($18). I needed to make that $25 cutoff for free shipping on Amazon (I refuse to pay for Prime), so I added this book to my order because it’s one I really want to read.
  • A new coloring book ($6). Whenever I start a new coloring book, I always buy my next coloring book so that I always have my backup ready. Lately, I’ve been using the Johanna Basford coloring books but I’ve gone through her entire set, so I bought this swear-y one for fun.

Three toys my cats love

  • A cat hammock ($22). I bought this cute hammock for the girls for Christmas, hoping they would use it (it’s always hit or miss with cats!) and it’s now Lila’s favorite place to nap! It’s near a window so she can enjoy the sunshine and watch the lizards from her cozy hammock.
  • Crinkly balls. Lila doesn’t play with very many toys, but give her a crinkly ball and she will go to town. I love watching her bat it all around the apartment. It’s the cutest thing!
  • Krinkle mice (or any “pouncing-style” toy). Eloise loves these pouncing-style toys that she can bat around the apartment. I always find her toys in completely different spots from day to day!

Three books that have been on my Goodreads TBR the longest:

Three podcast episodes I recently listened to:

  • “Waive of Vaccination with Dr. Abdul El-Sayed” on What a Day. This was a great episode that answered some of the most pressing questions about this new phase of the pandemic we’re in and waiving the patents on our current vaccines so they can be produced in other countries.
  • “Republicans cancel a Cheney” on Pod Save America. I finally listened to last Thursday’s episode of my favorite podcast, which discusses Liz Cheney and the Census. There’s also a great interview with Elizabeth Warren!
  • “Eat the Rich” on Invisibilia. I am wayyy behind on my podcast feed and I just listened to Invisibilia’s season premiere episode all about reparations and this fascinating experiment Black activists in Vermont did. They set up a list of Black people in their city with links to their Venmo accounts and encouraged white people to give money to these people to the point of financial uncomfortableness.

Three things I did this weekend:

  • Replenished my supply of Wallflowers at Bath & Body Works. And I was very proud of myself for not also walking out with four of their three-wick candles, since they were having a “buy two, get two” sale on candles.
  • Celebrated Mother’s Day with brunch with my mom, my brother, and his family. It was a lovely day and I was especially excited to gift my mom a personalized pillow of Chip and Lucy!
  • Visited my grandparents’ graves. My mom wanted to bring flowers to Grandma’s grave for Mother’s Day, and I was happy to come along. It’s always a kick in the gut to see their graves—there’s something so brutal about seeing their plaques that list their birth and death dates.

Three of my most-used iPhone apps yesterday:

  • Candy Crush (50 minutes)
  • Instagram (42 minutes)
  • Overcast (40 minutes)

Three jobs I wanted to have when I was a kid:

  • A veterinarian. I loved animals, so it just made sense that I should try to become a vet! One college-level Anatomy & Physiology class quickly dispelled me of this notion. Science and I do not mix well.
  • An author. When I was 7 or 8, I told someone that I wanted to be an author and he responded with, “You want to be Arthur?” Like I literally wanted to be a cartoon aardvark. Sigh. I still hope this childhood dream of mine comes true!
  • A mother. When I was in 5th grade, we had to write down what we wanted to be in 20 years. I wrote down that I wanted to be a vet (see above) and have four daughters. (!!!) I was the kid with Barbie dolls and baby dolls who loved nurturing them, and I always figured I would marry young and start popping out babies in my early twenties. (I blame the church for this, honestly. They ingrain this idea in girls that marriage and babies are the ultimate goals of a godly woman.) I think that 11-year-old girl would be appalled that she would be single and childless in her 30s, but I couldn’t be happier with my status.

Three favorite snacks:

  • Popcorn. There are many great things about working from home, but one of the best is that I can pop a bag of popcorn in the afternoon without worrying about stinking up the office!
  • Slightly undercooked brownies. Mmm, is there anything better?
  • Kit-Kats. It’s hard to pick a favorite candy bar, but if I had to, I’d probably pick Kit-Kats. They are just so good!

Three things I’m grateful for

  • My cozy home. My mom came over last week and she was sitting on my couch, looking around, and said, “You have such a cozy home.” And it just brightened my day. I have tried really hard to make my home cozy and inviting.
  • The animals in my life. Eloise and Lila and Chip make my life so much brighter. And I can’t wait to add a fourth pet to my life at the end of this month!
  • Podcasts. They keep me company when I’m home alone, educate me on so many issues, and make me laugh when I need the mood boost. I don’t know what I’d do without podcasts!

Tell me a show on your to-be-watched list, a job you wanted as a kid, and something you’re grateful for today!

