It’s Wednesday and we are somehow nearly halfway through January. Let’s have some bullets, shall we?
Rough Return to Routine: Re-entry post holiday break has been A Challenge. In trying to leave my cozy cocoon, I have a lot of empathy for creatures who swathe themselves in gauze only to be forced, weak-limbed and light-stunned, back into the real world.
Part of the problem, of course, is that we got on a totally awful sleep schedule during the break, and that has been challenging to reverse. I like to think of myself as a morning person, but really, I’m fine staying up late and sleeping late if that’s a workable schedule. As it was for fifteen straight days. I tried, oh I tried, to ease us back into eight-thirty bedtimes and six am wakeups, but it did not stick for anyone. (On my end, I managed to get back to five-thirty wakeups, with a lot of help from the cat, but I have not managed to get to bed before midnight more than once or twice.)
The other part of the problem, in my opinion, is that there’s been no gradual reincorporation into normalcy. It’s just, like, BAM, back into it. It’s got to be even harder for my poor kid, who’s the one enduring school and all her activities; I’m just driving her around, and that’s messing me up completely. The past weekend was PACKED with stuff. Between Friday and today, my kid has had two appointments, a sleepover with her grandparents, five extra-curricular activities, one performance, and a birthday party. That doesn’t even count three days of school. We didn’t get home until after ten Monday night and when Carla had a hard time waking up yesterday morning, even though I let both of sleep in an extra forty-five minutes, I did not blame her one bit.
The cat has NOT been happy with all these shifting schedules, let me tell you. He doesn’t seem to be finding as much interest in his normal suite of toys and playing. His eating schedule is all out of whack. He – who is normally a pretty silent cat – has been wandering around mewing plaintively, and then flopping at my feet, and then either purring when I pet him or biting my hand (usually he just lies there contentedly while I pet him). Is he sick? Is he hurt? Is he bored? Is he confused about where the other two humans have disappeared to? Is he depressed? Or is he just complaining about the lack of a steady, reliable schedule?
What I’m Reading: I did not mean to vague post the other day, when I mentioned the book I was considering DNFing. It was, indeed, Heart the Lover (bookshop.org / amazon). But I soldiered on and as soon as I got to page 20, I hit my stride and then I couldn’t put it down. It felt, in some ways, very similar to The Goldfinch (bookshop.org / amazon) – where bloomed, out of a perfectly readable and engaging story, an epiphany that felt life-changing. Now I have the difficult task of finding a book to follow that one. Any suggestions? I feel like the next one is bound to pale in comparison, so maybe I will just pick up a book I don’t have high hopes for.
I am listening to The Long Night by Christian White (bookshop.org / amazon) (I love the rhythm of the title and author pairing, and the unintentional rhyme) and it’s an excellent fast-paced thriller. I recall reading a few reviews that criticized it for being confusing, and I have reached the point where I understand what all the complaints are about; yesterday, I paused the audiobook and stood in my kitchen, knife poised over a half-sliced cucumber, trying to get everything straight in my head. I think I understand? Well, we’ll see.
Things I’ve Bought Lately: I did a mini refresh of kitchen staples: new pot holders, new trivets, new spatulas, new whisk. It is quite pleasing to retrieve a hot pan from the oven with a fresh pot holder, free of holes and stains and burn marks. I also went a little wild and replaced my microplane… and my new one is so much better I am kicking myself for not replacing it earlier. The only kitchen refreshments I have left to buy are a new kitchen mat and new cutting boards. The cutting boards are throwing me for a loop. I don’t think I want plastic ones, but I definitely want cutting boards I can throw in the dishwasher. Instagram has recently been serving me all sorts of content about titanium cutting boards, but I’m suspicious. Perhaps I want these paper composite boards instead?
In non-kitchen purchases, I bought myself a new foot file.
It works great.
But. It reminds me a little too much of my new microplane. Worry not; I am storing them in separate rooms of the house.
Resolution in Progress: One of my New Year’s resolutions is to appear in more photos this year. At an event earlier this week, I tried to gamely follow through. I forced my husband to take a couple selfies (ussies?) of the two of us. I forced someone’s husband to take a picture of a bunch of the women together. The one of me and my husband resides safely on his phone, where I may one day in several months revisit it with kinder eyes. However, I cannot bring myself to send the group photo to any of the other women because I hate my image so fiercely. I need to. I am going to. The other women all look darling. And I can kind of talk myself into thinking that I look so terrible in large part because of where I am in the group – on the side, right up at the edge of the photo – and also I am holding two bulky jackets and that just doesn’t look cute at all. But I think I need A Plan for appearing in photos in such a way as to encourage additional photo taking. Perhaps I need to study up on photo poses and push past my fear of annoying people to request specific angles and multiple options from whichever poor soul winds up being my photographer of the moment.
