Invest. When most people think of this word the first thing that often comes to mind is money. Want to be a homeowner some day? Invest in land. Want to be an entrepreneur? Invest in business and the most talked about is stocks. All of these things are good and I think we all should at some point in our life. But what if I told you that these aren’t the only things you should invest in. In fact I believe that before we invest in any of that, we should invest in something way more important and that is ourselves. You are worth so much more than material things. You are worth more than any car, house or business on this earth. Why? Because you my friend were created by God himself. When he created you he gave you your own gifts, dreams and purpose that only you can fulfill. Most of us had huge dreams for our lives as a child but somehow they died as we got older. It could’ve been because of your up bringing and the mindset you were taught to have , Society standards, your environment or the people around you. Be careful who you share your dreams with!! Not everyone wants to see you win. Some people will kill your dreams from the moment they hear about them including your very family. How do I know? Unfortunately this is something that has constantly happened to me as a child. Not just from my family but literally everyone around me. Everyone’s favorite question still to this day is. “ How? You’re in a wheelchair. ” Thanks for the reminder because even though I’m sitting right in front of you in it as you say that, I do have mornings that I forget. For years I allowed comments like these to affect me so much that I literally stopped dreaming. Even after giving my life to Christ. He would tell me to do things and I would always cancel myself out believing the lie of I’m not good enough. Until now. Unlike most people I’m actually grateful for this pandemic because it forced me to build my relationship with Jesus, to truly put my trust in him not on the things of this world. To find my identity in him and work on some of the issues and insecurities I have. It forced me to learn to love myself and not know that I’m pretty but believe it. This is an everyday journey but luckily I’m not alone. When I was 15 the lord blessed me by bringing my favorite person into my life. (I literally call him my favorite person) because he is. Lol. This man has impacted my life since day one. You see when he came into my life I was an angry, rebellious teenager who struggled with depression and suicidal thoughts. When everyone gave up on me he didn’t. When I gave up on myself he didn’t. When I fall he’s here to pick me back up. When I’m doubting myself he doesn’t allow me to stay there. He says I don’t but I know I annoy the hell out of him because ever since we reconnected I’m always in his DMs venting or asking questions. I promise it’s only because he gives AMAZING ADVICE. I mean the man should be a life coach, that’s how good he is. I’m not just saying that because I know him personally, I’m saying that because it’s true. Some of the things that I talk about on here are things that he’s personally walked wit me through or is still walking me through like today’s topic. Self love. As most of you know I grew up with a load of insecurities about myself because of my disability. I didn’t hate myself but I hated my life and had a deep dislike for myself if that makes sense?? His love for me reminds me of Jesus’s. Literally. I don’t understand it and definitely do not deserve it yet they give it so freely with no strings attached. The most they want is my love in return but even, on the days I may not be so good at it they love me anyway. And. I’m. Just. So. Thankful🥺 

So, about self love. Obviously this is something I struggle or should I say struggled with. However, since he’s been back my self esteem has shot up tremendously. Especially within the past 2 months. My confidence is still a process but we’re taking it one day at a time. I wake up every day feeling beautiful even if my hair isn’t done. I’m nowhere near where I want to be in life but I’m starting to dress like I am. I’m not married yet but I set the table like I am. I didn’t want to be a blogger but I am and I think I’m doing pretty good for someone that’s literally learning as I go. The consistency could be better but I’m busy these days. The book has been getting all my attention lately because my favorite person knows about it and if he finds out I haven’t been writing I will not hear the end of it. Moral of the story, invest in you!! You don’t need Thousands of dollars to this. Your self investment can be as simple as you reading one book every month, taking yourself on dates even if it’s in the house. Cook your favorite meal, put it on your good plate, you know the one you only take out for special occasions? With you good glass. Pour your favorite drink, whatever it may be and enjoy!! You want to be a dancer but don’t have the money to pay for dance lessons!! YouTube University. It’s the best school I’ve ever been to. I’m currently taking classes on learning how to play the keyboard and so far my professors are wonderful. I learned a song in my first week. I’m not joking. The bonus for me is if I don’t understand something I can always ask my favorite person who just so happens to play and he’ll help me. I’ll leave a video below so you can see him as well as his new song. (I hope it gets stuck in your head as much as it gets suck in mine 🤪) But if you don’t have anyone that will help you that’s ok. Keep trying, don’t give up!! It doesn’t matter how many times you may have to stop, start, pause and rewind just keep going!! Yes it can become annoying and frustrating, you may even cry but in the end it’ll all be worth it. Start living the life you dream of now even if you’re circumstances say otherwise. I believe the first step is changing your mindset. I believe if you can see it you can achieve it. You don’t need a bunch of people cheering you on. Sometimes you may have to walk alone for a season or two but pray and ask God for like minded people. He will send them. I don’t care whether it’s five people or one person. Learn to appreciate just being in their presence. Laugh, cry if you need to but most importantly grow together. One thing he always tells me is “Block out all negativity, don’t listen to The naysayers no matter who they are. Focus on loving yourself because self love is the best love.” This isn’t an overnight thing, it’s a journey. It’s like baby steps, you will fall sometimes but get back up. 

