Epbot Is Changing: It's Time To PIVOT

Hi, friends! Happy Friday!

You probably noticed I've been doing more video content lately, mostly to stay afloat on social media. It's been a hard adjustment, and I've grumbled the whole way, but it's also kind of exciting to create in a new format and see Epbot numbers actually grow again.

Meanwhile, readership here on the blog continues to dwindle. And hey, I get it, most people don't read blogs anymore. The fact that you're still here is incredible, and your support means everything to me, but the online world has moved on. Unfortunately all I can do from here is continue to lose readers.

Also at stake are my mental health and stress levels, as I juggle what is in essence a second full-time job creating and promoting videos and social media posts, all to push people towards this blog, when most are happy with just the videos and posts! John and I've been running full speed since October, giving it our all, but our all isn't working, and something's gotta give.

So starting today, Epbot the blog is going on the back burner. It will still be here - for all of us - but I don't plan to post here again anytime soon. Instead, I'll be doing three things:

First I'm going to rest, because I can't remember the last time I was bored. I can't remember the last time I felt like I'd done enough to take the night off. I've made my living online for 15 years. Fifteen years! The increasing demand to do more, to be more, to craft an update so compelling the algorithm might show it to even a fraction of you... it's a lot. So I'm going to breathe, be still, reset my brain, and let myself dream big dreams again.

Second, John and I are going to spend more time offline, helping people in real life. Our greatest passion has always been serving others, and we already have a list of projects scheduled to get us started. Over the next few months we'll be painting, organizing, decorating, and offering home repairs around Orlando again, all for free. Y'all. I can't wait to work a job that gives me confidence again, without the second-guessing. I can't wait to measure the value of my day by more than post reach, and feel that bone-deep satisfaction of leaving something better than we found it. I want to make helping others in a tangible way my priority, and give Epbot the extras - not the other way around.

And third, I'll continue posting on social media as usual, plus experimenting with longer videos for YouTube later on. Yep, don't worry, I'm not really going anywhere! I'll still be sharing fun builds, events, and silly life stuff. So if you already follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Youtube, not much will change. In fact you may see me more!

I can't promise much as I figure out what this next chapter looks like, so I understand if this change leaves you sad or disappointed. I love and appreciate every one of you, and your friendship has given me life, joy, and purpose for the last 12 years. For those of you who've supported John and I financially - well first, thank you - and also please know we won't be hurt or offended at all if you step away after this. Truly. It's ok. John and I have game-ified being frugal to the point that it's second nature, and we're fortunate to have enough little irons in the fire - online and off - that we'll be fine. If you do want to keep supporting us, then know your money will go towards our work for others. (Work I hope to share more of!)

Like I said, this site isn't going anywhere: it will still be my home base of archives, templates, FAQs, etc. The Squeegineer give-aways will also continue every month. Community wise, both Fans of Epbot on Facebook and the Epbot Discord are going strong, and are independently run by amazing Epbot volunteers so we have a place to hang out together. Plus who knows, I may post here again! I just know for now, for this season, I'm ready to spend more time offline, get my hands dirty, and find fresh ways to share my joys and passions with you.

This decision has been YEARS in the making, but I don't mind telling you I'm scared spit-less. I don't like change. I'm even more terrified of failure. But I also believe we should make decisions based on hope, not fear, and this decision gives me so much hope.

I can't wait to see what happens next.

See you out there, friends and FoE.

EMBRACE THE SLOTH WITHIN. Or This One Over Here.

Now that the Halloween frenzy if over, I thought I'd show y'all a fun outing we had a few weeks ago. Our friend Karen luuuurves capybaras, so for her birthday we visited Amazing Animals Inc, a non-profit exotic animal preserve about an hour outside Orlando.

They do educational tours and have capys, sloths, and other fun creatures.

Our tour started in the reptile house, where John baby-talked a snake and I maintained a reasonable distance:

It's not that I don't like snakes, it's that... oh wait, yes, that's it exactly.

Big parrots also make me a little nervous, but these stayed in their house.

