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Showing posts with label Bits Of Life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bits Of Life. Show all posts
In the old days of blogging, this sort of year-end summary was ubiquitous, and I think we need to bring it back. It’s a great way to share highlights and ideas! My old blog buddy, Michelle, borrowed this format recently, and I am borrowing it from her.
(Photos courtesy of our New Year’s Day winter hike.)
BEST ADVENTURE:
Our travel this year was almost entirely to see friends, and I can’t choose between those trips, so I’m going to say my favorite was our camping trip to Wyoming. We saw 4th of July fireworks in Cody (which were very good for such a small town); visited Yellowstone National Park; walked through geyser pathways with a death-grip on our clumsy kids’ hands; shook our heads at tourists we saw chasing down bears and buffaloes for a picture; almost entirely skipped the Grand Tetons because the traffic was absolutely nuts; had an electrical glitch in our van in Jackson, and held our breaths for the entire ten-hour drive home, but we made it.
BEST MILESTONE:
I have five kids with all their own milestones, but this year we officially have a high schooler. I am a mom to a high schooler. He could technically start driving within about a year on a learner’s permit. It is hard to wrap my mind around it.
BEST FAITH GROWER:
As I’ve mentioned vaguely many times, the beginning of this year was taken up with a health scare. I would like to say I reacted in a perfect, faith-filled way, but I didn’t. I mostly dealt to the anxiety by zoning out with meaningless podcasts or videos, and completely failed in my Bible reading plan. I didn’t pray nearly enough. I couldn’t see my own mismanagement of the situation until I started reflecting on the year over the last month or so, and realized this whole thing was one big spiritual attack, and it was working! The Lord really opened my eyes to the fact that I had been letting go of the most important things, and that was hurting me more than the health issue and anxiety. It has been really humbling, and has reminded me how gracious God is to give me eyes to see anew how much I need Him.
FAVORITE BLOG POSTS WRITTEN:
These were my best posts, in my opinion:
BEST TREND YOU TRIED:
I actually have been trying hard to disconnect my style from trends this year. One thing that is trendy right now, but that I am trying to make more of a normal thing for myself, is to thrift for more of my clothes instead of buying new. I am looking for clothes that are harmonious with my own style (not driven by trends), and that are made with more high-quality fibers, because I would like my clothes to feel less disposable. I have found a “good” thrift store, and I always find something there!
One “trendy” thing that I have been purchasing new is western-style boots - and I have given myself a looser hand with this trend precisely because it is NOT a trend to me! I live in a western state, one of the defining words of my style is “mountain-ish”, and cowboy boots are never out of style here.
BEST BEAUTY PURCHASES:
A couple years ago I actually put myself on a makeup buying ban, because I had a stockpile from various sales already. I finally broke the ban this year and bought a few new non-essential makeup items. These are the ones that have been the best:
This blush has the perfect amount of pigment and looks really natural! Just blend it properly. It’s also a great price!
I rediscovered how a good highlighter can give such a refreshed look. I like these Grinch-themed highlighters - there is a subtle pink one, and a goldfish-white one.
My old standby foundation, and I am on my last tube, so I will be buying more soon. It’s the most precise match I have found for my very-pale skin, and I like the “illumination” variety best.
I am picky about face sunscreens, because if I pick the wrong one I will get acne. This sunscreen is a great base for makeup and not oily!
BEST HABIT YOU CREATED:
This year I started making sourdough bread, which is somewhat of a habit - I can’t let the starter languish too long. A habit I have struggled with and re-established, and which I highly recommend to homeschool/stay-at-home moms, is waking up well before your kids for a cup of coffee and Bible.
BEST NEW RECIPE:
This Christmas I combined this sourdough cookie recipe with this frosting recipe, and added some lemon flavoring to both, and it got great feedback from kids and adults alike! And for the sake of not losing recipes…every year I make thisjalapeño bacon cheeseball for Christmas (my family would stage a mutiny is I didn’t), and this marshmallow frosting-filling recipe is the most perfect one for any variety of sandwich cookies.
