Three confessions
1) I’m currently in the process of reorganizing my organizational system. This means I opened up every bin and box and cube and container in my home, took everything out, and made piles all around my apartment with my various categories. There was an “office” category with Post-It notes, tiny staplers, extra pens, etc. There was a “tech” category with extra smart plugs, multiple tech cleaning kits, random tools, etc. There was a “coloring” category with extra coloring books and way too many markers than I feel comfortable talking about. There was a bundle of different types of tape, a group of assorted batteries, and a handful of Command strips/hooks. There is even a basket that I’m calling “extra organizing supplies” because that’s how Type A I am. My problem is that I’m… too organized? Like I forget which box I’ve put XYZ item if it doesn’t have a very specific place. I have tons of tape because I kept forgetting which bin had the tape! So, what I’m doing is reorganizing everything and then, I’m going to make a spreadsheet of where everything lives, so I can find it easily. (I am such a goddamn nerd it hurts.)
2) I’ve started a new routine of going grocery shopping twice a week. I used to do it once a week, usually on Sundays, and would make a meal plan for the whole week, but I always found it hard to visualize what sorts of foods I would be in the mood for on the weekend. Now, I go on Sundays and only have to think about breakfast/lunch through Wednesday and dinner on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. (Wednesday is a standing trivia night at a local sports bar!) Then, I go again on Thursday mornings (which I try to combine with other errands) and only have to think about Thursday – Sunday afternoon. There is just something about only thinking about a few days of meals at a time that calms me.
3) We have valet trash at my apartment, which means that we just have to put a designated trash can outside our door on the specified days (Sunday-Thursday), and someone will pick it up between 7pm – 10 pm. It’s a great system, but what’s not so great is Rocky. Rocky is a raccoon who really loves our valet trash program because he gets a delicious meal five nights a week! He’s gotten into my trash more than once, and I even caught him in the act one night, and we locked eyes before he ran away. Anyway, I invested in some rodent-repellent trash bags, and we’ll see if they work. So far, so good.
Three books I’m never going to read
1) A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara – At over 800 pages and commonly referred to as “trauma porn,” I can safely move through the rest of my life without picking up this book.
2) When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi – Another book I’m never going to read simply because it will make me too emotional. I could barely handle Two Kisses for Maddie!
3) War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy – Why would I read a book that’s 1,200+ pages long? No. NO. No, no, no.
Three cute habits my cats have developed
1) Cat medication – No, my cats don’t take medication, but they seem to think they do. Every morning when I open up my pillbox and dump the pills on the counter, it never fails: Lila comes into the kitchen, meowing at me. Then she runs over to the table where they typically get their treats. Eloise soon joins her and they stare at me expectantly like, “It’s time for our medication, too!” Their medication being, of course, a handful of Temptations. I need to break them of this habit, but it’s so goddamn cute.
2) Mom reading = cat petting time – Whenever I’m in my reading chair in the office reading or I plop down on the couch with a book, Lila will immediately stop everything she is doing to prance over to me. She’ll meow sweetly at me and poke me gently with her paw to say, “I’m ready for pets!” Except she doesn’t want me to actually pet her. She wants me to put my hand down so she can bump her forehead against my hand and rub her face all over it. I’m not allowed to give her any attention. I’m just a vessel for her petting needs.
3) Sunshine pancake – It’s so nice to be in an apartment with so much natural light, but nobody enjoys that more than my cats. When I open the blinds every morning, a few minutes later, I can usually find them splayed out in a spot of sunshine, snoozing away. And with Eloise, she magically turns into a pancake during her sunshine snoozes! She stretches out so much that she looks two-dimensional. I call this her pancake pose. Sunshine just makes her body stretch and stretch and stretch until she turns into a pancake!
Three apps I recently downloaded
1) Decibel Meter – I downloaded this so I could record Chip and Lucy during some of their louder barking moments. They both hit over 100 decibels at one point (separately!), which is equivalent to chainsaws, loud concerts, and motorcycles.
2) Yarn Fever – Another silly iPhone game that sucked me in. There’s no skill to this game. You’re just unwinding a puzzle filled with yarn, and it is extremely soothing.
