Happy November 1st, and happy first day of NaBloPoMo, also known as National Blog Posting Month. This will be my fifth year participating (thanks as always to our fearless leader, San!) and after a quiet month of blogging in October, I am so ready to get back into the swing of things. I know NaBloPoMo can be a lot for everyone—the people participating and the people trying to keep up with our blog posts. Here is your permission to skip any posts that don’t interest you (which you should be doing anyway!) and to limit your comments. You do not need to comment on every blog post I write! Of course, I love receiving comments and I love connecting with everyone in this lovely blogosphere of ours, but your feed readers are about to become unruly and I don’t want this to feel like a stressful time for you. Blogging is supposed to be fun, so let it be fun!
For today’s post, I thought I’d do a quick check-in on life lately:
The Move
The move is done! Well, the hard part is over at least. It took almost 4.5 hours for the movers to get everything out of my old apartment (on the third floor, no elevator) and into my new apartment (also on a third floor with no elevator). It probably wouldn’t have taken as long if my dining room table hadn’t decided to become a menace. It wouldn’t fit through the door to the new place as-is, so one of the guys had to spend far too long unassembling the entire thing and reassembling it. It was quite the headache, especially since it meant he was busy with that task for a good 30 minutes (maybe longer), and it slowed down the moving process. Ah, well. I kept reminding myself, “It costs what it costs,” because having them do all the heavy lifting was well worth the price.
Once the movers had finished up, I went back to the old place to rescue the girls from the bathroom where they had been closed up in for almost 6 hours (eeks!). I brought them over to the new place in their carriers, and as I did, it felt like this huge weight had lifted off my shoulders. I had been very anxious about this part of the moving process—keeping the girls locked up in the bathroom and making sure they were safe during the move—and I was just so happy to finally bring them home.
As expected, once I let them out of their carriers at the new place, Lila went straight into hiding underneath the couch while Eloise quickly started to explore the new place and lost her goddamn mind when she saw the screened-in patio! I left the door open so she could go in and out, and she was in heaven. I put their cat tower by the patio door, and when she wasn’t on the patio, she was sitting on the tower and staring outside. So cute!
Lila has been venturing out from under the couch here and there. She’s still a bit apprehensive about the place, so she prefers being in her safe place under the couch, but every day, she gets a little braver!
As for me, I’m doing good! I’m not having as much of the post-move anxiety as I expected. I think it’s because I was coming here on a near-daily basis for a full three weeks and I got used to being here. I was so ready for it to be filled with all of my furniture and to bring the girls over! It doesn’t fully feel like home yet, but it’s getting there. I think once everything is unpacked and I have everything in its rightful place, I’ll feel even more at home.
Aches and Pains
I am still dealing with back and hip pain, ugh. I’ve been seeing a chiropractor twice a week for about three weeks now and while I have seen slight improvements, I’m still in incredible amounts of pain. I feel like I’m 105 years old every time I have to stand up because I can’t stand up quickly—I have to place both feet firmly on the ground and then oh-so-slowly straighten my body to a standing position. And even then, my muscles feel so stiff that I have to walk with a limp until the stiffness goes away (usually after a few minutes).
I met with an orthopedic a few weeks ago and got X-rays that showed no degeneration in my spine, which is great news! It doesn’t explain all the pain I’m having, though. For now, I’m on a prescription anti-inflammatory, a muscle relaxer, and ibuprofen. I take all of those twice a day. I start physical therapy on Monday, and I’m continuing my twice-weekly chiropractic adjustments. We’ll see what happens! I have a follow-up appointment with my ortho in mid-December for further testing if things don’t improve.
NaBloPoMo Plans
I’m excited for this year of NaBloPoMo. Just like I have done previously, I’m planning on taking you guys through a week in my life, so stay tuned for all the minutiae of my super exciting life! (/sarcasm) I’m also finally going to recap my trip to London. Even though it wasn’t exactly the vacation we planned, we still had a good time and made tons of wonderful memories. And I want to fill you in on some goings-on about the last few months, recap my latest reads, and write some blog posts based on ideas from podcast episodes I’ve recently listened to. And then there’s my annual birthday post, as my birthday falls on Black Friday this year! It’s been quite the year, so I have a lot to recap.
