Stephany Writes

Categories: Recurring Series

Currently in February

IMG_1545

loving my changing duties at work and how much it is challenging me

reading The Mapmaker’s Children by Sarah McCoy

watching Gilmore Girls, all day, erryday

counting down the days until my short-but-sweet cruise at the beginning of March with my mom, my stepdad, and my roommate (13 days!)

talking singleness with a close friend who is in the same life stage as me and feeling heard and accepted and supported

eating dairy-free this week and having lots of epiphanies

feeling lonely more often and at a loss for how to solve this problem

happy that my credit card is paid off (thanks, uncle sam!)

wanting to revamp my wardrobe with new items that make me feel amazing

tracking my food on My Fitness Pal (and crying about how fast 1,600 calories goes)

hoping to take myself to a Saturday matinee very soon (I’ve… never gone to a movie by myself)

wondering if it’s time to try a paid dating service

struggling with being the single caretaker of an aging dog

sleeping with an assortment of pillows: four regular pillows, a body pillow, and an oversized square pillow

realizing how much I desire a family of my own

What are you currently loving, reading, and happy about?

Categories: Recurring Series

Monthly Review | January 2016

So I’m trying something different this year. I want to be more intentional about documenting my life, so I really remember all of the moments that make up a month: the good ones, the bad ones, the learning experiences, the triumphs. All of it deserves my recognition. So that’s what I’ve done – I’m looking back on my month in six different ways: moments, pictures, books, movies, podcasts, and goals. This will be a lengthy post, but I hope it will give a pretty great overview of my month and everything that happened.

January in Moments

The first month of the year carries so much weight. We all want the year to get off to the best start possible! In some ways, this was a really good month and in other ways, not so much.

I went to the circus in January. It was a pretty last-minute decision, but my friend had free tickets through her work, so I went with her and another friend. And it was fun! It was a lot of fun. But I ended up feeling a little weird about the whole “animals performing for my entertainment” deal. Kinda how I feel about Sea World.

I went on a really good first date with a guy I met off Tinder, but then we had a really, really, really bad second date the following weekend. Like, easily my worst date ever. Hilariously awful.

My brother and I went on our first movie date in years and it was all kinds of wonderful. I don’t even think my oldest nephew was alive the last time we had a one-on-one movie date. We were more than due for this. I also went to Cinebistro in Hyde Park with my roommate for a movie date, and I never want to go to another kind of movie theater ever again.

My favorite coworker left my company and I was heartbroken but happy for him. It’s hard when people leave, even when we know it’s for the best.

In January, I bit the bullet and did something I’d been dying to do: I got bangs! I am so, so, so happy with the change and have gotten so many compliments. I feel like a completely new person.

I dealt with a lot of health issues this month. My chronic congestion kept me miserable, so I tried a neti pot and humidifier. Neither helped. Then, the last week of the month, I developed a head cold and had to take off work for two days, so that wasn’t fun. Lastly, I had to get a mole on my back biopsied and I’ll find out the results of that within a week or so. I’m trying not to worry about it, but I do know that nearly 10,000 people a year die from melanoma, so.

January also brought colder temperatures to Florida, a trip to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter where I tried hot butterbeer for the first time, and seeing my grandma’s gravestone for the first time, which was all kinds of emotional and hard. I still can’t believe that she is really gone forever.

January in Pictures

january

Clockwise from left: (1) a pretzel bigger than my face (2) circus! (3) Dutch (4) Cinebistro is very Instagram-worthy (5) Bangs! (6) A cold day and hot butterbeer make for a happy Steph (7) flowers for the apartment (8) my grandma’s gravestone (9) bonfire at book club

January in Books

I read seven books in January for a total of 2,301 pages read. Two of the books were diverse. Here’s what I read:

January in Movies

I ended up watching three movies in January, which may not seem like a lot to some but is for me! I’m not much of a movie buff. Here’s what I saw:

  • Daddy’s Home – Typical Will Ferrell comedy, but I love his movies so I enjoyed this one. Not his best, but still funny.
  • Sisters – Tina Fey and Amy Poehler can do no wrong. I loved this movie. It was hilarious!
  • Forrest Gump – I loved seeing Savannah at the beginning of this movie. And I loved Tom Hanks, as per usual. The movie left me feeling very melancholy, though, so I’m not sure how I feel about it.

January in Podcasts

I added three new shows to my feed, but they are still in the “trying out” phase (I give every podcast five episodes to hook me in), but I am enjoying them so they might have the staying power to remain in my feed:

  • Pop Culture Happy Hour – I kept hearing about this show, so I decided to give it a try. I really like it so far, but it is kind of dull to listen to people talk for 20-30 minutes about a movie you haven’t seen and don’t plan on seeing. So we’ll see if I keep it.
  • Another Round – I heard about this podcast through Happier with Gretchen Rubin and I’m kinda enamored with the hosts and I like that it covers a lot of topics I don’t hear about from my other podcasts. Pretty sure this one is staying for good.
  • What Should I Read Next? – I learned about this podcast through Kathleen. In this podcast, the host talks to a guest about three books they loved (and why), one book they hated (and why), and what they are currently reading. Based on that discussion, the host will recommend three books to read. It’s a fun premise!

