Welcome Back?

Hello Friends!
You might have noticed I took an extended hiatus from blogging after posting incredibly infrequently in the first place. The thing is, I felt like every post was one big pity party, and bad things kept happening so I just gave up. 2014 was one big suckfest. I’ll probably post a couple of quick recaps just to catch people up on major changes in our lives, but for now I’d rather just skip right over it.

2015 isn’t shaping up to be much better, but I’m at least determined to have a better attitude about it. I have a few goals to accomplish to make that happen. Goal 1 is to write more, so you will definitely be seeing more blog entries. Goal 2 is to spend more time doing things I enjoy. Too often I get stuck in the cycle of sitting on the couch and watching TV all day, and nothing gets accomplished when I do that. I have projects that have been sitting around waiting for me to finish them, things I want to learn, and a house that isn’t going to clean itself. Plus a pack of dogs that don’t want to watch me nap all day. Goal 3 is the big depressing one: to get our finances in order. We do ok, but we could definitely do better. Basically after experiencing an emergency, I’ve realized the importance of creating an emergency fund. Goal 4 is of course to get more exercise. I’ve noticed how much better I feel, how much better I sleep, when I exercise even just 30 minutes a day. Hard to remind myself of that when it’s 5 degrees outside.

Otherwise, things are pretty good. We both currently have good health, we have a roof over our heads and a car to drive. We have happy and healthy pets that provide us with companionship and entertainment (and eggs!). And we have friends and family nearby willing and able to help whenever they can. Overall, things are pretty luxurious in the grand scheme of things. Fostering an attitude of gratitude is a somewhat grueling process, but I seem to be managing so far. My negativity center freaks out for a second (you know how I love me a worst case scenario), but generally once I’m given a little time to get things into perspective, it all seems a little better. So that's pretty much it, trying to dig out from the multiple feet of snow we have and keep things together and unfrozen.

See you all soon!

Happy Birthday Daddio!

Last Monday was my dad's birthday. My dad LOVED his birthday. His excitement every year rivaled that of a ten year old, and while at times it was annoying, it was also wonderful and contagious. We celebrate every birthday in our family with the same exuberance, getting the whole fam together for dinner and cake, and a few presents. Having his birthday in January was an added bonus because, frankly, January sucks. It's cold, we're usually low on money, and it's easy to get depressed. But his birthday was a chance to celebrate, laugh, and forget about the middle of winter for a little bit.

We still all got together and had a great meal and a great time, but it just wasn't the same. I knew all the firsts without him were going to be hard. We made it through a lot of other birthdays, Thanksgiving, Christmas, but his birthday was just impossible for me. It caught me by surprise. Sometimes it's good to be caught by surprise, let out a few tears, and get it all out there.

In the last few years our family has grown, and winter isn't as bleak as it used to be. We now have another birthday in January, one in February, and then things warm up a little in March. There are many causes for celebration, and my dad loved every second of it. I'm so happy that I live in close proximity with the majority of my family, that we're able to get together on all these occasions, and sometimes just because it's Tuesday.