Loving… false fall. Last week, we had a brief period of fall-like temps with highs in the mid-70s, which felt amazing. The cooler weather hasn’t stuck around (highs are back to the mid-80s, womp), but we are enjoying some cooler mornings with temps in the upper 60s. I’ll take it! It’s nice to get a break from the relentless heat and humidity and it makes me very excited for the next few months.

Loathing… losing my fitness. My gym attendance during the last few weeks hasn’t been great for obvious reasons, and when I went to HIIT last Wednesday, I felt like I was going to die. Or, more accurately, I felt like I did when I started taking these HIIT classes. I told my trainer at the end of the class that I felt like I had lost all of my fitness in the last three weeks. To which he replied, “Well, you’ll get it back!” And that was a good reminder. Did I feel weak and exhausted during HIIT last week? Yes. But will I keep going to class so I can regain the fitness I feel I’ve lost? Also yes. It’s okay if it feels hard right now. It’s okay if I need to take more breaks. It’s okay if I finish a HIIT class and feel like I could have pushed myself harder than I did. All in due time.

Reading… two books. On audio, I’m listening to Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice by Elle Cosimano, which is the fourth book in the series. This is my first time listening on audio and the narrator isn’t great, but I’m getting through it. I’m also reading The Ex Vows by Jessica Joyce. I read and loved her previous novel, You with a View, earlier this year and this one is hitting the spot, too.

Watching… Love is Blind, season 7. This show is so messy and I love it. I love the ridiculous people they cast, I love watching the one couple that is no-drama and makes it to the altar with no problem, I love all the juicy gossip that comes out about the cast mid-season. This season, we have a deadbeat dad who ghosted his children to be on the show! It’s wild, you guys. WILD.

Listening to… Empire City: The Untold Origin Story of the NYPD. This podcast series is fascinating. I’m learning so much! It brings together historians and NYC natives to tell the story of policing and the NYPD in particular, starting with its formation and showing how its racist beginnings still reverberate today.

Anticipating… a cruise in December! Eeks. I’m so excited about this. Originally, my mom, my stepdad, and I were going to go to Asheville during the last week of December but, of course, those plans had to be cancelled due to the horrific flooding from Helene. Asheville is going to be dealing with the aftermath for a long time. Still, my mom and I wanted to do something because life has been a LOT lately and we haven’t taken a cruise vacation in at least two years. (This will be my 12th cruise.) We found a quick five-day cruise out of Miami that leaves December 2nd, so we booked it! I’m so excited to get away and enjoy cruise life for a week.

Thinking about… NaBloPoMo. I considered skipping NaBloPoMo this year because it’s a lot of work between writing posts and keeping up with other people’s posts (and I know it gets overwhelming for those of you not participating but following along!). And I still might change my mind, but right now, I’m leaning towards doing NaBloPoMo again. This will be my fourth year doing the challenge and even though I get nervous about keeping up with everything in the days leading up to it, I always have a good time. I already have my schedule all planned out so if I have the ideas, I might as well put them into action, right?

Buying… a new Kia Soul. I went car shopping on Friday. I first went to a Toyota dealership where I test-drove a Rav-4 and loved it. It was so much fun to drive, but unfortunately, once we got back to run the numbers, it was very clear that a new Rav-4 would not be in my budget. I only have $4,000 to put down as my down payment and no car to trade in, so once I learned that my payments would be in the $600 range, it was time to jump ship and head on over to Kia. (I didn’t even consider test-driving anything else, as the other cars were around the same price as the Rav-4 so I knew I would be SOL.) I test-drove another Kia Soul and gah, it felt like coming home. I miss driving my zippy little Soul! So, I put a deposit down on a 2025 Kia Soul that should arrive in the next few days. And here’s the kicker: my car payment is going to be less than it was with Gladys! And maybe I can trade up for the Rav-4 in a few years—with a car to trade in, my payments might be more in my price range. Or maybe I’m just a Soul girl through and through.

Grateful… for normalcy. I am so happy to be back in my normal routine. Working from my desk at home with my three screens. Cuddling the girls before bed. Nights on the couch watching stupid reality TV and coloring. Cooking for myself again. Even cleaning feels exciting (okay, not exciting but I like that I have the bandwidth and time for it again). Getting back into my blogging groove. I missed normal life—and I know I’m one of the lucky ones who gets to enjoy normalcy again when my friends are still living in rental homes and will be there for many, many months while they wait for their actual homes to be restored.

