Christmas recap 2025

We spent the weeks around Christmas traveling. Kansas City area to Missouri to Pennsylvania to New York, back to Missouri, back to Kansas. It's hard to post a ton of photos because I don't like to post other people's kids, but let's see what's on my camera roll that's worth sharing. 

Things started out okay when it came to traveling from Kansas to Pennsylvania by myself with two kids, but then I got the call somewhere in Ohio that a tree had fallen on our property in Wyoming and that set the tone for the rest of the trip. 

I felt a lot like Mike McCluskey fielding calls and receiving and delivering bad news while he drives, because I had to keep going back and forth with the management company and with Scott. 

Honestly, we would've left the tree there had it not fallen on the tenant's truck...

Then I parked my gas vehicle in a charging spot at Sheetz because there were no other spots available. I reinforced how electric car owners waste their time when they sit charging their vehicles. Wells is well-versed in this rhetoric by now. 

Scott and I went out to lunch one day. Felt very midwestern, asking for a side of ranch with my fries. 

The Michael Scott plasma screen TV situation happening in my bedroom in PA. This TV wasn't there when I was living there but it's for-real hard to see. 

We've spent the last few weeks watching all the football and all the Stranger Things. 

Honestly, it was just really cold or windy or snowy or icy for our entire trip. I think we had one calm day? Maybe. Scott was working outside on some projects the entire time and winter in PA isn't great for that. 

Santa came to Pennsylvania via nanny and pap. We don't buy big gifts for Christmas because we are legitimately sick of moving things around...I learned my lesson with the Paw Patrol tower in 2022. 

We did some other gifts for the kids when we got back to Kansas.

After Christmas, Scott and I took off for Buffalo, New York, which is another great winter destination! He bought tickets to the Bills game back in September. 

We knew it was going to rain. We knew the weather was going to be miserable. Scott said, "This will be as fun as we make it" and I said "I'm notorious for making things more fun", which he thought was really funny.

Again with the side of ranch. 

We stayed at an air b and b on Lake Ontario. Literally, half a block from the lake so when those Lakeshore Flood Warnings came rolling in, we knew they'd be closing roads down, which means we ended up leaving a day early. It would've been nice to sight-see and check out Niagara Falls and walk along the Erie Canal but..December. 

This reminded me so much of Alaska, to be honest. You don't get weather like this in the midwest. 

Then the forecast for the game:

Every few hours a new warning would pop up. 

We did have really good seats but the rain kept on coming...

The backstory: Scott has always been a Bills fan. I'm not sure where that began, but he has Bills gear from the 90s. 

In 2017-2018, we were living at the University of Wyoming when Wells was born. Josh Allen was the quarterback for the team that year and was drafted to the Bills. So there's a connection there, and it was kind of neat to go to Buffalo and actually see the place. I've been to NY several times but not to Buffalo before this. (I would maybe recommend August/September instead of December :)

Anyway, Buffalo is about 3 hours north of where my parents live, so it was an easy drive. 

The lot where we parked was dirt/gravel. By the end of the night it was a solid ice rink. Again, reminded me of Alaska, where it was common to carry kitty litter in your trunk to give traction if you found yourself stuck. 

Perfect snowflakes in Scout's fur. 

Sorry. Just so much snow and so much cold and so much wind and wet. I was reminded, a few years ago living in Pittsburgh, just how long and dark the northeast winters really can be. I think I would get some seasonal depression living back there again. 

Meanwhile, 60 degrees and sunny in Kansas City this week. 

Anyway, I would like to thank my parents for accommodating us and taking care of the dogs. We don't board them just because but Scout takes medications and Maverick is coming off a month of immuno-suppressive steroids and actually wasn't supposed to be around other dogs....so we would've really been in a tight spot if we'd had plans to board.  

We were able to spend a lot of time with all the grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins and Wells did not want to come home. 

Another season of Christmas travels is finished and we're ready to lock-in for winter. 

Mid-taking down the tree on Sunday night

If we had more space in the living room, I'd leave it up for another month.

In 2012, I took it down in March.

2025 Favorites

Book: Remarkably Bright Creatures. I was years late on this but man, it was a good book. Start your year off strong if you haven't read it yet. 

Clothing item: I've said it before and I'll say it again. I'm happiest with these joggers-that-aren't-joggers from American Eagle. These wide-leg jeans are amazing too. I've really pared down my clothing purchases in 2025 and I've found I'm happiest with what I've gotten from AE and Aerie. 

Bag: I actually bought two Longchamps this year, but I also sold two (so leave me be). I got a Paper medium in March (I am in love with the color) and I got a dark green large one in September (not on the site anymore!) and it's great for winter because I can fit hats, gloves, whatever in it and it fits over a coat. 

Honorable mention: My mom got me this Beis bag for Christmas that complies with stadium guidelines and it works so much better than the ones from Amazon. The quality is great and the cross-body trap detaches. 

Product: e.l.f Holy Hydration is such a great moisturizer. Cannot recommend it enough. 

Shoes: I didn't buy these this year, but my black Ugg boots with a slight wedge from 2017 are my most-worn boots this month. I did buy these Adidas this fall and they've been my most-worn shoes since October. Black sneakers go with everything. 