Remember each of our journeys are different don’t let anyone discourage you on yours!!! God can and will use people from all walks of life to help each other🤝 

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I am taking a mini break from reading so much. I just slowed it down and I haven’t been requesting any new books until I catch up a little. We are planning on starting book club again in a couple weeks so I will have that new book and then probably request a couple more that I already have on my list. I can’t wait for book club. I miss hanging out! We’re going to meet in a park so we’ll be outside and apart from each other and everyone will bring thier own snacks and beverage. YAY for that! I do have a couple other book reviews coming next week.🙂

Also, I got the vaccine and then I got the second one this past week. I had some side effects from the second dose. Muscle aches and a headache. It took about a day to feel alright. My husband took the day of his next vaccine and the day after off from work already in anticipation. At first I thought he was slightly over reacting but after experiencing the side effects, I think he’s smart to take it off just in case.

In the US there is a company called GoldBelly. The have really good foods from all over the country and you can order them and have them shipped right to your door. I was highly skeptical of this at first cause shipping perishable food across the country seems weird. Also, the prices looked a little steep. Like $80-$100.00 for 3-4 pizza sampler pack seems like a lot to me, even with free shipping. I discovered that you can usually find a pretty good promo code. I have been able to get at least 15% off each order. My husband and I LOVE pizza so we decided to take a US tour of pizza. Let’s get started!

First stop: Lou Malnati’s Deep Dish Pizzas . Chicago, IL

This is what started the pizza tour. I had a craving for Chicago Pizza and I rationalized this order with the thought that I probably won’t get to Chicago for quite some time so if I really wanted the pizza, I would have to order.

The review- To be honest, this pizza almost brought the pizza tour to a halt before it even really started! The shipment was a day late getting here, which is not the pizza places fault… UPS was having shipment “delays”… Which means, they gave up half way through the day due to a “snow emergency” and said they would deliver it the next day. (I use “” because we live in CT there is nothing emergency about 1-2 inches of snow. That’s like a Tuesday in the winter). The next day it took the ENTIRE day to get here. I was worried the pizza would be bad. It was defrosted but not bad yet, I think. We cooked it immediately and… In my mind, Chicago pizza should have lots of cheese and lots of sauce. Like in that picture up there. It needs to be consumed with a fork and knife and one slice is enough. The pizza we got had way less sauce and less cheese although the crust was really good. I ate it with a fork and knife even though I didn’t really need to.

I wouldn’t order from here again but we will be trying Chicago pizza again at some point. While this didn’t fulfill my wish, it wasn’t terrible. I personally wouldn’t recommend ordering this. If we ever get to Chicago, I would maybe stop by and try it fresh.

Second Stop: Rocket Inn – Indianola, NE.

I have never even heard of Nebraska pizza but I saw this on Gold Belly and thought “Sauerkraut, on pizza?!? I think I need to try that.” And I am glad we did. It’s delicious. Kraut and hot sauce come on the side and you can add it when baking if you want. We made half the pizza baked with the Kraut and half plain and put cold kraut on. I dropped the hot sauce on too and that was really good. The only issue with this order is that we picked 3 different ones and we got 2 gameday pizzas and a rocket special. Honestly, they were both really good.

Gameday Pizza- a Beer Cheese base, pepperoni, spicy Italian sausage and mozzarella cheese

The Special Pizza- featuring Hamburger, Sausage, Pepperoni, Onions and Mushrooms over their trademark Rocket pizza sauce

Would we order again? Probably not… but maybe? If we are ever in Indianola, NE, we will make it a point to stop and have this fresh, hot, kraut and all!

