Three confessions
- I’m thinking about going back to brunette. Every time I see a picture of myself as a brunette, it makes me want to immediately book an appointment with my hairstylist. It was a good color for me! I started transitioning to blonde in September of 2019 and haven’t looked back, but those brunette locks are calling to me.
- It’s been a bit triggering to read posts I wrote in 2011/2012 because I was sooo focused on my weight and I spent so much time being so damn mean to myself. I thought I was fat and ugly and unwanted, and I was none of those things. It’s hard for me to read some of the words I wrote about myself back then. And it’s hard because I did gain a lot of weight in the years since, but I wish I knew then that it didn’t mean I was a failure
- I’m starting to worry that I’ve developed plantar fasciitis. When I wake up in the morning or after I’ve had a long nap, the heels of my feet hurt a lot and I have to hobble around for a bit before I feel okay. Dr. Google tells me it’s plantar fasciitis and to see a podiatrist but I DON’T WANNA.
Three podcasts I recently listened to
- “The 2024 Mess American Pageant” on Pod Save America
- “Romantic Cliches Snake Draft” on The Popcast with Knox and Jamie
- “Eyes Wide Shut” on Strange Bedfellows
Three things I’m looking forward to this year
- A Christmas trip to the mountains – We did it! We booked a Tennessee cabin for the week after Christmas. It’s a gorgeous cabin that gets great reviews on VRBO, and we are so excited. It will be my mom, my stepdad, me, and the dogs. I can’t wait!
- Getting a new bed – I am just so ready to get rid of my old mattress and bedframe and have something new! It is more than time for this change, but there are so many different things I need to do before that happens (selling my old bedframe, ordering my new bedframe, ordering my new sheets and quilt, figuring out the mattress and box spring I want , etc.) And then when everything is ready, I need to coordinate with my brother because he will be delivering my mattress/box spring and offered to put together my new bedframe when it arrives. Ahhh! Logistics is something that I struggle with, so I need to just write down everything I need to do and start marking off the tasks one by one.
- TAYLOR SWIFT – I feel so lucky and grateful that Bri was able to handle the Ticketmaster site and get us tickets to see Taylor Swift in April. I can’t believe I get to see her!
Three destinations I want to visit before I die
- Paris, France – I am hoping to make this trip a reality in 2024 if I can get my act together to save up for it. It’s a city I’ve always wanted to visit!
- Hawaii – This is one of those trips that just seems so out of reach for me. Tickets to Hawaii are expensive and so are hotels and food and excursions while on the island. Why is traveling so cost-prohibitive? Argh.
- Italy – I’d love to do a Mediterranean cruise around Italy. Wouldn’t that be amazing? One day!
Three recent Amazon purchases
- Seamless bra in black ($22) – I have a seamless bra from this same brand that I love. It’s so comfortable that I wear it almost daily. I finally bought a second bra in another color, and I’ll probably end up buying a few more because why not?!
- Spa headband, pack of three ($9) – I don’t wear a headband to keep back my hair when I’m doing my skincare routine, but it would be nice to have this as an option. These were pretty cheap and get great reviews!
- Caress body wash, pack of six ($29) – Recently, I realized I could save a whole lot of money if I stopped buying my body wash (which I use in my bubble baths that I take nearly daily) at Target or Publix. Each bottle can be $6 or $7! This pack of six brings down that price to $4.83/bottle.
Three toys the cats love
- Crumpled-up pieces of paper that they steal off my desk
- Elastic hair ties that I leave on my dresser
- Bottle caps that fall off my kitchen counter
Three books I’ll be reading soon
- Rage Becomes Her: The Power of Women’s Anger by Soraya Chemaly – I’ve had this book on my Goodreads TBR list for quite a while (four years!) and I think it will be a powerful read for me, as someone with repressed emotions, ha.
- The Gown by Jennifer Robson – A historical novel about embroiderers who work on Princess Elizabeth’s wedding dress in 1947? Yes, please!
- My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing – This is a thriller about a couple that has been married for 15 years and decides to spice up their marriage with murder! AS YOU DO.
