The high of my week was having dinner with my former boss! We had such a great time catching up and talking about her new role. She talked about the imposter syndrome she faced for a little while, which was startling for me to hear. She seems so confident! And she is, but I suppose we all struggle with these feelings of inadequacy from time to time. It’s a good reminder that none of us really had it altogether, even when it seems like we do.
The low of my week was another anxiety spiral about my mom. Sigh. Why do I do this to myself? It feels terrible and makes me imagine a worst-case scenario THAT IS NOT HAPPENING. And she has been fine 100% of the time! But when I can’t get ahold of her, my mind always goes to a dark, dark place.
I’m currently reading Summer Romance by Annabel Monaghan and I am loving it. All I want to do is sit down and read it! I also just started Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto on audio.
A Reel I enjoyed was this sweet dachshund “making coffee.” If you are not following this doggo, please do yourself a favor and give him a follow. His videos are delightful. He does very emotional “music videos” to Taylor Swift songs, which make me laugh hysterically. I am always so damn impressed with these animal content creators. How are they so creative?!
A podcast episode I enjoyed was Smutty Romance and the Christian Reader on Faith Adjacent. I have been waiting for this episode. When I was a Christian, reading non-Christian romance always felt like this huge, terrible sin—people having sex before marriage? Blasphemy! I don’t consider it a sin anymore, but it took a long time for me to come to terms with that (and purity culture as a whole). I really enjoyed this episode!
The best money I spent this week was $13 on a moisturizer specifically designed for CPAP users. I mentioned the skin irritation I’ve been dealing with in my post on Monday and I am willing to try everything under the sun to help my poor dry skin. I’ve been slathering Vaseline on the troublesome areas before I put on my mask at night, which does help a little but I still have this terrible cracked spot on my septum that’s driving me crazy. And I’m starting to see some irritation on my face around where the headgear straps sit. Fun times! I’m hoping this moisturizer provides some relief, but I probably fell for some silly marketing ploy. Oh, well!
My plans this weekend include not much! Tonight, I am going out to dinner with my mom and stepdad. Saturday, my only plan is my writing date with Mikaela. And Sunday, it’s a gym date with Mom and football time with the fam! Sunday is also my brother’s birthday so we’ll be celebrating that as well. Yay!
What was the highlight of your week?
It’s a good reminder that imposter syndrome comes for everyone! When I was taking a writing course I was shocked by all the published, lauded authors who all talked about how horrible their first drafts were and how they were all convinced they were terrible. I was like…well, if it happens to them…
Summer Romance is so good! I didn’t like her second one but I loved this!
I talked about this with Taylor Jenkins Reid when she came to a book signing for Daisy Jones & the Six! And if someone like TJR also struggles with imposter syndrome and feeling like she’s a terrible writer at times… there is hope for all of us!
Yes, it’s a good thing to remember when we’re having imposter syndrome- we’re not the only ones!
Ugh, the Dolphins game last night! I have to admit I didn’t watch the whole thing, because it was so depressing (and also it got too late for me.) I am enjoying seeing McDaniels rock those hoodies though!
Your weekend plans sound fun.
That game was so depressing and even worse with Tua’s injury. I don’t feel good about putting him back on the field. 🙁
I’m smiling about you having dinner with a former boss, something that sounds fun and not as nutty as my recent interaction with a former boss. I will be following Lucas the dog, he’s adorable. Thanks for the link. Highlight of my week? The lawn sprinkler system broke so it’s been turned off and our grass is turning a crispy shade of brown. Not good.
Yes, my recent interactions with my former boss were vastly different than yours! Ha.
Oh noooo – that’s not a highlight! Your poor lawn. I hope you can get the sprinkler system fixed.
Okay I watched the video and it was pretty hilarious and cute! I’ve only seen one other video like it years ago, so I never really thought that there are people out there that do this with their pets regularly.
This week was…meh. Some ups, but the downs were a bit bigger. Still lots to be thankful for, but I also feel like a bit of my “new school year” energy has been exhausted. That’s okay. Next week is a new one with no mistakes in it yet (a la Anne of Green Gables).
