1) Ch-ch-ch-changes.
I’ve decided to replace my weekly “What I’m Reading” posts with a “Weekly Wrap-Up” post that I’ll publish every Friday. I’ve been thinking about this for a long time and trying to put all the pieces together in a way that makes sense and is somewhat interesting to read. My Weekly Wrap-Up post will include my highs and lows of the week, a recap of everything I read, a section to talk about what I spent money on this week, updates on my monthly goals, and one or two things I’m recommending this week (a podcast episode, an article, a recipe, a product, etc). I’m really excited to start these posts with the first one publishing this week. I hope you guys enjoy them as well!
2) Bruxism.
My dentist recommended I start sleeping with a mouth guard at night because my teeth are showing signs that I grind them when I’m sleeping. This was BRAND NEW INFORMATION to me, but I wake up with headaches on a fairly regular basis, and that might be why. So I bought an over-the-counter mouthguard this weekend to try out. I had to go through a whole process of forming the mouth guard to my upper teeth, which was super uncomfortable since I had to shove the mouth guard and plastic applicator into my mouth and clench my jaw for 3 minutes to get it to set. I have a small mouth as it is and a fairly epic gag reflex, so… it was not pretty. (I’m also still healing from a cavity filling, so it was also kinda painful, too!) Both cats were sitting nearby with concerned expressions on their faces, though, so that was pretty cute. 🙂
I’ve only slept with the mouth guard once and it felt a little weird at first, but I got used to it pretty quickly, which is good! Time will tell if it helps with the headaches.
3) Arm pretzels.
Does anyone else wake up with their arms or legs twisted in the weirdest directions? Last month, I started to have this pain on the side of my right arm, starting near my shoulder, and I couldn’t determine the cause. I finally figured out that it’s because I’m sleeping with my arm twisted above my head in a completely uncomfortable direction. But, like, I don’t know how to fix this. It’s just something I do while sleeping. I’ve tried to be more mindful of it and move my arm to a more natural position if I notice it when I wake up in the middle of the night, but it’s also hard to be very mindful when I’m half-asleep. Meh.
4) Libby.
My one-year membership to my neighboring county’s library system expired last month. It was actually supposed to expire at the end of March 2020, but COVID happened and they paused all renewals. (In Florida, you can only get a library card for the county you live in. I paid $100 to get access to another county’s library system because their eBook collection is vastly superior and almost always has the books I want to read.) I was thinking about renewing, but now their non-resident library cards don’t allow you to access their eBook/audiobook collection. Whaaaaat. Why would you do this to me, HCPLC?! I’d much rather pay them for eBooks rather than Amazon. I’m also frustrated because my county’s online system only allows you to put 5 books on hold at a time (as opposed to 30) and the borrowing period for all eBooks/audiobooks is 2 weeks (HCPLC gave me 3 weeks).
The good news is, I think I can buy a library card online from Orange County Public Library System to access their eBook collection (which seems as robust as HCPLC’s, since it’s the library system for the Orlando area). It’s $125 for a year, but I’m quite sure the card will pay for itself within six months. (And even still, I’d rather pay that amount of money to the library rather than Amazon.) I just have to wait until April to buy it, since I’m on a $100 spending limit this month.
5) The cats.
This weekend, I spent an evening away from the girls as my mom needed me to watch Chip. I’m always happy to do this for her as I love my fur-brother obsessively, but I also really miss my cats when I’m away from them, even if it’s only for a night. I know they are totally fine to be home alone, but I always get a little anxious as I’m preparing for bed, thinking of them alone in a dark apartment without me. Anyone else?
6) What I’m watching.
I’m currently knee-deep into season two of Superstore, which will likely become one of my new comfort watches. It’s so good! Funny and heartfelt and I am here for all the sexual tension between Amy and Jonah. Yes, yes, yes.