Things I’ve Done in 2026 That I Haven’t Done Before: I got bangs! This is a very recent development, so it’s possible that the excitement will fade. But right now, I love them. It was extremely gratifying to pick up Carla from school and have her immediately crow, “You got bangs! They are so cute!” and then fervently wish that she could have bangs. Also extremely gratifying was my husband’s reaction, which was smiling and intense scrutiny for a few minutes until he said, “The bangs look really good!” The last time I had bangs was in… fourth grade? Fifth? I am not counting the over-hairsprayed swoop of side bangs I wore all through middle school.
Special Projects: My dad and I installed a new light fixture in the cat’s litter box room. It took us three separate tries (Day 1: not enough wire connectors; no switch. Day 2: drill didn’t work. Day 3: finished!) but we installed it together and I did a good bit of the work. I’m not saying that I could install a light fixture on my own, but… maybe I could? I did get pretty good at wiring a switch. Things I will need if I ever want to do this by myself: electrician’s pliers, wire stripper/crimping tool, and a voltage tester.
Things I’m Eating Lately: Family friends had us over for dinner recently, and they served us this cucumber salad alongside roasted salmon, and it was so good I immediately bought a cucumber so I could make it myself. My friend omitted the toasted sesame seeds, so I did as well. I’m otherwise in kind of a food rut these days, so we’re doing a lot of Ham Sandwich for dinner around here. Ham Sandwich with a side of cucumber salad.
The Dress Hunt Persists: I am still seeking dresses for two upcoming fancy events. My husband (who was a little leery of me ordering a bunch of dresses online and returning the ones that didn’t work) and I went to An Actual Mall the other day, so I could try on dresses in department stores. That was… awful. The selection was awful, the sizing was awful. I hate trying things on in department stores. Everything about it was demoralizing.
So I finally ordered some dresses, which was my original plan all along. Two have already arrived and they fit and they are fine. The magenta one is better; I like the sleeves and the back is cute and the hem falls at a nicer place on my leg. But the silver and black one is also fine, if a tad bit too long. It should be okay if I can persuade my feet to endure heels for a night. Two others are on the way: this one, which I shared with you back in December, and this one, which I think looks fun and pretty. We’ll see, but at least I have two acceptable options, which is a huge relief.
Skin Sitch: My skin situation seems to have calmed down. My guess is that it was entirely hormonal. I have normal monthly fluctuations in my skin, but once in a while, everything seems to be so much worse than usual. Fortunately, it’s returned to normal.
Speaking of skin, I am loving my current skincare regimen, which consists of a twice-daily peptide serum, a twice-daily application of moisturizer, plus hydrating face sunscreen serum each morning, and a retinol / hyaluronic acid serum at night. (Why is everything a serum all of a sudden?) My skin feels SO SOFT when I wash my face in the mornings, and I have had two people comment on my skin in recent months. The compliments both came via salespeople in department store perfume counters, and were likely sales motivators rather than the truth, but, wow, did those women know exactly how to make me preen. (I did not buy anything from either of them; that’ll teach you to be nice, salespeople.)
My Cat, Still Catting: My cat remains a daily delight.
Okay that seems to be a good round-up of what’s going on around here. What’s going on with you?
I LOVE both those dresses for you – the dark magenta is gorgeous and will be awesome with your hair I think. I’m so happy you like your bangs – my stupid hairline means I have to have them and I don’t always like them, but I don’t get what seems like a huge hate for bangs in general.
I’m guessing the cat is just getting used to the re-entry routine. Lucy used to hate when the kids went back to school after summer break – she’d run around snorting and looking plaintive.
Re the microplane and foot file – imagine my horror when I found out that sometimes my husband used my ROLLING PIN to roll out Angus’s thighs after baseball. I now have a new rolling pin but MATT NO.
My body and brain are both protesting January vehemently, but I am soldiering through as best I can, and aware that I have so much to be grateful for (perspective is hard sometimes).There will be a time after this.
Oh yay! I’m glad you like the dresses! I am partial to the magenta — the other is nice, but feels slightly matronly on me. And yes! YOU have adorable bangs, which was a big motivator for me to push forward!
HE USED A ROLLING PIN. Matt. OMG.