What are you currently anticipating and watching?

Loving… the reinvigorated Democratic party. Like many people, I was happy when Biden stepped aside and Kamala stepped up. I was even more excited when Kamala chose Tim Walz as her running mate because every thing I read about him just makes me love him more. It’s been amazing to see the groundswell of support for Kamala and Tim and how this has reinvigorated the presidential race and politics as a whole. Things feel hopeful again! I’m going to believe this means good things for November.

Loathing… summer colds. I can’t remember the last time I had a cold (sometime last year, I’m guessing), but I woke up from a nap on Saturday with a sore throat and now I’m downing Dayquil like it’s my job. Thankfully, it hasn’t been too bad. The sore throat went away within a day and now I’m mostly dealing with nasal congestion and an overall blah feeling. I took a Covid test on Monday, which was negative (I’ll re-test today to make doubly sure). I think it’s just one of those run-of-the-mill viruses.

Reading… The Rachel Incident by Caroline O’Donoghue, which I just started yesterday so I don’t have much to say about it yet. On audio, I’m almost done with His & Hers by Alice Feeny, which has been a wild ride so far. It’s making me feel a bit icky but I also need to know what happens, so I keep listening.

Watching… Master Chef. I just started season 13, which means I only have one more season until I’m all caught up on past seasons. Maybe I’ll go back to Hell’s Kitchen next? That show is a little more stressful, though. Master Chef feels like the nice version of Gordon Ramsey. Of course, what I’m not watching is Suits, which I told myself I needed to watch this month for my TV watching goal. I don’t know why I’m not watching it! I loved the first season and I love drooling over Harvey and Rachel (aka, Meghan Markle) respectively. But there’s just something easy about reality TV. I don’t have to give it too much attention and the stakes feel lower.

Listening to… mostly podcasts and my current audiobook. I am still behind on my goal to listen to one new album every month. I listened to Billie Eilish’s newest release last month and I have Gracie Abram’s The Secret of Us queued up to listen to soon. Any other albums I should listen to?

Anticipating… football season. We’re a little over a week away from the kickoff to the NFL season and I couldn’t be more excited! My family has completed our draft, I’m reading everything I can about my beloved Miami Dolphins prep for the upcoming season, and I have been so pleased to see that our coach is back to being a national treasure. I spend every Sunday at my mom’s house with my brother and nephews, watching the games, and I can’t wait to get back to it!

Thinking about… moving. I am still waiting to hear from my apartment complex if my rent will be increasing this year. (My lease is up November 1st but I have to give a 60-day notice, which will be September 1st.) If my rent does not increase, my plan is to stay put for another year and then live out the next 14 months as if my rent has increased by $400. This way, I can know if moving to a new apartment with more expensive rent is doable for me and it will allow me to save a lot of money in that year (for moving costs, movers, new things for my new apartment, etc.) If my rent does increase, then I will probably move this year. If I’m going to pay more in rent, I’d rather be in an apartment that better meets my needs.

Buying… so many clear bins. I have been feeling very disorganized lately when it comes to my bathroom and I decided to invest in a handful of clear bins (these kind) to get everything in its rightful place. On the left side are bins for first aid, medicine/psoriasis creams, and extra small supplies. In the center are bins for hair stuff (like clips/headbands/etc), all of my hair color supplies, and miscellaneous items. And on the right side are all of my tampons, separated by type (light/regular/super). Is it weird to do an organizing project like this if I’m potentially moving in a few months? Yes. But I can’t be stopped when I get an organizing idea in my head.

(Eventually I will replace the Brightroom labels with custom labels.)

Grateful… that I am finally getting an APAP machine. Yesterday, I had an appointment with a sleep clinic to go over all the ins and outs of using these machines. It was a very useful appointment where they showed me the machine I’ll be getting (ResMed AirSense 11) and how to use it and take care of it. There will be a lot more cleaning in my future as some of the parts need a weekly soak/rinse and I need to keep jugs of distilled water on hand to fill up the humidifier on a daily basis. Eeks! The clinician on the phone also let me know that when the results came in from my previous sleep study (the one done in April), I experienced 47.4 apneas every hour. (An apnea is when you stop breathing while sleeping, and you have to have stopped breathing for 10 seconds or more for it to register as an apnea.) I knew my sleep was bad, as I was diagnosed with severe obstructive sleep apnea, but that just meant I stopped breathing at least 30 times a night. To know I was over that threshold by so much is very scary! And now my chronic exhaustion makes even more sense. My poor brain. It’s not going to know what to do with all this extra oxygen it’s going to get at night!

