BOOKS
In February, I read 8 books. My favorite was Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez and my least favorite was The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston. Some other stats:
- 88% fiction, 12% nonfiction
- 5 print, 3 audiobooks
- 4.1 average star rating
- 25% diverse
Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez (print, owned) ★★★★★ | Thank You for Listening by Julia Whelan (audiobook, library) ★★★★☆ | Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano (print, owned) ★★★★☆ | The Art of Scandal by Regina Black (print, library) ★★★★☆ | A Town Called Solace by Mary Lawson (audiobook, library) ★★★★☆ | How to Be Yourself by Ellen Hendriksen (print, library) ★★★★☆ | Morbidly Yours by Ivy Fairbanks (print, library) ★★★☆☆ | The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston (audiobook, Spotify) ★★★☆☆
MEDIA
- The Circle, seasons 1 and 2 (Netflix) – I just started watching this reality TV show on Netflix and I really enjoy it. It’s such a unique concept!
- Love is Blind, season 6 (Netflix) – This show is so messy. Why do I keep watching it?
- The Traitors, season 2 (Peacock) – Season 1 was definitely a whole lot better than season 2, but I’m still enjoying this season and rooting for a Faithfuls win.
- The Floor (Hulu) – This silly game show hosted by Rob Lowe had me hooked in January and February! It’s so easy to follow along with, which I appreciate.
- Surviving Y2K (podcast) – I love a podcast series produced by Dan Taberski, although I didn’t love this one as much as I’ve loved his other podcasts (Running from Cops and 9/12). Y2K was a wild time, though, wasn’t it?
- Who Killed JFK? (podcast) – I didn’t realize there was such a big conspiracy about the JFK assassination! (Where have I been?!) This podcast hosted by Rob Reiner and Soledad O’Brien was incredible and I learned a lot.
- Noah Kahan, Stick Season (music) – My album for the month of February was Noah Kahan’s Stick Season, which came out in 2022. I liked it a lot! Favorites off the album: She Calls Me Back, Homesick, and Everywhere, Everything.
We also released two episodes this month for The Friendship Paradox. We interview our dear friend Mikaela all about being an enneagram 1—it is one of my favorite episodes we’ve done! And we also talked about our attachment styles.
PURCHASES
- A new purse ($24) – I treated myself to a new purse in February and I love it so much! It’s a tiny little backpack that I can wear as a crossbody. I like not having to dig through a bigger purse to find my wallet/keys/phone. Everything is within easy reach!
- Laptop backpack ($30) – The new laptop I received for Christmas is so much bigger than my old laptop, and it meant it wouldn’t fit into my laptop carrying case! Whoops. I went on the hunt for a cute laptop backpack and found this one, which ended up being one of the things I treated myself to for hitting my goals.
- Sterilite Clear View Storage Bins ($4-$6 each) – I love these storage bins because they are stackable and also come with very easy-to-use latches in bright purple. I got a bunch of these in February for my closet reorganization project (6 quart and 15 quart sizes).
- La Roche Posay Glycolic Acid ($44) – I’m trying out this glycolic acid since it’s supposed to remove dark spots and even out skin tone. We’ll see! I plan on using it for a few months and if I don’t see a difference in my skin, I’ll try something else.
- Hanes underwear ($17) – Have you refresh your underwear drawer yet? I used to love going to Victoria’s Secret and picking out a bunch of cute pairs of underwear, but now I just search for a 6-pack on Amazon and call it good. I don’t love the pack I got (I should have gotten the bikini style instead of the hipster style), but oh well!
MOMENTS
At the beginning of February, a group of us got together to visit Parkesdale Market (which is world-famous, apparently, and Barack Obama visited it during a 2008 campaign stop!) for strawberry shortcake and then go strawberry picking. It was such a fun day! I’m ready to go back.
Silent Book Club with my mom is one of my new favorite things! She’s recently gotten back into reading, as I’ve mentioned before, and it’s fun to have another way to connect with her.
