The 📖📺🎧🔪🛍️ List
Tacos, pizza, OxyContin, and unlocking your anxious brain
It’s been a week. A short week, but a week. Not only did I cut bangs (which I’m still making peace with. It’s just so weird), but I feel like I’ve spent the week dodging an anxiety spiral.
When I feel like this, I can sometimes pinpoint the trigger but as someone with GAD, the more probable answer is “IDK everything?”
Besides a fresh-out-of-the-oven CCC, anxiety spirals are one of the hardest things to resist. It’s just so easy. It starts with a simple thought that, once leaned into, becomes all-consuming and leads to tons of other simple thoughts that suddenly feel like incredibly complicated thoughts that have the ability to ruin your life (or, at the very least, your day).
When it’s really bad like this, I like to employ a method my therapist taught me years ago. It’s called Brain Unlock. Essentially, when you’re in a heightened state of anxiety or about to be, before your brain locks into it, you get up and do something.
It could be as simple as getting physical, i.e. a walk outside, a quick ab circuit, literal jumping jacks.
Or blaring some music and forcing yourself to dance.
It could even be playing a game on your phone like Tetris, Sudoku, Wordle or even just random math equations.
All of these activities activate an entirely different part of your brain, which naturally takes the focus off the nasty ass, problem-causing, almond shaped piece of shit, AKA your amygdala. Try having an anxiety attack and doing crunches at the same time — it’s damn near impossible.
If you can “unlock” your brain for 15 minutes with this seemingly random activity, you should be able to successfully avoid a full-fledged anxiety spiral. It works — I’ve done it many times. Of course, some spirals are just too powerful and all-consuming and we have to make room for those, too. But next time you’re teetering on the edge, do sprints, squat in place, learn a new TikTok dance, or play a marathon round of Tetris before you give in.
WATCHING 📺
This week’s list is sans “reading” or “listening to” because I haven’t finished the book I’ve been reading, and I’m listening to the same podcasts I always do, so let’s skip right to “watching.”
Last weekend, Zac and I watched the new teeny bopper movie on Netflix called You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah. Our rating? Eh. I mean, look — it was cute. Sure. But I think we both went into it expecting it to be a true Adam Sandler movie since it stars both of his daughters and his wife in a supporting role. It has very minimal Sandlerisms, and in all honesty, it’s very much for 13-year-olds. It’s not like Mean Girls, which was meant for all women of every age. YASNITMBM (wow) depicts exactly what it’s like to be 13, in 7th grade, and planning a Bat Mitzvah (I would know, although I didn’t have one of my own), and was made for that exact audience. Again, it’s cute! But it’s not hilarious if that’s what you’re looking for (which I think we were).
Something actually hilarious is Shane Gillis’ new standup special on Netflix. Is it bro humor? For sure. Is a lot of it the perfect kind of offensive? Yes. Do I think many of you will watch it and dislike it? Probably. But I have a soft spot for bro humor, and he has a line about coughing during sex that sent me. I haven’t scream-laughed like that in a while. I thoroughly enjoyed his standup, and his Trump impression is one of the best I’ve ever seen.
Toward the end of the week, we started Painkiller, which is a new series on Netflix all about the creation and rise of OxyContin (most people pronounce it oxy-cotton)and the Sackler family. It’s a drama series but based off true events, and it’s beyond fucked up and depressing to see where, how, and why the opioid epidemic started and spiraled out of control. We’re only a few episodes in, but so far it’s incredibly eye-opening, and we’re really enjoying it.
MAKING 🔪
I’m trying to make taco nights a thing around here. The other week, I tried a taco meat recipe by Alison Roman and, guys? It was not it. The only taco meat recipe that anyone ever needs to concern themselves with is Skinnytaste’s. I don’t know how she did it, but this taco meat is so incredibly flavorful, nothing else compares. I made them last night to celebrate the return of football season (yay?), and even Zac was like, “Whoa. These tacos are WAY better than the other ones.”
On Labor Day, Merritt Beck came over for a homemade pizza night and brought this incredible kale-romaine caesar salad she made based off a NYT recipe, and it was the best homemade caesar I’ve ever had. Maybe the best caesar, full stop. The dressing is epic and the kale really bolsters up the romaine. Definitely save this recipe for later.
SHOPPING 🛍️
Let’s talk about what’s in my Amazon cart right now, because it’s pretty full.
Lap Desk: As much as I like working at my desk, sometimes the couch or even our bed sounds better. I’ve realized I need an actual lap desk to comfortably be comfortably working, so this guy is in my cart. I love the cushioned bottomed and the cushioned wrist rest. There are a lot of options with a spot for your phone and mouse and even a drink, but that’s all too much racket for me. This will do.
Pizza Crisper: As someone who makes homemade pizza a lot, I’ve realized that the pizza cooks way better and gets a lot crispier if you cook it ON a pizza crisper pan rather than a solid pizza pan. The holes allow the heat to cook the bottom, whereas on a solid pizza pan, the bottom sometimes comes out underdone. We have one pizza crisper and need another, so in the cart it goes!
Taco Stands: I don’t know why it’s taken me this long to purchase some taco holders for our tacos. Last night, Zac said “We need those 3-slot taco stands,” and I was like “OMG you’re right. We do.” So… they’re in the cart!
Hair Oil: I’ve been using Moroccan Hair Oil to SOTC (Scrunch Out The Crunch), but my new favorite curly hair influencer, Britt Minetti, swears by Verb Ghost Oil and I trust her with my life, so I’m getting a small bottle.
Anal Gland Chews: FOR MY DOG. Cece has some trouble expressing herself, so the vet told me about these chews and they seem to be working. We’re almost out, so ordering a big whole thing of ‘em.
As for outside of Amazon, I am loving these plain t-shirts by Three Dots that my good friend Amy Jackson promotes (she also just launched her own fashion label, and you should check it out!). They are not cropped, tuck into things easily, and are the perfect fit. I take a medium!
I’ve seen and heard about The Five Minute Journal for a while now, and felt compelled to grab one yesterday when I was in Paper Source. Every morning, you fill out the prompts for the day. Every night, you do the same. With all my anxiety lately, I think taking a second to be grateful and set my intentions for the day then go over them at night could be really nice. We’ll see if I stick to it (my track record isn’t great).
I’m working with Sézane (!!!) and got these precious perfect mother of pearl hoops from them and am so in love. They are the perfect dainty pair to wear daily to dress up your look in the most sweetly subtle way.
That’s all she wrote for this week, y’all. Thank you for being a subscriber and have a wonderful weekend!
—EGM
You should watch Dopesick on Hulu! It came out before Painkiller, and is really, really good!
Painkiller! Wow. I like to think that most of those "pushers" didn't know what they were promoting until it got really hairy. I know more did then let on, but shame on all of those bastards who knew and did nothing.