-
Up and waddling
After several months of being salty over my unsuccessful transition into a new career in web development, several more months of trying to find the ambition to build my personal site and several more months after that of deciding to actually deploy said personal site (I actually built this at a pretty respectable rate), the site is up and ready to rock! Now the trick is to actually use this to make it more worth-while. Not so much in a “hire me immediately as a web developer” way but in a therapeutic thought journal type of way. The good news is that I’m now in a very different spot in…
-
Art That Speaks
From the moment I first found Any Means Necessary on social media, I have absolutely loved Shawn Coss’s artwork. His personal story is also inspiring and relatable, as he used to be an ER Nurse and has struggled with his own mental health issues. His images are dark and creepy but honestly, this is the first artist and collection of artwork that has spoken to me in a long time, if ever. Here is one of my favorites.
-
More to the Story
I recently started reading more in my spare time. I generally don’t like reading books based on movies or shows that I’ve already watched because I feel like I already loosely know what happens. I was late to The Handmaid’s Tale party and binged-watched the entire series earlier this year. I then read The Testaments after completing the series, as I excitedly wanted to know more of the story and while I waited for the show to be released. But as I started watching the show, it quickly became clear that it was very loosely based on the book. Due to curiosity, I then went and read The Handmaid’s Tale…
-
Mobile Games Past
My two favorite mobile games ever were and still are Funko Pop Blitz and Beatstar. They were so much fun to play, had awesome content, simultaneously kept me engaged for over 2 years and helped me get through some tough times. So of course, both are no longer available to play and there’s been a huge mobile gaming void. After searching far and wide, I have recently found some similar games (Squishmellow Match, Disney Emoji Blitz and SuperStar) and while they’re mostly fun and resemble my original favorites, they’re still not quite the same! Change sucks!
-
The Grief Monster
Grief sucks and it’s truly the gift that keeps on giving. I’m not going to even go there about the 5 Stages because that almost makes it sound like there’s a clear beginning and end to it all, and there’s not. Grief is a nasty, non-linear journey that will have you feeling like a perfectly grounded warrior of coping one minute and then directly send you into feeling like a massively unstable welder of chaos the next minute, usually without fair warning. The sad part is, dying is just an unfortunate part of life. As a nurse, I have seen how much of a physical toll terminal illness takes on…
-
New Year, Same Me
I miss the days when I was super excited and hopeful for the New Year. It’s not a problem with being thankful and grateful; I practice and strive for both every day. It’s more about being realistic, knowing that most life stressors and challenges are situational and that change is generally slow. It’s probably also knowing that there’s only so much time and energy in a day and that much of both goes toward adulting and just surviving. I’ve generally tried to steer away from making any huge, life altering resolutions because just the thought of making any of these seems stressful and exhausting, let alone carrying them out. Instead,…
-
New Year’s Vibes
On this New Year’s Eve, let us never forget this gem of a throwback jam from 1998.
-
The Soundtrack of 2025
The K Pop Demon Hunters movie and soundtrack have both been playing on repeat in our house since this summer and in my opinion, it’s one of the better movie soundtracks to come out in the past few years (next to Wicked).
-
So Much to Say, So Little Time…And Energy
If I had to summarize what’s been up over the past few months, the answers would clearly be “my anxiety” and “surviving.” The phrase “same shit, different toilet” also definitely comes to mind. I feel like 2025 has been a super challenging year in all kinds of ways. The political climate and what appears to be humanity’s direct decent into the dumpster have been sapping me of positivity and hope. It has also probably been one of my most challenging years professionally, making me question and second-guess my decision making and general life choices. As a wife and mom of three, I feel like I am constantly behind on something…
-
Powerful Songs: Part 2
-
You Gotta Walk Before You Run
I used to be a decent runner. I was never fast or did anything crazy like qualify for Boston, but my commitment and perseverance helped me to complete 1 full marathon, 13 half marathons and too many 5Ks to count. But that was before I had my girls, before my neck and back injuries and before my COVID-related struggles. Well, I’m officially back at it and trying to at least build up to do a 5K within the next few months. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to build up to doing anything competitive; I never really ran competitively to begin with. This also isn’t my first, second or…