The high of my week was doing an art class with my mom! We were the only people in the studio at the time, so we got to have one-on-one attention, which is MUCH NEEDED for us. We are not artsy people in the least. My mom made a large porch sign and I made a lazy Susan, which I’m going to put on my dining room table. Since the designs were painted on using stencils, it was basically foolproof for the two of us. I’m really happy with the way my piece turned out, and I can’t wait to go back and paint something else.

The low of my week was still dealing with my scalp psoriasis issue. And honestly, it’s my own fault because I’m not using the treatment as much as I should. It’s a liquid treatment, which makes for a very messy process when I have to rub it on my scalp. The liquid drips down my neck and chest. (I tried applying the liquid with my head upside down but then the liquid GOT IN MY EYES. So that’s a no-go.) Plus, after I put it on, my scalp and neck tingle for a good hour, which is so unpleasant. It makes my hair oily and my skin tingle. Can you see why I conveniently forget to put it on regularly? Maybe it’s time to call my derm to see if she can prescribe something else that I may be more apt to use regularly. Hmm.

One nagging task I marked off my to-do list was booking things for our Charleston trip! I planned out our itinerary a month or so ago and booked a few dinner reservations, but hadn’t done anything since then. This week, I booked a few tours and a brunch reservation so things are coming along! We leave in a few weeks, yay!

I’m currently reading three books! On audio, I’m listening to Marrying the Ketchups by Jennifer Close. I’m nearly halfway done and very much enjoying it. In print, I’m reading Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malindo Lo. This was my pick for our June book club, so I hope everyone enjoys it! And on my Kindle, I’ve got a historical romance going: A Duke in Disguise by Cat Sebastian.

A podcast episode I enjoyed was Games We Love, Hate, and Made Up on The Girl Next Door Podcast. There are a lot of topics that Kelsey and Erica cover that I can’t relate to as a childless person. This one was right up my alley, as someone who loves a good game night and does a lot of game nights with kids (my nephews). My favorite part of the episode was when they talked about what can be, ahem, challenging about playing games with kids and Kelsey’s immediate response was how kids never seem to know when it’s their turn. OMG! Speaking right to my soul there. The amount of times I have to say, “It’s your turn” to one of my nephews (and honestly, sometimes to my brother or my mom) during a single game night is too many to count. It drives me crazy because I’m all about moving the game along at a regular pace, and kids are not about that life.

The best money I spent this week was on a new nightgown. I love wearing nightgowns these days. They are just so comfortable to wear around the house! I only had two, though, and one of them is getting a little worn out so it was most definitely time for an upgrade. I bought this one off Amazon and it is so very comfortable! (Runs big, so size down.)

My plans this weekend include a lot of fun things! Today and tomorrow will be my busy days, as I am going to my girlfriend’s house for game night with her friends. There will be nine people in total so it will be a big group, but hopefully a good time. I’m going to stay over Friday and we’ll have a lazy morning. In the afternoon, we’ll head to The Cheesecake Factory to have lunch with her parents and her younger brother, all of whom I’ll be meeting for the first time. Eeks! The rest of my weekend will be spent recharging my batteries. I do not have any plans on Saturday evening, Sunday, or Monday, and I plan on keeping it that way!

What was the best money you spent this week? 

The high of my week was having dinner with my cousin, her daughter, and my mom. My cousin graduated with her BSN last weekend, but we weren’t able to attend her graduation, so we happily took her out for a yummy dinner at one of our favorite places. We got to catch up, which was so nice. And we learned that my cousin has a fangirl thread on a local infertility support group on Facebook! She’s a nurse at a fertility clinic and it does not surprise me at all that her patients love her so much that they boast about her on a Facebook page. She is such a kind, patient, and caring soul—the epitome of an enneagram 2!

