Looking Back: February 2026

(I’m using my own January recap post as a template!)

Books Read: 3 (plus 2/3 of one and the start of another). My favorite was Nicole’s novel, Inhale Exhale! It was light and readable but still tackled some meatier themes (aging, marriage, parenting teens). 2026 total stands at 7 right now — 4 fiction, 3 NF.

Date nights: 2 once again (this is one of my 2026 goals) — plus a bonus drink together at the cute inn in the Poconos. One was at a sports bar while watching a UM football game, and the other was at a really nice restaurant last night (Acquolina in Weston – try the tiramisu). Quick closet selfie of my date night outfit last night (from my Lani shopping trip):

Habits:

Headspace: 10/28; Outside walk: 21/28; Reading: 27/28; Listening to Music: 19/28; Duolingo: 24/28.

I am still tracking in analog fashion (and you can see here vacation is a time when I am less apt to do some of these!)

Fitness:

13 strength sessions including Caroline Girvan Iron Series #17 – 27

19 days with some kind of walk (20 min or more)

3 Peloton sessions (either yoga, mat pilates or a mix)

Only 4 Club Pilates sessions (which is a shame because my membership covers 8 – but with the travel + medical stuff it just didn’t fit). BUT – I leveled up to 2.0 at a ‘test out’ class, so looking forward to more CP fun next month!

TV/Movies/Performances:

Josh and I are watching The Pitt (season 2) together, and I started watching Euphoria (season 1, from 2019). AND we did see a play – Back to the Future (w the kids) at the Broward Center! Movie count for 2026 remains zero.

Monthly Goals:

Successes:

• I did buy a cross stitch kit 🙂 (yesterday, on Etsy!)

• Schedule next book club – check!

• Met with a local Konmari consultant and committed to (and scheduled) first session!

• Signed up for the hotel portion of Pediatric Endo Society meeting

• Found a good points deal on a Hawaii flight

• Signed up for a rewards card (I had initially been rejected but they sent me a letter that they were just missing some info and now I can start racking up Atmos / Alaska Airlines rewards, woohoo!)

• Launched BLP Live Round 4!! (released so far just to alumnae and filling up which is exciting but will share with wider audiences next week!)

• Planned C’s bday party

• Health: got my colonoscopy done (I’m good for 5 years!), scheduled my heart stuff due at a year, solved annoying prescription issue

• Got car fixed where I had messed up the door (well, it’s almost done – should be this week!)

• Presented at the local library and did more podcast interviews, including an exciting one that may air next week

• Got to inbox zero twice and kept up decently with podcast recording stuff despite vacation

• Went shopping and filled major ‘what to wear to date night’ wardrobe gap!

• Finished with camp signups for the summer!

Good starts:

• Weekly walk ‘n’ talks. I definitely did a few! But not every week.

• Started working with designer on updated BLPL and BLPA2.0 workbooks

Did not happen:

• All the many things discussed in this post!

Fun Things in Feb: MANY!!!

• My niece’s bday party (on 2/1!) and the second half of our super quick trip to PHL

• Back to the Future (see above)

• 2 gym meets (one went really well, the other not so great in some events and better in others)

• Hosted a Super Bowl party (and made lobster rolls!)

• PHL / POCONOS / NYC trip with tons of highlights including a fun night with Laura and Kathleen, a stationery store visit (Dept of Note), family time (including going downtown to see the Mint and eat cheesesteaks), shopping with Lani, skiing and cozy inn time in the Poconos, and the Jellycat experience and fancy steak dinner in NYC.

• Library event + seeing Jenny!

Meh Things:

• Dealing with all of the car stuff

• Some bad/annoying moments with my heart rhythms – slow VT after my colonoscopy and I also had a weird ~10 minute event after traveling where I was stuck in bigeminy (normal beats alternating with ventricular beats) and felt really terrible (though I forgot my med that day in the hustle of getting out of NYC so I have an explanation).

• There’s always some hard kid stuff going on with someone (nothing super major, thankfully, but definitely makes me sad to see any kid having a harder time even if it is part of growing up!).

• My work days were REALLY crunched and as a result every nonclinical day was packed in an almost frantic way. (This is a result of allll that travel, fun, and a week of call, but still having the same demands in terms of weekly podcasts and other things — entirely self-inflicted, but it was challenging).

Well, there you go!! Josh is currently running the 305 Half — the same race I ran last year when I had my cardiac emergency. I did not want to spectate but hopefully as I’m writing this he’s finishing or already done! More on my feelings/thoughts about all that one year out next week. GLAD to be alive and overall healthy writing this post today though.