2023 in Review

It's that time of year again where I look back on the past 12 months and share some highs and lows.

1. I started out 2023 weaning myself completely off Zoloft. It was the first time in 16 years that I wasn't on any kind of mood-stabilizing medication. At first, I felt amazing and didn't miss it at all, but as the year went on, that began to change. 

2. Justin and I went on an epic vacation to Arizona. It's the first big trip we've gone on without our kids since our honeymoon, and it totally gave me the travel bug. We had a blast exploring the Grand Canyon and other random Arizona sights together, and ate some of the best Mexican food we've ever had. 

3. I had strep throat on Easter, which was way more miserable as an adult than I remember it being as a kid. 

4. Stinkin' Stella severed her tail and we paid a cringeworthy amount of money to have the tip amputated. 

5. I joined a group from church and read through the entire Bible in 90 days. It was a daunting endeavor, and I'm glad I did it, but I'm not sure I'll do it again that way. I slacked off on Bible reading the rest of the year because I felt like, "I just read all this." 

6. After years of eating whatever I wanted without repercussions (except weight gain), I battled with all kinds of stomach issues most of the year. I have yet to pinpoint what kind of food causes the flare-ups, but I've lost 19 pounds since last April because my stomach hurts most of the time and I'm scared of overdoing it and paying for it later. I was diagnosed with IBS and tried one prescription medication and a few OTC options that haven't really helped. Eventually, I went back on Zoloft - partly to deal with the anxiety my stomach issues were causing me, and partly because IBS can be the result of a serotonin deficiency. As of a couple weeks ago, I'm back up to the max dosage of Zoloft. Being drug-free was nice while it lasted, but apparently my body needs that artificial serotonin boost. 

7. Levi played soccer again in the spring and actually scored a couple of goals for the first time - largely thanks to the bribe of McDonald's for a goal. 😂

8. Lena and Levi both took up a new hobby this year: playing tennis with Justin. I never tagged along and he doesn't take pictures, so there's no photographic proof, but they loved it. And Justin says they were starting to get the hang of it by the end of summer . . . unlike their mother. My dad tried to bond with me over tennis one summer. He eventually decided that wasn't my gift. Lol.

9. I went to an alpaca farm in Indiana with my cousins for one crazy night. We had a blast with each other . . . and the alpacas.

10. Thanks to inflation and grocery prices and my obsession with restaurant food, I had to leave my life of leisure and get a second job. I started working at Once Upon a Child at the end of May. Once school was out for the summer, I worked the evening shift three days a week. And during school, I work two days in the library and two days at Once Upon. I would much rather just do the library, but I'm thankful that OUAC is so flexible and I'm able to get in a few hours and make a little extra dough. At first, it was really rough on my back to be on my feet so much, but my back has toughened up a lot and it's become much more bearable!

11. Levi finally learned how to ride a two-wheel bike. He loves the freedom it has afforded and zoomed up and down our street all summer.

12. We enjoyed four Cousin Fun Days over the summer - well Lena and Levi did. Lucy didn't come to a single one for the first time. She definitely became a full-fledged teenager this year. She barely left her room, got really into music and makeup, and wasn't interested in the "kid activities" anymore. The rest of us had fun at Lewis Farms, Hager Park, Deer Tracks Junction, and Millennium Park. 

13. Levi got really into listening to audiobooks on Alexa this year. I wish I would've kept better track of everything he listened to. That's going to be one of my goals for 2024. According to the Libby app (where we get most of our audiobooks), this is what he listened to this year: Ruff vs. Fluff (Spencer Quinn), Dog Diaries (James Patterson), Aces Wild (Erica S Perl), Boxcar Children: The Robot Ransom, The Trouble with Chickens (Doreen Cronin) Boxcar Children: Mystery at the Dog Show, the entire Two Dogs and a Trenchcoat series (Julie Falatko), Boxcar Children: Mystery of the Midnight Dog, a bunch of Mr. Lemoncello books (Chris Grabenstein), Fortunately the Milk (Neil Gaiman), Ribsy (Beverly Cleary), Boxcar Children: Mystery of the Missing Cat, Dog Squad (Chris Grabenstein), The Wild Robot (Peter Brown), and most of Karen Kingsbury's Baxter Family Children series. I didn't screen any of these, so listen at your own risk. 

14. Part of the reason Levi listened to so many books is because of our 5-day screen fast in July. I think he listened to 8 books that week alone. Haha. It was a bit of a rough week, but we survived and it made me realize we can do it long-term as long as I'm willing to put in the work of entertaining Levi and cracking down on the girls. 

15. We started leaving the kids home alone with Lucy for a few hours here and there. So far, they haven't killed each other or burned the house down!

16. We took a family trip to Michigan's Adventure (without Lucy 😔). It was Levi's first time and he surprised me with his bravery!

17. Justin had a successful third year of coaching soccer. 

18. We had a snowy, cold Halloween.

19. I became a great-aunt again when sweet Lainey Nicole was born to my nephew Tayton:

20. I didn't accomplish my reading goal. 😭 But in fairness, I set my goal of 100 books before I knew I'd be working two jobs this year. I still read a respectable 79 books. 

I had seven 5-star reads this year:

Faith of My Fathers by Lynn Austin (Biblical fiction, book 4 in a series, should be read in order, but so worth reading all 5 books!)

Habits of the Household by Justin Whitmel Earley (Christian parenting)

The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau (middle-grade fiction)

Island of the Innocent by Gilbert and Lynn Morris (Book 7 of an old favorite series. Should be read in order.)

When the Day Comes by Gabrielle Meyer (Christian historical fiction with a fantasy twist)

A Million Little Choices by Tamera Alexander (Christian contemporary fiction)

Digital Detox by Molly Defrank (parenting book specifically about screen time)

I also read a few duds this year. Not including the books I didn't finish, these are the ones I only gave two stars to:

The Rose and the Thistle by Laura Frantz - I usually love this author, but this book fell flat for me

The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons - this made tons of Goodreads lists for "best romance book ever," but I hated it. Very dirty and very depressing.

Plot Twist by Bethany Turner - lots of people in the Christian fiction world loved this one. I was not among them.

I'm going to keep my reading goal at 100 for 2024. I have big plans to do less screen time, so I anticipate filling some of those hours with reading instead.

Last year my resolutions were to read through the Bible and lose weight. I did both! Although I shouldn't get any credit for the weight loss since that was unintentional. 😂 I'm not making any resolutions for 2024. Come what may!