Category Archives: New Years

January 20, 2016 · 12:45 PM

New Years and Fresh Starts

Snow is so romantic when you haven’t seen it for awhile!

2015 wasn’t my most favorite year.

There were some big stressors. There was physical pain. There were chronic medical issues. There were dozens of appointments and tests and procedures that accompanied said medical issues. There was depression, its good friend anxiety, and their frequent cohort insomnia.

And of course – absolutely – 2015 had its lovely moments too. It did. But overall, it kind of… well, it bit.

So it was with huge amounts of relief and gratefulness that I welcomed in the new year.

And I realize that it’s kind of silly: The number on the calendar doesn’t change anything. Every day is a new start, if you choose to look at it that way. But the same part of me that will forever be inspired by the mere thought of brand new Trapper Keepers and the smell of freshly sharpened pencils in the fall, will also always be school-girl excited at the official start of another trip around the sun… especially when it comes on the heels of a less-than-stellar year.

So far, 2016 has been good to me!

Last week, I returned from a little five day mini-vacation visiting friends in Michigan. I almost didn’t go. Not because I didn’t want to go (I did, desperately), but because it just felt like it all might be too much, and that the timing might be all wrong. See above about pain and anxiety, et al.

I am so glad I went! It turns out the timing couldn’t have been more perfect, and it was a lovely way to usher in the new year.

For five days, I got to hit the “reset” button, and focus on nothing but visiting and playing and chatting and being, all with a good friend by my side.

I went to a henna party.

I like this dream catcher so much, I think I may need to get one as an actual tattoo someday…

I got a new piercing.

I saw my favorite alt rock band on the planet.

That guitarist in the hat? I gave birth to him.

I drank a lot of Captain and Cokes.

I took a gorgeous walk through the Michigan snow (on my birthday, no less!).

A word about snow and cold, if I may. I don’t miss it, but I miss the IDEA of it. I miss how beautiful it makes everything look, I miss the crispness, I miss its energy, I miss how alive it makes you feel. It was lovely to visit (especially on my birthday; how cool is that??) and it was lovely to ditch the heavy layers once I landed back in Phoenix.

And now, back home, real life beckons. Yesterday, I took the 11 year old to the doctor for a sports injury. Today I go to the dentist for what I’m positive will result in a root canal. Nothing has changed and yet…. everything has changed, because I got a much-needed break, and with it a new perspective. I’m genuinely excited for the rest of 2016, whatever it may bring.

TL:DR When your life has gone offline, sometimes stepping away for a few days helps. A lot. Snowstorms and rock bands optional.

P.S. My website is going to be down for a few days while I give it a face lift. Thanks for being awesome and patient.

2 Comments

Filed under about me, New Years, perspective

January 2, 2015 · 12:15 PM

2014 Top Ten

I love looking back at my year of blogging.

2014 was a bit of a strange one, in that I didn’t spend as much time posting as I had in years’ past. Life sort of went in a different direction for awhile there. Still, it is heartwarming and encouraging to see that you guys still show up, and you still read what I have to say, no matter how fickle I may be with my writing. And 2014 holds the distinction of my most-viewed blog post EVER, so thank you for that! You’re still reading and sharing older posts too, which is very cool – My Promise to My Children, Just Wait Till Your Kids Are Teens, Why My Kids Will Never Be Socialized, and Entitlement are all posts from previous years that are continuing to be shared enough to make it into the top ten most-read posts for 2014.

Here are the top ten new posts from 2014, from most to least amount of views:

1. 5 (Alternative) Reasons Modern-Day Parenting Is In Crisis – I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. You guys really respond when I write rebuttals to mainstream parenting articles. While I will forever have mixed feelings about these (one criticism that particularly stung in the past year was that “it’s the easiest thing in the world to critique someone’s else’s work when you don’t have any original thoughts of your own” ) overall I am happy to be a voice for the other side, and I’m glad I wrote this. A follow-up to this post made the list as well, at number 10.

