Adventures in Self-Care: Introverting & What I'm Enjoying Right Now

It's been a bit, I think, since I've done a more general update type of post.

This week, I'm taking a week off running and doing low impact cardio instead because I've got my first injury of the training cycle: shin splints. Is it weird that this feels like a rite of passage, like part of being a "real" runner?

Anyway, the week of rest combined with the fact that my boyfriend is away on business and my closest Pittsburgh friend is traveling means I've got a lot of introvert time on my hands.

As I've had more solitude than usual, I've been reflecting on what I'm enjoying right now and figured I may as well share it. Part of taking care of yourself is taking time to do what fuels you (and not try to turn everything into a "side hustle" all the time--it's okay to like things just to like them!). So, I've been:

Listening...

To The Glass Cannon podcast. Admittedly I did a lot of that in 2019 (like, a lot). This week's new ep was a shocking return to the twists and turns that made me fall in love with this actual play podcast's storytelling. They'd been in combat for a while, so it was nice to find myself mouthing "What the--" every few minutes as the story moved forward in surprising ways.

To the Harry Potter series on audio. In a several month investment over the course of last year, I spent my Audible credits on the series. I love listening to it while I'm falling asleep or otherwise engaged in activities that might take some of my attention away. The stories are full of childhood nostalgia for me, being one of the Potter generation, and re-listening is something I plan to make a yearly tradition.

Watching...

The Good Place. I got caught up again on Hulu and now eagerly await new episodes to see where the heck they're taking this wild ride next.

The pilot episode of Zoey's Incredible Playlist. The marketing bucks they've put into this thing, am I right? I am seeing ads for it EVERYWHERE. Gave it a watch one night and am cautiously optimistic that I'm going to like it. May even post a spur-of-the-moment blog post with my thoughts on it over at Amanda Reads. 

Doing... 

Yoga with Adriene's HOME, my fifth 30-day yoga journey in Adriene. It's become an annual tradition for myself and for many people across the world. Settling in to home feels especially appropriate during these winter months when I'm spending more time alone and inside.

Cross-stitching. I took up the hobby along with a friend last year and continue to enjoy cross-stitching while listening to aforementioned podcast or watching something.

Rolling some dice. The group I play Pathfinder with rung in our first gaming sesh of 2020 last weekend, and I enjoyed returning to my role as Lillian the Bard and for some reason occasional tank of the party. Moving away from the shy, quiet druid Kaye has been a nice way to flex my acting/roleplaying muscles a bit more and embody a sassy, charismatic type instead. Aka, play a character who isn't just "Amanda, but druid." 

Flexing the cooking muscles with recipes from the Run Fast, Cook Fast, Eat Slow cookbook by Shalane Flanagan and Elyse Kopecky. Favorites so far include the Superhero muffins that inspired me to buy the cookbook in the first place and the chicken cannelini soup. 

And I think that's about it, really. Though it hasn't been as cold in winter as it perhaps ought to be, I'm still snuggled up under my blankets and in my lovely new "I'm not clumsy, I just failed my Dexterity check" sweatshirt.

*in case it's not clear from my Instagram's lack of curation or this blog's lack of careful design, I'm not an influencer and none of these are #sponsored