Holiday Breaking

No profound statements to leave the year with (I started this post last week) in this post, although I did pull my NYD post from IG over here on the end. Otherwise I'm straight holiday break updating mostly as a reminder to myself of how I floated through the ether of the blurry days between Christmas and back to work on January 3 outside of weekend posts which I did keep up on over Christmas weekend and NY weekend.

WATCHED...as a person who does not watch much and is extremely inconsistent in finishing shows or movies I start, this is my crowning achievement

Baking It Seasons 1 & 2

A Christmas Story Christmas

A Christmas Story

Christmas Vacation

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

Knives Out

Do Revenge

Succession Seasons 1 & 2

READ

Unnatural History (Alex Delaware #38) by Jonathan Kellerman

Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister

A Familiar Stranger by A.R. Torre

Started and DNF Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six by Lisa Unger

Started We're All Lying by Marie Still

PURGED & ORGANIZED

Linen closet

Nail polish

Two top dresser drawers that had become junk drawers

Christmas items

A bag and a bin that sat in my room for a year

MISC

De-Christmassed the house

Burned through all Christmas candles and resisted urge to replace immediately

Lunch with Melissa, Stephanie, and Stephanie

Long walk in the south end in OC

Booked my plane ticket to Atlanta where I'm seeing Bruce in Feb

Unearthed birth certificate and passport which will make Real ID acquisition and passport renewal much easier

Solar panels installed at shore

Soffit and fascia repaired at shore

Final four windows in the house replaced at the shore (this and the item above save me a trip to small claims court for a Feb court date)

Found out MFD's car is indeed totaled from the accident he was in a few weeks ago

Lots of resting and laying about

A new condo for Billy Cat at the shore since he could not see out of the new door

My top nine of 2022 from Instagram includes a super snowy early January 2022 OCNJ, my 45th birthday, Dana & Alex's wedding, Billy & Kristina's wedding, Sean & Nicole's wedding, rando we out here winter, MFD with Mister Softee, fall of the patriarchy, our 12th anniversary post

My New Year's Day post from  IG too - Plans for 2023: be more open about my love of lemon curd, start over on any thing at any time, do less, sleep in, visit Munich and Italy, travel light in every sense except in what I bring to the table in reciprocal relationships, age well, pick up more beach trash, turn my face toward the sun, read whatever amount of books I read, level up as a feminist killjoy, stop slouching, hear more live music, keep a finger on the pulse of my own energy, and lean in to fun and joy because goddamn life is short and time moves swiftly. Among other things

There are a lot of people out there trying to adjust to the absence of a person, pet, friend, routine, job, a better state of physical or mental health, etc., and new year sentiments can feel like a bunch of bullshit. Every day is the chance to start over, continue healing, make a change, or revisit something. Whether you like to do that with the turn of the year or the turn of a Tuesday, I'm rooting for you to heal, grow, adventure, experience, and lean into joy because our time here is short and no next day is guaranteed for any of us. 

I hope this year is everything you need. Cheers! Happy New Year! 

Happy birthday to my Aunt Sue today!

TWTW - last one in March

Friday I was up, showered, had the best friend dogs walked and fed, and was sitting at my computer working by 7 with the goal of being done by 3. It was so warm at lunch I could have cried with happiness. but windy AF so not a beach walking day. The dogs closed their eyes immediately which is a sign. I was still happy to open the windows and finish my workday on the porch, transitioning right into reading. I threw together dinner of chicken breasts in the air fryer/steamed red potatoes/steamed cauliflower (that's MFD's plate I put aside for  him, my food would not be touching like that), and MFD and the old dogs arrived around 8. 

Saturday Up by 7 despite praying for a sleep in. The dogs all got nails clipped and ears cleaned so there was howling, biting, scratching, misdirected rage, and general assholery. I got rid of some stuff via Buy Nothing pickups, went to the hardware store, sanded and spray painted the stools and bench, had a family beach sit, hoagies from Sack o’Subs for lunch (never again, unacceptable roll), then I went off in search of two replacement porch chairs. I got stuff at HomeGoods but it took three more stores until I found chairs. When I got home we ordered dinner from Luigi’s for pickup, I grabbed a few groceries before getting that, and left a fucking grocery bag at the store which I only realized after coming home so I had to go back and get it. We lounged and started watching Ginny & Georgia. 