Three of my most-used apps yesterday
- Happy Color
- Overcast
Three things that made me happy this week
- Having Monday off – I always take the Monday after the Super Bowl off, and it was so nice to be able to watch the game and not fret about work in the morning! I got to sleep in, get some appointments done, and take a long nap in the afternoon, which was so nice.
- Galentine’s with Bri – Bri and I have been doing a fun Galentine’s celebration for many, many years now. I think this was year 9? Crazy! Usually, we order pizza and snuggle on the couch while watching a rom-com. This year, we decided to be fancy and we got dinner at an adorable restaurant in town called The Library. It was fun!
- Girl Scout cookies – My mom’s next-door neighbor has a kid who is a Girl Scout, so we happily ordered a nice little array of cookies from them! I got two boxes of Thin Mints and two boxes of Samoas, and I am one happy camper.
Three things I’m doing this weekend
- Attending the February meeting for the Silent Book Club – I had so much fun at the January meeting, so I’m excited to make this group a regular thing!
- Having a writing date with Mikaela – As always! I think I’ll work on podcast outlines during this writing date, as Bri and I will start recording episodes for season 4 next week.
- A coffee date at The Blend – The Blend is one of my most favorite coffee spots near me, mostly because they do coffee flights that are so much fun! I haven’t had a coffee flight in a while, so I think I’ll get one this weekend. 🙂
THESE ugly slippers SAVED my feet when I developed this same problem from going barefoot in the panny: https://www.dsw.com/en/us/product/vionic-relax-slipper/522182
I wore them ALL THE TIME from the second I got out of bed to the second I went to bed— I even kept them right outside the shower.
Ooh, this reminds me that I do have a pair of well-structured house slippers. I just need to be better about wearing them around them house more often. I’m just not used to it!
I totally get seeing the past posts being triggering. I feel that way when I see past photos and the person I used to work for when I was a fitness trainer would send me pics all the time of when I was thinner and it made me so mad. But enough about me. You are NOT a failure. You are amazing no matter what weight you are!
Let me know if you want PF tips. I have had it several times. I was going to say the same as Sarah – you gotta wear something supportive in the house.
You are going to have such a great time in TN after Xmas. I am really excited you get to see Taylor! You are going to have a great time!
Your Monday and Galentine’s sound fab! And so does your weekend!
I think I’m going to look up some PF stretches to do and try to wear my house slippers around more often. I just love walking around barefoot! But it’s not as fun when I’m walking around in pain, so there’s that.
I am having some problems with my right thumb (it was broken in March 2020 and never properly treated because of the pandemic) and recently dropped a water bottle cap like three times in a row because I couldn’t get it to screw on properly. My girl Zelda took this as an invitation to play and started batting around that cap like crazy. It was so cute to see her playing like a kitty. I love that the best cat toys are just trash.
We put away most of Z’s toys when we got the dog because the dog was too interested in the toys, but I am starting to feel guilty, like we’re not enriching Zelda’s life enough. I’m determined to do better and set out some toys for her every night when the dog is in bed for the night!
Aww, Zelda. I love when they bat trash around the house! It’s so silly, but it makes me laugh.
I really need to go through the girls’ toys and pare down. They have SO MANY TOYS. It’s ridiculous.
You have such fun things on your calendar! Taylor Swift! And a cabin in the mountains after Christmas sounds…postcard perfect <3
I think that both blonde and brunette hair suits you very well, so you can’t go wrong either way. Also – it’s just hair! You can change it back if you decide you don’t want to be brunette anymore.
I’m sorry to say but it does kind of sound like plantar fasciitis. Eeep. I hope not, but it kind of sounds like it…
I am pretty sure it’s PF, as well. Everything I read points to that, womp womp. I am going to try to do some stretches and wear my house slippers around more often. Hope that helps!
I love that you are seeing Taylor! I hope to see her with Paul when he’s older. My boys are big Taylor fans! They take turns requesting songs. Hearing will try to say ‘bejeweled’ is very adorable! And then he says the ‘hi’ part in anti-hero. It’s adorable!!