Third: Tony’s Pizza Napoletana – San Francisco, CA.

We ordered the Combo pack of 3 pizza’s. The cheese was forgettable.

The New Yorker with sliced mozzarella, tomato sauce, house-made fennel sausage, pepperoni, garlic, extra virgin olive oil, oregano, Romano, and ricotta…. Was really, really good.

As was the Cal-Italia Pizza- Asiago, fresh mozzarella, Italian gorgonzola, imported Parmigiano, thinly sliced imported prosciutto di parma and Croatian sweet fig preserve, drizzled with a balsamic reduction.

Would we order from here again? Maybe. I would swing by if we ever end up in San Francisco.

Fourth: Cane Russo – Dallas, TX.

We ordered the Pizza Napoletana Sampler 4 pack. When this arrived we immediately made the Honey Bastard: A sweet and spicy powerful combination of creamy, housemade mozzarella cheese, spicy hot soppressata salami, and housemade bacon marmalade, with a drizzle of habanero pepper-infused honey at the end to finish with a kick. This pizza was delicious. That’s all I can say. Sweet heat and so good.

We had a couple friends over and we made the PRB for an appetizer: a meaty combo of smoked brisket, pepperoni, fresh mozzarella, roasted onions, candied jalapenos, and BBQ sauce. The PBR has the smoke, the sweet, and the heat that make it the ultimate Texas-style pizza. Everyone agreed this was really good too.

We still have the other 2 pizza’s, A margherita and a pepperoni. I am really looking forward to these as well. Will we order from here again? Definitely. Even if we do a smaller pack and get the honey bastard and the PBR again.

Fifth: Red Wagon Pizza – Minneapolis, MN.

We ordered the wood fired pizza sampler and had the Olive Oyl Pizza – pesto and ricotta, artichokes, roasted mushrooms and green olives. My husband said he was pleasantly surprised and originally thought it would be really salty. I love salt and I was fine with all of it. Next time I would make it more well done in our oven.

We still have the other 3 pizza’s.

A Red Wagon: The ideal ratio of bacon to pork and garlic to onion with precise seasonings and our house-made fig balsamic.

Carl the Cuban: Chef Carl Ruiz was a dear friend and mentor to Red Wagon Pizza’s founder, Peter Campbell. Carl “The Cuban” was the inspiration behind the flavor profile of this beloved pizza, which is topped with 12 hour citrus cuban pork & shaved ham over house cheese, finished with dill pickles and mayo-mustard.

And a Pepperoni pie. I do look forward to trying these and will give an update on the next review! Will we order from here again? The verdict is still out. So far, I am happy with the products!

Up next we have a delivery of Detroit Style Pizza Co coming in the beginning of April. This I originally ordered 2nd and didn’t notice the shipping date. If you do order from Gold Belly, make sure you check the shipping dates! After that, who knows were else we are ordering from.

We have a favorite list and we have places picked in Wyoming, Georgia, Colorado, Missouri, Arizona… So much pizza. If you order, I would double check the weather to prevent any shipping delays, and make sure you look for a promo code, it’s worth it!

If you want to try it, and get $15.00 off your first order, please consider using my link: https://www.talkable.com/x/t53hRo

I’ll get $15.00 off my next order too and that will help me get around the country faster. **This is my personal review on something I bought. I did use some discount promo codes I found online.

I decided to just put a hold on a ton of books off various must read lists. Suddenly, they were all available for pick up and since there is a hold list for a lot of them, I can’t renew. SO… My reading spree continues….
White ivy : a novel / Susie Yang. 

I liked this book. I did not like the main character. In fact, I am pretty sure I didn’t like anyone in the book really… haha. Wait, I liked the street friend from when she was growing up. It was interesting to see how it all turns out and I am pretty sure everyone gets what they deserve. Except the street friend. Pick it up for a good weekend read.

Let me tell you what I mean [large print] / Joan Didion ; foreword by Hilton Als.

This is another one you should pick up if you have a chance. I liked how it was written. I liked that it was a bunch of different articles from over the years. So each chapter is a new article. I really enjoyed the last few articles. The one on Martha Stewart was very interesting to me. I also liked the chapter on Hemingway. I never really thought about how books are published posthumously, and how the writer no longer has any say in their work. This book gave me a few interesting conversations with my husband so I would really recommend reading it.