Last month, I watched season one of The Crown, which I really, really enjoyed. It’s made me do a lot of googling into the royal family and specifically Queen Elizabeth. Like, I totally didn’t know that her husband is still alive?! And that she’s had four kids?! I’ve never been that interested in the royal family (did not even watch Kate or Meghan’s weddings) so I don’t really know all that much about them. But it’s so crazy to think about becoming queen at 25, just a few years into your marriage. Also, now that I’ve watched this season, it feels like the book American Royals is kinda like Queen Elizabeth fanfic? There are just so many parallels!
I’ve also started rewatching Schitt’s Creek. I remember not loving season one the first time I watched the show because it takes some time to understand the humor and weirdness of the characters, but now that I have that background, I was able to enjoy season one in an entirely new way. It’s just so good! Funny and ridiculous and over-the-top. Love. It.
Have you tried Scribd? I’ve used it for over eight years and love it. Depending on what ereader you use you might try it. At $8.99 a month, it is less expensive than your library fee. It only works with kindle fire though, not paperwhite which is annoying. I mostly use it for audiobooks.
Dude, forget Florida. Get a library membership to Charlotte Mecklenburg libraries! https://www.cmlibrary.org/getacard It’s $45/year and they have a baller OverDrive book collection. I don’t live there either and I have one because my home library and the neighboring county’s ebook system is meh. I got my CMPL card during COVID and have never been to the physical libraries, it’s working out awesome.
Oh man, your library system/s sound very limiting! I wish you could get a non-resident card for my library system, which allows up to 50 ebook holds at once, and has a very robust ebook catalog. What is Florida DOING?!
I also grind my teeth and had to get a (Very Expensive) “device” which I absolutely hate and do not wear. it is fairly small — like maybe an inch or two square — and fits over my top two front teeth. It’s very tight (because I don’t wear it enough, I’m sure) and I feel like I am going to break my teeth when I try to remove it. But ALSO I have awakened in the morning to find that the device is not in my mouth! WHIch is terrifying! How did it come out?! It’s too big to swallow, but seems like the perfect size to choke me to death, so I am Not A Fan. (My hygienist claims that it is too tight to come out on its own, so I MUST have removed it myself… but I am an extremely light sleeper, so I just can’t see that happening without my remembering!) Anyway, I hope your guard is WAY BETTER and that it works.
Ugh your library sucks! 5 holds? I can have 15 ebook holds and 50 holds total when you include physical books. And the check out period is 3 weeks. I don’t think my county allows people to purchase a library card and I don’t think you’d want one for my county as the waits can be pretty long! It’s nuts. But i think they have added more ebooks during the pandemic as the waits haven’t been as bad. The wait for physical books is longer as they extended the hold period to something like 4-5 weeks and they aren’t charging fines anymore. So I tend to read ebooks as the wait can be shorter. And it’s way more convenient since I am usually holding a baby, often in the dark, when reading!
We rarely leave oscar alone in our house. She is such a people cat. So I understand how you felt leaving your girls! We will leave her for 1-2 nights if we have to but if we leave for 2 nights we have someone stop by. But usually if we are going to be gone, she goes to my MIL’s. She’s been out there for most is the last year as my MIL really needed her company during this lonely year!
Ugh that sucks about the library card for that county! WTF. I hope the Orange County one works out. 5 holds is just not enough. Or two weeks for that matter. It’s interesting to see other people’s suggestions in the comments, as I am also trying to find someplace to get ebooks, but haven’t researched it much (and interestingly, my Libby account still works). Let us know what you do!
I feel so bad when I leave the kitties alone, even though they have each other!
I hope the mouth guard helps with your headaches!
Oh and yes I wake up with my arms so sore from sleeping on them weird. Sigh.
That stinks about your library situation. You and Kim! I didn’t know the restrictions were getting so bad. I hope you find a workable solution that’s not too expensive.
I love your idea of a revised weekly catch-up post. I will look forward to reading those, as always!
Jon and I just started watching Schitt’s Creek – for the first time – and it’s entertaining. I don’t know yet if I get the hype, but we’re in season two now.
That sucks about the library. I didn’t know how restrictive it was (but I also haven’t tried to access a library outside of my county, I guess.)