There was a shark at the beach on Saturday!

The high of my week was going to a new HIIT class on Tuesday evening. My mom and I usually go to a different workout class on Tuesday evenings, but our regular trainer wasn’t going to be there so we decided to try this HIIT class instead. It was with a trainer I worked with in one other class, and he was very intense, so I haven’t been too keen on going to his HIIT class. And man, it was hard. The HIIT class we normally go to has 8 stations and we do 3 rounds of one exercise at each station. This one had 6 stations but with 4 rounds of two different exercises at each station (so essentially, 8 rounds in total for each station). There was a point in the workout where I thought I was going to throw up because my heart was beating so fast! I wanted to die during the workout and at the end of my class, my mom and I were like, “So, same time next week?” HA. (Also, the trainer was incredibly nice and accommodating! He wasn’t as intense as I had thought.)

The low of my week was lower back pain. While my sciatica isn’t as bad as it was earlier this year, I am starting to have the pain again. I need to start icing my back again and doing some stretches. I had a lot of pain during my Tuesday evening HIIT class and it really impacted how much of the movements I was able to do. I’ve been thinking about buying a back brace for my HIIT classes to provide a little more support for my back—it would also probably help my form during certain movements. One of the women in my Wednesday evening HIIT class wears one, and I really want to ask her about it (but I’m shyyyy).

I’m currently reading two books. I’m listening to What Lies in the Woods by Kate Alice Marshall on audio (the narrator is terrible, but I’m powering through). And I just started The Housemaid by Freida McFadden in print!

A Reel I enjoyed was this very funny dog video that my mom sent me. Please enjoy!

A podcast episode I enjoyed was Real Life Homes on The Girl Next Door podcast. I love when Kelsey and Erica talk about the most mundane details of their life, and this one fit the bill as they talked about how they really live in their homes—like, where do they eat their meals and what spaces do they spend the most time in? At the end of the episode, they played a game of “Where do you keep that?” which I loved so much that I took notes so I can do my own version on the blog.

The best money I spent this week was $9 on a new can opener. How exciting! My can opener bit the dust this week and I immediately purchased a new one because that’s a “can’t live without” kitchen tool for me.

My plans this weekend include not much! I have a writing date with Mikaela on Saturday morning and a workout with Mom on Sunday morning, and that’s about it. But it’s also OLYMPICS WEEKEND! I will be spending a lot of time parked on my couch, watching athletes do seemingly impossible feats over and over again.

The high of my week was getting my sleep apnea sleep study rescheduled for tomorrow! Originally, my sleep study was scheduled for August 3rd so I couldn’t pass up getting it done two weeks earlier. Am I looking forward to it? Absolutely not. Do I want to sleep with a CPAP every night? Nope. But do I want to sleep more deeply and feel better? Yes and yes. So I’m glad I’ll finally get this step done so I can start my new CPAP journey.

The low of my week was Lila’s matted fur. Oh, how I wish Eloise was my long-haired cat. She loves getting brushed and doesn’t need to be brushed nearly as much as Lila does. But, of course, it’s the cat that hates getting brushed who needs it the most. This week, I started noticing little areas of matted fur at the base of Lila’s spine and around her tail. I’m guessing those are just areas that are hard for her to groom because she is, ahem, very floofy. Lila often acts like I am attempting bodily harm when I bring out the brush, so I decided on a new tactic. Since she loves snuggling with me right before bed, I brought the brush into bed with me and then, when she was snoozing away, I started brushing her. It worked! I was able to get out a few of the matted spots before she ran away, so I’m just going to keep trying this method until she’s mat-free. (The other option is to give her a dose of gabapentin, which I have on hand and I’m willing to try, but I just really, really want her to get used to being brushed!) The goal is to get her fur all cleaned up and then continue brushing her at night until she realizes I’m not trying to hurt her. Baby steps with this one!

I’m currently reading three books. On audio, I’m about halfway done with Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection by Charles Duhigg, which I’m finding super informative! In print, I’m working my way through Family, Family by Laurie Frankel and liking it a lot. And my e-book right now is Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert, a YA romance.

A Reel I enjoyed was this absolutely adorable cat video. Eloise is now asking to be included in our biweekly family game nights after seeing this Reel.

A podcast episode I enjoyed was the Big Brother 26 draft on Rob Has a Podcast. This is such a niche interest of mine. Wednesday was the season premiere of Big Brother, and I am so excited to get fully immersed in a new season of my favorite show. I also love listening to podcasts about the show, and the lovely folks at RHAP are some of the best. It was fun listening in on their draft, their trash talking, and their frank assessments of the new houseguests. My mom and I do our own mini-draft (we only pick 3 players each), which we’ll probably do sometime this weekend!

