Feeling… reinvigorated about dating after reading and loving the book How to Not Die Alone by Logan Ury. I’ve long felt apathetic about dating and after reading the book, I think it stems from my fear that I will go through a long and arduous dating process, wasting my precious time and money, and never find that great love of my life. And I’ve also felt like it should be easier to date, that because dating felt so hard meant there was something wrong with me. But dating is a skill; it’s really not natural for us to try to find love in this modern era of dating apps, so it makes sense that it takes work. Anyway, I am planning on writing a blog post soon about the lessons I’m taking away from this book and how I’m going to apply them to my dating life.
Watching… a lot of reality TV right now! It’s summertime so, of course, I’m watching my yearly fave, Big Brother. This show is on three times a week, there are accompanying daily podcasts to listen to, and live feeds of the contestants to watch, so it’s quite the time commitment! But I love it. I’m also watching The Challenge for the first time ever, which pits former reality TV stars together in a series of very, erm, challenging physical competitions. I’m finding it so fun to watch! And, lastly, I am watching The Bachelorette. It’s a weird season because they have two bachelorettes and it seems like production didn’t really figure out how this was going to work beforehand, so I think it’s going to get really messy really soon. But that’s why we watch reality TV, right?!
Listening to… Fad Camp. This podcast was recommended for people who love Maintenance Phase but wish it focused more on diets/diet culture and less on digging into diet-based research. I want to be clear that I love Maintenance Phase for what it is; I love when they get nerdy about research and find their episodes fascinating. But what I love about Fad Camp is that it focuses more on the hosts’ individual experiences with diets and diet culture. I love hearing about all the different diets we subject ourselves to so that we can fit into this idealized version of ourselves. The hosts are funny, self-deprecating, and seem like genuinely good friends. Plus, they have wonderful Irish accents that are fun to listen to!
Grateful… for my therapist. Being able to schedule an emergency therapy appointment with her earlier this month was amazing. I really needed her calming presence and helpful guidance as I worked through a really difficult anxiety spiral. Knowing I have her in my back pocket to help me when I get into these dark places is a sense of relief and comfort that I wish everyone could have.
Anticipating… our podcast launch! I can’t believe we’re releasing our trailer episode in just a few days! And then our first episode comes out on August 9th. This is going to be such a wild ride and I cannot wait for us to finally launch this little creative darling of ours into the world. We don’t have anything up on Instagram just yet, but you can follow us here if you’re so inclined.
Loathing… Covid. It has been a month of person after person in my family falling ill with Covid. First it was my mom, then it was my stepdad, and the latest person to get it was my brother. Thankfully, everyone recovered just fine and no worse for wear, but it has not been a fun month for us. We haven’t even been able to celebrate my mom’s birthday! I think we will finally be able to celebrate it this weekend, three full weeks after her actual birthday. But while everyone in my family getting Covid was scary and anxiety-inducing, I am just glad we got it now—when most of us are vaccinated and the strain is a lot less intense than previous iterations.
Thinking about… finally making the Peloton plunge. Well, I’ve been on the Peloton train for a year now but I don’t have the actual Peloton bike and there’s a part of me that really, really wants one. It would be nice to know if the resistance I’m using is anywhere close to where it needs to be (I have a cadence sensor but I don’t think there’s any tool I can get to track resistance) and to monitor my output. Since I am planning on canceling my massage membership, that will give me around $80-$100 back in my budget. And it got me thinking about financing a Peloton bike (no, I can’t afford to pay outright for a $2,000 bike)—the monthly cost of the bike + the additional membership fee ($44 a month for all-access membership, which is required if you have their bike, vs $15 for the bare-bones, app-based membership). It would come out to about the same price as what I was paying for the massage membership. I’m not fully convinced I want to take the plunge, but I’m about 70% of the way there.
Buying… lots of fun stuff:
- A new cat tower – The cats love their new tower! Eloise is particularly fond of sleeping on the top platform while Lila loves curling up in one of the caves. I’m hoping Lila starts using the hammocks soon, since that’s the reason I bought this particular tower, but she’s a slow adopter of new things so it may just take some time.
- A Roomba – I am so damn happy with my decision to get a Roomba! On Monday, I let it vacuum my entire apartment and it spend nearly 90 minutes scooting around my 700ish-square-foot space while I worked. It does a much better job of vacuuming than I could ever do on my own!
- A new phone – It was a no-brainer to upgrade my phone, especially since the lease price for an iPhone 13 Pro is only going to cost me $4 a month! I’m really happy with my decision.
Loving… my new glasses! I finally ordered new Warby Parker glasses (from this post, I went with option 2!) and received them on Sunday. I’m still getting used to them but they honestly don’t feel too different (size-wise) from my previous glasses. It’s fun to have something new to wear around, though!
What’s something fun you bought this month?
