Basketball!

 This week started the Junior High basketball season for Daryl. He had his first game Monday and unfortunately I had to miss it. I did get to his game yesterday and saw him make a 3-point shot! Yay Daryl! he also made another basket so he ended the game with 5 points. He played a minute or so of varsity and played almost the entire JV game. The JV team lost by 4 points but it was a fun game to watch with the lead going back and forth. 

I hope he has a great season! It is only six weeks long and I think I only have to miss one other game for work. 

Usually I'm disappointed when I have to miss kids stuff for work. However, Monday was a pretty special day as the Director of Extension and the President of K-State spent the entire day in Topeka on a community visit. I got to facilitate a panel at the Greater Topeka Partnership and host them both at the office for our Joint PDC meeting. It was a long and very fulfilling day sharing what our office does with the community! 

So much improvement from last year!

If education doesn't work out for us, we will 
still have hosting/comedy to fall back on! 

January New Place!

 One of my goals this year is to go to a new place every month. While there was a break  in the cold we ventured to Echo Cliff Park in our neighboring county. The boys had been there but I haven't. It was very pretty but with all the melted snow a little too muddy to hike. 

The boys say it is much cooler in the summer when you can go in the creek. May have to return, but for now this checks off my "New Place" for January! 

Other exciting thing that happened last week, Alex won the 5th grade spelling bee! Then he made the very mature decision not to go to the county bee. 

Me-Did that Qualify you for the County Spelling Bee? 

Alex-Yes, but I'm not going. 

Me-Why not? 

Alex-I won't win. 

Me-You could practice. 

Alex-I don't want to practice. 

Me-Then you are right, you shouldn't go if you don't plan to practice. 

Alex-Exactly! 

Welcome Lola!

 Something exciting happened yesterday at The Manor. We added a new family member, Lola Louise, from the Helping Hands Humane Society. I saw her picture a week ago on their Facebook, and THOSE EARS. I had to have her. 

She couldn't come home right away because she was on a vet hold for kennel cough. So her exact gotcha date is January 12th. They think she is one year old and she was brought in as a stray. Her name was quite the journey but all of us finally agreed on Lola. Being one day in, she is very hyper. And if you are barefoot, she will bite your toes! 

We need to work on her walking habits. For no reason she jumps up in the air and does a little circle. She needs to not do that so I can walk both dogs at the same time! I got my steps quick today with every dog walk happening twice.

So far she is fitting in nicely. Purl is not her #1 fan but the boys are giving her lots of attention, so she knows she is still our Purl Girl! 

For every clear picture we have of Lola, we have 20 
blurry ones!

2023 Goals and Happy New Year!

My 2023 Mantra is taken from Instagram. "No matter what anyone says show up and do the work. Just keep showing up, doing the work, and leading the way for the things you are passionate about. Be stubborn, refuse to give up and maintain hope." -The Power of Positive Leadership

I get hard on myself after December because I get tired of showing up and working. I need to keep in mind, no one is making me improve myself. I am the only one that is insisting I be a better version of myself, for myself. It's ok to be tired or take a break. It's not ok to quit showing up. 

Read 24 Books: 

If I stop binge watching Netflix a little and read a little more this goal won't be hard. 

Run 760 Miles:

This is up 40 miles from last year. I am toying with running a full marathon this year. If I actually do that this goal will be a piece of cake. Not hurting myself trying to get that many miles will be the trick. 

Money Goals: (You gotta tell your money what to do, or it will just disappear) 

• Pay Mortg principle down 5K  (I did this in 2022 and I want to do it again!)
• Replace Windows  This is leftover from last year but I really want to do it! 
• Create Backyard Oasis  Another repeat from last year 
• New Paint and Carpet in my bedroom  My bedroom needs a facelift.
• New Garbage Disposal Mine makes scary noises.  

Trips: I have put vacations here, so I prioritize taking the time off and seeing some new stuff. I took a lot of big trips last year, and I shouldn't be doing that every year. So this year I want to see a new place every month. I want to get outside, visit some new parks and while it's cold I can go visit some new breweries or wineries. So in 2023 the trips will be smaller but more frequent. May just be a day trip to some place in Kansas I've never been. Who knows! 