BEST LIFE HACK:
I can lay no claim to this hack, as I was actually the beneficiary of it, and it’s not technically a “hack” since it doesn’t make life nicer for yourself but for someone else. But here it is: I think we have lost the art of hostess gifts, and we should make an attempt to bring them back.
I invited a friend’s boys over to our house this fall for an afternoon, and she actually sent them with sunflowers. Just for a little playdate, that I suggested! Then I hosted a last-minute cookies and cocoa event for our co-op because we couldn’t have the party at the church where we usually meet - and this same friend brought me a jar of homemade raspberry jam! In our casual mountain community I’ve never encountered someone who brings hostess gifts, and never thought to bring one myself. While I would never expect a gift as a hostess, it was such a lovely surprise. It made me want to make it a habit to bless others the same way when they host.
BEST NEW TRADITION:
It’s hard to say whether something is a tradition until you’ve done it a few years, and then it isn’t “new” anymore - but I think I can say with confidence that a new tradition this year is having all the kids stay up until midnight on New Year’s Eve. This is the first year all my kids made it to midnight without falling asleep!
BEST LITTLE LUXURY YOU’VE ENJOYED:
I have been enjoying wearing earrings every day, and the more sparkly the better. I always have worn earrings, but over the last couple years I have added more sparkly earrings to my collection. They instantly make any outfit just a little fancier, and I feel more put together with a little sparkle.
BEST BOOKS:
My top five books would be:
-My Dear Hemlock by Tilly Delahay
-The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
-Everest, Inc. by Will Cockrell
-Every Believer Confident by Mark Farnham
-The Road To Roswell by Connie Willis
I have three book review posts to share in the next couple weeks to finish off all my 2025 books, so watch for those!
BEST MOVIES:
I didn’t see many new movies, but remembered again how much we like these.
Eagle Eye (Re-watched with the kids.)
Jurassic Park (The kids were introduced this year.)
Single On The 25th (A well-done Hallmark movie).
Carry-on (A Netflix thriller that was pretty good).
Oklahoma (Introduced to the kids, and now we all have “Poor Judd Is Dead” stuck in our heads.)
BEST TV SHOWS:
All Creatures Great And Small (Watching with the kids and enjoying it.)
Downtown Abbey (A re-watch).
Shark Tank (Another one of our family shows.)
Outlast (A survival competition show that alternated between fascinating and infuriating us.)
Deal Or No Deal Island (A spin on the old game show. We watched with the kids, and all enjoyed it together.)
BEST ALBUM OR SONG:
Farther Along by Josh Garrels was the top song for me this year, because I found the mood and message comforting after a tough year and sad events this fall.
Here are my top five:
BEST DAY OUT:
My husband booked tickets for my girls and me to see the Nutcracker performed by a big city ballet. I have seen amateur productions before, but seeing a professional performance was a whole other experience! It was worth the ticket prices. I also got into a whole conversation with an older lady while waiting in line, and she told us all about how she has been taking her daughters to the Nutcracker since they were babies. It was neat to be surrounded by so many people who loved the Nutcracker and have made it a tradition, and it was a perfect festive outing for the girls. (My sons got to do a boys camping trip with my husband in the summer, so I didn’t feel bad leaving them out on this one.)
BEST FAMILY MEMORY:
We had alot of good family memories this year. I was going to say the hike we took on New Year’s Day, but then realized that would be a 2026 memory, so instead I’ll say the hikes we took this fall. All hikes are highlights for me for similar reasons. It feels so good to get outside and enjoy the beautiful colors and scenery. I felt driven to get out into nature more than in years past, and there is something healing about the brisk air and sunshine on our faces. We listen to modern hymns and favorite songs on the drive, we find some really pretty hidden glades and meadows together, and we top it off with candy or hot chocolate. The best memories are sometimes the simplest ones.
