A belated resolutions post
Jan. 22nd, 2026 13:05![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
superborbI fell behind the DW 2 week lookback for the reading page, so I went through my subscribed accounts manually, and now I feel a twinge of melancholy over people who disappeared. This was previously a common state of being that I would fall into -- shit, I guess maybe my period is going to start soon, isn't it. Was my lack of this form of nostalgia the last year just from hormonal changes? Wow, rude.
But I suspect that I really am less susceptible to it now that life is so busy -- not just because of baby and being more concerted about socialization, but really primarily because of US politics. I am finding it difficult to have room for any other negative emotion: oh, I don't know where XYZ person is? Well, hopefully they are doing fine, but it pales in comparison to learning that the middle name of the five year old abducted in a rabbit hat is conejo (rabbit). Thankfully, I am able to have plenty of positive emotions still (aforementioned baby and socialization have been plenty happy).
The beginning of the year always does inspire goal setting and nostalgia both though. I started a 10 year journal that I've somehow (!) managed to keep going for the whole month so far. It has a two page spread for each day of the year, so you return to the same page each year and can look back at what happened in previous years. I can only really fill it, despite it barely being a few sentences of space, bc of baby, but I do mildly regret not starting it last year. (Unlikehalfcactus, I am not good at decorating my journals... I was inspired by her and tried to keep a proper journal a few years ago and dropped it within a few days haha.)
I'm also pleased that I've been rejoining watch party (the baby is finally going to sleep reliably!) and have been -- I think? -- a chatty and contributing member of a few servers, in addition to scheduling an average of two in person socializing activities each weekend. (Though in the winter, they do go down from larger gatherings to usually more one on one type things... Maybe nicer in ways, but does mean that there've been friends I haven't seen since the summer.) I will resolve to continue this state! Perhaps... more online friendships? I feel like without an active fandom, I haven't been quite as in the loop. But the fandom du jour are not quite catching my interest. I assume I will develop some more in person 'mom friends' as baby is slated to start daycare.
Work has been really frustrating in several aspects, but I largely feel valued and trusted by coworkers, which I've discovered is where 90% of my personal daily emotion about work originates. Too in flux for me to make a resolution about, so I'll just do what I can and resolve to leave work at work.
In the truly "I am an adult now" milestone... we got a cleaning person to do some of the heavier cleaning tasks. Bf was opposed, and it's true that they do a deeper clean than we would otherwise do so it's not a 1:1 time savings, but it's just so nice. (Also, is probably one of the lower effort ways to 'buy time.') And the required tidying in advance AND our slow settling in process reaching a certain point has meant the space feels so much more comfortable now. I hope we fix our showers by next year though. I have so far been pretty good about getting rid of baby related stuff as quickly as it comes in, and have been getting a lot better about assessing which baby things should come into our space at all (IMO, bf disagrees probably), but I definitely need to continue that this year lest we be overrun.
I feel quite proud of the mending and patching I did last year, and would like to take out the sewing machine this year to fix the things I didn't want to hand sew. This is not, perhaps, the most time efficient, but appeals to the part of me that hasn't been able to do any physical 'making' for a few years now in a way that doesn't require much commitment.
Last year, we did more traveling than I'd have liked (for a wedding) but the friends trip was still pretty workable (and less stressful, since we drove). I think this year's planned trips will go off easier since he's much... better at sleeping lol. But I'm still not looking forward to the flight. (Last year, we didn't buy the separate seat for him and they had an extra seat... Debating if we should roll the dice again. He's heavier now, but the flight is shorter.) I think I'd like to try to squeeze in a friend trip for a different group that isn't as hiking-and-board-game focused, but we'll have to see if that works out.
My reading pace has precipitously declined now that I'm not nursing as much and don't have that time where I literally can't do anything else, but I've been playing more games... Is this a fair trade...
Okay, I'll finish off with a real resolution: I want to do higher effort cooking this year! I've fallen into the lazy bowls and everything stews, which I do like, but I want to expand my ability to manage multiple dishes at a time. Is this bc I do deeply feel the 'three dishes and a soup' is the only proper meal and baby is now eating real meals? Maybe. But I really only seem to be able to manage two dishes and I think I could get to a full set with not too much more time, as long as I figure out the timing situation.
