Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly blog meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week’s challenge was to list 10 bookstores/libraries you want to visit, but I went WAY off-course, because…

It’s my birthday!

I couldn’t not do a unique T10T post with my birthday falling on a Tuesday, so I decided to list 10 ways I plan on taking care of myself today.

1. the obvious: READING!

This probably goes without saying, but I hope to do lots of reading today! I have way too many current reads, and the best gift I could give myself today would be to finish up some of them. ?

2. watching horror movies

Horror is my favorite film genre by far, and I usually try to fit in at least one of my favorites on my birthday every year! I’m thinking The Cabin in the Woods is due for its thousandth re-watch…

3. youtube

One of my favorite forms of self-care is vegging out in bed with my iPad and my never-ending “watch later” playlist. Typically, this consists of a mixture of booktubers, the Try Guys, Markiplier, and Game Grumps!

4. gaming

I love to play video games, though I don’t do it very often lately, between this blog, my kiddo, and school. I’d really like to set aside a few hours to play a game today—maybe I’ll start that new Stardew Valley game I keep saying I’m going to start!

5. having a tasty cuppa

I love hot tea, and since it has FINALLY started to feel a teensy bit like fall here this week, I’m definitely going to be enjoying some delicious tea today—either my #1 go-to of Irish Breakfast tea with milk and sugar, or my favorite autumn backup of loose leaf chai!

6. writing blog posts

I know a lot of bloggers find creating content to be a chore, and I can definitely understand that (I get there sometimes, too!), but luckily, my blog is usually an incredibly fun and relaxing outlet for me.

7. getting a little sunshine

I don’t go outside much at all during the warm months because I have a legitimate phobia of certain insects (and nope, I won’t tell you which ones, sorry), but as soon as it starts to cool off enough to keep the creepies at bay a little, I love hiking, going to the park, or even just goofing off in the yard with my son (and our new puppy!).

8. minimizing my social media time

I decided recently to spend less time on social media. This only pertains to FB and Twitter, but my goal is to limit my time on those 2 sites to 30 minutes a day or less. I’ve been doing this for a few days now with the help of the new Screen Time feature in iOS 12 and the StayFocusd extension on Chrome.

9. enjoying a few tunes ?

Music is a huge part of my daily life, and one of my favorite ways to unwind is just to listen to some great music! I listen to almost every genre, but lately I’m alternating between acoustic indie (Aaron West and the Roaring Twenties, Gregory Alan Isakov, etc.) and metalcore/post-punk (Beartooth, Parkway Drive, Killswitch Engage, etc.) with a little Florence + the Machine, Run the Jewels, and Khalid thrown in.

10. most importantly: spending time with my loved ones ♥

Of course, it wouldn’t be a birthday without my loved ones—namely my son, my partner, and my parents.

(an angry, cute little creature who yells and throws things a lot… yep, Stitch is basically my two-year-old.)

My birthday wouldn’t be complete without my amazing bookish family, of course. ♥ I love you guys!

If you’d like to help celebrate my special day, please consider sharing my post with a social media button below, or checking out my Amazon or BookDepository wishlist!

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