The high of my week was a great annual review with my boss. I wasn’t necessarily worried about this review because I know the value I bring to my department, but I was curious how she saw my contributions considering she joined our team in the last half of the year. Thankfully, everything lined up! I appreciated her thoughtful feedback and how she articulated the career growth she sees in me, specifically within our department. It made me feel really good! And I found out my bonus percentage for the year, which was such a relief because I was counting on that bonus to pay off my LASIK bill. Woop!
The low of my week was anxiety. It’s been over a week of living in a high-anxiety state and I am very much ready to call my psychiatrist to talk through medication options if this doesn’t improve. I spent last weekend spiraling about a specific situation (surprisingly, not about my mom this time!), and I am so grateful to my friend Mikaela who sat with me on the phone for over an hour on Friday morning when I texted her that I was panicking. We didn’t talk about the anxiety, she just chatted with me as she went about her morning after dropping her daughters off at school and getting ready for the workday at home. This is what I need when I’m spiraling: distraction. I was hoping the anxiety would ease after the weekend, but it hasn’t. Ugh.
I’m currently reading two books. On audio, I’m almost done with Remember: The Science of Memory and the Art of Forgetting by Lisa Genova. In print, I’m about 100 pages into Crow Mary by Kathleen Grissom. I’m really enjoying it!
A Reel I enjoyed was this very good usage of the Internet to show us the different types of “cat engines.” Sometimes, the Internet can be just what we need right now.
A podcast episode I enjoyed was my own! The Friendship Paradox is back, baby! We took a very long, six-month hiatus due to hurricane madness and very busy schedules and in that time, we both realized how much this podcast means to us. Our first episode of season 9 was all about what happened to cause our hiatus and how we handle hard times.
The best money I spent was $30 on lunch with my mom yesterday. I was thinking about how much I did not want to eat a sad bowl of tuna fish for lunch when my mom texted me to see if I was available for lunch. Yes, please! We met at our favorite local deli and I had a delicious sandwich that was so much better than my original lunch plans. And I got some mom time! (I paid for my mom’s lunch since she got us dinner the night before—I promise this deli isn’t charging $30 for a sandwich, ha!)
My plans this weekend include some pampering and a girls’ weekend away! It’s going to be a very good weekend, my friends. I gave myself a four-day weekend so I could really enjoy myself. This morning, I am going to the hair salon where I am going to get new color and a haircut (yes, I was doing my hair at home and now I feel like going to a salon, whatever). I’m also going to get my underarms and brows waxed. (I’m hoping waxing my underarms regularly may help with my cyst issue since blocked hair follicles can cause these types of cysts.) And then in the afternoon, Bri and I will be off to Orlando! We’re staying with her friend where we plan on going to a Taylor Swift-themed romance bookstore, loving on her friend’s animals, enjoying afternoon tea, and corralling said friend for a podcast episode! (She’s an enneagram 4 so we’re going to dive into her personality.) It will be a lovely weekend (though I will very much enjoy a relaxed, low-key Monday to recover from it all!).
What are your weekend plans?
YES YES BONUS BYE BYE LASIK BILL!!!! I’m glad the new boss sees your worth.
Crow Mary!!! Enjoy the ride.
I enjoyed your podcast episode as well!
Enjoy your 4 day weekend. I’m on one of my trips, and kicking off a three day weekend. I’m just waiting for it to get light, and then I’ll do a short run-walk to see more of the new city. I’m doing city stuff today and I’ll be doing nature stuff tomorrow.
It will be so good to have that LASIK monkey off my back!
Thanks for listening to our episode. I’m glad you enjoyed it!
WELL I ALREADY KNEW ABOUT YOUR PODCAST BECAUSE I AM A SUBSCRIBER! And it was great to see it pop up in my Spotify! And again, thanks for the shout out! So exciting.
Lol, I was going to say $30 for a sandwich? Hoo boy! But that makes sense.
Sorry you had anxiety this week. I hope your girls weekend is a blast! Enjoy!
Thank you for being a subscriber!! I appreciate your cheerleading so much!!
I felt the need to explain that I did NOT spend $30 on a single sandwich, haha. We also got drinks + chips so all in all, a pretty inexpensive lunch date for two!
This all sounds great except for the anxiety. Ugh! I hope you’re feeling better now. Your weekend sounds like a really fun diversion- maybe it’s just what you need.
Everyone is liking Crow Mary! I guess I need to check it out. And, I’ll check out your podcast! I need something new and fun to listen to.
I am really enjoying Crow Mary! It’s been an unexpected delight, even though the subject matter can be a bit difficult at times.
The weekend was EXACTLY the diversion I needed!
I’m so glad your review went well. It’s nerve wracking to have a new boss so I am glad you got a stellar review. And hooray for a bonus to pay off your lasik bill!
