I can’t believe it’s 2020 already!  I feel like 2019 passed by in a blur, and that it’s not only a new year, but a new decade!

2019 has been fun and it felt like so much and yet so little has happened.  I’m looking forward to a new year, and I actually have some things I want to focus on for 2020.  It’s that time of year where I sometimes decide I’m going to do all of these things, and do them for a while, only to stop doing them.  I really want that to be different this year.

One of the biggest things was taking a vacation at the end of the year- I talked about part of it here, and going to three theme parks in three days was fun but exhausting.  I spent the rest of my time off doing nothing but sitting in bed, watching t.v.  Okay, I did do a few things, like get my hair cut and seeing Star Wars, which I liked.  Plus some last minute Christmas shopping, since I was at the mall already.  Going back to work was pretty hard, especially because I went back the day after Christmas.  I definitely need to take more vacations!

I want to go to more places.  I haven’t been to the zoo in ages, so maybe it’s time to start going again.  Maybe I’ll even go back to Universal Studios.  To, you know, see the rest of it, because I only did the Wizarding World and then left.  I’m definitely going back to YALLWEST, and maybe I’ll even make my way to the LA Times Festival Of Books.  They are on back to back weekends, so that might be a good time for a vacation!  Even if I do absolutely nothing during that time.

I’ve been to the movies more times in the last couple of months than I have the rest of the year combined!  Since late November, I’ve seen Frozen 2, Stars Wars, Little Women and Knives Out.  I remember, just a few years ago, going to the movies a lot more than I have been, and it’s fun to watch something new, instead of re-watching the same two or three shows over and over.

So what do I want to focus on for 2020?

I crochet, but I really love Shutterbean, and her blog is such an inspiration!  I want to be more creative and painting and drawing sounds fun but I feel like I have no talent for it.  I’ve tried hand-lettering a little, but I’m planning on exploring it more.  I also love seeing all of the photos she shares, and at least right now, I’m determined to take more pictures this year.  I’ll still crochet, of course, and since it’s taken a backseat over the last few months, I’m going to start crocheting more.  It may be time to pick up another big project, like a blanket…or maybe continue the couple of blankets I started and never really went back to or just pick up every once in a while.

And journaling!  I used to journal all the time in high school and even college, and then, over time, I just sort of stopped.  I have a few sitting on my table, and even though they’re more guided than what I used to do back in high school, I think having something guided will be good.  I think it will focus my attention and get me to write about something specific.  Maybe, in time, and if I keep up with it, I’ll do more free-form journaling.

I’ve been using the food journal for about 6 months now, and it’s been nice to look back and see what I’m eating.  I’ve tried the counting calories food tracking thing, and I always give that up after a week or two.  But writing down what I eat allows me to see what I’m eating and what I need to work or what I want to keep doing.  Drinking water is something I need to do more of because I don’t drink enough of it!  It’s actually more helpful for me than counting calories, but I’m all for whatever is easier for people.

I also want to start cooking and baking again!  I love cooking and I love baking even more but I haven’t done a lot of it over the last 6 months or so.  I’ve relied a lot on sandwiches and t.v. dinners, mostly because I’ve felt too lazy to cook.  But it’s a new year and it’s time to start cooking again.  Things got a little weird for a while, and I felt lazy, unmotivated and apathetic.  With a new year and a new decade, I’m feeling motivated and determined to make it last.

Back to cooking, though.  For a while, I didn’t really feel up to cooking or baking, but having done some of it over the holidays reminded me of how much I like it, and fun it is.  I have so many cookbooks, and it’s time to use them every week, instead of every few weeks.

Two things I’ve made lately: Instant Pot Ragu|Instant Pot Beef Brisket

They were both really good, and I have a lot of the Beef Brisket in the freezer right now, because it was a lot more than I could eat.  I’m glad I have something I can pull out of the freezer!  I have a couple of things I’m going to make, but I have some cookbooks I’m going to go through so I see what I’m in the mood for and put some sort of menu/meal plan together.

Even though creativity and cooking are two big things I want to focus on, I think focus is the underlying current.  For part of the year, I haven’t really felt like myself, and I had a hard time focusing on things like crochet and cooking, and over the last few weeks, I’ve felt like I can focus on it again.  I think, once I get back into, I’ll be fine, and getting back to being myself and doing things I enjoy.  If it means hanging out at the library more, or going to Panera or somewhere else to crochet or doodle or write things that may or may not be nonsense, then I’m going to do it.  And maybe make my apartment a place I want to be creative- though it is fun to get out of the house sometimes, and there’s something soothing about not being at home and doing something creative.  I’ve always been more productive when I’m not at home.

I’m feeling really excited about a new year and trying out new things.

Have a happy great 2020,