Currently - January '22

Happy New Year! Let's get right to it, shall we? Also, please visit Anne's blog to see posts from other Currently devotees.

anticipating - I'm keeping my expectations pretty low after 2021 ended feeling way too much like 2020 for my taste. We had to cancel holiday plans with my cousins and I'm being encouraged not to come into the office in January due to omicron. The sun has been rather elusive the past few days as well, adding to the overall feeling of gloom, so perhaps a mid-winter beach trip is in order!

organizing - I've been doing some organizing/prepping for Dry/Whole 30-ish January by using up or relocating non-compliant ingredients and gathering recipes. Our regular veggie CSA ended just before Christmas, so it feels weird having to remember to add staples like carrots, onions, and potatoes to the regular grocery list. 

reading - Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I'm enjoying the story and characters, but all the paragraphs move seamlessly into the next one and there are very few chapter breaks, making it a little hard to stop reading in any sort of logical place. 2021 was a great year of reading for me; I finished over 30 books and hope to continue my streak in 2022.

resolving - I've filled nearly a page in an 8.5x11 inch notebook with draft ideas for 2022 goals. I like writing them all down and then seeing which ones stick with me before committing. Certainly a focus for January is diet, as mentioned above, but beyond that, there are a few that are rooted in trying to reduce my environmental impact, such as buying more things secondhand and eating more vegetarian/vegan meals. And despite my generally low expectations for the year, I do think it's safe to bring back a favorite resolution from pre-pandemic times: trying a new restaurant each month!

scheduling - Already thinking about taking a long weekend at the end of the month, as well as trying to get some social engagements planned so there's something on the calendar to look forward to.

Best of December 2021

• Associates Graduation - This event wrapped up two years of participating in my company's internal leadership development program. The program's organizers recapped our work, shared compliments about each one of us, and had festive beverages delivered to our homes. We were allowed to bring guests, and it was fun to see significant others, pets, and kids on Zoom, providing a more holistic look at each of the graduates' lives beyond work.
• Baking - I got warmed up with some classics, like Peanut Butter Blossoms and Foolproof Fudge, and then moved on to this year's 'showstopper,' a Buche de Noel. I had enough ingredients left to make a second one for New Year's Eve, adding frozen cherries to the filling in the middle to cut some of the creaminess. 
• "Merry + Bright" decor - I like to come up with something a little different for Christmas decor, and this year's theme was inspired by the oversize holly I made to go around the front door. The bright red and green color scheme was repeated in garlands and I used bright paper chains and our most colorful ornaments on the tree. 
• Sharing holiday traditions with friends - Early in the month, they invited us over for takeout and ornament painting and then we had them over for New Year's Eve. We also served takeout and invited them to join us in our annual recap via flash card conversation starters and taught them how to play Wingspan.