5 Things I’m Loving in January

Hand pieced quilt blocks at kristinesser.com

I had a couple of weeks off from work during the holidays and it was such a treat to be home with the kids with absolutely no agenda. I stayed off of social media (mostly), took lots of bubble baths, read a ridiculous number of books, went for a hike, played board games and basically checked out of real life. It was wonderful.

Now I’m on the other side of it and expected to hit the ground running, and frankly, I’m still just not quite ready. I’ve started a new morning routine, and I keep making lists–but the possibilities just seem so endless. So while I contemplate my plans for 2018, here are a few things that I’m loving right now and need no more thought.

  1. The Crown. Though I enjoyed season 1, I felt like I was the only person on earth that didn’t LOVE it. And the first episode of season 2 is a bit of a slow starter. But now that I’m past that–I am loving this season. Every episode I end up googling some person or event to find out if it really happened. And it turns out that the show is pretty accurate. This is definitely the most fun way to learn history. And it doesn’t hurt that I can hand sew and knit while I watch.
  2. The Inspector Gamache book series by Louise Penny. Here is another example of a series that I had heard good things about, and I started Still Life (the first book in the series) a couple of times before I actually finished the whole book. But this is a series that just keeps getting better. I flew through six books in the series during my two weeks off. I literally sat on the couch for hours on end, only to get up to go to the library to get then next book. A few details–these are extremely well-written mystery novels that take place in Quebec. I’m a sucker for any book that has a bit of French in it, but in general I just want to crawl inside these books and live in the world that Louise Penny has created (except for the murder part). I’m craving croissants and cafe au lait, and plotting a vacation in Quebec.
  3. My Roomba (robotic vacuum), whom we call Mr. Bates. When we first got hardwood floors a few years ago, we bought a Roomba to keep from having to sweep all the time. Mr. Bates performed quite well, until his battery died and I forgot all about him. Well, because of having literally almost nothing to do for two weeks (except read mystery novels), I found the bandwidth to order and install a new battery. Mr. Bates is back in business and keeping our floors crumb and pet hair free and it makes me ridiculously happy. If you are curious about whether these types of vacuums really work, I came across a review here.
  4. Small changes. I don’t know about you, but when the new year rolls around, I tend to try to overhaul all the things that aren’t working perfectly in my life. All at the same time. I’m kind of an all or nothing girl that way. But I know that this doesn’t actually work very well. So, this year, I’m starting small. Small changes. I started a yoga routine (see #5 below), but instead of the whole video, I’m just doing the firs 10-15 minutes. I’m working on deep cleaning my house, but just 15 minutes a day. It’s never going to be “finished”, so why kill myself to do a whole room at a time? This is the year that I will accomplish big things, one small step at a time.
  5. Yoga with Adriene. I used to do yoga. At an actual studio. And I miss it. There is just something about a great yoga session, or even just a really good stretch, where you feel muscles moving and relaxing and getting all tingly. Ah, I love it. So, I’m making space in my morning routine to do just a little bit each morning. Nothing too ambitious–just enough to remind myself why I love it and see where it grows from there.

So, that’s it, just a few things that are working for me right now. What’s working for you?