Loving… my fur-brother. Oh, you guys. He is so sweet and cute and funny and fun. He’s tiny – only 3 lbs – but he has so much sassiness in that little body of his. I’ve been trying to visit my mom as much as possible so that I can snuggle and play with him, and she brought him over on my last two work-from-home days so that I could puppy-sit him. Having a sleeping sausage curled next to me while I work is the best feeling ever. I missed it so much!

Loathing… sinus infections. I started feeling crummy over the weekend, waking up on Saturday to nasal congestion and lots of sneezing. I just got over being ill (I was sick the week after my cruise), so I was not too pleased with my body. This time around, though, it was obvious this wasn’t my typical cold because I was having a lot of sinus pressure and dealing with a low-grade fever. To the doctor I went, where she diagnosed me with a sinus infection and prescribed an antibiotic.

Watching… Scandal! I wasn’t able to keep up with the show after the winter finale, so I’ve been waiting for it to come available on Netflix. Scandal is seriously the perfect show to binge-watch, so I can’t help but watch multiple episodes a night (which is so unlike me – it took me three months to watch one season of Mad Men, ha). It’s amazing, though, to think about how ridiculous Scandal’s plotlines used to be… and now it feels like every new thing that happens in politics today is ripped from a Scandal script. Sigh.

Listening to… When in Romance. This is a new-ish podcast from Book Riot, featuring two of their contributors who are mega-fans of the romance genre. Every other week, they talk about news from romance-landia as well as make romance recommendations. It’s really fun but has made my romance TBR explode, ahh. Anyway, give it a listen if you love podcasts and the romance genre.

Anticipating… a three-day weekend. I’m not even planning on doing anything for Memorial Day, but I’m just excited to relax and enjoy a day off work. There’s something so indulgent about not working on a Monday, isn’t there?

Grateful for… helpful doctors. After feeling so crummy over the weekend, I scheduled an appointment at my primary care facility for Monday where I was given such amazing care. My regular doctor wasn’t able to see me, so I saw a different doctor and she was just so darn nice! She asked a ton of questions and really took her time with me – she didn’t just push an antibiotic on me immediately. When you’re feeling crummy, kindness from the medical staff feels extra nice, so I was happy to have such a positive experience with this facility.

Needing… to get back into my healthy living game. Man, it has been so hard to get back into it after my cruise because I’ve been sick for the majority of May and then the weeks when I haven’t been sick have been so busy that healthy living takes a backseat. It’s been very frustrating, but I’m also trying to not beat myself up about it too much. After all, my self-worth does not lie with the scale. And being kind to myself is always going to motivate me more than berating myself.

What are you currently loving, loathing, and grateful for?

Loving… the plans I’m making for my living room redo. I am really, really looking forward to changing up the look and feel of my living room because, right now, it kinda drives me crazy. My sectional is so big that I’m never able to go outside on my patio… unless I want to crawl over the sectional to do so. Even opening the blinds is a hassle because I have to climb onto the sectional to open them. My plan is to get a smaller couch (something like this), a nice area rug to fill up most of the room, a floor lamp, and a new TV stand. I’d also love to get a plant to put in the corner of my living room (something like this, perhaps). Ahhh… it’s going to be so nice when it’s finally all put together. (Plus, I’m forcing myself to stay off animal rescue websites until my living room is complete, so once that’s done, I can start the search for a new dog or cat in full force!)

Loathing… unexpected car expenses. I had to replace my car battery on Sunday. I could have probably driven it a little longer on the current battery, but car issues give me massive anxiety, so I decided to take care of it right away. Honestly, I cannot remember the last time I had to change my car battery, so it had a good run! Still, this is the third time something crazy has happened to my car around the time I’m taking a vacation (I got a flat tire on the highway the day I came back from Asheville, and my check engine light came on a few days before I left for Puerto Rico), so I guess it’s just my thing now.

Watching… Friends! I never really watched Friends when the show was running (I think I watched the last two seasons, but I definitely wasn’t allowed to watch it in the earlier seasons), and I’ve only seen episodes here and there. I know all of the big plot points and can recognize all of the most memorable quotes, but I’ve never actually sat down and watched the series from beginning to end. So I decided to do that now, and y’all, it’s so damn good. I think I forgot how funny this show was and how it really set the stage for sitcoms to come.

