The high of my week was my mom’s surprise bridal shower. In late May, two of my mom’s coworkers contacted me with the idea of surprising her and I thought that was the sweetest idea ever, so it’s been a long few weeks of helping them plan and trying not to spill the beans. But it went off without a hitch and my mom was indeed shocked (<– link to the Instagram video!) I feel so grateful to her coworkers for making her feel so loved and special. She deserves that more than anyone I know!

The low of my week was finding out one of my favorite coworkers is moving away. She got accepted into grad school, and I am so happy for her while simultaneously devastated that she’s leaving. It’s no fun when friends move away!

I’m currently reading Mine Till Midnight by Lisa Kleypas. It’s a historical romance novel and it’s light and fluffy and exactly what I need.

A blog post I enjoyed was Every state flag is wrong, and here’s why. It begins with Alabama’s flag and this made me laugh right out of the gate:

Someone gave the state of Alabama a box to check with the question “DO YOU WANT TO CREATE A FLAG” and this was the response. That or Alabama is unable to write its name and has to sign everything with a big red X. In general, it is a poor idea to pick as your flag an image that could be regarded as a negative answer to the question, “Should you visit Alabama?”

The best money I spent was $15 on beautiful pink roses and a vase to bring to my mom’s bridal shower. Everyone kept commenting on how beautiful they were and how good they smelled!

My plans this weekend include ice skating tonight (I haven’t been since I was a kid so this should be interesting!), lots and lots of final wedding prep, and doing some home organization in preparation for my move soon. And maybe some pool time? It’s been forever since I spent an afternoon at the pool!

What was the highlight of your week?

The high of my week was my Galentine’s date with my friend Bri. I wasn’t really upset on Valentine’s Day (I was secretly calling it “Independence Day!” Ha.) But it was still nice to get out of the house and do something fun. And I’m glad we opted for a girl’s night in because I know it was craaaaazy at the restaurants and bars. It was the perfect night, and I am so thankful for my friendship with Bri. She knows how to make a girl feel good!

The low of my week was dealing with some blog domain issues. I think I have it all sorted out (well, fingers crossed!), but I can’t sign into Google Admin to make sure my payment method is set up correctly. Luckily, I was able to bypass Google Admin and find out what I used when renewing my blog domain in the past (good thing I did, because my payment methods were expired!), so I guess I’ll find out if all is well next Tuesday when my domain is set to renew.

I’m currently reading Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris. (I’m stealing Amber’s idea for replacing “favorite post I read” with what I’m reading. I like this option much more!) I’m about 60% of the way through it and it’s good, but very easy to put down. I do like Sedaris’ writing style, though!

A podcast episode I enjoyed was Schrodinger’s Mockingbird by Book Riot. The hosts of the Book Riot podcast devoted an entire episode to talking about the news of Harper Lee (author of one of my favorite novels To Kill a Mockingbird) releasing a new book. I really liked hearing the discussions between the hosts. (Though I don’t think I am as giddy about them about the new book. I look forward to reading it, but I don’t think it will be as major an event as they think, nor will I drop everything I’m doing the day it’s released to read it.)

The best money I spent was $5 for Taco Tuesday! Two gals at work decided to throw a fun “Taco Tuesday” party for everyone at work. All we had to do was contribute $5 for the ingredients, and the husband of one of the gals (who is a chef!) made a delicious spread for us. (Best part was having leftovers on Wednesday! Oh yeah!)

My plans this weekend include going to the zoo, working on a freelancing assignment, and decluttering my screened-in patio. It should be a rather low-key weekend, but I am super excited to visit the zoo. I haven’t been since I was a kid and Saturday looks like it will be a gorgeous day (sunny! high of 72! sorry to brag!), so my mom and I will hopefully have a fun time exploring.

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

The high of my week was going out with a bunch of coworkers after work for trivia. There are so many bars in South Tampa that host fun trivia nights, and we finally corralled a group together to go. It was super fun, even though we didn’t win. We started off strong but completely lost it in the second half. I’m just happy I was able to provide my team with the answer to one question – ha!

The low of my week was feeling very uninspired about blogging. I honestly couldn’t think of anything I wanted to write about for this week, so I just decided to give my brain a break from blogging. The good news about giving my brain a break (and I do this often; if I can’t think of something to blog about, I take a break) is that I always come back re-inspired and full of new ideas of things to blog about. Yay!

A blog post I really enjoyed was My Career Mindset That’s Changed Everything by Caroline. I’m not sure when the shift occurred, but I’ve learned to stop defining who I am with what I do. I have a job, and having a good job that fulfills me is important. But I also have a life, and that life is so much bigger than my career.

“I’ll let you in on a little secret. There’s no way to know what job or career will fit with our life circumstances five, ten, twenty years down the road. As much as we’d like to think we have control of what happens to us in this life, we don’t. So just let it go.” 

A podcast I am enjoying is Dear Sugar. I haven’t listened to the latest episode yet, but I’ve listened to the first two and I thoroughly enjoyed them. It’s so fun getting to hear Cheryl Strayed talk! I am such a huge fan of hers, and I remember thinking to myself after I read her book Tiny Beautiful Things and after I fell into the world of podcasts about how neat it would be for Cheryl to resurrect her advice column via podcast! She’s in my brain! This podcast is filled with wisdom and insight and plain old good fun. Wholly recommend!

