It’s the last Wednesday of 2025, and I’m not going to lie… I’m feeling great right now!
I just got back from the gym. I’m enjoying some protein yogurt with fruit and chia seeds, and after I write and post this, I’ll be spending New Year’s with The Husband and our friends for dinner. We will, however, head home early to take down the Christmas decorations before midnight.
It’s the night before the night before Christmas, and this is, by far, my favorite day of the holiday season, even though this year it’s a little bittersweet.
The Husband is off playing tennis. Ry is working. Ev is up in his room gaming with his friends. Me? I’m alone, baking, listening to music, and wondering how time moved this fast.
There are a lot of big feelings I’m having a hard time expressing, so I think I’m going to cut this post short and take Marsh for a walk.
But first, the result of my baking!
First, I cannot believe this is my 50th post of the year! My plan to reclaim my little corner of the internet has been a complete success.
Second, the reason I’m just “popping in” is becuase I’m about to check off #14 on the list below and embark on a weekend I planned to celebrate The Husband turning 50!
I am trying to hold my shit together at the moment and failing miserably.
It’s finals week. Audacious students are grade-grubbing. I’m feverishly reviewing projects while trying to get a January class prepped. And every single day, I seem to have a handful of meetings that could have been handled via email.
I’m writing this from my hotel room in Daytona, Florida, the day after competing in my last weightlifting event as a 45–49-year-old athlete.
I have to admit, I’ve been completely preoccupied with this event all week and almost forgot my weekly blog post (which I’m taking as a positive because I’ve really been in the moment down here).
But while lying in bed at 4 a.m. staring at the ceiling (as one does in menopause), it hit me. I smiled, initially happy to be so present for a change, and then laughed when I realized it was only Saturday and I still had time to post before the end of the week. So here I am, writing in the middle of the night, listening to the ocean and seagulls outside.
(I’m gonna pause, take a deep breath, and take that in for a moment.)
Part of me doesn’t want to write this or wants to be vague, but that’s probably the worst thing I could do.
I was really looking forward to this week of training. It’s our peak week, and I had a chance to go as heavy as possible, but I flubbed the dub (do people still say that?) both times.
Last month, I challenged myself to eat more greens, and holy shit, guys, it somehow snowballed into an obsession with making a salad every day after work.
Today I posted my 28th #SaladTime video, and I’m having an absolute blast!
I cannot get this Jimmy Carr quote out of my damn head…
Audience member:
What’s the secret to being a great comedian?Jimmy Carr:
What’s the secret to being a great—I mean, I’d be honored if you thought I was a great comedian, but I think it’s probably self-assignment.
Comedy’s taught me everything I know about life, right? Life is self-assignment. You—you know what’s the metric you judge it on? Well, you decide.
So, I write jokes every day. I’m going to tell some new jokes at the end of the show. That’s it. Just fucking decide what work you’re going to do and do it.
The life that you want is on the other side of the work you’re avoiding.
His words really resonate with me because the things I enjoy most in life are all things I’ve self-assigned, and those are the things that bring me the most joy.
Popping in late this week.
I’ve been having so much fun posting my daily training journal videos that I totally forgot to write here. Surprisingly, it didn’t even hit me until last night, in bed after Survivor.
All year, I’ve looked forward to these weekly recaps. They’ve been therapeutic. But for the past week and a half, the daily videos have met that need.
I’ve been enjoying my video journaling so much that I’ve started creating more of them, including quick salad ideas, sharing my thoughts on teaching, and capturing little moments from my day. It feels fun and low-pressure, kind of like the old blogging days, even if social media itself is a hellscape.
I long for the time when it felt like “content creators” had their own little corner of the internet, not that we called ourselves that back then. Now we are all at the mercy of algorithms more than ever, with very little control over who actually sees anything we share.
But even in the black hole that is social media, the simple act of putting something out somehow still gives me the outlet I crave. I’m doing more of the things I enjoy, like painting, training, cooking, and connecting with people online in ways that remind me why I’ve always loved documenting life and how beneficial it has always been for my mental health.
Last week’s post really helped me frame a lot of things in a different light, and I cannot express how much it has positively affected my life right now.
If you didn’t read it, I will summarize it with a quote from my lifting coach: