High Five for Friday: November 18

All week long, I've had no clue what day it is. At least today I won't have the disappointing realization that it's not Friday! :) Let's see what put the sparkle into this week:

• Last Friday, I finally graduated from physical therapy! (It only took five months nbd.) My foot still hurts sometimes, but now I actually have the strength to resist someone pushing on my legs/feet, so yay? I was also given the terrible news that I need to keep exercising for the rest of my life. UGH ADULTHOOD.

• To celebrate, I stopped at Starbucks on my way to work, and when I got to the register, I was told that the person ahead of me had paid for me! What the what?! I was so thrown off that I just left, like a total jerk! But what a sweet gesture in a week that so needed it! Thank you, complete stranger! (I am determined to pay it forward the next time I'm at Starbs. I need to plan to be spontaneous, ha!)

Holiday cups <3

• When I texted my bffl about finishing physical therapy, she wrote back "congrats!" ...and confetti fell on our texts! And thus began 20 minutes of us trying to figure out how to replicate it. iOS 10 is too fancy for us. (But sending confetti with unexciting texts is my new favorite thing to do!)

Oh yeah, we discovered the drawing feature too. 🎨 

• On Saturday, I went to a birthday party for one of my oldest friends! (Gosh, have we been friends since second grade? Maybe?) I also got to see her lovely fam and eat a Swedish fish jello "shot" with them! What a time to be alive!

Put a plate of cupcakes in front of me and I will photograph it. (I didn't actually have one, but only because Funfetti cake was another option. 💯)

• So I've followed the Flyers and Phillies in the past, but never the Sixers. The Sixers are like the red-headed stepchild of Philly sports. They're pretty consistently terrible, but for some reason, Pops and I happened to be watching last week when they won their first game of the year (only going 0-7!). And we were thus introduced to our new favorite song: 

It's so darn catchy, like Billy Preston meets Sesame Street, and dare I say the most entertaining thing to happen to the Sixers since AI's "practice" rant! With jams like this, I'm totally on board!

• Lastly, I had my physical this week and got a clean bill of health! Yahoo! And my arm has finally stopped hurting from my flu shot! (UGH ADULTHOOD.) 

Wishing you all a wonderful pre-Thanksgiving weekend! (Eek, how did that get here so fast?!)

High Five for Friday: November 11

I really struggled with the idea of doing a H54F post during such a painful, tumultuous week. But the goal of these posts is finding the good, and for those of us who are reeling, this week definitely needs some good.

In the wake of this election, there is real shock. There is real grief. There is real fear. We must move forward together, but in order to do that, people have to feel their emotions and be able to cope with them. Here are a few things that have been helping me:

• Talking to someone. Be it a therapist, friend, teacher, counselor (college counseling centers are often free!), suicide hotline (1-800-273-8255), etc. Journaling is a good alternative.

• Keeping up my normal routine. In general, routine helps to lessen my anxiety, but my therapist suggested that it might be particularly comforting in this time of change and uncertainty.

• Admiring the beauty of nature.

Such a lovely surprise in fall!

This tree is right around the corner from my house, and I never even noticed it before. 😍

"Nature's first green is gold..." 

• Making some new cat friends. (#cattherapy)

• Smiling at nuts like this guy:

Busted.

And, hey, pot became legal in several more states this week, so HIGH Five for Friday has a whole new meaning!! 😂😂

Have a good weekend. Be kind to each other out there. xo

High Five for Friday: November 4

Holy November Batman! Let's see what put the sparkle into this week:

• Donuts were the theme on Friday night! 

So seasonally appropriate.

In addition to bringing actual donuts with her, my mom found me this Christmas-y donut blanket at TJ Maxx! How cute!! It's super soft too!

• My mom also gave me this adorable pin! It's basically Ike, in pin form! Eeee!

I need to figure out how to wear these fancy pins like all the cool kids! 

• Speaking of cats (because when am I not speaking of cats?)... On Friday night, I thought I'd spotted Calico Pinky, but when I got close, she darted away. :( But before I could be too disappointed, a SECOND CAT came out of nowhere, ran right for my legs, and rubbed up on me, meowing! Turns out cat #2 was Calico Pinky, and cat #1 was Skinny Tabby, a very skittish and lesser-seen neighborhood cat who may in fact be Calico Pinky's reluctant housemate. What a bunch of nuts. And I'm including myself in that. 

