Another Year Older

I think this past year has been the fastest year of my life, by far. My birthday is on March 12, the anniversary of the start of the Covid-19 Pandemic in the US which makes an easy reference point. I guess most stuff didn't start closing till the 13th, but on my birthday is when we found out things were going to close, at least temporarily. I remember that day so vividly and pretty much the whole year up until my birthday on Friday. It's amazing that it went by so quickly. If you had told me that we were going to have a whole year like this, I would have thought it would have been the longest year of my life!

Here are some changes I've noticed in myself.  Mostly because of the pandemic, but maybe because I'm now 43, who knows?

I went from wearing earrings daily, to not wearing them at all, to now only once a week at church. Since the day I got my ears pierced when I was 11, I wore earrings every day, though I never slept in them. For the first part of the pandemic, I slept in studs and wore them 24/7. At some point, I noticed that my ears needed a break from them and I had to clean the earrings really well. My ears are sensitive to fake jewelry, but these ones are real, I just couldn't wear them for months on end, so my ears got a little crusty. Then, I couldn't wear any at all. Between the face mask that I was wearing more because I was actually going places and the earrings themselves, my ears kept having problems. I have found that I can wear them to church now, and it's been pretty good.

Another change is I don't know how to dress anymore. I started wearing big sweatshirts and leggings like my girls were wearing, or work-out clothes over the summer, and then when I started to work I was wearing scrubs. I still wear my scrubs, but am going a few more places than before and I don't know what to wear as a 43-year-old mom, and still look cute!

I don't wear eyeliner anymore, I was just trying to wear the minimum makeup, without looking too scary on Zoom meetings, or whatever, but I haven't started wearing eyeliner. Actually, I take that back. I bought myself some white eyeliner for the bottom of my eyes, for my birthday, and I wore it on Sunday. It looks very natural.

I just decided to start parting my hair in the middle. Victoria says it's "in". I needed a change and decided to try it. I like it! I've been parting my hair on the right since I was a teenager!

When the Pandemic started I was around all my knuckle-cracking kids (who I think were cracking them more than usual), and I started cracking more and more of my knuckles. I went from only cracking my thumbs, to cracking my index fingers constantly and then my middle fingers. I had to start weaning myself off of that habit again when I realized how obnoxious it is and how big my knuckles were getting again.

The last big change I've noticed in myself is more mindfulness, which is a very welcomed attribute, nowadays. I enjoy going on walks more, not to work out, but simply to be outside and clear my head. Jason and I will walk together, or I'll pick up Erik from school, I'll walk with a friend, or just go by myself. I need it! I also do Yoga once a week. I've always liked Yoga, but it has never been a preferred workout of mine. I don't sweat a lot and I'm blessed with a very strong and flexible body, so Yoga has never been something that has felt like a workout to me. After running more over the summer than I had the previous couple of summers, my body needed a deeper stretch. I found that Yoga does the trick. Even though I don't always "feel" like it's a hard workout, I know it is. There was one pose I couldn't do very well because my hip flexors were too tight (thanks running), but I did that same workout the next time and was able to get it.

 We went through a mega puzzle phase and I worked on a couple of them a lot. I actually sat down and would work on it for long periods of time while listening to podcasts or audible books. Lastly, I no longer fold laundry while watching a movie on the weekends, even if I've seen it. I like to sit down and relax to enjoy it while drinking my hot chocolate!

On my birthday, I enjoyed a good strength training workout after being able to sleep in a bit, it being a day that Victoria has independent study for seminary. I had a great morning at work and had fun talking to most of my family members when I returned home. I received many fun little gifts from friends who dropped them off, plus gifts and cards from loved ones from afar. Thank you all!

Jason and I signed on our sunroom that we're putting in, along with our new roof and siding (yes, we're doing it all! More on that later). He and I made tikka masala and rice with peppers for my birthday dinner, one of my most favorites of all time! We went on a scavenger hunt at the park with the kids for a St. Patrick's Day activity that the Summit is doing for the kids. It was pretty much dark by then, but we found all the locations from the clues given and the kids had a blast running around in the dark at the park. 

When we returned, we had some raspberry cheesecake or cinnamon pull-apart (for those who don't like cheesecake or for Victoria who now has a dairy allergy). Then we watched Mom's Night Out, a hilarious Christian movie about a mom needing a night out. It was so funny, I highly recommend it! 

Let's see what this next year will bring in my life!

When I returned from work, I had this cute hat to open up from my neighbor, Cathy. It says "Proud Plant Mama".

Here's an angle that shows my flowers from Jason and where our sunroom will be.

My middle part and my shoulder angel!

The pavilion was a location for the scavenger hunt.

A trail map was another location.

The Summit at night.

Not bad for 43 and almost 45!

Shower bombs are awesome!

My new dress for church on Sunday where we sang, with masks on, for the first time!