anticipating a few nights with the dogs next month while my mom and stepdad are on a cruise

researching brunette hairstyle colors as I’m making my triumphant return to brunette soon

buying new Airpod Pros, as they were on sale for $200 and my old earbuds were continuously failing me

thinking about cleaning up my eating and how to do that in a way that doesn’t feel like punishment

needing to restart my AppleTV subscription so I can watch season 3 of Ted Lasso!

happy to be back in standard time. I love a late sunset!

excited for the Taylor Swift concert in just a few weeks! It’s going to be an epic night.

wondering if it’s time for me to “graduate” from therapy. I think I have gotten exactly what I needed to get out of it at this moment in my life, and I can move forward with the tools I was given.

embarrassed that I put in a maintenance request for what I thought was a broken garbage disposal… turns out, I just had two measuring spoons stuck in the disposal that were causing it to not work.

hoping to visit Charleston this summer… doing some light research to find out if it’s feasible with my budget

loving our book club experiences this year. We are doing so many fun things and more to come! (I’m considering an escape room or axe throwing when my month to pick the activity comes around.)

wanting some summer clothes that fit my body well and make me feel good. I placed a big order on Old Navy over the weekend when they were having a 30% off sale, and I’m hoping everything I ordered fits me well.

writing podcast outlines and blog posts… but no fiction. I keep wondering when I’ll get the urge to go back to my novel, but it just isn’t happening.

loathing Ron DeSantis. He’s the worst and the way he is making life so much harder for teachers, trans kids, queer people, and girls is so frustrating. Why do these Republican politicians think queerness is something to go after when there are so many bigger issues out there?

watching Happy Endings. It’s such a travesty that this perfect show only has 3 seasons, but when I realized it was on HBO Max, I knew I had to dive into a rewatch. At least it’ll be a quick one?

preparing to start planning for the next season of the podcast! We’ll release season 4 over the next 6 weeks and then take a few weeks’ break. We’ll probably take a month off recording episodes and then get back to it sometime in May so we can release season 5 at the beginning of June. Whee!

feeling giddy about a budding relationship (it’s in its early stages, but there have been lots of fun dates and excitement so far!)

What are you currently anticipating and watching?

Feeling… much less anxious. Hooray! I started my new regimen of 30mg of Lexapro in early January so I’m finally over that 6-week hump of waiting for the dosage boost to kick in. I have had so many nights where I think to myself, “Hey! You’re not having any anxiety tonight!” I’m still having small moments of panic, but they are usually caused by something (like my mom not answering her phone, lol). But the unending weight of anxiety is not my constant companion anymore and holy fuck, that feels so good.

Watching… season 3 of Brooklyn 99. I’m doing another rewatch because apparently, it’s all about comfort TV for me these days. Problematic glorification of cops aside, I love this show so much. It makes me laugh and makes me feel good.

Listening to… Sounds Like a Cult. This is such a fun podcast! Amanda Montell (who wrote the book Cultish) and her friend Isa sit down every week to talk about a different mainstream “cult.” And most of these cults aren’t true cults, but rather pop culture phenomenons that can be a little cult-like. For example, fraternities and sororities, flat earthers, astrology, Disney adults, etc. I recently listened to an episode about Trader Joe’s that was enlightening about the company’s corporate practices. Anyway, give it a listen if you care!

Grateful… that I didn’t break my neck when I slipped and fell getting into my tub to take a shower last week. Ugh, I felt like such a dweeb falling in the shower. I ended up banging my knee and shin really hard against the edge of the tub. It was so painful! I was really worried I had done something awful to my knee. Thankfully, it’s fine but a nice, 4-inch bruise has bloomed and it’s very sore and painful to the touch. I’m taking things easy while I heal and may invest in a non-slip mat because apparently, I’m too geriatric to be taking a shower on my own.

Anticipating… doing time logging next month! I did my first time-logging week last year and it was really interesting to see where my time goes during a typical week. I set a reminder in my phone to log the same week in 2023, and it will be interesting to see how things compare! Be on the lookout for the past sometime in late March or early April.

Loathing… that it’s already getting hot here in Florida. The high on Saturday was 83! When I got into my car in the morning, the temperature inside was 98 degrees. That is unacceptable for the end of February. I am not ready for shorts and tanktops and pool parties just yet.

Thinking about… how to use my wellness reimbursement. This year, my company has given us $500 to use on all kinds of wellness-related products. From Apple Watches and massage memberships to books and audiobook subscriptions. I am very tempted to spend my entire $500 on books alone, but I’ve been trying to think about the best way to use this reimbursement. One of my colleagues got a Peloton bike and between a sale they were running and the reimbursement, she’s only paying $700 out of pocket for the bike! Can you imagine? And they were also offering no-interest financing for a year so she has the entire year to pay that $700. I’ve also been thinking about seeing a nutritionist, so that’s another option. What to do, what to do…

Needing… to figure out my necklace storage options. I recently bought a new jewelry organizer (different than the one I had a few months ago, which wasn’t working for me) and I love it for the way it holds my earrings, but it doesn’t have enough spaces for my necklaces (nor are the spaces tall enough to hold my longer necklaces). So I guess I need a separate jewelry organizer for my necklaces and Antique rings. I love having them displayed since that helps me see what I have and make sure I’m not wearing the same few necklaces over and over again. How do you keep your necklaces organized?

