2022 YEAR END REVIEW

It’s New Year's Eve … who knew. Not me at least not until someone sent me a text telling me to be safe tonight, and I was like why where I am going. They said you know if you go anywhere for the holiday. I responded with you mean tomorrow. They were like um…no tonight. People celebrate New Year's tonight, since it’s New Year's Eve. I again responded with tomorrow. They wrote back with a screen shot of the date, like my devices don’t also have that. Turns out … guys they were right today is New Year's Eve. The last day of 2022, the last day of the year, tomorrow starts a brand-new chapter full of wonder, excitement and pretty much the same shit that 2022 had but with a different date at the end … if I’m being honest.

New Year's has just never been a thing I celebrate. I mean yeah sure it’s an accomplishment to get from point A to point B I guess and not everyone got to make that circle, heck I went to 2 funerals just this week alone, so I see why people celebrate this “milestone” but I’ve just never been interested in it. Even as a little Marcy I wasn’t concerned with staying up to watch the ball drop. Seemed like a lot of fuss over not much and you spend the night wandering around going from place to place finally landing somewhere to count backwards from 10 then it’s over and everyone goes home or leaves to head to yet another place. I’d rather stay home, sleep at a decent hour and just get up the next day. I will admit I do like seeing how everyone chooses to usher out the current year and welcome the new one, but it’s all become a bit much. Every single town now has a thing. Hell, mine has a Moon Pie Drop. They take a LARGE Moon Pie strap it to the side of a building downtown and at midnight lower it to the ground because nothing says New Year like getting ready for Mardi Gras.

It's been another year of hard work and some appreciation for both Golden and I. I do wish she got more appreciation but there's very little I can do about that. I just completed my first year at the helm of the ship at my work, which has been a learning curve. I'm proud of what we got accomplished this year and know there's more we can do so that's the goal for 2023. Once gain I'm gonna lose some of my vacation time, I hope that next year I do better about that. Golden and I are trying to come up with our next big trip (other than Dragon Con) because it's been a few years since we did that. I think the two of us just need something to look forward to if I am being honest. 

Last year on this day it was 84 degrees and sunny, which was just dumb. I rang in the new year in shorts and a t-shirt. Less than 24 hours later it was raining and in the low 50s. tell me the south isn’t always sick for no reason and I’ll explain all that again. It’s been ridiculously cold the last week or so which was nice to have a Christmas holiday where I could wear my Christmas sweaters without sweating through them for a change. Today it’s 67, cloudy and wanting to rain. We had a wicked storm blow through on Friday afternoon and it was supposed to hold over until today, but it was moving faster than originally thought and we are left with a dreary, cloudy, warm day instead. Tomorrow it’s supposed to be in the high 70’s low 80’s. So basically, back to normal.

I’ve spent the majority of my “time off” for the holidays (Christmas and now New Year's) cleaning. Throwing things away, purging my life of the things I don’t “need” I have 5 bags of things to take…. somewhere. It’s mostly clothing that I can’t or don’t wear, some of which still have the tags on them. I’m really bad about that, it’s the downside of online shopping it looks better on the screen than in my house.

While I wasn’t looking this blog turned 8 years old. Since 2014 we have had 261 entries that have been viewed 27,526 times by ….. someone. We average about 29 post a year, but I credit most of that to the first two years when I did blog challenges and then in 2019, I did kind of a resurgence of the blog in an effort to bring it back to life. I will admit that with this blog I’ve not been trying to set the world on fire, teach anyone anything in particular, or even study specific subjects for a greater understanding of a higher universe but I have tried to stay consistent in my posting. Here lately it’s felt more like a journal or diary than an actual blog with a purpose or passion. Like this isn’t a lifestyle blog, or a blog trying to sell my various projects or causes, or a blog that is used to promote anything or generate likes and collaboration with companies. It’s just me, my little HP laptop that’s still kicking (knock on wood), and sometimes Golden just sharing various thoughts with people who might be interested. It tuns out that while most of our views come from the US, we also get a large portion from Russia and Ukraine (haven’t those people suffered enough) with France and Germany rounding out our top 5 countries. Sorry Canada you just missed the top 5.

I did just learn that our blog with the most views has changed … it used to be the “Royal Welcome” my Real Person fiction about Haley and Michaels working with the Royal Family. However ironically the post now with the most views of 314 is “He is Risen” posted in April 2019 … I just re read it and it’s nothing to special so I’m not sure why so many have felt the need to click on that particular one but it’s gonna be hard to pass that many views. But I’ll do my best.

Have a great 2023 and a safe New Year’s Eve, which is apparently tonight in case you didn't know.

Marcy (@beaslma)

Thankfulness Challenge - Day 22

It’s been a while since I cleaned, like really cleaned, I’m talking dusting, I’m talking scrubbing, I’m talking full on cleaning fit. I’ve had a few weekends where I’ve not been home, and during the week it’s all I can do to hang up the towel in my bathroom. So basically it was time to get dusty, dirty and clean up the hovel I call my home.

I’m not a packrat, but I guess I can turn into one. What keeps me from full on packrat status is that eventually I can and will let something go. Today was one of those days. One that Golden would call “Shits Gotta Go day!” That’s not to say I’m wasteful, however there are times where I look at something and think why in the world did I need that … or who in the world gave me that. There are other times where I pick something up and take a minute to think of who gave it to me, dust it off and put back on the shelf.

When I’m in this kind of cleaning fit I keep a basket on the bed and if I come across an item that still has some life to it I throw it in the basket. My church has a room that they treat like a boutique that allows people to go in and get whatever they need. There’s what I call play clothes, items you’d wear bumming around the house, and more dress clothes that someone would wear to work or church. We have a group of homeless ladies that come and are allowed to pick what they need. So any clothing that I find that still has some wear in it will go there.

Our office does a toy drive every year, and coloring books, or kids toys that haven’t some life in them will go there. As a woman who is forever a kid at heart I have more toys in my room than a woman my age likely should. I’d like to say it’s because I have nephews but no … it’s not. I have a job, back off reader I buy what I want, and often what I want is dictated by my need to be forever 10-years old.

There are times where I would hold on to something then the next “Shit’s Gotta Go Day” will quickly let it go. There’s really no rhyme or reason for this I just get sick of moving it around or see that it really doesn’t have a “home” or a place and thus it’s time for it to go to someone else. For items that don’t fit into the two categories above or if say it’s July and no where near our toy drive I’ll take it to our local salvation army box and leave these items there.

The bottom line is that while I’m not using it someone else might be able to and sadly there are plenty of people out there in need. I’m thankful that I have the means to acquire items but also that I have the ability and mind to know when those items need to be let go. I just wish I didn’t wait until I had spend an entire weekend cleaning to “catch up.” Maybe mom is right a few minutes a day is a better way to go …. Ahhhh … that sounds like a lot of effort. Ok back to my cleaning fit …

--marcy