The low of my week was getting ghosted by the person who was supposed to pick up my bed frame on Wednesday night. Ugh! I really hate selling things on FB Marketplace, but it’s a huge bed frame and it would be nice to send it to a good home. The person seemed really keen on receiving the bed frame, but the time when he was supposed to pick it up, he disappeared from our Facebook messages. He had given me his cell phone number, so I tried texting him to ask about it, but he never responded. And then my anxiety brain decided that this meant he was actually a serial killer and preyed on people in FB Marketplace, and I had just given him my mom’s address and he was going to come over and murder my mom and stepdad in their sleep. !!! THIS IS WHERE MY BRAIN GOES, YOU GUYS. Anxiety is fun.

One nagging task I marked off my to-do list was calling my water company to find out why my water bill was so high this month. I’ve had to call them twice, but luckily, the second time, the man I spoke to seemed very adamant that something looked wrong on my bill. (It was $220 and my usage was nearly 13,000 gallons for a month! That’s more than 4-person household would use and it’s definitely more than a single person would use in a month, even someone like me who loves to take a bath almost every day, ha.) I’m hoping it can get corrected!

I’m currently reading four books! I am slowly reading The 1619 Project (it’s very dense, so I read one chapter every other day or so). My e-book right now is The Body by Bill Bryson, which I am loving. It’s so interesting! My print book is Happy Place by Emily Henry, which I’m not far enough into to give an opinion. And my audiobook is Sure, I’ll Be Your Black Friend by Ben Phillipe, which I just started yesterday.

A podcast episode I enjoyed was The Inflammation Theory of Disease on Stuff You Should Know. This paired very nicely with reading The Body and was quite interesting!

An Internet find I loved was k.s. Rhoads who takes popular children songs and sings them like one of his favorite “dad bands.” The videos he posts are so well-produced that they look like actual music videos, and the songs are SO GOOD. Like, I want him to put out an album with these songs. There’s Mumford & Sons singing You Are My Sunshine; Weezer singing Heads, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes; Dave Matthews singing Sesame Street; and Hamilton singing The Itsy-Bitsy Spider. THEY ARE SO GOOD!

The best money I spent this week was $23 on some new books! I had a $25 Barnes & Noble gift card that was burning a hole in my pocket, so it was exciting to do some online book shopping this week. The books I got: Something Wild and Wonderful, Women Are the Fiercest Creatures, and Last Night at the Telegraph Club.

My plans this weekend include lots of fun things and one not-so-fun thing. Today, I have my mole removal procedure, which won’t be fun but will be necessary. Tomorrow, I’m doing breakfast with my girlfriend and then she’s coming over to my apartment to finally meet the cats! (Well, it’s unlikely she’ll meet Lila since Lila likes to hide when company is over, but I’ll try my best to coax her out.) Later on Saturday, I have game night! And then Sunday will be a busy one, as I have Silent Book Club in the morning and then I’m heading to Bri’s to record a few episodes of the podcast. (Season 5!)

What was the high of your week?

The high of my week was having a mother/daughter date to see an early screening of Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret. This movie was so, so good. Both my mom and I read the book when we were younger, so we have a tender attachment to it. I can’t say how true the movie adaptation stayed to the book, as I haven’t read the book since I was a kid, but I’m not someone who is typically precious about that sort of thing. I thought it was a sweet movie that made me laugh and cry and remember what a weird time puberty is, especially for girls.

The low of my week was feeling so worn out. The past two weeks have been so busy for me. Let’s review:

• Tuesday (April 11th): Date night in Tampa
• Wednesday (April 12th): Movie night with friends
• Thursday (April 13th): Taylor Swift concert where I was peopling from 1pm-2am
• Friday (April 14th): Running errands, doctor’s appointment
• Saturday (April 15th): Pet walk, writing date
• Sunday (April 16th): Breakfast date, Silent Book Club
• Monday (April 17th): NOTHING
• Tuesday (April 18th): Dinner with Bri
• Wednesday (April 19th): Movie night with mom

For an introvert who deeply values her alone time, this kind of schedule does not work for me. Not to mention, my work week has been super busy. I’ve had way many more meetings than usual and I came back to work (I gave myself a four-day weekend for the concert) with six new direct reports to manage, so I’m also exhausted from all of that. It’s been a very taxing few weeks, even though I’m doing lots of fun things! But my battery has been stuck at 10% every day this week and I need some alone time to recharge it.

