Brace yourselves ;)

 Helllooooo!

Story time!

Almost 6 years ago, I started at my current job. It was my first real job sitting at a computer and typing all day. About 6 months to a year in, I noticed that my wrists were starting to hurt. I didn't think anything of it, and mentioned it to my manager just in a normal conversation. She looked at me and said something along the lines of, "well shoot.. now I have to report this."

At the time, I had no idea why she had to report it. My wrists hurt. Who cares?

Well... turns out, I got carpal tunnel syndrome because of all the typing at the computer. I literally had no clue that workers comp was a thing for something so simple. My assumption of workers comp was that it was for people who fell off ladders and dropped stuff on their heads.. I don't know. I didn't expect that it would be for people who had pain in their wrists from typing all day.

So I had to have a meeting with the business's nurse, and then go see a specialist, but the specialist was not approved by the business (because they didn't tell me I needed to see a business approved specialist), so I had to go see ANOTHER specialist, and then had to go to physical therapy for a few months.

The new specialist gave me wrist braces that were MASSIVE. Because, apparently, I have realllllly small wrists, which wasn't something I really understood until that moment in time. I tried these wrist braces several times, but they just didn't do anything for me. It was really unfortunate.

Luckily, my boyfriend realized that he was also having a bit of wrist pain, and the braces fit him perfectly, so it all worked out. I went out and bought a couple of new ones from the local Walmart that have served me well.

My wrist pain is constant, unfortunately, but some days are not as bad as others, which I'm grateful for. If the pain gets a lot worse, I'll probably have to have surgery or something, which I am absolutely trying to avoid. So I have some exercises I do for my wrists that I learned in physical therapy. It's been almost 6 years and it's only gotten a little worse lol...

But anyways, the entire point to this post was to really share the wrist braces I have purchased in case there's anyone out there reading this that is also experiencing wrist pain and wants to buy wrist braces. I've bought a couple from Walmart, then found them at my local grocery store, and have now located them on Amazon, which is amazing. They're slightly cheaper on Amazon, and it's more reliable. I can never guarantee if I'll find them at Walmart or the grocery store, so it's really nice that they're available on Amazon.

I also need to get a new pair roughly every 18 months or so depending on how rough I am on them (I'm not a very good sleeper). They are sturdy, but because I religiously wear them every night, they tend to wear out fast for me.

I've posted some screenshots below from the Amazon site. One wrist brace is around $16, which is a bit expensive since it's just one, but if you have wrist pain, I promise you this is worth it. My boyfriend has a similar one to the ones I have, but I think he only has one for the wrist that really bothers him, so if it's just one wrist that bothers you, then just get the one.

It is weird to get used to sleeping with wrist braces on, tbh, but now I can't sleep without them. If I end up taking a nap or something without them, my wrists hurt so badly, and it's just awful.

So yeah, I definitely think that anyone who has wrist pain should try these, or any wrist braces honestly, because it has changed my life.

Here's a link in case you're interested:

Wrist Braces on Amazon

Also, once again, I do not get any sort of credit for posting this. It's not sponsored. I just believe in the wrist braces, and wanted to share. 

Okie dokie, I think that's it for this one. Thanks for reading!

And if you have experiences with wrist braces, please let me know. If there's a better product out there, I'd love to hear about it.

Bye, everyone. See you on the next one!

Time Capsule

 A few months back, the idea of time capsules came up. I couldn't tell you how it came up, who it came up with, or what the conversation was like, but it got me thinking about myself.

I don't really have an interest in doing a time capsule now as an adult. For me, I don't think it's necessary.

However, I got to thinking about what would have been in a time capsule if I had made one when I was younger.

So here's to a list of things, both real and metaphorical, I would have put into a time capsule when I was 16 years old along with some notes from adult me.

I would have put a picture of myself in the hopes that I would have thinned out.

Back then, I thought that my weight was my self worth. I still struggle with the idea that my weight doesn't define me, but I was thinner when I was 16 than I have been since, and I wish that 16 year old me could have just loved herself for who she was instead of constantly worrying about her body and how other people perceived her body. I made a lot of mistakes because of my low self esteem; I thought I was so fat and ugly. And looking back, I just wish I could hug 16 year old me and tell her that she needed to love herself and accept who she was... not that she would have listened lol

I would have put mix CD's filled with emo music that I loved at the time.

