Life in January
I once told a friend that January is meant for sweatpants and hibernating. And while I generally still believe this, this January has been going along at at such a quick pace, there hasn’t been a lot of hibernating!
I’m fresh off a much needed 4 day weekend– even though with holidays and other happenings in life I haven’t had a full work week since before Christmas, my day job has just been frantically busy, a feeling I dislike and goes against the pace of this time of year, in my opinion. There are a lot of changes happening, including a huge one in the leadership of the organization, that have all of us worker bees in the middle just going along each day doing our work until someone tells us something different! It’s an odd feeling to know change is happening, but that nothing is happening at the same time. Supremely cautious optimism is the name of the game these days.
18 days into the new year and I feel like I’m doing well with my goal of ‘wellness.’ I walk on the treadmill most nights for at least a half hour, plus my once a week yoga class. On my extra long weekend I did a ton of cooking for lunches and dinners, plus planned out new recipes to try out.
One new habit that I’m loving– listening to podcasts while chopping, cooking, and doing housework. It’s totally transformed what was previously some of my least favorite chores into something to look forward to a bit. I’m currently loving I Feel Better, Pop Culture Happy Hour, Stuff You Missed in History Class, Modern Love, and You Must Remember This. I’m listening to podcasts just as much as audio books on my commute now too, so I’d love any recommendations! Points if the podcast is around 40ish minutes, my usual commute time!
Another new thing I love- the Hoopla app from my local library. Unlike their Overdrive option ( which is also great), you don’t have to wait in line for a title on Hoopla for audio books, though the selection is more limited than Overdrive. They also have e books, music, and videos available for rent. You can only rent a certain amount of titles per month, but since I average about 2-3 audio books a month for the commute, it works perfectly for me.
The 4 day weekend and some solo TV time gave me some uninterrupted time to watch Bright Lights, the Carrie Fisher/Debbie Reynolds documentary that was more uplifting about family relationships than the sadness I thought it was going to be. Also caught Weiner, about NY politician Anthony Weiner, which was fascinating/disturbing/interesting all at the same time. I recommend both!
How is your January going?
Life By Kristen 
My January was unexpectedly busy and I am hoping for February to be a little quieter.