Happy 2024!

If you’re reading this, I hope you had a wonderful holiday season.

Mine turned out to be nice and quiet. On Christmas Eve, Charlie, the girls and myself went visiting with family and dropping off gifts. Poor Autumn was so tuckered out by the end of it, but we had a good time and it was nice to see everyone. It feels weird to me still to have other family in town outside my immediate family, but Charlie’s relatives have been very welcoming to me.

On Christmas day, with Charlie’s help, we made the big turkey dinner. The turkey turned out really well, so it was a pat on the back to myself, because cooking meat is really not my specialty and I had to wing it without a meat thermometer. Charlie’s mom, my sister and my brother-in-law came over, and it felt like a real “family dinner.” I’ve missed the feeling. It’s been so difficult since my mom passed away… things always feel off, and this was the first time since her passing that it didn’t.

For some reason or another, my brother decided not to come, which made me both sad and a little angry. We had a big talk when my mom passed that we would try our best to keep the family traditions going, and he was in agreement with that. I still haven’t sussed out what his reasoning is for bailing, but I’m leaving it alone for right now. I’m hoping he’ll tell me when he’s ready whatever it is going on with him.

I had the week between Christmas and New Years off, so I got to spend that time with Charlie and the girls, doing a bunch of nothing. I had planned to do a bunch of work around the house, but I rarely ever get downtime with my little family, so I decided to say “fuck it” and I put it off instead. Laundry will be there later, you know? New Years Eve was spent doing a bunch of nothing, and New Years day, I made a big chuck roast and we celebrated. (The leftovers made excellent beef dips, too.) Here’s a little photo dump:

Autumn doesn’t like her hat.

Breakfast at McDonald’s.

Tummy time.

Sleepy grinch.

Sleepy elf.

Little Grinch.

Things have been going well for me. Despite the sleep deprivation, I’m in a good headspace. I’m taking advantage of the residual energy from the Capricorn New Moon and now the Leo Full Moon, and setting some health goals. I finally got clearance from my obesity doctor to start on a diet plan called Optifast, now I’m just waiting for my product to arrive from back east. Going to start the year off with a bang, and see if I can’t make a decent dent into my journey to 175 lbs this year. I’ve already lost my baby weight, so it’s just the rest I need to work on. I renewed my membership to Body Groove (if you’re interested in the program – use my link for 10% off your first payment), so I’m going to utilize that. Charlie wants us to get a pass to the rec centre, so that’s another thing we’re going to do. I’m excited to go swimming again. I haven’t been since early in my pregnancy, and Autumn is going to love it.

Here is my latest earworm to share:

Have a wonderful day. 🙂