For my regular podcasts, I really enjoyed the following episodes:

January in Goals

The goals I made this month are tied to my yearly intentions, but here is some of what I wanted to accomplish:

  • I wanted to outline my novel, but I didn’t really make the time for this goal like I wanted to. I do have a good idea of how I want to change and re-write certain parts of my book, but I do wish I had spent more time with this goal.
  • I wanted to exercise three times per week. I achieved this goal, aside from the last week because I got sick and only exercised one day.
  • I wanted to drink 16 ounces of water per day, but this was a struggle for me and I think I only achieved it half of the time.
  • I wanted to buy a neti pot to see if that cleared up my congestion. I did this; it did not help.
  • I wanted to go on two dates (check!) and have an adventure (check! – counting going to the circus as my adventure).
  • I wanted to read the first Harry Potter novel (check!) and watch Forrest Gump (check!).

What was one highlight for you from January?

Categories: Recurring Series

Five for Friday (v. 49)

IMG_1390

1) Saturday morning, my roommate and I bundled ourselves up and headed to Orlando for some Harry Potter magic. It was a super cold morning (by Florida standards – in the 40s!), but my roommate let me borrow her Gryffindor scarf and once we arrived, we hightailed right to the Leaky Cauldron for hot butterbeer. Oh. You. Guys. Hot butterbeer > cold butterbeer all the days of my life. It was sensational. Rich and creamy and warm and filling. It was everything I ever needed.

2) I woke up on Tuesday with a sore throat, which soon morphed into body aches, plugged ears, sneezing, and congestion. I left work early on Tuesday and spent all of Wednesday in bed, which was exactly what my body needed. So many coworkers, including my roommate, have come down with this illness, so I guess my immune system wasn’t strong enough to fight back. (Definitely time to get back to my vitamin regimen.) In any event, I was back at work on Thursday and am feeling as if I’m on the mend. Slowly but surely!

3) The upside to being sick and not having the energy to do much but lounge in bed was that I was able to binge on Gilmore Girls. I finally finished season one and am six episodes into season two. This show gives me all of the happy feels, mostly because my mom and I have such a similar relationship as Lorelei and Rory do. It’s fun to have your mom as your best friend!

4) I don’t talk about it much on here, but I’m actually a pretty intense NFL football fan. Honestly, get me talking about pro football and you likely can’t shut me up. I play fantasy football and I’m not too shabby at playing a “pick ’em” football pool (wherein, you pick the winner of each game each week; the person with the most correct guesses wins). I’ve been watching as an avid fan since high school because it was just another way to connect with my dad and my brother. The team I root for the most is the Miami Dolphins, and they don’t necessarily make it easy to be their fan. My all-time favorite player, though, has been and always will be Peyton Manning. I love him. So much that I turn into a crazy person when a) he’s playing or b) someone talks smack about him. (Oh, and people love talking smack about him.)

So, you can imagine how incredibly delighted I was when the Broncos won the AFC Championship game and Peyton! Will! End! His! Career! At! The! Super! Bowl! I am so thrilled. So. Thrilled. I nearly cried. (I’m a mess when it comes to Peyton, okay?!)

I just really want Peyton to finish out his Hall of Fame career with a Super Bowl win. It’s going to be tough (Panthers look really hard to beat!), but nothing would be more epic than that.

(And yes, I do think this is it for Peyton. He’s turning 40 in March! He’s an old man playing a young man’s game. :))

5) This weekend, I don’t have much going on. I have my dermatology appointment this afternoon and then book club this evening. On Saturday, my mom and I are meeting for lunch and then going to tour a new place where I might board Dutch during our cruise in March. I’ve been unhappy with his normal boarder, and this one comes highly recommended by a coworker. It’s a bit more money, but he would get more one-on-one attention and lots of daily walks (and a sweet “villa” to lounge about!). Other than that, though, the rest of my weekend is free for me to work on my novel, read, and lay low so I can hopefully get over this head cold for good!

What are your weekend plans?

Categories: Recurring Series

Currently in January

File_000 (1)

Feeling… very frustrated by my congestion woes and trying to remember a time when I wasn’t congested. I need two working nostrils again, pleaseandthankyou.

Anticipating… a trip to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter tomorrow. I just reread the first book and it gave me so many happy feels, so I am really looking forward to visiting this magical place again.

Happy… that I have bangs again! I’m very much a fan of changing up my hairstyle frequently, and I’ve been thinking about getting bangs for a while now. I am very happy with my decision!

