Sludge the Cat

A pounding headache has been plaguing me for days, and I have decided to call it the "August hangover." (Awful things are less awful if they have adorable names.) I think I spent the entire last month checking things off a never-ending to-do list at work until my eyelid started twitching, and then I would go home, sleep immediately, and try again the next day.

But this morning, the calendar flipped to September (birthday month!), which means I survived the brunt of the insanity and can start thinking and functioning like a whole, healthy human being again. One of my big accomplishments this summer was that, in July, I met every fitness goal every day on my Apple Watch—move, stand, and exercise. I established a really great routine for getting away from my desk regularly during the work day, making time for a walk at sunset, and then calming down with yoga* before bed. When August hit, all that flew out the window, and while I don't want to beat myself for going into survival mode, I'm excited to get back into a routine.

The real reason I'm telling you any part of this story is to talk about the to-do app that I use to stay on top of this routine, and I don't even care about the app itself, just about the in-app cat. Yes, cat. Kitty cat. In the app. It's one of the perks I got for checking things off my list, and his life is tied to my ability to continue checking things off my list. I also get to feed him once a day and pet him and name him. (Well, the app was mad at me when I got my cat, so it named my cat Sludge as punishment. Turns out: I am very okay with having a cat named Sludge, so joke's on you, grumpy app.)

So basically, the best thing in my life right now is Sludge the cat, who lives on my phone.

The second-best thing in my life is Bennett the bee, who bumps into the sliding glass door while I'm eating breakfast.

September is already so great.

*A few people have asked what app I use, so here is the short version: I paid for the upgrade to the Fitstar Yoga app on my iPad ($40 annually or $8 monthly), so I can enjoy personalized yoga routine videos every day. As a newcomer to the world of yoga, I find the app really helpful and intuitive—good instructions, easy to use, etc.. I also really love that you can give feedback on every pose either during the session or at the end to indicate "too easy," "just right," or "too hard." Sometimes, my body just isn't strong enough to do a certain move, y'all. Anyway, this is not a paid promotion; I'm just sharing a thing I liked.