What are you currently anticipating and watching?

Loving… all the time off work I’ve had recently! I had 6 days off work at the end of May/early June and this week, I took Wednesday-Friday off. We already get Wednesday off for Juneteenth and then I was going to take Friday off to travel to Chicago… why not give myself the gift of a five-day weekend? No sense in working on Thursday! I’ll probably log into work today and tomorrow just to clear out emails/Slack messages and handle some of my daily tasks, but otherwise, I’m taking it real easy!

Loathing… scalp psoriasis. I’m sorry to be a broken record, but it’s truly my biggest challenge these days. Today, I finally have a follow-up visit with my dermatologist to figure out next steps. (It was supposed to be on May 1st, but I had to move it and her next availability was 6 weeks out, argh.) I have been taking photos of my scalp on an almost daily basis to show her the cycle (it goes from dormant to dry patches to red patches, over and over again) so I am just crossing my fingers she has a solution for me. I am at the point where I will gladly get injections in my scalp (because yes, that’s an option) to make it all go away. I’m also going to schedule follow-up appointments every 2-3 weeks with her until I go into maintenance because I can’t go this long between appointments anymore! Blergh.

Reading… the same books I was reading on Friday. I have a few hours left in The Rose Code by Kate Quinn and I’m about halfway through Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez (it has a very triggering element for me, so it’s not the breezy romance I was expecting). I expect both books to be 4 stars, but we’ll see if that changes!

Watching… Suits, where mainly I drool over Harvey Spector. I’m nearly finished with season one and I have enjoyed every single episode so far. I can’t wait to keep going!

Listening to… no new music right now. Confession: I am two months behind on my goal of listening to one new album every week. Every time I think about starting a new album (I’m thinking my next one will be Billie Eilish’s newest release), I just throw on my TAYLOR playlist and jam out to my favorite songs I know backwards and forwards. I think I just want something familiar and comforting right now, and that’s what my TAYLOR playlist gives me. But I will hopefully get back on track with this goal soon!

Anticipating… my weekend in Chicago with Kim! She has dubbed it Stephany & Kim’s AMEOWZING Popcast Weekend, and I am so excited! Kim gave me a detailed itinerary, which I am much appreciative of because I am a details gal. I fly into Chicago in the morning and fly out on Sunday, so we’ll have most of Friday and all of Saturday together. And, of course, I am super excited to go to the Popcast Live! I get to see my best friends (parasocially, of course) live and in person! I think it will be a raucous evening and I am really looking forward to it. And I am really, really looking forward to seeing Kim’s cats and forcing them to fall in love with me. That’s how it works, right?!

Thinking about… Pride posts. I’m a glutton for punishment so I can’t help but click on the comments of any business that puts up a Pride post. It’s always a cesspool, as one might expect. A lot of American flags with comments like, “This is the only flag I care about!!!!” And a lot of “ew, why do people have to shove this in our faces?” Of course, nobody ever says that when we see a heterosexual marriage proposal or wedding or “gender” reveal. It’s ignorance, I know, but it still makes me really sad knowing there are so many people who hate the queer community. What is it hurting you if we get to love the people we want to love? Ugh.

Buying… Pretty Litter. I’ve used World’s Best cat litter for the entirety I’ve been a cat mom, but after Eloise’s health scare, I realized there’s a lot I don’t know about the girls’… erm… bathroom habits. When I had a dog, it was easy to understand if he was peeing a lot more than usual or had weird poops. It’s a lot harder to know that with cats. Pretty Litter purports to monitor a cat’s health by changing the color of the litter (it starts off white) when they pee. As long as the litter stays yellow or olive green, things are good. But if there’s an issue like a UTI or kidney disease, the litter will change to blue or red or orange. I’m trying it out for now, and we’ll see if I like it enough to keep using it!

Grateful… to have so many wonderful Little Free Libraries around me! Within 10 minutes of where I live, there are at least 15 different spots. On Sunday, I made a list of all the different addresses and went around town dropping books off in different libraries. Some of them were so cute and curated! I know I’m lucky to have so many nearby and I’m glad I was able to leave some good books in these libraries.

