February Checkup
Here’s the tl;dr from Alive and (un)Well this month.
The Front Desk
Hey, how are you holding up? (That good, huh?)
We could wax philosophically about how we’re doing — both existentially and health-wise — but a very important life event happened this month: Ash got married! On Valentine’s Day! She made her dress! And her husband’s cloak! There was gluten-free cake!
Photo evidence or it didn’t happen:
It was the dose of happiness we needed this month, so we wanted to share. 100/10 recommend watching your friends chase joy! (And now back to our regularly scheduled programming.)
The Waiting Room
📺 what we’re watching
“Apple Cider Vinegar” on Netflix: This show — and the Australian wellness influencer that inspired the limited series — doubled as both my entertainment and my rabbit hole this month. I reviewed the six-episode saga and shared my thoughts (of which there are many!), along with a slew of trigger warnings, here. — BFF Kat
“Paradise” on Hulu: They could bill this as, “The American political thriller you actually want to watch!” IMO, it’s part political thriller, part dystopian sci-fi, but hey, what’s the difference really? The same creator who ripped our hearts out every week with “This Is Us” is behind this show, but don’t worry, it won’t leave you sobbing on the floor every episode. And while I’ll watch anything with Sterling K. Brown, this show has made Tuesdays “Paradise day!” for me. — BFF Jess (and Kat, who would let someone borrow an organ for this show)
“How I Met Your Mother” on Netflix: While it doesn’t hold up technologically (so many flip phones!) or with the social progress we’ve made since it was airing, it’s been a nice sitcom to throw on in the background when I just need some noise and familiarity. Bonus: my HUSBAND — see above — has never seen it, so he’s getting funny snippets while playing a video game. — BFF Ash
“Zero Day” on Netflix: Robert De Niro. ‘Nuff said. OK, I’m kidding. I’m only on episode two, but I’m locked in. It has a few of my favorite themes: politics, conspiracies, intrigue, and health. — BFF Jess
📚 what we’re reading
“Interabled” by Shane and Hannah Burcaw: I was feeling a little mushy this month, so I read and reviewed this delightful anthology — penned and compiled by YouTubers (and married couple) Squirmy & Grubs. A quick and feel-good read! — BFF Kat
🎧 what we’re listening to
I’m still on my “Onyx Storm” hyperfixation, so I’ve been listening to the Fantasy Fangirls podcast where they’ve been doing a weekly deep dive of the book a few chapters at a time. — BFF Ash
Apple Music offered me a “Your 2025 So Far” list and it’s basically my FDT playlist. — BFF Jess
🎮 what we’re playing (courtesy of BFF Jess!)
Garden Joy: Back in August, one of my friends asked me to download a garden design game and play three levels so she could earn some points. It’s February and I’m still logging in, so I guess it’s time to talk about it. 😆 The game partnered with One Tree Planted, and when you do specific things in the game, they plant a tree in the real world. The app does offer in-app purchases, but you can play it without spending a penny.
The Finch app: BFF Skyler influenced me and for the last 40 days, my little finch Lovey has taken me on a daily adventure. Similar to Skyler’s review, I don’t know that the app is necessarily helping me complete my goals, but I do really enjoy checking in with Lovey a couple times a day.
Duolingo!: By the time you read this, I’ll be on streak day 375. 🔥 One of my friends bought a family membership for our friend group last year, and we’ve all really enjoyed cheering each other on and practicing our language skills over text, too.
🐇 what rabbit holes we’ve explored
Because of my fascination with “Apple Cider Vinegar,” I traversed through a deeply disturbing tunnel about wellness influencers this month — I could not stop reading think pieces, reviews, and Subreddits about how dangerous this sector of social media and pop culture is. This also led me to learning more about The Lion Diet (and its founder who possesses no medical degree or research to support this very restrictive style of eating). If one more person tells me I can cure myself solely through nutrition and supplements, I might actually lose it. — BFF Kat
Script rehearsals for the “Throne of Glass” fan film have recently kicked off, so I keep diving back into the book series to make sure I’m representing my character — Fenrys — as accurately as possible. Especially because we’re rounding out our recording of the podcast where we’ve been discussing the final book in the series, “Kingdom of Ash,” where there are many monumental moments for that character. — BFF Ash
Like many, I absolutely ate up Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show. I have watched it countless times, and purposefully scour the web for memes like this Buzzfeed roundup because I get a legit dopamine boost from every single one (especially the ones with a corporate America flavor, those always hit). — BFF Kat
The Exam Room
Missed something from us this month? Here are a few of our faves!
BFF Sklyer took us to biology class with her VIPatient column about the nervous system (she used the example of making ramen and it was everything)
We shared our favorite patient affirmations and then BFF Ash made them into both printable and DIY confetti-themed cards
Our most popular post in February: Organizing while disabled (we wonder why!)
BFF Jess said the quiet part out loud when it comes to boycotting and disability
And a topic we think about often: vulnerability
Same time next month?
March, we’re ready for you! We are counting down the hours until springtime hits and we can fully embrace our yearly sunshine era (because everything softens a bit when the days are longer, even depression). We’ll be scaling down our publishing cadence a bit, but do not fret — we’ll still be bringing you musings about topics such as WTF rest actually looks like and redefining hope when your health is a dumpster fire.