Okay, this is a super-weird photo but I had to document my swollen lip after my cavity filling! What a crazy experience. I believe I had an allergic reaction to the topical lidocaine (which has never happened before). It probably also didn’t help that I was chewing on that side of my lip after my procedure and because I couldn’t feel anything, I likely chewed off the top layer of skin under my lip. Oops? Live and learn, friends. (The lip was back to normal size the next morning, although I had a nice little wound under my lip for a few days.)
Bri and I had such a fun Galentine’s Day together! We ordered cheesy bread and pizza and watched Never Been Kissed, a movie I can still quote to this day. Is it problematic? Sure. But did it still give me the ooey-gooey feelings that only a 90s rom-com can give me? Oh yeah.
One weekend in February, I was on dog-sitting duty! Hanging out with my besties Chip and Lucy is truly not a hassle. They are so fun and cuddly and silly. I love being with them! (I always stay at my mom’s house when I watch Chip and Lucy because it’s much easier than having them at my apartment. Sadly, the cats are not very fond of the dogs.)
Lila had her annual vet appointment this month and while I was convinced she had lost weight, she was up by almost a pound. Sigh. I talked extensively with the vet about how to get her to lose weight and it likely comes down to separating the cats while eating. Ughhh. I also talked with the vet about drugging Lila for these vet appointments. It took me fifteen minutes to get her in her carrier and that involved poking her with a broom to get her to come out from under the bed, chasing her around the apartment, trying to bribe her with treats, moving my couch to get her to come out from under the furniture… all the while she is meowing at me so sadly and breaking my heart. The vet gave me a few doses of Gabapentin to hopefully help make her a little more agreeable (read: high) when it comes to things like going to the vet, getting brushed, getting a nail trim, etc.
I had a big stack of books sitting in my closet ready to be sent to new homes. One Sunday morning, I plotted out a bunch of different Little Free Libraries within a 10-minute drive from where I live and went on a fun adventure of finding these beautiful little bookish spaces in my community and adding a few books into each one. It was a delightful journey!
I had another LASIK follow-up appointment and everything looks perfect! I was given the green light to start using my ceiling fan again (hooray!) and also basically “graduated” from my post-procedure follow-ups. My next appointment will be in about another year and from there, I can go every few years for eye checks. I’m still in this weird mode of reaching for my glasses every morning and then remembering I don’t need them, which is always an exciting re-discovery!
What was a top moment of February for you?
I see your mom is reading Happiness Falls- how does she like it? I liked that book but I know a lot of people didn’t.
Ugh, poor Lila- and poor you. Getting the cats to the vet is my least favorite thing in the world. The second least favorite thing would be trying to separate the cats at mealtime, or just putting them on any kind of a diet at all. I feel a little guilty because our black cat is very chubby (or, big and beautiful as I like to say- the rest of the family doesn’t agree) but I just can’t bring myself to take any drastic measures over it. I will say, I had a cat growing up who was obese, and she lived for eighteen years! So… maybe it’s okay? Not really. I know.
She enjoyed it, but wasn’t a fan of the ending!
Yeah, it’s hard to know what to do about Lila. The problem is that Ellie is at an ideal weight while Lila is not… but I don’t feel like Lila is bullying Ellie out of her food or anything like that. I think I need to get them away from grazing, though. I think that would help!
I’m almost a year out from my PRK and I STILL reach for my glasses. I guess living one way for 25 years makes some pretty deep habits.
I also laughed out loud at this: Gabapentin to hopefully help make her a little more agreeable (read: high)
It’s such an ingrained habit! So yes, doing something every morning for the past 25 years is hard to break.
Zelda goes happily into her kennel. She’s a cooperative baby. But then she throws up in the car and drools and drools and I honestly feel so terrible for her. The vet never sees her in all her fuzzy glory because she’s covered in puke and drool. I am going to see about some gabapentin for her the next time we have to take her on a car trip.