What a joke. I was convinced that my "emo" phase wasn't a phase and was just who I was. Don't get me wrong, I still have some love for some of the music, but I rarely listen to it anymore because it brings me back to how dark things were for me.

I would have put my heart inside in the hopes that by now I would be married and have children.

I remember thinking about this a lot. I figured that I would be a failure if I wasn't married with children by the time I was 30. I'm only a little over a year away from 30 and I tell you what, my opinions have drastically changed. I'm in a committed relationship with a man I love deeply. But we aren't getting married. I don't want to get married. And we are absolutely not having children, because we don't want children. It's absolutely nuts to think that I used to just assume that I had to have children; I didn't think it was an option or choice.

I would have put Snowy, my beloved polar bear stuffed animal, inside because I was embarrassed to still be sleeping with him every night.

Snowy is a little worse for wear, but I still sleep with him every single night, and I have absolutely no shame whatsoever. He makes me feel at home, and I will never stop sleeping with him (unless he gets absolutely wrecked and I have to either throw him out - which will never happen - or get him fixed up).

I would have put my bracelets inside to use as a cover-up when I cut my wrists.

Such a dark time of my life. I cut my wrists for many years as a way to exchange my emotional and mental pain for physical pain. To ensure that I hid the cuts and scars, I wore these beaded bracelets I still have to this day. I don't use them anymore, thankfully, but I keep them as a reminder that my life is precious, and there are better ways to handle my mental health.

I would have put my poetry inside because I had really high expectations that I would be a famous author.

Ya know, this one took me a long time to accept. I still would love to be published some day, but it's not really a huge goal anymore. I'm average. I'm not going to be famous or rich or anything like that, and I'm absolutely okay with that. I am damn good at my job right now, and I love what I do. I don't need to be a famous writer to be worthy. 

I would have put my ripped up jeans with the splatter paint on them inside because I wanted so badly to be cool and fit in.

Wow... this one is hard for me. I think about those jeans often and kind of miss them. However, I only bought them because I thought they would somehow make me cooler. What a friggen joke. Jeans can't do that. I was never going to fit in while I was in high school. I was never going to be liked. As an adult, I am much happier with my close-knit group of people I spend time with (mainly my boyfriend and family). They love me for who I am and not for the show I put on. I don't need to be popular and be liked by the masses. Now, I wear clothes I want to wear. Hell, the only jeans I own are jeggings. So take that 16 year old me!

I would have put my birth control packets inside because I didn't think I'd ever go off of it. 

I didn't realize how big a toll the pill had on my mental and physical health. I was on birth control for almost 10 years of my life (starting at a fairly young age), and going off of it was brutal. Everything went completely off the rails in my body and brain, which was to be expected. But once regulated, my body has taken care of me. I am able to better understand my mental health and menstrual cycles. Birth control was bad for me (just my experience), and going off of it was one of the hardest and best decisions of my life.

I would have put the picture my ex drew for me while he was in jail inside because even through so many breakups, I knew we were end game.

**BARF**. While I was in high school, my ex went to jail. While in jail, he wrote me letters and made a kinda cute drawing for me. I cherished that drawing for many years. Little does 16 year old me know, I burned that shit while I was in college. Although I have moments where I'm grateful for that relationship, I also remember just how toxic it was. It ruined a part of me in a way I can't describe, and I'm scarred for life because of it. I've learned what healthy relationships look like now as an adult, and it's really painful to look back. 

I would have put my red eye liner inside.

Yep, you read that correctly. I would sometimes where red eye liner (from hot topic). And I didn't know how to wear makeup properly, so let me tell you that it was a hot ass mess. It wasn't a good look. But I was emo and thought it was cool to wear makeup like that. My group of friends, who were hella toxic, complimented me, so I kept wearing it. It wasn't a good look back then. I could probably find a way to make it work now that I know how to do my makeup, but I'm also super not into it. LOL

I would have put a picture of my grandma inside.

