Everyday Moments of February

Hi, friends! Happy March! It’s good to be back in the saddle after my blog break in February. The break was exactly what I needed, even though I very much missed this blog and chatting with all of you! I feel refreshed and re-inspired, and I have a whole bunch of blogging ideas that I can’t wait to work through over the next few months. 🙂

I kept track of my favorite moments of the day throughout February, so this will give you a good idea of how my month went!

1 – Sitting on my couch for 45 minutes at the end of the day to finish a book I couldn’t put down. (Dear Emmie Blue – 5 stars!) There were dishes to wash and an apartment to tidy, but I just couldn’t care enough about my chores when I had such a good book in my hands. I love it when a story can transport me like that!

2 – Taking a really lovely nap on the couch in the middle of the day.

3 – Starting my day with a great workout. I’ve been on the struggle bus this year with working out (have only hit my goal of working out 3 times a week once, ugh), but damn if I’m not always glad when I actually do the workout.

4 – Spending time with my mom and ending the night with a delicious “pizookie” (a cookie baked in a skillet).

5 – A long nap. My body really needed the rest, I think, and I was zonked out for a good 4 hours.

6 – A day full of reading! I participated in the #24in48 readathon, which challenges people to read for 24 hours over a 48-hour period. I ended Saturday with 8 hours of reading (3 hours of audiobook listening and 5 hours with print books).

7 – Another day filled with reading—I read for 7 hours and hit my goal of reading for 15 hours total. Yay! Another bright spot was attending my mom’s annual Super Bowl party, although the game itself was a major disappointment for us. Bleh.

8 – Making a delicious dinner (pesto chicken pasta). I’m trying to up my cooking game this year, even though I don’t feel confident at all in the kitchen and I’m always convinced that whatever I make will be disgusting.

9 – Giggling through an episode of Best Friends with Nicole Byer and Sasheer Zamata. This podcast brings me such joy!

10 – Filing my tax return! This is always very straightforward for me, especially since I’m not doing freelancing anymore. I was pleased as punch with the tax refund I am receiving this year—wahoo!

11 – A SUCCESSFUL SURGERY FOR OLIVE! What a relief. I am just so, so grateful to this surgeon and the medical team at Boston Children’s Hospital. They saved her life and I am just over the moon with happiness that she was able to have the surgery and make it through with no issues.

12 – Meandering around Target. It’s been a while since I went to Target just to walk around and see if anything struck my fancy. (Typically, I just use the curbside pickup when I want to get something at Target.) It was so nice!

13 – Galentine’s Day! Bri and I took a trip to Sarasota to go to the Ringling Museum. It was so fascinating to learn all about the history of the circus, its cultural significance in the mid-1900s, and what it was like to be part of the circus (either as a performer, a trainer, or a cook). Of course, I’m not here to tout the amazingness of the circus and, in particular, the way circus animals are treated. I am VERY glad that Ringling Brothers/Barnum & Bailey have been shut down. As a piece of our history, though, it was interesting to learn about how a circus was run and how it came to be the spectacle it was.

14 – A very boring Valentine’s Day where I deep-cleaned my apartment, went grocery shopping, and ran a few errands. I also slept in until 11, which was amazing!

15 – A super productive Monday! Typically, I have a hard time getting going on Mondays but I just felt inspired and productive all day. I didn’t even need my usual hour-long siesta!

16 – Today is Lila’s “gotcha” day! Two years ago today, I walked into an animal shelter and walked out with her! Even though I was planning on getting a second cat, I didn’t think it would be so soon after adopting Eloise (two months). But it was the best decision because Lila Bear is the sweetest, most playful baby ever! We celebrated with lots of snuggles and a special breakfast of wet food. 🙂

17 – Olive getting discharged from the hospital! She’s made amazing progress since her surgery and it makes me so emotional because she has beaten every single odd set in front of her. A miracle, indeed.

18 – Helping my mom pick out a book to read at Target (I chose “Evvie Drake Starts Over” for her.) Originally, she picked up a romance I had recently read (The Roommate) and said, “Do you think I would like this?” And I responded with, “I will not let you read this book. It’s way too steamy for you.” And then we laughed about that because she used to be picking out the appropriate books for me. (She let me read anything in the children’s/young adult section in the library, but I always wanted to read from the adult fiction section so she would select one or two for me—always Christian fiction, of course). And now the tables have turned and I’m the one picking out books for her! Hehe.

19 – Taking a really sensational Friday afternoon nap. I slept hard and it felt really nice! (Are we seeing a pattern here? Those Friday afternoon naps are EVERYTHING to me.)

20 – Meeting up with Amber for a coffee date at a new place (they had the cutest indoor seating, but it was all closed down. I can’t wait to go back when things are back to normal and we can sit inside and read!). Afterwards, I picked up my mom for lunch and pedicures, which was wonderful.

21 – My nephew’s birthday party! He turned 6, which feels unfathomable, and he had a great time jumping around with his friends at a trampoline park. Was it super COVID-safe? Not really, as you aren’t required to wear masks while jumping or while in the party room and social distancing was not really a thing, but I wore my mask and tried to social distance as much as I could.

22 –  Ordering a spin bike! I allocated a portion of my tax refund for this spin bike (it was around $300) because it’s something I’ve been thinking about getting for a really long time. One of the things I know about myself is that I need to make exercising as easy to do as possible, otherwise, I’ll find thousands of excuses for why I can’t do it. Having a spin bike in my apartment? Gonna be hard to come up with excuses! (At least, that’s the hope!)

23 – This update from Mikaela:

24 – Dinner with my mom! Also, feeling very grateful for my car’s brakes this evening as I came very, very close to rear-ending someone who had come to a complete stop at a yield sign. Honestly, I’m not sure how I didn’t hit this car but I am so grateful for good brakes.

25 – A day off for doctor’s appointments! I had my annual visit to the gynecologist as well as a dental exam. Then I came home and took a long nap on the couch. Divine!

26 – Another day off! I took Lila to the vet where I was told she’s edging toward being overweight (HOW DARE THEY—she’s perfect) and that I should start brushing her teeth (HAHAHA). I also got a massage, which felt amazing.

27 – Seeing Olive and fam! I am so glad I was able to visit with them today and see Olive. She was in such a great mood—laughing and smiling and playing and crawling around. It warmed my heart! Olive resumes chemo next week (her treatment plan called for 8 rounds of chemo + surgery) so I’m glad I got to visit with them before all of that.

28 – A shopping trip to Trader Joe’s. I don’t go to TJ’s all that often since it’s a bit of a drive (20 minutes, compared to the 3 minutes it takes to drive to Publix), but I had some specific items on my grocery list this week that I figured I’d have better luck with at Trader Joe’s. While I wanted to buy oodles of snack food, I stuck to my shopping list (aside from adding a box of chocolate chip ice cream sandwiches to my cart—I’m only human, after all).