Listening to… Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard. This podcast is a must listen in my opinion, but it’s not for the faint of heart. Each episode is around two hours in length, but I’m not someone who cares much about the length of a podcast episode, especially if it involves a super intriguing conversation. In this podcast, Dax interviews some really great celebrities to talk about… basically everything under the sun. They definitely get into the nitty-gritty of Hollywood and how they got their start, but the conversation always evolves from there. And, man, he has some incredible guests on, like Jimmy Kimmel, Ellen DeGeneres, Adam Scott, etc. Every week, I have so much anticipation for who he’s going to have next!

Anticipating… my cruise, of course! Today is actually my last full day in the office before I leave. Tomorrow, I’m working from home and Friday is a half-day. AHHHH. I can’t believe it’s almost time! It’s been 18 months since I was last on a cruise ship and that’s way too long for me. I am so excited to spend seven days with my favorite human and have a full week to relax and enjoy that #cruiselife.

Grateful for… friends. The past week or so has been such a lovely time of friend dates and get-togethers. Last week, I had three one-on-one friend dates, either to meet up for lunch or dinner. I attended my friend’s 30th birthday party, which was a BLAST. Everyone totally loved my outfit and raved about my overalls. (If only I felt confident enough in them to wear them in regular life!) And Monday night was book club at our favorite pizza place! All in all, my heart is so damn full and I am so happy that these girls are in my life.

Needing… to make my packing list for my cruise! I need to figure out what things I need to pick up at Target before we leave on Saturday morning, but life has been crazy busy lately and I just haven’t found the time. I’ll probably do this tonight.

What are you currently anticipating? 

Loving… the Bookly app. Have you heard about this app? It tracks your reading time and provides a cool little infographic when you’ve finished a book that details the time it took you to read the book, the most pages/minutes you read in a day, etc. When you sit down to read, you just open up the app and start the timer. Then, when your reading time is up, you just tell the app what page (or percentage) you’re on in the book now. Easy as that! It’s really cool and fun and my new favorite thing.

Loathing… those weeks when I feel like I’m terrible at my job. Do you ever have those feelings? It happens to me every once in a while, and I think it’s because I take everything super personally, and if I don’t do my job perfectly, suddenly I think I’m the worst at it. I know it’s not true, but the negative self-talk has me a little down this week.

Watching… season two of Mad Men and season 8 of The Office. I have a coworker who is fanatical about Mad Men, so it’s fun to discuss the show with her and I even got her hooked on rewatching the series, haha. It’s such a well-written show and can I get an amen for Don Draper? He’s delicious.

Listening to… The Daily Show with Trevor Noah: Ears Edition. Shout out to Nora who clued me in about this podcast, which is really just a short snippet of highlights from The Daily Show. It gives me the news I need in a hilarious manner, and who can resist Trevor Noah? Not me! The episodes are around 20 minutes in length (and half of that is taken up by an interview with that night’s guest, which I rarely listen to), so they’re nice and short.

Anticipating… my cruise! We’re less than 40 days away and my mom and I couldn’t be more excited if we tried. We’re planning on booking our excursions this weekend and we found a really fun zip-lining adventure in Isla Roatan, so we’ll be able to mark another country off our list for zip-lining (four for me, five for my mom). Hoping the next month flies by so we’ll be boarding the ship in no time at all.

Grateful for… spin classes. I’m so glad that I’ve been able to add spin classes back to my exercise schedule because they are honestly my favorite. Only two of the classes work with my schedule (Friday morning and Saturday morning), so I don’t get to go as much as I’d like, but as long as I get in one class a week, I’m a happy girl.

Needing… a pet. I house-sat for two lovable beagles over the weekend and it reminded me how much I love being around dogs. I love walking them, snuggling them, watching them run around. One of the beagles lay on the bed in the guest room I stayed in, watching me as I got ready for the day and ugh, I miss that. Dutch used to be the same way (he even had a bed in my bathroom for most of his life because he always wanted to be right next to me as I got ready). And I really, really hate coming home to an empty apartment every day. It’s just not as fun as a dog greeting you like you made his whole day simply by existing. I’m not planning on making any decisions until after my cruise, so no pets for me for a little while longer, but at least I know for sure that I can’t live without a pet.

