Loving… the beautiful weather. We have really lucked out when it comes to the weather this month. We’re seeing mornings in the low 70s with low humidity. This week, we even get a short but much appreciated “cold” front with lows in the (upper) 50s. October can be a fickle month, so I’m just going to appreciate not feeling like I’m walking straight inside a sauna every time I go outside.
Loathing… my lack of motivation when it comes to my workout routine. Based on some really helpful comments from you guys, I have decided that I’m not going to force myself to go for a walk every day. Obviously, that’s just not working for me. Instead, I want to try to get in a nice 30-minute walk three times a week. It’s a very small, very doable goal. The weather (see above) is finally cooling down a bit, which means I can fit in a walk in the morning or afternoon or evening, and not turn into a sweaty, red-faced mess. So that’s the new goal. Three walks a week. That’s all! I can do that.
Reading… the same books I mentioned on Friday, ha. I’m seven hours into my audiobook, The Agathas by Kathleen Glasgow, and it gets more and more interesting the further I get into the book. I’m about halfway through my other books, Business or Pleasure by Rachel Lynn Solomon and Drowning by T.J. Newman.
Watching… Love Is Blind, season 5. Why do I keep watching this trainwreck of a show? It’s awful and unrealistic, and they really do cast some terrible people. But alas, I’m here for the drama and, in that case, this show delivers.
Listening to… Nobody Panic, on Nicole’s recommendation. I’m currently making my way through the archives, but I am loving it so far. Between their funny banter and really helpful advice, I’m just enjoying myself immensely. I get excited every time I listen to a new (well, old, but new to me) episode.
Anticipating… my LASIK procedure! God willing, this will happen on Friday and I should get a call today or tomorrow with my surgery time. I am so excited. Am I a little apprehensive that I’ll somehow wind up completely blind? Sure. But I don’t think that will happen. Mostly, I cannot wait to finally be able to see out of my own eyeballs very soon.
Thinking about… NaBloPoMo! I am planning on participating for my third year in a row, even though I’m already feeling stressed out about keeping up with all of the writing and commenting and blog posts. We’re all just going to do the best we can, right? One thing I want to focus on this time around is writing more stream-of-consciousness posts. I don’t want to adhere to a super-strict editorial calendar and write all of these long-form blog posts. I just want to write from the heart and enjoy the experience!
Buying… new products for my office nook. I bought a pair of monitor arms that I need to install as well as a new whiteboard to hang up. I also bought this fun daily to-do list pad that I can’t wait to start using. I have tried so many different pads and planners to organize my days/weeks, so this is just another product in a very long line. Hopefully, I love it!
Grateful… to have found a dietician that so closely aligns with my own morals and values when it comes to eating. During our last appointment, we were talking about strategies to help me drink more water. I talked about how it’s so much easier to just grab a Dr. Pepper from the fridge than it is to grab my water bottle and fill it up with ice and water. So she said how maybe I could combine these activities. Whenever I go to get a Dr. Pepper, I also have to fill up my water bottle at that time. My eyes brightened. “I love that! And so it’s like a reward for filling up my water bottle. I fill it up, I get a Dr. Pepper.” And she was very quick to tell me that food/drinks are not rewards. “You do not need any reason to have a Dr. Pepper. You can have a Dr. Pepper whenever you want.” It was a reminder that a) I still have a lot of unlearning to do when it comes to diet culture and b) she will never shame me for my soda habit. It’s so refreshing!
What are you currently loving and anticipating?
Oh I’m so glad you like Nobody Panic! It’s just such a fun pod and it brightens my day to listen to them. I remember listening to How To Build A Wall and it was one of the funniest things I had listened to. It was the pandemic, so I needed something cheerful.
I will be cheering on everyone in NaBloPoMo but I am not sure how much I will be able to read and comment. I’ll just do my best! When I was travelling last week, I didn’t read any blog posts for like two days and I had 75 unread posts. So…that seems unreasonable to read everything! It’s just for fun so we will all just do our best. I am not participating and I am a bit worried about it! Lol. I was thinking of doing NaNoWriMo but I’m not quite ready for that yet.
Good luck with your LASIK! And I LOVE your dietician!
I am finding it harder and harder to keep up with reading blog posts, so I feel you! It’s a good problem to have, though. There was a time when my blogging queue was dwindling because so many bloggers had quit. I’m glad there has been a resurgence – or, at least, I found the bloggers who are still blogging!
Your bullet about your dietician made me feel warm and happy. She sounds really excellent.
I am a little anxious about NaBloPoMo. I want to do it again because I otherwise I would totally have NaBloPoMo FOMO, but I am barely hanging on with regular posting as it is. We’ll see how it goes. I like your idea of just doing the best that we can. And I also know that it’s an aspiration not an obligation, which helps, too.
Like you, I am also struggling against low workout motivation. I did manage to go for a good walk today, which is a win because I am not-walking more often than I am walking. Baby steps!
Hoping the Lasik procedure goes through and is smooth and easy with a swift recovery!!!
If I’m remembering last year’s NaBloPoMo correctly, didn’t you start without putting any pressure on yourself to do it every day if you didn’t feel like it? I think that’s a great way to approach a challenge like this! The goal is to just try and if you miss a day, that’s okay. You got this! (But also: It’s okay if you don’t want to do it!)
