Y’all it’s January and I’m working on my New Year blog post! It’s like I’ve made progress or something! Believe me, it’s not easy for me to focus—even when I’m stuck on the sofa. I get easily distracted by books and games, and after Christmas there are so many books and games! There’s also fancy cheese from our New Year’s Eve celebration which Mark set out in front of me…mmm…cheese…
Over the years I’ve found that I really love spending NYE at home. We make a nice dinner and there’s no rush to be anywhere or look presentable (haha). Then, we hang out all evening in the family room just chatting and playing games with the ball drop on in the background in case there’s some musical performance we really want to see (nothing pressing this year). We’ll have some nice crackers, fancy cheese, and a dish with round fruits. Mark will break out the champagne and sparkling apple cider for the midnight toast, and Sofs will proceed to shove a dozen grapes in her mouth in one minute. When we’re done, we just make our way to bed. Ah, life of the introverts.
All that said, 2023 was quite the lively year for us!
2023 Highlights!
May: I took Sofs and two of her friends to see Tomorrow x Together at the Capital One Arena. The girls lost their voices screaming and I lost my hearing. All worth it—even on a school night. TXT was AMAZING live. (Bias: Taehyun)
Overlooking the Roman Forum in…Rome
June: Mark, Sofs, and I went to Italy! We flew into Venice, took the train out to Florence, drove out to Siena and back, then took the train to Rome. It was an unforgettable 10-day adventure and we hope to go back and see more! (Charming: Siena)
October: Sofs received the sacrament of Confirmation with her class. I think all the sacraments are wonderful, but there’s something really special about this event with the Bishop and the chrism and the Holy Spirit. (Sofs Saint: St. Scholastica)
November: Finally got the ankle surgery I had postponed for six years. It started acting up at the end of a Disney World trip (6 years ago) as Sofs and I were wandering around Hollywood Studios. I just couldn’t put weight on it anymore. After several injections, orthotics, a boot, therapy, and acupuncture, I’m not any better. In Rome this year, I was in so much pain and I was icing daily. So I’m finally getting it fixed! I might blog about it sometime. (Recovery: approx. 8 months)
1) Ankle in cast, 2) Ankle at Jingle Ball, 3) Ankle in boot
December: Before I had surgery, I bought tickets to the Jingle Ball because NCT Dream was finally coming to DC! As soon as I hit the purchase button, I thought “oh, no…I’m supposed to have surgery.” HAHAHA Typical me thing. After surgery I contacted the venue and told them the situation. They were awesome, moving us to different seats which could accommodate my scooter. NCT Dream: AMAZING. (Bias: Jeno)
Did I get to write?
If I had been more organized, maybe I would have been able to finish book 2. I had already made some major changes in the storyline, but actually sitting down to write didn’t happen. That’s not to say that I didn’t write; I just didn’t work on my book. Here are the writing-related things I did in 2023:
Writing Battle: You may have checked out my post on Writing Battle before. My first battle in February had a 1000 word limit, the second battle in May had a 500 word limit, the third battle in August had a 250 word limit, and the fourth battle in November had a whopping 2000 word limit. They were all very challenging because of the genre and prompts you have to adhere to, and overall it was a good exercise for me. I’m still debating whether or not to participate in 2024. If I clean up any of the stories I might share them on my site.
Creative Writing Workshop: I volunteered to conduct a Spring and a Fall creative writing workshop at Sofs’s school. I would meet with the students after school for an hour once a week over the course of about 8 weeks, and at the end of the session we would produce a literary magazine. It was really fun and eye-opening and challenging! It is a lot of work and teachers do not get enough pay and respect! A lot of my time and energy went into these two workshops and left little time for me to write—but it was a rewarding experience that I will always cherish. With my ankle issues, I’m not sure I’ll be able to host another workshop this spring.
On Tap for 2024
Writing is definitely at the forefront this year. I hope even getting this post out in a timely manner is a good sign of my determination. I’m unable to walk, so I’ve been sitting around planning and scheming (haha). At this point it’s really just embarrassing that I haven’t finished it yet.
As always, reading is super important! I met my 2023 reading challenge on Goodreads by finishing 45 books. Yes, the majority was manga as I finished the Haikyu!! series by Haruichi Furudate. The movie is coming out in Japan this February! We must be ready! I kept my 2024 reading challenge goal at 40, fully expecting to read a lot of manga this year as well.
Aside from that, I hope we get to travel a little once my ankle has healed. I’d like to hang out with friends again and visit at least one winery. I’d like to see the ocean. Sofs will be finishing up middle school and going into high school. Mark will be happy to relax after doing EVERYTHING for 6 weeks. I will be having…a birthday!
Bye-bye, Bunneh! The year of the Dragon is upon us!
Silver and Sebek are totally excited about dragons!
One Word
I’ve been giving my “One Word” for 2024 (see 2020 post) some thought and I’m going with PERSEVERE. After almost 6 weeks of not being able to walk, I will then have to go through 6 months of physical therapy. I know the hard work and pain is coming. I must persevere! I have a lot of writing to do and a lot of imposter syndrome in my head to overcome. Persevere! I still have a day job to attend to! Persevere! Haha…I crack myself up.
May 2024 Bring Peace
We are so fortunate that we don’t experience war, that we can practice our faith without being persecuted, that all our basic needs are met. My hope is that despite all our differences, we still respect one another and the human dignity each of us has. I hope that we all learn to love ourselves so as to love each other and that we can truly all live in peace.