The kindest lie : a novel / Nancy Johnson.

I think I saw this on a must read list. I did enjoy this book. There are so many secrets people and families keep. For me, this was an interesting read and I think that if you get a chance and have a weekend to hang around, I would suggest giving this book a read.

Tell no one : a novel / by Harlan Coben.

A friend recommended this book. This was fast and kept me turning the pages. I read it in a day. I would recommend adding to your reading list if you like these sorts of books. I did figure it out before the end of the book but there are definitely a lot of twists and turns.

Writers & lovers : a novel / Lily King.

This is another book I enjoyed reading. I really liked the writing. I liked the story. I liked that it was relatable to things that really go on in life when you are starting out. The stresses that pile on top of each other and the feelings of being lost and hopeless sometimes. What I didn’t like? The ending. For me it felt like it just wrapped everything up too perfectly and really fast. I was happy for the characters but I was also thinking that everything that was super relatable suddenly wasn’t. That’s my opinion though. I think it’s worth reading and I definitely recommend.

This is what I have been doing with my free time lately. I have 2 more books here, 1 waiting for me at the library and 3 more I am holding for… So more book reviews are in our future.

Have you read any of these books? What did you think? Are there any books that you would recommend?

When I pick my books I really just google book lists and pick anything that sounds interesting. If I see a book on multiple lists, I will request it from the library too. I like it like that. I never really know what I am about to read. Currently I am on 8 hold lists and I have 2 more books waiting for me to pick up at the library so I have been on kind of a reading spree.

Damned / Chuck Palahniuk. I really liked this book BUT I read the trilogy out of order. I read the Doomed book first and since I knew a lot of the main characters history already, and what happens next, I really just wanted to know how she died. I know that sounds really gross, but if you read the book, you’ll understand. Should you read this? Yes. But I would recommend reading the books in order. I will be reading the 3rd book whenever it comes out.

Deacon King Kong : a novel / James McBride. I really enjoyed this book. To be honest, it took me a while to get into it. I loved the way it connected all the characters. I loved everyone’s names and nicknames. Mid way through the book, I just wanted to keep reading. By the end of the book I understood why this book is on so many book lists. Would I recommend to read? Yes. I think I might request another book by this author too.

Leave the world behind : a novel / Rumaan Alam.This was a book that I didn’t expect. I saw it on lots of lists and finally threw my name on the wait list at the library.  I was not thinking that the book would go in the direction that it went it. It kept me guessing. It was a fast read and kept me wondering what the heck was happening! I recommend giving this book a read. This is another author I think I might request another book from.

Pizza girl : a novel / Jean Kyoung Frazier. My first long job was working at a pizza hut. I worked there for 10 years and ended up being the general manager in the end. That job taught me a lot so I was really excited about this book for no other reason than the name of it. This book made me sad. haha. I enjoyed it. I thought it was funny in some places. It really actually brought me back to my time working in the pizza place when I was right out of high school and unsure of where or what I was doing with my life. And the wanting to just be able to fit into someone else’s life, that made sense to me. That was pretty much the extent of my relating to the book, the other parts were a little nuts and the main character is pregnant. She also drinks a lot. I’m not sure if that would bother other readers. For me, I was concerned but this is a fiction book, so if the author felt it was necessary, then it was. I would say that this book was interesting enough to add to your book list.

Next up: White ivy : a novel / Susie Yang.  This book I saw on many book lists so we’ll see.

What are you reading?? Anything you would recommend?

I feel like a lot of books are based in Connecticut or New York. Sometimes it makes me think about why I want to leave this area when a lot of authors seem to think this is an ideal book setting. There is no shortage of epic love stories or psychos or ghosts in these parts, and plenty of history to back it all up.  I want to move to San Diego and a good number of books are based there too… Or end up there. I guess I can leave one story book setting for another one.🙂

On to the book reviews!

Conjure women : a novel / Afia Atakora. I really enjoyed this book. I had more than a few secrets and kept me interested. It made me sad in parts because I do believe that some parts of this could have been real life back then.  I couldn’t decide if I liked any of the characters besides Bean. I did like the book enough to keep reading to piece it all together. I would recommend giving this book a read.

