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?

The high of my week was my weekly HIIT class! My mom and I started going to a Wednesday evening HIIT class three weeks ago. The first time we went was a shock to our system because it was so tough, but we also loved how hard it was and we really, really loved the instructor. He’s funny and helpful and helps us find ways to modify some of the exercises because we definitely need some of them scaled down a bit for our fitness level. There are 8 stations and you run through the exercises at each station three times with a break in between each round. My goal for Wednesday’s class was to get through the first round without stopping, which I was able to do! This is a massive win for me, as some of those exercises are brutal (especially anything involving cardio, oof). It’ll be fun to see our progress as our fitness levels increase and we can do more of the circuits without needing modifications!

The low of my week was my terrible night of sleep due to my sleep study. I am planning on writing a post about the at-home sleep study I did this week (if you have any questions for me about it, let me know!), but let me tell you, I’m a little worried that they won’t have enough sleep data and I’ll have to do it again because I slept terribly. (I had to wear a nasal cannula, a sensor strapped around my chest, and a pulse ox on my finger, which obviously made sleeping really awkward.) I don’t even know if I logged 6 proper hours of sleep (which is the minimum amount of sleep needed for the data).

One nagging task I marked off my to-do list was filling in the first section of the “I’m Dead, Now What?” workbook. It was an easy section – just filling out personal information like my name, where I was born, my family, etc. However, I realized two things after filling it out: 1) I have no idea where my social security card is and 2) I need to create a living will. What else will I learn I need to do to get my affairs in order as I go through this workbook? Stay tuned!

I’m currently reading two books. I’m reading The Comeback by Lily Chu and loving it. It’s so cute! And on audio, I’m listening to The Longest Race by Kara Goucher, which is also excellent. It’s been a good week of reading, for sure.

A blog post I loved was Day in the Life on Kyria’s blog. She’s currently on a massive adventure—she quit her job, sold her home, and is currently biking around the U.S. and Canada! So she took us along on one of those days in her life, and it was fascinating!

The best money I spent was $2.50 on a bottle of water at the gym after leaving my water bottle at home. I was halfway to the gym when I realized I was hydration-less. I’m really glad they have cold water (and sports drinks) available for purchase at my gym—you just grab a drink and then they scan your gym card to pay for it, which is nice! I was there to do a hot yoga class, so I really needed water!

My plans this weekend include an art festival with my mom on Saturday afternoon and dinner with some friends on Saturday night. And that’s the extent of my plans, which I am very happy about. I can have a low-key Friday night in, a busy Saturday, and then a productive Sunday at home. Perfect!

What was the high of your week?

The high of my week was spending Valentine’s Day with Bri! Thankfully, her husband doesn’t mind that I steal her for the evening so she came over to my place for cheesy bread, pizza, and a fun 90s rom-com (Never Been Kissed). It was a lovely, low-key evening with my favorite lady! I couldn’t ask for anything better.

The low of my week was having an allergic reaction to the topical anesthetic I got for my dental filling. Yesterday was quite the day! First, I had to get a filling in the morning, which was not a fun experience but I got through it and everything felt fine. The right side of my mouth was super numb, but that’s to be expected. What I did not expect was for the right side of my upper lip to balloon three times its normal size over the next few hours. It started to feel alarming to me—even after icing it and taking Advil, it was still puffy and stung when I touched it. So I called a dentist and they asked me to to get it checked out. The dentist affirmed that I was not dying, but was likely having an allergic reaction. I could take Benedryl but my body doesn’t react well to that medication (it makes me very loopy), so I’m just taking ibuprofen and praying I wake up with a normal-size lip.

One nagging task I marked off my to-do list was scheduling a doctor’s appointment! That had been on my to-do list all of 2023, so I’m very proud of myself for finally getting it done. My dietician really wants me to have updated blood work done (and so do I!) so that put a fire in my belly to schedule that appointment. Plus, I have some pressing concerns that I want to talk to my doctor about. My appointment is Tuesday morning, so hooray!

I’m currently reading three books. On audio, I’m a few hours into A Town Called Solace by Mary Lawson and I’m very much enjoying it. I’m also reading The Art of Scandal by Regina Black in print, and I can’t get enough of it. So good! And, of course, I’m slowly making my way through My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante for the Cool Bloggers Book Club. I don’t love it so far, but I’m trudging through for the book club discussions.

A blog post I loved was this one from Nicole, since she started a discussion about hobbies based on our podcast episode about the subject! It was so fun reading through the responses of people ruminating about what makes something a hobby (is reading a hobby if it’s something that feels more like a necessity for you than something you do “just for fun”?) and what kinds of hobbies people have. I love that our podcast—and Nicole’s always eloquent words—sparked such an interesting discussion!

A podcast episode I enjoyed was How We Rate Books on Sarah’s Book Shelves Live Patreon feed. I found this episode so fascinating as Sarah and her two guest co-hosts Susie and Catherine had a long discussion on their rating systems, what makes a book 5 stars, DNF-ing books, and so much more. This was a gold mine of nerdy bookish talk and I couldn’t get enough of it!