Buying… breakfast every Friday morning. This has become a new little treat for me that I am loving. I already look forward to Fridays, but now I look forward to them even more! Most Fridays, I stop into Einstein’s Bagels for an everything bagel and an iced vanilla latte, but I will admit that I have been known to get a sausage egg mcmuffin from McDonald’s some Fridays. It’s my favorite breakfast of all! (I eat like a child.)

Loving… being able to check in on my cats when I’m out. I love having a pet camera to do a quick peek on the girls when I’m not home. I can get anxious when I’m away from them, just worrying that I left the straightener on or something silly like that. So it’s nice to see that a) the apartment hasn’t burned down in my absence and b) the girls are just fine.

What are you currently anticipating and watching?

Feeling… excited for the holiday season to really kick into gear. I’m looking forward to buying presents, wrapping presents, and making my family members happy. I can’t wait for more peppermint mochas, cooler weather (PLEASE, FLORIDA?!), and holiday movies. I’m ready for the annual visit to Robert’s Christmas Wonderland, a dazzling Christmas store filled with holiday delight. I want to drive around looking at Christmas lights and enjoy a little post-Christmas shindig with my book club girls. The holiday season is when I come alive.

Watching… lots of Netflix reality shows. I watched the new seasons of Nailed It, The Floor Is Lava, and Love Is Blind this month and loved them all. Nailed It gave me lots of laughs, TFIL was just silly and the kind of distraction I needed, and, of course, LIB is the ultimate in messiness. I love that show, even though it makes me cringe!

Listening to… If Books Could Kill. When the host of one of my favorite podcasts, Maintenance Phase, said he was starting a new podcast where he and a co-host dissect and criticize popular books, I was down. Plus, his co-host is Peter Shamshiri who I’ve recently gotten to know and love from Peter’s other podcast, 5-4. (His voice is like butter.) This podcast has been a huge bright spot in my life lately. So far, they’ve talked about Freakonomics (a book I loved, but am now horrified when I realize how terrible the book is), Outliers, and Bobos in Paradise. The podcast is hilarious, filled with research, and just fun to listen to.

Grateful… for so many things, but I am mostly grateful for my family. I am grateful to my stepdad for cooking us a delicious Thanksgiving dinner. I am grateful for my mom and the close bond we have. I am grateful for all of my pets and the love they lavish on me. I’m grateful for my brother and the love and support he always provides. And I’m grateful for my nephews and the privilege of seeing them grow older.

Anticipating… putting up my Christmas tree when I get home from my cruise. It’s been so nice to have a little slice of that Christmassy feeling with my decorations but I am so ready to get out my tree and enjoy the glow of the tree lights at night. I can’t wait to add all of my ornaments, put up more lights around my apartment, and really dive into Stephany’s Christmas Wonderland!

Loathing… nighttime anxiety. I thought switching my anxiety meds from morning to nighttime would help with the rising panic I start to get when the sun goes down, but it hasn’t had the dramatic effect I had hoped. (It’s been a few months.) It’s something I want to talk more about with my therapist to find some different coping skills, but I may also look into some CBD gummies and try the free d9 gummies if this will be effective for me. Anything to help me feel better at night!

Experimenting… with guided meditations as I go to sleep. Usually, I turn on ASMR videos on Youtube to help me fall asleep, but one night when I was having some pretty rough anxiety, I decided to search for “guided meditations for anxiety” on Youtube and found a lot of great options. I’m a newbie when it comes to meditation, but I am hoping that by allowing myself 10-15 minutes of slow breathing and listening to someone else guide my thoughts, I will find it easier to fall asleep at night.

Thinking about… doing Project 365 in 2023. Project 365 is a photo project where you take one photo a day for the entire year. I’ve done it twice already and both times, I would post the photo to Instagram every day with a caption. It’s a lot of work, especially on those days when nothing special happens, but I also love looking back on the photos and challenging myself to take a photo of the big and small moments of every day. I’m still debating if I’m going to do it.

Buying… fun gifts for San’s Secret Santa Mug Swap. This is the first year I’ve participated, despite knowing about it since its inception! But I get very overwhelmed about mailing packages so I just decided not to participate. But the peer pressure got to me this year, so I signed up and had a delightful time shopping for my partner. I mailed out my package on Friday and I’m excited for my partner to get their goodies!

Loving… peppermint mocha season, painting my nails, Snickers Christmas trees, when Lila shows me her belly, curling up on the couch with a good book, time off work, NaBloPoMo 2022, the ability to cruise again, the way Ellie meows at me and then runs to my room when she wants me to sit on the floor and pet her, Christmas decorations, and pine-scented candles.

How are you currently feeling?