But I suspect that I really am less susceptible to it now that life is so busy -- not just because of baby and being more concerted about socialization, but really primarily because of US politics. I am finding it difficult to have room for any other negative emotion: oh, I don't know where XYZ person is? Well, hopefully they are doing fine, but it pales in comparison to learning that the middle name of the five year old abducted in a rabbit hat is conejo (rabbit). Thankfully, I am able to have plenty of positive emotions still (aforementioned baby and socialization have been plenty happy).
The beginning of the year always does inspire goal setting and nostalgia both though. I started a 10 year journal that I've somehow (!) managed to keep going for the whole month so far. It has a two page spread for each day of the year, so you return to the same page each year and can look back at what happened in previous years. I can only really fill it, despite it barely being a few sentences of space, bc of baby, but I do mildly regret not starting it last year. (Unlike
halfcactus, I am not good at decorating my journals... I was inspired by her and tried to keep a proper journal a few years ago and dropped it within a few days haha.)I'm also pleased that I've been rejoining watch party (the baby is finally going to sleep reliably!) and have been -- I think? -- a chatty and contributing member of a few servers, in addition to scheduling an average of two in person socializing activities each weekend. (Though in the winter, they do go down from larger gatherings to usually more one on one type things... Maybe nicer in ways, but does mean that there've been friends I haven't seen since the summer.) I will resolve to continue this state! Perhaps... more online friendships? I feel like without an active fandom, I haven't been quite as in the loop. But the fandom du jour are not quite catching my interest. I assume I will develop some more in person 'mom friends' as baby is slated to start daycare.
Work has been really frustrating in several aspects, but I largely feel valued and trusted by coworkers, which I've discovered is where 90% of my personal daily emotion about work originates. Too in flux for me to make a resolution about, so I'll just do what I can and resolve to leave work at work.
In the truly "I am an adult now" milestone... we got a cleaning person to do some of the heavier cleaning tasks. Bf was opposed, and it's true that they do a deeper clean than we would otherwise do so it's not a 1:1 time savings, but it's just so nice. (Also, is probably one of the lower effort ways to 'buy time.') And the required tidying in advance AND our slow settling in process reaching a certain point has meant the space feels so much more comfortable now. I hope we fix our showers by next year though. I have so far been pretty good about getting rid of baby related stuff as quickly as it comes in, and have been getting a lot better about assessing which baby things should come into our space at all (IMO, bf disagrees probably), but I definitely need to continue that this year lest we be overrun.
I feel quite proud of the mending and patching I did last year, and would like to take out the sewing machine this year to fix the things I didn't want to hand sew. This is not, perhaps, the most time efficient, but appeals to the part of me that hasn't been able to do any physical 'making' for a few years now in a way that doesn't require much commitment.
Last year, we did more traveling than I'd have liked (for a wedding) but the friends trip was still pretty workable (and less stressful, since we drove). I think this year's planned trips will go off easier since he's much... better at sleeping lol. But I'm still not looking forward to the flight. (Last year, we didn't buy the separate seat for him and they had an extra seat... Debating if we should roll the dice again. He's heavier now, but the flight is shorter.) I think I'd like to try to squeeze in a friend trip for a different group that isn't as hiking-and-board-game focused, but we'll have to see if that works out.
My reading pace has precipitously declined now that I'm not nursing as much and don't have that time where I literally can't do anything else, but I've been playing more games... Is this a fair trade...
Okay, I'll finish off with a real resolution: I want to do higher effort cooking this year! I've fallen into the lazy bowls and everything stews, which I do like, but I want to expand my ability to manage multiple dishes at a time. Is this bc I do deeply feel the 'three dishes and a soup' is the only proper meal and baby is now eating real meals? Maybe. But I really only seem to be able to manage two dishes and I think I could get to a full set with not too much more time, as long as I figure out the timing situation.
no subject
Date: 2026-01-22 21:23 (UTC)God, same.
I think of you as one of the most powerful cooks I know, so that is kind of a funny resolution to see (but it makes sense). I hope you have fun with it!
no subject
Date: 2026-01-23 01:30 (UTC)