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?
We loved The Crown so much! It took awhile to adjust to the new actors in seasons 3 and 4 (they change every 2 seasons since the characters have aged). But each season has been so wonderful and I always learn sooo much.
I was only 13 during the OJ Simpson trial, but I still remember where I was when the verdict was read. I was in the music classroom at school and our teacher turned on the radio so we could hear the verdict. That sounds like a really heavy but important podcast.
We are currently watching “Away” on Netflix, I’m anticipating a more normal summer and getting Paul back into swimming lessons after taking a year off! And I’m grateful that I’m fully vaccinated and that many of our close friends and family are, too. I am not 100% confident the vaccine adequately protects me since I’m on immune suppressant drugs but I’m hopeful it does and I think our case numbers will go down once more young people are vaccinated (our numbers have been higher lately – not as bad as the fall but they’ve trended up lately so hopefully things get better soon).
We’re currently watching Season 4 of Schitt’s Creek too (although first time around – we’re late to shows, because we usually don’t watch much TV besides news).
I am so excited that you’ll be fully vaccinated soon. As you know, I just got my second shot last week too and can’t wait for the two weeks to be over to feel fully protected (although I am not in a rush to resume a very active social life or anything anytime soon, we will see Jon’s Mom for the first time after 18 months!).
That is a lovely bedtime routine! I like to be in bed early to read too, and I just love it!
I am so happy for people who are high risk to have the shot now too. I see them being able to do things they didn’t for over a year, and it makes me feel happy they have some normalcy now.
That staycation sounds fab! I hope it’s relaxing, even with the back and forth. LOL, is this your mom’s baby moon before Lucy arrives?!
I’m currently watching Treehouse Masters, anticipating social events this weekend, grateful for an awesome boss (well, manager).
What a wonderful update. I love these. (I like pretty much all of your posts, so there’s that…Ha!)
Your bedtime routine sounds awesome. I’ve been so darn tired recently I’ve fallen asleep sitting up with the lights on at least 3 times each of the past 3 weeks. Sigh.
I’m envious of your staycation. I can’t remember the last time I went swimming! (It’s rarely warm enough here for me to even consider it…)
Yay for being fully vaccinated, too. It’s an odd sense of relief, isn’t it?
And finally…. thank you for posting that about how our bodies can feel so different day-to-day. I often think, “But I didn’t change anything!” Yes, but may be my body is trying to tell me something different today, vs. yesterday! Thanks for the helpful perspective on this. 🙂