2021 in Review

I had a rough year like most others for varying reasons. But as I sat down to edit my "in review" video this year, something I didn't even bother doing last year, I realized there were still SO many highlights. In between the therapy appointments there was scream-singing Taylor Swift and eating inside restaurants again, amidst the apocalypse there was trying sushi for the first time and traveling out of state, and in between the tears there were so many laughs (like the kind of laughs that are so obnoxious at first and then turn into the kind where no noise comes out at all). 

2021 was great because...

Trump is no longer President and got banned from Twitter!

Vaccine Vaccine VACCINE! (Special shout out to Dolly!)

Bernie and his mittens (and all the memes)

Seeing Katie, Aubrie, and Kierce SO MUCH

Live music 

TWO Taylor re-records

Buc-ees comes to FL

Micro-bladed brows

New tattoos from artists I've loved for so long

Olive's pouf year

Visited Salem

Becoming friends with Maggie

Met lil bebe cousin Georgia

Erin's wedding festivities

My birthday at The Monroe

Nikki Glaser's Podcast

MFM FB Groups

Prozac and a new therapist

Our roof finally got fixed

Christner's orange cake (IYKYK)

TikTok kept on being the best

2021 was not so great because...

(Insert all of the regular daily awful shit that I don't have enough time or mental strength to even go into here...)

The owl that tried to kill me in a parking lot (remembering Katie?!)

Depression

Trying sea-urchin

Not getting to see Alanis with Katie

TMJ

Low key Thanksgiving/Christmas

Setting boundaries for my mental health

A lot of other personal shit...

 BOOKS

I read a total of 29 books surpassing my goal of 25. Woo! Here are my absolute faves of the year:

1. The House on the Cerulean Sea - A magical family, a heartwarming story. 
2. The Midnight Library - "Between life and death there is a library, and within that library, the shelves go on forever. Every book provides a dance to try another life you could have lived." If you ever wonder if you should have taken the road not traveled this is perfect for you. 
3. Malibu Rising - Four famous sibling throw an end of summer party in the early 80s. 
4. A Court of Mist and Fury (#2) - A fantasy fae adventure. The second in the ACOTAR trilogy (loved the series but the second book stands way out!).
5. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - Aging Hollywood Movistar Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to share her story... 
6. Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents - "If you grew up with an emotionally immature, unavailable, or selfish parent, you may have lingering feelings of anger, loneliness, betrayal, or abandonment. You may recall your childhood as a time when your emotional needs were not met, when your feelings were dismissed, or when you took on adult levels of responsibility..."

                                    MUSIC

These are my favorite albums that came out in 2021. Start to finish they all understood the assignment. In no particular order:

1. Magnolia Park - Halloween Mixtape
2. Hayley Williams - FLOWERS for VASES
3. Kacey Musgraves - Star-Crossed
4. Olivia Rodrigo - Sour
5. Jetty Bones - Push Back
6. The Honest Heart Collective - More Harm
7. Angels and Airwaves - Lifeforms
8. Halsey - If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power

Ok technically evermore came out in 2020 BUT since it was 12/11/20 it's practically a 2021 album. I always listen to Taylor Swift in general but folklore's sister album is some of her best work.  

And here are some of my favorite songs that came out in 2021 that I listened to like it was my job...

• Coney Island - Taylor Swift & The National
• Trigger - Hayley Williams
• Gasoline - HAIM & Taylor Swift
• Dolly - Jetty Bones
• Once In A Lifetime - All Time Low
• Driver's License - Olivia Rodrigo
• Anxiety In Real Time - The Maine
• Serotonin - girl in red
• Mood Ring - Lorde
• honey - Halsey
• Renegade - Big Red Machine & Taylor Swift
• breadwinner - Kacey Musgraves
• Losing My Mind - Angels & Airwaves
• I Heard Your Worried About Me - The Honest Heart Collective
• Go Down Together - Foxing
• All Too Well (10 min version) - Taylor Swift
• I Bet You Think About Me - Taylor Swift & Chris Stapleton
• Nothing New - Taylor Swift & Phoebe Bridgers
• Kids Like Us - Magnolia Park
• Here's To Moving On - Dashboard Confessional

                                    MOVIES

I saw a lot of fine, even good, movies but I can't think of a single one I would say was GREAT, must-see type shit.

2021 movies I haven't seen yet but have high expectations for...The French Dispatch, The Last Duel, Encanto

                                TELEVISION

Here are some of my faves of the year even though I watched so much more:

DISNEY+

WandaVision

Loki

Might Ducks Game Changers

The Beatles: Get Back

Amazon Prime

The Pursuit of Love

Tell Me Your Secrets

Netflix

Squid Game

Sexify

Ginny & Georgia

Sweet Tooth

Maid

HBOMAX

Made For Love

The Nevers

Station Eleven

My favorite show that didn't come out this year BUT Dustin and I discovered this year was hands down What We Do In The Shadows. It's The Office meets vampires and it is wonderful. 