I didn't know how little time I had left with her. I didn't know that every time I saw her, a piece of her and who she was would be gone. I had no way of knowing that in just a few short years, she would be completely gone. I miss her so intensely, and I know that will never change. She and I had a special bond that I'm so incredibly grateful for.

I would put pictures of all my friends from high school inside because even though life was taking us in different directions, I knew that we would still talk often and stay friends.

Oh man, this one did NOT pan out one bit. Off the top of my head, I don't think talk to anyone I went to high school with anymore. I still follow a few people online just to see how their lives ended up (most of which are married with kids, which is soooo not my lifestyle), but I don't actively talk to them. We might exchange a comment to one another like "So cute!" or "Awww!" but that's about it, and even that is fairly sparse. I just honestly have no interest in continuing relationships with people I went to high school with. I am not the same person I was back then, and I'm sure some of them at least are different people, too. We never kept in touch, and I'm okay with that. Our ten year reunion was last summer, and I don't even know if there was a get together. If there was, I sure as shit wasn't invited lol. It's just not something I'm interested to participate in. I left that Jenny back at the school, and I don't want her back.

Please know that there are a few people I actually like as humans and wish them nothing but the best. I feel nostalgic for some of the friendships I had. I just don't necessarily feel the need to continue (or resume, in this case) the relationships at this point in my life.

I would have put my trumpet (not literally, of course) inside, because I thought that my life would revolve around playing my trumpet.

Don't get me wrong with this one, I still love my trumpet. I haven't played in quite some time, though. There are local groups I could join, and I could find ways to play more often, but it's just not a big part of my life now like I expected it to be. I was in band in college, and it was my favorite part of my college experience. I played in a group after college for a year, and also played in church pretty often. But as the years have gone on, I have found less and less motivation to play, and that's okay. I still love it. I still enjoy picking it up and just playing for fun. But I think that playing because I had to for so long took a lot of the joy out of it for me. Maybe one day I will get back into and join groups, but for now, I'm content with fond memories and playing every now and then just for me.

I would have put my two cats inside (again, not literally) because I loved them so much and couldn't imagine my life without them!

Little did I know that I only had roughly 2 years left with them. The day I left for college was the last day I saw them, because a couple weeks later they both had to be put down in the same week for two very different reasons. I didn't think I could experience heartbreak like that, but there I was in my lofted dorm bed sobbing and screaming into my pillow. I had no idea when I was 16 that I had such little time left with them.

And lastly, I would have put my brain inside because I had no clue how much I had left to learn.

I can't think of a good pun about essential oils

 I know, I know, I know... at the beginning of the month I made a post and stated I was hoping to be back the next week, but that clearly did not happen. Life, man. Once again, things in my personal life sorta blew up (some good things and some bad things). 

But I'm back today! WOO! 

I wanted to talk today about something I have purchased several times over the years: essential oil diffusers.

To add some context, my dad is a seller for essential oils, and got me into buying them. I don't personally use them for the health benefits necessarily, but I do like some oils to diffuse in my home to make the place smell nice. My nose is very sensitive to smells, so I can't use a lot of the really good ones like frankincense, for example, because the smell is offensive to me. But I love some citrus smelling ones or cinnamon-type oils. 

During winter, I tend to mix a bunch of spice-smelling oils to make my apartment smell like Christmas. Or I'll mix some citrus oils during the summer and make my apartment smell super summery. So I am a big fan of essential oil diffusers. I have tried several over the last few years, and finally found one that I will continue to buy. It's my favorite diffuser yet.

**Side note, I know the photos aren't the best quality, but I screenshotted them directly from Amazon, so they are a bit potato looking.**

These photos just show you a few things the diffuser can do. It's mostly standard stuff that most diffusers do, but I really like this one. 

I like that it's sort of wood-y looking (trees are basically my aesthetic lol). It matches my apartment in a lot of ways and just fits in nicely. I wish it was all that kind of wood look, but I also appreciate that it's white without the lights because I can turn the lights on if I want the *vibe* of the colors. I can also choose colors specifically if I want to instead of the colors changing. I don't use the colors often, but it can be nice at times. For example, around Halloween, I will have it stay on the sort of orange color because it matches all of my decorations :D

It also runs for fricken ever.. I think like 12 hours or something (I've never actually timed it). There are a lot of people that probably just want to use it for a short period of time, but I fill this baby to the top (there's a line near the top to indicate how full you can fill it) with water, pour some essential oil drops in, and just let it do its thing. Being able to set it and forget it is really nice.