3) Shazam – I needed to find out the artist playing in Starbucks this weekend, so I had to redownload Shazam to do so. (For the record, it was Kina Grannis singing a gorgeous rendition of Can’t Help Falling in Love.)
Three things I’m doing this weekend
1) Book club – We’re getting our May book club in just under the wire! We chose an escape room for this month, and I am very grateful for go-getter friends who will do the majority of the work while I pretend like I know what I’m doing. We’ll do dinner beforehand where we’ll talk about the book (How to Read a Book by Monica Wood, which was my suggestion!).
2) Podcasting day – Bri and I are really getting ahead of our podcasting game this year! We’ll record two episodes on Saturday afternoon, and that’ll have us set with epsiodes through July!
3) Tampa Bay Weens meet-up – My mom and I haven’t been back to this dachshund meetup since our first time way back in September, and we’re excited to go back and hang out with some little sausages for an hour on Sunday morning. Lucy gets really shy around other dogs (even though she’s a spitfire at home!), so my mom wants to give her more opportunities for socialization and hope she comes out of her shell a bit. (Chip, on the other hand, will make friends with any dogs he sees!)
Three things I Googled this week
1) “wyeth watts narrator” – I had to look up the narrator for a romance book I just listened to because he just did not have a very sexy voice. The images that pulled up were not what I was expecting!
2) “do dogs have a swimming reflex” – Something that delights my mom and me to no end is that when we hold Chip or Lucy above water when we’re in the pool with them, they immediately start kicking their legs as if they’re doing the doggy paddle in the air. Apparently, it’s a very common dog reflex!
3) “how could someone young and athletic die from pneumonia and sepsis” – y’all, I’m really freaked out by the death of Kyle Busch. Not because I’m a NASCAR fan or even followed his career, but he was only 41!!! Our bodies are so damn fragile.
Three recent purchases
1) BuggyBands – It’s that time of the year. The no-see-ums are out in full force already, and I’m sure the mosquitoes aren’t far behind. I hate bug spray and have had good luck with these BuggyBands!
2) Battery storage case – My mom has one of these, and it’s so cute! I need one as well.
3) A small organizer tray – I bought this for my end table so I could better organize things like my remote, coasters, and other odds and ends. It fits perfectly!
Three upcoming podcast episodes
1) All About ASMR – I am really looking forward to doing research for this episode and introducing Bri to the wide world of ASMR. She’s familiar with the concept, but not to the level that I am. I’m even planning a “Bri tries ASMR” to see if any ASMR triggers give her the same tingles they give me!
2) An interview with Sean – We’re working our way through our Enneagram interview series, and our next guest will be Sean, Bri’s husband. He’s an Enneagram 7, so we’re going to interview him and make him talk about FEEEEELINGS.
3) Our 100th episode SPECTACULAR – We’ve almost hit our 100th episode, ahhh! Right now, I’m not sure what we have planned, but I thought it could be fun to do some Q&As. Here’s the form if you want to ask any questions about our podcast, our friendship, our book club… anything. And if you have specific questions for Bri or me, we’d love to hear those, too!
Three questions we got wrong at trivia this week
1) Within two years, when did the Phoenix Cardinals change their name to the Arizona Cardinals? (We guessed 1988, although I wanted to guess 1994 in honor of when my brother started watching football. The year? 1994.)
2) In the book Gulliver’s Travels, what are little people called? (My mom and I have never read this book, so we were lost.)
3) In order, name the colors of the flag of Ireland. (Ughhh, we should have gotten this one right! We said green, white, and yellow, and it should have been green, white, and orange. We were debating between yellow and orange.)
Three things I’m looking forward to
1) Book club weekend – We booked a sweet Airbnb in Orlando for two nights, and we will each have our own room. Yesss! (I always hate sleeping with other people because I’m self-conscious about my snoring.) The Airbnb has a pool and lots of great lounging spots. It’s going to be a great weekend!
2) Planning our New England road trip – Trip planning is one of my most favorite things. I’m so excited to plan this road trip with my mom!
3) Celebrating my mom’s birthday – I’ve already given my mom a few options for her birthday in early July, so it’s up to her what we choose to do! It’ll be a fun time, no matter what. <3
What’s a book you’re never going to read? What’s something you’re looking forward to?
