Court’s 2020: Chapter 2, February

I used to do The Good Stuff posts because I believe in sharing the good things big and small, but I also think being more transparent about the low-lights reel is possibly more important. One of my virtual friends posted about her Chapter 1 of 2020 on her Instagram and it resonated with me in a big way, so here we are.

Oh February, you were cold! You were also filled with warmth, love, fun, proud moments and good food.

I know I dropped balls left and right and am sure there were crappy times too, but as I sit here to type this, it feels like it was more good than bad, which is lovely.

I can only think of a few icky things that happened off the top of my head. I don’t think I need to think or dig deeper than that just to come up with negativity. I’ll keep the lessons learned and carry the good times forward.

Thank you February. The tl;dr version would say something like, “Grace and hugs were  given, punches were rolled with, and we laughed.”

If you’d like to read more, please keep reading…

I started taking a bit of time for myself – even if it was folding laundry alone while Nik did something with the kids or I put Mazzy in her kennel for a couple of hours so I could get something done at home. I started playing with my Cricut and worked at getting the desk organized.  (I’m still working on that part, but I’ve made progress!)

I did attack the massive pile of mending which has just been growing for the past [insert more months than I care to admit here] months. But hey, other than one pair of pants which I need to find the thread for, it’s done! (For now, until the kids show up with a tear in their pant or ask me to fix a hole in a favorite sock, or I find a hem that needs repair.)

And we had the following really great moments:

• Valentine’s Day decorating
• Pancakes
• Mazzy learning the “rules” and “tricks”
• Surprising the girls with different things (movies, special lunches, etc)
• A good cry clearing out the sinuses
• Cutting myself some slack, giving myself permission to not finish something I didn’t like, and putting some of my needs at the top of the list.
• Laughs, oh the laughs. There were so many laughs this month.
• Softball clinics for the kids on Sunday. I love my softball friends!

Mazzy is getting so big! We had to get her weighed to know what dose of heart worm meds to get her. In a little under two months with us, she’s doubled her weight. The vet moved her estimated full size up another 10 lbs.  Mazzy has learned a lot, but we’re also learning a lot from her. She’s a love, filled with sass, loves to cuddle (on her terms), and mostly wants to make us happy. Mostly. Sometimes she’s a flat out jerk.

Other than that, I’ve read a lot more, spent time with the kiddos during the school break, watched basketball games and softball clinics, caught up on Criminal Minds, and have just been trying to be my best self and reminding myself that 100% some days might not be quite as much as 100% other days. Turns out I’m human and there’s an ebb and flow to my abilities.

Along with the books I’ve read, I’ve read a lot of articles too. Here are a few of my favorites I wanted to share.

• Macaulay Culkin is Not Like You. I’m sure it isn’t the full story, but this was a really interesting piece on a child star and what he’s up to now. Dare I say, he seems like fun?
• I’d really love them to be able to come up with the actual “old book smell” candles. The People Trying to Save Scents from Extinction was fascinating.
• I love that it wasn’t always a big deal to be gay or live a different lifestyle. The 200-year-old diary that’s rewriting gay history. Was this the viewpoint of everyone? No, but other than people seem to have become afraid of different than them, I’ve never understood why it’s a big deal.

Work is work and it’s there. I do my best so most of my people are happy. There’s a different thing to focus on every day and I recently completed a huge update to some of our work due to a massive law change surrounding student data privacy. We have a new executive director at the office and many of us are seeing how it goes before we decide if we’re sticking around or not.

I’ve been doing more work in the crafting stuff: custom quick designs, cake toppers, t-shirts. It’s tempting to take them to a craft show, but I don’t love craft shows. Maybe I’ll see about a new Etsy shop or online otherwise. Or maybe (more likely) I’ll keep it to custom work and stay able to say “yes” or “no” as I can do it.

Some of the crafting has or will soon be in house updates. Nik made me a mail sorter for my desk and a plant table! Photos to follow soon, once I get another couple of projects done.

Thank you February 2020, for the lessons, the love, the memories, and the smiles. I’m ready to take what I need to know or to have learned from it and move on.

How about you? How was your second chapter of 2020?

Court’s 2020: Chapter 1, January

I’m still working out promises I can keep to myself.