I also like that it's square. That seems weird, but I've tried a lot of the round ones and weirdly shaped ones, but I just prefer the square. It's a little harder to clean because of the corners, but I don't mind too much. I'm just a big fan of the square style.

Amazon also offers a different color scheme, like more of a marble style instead of wood. It's not something I would want, but I am sure it's a big seller, as well. 

Overall, I'm a big fan of this diffuser. The price is a bit high, but I bought two of them at the same time back around the beginning of 2021, and they've lasted me this long. The list price is around $34 but they are often on sale, so you don't have to pay that much. If you're willing to spend the money, I recommend these. In my experience, they are worth the money.

If you are interested, there's a link below.

Essential Oil Diffuser

Reminder: This is not sponsored. I am just a fan of this product and wanted to share it with anyone who may be interested.

Okay, that's it for this one. I hope you are all have a wonderful spring (summer is coming, though... ew).

Bye, everyone! I will do my best to post again soon! <3 

I wrote a story about my bed. I made it myself.

 Hi there!

I know, I know... It's been a while. After my last post in February, my life just sort of went nuts again. I lost interest in creativity because I didn't have the energy for it. Things in my personal life have been chaotic, to say the least, work has been absolutely swamped, and my mental health has been... well... not the best to put it mildly. When I am done with work or other obligations for the day, all I want to do is veg in front of the TV and not do anything else. I don't want to use my brain any more.

But I am hopeful that I will get back into the swing of things with my blog. I literally only know one person who actually reads it, but that's okay because I am doing this for me. So here's to spring time and hopefully better times in my life.

The other night, I was just laying down in my bed and had this super stupid thought that I figured I would share.

I always sleep on one side of my bed.

Okay, I know that doesn't sound that stupid. A lot of people have "their" side of the bed. But that's not what I mean. It doesn't matter to me which side of the bed I sleep on, but I always have to be on one of the sides. Not the middle.

For the majority of my life, I had a twin size bed. I had one when I was a kid and in high school, and then I had one again in college while living in the dorms. So I got used to sleeping in a small sort of bed, and it never really bothered me. I just kept my arms and legs inside the ride at all times.

But when I moved into an apartment with a friend from college a few weeks after graduation, I ended up with a queen size bed gifted to me by my grandpa, which I am so grateful for. It's been many years and I still have the bed - different mattress, but same bed.

I was jazzed to say the least. I had never had a queen size bed. I'd slept on them in the past in hotel rooms specifically, but never had one that I could call my own. I honestly figured that I would always sleep in the middle of the bed and it would be glorious.

However, right before moving into said apartment, I met my current boyfriend, and so I got into the habit of staying on a side of the bed because when he would spend the night (typically every other weekend roughly), we would sleep in the bed together and I would need to stay on my side. Granted, neither of us ever slept well, but that's because we both very much like our space when sleeping and a queen size bed for the two of us was a bad call.

Then, after a year of staying at each other's places on weekends, we moved in together. And we decided to still sleep in separate beds, which I was all for. Both of our queen size beds fit into our bedroom, and he's a fairly big dude, so he wanted his bed all to himself, and I enjoyed my space while sleeping. It was a perfect scenario for us at the time, and I figured I would finally start sleeping in the middle of the bed.

That didn't happen, though.

My boyfriend's cat decided that one side of the bed would be his, so I stayed on my side of the bed once more. Our cat, however, didn't always follow that rule ;)

But I'm not mad at that at all. It was actually really nice.

When I moved out of our house and into an apartment with a friend (living together just didn't work for us - long story not pertinent to this topic), I had my bed all to myself once more. 

But the crazy thing? I stuck to one side of the bed. I didn't even realize I was doing it for a long time. Once I did realize it, though, I thought, "Hey genius, now's the time to try out sleeping in the middle of the bed." After 3 years, I finally did it and slept in the middle.

The first few nights seemed magical. I HAD SO MUCH ROOM FOR ACTIVITIES!

