29/365 :: Friday 29 January 2021
back at the lake, of course.

30/365 :: Saturday 30 January 2021
​a surprise thank you note in the mail made my day.

31/365 :: Sunday 31 January 2021
​friends.

32/365 :: Monday 1 February 2021
​first sunrise of the month.

33/365 :: Tuesday 2 February 2021
​blue skies.

34/365 :: Wednesday 3 February 2021
​it's like my own personal hotel here.

35/365 :: Thursday 4 February 2021
​new lovely print from Alyssa Lentz via Spark Haus Vintage.

as of today, I have been sober for five years. five years. so much has happened in those five years.

I have been (essentially) told that I’m not allowed to call myself “sober” because it wasn’t like I had a drinking problem. but that’s not how I see it. no, I wasn’t going out every night or even every week, but I was still going out and getting drunk with certain people because I thought it made me seem cool.

I was young and impressionable, and I thought that this was what I was supposed to be doing. but I wasn’t taking care of myself. it was so easy for me to quickly get drunk with maybe a drink or two because I wasn’t eating like I should have been. I would look back the next day and just didn’t like who I had been the night before. I would look ahead and see the way that my life was going to turn out if I kept this up. one of those cringey moments was when I cried on new year’s eve because the ice in my water melted. I laugh about it now, but I also feel sad for the 22-year-old I was.

so, no, I didn’t really have a big drinking problem, but I could have if I didn’t change my ways. yes, I still crave the whiskey sometimes, but I’m glad that it’s not in my life anymore.

I guess the moral of the story is that you can be proud of who you are and the decisions you make for yourself. just because I didn’t have to dig myself out of a hole doesn’t mean I can’t claim my journey.

here’s to five years clean, and the next five ahead.

22/365 :: Friday 22 January 2021
​one of my favorite drives.

23/365 :: Saturday 23 January 2021
sometimes you have a busy day at work and your coworker had made the wrong menu item for a customer, so she gives it to you for lunch, but then it's too busy for you to really eat much and you take it home with you for later.

24/365 :: Sunday 24 January 2021
I love changing into leggings and slippers after getting home from a long day.

25/365 :: Monday 25 January 2021
ten years with my Luna.

26/365 :: Tuesday 26 January 2021
​I mean, same.

27/365 :: Wednesday 27 January 2021
I bought these pumpkin pie pop tarts on clearance from Target and honestly wasn't really expecting them to be anything special, but they were better than I thought they'd be.

28/365 :: Thursday 28 January 2021
don't worry, I eat vegetables too.

15/365 :: Friday 15 January 2021
I didn't need them, but Amazon told me that they were on a special sale and I went for it.

16/365 :: Saturday 16 January 2021
never have I seen such a large bottle of moisturizer.

17/365 :: Sunday 17 January 2021
​I love changing into leggings after a long day at work.

18/365 :: Monday 18 January 2021
I like stickers! I like stickers! I like stickers, yes I do! (insert high kick)

19/365 :: Tuesday 19 January 2021
I miss Milwaukee so much, and I've been saying that for months.

20/365 :: Wednesday 20 January 2021
I got free brownies from one of the best bakeries in Green Bay and I have to say, the classic ones were actually my favorite.

21/365 :: Thursday 21 January 2021
catching up on podcasts. I love getting to hang out with these ladies' voices in my ears.

early in January, there was a beautiful frosty coating everywhere. a few days of fog brought us some picturesque rime ice. it was one of the many days that I didn't want to leave my house, but the lighting was perfect so I had to walk across the street to take a few photos in the park.

8/365 :: Friday 8 January 2021
I just love these stretches of nothing much.

9/365 :: Saturday 9 January 2021
​my sticker for my new bullet journal came in the mail!

10/365 :: Sunday 10 January 2021
I think that hot cocoa mug might have been the best dish I've ever purchased.

11/365 :: Monday 11 January 2021
​right where they belong.

12/365 :: Tuesday 12 January 2021
​it's probably a chai.

13/365 :: Wednesday 13 January 2021
not a bad first view of the day.