My buddy 💕 

• Did you ever have a shirt that you super randomly just LOVE? This is that shirt for me these days:

I got it secondhand in exchange for clothes I was selling, and I have no idea what brand it is! 

Purple with a subtle pattern?! Perfect. Not to mention that it's a bit boxy, so I layer it with a tank top and then kind of feel like an off-duty ballerina! (#goals #wut) 

• And finally, hey Chicago, what do you say? The Cubs are gonna win today! (Or tomorrow, since that game ended at like 1 AM.) Who else stayed up to watch? I was actually starting to root for Cleveland, just because the focus was so lopsided on the Cubs and their fans, but I am thrilled for Chicago. I can't believe that I went to a Cubs game just before their first championship in 108 years! Like WHAT? I've been to Chicago four other times, and THIS is the year I get to a game?! Pure magic. 🦄

Remember when @a_canny_lass and I went to a Cubs game mere months before they won their first World Series in 108 years? 🎶Hey Chicago, what do you say? Timmi and I broke your curse that day!🎶 😂😂😂 #tbt #gocubsgo #IOriginallyTyped108Tears #AlsoAccurate

A photo posted by Jess (@jessie_face4) on Nov 3, 2016 at 6:25am PDT

Here's to a great weekend! xo

November goals

It's never a good sign when the goals post sneaks up on you! I'm actually not setting too many goals for November because I know there's a good chance they'll be totally forgotten in the holiday chaos!

That does say "Christmas cards," although all I see now is "Christmas carols"!

1. I like to send out Christmas cards, and I usually make them through Snapfish. But my creativity is currently at a zero. I need to get those creative Christmas card juices flowing! 

2. Christmas gifts. Because I need to spread that expense out over two months so as to not go broke! 

3. I tend to start messing around on my phone (particularly with Facebook) as soon as I wake up... which means that I basically disconnect from my body and emotions as soon as I possibly can. That's typical for me (I'm a constant motion, constant stimuli kind of person), but it's not healthy. I tend to feel stressed before I even get out the door in the morning. (Probably because I get sucked into the fb vortex and then am running behind, but a million posts and articles about the election can't help either.) Instead, I could focus on my breathing, do yoga, journal, read posts by my blog friends, blog myself... There are so many brighter ways to start my day. So I want to try them on days that I don't have a new blog post (because I do post those to fb in the morning--that's legit!).

So, how did October's goals go? (If not for one very productive day, this recap would be sad!)

1. Put away spring/summer clothes and shoes and get out fall/winter clothes and shoes: CHECK!

2. Frame two posters: HALF-CHECK! But I'm ok with this because I realized that I really need to commit to custom framing or trim the mat on poster #2 (there are just no frames in its current size).

3. Leave for work earlier: No. Just no. 

4. Choose two adventures from my list: CHECK! Ok, I did choose two adventures, but only one from my list. I'm going to count the M83 concert as adventure #2 because I had really wanted to go (I bought the tickets in August!), but I had massive anxiety the day of the concert. Pushing through that and getting out of my comfort zone would constitute an adventure, I think! 😊

5. Those dang blog info pages: No. Just no. That goal may never happen!

High Five for Friday: October 28

Boy, Friday really snuck up on me this week! Let's see what brought the sparkle:

• With Halloween on the horizon, let's start with this adorbs pumpkin washi tape from Target! I had enough restraint to not buy it the first time I saw it... but that ship has obviously sailed.

• I also got this super-cute little binder (and filler paper) from the Target Dollar Spot last week! The moveable pages are a boon when you're trying to piece together childhood memories for therapy. Or, er, using it as a planner as advertised! 

• Speaking of childhood memories, I was going through old pictures over the weekend and found the one on the left. Looks like not much has changed over the years! 

How did my 29-year-old self get a better party hat than my 4-year-old self? 

• I had a very exciting neighborhood cat sighting this week: the ever-illusive Calico Pinky! Eeeee! Unlike the cats that roll their eyes at me (why Tuxedo why?), Calico Pinky made a beeline for me and then proceeded to walk circles around me while meowing, purring, and bumping me for pets! WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS?! 

She even tried to follow me home! I was like EEEP and literally said out loud, "Um, I think you live here?" Luckily, she got distracted chewing on some grass, so I did not become a cat thief. Just a cat creep.

Literally can't even. 

• Lastly, my aunt sent me this card for Halloween. I can't imagine why. 

I'm a full-on cat lady, just without actual cats that I own (nbd).

Hope y'all have a great weekend and a happy Halloween! xo