The last Mrs. Parrish : a novel / Liv Constantine. This is a really fast read and had twists and turns and secrets. It was crazy and interesting and silly in some parts. Silly as in, these people can’t be for real even though I have no doubt there really are people like that living around here. I liked how the book was divided in half and told the story from each of the two main characters points of view. That was interesting. Would I recommend it? Yes. It’s fast and entertaining but also a little ridiculous.

Next Up:

Damned / Chuck Palahniuk. I read Doomed first not knowing that it was the 2nd book in a trilogy. I liked Doomed and kind of wanted to know what the hell happen before the main character dies and goes to hell… So I rented Damned.

Review for this and a couple others coming next week. What are you currently reading?

Writing letters to your future husband has become quite the trend over the last few years. Some people love it others absolutely hate it. I myself I am in the middle when it comes to this, I don’t love it but I don’t hate it. Some days it’s fun others not so much it really all just depends on the topic. However it’s very therapeutic for me which is why I think that every woman in their single season should give it a try. If you’re anything like me you’re probably reading this like “ marriage isn’t guaranteed, it isn’t promised that will all get married someday.” I know sis, I know but just hear me out with my reasons on why I think we all should give it a try. 

1. It could be therapeutic- writing letters to my future husband has been shockingly therapeutic for me. I’ve tried journaling in the past but could never get into it. It actually annoyed me to be honest, how and why do people sit for hours writing their emotions in a book?? It never made sense to me but one day back in April 2019 Jesus told me to start writing so I did. Boy has this change my life. I am not consistent but when I do write I feel so much lighter. 

2. It helps me stay pure- I am still a virgin. This is not what I wanted at all, in fact before I came to Christ I would make plans with this one guy to lose my virginity. Jesus would kill my vibe every single time by sending my period on the exact same day as the plans. Or the bus would stop working so he couldn’t get to me. Talk about annoyed🤦🏽‍♀️ I now understand why he did it, that guy was not good. Writing these letters reminds me that I want to save myself for one man alone and why. 

3. It’s building my trust with Jesus- now Jesus himself he’s the one who told me to start writing to my future husband and changed my heart towards marriage in general soooo I don’t think he would do that and not actually give me one. But hypothetically even if marriage isn’t part of his will for my life, I’m writing these letters is helping me known to trust as well as believe in what I pray for.

4. It’s strengthening my prayer life- Before coming to Christ I only prayed When I wanted something or if I needed him to get me out of a certain situation. Even now as a Christian I don’t know how to go to god about everything, so I write to my husband first then read it back to god.   

If you are planning to give this a shot but aren’t sure exactly what to say or how to start here are some suggestions. 

• First always date them just in case you read them with him, it’ll be good to see the season God has brought you through and how you handled it.  
• Tell him how much you love him and can’t wait to meet him. 
• Share current events that are happening in your life good or bad.  
• Tell him about the current season Jesus has you in and how you are navigating it.
• Write down prayers for him. You never know they may bless him in the future. 
• Share some things the Lord is teaching you with him. 
• It’s OK to do a little friendly flirting but always, always keep the letters Christ centered😍

I don’t know about you but I personally struggle with being vulnerable, prefer to keep everything bottled up but that’s not healthy especially in marriage. I feel like by writing these letters I already have a safe space and we haven’t even met yet. In there letters God is not only teaching me to be vulnerable but to submit. You may be asking how are you learning to submit through writing letters?? Simple…I’m learning how to let my Guard down, learning how to trust God because I learned that submitting to your husband is submitting to God himself because God called him to lead me but God leads him. 
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Hi! I can’t believe it’s February. My son’s school quarter is ending this week and then they are half way done with the year. I can’t believe it’s been a year almost since we have all been home. My friend who works at a hospital was saying that a year ago they just started getting the emails about Covid. It’s crazy.

I filled in the school forms for the kids. We’ll be home for the rest of this school year. I really hope that come fall, they will be able to go back. My job is still remote. So is my husbands. For my job there is no talk yet of when to return. My boss seems to think that come summer we’ll all be heading back in. I think that’s  a little optimistic. Especially since we’re only on the second phase of vaccine sign ups right now. I did make my appointment but it’s not for another 3 weeks. That was the earliest I could find and I still feel bad about that. I think that there are probably other people that need it before me. My boss and his boss both said that if you get a chance to take it, and you want it, you should go ahead and get it. I will go in a few weeks. I think even if we do start going back into the office in the summer, it will be a staggered entry and probably not everyone at once or at the same time. We’ll see what happens.

