Stephany Writes

Categories: About Me

Q&A Saturday (v. 3)

Hi, friends! It’s time for another Q&A Saturday. This week, I’m answering a set of “Would you rather?” questions posed by my good friend, Kim. She really tried her best to stump me on these! Nicely done, Kim.

Would you rather never be able to drink SODA or COFFEE for the rest of your life? (You have to pick one!)

Wow, this is a tough one because I love both so much! Honestly, it would be great for my health if I was never able to drink soda again, haha, so I’ll pick that one!

Would you rather only be able to read books on a Kindle for the rest of your life, or only be able to read large print books?

Give me a Kindle or give me death. I am not precious about print books. I love having my home filled with books (it’s my design aesthetic, honestly), but I got a Kindle many, many years ago and I love reading on it! Reading a large print book is hard on my eyes (and the books are so big!) that I think I would read less if that’s all I could read.

Would you rather be too hot or too cold? (I think I know the answer, you live in FL lolz)

This is something I think about a lot because whenever the weather is 100+, I dream about being cold. And whenever the weather is, like, under 50 degrees, I dream about being hot. To the surprise of no one, though, I’d probably prefer to be too hot. I’m used to hot weather and it doesn’t really bother me too much. Being cold, though, is so unpleasant for me! I have extremely thin skin, and my teeth will start chattering and I’ll start shivering uncontrollably pretty easily.

Would you rather forget to wear deodorant or forget to brush your teeth?

Kim, you’re killing me with these questions! I think I would rather forget to wear deodorant. Can I admit something here? Are we all friends? Okay, here goes: I don’t actually mind the scent of my own body odor. There are times when I get a whiff of my underarms when I haven’t put on deodorant, and I don’t hate it! I mean, yes I wear deodorant but I just wanted to come clean about that. So, give me stinky underarms over stinky breath, I guess!

Would you rather misspell something or mispronounce something?

Ugh, both are embarrassing! But since I pride myself on my writing and grammar skills, I’d rather mispronounce something.

Would you rather travel to space or the center of the earth? (assuming both are safe)

Take me to space! Man, I would love to ride a rocketship and sail around in space for a while. I don’t know if I’m as interested in what the center of the earth looks like as I am in what our planet looks like from space.

Would you rather only be able to watch your fave TV show for the rest of your life, or never watch it again?

Oh, I definitely would rather never watch The Office again! Can you imagine only watching one show for the rest of your life? I haven’t even seen Ted Lasso yet! And I’d miss the second season of Bridgerton! And what about all of the shows on my to-be-watched list?! I’m sorry, but The Office will have to stay in its vault.

Would you rather let someone else choose a tattoo for you, or let someone else choose a piercing?

Ooh, tough one! Probably a piercing. I can take the piercing out, but a tattoo would be there forever! Plus, a piercing only hurts for a minute—what if they chose a full-back tattoo? I’d be there for dayyyys.

Would you rather use an Android phone or a flip phone?

Ugh. I guess an Android phone.

Would you rather snorgle Eloise or Lila right now?

KIM HOW DARE YOU. Okay, if I had to choose, probably Lila because she is the more snuggly one of my cats. It’s funny because Eloise will let me pick her up but doesn’t like to snuggle. Lila won’t let me pick her up but loves snuggling. I take what I can get!

Would you rather be too hot or too cold?

Categories: Recurring Series

TGIF (v. 39)

The high of my week was learning about my benefits for 2022! Working for a large, global company has some advantages, like the fact that we have a big human resources team that is devoted to finding ways to make their employees happy. Two of the benefits I’m most excited about are student loan assistance ($100 per month, straight to my loans!) and getting 36 FREE therapy sessions using a specific app. FREE THERAPY. OMG. I’ve been wanting to go back to therapy for a long time now, but since I’m on a high-deductible health insurance plan, each visit was going to be a pretty hefty expense. And now I can go weekly for, like, 9 months for FREE. Whaaaat.

The low of my week was making a mistake at work. I was working on a project (a redesign of a client’s website) and we were ready to send the new website to the client for their review and realized pages were missing—pages I was supposed to have written. It just completely fell off my radar to do that so I had to furiously write five website pages this week and add them to the site. Ugh. I hate making mistakes! I spent a good, long time beating myself up about it but my boss reminded me that I’m human and have a lot on my plate. And really, I didn’t set the project back at all and was able to get everything done in record time. But it still put me in a funk for a little bit!