Sunday I painted my nails in an Eastery fashion, showered, packed up, and was on the road by 10:30 with all four dogs, stopping to get gas (they pump your gas for you in NJ, you are not allowed to pump your own - I do not drive alone with a mask on lol) and driving through horrible downpours. In Philly I did five loads of laundry, got a bunch of shit out to the curb for trash day including two tables from the back yard that were broken from Tornadogate 2020 yet were still out there, got four boxes/bags of donations together, ran to the grocery store for sweet potatoes which of course they were out of (but had steamable in a bag, which I hate due to the extra plastic, but this is where we are), made dinner, and fell out on the couch. MFD was at the shore doing more of the small bathroom wall tiles and got home just as dinner was done. 

It felt good to get stuff done this weekend at both houses, which is not the usual. 

I'm sad to see birthday month go, as always, but looking forward to warmer weather and being outside more and being vaccinated and seeing my fucking friends. I'll still celebrate next week with family over Easter weekend too. 

How was yours?

Thursday Thoughts - And I see losing love is like a window in your heart

1. My Mom Mom crocheted this scarf for me over 30 years ago. My favorite color has always been purple. I love and wear it still. It's warm as hell and nothing store bought even comes close. It's like getting a hug from her.

2. Midway through the month and my desire and need to clamp down on spending is going well. I don't want anything and haven't considered purchasing anything. I've been unsubscribing from emails like a mad woman. I truly do not need any more shit at this time. I don't care how good the sale is. I've got my typical birthday wishlist going (without fail each year I want books, sneakers, nail polish) but that's about it.

3. I haven't done much at night this week aside from read. I finished book 14 of the year last night. January chill, you know. Three times in the past two weeks I've started a book at 11:35 pm. Not advisable.

4. I've started scheduling out shore work for when we reopen the house. This spring's main projects are: paint ceiling on first floor, replace bathroom vanity, install programmable door locks, power wash outside and attempt to salvage cushions, and move wall art around. If March could be more spring, less winter unlike the last two years, that would be great.

5. I got to see Sara from Journey of Doing yesterday as she is in Philly for a conference. She also got me the cutest pug ornament!

6. Hamberder Turdburglar wall tantruming toddler. This is my bottom line right now. Fuck, man.

7. I'm sticking boots up the asses of men in some way upset or offended by the Gillette commercial about toxic masculinity, or being like "I'm fine with it but not all men." Shut up. Also ladies yes, I know, Gillette is guilty of the pink tax and hopefully they asked before using #metoo instead of co-opting it from a black woman but all in all call the message of the ad a win. The patriarchy is not smashed in a day. The nuts of the offended people might be though. Have you ever noticed the people who are always bitching about how people are so offended about everything these days are the ones who are always offended?

8. I'm pumped to head to DC tomorrow for a weekend with my ladies.Saturday we go to the Women's March. I refuse to throw the movement out this time. Every time women have been on the cusp of cresting, together, the movement has been torn down from inside or out. It has been white feminism excluding BIPOC, right now it's the association of two national leaders with Louis Farrakhan. A movement powered by millions allowed to die because of problems of some with two? Nope. Also, are we really asking women to answer for the words of a man they know? Have we all had to answer for our racist uncles? Should we have to? Fuck no. I'm not moving away from the movement because of the problems that exist within it now and always will because we're humans and we're flawed and we bring problems to all situations. Women have to learn to sit together in uncomfortable spaces and solve problems. We need to bring our own in line in terms of being inclusive. We need people working from inside to improve. The Steering Committee they've convened for this year is quite a good start and takes the focus off of the four co-chairs since 2017, so let that excuse for not showing up just go now. Every piece of the patriarchy (and the patriarchy's best friend and co-ruler, white supremacy) is hoping that we will not ever stick together enough through everything to raise each other up and do this. I say fuck the patriarchy and white supremacy. I'm doing this.

9.  Reminder:

10. Ecards. Working from home today. To be fair I do say this about my commute from the job I had before this one...10 years ago.

What appears after the hyphen in Thursday Thoughts is a song lyric to whatever I'm listening to when I start to write the post. This week is Graceland by Paul Simon