January

Last day of January, y'all! January's been a bit of a hermitting time for me so I haven't really been checking in here. Before February starts, though, let's catch up a little with what's been going on...

1. One Little Word. Yes, I've selected my word for 2025. I don't feel the need to share it here, though. :) I like the process of picking and feel like it only matters that I chose it for a reason and that I can keep that in mind throughout the year and let it guide me. 

2. Spring semester. Asher and Micah are fully into their spring semesters now and busy with classes and extras. Both seem to be enjoying and are challenged by their classes. Asher continues to participate in his taekwondo and PE clubs and will be taking steps to get ready for student teaching, which will be spring semester of next year. Micah's been climbing more and has chosen to cut back to just one part time job to spend more time looking for after-graduation positions. Overall, both appear busy but good.

3. Japan. Meanwhile, Noah had an opportunity to go to Japan this month! One of his friends has a friend who gets cheap standby tickets through his job at Denver International Airport. So, Noah, his friend, his friend's friend, and that guy's twin had a fabulous experience in Japan from January 19-29. They stayed in Osaka and Tokyo, took day trips, and had awesome adventures. Noah's been back at work yesterday and today but would rather be back in Japan. :) 

4. Empty nest. While Noah was gone, Nathan and I had a little taste of what it will be like to have an empty nest. Between this, that, and the other, we're pretty sure we haven't had the house to ourselves overnight since November of 2000 when Noah was born. (We've had trips and such on our own but just not time at our own house without at least one boy.) We think we'll be just fine once we actually are on our own. ;)

5. Start of year stuff. Every January (at least for the last few years), I take some time to update the emergency binder stuff I've put together. It has important documents and information that would be needed in an emergency. It's nice to have that up to date...peace of mind. I also finished submitting our tax info to our financial planner (who does our taxes) earlier today. Nice to have that out of the way. 

6. Continued walking. I think I mentioned last month that I've been trying to intentionally walk more. That continues. Given that our Colorado weather swings widely, some of the time I've been walking laps (with Deanna) inside our local (mostly vacant) mall and some of the time we've walked outside (and even in the dark) and some of the time I've enjoyed the gorgeous sunshine around my neighborhood all on my own. It's been good and I feel better for it.

7. Waterproof shoes. Relatedly, for the last few months now I've been on the search for comfortable waterproof black walking shoes. You'd think that would be fairly straight-forward. You'd be wrong. I've ordered (and returned) more than a dozen pairs of shoes online and tried on at least a dozen pairs locally at multiple stores. I ran into issues and have some questions: what the heck is speed hiking? why would you want a white pair of hiking shoes? why can't I find my size locally? (Okay, I know the answer to that last one. I have a small foot. It's annoying (though practical) that stores don't stock extra small sizes and that manufacturers don't always make small enough sizes. I tried kids sizes but the fit is different. Bleh.)

In any case, it became a personal challenge. I tried hiking shoes. I tried trail running shoes. I tried street shoes. Most were too big. Some had uncomfortable gusseted tongues. Some had uncomfortable arch support. You get the picture. 

Celebrate with me, then, that I finally seem to have found a pair that works for what I was looking for! Whew! (In case you're wondering, they're Altra Lone Peak All-WTHR Low 2 shoes.) 

8. Still active. In my hermitting this month, (in addition to my walking) I've continued to do boot camp...Lynne and I have been making use of Tim's gym to workout on our own...and I've tried to climb a couple times a week and have been getting stronger at that. Feels good.

So. It's been a fairly quiet January here. Nathan and I have gone on a couple dates, I've been out with friends a few times, and Nathan has even met up with people a couple times. Course, Noah wins for having gone to Japan. :) Basically, 2025 is underway and we're doing what's within our control to make it a good one.

(PS Sorry I don't have any pictures. Apparently I didn't take many this month. Obviously Noah has pictures from Japan, but those aren't mine to share.)