Feeling… super excited to start NaBloPoMo next week! I have been looking forward to NaBloPoMo for so long, maybe since NaBloPoMo 2021 ended! It was such a fun challenge to complete and most especially, I loved that it introduced me to so many new bloggers. Not sure what NaBloPoMo is? Essentially, it’s a challenge to write one blog post every day in November. San and NGS both have great posts about NaBloPoMo that I encourage you to check out if you’re interested! (And if you are, let San know so she can add you to her list of participating bloggers!)

Watching… a lot of football, ha. I’m also watching the current seasons of The Amazing Race and Survivor, both of which are EXCELLENT this season. I have a lot of favorite shows that just came out with new seasons—Nailed It, Love Is Blind, and Only Murders in the Building, to name a few—and I’m looking forward to watching those shows next month.

Listening to… Taylor Swift’s new album! If I can be honest here, music isn’t really my thing. Maybe it’s because of the way I grew up, where I was only allowed to listen to CCM and anything secular felt like a sin against God. Or maybe it’s just the way I’m wired. But for whatever reason, music is something I could take or leave. However, Taylor Swift is my one exception. I adore her music, and I’ve been loving this new album! It’s just plain fun to listen to. Current favorites off her new album: Anti-Hero, Vigilante Shit, Karma, and Sweet Nothings.

Grateful… that we made it through another hurricane. It was a wild end to September with the threat of Hurricane Ian and a last-minute evacuation to Ft. Lauderdale. I am so grateful that the hurricane turned south just days before it was scheduled to directly hit the Tampa Bay area (at the time, they were predicting a Category 3 hurricane, but it ended up being just a few MPHs shy of a Category 5 when it hit Florida, crazy!) Ultimately, I am glad I evacuated because a) even though the storm’s predicted path turned south, it could have easily turned back north before it hit Florida, and b) I was in a mandatory evacuation zone and doing the responsible thing by evacuating.

Anticipating… my cruise! We’re a little more than a month away (we leave on November 27th!) and I am just so, so excited to spend 6 days on a cruise ship with my mom. This is the longest I’ve gone without being on a cruise ship (3 years!) and I am more than ready to get back to cruise life. I’m planning on getting my flu shot and Covid booster very soon so I can have a little bit of protection. I also plan on wearing a mask around the ship. I’m trying not to worry too much about getting Covid, and focus more on the excitement of another vacation.

Loathing… inflation. Aren’t we all? Costs continue to rise in a way that feels really scary. I’m seeing it with my trips to the grocery store, the biggest bump in rent I’ve ever had… even my therapist is now $20 more per session than she used to be. Oh, and I just got my notice to renew my car registration and car registration has increased by almost $10 in one year! It’s a wild time. I feel really grateful that, while it’s hard to stomach the cost of so many things, I’m still able to afford my lifestyle and do the things I want to do. I know that’s not the reality for so many families and I hope it eases soon.

Learning… more about cycle syncing, based on this post. Anyone who has had a period for any length of time understands that our hormones seem to ebb and flow based on our cycles. But the only hormones I really pay attention to are the ones that outwardly present as glaring PERIOD signs: the mood swings, the back pain, the lethargy. This post goes much deeper than that. For example, did you know that your most creative/energetic period is the 7-10 days after your period ends? Or that you can start to feel sluggish up to 14 days before your period begins (typically, it can occur when ovulation happens in the body)? I’m not sure what phase of my cycle I’m in (I’m terrible at keeping track since I only get my period every few months, due to the birth control I’m on), but I’m actually looking forward to getting my period so I can start tracking these different phases!

Thinking about… my 2023 goals! Is it too early to start thinking about what I want to achieve next year? Perhaps, but this is just who I am as a person. I’m thinking about breaking my goals into five categories with five goals per category: home, healthy living, hobbies, finances, and one-off tasks. This was something I used to do with my yearly goals but I switched to the straight list of goals for the past few years. It’s been very fun to think about these different categories and what I want to accomplish in all of them!

Buying… some new skincare products to try. I have been faithful to my Paula’s Choice products and I do still really love their skincare line, but I’ve wanted to branch out and try some other stuff to see if it helps improve my skin texture and acne scarring (although I know the best thing I can do for that is more intense regimens found at a dermatologist office). I’ve been intrigued by The Ordinary’s products for a long time because so many people swear by them and they are SO CHEAP. I bought their niacinamide serum (I’ve been using Paula’s Choice niacinamide for a year+ now and haven’t seen much of a difference, so I wanted to try something new), as well as a lactic acid/hyaluronic acid serum and an azelaic acid brightening cream. We’ll see how they work! (And if you have any skincare products you swear by, please let me know!)

Loving… cold fronts, playing chauffeur to my mom for a few weeks, baby-sitting Bri during the workday while she’s fairly immobile (or “Briby-sitting,” as her husband Sean calls it), releasing season 2 of the podcast, when Ellie sits in a box, Lila snoring next to me while I work, and finally completing my bathroom refresh (pictures to come!).

What are you currently learning these days?