Last month I redesigned my blog. It felt like it was time for a change — even a fresh start — since I haven’t been able to post as often as I used to, and my subject matter has had to shift a bit due to lifestyle changes and work. So if this is your first time visiting the blog since then, you’ll probably notice it looks quite a bit different!

Life is good lately. I’ve been enjoying my job, exercise, family time, and wedding planning. It’s been busy — but the good kind of busy!

My Personal Coffee Challenge

The biggest personal challenge I’ve taken on lately is reducing my caffeine intake. I was having about three cups of coffee per day — one first thing in the morning, one when I got to work, and another after lunch. It was just a habit. I couldn’t wake up properly without a coffee, and I noticed that if I skipped it in the morning, I would be groggy on the way to work. I like to do the Pimsleur Spanish audio lessons on my morning commute, but without caffeine first, I couldn’t say hola.

Now, that’s not such an unusual thing — lots of people need coffee to wake up — but I know that if I’m going to be traveling later this year, I can’t rely on caffeine at specific times every day. I need to be able to live without it once in a while, and not have a headache or zero energy. It was just getting to be a little much.

So last month I started weaning myself off of caffeine, and it went surprisingly well. I had low energy for a day or two, and a headache maybe one time, but otherwise it was a very successful process — because I kept it gradual. I started off by only having one coffee in the morning, and going down to just a tea in the afternoons. (Or a green tea latte — I love those things.) I tried to go later and later into the day without caffeine, so I didn’t depend on it to wake up first thing in the morning. Now, I can wait until the afternoon to have coffee, and there have been a couple of days where I’ve survived with just tea. I call that a success!

What I’m Playing

On the geekier side of things, I started replaying The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. I love that game so much. I just finished the first chunk of the game and am now hanging with Triss in Novigrad (which is sort of like “Part 2” of the story). For the longest time I just wasn’t gaming as much, and I couldn’t seem to stick to a single game — but since picking up The Witcher 3 again, I’m happy to sit down and immerse myself for hours at a time. It’s like I just need to find the right game to enjoy again.

I’ve also been playing Destiny 2, since it’s launched its Solstice of Heroes event. It’s been a blast scouring Earth for patrols, fighting my way through Strikes, and leveling up my favorite gear. Replaying some of my favorite missions in the Solstice “Redux” missions has been a great challenge, too. I lost track of time with this game, and it’s so perfect to play with someone else. Destiny was one of my most beloved (and most played!) games ever, and finally I feel like Destiny 2 has its hooks in me.

What’s everybody else up to this month? Hope you’re all enjoying your summer. =)

— Ashley