Categories: Recurring Series

Everyday Moments of April

1 – I spent all day publishing content to client websites, which is a mindless task that allows me to listen to podcasts. It was nice to get caught up on my feed!

2 – Taking a long, 4-hour nap. So refreshing!

3 – A reading date with Amber. We went to a nearby park, spread out our blankets, and read our books. It was a beautiful night!

4 – Spending Easter with my mom, my brother, and his family. It was fun to see the boys running around with their neighbor friends!

5 – I started using a schedule today, and I was so much more productive during the day, enough that I was able to wrap up my workday at 5:15. What a delight!

6 – Mom and I went on a fun dinner date this evening to a new-to-us restaurant. We got mac-and-cheese that was so good and an order of fries to share. We were able to sit outside far away from other people, so it felt very safe! And the people watching there was excellent. 🙂

7 – I feel so stupid today because I found out I double-paid for rent. But, hey, at least I didn’t overdraft and it wasn’t the financial catastrophe it could have been. That’s a silver lining.

8 – I got my first COVID vaccine today, hooray! The process was incredibly easy. I arrived 15 minutes ahead of schedule and was sitting down for the observation period before my appointment time. They have everything down pat there.

9 – Pizza night! I ordered cheesy bread with my pizza, which is always a good idea. Mmm!

10 – Today was fun! Mom and I had some girl time. We went shopping, got pedicures, and had shakes from Steak N Shake. I was hoping to have some pool time, too, but it started pouring as we were leaving the nail salon. Womp, womp.

11 – Lady date day with Briana. We explored the Imagine Museum, an amazing glass museum downtown, and then I found a cute zero-waste shop inside a plant store Bri wanted to go to.

12 – Making breakfast for dinner. YUM! I made chocolate chip pancakes, eggs, and sausage.

13 – Going out to dinner with my mom. I had a whole list of stuff to talk to her about, even though we had chatted on Facetime the day before, hehe.

14 – Playing with the girls at night! Eloise was being especially chatty so I figured she’d like some playtime with our collection of teaser wands. Both girls were so excited!

15 – Having a really productive, satisfying day at work. Some days, it all just clicks, you know? I love when that happens!

16 – Taking a long nap and then sitting on the couch and reading for most of the evening. Perfect Friday night!

17 – Game night with the fam! It was fun to have my brother all to himself.

18 – I had a very productive Sunday and it felt really good. I deep-cleaned my apartment, went grocery shopping, worked on a freelancing assignment, and did some blog work.

19 – A rainy Monday! I love rainy days and this one felt especially cozy.

20 – Derek Chauvin was found guilty on all three counts for the death of George Floyd. YES!

21 – Today was a really long workday as I had to publish around 50 pieces of content on WordPress sites, but it meant I could finish my audiobook and listen to a whole bunch of podcast episodes while doing it. Silver lining!

22 – Taking a really excellent midday nap. After yesterday’s crazy work day, I really needed it!

23 – Having a cupcake with dinner! I love cupcakes and I should 100% have more of them in my life.

24 – Eloise turned 3! We celebrated with wet food for breakfast, a cupcake, and presents!

25 – Sleeping in until 10 am and then having a super-productive Sunday.

26 – Dinner with my mom downtown, and we got ice cream afterward! It was a really nice night.

27 – It was a long, busy day but the highlight was being in bed by 9 p.m. to read. Day one of my new “try to get to bed by 9” schedule went well!

28 – I was in a funk for most of today. I think I am just really stressed about work. Usually, I have terrific work/life balance but that has been almost non-existent this month, and I don’t like that at all. I need to figure out how to manage my time and balance my heavy workload much better than I’ve been doing. Anyway, the highlight was eating my feelings, ha. I planned to make lemon pepper chicken but instead, decided to order pizza. A great decision.

29 – I got my second COVID shot! WOOHOO! It was another extremely easy process and I was finished in record time. That night was also our book club meeting (we met in a park again) and it was such a joy to see everyone!

30 – Today I am grateful for ibuprofen, heating pads, Gatorade, and chicken noodle soup from Panera. Those COVID vaccine side effects are no joke.

Categories: Recurring Series

Currently in April

Loving… my new bedtime. I’m trying to focus on getting into bed by 9 p.m. every night, something I haven’t been doing for a really long time. (At least since I’ve been working from home.) A lot of times, I don’t even start my nighttime routine until 9:30 or 10:00 and then I’m rushing around trying to get everything done so I can get to bed before 11. It’s really unpleasant. To make my new bedtime, I have a cut-off time for TV and computer work by 8:30 so I can get through my nighttime routine and be in bed by 9 p.m. Then, I spend an hour or so reading and 15-20 minutes watching ASMR videos on YouTube, with lights out by 10:30. It’s been amazing so far! It gives me lots of time to read and wind down at the end of the day, without feeling like I’m rushing around like a crazy person.

