Around Here Week 52: 12/26-12/31

A glimpse into the longest, most cozy and wonderful week of the year. 

photo cred: B

picture cred: Abba

selfie cred: Heather

photo cred: Becky C

Intentional Outdoor hours (FINAL COUNT): 616+ hours (of 1000)
Up a few more hours this week with farm chores and in with a final count of a little over 600 hours outside on purpose this year. Not the best I've ever done, but not the worst either. I track my time because out of everyone in this house, I get the least amount of hours outside. So if I'm at 600+ hours, I know everyone else is still doing okay on fresh air, wide open spaces, and the great big world around them. Even though I've never hit 1000 hours in the past decade that I've been doing this challenge (it seriously might be a decade at this point) - I still find it valuable to try and keep track of the time. I know being outside is so good for me; mind, body, and spirit. (check out the podcast and/or website for 1000 Hours Outside if you want to be inspired!) 

Reading all the books. I read and finished A Thunderous Whisper by Christina Diaz Gonzalez. I do really enjoy the learning and curiosity to know more about a specific event or time period that comes with reading historical fictions but then also getting tangled up with the fictional storyline. I think it is maybe my favorite genre because many of the books that I still randomly think about are historical fiction. After that one, I read and finished (in 6 hrs) The Christmas Tree Farm by Laurie Gilmore which was adorable and everything Christmasy romance a girl could hope for. Very cute and also the pick for one of my book clubs which meets in January. Nothing your girl enjoys more than binge-reading a romcom. I continued my read aloud of the The Wild Robot by Peter Brown to the kids which we finished around 4p on New Years Eve, so then they immediately watched the movie too. Then I read Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro and finished it in two days because I put a self-imposed deadline, hah. I really enjoyed it and I will be thinking about it for a long time - 5 stars because of the thinking and reflecting it has me doing! 

Listening to The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey which I am enjoying a lot! This time period will get to my heart every time, I swear; even when based in snowy Alaska! 

Books finished 2024 (FINAL COUNT): 32 books. A mixture of reading the book and listening to some books on my commute. Best books of the year for me included: I Must Betray You by Ruta Septys, Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, The Parable of the Sower by Octavia E Butler, All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker, and Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro 

Goat hoof trimming day! Always a spectacle but I'm glad we got it done. B trims the hooves while I keep the goats secured by their horns or their collars for those without horns. We did everyone outside of the fence until we made it to our last, and most skittish goat, Jojo. We went in the pasture and Osa thought it was playtime so I had Jojo's head between my legs (Hah!) and Osa by the collar while B got her hooves done. Then he clipped her a little too close and had to run for antiseptic spray so I had to keep both Jojo and Osa under control, but of course Osa lost her ever-loving mind and started teasing Jojo who picked me up on her back (LOL forever) and dragged me out through the shed so I ripped my leg up and it is totally black and blue.  

Test driving all the new gadgets and gizmos from Christmas. The kids slept on the new bean bags, Violet made slime and she and I put together her mini terrarium. Olive put together her new puzzle while Rusty and Reddy ran all over the house keeping us safe from spies and zombie and robots and any other potential threats with their arsenal of new toy weapons. Gemma barricaded herself in her room redecorating and organizing with all her new boho decor while Grey headed to the woods to climb trees with his new climber tree stand. 

Visits with family and friends. Abba and Chum took the four youngest to their house for a walk on the river and some outdoor running and playing (thank you!) Heather took five of the kids (!) to go see Moana 2 at the movie theater. Grey had a sleepover and a tree climbing extravagance with his outdoor loving bestie twins Bryce & Reed. B had breakfast with a former basketball player (now grown up kid ?!) Aiden. And mostly everyone left me alone to sit under a blanket with my books and hot tea (THANK YOU!)

2025 Planner set up and dreaming all the dreams of a new year. A fresh, crisp, clean planner full of potential and promises is one of my favorite things. I got a Bloom Planner this year and I am really liking the first few pages to help you organized your hopes and dreams. If I'm being honest though, right this second it feels a little overwhelming, but I hope to fill it out as I go along through the first few months. I only finished out the "I love myself because...." section and it felt like a hug to myself, so hooray! 

