New Year Catch Up

A little catch up, some favorites and a review of my year

Hello everyone it has been an extremely long time. In internet land time it has been an eternity since I have posted. I wanted to follow up with some life updates and do a little end-of-year check-in for myself and us!

I started this year in a brain fog (see post on quitting social media here) that has cleared significantly but as I have recently realized I replaced Instagram with Substack, I am scaling that back too! The main difference is that Substack is still so much less OVER stimulating than insta *to me anyway*. I think I will be bringing Instagram up again here and there, with limits strictly to catch up with people as we enter a new year. I am just super out of the loop with old friends, which is another post for another day!

My book writing this year has been so productive with some starts/stops and even so, I have completed an entire first “discovery” draft in a year and I am immensely proud of myself for doing the damn thing. I think the younger me would be shocked at how much I have accomplished. Especially with a lax schedule of typing hurried pages during my daughter’s nap time and with the gentle approach of allowing myself to take breaks with this project, I have completed something I set out to do. I know my English and Lit teachers that believed in me growing up and said I had some great writing potential would maybe not be surprised and that makes me emotional to think about.

I am so proud of all of the personal growth I have gone through this year. So much work of truly overhauling so much internally, a lot of baggage unpacked and I feel lighter for it. I feel I have grown in communication to people in my life and knowing what I want to say and how. I know I am growing as a person hoping it’s for the better. Being a mom is such hard beautiful work and raising my tiny person has brought out so much joy in my life. I am so thankful for the friendships I have recultivated and the way I have shown up for others— even more so for showing up for myself this year.

With that, here is a little bullet list of things I did this year (2024) that were highlights for me and because I like lists:

• wrote a whole book (amazing) the first draft is complete and I am excited to start the editing process!

• wrote some songs for my solo music project (2025 the year for those to be released?)

• tried therapy again (will resume next year woot!)

• addressed some physical health concerns (anyone else have health anxiety that makes you avoid going to the doctor? or just me?)

• completed my reading goal of 27 books (the U.S. adult average is 12 books a year!)

• learned how to budget that works for me and my family (embarrassingly late in adulthood for that, but better late than never to take finances seriously!)

• traveled my first time without my kid since she was born (parents know this is kind of harder to do than you would think if you don’t have to do it.)

some favorites:

• this cookie recipe (you’re welcome)

• this album (perfect, no notes. There were many dance parties with my family to this album this year.) so many good albums came out this year! Me and my husband might be doing a podcast episode about our favorites so stay tuned for that!

• this book (SO hard to narrow my list to one favorite for the year but this one made me absolutely giddy. Let me know if you guys want a full book list and review from me!)

The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center

• this podcast (how am I finding this just this year? Love it. Bingeworthy!) Normal Gossip fans hit me up in the comments!

• this picture (we took my daughter to the farm and my husband picked up a chicken— it was too funny.)

It truly was a wild year— we quite literally started at rock bottom and worked our way into a better state of being. Not without all the feelings along the way of course but it is amazing to reminisce on it. As I go into this new year I remember it is remarkable what you can accomplish with good people in your corner and the determination to make a life you love for yourself. No matter what that looks like to you but to realize the simple successes are what matter most I think.

Thank you all for reading and following along here with all of random thoughts this year! I look forward to sharing more creative projects with you all this year and reading your thoughts!