Loving… our January weather. This is the time of year that makes living through the humid, hot summer months worth it. Our weather has been phenomenal. My A/C has been turned off for most of the month, I’m finally getting to wear some warm winter clothes, and I can wear jeans in the middle of the day without dying. It’s been amazing! Most days, we’re somewhere in the 60s or low 70s and most nights, we get down into the 40s or 50s. I am just really hoping this cooler weather stays around in February!
Loathing… anxiety spirals. It’s been a really tough month for my mental health. Things started off really rocky but have started to improve as the month has progressed. I am so grateful for that. Having an anxiety disorder can be so tough—what’s scarier than your mind working against you?—but I worked through the anxiety spirals, got back into therapy, and am hopefully on my way back to mental health stability.
Watching… Only Murders in the Building, which got off to a slow start for me, but quickly got so intriguing that I watched the last 4 episodes in one sitting. (I rarely do this!) It was an excellent show (aside from some upsetting animal content) and I’m excited for season two.
In January, I also watched season two of Younger and kept marching through my rewatch of Brooklyn 99. The Amazing Race came back, which I was so excited about! This season happened in the midst of Covid; the players were able to do two legs before production had to shut down. Thankfully, though, after a 19-month break, they were able to resume production! Not all the teams were able to return (including my favorite team, wah), but I’m so glad the players had the chance to resume the race. And, finally, I’ve been watching this season of The Bachelor, but it’s so borrrring. I’m only watching so I can listen to Knox and Jamie’s recaps afterward.
Listening to… The Dropout. I originally listened to this podcast back in 2019 or 2020, which covered Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos. I’ve been loosely following the trial but didn’t know that The Dropout was covering it until way later in the trial. I decided to wait until the trial had concluded and the verdict read to dive back in. It’s a lot less stressful and aggravating to listen to all the ways Elizabeth Holmes defrauded and hurt people when I know she was found guilty! The Dropout does an amazing job covering the trial and bringing in experts to discuss the way these kinds of trials go, and I’m slowly working my way through the episodes.
Grateful for… staying healthy this month. It really seems that Covid is coming for all of us. In 2020, I didn’t know anyone close to me who had gotten it. In 2021, I started hearing about cases of those close to me and near the end of the year (specifically with Omicron), it seemed like everyone was getting it. I’m honestly super surprised that I haven’t gotten Covid and I don’t really think it’s anything I’ve done right (because you can do everything right and still get it!) I think I’ve just gotten really lucky.
Anticipating… kicking off a fun creative project with my bestie, Bri. We met last month to start brainstorming what we want this project to look like and what we needed to get started, and I left feeling so inspired and excited. And also a little scared—which I’m seeing as a good thing. It’s good when things feel a little scary! Trying something new, wondering if it will be a complete failure, being unsure if you have what it takes to take a concept and make it come to fruition… man, that’s where the magic happens, isn’t it? I’m excited to give this a try and see what happens! It could flop or it could be a success or it could fall somewhere in the middle, and I’m excited to put in the work and see where it goes.
Thinking about… how to lower my triglycerides levels. I talked about this on Friday so I won’t belabor the point, but my numbers are way beyond the normal range. I think the three big things I can do to lower my triglycerides are to eat less sugar, exercise more, and eat fewer carbs. I’m going to focus on the first two more than the carbs goal, at least right now. I am already working on lowering my sugar intake (starting with soda!) and I think I’m going to bring back my daily step goal, which will entail going for more walks. More to come in my February goals post!
Wishing… for a sit/stand desk. I’ve long wanted a sit/stand desk, but I always thought they were super-duper expensive. I found a couple options on Wayfair for under $400, and now I reallllly want one. They have programmable settings so you can just push a button when you want to raise or lower the desk, and they get great reviews. While I want to prioritize other home purchases this year (like a new mattress!), I am definitely adding a sit/stand desk to my list of things to save for.
Buying… not too much this month, thanks to my spending freeze. (Oh boy, am I glad it is over tomorrow!) I have spent a lot of money adding to my household supplies and toiletries, but I think I’ve talked enough about that lately. One purchase I bought this month (which I bought with a gift card, so I didn’t cheat!) was a pair of canvas hangers. I received a huge canvas world map for Christmas and wasn’t exactly sure how I was going to hang it up, but during a search of how to hang a canvas painting, I came across a video of CanvasHangers. You simply hammer this little contraption into the corners of the canvas (the nails are super tiny); each contraption has a sharp pin that you push right into the wall. I was pretty convinced the hangers weren’t going to hold my canvas, but I was delighted that it worked! Much easier than hammering nails into the wall and trying to get the canvas to hang straight.
Feeling… excited about the changes February will bring. I am going to officially step into my role as content team manager, which means, for the first time in 8+ years, I won’t have monthly content to worry about! I’m looking forward to having one-on-one meetings with the people who will be on my team and learning about the best ways to support them on a day-to-day basis and in terms of career growth. It’s going to be a new challenge for me, but I’m so ready for it.
What are you currently watching and anticipating?
Congratulations on our new role starting! I am so excited for you!
And WTG on the spending freeze. I think a sit to stand desk is totally worth it.
I am excited to see what your creative project is!
And I really hope February is a good mental health month 🙂
We are watching season 2 of Ted Lasso. I am anticipating (not in a good way) seeing some people I haven’t seen in a long time in February. We will see if it happens, LOL.