One nagging task I marked off my to-do list was ordering my new bedframe! She’s a beauty and I can’t wait to get it all put together with my new mattress. I just have to wait for my brother to deliver my new mattress (and he’s promised to help me put together the bedframe so yay!)

I’m currently reading In a New York Minute by Kate Spencer, which has been such a sweet, happy read that I’ve needed this week. And I just started Killers of the Flower Moon on audio, but barely have had time to listen to it lately, womp!

A podcast episode I enjoyed was this lovely, 2+ hour discussion of the Love Is Blind finale + reunion. I had been obsessively refreshing their feed to get this episode because I wanted to hear all of their thoughts about that crazy reunion show. It was well worth the wait!

An Internet find I loved was this Reel a friend sent me about a book cafe in South Korea. You pay a small fee (which includes a drink!) to get access to a quiet, peaceful space filled with little nooks where you can sit in a cozy nest and read. You can even order food from the nook! This is genius, you guys. I need this to become a thing here. (A lot of comments on this Reel compared this to a library and… I’m not sure what libraries are like where you are, but here in Florida, ours do not have cozy nooks where I can lie down and read nor can I bring in any outside food. GTFO with that nonsense.)

The best money I spent this week was on more summer clothes from Old Navy. Ahh, they got me again! I fell for the scam that is Old Navy Super Cash, and when I realized I needed to “spend” my Super Cash by the end of the week, I decided to place another Old Navy order. I wanted to get another pair of shorts because I love the pair I bought last month so much. They are so comfortable and flattering! So I got another pair of shorts, a striped dress, and some t-shirts/tank tops. Oops. Someone take away my access from OldNavy.com, please.

My plans this weekend include almost nothing! The only things on my agenda are a writing date with Mikaela on Saturday morning and game night with the fam on Saturday evening. Originally, I planned to have dinner tonight with the woman I’m dating but we have both had really crazy weeks so we decided to cancel and give ourselves the gift of a Friday night in. It’s nice to date someone who takes mental health as seriously as I do! I’m hoping this low-key weekend will be exactly what I need, especially because next week I’m on dog duty!

What was the highlight of your week?

The high of my week was taking Lucy on a birthday shopping spree! I did this with Chip two weeks ago, so I had to do it with Lucy for her birthday. Lucy has a big personality when she’s at home, but when she’s in public, she turns shy and timid. She’s like a whole other dog! She did that at PetSmart, wanting me to hold her like a baby the whole time. We left with a few gifts and I think she was very happy to get out of there as quickly as possible!

The low of my week was another school shooting. It keeps happening and our politicians keep doing nothing to protect children. Well, they try to protect them from “scary” things like learning about slavery and racism and queerness… but not from the things that are actually killing our kids: automatic weapons. I don’t know how teachers and children and parents do it. I honestly don’t.

One nagging task I marked off my to-do list was finally ordering all of my new sheets and quilt for my new bed. Next up: I need to have my brother order my new mattress and box spring and I need to order the new bedframe. I’m hoping I can have my new bed all set up by this time next month!

I’m currently reading The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb (print) and A Caribbean Heiress in Paris by Adriana Herrera (e-book). I’m enjoying both books, but The Violin Conspiracy is heavier than I expected. I’ll be glad when I finish it so I can move onto something lighter.

A podcast episode I enjoyed was our first episode of season 4! We started our fourth season of the podcast, where we’re going to talk all about our work lives. This episode was about work meetings and we’ll also be discussing working from home, work functions, giving/receiving feedback, and more. I’m excited for everyone to hear these episodes!