I used to do The Good Stuff posts because I believe in sharing the good things big and small, but I also think being more transparent about the low-lights reel is possibly more important. One of my virtual friends posted about her Chapter 1 of 2020 on her Instagram and it resonated with me in a big way.

A big part of me thinks the title of this chapter otherwise known as January should be “The longest Meh” because that’s how I felt most of the time and goodness this was a long month.  However, doing so would be disregarding the great things that went down and we can’t have that.

How about “Meh, My Loves, and Mazzy’s Mayhem”

The tl;dr version would say something like, “It wasn’t what I’d hoped for, but it wasn’t all bad.”

If you’d like to read more, please keep reading…

There was a lot of basketball, coffee, walks with Mazzy, playing, crafting, Minecraft for the kiddos, grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning up or taking something away from Mazzy, mocktails, reading on the Kindle app in the dark, and the following really great moments:

• Sweet Mazzy’s greeting when I get home from work
• Grabbing the picture just as N takes a shot and makes it
• Apricot Mustard Marinade on Tuna
• Nik reaching for me in the middle of the night.
• Hugs from the kids as we go our separate ways in the morning.
• I got a library card, but was seriously dismayed that due to scheduling, I can’t be part of the library board.

We also had a lot of not listening, attitude, and not cooperating from everyone (kids, adults, and pup alike). There was a lot of frustration and even tears.

The most challenging I think was Mazzy. She can be a little shit and difficult. We’re still working on the nipping. It’s hard. She also sometimes (maybe when she’s mad at us?) pees inside, most recently on the donation pile on the floor and on our bed. (Laundry has been washed.) She knows better so we’re not sure why she does it. (She also does it more when we’re home with her for the day than when we’re at work.)

We also came dreadfully close to running out of oil. That was super uncomfortable. We have electric heater back up and the fireplace, but it just felt bad in my head. We’re grown-ups this isn’t something that we’re supposed to let happen. (We have a plan in place now and are looking into getting a hot water heater that isn’t part of the furnace.)

It all works out, though. We learn, forgive, move on, and love even more. There are more pics over on my Instagram.

I’ve been reading more. Along with the Kindle books I’m working though to review, I read a lot of articles. Most were recommended by my pocket. Here’s some of the better ones.

• From I Thought Traveling To Colombia For Plastic Surgery Would Make Me Happy. Here’s What Happened Instead. “…I began to notice that it was only when I helped my sister with a college assignment or participated in an art class that my racing thoughts subsided. I realized that I was actually happy when I was of service to others or truly participating in my own life instead of waiting for a better life to come along…”

So true. When I’m really down, helping others helps me more than them, I think.

• I also learned that “a butt” is an actual unit of measurement and this blog post compares a butt-load to a boat load and a shit load. (There’s also a graphic!)
• The Myth of Self Control. “The paper stumbled on a paradox: The people who were the best at self-control — the ones who most readily agreed to survey questions like “I am good at resisting temptations” — reported fewer temptations throughout the study period.

To put it more simply: The people who said they excel at self-control were hardly using it at all.”

Hm. This is something to think about…

• Another thing to think about…How ‘Namaste’ Flew Away From Us.  This is an interesting look at language appropriation and getting it wrong. While I got rid of my “Namasty” shirt because I couldn’t get the gym smell out and it was so faded, but I’m going to be much more conscious of this going forward.

I haven’t been listening to as many podcasts. Instead of  stories of murder and hurt, I have been borrowing audio books from the library. While I tend to choose mysteries, most of the story isn’t about the crime itself, it’s about solving the puzzle which isn’t as hard on my heart and brain.

The first I borrowed was The Recipe for a Perfect Housewife by Karma Brown. The current one is Curious Minds by Janet Evanovich and Phoef Sutton. While I’m enjoying the listen, I don’t know if I like the perfectly polished voices of the people reading them. This is especially true for books where the characters are described in a particular way so you think they should have a particular sound to their voices. I’ll get into this more when I review them.

There isn’t much going on on the work front other than me getting stuff done. I’m not involved in this year’s workshop and have opted out of pitching a program for convention. This is just fine by me. Last year was really overwhelming. I managed everything alright, but I’m ready to focus on other things at my desk.

I think that’s about all I have to say about January 2020, I’m ready to take what I need to know or to have learned from it and move on. How about you? How was your first chapter of 2020?