Highs & Lows
The high of my week was getting my COVID vaccine! It was so incredibly easy—I was done in less than a half hour! I went to my county’s vaccination site, and they had it down to a science. It was so great to see so many people getting their vaccines—lots of young people, too! I got the Pfizer vaccine and, right now, I’m mostly just experiencing soreness in the arm that got the shot but no other symptoms. My second shot is scheduled for the 29th. Woohoo!
The low of my week was accidentally paying my rent twice. SIGH. The system my apartment complex uses for rent payments is not very user-friendly, and doesn’t let you know when you last paid your rent. I thought I had paid it on the 1st, but I didn’t remember getting an email confirmation. So I woke up in a panic on the 3rd (we have until the 3rd to pay rent), worried I hadn’t completed the process when paying rent. And when I logged onto the system, it said my last payment date was 3/1. So, I went through the entire process again and, this time, I saw the email confirmation right away. Then, on Wednesday, I got a “low balance” alert from my bank, which was strange because I should have had plenty of money in my account (I have the alert set up to ping me when there’s $50 or less in my account). Lo and behold, there were two rent payments in my account. UGH. Thankfully, I was able to talk to my front office and get it straightened out, but it will take a few days for the process to revert. In the meantime, I am very happy that I had the foresight to keep a good amount of money in my bank’s savings accounts (which is different from my other savings account, which I keep with Capital One) so that I didn’t overdraft when this happened! I’m also grateful that this is more of a minor annoyance and not the financial catastrophe it would have been in the past.
What I Read
Would you believe it? I didn’t finish a single book this week! I got 30% into Otherwise Engaged by Lindsay J. Palmer and abandoned it because I hated all the characters (it has a super low Goodreads rating so I wasn’t surprised that I didn’t enjoy it). And now I’m in the middle of three books:
- Playing with Fire by Kate Meader – I’m nearly finished with this contemporary romance, just about 50 pages to go. I like it a lot!
- The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab – I am loving this book! It’s such an interesting plot and I love all the details that the author included to strengthen the curse that was placed on Addie. This is our April book club pick, and we’re off to a great (re)start, I think!
- A Great Reckoning by Louise Penny – I’m halfway through the audiobook of this novel, the 12th in the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series, and it’s so propulsive. All I want to do is listen to it!
What I Spent
Friday, April 2nd
- No-spend day!
Saturday, April 3rd
- Candy Crush: $7
- Paula’s Choice (skincare products): $100
- Etsy (birthday present for a friend): $22
- Library card (for the Charlotte Mecklenbury Library System!): $45
- Groceries: $71
- Book of the Month (add-ons): $20
- Savings: $575
- Phone bill: $122
- Netflix: $13
- Water bill: $51
Sunday, April 4th
- No-spend day!
Monday, April 5th
- No-spend day!
Tuesday, April 6th
- No-spend day!
Wednesday, April 7th
- No-spend day!
Thursday, April 8th
- Groceries: $20
- Spotify: $12
Final Tallies:
- Savings: $600
- Bills: $173
- Beauty: $100
- Food: $71
- Shopping: $65
- Subscriptions: $25
- Gifts: $22
- Entertainment: $7
Monthly Goals Progress
- Rearrange my desk – Done! I did this last weekend, and I am so happy with the change. Now that I’m facing my big window, I can enjoy the sunshine, and the girls love sitting on my desk to look out the window. Plus, it makes my living room feel so much bigger!
- Walk 4,000 steps every day – I have done this every day except for yesterday because I just felt like being lazy, lol. I’ve been scheduling a 20-minute break every day to take a walk around my apartment complex, and it’s been so nice!
- Create a daily schedule to use Monday-Thursday – I started using a schedule this week and it’s been transformative. I feel like it allows me to focus better while I’m working and take shorter breaks so that I can log off at a normal time (lately, it’s been before 5:30, which is such a treat!)
- Log 10 Peloton workouts – I only logged one this week, eeks! I am hoping to do a strength workout today and a spin workout this weekend to keep me on track with this goal.
What I’m Recommending
- Skinnytaste’s healthy baked chicken nuggets – This is one of my go-to recipes. It is so easy to make and so delicious, too! I’m sure I’ve shared this recipe before, but if so, it’s been a long time, so please make these and tell me what you think.
- Don’t Stop Meowing – I found this TikToker (I follow them on Instagram) when scrolling through Reels. I sent this Reel to Kim, who told me they have a whole slew of funny Reels with their cats. And then I fell down a rabbit hole of watching all of their Reels, and they’re now my favorite.
What was a highlight of your week?
Hahaha, I read Otherwise Engaged and was able to finish it but I also thought the characters were a bunch of sods! The whole premise of the book at least, felt novel, so I pushed through.
Yay for your first vaccine dose! Phil got J&J on Thursday but hasn’t felt very good unfortunately. But it’s a good sign his body is responding! I had no side effects from either dose of Pfizer. But I am less likely to have side effects due to my immune suppressant drugs.
I read Addie LaRue in December and really liked it but I wish I had read it when I wasn’t in the worst part of sleep deprivation!!
Oh, show us your rearranged living room! I am so curious.
Also, YAY for getting the vaccine this week (me too!)… my second shot (of Pfizer) is on the 28th. Can’t wait. I didn’t have any side-effects other than a bit of a sore arm from the first one.
Steven and I love Don’t Stop Meowing so much. Just like, every vid makes me LOL. I am so impressed they get their cats to do all that! And thanks for the shoutout!
I am surprised to hear you are liking The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue! For some reason I didn’t think it would be up your alley! I am anxious to hear what you think of the ending. I was really excited to read it.
Ugh that is so annoying about paying twice. I hope they get the refund to you quickly!
I want to see your new desk layout too!
The highlight of my week was Sip & Purr asking if I’d make some rocks for their cat cafe!
Wow – you had a LOT of no-spend days this week! Impressive. I feel like I run at least one errand / day (Walgreens, Target, etc.), which makes it challenging. Maybe I should set a daily limit… Hmm…
Anyway! I’m so sorry about your rent payment. That would seriously tick me off. And I would have done the EXACT same thing you did.
I cannot wait to read the Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. That and Midnight Library are very high on my list.