Settling into 2022
Hello and happy new year. I know the world is a dumpster fire right now, but January and February are my favorite months in Florida, and I’m embracing it. I love the weather (as I’m sitting on my back porch, the weather is a lovely 72 degrees, and all of the windows in the house are thrown open). I love the fresh start to a new year. I’ve just turned a year older (I’m 40 now!). It’s a time that feels fresh with new possibilities. It’s time to start planting.
Six years ago, I moved to Orlando in February. Three years ago, also in February, I started this website. I’m expanding it this year to include my new travel planning business. So far, I’ve booked two clients and have been chatting with a few more. Over the years that we’ve lived here, Cash and I have spent much time exploring. As a result, when friends visit (usually a theme park), we are bursting with recommendations for places to eat, tips on what to do and what to skip, and where to best spend your money. Finally, after helping my college roomie plan her family’s trip to Disney in November, she asked the obvious question: “Why aren’t you doing this for real?” So I signed up with an agency, took the training, and have been having so much fun “officially” helping friends and family (and family of friends and friends of the family) plan their trips.
Our golden retriever Reggi is ten months old, and we’ve signed him up for the next level of training class at the Orlando Dog Training Club. He’s a giant 77-pound puppy who is cute, clever, and a handful. I’m excited (and Cash is excited, yet skeptical) to continue his training. Our Yorkie Turbo is still his lovely sweet snuggly self and doesn’t seem to be slowing down at all, despite his age. Dagney, the cat, is much the same, still climbing trees, patiently tolerating the puppy, and begging to be petted.
I love working from home at my “real” job. The company culture is so positive, and I have room to grow and challenge myself. Cash and I love homeschooling. He’s growing and learning, and it’s so uncomplicated and not stressful. It’s a perfect fit for us. I’m getting a new tattoo later this month to commemorate my 40th birthday, and I am very excited about it. We just replaced our 12-year-old television, and it’s taken our Marvel movie-watching to the next level.
It’s such a relief when someone asks how I’m doing these days, and I have only positive, exciting things to report. I hope things resolve with COVID, politics, and all the ugliness and frustration in the world right now. But I also choose to nestle in this life that I’ve carefully selected, cultivated, and fits us so well.