I found the above photo yesterday morning when I was scrolling through an old photo album on Facebook. It made me laugh! For those that don’t know, in 2009, my mom and I adopted Dutch from my great-aunt who could no longer keep him. (He was snapping at her grandkids too often.) My first-ever dog, Minnie, had died six months prior and I was ready for a new pup. Dachshund was my preferred breed, but I was trying to find a dog from the SPCA, rather than going to a breeder.

So getting Dutch was like all of my prayers being answered! He was exactly the breed I wanted and I would still be fulfilling my goals to adopt. When we got him, he was almost seven, and I remember a family member talking to us about how spoiled he was and that my great-aunt had treated him more like a human than a pet.

Umm. Well. I’m not sure we’ve helped matters any. Ha! He’s definitely still spoiled. He probably does think he’s a human. And I honestly would not have it any other way! Dutch has brought such intense joy and happiness to my life. I cannot imagine my life without him. Adopting him was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

Pets are so much more than just pets. They are our lives. They are our family. They give love unconditionally and abundantly. They know nothing but that YOU are their favorite person. It’s the least I can do to lavish love and attention on this pup since he gives me so much more in return.

The high of my week was finding out I’m having another nephew! Okay, okay, I was hoping for a niece, but another boy will be fun! My nephew really wanted a sister, so he was a bit disappointed, too, but I am sure he will love having a brother! I’m just super excited to meet this wee one, and see how different (or not different?) he will be from Jovy!

The low of my week was having my work-from-home day canceled. Hopefully, I can reschedule for next week. I had planned my WFH day for yesterday and got an email right as I was shutting down my computer at the end of the day, requesting a meeting for the following day. Bummer! I was looking forward to yoga pants, sleeping in, and snuggling with Dutch!

A podcast episode I loved was Dax Shepard on Nerdist. I’ve loved Dax Shepard for a long time and I love his character Crosby on Parenthood (probably my favorite character!). I was so excited when I saw this episode pop up on my podcast feed. And it was such a great episode. It was nearly an hour and a half, but I think I could have listened to Dax and the host talk for hours and hours. They covered so many topics, from getting sober to how social media has changed how we view public figures. Ah! It was so good!

A blog post I loved was Stop Sleeping with Liars by the oh-so-fabulous Hannah Brencher. Oh, this was so exactly what I needed to read. I want to wallpaper my bedroom walls with her words.

“Stop crawling into bed at night, pulling the covers over your body, and letting liars hiss inside your ear: you’re unworthy. You’re not good enough. You’re falling short. You’re a burden. You’re alone.  

These liars take up room. They snicker and grow when you give them credit. They hold tight to your ankles. They make you feel like less: less of a lover. Less of a mover. Less of a shaker. Less of a person.  Please– for the love of lovelier things– do not fling away your life and feed it to the liars in your head that tell you you don’t add up.

You need to stop holding yourself back. The pity party must cease and you must de-invite the little liars to your darkest parts. You need to stop thinking you have never deserved good things for your life.“

The best money I spent was $24 on a pedicure on Saturday. Oh, it was so, so, so needed and felt so, so, so good. I can’t help it – pedicures have to go into the monthly budget!

My plans this weekend include deciding on my Halloween costume (book fairy, third wheel, ceiling fan, Waldo?), working on my fiction novel (maaaaybe doing NaNoWriMo. Maaaaybe.), and enjoying our last brunch book club at the pool for the year!

What was the highlight of your week? Are you planning on dressing up for Halloween?

This week I had a crazy dream. And I understand dreams are only interesting to the people who dreamed them but bear with me.

In the dream, my mom and I were staying at a house and we had just gotten word that my uncle was out of jail (side note: none of my uncles are currently in jail. Let me be clear about that!), and we both got scared he was going to try to find us. We began packing up our stuff and dressing in clothes that would hide us well (?!) and trying to scurry out of the house as soon as possible.

Well, we made it out of the house and everything seemed to be fine. Then, in a new scene (but same dream), my mom and I were at Publix, perhaps getting supplies for our furtive journey. (Who knows?!) And this time, I’m running away from a coworker and I’m terrified of her finding me. But she does and she grabs me, and I yell in her face, “YOU DO NOT HAVE THE POWER TO HURT ME.”

End dream.

And, honestly, it’s not hard to see what this dream was really about. My dad, who is currently in jail. Maybe I’m worried that, when he’s released, he’ll try to find me.  Maybe I’m worried about him because he is my dad and even though he has caused so much hurt and pain in my life, I still love him fiercely and him hurting is me hurting. Maybe this dream was my subconscious telling me to release this worry and anxiety and fear and heartache. He no longer has the power to hurt me. The sooner I relinquish this control I have over worrying about his situation, the sooner the power it’s holding over my life diminishes.

But relinquishing that power? Trying to let what happens just happen? Removing myself from the situation? That’s not an easy task at all.

The high of my week was… having a lady date with my good friend, Bri. We had dinner at the food court at Westshore Mall and then went to see Gone Girl! YOU GUYS! The movie was incredible! The acting was fantastic, the drama was outstanding, and I loved how true the movie stayed to the book. One of the best book-to-film adaptations I’ve seen in a long, long time. Whether you’ve read the book or not, I highly recommend this movie!