A blog post I loved was The Last Time… by Runners Fly. She wrote a thoughtful post about how everything we do, we will someday do for the last time. But we never think about that and, as such, we can get caught up in the annoyances and get distracted by other things going on in our lives. But what if we took a moment to think about doing something for the last time? How more appreciative we may become! I really loved this post because, for me, I do think about doing things for the last time; it’s an anxiety trigger for me. There are times when I end a phone call with my mom and I go into a panic that that was the last time I will ever speak to her. (I end every call with “I love you” because I always want those words to be the last ones she hears from me.) It’s hard for me to appreciate these little moments I get with my mom because I’m just thinking about how scary this world will become when she’s no longer in it. (I may have dependency issues when it comes to my mom. Maaaaaaybe.) Anyway, I really want to get to a place where I can think of things I’m doing for the last time with fondness and not anxiety, but it’s a work in progress. This is probably a good exercise for me to start doing so I can train my brain to think more positively about stuff like this.

David suggests taking simple, mundane moments and behaving as if you’re doing them for the last time. Not in a depressing way, as in “If I get in a terrible car accident I’ll never be able to mow the lawn again!” but more of an exercise to become aware of how precious these activities really are. I did it the other day when I drove my daughter home from school.

A podcast episode I enjoyed was The Great Helga Hype on Decoder Ring. Such a fascinating episode about art and relationships and mystery. It’s all about an artist named Andrew Wyeth and this series of paintings he did about a woman named Helga. But who is Helga? What is her relationship to Andrew? What does Andrew’s wife think about this? FASCINATING.

I’m currently reading a lot of books, like always. I am still working through Jesus and John Wayne, but I think I should finish it up this weekend. I’m also halfway through Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall on audio. It’s so good. Yesterday, I started two new books: The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson and The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics by Olivia Waite (a queer romance).

The best money I spent was $9 on an incline scratching pad for the girls. I’ve only seen Ellie using it so far, but she’s usually my early adopter. I think the incline helps her get a really good scratch because she uses it ferociously. It probably feels really good!

My plans this weekend include hanging out at home tonight (maybe I’ll set up my Christmas tree?!). Tomorrow, I have a writing date with Mikaela in the morning and then a day date with my mom in the afternoon. We’re going to test drive a Kia Soul and then go to our local Christmas shop to look at their decorations. (I’ve always wanted a big, beautiful wreath for my front door and I think this year is the year I finally make that happen). And Sunday is football with the fam, of course!

What was the highlight of your week?

Categories: Recurring Series

Always, Sometimes, Never

I always snooze my alarm.

I sometimes turn off my alarm and then fall back to sleep for another 30 minutes (oops).

I never check social media or email when I wake up.

 

I always do my dishes throughout the day. (Especially with working from home—a nice way to spend a work break!)

I sometimes leave a full sink of dishes for the morning. (But I really try not to!)

I never use my dishwasher. (It doesn’t make sense as a single person.)

 

I always give a pet if I walk by one of my cats while moving around my apartment.

I sometimes give the girls a third serving of treats. (I am their servant.)

I never pick up Lila. (She hates being picked up, a fact that makes me very sad.)

 

I always want to use my phone when I’m sitting at a red light.

I sometimes can resist the urge to use my phone and can sit there quietly with my thoughts while I wait for the light to turn green.

I never drive without music or a podcast on.

 

I always use a bookmark when I’m reading a print book.

I sometimes read scathing reviews of popular books that I’m not loving. (“Why does everyone love this terrible book so much?!” It’s nice to find “my people” in those reviews, haha.)

I never read for long stretches of time.

 

I always eat lunch at my desk. (But I’m usually reading Reddit, not working.)

I sometimes take a power nap in the middle of the workday.

I never check work email during my off-hours.

 

I always make cookies for any holiday gathering.

I sometimes am too full from Thanksgiving dinner to eat dessert. (Sadddd.)

I never eat pumpkin pie. (Yuck.)

 

I always bring a list when I’m grocery shopping.

I sometimes listen to a podcast while I’m grocery shopping.

I never deviate from my grocery route. (I start on the left side, near the dairy aisle and then swiftly move up and down each aisle, usually ending at the ice cream section.) (If I don’t need ice cream, my route ends at the produce section.)

 

I always start my day with a few sips of Gatorade. (I always wake up thirsty, but water is gross to me in the morning.)

I sometimes make myself a hot breakfast. (Mmm, eggs!)

I never drink water in the morning. (See above.)

 

I always set my AC at 72 degrees at night.

