January Wrap-Up and Photodump
I can't decide if it feels like January went surprisingly quickly because I didn't get around to writing a beginning of the month post until the middle of the month or because there has just been so much these past several days. Probably both.
In a weird echo of the three snow days we had right after the election, the three days leading up to the inauguration were snowy here, with some of the lowest temps we've seen since moving to Colorado. The frigid weather meant that the concert we were going to see for my birthday got canceled at the last minute and the conditions weren't right for skiing, but we got back up to the mountain before the end of the month.
Not long after our last ski day, Jeremy ended up driving down to Texas to be with his family as they deal with some health issues, so I am temporarily Morning Parent (which has always been Jeremy's job, and he's much better at it). Having my own parents here has, as always, been an enormous help.
We're almost at the end of the second trimester of Oscar's fourth grade year, and he is working hard to stay on top of his grades to meet his goal of all A's. Right now he's prepping for talent show auditions, which will involve playing a song on the keyboard and "some kind of music act or something" with three of his friends. We also went to see Dog Man with a couple of his friends, and I learned how much popcorn three ten-year-old boys can eat.
Photodump time:
Row 1: Turtle showing off his new hoodie, being a sleepy baby, and offering you some pizza. Just kidding. That's HIS pizza. Row 2: My gorgeous birthday cake, the grammar nerd mugs Jeremy got me, and the cake I made for a fundraiser at Oscar's school. (This year's fancy cake is brown sugar with cinnamon buttercream.) Row 3: Deer friends, all in a row; the first Romie king cake of 2025.
In terms of my general 2025 efforts, some updates:
- I've read a handful of books, including Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone and its sequel Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect, both Australian murder mysteries. (I recommend the audio book versions, if you're interested in this genre at all.) I've also gotten into a little bit of an Emma Straub rut after reading This Time Tomorrow, but I'm still giving myself credit for branching out because I'd never heard of her until a couple of weeks ago. Next up are The First Ladies and The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store for my book clubs. Bonus: Our library's Winter Adult Reading Program just started, so now I have a new tote bag and will get a mug for reading for thirty days straight. I'm not sure who named this program, but the acronym is WARP, which you have to appreciate.
- We tried a local restaurant called the Rabbit Hole, which is underground and Alice in Wonderland-themed. As a nod to the character I played the first time I was in a play version of Alice (the cook, a completely boring and thankless part), I tried a cocktail called the Duchess, which was lovely. The food itself was fine, but this place is mostly atmosphere– somewhere to take friends from out of town, maybe, but not somewhere we'll go all the time.
- I have managed exactly one new recipe (a caramelized Vietnamese beef bowl, a tasty excuse for nuoc cham). Because of everything else going on right now, I have had to default to super easy comfort foods more than usual, and Oscar is completely in favor of this.
- I have finished the first month of the temperature stitch, and it's been a really nice, easy project to pick up once a week or so.