What are you currently watching and grateful for?

Loving… my fun beach day at Egmont Key! For someone who lives near so many beaches, it is very rare for me to actually visit them. I find the beach to be a bit unpleasant what with the parking and the people and the sand and the lugging of all the beach necessities. But Bri and I wanted to visit Egmont Key because we learned that it is home to the spookiest area of Florida. We took a ferry to the island where we spent an hour roaming around—Egmont Key used to be a fort used to protect Tampa Bay during the Spanish-American War. It was also a place where the Tocobaga tribe lived until it was taken over by the Spanish. Egmont Key was also used by soldiers and their families during the Spanish-American War and at one time had 300 residents! During our roaming, we saw some ruins and also toured a few of the old batteries (aka, where they would shoot off cannons) that were still standing today. Of course, the main reason people come to Egmont Key is to relax and we for sure made time for that. We had two hours to relax on the beach and enjoy the ocean before we had to get back on the ferry. All in all, it was such a lovely day! (And that post-adventure nap was amazing.) I’ll sprinkle some pictures from the day into this post!

Loathing… feeling out of shape. I know, I know. I’m working on this! Yesterday during our adventure, just walking through sand caused my heart rate to spike into the 160s. Like I was doing a super-intense HIIT workout or something! It’s a reminder that I have lost a lot of my fitness over the past few years, and I know I’m doing exactly what I need to do to get it to a better place. But it’s still hard to realize how far I have to go.

Reading… The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise by Colleen Oakley. I am usually pretty good about reading our book club book early in the month, but since we had to move our April book club to the first Friday of May due to scheduling issues, I put off reading the book until I realized late last week that I still hadn’t gotten it from the library. Oops! I quickly ordered it and picked it up on Saturday, and now have just under a week to finish it. It will be a quick read so that shouldn’t be a problem, but I’m usually better than this!

Watching… Mr. and Mrs. Smith, still. Why is it taking me so long to watch this show? It only has eight episodes and every time I sit down to watch one, I’m immediately drawn in! It’s not the fault of the show. Maybe my attention span for watching anything that’s not a 30-minute sitcom or a reality TV show is just trash now. IDK.

Listening to… “Cowboy Carter” by Beyonce. This was my album for April, and I thought it was pretty good. I’ve never actually listened to Beyonce, but wanted to give this album a shot. I have a few faves from the album but the majority of it was a miss for me. (Sorry!) I liked Texas Hold ‘Em, 16 Carriages, Daughter, and Ya Ya the most.

Anticipating… all my fun summer travel plans. Next month, I’m going to New Orleans for a few days. In June, I’m going to Chicago (where I’ll get to meet Kim’s cats, squeeeee). And I’m hoping to also do a long weekend in Deerfield Beach. Let’s go, summertime!

Thinking about… getting bangs. I have been thinking about this for quite a while now. I had bangs for a long time but grew them out during the pandemic. And now I think I want to bring them back to add a little softness to my face. Then again, I do enjoy how much easier life is without bangs. Bangs are a lot of work. There’s the upkeep (I learned how to cut my own bangs when I had them, so I’m not too worried about that), and then there’s just the knowledge that it’s a separate part of my hair I’ll have to deal with every morning. But I think the bangs are happening! My hair appointment is next Friday so stay tuned.

Buying… a breakfast sandwich maker! I was talking to my dietician a few appointments ago about my penchant for sausage egg McMuffins from McDonalds and we were working through all the steps required to make a breakfast sandwich at home… and that’s when I remembered the genius of a breakfast sandwich maker! The story behind this particular one starts years and years ago when Bri and I were working at the same company, and she was gifted this breakfast sandwich maker in a White Elephant gift exchange. She loved it so much that she bought a second one for the office! It makes it so easy to make a delicious breakfast sandwich in the morning, and I have very much been enjoying my new gadget.

Grateful… to myself for pushing to have a sleep study done. I had to ask for this sleep study and, at first, my doctor seemed a little apprehensive about putting in the order. I don’t think it came from a bad place; I think she knew that most health insurances needed a stronger reason to approve a sleep study other than snoring. So she asked me a lot of questions about why I wanted it done, and it made me start to question if I even needed it. But my thought was to get the sleep study done and see what the results were. Hopefully, they would come back negative for sleep apnea. Of course, we know now that’s not what happened. I was diagnosed with a severe case of sleep apnea, and it made me even more grateful to myself for pushing for this sleep study. You really do have to be your own advocate sometimes!

