I don’t blog on Sundays but I sure as heck do Monday mornings!
- Wintertime comfort foods, habits, hobbies
I used to make chili every winter but I have not this season. I did make a very comforting meal for the kids for dinner last night: mashed potatoes, green beans, and chicken crescents, which is basically shredded chicken with some cheddar inside crescent rolls and you bake it on top of a can of cream of mushroom mixed with cheddar and a little milk. Really good! Habit and hobby wise, I do tend to get into the cozy mindset but we don’t do any skiing or anything you might associate with winter.
2. Favorite seasonal/holiday music and songs
As noted in a post last week, I really enjoy the slower tempo songs like Have Yourself a Merry little Christmas. Movie wise, I love It’s a Wonderful Life, Christmas Vacation, and Christmas with the Kranks.
3. The people I want to spend more time with next year
I won’t have a choice – my coworkers. LOL. But that’s a new opportunity to make friends. I’d like to see my aunt more but that’s dependent on her getting over herself and moving to Pensacola. A story for another time.
4. How much I could change my life in 1 year if I focused
I mean, I did that this year. I slowly got myself out of inconsistent online teaching and into a full time job with great benefits. It took paying attention to the “right” kind of jobs and killing it in the interview.
5. The valuable lessons I learned this year
I feel like the lessons I learned were more about me personally and how to be. I learned that I am still tending to run from problems even though I thought I’d gotten better. Some things I plan ahead on and some, I wait until the last minute and it is never good. So I learned to be more aware of those.
6. How I’d describe 2022 in 10 words
A trial for sure but I made it through
7. My favorite Reads of 2022
Hmm I’m going to say Naked Came the Manatee. It’s a crazy book!
8. Best movies I saw in 2022
I’m going to have to go with the new German remake of All Quiet on the Western Front. Highly recommend!
9. Favorite TV shows/episodes of 2022
Hmm I can only think of Yellowstone right now but I bet we watched many others.
10. Memorable experiences from 2022
Going to Ohio with my family and visiting my husband’s childhood home and friends; getting a new job; my kids playing sports and my oldest making the JV high school team; my daughter really getting into dance; my grandfather dying (you didn’t say GOOD, just memorable!)
11. Three people I enjoyed spending time with this year
My husband, the other soccer parents, and a new friend I made on a band’s facebook page. We only saw each other in real life once but we chat often.
12. How I handled challenges this year
By writing and really evaluating. I also made myself listen to others’ feedback instead of blowing it off.
13. What I’m leaving behind in 2022
Inconsistency; bad attitudes; self-doubt
14. How I changed most from beginning to end of the year
Well, I got myself to a place where I wasn’t relying on inconsistent college courses and I also forced myself to open up more, emotionally.
15. What I want to tell myself before the New Year
Keep it simple; not everything needs to be complicated
incognitusscriptor.com 
Good idea on the last answer…keep it simple. Hubby has made chili already this year and he is planning to make it again this week, I think.
“Naked Came The Manatee” was a riot! Written by all the “Florida Crazies,” as they call themselves. It was a spoof on “Naked Came The Stranger,” and was definitely better.
You had a good year!
Yes! I really enjoyed that book. It was a real ride.
I want to see that All Quiet On the Western Front. It has been reviewed very well.
Too bad “Naked Came the Manatee” doesn’t come in Kindle format. 😦
I know! I managed to pick it up at a church thrift store near me that has an amazing used book section.