Hi, friends! Happy first day of February! With a new year comes a new monthly recap series, and I’m really excited about this one. This post is broken down into 5 sections: good stuff, hard stuff, stuff I recommend, bookish stuff, and goal stuff (wherein I’ll update you guys on how I’m pacing on some of my yearly goals). Sound fun? I hope so!
Good Stuff
- Attending the Silent Book Club in Tampa – This is a new book club that is exactly up my alley! We met at a coffee shop in Tampa, chit-chatted with each other for a bit, and then spent a full hour in silence, reading our books. It was so nice! Afterward, we did a book exchange. I had a lot of fun and already have the February meeting on my calendar.
- Finding a psychiatrist – My anxiety has been unmanageable for many, many months and I finally decided to do something about it. I’m now seeing a psychiatrist, someone who is warm and compassionate and committed to helping me feel better, and I have hope that I will finally get my anxiety under control.
- A really excellent annual review – I had my annual review this month, and my director spent most of it bragging about me, which felt really satisfying. She also gave me a score of “significantly achieves expectations,” which was only handed out to a small number of employees in our organization. I know I had a really good year, career-wise, and this really validates that.
- Winning my work’s fantasy football draft – This was such a fun surprise! I started off the season on the struggle bus, but my team got it together at the end to pull off a nice win!
- Lots of time spent with family – One of my favorite things about January is all the time I get to spend with my family to watch all of the playoff games. For a few weeks, we spend nearly all of Saturday and Sunday together, which is really fun and makes my heart very full.
Hard Stuff
- A doctor’s appointment from hell – I’ve already documented this doctor’s appointment. I was hoping to get a follow-up survey from the office after my appointment, but I never did, which means I’m going to need to call their office to lodge my complaint. It must be done, though.
- So much anxiety – I was hoping that the new year would mean my anxiety episodes would magically disappear, but surprise! That has not happened. It’s been another tough month of having that low hum of anxiety rippling through my body on a daily basis, and it really fucking sucks.
- The Dolphins losing their playoff game – Ugh. Will I ever see the Dolphins win a playoff game in my lifetime? I am proud of how they played, though, especially since we had to use our third-string rookie against a very good Bills team. Next year!
Stuff I Recommend
- The Traitors (Peacock) – My mom recommended this show to me and told me I needed to watch it so we could discuss it. I am obsessed. It brings together reality TV stars (from Survivor, Big Brother, The Bachelor, Below Deck, etc) and regular people and they live together in a big castle in Scotland. Three of these players have been chosen to be traitors, but only the traitors know who each other is. Every night, the traitors meet to “murder” someone in the group, and the other people in the group (known as the “Faithfuls”) have to try to find out who the traitors are. It’s fascinating and fun, and I can’t get enough of it.
- Comfy lounge pants – I bought these pants in December because I just couldn’t pass up the pattern and how cozy they felt. I wear them paired with a nice top on weekdays, so I look presentable for video calls while still being ridiculously comfortable at home.
- Kindle pouch – For the longest time, I’ve kept my Kindle Paperwhite in a case and on a whim, I decided I wanted to go case-less and just use a pouch for the times when I need to throw it in my purse. I love this pouch! It’s slim and very protective and looks pretty, too.
- A 2023 desk calendar – I bought this beautiful handmade desk calendar from Etsy. I like being able to see the whole month at a quick glance.
- BBQ cheddar mini meatloaves from Iowa Girl Eats – I don’t know if I’ve ever shared this recipe with you guys, but it is my go-to meatloaf recipe. It is SO GOOD and makes excellent leftovers.
Bookish Stuff
- # of books/pages read: 11 books (3,831 pages)
- Favorite book of the month: Wrong Place, Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister
- Least favorite book of the month: Now Is Not the Time to Panic by Kevin Wilson
- Books I abandoned: Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto (abandoned at pg 110; the plot was just so over-the-top and silly) and The Idea of You by Robinne Lee (abandoned at pg 175; the romance was stressing me out so much!)
- Format breakdown: print books (4), e-books (4), and audiobooks (3)
- Genre breakdown: Mystery/thriller (4), romance (4), contemporary fiction (2), nonfiction (1)
- Most recent book acquired: Unwinding Anxiety: New Science Shows How to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear to Heal Your Mind by Judson Brewer (During one of my anxiety spirals this month, I Googled, “best books on anxiety” and this book was on a lot of lists. Let’s hope it helps!)
Goal Stuff
- Go for a walk every day (19/30) – Progress, not perfection, right? In February, my goal is to do just a little bit better!
- Drink a bottle of water every day (13/31) – Oof. This one is not pretty, but it’s a starting point! I do better about drinking water on weekdays, less so on weekends.
- Complete 100 Peloton workouts (9/100) – I am right on track with this goal. If I can keep doing 9 Peloton workouts every month, I’ll meet this goal no problem.
- Watch 6 movies and 6 standup specials – This month, I watched Glass Onion. I was really excited to watch this movie because I loved Knives Out and I liked it okay. It didn’t fully meet my expectations and I thought the ending was rather unsatisfying, but there were some fun twists and turns I wasn’t expecting. 3.5/5, I would say.
- Establish a better morning/nighttime routine – I’m still working on the nighttime routine, but I do feel like I’m doing a lot better with my morning routine. I have a list of tasks I need to accomplish every morning before I start working and most days, I accomplish them!
What’s a recommendation you have?