Note to self: make the cucumber salad ASAP.
Normally I don’t like to take sides in a marital issue, but the person in your marriage who suggested the mall outing is in the wrong. The last time I was in a mall was 3 years ago to buy a dress for my niece’s wedding. The dresses were all $$$ and they made me feel HORRIBLE. It was quite the ego beating. I came home, ordered a couple of cheapo dresses on Amazon, and had a clear winner that made me feel great and a clear “nope” that went back. Very little effort, and great for my mental health.
I have Heart the Lover on my holds list, so I’ll be joining in on the opinion chorus very soon. I’m reading Good Dirt right now, which is an Elisabeth rec. I just started it, so no opinion yet besides that I’m still reading.
Doggo always lets us know when she has fallen too low on our priority lists. She can’t talk, and yet we always know exactly what she’s thinking. She trained us very well!
I used to love going to the mall, but it is probably time to leave that back in the twentieth century.
Awwww Doggo! Of course she should never be less than the top spot priority-wise, so I’m glad she can express her displeasure on the rare occasions she drops to number two.
I’m laughing so hard at the thought of mixing up the micro plane with the foot file! 🤣 That’s too hilarious!
I’m so happy that you love your bangs! I’ve always had bangs. I tried to grow them out once and didn’t like how it looked, so I cut them again – and my husband was so relieved!
Hopefully, your kitty will settle down once you get back into your schedule. I think cats must keep a daily planner somewhere! I swear our cats do, and if I’m not on time, they start yelling at me!
Hahahaha – I love the image of my cat making notes in a daily planner. He is very much a Keep to the Schedule kind of guy, so I wouldn’t put it past him!
I think Lenny wants you to play when he bites at you. He needs more attention- cats are rigid taskmasters who want their humans to follow a schedule.
I love both the magenta dress and silver/black one. Beautiful and classicly designed. The other two I’m not as fond of, but online patterns and colors can be tricky. Things can look so different in person and on the body. I hope you find dresses that make you feel pretty and comfortable!
I think you’re right — he seems to be in play mode when he does the biting. And he never uses his claws on me — except on the rare occasions when he’s been scared. But he has no compunctions about giving me a little nip with those teefies.
Getting back on a schedule can be rough. I can’t wrap my mind around such a thing happening since my children are so very rarely off schedule. But some day (I hope?) they will sleep in. Some day. But for now, I guess the upside is that we don’t get off schedule since they are reliably up at the same time every dang day. Paul has started to sleep until 7 on the weekend, though, so that’s been nice (although he is very easy in the morning).
I am so glad I have no need for a fancier dress. I do not enjoy dress shopping! I would probably do rent the runway if I needed something for which a work dress wouldn’t suffice. But I can’t envision that ever happening since we are not gala people AT ALL. I would have to drag my husband kicking and screaming to such a thing. Lol.
I’m so glad bangs are working for you!! Yay! And your skin is doing better! Double yay!
My highlight of this week is that my Boston trip got canceled at kind of the last minute since a few meetings fell through. I’m so glad I didn’t traipse all the way to Boston for some sub-par meetings. The sales rep felt so bad canceling and I was like – trust me, this is not a bad thing for me, all things considered. I’m still quite on edge w/ the ICE enforcement here, even though I am a white person with no reason to be worried. Things just feel very precarious. There are estimated 3k ICE agents in the twin cities, which is more than the sum of the 10 largest police departments……….
Your city seems very unsettled at the moment, and I can imagine that would affect your day to day even if you aren’t personally targeted. So upsetting, and I hope things get better.
HOORAY for no work travel, Lisa. I honestly don’t know how you feel about it, but I’m glad you get a little additional respite!
Okay, have you tried Rent the Runway? I looked at it as a possibility for these events and it looks promising but also stressful! I would love to know how it really works, vs. how it sounds like it would work.
I haven’t tried it but a lot of friends have! I never have anywhere fancy enough to go!
Hard same. The whole thing sounds so appealing and also so stressful — like, what if the dress you choose doesn’t fit??? Or what if it arrives late? Or what if someone spills a glass of red wine on you at the event? I think I am too anxious for Rent the Runway.
I am chuckling at That’ll teach you to be nice salespeople. I think the dresses are all cute – good luck deciding. I have to attend two separate fancy fundraising events for the little girls’ schools and I am hoping to wear dresses I already own.
in our news: curly and I just boarded a plane for Tampa. College bball recruiting visit. An unexpected snow storm hit this am – took us 3x as long to get to airport. I wonder will travel
stress of today impact her decision. ( already lost my comment once for back spacing so that weird space between lines will have to stay).
