adulting – marginalia and such

life: October – month in review

month-in-review-january

Guys, I’m in a rut. Been feeling burned out and uninspired. I need to figure out some things and move forward, but it’s taken a toll on my creativity and mood.

A few good things to keep me grounded:

I received a new tarot deck, which was a lovely surprise.

I bought new shoes (They’re burgundy tieks and I filmed the unboxing).

I discovered Lune Innate‘s Reiki ASMR videos (these have been invaluable recently).

I upgraded my point-and-shoot situation for an upcoming adventure.

There were some lovely, spontaneous dates.

On the other hand…

My low-buy was a bust. With the holidays coming up, I need to remind myself to stick to my budget.

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life: April – month in review

Month in review april

Met my Camp NaNo goal! 30k words = a solid start.

Tried my hand at 1st person POV and did not hate it.

Took a writing retreat (technically, still on a writing retreat).

Found myself an amazing vintage bag c. 1994 and am loving it. It’s classic, mahogany leather, and holds all the essentials.

Finally created my author website. It’s just a placeholder, but it’s a start – gdcowan.com

Set up a coffee budget and it’s been pretty life changing (video to come).

The Bag

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#secondhand find! I saw this bag on Pinterest and found it on eBay for $45 😍. It’s even prettier in person… also, vintage because it’s a collection from 1994. #shopsecondhand #coachbag

A post shared by e m i l i a g r a c e (@emilia____grace) on Apr 18, 2019 at 1:48pm PDT

Howdy y’all! So I’m in a weird headspace… literally. Feeling tired, wired, and spacey all at once. In short, I am a squirrel. Kind of manic, but lazy at the same time. Could be hormones, could be the weirdness that comes before a migraine… could be both (probably both). Anyhow, it’s going to be a week.

But back to real talk… I’ve been adulting. It’s been a while since I took a good, hard look at my finances and spending habits. I’ve gone through at least one raise and one rent hike, so it’s about time I take a good look at where my money is going. After several failed attempts at using a cash budget and an online tracker, I’ve decided to just keep a written log of my spending—keeping my receipts, tracking my purchases, and just reviewing where my $ is going at the end of the week, when I’ll pop it into a spreadsheet and tally up the amount. I tried tracking in my bullet journal, but that just didn’t work, so I’m using a dedicated notepad just for spending.

I’m fine when it comes to money, but I would like to scale back and take better control of my spending. Mostly impulse buys… and coffee. That’s kind of a problem, but one I hope to address by building better habits. We’ll see.

life: weddings and celebrations

One of my dearest, oldest friends was married this weekend and I had the pleasure of attending and making a weekend trip of it with the boy. It was a Disney wedding, because Disney holds fond memories for both the bride and groom, but it was also the bride’s dream to be wed at Disney, so win-win for all 🙂

The boy and I held off on our anniversary earlier this month to save up for the trip and make it extra special. We had an indulgent dinner at the Boathouse restaurant in Disney Springs, and enjoyed a day trip to Animal Kingdom before the wedding. It was lovely and even this snarky wedding Grinch was charmed by the Disney magic.

Date night at last…

featuring the lobster bake from the Boathouse

and the cutest dessert from Amorette’s Patisserie.

Followed by a bright and early trip to Animal Kingdom

where the views were spectacular

and the critters too cute for words.

The wedding night was also just right… clear skies and chilly weather.

We clean up nice…

the view from Sunday: outings and adulting

It’s been a good weekend, which feels like a good change. I did some adult things and some silly things, including:

Opening a secondary savings account for experiences and thrills, rather than the big life events.
Brunch at ikea, because pancakes and things. Not all of which were entirely necessary, but I can handle it.
Cleaning. Lots of cleaning.
Writing. And worrying about said writing.
Running. Yes, I did it again 🙂
Reading trashy reads, because they are the best.

Now, we have ginger snaps

Old plants in new “pots” (really a mug)

And kitties begging for treats

life: things are starting to look up

It’s been a strange month, lots of changes and constant motion, but things are finally settling into something like normal. First things first: I got the car. Yes, I got the same car I had and, no, I didn’t give it the same name (these are questions people have asked). I took advantage of the storm that wasn’t to get a loan and close the deal. And then I sort of forgot to mention it… too much happening at once. Anyhow, the car is back and I no longer have to worry about sharing a ride with my mom and carting her around to do groceries on the weekends. Joy for all.

It seems so insignificant, but you really can’t get around without a car in South Florida (unless you want to rely on unpredictable public transit). Just knowing that my weekends are my own and I don’t have to structure my free time around my mom’s schedule is a weight off my mind….which means I can also get back to writing without worrying about needing to be somewhere. I spent the whole weekend catching up and it was perfect. Very productive and just what I needed to get back on track.

