The Little Things

After a while of doing the same old same old, I like to look back and see what my accomplishments and failures were, what I was into for the past few months, and what has changed now. I started keeping a daily log after I read Austin Kleon’s books: Steal Like An Artist, Show Your Work, and Keep Going. If you haven’t read those books I highly recommend them. Anyway, that’s what inspired that venture, and so I write down what happens in my life every day, all the major highlights, even if they’re the same things I did the day before. It helps me gauge how on track I am, and most importantly highlights the things that mean the most to me. 

Over the last couple of months, I’ve been hard at work doing my usual stuff, I’ve been adulting my butt off despite not wanting to at all, and I’ve had lots of fun in between. It honestly boils down to one simple truth: it’s always the simplest and little things in my life that make me smile and keep me going. 

I’m still nerding out to the best of my ability, trying my hardest to catch up on the Critical Role campaigns knowing full well I’ll never catch up to the present. I’m a die hard completionist, and I have serious FOMO when it comes to skipping episodes of their show. So I’m still stuck about seven years in the past as I watch their first campaign ever and I’m still loving every second of it. I’m still gaming every chance I get, and there’s been a resurgence of Mario Kart as I try to beat all the courses on 200cc. Caleb and I celebrated our first ever joint completion and victory of Civilization VI, and I finally came back to Baldur’s Gate 3 after a wise man - Caleb - told me that if I wasn’t having fun being completely annihilated by the god of death in an epic boss battle I kept losing that I should just bump the difficulty down a notch and just get back into enjoying the game I love so much. So glad I did that by the way.  

I still love mine and Caleb’s Saturdays where we do our thing sitting side by side and throw on an array of either bad action movies or cartoon classics. Some good revisits lately have been Pocahontas, The Little Mermaid, Tarzan, WALL-E, Ralph Breaks the Internet, Tangled, Aladdin, The Emperor’s New Groove, Robots, and Jungle Cruise, which is more fun than I ever expect when I rewatch it, and has the perfect blend of Indiana Jones and National Treasure and even a little Uncharted, which are some other favorites of mine. And you can fight me if you want, but no matter what I’ll always believe that when I was a kid, original Disney Channel movies were actually good, and I still love The Lizzie McGuire Movie and The Even Stevens movie - which I just rewatched with Caleb - even the Wizards of Waverly Place Movie. Caleb will even sit through these and laugh along with me when there are legit great moments in these childhood staples of mine. It’s great. I sound so old when I say that they don’t make them like they used to. Back in my day those movies had substance and great humor.

In the realm of shows and for real movies, I’ve gone through a rollercoaster of emotions including but not limited to happiness, sadness and disappointment as I have finished shows that were great, movies that left a lot to be desired, and other movies and shows that I used to love so much before they depreciated as the story went on so much that you don’t even remember why you loved it in the first place, and you don’t feel anything but mixed feelings when it finally comes to an end. Umbrella Academy, it is my complete and utter misfortune to tell you that yes, I’m talking to you Season 3 and 4. 

Among the shows and movies I’ve consumed lately are Brooklyn Nine Nine (still going through withdrawals now that it’s over; it was so good), The Boys (finished the most recent season and it thoroughly disgusted and disturbed as it always does and I loved every second of it), Monkey Man (Can’t stress enough how much I love this movie and Dev Patel, Kung Fu Panda 4 (lots of unnecessary stuff that took away from the story, but I loved the concept of the villain and the art style as always), A Family Affair (A great new rom com with a refreshing twist that has earned a place on my top rom coms list), Jack Reacher (I literally can’t recommend this one enough!), and The Legend of Vox Machina (rewatching before the new season comes out in October! A.K.A. Any Excuse to immerse myself further into the world of Critical Role). 

I’m also watching all the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings extended edition movies in my spare time, and I love talking nerdy with Caleb about all the new scenes and all the lore. We do the same thing while we watch The Rings of Power show. If you didn’t know already, yes. I am a devoted nerd. I also love throwing on HGTV on lazy nights, and I remember the craze of Tiny House Nation fondly and how it inspired me to want a tiny house once I can afford to own a home. But that sounds like a joke right now. I also love the old era of comedy movies and recently rewatched Dodgeball, and I can’t stop quoting it and wanting to have an old school comedy marathon. I also watched a lot of Olympics, mostly swimming, gymnastics and volleyball, and it always brings back memories from the Beijing Olympics that me and my cousin watched together as we obsessed over Michael Phelps. He actually walked by her at the Paris Olympics this year, and I’m still secondhand starstruck for the adolescent versions of ourselves that literally would have burst into flames if that happened to them.  

I’ve been doing tons of reading lately too, and even got to enjoy one pool day and reading by said pool before Fall came around. I hit a record for sure when I got immersed and read 260 pages of an Emily Henry book in one day. I finally finished the Lord of the Rings books and I’m so happy I embarked on that journey. Now to read the other million books out there…stay tuned as I spend the rest of my life doing that. I just finished The Creative Act, and if you’re a hopeless creative who needs a little inspiration and a little mind blowing, I highly recommend that one. I also read Tom Segura’s book I’d Like to Play Alone, Please after Caleb and I got to see him live at Ball Arena. That was an amazing and surreal night and I’m glad we got to go. I’m currently tackling The 48 Laws of Power - I’m only on law 3 and I’m already feeling empowered - and a cozy mystery series that my friend and I started together a couple Halloweens ago called Spellbound. I’m re-reading book 1 out of 10 now to refresh my memory, and it’s just as good and fun as I remember it being the first time around. It’s a great easy Fall read. 