I also wish I could wear one of the many MANY dresses I already own, Ernie! I have so many cute dresses! Alas, none of them fit any more.
Good luck in Tampa!
The dresses are all lovely; I’m a fan of the silver and black one. I do wish they would show them on normal sized women though and not 100 pound models. I remember getting back into the school/work routine; it took a week or so for my body to adjust. Everyone was cranky! Perhaps the cat is experiencing that also.
Yes, perhaps the cat is cranky! That sounds right.
I like the silver and black one, too, although I think it reads slightly less elegant and slightly more frumpy on me than it does online. Nonetheless: it is FINE and I can wear it if I need to.
I bought myself some new kitchen towels and they make me unreasonably happy. Ridiculous! But I’ll take whatever I can drum up, y’know? 😉
I feel like William Kent Krueger’s Ordinary Grace might be a good book for you – have you read it? It’s a little bit mystery, and has a lot of that life-affirming wisdom built in. I’ve read 3 of his books and I find them all a little sad, but also good ?
My favorite of the dresses is the blue/gold! Gorgeous! I wish I had somewhere to wear it (and that I was taller, lol).
Going on with me: SO MUCH. I really want it to be the cold, cozy, curl-up type of January but instead it’s kind-of a stressy, mental-energy-wearing-me-out kind.
We are eating kind-of well, though. Egg Roll in Bowl last night, and Shrimp Durango night before (so good!).
Yesssssss new kitchen towels! Such a great way to make the day to day kitchen drudgery more palatable!
I have not heard of Ordinary Grace but will look it up!
And ugh, that does not sound like a good start to the year, Lee. I hope things improve.
Re-entry is SO hard, my friend. I feel like January has just been one giant bucket of cold water on my love of routine. Every single day seems to have something unusual going on in it. I think part of the reason is there is so much pressure to channel New Year Energy and that can be hard to do, especially when there are huge schedule adjustments with going back to school. #Solidarity.
I love, love, love the look of bangs but my hair is so wavy and frizzy that they take a TON of work and I cannot do them. Wahhh. I think they are adorable and I bet they suit you so well.
I hate being in pictures. Part of the reason I post selfies of myself is to help break this discomfort with what I look like. I struggle not to critique every single picture I’m in. Which makes me kinda sad. But, also… #Solidarity! Are we sisters separated at birth?
#Solidarity my long distance sibling!
I am very nervous about the ongoing caretaking of the bangs. We’ll see how it goes…
I’m going to do an update post on Friday, but it looks like 2026 is going to be a continuation of the grossness of 2025. Oh, well.
Good things!
This is a good solid list of good things. PILE ON THE GOOD THINGS.
I especially love that you are feeling more settled at work! It seems to take an astonishingly long time to master the learning curve, and I’m glad you have made it to the point you feel confident and knowledgeable!
OMG OMG OMG YOU GOT BANGS. I must see them! I’m happy for you! I have so much to say I am going to have to go back and take notes, but first of all, you have gorgeous enviable hair. Are they side bangs? Straight across? Thick? Fringe? I NEED MORE INFO
Okay, let’s begin at the beginning. I’m sorry you’ve had a rough re-entry! Barkley used to get depressed at the start of school. As soon as the boys would bring out their backpacks, he would mope around, like “they’re leaving again.” Then he’d get all used to it and then they’d have like a week off or something, and here we go again.
I cannot WAIT to read Heart the Lover. I’ve been in the queue forever. Maybe I should just buy it. But I did receive The Ten Year Affair for Christmas and omg, it is one of the best books I have ever read. I was literally bereft after I finished, like what on earth to read now.
I used to have a foot file, but now I’m spoiled and I just go for pedicures.
I don’t like when my photo is taken on the sly. I like how I look in photos generally, but if I see someone taking out a phone I will look directly at them and smile. Sometimes I’ll be in the background of a photo and I’ll think “is that what I look like, crikey”
The last thing I will say is why are malls. Why are department stores. It is SO depressing. They have no selection anymore, the lighting is terrible (it’s always been terrible) and the whole thing is just an exercise in despair.
You are so kind! I have no idea how to characterize the bangs! Starter bangs, I think — they can be easily reincorporated into my hair if I don’t want to deal with them. My hair stylist is a gem.
Okay, I clearly need to try The Ten Year Affair, Nicole — it sounds like you loved it enough for me to transcend my dislike of books about affairs to read it.
MALLS ARE THE WORST.