What were your “bests” of 2025?
This week I thought I would take a cue from Michelle and share some photos of the week with you. One bad thing - maybe the only bad thing - about being off of Instagram is that I can't easily share the little things we are up to - the things that don't seem worthy of a whole blog post end up getting lost. I like the way Michelle has been sharing snippets of daily life on Fridays, and so I'm stealing her idea! Maybe it'll become a weekly occurrence. (I'm at least shooting for once a month.)
-We had out-of-town family to visit recently, and we ate Mexican food and then went on a hike. Gramie happened to know a lot about the history of the buildings in this particular area, so you can bet I counted it as a field trip! It was so nice to see our East Coast family - we always have such great conversations with Derek's brother and sister-in-law, and it had me itching for a visit out there again.
-We went out for a visit to our friends ranch a couple weekends ago! We enjoy taking the kids on day-trips like this, and I love catching up with these particular friends from my childhood. They make it so interesting for the kids as well, and it's a cool experience for them to get to see how a real ranch works! There were adorable lambs born the night before we went, and the kids loved feeding them. My friends were also quite impressed with how far my five little kids rolled that huge hay bail!
-Just a couple outfit pictures from my main opportunity to "dress up" (as in, not in sweats) - that would be Awana nights! My kids are in a perfect sweet spot right now, where all five of them can be in Awana at the same time, and you can bet we are taking advantage of this chance for weekly date nights! When Wyatt gets old enough to age out of the program I'll probably volunteer, but we have to take our opportunities while we have them. I'm trying to be cognizant of what kinds of pictures I share of my kids on here, but I wish I could show you their outfits for "Decades Night" at Awana - the girls were 80's, the boys were 50's. They all looked ridiculously adorable.
-A certain little child of mine turned 7 years old! He asked for a mountain bike and a Woody doll from Toy Story, and was so excited when his wish came true.
-Four of my kids gathered around the laptop for an art tutorial on a Friday Fun-day (Clyde was gone on his birthday shopping day with grandma). Gwen in particular has an artistic bent and has been asking me non-stop for drawing lessons. For now, online lessons will have to do.
-It has snowed a few times in the last couple weeks, after almost summer-like weather. The only time I have trouble with snow is typically in the spring, when we are teased with lovely weather and then hit with another storm - however, this last bit of snow has not bothered me at all. I'm not sure why, maybe it's the knowledge that summer is coming fast and the moisture will be so good for our grass. I think I also am feeling the freshness of spring anew this year, even snowy springs, after we were all locked down last April. I resolved last year to never complain about a normal spring again, mud and all, and so far my resolution has held. It also helps that in April and May snow melts off so fast. We got some drippy icicles in our trees the other day that were so pretty, but I had a hard time capturing them.
-On days when I can't make it to the gym, sometimes I do a quick walk to the mailbox instead, and the last couple times this crazy dog has been following me. I tried to make sure he was locked inside before leaving last time, but when I finally reached the mailbox, closed it and turned around, who do you think I saw? He used to be quite the dog about town in our old neighborhood, and we had to keep him on a collar to make sure he didn't roam, but in his old age he doesn't want to leave our sides. When we are home, he never goes farther than our driveway. When I go to the mailbox, he has to tag along.
Not pictured:
-Derek got a new job this month! He is still in accounting, but a more interesting version of accounting for him. He's excited about attacking a new challenge, and I'm excited that (for now at least) he still gets to work mostly from home. Having him home this last year has been a huge blessing - it has allowed us more family time together since he no longer has to commute, and it has actually made homeschooling easier, because when certain children are getting too distracted I can send them in to work with dad (which works in focusing them like a charm). It is also not lost on me how lucky we are that Derek has been able to work through everything that happened in 2020. I know that working situations have been so hard for so many people.