Have the best time on your girls weekend! I am glad you have Monday to recover before diving back to work. It’s so nice to have a day to get back to normal before jumping back to work. We always come back a day before we have to go to work when we travel with the kids. That is not happening for our Mexico trip as I fly to DC the day after we get back but it was the way it worked out… Not sure how Phil is going to get groceries and such but he’ll figure it out and might need to just accept that he needs to get grocery delivery.
I’m sorry to hear about your anxiety. I would definitely reach out to your psychiatrist. It’s tough to change meds as there is always an adjustment process but you shouldn’t have to live with such debilitating anxiety!!
Oh man, a work trip coming on the heels of your Mexico vacation is no fun but at least you’ll be fully relaxed going into this next stretch of work/trips! Hopefully you can convince Phil to do grocery delivery. That’s such a lifesaver for times like this!
I’ve seen Crow Mary has been mentioned more than a few times so I’m getting the feeling I’m meant to read it. Enjoy your weekend. It sounds like it’ll be long and delightful.
I hope you enjoy it if you end up reading it. It’s totally enthralling to me!
TGIF indeed!! We paid off T’s chase credit card (they were charging about 113 per month of interest) and with his bonus we paid it all off. I was like 113 a month time 12, that’s a return ticket to Spain for one person. T is more comfortable with having debt that me but I think I may be running off on him, a little. Great news about the LASIk bill!
Weekend… Honestly, just kids and house. Maybe a few movies at the house. Mayyybe hiking. My last yoga class #sob the studio is closing, out of business.
Yesss – I had 2 years no interest with the LASIK credit, which means I needed to get it paid off by September 2025. I’m glad it will be off my plate!
I’m so sorry that your yoga studio is closing! That’s such a bummer. 🙁
I have a work thing tomorrow morning for about 1.5 hours and then we are going to a friend’s house with Hannah after dinner. So at some point I need to bathe the dog because she’s stinky and I don’t want to bring a stinky dog to my friend’s house. BUT!!! It’s supposed to get into the 70s today, so maybe I can just do it in the driveway. (Don’t worry. Highs are supposed to be in the 30s next week, so we’re not out of the drudgery of winter just yet.) Also, I’m super close to finishing a big book, so I want to spend time reading this weekend!!!
That sounds like such a lovely weekend (minus the dog bath, lol). I’m glad you are getting some nice days sprinkled in with the winter drudgery days. <3
Yay for the podcast being back!! This weekend, we are going to see Alton Brown’s stage show and then chilling at home. My only goals are to pick up my library holds and clean a little.
I love the support for our podcast – thank you!
I love a nice chill weekend like that. I hope it was restful!
What I wanted to do today – Sit around, read my book, get caught up on reading blogs, maybe write a couple of blog posts. What I did today – Exercise, wrote post cards to voters, went to a protest against cuts to VA benefits. Blah. BUT, doing this stuff helps with my anxiety, helps give me hope. So I do it. However, I went out to a nice dinner with my husband, and enjoyed a glass of wine, so that made it all better. This weekend I am going to another protest, and otherwise I am hoping to have some LAZY time. I want to be lazy a bit, and I don’t think we have any plans.
I’m sorry that you are going through anxiety right now. It’s a tough time. I’m glad that your friend was able to be there for you and give you the distraction that you needed. And a nice lunch with your mom! YAY!
I am so impressed by all of your activism, J! You really put your time/energy/money where your mouth is. I am inspired by you and hoping to go to my first protest next weekend. <3
Sounds like you have a fantastic weekend in store!
And hooray for a great meeting with your boss! It’s good to know that you’re doing well and valuable to the company, but it’s also wonderful to HEAR THAT from your superiors, and be rewarded with some $$$!
I am so sorry you are dealing with severe anxiety. I am right with you. The combination of a new medication plus EVERYTHING has me so on edge. I hope things improve for both of us.
It’s always a relief to have a good review, even when I know I’m doing a good job. But I want to HEAR that I am a great worker from my boss lol.
I’m sorry you’re also dealing with these anxiety issues. It sucks so much. I hope the new medication starts to show improvements for you!
Yeah for the bonus. How great to get some money to pay off the bill and also and maybe more importantly the appreciation.
Ugh, the anxiety sucks, doesn’t it? I am not on medication but when the world is melting I start to perseverate about things in my own life. Not. Good. This upcoming week is busy busy busy so I hope that gets me out of my own head. 🙁
Also, no one else mentioned it, so I am going there – how was waxing your underarms? I have been thinking about getting laser treatment there (long story but it is VERY hard for me to shave my underarms) and waxing, of course, is an alternative to that. (You can email or text me if you don’t want to share details here, lol.)