This is a fun post! About the grocery shopping- I hear you on this. I struggle in general with weekends, because in our case, we often eat out quite a bit on the weekends. But not necessarily ALL the time… the thing is, our weekend plans tend to be fluid/ flexible. I usually don’t know on the previous weekend, when I’m planning meals and buying groceries, what we’ll exactly be doing NEXT weekend yet… So I typically don’t really buy planned food for the weekend with the thought that we’ll “play it by ear”, but then it kind of perpetuates the issue of us going out to eat too much, because now there isn’t a PLAN for the weekend… so we go out instead…. ha. I like your idea! Maybe I should consider this. Except I kinda hate grocery shopping and once a week usually feels like my max. If I had like Fridays off or something though I could totally see implementing this!!
I really hate grocery shopping, too! I have to give myself some sort of reward, like picking up breakfast! I haven’t figured out a good reward for Sundays, though. I really hate that Sunday grocery shop!
I always feel like weekend food has to be FUN and that means NO COOKING. I need to break myself from that mentality!
Ooh- I want those Buggy Bands. I am a mosquito magnet! Also- there was a time where I tried to do grocery shopping once a week and I hated it. It was way too hard to figure out what I would want for dinner six days in the future. I’d rather go to the store more!
100th podcast!!! That’s a milestone. I’ll try to think of some questions, but I’m always really bad at that. Then when I see what questions other people asked I’m astonished at how good they are.
I want to see a photo of Eloise being a pancake!!!
You should get some Buggy Bands! I really like them and think they work well.
It is SO MUCH EASIER to only think about my next few days of meals, rather than seven whole days. I’m liking this new schedule a lot!
I need to get a picture of pancake Eloise – she usually moves before I have time to snap a pic!
So many things to talk about here!
I am not operating at your level, but I know the feeling of putting everything in one place and then not being able to find that place.
Yes to meal planning for a few days and not the entire week! Sunday you has no business telling Thursday you what to eat.
I’m with you on not reading the first two books. I feel like I might want to copy Laura Vanderkam and read one chapter a day of War and Peace for a year.
We always suspected that Doggo can swim but yesterday I found out that she definitely can! We were on our lunchtime walk near a river and she was wading on the boat ramp and accidentally stepped off it. She didn’t hesitate or let it phase her for a moment. She just started swimming. She could have gone right back to the dock, but instead she swam to the shore, which was a little bit longer. I have got to find a proper dog swimming place to take her to this summer!
“Sunday you has no business telling Thursday you what to eat.” AMEN, SISTER.
One chapter a day! I want to say I could do that, but then I get really worried about getting behind. Or maybe I just need to be okay that it might take me longer than a year because I may need to skip a day here and there. Hmm. You have intrigued me, Birchie!
I wish you lived near me! We have some great dog beaches, and Doggo would have a blast!
I read A Little Life and I get angry when I see it at the bookstore. Torture porn is right. Justice for Jude! I support you 100% in NOT reading it. (It does have some truly beautiful passages, though.)
How will you organize your spreadsheet? Alphabatized? I think that’s a great idea. Do you enjoy organizing other people’s things, or just yours? My sister HAS to have a very clean, organized house, but she doesn’t want to clean or organize anyone else’s house.
I grocery shop a LOT. It was every day, but now I take care of the cats on Wednesdays, so on Tuesdays I have to plan TWO whole dinners. Crazy. Years ago, I used to shop once a week, and I got so damn tired of it, of trying to think of a week’s worth of meals, etc. So I started going more often, which turned into almost every day. Even on weekends when my husband goes, I usually go with him. I guess I don’t mind grocery shopping, is what I’m saying. I tell myself I’m doing it the European way, and everything is fresher, though going to the grocery store is nothing like stopping at the individual shops to buy items in France. And I suspect the lettuce I buy on Thursday is the same lettuce that was sitting there on Sunday.
I will organize it by room and unit – aka, shelving unit in my dining room, shelving unit in my living room. I would organize anyone’s house IN A HEARTBEAT. Being a home organizer would be a DREAM for me, honestly. I love the process so much!
I could have helped you out with Gulliver’s Travels! I had to read it in high school and it was an illustrated edition and I still have the image of Gulliver tied down looking like a giant while the Lilliputians wandered around him. I Googled the spelling of Lilliputians and note that the image is apparently THE IMAGE.