YOU WILL NOT GO BLIND FROM LASIK!!!! It was the 10 scariest minutes of my life that was all worth it the next day when I could read the alarm clock from across the room compounded by everyday of my life since then with good vision. Just be obsessive about using your eye drops and you’ll do fine. I’m excited for you!
Thank you, Beckett! That’s what everyone is telling me: eye drops, eye drops, eye drops! I am really looking forward to finally having the procedure done.
Oh, I hope we get a tour of the new office set up. It sounds lovely!
Fingers crossed for your LASIK procedure!
There will definitely be some before and after photos once everything is set up!
LASIK! How exciting!
Loving: my current books! One on kindle (Breasts and eggs) and one on audio (the whisper man).
Anticipating: all the Halloween activities that take place in NJ. We are kind of crazy here lol
Halloween activities must be so much fun with kids! We have some activities here – it’s just different when it’s sweltering outside, haha.
I am so glad you found such a great dietician. She sounds so amazing!!
Fingers crossed that all goes as planned and you get lasik this week! I hope it all goes incredibly smoothly! Can’t wait to hear how much you love it!
I’m anticipating going to a pumpkin event at the zoo and crossing my fingers that we are both healthy and can attend. Taco has strep throat and I’m going in this afternoon for a strep test as I have a sore throat that has gotten progressively worse. So I guess I am loving how easy it was to book a minute clinic appointment at Target? But that is really reaching… The week is off to a bit of a brutal start. 🙁
I’m sorry your week is not going as planned! I hope you can still go to the zoo event – I know how much you were looking forward to that!
Well… the weather in our part of Florida has NOT been pleasant for most of October, but today our cold front rolled in and I am LOVING IT. I think you’ll be much more likely to get out and walk when it’s not so disgustingly hot and sticky (seriously, who wants to go out in that?) And changing the goal to three days a week is brilliant.
It’s funny because I want to get LASIK but I do have that nagging fear that I’ll end up blind. Has anyone EVER gone blind from LASIK surgery??? I seriously doubt it. I haven’t even started the process, other than discussing it with my eye doctor- it’s just one of those things I want to do “someday.”
Yes, I’m getting excited about NaBloPoMo. I agree- posting every day is kind of hard, but what’s REALLY hard is keeping up with everyone else’s posts. Especially last year, there were so many people doing it! Like you said- we’ll do our best. I’d rather have more people doing it, even if they’re not commenting on my posts every single day. The more the merrier!
I actually Googled “can you go blind from LASIK” and you CANNOT. At least that’s what Google told me! There is always the potential for complications, but those can usually be managed/fixed. I encourage you to do a consultation at a LASIK center – they’re free and can give you insight into whether or not you’re a candidate.
It’s so hard keeping up with other people’s posts for NaBloPoMo. I’m trying to figure out the best strategy for me!
Aww yay! It makes me so happy to read you are having decent weather! And you can totally do these three walks – we’re cheering you on!
I am v excited for your Lasik on Friday! It’s going to be so nice not to have to use contacts or lenses anymore!
I love your dietician and that you shared that with us. Thank you for the reminder food is not a reward! I actually just wrote something about getting a vegan treat and that makes me wonder how I am approaching treat, mentally. Anyway, that is smart to link those activities up. It makes me wonder if that’s part of the Atomic Habits trick. I haven’t read it but have heard people talking about it lately. I’m so helpful, I know. LOL.
Currently loving being at home. Anticipating getting my hair dyed for the first time ever (since I did it myself in HS) on Friday!
I can’t WAIT to be able to see from my own eyeballs and not have to use corrective lenses anymore! AHHH.
I love the trick of linking up two activities to build a habit! I never thought to do it with my water habit, haha.
A big part of the reason that I got a dog was to force me to take a walk every day. Since he died in May, it’s been an emotional struggle to keep up that habit. I miss him so much on our walks. Sigh. I’ve been keeping it up, though, so that’s good. I’m trying to be better about doing some hand weights. I’m quite a bit older than you, and losing muscle mass is a real thing. Blah. I did some weights today, though, so I am happy about that!
I’m excited for you to have your lasik, and to have everything go smoothly, that is going to be exciting. I cannot even imagine.
I’m planning to do NaBloPoMo again. It’s hard to keep up with everyone, something that is difficult as November is a busy month for me. But I’m going to try! We’ll all just have to try our best, as you say.
I like what your dietician said about rewards, and food not being one. It reminds me of shopping. Years ago I was out with a girl friend of mine, and there was a blouse or something that I wanted. She said something like, “You should treat yourself, you deserve it!” And I had to think, well, sure. It would be a nice reward. But ‘deserving’ something is different than being able to pay for it. I wanted it, but I didn’t have enough money and didn’t want to put it on my credit card. So I put it back. Maybe that’s nothing at all like what your dietician said, actually…she was saying you don’t need to ‘earn’ a Dr. Pepper, whereas I was thinking, I didn’t want to have to pay interest on this blouse. Never mind on my comment, it’s confusing!
I think it’s commendable that you’ve been able to keep up with your daily walks, even after Mulder passed away. I can imagine how emotional those walks must be!
I do understand where you were coming from with the blouse/treating yourself idea. I think we always try to justify purchases/what we eat with that “treat yourself!” mindset, but that’s not always helpful.