What are you currently anticipating and loathing?

Loving… trying new recipes. I’ve added two new recipes to my arsenal, both from the Budget Bytes blog. I need to get better about cooking more at home because it’s healthier for me and cheaper in the long run, but most of my recipes are tried-and-true favorites that I’m getting a little tired of. So, it was time to look for some new recipes and I came across Budget Bytes. I’ve heard of her before, but haven’t tried her recipes until this month and I am a fan. I made Greek Marinated Chicken and Creamy Pesto Pasta with Chicken and Broccoli, and they were both delicious and made four meals, which is the perfect amount for me (three days of leftovers is just about my limit).

Loathing… my anxiety disorder. Last week was just one of those bad weeks for me, where everything felt overwhelming and I just wanted to stay in bed all week and throw the covers over my head. I couldn’t do that, of course. I have a job to go to and a dog to take care of, but boy, did I want to. I hate when I get into those moods because everything feels so pointless and I feel like I’ll never be happy again. Logically, I know it will pass, but man, it is so hard when you’re in the thick of it to understand that. Thankfully, I feel the gray cloud dissipating and I felt more like myself this weekend.

Reading… Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah. This one has been a slow read for me, and I feel like I should have given up on it because I’m not really enjoying it all that much. But I kept hoping it would get better and Kristin Hannah is one of my favorite authors, so I hate abandoning her books, but I will be very glad when I finish it.

Watching… season five of Parks and Rec. I always need a light-hearted comedy in my TV rotation and Parks and Rec fits the bill. (Although, it did cut me deep in my soul during an episode where Leslie and Ben are looking at the White House and she says to him, “What do you think? Our home in 2020?” YES PLEASE.) I also just finished the first season of Mad Men over the weekend and I’m excited to dive into season two very soon.

Listening to… the Girl Next Door podcast. I heard about this podcast from Amber and I’ve been wanting to give it a listen. Truthfully, 2017 was the year I added too many heavy podcasts to my feed. This podcast is light-hearted and fun and silly. I started at the beginning, and since they started their podcast back in 2014, I have quite a bit of catching up to do. Give it a listen if you love that podcast subgenre of “girlfriends chatting.”

Anticipating… my haircut on Saturday. I’ve finally decided that I am going to chop my hair. I have been questioning myself about it because I really love my long hair and lessened humidity means my hair has been on its best behavior lately. But I’m also interested in donating my hair to a good cause and enjoying a sassy new ‘do. Here’s what I’m thinking about for the cut – mostly a long bob that’ll hit around my collarbone with bangs. (Although there’s a small part of me that’s dying for this cut.)

Grateful for… my primary care doctor. It took me forever to find a primary care doc, but she is a godsend. I had an appointment with her a few weeks ago to discuss a particularly embarrassing medical condition that I thought I had, and I was not looking forward to the appointment at all. But I’d been having symptoms for months now, and it was at the point where it was affecting my quality of life and I needed to get the advice of a doctor. And what do you know, it went fine. I did not die of embarrassment and my doctor made me feel completely comfortable discussing my symptoms without any awkwardness. I really love this doctor and I am so glad I found her.

Needing… motivation to work out. I haven’t been to the gym in over a week and I don’t really have a good reason for it. Well, aside from having serious anxiety last week and not having the motivation to do much more than drag myself to work every day. Late last year, I contemplated canceling my gym membership because I wasn’t using it as much as I hoped. My apartment complex has a small gym and there are always workouts I can access online. I talked myself out of canceling because I really enjoy being able to take spin classes. But I haven’t taken a spin class since I fractured my ankle because I’m worried it’s a little too high impact (the standing segments especially). I guess the motivation is harder since I’m limited in what I can do while I wait for my ankle to heal, and what I can do feels so minimal in the grand scheme of things. I’m barely breaking a sweat with my workouts. But movement in any form is good for me, and I have to keep remembering that.