The low of my week was… having a little too much jibber jabber from my inner critic. Sometimes, it’s hard to stop the downward cycle of negative thoughts and feelings. I think it may be time to revisit the Fierce Love course from Stratejoy!

An article I loved was… 17 Things to Expect When You Date a Girl Who’s Used to Being On Her Own by Thought Catalog. Oh, goodness, this article really hit the nail on the head for me. I’ve been having a hard time with the dating thing because a) my standards are high and it’s hard to find someone who meets them and b) it’s really difficult dating when you’ve spent more than 26 years single. I understand being single and alone so, so, so much more than I understand being in a relationship. It’s hard for me. It’s hard to let people in, to rearrange my life, to open myself up to something different.

“6. She needs to be left alone often especially when you first start seeing each other and it should feel like she’s head over heels. Believe that she has more butterflies in her stomach than she knows what to do with, which is why she’ll need to compose herself.“

A podcast episode I loved was… Gone Girls from Stuff Mom Never Told You. This was all about sociopaths, their traits, and the pop culture phenomenon of how intrigued we are by them. My favorite part of the podcast was when one of the hosts talked about an easy quiz to give yourself to figure out if you are a sociopath. “Have you ever felt awkward anytime in your life? Congratulations! You are probably not a sociopath.” HA! Yep. Not a sociopath! (Whew!)

The best money I spent was… $11 on lunch yesterday. There was a food truck at a nearby office that was running this really cool program where you bought a meal for yourself and then a meal would be given to a child in need. It was sponsored by Metropolitan Ministries and Feeding America Tampa Bay (one of my favorite charities!), so it was fun to get out of the office with a bunch of coworkers (nearly half the office showed up!) and have lunch. And it was my first food truck experience! What what!

My plans this weekend include walking a 5K, going for a pedicure with my mom, and hopefully crossing off another adventure on my Tampa Bay Project list.

What was the highlight of your week? Any fun weekend plans?

On Saturday, Dutch had his comprehensive exam. He had blood work, an EKG, and some other evaluations done. And everything came back fine! I was so, so relieved because I had been working myself into a real tizzy about the exam. Taking Dutch to the vet always makes me nervous because even though Dutch seems healthy, you just never know if something could be wrong. And anxiety is fairly irrational and makes me think of all the worst-case scenarios because if I’m not worrying about worst-case scenarios, then I just start worrying about why I’m not worried and it’s a never-ending cycle and just. not. fun. WOO! But he is healthy and normal and the vet is very pleased with him. 🙂

The only issue they brought up is his eyesight. He has a condition called nuclear sclerosis, which isn’t something to be concerned with. All it means is that his eyes have a cloudy, bluish-gray tint to them (my nephew says he has “bad guy eyes!”) and that he has minor vision impairment. He also has cataracts, but they’re small and nothing to worry about just yet.

All in all, a great exam and my boy is healthy! He’s such a little trooper. Love him.

Oh! Weird story. After the exam, I took Dutch around PetSmart to find him a new harness (pictured above! And yes, I mainly bought it because it has a bow tie. I die.) and ran across a couple who used to have dachshunds. They were shocked to find out that Dutch is 12 years old, and kept telling me, “None of our dachshunds ever made it past twelve. Their backs always went out.” UM THANK YOU! THANK YOU VERY MUCH! Gah, why do people have to say the dumbest things?

The high of my week was Dutch’s clean bill of health! It was the best news and I’ve been waking up every morning feeling so grateful.

A blog post I loved was Kerrie’s post on why she continues to blog. How I blog is something I continuously think about and restructure. My blogging style has changed a lot since I started this blog back in 2009. I love reading what other people think about blogging and how they’ve adapted to it changing over the years.

“I’ve decided to be so incredibly thankful that I was able to be a part of that golden age of blogging when it was all so pure and simple and basically like reading each other’s journals. No photos, no social media, no DIY, no ad revenue. Although each of those things are now a piece of my internet presence these days, I definitely do feel grateful that I started out without the pressure and perfection of the current blogging landscape.”

A podcast episode I loved was I Hate Being Highly Sensitive. I found this awesome podcast a few months ago and I really, really love it. Kelly has such a soothing voice and I love the wide range of topics she discusses. It’s helped me learn so much about being a highly sensitive person. This episode is one of her best, talking about all the annoying things about being an HSP.

The best money I spent was $36.59 on a new pair of jeans and two t-shirts at Old Navy. I’ve been wearing a pair of jeans for a while that just don’t fit me right and every time I wear them, they make me feel like crap. So I just bit the bullet, went to Old Navy, and bought a pair of better-fitting skinny jeans. They feel amazing on me! (Whyyy do I continue to wear things that don’t make me feel good?!) And, because Old Navy was having an awesome sale (40% off everything!), I added two shirts to the mix.

My plans this weekend include a nap this afternoon (!), lunch with girlfriends, a two-year-old’s birthday party, and a long walk with my favorite pooch.

