It’s Friday and it’s been a very long time since I did any sort of confessions-style post for this blog. I’ve done childhood confessions and bookish confessions, but not any sort of good, old-fashioned regular confessions since 2011. So here are my confessions for today: some of which are silly and some that leave me feeling a bit vulnerable.
- I never listen to the radio, so I never know what’s popular right now. Sometimes, I’ll scroll through the “United States Top 50” chart on Spotify so I can see what’s trending right now and feel a little more “in the know,” but eh. Podcasts > music.
- It feels a bit terrible to contemplate this, but I know the time will come when Dutch passes away and sometimes I think about my next pet. I think I might get a cat, which I know would surprise some people. But I love cats as much as I love dogs! My cousin has two cats and I love them to pieces. I’m not one of those dog lovers that turns up her nose at cats. No, sirree. And, I won’t lie, one of the reasons I contemplate getting a cat is because they are (allegedly) easier to take care of than a dog.
- Give me cider over beer, rum over tequila, sangria over wine.
- I’m probably not going to take a cruise this year and it will be the first time in six years that I haven’t cruised. It just means I’ll be more than ready for my 10th cruise sometime in 2018.
- The only reason I’m still on Facebook is because my book club uses it for upcoming meetings and general chit-chat.
- I rarely use my phone when I’m at home, only if I want to listen to a podcast while I’m cooking or cleaning. Otherwise, it can be hours before I see a text message if my sound is turned off.
- I’ve never been to a concert before, and I don’t particularly care to start. I’m not a huge music person as it is (re: my first confession) and I feel like there are much better ways for me to spend my money. Good for you, not for me!
- It feels as if my fingernails are suffocating when I put nail polish on them, so my nails are almost never painted.
- I love wearing makeup because it makes me feel more put together. It’s not as if I’m ashamed to go out in public bare-faced; I just like the way I look better with makeup than without. My routine is fairly simple: foundation, powder, eyebrow pencil, mascara. Lipstick if I want to feel fierce. And, it never fails, whenever I go to work without makeup, I always get a comment about how red my face is. I don’t even know how to respond to those types of comments, and I hate how self-conscious they make me feel.
- I have decided that the next place I will live will either be with a partner or a place I own. In a way, I’m giving myself a deadline to be in a committed, long-term relationship in the next 2-3 years or I am going to start looking to buy a condo on my own.
- I used to sleep in my contacts all the time until I learned how terrible that is for my eyes. My contacts are the ones you can wear for 30 days without changing them out, so I figured that meant 30 days straight without removing them, which nope. No, you cannot. Now I take them out every night, no excuses.
- I never have decision fatigue when it comes to my wardrobe and that’s because I have a system where I have my business casual shirts, my casual tees, and my dresses in a specific order. When I am going into my closet to pick something, I select the first item in the “line” and don’t concern myself with anything else. I wear a dress once a week (usually Mondays), so I know on Mondays, I will select a dress. Tuesdays-Thursdays are business casual shirts, and Fridays and weekends are casual tees. After I wash and dry a shirt or dress, it goes on a hanger and to the “back of the line.” It’s a foolproof, simple system and it means I never waste time in the morning trying to figure out what to wear.
- One of my biggest grammar pet peeves is when people mix up the verb/noun forms of words. I recently received an email – from a professional freelance writer, no less! – where she used the word “hangout” when she meant to say “hang out.” Hangout is a noun, it means a place to visit. Hang out is a verb, which means to spend time relaxing/enjoying oneself. So, you would say, “Come to my hangout!” but not “Let’s hangout!” Another common mix-up I see is workout vs work out. Workout is a noun, and it means a session of physical activity (i.e., “I had a great workout today!”). Work out is a verb, and it means engaging in physical activity (i.e., “I wanted to work out in the morning, but I slept in instead.”) So, you would never say, “I am planning to workout.” No. You are planning to work out.
- Following the theme of grammar, I edit my text messages before I send them. Every. Single. Text message. I type them out and then before pressing send, I always look it over and edit it if I need to. I realize this is ridiculous, but I can’t help myself! It’s a sickness, I tell ya.
- I am terrified of going to jail. I think about it constantly, and my anxiety level is to the point where I can’t watch or read anything involving jail/prison. I’ve never watched Orange Is the New Black, and I don’t think I ever will. Back in September, right after I moved, I unknowingly opened up a piece of mail that was not addressed to me. I picked up my mail and just tore open the envelope without looking and then realized my mistake. I spent weeks in a panic about getting arrested for opening mail not addressed to me. (Look, I never said my anxiety was logical, okay?!)
Okay, your turn! Tell me a confession. 🙂
I edit my text messages (and blog comments) too. Hahaha! I wonder about after Dakota dies too. 🙁 We are either going pet free or switching to a cat. I love dogs so much but they’re expensive and time consuming. I feel like a dog will suit us better when we’re retired (in a hundred years, give or take) and have more time.
