Three Things Thursday (v. 6)

Three Things Thursday is one of my semi-regular posts where I choose 10 different categories and write down three things that apply to each of them. Feel free to steal the prompts to do them on your own blog—or choose your own categories to write about! 🙂

Three confessions

1) I feel very guilty about the lack of time I spend playing with the cats, especially because they get so excited when I bring out a teaser wand. They get lots of pets and snuggles and attention, but I really need to devote time every day to playtime.

2) If I’m going to rate M&M flavors, here they are: 1) Peanut, 2) Crispy, 3) Plain, 4) Pretzel, 5) Dark Chocolate, 6) Peanut Butter. (And I know there are more flavors, but those are just the ones I’ve tried.) I know people are fanatic about peanut butter M&M’s but I just don’t like them. I bought one of those “classic mix” bags of M&M’s that has plain, peanut, and peanut butter M&M’s and I threw out all of the peanut butter ones. BLASPHEMY, I KNOW.

3) My all-time favorite movie is Tommy Boy. I haven’t watched it in a while, but my brother and I quote it to each other constantly, even to this day. It’s such a classic comedy!

Three cars on my wishlist

1) Kia Soul – The car is just so cute! And it gets good reviews. I want it!

2) Hyundai Tucson – This car just gives me so many heart eyes when I see it on the road.

3) Mazda CX-5 – As you all know, I test-drove this car last weekend and I fell completely in love with it. It was a fun car to drive.

Three podcasts on my to-be-listened-to list

1) Maintenance Phase – For a while, I was listening to You’re Wrong About but I stopped listening because one of the hosts drove me crazy. However, the other host (whom I loved!) also hosts this podcast, which is all about the wellness industry, so I have it on my list to give it a listen soon.

2) Mall Talk – A podcast that reminisces about malls and all the different stores in the mall? I’m here for it!

3) 9/12 – It’s hard for me to consume media about 9/11 because it’s too emotionally devastating for me. But this podcast takes a spin on the traditional 9/11 media, discussing some of the ways regular people adjusted to our newly altered reality. I think I can handle this podcast!

Three things I’m looking forward to

1) My birthday and “Day of Stephany” – I turn 34 at the end of the month, which is MIND-BOGGLING to me. How am I in my mid-thirties already? Ahh! Since my birthday falls on a Sunday, I’ve decided to do my “Day of Stephany” the following day. For those who are new here, “Day of Stephany” is how I celebrate my birthday each year! I spend a full day pampering myself. I get a massage and a pedicure. I get my birthday Starbucks drink (usually a peppermint mocha!) and spend an hour reading at Starbucks. I take a nap. And I finish off with dinner with my family! It’s my favorite tradition.

2) Decorating my apartment for Christmas – I’m waiting for Thanksgiving week to decorate for Christmas, but I truly cannot wait to transform my apartment into “Stephany’s Christmas Wonderland” again. I go all out for Christmas and it makes me so happy to see my apartment all dressed up for the holiday season.

3) Two weeks off in November and December – I am seriously looking forward to some time off over the next two months. While I’m not traveling anywhere, I’m looking forward to sleeping in, reading lots of books, and watching lots of holiday movies. Yay!

Three favorite Christmas movies

1) Elf – I try to watch this movie every Christmas Eve!

2) The Santa Clause – We watched this movie every year when I was growing up and I have such a sentimental love for it!

3) National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation – Is there a more quotable Christmas movie? I just adore this one!

Three TV shows I’m watching now:

1) Survivor – I’ve never watched a single season of Survivor, but I decided to start this year just to see what all the fuss is about. Well, I am loving it! I may need to go back and watch some of the other seasons!

2) The Bachelorette – I only watch The Bachelorette so I can listen to recaps from The Popcast. I’m enjoying Michelle’s season!

3) Brooklyn 99 – I’m halfway through season 4 of my rewatch and this show makes me oh so very happy.

Three books I just added to my Goodreads TBR:

1) The Journey Toward Wholeness: Enneagram Wisdom for Stress, Balance, and Transformation by Suzanne Stabile – I couldn’t add this book to my Goodreads TBR list fast enough when Jamie from The Popcast recommended it. She loved it and I have a feeling I will, too.

2) Tokyo Dreaming by Emiko Jean – After finishing Tokyo Ever After, I was so excited to learn there was a second book in the series releasing in 2022. Added to my list!

3) All the Lonely People by Mike Gayle – On a recent episode of Currently Reading, Kaytee raved about this book (it even put her in a book slump!) and compared it to A Man Called Ove.

Three of my most-used apps yesterday

1) Overcast (1 hour, 15 minutes)

2) Happy Color (1 hour, 3 minutes)

3) Instagram (36 minutes)

Three things I say to my cats all the time:

1) “Do you need some mama love?” – “Mama love” is when I sit on the floor of my bedroom and let Eloise rub herself all over my legs. She also uses this time to practice her tumbling, hehe. (Her previous owner called her “Flip-Flop” for a time because she loves doing flips!) Whenever Ellie sees me walking around, she will meow loudly at me and then run over to the bedroom, as if to say, “Mama love time!” It’s so cute.

2) “Lila! You’re back! We missed you!” – Lila usually sleeps under the couch for hours at a time, so whenever she emerges, I usually get so excited and say this because I missed that little floof.

3) “Oh, you guys think it’s time for yum-yums, don’t you?” – “Yum-yums” are what we call treats. Usually, I’ll find them staring at me pretty hard while I’m working and the minute I stand up from my desk, they run over to the dining room table, which is where I give them their treats. Silly ladies!

Three things that are not on my bucket list:

1) Skydiving – Nope, not for me. There are some risks I am willing to take for the thrill of it, but jumping out of an airplane is not one of them.

2) Running a marathon – Listen, I tried for many years to like running and it’s just not for me. Running a marathon is definitely not on my bucket list!

3) Ringing in the new year at Times Square – While it looks magical on TV, I know the reality is anything but. I’ll enjoy my New Year’s Eve at home where I can go to bed soon after the ball drops (if I even make it to midnight!)

What’s one thing you’re looking forward to? And tell me your favorite Christmas movie!