What was the high of your week? Any fun plans for you this weekend?

The high of my week was working from home yesterday! Oh, it was just so nice. I woke up at 7:15, took a shower at 7:45, and was sitting at my computer to start working by 8. I was super productive, got to snuggle with Dutch all day, and enjoyed the quiet and calm. I’m not sure I would love a full-time work-from-home position because the hustle and bustle of office life is good for me, but it will be nice to be able to do this a couple of times a month!

The low of my week was not doing well with healthy eating and exercise. This whole week was a wash for me. I feel crappy when I eat crappy, so it makes no logical sense why I continue to do so. (Besides habits and comfort zones and yadda, yadda, yadda.) My mom shared the below picture with me, which came at the perfect moment. I just need to find out what works for me!

The best article I read this week was NFL Should Ditch the Pink Crap and Recognize Domestic Violence Instead. I can’t even tell you how disgusted I have been with how Roger Goodell (NFL commissioner) has treated this situation with Ray Rice. It was handled poorly from the beginning. (Sorry, Ray Rice gets a 2-game suspension for domestic abuse and Josh Gordon gets suspended for an entire season for smoking pot? This makes sense in whose mind?!)

“[T]he NFL is in a unique position to take this disaster and turn it into something incredibly useful and good. The League could be global leaders in domestic violence awareness and prevention if they chose to the lead on this now. They could prove to disillusioned fans that they really do give a shit about the millions of women who tune in to NFL games every week. They could open up lifelines to women who didn’t feel like they had anywhere to go or any place to turn.”

A podcast episode I loved was The Notorious RBG by Stuff Mom Never Told You. Ruth Bader Ginsburg is just badass, you guys. If you ever wanted to know just how badass she is, listen to this podcast. The ladies do a fantastic job discussing her life and impact on politics.

The best money I spent was nothing. Ha! I honestly only spent money on food, groceries, gas, and some toiletries. Nothing exciting to talk about, sadly!

My plans this weekend include a long walk with Dutch, a pedicure with Mom, and celebrating my brother’s birthday on Sunday. (By watching football and eating pizza and cake. Works for me!) It should be a calm, low-key weekend, which will be nice.

What was the highlight of your week? Any fun weekend plans?

Happy Friday, friends! What a week! It’s been a busy one for me at work, as I’m trying to finish up my last few writing assignments before the end of the month. I celebrated my one-year “work”-aversary, and had my review with my bosses on Tuesday. My review went really well! I’m happy, they’re happy, we are one big happy family! 🙂 I am so grateful for this job.

My weekend was fairly low-key, though I did attend the Dolphins game on Saturday night with my mom. It was the BEST experience and I’m feeling so thankful and lucky that I was able to go and see my boys play in person. On Sunday, I accompanied my mom to a 5K she ran and then we went out for breakfast, which was super delish! (But Cracker Barrel… it is WAY TOO SOON for Christmas decorations. August?! NOT OKAY!)

The high of my week was attending the Dolphins game on Saturday. It was so special to be there, and we had incredible seats – near the 30-yard line, just a few rows up! It’s the first time I’ve ever seen my team play in person, and it was so darn fun! Luckily, there were a ton of Dolphins fans there and we won the game, so it was just a sweet night.

The low of my week was dealing with nagging knee pain. It started around Tuesday night but thankfully got better within a few days. It was just a dull pain on the back of my knee that I think happened because I kept hyperextending my knee with the way I was sitting in my chair at work. I’m trying to be better about my posture!

A blog post I loved was Stop Rolling Your Eyes and Start Taking Action by Nicole. Gosh, this was such a fantastic post that I don’t even know where to start. Just go. Read it. Now.

“So, clearly, there’s a lot to be said for doing the thing you judge other people for doing, which is something I’ve been thinking about a lot over the past week. I’ve been thinking about how the things we judge and criticize are actually a built-in yellow brick road we can follow to find (and relieve) our own sources of suffering.”

A podcast episode I loved was Kathryn Jackson on The Lively Show. This show was so insightful! I didn’t think I would find it as awesome as I did since it was a little business-focused, but there was some really great advice about handling online overwhelm. I recommend it!

For my goal of working out 31 times in August, I worked out 6 times. Oy, not my best week at all! My bum knee affected a few workouts this week, as I tried to rest it as much as I could. There are just nine days left in August, and I have 12 workouts to complete. Completely doable, but I really have to put in the work this week!

The best money I spent was $68.28 on t-shirts for my mom and me for the game on Saturday. I figured I could buy them since we got the tickets for free! I bought myself a really nice (dri-fit, even!) Dolphins tee, and my mom got a Bucs tee.

My plans this weekend include attending book club (we’re planning on dinner downtown, gelato, and taking the Ghost Tour of St. Petersburg!), doing my fantasy football draft (!!!), seeing my brother and nephew, and trying to have some downtime from a crazy week. It should be a fun weekend!

(As always, thanks to Cait for the awesome TGIF format!)

What was the highlight of your week? Any fun weekend plans?