2. Five Words & Phrases We Need to Stop Saying About Moms and Motherhood – This one was born of straight-up frustration. It felt good to write it.

3. Phone Fear and “Real” Relationships – Our relationships – with our children, our friends, our spouses, our loved ones – are the most important thing in the world. Anything taking precedence over those relationships should be checked, for sure, but throwing out the baby with the bathwater by villifiying phones and social networking isn’t the answer… especially when those phones and social networks can sometimes be the very impetus to said relationships.

4. Hitting is Hitting is Hitting – I’ve written about it again and again and again, and I’m sure I’ll forever continue. I’m glad that these are getting read. Hitting is wrong. Full stop.

5. Ten Tips for Happier Living With Your Teenager – I’m super happy that this one made the list! I ADORE having teenagers, and am so disheartened by the negative image of teens in society at large. I think that the more positive words out there about life with teenagers, the better.

6. And They’ll Know We Are Christians by Our Arrogance, Judgment, and Intolerance – Writing about issues pertaining to faith and Christianity is scary for me (my Christian critics are mean), but I’ve been called to do it more and more. So much so that this past year I actually started a separate blog for exactly that, although I largely ignored it after just a couple of posts. I think it’s important though, so this year, it’s definitely something I’d like to write about more.

7. Giving Our Children Everything They Want… – This is the only one on the list that I actually had to look at to see what it was. A response to a mainstream parenting meme…. of which I am sure there will never be a shortage of material. Let’s stop being so afraid to tell our children, “YES.”

8. The Elephant in the Room: Do’s and Don’ts When a Friend is Depressed – This one was personal. I’m humbled and honored that it resonated.

9. I Don’t Care Where Your Kids Go To School – Homeschool. Unschool. Public school. Own your choices. Do what makes you and your children blissfully happy.

10. We ALL Need Boundaries – some thoughts on my nanny response, one week later – Sometimes there’s just too much to say for one little post or comment, and a follow-up is necessary… to either clarify, expand, or answer comments/critiques. This was one of those times.

And that’s the list, created by you, of my top ten posts of the past year.

Do you have a favorite?

Thanks as always for reading, and I can’t wait to see what 2015 holds!

Leave a Comment

Filed under blogging, New Years

December 31, 2014 · 9:46 PM

A Quick New Year Post

Sears Kay Ruins, December 28, 2014

It’s 3 hours before midnight on New Year’s Eve. We just finished a late dinner of Mexican food, and as has been fitting for our culinary theme lately… the first restaurant we tried (and had had our heart set on) was closed, and then the second sent us home missing one of our entries. Thankfully it was only five minutes away, they fixed the mistake, and even threw in some taquitos for the trouble.

I’m drinking my [insert a number here that is more than one, but less than whatever number will make me sound like I have a drinking problem] margarita, watching a movie with Mike and the girl, and reflecting on the year that was at once painstakingly slow and way too fast.

It was an eventful year. A stressful year. There were growing pains. A major car accident. Another surgery. Way too many house repairs.

But we also celebrated 6 more birthdays. We organized a successful conference. There were road trips. There were new tattoos.

We grew, in so many ways.

There were tears. But oh there was laughter too.

And as I sit here, ready and more than happy to say goodbye to 2014, it’s firmly ahead that I’m looking. And while I understand intellectually that tomorrow is just another day, like any other, there’s still the part of me that gets undeniably giddy every year – every single year – at the newness of it all. Blank slates and fresh starts and new possibilities, in all their Hallmark glory. New plans and new goals and new dreams. More time to take care of my family, and more time to take care of me. More chances to do things that scare the ever loving shit out of me. Figurative (and literal!) to-do lists smelling of fresh Sharpies and bright, crisp Post-It notes. A veritable rainbow of opportunities… of growth, of healing, of discovery. Another year, another day, another moment of becoming more authentically US.

Sigh.

I do so love New Years.

Have a happy and blessed 2015, friends. Thanks for sticking with me another year.