Thanks, friend! I’m one week in and things are going really well. I’m excited to sink my teeth more into this role and all it entails. 🙂
Ugh, this not-in-a-good-way anticipation is the worst kind of anticipation! I hope it goes better than you expected <3
So exciting about your new role. And the project you are doing with Bri! Curious to hear more about that when you are ready to share. My guess is you are starting a podcast!
I am so glad you are having nice weather. You Floridians earned that with the long seasons of hot weather you put up with. Everyone needs to have their “nice season.” My sister feels guilty telling us about how nice it is in Tucson right now but they deal w/ incredibly hot temps for so many months a year and of course it’s getting worse thanks to global warming.
I’m currently hate watching Archive 81 with Phil. We are 4.5 episodes into the 8 episode show. I could be done with it but we will finish it to see what happens. I don’t know how it’s such a highly rated show on Netflix. On my own, I’m watching Younger which I LOVE! And then I watch This Is Us when new episodes drop each week and I look forward to watching A Million Little Things when the show re-starts in February. And Sweet Magnolias when season 2 comes out in Feb! So I have a lot of show watching to look forward to, but it’s all shows Phil would never watch! Oh and I’m excited for the Hulu “Drop out” series to start. I think Phil will enjoy that. I agree that that podcast did a great job covering the trial.
Yes, we all have our nice seasons! I’m always expecting to have a hotter-than-normal winter thanks to global warming and while December was hot for us, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how many cool days we’ve gotten in January and now February. I’ll take whatever we can get!
Your new role sounds so exciting! Good luck and I hope all goes well!
Those canvas hangers look so helpful! I just make my husband put up all wall hangings, but it means I’m on his timeline and things could sit for months. I think you might have made it a lot easier for me to get stuff up on the walls.
I hope they work for you, too! I hate asking for help for things like this, especially as my stepdad just spent an entire afternoon helping me hang some floating shelves, so I wanted to find an easier way.
I did not know about the new Dropout episodes! Thanks for shouting that out and I will definitely be listening.
It took me a while to get a sit/stand desk but I’m so glad that I did. Mine is the VIVO 55 x 24 and it’s on Amazon for $299 but every once in a while it goes on Woot for under $200 (that’s where I got mine ==> for the price I was willing to take a risk). I’m really happy with it.
Oh, thank you so much for the rec about your sit/stand desk. I will definitely keep my eye out on Woot for it! $200 is much easier to take a risk on than $400+!
Yes, this January weather! It’s been a little warmer down here than where you are, but it still got cold! I love running in the cold weather, and also sleeping in it. I wish it would last longer, but we’re going to get warmer as the week goes on. Oh well, we’ll have another cold spell soon.
I’m intrigued about the creative project! I’ve heard people say that if you’re scared, it means your goals are big enough. So this project sounds perfect for you (can’t wait to find out what it is.)
Omicron is everywhere! You never know- maybe you did have it but were asymptomatic- I know several people who got tested only because they knew they were exposed (although they felt fine) and they were positive. You never know, but any way you look at it i’m glad you didn’t get sick!
I have definitely wondered if I had an asymptomatic case of Covid! It just seems ridiculous that I’ve never gotten it because I am definitely not as careful as I should be – I eat at restaurants and stuff like that. But I’m just glad I haven’t had to deal with the intense fatigue that other people have had with Covid!
I’m sorry your anxiety has been so hard this past month. xo
I knew only a handful of people who had Covid in the first 4 (FOUR!!!) waves, but this past wave I know more people than I don’t who have had it. Wait, did that sentence make sense? Screw it, I’m leaving it. I hope you know what I mean! It feels like a ticking time bomb.
Good luck with your new role! And your triglycerides, I know it can be a challenge.
Tehehe – what you said made total sense to me! I have known SO many people get sick with Omicron where I knew almost nobody who had it during the original wave and only a handful with Delta. What a crazy time!
Have you peeped the IKEA sit/stand desks (if you have an IKEA nearish to you)? My husband has one that you use a little crank to move up and down and he loves it. Very sleek and and easy to use.
I have considered IKEA desks but I would prefer one that has an automatic switch for moving up and down. IKEA has a few of those, but they are the same price as other options on the market, so I won’t be saving much by using IKEA. They are usually my go-to, though!
I am super-duper-excited for your new job title and hope the transition will be smooth and fun! Can’t wait to hear more once you’ve worked in your new role.
I used to have a VersaDesk at my office (which automatically lifts/lowers), the only piece of “equipment” I wasn’t allowed to take home when we went into full-time telework status, but I can tell you, it’s the best thing and I absolutely support your decision to get a sit/stand-desk!! It’s really good to be able to stand up during the day, even if it’s only for a little while!
Very curious to hear more about your new “project” …
I hope to talk more about my role and how I’m settling in once it’s been a little time. It’s been a very weird kind of change of pace for me, and I’m getting used to it!
I am definitely looking into a sit/stand desk for the near future. My butt gets tired from sitting all the time, haha.
I know you’ve written about your new role so I hope to catch up on blogs… soon. I’m trying to figure out the best use of my time to do so. I’d love to focus on my favorites and get really caught up with them (they’re my priority, after all) so I need to adjust when / in what order I read posts!
Sorry, tmi. Anyway!
Love that you are making so many positive changes – cannot wait to see what you and Bri cooked up! And if you’d care to send a few 50 degree days my way I might not complain. 😉
I would be happy to send some of these 50-degree days your way! I’m sure that would feel delightful for you in the Midwest. 🙂
You did, thanks! It’s supposed to get into the 40s today… before we have snow + freezing rain Monday and Tuesday. I guess you can’t win them all. 😉