Well hi there, everyone! My name is Kate Nystrom, and I cannot even tell you how honored and excited I am to be writing a new edition of Pal Crush Monday. For those who don’t know me or don’t know my connection to Mal, we met through work in September of 2021 when Mal first started. It wasn’t until we both decided to run a half marathon together in 2022 that our friendship completely blossomed! We spent three days together in an Airbnb in Georgetown, Colorado preparing for the race. Because we were together for so long, we literally talked about everything; religion, trauma, funny stories, the possibility of motherhood… all the normal things! I am so grateful we decided to do the half marathon together because it brought me an amazing friend who’s been there for me for everything over the past year. If you’re reading this, you probably already know how awesome of a person Mal is.
Just a little bit about me before we get started; I’m from Jacksonville, Florida (go Jags!), but I’ve been living in Denver for a little over two years now. I actually graduated college three months into the pandemic, and I had to live at home for what felt like a looooong time because of the circumstances. I always knew Florida wouldn’t be my forever home, so I decided to move out to Colorado knowing nobody and having no clue what I was doing. While I miss my family, I have met the most amazing people out here, and I’ve created a life I’ve learned to love and appreciate. I enjoy baking, working out, and not shutting up about the half marathon I did with Mal.
In case this is your first time visiting this fantastic blog or you just need a reminder, here is the format:
What I’m crushing (accomplishing, achieving, attaining, fulfilling, something that I am being successful at.)
What is crushing me (see definition 3b, something that is bringing me down.)
What I’m crushing on (admiring, adoring, appreciating, cherishing, favoriting, etc.)
What I’m crushing
I’ve been crushing the art of relaxation.
When I was home for Christmas this past week, I literally did almost absolutely nothing. I would go on the occasional walk in the morning just to get my body moving, but I pretty much lived on my parents’ couch in the family room under a blanket for seven days. My mom and I were both sitting on the couch one of the days, and she said to me, “I feel so ‘blah.’ I feel like not doing anything sometimes makes me feel ‘blah,’ do you feel that way too?” And that’s when I realized I didn’t feel ‘blah’ for not doing anything because, as a single woman who lives alone, I’m ALWAYS taking care of myself.
This was the first time all year I wasn’t obligated to consistently take care of myself, my apartment, or any other priorities in my life. Sitting around for a week while my parents cooked, cleaned, and even ran a couple of errands for me was the mental reset I didn’t know I needed.
What’s crushing me
New Year’s expectations and goals.
There is nothing worse than letting yourself down. The number of times I’ve told myself, ‘this is the year I’m going to finally _______” and not accomplished that goal is… a lot of times. Whether that was my own laziness, lack of money, or not enough time that held me back from those goals, it’s still a horrible feeling. While there definitely have been New Year’s resolutions and goals I’ve stuck to, I find the pressure of it all to be unnecessarily stressful.
For 2023, I’ve decided to relieve some of the pressure by making goals and resolutions for myself that are attainable: be a decent human being, keep up with my consistent workout regimens, surround myself with people who only bring me joy, and take more time for myself. While I might add some smaller goals for myself throughout the year, I want to make sure I’m accomplishing things that can 100% be accomplished.
What I’m crushing on
How did I live without an HBO Max subscription until now??
I’m pretty good about not falling for advertisements, but when I saw HBO Max was having a Black Friday special last month, I fell into the trap. I blew through Euphoria and The White Lotus pretty quickly, but the show I’ve been crushing on the most is Sex and the City.
I had watched episodes here and there, but I’ve never had the opportunity to watch it all the way through. What I like the most about the show is the character’s plot lines are very realistic, and it really feels like I’m watching real people in real time. Plus, who doesn’t love Samantha Jones? She was ahead of her time.
I highly recommend watching if you never have, it saved me from boredom while I dealt with delayed flights last week!
Thanks for letting me be a part of your Monday ritual, I hope you enjoyed it! I’m wishing everybody nothing but happiness, good health, and success going into 2023. Let’s crush the New Year!!