Wednesday, January 15, 2025
I’m really late with this! Oh well! Can you even believe we are halfway through January?
-wear my blues, burgundies, white, and other non-Christmas colored winter clothes and toward the end of the month start wearing my Valentine’s Day sweaters
-read more and tv less/read more and scroll less/really try to stay off social media as much as possible
-plan something fun to do on MLK Day since I am off school
-at least one coffee shop date with Mason – this will have to be on a weekend or on MLK Day unless I get a snow day. We want to try a witch/Halloween coffee shop that is relatively new
-just found out one of my favorite restaurants is having a January special Tuesday through Thursday in the month of January so I plan to do that
-bake/cook a new dish
-enjoy a snow day – if I get one – if not…might be making my own if you know what I mean (I swear I wrote that before Snowpocalypse and 4 snow days for teachers last week and 5 for students!)
-get excited about meal prep again – this is hard to do when I’m off my routine/still on winter break mode
-walk with Eddie Otis after school even when it’s really cold
-listen to more music in the house – the Echo Show is already making this easier
-go to a speakeasy
-plan some cozy happy hours at places that have fireplaces or a dark ambiance
-work smarter, not harder with home chores-create a routine and assignments for people inlcluding myself, of course – stick to it.
-work on January happiness project – much will be the declutter part
-read How to Winter when it comes in at the library for me
-start a bath night ritual – I have a wonderful tub and never use it
-re-start my spray tan membership to fake Vitamin D toward the end of the month- it really helps! This time I will go clear and light or medium and no double leg. That’s too much. I just want that – ‘did she or didn’t she just come back from vacay?’ look
-see friends that I haven’t seen
-continue with “Soup Sunday” where I make a different soup and use that for one of my lunches during the week
-start planning my spring break whether I plan to go somewhere or stay home
I am sure I am forgetting things! As you can see these are very “low level goals” in the words of the Big Boo podcast. They just help me to be more intentional with my time and help me to enjoy life more, frankly.
What about you? January goals?
And, now for Hodgepodge with Joyce…
1. It’s been said January is ‘the month of opportunity, inspiration, and change.” Which of the three do you need most right now? Elaborate.
I think inspiration – for lesson planning, meal planning, how to use my free time wisely!
2. Do you consider opportunity as something that comes to you or something you create for yourself?
I used to tell my Dad I was lucky if something good happened and he said, “that’s got nothing to do with luck; it’s your hard work” or something like that. If you are a spiritual person you probably believe that opportunity comes from above. I think the opportunity might be there for the taking but that you have a part in making it happen for you?
Here’s a story…
When I started at my current job I was 28 and freshly married. Two years later I got pregnant and I knew that eventually my twins would go to elementary school from 9:05-3:45 and I went to school from 7:40-2:20 because this was how my district was set up.
There was a teacher who had a deal where she came in late and stayed late to do detention (just sitting in a room and having the kids do homework) so she could be on her elementary daughter’s schedule. I asked her if I could take that over when her daughter was in middle school and no longer on that schedule. She agreed and the principal agreed and I got to do that for 6 years and it kept me from having to take my kids to early care and I got a nice easy morning out of it. I was still done in time to pick them up at 3:45. So, I saw that opportunity and it made our quality of life so nice. I loved getting to both take them and pick them up. Picking them up meant walking to get them, too! How nice is that?
There is a lot of guilt about being a full time working mom but I think I was able to have a really nice balance. So, I think I helped to create that for myself. We also bought a house in front of an elementary school and near a middle and high school so that could also be a form of creating an opportunity for a simpler life. Our kids went to all three and it enabled them to walk, have friends over all the time, help other parents out that needed their kid to walk home with ours, and stuff like that.
Dropping them off to walk to school down the little pathway:
3. The British Museum opened on this date (January 15th) back in 1759. Do you like visiting museums? Do you have a favorite?
I like a museum in small doses. I don’t think I need to see everything and I don’t need to spend more than a couple of hours at once. The coolest museum I have been to is a tour of a certain longitude line around the world. It is in Germany and I hope I get this right – a man traveled the same longitude line as his hometown of Bremerhaven, Germany and you experience the animals, the terrain, the temperature, and the culture as he rounds the globe. Tom’s family took us there and even rented it out for us to sleep in overnight! That was crazy!
4. It’s National Oatmeal Month (yes, apparently it gets a whole month as opposed to a single day)…do you like oatmeal? How often do you eat a bowl of oatmeal? How do you like yours? What about an oatmeal cookie? Is that a sweet treat you enjoy?
I love oatmeal and don’t make it nearly enough. My favorite is instant brown sugar or real oatmeal where you add your own brown sugar. Now I want oatmeal! I don’t want it in a cookie form and the worst thing you can do to a person is offer them a cookie that looks like chocolate chip but then you find out it’s oatmeal. Womp. Womp.
5.What’s something useful you learned in high school?
Gosh – everything? I loved high school. I loved interacting with the teachers and I loved my journalism class and my US History class junior year because of the dynamic teacher. I thought my Spanish teacher was boring, but I loved the subject, of course. My Spanish teacher stood at a podium and read from her notebook. I do like her as a person and she helped me a lot, but I don’t remember it being very interactive. I was in a ton of clubs and I just loved it all, I think. I also remember so much since it’s still the world I live in!
6. Insert your own random thought here.
What is up with slow deliveries lately? I know we had some delays due to the winter weather, but it seems like my orders are taking 2-3 weeks to get to me when they used to only take a matter of days. Are you experiencing this? Also, I am talking non-holiday related deliveries since Christmas.
