Greetings, Internet! I hope everyone’s staying as safe and sane as can be. This week, I cooked for the Super Bowl, made myself Valentine’s Day hot cocoa, and went outside because it was sixty degrees in February. Daily summaries below!

February 10, 2023

• The weather was nice, so I got a matcha. Mmm…matcha.
• Worked out with an SCI trainer.
• Spontaneous date night with my boyfriend! He was just like, “Wanna go somewhere nice for dinner?” And I did. So we went. [Featured Image for this post is an appetizer from the restaurant.]
• And now there’s “From Russia With Love” on. Good old Sean Connery and old school sexism.
• Wordle: Whoops.
• Currently feeling: It’s nice to do impromptu date nights ^_^
• Currently looping: No music today, but during my Friday workouts, I usually play reruns of “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives” in the background.

February 11, 2023

• Did the FES cycle. Caught up on “The Last of Us” and wow, they just love making people feel their feelings.
• FEEELS.
• Kind of wanted a matcha latte, but it was getting late, so I decided to save my caffeine for tomorrow.
• My boyfriend and I ate hella pie. ‘Twas delicious.
• I keep drinking water and retaining it. It’s annoying because I know it means I’ll have to get up and pee like, three times tonight.
• Wordle: Whoops.
• Currently feeling: I emailed my advisor to see if he could meet to just catch up for the semester, and he hasn’t responded, so now I’m worried he’s given up on me. That, or my chapter was terrible. Really hoping it’s neither.
• Currently looping: Finally listened to one of my daily mixes on Spotify.

February 12, 2023

• Super Bowl Sunday! I tried cooking chicken fajitas for my friend and boyfriend, and it may have taken two hours, but the noms were decent!
• I also made guacamole. Also decent!
• And my friend made mezcal margaritas, which were delightful ^_^
• My boyfriend doesn’t really care about football or the halftime show, so he left during the Rihanna concert.
• Also, Rihanna knows how to do a Super Bowl performance that’s impressive without being too much. Dang.
• Wordle: Whoops.
• Currently feeling: I missed most of the Super Bowl commercials (and plays) because I was attempting to cook.
• Currently looping: All the Riri.

February 13, 2023

• Happy Galentine’s Day!
• Went for a facial. I keep thinking I’ll stop, because they’re expensive, but then I leave like, “Dang, I feel awesome.”
• I should get a real job someday so I can pay for my facials without feeling guilt that I could be saving money.
• Got a matcha latte. I used a gift card, so, not counting that towards my spending guilt.
• Why do I have spending guilt even when I stay within budget?
• What the damn hell?!
• Worked out with an SCI trainer!
• Cleaned some makeup brushes.
• I think my political news mainly comes from podcasts that are hosted by comedians. It’s the only way to digest the news.
• Thought about going to buy groceries, but then realized they would be too heavy to bring back. Looks like I’m back to the delivery service world!
• Wordle: In four!
• Currently feeling: Grateful that my parents were nowhere near that maniac with the truck, because some of the pedestrian-striking sites were near places where my parents could have gone on a nice day like today.
• Currently looping: Loren Allred’s “Never Enough” from “The Greatest Showman.” I’d heard so much about the difficulty of this song, and dang, I just want to learn it.

February 14, 2023

• Happy Valentine’s Day! My boyfriend thinks it’s a ridiculous Hallmark holiday, and it is (after all, this is technically a saint’s feast day, because Saint Valentin was martyred, but you know, capitalism!). But I still love this ridiculous holiday, so break out the chocolate!
• Did the FES cycle while figuring out my grocery order.
• Okay, I went overboard on groceries.
• Therapy!
• Watched a few videos of people doing K-turns, and you know what? A guy who literally teaches people how to drive in NYC had to deal with a situation where he caused another driver to wait. So you know, it happens to everyone. Also the other videos all happen in non-double-solid-yellow-line situations, where there is literally no one else on the road.
• This is all to say that I feel significantly less like I’m a terrible driver, and more like there are just a lot of people in vehicles in NYC, and it’s crowded, so everyone just has to wait.
• But I digress! I made myself hot chocolate, because that is what I do on Valentine’s Day.
• And for those wondering, my boyfriend and I went out to dinner on Friday night, so that was date night + NYC restaurant week night + Valentine’s Day + belated one-year anniversary all wrapped into one dinner. We’re efficient/cheap like that.
• Wordle: In four!
• Currently feeling: I’m really excited to get back into cooking. I haven’t done much of it since living in England, but after cooking a decent meal for the Super Bowl, I’m like, “Oh! That’s right! This is a skill I have.” Anyway, I’ve let my boyfriend know that he’s going to be a guinea pig for a bunch of sheet pan meals.
• Currently looping: There’s new Kamelot! “Opus of the Night” feat. Tina Guo! So excited for the new album, which is out in about a month.

February 15, 2023

• Did not sleep well last night. Note to self: do not drink hot chocolate after 8:30pm.
• Holy cow, it’s over sixty degrees outside!
• Went outside to get a loaf of bread and a cinnamon roll.
• Got my grocery haul delivered (it was too many items to shop for the old fashioned way). Put things away for like, ten minutes. Yay, groceries!
• Asked my bestie if she wanted to get matchas on such a lovely day. And she had time, so we did!
• And then we went to Sephora and I didn’t buy anything. I don’t know why that seems like such an accomplishment.
• Went back to my apartment and attempted to pan fry chicken.
• Oh shoot, I should’ve halved the chicken breasts. These are not cooking evenly.
• Oh no, there’s oil flying everywhere.
• I texted my boyfriend for help, so he walked me through how not to burn the rest of the chicken.
• Ugh, cooking is hard.
• I should’ve just done a sheet pan recipe. Side note, how has it taken this long for me to pan fry a chicken breast? I cooked all the time in England (but also, like, I made stew, which is immensely more forgiving than a frying pan).
• Wordle: In five!
• Currently feeling: Cooking is hard.
• Currently looping: Sarah Jarosz, because it’s getting late and I need to actually sleep. And her voice is so soothing.

February 16, 2023

• I finally started listening to Nicole Byer’s podcast, “Why Won’t You Date Me?” and it’s delightful.
• Did the FES cycle.
• Phone calls and emails!
• Wow, where did the day go?
• Thankfully already had a cooked chicken breast in the fridge (see yesterday’s cooking chaos), so I reheated it, stir fried some veggies, and used some spicy ramen seasoning with noodles. Mmm…learning to cobble together a meal.
• Somehow I flung an almost cooked noodle onto the floor and into the corner. I think I’ll have to wait for it to dry before I can pick it up. Whoops.
• “Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2” is on, and I forgot how much of a tearjerker it is. Like, dang.
• I have a plan for a chapter revision. It requires more research. I should get on that.
• Wordle: In three!
• Currently feeling: Somehow I didn’t get much done today, but the day still flew by.
• Currently looping: My Spotify karaoke playlist, but Céline Dion is getting a lot of play.

Thanks so much for reading! Stay safe, stay sane, and tell me about a silly kitchen mishap you’ve had!