Finish/Work on a loose end every month: Knitting, sewing, decluttering, scrapbooking. There are too many half done things in my life. Let's actually finish some stuff in 2023. 

Daily Habits: I want to complete more days in 2023 than I did that month in 2022. That should account for my crazy months. Just get one day better. 

Well that's a lot. And other than running I haven't kicked it into gear yet this year. So this post is the official Go Time! 

I had to photo this rare moment of the boys 
wanting to come to the office with me on the weekend
and NOT fighting with each other! 

They had to love on the office cat! 

On New Year's day we celebrated with Steak!

Daryl ordered his rare...ewww

2022 Goals Wrapped!

It is official, 2022 is Done. How did you all do with your goals? I'm pretty proud of the things I accomplished. I'm going to have to work more on my house in 2023. Getting people to come work on your house is not that easy these days, but it's even harder when you don't call anyone and actually try. So this year I will actually try! However, that did help my savings goal, so not all bad. 

Next post will be 2023 goals, I have some doubts and am not ready to but it out to the world yet. Half of me wants to do big big things, the other half wants a nap. We shall see who wins. LOL On a side note, make some goals, when I post my monthly update, you comment yours. It will be fun. We can accomplish stuff together. :-) 

 Read 21 Books: 21/21 Done Dec.

Did it! Bam! Last year I missed my book goal by 1. So with two days to read an entire book I did what anyone would do. I grabbed a YA book off of Alex's shelf (the skinniest one I could find) and turns out it was FANTASTIC. Definitely keeping a reading goal for next year. 

Untamed by Glennon Doyle Had a head start because this book was three chapters from being done on Dec. 1st. I didn't love it as much as others do. I think it's because it has been out for so long all of her good advice is already out there. I got it from the library so no harm, no foul. 

The Woman in the Dark by Vanessa Savage was really good! Something about people going crazy will keep me reading. If you like a little mystery with a little crime and some messed up family dynamic thrown in. You will want to read this. I came across this book because coming home from Mexico we had all read our books on the trip so for the full day home we swapped. I'll get this book back to its owner pronto! 

A Long Walk to Water by Park. This was the last book I read this year and it should have been the first. I got it for Alex for summer reading because it was so highly rated on Amazon. A true story about a Sudan refugee, part of me thought it was too heavy for a 10 year old. But everything else said, yes kids should know what other kids have to live through. It's good for them. I don't know if that's true, but it was good for me. This book is what I always wish for at the beginning of every year, it stretched my horizon and understanding. Love those types of books. 

Run 720 Miles: 726/720 Done December 

I got 49 miles this month and hit my goal! I had a week off in December so this one was not a given. It was the right goal for this year. I missed this one last year due to injury. I had a little hip pain this year but slowed down when I needed to. My Avg. pace in 2021 was 9:30 in 2022 it was 10:25. I was slower but I made my miles. I'll take it! 

Money Goals: 

With a little help I did get the blinds up this month that I had bought a couple of months ago. It's amazing how much nicer the room is with new blinds. Will do more house stuff next year. Just didn't want to mess with it this year. 

Add 2K to Savings, Done Feb 2022 

Pay Mortg. principle down 5K, Done Nov. 2022

New Living Room Furniture (Home), Done Feb 2022

Replace Some Windows (Home) 

Replace Window Blinds (Home)  Don Dec. 2022 

Create Backyard Oasis (Home) 

Trips: 3/3 Done Nov. 2022 

Got my three trips for the year: Vegas/Zion National Park, Washington DC and Mexico!! 

Days I hit all of my Daily Habits: 2

I hit 2 days of goals by Dec. 5th. Then it all kinds stopped. LOL Oh well, we have next year. Right, Mom?! 

Headed into 2023, no looking back! 

Guess how many miles I've run in 2023. Zero! LOL 
I'll fix that tomorrow. 

I keep up with my goals the old fashioned way!