Meanwhile, I’m reading way too many books and thoroughly enjoying Crooked Kingdom :). I’m mulling several ideas for this week’s video, but I’m starting to lean towards a declutter… or something chatty… I dunno, sometimes the ideas pour and the time fades. #adulting

On the menu for this week:

Finish two chapters by Sunday
Declutter my nail polish collection
Review my fall wardrobe options
Stick to my meal planning and tidy up the apartment (because kitties be messy)

life: waiting, again?

So the storm has come and gone, leaving mostly wet rounds and lights out for a lot of Miamians. Most shocking of all, my power made it through the winds… though, with my luck, it’ll probably go out when there’s not a breeze to be felt.

All well and good, except that they’re projecting a second hit (?!). It’s happened before. So the plants are going back out, the cold brew will be had, and my emergency meal prep will be eaten, but I may have to go through it all again in a few days. Gah!

Anyhow, I’m taking advantage of this day off (I had it off even before the storm), and going to get a loan for the new car. I can’t keep living with so much uncertainty.

life: October goals and moving on

There’s a lot that needs doing in October. I have a major library event to manage, a conference event (but a fun one), two leadership workshops to attend, and a car to buy (as soon as the check rolls in). I am barely managing to keep myself from going into a full-on panic. I can do this. I’ve had worse. But it’s always darkest before the dawn (or so they say). I really can’t wait for a drama-free week. I desperately need a few days without prep or planning, just some time to be.

My main goal is to settle the car situation without turning into a mush of nerves. We’ll see how that turns out.
Next goal: continue working on Round 1.2 (because round one became three rounds). This is the stick middle, which needs two rounds of careful revision before I can unravel it. My personal goal is a complete draft by January, but I foresee delays given recent events.
Speaking of delays, I will not be participating in this year’s NaNo. I was really looking forward to it, but I haven’t made the progress I need to even think about working on something else. I’ll keep storing my ideas for later, perhaps Camp.
Healthwise, I want to control myself around the holidays. I’m debating a Whole60 in November, while following most of the Whole30 principles in October. The holidays are my weakness when it comes to bad food habits, and I’ve been doing so well, I don’t want to fall off again.

As of today, I’ve waved the car goodbye and started preparing for a potential storm situation. I’m hoping for the best. Meanwhile, I’ve stocked up on books and cold-brew coffee. Probably no video on Friday.

That’s my plan. What’s yours?

the view from Sunday: books, cake, and kitty cats

It’s been a busy weekend. Took the boy shopping for new clothes (he found a new job! yay!) and spent some time with family. I’m trying to make more time for family, especially between drafts. Being the textbook definition of an introvert, I have a bad habit of forgetting to see people (ie. being so wrapped up in myself that I forget to be social); as a result, I’m making a real effort to be more involved. Made time for mom and gran (it also being gran’s birthday), and spent some time with the auntie and wee bairn. I need to remind myself that family time isn’t time wasted, it’s time spent making memories.

Today, there was cake(!)

books read and books to read

(and vlog about)

pad thai indulged in

and kitty cat played with.

Now, to lay off the cake (there really has been too much dessert this week) and get back to revision prep.

June goals

I’ve been getting into the habit of writing down my goals for the month on an index card. It’s quick and easy, and keeps me grounded when I need a reminder. June’s goals are not very different from May’s goals, but they help to keep me motivated.

Finish draft rewrite (on target and toying with a possible title)
Reintroduce foods after Whole30 (starts today)
- Legumes: peanuts, maybe beans when it feels worth it (mostly because I already know how those make me feel)
- Non-gluten grains: oats, maybe some corn chips (already have issues digesting raw corn), rice
- Dairy: full-fat yogurt or frozen yogurt as a treat, maybe some hard cheese or mozzarella (like the beans and corn, I already know how these make me feel)
- Gluten grains: maybe some bread, a croissant or something similar. I’m not in a rush to reintroduce processed carbs.
Walk, walk, walk – running just hurts too much and my knees/hips can’t handle it anymore. I’ve progressed up to 3 mile walks a few times a week, with shorter walks during lunch time.
Yoga! – My practice suffered a bit in May because of other commitments and time constraints, but I’m working on a 3 day schedule.
Blog/vloggy goodness will continue 🙂
Relax! – I’ll be turning 32 this month (!) and I’m taking a mini-break to celebrate before going to ALA for the weekend. As soon as the draft is done, I’m catching up on all the books and shows 🙂 🙂 🙂