Thoughts from the holidays

"your diaries, I read them all one day

when loneliness came and you were away
oh, they told me nothing new,
but I loved to read the words you used" 

 Things We Lost in the Fire - Bastille

• This will be bulleted.

• My brain fog has been thick this week. I often have to close my eyes in order to concentrate and finish my sentences. 

• I discovered during the cruise and through Christmas how depressed and poisoned gluten makes me feel. Didn't stop me from eating tons of my family's favorite butter cookies though. 

• We had a wonderful, stress-free Christmas. Best one in years. Our family blesses the kids (and us) with amazing gifts.

• I've been faithfully taking yin yoga classes. It's really helping the range of motion in my neck, shoulders, back, and legs. I really recommend it for other people with joint pain.

• I have a microwave now, and am loving making Trim Healthy Mama muffins-in-a-mug any time I want.  It is so good for me to have a gluten-free quick and filling snack.

• I watched both of the Star Trek movies at a friend's house for New Year's Eve, and I really liked them. Young Spock is an interesting character. I haven't been watching much TV,  just catching up on Angel episodes I skipped mid-series. Sherlock returns today, and I'm excited about that. Downton season 4 was enjoyable, and no more casualties or trauma. Doctor Who has been a little disappointing the last couple of episodes, but I'm hoping Capaldi will breathe new life into Moffat's overly-ambitious-and-unevenly-paced storylines. I basically gave up on Once Upon a Time. That season long Neverland plot was WORN OUT.

• I have been doing some rearranging after we bought some old sofas off of Craigslist. It was kinda ridiculous how there wasn't even enough seating for all the people who live here. I am looking for the perfect piece of art or decoration to go over the loveseat. Here are my ideas for sprucing up that space.

• I'm starting a Project Life album; I have all my supplies ready to go; I just need to start taking more photographs. I'm only doing new photos from this new year - and not necessarily to document family life, but also my interests and personal growth.  

• (I really needed something to work on. My boredom was overtaking my life and personality. It's been hard to find things for me to do that don't totally wear me out, or are too challenging emotionally/physically.)

• This year, I want to focus on the things that I'm better at, and able to do. This is a year of acceptance of where I am. Last year was about survival mode and drifting along, and I have more understanding of what I'm capable of.  

• This means letting go and bidding adieu to those nagging wannabe-interests and goals. The first half of last year was overload. I committed to too much (4H, homeschool co-op, playing guitar), and suffered for it the rest of the year until Jonas' accident, which forced me to cut it down to essentials. I know now how unpredictable life is, and to not get married to any notions of how things are going to be.

•  I want to do some more reading. I've been reading Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel graphic novels interspersed with books about faith and theology. But I can't decide what to read next.

• I haven't been to church in a couple of months. We're still mulling over what to do about that, but in the meantime, I'm still basking in God's love - not backsliding. ;-)

•  The boys will be 10 and 12 this week. We'll be having another small party at home.