1 Comment

Filed under New Years

January 2, 2014 · 8:55 AM

Front Doors, Turning 40, and My Goals for the New Year

This is my front door. It’s still bearing its little dollar store wreath, and it’s still surrounded with Christmas lights. With life being… well, life… they will likely still be there in April.

Why am I taking pictures of my door?

Well, I don’t do New Year’s Resolutions. I don’t do New Year’s themes, or choose a word or intention for the year either (another thing that seems really popular). My love affair with lists however, remains unabated and strong. I’m turning 40 soon. In 8 days in fact. And as I was adding to my growing list of things I wanted to do/try/start this year, in honor of turning 40, it occurred to me that what I really needed to do was to make my list exactly 40 items long…. one for each year I’ve been alive. And thus my “40 for 40” list was born.

I will share the list in its entirety soon, but today I wanted to share just one thing.

I decided to participate in this planner/art journal/creativity challenge called The Documented Life Project (want to join me? It’s not too late!) and the first week’s creative prompt was door-related. I’m still waiting on my Moleskine book from Amazon, so I can’t draw, sketch, ruminate about my door in there. So I’m sharing it here instead.

Most meaningful front door of my life. I “found myself” behind this door. We brought home the child that would complete our family through this door. We started a whole new life for ourselves in Arizona behind this door.

I’m going to turn 40 behind this door.

Doors, opportunities, and adventures. Happy New Year!

Leave a Comment

Filed under about me, birthdays, New Years

January 1, 2013 · 9:12 AM

Day One

New Years: The day that makes me all mushy and sentimental and jazzed about things like fresh starts and blank slates and clean new Day Planners (even though I finally gave those up a couple of years ago in lieu of their digital cousins)

2012 is not a year I’m terribly sorry to see go. I spent a good portion of it in physical pain, from the time I injured my shoulder in early May, through physical therapy, surgery in November, and well… right now, as I type. But there was good too:

I dreaded my hair.
I finished my yoga training.
I wrote for a homeschooling magazine.
There were trips and experiences and growth and challenges… both as an individual, and as a family.

The year ended on a high note too, when we took my visiting inlaws on a whirlwind and somewhat impromptu tour of the northern part of our beautiful state; a state that we’re still very much having a passionate love affair with, seven years after we moved here. (Pics are here) The fact that the trip ended with a wheel flying off Mike’s truck when we were going down the highway at 75 mph? All part of the adventure. And just another reason to be thankful to be here, alive, and able to seize another day.

I stopped doing New Years resolutions some time ago, but specific goals… well those make me just about as excited as those clean new Day Planners I mentioned above. And I’ve got a few, in no particular order:

1) Return to blogging daily. Which isn’t really about blogging at all, but about me. Whatever this year turns out to be, it’ll be a journey. And journeys need to be put into written words. At least mine do.

2) Get physically stronger. I don’t know what that’s going to look like just yet. A few weeks ago I thought Couch to 5K was going to play a role, but after giving it an honest try for two weeks, I realized that it was way too much jarring, way too soon, on my shoulder. But I’m going to do something to meet that goal… and when I figure it out, I’ll share that too.

3) Pay off our debt. This is HUGE. I might even have to dust off my long-neglected Ditching the Debt blog to document it and keep myself accountable. We’re in a better position to make it happen this year, and it feels. so. good.

4) Eucharisto and simplicity. Those are my two words for the year. Eucharisto is a greek word meaning “to give thanks”, and it’s something I’m ashamed to admit I’ve never really thought too deeply about, beyond vague pronouncements and platitudes. Reading the book, “A Thousand Gifts” has changed that. And to tie right in with true thankfulness: Simplicity. Less stuff, less clutter, less baggage. More of the important things like family, relationships, experiences, LIFE. Again inspired by a book, this one called “You Can Buy Happiness (And it’s Cheap): How One Woman Radically Simplified Her Life and How You Can, Too.”
Now, none of this is new information. In fact, a quest to simplify has been a theme of my blog for a long time now. But I don’t know… sometimes you need to hear something at the right time, in the right way, to make it “stick.” And boy howdy, has it stuck. I’ve never been so excited to downsize in all my life. It won’t be an overnight project, or even a few-months-long project, but a baby-stepping, one day at a time, breaking it up into small manageable chunks kind of project. I’m gonna do it, and I’m gonna write about it.