The best money I spent was $9 for lunch at Mellow Mushroom (pizza establishment) on Wednesday. Wednesday morning, I was talking to the girls I sit nearby at work and we all admitted we didn’t bring anything for lunch, so a plan was hatched to go out together and we opted for the always delicious Mellow Mushroom. Good decision by us!

My plans this weekend include getting my hair cut this afternoon (probably opting for something like this… I desperately want a long bob, but I’m trying to grow my hair out again to donate it, so no bob for me just yet!) and meeting a friend at Starbucks to work on a freelance project. Saturday includes a workout, freelance writing, and heading into Tampa for a “Galentine’s” date with my friend Bri. And Sunday should be very low-key: cleaning, grocery shopping, meal prepping, and relaxing!

What was the highlight of your week?

The high was of my week was having a triple date night on Friday night. Alex and I went out with two other couples for Mexican food and then a night of bowling. (Local people – get thee to a Pin Chasers on Friday night. It’s $15, including shoes, all you can bowl, starting at 10:30pm. Yessss!) I haven’t bowled in over a year, and I was pretty certain I was going to be the worst of the bunch, but I wasn’t! I even got a turkey during one game! And I just had the best time with the people I was with. Lots of laughs and good times all around.

The low of my week was nothing, really! There’s nothing I can really point out as a low. That’s really awesome!

A blog post I really enjoyed was Why Wanderlust is ‘Holding Onto Childhood’ by Ashley of She’s Come Undone. I love Ashley’s adventurous spirit, and how she really goes after what she wants in life. She’s got the wanderlust spirit, all right, and it’s incredibly inspiring. I loved this post about her thoughts on wanderlust.

In a sense traveling is “holding onto childhood.” It’s holding onto that sense of wonder children see the world with, daily. How invigorating, how enthralling to hold onto to those things that give us a passion for life!

A podcast episode I enjoyed was New Year New You by The Joy the Baker Podcast. This podcast is one of my all-time favorites, and I was so, so sad when it went on a hiatus this fall. But then it came back! And I am sooooo sooooo sooooo happy because I missed it. I just love the conversational tone, I love their friendship, and they’re just girls you can relate to and want to be friends with.

The best money I spent was $30 for bowling on Friday night. Alex and I bowled four games a piece, so we definitely got our money’s worth!

For my workouts, I completed two runs and a walk. I’m aiming for four runs a week, so I fell a bit short of my goal, but oh well! I am proud of my two runs because they were extremely hard, but I pushed through the discomfort and the pain, and finished. The mental game that is running is such a character builder! Whew!

My plans this weekend include book club tonight (dinner and then heading over to a brewery for game night), and then the rest of the weekend is up in the air! These are my favorite types of weekends. 🙂

What was the highlight of your week?

The high of my week was exploring St. Augustine with Alex. It was my first time in the city, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time there. I’m planning an entire post on our weekend, so I won’t say much about what we did. Suffice it to say, we’re already talking about going back very soon. It’s such an easy weekend trip, and such a cute city to visit!

The low of my week was yesterday, with a bunch of little annoyances kept piling up. First, I went to Starbucks for breakfast and the line was way too long for me to wait. Then, I realized I left my iPad at home and wouldn’t be able to read my book during lunch (I was dyinggg to finish it!) And then, work was just a wee bit stressful. In the grand scheme of things, not a terrible day, and if this is the worst I can come up with for my week, I’d say I’m doing pretty alright.

A blog post I really enjoyed was What I Struggle With by my good friend Lisa. A bunch of bloggers have written similar posts, and it was so interesting to read her thoughts, too. Sometimes, being vulnerable about the difficult areas in our lives is incredibly hard, but it’s also so therapeutic and humanizing. Every one of us is struggling with something. Nobody lives an easy, perfect life. We all are guilty of falling into the comparison trap, of believing others have it so much easier than us just because of what they portray online. My favorite posts to write are the ones where I’m being open, honest, and vulnerable about something I’m struggling with, and Lisa’s post really resonated with me.

Most of us tend to focus on the good and positive aspects of our life but it can sometimes paint an unrealistic picture of an effortless, issue-free life. Yes, I love my life and am very happy with where I am today, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t things I struggle with.

The best money I spent was $14 to tour the Castillo de San Marcos while in St. Augustine. This place was fascinating and I never wanted to leave. We took our time walking through the entire fort and even got to witness them firing off a cannon, which was incredible. I want to go back!

For my workouts, I completed three runs and a ton of walking on Saturday in St. Augustine (20,500 steps, to be exact!) Right now, I’m solely focused on being ready to run my 5k at the end of March. I’m doing Couch to 5k and I started week one this week! It’s difficult, but good things in life don’t come easy, right? Right.

My plans this weekend include date night with Alex tonight. Saturday, I plan to spend some time decluttering, working on a freelance project, and watching the playoff games with my family (and Alex!) And on Sunday, it’s all playoffs, all day. I can’t believe after this weekend, we only have 3 more games left of the NFL season. Why does it go so fast? Wah.

What was the highlight of your week?