We have a grocery store in our town (actually we have two chains and a couple of Mexican stores), but it’s so expensive to shop in town, so we go to a superstore that’s about a 20-25 minute drive away and I hate driving and being in the car, so we only go once a week. And then we have to be super loyal to our meal plan. I don’t know. Having the “what are we going to eat?” discussion once a week is probably better for our marriage than having to have it multiple times a week!
We need you on our team, Engie!
I think if I had to shop at a superstore AND it was a 20-minute drive, I would only go once a week, too!
I hope you do a post on your reorganization project and the spreadsheet! I need ideas.
Might need to try the buggy bands.
Have a great weekend!
I am planning on writing a post about my organizational system, so stay tuned!
OMG Rocky 🤭🤭🤭 I shouldn’t laugh but he is thinking he really hacked the system!
The medication routine with the girls. STAHP! Too adorable 🥹 And sunshine pancake is too cute! I love seeing our cats all spread out in the sun too.
I didn’t know about Kyle Busch, but I do know how dangerous sepsis is. How sad 🙁
Your airbnb weekend is going to be awesome! I am excited to hear what you do for your mom’s bday!
Rocky is living the GOOD LIFE, that’s for sure. The other day, I saw him running down the stairs with a slice of pizza in his mouth!
Sepsis is SO scary.
Your shopping style is so very European (although people probably go even more often than twice a week). I am back to meal planning for one week. During the pandemic, I shopped only every two weeks and at the end had a pretty good routine going. But I know what you mean about only having to plan for a few days ahead.
Haha, Rocky the raccoon. I am sure he’s a nuisance but raccoons are so cute 🙂
I chuckled about your organizational system but not about the spreadsheet. I have spreadsheets for EVERYTHING. Ok, almost everything.
I’ll admit that the few times I’ve seen Rocky, I’ve been sorta enamored by how cute he is. A menace, for sure, but a cute menace.
Spreadshets 4 LIIIIIFE.
A Little Life… was OOOOFfffffffff
Tragic. Dark. Why I read it I don’t know. And then I even gave that book as a gift to two of my friends 🫠😵💫
Pancake kitty!!!!!!!! Also a wooly bear pose kitty !
Can’t wait for the next episode. And of course the 100th celebration.
Lilliputians?…
The organization project sounds delicious!!
Lilliputians is correct! We need you on our team, Daria!
The organizational project has been SUCH a balm to my soul, haha.
(I am such a goddamn nerd it hurts.) – This made me laugh.
I do have a ton of bins – mainly the husband introduced them to me. I am just bothered that I have different systems because each closet/cupboard/drawer requires something different and then it’s not interchangeable. Argh,….
Also I play yarn fever and it is the death of me. However I just started playing Beads Out and it is even more addictive. Sigh. I heard you can make money playing these games. Someone tell me how that works.
I can’t believe you’re also playing Yarn Fever! It’s so soothing, except when I get to a level I can’t pass, Womp. Now I’m going to look into Bead Out!
These were fun to read through! We have such trouble w/ raccoons. We keep our garbage bins outside of our garage in the alley since we don’t have room in our tiny garage for the bins + 2 cars. In the warm/slightly warm months, the raccoons often get into our compost bin which is a disgusting mess to clean up. They have chewed wholes through the lid of the compost bin. We should probably keep that one bin in the garage but it would be such a hassle to move it into the garage after we back out. They especially go to town when we have the carcass of a rotisserie chicken in our compost bin!
A book I will never read it the newest book by the author of “The Idea of You.” That author is on my mind today because NGS asked us what book did we hate that everyone else loved. I LOATHED The Idea of You. I should have DNF’d it. But so many people sang its praises. I’ll also never read most fantasy novels. It’s just not my genre. That said, I do like children’s fanstasy novels at times. Paul and I are reading “Nevermoor” right now and we are really liking it!
Rocky got into my trash last night, but thankfully only chewed through the first layer of trash bag. Because yes, now I’m doubling up my trash bags. But ugh! I think I’m going to get a bungee cord to keep the can closed. I just hope valet trash will still pick it up!
I tried The Idea of You but it made me so stressed out! I had to DNF.