I am only here to say that I don’t think there is any good way to do January. Since I got involved in politics in 2017, it seemed that January is supposed to be a sort of rest time. But every year since the 2020 election and especially this year it’s just exhausting. But also I cannot ignore the horribleness and I must say and so something. And we are only 14 days into the month.
I’m glad your skin has calmed down. That must improve your quality of life. Hope you can get your sleep back on schedule.
I have a battery operated foot file that spins. I like it.
January always does feel like a rude re-entry at least with the kids’ schedules. My work schedule remains the same through the holidays (Monday/Wednesday/Friday, so this year I worked the day before and after Christmas and New Year’s Day, YUCK!) so there’s nothing to readjust to there, but I definitely feel the pain of the kids’ social calendars! It’s SO MUCH! And it’s all good things, and I’m happy they’re included, but, it’s so much.
I’ve had good luck with Stitch Fix for dresses and the quality seems pretty good for the price. Plus you can’t beat the convenience of just packaging up whatever you don’t want in the included mailer and scheduling a USPS front porch pickup. I don’t remember the last time I went to a mall to try on dresses. Possibly when I was in high school??? And I’m not in a rush to change that fact.
I have Heart the Lover on my to-read pile! I keep putting it off, because several people raved about how good it was, and those same people raved about the book The Audition, which I did not like at all.
Right now I am reading The Book of Koli, by M.R. Carey, which is good so far but I’m unsure if I’ll end up liking it. Right now it is the kind of book I keep wanting to get back to, which is good. But I can see it potentially going a direction I would not like. I am also not sure I like the “isolated community misunderstanding tech” theme.
One way I handle group pictures is by not looking at them for a nice long time. Another way is to look at each other person in the photo and see how that person wouldn’t like how they look and yet they look great or at least fine/normal. Like, “Oh, she is going to think she looks huge because she’s in the foreground, but to the rest of us, it’s obviously just because she’s in the foreground, and our eyes adjust for that.” Or “She will not like how her chin looks here, but the rest of us know that is not flattering of her chin, and all we see is our friend.”
We have the paper composite cutting boards, and they are great! I’m making a mental note to try that cucumber salad. We just purchased a 2nd larger one since we liked the first ones. We also have had a rocky re-entry although definitely not because we all started sleeping in. It’s hard to get back in the routine after vacation!
Please don’t ever stop sharing photos of your cat. I love him.
I think you’re doing great on the photo taking front. I am also guessing you will get better at accepting yourself in photos the more you’re in them. I am not sure if you’re already doing that but actively engaging with the camera that is being pointed at your usually yields much better pictures than feeling awkward about it and trying to fate into the background. Show off that great smile! 😉
I have Heart the Lover on hold too. If it starts slowly for me, I will give it at least 20 pages to catch on.
Do you wear makeup? Wondering about that sunscreen serum, and if it gives you trouble with foundation. Sometimes my foundation goes on smoothly, and sometimes it cakes, and I can never figure out WHY.
Such a great post and lovely photos. I also love ❤️ cats. Warm greetings from Montreal, Canada ❤️ 😊 🇨🇦
I love that last dress with the bold flowers so much… I hope you find a dress that makes you feel fab and happy!
I think the foot file is just a microplane by another name! I know when I first saw this version at a pedicure place, I totally thought they were using a “grater.” I also know that I gave myself an awful gash when the foot file slipped and grated some skin off my ankle, so be careful, please!
BANGS YESSSS. I am such a huge fan of bangs, haha. I miss having bangs and think about cutting them again, but I haven’t done it yet. I probably will at some point, though. Bangs are so fun! I’m glad you love yours.
Poor little Lenny. I think our pets get so unsettled when things change suddenly. Lila always has a TERRIBLE time with this. Eloise is a bit more go with the flow, but Lila needs a lot more time.
I love doing a small but happy update to little things in my home like new potholders and trivets. It usually doesn’t cost too much money and makes me inordinately happy!
Well I’m only a week late commenting! You are NOT making me excited to go shopping for dresses!!! I have to find one for my son’s wedding and I have no idea what I’m even looking for. Luckily the wedding isn’t until summer so I have time to stew over this.
I’m glad you ended up liking Heart the Lover. I just bought it, and it’s up next after I finish the book I’m reading which is The Hallmarked Man! I’m loving it so much!!! I have so many books I want to read, but I also kind of don’t want to finish this one because I’m liking it so much.
I hope you all, and Lenny, are back to a good routine. I agree- it’s hard after the holidays.