I sometimes scroll Instagram or play games on my phone rather than reading right before bed.

I never go to bed without saying goodnight to the girls.

 

What’s something you always, sometimes, and never do?

Categories: Relationships

30 (More) Things I Love About My Cats

Almost two years ago, I wrote a post titled “30 Things I Love About My Cats” and I’ve been meaning to do a follow-up post because, I mean, there are not just 30 things I love about these girls! No way! Here are 30 more things I love about my girls:

1) Ellie’s love for a good box to sit in. Whenever I get a box that’s big enough for her to sit in, I’ll keep it around for about a week so she can enjoy it.

2) The way Lila eats. She grabs a few morsels of food in her mouth and shakes her head back and forth furiously as she eats. It’s hilarious.

3) When the girls chase each other around the apartment. They love using the couch as a launching pad to pounce on each other!

4) The way Ellie plays with her toys! She mainly loves small toys she can bat around the apartment and I often have to rescue some of her toys that she batted underneath a closet door. She will run all around the apartment playing with these toys!

5) Lila’s love for crinkle balls. She doesn’t play with a ton of toys, but whenever I give her a shiny crinkle ball, she will bat that thing all around the apartment.

6) Whenever they both curl up next to each other on the couch. They don’t snuggle with each other, but they will sleep side-by-side and it always makes me melt.

7) Waking up to Ellie sitting right on my stomach or back, or cuddled up between my legs. I almost always wake up to her next to me, as close as she can get!

8) Lila’s hammock. I bought this little cat hammock for Christmas last year and for a while, neither of them used it. But now it’s her favorite place to sleep! I have it near a window so she can enjoy the sunshine during her hammock naps. 🙂

9) The way they look at me with such delight in their eyes when I turn around with a box of treats in my hands. Yum-yum time!

10) When Ellie “talks” to me. She is my chatty cat who loves to have a good conversation with me. I’ll ask her a question and she’ll meow right back to me, as if answering me. And we’ll go back and forth like that a few times! It’s cute.

11) How Lila will come out of my room mid-morning (she usually naps under my bed in the mornings) and jump right up on my desk to get petted. It’s like she wakes up from her naps and says, “Where’s mama?” And then finds me! I love that she needs me!

12) Whenever we are all snuggled together in bed. I call it “family time” and it makes me so happy to have my little family on the bed with me.

13) The way Ellie sits on my dresser (which is right across from my spin bike) to stare at me while I do a spin workout. It’s almost like she’s judging me? Hmm.

14) The way Lila will grab Ellie by the neck and bring her close to her so that Lila can groom the top of her head. Lila loves grooming Ellie.

15) The way Lila will jump right on Ellie, first to give her kisses and then to bite her. That’s when the wrestling starts!

16) When Ellie lets me pick her up and hold her like a baby. She’ll let me kiss her neck and rub her little thigh and it makes me so happy!

17) How fluffy Lila is! She is so snuggly and petting her soft, fluffy fur is truly the best thing ever. It always calms me down!

18) How excited they both get when they are chasing a bug around the apartment! Anytime I see them running around the apartment in tandem, I know they’re tracking a bug. 🙂

19) How happy Ellie gets when she gets to go outside on the patio! She will rub herself all over the rug (and sometimes the dirty concrete, ugh) and meow like crazy. She’ll poke her head out of the slats of the railing to see what’s going on outside. She’s happiest when she’s out on the patio, I think.

20) When Lila emerges from beneath the couch. She slithers out like she’s a snake and then just sits next to the couch for a minute, as if gathering her bearings.

21) Whenever I find them both sleeping on my bed in the middle of the day. It rarely happens and when it does, it makes me squeal.

22) The way Ellie can jump from the floor to the top of my office chair! It’s quite a leap and it always scares me a little when she does it because I’m usually not expecting it. But then she’ll lay down on the top of the chair while I work and it’s super comforting to have her there.

23) How Lila reacts when I get out the treats. She starts squeaking and doing big circles around the table. Homegirl loves her food!

24) Lizard Patrol! We don’t see as many lizards here as we did at our old apartment (which was on the first floor; this one is on the third), but whenever they catch one hanging on the window ledge, they don’t take their eyes off him/her for a second!

25) The way Ellie watches TV with me! She loves football most (probably because there’s a lot of action happening on screen that she can follow along with) but she’s also watched other shows with me and it’s truly the cutest.