It’s hard to go back and read old posts. I am glad you’ve come around and are kinder to yourself these days. I am terribly hard on myself but don’t always verbalize/write out what I have thought about myself in the past… it would be pretty brutal to read what a younger version of myself thought!
I can’t wait to see Taylor! That will be fun to see her with Paul in a few years. Just the thought of Will saying the “Hi” part of Anti-Hero makes me smile!
Love that hair color on you. It makes you somehow look very elegant. Is that a thing?
Also Mondays of after an eventful weekend is the best.
You are too kind, Tobia! Thank you!
I’ve been doing some gentle yoga in the mornings via YouTube, and sometimes the teacher says something like, “whisper to yourself, ‘I love you’, even if you don’t. What if you did love yourself? What would that feel like?” I am glad you are not as mean to yourself as you were then, and I can see where it would be triggering.
PARIS!!! My very favorite city. I’ve been to Hawaii 3 times (I live in California, so it is closer for me than for you), and it is lovely and relaxing, and yes, expensive.
I think if you love your hair dark, you should go dark…but it’s hard to cover up blonde sometimes…sometimes it bleeds through and your hair may turn a little brassy. Something to discuss with your hairdresser I’ll bet.
I’ve done the blonde-to-brown transition before and my hair takes very easily to it, surprisingly! I’ve been known to change up my hair frequently, lol. I’m very tempted to go back to brown. It was a fun color for me!
Oh my gosh! A Christmas mountain retreat AND Taylor Swift! Amazing things to look forward to!
So fun to be contemplating changing your hair color! I was blond for a few years in the early aughts and sometimes I think I need to resume the blond to better disguise my grey hair… but I LOVE being a brunette. You look great in both shades, so I don’t think there’s a bad choice to be made!
So sorry that you think you have plantar fasciitis. It is THE WORST. I hope you have a mild case and that you find a solution right away. Seems like pretty much everyone deals with it at some point, and it also seems like the treatments are HIGHLY individualized. Every single person I’ve met who has it has found relief though something different. So my best suggestion is, try EVERYTHING. I am happy to email you with a list of the things I’ve tried, if that would be useful to you from a getting-started perspective.
The early-morning hobbling from plantar fasciitis is the worst! I am going to try wearing my structured house slippers around the house and doing some stretches in the morning, and see if that helps with things!
Noooo, not plantar fasciitis! Honestly, I wouldn’t bother with a podiatrist. I agree with everything Suzanne said above. You can just start googling it, and do some stretching exercises to start with. It’s seriously the most annoying thing in the world, but usually only when you first get out of bed or first get up from sitting for a while. Once you’re up and moving, it usually doesn’t hurt. One thing I can tell you right away- get a comfortable pair of shoes to wear indoors, with support. Going barefoot makes it worse. I ave a pair of Crocs I slip on as soon as I get out of bed.
On a happier note, it sounds like you have a lot of fun things to look forward to! And I’m envious that you had Monday off- I always grumble that Super Bowl Monday should be a national holiday. It makes it really hard to enjoy the whole game when you know you have to get up early for work the next day.
Oh, that’s good that you don’t recommend seeing a podiatrist, as you are the expert on plantar fasciitis (not a title anyone wants to hold, lol). I think I’ll start with wearing my house slippers around more often – they are actually slippers FOR plantar fasciitis but I bought them last year because they seemed very supportive (and very much are!) And I’ll start doing some stretches in the morning. Hopefully that helps! The pain is very mild right now, but noticeable, and I want to try to nip this in the bud before things get worse.
OK I love that you’ve already booked Christmas plans to look forward to! That’s fun — and it’ll keep you looking forward to something all year long. I’m also glad to see that someone else uses Overcast; I feel like everyone uses Spotify these days, and I love it for music but hate it for podcasts!
I have never gotten into using Spotify to play podcasts! I just love the Overcast interface so much more.
I love you as a brunette. I’d say go for it!! 🙂
I also love that you’ve already booked a trip for Christmas – I can never make plans this far in advance. Haha.
I would never make plans that far in advance either, but you have to work quickly with these cabins at Christmastime. So many were already fully booked! I’m glad we got our cabin secured. 🙂