Happy New Year, friends. Blessings and good wishes and a happy and healthy and clutter-free 2013 to all of you.

2 Comments

Filed under about me, learning, life, money, New Years, simplifying, Uncategorized

January 1, 2012 · 9:47 AM

New Year, new plans

I say these words every year – every year – but, I love New Years. I do. And it’s silly really, because it’s a day like any other day. ANY day is a good day to make a change. ANY day is a good day to try something new. ANY day is a good day for a fresh start. I know that, and I practice that. But there’s still just something about that 1/1 on the calendar… that promise of newness and hope and possibility… that makes my heart flutter.

I haven’t done resolutions for a while now, but I do do (heh, I said do-do) goals. And for the past three years, I’ve made a virtual dream board. I save it, print it out, and it then looks back at me from my bulletin board all year long.

Because life is circular, not linear, and because a lot of pursuits don’t start or end with the new year, my boards tend to look very similar year after year. In fact, this year I just changed a couple of things.

It all starts with faith and family, so that will always remain front and center.

I don’t ever want to stop traveling, exploring, and enjoying the outdoors, so that’s there too. Last year was a nearly month-long cross-country road trip. There won’t be such a trip this year, but we are planning a ten-day vacation in San Diego this fall, as well as many local excursions to the beautiful desert and mountains.

In the upper left-hand corner is my consummate reminder to continue focusing on paying off our debt. It’s not sexy, but for better or worse it plays a rather pivotal role in how we live our lives, so there it is. This year, my hope is to not only reach our number goal by the end of the year, but to surpass it. I want to contribute to the cause myself this year, by bringing in some money of my own for the first time in a long while.

My favorite part of the board this time – and the part I’ll be focusing a lot of energy on – is the entire right-hand side: The playing, the creating, the inspiring, the JOY. The girl is about to be four years old, and when all the boys were four I also had a brand-new baby. This time there will be no more babies. While I’m at peace with it, and am very much enjoying this stage of all the kids’ lives, there’s a part of me that is profoundly sad to know that that chapter in my life is over. I don’t want to focus on the sad. I want to focus on the joy… both the joy I find in the kids, and the joy I find in my own creative pursuits… those things I willingly set aside when they were babies. I can’t wait to devote some time to creating again. Creating music, art, words, jewelry. I am re-learning how to play the piano. I just started playing with chain maille. I have some specific ideas for my blog, and for the e-books I keep ~~threatening~~ promising to finish. AND, God-willing, this spring I will enroll in the yoga teacher training program I have been eyeing for the past three years, and have my RYT by the end of July. If for whatever reason it doesn’t happen this year, as long as I’m still working towards it – as long as I’m still learning and trying and creating and practicing and yoga-ing – I’ll be happy.

Happy 2012. May it be full of new and exciting and beautiful things.

2 Comments

Filed under about me, Law of Attraction, New Years, passions, plans

January 1, 2011 · 7:11 PM

Plans and Passions

Last night we rang in the New Year with a carpet picnic of fried, not-even-remotely-healthy-non-food, wine, and season one of The Big Bang Theory. Today we saw Mike’s parents off at the airport, went to a movie with the kids, and started planning for 2011.

I avoided it for as long as I could. As focused as I’ve been on living in the moment, thinking about a whole other year seemed somehow distasteful. But it’s officially here, and I can deny it no longer.

So plan we must.

Everett is in a play this spring, with rehearsals starting next week.

We’ve got field trips and co-ops, appointments and day trips

We have visitors coming for a week in February

I’m beginning yoga teacher training in March (unless I change my mind about the timing, again, because.. well.. I do that)

I’d really like to edit my Nano book

A friend and I are collaborating on an unschooling project

We’re tentatively planning a three-week trip east this summer.