An Internet find I loved was this Tiktok because my mom constantly razzes me about how I find everything the cats do as adorable. Sleeping? Adorable. Looking out the window? Adorable. Pawing at me for pets? Adorable. Meowing at me for treats? Adorable. Sitting on the couch? So adorable!

The best money I spent this week was on some new summer clothes from Old Navy! I ordered summer clothes from Old Navy last weekend when they were having a 30% off sale and received them on Tuesday. Unfortunately, all but a few of the shirts didn’t work for me. (Most of it was too big because Old Navy runs big.) And then, that night, as I went online to find out the style of jeans I ordered, I discovered they were having a 40% off sale so I decided to place another order. I ordered another pair of jean shorts in a size down + shorter inseam, a very cute pair of leopard-print shorts in a size down, a t-shirt dress, and a shirt. The dress and shirt didn’t work for me, but the shorts were perfect. So, in the end, I kept two pairs of shorts, two tank tops, and a t-shirt, all for under $65!

My plans this weekend include a date night tonight, a writing date with Mikaela on Saturday afternoon, game night with the fam on Saturday evening, and a very cute day date planned on Sunday where we will be making custom candles and having tacos for lunch!

What was the highlight of your week?

The high of my week was watching my older nephew at his baseball game. He has gotten very passionate about baseball in the last year. He put himself on a strict diet and workout routine, only looked at high schools that had good baseball programs, and asked for all sorts of baseball equipment for Christmas. It was fun to see him at his game! He even got to pitch for an inning, which was thrilling. They lost 15-0 (eeks) so he was in sad straits afterward, but I hope I can see more of his games this season.

The low of my week was the saga of the valet trash. And what a saga it has been! Like most apartment complexes these days, we have valet trash. So, all I have to do is set my garbage bag inside the specific container and set the container outside my door. It gets picked up every night, Sunday-Thursday. Well, for the past two weeks, it has not been picked up. Last week, my garbage sat outside for four days before it was finally picked up. When it happened again this week, I called the office and was told that the company they use for valet trash is having staffing issues which requires them to utilize staffing agencies like roumain travail en france and wouldn’t be able to come for… who knows how long. (They couldn’t give me a timeline.) So then, I left a support request with the valet trash company and they said that they weren’t aware of any staffing issues! So now I’m just very confused and unsure about what’s happening. In any event, now I have to take my garbage to the trash compactor at the back of the complex, which entails putting it in my car to take it and driving to the compactor. Ick. (Also, yes, this is very much a first-world problem, but it’s very nice when those are the most difficult part of a week!)

One nagging task I marked off my to-do list was taking pictures of my bedframe and posting them on Facebook Marketplace! My bedframe is up and hopefully it gets sold quickly.

I’m currently reading The Lies I Tell by Julie Clark (thriller) and Lucky Star by Susannah Nix (romance). I’m very much enjoying both!

A podcast episode I enjoyed was COVID-19 Time Capsule from The Girl Next Door Podcast. This was really interesting to listen to, now that we’re almost three years past the original COVID-19 lockdown. They talked about what they were up to in March 2020, the good and bad of the early pandemic days, getting vaccinated, and more. There was something very cathartic about listening to their episode, and reminded me how far we’ve come since 2020.

An Internet find I loved was this Tik Tok of a cat fitting into all kinds of boxes. What a perfect little kitty!

The best money I spent this week was $35 on a mirror to hang above my new key hook shelf. My entryway wall transformation is complete! (Once I hang up the mirror, that is.)

My plans this weekend include nothing much tonight (other than watching episodes of The Traitors Australia because yes, I cannot get enough of this TV show and now I’m watching other versions of it, ha), recording podcast episodes with Bri and having a writing date with Mikaela on Saturday, and attending the knife skills class at Sur La Table with Amber on Sunday. A fun, full weekend where I get to see so many friends. What a delight!

What are your weekend plans?