I have been reading up a storm. I finished Shuggie Bain and I really liked this book. I do recommend picking it up. It’s not a happy book and for a lot of it, I truly felt bad for the main character. I also really understood other characters in the book. In the beginning, getting used to the Irish slang, pronunciation and how they talked slowed me down a little. Some of it I had to read a couple times before I got it. I did get the hang of it and in the end I was glad that it was written like that. I think it’s really interesting to read how other places in the world speak.

The lying Life of adults was a good book. I definitely identified with the main character in that she was a 13 year old girl navigating that terrible time of new emotions, hormones and between growing up and not quite there. The ending made me feel sad and hopeful for Giavanni. I would add this to your list if you are looking for a interesting read.

This book was nuts. I really liked it. I did not realize that it was part of a trilogy though and this was the second book. The third one I hope is still being written. I am going back to read the first book “Damned”. It’s about a 13 year old girl who is in hell and gets stuck on earth after not making it back to hell on Halloween. It’s just a really crazy story and it’s gross and funny and ridiculous but very entertaining. Yes, pick it up!

That’s it for me. Happy February! Nothing much is going on for us this month. What about you? Any plans? Have you read any great books lately?

Hi! I have been on a sort of health kick but then last weekend I fell off the wagon, rolled  into a ditch and I have been trying to dig myself out of it. It’s not working that well. I had wine and a burger yesterday and I have zero extra points remaining for the week (until Friday). I haven’t lost any weight in over a month…

But I haven’t gained anything back either so I guess that’s a win. Anyway, I’ll get back to it. I just need to refocus on my goal. Which is 20 more pounds by September. I am going to be 40 and I don’t want to enter my 40’s where I am right now. I have been looking at natural wines lately and I have tried a couple.

I just signed up for a 2 month subscription to USUAL wines. I ordered it to try last month because I liked that it comes portioned already. I tend to open a bottle of wine and then drink all of it. So I liked the portioned controlled idea. I am always hesitant on signing up for any subscription, but I did. I can cancel after two shipments if I want and the first one is coming Thursday. So we’ll see.

I also ordered Wonderful Wines. I got the starter pack and I just finished all 3. The reds are my favorite but I did like the super dry white on New Years Eve at my sisters. I just ordered another 3 bottles last night.

I am thinking about trying Dry Farms Wines too. I just really want to drink a wine with less additives, added sugar and sulfites so that’s what I have been looking for. I might order Dry Farms wines next month to try them out. Has anyone tried these already? What did you think?

I have also bee reading like crazy. I just finished:The girl with the louding voice : a novel / Abi Daré.

I really enjoyed this book. If you get a chance, I would recommend reading it. It’s crazy to think that this is based in 2000’s. I loved the main character. I was rooting for Adduni. It made me angry all the things that happen to her and she’s only 14.

In five years : a novel / Rebecca Serle, Lindsay Sagnette.I liked this book. It was a super fast read and it turns sad but happy. I couldn’t decide if I liked the main character or not. I did like her best friend. I would recommend this book to read with some tea under a heated blanket. 

A good girl’s guide to murder / Holly Jackson.This book was alright. I got wrapped up in it in the beginning and then I felt like it was getting to a point of like “Really, what’s next?” Like almost too much. Kind of like when I read Twilight and I was like this book is terrible but I kept reading to see what could possibly happen next. That’s how I felt about this book. My real only connection was that it’s based in CT and so I know some of the towns it referred to. Someone works for a non profit in Norwalk. I work for a non profit in Norwalk… That was my only connection to this book and I am glad it doesn’t have more books to follow. Read if you liked Twilight.

The Opposite of loneliness : essays and stories / Marina Keegan.I enjoyed this book but I was really sad reading it because I know the author died in an accident at a young age. I also got annoyed because she goes to Yale and has all this opportunity and it got me thinking about what if I went to a good college? Would I have these interesting conversations with people? I never even gave myself that option because I was working. Regardless of my thoughts, Marina was a great writer and while I didn’t enjoy all the stories in the book, I liked them enough. I would recommend reading.

The four agreements : a practical guide to personal freedom / Miguel Ruiz.This book I picked because I think I landed on a books recommended by Megan Markle and I was like what does she read? This is a short book and it annoyed me. Haha. That’s the best way to put it. I got the let things go, focus on you, you can only control you, blah blah. But I didn’t like the don’t worry about other people. I don’t get that so maybe that’s my problem. Try only your best everyday. I felt like this was a basic book of life advice. I don’t read a lot of self helpish books though. I think the last one I read was the Tao of Pooh when I was a teenager…. I recommend the Tao of Pooh. That’s all I can say.

