A Look at Life: January

I married an avid ice fisherman. I just found out. …..That he’s an avid ice fisherman, not that I’m married. This little lake life suits us well. We’ve always been drawn to nature, both of us thankfully. The cool breeze as it runs across our face, the vast skies looking down on us, the water always surrounding us. We’re drawn to the sunshine and the birds and freedom that comes with stepping outside.

I say it often, but this little cabin life is an actual dream. We find ourselves saying, “Someday we’ll have a cabin on a lake and do nothing but fish and whittle all day.” And then we look at our life and realize we’re where we want to be in 40 years. We smile at each other and go to bed each night overwhelmed by thankfulness for this little, really big life.

It took an entire afternoon but we did it. 20 different crockpot freezer meals prepared and ready to be eaten at our convenience. We’d fallen into the eating like Italians category: cheese, olives, crackers, and wine for every. single. meal. I’ll be the first to admit I’m a big fan of the appetizer lifestyle but there comes a time when you need to make a change. Our big issue was time. We love to cook and be in the kitchen together but we found that creating quality meals was taking up our sacred evening time together.

We signed up for The Family Freezer, hit up the grocery store, and spent 8 hours chopping, measuring, and sorting. It’s been the best thing we’ve done this year. Surprisingly not because of the time it has saved us, but more so because of the headspace. I find myself more present, awake, excited in the evening because I’m spending zero time having to think about what we’re making for supper.

January means new. New goals. New dreams. New morning routines and getting sh*t done. I’ve dreamed bigger than I ever have and feel better about it too. There’s a plan that makes sense, a vision for the what all of this is for, and yet I still find myself drawn to the slow. To the quiet moments spent getting forgetting about the time with Scott or when Gibson lies completely snuggled on my chest just minutes before the alarm goes off. These are the moments I want my year to be about.

I’ve started to look at blogging in an entirely new way. I want everyone to know about it. I’ve seen how it helps people, connects people, let’s people know they’re not alone. There’s room for everyone and a bonus, you can make money doing it. This is my latest passion, sharing the how, the what, the why of blogging with everyone. I find myself waking up with a new fire, ready to share what I’ve learned and experienced with the world. Funny, sometimes the world looks a lot like one person and I think I prefer it that way.

I've started my YouTube journey. I'm serious about this sharing blogging with the world thing. Being in front of the camera isn't my favorite thing in the world but I'm excited to dive in. I imagine it will be much like my blogging journey full of surprises, painful at times, but ultimately rewarding. You can follow the journey by subscribing to my channel!

Current favorites:

Monopoly Deal: If you aren’t on the Monopoly Deal train yet, hop on and grab yourself a seat. A new twist on a forever classic. Think all the fun of Monopoly in 15 minutes.

My Own Tea Kettle: Scott gifted me this for Christmas. I’ve always been the “I don’t need a teapot I’ll just heat up water in this pan” type of gal. Now, I find myself anticipating the sharp shrill of the teapot as I refill it for the 3rd time.

To Shake the Sleeping Self - Jedidiah Jenkins. My first book of 2019. I was supposed to read 2 others first, I thought it would be smart to dive into business books, but then somehow, this book arrived in the mail before any of the others. I took it as a sign and it’s my kickoff to the new year. I wrote a blog post about a video following his journey, it’s one of my favorites.

52 Postcards: I have such good intentions and always seem to fail. I get frustrated with myself. But this time I committed to following through with this one. 1 postcard each week for an entire year. I’m 3 for 3 so far and you better believe I've patted myself on the back for sticking with it.

Smartwool Socks: You don’t know what you’re missing out on. Quality socks are no joke and I’ve been messing around for too long. I received my first pair and my always cold feet were suddenly warm. Miracle socks I like to call them.