I don't know about you but I'm feeling 2022...maybe. Don't do me dirty. 

Dustin Says (Pandemic Catch-Up Part 6)

Do you want to have a sleepover at a strangers house? The answer should always be no! Fuck an AirBNB!

Who is out there having a good time right now?

Talking to Cheeto...
If we were British I'd call you "big ol' ginjuh bugger".

Me: Tomorrow's Friday the 13th!

Dustin: Ohh

Me: Maybe Taylor will announce something!

Dustin: Maybe Jason Voorheen will announce something...

Me: How are you feeling?

Dustin: If I were in the military I'd be General Fatigue. 

Me: I saw that rebound. I mean, interception!

Dustin: Actually it was a fumble. 

Dustin: Do you like my jokes?

Me: Yeah...

Dustin: Then you'll love my life because it's the best joke of them all!

Dustin: Wasn't our bagger kind of rude?

Me: We used self-checkout. I WAS THE BAGGER. 

This and That

IN-N-OUT OF TEXAS

We had a good chunk of the day to kill the Monday after Erin's wedding. Dustin had never been to In-N-Out so we made sure to check that off our list first. He gave pretty high praise to the burger but wasn't a fan of the fries. I wasn't impressed (yet again). I will never get the hype. We were planning on going into downtown Dallas to visit some historical JFK museums but they were all closed. I kept looking for Texas only offerings and was left with nothing in the vicinity. I wanted to go somewhere that was a Texas-only establishment but we came up with nothing. It was all very cookie-cutter suburbs without any real charm. So we went to a donut shop and a record store before arriving at the airport way too early. 

NEED MORE OF THE D

A couple weeks ago I went for my yearly bloodwork including an addition my therapist wanted to rule out (MTHFR gene mutation). It can be linked to depression which is something I can't seem to shake all the way as of late. I got my results but I don't see anything about this specific test so I'm wondering if I was actually tested for it. I have a doctor's appointment next week to go over it all so I'll ask then. My doctor did call to tell me I have a Vitamin D deficiency. I have been on VitD (1000 IU) supplements for a year but am still showing as very low so they upped it to 5000 IU. Low D is also linked to depression (and some other shit I've been experiencing too - see below). I've just been so tired ALL the time. No matter what I do I cannot feel rested. I never feel 100% in energy or mood. So I'm hoping the more D I take the better I will start to feel. Here's hoping!

I also recently sent a message via my gyno's patient portal about a sharp breast pain I had been experiencing. I wasn't too concerned because I had no other symptoms (no discharge or lumps) but I wanted to get their opinion. They scheduled me to come in just days later. My doctor was extremely thorough in her exam and questioning. She didn't feel any lumps either. She said it could be due to wearing a only fitting bra, caffeine intake, or from a child or in my case a large cat stepping on them. CHEEEETO. She was not concerned and the little concern I had completely eased. She suggested I get a mammogram if it happens again. So far it has not. 

I share all of this publicly because I want to normalize going to your doctors to get checked out if something feels off and for regular check ups. Take care of yourself! And of course your physical health but also your mental health. It's all important. If you have insurance and/or the means to do so then make that appointment please.

Oh and I got my Moderna booster yesterday! Fuck yeah!

THE FINER THINGS CLUB

Gaya and I had plans to go to Prato way back in the spring but she sprained her ankle moments before and so our Prato date never happened. So then she invited me again in July and told me to invite Katie and she would invite another foodie friend of hers. The four of us got acquainted over calamari, meatballs, and we even tried our first duck. We all just ordered a bunch of stuff and shared everything. It was so fun to try a new restaurant and new (to me) food that she suggested we make it a monthly event. And that's when The Finer Things Club was born. As President and head-foodie, Gaya chooses our location and the rest of us just show up cute as hell open to try new things. So far we've been to Reyes, SushiPop, and SoCo (for magical dining month) and have tried everything from chicken liver pate to sea urchin (never again with that shit Rob). Also in very personal news I tried my very first (raw) sushi roll. It was good! It's not something I'd want to eat a ton of at a time but a couple here is great. Next meeting is in a few weeks...say less!

 

IMMERSE REMORSE & OTHER HAPPENINGS

A couple weekends ago the girls came over and we went straight to the mall to find Aubrie her very first homecoming dress. Hold please, let me take a moment to let that sink in. DEAR LAWD WHAT IS TIME. 

Ok, I've composed myself. But she was just a leetle bebe that looked like an Olsen twin and poof she's in high school!? Ok, for real, I'm better now. (Narrator: No she was not but the blog post had to move along.) We went to several stores but Dillard's really was the only one that was worth a second of our time. They had several options for her to try even though a few she needed to be talked into trying on. Girl knows what she wants and the second you even suggested a dress she didn't like it was a hard "NO." She ain't no pushover which is great but I think the three of us also helped her to be more open to trying things just to see. I told her even if you only like the slightest thing about it try it on. If you still hate it then off to the no pile it goes. First was the blue dress, then the maroon, and finally the green. I will fully admit I didn't like the green one on the hanger. AT ALL. But I wanted to take my own advice and was excited to see how it looked on her. It fit her like a glove. She had the sleeves up and it was perfect but when she put the sleeves down and they hung on her shoulders the three of us were like YEP. The one. Done. Let's go.