I do tend to assume that dog people don’t like cats! I haven’t had a dog but I can vouch for the fact that cats are soooo easy to care for. I highly recommend trying to get a male cat if you want a cuddly one as female cats are not as cuddly. We *thought* we were getting a boy cat but we were wrong! We still love her but she’s not as cuddly/friendly as we were hoping. But it makes us appreciate the cuddles even more!
My confession is that I have to mentally tell myself to not click on article comments. I am so tempted to read them, but it’s always always always a bad decision. So I say to myself: “Lisa, do not read the comments – I repeat, do not read the comments!”
Another confession is that I am doing WAY more DIY stuff for my wedding than I ever thought I would. I’m not a crafty person at all but since our theme is books/reading, it’s so easy to come up with personal touches. The project I’m working on this week is making book page envelop liners. They are soooo pretty! I hope our guests appreciate them. But even if they don’t, the total cost of them is the $2 I spent on an old dictionary at goodwill so at least I’m not spending a lot on them!
Your closet system is GENIUS.
You should spread the word!!
You already know my biggest fear and bad habit! That is the most significant confessions i have.
“I never listen to the radio, so I never know what’s popular right now. Sometimes, I’ll scroll through the “United States Top 50” chart on Spotify so I can see what’s trending right now and feel a little more “in the know,” but eh. Podcasts > music.”
MEEE TOOOOO.
And seconding that your closet idea is genius!
So exciting that you are thinking about buying a place in the near future <3
Confession: I get insanely jealous every time I hear a friend is pregnant. Our finances simply would not allow that and I'm not sure when they will. A good friend was in a similar financial position with her partner but he has managed to move up the ladder and get a new, better job with more $$ and is actively looking again for a better paying job now that she's expecting. It's her dream to stay home, and now that she isn't the breadwinner anymore, they are working toward changing the income ratios so that he can support the family.
I feel the same way about nail polish! Everyone looks at me like I’m crazy when I say this, though,
I LOVE your clothing system. That makes so much sense! I don’t think it would work for me because I feel weirdly, like, creative about my clothes – I want to wear what I want to wear right then, & it has to *feel* right – but I think this is such a smart idea.
And one of my biggest pet peeves is similar, actually. I hate when people mix up “every day
& “everyday.” THEY ARE DIFFERENT.
Wow, your closet system is genius. I should try something like that… not that I really have decision fatigue, but sometimes I “forget” about certain things that are in my closet and wear the same things over and over again.
One of my confessions: I don’t think I am an anxious person, but I always feel “rushed” and have anxiety over not accomplishing everything I’d like to do in my free time…. and then the weekend is over and I think I might have not used my time wisely enough. Irrational, I tell you, but I am having these thoughts nonetheless.
I have never listened to a podcast and don’t understand them! I’m all about music, lol.
I’m completely a dog person by default – I’m allergic to cats – but I’m always dreaming about what my “next” dog will be. I can’t decide, but I do know that I’d like for us to be a one-dog household. Having two, big dogs is a lot of work!
Confession: I stress out over giving gifts because I always try to find the “perfect” one, and then I stress over whether or not the person will like it. Gift exchanges where I don’t know a person well (if at all) are the hardest for me and give me anxiety!
I do the same thing with texts, though I think I do that will all electronic communication (email and blog comments included). I will type something and read it ten times, probably editing it to be completely different than the original wording. Even then, I get nervous pressing ‘send’ – I’m just so worried about spelling something wrong or saying something in a way I don’t mean to!
My confession (though I think I’ve said this in some capacity before): I don’t care very much for movies and/or binge-watching TV shows. Every time I try to settle in and watch something, I feel like I have to be focused and can’t do anything else while watching. But then I feel like I’m wasting precious time that could be doing something productive. Clearly I have some attention-span and relaxation-guilt issues, heh.
I’m similar when it comes to listening to the radio – unless it’s a classical music station or when my boyfriend puts on the Oldies or Classic Rock stations at home, I don’t voluntarily listen to the radio lol. Hence, I am out of the loop generally when it comes to pop culture and the news.
Confession: I don’t have the internet at home, meaning no Netflix-bingeing for me :(. It’s a personal choice the boyfriend and I made upon moving in together, and it took a little getting used to at first, but I found it has freed up my mind and time to pursue and enjoy other pursuits, such as reading as many books as possible!
I have both cats and dogs and adore both animals. 🙂 You and I are the same when it comes to alcoholic beverages. My friends make fun of me for calling my ciders “Beer” all the time, but I don’t care! I even have one brewery in town that keeps Cider on tap specifically for me! 🙂
These are awesome! I have a few responses to some of your confessions 🙂
– Cats are WAY easier than dogs. As someone who has both, I know! Eric and I very suddenly had to go out of town last weekend (like knew at 5pm to catch an 8pm flight) luckily my dad could pick up Chloe for us but Webster was just home on his own for 3 days and was completely fine. Just leave them lots of water and food 🙂
– I admire how little you use your phone! That is not the case for me. I’m on it / checking it way too much. I’m doing a social media break in March that I’m hoping will help me be on it less
– I would like a more detailed blog post on your closet organization please! Complete with photos!! That sounds awesome. I’ve been really toying with doing a capsule wardrobe lately.