One Day at a Time — Day 1 Happy New Year!

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!   2 Corinthians 5:17

What a fitting Bible verse for this day! Putting the past behind and moving forward with intention.  I like it!

So, it is also fitting to draw up the loose ends of last year and begin anew and I will start with my finishes for the year —

READING — I ended my 2022 Goodreads reading challenge by finishing 36 books.  My goal was 25 but sometime during the summer I had an attack of the energizer bunny syndrome and I just couldn’t read enough.  So, I outdid myself — a first for me.  In response to that I have signed up for the 2023 Goodreads reading challenge and pledging to read 45 books.

I ended the year with #17 of the Garden Girls Cozy Mystery series and I think there are #23 in the entire thing.  I will finish that series this year.  Hopefully more will be added as well as more added to the Made in Savannah series which I will carry on with if there are.

I have already started this years challenge with a YA title called “It Had to be Mason”.  It is a romance which is better than the depressing dystopian themes that usually go along with this genre.  So, we will see how it goes — I am already three chapters in so it is going quickly.  

I remember when I was a child that the one thing I wanted to do was learn to read so when I did a whole new world was opened to me.  I remember getting my first library card and it was as exciting as getting a new toy.  Reading has always soothed my soul and maybe that is why I have been doing so much of it of late — my soul has been restless and troubled and it is in need of calming down.  So….my kindle will probably get good use in 2023.

NEEDLEWORK —  2022 found me getting involved with counted cross stitch again.  It isn’t as easy for me now as it was when I was younger but I won’t be giving into to my nemesis Arthur-itis who has chosen to take up residence with me.  No, I plan to continue into 2023 by completing a piece I bought in Colonial Williamsburg and starting a kit my daughter bought me of  The House of the Seven Gables.  

This year I decided to try some new techniques — gridding for one and putting into practice loop starts and pin stitch stops.  Gridding is a keeper as is the loop start.  However the pin stitch ends I will have to work on.

I also gave up using a hoop or q-snap and decided to stitch an entire piece in hand.  When it was done I decided it was the worst looking piece I had ever done and I have done many.  However, after a wash, iron and finish I don’t think it is too bad! I did purchase myself a new, wooden hoop though — planning to downsize supplies and going for quality over quantity.  

Here is the finish —

I enjoyed doing this piece — a little different than my normal stuff and I hope the Bean likes it!  

MORNING ROUTINE —  I need to improve on my morning routine.  I have come to realize that if you have a routine, you just start your day off in a more positive way.  Plus, getting some of the least interesting stuff out of the way early can’t be a bad thing.   I have gotten in the habit of getting up, putting on the slippers, grabbing the dog and not giving any thought to— well, anything.  So, my goal is to harken back to my Flylady days and get dressed to the shoes, skincare, combed hair and made bed.  Then I can tackle the day.

EVENING ROUTINE — I go to bed at 9 o’clock.  My choice?  No, it is the dogs bedtime.  And she won’t go alone.  And if I don’t take her she sits and barks at me so it isn’t worth fighting it.  Besides, since I am not sleepy at 9 pm it give me at least a good hour or hour and a half to read which I do every night.  However, I do need to add a few things to my  evening routine.  I need to make sure the room is tidy, I need to indulge in skincare because that is my happy place now, not makeup.  I need to make sure my bed is optimal and that my shoes are put away.  I have always had an aversion to messy sheets and open closet doors — I can’t sleep well with either situation so I need to realize I am not a teenager who can sleep any place under any circumstances and make sure that my space is right.  And water.  I need to remember to drink water before I go to bed.  Yes, I will be up in an hour but I do get so dehydrated with the heat on.

And last but not at all least — SELF CARE — what I mean by self care is not just skin care or watching what I eat or trying to walk more — to me it is being self aware and knowing when I ‘need’ something, some sort of respite or some sort of attitude adjustment and taking the proper action to avert a really negative situation.  Two weeks ago we had some sadness befall the family, a passing, and it has sent me into a depressive spiral that I need to shake.  I am a faithful person, I know this individual is not here but not gone, I know he is in the presence of God and even though the circumstances surrounding his passing shocked us, it was well and truly orchestrated by God and is His will being played out.  So, I know that I should be celebrating this life well lived and not allowing myself to go down the rabbit hole of depression.  So, yesterday, as I sat and allowed myself to wallow in it a bit — just a bit — I realized that my 2023 mantra was going to serve me well — one day at a time — we can’t get yesterday back to change anything and we don’t know what tomorrow holds so live for today, give thanks and praise, take care of each other and be kind.