What are you currently anticipating and reading?

Also! I wanted to remind you to take my reader survey, if you haven’t already. I’ve gotten some great responses so far and I’m excited to share them soon.

Loving… my sweet pup. My mom and I took him to this fun little place in downtown St. Pete this weekend, so he could have a picture with Santa. It’s called “The Dog Bar” and you can bring your dog there, even inside the bar area! It has an outside dog park for the dogs to run around and plenty of open seating where you can drink a beer with your dog by your side. Santa held Dutch in his lap and all Dutch wanted to do was bite his beard, ha, but we managed to get a good photo of him (albeit, not the highest quality. Ya win some, ya lose some). He did so well hanging out at the bar! (Although he was totally falling asleep on me as we were getting ready to leave.) Dutch has been having so many good days lately and that gives me hope that I still have lots of time left with my favorite little dude.

Loathing… that I fractured my right ankle again. It happened two weekends ago when I was helping a friend move. I was carrying two boxes stacked on top of one another, and I couldn’t exactly see where I was going, so I stepped off a curb when I wasn’t expecting to and my ankle twisted and I fell hard on my left knee. I went to urgent care after it happened to get the ankle x-ray and the road rash on my left leg taken care of. I ended up with a tetanus shot due to the abrasion, nearly crying in the exam room when the nurse cleaned up and bandaged my wound, and an X-ray showing that my ankle had fractured. Last week, I saw an orthopedic about the fracture and it appears I fractured it in exactly the same place I did previously (a fracture that never fully healed). Since the place I fractured it is a non-weight-bearing bone, I can walk on my ankle without needing a cast or walking boot. I was in an air cast for a few days after the injury, but now I can walk without pain, so I’m just wearing an ankle wrap. The real problem, though, wasn’t the ankle fracture; it was the road rash. Holy hell, it hurt. For the first two days, it stung constantly and there was nothing I could do to get it to stop. I couldn’t even expose it to air for the first few days because the wound was so raw. I had to keep it tightly wrapped in bandages and change them twice a day. Just putting on the prescription ointment brought tears to my eyes. It wasn’t until Friday night (nearly a week after the accident) that I was able to sleep without the wound being bandaged. It was so damn painful and hard to even walk on my left leg because the wound made it so sore. So crazy! Lesson learned: don’t help friends move. 😉

Reading… Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. I have to admit: I’m not loving it. But I’m just going to power through because I’m reading it for my challenge to read four “classic” novels this year, and this will allow me to mark that goal complete. So, in order to power through, I’m reading a romance novel alongside it. Their Eyes Were Watching God is short – less than 200 pages – but I swear it’s going to take me all of December to finish it.

Watching… Mad Men! I’m halfway through season one and I adore it. I never understood why women were all gaga over Jon Hamm until I started watching him as Don Draper and guys, I get it now. Even though he’s kind of a shit. But he’s a handsome shit.

Anticipating… our annual book club Christmas party at The Melting Pot this weekend! This is our third year doing this and it’s probably one of the things I most look forward to during the holiday season. We enjoy some ridiculously good food (The Melting Pot is a fondue restaurant) and have our Secret Santa gift exchange. I caaaaan’t wait. I’m just hoping this week passes quickly so I can enjoy some good food and good laughs and good gift-giving with my girls!

Thinking about… my goals for 2018. I’ve already started plotting some of the bigger goals I want to achieve next year and they are the typical goals you’d expect: losing weight, paying down my debt, finishing my novel. I’m nothing if not consistent, right? I just hope to have better action steps to actually make my goals a reality in 2018. I want it to be an amazing, life-changing year.

Needing… another bookshelf. I currently have a three-shelf bookshelf that I also use as a pseudo-nightstand that sits on the right side of my bed, and I think I’m going to get the same bookshelf for the other side of my bed. I need more space for my books, as it appears that I’m now a collector of books. Between my Book of the Month selections and things I decide to buy on a whim and ARCs from publishers… I need the space. I’ll have to wait until after Christmas, though, because my Christmas tree currently has the spot next to my bed.

What are you currently reading and anticipating?