Recurring Series

Week in the Life: Monday, November 9

This week, I am documenting my life in a series of “Week in the Life” posts. I hope everyone enjoys this little peek into my day-to-day!

I woke up a little before 6 a.m. and from there, it was a rush to get ready and out the door. I took Dutch for his first morning walk, fed him, took a shower and did my hair and makeup, got dressed, packed my lunch, and then took Dutch on his second morning walk (yes, he gets two walks in a one-hour period in the mornings. And both are necessary, if you know what I mean!)

It was a little after 7:15 when I left for work, which means I’ll probably be a bit late this morning. Oh, well. Mondays are hard.

Once at work, I put away my lunch and drank my breakfast shake while I prepared myself for a morning of writing. I wanted to finish up monthly content for a client, and then spend the rest of the day editing.

Mid-morning, after I finished my writing task for the day, I made myself a small bowl of oatmeal and then started on the editing work I needed to get done. Lots of pages to edit, especially as I arranged a proofing trade with a coworker in the midst of my writing task earlier.

At 11:15, I left work, went home, and took Dutch on a walk. This used to be my mom’s job when I lived with her since her work was so close to our apartment. And now it’s mine! It’s annoying to have to leave work every day, but I do like getting away from my desk and getting some sunshine and exercise during lunch.

After our walk, I put the ingredients for Skinnytaste’s Santa Fe Chicken in the Crock-Pot and snuggled with Dutch for a little bit before driving back to work.

Back at work, I heated up my lunch in the breakroom. Today, I had Lean Cuisine taquitos, string cheese, corn, and a Trader Joe’s treat. I read some blogs while eating my lunch, and then jumped right back into the editing task I needed to complete.

Around 3 p.m., I finished editing and started working on monthly content for another client. This client is a little bit different from my other ones, as I write blog-style articles rather than SEO-style website content. It’s fun, but also a little bit challenging.

I got sidetracked by chit-chat with my coworkers, so I only ended up writing one article before it was time to go home.

I left work at 5, and got caught in terrible, terrible traffic. The kind of traffic that makes you want to cry and question if you’ll ever see home again. I ended up taking a detour to get gas because I was running low and didn’t want to have to stop before work or during my lunch break tomorrow, but this ended up being a bad decision because the traffic on that route was nearly at a standstill.

It was a little after 6 when I finally got home and I nearly wanted to kiss the pavement. Ha!

Once home, I took Dutch on his first nighttime walk and then put my things away, put on comfy clothes, took off my makeup, fed Dutch, and started finishing up dinner. Since I made a Crock-Pot meal, it only entailed shredding chicken and making rice. Hooray!

My roommate and I ate dinner while watching a couple episodes of The Tonight Show, and then we cleaned up the kitchen.

By then, it was around 7, so I took Dutch on his second nighttime walk (and prayed he wouldn’t need a third… yes, sometimes he needs THREE!), and then ensconced myself in my room to finish writing this blog post and to write my daily word count for NaNoWriMo.

Around 8:45, I finished up my writing (1,700 words today!) and then did my nighttime routine of brushing my teeth, washing my face, and taking my allergy meds. Then, I finished writing this blog post.

I read for a little bit (just started The Martian!) but I was way too tired to focus on the words, so it was lights out by 9:30 pm.

Thoughts on today: It was a good day, where I felt like I got a lot accomplished. I was productive at work, actually made dinner (it was my first time cooking for Roomie, too!), and met my word count goal for NaNoWriMo. This writing challenge is so intense, and it would feel so good to take a night off from it, but I am so motivated to complete this challenge. I was more tired than usual, but hoping an early night means waking up feeling more rested tomorrow!

What are you currently reading? What time do you normally wake up on the weekdays?

Categories: Recurring Series

Five for Friday (v. 46)

1) This weekend is moving weekend for my mom and stepdad! They are moving into a new, one-bedroom apartment that’s not very far away from where they’re living now. (Only now my mom will be within walking distance of her favorite running path, which is pretty cool.) I’m having some feelings about the change because I realized this would be the first place she’s lived without me, and that feels weird. Our lives have been so closely connected, so intertwined, that it’s strange for us to be living somewhat separate lives now. The good news is, her new place is still only about 20 minutes away from me, so I’ll still get to see her as much as I want/need.