The best money I spent was $100 on a new cordless vacuum. YES, THIS IS NOT WITHIN THE PARAMETERS OF NO-SPEND JULY. But it was Prime Day and I really, really needed a new vacuum. I’ve had a Shark robot vacuum for a few years now and while originally I loved it, we have decided to consciously uncouple. It just doesn’t vacuum as efficiently or deeply as I want it to, and I’m ready to get back into the manual vacuuming game. I had a few cordless vacuums saved on my Amazon wishlist, and one of them was $50 off for Prime Day, and I decided to buy it. This is a need, not a want, and I’m okay with breaking the rules to buy it. The new vacuum should arrive today and you guys have no idea how excited I am to use it. (God, adulthood is so stupid.)

My plans this weekend include going to the dog beach with my mom, stepdad, Chip, and Lucy on Saturday. MY SLEEP STUDY!!! And a baby shower for my cousin on Sunday afternoon. It will be a busy, fulfilling weekend.

What was your last boring adult purchase that you were actually super excited about? What was the high of your week?

The high of my week was starting Bridgerton! I held off on watching season 3 until all of the episodes were released, and now I am firmly entrenched in the world of my favorite fictional family. I have been waiting for Penelope’s story because she is by far my favorite character, and it has not disappointed. I’m only a few episodes in and I’m savoring each episode because I know the length of time between seasons is looooong. (I saw a Thread that it takes two years between writing, filming, and editing each season, which means we probably won’t get season four until summer 2026? Ugh!)

The low of my week was difficult workouts. I did a circuit training class on Tuesday that felt so hard and I really struggled to catch my breath during the routine. And then on Wednesday, I had my regular HIIT workout class and felt like I was going to just plain die. My heart rate was high and my muscles felt so fatigued. Have you ever had weeks where your body just feels like it took three steps backward? Oof. I’m trying to remind myself that I’m not a robot and I can’t be expected to work out at the same level of intensity every week, but wah. I want to see progress!

One nagging task I marked off my to-do list was um, nothing? Oops. I have a whole list of things I need to get done, but I guess that’s going to have to happen this weekend!

I’m currently reading two books. On audio, I’m almost halfway through The Rose Code by Kate Quinn. It’s a WWII novel about code-breakers and it’s fascinating! I also just started Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez.

A Reel I loved was this very excellent joke from a stand-up comedian. It made me laugh a lot!

A podcast episode I enjoyed was Go West Young Man on Good Christian Fun. I don’t remember the last time I laughed so much listening to a podcast episode. I was in tears at one point! I still giggle to myself when I think about the part of the episode that had me cry-laughing. So good!

The best money I spent was $23 on this adorable “Purride” shirt on Etsy. I couldn’t help myself when I came across it!

My plans this weekend include not much! I have a podcast recording date with Bri (our last recording date was over a month ago!) and a video chat with Kim to discuss our plans for next weekend (!!). I may drive around my city and drop some books off in Little Free Libraries. I have a big stack of books in my closet that need to go to new homes, so I think this weekend is the perfect opportunity to do just that.

What was the highlight of your week?

Outtake from Monday’s post – Lila was excited for some yum-yums!

The high of my week was having very few social plans. A busy week is nice, but it must be followed by a low-key week so I can recharge my battery. This week, I had lunch plans on Tuesday and my HIIT class on Wednesday night, and that’s it! A few plans I had at night got cancelled, and I wasn’t even upset about it because it meant I could stay home and take it easy.

The low of my week was a very expensive vet appointment for Eloise. I have been growing increasingly worried about her eating habits. She doesn’t eat a lot, she will regurgitate her food (sorry) at least a few times a week, and sometimes turns her nose up at treats. She’s also a skinny girl—last year at her vet appointment, she had lost a pound, which put her at 7.6 lbs. I was worried she lost even more weight this year, but thankfully, she gained a little weight (.3 lbs). Her energy levels are normal and I haven’t noticed any other troubling behavior, but still, I just felt strongly that I needed to figure this out. Our current plan of action is to get blood work done (which we did yesterday) and make sure there isn’t anything systemically wrong with her. If the blood work comes back fine, we’ll start her on a sensitive food diet, as it may be a GI issue like IBD. If the food doesn’t work, she’ll need more testing (blergh).

One nagging task I marked off my to-do list was calling AT&T to start my phone trade-in. This one involved a few extra steps, so I just kept putting off doing it. I had to find my IMEI number on my previous iPhone (which I had already wiped clean and set aside, so I had to charge the phone, then go through all of the steps involved in setting up a new phone, and then navigate to Settings to find the IMEI number) and call AT&T customer service to get the shipping materials sent to me. This task that felt so arduous took less than 15 minutes from beginning to end, though. They always take less time than we think, don’t they?!

I’m currently reading two books. On audio, I’m listening to Zorrie by Laird Hunt. Meredith on Currently Reading recently talked about this book and it sounded interesting, so I added it to my TBR. I was looking for a quick audiobook that I could sneak in before my trip, and this one is only 4.5 hours. Perfect! I also just started A Murder is Announced by Agatha Christie (thanks for the rec, Diane!) in print.