She planned on wearing Katie's black shoes so just needed some jewelry to pull it all together. Target had nothing good enough. We tried Dear Prudence since they offer custom made jewelry and have tons of stones and crystals which Aubrie is all about. The necklace she left with is the coolest and it feels even more special that it was a collaborative effort between Katie, Aubrie, and I. 

I took a FaceTime call from Hayley, Georgia, and my Aunt Sarah while we were out and about because I didn't want to miss talking to them. So we caught up for a few minutes in an antique store. Do what you got to do to get in that family time. GG started crying the minute she saw my face. Dead serious. So I talked to my Aunt for a minute while Hayley comforted her.

We ate a quick dinner in the car and were off to our final stop, Immerse. We had been two years ago pre-pandemic and really had a blast. Last year it was canceled because covid was still very much a thing and vaccines weren't yet. I was pumped to be able to go again but it was just a shitshow from the start. First, traffic was insanity as was parking. Then we had to walk a lot which we had been doing all day so we were kind of over having such a huge bones day. We got there and not only did it seem 50% smaller than the last time but it had the same installations. AND no one even checked our tickets so basically we could have done it all for free. It was such a bummer. We walked down Orange Ave. and then right back to the car. Win some lose some. 

For the record my Apple watch logged 11,267 steps (5.4 mi) and 74 min of "exercise" which is basically just tracking constant movement. 

We went back to my place and watched Scream. The original 1996 Scream. I saw that shit in theaters when I was 11 with a bunch of my friends. I even told Kierce and Aubrie we bought tickets for another movie and then snuck into this one. Sweet innocent Kierce said "you can do that?" Oh man, kids these days really need to get creative. It was the first time all THREE of them had seen it. Katie was very sheltered in the movie/tv show department in her youth so I'm glad she's finally made it to the R rated movie party. Dustin even pranked them when he used *69 (yeah that shit still works) on his phone number while calling Kierce from the other room. The girls were legit freaked out until he revealed himself. Even though Kierce didn't even answer the call. Sent Ghostface aka Dustin straight to voicemail. HA!

Dustin Says (Pandemic Catch-Up Part 5)

I want to be good but I've got to be bad first.

57 is old for a regular ol' poor person but still pretty young when you're rich.

My eyebrows are politicians trying to come together across the aisle.

Me: I just got a sharp pain in my boob!
Dustin: Tit pain! T-Pain!

The only babies I like are the Muppet Babies.

After getting into a car accident...

Well, my first accident was being born.

JoyBox

I surprised Katie with tickets to JoyBox. We already had tickets to Immerse (more on that at a later date) and although JoyBox tickets were offered at the same time there wasn't any information about it so we declined. Then I started to see more and more posted about it so I was like "date night!". We had the whole place almost to ourselves. There were maybe only two other groups wandering around the same time we were which made it that much more enjoyable. 

Each installation was more than just a fun photo-op. They all had prompts. I took photos of a couple (see below) to get an idea of what I mean. The shredded paper floor had you write down a worry on neon paper and then you got to stick it in a shredder while it went onto the floor in pieces. There was a room full of scrolling signs that you could text a message to and it would scroll by in front of you. There was a wall that read "The Best Is Yet To Come" where the prompt was to write down your hope for the future on a round sticker that went onto the wall with hundreds of others. Some serious, some hilarious.

My absolute favorite one was the "classroom". There were high school style desks set up like a real classroom. A supercut of my teenage years flashed before me as I slid into the desk and set my bag on the ground just like I used to. I'm not one of those people who are all "High School was the best years of my life!" but I do have (mostly) fond memories. I'm certainly not too cool to look back on that time of my life and reflect on what was, could have been, and never was in the cards. I probably look back too often on parts of my life. I'm working on being more present but there is something in me that is so goddamn nostalgic. Maybe it's just being a millennial. 

It was fun to sit in a school setting with Katie again. No, we never went to the same high school (oh the fun we would've had!) but we did meet in college, in chairs just like that, 17 years ago. We sat next to each other as we both followed the prompt to write our future selves a letter (that will supposedly be mailed to us at a later date). There was a mail slot and everything. 

Snail mail! Nostalgia! Writing about my feelings and hopes! It was so *ME*. I even tried to put my own stamp on the envelope but realized my stamps were in my big wallet that I left at home. I still hope we really do receive those letters sometime. 

The entire experience was interactively therapeutic on it's own but during the entire thing I felt the bond between Katie and I get even stronger. There were deep cuts. We sat crooked and talked straight. 

And I know we'll love each other through every success and every fumble. Life is just one beautiful mess and I'm so glad we get to be by one another's side for the pretty parts and the complicated ones too.