1. Putting it all away. The first week of January is always spent taking down all the Christmas and putting it away. It’s equal parts depressing and freeing. I hate the initial shock of so much emptiness in our home, but after a day or so–I REALLY enjoy not having to vacuum up pine needles, remember to turn on the Christmas lights, and it’s nice to be able to maneuver more easily around our home. I often just put things back where they were before, but this year–I redecorated almost all my bookshelves, and we moved a few things around. It’s helped make our home feel a little less like the Grinch stole our Christmas. Be sure to admire my “lived in” look photos–complete with crumpled blankets, laptops strewn about and pillows askew.
2. Back to Work/Back to School. Super Rockstar got to take 3 glorious weeks off work for the holidays and so did the boys from school. We got rather used to sleeping in, lazing around, watching screens, and eating a ton. It was a rude awakening to have to go back to early morning wakeups when it’s still dark outside and get back to the routine of life–there was a lot of weeping and gnashing of teeth. But we’re now back into our usual rhythm of school, work, chores, homework, and complaining.
3. Date Night. Super Rockstar and I got to go see a favorite country music artist of ours–Darryl Worley. He came to Phil Long Music Hall and our good friend Debbie Havens was able to squeeze us in at her VIP table. It was such a fun night. Another friend of ours took us backstage to meet him before the concert. Darryl took one look at Super Rockstar and said, “I know you from somewhere”. Over 25 years ago–we had gone to one of his concerts here in town and sat very close to the front. He told us, he often remembers faces from folks in the crowd. We got to hear him sing a lot of our favorite songs: Tennessee River Run, I Miss My Friend, Second Wind (my favorite), and many others. It was such a great night at a great venue. He also has a new podcast called Sounds Like Life with Daryl Worley where he shares stories–something he has an endless supply of.
4. A New Venture for Me. I’ve been away from the work force for nearly 18 years now. And whereas I’m not quite ready to go back full time (the boys keep me pretty busy as chauffer, personal shopper, chef, and all-around assistant) –I have decided to start doing some small jobs here and there. I started being a shopper for Instacart a couple of months ago and it’s working out pretty well so far. It fits right into my day since I’m out running errands a lot anyway and it’s a relatively easy way to earn a buck or two. I’ll share with you soon more about my experience with this and a couple of other things I’ve tried. So far, I’ve learned that there are a whole lot of grocery products out there that I had no idea existed. And that most Instacart buyers prefer all things obscure and organic.
5. Winter fun. Like I said, we didn’t venture out very much but when we did, we had a lot of fun.
The boys and I had a great time sledding after one of our many snowstorms.
Grayson got to go to a friend’s birthday party at Air City 360. This is such a great indoor place for kids to get their energy out–with lots of great bounce houses, trampolines, dodge ball, and a sky coaster.
We also did a family fun night at Top Golf. This has become a favorite place for all of us–so many fun golf games to play, great food and in the winter, they have really awesome outdoor heaters. The boys love just whacking the ball as hard as they can.
6. Movies and Shows We Watched.
Movies:
Knives Out–Super Rockstar and I had seen this before, but the boys never had. Daniel Craig plays inspector Benoit Blanc investigating the mysterious death of a renowned author. It’s really good.
Glass Onion–This a sequal to the Knives Out movie. This time Benoit Blanc is investigating a series of murders on a wealthy billionaire’s private island. Also very good.
Absolutely Anything–-This one was new to all of us. It stars Simon Peg who is inadvertently given all powers to do absolutely anything by aliens who are trying to determine if earth should be saved or destroyed. It’s quirky, but fun.
Murder Mystery–We love this movie and just had to watch it again. It has Jennifer Anniston and Adam Sandler playing a married couple (the Spitzes) that while on vacation are pulled into a wealthy family’s drama where they become the chief suspects of several murders.
Murder Mystery 2. This one is really good too. The Spitzes are invited to a wealthy friend’s wedding and when he is kidnapped–they have to figure out how to save him. We loved it.
Shows:
Landman–This is a new series written by Taylor Sheridan (Yellowstone). It’s about an oil man (played by Billy Bob Thorton) and all the ins and outs of this competitive and sometimes dangerous business. It’s really good.
1923–We decided to re-watch the first season since the 2nd season is coming out soon (late February). This is the early years of the Dutton family as they fight to keep their land and cattle business. It’s such a good series. We can’t wait for new episodes!
Tulsa King--This is another Taylor Sheridan story about a mobster (played by Sylvester Stallone) who sets up business in Tulsa, OK. He is constantly at odds with his old gang in New York and finds there are many enemies close by too. There are two seasons now and it’s pretty good.
Cross–We were in “show hole” and decided to give this show a try. It’s based on James Patterson’s character, Alex Cross who is a crime detective. We didn’t really care for it that much but watched to the end because we needed the closure.
7. Books I Read.
I FINALLY finished the Lord of the Rings series. I had a really hard time reading these books–it took me forever. They are very wordy, and I got bored easily. I now feel that I have bragging rights–kind of like I ran a marathon only this was a reading marathon.
I also read the latest Janet Evanovich from her Stephanie Plum series: Dirty Thirty. I love these books so much–they’re just fun, easy reading and enjoyable stories.
8. My Favorite Memes.
As always, I would love to hear from you.