26) The way Lila will “boop” my face in the morning. She stretches out her little paw and boops me right in the nose! I always respond with, “Did you just boop me?” Hehehe.

27) Their sweet dispositions towards each other. They rarely fight and I’m really glad they seem to really love each other!

28) The way Ellie loves sitting in the little groovy bus my mom bought her for her birthday. Every time she goes into it, I pretend she’s taking a trip to my mom’s house for a visit. Whenever she walks out of the bus, I’ll ask her what she did at my mom’s and then, when I’m talking to my mom, I’ll ask my mom how the visit went. My mom plays along with my ridiculousness. 🙂

29) The way Lila will always jump up on the dining room table if I sit there with my laptop to work. She’ll rub her face against the side of the laptop and sometimes, she’ll bump her head against my hands that are trying to type, forcing me to stop typing to give her pets. She’s demanding!

30) The obsessive happiness they bring me. I didn’t think I could love a pet as much as I loved Dutch (my dachshund who died in 2018 at the age of 16), but I do. They are as much a part of me as he still is, and I can’t imagine my life without them.

Categories: Life

To All the Phones I Ever Had

I can’t remember where this post idea came from, maybe it was an episode of Best Friends with Nicole Byer and Sasheer Zamata where they talked about the phones they had in the past? In any event, I’ve had this blog idea languishing on my Notes app for a while, and I’m glad to finally get a chance to write this post! It was fun to think back about all the different phones I’ve had throughout my life. Cell phones became a “thing” in high school for me. I started high school in 2002, graduating in 2006, and by the end of high school, it was something everyone seemed to have. It was really fun to think back on all the different phones I’ve had and the memories they evoked. 🙂

Nokia 3310 (the old-school brick phone)

This was the first phone I ever had, but I shared it with my mom so I don’t know if I can actually consider it my first phone. I think we got this phone in either my sophomore or junior year of high school (2004 or 2005). Probably my junior year because I think my mom wanted me to bring it with me to school, as I was going to be on a college campus. (I attended a collegiate high school for my last two years, where we attended college classes alongside finishing our high school requirements, allowing us to graduate with our high school diploma and Associates of Arts degree simultaneously). I still think fondly of that little brick phone, especially because we had this really fun hard-shell flowery case for it!

Samsung flip phone

In my senior year of high school (2005-2006), I got my own phone! This Samsung flip phone was my pride and joy, but I remember that it didn’t have a camera on it and that was so annoying because all of my other friends with camera phones could upload pictures to their MySpace accounts, haha. I just wanted a photo for social media! I remember my old high school best friend bringing in her mom’s digital camera to take a picture of me so I would have something for MySpace. How old school is that?!

Motorola RAZR

Oh yeahhhh! I was so proud of my Motorola RAZR. I really thought I was hot shit with this phone. Maybe it was because I was never the kid who got the latest and greatest tech products, but damn, I was so happy to have this cool phone that everyone else had. I loved my little RAZR. I can’t exactly remember when I got it—maybe before going off to college in 2006? Probably sometime around then.

Samsung Instinct

Dang, even looking at the photo of this phone brings back so many fond memories. It was my first touchscreen phone and I loved it so, so, so, so much. I loved the camera, the touchscreen elements (a new technology for phones!), and being able to use the Internet so easily! And then, one day while on my college campus, I left the phone in a public bathroom. And someone, of course, stole it. I was so annoyed with myself and a little scared to tell my mom what had happened. (She was very forgiving, as I wasn’t a kid who constantly lost or broke phones.) I was so sad to lose that phone, though.

Blackberry Curve

My next phone was a Blackberry Curve, which I think I got because all of the healthy living bloggers I followed had these phones. (Maybe?) I really liked it! I got it sometime in 2010 or 2011 when I was finishing up my college degree. It served me well, as it was easy to use Twitter and Facebook on it (I don’t think Instagram was around just yet, or if it was, I wasn’t using it). I could check email easily (the only emails I got were blog comments, but I was obsessed with checking them and responding quickly!). And it had a fairly good camera.

iPhone

And here we come to the end of our phone journey, as I went to iPhone in 2012 and never looked back! My first-ever iPhone was the 4S and I’ve steadily upgraded it every 1-2 years. (I’m using the iPhone 11 right now, and will likely upgrade to the 13 soon.) I was so happy to get my first iPhone—it was such a step up from my Blackberry. There were more apps, a better camera, and a more user-friendly interface. The screen was bigger and brighter. It was everything I wanted!

What was your first phone? How old were you when you got it?