creative, quantified self, snapshots Leave a comment

Bullet Journal 2021

I don’t usually take the time to really lay out my bullet journal like some people do; for me, it’s really a physical place to keep my medium-term memory, and I only give passing thought to making it look visually appealing.

This year, though, I must be craving the artistic outlet or something, because I just spent time over several days to design this cover page for next year’s journal.

Hell, I even created a goal brainstorming page. I’ve never sat down and done that before, even though I’ve almost always set yearly or monthly goals.

This year hasn’t been as bad for me and mine as it has for some people… but I still hope next year is better.

family, pandemic Leave a comment

A Very COVID Thanksgiving

The Thanksgiving cactus Aaron’s grandmother gave me over 20 years ago tends to bloom at odd times. This year, it’s actually in full bloom on Thanksgiving Day.
These sparrows are thankful that I haven’t gotten around to stowing the birdbath yet.
We usually do Thanksgiving out at a buffet, but not this year.
We usually have my Mom and Aaron’s brother over, too, but not this year. This year, it was just the three of us.

I tried something new and prepared the turkey sous vide, which made for THE most flavorful and moist turkey I’ve ever eaten. Outside of the candied sweet potatoes, though, everything else was store-bought: the Meijer cranberry relish, the Stove Top stuffing, the King’s Hawaiian rolls, even the Meijer pumpkin pie.

The rest of the day was pretty chill. The guys played Dave Mirra on Dreamcast while I sewed Connor a new pair of pajama pants, we had Thanksgiving leftovers for dinner, and we called my Mom to wish her a Happy Thanksgiving.

As with so many other things this year, it was different, we dealt with it the best we could, and it actually didn’t turn out so bad.