I’m looking forward to my upcoming solo vacation in a neighboring city. It has been a long year. I need some time to myself to rest, recharge, and recover from burnout. As I’m prepping for my trip, here are five things that are getting me through until that time off. I’ll be sure to keep you updated on the things that help me recharge!
It has been a long few weeks. I had a beautifully boring and relaxing vacation in August. I finished four books, I ate well and I barely interacted with any humans. I felt so well rested and then I returned to an absolutely draining week. I coworked with a friend on Monday after having blood work done (I googled the results and spent an entire week stewing), had a long working lunch on Tuesday, had an all day in person meeting with partners followed by dinner with them Wednesday, and then I went to see Jared Freid on Thursday. All of that was a lot already, but then Friday came with a bit of an emotional roller coaster my dad totaled his truck. He is perfectly fine but it was scary to hear about it. I was “officially” diagnosed Type 2 diabetes—I’d self-diagnosed myself Monday after that googling. You can read more about that rude awakening and catalyst for change here. Then I left Sunday at 6AM for a work conference in Orlando and now I’m headed to see my family in PA. These Five Things are what have kept me moving, functioning, and on a steady path forward.
Book: I’ve been slowly but surely working my way through the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas. I have long been a fan of Maas. I read A Court of Thorns and Roses back in 2016 (got in on the bottom floor of that one), but for some reason never picked up Throne of Glass. I’ll be honest, this series isn’t as exciting for me as her others, but it is still entertaining. Sometimes you just need high drama in another world.
Article: I’m having my first vacation where I go somewhere other than to see my family for the first time in years. It has been a long time since I have completely unplugged from work and just focused on myself and creative pursuits. I’m taking inspiration from this article to figure out what this trip will look like. I’ll be deleting all of my work related apps from my phone, iPad and computer to try to guard myself.
TV show: Only Murders in the Building is back this week with a two-episode season premier. I absolutely love this show. Steve Martin and Martin Short are two of my favorite comedians of all time. Their chemistry with Selena Gomez cannot be beat. The cast has only grown more extraordinary with each season. More than that, the plot is always exciting and fresh. New episodes are out on Tuesdays!
Recipe: I am so sick of summer and genuinely cannot wait for fall. My very British Isles geneaology means I was not built for hot, humid and sunny. I was built for cool, grey and rainy. So in anticipation of the fall breeze, I’m going to spend sometime over the weekend cooking this Half Baked Harvest Spicy Baked Potato Soup. I’ll freeze it so I can eat it when that fall breeze finally makes it’s way through!
Item: If like me you love homemade soup, but live alone, you know the absolute pain in the ass it is to cook a giant cauldron of soup in the fall but not be able to eat it all before it goes bad. Well enter the solution: Souper Cubes! These silicon molds can hold up to 1 cup of liquid (ideally soup) that can then be put into the freezer so that you can eat soup all fall long! I’ve also used them for this no churn ice cream!