Splurge: We bought these walkie-talkies over the summer and they have saved us so much time and effort. Wells takes one when he plays outside. We also use them when traveling. A must-have for outdoorsmen who are out of cell range. 

Easy meal: I would do a sheet pan dinner every day if I could but I love this chicken pasta salad. Perfect for guests too. 

Life hack: If you find any, let me know.

For real though, I think the only life hack to being an adult and a parent is to meal-plan and grocery shop accordingly. That's literally it. 

Okay, actually, this is the year I migrated back to drugstore skincare and I'm so satisfied with the results. Drugstore products have the same ingredients as the high-end lotions and potions if you know what you're looking for!

Tool: I do use my Nespresso machine a lot. Those walk-talkies ^ are very important in our household. The dogs' electronic collars are also indispensable for us. We have a couple different types, but this is the brand I use every day for our runs. Lastly, I use the Air Fryer most days for something or other, especially in the warmer months.  

TV Show: We watched a LOT of good TV this year. What comes to mind is the Dexter: New Blood seasons 1-2 we caught up on over the summer. The Mayor of Kingstown is my current favorite. I'll never tire of Mike McClusky. I had to look back to see what we've watched...The Terminal List: Dark Wolf, Reacher, 1923, Landman (season 2 is iffy)...I feel like I also watched a lot of Love is Blind but that's trash tv that just fills the time. 

Podcast: The Prosecutors remains a favorite since 2022. My usual political podcasts are hit or miss depending what's going on in the world. Right now I'm listening to Timcast IRL for the common-sense takes. But I think everyone can enjoy The Prosecutors as long as they're not doing 5 months of The West Memphis 3 because I couldn't handle that. 

Movie: The Equalizer series and John Wick. Do it. 

Idea: You can have everything but you can't have it all at once. For everything, there's a season. 

Exercise: I don't know why people pay for at-home exercise programs. There is so much free content on Youtube. I still use Pregnancy and Postpartum TV on Youtube and they are challenging, no matter your level of fitness or season of life. 

Experience: Being able to try my hand at the homeschooling lifestyle has been rewarding, even if we likely won't do it year after year forever. Being able to take advantage of the sites in the Kansas City area has been really refreshing after 4 years in a small town. 

New year reflections

It wouldn't be a fresh start to a new year if all of my coffeemakers didn't stop working at once, right? 

Plus, an ice storm. Wouldn't be Missouri without miserable weather...

2024 probably wasn't great. What a downer I am. I mean, our dog passed away. We spent most of the year shuttling him to the vet, it seems. I feel like last January started off okay but with the end of winter, I got super down about the impending spring and summer. I loathe spring and summer in Missouri. I don't really like warm weather at all at this point in my life. Maybe it's the Pennsylvania in me. (Honestly, I'd move back to Pittsburgh if given the choice right now. And I really felt that when I was driving two small kids back to Missouri this week. A 3 hour trip to Pittsburgh trumps a 2 day drive to Missouri any day.)

I want to go back to work less than I ever have. If it weren't for Wells being in 1st grade and wanting him to finish the year strong, I don't know...You could probably tell by my airing of grievances that I'm just kind of over all of it. There is no good way to teach kids whose parents refuse to parent. It can't be done. And when the expectations for kids are in the basement, no amount of "start fresh! finish strong! testing is in 3 months!" can motivate me. Add in the fact that the workload placed on me is more than the workload placed on others...maybe my motivation cannot be motivated.

I'm going to just Start Fresh with the idea that I can control what I can and that's kind of it (Sutton excluded; Sutton cannot be controlled :)

Splitting the year into quarters, here's what I'm working on for the first 3 months:

1. Keep rotating my closet. Nothing unexcites me more than this. But nothing is more annoying that spending money on clothes I don't/won't wear. I did add some new pieces last month:

All from Stitchfix. 

Then, I saw a reel about buying clothes that fit who you are, not who you want to be. So I went to TJ Maxx and bought two Free People-ish sweatshirts and a pair of Calvin Klein sweatpants. 

I'm not excited to get dressed for work at all. I prefer dressing for winter so it's not the season. I'm just tired of putting on clothes at 6:30am and wearing them all day? Is that weird? That sounds weird. 

But I did get these wide leg pull-on jeans that I am thoroughly enjoying. Cannot recommend enough. I got a small and I'm 5'6". 

2.  I found a simple Bible reading plan and I've kept up with it so far. It does Old Testament + New Testament + a Psalm each day. 

3.  Three workouts a week. I'm really bad about procrastinating workouts until evening and then nothing gets done. I prefer to work out in the evening, but I think I need to do the 5:30am thing for real this year. I'm thinking maybe I can manage 3 days a week. This is what I plan on using. I discovered her when I was pregnant in 2022 but her workouts are challenging. I recommend her channel for anyone in any season! 

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I think that's good to ease into a new year. We'll see what the 2nd quarter brings. 

It is funny, as we move into 2025, to think that we’ll have been married for 16 years in May. If we move this summer, it’ll make 8 states and 9 houses in those 16 years. Orders aren't official yet, which is a big part of why I'm taking 2025 one quarter at a time. 

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What are your goals for 2025?