Weekly Wrap-Up (v. 7)

Highs and Lows

The high of my week was game night with just me, my mom, and my brother! I love when my nephew joins us for game night, but it was also rather nice to have my brother alone. We played Monopoly and Mom crushed us, haha. The game went rather quickly because of her prowess. As we were playing, I kept thinking back to all the game nights we did when my brother and I were in high school. It’s amazing that we’ve kept regular game nights going for over 15 years now! What the what!

The low of my week was mosquito bites! There must be a mosquito living in my apartment because I’ve been bitten four times in the last few days. I haven’t noticed the mosquito anywhere—he’s been a sneaky guy. I woke up way before my alarm yesterday morning because one of my bites was itching incessantly, ugh. At least I have my trusty maximum-strength hydrocortisone cream to slather on my bites multiple times a day!

What I Read

One in a Million by Jill Shalvis (★★★☆☆)

This romance is the last one in Shalvis’ Lucky Harbor series, and I could tell that she was growing tired of the series. It was just sort of a cookie-cutter romance that didn’t have much depth to it. I didn’t connect with either Callie or Tanner, although I really enjoyed watching Tanner and his relationship with his teenage son grow. Oh, and there’s a sweet plot involving Callie’s grandma and her beau that I found more compelling than the central romance itself. All in all, one of those “just ok” romances that I’ll probably forget I read a month from now.

Love & Luck by Jenna Evans Welch (★★★☆☆)

I listened to this on audio, and I think the narrator might have spoiled this one for me. For one, I don’t think she had a very good Irish accent (ugh! I love the Irish accent, so this was very disappointing). This story follows Addie, Ian, and Rowan who all wind up on a road trip together through Ireland. Ian and Addie are a brother and sister pair who have a massive falling out right before this trip, but you don’t exactly know what it is. Instead, we’re given hints throughout the story until everything is revealed near the end. I gotta say: I hate this plot device. It definitely works sometimes, but this was not one of those times. Once the truth came out, I found myself wanting to spend more time exploring all the ways in which this thing affected Addie and her relationship with her brother. Instead, we were led to believe that her brother was just being an asshole, and once everything was revealed, it was all wrapped up way too quickly. I needed more! I did love all the Ireland scenery, though, and it made me want to go back there.

What I Spent

Friday, April 16th

• Ubereats: $20
• Pizza: $36
• Candy Crush: $7
• Student loan payment: $105
• Etsy (gift): $18

Saturday, April 17th

• Target (contact lens drops, eye drops, mouthwash, toothpaste, body wash x 4, cleansing towelettes): $33
• Target (gifts): $25
• Target (lipstick, setting powder, foundation, cleansing oil, eyebrow pencil): $45
• Target (cat treats): $9
• Target (cable management box, cable management bands, ottoman): $63
• Leo’s Paw (cat comb): $20

Sunday, April 18th

• Groceries: $60

Monday, April 19th

• Amazon (e-book): $6
• Etsy (gift): $55
• Amazon (office chair): $195

Tuesday, April 20th

• No-spend day!

Wednesday, April 21st

• No-spend day!

Thursday, April 22nd

• Ubereats: $20
• Internet: $80
• Peacock TV subscription: $5

Final Tallies:

• Shopping: $264
• Bills: $185
• Food: $136
• Gifts: $98
• Beauty: $45
• Toiletries: $33
• Pets: $29
• Savings: $10
• Entertainment: $7
• Subscriptions: $5

Monthly Goals Progress

• Log 10 Peloton workouts. I’m at 6 workouts so far this month, so I’m going to need to get cracking. I need to do 4 workouts over the next 7 days!
• Schedule a car checkup. My car is still about 500 miles from needing an oil change, so this will remain a “to-do” for me.
• Do a Goodwill drop. My goal is to get this done tomorrow! I have two huge garbage bags full of stuff to donate.
• Walk 4,000 steps every day. I missed two days this week because it was super rainy all day and I didn’t feel like doing circles around my apartment to get my 4,000 steps. Ya win some, ya lose some.
• Create a daily schedule. I was doing really well with this early in the month but fell off this week when work got crazy busy. Next week is going to be even busier (whimper) but I think creating a schedule will only help me with everything I need to get done. So I need to make it a priority for next week!

What I’m Recommending

• Unpack the Derek Chauvin Trial, on the Anti-Racism Daily. This article, written by the George Floyd Foundation, was released the day after Chauvin’s conviction and it gives a rundown of everything that happened during the trial. Give it a read!
• Based on everything that happened this week, I think it’s a good time to share the Policing in America episode from Throughline. This episode discusses the origins of American policing (which began to hunt enslaved people) and all the ways it has evolved to what it is today. A must listen, in my opinion.

What was the high of your week? What are you currently reading?