-April has been such a busy month in that we have been able to spend so much time with people we care about. We had a great Easter with my family, we got to see Derek's family, and we've had several dinners with various good friends. I've also been able to schedule some visits with our homeschool social group, and park days with individual friends. It's been a really busy month! It doesn't appear to be slowing down - Wyatt informed me that he has a busy couple weeks ahead with several events at church he would like to attend. When I contrast last April with this April, I am just so pleased with the difference. People are starting to relax with the arrival of the vaccine, and so much feels normal again.
Normal is a gift. I'm very satisfied with normal.
I hope you all have had a beautifully normal month too, friends - comment and tell me what you've been up to!
Reading...Things Jolie Needs To Do Before She Bites It by Kerry Winfrey. I've been reading some heavy stuff lately, and sometimes you just need a little YA nonsense. So far it's pretty cute, we'll see where it goes.
Watching...Alone by the History Channel. We have been fans for a long time, but the newer seasons finally made it to Hulu, so we are catching up! We are watching the season where the people are stranded in Mongolia, and I am convinced there is no way I would last a week there. They have wolves in Mongolia. I think I learned a little too much in our co-op when we were covering the Middle Ages last year (lots of problems with wolves eating little children, for real). Wolves are worse than mountain lions or bears. At least with the latter, there is only one, and you have a chance of fighting them off. Wolves travel in packs. Basically, you'd be toast.
Feeling...frustrated. So today was the first time since February when I've been able to go work on the ol' blog at Starbucks. I was so excited! Then I got here and our internet filtering system blocked me from joining the wifi. So the first 40 minutes I've had in a coffee shop alone since February were spent on the phone with Covenant Eyes figuring out what went wrong. Thankfully their customer service is pretty great, and I am grateful for what they do generally. Just going to have to find a work-around for this Starbucks issue.
Choosing...to postpone all my homeschool posts that I had plan until we actually start school! I had a bunch of ideas I wanted to write about, but I decided I needed a few more lazy summer weeks where I just read and take my kids to the park or for summer hikes with friends.
We start school the week of August 16th (trying to get an earlier start this year, in the hopes that next spring we can finish early and things will be normal). So a couple more weeks and I'll get more of those posts and Instagram videos up! Hoping I don't burn you guys out on homeschool content, but I really enjoy sharing ideas and hearing what other people are doing!
Consuming...not a lot of a sugar. I realized my jeans were getting a little tight, so it was time to cut out sugar for a while again. I'm also trying to get in shape, just because, but also because I drew a deer tag this year. This will be the first time I've been hunting in...probably eight years, and I'm woefully out of shape. And unsure if I'd be able to hit the broad side of a barn. And our freezer is also in desperate need of filling, so yeah, the pressure is on. My plan for not wheezing my way up the trail includes going old-school and breaking out my Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred DVD - and yes, I still feel like I'm going to die after every workout.
Ordering...fall candles. I am definitely in the mood for fall early, but I'm trying to restrain myself and enjoy what's left of the summer. I think I'm feeling particularly fall-ish this year because, in my mind, the craziness going on in the world will be magically fixed in the fall. This somehow despite it being an election year, and despite the logical part of my brain knowing something dramatic will go down in October, because they always try to pull those old election tricks. But maybe this year will be different! Who says adults can't believe in fairy tales? (Sorry, that was kind of sarcastic and cynical. I'm in a mood this week.)
Remembering...I've been pining after Florida this week, because around this time last year we were getting ready for a beach vacation. I am treating this nostalgia by looking through our vacation photos from May, to remind myself that we did actually do some fun things this year too. I'm aiming to get a vacation recap post up tomorrow or Monday!
Enjoying...the way the light shines in our windows in the morning. I've been trying to keep my habit of getting up before the kids through the summer, and if I make it downstairs before 7:00, the light glows orange and pink through the windows. It's really pretty, and I know a photograph wouldn't even capture it. Sometimes when the light is just right, and I know there is no way to convey the experience accurately to anyone else, I just tuck those moments up in my heart and thank the Lord that I get to be alive right then, seeing something that feels like it's only for me.