But after those nights, I just sorta realized that something didn't feel right. I wasn't sleeping as soundly as I used to. 

So I started sleeping on one side of the bed once more, and all went back to normal. Everything just felt sort of right in the world again.

It's bizarre. Truly. I don't know what part of my psychology requires me to sleep on a side of the bed. Even more bizarre is that it doesn't really matter to me which side I sleep on. 

When I lived in my first apartment, I slept on the left side of the bed for part of the year and right side after I rearranged the room. When I lived in the house with my boyfriend, I slept on the left side of the bed. When I moved back into an apartment, I slept on the right side of the bed. And now, in a different apartment, I have slept on both the left and right sides of the bed depending on how the room is arranged. 

See? It doesn't necessarily matter which side I sleep on. I usually sleep on the side closest to my night stand, which moves around based on the room itself. 

It's a stupid little thought that I had, but I have only slept in the middle of my queen size bed a handful of times, and I find that weird. I don't know why I'm like this.

I suppose it's just another quirk of mine. 

I'm not like grumpy about it or anything. I find it somewhat comical. More though, I just find it to be an interesting part of who I am. Probably because I don't get it... Why am I like this? 

I don't know, really. Just a random thought...

Well, I suppose that's it for this one. I hope to be back again next week.

Okay, bye, everyone. I hope you are all having a great spring!

Random Purchases Part 1

 Hi, everyone!

As I have become an adult, I've found that I am really good at finding random shit on the internet to purchase (not food related). So I decided that I wanted to start posting about some of the things I've bought that I am really glad I bought.

The first thing to mention is something I bought about two years ago. It's this over the sink dish rack. I live in an apartment, and I have a lot of crap, so space is hard to come. So when I saw this product, I had to give it a shot. 

It's from a company called Food52. I've bought a couple of other things from them since I found them, but I don't buy often. The items you can purchase are, overall, a tad above my price range, but I was able to convince myself that the dish rack, which costs $45 not including tax or shipping, would be worth it.

As of now, there are three different colors you can buy (below), but they are a one size fits all situation. Amazon has a bunch that are similar and you can choose the size, but I have a feeling the quality of this one may be a bit better than an Amazon one..... 

I don't use it for a lot of the things that it can be used for, but it really is so nice to have available for the things I do use it for.

Something pretty great about it is that it's dishwasher safe, and it can hold temperatures that are really hot or cold, so if you have a pot of boiling water or something right out of the oven, you can just set it right down onto the rack, and it's no problem.

Food52 will show you several other things you can use this for, so I won't go too in depth on the great and helpful things it can do.

If, like me, you are low on space, I highly recommend purchasing this product. If not from Food52, at least get one from Amazon. 

It really is also a great gift idea. I bought it for my family's white elephant gift, and my sister seemed fairly happy to take it home (I hope!).

It's one of the best purchases I've made for my home, and I would definitely buy it again if needed.

If you are interested, please feel free to use the below link to their site (specific link to the dish rack).

Food52 Over-the-Sink Dish Drying Rack

Note that this is not sponsored in any way. I do not get any sort of payment or whatever if you click on the link. I just really love this product and thought I would share.

Alright, that's it for this one! Are there any specific rooms (bathroom, kitchen, bedroom, etc.) that you would like to know about for random products I've purchased? If so, please send me a note or message! I would be happy to do a post at some point :D

Ok bye, everyone!

I love these snacks... I think I may need to seek kelp!

Welcome back!

A couple of weeks ago, I came across seaweed snacks at Target. I've been seeing a lot of stuff about seaweed snacks over the last couple of years in movies and social media and stuff, so I've been feeling the urge to try them.

I love seaweed. It's great when it's in sushi, and I loooove it in my ramen. When my boyfriend and I go out for ramen, he always gives me the slice of seaweed he gets in his bowl :D

There were a few different brands of seaweed snacks, but this is the one that sounded the best. 

Because I had never tried seaweed in this type of format, I wanted to make sure to give it the best shot possible. For this specific brand, there were three different flavors, and I of course got all of them. But the first one I tried was the teriyaki flavor (above) because I figured it would have the best chance of me liking it. 

They are so salty and delicious! They are definitely seaweed, so if you don't care for the texture or flavor of seaweed, I do not recommend these. 