Who’s ready for another 29 blog posts from me this month?! LET’S DO THIS!
I’m so glad you hired movers! No elevators and 3rd floor apts is rough! That is money well spent! And I am relieved the girls are in our new home. There have been 2 families on our block that lost cats during their moves – one who moved onto our block and one that moved off. It’s so sad! I didn’t want to put more anxious thoughts in your head but I had these recent incidents in my mind and was hoping for an issue free move for you!
Good luck settling in! And with NoBloPoMo. I am such a completist so it’s kind of hard to not feel like I need to comment on every post but I am going to try to let go of that expectation
Oh my goodness, my heart just hurts for those families! That would be AWFUL. I’m glad everything went well with them. They are not the type to run away, but you never know with strange men in their home and a new place to get used to!
Hiring movers was the BEST decision. It was so nice not to have to do any of the heavy lifting.
Aw yiss let’s do this! Christmas in November!!!
I’m so excited for the girls to have their porch! I mean, I’m glad that you have it as well, but especially the girls. I know that moving day was stressful but now they have more space and I’m sure that they are both loving life right now.
Grrr to the aches and pains. It’s always something, isn’t it?
This year especially has been a not-so-banner year for my physical health. So many different issues! Once I get one of them figured out, something else pops up. It’s very annoying!
I’m ready! I’m ready!!! I’m so glad you’re doing NaBloPoMo again. HOORAY for the move- when you mentioned a screened-in patio, my first thought was “the cats are going to love that!” It’s funny how cats have such different personalities (just like people). Lila will settle in soon, and be just as happy here as in the old place. And Eloise is obviously living her best life already.
I’m very glad the x-ray showed nothing wrong with your back- but at the same time, how frustrating. It’s absolutely TERRIBLE to be in that much pain. I hope the PT will help.
I love your NaBloPoMo plans- I’m very excited for your annual week in the life series, and I CANNOT WAIT to hear all about London! Yay for November!
Eloise has been in HEAVEN with her screened-in porch. It’s very cute.
So many fun blogging plans for November. I’m glad I decided to do NaBloPoMo again!
Getting movers was worth every penny; I decided a few moves ago that I will never move without them again. As one said when carrying boxes out, “You have a lot of books, don’t you?” Yes, I do! And even in small boxes, they’re heavy
I love that Eloise loves the patio! I once lived in an apartment with a small screened in porch that had doors to the bedroom and the living room. The cats learned that if I left both doors open, they could run laps, and of course it was faster to go over the bed than around it. Ooof.
Lila will come out at her own pace, and you will all settle in. So happy for you!
I am NEVER moving on my own again. Having movers was AMAZING. Plus, I just don’t trust my own two feet not to miss a step and send me tumbling down the stairs with a huge box in my hands! It’s happened before, so it’s all I ever think about when I have to carry things down the stairs, lol.
Moving is not for the fainthearted! Now it’s just the fun stuff left!!
NaBloPoMo is stressing me out this year, so I’m choosing to be a commenter, not a poster this year. Go you for doing it! I can’t wait to read whatever you share with us!
Know thyself! Blogging is supposed to be fun, not stressful. And you have enough going on that you don’t need to add NaBloPoMo to the list! I’m glad to have you here as a commenter. 🙂
I’m so happy for you that the move is done! I totally get the pet thing. When we moved I was so worried about how Rex would do: eight hour drive alone with him, new place, giant yard with no fence. And it was all fine! Better than fine really. I hope you are really happy in your new place.
Ugh hip pain! Have you tried dry needling? I badly injured my hip in 2019 and dry needling was the only thing that gave me relief. It was a wild feeling but it helped so much.
I haven’t tried dry needling, but thank you for the rec! I’m going to look into it, as I’m willing to try anything to help me. I’m very tired of hobbling like a 90 year old.