What are you currently watching and anticipating? 

Loving… my new gym! After many years of being without a gym home, I finally decided to join one after getting my bloodwork results back and realizing I need to kick my workout routine to another gear. These lazy 15-minute walks outside aren’t going to cut it anymore if I want to lower my cholesterol and diabetes risk. My mom has wanted me to join Crunch Fitness with her for a few months now, and so that’s what we did on Friday! Yesterday, I took my first in-person spin class in years and it was awful in the best possible way. It was hard and the seat felt uncomfortable and I just wanted it to be done… but I was also happy to be back on the bike and felt like I could do anything when I finished my workout. My plan is to go twice a week (starting small!) and increase my attendance from there.

Loathing… sciatica. I haven’t had to deal with sciatica in so long—it just went dormant for a few years, but now it’s back with a vengeance. I have tried heat therapy, stretches, and even a massage, but nothing was helping it. I went to a friend’s pediatric cancer event on Saturday and was so nervous about how my body would hold up to a one mile walk, which is just ridiculous. By the end of the walk, my back was so tight and I was in so much pain that I couldn’t do much more than stand around and try to take deep breaths. On Monday, I had my first appointment with a chiropractor and I am feeling hopeful that she will be able to help me. She did a ton of assessments and took X-rays, and this morning, I have a follow-up appointment to learn more about what’s going on and her treatment plan.

Reading… two books. I am a little more than halfway through Black Girls Must Die Exhausted by Jayne Allen on audiobook. I am very annoyed at the dating choices these women are making! And in print, I’m reading Come and Get It by Kiley Reid. I have read 250 pages and I still could not succinctly tell you what this book is about.

Watching… Mr. and Mrs. Smith! A TV show, finally! I have only watched two episodes so far (okay, full disclosure: I did set it aside to watch The Trust on Netflix, which is a reality show) but I am really enjoying it. I mean, episode two was wildly uncomfortable in spots, but I am still intrigued enough to keep going.

Listening to… the Corporate Gossip podcast. I finally got through their entire archive and now I am (im)patiently awaiting season 4. This podcast is hosted by a brother and sister team who detail all sorts of stories about corporate malfeasance. They tackle both companies (like Disney, Boeing, Peloton, etc.) that have engaged in some interesting practices to say the least, as well as CEOs and their downfall (think: Ted Turner, The Murdochs, the Koch family, etc). They have such a fun tone to their podcast, even when talking about really ridiculous topics, and I have really loved learning more about the crazy, super nefarious world of corporations and business bros.

Anticipating… book club on Saturday! This was my month to plan something, and I suggested candle making. There’s a cute spot downtown where we can make candles (maybe with some book-related scents, like old paper or coffee? Hmm) and I’m excited to have a fun Saturday out with my girls! We’ll probably get lunch afterward since we have to wait two hours for our candles to set after we make them.

Excited… to announce that I got a promotion! It was entirely unexpected, as I thought I would have to wait for the next promotion cycle in a few months but our organization is going through a reorg, which entailed restructuring the way some of our teams function. Because of that, it was crucial to give me a promotion during the Q1 cycle, which is really exciting! I have a senior management title now, which just boggles my mind. Who is this girl?!

Buying… an Apple watch! I feel like I am so late to the Apple watch game, but when I learned I could use my wellness stipend for an Apple watch, it was a no-brainer. A free Apple watch? Sign me up! I got it last week and have had such a fun time playing around with it, and finding new ways for it to enhance my life.

Grateful for… winning a raffle! I’ve never won anything like this, but I bought some raffle tickets at the pediatric cancer walk I went to on Saturday and won the raffle I entered! I’m getting a $50 gift certificate to Aveda, which is really exciting because the last time I was at my salon, I saw that they have a line of products specifically designed to help oily scalps and I am here for that. I’m interested in trying this exfoliating scalp treatment, but a 5 oz bottle is $53! (I can’t remember if they had the travel size in the salon, which is $14 for .85 oz.) But with a gift certificate, I can give the full-size bottle a try without breaking the bank. Hooray for that!

Any tips, tricks, or app ideas for my Apple watch? What is something you’re loving right now?