I love them, though. Super tasty! The teriyaki flavor is very present and works nicely with the flavor of the seaweed.

The texture is every so slightly crunchy, but not like a chip. It can be a really enjoyable experience.

I also wanted to try the regular sea salt seaweed snacks. I mean..... it's just plan sea salt. I had to give it a shot.

By themselves, I don't care for these as much. However, I decided to add them into some ramen I made, and I really enjoyed it. It's not as thick as a piece of seaweed you would usually get in a restaurant, so it didn't work as well as normal seaweed would have, but it was still really nice. For never having seaweed at home, it was nice to have some I could add to my ramen.

I also got a flavor that's sea salt made with avocado oil. It's basically the same as the regular sea salt.

One big downside to the two sea salt flavors (but not teriyaki), is how much oil leaks off of them. It's not the end of the world, but it definitely is a bit of an annoyance. Especially because the oil is literally ALL OVER the entire packaging.

Something I'm looking forward to doing is crumpling some of these up and putting them over some dishes (like a salmon and rice dish I make from time to time that has a sauce made up soy sauce and sushi mayo). I think it would be a really nice added bonus to that dish. It could be a good crunch!

One thing to note is that if you are snacking on these to fill up your belly, you'll be sorely disappointed. I can eat an entire package of these, and it's like I ate nothing. These are great if I just want some salt, but not great if I actually want to fill up my stomach.

I am gonna give these a 7/10. I think I'll probably keep them in hand going forward, specifically the teriyaki ones, because I just really enjoy them. And I love seaweed. 

If you like the flavor of seaweed, then you'll probably really like these. I say give them a shot!

Alright, I will see you guys on the next one! 

Bye!

 

The Prosciutto of Happiness

Hi, again! Welcome back to another episode of "What is Jenny eating today?" Just kidding, I'm not calling it that... but maybe I should? 

I love pizza, but I tend to avoid eating pizza unless it's gluten free and dairy free or whatever. I try to have some healthier options so I don't get sick. But when I saw this Good & Gather pizza from Target... Oh man, I HAD to get it.

I LOVE prosciutto. It's one of my favorite kinds of meats. And I love arugula, and garlic, and cheese. And I've had success with Good & Gather products for a while now, so it seemed reasonable that this pizza could be really tasty.

I was so surprised to see that the prosciutto is in a separate pack that you thaw and add onto the pizza AFTER it has been baked in the oven.

I usually don't show photos of the food still frozen, but the separate pieces were surprising, so I thought I would add this photo (above).

All I did after it was cooked and the prosciutto was on top was add a little black pepper.

I will say that it was a tad challenging to add the prosciutto to the pizza. It was super thin and tightly placed with all the slices, so I basically had to tear the pieces apart from each other and attempt to place them on the pizza. It got to be a bit messy.

BUT IT WAS WORTH IT. This pizza is shockingly delicious. I have no other comments to really make about it. There's quite a bit of effort needed considering it's a frozen pizza, but I honestly think it's worth it. The flavor of the pizza is great (I do recommend adding the black pepper as an extra level of depth).

I give it a 9/10. It honestly was that good!

They have some other flavors of pizza that I recently bought, so I am pretty dang excited to give those a shot, as well. I'll keep you updated ;)

I'll see you guys on the next one!

Byeeeee!

 

Welcome back!

 Oh hi there! It's been a hot minutes, right? I mean, it's only been a month, but it sure feels like a helluva lot longer to me.

I had and still have a lot of high hope for the year, but January didn't start all that great to be totally honest. 

The year literally started with being notified that I had been exposed to COVID. I'm vaccinated, but hadn't been boostered yet, so I was really scared. Luckily, I tested negative and also had no symptoms at all. So that was really lucky!

Then I had to make an appointment with my doctor after finding a lump in a place where there should not be a lump. As of now, everything looks okay, but I will probably have to go back in soon for more tests if this issue doesn't sort of resolve itself.

I finally got boostered, which is good, but suffered from some side effects for a few days. It's the price I pay for being fully vaccinated, and it's a price I'm willing to pay, but it still sucked.

Add some stress at work with a role change and basically my life blew up a bit in January.