2) Today is Day 6 of NaNoWriMo and I am sitting pretty at 8,345 words. Whee! I actually failed to meet my writing goal on Monday (I only wrote 450 words), so I’ve spent the past three days trying to catch myself up. I think I forgot how time-consuming this crazy project is. Writing 1,700 words a day is no joke and typically takes me 1-2 hours to complete. It means I’m spending the majority of my evenings camped out in my room, typing away furiously. This is after a full day of work, where I write for a living. Oy vey. But I am truly enjoying the process, having a ton of fun with my story, and I’m committed to finishing.

3) Next week, I’m going to document my life in a set of daily blog posts called “Week in the Life.” I did this last year around the same time, and I really enjoyed the process, so I’m doing it again this year. Sure, my life isn’t very exciting and not everyone will want to read these posts, but I like writing them and looking back on what I was doing during some random week in the year. I’ll be publishing the first post, detailing what I did on Monday, on Tuesday, so be on the lookout for that!

4) It’s been so hot in Florida, and I’m over it. I don’t necessarily want cold weather, but maybe some lows in the 60s? I know, I know. This sounds silly, but folks, we’re still seeing 90-degree days here. It’s quite ridiculous. I’m praying for a cold front!

5) Weekend plans? Not too much! I’m helping my mom and stepdad move into their new place, need to do some deep cleaning at my apartment, and I have a goal of writing 6,000 words of my novel. Hopefully, it’s a relaxing weekend!

What’s the weather like where you are? Any fun weekend plans?

Categories: Recurring Series

Five for Friday (v. 45)

1) It’s Halloween weekend! I’ll be the first to admit: I have very little love for this holiday. We didn’t really celebrate it when I was a kid. (I dressed up and went trick-or-treating as a young child, but stopped after age 11.) But my office likes to go all out for Halloween (we do a cubicle decorating and Halloween costume contest!), so I try to get in the spooky spirit. I will be dressing up today (look for my reveal on Instagram!) annnd… that’s about it. Ha. No Halloween parties and since I live in an apartment, no passing out candy for cute trick-or-treaters. Fine by me!

2) Do you find it easy to abandon a book you’re not really enjoying? I usually have a difficult time, especially if it’s a book that’s gotten good reviews from everyone I know. I just had this happen with Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter. I thought I would love it, but I was having a hard time getting into the story and when I went an entire day without reading it at all (I can’t remember the last time I went a full day without reading!), I knew it was time to just give it up and move on to something I would enjoy more. Now I’m reading a fun romance novel by Kristan Higgans – hooray!

3) Apparently, Dutch can only last a few months between vet visits. This is the fun of having a senior dog, I suppose! Early Tuesday morning, he got very, very sick. Throwing up, diarrhea, panting, shivering, lethargy – the whole nine yards. Even though he’s been in and out of the vet this year, he hasn’t been sick like that. It was terrifying, especially because I had to deal with it all on my own. (Like I said last week, this adulting thing is for the birds.) I considered taking him to an emergency vet, but he calmed down enough to sleep a little bit, so I decided to wait for my vet’s office to open. At the vet, they ran some tests and he was diagnosed with a bacterial infection. Poor dude! He was given meds and within 24 hours, was back to his normal self. So very grateful! Tuesday was such a scary day for me. Being a pet owner can be such a roller coaster, sometimes.

4) I’m slowly starting to get back to my exercise groove. Motivating myself to exercise used to be easier than it has been in the past few months. But the only way to get back into the habit is to do it, so I’m doing it. And it’s especially nice that my apartment gym is totally empty in the morning (I go at 5am), so I have the entire space to myself. I’m hoping to get into more of a routine with my workouts, but for now, just getting myself to the gym and sweating it out for 30 minutes a few times a week is enough.

5) I don’t have much going on this weekend. Tonight, my mom is coming over for pizza and a movie. Tomorrow, I’m meeting up with a friend to write and then taking it easy for the rest of the day (chores and errands will have to get done, but other than that, nada to do). And Sunday will be a day full of football and family. Happy weekend!

Do you have trouble abandoning books? What are your plans for this weekend?

