1. Well, well, well. It’s been a while. Between house projects and needing to update my MacBook I disappeared for quite some time. I don’t have anything exciting to report, but because I feel like checking in we are going to travel back in time to last month.

2. I managed to find the most decadent, delicious, astounding gluten free pie that disappeared just as quickly as I found it. Seriously, what’s with me and finding treats I enjoy (and that don’t make me feel like a bag of bricks) suddenly disappearing? Perhaps next holiday season it will return…

3. My Christmas gift to myself was $3,000 worth of car repairs. I’ve had the same car since 2008, and I hadn’t needed any major work until now. I suppose it was long overdue, I am amazed at the longevity of my beloved. $700 of that bill was for new tires, which I suppose doesn’t count, but the timing of the remaining work racked up the bill. I needed a new alternator and a new radiator.

The only reason I knew there was an issue was because of a funny noise. She now purrs like the day she was manufactured. I hope for many more years with my granny mobile.

4. My car has taken Little and I on many wonderful drives together, including my current favorite core memory. I wrangled my mom, my sister, Duncan, and my child into the car and we went to look at Christmas lights. Little was more enthralled by the car headlights than the actual Christmas lights, but it was a magical hour nonetheless. The gang was all there.

5. When I moved back to the states at the end of 2020 I moved back into my childhood bedroom. My plan was to resettle into the area and then try to find a place to live. Turns out renting an apartment is something I couldn’t justify with the $1400 price tag, so I stayed with my mom and sister. Helping them and being close to family just continued to feel right. My older sister has autism and helping provide care for her is easier when living under the same roof.

At this rate I’m not sure I’ll ever leave. Just kidding. I think.

6. With that said, my childhood bedroom needed some help. I wasn’t planning to stay long, but suddenly three years went by and I was still occupying the space. On December 6th I was laying down looking at the walls and decided I wanted to rip the wallpaper off.

Much to my surprise it came off with ease, and I decided to go get paint.

Three days later my small space had a fresh coat of paint. What a difference this has made, and I am so happy I decided to impetuously give my room a facelift. There is one small area of the wall my lovely mother wanted to keep, a mural she painted fully equipped with drawings from when I was too young to know drawing on the wall was wrong. It’s an atrocious eye sore, but I’ve come to accept it.

I have since painted another room in my moms house, so basically you can now call me Bob Vila.

7. I started a run streak in the middle of November with the goal of running everyday until the new year. I completed my goal and ended the streak on Jan 2nd. I ran 56 days in a row, and truth be told I wish I would have kept going. There were only a few days I didn’t feel like running during the streak, but I was always able to manage one mile on those days.

I ended the streak with the idea that I might want to train for a half marathon, but I find myself fearful of the training process. My body handles running shorter distances everyday better than running longer distances every few days. This is something I have come to accept about my Sjögren’s, but I hope to eventually push through the fear of flare ups and just go for it.

I’m now running a few times a week, while I figure out my next goal.

8. While cleaning out my closet recently I found a costume I made when I first started my current job. I was there for a week when I discovered they dressed up for Halloween (something I have come to detest.) I was new and wanted to attempt the tradition and I made myself a snail costume.

It only makes sense that I dress as my biggest fear…ironically I adore Halloween, I just don’t love dressing up at work. The DIY snail found its way into the recycle bin, but not before I snapped one final photo.

9. I think my dream job would be to help willing people declutter their lives/homes. I say willing because if someone isn’t ready to let go of things, the process becomes more difficult. One of the current house projects I am working on is helping my mom declutter her space. 30+ years of belongings need to be sorted through and organized, and nothing brings me more satisfaction that organizing.

This was our plan when I moved back, but it took some time for my mom to be willing to jump on board. Patience has never been my virtue.

10. One of the perks of going through old boxes is finding absolute gems of photographs. I think I found my favorite class photo of me as a child – from the silk blouse, and the red overalls, to the scowl on my face with my hands in my pockets. This feels like an accurate depiction of who I am as a person.

Can we also take a moment to appreciate my Lord Farquadd haircut? My mom gave me this same snip for years.

Q: What’s your confession?