If I can manage to be brief on the rest of my life happenings, I’ll definitely try. I don’t realize how much I’ve done until I look back on it like this. I’ve stepped up my interval running game and am currently training for the first 5k that I plan on taking seriously at the end of October. I reconnected with yoga and meditation again and I’m so grateful I found my way back to it. I went on my first solo movie date in my entire life to see Beetlejuice Beetlejuice on a random Tuesday morning and didn’t realize that I could use a little more of this in my life. I may or may not have stopped at Target on the way home because I’m super weak when it comes to Target’s fall decorations and their cute plaid shirts this time of year. 

I’m still going to writing lock-ins and other events at the place where I’ve found the coolest writing community in Denver. I don’t think I’m biased. And I’m still entering writing contests and being an assistant judge on the prompt website that inspired it all. I’m still in awe about getting my blog and socials up and running, and I still think it’s crazy that I’m doing that. I’ve gone to some pretty cool events and concerts, like a tiny house festival, an air show in Colorado Springs - where I kid you not I shed a tear when an F-22 flew over me and I got to see the Blue Angels in person for the first time ever and I punched Caleb in the arm too hard in my excitement that they played the Top Gun theme song as they flew over, and a live Avatar the Last Airbender orchestra concert, which I have no words for. But it was everything, and I shed many tears at that for nostalgic reasons. 

We had a crazy and fun whirlwind of family and friend visits over the summer, where we got to go to some familiar places and lots of new ones. I finally made it over to the Denver Art Museum, and I have enjoyed exploring the city with friends and laughing my butt off talking and playing board and video games together. For a hilarious night with friends, I highly recommend playing Overcooked and Moving Out with 2-4 people and letting the chaos and the non stop laughter ensue. I can guarantee you will have a splitting headache and you will be hoarse the next day, but it’s totally worth it because those games are wild and even wilder the more friends you have. 

I had a fantastic 29th birthday with Caleb, where we went to the cute little town of Golden and had a chill weekend getaway 20 minutes away from the city. To Caleb’s dismay, or the dismay of his wallet, I found a secondhand bookstore there, and all the fast food I can’t get in Denver. So needless to say we spent all the money on books I have no room for, Chik fil a for lunch, Dairy Queen for late night dessert, and Dutch Bros for my dirty chai fix. I also got to try elk tenderloin for the first time and bison quesabirria. Both amazing. We had an amazing night watching whatever was on TV at the hotel and playing board games, and we even enjoyed a beautiful scenic drive and a nice and easy paved hike the morning before we came home. Some other birthday shenanigans included preseason football, nerding out over mine and Caleb’s new Magic card sleeves and storage boxes and my new dice, lofi and Magic game nights, learning how to solo adventure in D&D, a fancy dinner in downtown Denver, the best Berry Trio cake ever from Whole Foods, Rocket League and a call from my mom and a dear friend.

Caleb and I still enjoy our weekly Chipotle nights and our random hot Taco Bell dates at freakishly and unnecessarily fancy Taco Bells. No seriously, one of the last ones we went to was in a white and light gray color scheme with long elegant tables and even a corner lounge area with comfy chairs. I know where I’m taking my friend when she visits; she loves Taco Bell. And Caleb literally saved an elderly woman the last time we went. True story. She was trying to figure out those kiosks that you can order from and she was very lost. She asked for his help and Caleb, the Elderly Hero, helped her place her order. He also picked up a fallen receipt from another elderly woman’s purse when we were waiting in line at the movies. It makes me smile to witness my big teddy bear of a husband out in the world, helping old ladies everywhere. 

In other news, Sturgill Simpson is still the greatest musician alive; I didn’t realize until I heard one of their new songs that Awolnation goes unnecessarily but amazingly hard; I’m obsessed with green tea matcha mochi - who knew? - and I love surprise matcha lattes and flowers from my love. I love how Caleb inspires me to dabble in art here and there still, and I have seriously gotten back to my fan art project for my favorite cartoon of all time: Avatar the Last Airbender. 

I’ve enjoyed video chatting with my family back in Texas and having a late night Discord chat with our dear friends back home while we played games and did our thing. Fall and football are on, and I’ve been enjoying all the pumpkin flavored coffee, beer and food. I even went to Starbucks, because right now that’s the only place I know of that has seasonal coffee right now. But don’t worry, I’m still on the hunt because I’d much rather drink local. We’ve finished our fall deep clean and I’m looking forward to decorating for Halloween soon. My movie list and music playlist are ready to go, and I can’t wait to plan my lame Halloween party of two with Caleb. I’m still getting used to the wonders and oddities of public transport, which is convenient and awesome even though it’s weird at times. Caleb and I got on the waiting list and after being 17,000th in line - I’m not exaggerating - we get to go to the famous restaurant owned by the South Park people that everyone is apparently crazy about here in Colorado, Casa Bonita. I can’t wait.

And now that I’m at the end, I see that I’ve been busier than I thought, and my life is so enriched in so many unexpected ways, and I’m so grateful for all of it. I’m grateful for my friends, my family, and all the things I get to see and do where I live. I noticed as I looked over my daily log entries that where I write what my favorite part of the day was, that I usually say things like “getting things done,” or “relaxing/recharging.” But the most frequent one that I see time and time again is “time with Caleb.” And I realize that without him a lot of this stuff wouldn’t be possible or enjoyable. So I owe a lot to the guy that has my heart. And as the season of giving fast approaches, I’ll look forward to the rest of the year and what memories I will make between now and when I get to go home again for the holidays. It’s been wild and familiar, and it’s been busy and calm all at once, and I’m enjoying every aspect of this life that I have built so far.