Hi friends! We are 24 days into 2022 and I keep writing 2021. Oops! Anyway, this year is going to be one of many things and one of those being more blog posts. The other week I had a dream this blog was mega big and I would have guest writers weekly. All things were talked about and it was such a fun, inviting, love yourself kind of place to be. I was famous and fabulous!! Haha That would all be really cool, but why wait until that happens to be fabulous and have guest writers?? We don’t have to. So this year is going to include more blogging with all of that and then some. We are going to semi change the theme of this blog too. Right now it’s more about healing, raw, and real feelings about going through life post divorce. There will still be posts of raw feelings and the healing journey. I will also include favorite things, recaps, fun Q&A’s, and random stuff. 2022 is going to be a theme with lots of laughter and a whole lot of livin’! I just choose to share some of that with you! So why not kick it off with a little recap of December? Here we go my friend!

When’s the last time I blogged?? November 30th… It was a list of the golden nuggets I learned from my 20’s. You can check it out here if you missed it. Now real life recap… what was I up to in December?

(If you know me, you know I bounce around in conversation, so there is no particular order to this recap. I was just writing as things came to mind and referencing my Google photos from December – LOL!)

For my birthday, Matt got us a 1964 1/2 mustang to fix up together. He knows how to work on cars. I kind of have a clue and definitely do not at the same time. In early December, he changed the oil and put new tires on it. I feel like we need a name for her… how about Pearl? She is a cream color with red interior. A real American beauty!! I am hoping when hunting season is over and the weather warms up we can get back to working on the stang! It really fills the quality time love language bucket which just happens to be my #1 love language. He did a fun reveal of Pearl at my birthday. He’s so great!

Lauren at Lauren Leigh Photography did my pictures and she was amazing!!

My parents took the boat out a few times when the weather was nice and toasty. Someone snapped this picture of them and it is definitely one of my favorites. They are just precious people. They love each other so much and have a true partnership for 30 plus years. That’s not saying all 30 were perfect. It is just saying they have always had each other’s back and grew together while choosing to love each other every day. My mom, dad and I all work in the same general area, so we meet for lunch quite often. It’s the best! I am so thankful to have two parents that love each other and still invest in their kid’s lives. We have always been a priority and there has never been a day I didn’t feel loved. That, my friends, is so very special. I hope they have felt the same way too because Lord knows the love is strong between all of us!

.

Speaking of love… we love our B man!! My nephew is a HOOT! He is so fun, sweet, and witty. He will be four in April, so he is at such a fun age. That age also comes with no filter and brutal honesty. He just says exactly what is on his mind. Getting a picture with him is quite the challenge too unless it’s a goofy one. One day in December my mom was on the phone with my sister and B. He asked her if she was shooting fireworks… she was chopping cucumbers. HAHA! I swear he is getting bigger every time we see him. He looks so big in the second photo and is such a cutie pie! We just adore and love him so much!!

I made a few new recipes, but one that was a major hit was the Christmas Italian cheese log appetizer. It makes an entire loaf pan size cheese log, so be aware of size. It’s wonderful as leftovers, but just a lot. You can find the recipe here. It was so pretty for Christmas parties. The picture was from the first time I made it and the second time I made sure to get the sundried tomatoes that were already cut. I think it would be delicious stuffed inside a chicken breast.

Random, but in December I got bit by a spider. It was near my eye which was no fun. It looked like a massive pimple and my entire eyelid was swollen for a few days. All good now! I feel like people either have a phobia of spiders or snakes? Mine are snakes. Which do you fear more or do you have super powers and not fear either?

I went to dinner with one of my friends, Victoria, mid December. We went to dinner at Hearsay. She mentioned something about a warm brownie and ice cream for dessert and I couldn’t get it out of my mind, so we literally went to another restaurant to have that exact dessert. I mean is there anything better than a warm brownie and Blue Bell ice cream? Nope. But I will say good food, even better conversation and being home and in bed by 11 is a very close second. We both agreed to more nights like that this year and taking pictures together. Because we didn’t take one that night. I just took a good ole’ car selfie to send to Matt since he was at the ranch that weekend. After sending it, he told me I was so pretty I needed to turn around and go home… haha That man sure knows how to make a girl blush! That same weekend my entire immediate family and fur babes went on a family walk. The weather was chilly, but one of those beautiful Texas December days. We went on a long walk, snapped pictures and everyone got exercise. Quality family time is one of my favorite things to do. B can do the firetruck and police siren perfect. Well B proceeded to do the siren noise for a good solid five minutes on our walk after a firetruck drove by with the siren on. It was comical!

In December I was in a major clean out mood which was normally happened on a Friday night. I know, I know so wild over here! I love playing “dress up” in your own closet and putting new outfits together. Of course, you have to send your new creations to friends and get yourself hyped to wear your “new outfits” the following week. Does anyone else do this? It just feels so good to clean and organize.

I have the two sweetest fur babes around. One is a diva and the other is velcro. Can you figure out which one is which??

The fur babes went on lots of walks, learned a few new tricks, played and we all snuggled a lot. These two are rescues and we all needed each other. My precious angel babes really bring so much love and light to my life! These two just choose fur instead of wings.

My sister started a new tradition. Dinner and decorating Christmas cookies. Liz loves traditions and she will make them happen. B created a dinosaur and star with all the icing, glitter and sprinkles. Moments like this are what life is about. Living life and making memories!

Every Christmas Eve I make gumbo from scratch. We have been doing it for a couple of years and it is a true labor of love. This year I had some help from B and my mama. Once the gumbo was simmering, I went on the boat with my dad and B for a little boat ride. Boat rides in December when you have to bundle up are the best. The gumbo turned out really good and we timed everything perfect for our Christmas Eve dinner. We had some friends that are more like family join us. They brought delicious sides/appetizers and we just enjoyed the quality time together. Christmas Eve is one of my favorite holidays. We all agreed next year we would come in Christmas PJ’s and maybe play a few games. Low key and laid back!

Christmas day was full of activity! Breakfast and gifts at my parents house, lunch at Matt’s parent’s house, and dinner back at my parent’s house. Great food, happy moments, lots of laughter and people getting arrested by the police officer.

I finished the last week of the year by going to work, meeting friends for dinner, cleaning, organizing, resting, ringing in the New Year with Matt and his family, reflecting on the year and reminiscing on the good, bad, and ugly times of 2021. I try to reflect on the lessons learned, how I can be better next year and most importantly the wins and growth I had the past year.

December was overall a great month, full of those little memories we tend to forget about in the grand scheme of things. These years and moments are what make me feel so thankful God chose me to live this life. He continues to bless me with incredible people that push me to be better and love me for all that I am.

We laugh, we love and most importantly we live!!

Stay tuned for all the different blog posts this year! Hold on for the ride… it’s going to be a fun one!!

Until next time,

Amanda