January 2025 Thoughts

It’s been a rough month. You know, I got tricked into thinking this was going to be a bomb year for Cancers by every astrologer on Instagram reels who PROMISED Cancers were coming out of some 20-year horror-show rotation or . . . something. I don’t really know exactly what it was, but I do know it’s been a reeeeeal rough start and I’m not feeling this “awesome year” stuff yet.

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about how I spend my time, my energy, and who I’m supporting with my dollars and attention. I haven’t figured a lot out yet, but I’m thinking maybe it’s time I return to some basics. I just signed up to get a PRINT newspaper—PRINT!—because not only do I want to support local journalism, but I also want to dabble in this idea of returning to slow news. I think this bim bam boom way we have of getting news isn’t healthy. The constant updates without fact-checking, the rage-bait headlines, the misinformation, and turning news into entertainment are things we should all be considering as we move forward. Who does it serve? What are the consequences? For a while anyway, I’ll be avoiding “fast” news and consuming more “slow” news.

I’m also thinking about the platforms that I use, who they support, and how they make me feel. There is a lot to unpack and contend with there, and it’s on my mind.

For now, I’m focusing on scaling back in certain areas, and fleshing out others—like this here blog! I don’t think anyone actually READS this blog, but it’s here, and it’s a space that’s all my own (and yours!) It lets me get out these deeper thoughts without forcing me to synthesize them into palatable, bite-sized witticisms. Plus, I feel like I can just spill it all because the only people reading this are the people who WANT to be reading this. I’m thinking it could be fun to share bits and pieces of works in progress and other ideas as well.

Oh, speaking of which, look at the stamp I got for the Never Gamble Your Heart books!! Isn’t she a beauty? I drove to the store and bought this on sale from an actual craft store instead of ordering on Amazon. Baby steps, because I still order plenty from Amazon. But I’m trying.

If you know, you know. (I actually don’t love this saying, but it fits)

It’s been quite cold here the past week or so (this morning it was -8, and I rarely see that in this location), and as I write this I’m sitting in front of the pellet stove and getting nostalgic about blogging. I’m from the Livejournal era and I’m not going to lie, I totally miss that time. I have a feeling these blog posts are going to take a Livejournal-y turn, so if that’s your jam, stick around and please visit again. But I also promise I won’t just give life updates and book recommendations and talk about cheese (WHY did I wait until I was in my thirties to start eating straight Parmesan?), I’ll also share some writing at times.

Before I go, here’s a pretty photo that made me feel fancy because I caught the sun behind a tree.

Okay, that’s all for today. I’m off to read SO THIRSTY by Rachel Harrison (this book is NOT what I was expecting but the main character is 36 and some of her thoughts feel SO RELEVANT). Feel free to leave a comment!