And so it goes….

A lot of planning, figuring, thinking, and dreaming. Right now though, I’m thinking of none of that. Right now, I’m actually thinking of blogging (while I’m blogging, what are the chances?) I read an article about blogging the other day, by the lovely Dan over at Single Dad Laughing, and it talked about – among other things – the importance of blogging every day. Every. Single. Day. It also mentioned posting a picture with every post, which is why I included the yogi at the top of this entry (which really has nothing to do with anything, except that I mentioned yoga). So, I was reading this article and thinking about blogging, and I suddenly decided that this will be the year that I will cease being Jen who occasionally blogs, and become Jen The Blogger. Because, well why not. Because I want to see over 300 posts in one year in my archives.

And because I can.

1 Comment

Filed under about me, life, New Years

December 31, 2010 · 10:35 AM

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

We pulled it off.

After a rather odd and stressful week leading up to Christmas, with kids with fevers and husbands with bronchitis, and missed Christmas Eve services, and last minute trips to buy new sleeper couches … it all somehow came together. I had my lingering doubts right up until 9:00 the night before Christmas, but then it was there: that moment when all is right with the world, that moment when life is fuzzy and warm and we’re all together and the kids are happy (at the same time!) When no one’s worried about to-do lists or expectations or stresses; when life is just about the holiday, about being together, and about celebrating.

And it was good.

Christmas day was busy and fun, as were the days that followed.

And just like that, another year is over. I noticed in my online wanderings this morning that lots of bloggers were honoring the end of the year with a list of the “best of the best”, sort of a round-up of their top – or most interesting or most noticed or most read – posts for the year. Never one to miss a party (at least the virtual kind where I don’t have to actually be social and talk to people), here is mine.

Best wishes for a healthy, happy, prosperous, and peace-filled 2011.

My Future Street Sweepers

Teens and Toddlers

He Who Spareth the 1/4 Inch Plumbing Supply Line

Harry Potter, Hiking Shoes, and Vacations

Condemnation

My friend is one… who take me for what I am

Discipline

It’s that time of year again, folks

Attachment Parenting: Freedom and Joy

Offensive, defined

Leave a Comment

Filed under Christmas, holidays, New Years

December 31, 2009 · 9:20 PM

100

I’m drinking wine, watching movies, and am quite possibly slightly delirious with exhaustion from too many late nights and early mornings over the past few days. But I had to make just one last post tonight in order to hit 100 for the year.

New Years always makes me introspective and way too philosophical. So I’ll be brief when I say it’s been a good year and challenging year.. filled with high highs, much learning, and even more growth. We are happy, and we are blessed.

If you haven’t seen all my recent pictures, you can view them here, here, here, here, and finally, here.

Wishing you all a happy, healthy, and peaceful 2010.

Leave a Comment

Filed under New Years

January 2, 2009 · 8:10 AM

In with the new…

I always get very excited about New Years. I love the idea of fresh starts and clean slates, new calendars and to-do lists. Out with the old, and in with the new. I did not however, make any resolutions this year. I want to live today for TODAY. If there’s something I want to change (or improve or quit or start) I will do that when I feel the need, regardless of the time of year. In fact I’ve made some changes in a few areas lately that I’m very happy about, and they will carry right through to 2009.

Our final week of 2008 was a busy one, and full of many firsts. Skip and Barbara were visiting for the week and we – in no particular order – rode downtown on the new light rail, went bowling, ate lunch at PB Loco and Cooperstown, visited the new children’s museum, and drove aimlessly around Scottsdale looking for a little out-of-the-way cloth diaper store (we found it.)

I posted more museum pictures on my Facebook page. Too many to choose from! And while I’m on the subject of Facebook, are you on it? I think it’s a pretty amazing thing. Where else can you socialize with your inlaws, your parents and siblings, your ex-boyfriends, coworkers, old classmates, old friends and new friends… all in the SAME PLACE?

Leave a Comment

Filed under Facebook, New Years, visitors

Category Archives: New Years

Connect With Me

Archives