The best money I spent was on new underwear. How exciting, eh? I always like to refresh my underwear drawer once a year—and by refresh, I just mean throwing out any underwear that has holes or is losing its elastic and buying a few new pieces to replace what I got rid of—and it was time to do that, considering I was having to do emergency laundry at least once a week. (Emergency laundry = I’m down to my last pair of underwear!) I’ve also realized I’ve reached the “underwear is for comfort, not style” phase of my life. I want full coverage!

My plans this weekend include dog-sitting for the pups! My mom and her husband are taking a quick weekend trip so I will be on Chip and Lucy duty, and I am very much looking forward to it. I love hanging with my besties! I am also recording a podcast episode with Bri (and a special guest!) on Saturday morning and doing a writing date with Mikaela afterward. It should be a good weekend!

Do you replace your underwear regularly? What are your plans this weekend?

We interviewed our bestie Mikaela on our podcast last weekend, all about what it’s like to be an Enneagram 1. I can’t wait to release this episode!

The high of my week was the grilled cheese I had at Mikaela’s house on Wednesday night. You guys, this was the best grilled cheese I’ve ever had. Mikaela made it on this delicious gluten-friendly sourdough bread that she got from a local bakery and she added a touch of garlic powder to the sandwich. It was so good that I’m still thinking about it. I’m a picky eater so I always get a little worried when a friend offers to make me food to eat. What if I hate it and can’t eat it? So, I was worried when Mikaela said she would make grilled cheese when I came over on Wednesday. What if the bread was too chewy or I didn’t like the type of cheese she used? Thankfully, I gobbled down this sandwich and wish I had room in my stomach for more. I may need to track down this bakery to get a sourdough loaf myself!

The low of my week was having a really itchy head. I have scalp psoriasis and I have to use my topical steroid a few times a week to keep it in check. But something was up this week as my head was so itchy around my psoriasis patches. Usually, I deal with dry skin buildup in this area, but this was something different. It was really affecting my quality of life as I felt so uncomfortable and every time I used my topical steroid, my head would burn for at least 15 minutes afterward. This isn’t unusual, but the length and severity of it was. Just not fun at all! Mikaela also has scalp psoriasis (we are soul sisters in every way, ha), and was telling me about how her scalp has been so itchy this week. And we finally realized: Duh. The weather. We had a cold snap last week and it probably affected our symptoms. I don’t think it affects them as severely as it would if we lived in a colder climate, but it’s still a factor I need to be aware of.

One nagging task I marked off my to-do list was starting my closet re-organization process. I am so excited to do this project! I love organization so much that I would gladly come to anyone’s house specifically for this purpose. My closet is filled with boxes and bins and random items, and I’m starting small by pulling out one thing every day and removing it from my closet. Thankfully, I have a nice big space in the corner of my bedroom (where my cozy reading chair will eventually go!) so I’ve been corralling like items together in this space. Once everything has been removed, I am going to figure out how many of the SAME containers I need from Target so that they can be stacked up in my closet with labels. (Right now, the issue is that I have so many different types and sizes of containers and nothing is labeled, so it’s been hard to find things in my closet.) This way, I will know exactly where to find my cozy socks when it’s a cold day or my stash of extra pens when I’m running low.

A Reel I loved was this one that my friend Katie shared online: “What text messages mean to an anxious person.” YUP!

I’m currently reading Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date by Ashley Herring Blake in print. It’s so good. AHB can’t write a bad sapphic romance, in my opinion. I also just started Cover Story by Susan Rigetti on audio. I’m only two hours in but it’s really good so far!

A podcast episode I enjoyed was A Crash Course in the Real Housewives of The Traitors. I’m watching the current season of The Traitors (one of the best reality TV shows – it’s on Peacock!) and there are a lot of Real Housewives on this season. I don’t watch RH so I’m unfamiliar with them, and this podcast episode helped me learn more about these women… and, um, they are terrible people. It didn’t make me want to root for any of them, that’s for sure.

The best money I spent was $12 on cream for my psoriasis itchiness. I was desperate so I searched Target’s app for a psoriasis cream and found this one from Gold Bond. The topical steroid just wasn’t doing the trick, so I decided to try something different. I slathered this on my scalp (my dry patches are right behind my ears on both sides of my scalp) all Saturday and by Sunday, I was feeling so much better. There’s still a touch of itchiness, but it’s much more manageable than it was.

My plans this weekend include getting my nose pierced tonight (!), a day of NO PLANS on Saturday (woohoo!), and a big day of football on Sunday. My brother’s team (49ers) is in the NFC Championship and my nephew’s team (Chiefs) is in the AFC Championship, so it will be a tense atmosphere. We need one of these teams to lose because the last time the Chiefs and 49ers met in the Super Bowl (2020), it was not a fun experience.

What was the high of your week?