Reading… Where We Belong by Emily Giffin. I just started it last night and her books typically take me a while to get into, but it’s good so far! 

Watching… Quantico. I’m only two episodes away from finishing the first half of season one, and it’s become such a guilty pleasure of mine. The show is completely ridiculous, the acting is pretty atrocious, and there’s way too much going on in terms of characters and plotlines, but still, I am hooked.

Grateful… for a full calendar. It can be overwhelming at times as someone who basically likes to be a lump as much as possible, but I am very grateful for the people in my life and the memories I’m making.

Taking a break… from Facebook right now. I placed the app on the second screen of my phone, so I’m not tempted to mindlessly scroll through the feed. Facebook sometimes makes me feel bad about myself and my life, and when that happens, I know I just need to step away for the time being.

Using… a Neti pot, but not very successfully. This could be TMI, but whatever. From everything I saw and read, the water is just supposed to flow into one nostril and out the other. Fine, good, whatever. It just doesn’t for me. At most, I can get it to flow into one and then drip oh-so-slowly out of the other. And sometimes, it won’t even do that. I think my nostrils are broken.

Planning… to “run” a race next weekend. It’s called the Color Buzz and is a type of Color Run. I did it with my mom last year and it was a lot of fun. We were a mess by the end of it, but hilariously so. I can’t wait!

Obsessed with… my new planner. I always thought I was not the paper planner kind of girl, but I suppose I just hadn’t found the right one for me. I love using my planner to write down my goals for the week and things I need to do, as well as upcoming events. I am a changed woman.

Wanting… to feel more settled. I don’t even know what I need to feel more settled; it’s not as if I am dying to be in a relationship right now (a few Tinder dates over the past few weeks have me wanting to stay single forever). I guess I’m always in this perpetual state of waiting for the next shoe to drop, waiting for my life to be upended somehow. I know it’s just my anxiety talking, but it’s a nervous place to be.

Hoping… that my dermatology appointment goes well next week. I have a few moles that my doctor advised me to get checked out. (I have a lot of moles, have had them all my life, but don’t tend to worry about them since they’ve never grown in size.) The one she found was on my back and “worried her” so I scheduled an appointment. So, no, I absolutely haven’t been worrying about that at all. Absolutely not. Don’t you know me? Worry? HA. HA. HA.

What are you currently anticipating, watching, and obsessed with?

Categories: Recurring Series

Currently in December

IMG_0989

Loving… that Christmas is a mere four days away. I have so much anticipation right now! I do have to work Christmas Eve, but I’m hoping to get off work in time to attend a candlelight service at a nearby church with my mom. Dutch and I will be spending the night at her place on Christmas Eve and then spend the morning preparing to host Christmas dinner for our family. (We’re both a wee bit stressed out about hosting dinner, but I think we’ll get through it with our sanity intact. I hope so, at least.)

Reading… Instant Attraction by Jill Shalvis. I read this book back in 2010 and have a rave review of it on Goodreads, and decided to re-read it. I’m on a mission to read as many contemporary romance novels as I can to give me some inspiration for my novel, which is in the same genre. This is the kind of research I can totally get behind!

Anticipating… writing my “Best of 2015” posts for this year. It’s something I’ve been doing since 2009 and it’s one of my favorite yearly traditions. The first post will be published on Wednesday, so stay tuned!

Planning… my goals for 2016. I have some really specific ideas in mind for what I want to accomplish in the new year, based on how I am feeling as I wrap up 2015.

Thinking… constantly about my novel and the kind of work I want to put out into the world.

Frustrated… with car issues. My car has, thankfully, been problem-free since I got it almost three years ago, but the past two weeks have been very costly ones on the car front. I think I’ve spent more than $800 between an oil change, engine inspections, four new tires, and a necessary repair to a water pump. And there is still a $600 repair that it will need soon, but that I just cannot afford right now. I really, really wish I didn’t have to be dependent on a car.

Wondering… how I am going to focus on work this week! I am such a little kid at heart when it comes to Christmas, and I’m filled with so much joy about what this week will bring.

Feeling… up and down, I guess is the best way to describe it. Some days I am happy and carefree and feeling so blessed with my life, and other days, I am lonely and worn out and wanting to hibernate for a month straight. It’s this strange dichotomy that has me feeling like my emotions are playing Russian roulette on a daily basis.

Sad… about Grandma, about my dad, about the missing pieces in my life.

Grateful… for the beauty of my life. I have so much to be thankful for: a beautiful home, a wonderful roommate, fabulous friends, a loving mother, a supportive brother, adorable nephews, a job I love, and a dog I adore. I have a good life, and it’s easy to forget that when I constantly ponder the “what if’s” and the “should have’s.”

Wishing… that loved ones could make phone calls from Heaven. I’d just like to hear my grandma’s voice again.

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