Hey, look at me, back with some pictures of the clothes I put on my body!

So, how many of you, like me, have new year’s resolutions to clean up your space and are KonMari-ing? If you have Netflix, you’ve probably seen the show Tidying Up with Marie Kondo or you’ve at least heard of it. I bought the book a few years ago so I was already familiar with the KonMari method of tidying when the show came out. If you’re not familiar with KonMari, you organize by room instead of my stuff. Then, you take EVERYTHING out of your closet, drawers, etc. and hold each item to determine whether it “sparks joy.” If it does, you keep it, and if it doesn’t, you get rid of it.

The idea of taking every single piece of clothing out of my closet at once is still too daunting, but as I’ve mentioned a few times on the blog, I’ve been taking pieces out a little at a time to ensure my style reflects who I am now, and to help me achieve my goal of living a somewhat minimalist lifestyle. Freshly inspired by Marie Kondo and her show, I’ve taken even MORE pieces out of my closet in the past few weeks and I’m still feeling great about the pieces that remain, as evidenced by the return of my office-bathroom mirror selfies!

Anyway, on to the outfits!

I received some good health news recently!

Since the heart attack in May 2017, I’ve been seeing a cardiologist every six months to make sure I’m healing well and that I’m not having any complications. So far, everything has been fine. At my most recent check up, I mentioned to him that sometimes when I stand up, I feel slightly lightheaded with a throbbing in my ears that lasts few seconds. This was a fairly common occurrence when I was on a concoction of medication right after the heart attack, which included a beta blocker to keep my blood pressure and heart rate low, but having been off of those meds for about 6 months now, I wasn’t sure what was happening.

It has rained for almost two straight weeks in my world. Rain isn’t terrible, and I know we need it, and sometimes I even like it. Sometimes, the rain feels right. But not when it rains continuously for days on end. Luckily the sun came out this weekend and the earth is starting to dry up, but I just saw the weather forecast for this coming weekend and, guess what? It just might snow again!

1. Battle Tactics for Your Sexist Workplace

“Yes, your workplace is sexist. If you’re interested in learning more about things like the gender pay gap and glass ceilings, then this podcast is for you. Jeannie Yandel and Eula Scott Bynoe break down how sexism works in the modern workplace. And with help from some badass experts, they bring you real tactics you can use to fight back.” I’ve been completely aware of some of these issues for quite some time but often I feel helpless to do anything about them. That’s where this podcast comes in, and is the reason I love it so much: they actually give you some solutions to these issues! And the solutions feel completely doable. This podcast might change your life and your world… or at the very least, your sexist workplace.

2. Lore

Lore is one of my never-miss shows. From the website: “Lore is an award-winning, critically-acclaimed podcast about true life scary stories. Lore exposes the darker side of history, exploring the creatures, people, and places of our wildest nightmares. Because sometimes the truth is more frightening than fiction. Each episode examines a new dark historical tale in a modern campfire experience. With more than 19,600 5-star reviews on Apple Podcasts and over 155-million listens, that’s clearly a good thing.” What I enjoy most about this show is the history it presents. That’s actually what I love about most ghost stories, ghost walks, etc.; I like learning about the thoughts, culture, and life during the times of these tales, and the host does a good job of weaving history within the macabre.

3. Spooked

Spooked is a production of WNYC’s Snap Judgement. If you like the sound and feel of Snap Judgement and want to hear some ghost stories, then Spooked is for you! This one is my all-time favorite but it’s only out for 13 weeks of the year – the weeks leading up to Halloween! It just finished its second season and if I’m being totally honest, the first season was much better. But it’s still worth listening to if you’re like me and can’t get enough of those spooky tales year round.

4. The Longest Shortest Time

This is “the parenting show for everyone with stories about the surprises and absurdities of raising other humans—and being raised by them. The Longest Shortest Time is an award-winning podcast about parenthood in all of its forms. But you don’t need to be a parent to listen.” As a new parent, I like hearing all of the stories of parenting fails and wins, and I take comfort in knowing that I’m not alone out there, trying to raise a little human.

5. Hidden Brain

Per the website, “Hidden Brain helps curious people understand the world – and themselves.Using science and storytelling, Hidden Brain reveals the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, and the biases that shape our choices.” I find the majority of these stories so fascinating. They touch on some topics that I’ve sometimes thought about and wondered why it is, and other topics that I never really thought about and didn’t know I was so interested in. For example, one episode explores the psychology of why we like surprise endings. I mean, how interesting is that?!