Missed you! Moving sucks, and I want to hear all about the new place and your trip 🙂
<3 <3 Thank you, friend! I missed this space a lot.
You have a great attitude about NaBloPoMo and commenting. This is supposed to be FUN, right?
Yay for having the move behind you! And yes, paying movers is expensive and worth every single penny.
I’m glad the cats came through it OK and I know they will settle in well.
I’m so glad to hear that there is no sign of degeneration in your spine. I have a friend with that, and it’s REALLY hard. I hope you get the relief you need soon. My own experience with such pains is that it does not go away all at once, but instead is slow, gradual improvement, until you realize one day that you just stood up normally with no pain and think, ‘wait, what?’ And maybe you’ve been doing it for a few days without noticing. I’m glad you’re getting physical therapy, that is the best thing for it. I love the chiropractor, but don’t let them crack your neck. Back = yes. Neck = NO.
Yesssss, no cracking of the neck here! She mainly works on my thoracic spine and hips, but I need to be mindful of any neck cracking, too.
Well done on a successful move. I have never moved without removalists. One move we even got them to pack the kitchen and our artwork for us which made everything a lot easier. Your new place sounds amazing, even though it’s more cost, we spend a lot of time in our home’s, especially those of us who work from home, so it makes sense to have someplace that you are happy with.
Yes, I totally agree with all of your points! I am so happy in my new space and I love that it feels SO MUCH BIGGER than my old place. I feel like I can BREATHE.
Yeahhhha happy NaBloPoMo.
I am here for it. Can’t wait to read all your posts.
Also lad to hear the move went well and you are settling in. So fun to hear about the very different characters in your cat.
Sorry you are having such back pains. I had a 2 day back pain when I was pulling something during yin yoga and then pushed through with strength – not a good idea. So I can only image how you must feel. Hope physical therapy will help.
Thank you! I should probably do a better job of using the heating pad and doing some stretches to help with the aches and pains. I’m hoping PT will give me some good options!
I’m sorry about your pain issues! I have chronic back pain and my spine DOES have some minor degeneration and ‘facet arthropathy’ which is basically like a form of arthritis, I guess, in the spine… I tried chiropractor and PT and nothing really helped except now I’m on a prescription Meloxicam (an NSAID) which does help a ton. I also have altered some of my strength routine- I completely avoid heavy squats and most hinging motions. It’s still a frequent issue, though currently is pretty well controlled. (I had a terrible flare up of it a couple months ago and it was awful.)
Super excited for your London posts, and I’m so glad your move is behind you and went well overall!
I’m on a similar NSAID – celebrex – and I swear it’s the only thing that brings down my pain! If I miss even one dose, I’m hobbling around like an old lady. Ugh!
The screened-in porch sounds perfect for kitties! Yes, I am ready to read 29 more posts from you!
The books that I’m reading right now are actually going to be the same as they were when you wrote the blog post “What I’m Reading (10.22.25)” on Oct 22, Stephany.
I actually appreciate that you’re giving your ratings of each book from your perspective in your blog posts regardless of what each book’s average rating on Goodreads is.
No, I did not comment in the right place.
There’s actually still some background info about NaBloPoMo that I’ll need to figure out, such as whether “https://www.emkennedy.net/” is the main site of the Eden Kennedy who created the NaBloPoMo, or whether Ms. Eden Kennedy is aware of the existence of the site “https://www.nablopomoguideunofficial.blogspot.com/?m=1”. That’s something that I’ll take some time to figure out.
I think that your move to your new apartment alone is going to make 2025 a memorable year when you look back at it, Stephany.
I assume that you feel back and hip pain when you are standing up but not when you’re running outside, Stephany. You can tell me if that is the case.
Thank you for the space and understanding you give us non-participants! I am always behind on blogs now, so I appreciate it! (and was just furloughed yesterday so I am catching up a bit while I can)
Ahh! I love how fast Eloise fell in love with the CATIO! So exciting!!! Glad Lila is venturing out a bit too.
I really hope the meds and PT help. That pain sounds so debilitating 🙁