Hello everyone! Today, let’s have our coffee chat!
Today, I’m having a chai latte from Starbucks and using some of my star rewards to get the oat milk substitute! Otherwise the stars will expire and we can’t have that! So, here’s what I would share with you if we were having coffee.
If we were having coffee I’d tell you, how things are going with my new dog, Fox! I adopted a dog last month and it’s been such a journey! I think I’ll post something separately in a few months but there have been many, many ups and downs. He’s a four year old Chihuahua who was at the shelter for a little bit before I adopted him, so that’s always going to have some challenges. Plus, his former family didn’t exactly seem to train him too well, or at least up to my expectations, and that’s also something I have to work on with him. I do love him so much though and he does want to be a good boy so we’re making great progress!
If we were having coffee I’d tell you, about my potential move. Since it’s now autumn, I’m going to go ahead and say it’s safe to say that I won’t be moving in 2021 like I had planned after all. It’s quite unfortunate but I do not want to move in the winter, plus part of my plan had been to buy a car to move in. With the car industry as crazy as it is, that doesn’t make sense and I think I’m better off saving up even more! Again, it’s disappointing to have to continue to put off my goals, but at this point it just doesn’t make sense to move if there’s so many obstructions that will mean the move is more costly than I want it to be.
If we were having coffee I’d tell you, that Preptober is well under way! I tend to do NaNoWriMo every year and this November is no exception (I hope!). I aim to edit one of my previously written books though, which is something new to me. I tend to be a traditionalist when it comes to NaNo, and in general, but I’m branching out and trying something new! I really do believe in this book so I can’t wait to revisit it and make it even better.
If we were having coffee I’d tell you, that last month was a crazy month for me in term of finances. I got my first paychecks from my new job and seeing the large jump in my income was a really amazing feeling. I remember when I was working minimum wage after college while job hunting and it would have taken me forever to make what one week’s pay is now. I’m so, so grateful for all the opportunities I’ve gotten that have put me in this position in a field I love. Beyond that, I also finally opened a high yield savings account, a Roth IRA, a rollover IRA (I don’t have a 401k with my new job yet and those fees are crazy! I still have yet to move my funds but I’m planning to do that ASAP), and a general investments account. It’s crazy that it’s taken me this long to do all this, but better late than never I suppose!
If we were having coffee I’d tell you, that I’m looking forward to continuing to declutter my life. The weather is cooling down so I’m sure I’ll be switching my spring/summer closet for my autumn/winter one soon and I do intend to declutter even more now. I also want to do another huge sweep of everything I own. I really want to focus on just throwing stuff away. I feel that I’ve let myself hesitate on decluttering a lot of items just because of guilt of throwing away something that could still be used and not wanting to be wasteful. However, these extra items cluttering up my space is something that’s weighing on me constantly, and I know my trash is minuscule compared to what corporations throw out, so I need to get past that barrier that I’m really just using as an excuse.
If we were having coffee I’d tell you, I’m loving the autumn air! It always feels like autumn is such a fleeting season, as when winter arrives in Northern Illinois it comes in fast. The cool breeze will soon give way to the freezing chill of the winter and while it is easy to let myself dread the coming months, I’m focusing on enjoying the present to the fullest.
If we were having coffee I’d tell you, that I am failing miserably at one of my newer goals of reading my own books. I’ve spent years collecting books as it’s always been my dream to have a massive home library. But now with my decluttering journey, I feel the opposite. I still will always own a lot of books, don’t get me wrong. But I want to keep only my favorites. So I’m working on reading the books I own in order to declutter them as well. Those are the ones that I want to prioritize reading so I need to remind myself of that goal in order to follow through!
If we were having coffee I’d tell you, more about my thoughts on the ongoing pandemic. I do tend to avoid this topic nowadays, since I feel like many of us want to move on, myself included. But in the US it’s still very much an ongoing problem and it does weigh on me. It’s a huge relief to be vaccinated, don’t get me wrong, so even with the risks I do feel more at ease being out and about (especially now that masks are mandated again in Illinois). At this point, I’d rather we keep masks forever honestly as I don’t want to ever get the flu or a cold again, but I know that’s just the constant worry feeding into that thought too. Anyway, it’s crazy to think of how different my life has become, and trying to get past the disappointment that my pre-pandemic self would likely feel that there haven’t been too many adventures is difficult. But I am still grateful for all that I’ve learned from this experience too.
If we were having coffee I’d tell you, about my birthday goal, to create peace in my life. I think I’m doing great with this! Well, the dog makes it harder as there’s more to worry about, but overall I do feel myself more peaceful. I’m not stressing about moving this year anymore now that I’m working towards accepting that decision, so that’s a weight off my shoulders. I’m also not stressing with guilt over not having my finances in order. I would say that thinking back to this time last year, I am much more at peace with my life and that is a great feeling.
If we were having coffee I’d tell you, all about my yearly goal of positivity! I think it’s been easier in many ways. Probably the hardest part has been my dog, because when he first arrived it was quite hard. He was having so many tantrums and difficult moments. There are still hard moments with him, but they’re already less frequent now that he knows more rules of the house and we get to know each other. I think he’ll be a good dog soon so things are looking up! Otherwise, I’m grateful for where I am in life right now and I do think that things are going well, so that makes it easy to look on the bright side of things!
So that’s what I would tell you if we were having coffee! What would you tell me during our coffee chat?
Thanks for reading!
Pamela
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