Loathing… that there are still way too many weeks between now and when my mom gets Lucy (my new baby fur-sister). Her official adoption date is May 24th and I’m taking time off work so I can go with my mom to pick her up and then play with her for the rest of the day! I’m so ready to meet her!

Watching… season two of The Crown and season four of Schitt’s Creek. I’m loving both! This is my second time around with Schitt’s Creek (I love that show so much, and it’s even better the second time). The Crown has been fascinating, especially since there was so much I didn’t know about Queen Elizabeth II. It’s not always a super-exciting show to watch, but it’s teaching me so much and the acting is phenomenal.

Listening to… Confronting OJ Simpson. This podcast is produced by Kim Goldman, whose brother Ron was killed along with Nicole Brown Simpson in 1994 by (allegedly?) OJ Simpson. Kim talks to everyone involved in the case—prosecutors, journalists, witnesses, and even jury members—to get to the bottom of how OJ was acquitted. I was way too young to follow this trial when it happened and I only know loose details, so I’m learning a lot. It’s a difficult, heavy podcast at times as Kim grapples with this tragedy that happened when she was just 22 (and as close as I am with my brother, her loss hits me hard). But it’s been fascinating, too, especially considering the OJ Simpson trial was dubbed the “Trial of the Century” and so many people watched it live.

Grateful for… getting vaccinated. I got my second Pfizer shot yesterday, and the more I think about being fully vaccinated two weeks from now, the more emotional I get. I will admit that the pandemic didn’t hit me nearly as hard as it did for other people. In many ways, it improved my life because I got to start working from home full-time and my social anxiety was at an all-time low. Of course, I was nervous about getting Covid but I tried to be proactive about doing what I could to limit my exposure. It helped that my county has had a mask mandate since the beginning of the pandemic, even if the rest of Florida is doing whatever the hell it wants. But even still, I am so grateful that I was able to get my vaccinations, and much, much sooner than I anticipated. I am grateful to have avoided getting Covid (that I know of). I am grateful for every high-risk person who doesn’t have to live in fear of Covid anymore. We’re almost through this.

Anticipating… a three-day staycation in May! My mom and stepdad are going away on vacation in May and need me to watch Chip, so I decided to give myself a little break, too. April was a really insane month of work (enough that I worked all weekend for the past two weekends, ugh) and I need the time off. Plus, the logistics of watching Chip while taking care of my cats can get a little crazy since I stay at my mom’s when I’m watching him. Maybe one day he can peacefully coexist with the cats, but he’s way too much of a wild man for them right now! So it gets a little nuts traveling back and forth between homes, and it will be much easier to do that if I don’t also have to think about work. I’ve planned something to do each day: a massage, a hair appointment, and an eye appointment, and will try my best not to turn on my work computer AT ALL during my time off. I just want to sleep and read and swim and play with Chip. 🙂

Thinking about… how different our bodies can feel from day to day. Ever notice how something that felt easy one day suddenly feels like the biggest challenge the next day? This has been happening to me a lot this week, and it’s frustrating. I know I’m not a robot, so things are bound to feel different from one day to the next, but it’s hard not to think that it says something about me and my internal motivations. I’m trying to give myself more grace to take it easy on those days when I’m in a funk and everything seems hard. It doesn’t have to mean anything. It’s just my body’s way of telling me to slow down for a bit.

Wishing… for a cruise vacation. Man, I miss cruising so much! But I don’t know if I’m quite ready for that just yet. Maybe in 2022. But I do miss traveling and airports and hotels and sightseeing and being out of my normal routine. I can’t wait to reintroduce travel into my life!

Buying… supplies to organize my little “office.” I bought a new desk chair (it arrived yesterday!) that I will put together this weekend. And I bought some cord organizers to try to tidy up my cord situation. I have SO MANY cords for my work computer and it looks so messy. It’s been driving me crazy for a while, so I finally found some solutions to tidy everything up that I hope work. (I bought this cable management box and these cord wrapping bands.)

Feeling… both excitement and dread about re-entering the dating world once I’m fully vaccinated. I’m excited to see what’s out there, but I also know how demoralizing online dating is. I’m trying to remind myself of all the fun things about dating: trying new restaurants, conversating with someone totally new, first kisses, and that overwhelming feeling of possibility.

What are you currently watching, anticipating, and grateful for?