Another random thought…
I tried to place a grocery order Sunday morning and they wouldn’t have slots available until Monday. So, I took about an hour or so to make a short list, drive to the store, shop in store, pay, go home and unload. It got me thinking about how much brain space doing pick up takes. I think about what to order, when to order, when I will pick it up (and the last 5 times or so it’s been at least an hour late and they call me and tell me to wait), then I go pick it up. Do you know what I’m saying? Is this helping me or is it easier to go back to the way I used to shop?
Ok, your girl is out of words!
Amy
Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa 
Love your January goals! I’m already getting sick of wearing my sweaters on rotation. I mean it’s easy that I just pick leggings or jeans each day and a sweater to go with it but at the same time I feel like I’m wearing the same outfit on repeat even though I’m really not. But I refuse to buy something new because I’m honestly not sure I could fit any more sweaters into my closet anyway.
I hate oatmeal but I do like oatmeal cookies as long as they do NOT have raisins in them. I like mine a couple of different ways: 1. with butterscotch chips in them, 2. with white chocolate chips and craisins, 3. which dark chocolate chip, or 4. without any sort of chips but sandwich them together with a bit of frosting inside!
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Thank you! I’m not there yet since I had a week of wearing pajamas. I am now wearing jeans and a sweater. No, I am trying to wait for new spring stuff.
You have a lot of oatmeal rules and I love them! oh, butterscotch chips – yum! I don’t think about them enough.
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We live rural. I have noticed deliveries have been delayed or pushed back as well. I just thought maybe it was where we live.
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I don’t think so! I am not sure what is going on!
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I love your low-level goals bucket list for winter! I feel like you’ve accomplished some of this since you had an extra amount of time at home last week. Some of our Hodgepodge answers were similar! I loved the pictures of your boys and the story of you taking over that position when they were little. What a gift that was to you, and so was living close by!
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I don’t really have any January goals – I am trying to keep all the balls in the air!
I never really have a problem with grocery pick up because I do it during the week and get the first time slot but I know that when I’ve looked at later times the slots are full! We tend to order the same things over and over again so it doesn’t take much time to order. But, yeah, if it takes too long then I’d probably shop in person!
xo,
Kellyann
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Great goals- I am sure you will crush them! You have me thinking now about grocery delivery and I just went to the store last weekend. I felt like it was faster, easier and cheaper so you may be on to something here
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Hi-I love your blog. I’ve been reading for years (rarely comment-but hi, from Michigan). I ordered The Happiness Project book (arrival today) and will be doing it with you. Years ago I used to listen to Gretchen’s podcast. Excited to find joy in the every day things. Keep up the great work. I like your humor, and when you share book things, EO stuff (we are huge dog lovers around here) and beauty faves. Have a great day.
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Loved reading all your hodgepodge answers today, and what a great story about making/taking an opportunity to make your work and mom life better. Your random thought about using grocery pickup is something I’ve been considering. I’ve never ordered groceries that way and I wonder whether it would truly save me time and trouble or just shift the time spent to the app isntead of the store. Hmmm. Have a great week!
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It is interesting that you think one reason you remember a lot from high school because you’re in a high school on school days. I don’t have a lot of specific memories from high school which seems odd to me? That museum in Germany sounds neat!
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I love your January list!! I lived just a few doors from my elementary school and it was so nice to be close. I love that you were able to balance your work schedule with your boys schedule. I rarely do a grocery pick-up, maybe a few times a year. Since I have the time, I prefer to go in the store and shop. That being said, I have put it off the last few days, but will go today finally to grocery shop this year!
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The last time you went might have been the am that Brook left!
So nice!
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On the 20th, I am going to take my daughter and her friend to the roller rink. They have taken my daughter a few times so I figured I’d pay them back.
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I still shop in person. Mostly I enjoy the process, but sometimes run out of steam in the putting away. It gets done. I definitely think you sought out opportunities to make your work and home life feel more balanced and then you made them happen. I took a job that allowed me to be home when my kids were home and I have no regrets. In fact it turned out to be my favorite job ever. You have some nice low level goals…hoping your winter is wonderful!
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That is awesome that your school allowed you to do that. I don’t know of anyone here who has any kind of deal like that. I really liked being on the same schedule as my boys when they were in school; that’s definitely a perk of being a school employee!
About slow deliveries: I have an Amazon distribution center 5 minutes (literally) from my house. I had something that was delayed several days; when I tracked it, it went to the distribution center here, then went to the big city next to me, and then back to the center. I could’ve gone by and picked it up days before it was delivered!
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I do pick ups only for non perishable items — I don’t feel the “pickers” put much effort into choosing groceries. IMO. Yes January is going by so fast. We have some exciting things happening in our house (besides a wedding) and I can’t wait for it all to happen!! Have a great Wednesday- I am off to golf but it’s 28 deg and I’m not a fan of cold golf. Ick. 🥶🥶
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Good luck with your goals. I am with you on listening to more music in the house.
That was a great opportunity when it came to change your schedule at work. It does sound like you had a good balance.
Ahh! Our deliveries seem to be taking longer too! I ordered something that was supposed to come Monday at the latest and it arrived today. Ugh! It wasn’t urgent but it’s not the point. Our mail is slow in arriving too, I am sure the postman is coming every other day instead of every day.
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You have a great list/goals. I wish I had your enthusiasm for cooking, but I just don’t enjoy it anymore. I guess I really just need to scour the internet and Pinterest for recipes that are high protein/low carb. I chuckled at your snow day goal! There were a couple of years we actually had to go back and have Christmas parties because school had been cancelled the last day before Christmas break.
Since I was a non-traditional student and didn’t get my degree until my kids were all in school, I didn’t experience quite as much guilt. It also helped that we built our home right across the street from their school. But, the way you figured out a way to be home with your boys was genius.
I agree with you about oatmeal raisin cookies…now, if they’re oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, I’m good!
https://marshainthemiddle.com/
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