I have a confession to make. They never gave me a laptop bag for my work laptop, so when I bring it home, I just shove it into my work bag with no protection. I would never do this with my personal laptop or even my Kindle, but I am RECKLESS with my work laptop. Maybe I should ask for a bag.
I am very jealous of the cooperative kitty behavior, but the vomit/droll have to be awful. Thankfully, Lila is fine once she’s in the carrier. She just meows very sadly, lol.
Ask for a bag!
Having had glasses since the age of 7 (and still using them in the morning/at night when I don’t have my contacts in), I can’t imagine how long it would take me to stop reaching for my glasses! There are habits and then there are habits. I’m glad you’re progressing so well in the eye department. I also love your quest to stock up little free libraries near you! I checked and there aren’t any close by me, so I usually give books I don’t want to keep to the local charity shop. They don’t charge a lot so it’s almost as good for getting books out there.
I suppose a highlight of February for me is that my mother started driving again. It’s good for both of us that she can go out on her own, run to the store, have lunch with a friend…it’s been a lot of months without that.
Dang, I’m sorry there are no LFL around you. I have SO MANY around here, which makes me very happy.
Hooray for that bit of independence for your mom and you!
There was a time when we had to give Stepdog a “happy pill” for the vet. I always felt so bad for her when ever she had to go there. Hopefully Doggo will have a better vet experience.
Congrats on graduating from LASIK checkups! It has to feel so good to finally have that done.
I hope Doggo doesn’t have to be drugged for the vet! I’ve never had a problem with dogs and the vet – they aren’t always HAPPY to be there, but they go without too much of a fuss. Lila makes things very difficult. Thankfully, Eloise is pretty good about getting in the carrier, so at least it’s just one cat I have to worry about.
Oooh oooh oooh, remember when you said something about refreshing your underwear drawer, a while ago? I DID THIS! I bought new bras and everything, which is huge for me! And god, these bras fit so well, what was I even doing with my life before. Next up, the sock drawer.
I wanted to tell you I listened to your latest pod yesterday and Bri’s mom is such a delight! I loved listening to her voice so much. What a fun episode!
Where did you buy your bras?! I have just been wearing bralettes these days, which are fine for the days I’m working from home, but I really should find something that gives me a bit of, um, structure when I’m out and about.
I’m glad you enjoyed that episode! Bri’s mom is WONDERFUL!
Wow that swollen lip looks rough! I am glad it was better by the morning! I refuse lidocaine/novocaine. My childhood dentist didn’t use it and then I had one cavity done with it and was like – this is terrible! The dental staff are always like – are you sure???? I tell tjem to check my records because it is evident I don’t use it and I do just fine!
I hope I like 7 year slip more than you did! I basically only read ebooks – no audio. So I won’t have the problem you had of the audio book not landing.
February was kind of a blur. I had a nice birthday and the highlight was definitely our date night, followed by my book club meeting!
LISA WHAT – you get a cavity filling without ANY numbing agent AT ALL?? I need more details and I also need your level of pain tolerance.
I think the Seven Year Slip is MUCH better in e-book/print form than audiobook. The narrator was too much for me!
Bummer on the undies – but now you know?
ALSO – I need you to do a closet reveal! I love those storage containers and have multiple 6 qt size ones in my bathroom. I was pondering the 15 qt ones for my closet, too! (Same kind of situation you were in, one closet, currently v. disorganized.)
Sorry about Lila. Poor baby. Was she older than Ellie when you adopted her, or is it a complete mystery? (Wondering if she had bad car/vet experiences before you rescued her, maybe?)
I’m like Lisa – no novocaine, ever. Cavities, crowns, I’d rather gut it out than be numb, thankyouverymuch. 🙂 Your story only makes me more adamant about that!
March is almost over and I am reading this. I really can’t keep up right now and I am sorry.
So happy Lasik had such a great result for you.