P.S. Trying...to figure out what these berries are. Any ideas? We spotted them on a hike with friends a couple weeks ago, and I'm terrible with plants. We are studying Botany for science this year, and I am expecting to learn alot.
This past fall my eight year blogging anniversary quietly passed by.
I’ve been blogging for eight years. Do you know how ancient that makes me in blog years?
I didn't start at the very beginning of blogging (there are some out there who have been blogging five years longer than me), but I remember why I started at the time. I had just gotten married, the first of my friends, and I wanted to connect with other young married women. Since there were none in my immediate circle, I turned to the world wide web.
Back then, that’s why people blogged - just to connect. And we wrote about silly things. Much of it was neither profound nor pinnable. It was glorious.
I remember, after a year of blogging, telling my mom how I had 20 followers now, and I hoped I wouldn’t get much more than that, because if my blog grew too big, how would I reciprocate by reading and commenting on more than 20 blogs every day? Everything about that sentence tells you how blogging has changed.
I remember when it started to change - it was the year I had Gwen, and all of a sudden there was a crop of brand-new bloggers, and with them came change. Their blogs grew rapidly, companies started sponsoring posts, and before we all knew it, blogging purely to share your life became no longer relevant. It’s nice that your child started walking, but how many pageviews did you get last week? It’s nice that you went on vacation, but when was the last time you got a sponsored post? It’s nice that you want to share what you’ve learned while mothering, but why don’t you turn it into a link-up?
(Do you see the time that I am publishing this? That’s because I wrote it in the parking lot while waiting for a doctor’s appointment, and I published it as soon as I could connect to wi-fi after I finished writing it. I didn’t schedule it for tomorrow morning. I’m posting on Tuesday, the slowest day of the blogging week. I didn’t even take time to create a highly clickable post title, or create a pinnable image! Do you know how many modern blogging rules I am breaking with this post?)
Adapt or die, that’s the survival of the fittest rule, and it seemed to apply to blogging. Those who had no desire to adapt to this new blogging scheme slowly petered out. And those who did adapt lost something.
I want to bring it back. Just a little.
I want to tell you I bought a Christmas graphic tee. I’m tempted to turn it into a mini series about how to style a Christmas graphic tee, and I might. But why can’t I first just tell you I bought a fun t-shirt that I like?
I want to tell you that this fall I helped to host a women’s Bible study at church. Four months have gone by and I’m just now telling you that. I want to tell you how fun and encouraging it was, I want to tell you about the quirky ladies. I want to tell you about how I had to quit, and how one of the ladies gave me a Starbucks gift card as a farewell present (bless her, just bless her, she knows I need my caffeine!). I want to tell you all this without having to turn it into a “Ten Reasons You Should Join A Bible Study”, or some such impersonal silliness.
I want to tell you about how I had the kids packed up, and I walked out the door this morning to a chorus of muffled howls coming from the car because I took too long to get the kids their Pop-tarts (our breakfast-on-the-go of choice). How I felt slightly bad before I broke out laughing because it was so cute and ridiculous. And there is really no way to turn that into a post either pinnable or clickable, but I want to share it, these little bits of life.
So let’s do this again, shall we? Let’s take some time to share bits of life and a cup of tea on a Tuesday. See you at the same time next week.
(Or not, because I am going to be wild and crazy and not schedule a post ahead of time! Just check back sometime on Tuesday and I’ll have something up.)
What I’m Drinking: Dirty Chai tea from Celestial Seasonings, mixed with a hot chocolate packet. It is delicious.
Also note: This spur-of-the-moment post prompted by Cassidy's post on blogging like the old days. I'm not the only one who misses it.
Update: Please read this blog post on more about how we lost old-fashioned blogging, and how to get it back!
Update: Please read this blog post on more about how we lost old-fashioned blogging, and how to get it back!
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