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?

Happy Friday, friends! Fridays are really the best, aren’t they? And when you only work 3.5 hours, they are even better!

Let’s dive right into another TGIF post!

The high of my week was ladies’ happy hour with a bunch of work friends. It was a ton of fun! I drank a delicious mojito, shared a plate of nachos with a friend, and really enjoyed the conversation and our view (we saw a pair of dolphins swimming around the bay!). Also, word to the wise: if you ride together with friends to a social gathering, be sure to ride with other introverts because then you get to leeeeave early because you’re all socialed-out together. The best.

The low of my week was the heartache that was found in the news this week. Well, the news is always pretty awful, but this week really broke my heart. First, with the news that one of my favorite actors, Robin Williams, had died. My heart shattered when I learned about his death. He was such a big part of my childhood! (There was a time, when I was younger, that the only movie I ever wanted to watch was Mrs. Doubtfire.) Mental illness is such a scary, scary beast.

And then, there was all the scary stuff happening in Ferguson, MO. Oh, man! It’s been crazy. And frightening. And ridiculous. And I just want this to be resolved. What a mess!

A blog post I loved was Stuff Scarlette Says by Kayla Aimee. This week in the news has been heartbreaking and shameful, to put it mildly. So, instead of linking to one of the many articles talking about the sad stuff, I thought it might be better to link up to something cheerful, light, and would make people smile. Sometimes, that’s exactly what we need. This blog post is a gem!

A podcast episode I loved was Should Tipping Be Banned? by Freakonomics Radio. This episode was so interesting to me! One of the guests on the podcast threw out a crazy stat that in one year (this isn’t an updated stat, so it’s probably higher now!), Americans spent $40 BILLION on tipping. Cue the eyes-bugged-out emoji! That’s so astounding to me. This podcast takes you through some stats on tipping habits, how tipping in America is completely different than the rest of the world, and if tipping is actually discriminatory.

For my goal of working out 31 times in August, I completed 7 workouts! I did four cardio workouts and three strength-training workouts, so I’m keeping balanced with my exercising, which I’m super happy about. I’m at 12 workouts for the month, so I’m behind but I’m okay with that. I know I’ll catch up!

The best money I spent was $16.88 on a drink and a shared plate of nachos during ladies’ happy hour last night!

My plans this weekend include some boring adult stuff, like getting an oil change and doing a ton of workouts. And some fun stuff like going to a Bucs game! My mom’s friend gave us tickets and – this is the best part! – they are playing the Dolphins! Ahhhhh…. I am beside myself with glee!

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

*Blog post inspired by Cait

I dyed my hair this weekend! It’s pretty red, but I think I like it.

I’ve been following Cait’s blog for a while now and I’ve always enjoyed her TGIF posts. It’s a simple, yet fun way to talk about the week. I’ll be using her prompts, plus a few of my own that I added. So let’s chat, shall we?

The high of my week was supporting my friend as she taught her first-ever spin class. She did an amazing, amazing job! She was full of energy, and really put us through a killer workout. I was so proud of her! Another bright spot in my week involved hanging out with some girlfriends last night and starting my first-ever sewing project (a pillow!). There was pizza consumed, tons of laughs had, and a good time all around.

The low of my week was having to acknowledge that things would not be able to progress any farther with my crush, and it’s time to move on. A crush is fun, and it’s frustrating, and it’s exhilarating, and it’s confusing. But this week, I took a tiny baby step towards seeing if things can develop into something more and was completely shut down which was demoralizing and heartbreaking, but at least now I know I can stop pining and move on to someone else.

An article I loved was “How Melissa McCarthy Sold Out Overweight Women.” The author of this article really brings up an interesting topic on how Melissa McCarthy has spoken candidly about being a positive body image role model, yet how her movies seem to poke fun at her size, especially as it relates to her newest film, Tammy. It was a good read and I could identify with what the author was saying (even if I didn’t totally 100% agree with her).

Tammy, just like Officer Mullins in McCarthy’s buddy cop comedy The Heat, or Megan from Bridesmaids, is rough-hewn and unfeminine, stuffed into the same tent-drab T-shirts McCarthy loathes for herself. However, this, in and of itself, isn’t inherently problematic: We need more female characters who aren’t cosseted by the silken binds of prettiness and likeability. However, McCarthy’s movie characters aren’t just awkward and gonzo, they’re shown as less than, unworthy of the tenderness, love, and yes, good ol’ fashioned fucking, that many people, of all shapes and sizes, really want.

A podcast episode I loved was The Art Of Simple’s episode where she interviews her literary agent. As an aspiring author, it was very interesting and filled with so much good advice! If you want to write a novel – whether fiction or non-fiction – I highly recommend checking this episode out!

For my goal of working out 31 times in August, I completed 5 workouts. This included a hardcore spin workout (so fun! I miss spinning so much.), two workouts on the stationary bike, and two strength workouts (one using the Nike Training app and one using a Pinterest workout). I am three workouts behind but am planning on doubling up today, tomorrow, and maybe Sunday to stay on track.

The best money I spent was $34.30 on materials to hand-sew a pillow! This included a beginner’s sewing kit, a pillow form, thread, and two yards of fabric.

My plans this weekend include a lunch date with a friend this afternoon, getting in a ton of workouts, a possible sewing date with friends, and maybe spending an afternoon or two lounging by the pool. It should be a low-key, relaxing weekend!

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