Working on 100 Small Things list for 2025 after a break since 2021. I really do miss the direction it gave years in the past - just having a written list of dreams and tasks and goals for the year felt like it gave the year some reachable finish lines. While I was writing some of my list, I was dazzled to reflect on things that we did accomplish even though there was no list of 100 things those years (we got millings on the driveway, we installed the basketball hoop and blacktop for the kids out back, we finished the basement den, we took our first family vacation to the beach (!!), we bought a new car, I started doing events at Studerbabies Farm & Free Play, we got a guardian dog for the farm, Brandon took a head football coach position, we both changed jobs. It has still been fruitful years even without the list!) I do just prefer a list to make sure the little things don't fall through the cracks of raising a family and that I'm still pointed in the direction of our big dreams. 

Garage cleanout (Brandon). A much needed but daunting task and he tinkered around all week getting it cleared out and cleaned up and organized. He and Pappy moved all the extra wood to outside of the garage and it is covered and safe from the winter elements. We can fit both cars in the garage now (!!) Bless this man. 

Christmas at Mimi's with our Studer cousins. We had spaghetti and salad and lots of cookies. The kids all played the viral paper streamer game to win some little prizes (surprisingly harder and funnier than you would expect). Mimi did matching jammies for all the kids (and they were so cozy!) I am so grateful that we have our Mimi (86 years young!) and great way to end all of our Christmas celebrations. 

Basement clean out (Gemma). In preparation for her sleepover, Gemma had a burst of ambition and tackled the disaster and disorganization that was the basement. She got everything cleared out and organized, bagged up ripped and old snow clothes to remove from the inventory, and swept and wiped down. I had honest to goodness tears in my eyes when she had the big reveal. There was just no way I was going to be able to tackle that project (mentally, emotionally, spiritually, or physically - hah!) I told her multiple times how grateful I was that she took that on and got it completed.

Hosting a charcuterie sleepover for Gemma and her friends. All the girls brought over charcuteries boards like the appetizer board from Colbie and the ice cream sundae board from Peyton. There was a sliders board from Molly, a traditional meat and cheese board from Leah, and both Gemma and Grace had taco boards! Everything was delicious and Gemma, her friends, and her sneaky siblings had a great time sampling all the foods. The girls hung out in the new basement den and watched movies (bless them for accepting Violet, Red, and Olive for most of the night) and slept over on the upstairs couch and ottoman. 

While everyone else was cranking out big projects and going all the places...I read, and napped, and reflected, and soul searched because its this time of year. I mean I also did laundry, dishes, fed these kids three times a day, vacuumed, and organized the logistics of each day...but that barely counts for anything (hah, motherhood). Thankfully B understands that I am in a full on sprint while juggling all the things from August to the week of Christmas and this last week of the year is when I fall into the abyss of rest and self reflection and he just needs to let me sloth it out (bless him). I don't want to get dressed properly and I want to be in bed by 9:30p every night and wake up at 6am while the house sleeps. I just want to drink warm drinks all day long, I want blankies and notebooks, and to stare out windows in contemplation. 

Officially accepting Christmas trees at the farm! We got our first one from Colbie's family (thank you!) and the goats were so happy to get some green added to their diet. Winter makes for a lot of hay and grain for them, so getting some freshness for snack makes them so happy. They made quick work of that tree - it was bare by the next morning! 

Ringing in the new year like an old lady barely staying awake in my reindeer onesie jammies with the kids jumping all over the couch. HAH. I counted down from 10, gave everyone a kiss, texted Grey who was at the Valentines (thanks for having him!) and then went to bed! I prefer January 1 over late night Dec 31 because elderly vibes are my truest vibes.

Sporting with three swim practices for Rusty and the introduction to the New Years eve swim tradition of lunch at McDonalds with the swim team after morning practice. I was so grateful to the veteran swim moms at lunch who helped me set up my swim app and get Rust's upcoming meets declared (thank you!) Gemma had three basketball practices and Grey had a JV basketball game, and four basketball practices. 

Making Korean beef with rice and green beans, leftover potato soup from Christmas eve (yum), "crack" chicken sammies, homemade strombolis, tacos, post holidays leftovers for lunches most days (everyone was very tired of it). Also, so many Christmas cookies (too many!). For Mimi's Christmas I made garlic cheese knots and chocolate covered pretzels. For Gemma's sleepover I made a batch of monster cookies and assembled her taco bar charcuterie.