Categories: Recurring Series

Five for Friday (v. 45)

1) I seem to go in spurts with my Friday posts. Sometimes, I want to keep it simple with a TGIF update, and other times, I want to write longer-form lists about what’s going on in my world. Right now, I’m feeling more of the latter. It’s probably because when I go through a difficult time, all I want to do is write about it. Writing is my safe place, it’s where I can get all my thoughts and feelings down in one place. So this is what I do. I write. I’ll just keep writing until I can make sense of things.

2) I’ve come to terms with the fact that I will not finish the Book Riot reading challenge. I only have five categories left to complete, but they are five categories I really wasn’t looking forward to completing, and I never want reading to become a chore. I’m on the fence about this reading challenge because I’m glad it made me read some books I’ve been meaning to read (Americanah and The Outsiders come quickly to mind), but I also slogged through books I only finished to mark a category complete (like The Pearl that Broke its Shell and Olive Kitteridge). I’m not upset about not finishing the challenge because, frankly, I’m excited to get back to my TBR list and reading the books I’ve been looking forward to reading. Bottom line: reading should be fun! And for some people, reading challenges are fun, and for others, they are not. Do what feels good for you!

3) I cooked twice this week! I’m very proud of that because cooking hasn’t been my thing lately. (It really never has been. Cooking is a necessary evil for me.) On Monday, I made turkey meatloaf and had the leftovers for lunch this week. Then, on Tuesday, I baked Italian chicken (easiest recipe ever: marinate chicken in Italian dressing overnight, then bake it!). I’m trying to eat at home more (weekends are a mess, so I’m trying to focus on weekdays), which means cooking more. Sigh, this adulthood stuff is for the birds.

4) New shows I’ve tried: Scream Queens (not for me, gave me terrible anxiety!), Life in Pieces (I love this show mostly because Colin Hanks gives me heart-eyes, but it’s pretty funny, too), and The Grinder (not as funny as I was hoping, but I adore Rob Lowe so much). Other shows I’m taping but haven’t gotten around to watching: Code Black and Quantico.

5) This weekend is going to be a busy one, but I’m glad about it because last weekend held a bit too much alone time. Alone time is wonderful, but too much of it just leads me to feel lethargic and lonely. Introverts crave social interaction, too! Anyway, today, Roomie and I are having a fun day together where we’ll carve pumpkins, make pizzas, and watch The Nightmare Before Christmas (I’ve never seen it!). I haven’t had solid girl time with my Roomie for weeks, so this day is much needed. On Saturday, I’ll catch up on chores and errands, and spend some time with my mom (it’ll be her first time seeing the apartment, now that we’re all moved in and unpacked!) And Sunday will be filled with the usual – football and family. Happy weekend!

Do you like reading challenges? What are your plans for this weekend?

Categories: Recurring Series

Five for Friday (v. 44)

1) First and foremost, I want to thank everyone who has offered their condolences for the loss of my grandma. The past week and a half have been the worst of my life, and it’s been the support from family and friends that have helped me get through it. I feel like I cry at the drop of a hat now – just a hug can make me start bawling! Grief is a weird business, and I feel like I’m only at the beginning of it.

2) I’m really glad I decided to go to the hospital with my mom two Sundays ago when we found out my grandma had been admitted back. It was the last time I was able to have a real conversation with her. And she looked amazing then! She ate an entire bowl of broth and a pudding cup, was able to conversate easily, etc. And the last conversation I had with her was her asking me how my new apartment is. This lady was in the hospital battling an infection and she still wanted to hear all about my life. That’s who my grandma was in a nutshell. Always concerned about others, always interested in their lives.

3) At my grandma’s memorial, as my grandpa went up to her casket to say his last goodbyes, his words to her were: “Four days in heaven, Barbara. How awesome is that?” The strength of his faith has always amazed me, but he’s blowing me away with how he’s handling this loss. Of course, he’s devastated, but he still has hope and faith and trust. It’s incredibly inspiring.

4) Here’s a Bible verse my cousin found that has brought me great comfort this week: “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” (Psalm 34:18) For anyone going through a hard time, whether grieving a loved one, a dream, a relationship, I hope that verse also brings you hope.

5) I’ve been so drained this week, so emotionally exhausted. I’m ready to have a low-key and relaxing weekend. My only plans are to watch my nephew’s soccer game on Saturday afternoon and hang out with my brother watching football on Sunday. Lots of sleep, TV watching, and reading on the docket, exactly what I need!

I need to hear something cheerful. Tell me something good that happened with you this week!