That’s pretty much what I am up to. I only really go to the library and the grocery store… And Fed Ex once a week. I am still doing Rent the runway. I can’t help it, I really like having new things to wear even if it’s just to walk the “runway” know as aisle 5 at the grocery store, it makes me happy and lord knows we all need the little things right now.

Have you read any good books lately? Any recommendations to add?

Hey! Happy almost New Year! I am praying 2021 allows us to start seeing our friends and family again. I can wait till it’s safe for everyone. I just really hope that come summer, we’ll be ok to at least have small BBQ’s.

This new year celebration will be … Nothing much. I bought a bottle of champagne but who knows if we’ll be up at midnight to toast. I am more than fine if we just toast on Friday. I have no plans to make anything special, we’re just going to chill out. We spent Christmas with my sister and niece, who have also been staying home since the beginning of December. We might go to their house and order something for dinner. We’ll see.

For resolutions, I am not making any big or really new ones. I have been on weight watchers since October and lost 12 pounds so far. Since Thanksgiving I have kind of just been maintaining that loss, which I am fine with for now. I am hoping to step it back up January 2nd by adding the elliptical or rowing machine in a couple times a week. I have been waking up before everyone and doing yoga. I really enjoy the stretching and my back has felt a lot better. I have 20 more pounds that I want to lose so I am focused on trying for 1 pound a week. I’m going to be 40 this year so I really just want to get healthy for my 40’s. I’m going to try. We’ll see what happens.

I am hoping to start to plan a couple vacations but it really depends on what’s going on with Covid and travel.

After Christmas I got really sad. I just was so looking forward to Christmas and it was such a great day! The day after I just felt like “What’s next?” Nothing. Haha. I know I am being a little dramatic but it just felt like everything else to look forward to is so up in the air or far away. I’m honestly a little sad still but I am going to focus on getting my health on track. I want to learn how to cook a few new things. I am going to step up my fitness a little. I am going to go ahead and plan those vacations and pray that we’ll be in a place that we can go.

That’s pretty much it for me! How about you? What are your new years plans? Any resolutions?
Happy New Year!

I’m counting down the days.🙂

I am so excited this year. I think it’s just something to look forward too. Also, almost the end of the year and I am really ready for this year to be over. I am ready for a new president. I am ready for a vaccine eventually, once all the important people are taken care of. I am ready to be able to plan a vacation again soon with our friends and family. I am ready for a thanksgiving with everyone and to be able to celebrate birthdays together. I would love to see my mom again for a bit and my in law’s. I want to have book club with boozy brunches and lots of laughing. I’m ready.

My sister’s birthday is on Christmas Eve. Her job went remote again just in time for her to quarantine for 2 weeks so her and my niece can come celebrate! It sucks because they cut her hours but I’m happy because they can come over and hang out. For her birthday I ordered a Carvel Ice Cream cake and we’ll order Lomo Saltado for dinner. Then we can rent a movie to watch. After they leave, I’ll make some cookies with the kids for Santa and hopefully we can call it an early night.

The kids kind of believe in Santa still. They both know that my husband and I do a lot of the gifts, but they think Santa brings a couple. They’re 9 and 11 and they go to public school. They have been on the fence about Santa for years. When they ask I just tell them that he’s real if they believe he’s real. I still believe in the spirit of Santa.

Then Christmas! I feel like I went a little over board this year for everyone. I just wanted something to really look forward to, and I am really looking forward to giving everyone things and hanging out. We had it because we didn’t go on vacation at all (staycation didn’t really count). Also, my husband and I were lucky and our jobs went full remote pretty easily. We are fortunate, I know. I am reminded to thank god every morning when I read the news. My sister and niece will be coming back over after they wake up and do their morning Christmas stuff. We will exchange gifts, relax and I’ll cook. This year it’s prime rib with smashed potatoes, carrots, mac and cheese, biscuit’s and monkey bread. I’ll make brownies and cookies for dessert. Then we’ll probably watch another movie or some of those extreme shows and hopefully go to bed on the early side.

That’s pretty much it for our Christmas this year. What are your plans?