BUT! February is a new month. I am going to make some small lifestyle changes. I bought a really cheap elliptical. It's not much, but it'll get me moving more at home, which is definitely a good thing. I'm going to try to get back on track with my "diet." I don't believe in diets, but I want to get back to trying to avoid certain foods that I know cause me digestive trouble. 

I also REALLY want to spring clean. I know I've said it several times, but I really feel like spring cleaning is important this year. I move in just over a year and I would rather have a decent piece of the work done before I have to start packing.

I just really want to be healthier.. mind and body. January was incredibly stressful in a new way than 2020 and 2021 were, so I am going into this new month with a better attitude, because what the hell else can I do? 

Okay, that's it for this one, guys. I am going to try to post at least once every five days like I was doing in 2021, but I may need to take breaks depending on my mental health. I have a lot of ideas for 2022 in terms of my blog, so here's for hoping I keep it up!

I'll see you on the next one! If there's anything you want to see, please feel free to comment or something :)

Okay bye!

Goals

 Hi, everyone!

Welcome to the new year. I know my post yesterday was a bit down, and I wanted to have a follow up to that.

When I wrote that post yesterday, I was in a really bad place emotionally, and I wasn't seeing the good that happened in 2021. 

In 2021, my sister in law had a baby. My sweet baby nephew who I am absolutely enchanted by. My other nephew started speaking in some full sentences, which is such a huge milestone for him. 

I got to spend a lot of time with my parents, which is incredible. They moved to a place not too far from me, so it's a lot easier to hang out with them. They're basically my favorite people and my best friends, so it's wonderful being able to spend more time with them.

I'm grateful to have a steady job despite the pandemic and the craziness that came in 2021. I'm grateful to have an understanding boss who allowed me to take time off when my cat died and when I needed mental health days throughout the year.

I'm grateful that I get to work from home full time.

I'm glad that 2021 gave me a chance to learn even more about my mental health and my limits for social interactions.

There's a lot of good that came out of 2021. I had a lot of bad times, of course, but I need to focus more on the positive.

So in an effort to be more positive, I am going to list some sort of goals I have for 2022. I don't believe in new year resolutions, but I do believe in having goals. So here we go...

1. I want to read more. I had goals to do a lot of reading in 2021, but with the craziness of life, I never had     the energy to read. So this year I want to really focus on reading more. 

2. I want to start writing again... more than this blog. I love this blog, don't get me wrong. It's a great             creative outlet for me, but I want to get back into my original passion which is writing fiction. And I         have so many ideas, so I really need to get back into it.

3. I need to keep up with cleaning my house. I so rarely clean, and that's fine and dandy, but I think I need       to push myself to keep better care of my home.

4. I want to purge things. I have so much stuff in my house that I don't use, and what is the point of                 keeping it. I'll be moving in a little over a year, and I would LOVE to have fewer items to pack when         the time comes. 

                For example, my kitchen is FULL of stuff I don't use. Glassware, pots, pans, bowls, etc. I've                         been given so many things for the years as hand me downs, and I couldn't say no because I                         thought, who knows, maybe I'll need it someday. And don't get me wrong, I love hand me                         downs. I've been using hand me downs since I was born, but I need to accept that I can't keep                     everything.

                I have tons of clothes I don't wear. Clothes I've kept because maybe some day they will fit again.                 Formal-type dresses I keep because maybe, just maybe, I'll have an excuse to wear them. T-                        shirts that are still in good condition but I don't care for them so I don't wear them. 

5. I want to learn more about my mental health. I learned a lot about my mental health in 2021, but I have        a long way to go.

I'm sure more goals will pop up in the next month or two, but these are the ones that I really want to focus on right now. 

I'm hopeful that 2022 will be better. Even if the world isn't better, which it probably won't be because, ya know, pandemic, climate change, political disarray, etc, I want to try to be better.

Do you guys have any goals that you want to do during 2022? 

As a side note, I think I might take the month of January off from my blog. I really want to start the new year right and take some time for me. This blog doesn't take up that much time, but I think a planned vacation from the blog might be good for me.

So I hope that you all have an incredible first month of the new year, and I'll see you in February!

Byeeeeee!