What I’m Into, February 2018

Main Events:

I was excited to celebrate this Valentine’s Day with Taylor after being single for the last seven! We planned to go to the Grizzlies game on the actual day and figure out something else to do that weekend, but ended up having our Valentine date the night before (after my Mardi Gras plans fell apart). He also brought me roses and chocolate. ♥ The Valentine’s Day game was entertaining – a mascot wedding was planned at halftime, but as I predicted, Grizz’s rival mascot busted it up.

One of my best friends, Alanna, had a healthy baby boy on Groundhog Day! Our friend group spent the day in suspense, and once we got confirmation of his birth, I said the real question was whether he saw his shadow. It was a sunny day, so maybe he did. In other friend baby news, we had a lovely tea at an antique store for Myla, who’s expecting a girl.

My little brother turned 30. I’m still trying to comprehend it. My mom also has a February birthday, and it turns out Taylor’s mom and brother do too! That’s a lot of family birthdays for the shortest month of the year.

Reading:

I’ve mentioned that I have to exercise at night now rather than at lunchtime, so in exchange, lunchtime has become book time. I’ve been struggling more than usual to get through serious nonfiction books. It occurred to me I’m still absorbing tons of new information every day at work, and maybe I should let my brain rest. So I’m indulging in a lot of fiction and lighter reads. I could go on at length about any of these, so hit me up if you want to discuss!

Listening:

I’m not a huge podcast person, but they’re a good entertainment option at the gym, and I could not resist the siren call of Oprah’s conversation with Reese Witherspoon and Mindy Kaling. I laughed, I cried, I related. So good. Also, when I was having a bad anxiety week, a friend recommended the three-part Uncovering Techniques series on the Feeling Good Podcast.

Watching:

I saw Black Panther on opening weekend and can’t wait to see it again! (My favorite thinkpiece so far: The Tragedy of Erik Killmonger) I was also excited for Annihilation. There are a lot of changes from the book, but I understand why they were made, and the movie is great in its own right. If you haven’t read the books, be ready for some super creepy and disturbing (but thought-provoking) stuff.

February TV was all about the Winter Olympics! As usual, skating is my favorite, though I was way more into pairs this time and wish Virtue and Moir would just declare their love already.

Travel:

I took a quick work trip to the Cincinnati area to tour one of our mills and help give a training presentation. My new job is great! I also enjoyed Skyline Chili and Graeter’s ice cream. It seems like a fun city and I hope to make a weekend trip at some point (primarily to see Fiona at the zoo).

Around Town:

Kelsey got Supper Club into the VIP preview night of Memphis’s new Dave & Buster’s. It was a blast. I got excited about the light-up ice cubes and Giant Pac-Man, and Taylor killed at basketball and faux beer pong.

I stopped by the grand opening of our newest local craft brewery, Crosstown Brewing Co. The beer is good and I think it’ll be a great place to hang out! The next day, we went to the opening weekend of the new Maciel’s Tacos location on Highland. I never realized before how I automatically want in on the newest exciting thing right away, and maybe sometimes I would be better off waiting for the crowds to die down and the kinks to get worked out. I’m not an early adopter with things, but when a buzzy new place opens or event happens I’m there on day one like a bug to a light. Hipster problems.

Cooking/Eating:

I made a grasshopper cake for the Super Bowl – Taylor and I watched at his place with his parents and my dad. I was inspired by a Martha Stewart cake recipe I’d made many Super Bowls ago with Andes mints cut into football shapes, but I remembered that one taking hours, because there are no shortcuts with Martha. In contrast, everything about this cake was a shortcut. Box mix, canned frosting doctored with peppermint additives, and Andes mints crumbled on top. It was good enough for us.

I’ve discovered the magic of spaghetti squash! Preheat the oven to 400, cut squash in half, add salt, pepper, and olive oil, roast cut side down 45-50 minutes, scrape out and add whatever you want. A vegetable that operates like spaghetti. Life-changing.

Beauty:

Brenda’s Skincare Reboot, Chapter 2: I had a great start with the Keeva tea tree lotion I mentioned in January, but am now shiny and breaking out everywhere (it’s also been warmer and more humid this month). In frustration, I’ve added a new toner and a benzoyl peroxide lotion to alternate with the tea tree. After an in-depth consult with my K-beauty expert friend Esther, I also switched to a lower pH cleanser. Updates forthcoming.

In makeup news, my favorite beauty vlogger finally convinced me to give in to the Makeup Revolution Naked Chocolate Palette, now too-conveniently available at Ulta. They also ran a good online sale on the Urban Decay Naked On the Run Palette, which I’ve been considering since it was released years ago. The slots for eyeliner and mascara finally convinced me it was worth it for travel or generally being, you know, on the run. Now I only have to grab one thing instead of curating a makeup bag. I took it on my business trip and loved it (with the exception of the mascara, which isn’t even close to my Holy Grail mascara). The 24/7 eyeliner is incredible.

And yes, I realize my palette situation is out of control – I’m taking a step back.

Wellness:

The Run the 901 series cranked up in February. I had no idea what to expect leading up to the 10K, because while my cross-training is going well, I hadn’t been running at all. It ended up being my second-fastest 10K distance! I felt good the whole time, and my increased strength from weight training was evident. It was really encouraging. After that, I again did not run until the 15K two weeks later. I knew I ought to run a little on the treadmill at least, but by then I was kind of curious about how much I could do cold turkey. Well, I found out!! I ran out of gas a little past mile 8, when we turned uphill and into the wind, and had to walk most of the remainder of the race. But I did it! Shortly after the race, I felt slightly lightheaded but tried to shrug it off. By 5 pm I was in bed with the worst case of “runner’s flu” I’ve ever had. It made me even more hesitant about the half next month, but I want to see the series through – I’ll just walk if/when I need to. I don’t think my pride could have handled that two months ago, but suddenly I’m fine with being strong and fit enough to say “Hey, I think I’ll run 9 (or 13) miles today,” and not die. In any case, after this half, I am officially retiring from distances over 15K. Like Lindsey Vonn, I also reserve the right to change my mind about that in a year or two.

I’ve been in a weird, defensive emotional place about church and was hesitant to agree to go to a series of leadership meetings over the next few months. But the first meeting made me SO GLAD I did. I left incredibly encouraged and comforted by the direction my church is going, and feeling like I can be of use just by being myself (what a concept!). The above is a list of stated goals and touchpoints FOR OUR CHURCH. They also happen to be some of my personal goals for life. Hope survives.

I didn’t go to an Ash Wednesday service this year, since it fell on Valentine’s Day and it was kind of a special one for me. I’m also not giving up anything this Lent, because nothing meaningful came to mind, but I signed up for a group read of a Henri Nouwen book, The Road to Daybreak. Nouwen always speaks to my heart no matter what state it’s in.

Your Monthly Rufus: