1) I’ve been in a bit of a funk this week. I recently weaned off Lexapro (anti-anxiety medication) after four-and-a-half years, which is something I never thought I’d do. It was never part of my mental health journey; I was fine taking Lexapro for the rest of my life if that’s what my brain needed. But my anxiety has stabilized and I decided to wean myself off the medication (with my doctor’s help, of course!) to see how things go. If I end up needing to go back, I’ll go back. I’ve been doing really, really good for the last few months off medication, and then this funk happened. I was worried I was falling into the same mental health crisis that caused me to seek out a Lexapro prescription in the first place. But I don’t think this funk has anything to do with my anxiety disorder. I think it’s mainly because I’ve had way too much alone time the past week. In fact, I haven’t seen a person since Saturday night! Six days without in-person human interaction will make anyone feel a little down. I didn’t plan out my time the way I should have, leaving me with a long stretch of alone time that started feeling very boring and tiring. At least I know what triggered it so that I can make sure I don’t do that in the future.
2) I’ve scheduled my holiday PTO for this year, and I’m so excited! I’m taking off the whole week of Thanksgiving and the Monday afterward (which I’m planning to use as my Day of Stephany), and then I’m also taking off from December 23rd through the rest of the year. I never, ever get to take this much time off over the holidays and I’m looking forward to it, even though I don’t have any plans! It will just be nice to take a break and not have to worry about deadlines and work during my favorite times of the year.
3) I went on a little bit of a home shopping spree this week, buying two things that I’ve had my eye on for a long time. First, I finally purchased a large area rug that will fit under my big sectional. Ever since I moved into this apartment (a year ago!), I’ve had this small 5×7 area rug that fit perfectly in my smaller apartment but looks rather silly in this one. Paired with my sectional, it looks even sillier. I’ve been wanting to get a big 8×10 area rug to tie the room together but have put off the purchase repeatedly because area rugs aren’t cheap, ya know? But somehow I found one for just $100 at Walmart (online, you couldn’t pay me to go into a Walmart before the pandemic) and it should be here this weekend! I may end up splurging for a nice area rug on Ruggable in the future, but I just needed something that would work for me right now, and this fit the bill.
Secondly, I bought a new TV! I have been wanting a new TV for a long, long time and once my Firestick broke, I took it as a sign that it was time to replace it. My current TV has a 32-inch screen and the one I bought is 50 inches, so the difference is going to be pretty incredible! Plus, it’s a smart TV so that will be a fun change. (Actually, I think almost all TVs these days have smart technology—I tried to find one without it and came up empty!) Lately, I’ve been watching TV on my laptop, which has worked fine for the time being, but I’m ready to graduate to a larger screen and to be able to lounge on the couch and watch TV! (I guess I could lounge on the couch and watch TV on my laptop, but it’s just not the same.)
4) Last week, I talked about a terrible night when I left Ellie outside on the patio for two hours. I felt like the most terrible cat mom, but I’ve tried to forgive myself. This weekend, I went out on the patio to read for a little bit and was curious if Ellie would follow me out there or if it would only remind her of her trauma (lol). Well, this girl followed me right out there and couldn’t get enough of being outside! She was rolling around and meowing happily and jumping up on the table. And then, when I went inside, she didn’t want to come in with me! I left the door open and let her play outside for a little while longer. So, the good news is, I have not traumatized her and she’s gonna be okay, I think!
5) I have a pretty solid weekend planned, which is good because I haven’t done anything this week. It’s been a long, boring week around here. Tonight I’m having a date night. Tomorrow is writing with Mikaela and then I may try to coax my mom into joining me at Visionworks so I can look at their glasses (I desperately want new glasses and don’t feel like using Warby Parker again—nothing against them, but I’m looking for something different this time around). And Sunday is the first Football Sunday of the NFL season, wahoooooo! I am so excited to spend all Sunday watching football once again. It’s my favorite. 🙂
What’s the last big purchase you made? What are your weekend plans?
Yesssss football season!! Woo!
Did you talk to your doctor about weaning off Lexapro? Just be careful about that because I think even if you anxiety is in a good place, if your body tends to need some help with serotonin levels and such, not being on it can be a bad thing if you encounter anxiety-producing situations. I’m on lexapro and have kind of accepted that it’s going to be a lifetime thing. most of the time my anxiety is really well managed but I know I am always going to encounter situations where I need some brain chemistry help. I tried to wean off it on my own several years ago and it ended up being a bad idea and I went back on it. After the fact my doctor was like – you should not have tried to self-wean. You need to talk to me about this! (I see a pscyhiatrist for my lexapro, not a GP). Just some food for thought on that decision!
That is fun to have some vacation time to look forward to! Plus it’s nice that the holidays occur during a nice weather season for you Floridians! It’s the opposite for us. I love the holidays, but the weather can be awful during that time of year so I don’t take much time off. I think that will change when my kids are in school and don’t have care like they do now. So I take very little time off right now and save it for other times of year. Although in general I have barely taken time off this year because I feel like I have to make up for my long maternity leave, even though that was not ‘vacation time’. I should probably take 3 days off some week and send the kids to daycare and enjoy the free time.
I got my last two pair of glasses from Zenni and have been super impressed, especially considering that they are by far the cheapest option I’ve found. Anyway, figured it was worth passing along 🙂
Hope you have a good weekend! Six days is a long time to go without seeing anyone, so I’m glad you have some fun plans! I’m also glad that you’ve identified what triggers your “funks” or anxiety or whatever — it’s something I’ve been having to work on too since I went off my anxiety medication earlier this year. I wish there was more research and resources for going off it and functioning without it, but I guess it’s good that it forces me to be a lot more in tune with everything going on with me!
See, Ellie LOVES being out on the patio! No need to feel guilty 🙂
So glad you were able to schedule some time off around the holidays. I’ll be in the fortunate position to do the same (due to NO travel during covid and a gazillion vacation days I can’t take into the new year. Oh hey, I am not complaining. I think I need it.)
Hope you enjoy your weekend! 😉
I’m so sorry you’ve been in a funk. I can totally understand that; although I like my downtime I also like to see people. I’m glad you can take some time off around the holidays!!
First, I’m sorry about the funk, and I hope that your weekend social activities helped break you out of it. I’m GLAD though to hear that Ellie suffered no long-lasting effects of the extra time on the balcony. Whew! And yes, yay football, but ooof, I keep thinking “potential superspreader event” followed immediately by “yay, live sports!” It’s… a dichotomy, to say the least. Take care, and I hope the funks stay away…
I hope this week is better! Did you feel better after seeing some people? It’s hard to be alone so many days in a row! <3
OMG it's going to be so amazing to have that much PTO! I am excited for you! YAY!
The rug is so fabulous. You have the best taste. Are you loving the new TV? We loved when we upgraded our size a few years ago!
Aww, Ellie! So glad to hear she is fine!
The last big purchase we made was a couch, loveseat, and chair, on Labor Day weekend. They arrived yesterday! The cats are already trying to destroy them 🙂