14/365 :: Thursday 14 January 2021
teenage me would have also been very excited about my new slippers.

1/365 :: Friday 1 January 2021
starting the year at Lake Michigan, just like last year. (see previous post for more photos.)

2/365 :: Saturday 2 January 2021
I saw a few of these really cute painted rocks at the library when I was there last: this one, one with a red and green present, and one with a snowman. it was around Christmas, and I left them for other people but they were still there the next time I went, so I had to take this one home with me.

3/365 :: Sunday 3 January 2021
a couple of my coworkers found me some spectrespecs for Christmas.

4/365 :: Monday 4 January 2021
it's always a beautiful drive south.

5/365 :: Tuesday 5 January 2021
you should probably know by now that I love Taylor Swift's music (but also she is an angel). my favorites on evermore are (in order of appearance) "champagne problems," "no body, no crime," and "cowboy like me," but the bonus tracks are also most excellent. "'tis the damn season" is playing as I type this. but I have to say that I also just really love the tissue paper stars that came in the package.

6/365 :: Wednesday 6 January 2021
rime ice, footprints in the snow, and baby trees.

7/365 :: Thursday 7 January 2021
yes, I did buy these tiny tomatoes because I liked that they were in a tree-shaped container.

if you haven't yet figured out how much I love Lake Michigan, you must not have been around here for very long. (; I went last year on the first of the year, and I thought it would be fun to make a point of going out again on the first this year even though it's a pretty regular occurrence for me to stop by one of my favorite spots along the lake.

at the beginning of 2020, I was planning to reread a book series that I loved in high school, in addition to a few other books that I own and wanted to read again. little did I know that the local library would be closed/very minimally open for part of the year. I am so thankful for everything that they are doing during the pandemic and finding ways to help us still get our books! I prefer reading physical books, though I do listen to audiobooks, and my library system also offers digital loans.
I've now become accustomed to calling the library once or twice a week to have my books available for pickup in their entryway. (I've been reserving books for years and years and have had my library card memorized since I was twelve.) that may seem a bit frequent, but here's the deal. as a preschool teacher, my to-read list on Goodreads is currently just under 900 because I subscribe to a blog that posts the covers of all of the new picture books. even though my classes haven't been running for nearly a year, I'm really trying to not let the list get too much more out of control. there are also books on that list that aren't picture books, but it seems like most of them are not at my reading level. I really do love reading picture books though because the artists and authors are so talented.
anyway, all that to say that here's a list of the (non-picture) books I read in 2020.

​40. Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon; 5.7-5.9*
41. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green; 5.10-5.13*
42. Our Chemical Hearts by Krystal Sutherland; 5.14-5.18*
43. Turtles All the Way Down by John Green; 5.28-6.4*
44. Stay Sexy & Don’t Get Murdered: The Definitive How-To Guide by Karen Kilgariff & Georgia Hardstark; 6.5-6.13*

​65. The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James; 11.4-11.13
66. Pillow Thoughts IV: Stitching the Soul by Courtney Peppernell; 11.10-11.25

* denotes reread

358/366 :: Wednesday 23 December 2020
sweet Christmas mantle at my friend's lovely new home. I love that vintage reindeer.

359/366 :: Thursday 24 December 2020
little Christmas treats from my mom.

360/366 :: Friday 25 December 2020
look, I wrapped one Christmas present this year.

361/366 :: Saturday 26 December 2020
my aunt always makes the best Christmas cookies. my favorite is the little peppermint one.

362/366 :: Sunday 27 December 2020
a post-Christmas dusting of snow.

363/366 :: Monday 28 December 2020
I love the condensation (especially when it's frosty) on windows.

364/366 :: Tuesday 29 December 2020
you must be an adult if you ask for new sheets for Christmas.

365/366 :: Wednesday 30 December 2020
that annual reminder that my car is, in fact, not white. but also that I only shovel my driveway enough to leave so that someone else (thanks, Dad!) can plow it.

366/366 :: Thursday 31 December 2020
​and the sun sets on 2020.