Highlight? Hmmm. I really enjoyed watching The Great British Baking Show to unwind. And eating my beloved yogurt, granola, raisins, and pumpkin seeds mix. Very comforting and delicious.
It’s tough when that new school year energy gets burned off and now you’re just stuck in a school routine that can be very BLAH. I hope the weekend is rejuvenating and next week is a lot better!
It’s just a fact that EVERYONE has imposter syndrome. Fingers crossed that the moisturizer does the trick.
I never watched reels until we got Doggo and now I can’t stop. She’s a German Shepherd/Husky/Pitt Bull Mix. For some reason I get German Shepherd reels and the hubs gets Husky reels. Now all we need are some Pitt Bull reels.
So far, the moisturizer has been a LIFE CHANGER. So I’m glad about that!
It’s so funny the way the algorithm works. Just start talking about pitt bulls with your husband and maybe the phone will pick up on it and send you some Reels. Ha!
I’ll be interested to hear if the moisturizer helps! My mom has a mask that goes over nose and mouth and she gets some skin irritation. I think she’s tried putting on face lotion in the morning after taking the mask off but it’s just regular face lotion.
I have worn the moisturizer two nights in a row and I can already tell a difference. It’s really helping with the dry skin on my septum, so I’d recommend your mom gives it a try!
I really hope that the moisturizer helps you! That would be money very well spent.
I was not raised religious at all, my mom’s advice was to make sure you were compatible in all ways before marrying, but I’m interested in the podcast you suggested, I will give it a listen.
The moisturizer has been a LIFE CHANGER. It completely cleared up my dry skin. I am forever changed.
The podcast episode is more about reading romance novels and being a Christian (where sex before marriage and even THINKING about sex is sinful). I struggled a lot when I was a Christian with reading romance novels that had sex in them, but I’ve come a long way since then!
How lovely that you got to hang out with your old boss and that it was a great experience.
Sorry ou spiraled when not reaching you mom. I fear I do this too but just recently realizing it. I talked to my husband about a few thoughts and yesterday he pointed out that my thoughts always go to the worst case scenario and someone dying. I always though everyone is doing that… sigh
Have a great weekend, sounds like fun and relaxing.
Oh, it makes me feel better that you also do the same! It’s always so interesting to hear from people who DON’T experience this type of anxiety. What a wonderful world to live in, lol.
Dinner with your former boss sounded great! It’s always nice to hear that the people we look up to struggle with the same things we do! I am glad you can stay in touch with her!
I hope the CPAP moisturizer works! It’s a big change to have something covering your face for so many hours so it makes sense that you will need some new products.
I loved Summer Romance, too!!
The highlight of my week was my 10 mile race yesterday. It rained for almost the whole race but I was really happy with how I did!
The moisturizer has completely cleared up my dry skin around my nose! I am a full believer in the product now.
Hooray for a strong 10 miler! And in the rain no less – what a badass you are!
OMG LILA STAHP YOU ARE TOO CUTE!
Yay for meeting up with your boss! I love that she shared that she felt that way with you. It’s always a shock when we hear things that challenge our perception of someone, but so reassuring to get that reminder none of us have it together, like you said.
I hope the moisturizer helps!!!
Hope you are having fun today with the fam!
My highlight was having a friend visit.
Can you even with that floofy belly?! GIMME.
It was really helpful to learn that she’s experiencing things like imposter syndrome because it can be so easy for us to put certain people on this pedestal and think they never suffer from normal human emotions. It’s a helpful realization!
Oh nice you got to catch up with your old boss and that she shared bout her imposter syndrome. It makes us all feel more human 😉
I hope that the moisturizer will give you some relief, fingers crossed.
The highlight of my week was that I received a STAR award (cash reward!) which a colleague nominated for. I was so flattered. We don’t really get bonuses and such, so that was a big deal to me!
Congrats on winning that award! That’s such an amazing feat. Especially when it comes with a nice cash reward.
The moisturizer has been a game changer – yessss!
So many good things here, Stephany, save for the anxiety spiral. I wish that somehow these could just…dissipate. I hope that you find an effective way of squashing them before they get so bad for you.
But that said? The rest of this made me smile. Family time, time with your old boss (also, a friend), and positive changes on the CPAP-induced skin misery front. All good things. <3