Admittedly, my January 1st was a nothing day. I woke up with a headache – woke up late in fact (9:45) – and we mostly just sat around. I made burgers and even deviled eggs because Elliot wanted them, and then we watched football. I’m pretty sure I only went outside once, for about five minutes. To my credit, we did drink a bit on New Year’s Eve and I was getting over being sick. If you recall my last post, my daughter had been sick through Christmas, then Isaac got it (he got it the worst), and then I finally did. I took Wednesday off but went back to work Thursday and basically sat there in a fog. Each day got better and better and today, my cough isn’t as wet, thankfully. It was bad though, the cough. I had to take multiple steamy showers a day to dislodge crud and hack it up, but then my abs hurt from coughing!

Overall, though, my last four days off were very nice and productive. On Friday we brewed a milk stout (though not without strife; the mill started to get stuck 3/4 of the way through; ugh). Once we got it going and all, I dismantled all the Christmas decorations and got them put away. It was nice to reclaim normalcy in most living areas. After we brewed, we tried a new-ish Mexican place and it was… ok. Nothing special. I couldn’t taste very well due to my stuffiness so I only got notes, but the salsa and chicken were tasty. Saturday we did some more cleaning and I think Ash and I went to eat, though I cannot remember where. I knew we’d also be eating later, as I made deviled eggs and a charcuterie. Originally about seven people were coming around 8 but in the end, just one couple. But we had fun, talking, eating, and drinking various beers.

As noted, Sunday was a wash but Monday wasn’t too bad. I got laundry going and worked around the house on cleaning brewing items and kegs. Ell had kick-arounds at 12:30 so we took him then went to lunch, then I went back for him and in the afternoon, we all rested. The kids are off their routines so much! Elliot finally saw it and started making himself go to bed earlier/waking earlier. He’s a much better person when he has school and soccer. When there’s no time limits or responsibilities, he gets a little punkish. Isaac wasn’t too happy either but he got a haircut he doesn’t like. It looks perfectly fine but is shorter than he’s used to. Oh well; it grows back!

Anyway, today I took my daughter to a cheer camp and then I knew traffic would be crazy because it is Inauguration day. Yeah it took me 40 minutes to get to my parking garage when, on a normal day, it may have been 15-20. I’ll allow it because it’s Daddy DeSantis. LOL.

For fun, I thought I’d do a “currently” list, since I keep thinking I’m going to post about new stuff anyway.

READING | I am reading One for the Money by Skye Warren but I don’t like the underlying premise so I may begin on a classic. We have been gathering old books for a while now and I just need to pick one and go!

WATCHING | SO much! We’re in the middle of Yellowstone, we are caught up on 1923, we are working our way thought Tulsa King (are you sensing a Taylor Sheridan theme here?) and we are also watching, as a complete aside, Alice in Borderland, whose season two is certainly not as good as one, though it’s not quite over yet. We’ll see. We also FINALLY watched RRR, which was highly recommended by so many people and is indeed worth the watch. Probably the best movie I saw all year.

LISTENING TO | Well, nothing new. Still Yacht Rock. I got pretty burned out on the Christmas music there at the end. I also have a hard time transitioning each year and I HATE January so I’d better get some good music here soon.

LOVING | LOL nothing? OK, that’s a very negative attitude to take. I guess I will go with… my new struts. Sounds silly, I know, but my car was SQUEEKY. They were basically shredded down to nothing so my car hit a bump and you FELT it, plus the car was loud every bump. Now it is smoother and QUIET.

WANTING | To feel firmly lodged into this year, but I am not. The first week or so of January is always wonky to me. Once the kids go back to school and schedules (even extracurriculars are still on hold; Koda has soccer Wednesday and first game Saturday but no piano or dance until next Tuesday) I will feel a little more normal. I feel pretty good knowing I am starting the year off with a solid job and money so that helps!

NEEDING | Hmm, I don’t know what I really need, other than to be committed to my old eating habits. For a bit there, I was holding strong at one weight that I wasn’t entirely unhappy with then I weighed the other day and all those treats and drinks had caught up to me. So yesterday we only ate once and today, we won’t eat until probably 5:30 so that’s a good long fast. Time to get back to some more deliberate eating anyway. Sure, some treats remain well after Christmas but if I can reign in the eating windows a bit, I should be good.

GETTING READY FOR | Session. We have a bunch of small, special ones leading up to March but as far as I can tell, it’s going to be crazy until May!

EXCITED ABOUT | We’ve already planned our July vacation! Flying to Chicago to see my brother-in-law and his kids, renting a car and spending one day in Milwaukee, a couple days in and around where Ash grew up again, one day at King’s Island, then taking a different, more easterly route home, where we’ll go through Charlotte. It’s a long way away but I am glad we’ve hammered everything out, including airbnbs already.

THANKFUL FOR | So I did this list first in 2014 and then again this past summer and I have to go with the same answer: The fact that I have a job and money and great kids and for the most part, stability in my life. Silly, I know, but I just feel grateful for those things. That was my answer from 2014 and, well, I guess I have been whining about the same ol’ crap for many years! I am still thankful for all I have and my family and all that but I do want that stability!