Water! WHY is it so tough to drink enough? My acupuncturist said the secret is a water bottle I love, so maybe I just haven’t found it yet? BTW, I get acupuncture for anxiety, and regular (3/month) visits really help. For the first time in my life, I have the space to say oh wait, this is anxiety, instead of just being washed away with it, you know?
My favorite water bottle is the Camelbak eddy+ water bottle because it keeps my water ice cold for 24 hours, which is nuts to me! I just need to get better about filling it up and DRINKING IT. Ugh. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09KTP7KFF?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
I never thought about acupuncture for anxiety – I’ll have to look into that if the med change doesn’t work as well as I’d hoped!
I’m sorry it has been such a tough month for your anxiety, Stephany. For me, it comes in waves and isn’t necessarily predictable based on season/circumstances. I’m so glad you’re finding more resources to help and KUDOS for making a formal complaint about that doctor.
I have a Yeti insulated mug I use and I fill it many times a day. It definitely helps me drink more water.
And I felt the same way about Glass Onion. It was fine, but I preferred Knives Out and was left feeling disappointed it didn’t like up to the hype (for me).
I have a water bottle I love… I am just not great about filling it up and DRINKING THE WATER. I’m getting better, though. It’s all about building in habits.
I have dropped my Kindle so many times that the Kindle pouch idea scares me. I think I’m too clumsy for that, but I do like the idea of a slimmer Kindle.
I don’t know if I have a recommendation, but there’s a new grocery store opening in the nearby town where we go to the store and it’s opening next week and I’m way more excited about this than I thought I would be. I recommend getting excited about really dumb things, I guess!
I totally understand! Being case-free with a Kindle is a bit like living on the edge, haha. Let’s hope it doesn’t come back to bite me!
A new grocery store IS exciting! I love getting excited about things like that. 🙂
We have made those mini meatloaves and they are really good! I also like her recipe that includes an olive mix but I think that is probably not something you’d like as I want to say you aren’t a fan of olives? Phil and I love them so they were a hit for us!
Congrats on your awesome review! Your rating sounds like a 4 here at my company. We’ve been warned that very few people on our team got a 4 but our boss is going to tell what he submitted for us and what was approved. I hate how reviews are done and how they restrict 4s. It’s just kind of demeaning to work hard and then not be given a rating that corresponds to your performance? Last year I got a 3, but my boss told me he wanted to give me a 4 the following year because it would have a bigger impact on my boss in this year since I was promoted last year. But it’s odd to get promoted in the same review cycle that you got a 3 which is kind of “just ok/meets expectations.” So I don’t really focus on it all that much. But I am very happy for you that you got such a great review in your first year as a manager! That says a lot! Plus you got employee of the month last year, too, right? Well done, lady!
Yes, it seems like you have the same review process as us. And I was actually rated a 5, which is the highest rating given. I had rated myself a 4, even though I kinda thought I was more of a 5, but didn’t want to overstate my importance, haha. But it was very validating to receive such a high rating and feel like my worth is seen by my director. Our organization changed the language of a 3 from “meets expectations” to “achieves expectations” because we tried to stress that a 3 is a very good rating! It means you are doing your job and doing it well. But it is hard for us high-performers to recognize that a 3 is a good rating when it feels “average.”
This is such a fun format!
That book club is with new folks, right? It’s not with the book club you are in? Sounds fun!
Wow wow wow! Congrats on the amazing review at work! You work hard and it makes me happy you are being recognized for it.
Please do call that stupid doctor’s office to complain <3
The kindle pouch is intriguing! I've had a cover for so long, I wonder if it would feel too nekkie to just use a pouch. LOL!
Hmm, a recommendation from me… a FaceTIme call with a girlfriend!
Yes, the book club is with new people! There was a great turnout at this event – probably 15-20 people? It was fun to meet some new people who also love books. <3
Thanks for the reminder, I just went and filled my mug with some water.
I’m so sorry about your anxiety, I hope as the new dosage kicks in you will feel better!
I’m never heard of a silent book club. Sounds kind of like heaven to me.
Congratulations on your amazing review, that is wonderful! I worked somewhere once where we had to rate ourselves. I knew my job and did it well, but I never felt like ‘exceeds expectations’ was something I could say, because I never had the opportunity to do more than my job. I didn’t need to work late to get it done, I never met with clients, I volunteered to help when other people needed it and always got my work done early, but to me that all felt like just doing my job. So I rated myself as doing fine, and then I didn’t get a raise. When I asked about it, my new boss said, “I had to go off of what you gave me.” So after that, I always give myself a perfect score whenever asked. Related, at my current company, we get quarterly bonuses, and if your job includes client reviews at all, your bonus is tied to them. So whenever I fill out a survey, I always give a perfect score to the person being scored (assuming they are not an asshole like your stupid doctor, he would get an F from me!). I don’t want my thinking, “How can someone be perfect at this? I’ll give them a 3/4” be the reason they don’t get a raise/bonus/etc.
Oh, that’s so hard, J! I would be devastated to not get a raise when I knew I was doing a great job. But it’s hard to rate yourself, even when you know you are exceeding expectations. It feels self-congratulatory? But I think this is also because we are women. Men would not worry about that!
I’m so glad you are doing something to help with the anxiety. I am sorry you suffer so much from it!
Other than the anxiety and that terrible doctor’s appointment, it sounds like a pretty good month to me! Yay for a good review, comfy pants, and a silent book club!
Ooooh, “The Traitors” sounds right up my alley! Have you ever played games like Mafia or Secret Hitler? It sounds like a version of those!
I think you would love The Traitors, Kate! I haven’t played Mafia, but from what I’ve heard, it’s very similar to that game!