I recently bought the Olive & June mani-pedi systems, and I think it is supposed to be delivered today. I’ve ruminated over this purchase for a long time. I have always sucked at doing my own nails, but having them done at a salon on a regular basis is SO expensive. I watched the mani-pedi tutorial on their YouTube channel, and it actually looked pretty simple. Their tools and process made me confident I could make my nails look pretty decent without the salon. I think both the mani and pedi systems together is around $175, but I received a 20% discount by signing up for their newsletter. You can get it cheaper if you decide to only buy one polish and only the tools that come with the systems, but I decided to do the 7 polish option with a few add-ons, because the systems come with a special polish applicant tool that only fits on Olive & June polish brushes (and maybe a few other brands), but my polish collection is so scant I knew I would need to purchase a few them from O&J so they would be compatible with that application tool and to get some variety. I’m hoping this will be a fun project for me to try out tomorrow while binge-watching the new season of Virgin River. <3
Painting my nails is one of my new favorite weekend activities! I have a few Olive + June nail polishes but I don’t feel like they last as long as I want (literally like only a few days before they start chipping!) I wonder if it’s because I don’t have the mani system, though. You’ll have to let me know how it goes for you!
I bought three new dresses this month! I am slowly trying to get ride of any dresses I own that aren’t made of natural fabrics and don’t have pockets, so I took out five or six dresses for donation and replaced them with a few lovely new ones. I’m going to keep an eye out on end of season sales in the fall and winter and try to get a few for each season if I can find some that meet my standards.
This morning I went to the dentist and I picked up a bunch of new contacts, so in one trip to the nearest city, I wiped out my HSA! Oh, well, I guess my teeth will stay in my head and I’ll be able to see, so that’s thrilling.
I am so excited that your cats love their new cat tree. It always seems like such an expensive purchase, but if your cats are anything like Zelda, it will be pennies per use in the long run! Z spends about 75% of her day on hers and only comes down to torment the dog and beg for food. I’d love a photo of Eloise in a hammock – Zelda has been resistant to hammocks and I’ve purchased two and donated two because she won’t use them, but I think it’s soooo cute when kitties curl up in them.
One of the reasons I was so resistant to buy the cat tree is because I was so nervous the cats wouldn’t use it! So it was really gratifying that they started using it right away – woo! Lila has this hammock (https://www.chewy.com/frisco-20-in-faux-fur-cat-tree/dp/190453) and she uses it CONSTANTLY. So that’s why I bought this cat tree with hammocks – hoping she starts using them soon. Eloise doesn’t use the hammock at all.
Your dress goal is such a good one! I love that.
I am glad that dating book was uplifting for you. I HATED dating. And I hated how people who weren’t dating romanticized dating. I felt like some of my married friend wanted to live vicariously through me and hear my dating stories and I just wanted to say IT SUCKS AND WOULD GLADLY TRADE LIVES. Phil enjoyed dating way more than me but he did not take it so seriously. He thought it was fun to meet new people and it was to some extent, but I was dating to find the right person, not to meet people… If, God forbid, something were to happen to Phil I am almost sure I would just stay single because I would not want to date again!! Man I sound negative but I just want you to know that I can relate to how defeating and exhausting dating is! And I will never forget that no matter how long I’ve been married!
I can’t really think of anything fun I’ve bought this month but my current self is glad that past Lisa bought tickets to Alanis and Brandi. It is kind of a lot to go to concerts 2 weekends in a row but like Gretchen Ruben says, I’m trying to “choose the bigger life” when I can!
Lisa, you are speaking my language so much! You don’t sound negative at all – you sound like an absolute realist. Dating is not all that fun for the most part, especially because, like you, I’m not dating to meet new people. I’m dating to find my future, long-term partner! I love your support in how horrible dating is, especially in your 30s, lol.
I love your new glasses!
Well, if you do want to buy a Peloton, let me know and I can give you a referral code (for a little discount)… and if you don’t want to be talked into it by anyone, then don’t talk to me, because I’ll talk about the love for my Peloton ALL DAY LONG…. LOL (but if you need more convincing, then DO talk to me and I’ll answer all your questions). Can you tell I am a bit excited about this for you? I got my bike a year ago (after using the app for a year and I have not regretted it.
You know I will come straight to you if I have more questions or want that lil referral code! 🙂 I need to get a few ducks in a row, but I’m hoping to make the purchase by the end of the year, hopefully!
Oh, what fun to read (most of) this. I’m totally in your camp – and, apparently, Lisa’s – when it comes to dating. I hate it. I’m perfectly fine being on my own because the idea of trying to “connect” with someone new practically gives me hives. So I’m maybe not the best person for a dating pep talk but I will be right here cheering you on whatever you decide to do! 🙂
Ummm… I’m trying to limit fun purchases (the beginning of the month was $$$$) so focusing on the practical right now. But (as I hope to post soon, PLEASE UNIVERSE) I did buy some fun things on my family’s vacation. 🙂
(And yay on the Peloton bike! Here’s hoping you can make it work!)