A Reel I loved was this cute cat video of two kittens “fighting” each other in a WWE ring. It was the cutest wrestling match I ever did see!

A podcast episode I enjoyed was Nicole’s a Double Virgo with Isa Nakazawa on Best Friends with Nicole Byer and Sasheer Zamata. I am not someone who feels connected to astrology in any way because my sun sign (Sagittarius) is the opposite of my personality. In this episode, an astrologer joins the pod to give Nicole and Sasheer their birth charts and I really found it fascinating! I would love to have a professional birth chart done (maybe that’s an idea for a future episode of my own podcast!) just to see if there are aspects of it that I can relate to. (I do feel much more connected to my moon and rising signs, which I looked up after a tarot card reader told me to. He was like, “Yeah, I’m not getting any Sagittarius energy from you,” which made me feel vindicated!)

The best money I spent was on a new carry-on suitcase! I got it at TJ Maxx and it’s Samsonite brand, so hopefully it holds up as well as my previous suitcase did (14 years!). I still want to purchase a larger suitcase at some point in time, but I don’t see myself needing one anytime soon, so I think I’m good for now. We leave for New Orleans on Wednesday, so nothing like a rapidly approaching flight to get my ass into gear.

My plans this weekend include not much! Today is my last working day until Tuesday, June 4th so I am so happy to have over a week off work! Currently, the only plans I have are my writing date with Mikaela on Saturday morning and a workout class with my mom on Sunday morning. The rest of the time, I plan on cleaning my apartment, finalizing our itinerary for New Orleans, and reading!

What was the best money you spent this week?

The high of my week was having so much social time. I had a fun movie night with friends on Monday night (we watched The Idea of You, and I really liked it!) and Tuesday night, I went to Topgolf with another friend. I also had a roommate for a night—I mentioned that my mom is getting her bathroom remodeled and because the house was still toilet-less as of Monday, she stayed with me for a night, which was lovely! (Her house was no longer toilet-less by Tuesday, so back home she went!) She also came over Wednesday night after our workout class so we could watch our shows (Survivor and The Amazing Race) and she could take a shower. I love having weeks where I don’t have any plans and can just be a lump in the evenings, but balancing that with busy social weeks is good for my soul.

The low of my week was an itchy scalp. My scalp psoriasis has been horrible this week, so damn itchy and uncomfortable. I’ve been slathering on steroid gel along with an OTC cream, and the itchiness seems to be improving. This latest flare seems different than normal flares, and I think I’ve pinpointed the cause: hair dye. I had the same type of flare the last time couple of times I got my hair colored, but never connected the flare with the source. Well, at least now I know! I either need to see if there’s a different type of formula my hair stylist can use when creating my hair dye or just accept that I’m going to have a flare after a hair appointment.

One nagging task I marked off my to-do list was mopping the floors. Why is this task so arduous? I’m not going to tell you guys the last time I mopped because it would be too embarrassing, but I hate doing it and it’s one of those chores that constantly falls off my to-do list. The floors get vacuumed regularly thanks to Ruby the Robot, but they also need a good scrubbing every once in a while, and that finally happened this week. Freshly mopped floors make me so happy!

I’m currently reading two books. On audio, I’m listening to Not a Happy Family by Shari Lapena, which my friend Lynn highly recommended. I’m a few hours in and loving it! I also just started Anita Kelly’s new queer romance, How You Get the Girl. She’s one of my auto-buy authors who hasn’t written a bad romance yet, and this one is no different (so far)!

A blog post I loved was A Day in Maggie’s Life by knit read cats hockey, where she took us through a random day in her cat, Maggie’s, life. How cute, right? I am stealing this idea so please be prepared for a day in the life of Ellie and Lila very soon. It will involve a lot of sleeping, begging for treats, and belly rubs.

The best money I spent was $12 on a new iPhone case. I was hoping the iPhone case I’ve been using would fit on my new phone (I upgraded from the iPhone 13 Pro to the iPhone 15 Pro), but alas, the 15 is just a smidge bigger so I needed a new case and I needed it to get here fast. (I hate using my phone without a case!) So I bought a cheap one from Amazon that arrived the next day. It’s a bit boring (plain purple) and I’m someone who likes a fun iPhone case, but it serves its purpose. The question now is… do I upgrade to a case that expresses my style more? I have my eye on this cat-themed case or this colorful case. Decisions, decisions!

My plans this weekend include a girl’s night in tonight at Bri’s house where we’ll enjoy pizza, pool time, and games. Tomorrow, I have a writing date with Mikaela and then I’m going to the Tampa CATstravaganza with my mom. (!!!) To say I am excited is an understatement! I think we might also have game night with my brother on Saturday evening, so it will be a very busy day. And Sunday, I’ll have a low-key day at home. My mom and I are thinking of trying out a Zumba class Sunday morning, but that’s all my plans for the day.

What was the high of your week? Do you have any fun weekend plans?