I won't bore you with a slideshow of animal pics, but suffice to say there are lots: from Fennec foxes to monkeys to fuzzy things whose names I don't remember. The grounds are lovely, everything looks beautifully lush and well-kept, and the animals clearly adore their caretaker.

In fact the adorable Geoffroy's cat spent our educational talk trying to wrap himself completely around his caregiver's legs:

SO CUTE.

My personal favorite were the lemurs, so it's a shame my best photo of one has it trying to pee on us:

We were told this matriarch is... kinda pissy.

HEYOOOOO

The male lemur was a total sweetheart, though, and cooed at me through the fence and later reached out and touched my hand while I was taking a video:

It Rocked Us More Like A Tropical Storm, But We Still Need A Nap

::runs in::

Y'ALL.

WOOT WOOT

Also I discovered a new market the greeting card companies should really get in on:

Just sayin, Hallmark. This could be a gold mine.

(Also is that not the best photo of Eva? John caught her mid-yawn.)

John and I were extremely fortunate during hurricane Ian; no damage other than a few fences blown over, no injuries, and all our local friends are also safe and relatively unscathed. Incredibly grateful for that, especially as we've been seeing the disastrous flooding just minutes away - not to mention the devastation on the coast.

We do live in an old neighborhood with old power lines, though, so we had no electricity from Wednesday through Sunday. Speaking as an introverted hermit agoraphobe who runs on vampire hours, it was surprisingly draining bouncing between friends' houses while trying to work, check up on loved ones, procure Low Fodmap food I can eat, get any sleep, etc. No complaints, because we felt so much love and support, but we are exhausted.

Happily we're almost back to pre-storm conditions: fridge and freezer dumped, disinfected, and re-stocked, yards cleared, fences repaired, laundry done. We're still waiting on internet, but I'm managing short bursts by tethering to my phone.

Best of all, with power restored we can pick up where we left off with our Haunted Mansion builds! I'd hoped to have a full reveal today of our Hitchhiking Ghosts, but I'll have to leave you in suspense a few more days. We need a little more time to both work and recover, and I know y'all will be cool about it, so thanks for that.

I hope you have a wonderful week, my friend, and I'm sending extra hugs to everyone affected by the hurricane. If you're looking to donate to an on-the-ground disaster relief charity then I recommend Convoy of Hope. It's highly rated, recommended by SharonSaysSo, and the one I personally gave to this weekend.

Now, before I go, let's announce September's Squeegineer winners!

Congrats to Elizabeth D. and Sarah P., and please check your inboxes for a message from John, so you can choose your prizes.

Speaking of, I'm hoping one of you might choose this chonker of a resin bracelet as your prize, since 'tis the season and all. (You can see me wearing it here.) If not then I'll be doing a separate give-away with it soon, tho, so the rest of you stay tuned!

Does A Wedding Dagger Really Need A Point?

Hiya!

Remember our friends who threw that EPIC Game of Thrones dinner party?

You know, the party where every dish was themed, and dessert was traumatizing?

This was hard to forget... no matter how I tried, bahaha.

WELL, last weekend was these friends' 50th wedding anniversary(!!), so I knew a run-of-the-mill gift just wouldn't do.

Enter, THE INTERNET.

Well, Etsy, to be more precise.

I discovered the Strongblade Etsy shop, which sells personalized daggers and swords. This isn't sponsored, but what they made me turned out so nice I have to show it off.

First here's a look at the engraving, because I really like the saying John and I came up with:

Anna & John, Forged 1972
50 Years Unbroken

Eh? EH?

Listen, part of romance is having the ability to stab each other, but not doing it. (PRO TIP.)

Next we needed a way to display both the dagger and sheath, so we bought this wooden plaque at JoAnn's to modify:

John drilled holes through the plaque to pressure-fit wooden dowels:

... then Dremeled the dowels into shape so they'd cradle the dagger and blade exactly:

This is where the blade slots into place.

After this we spent a couple of days getting the finish right, because staining wood is a pain. First it was too dark, then it was too red, but our third attempt was just right.

Ready for the grand reveal? (EEEEEEE)

Here we go.

All Good Things

Halloooo, friends!

I'M BACK.

Kinda.

And I have all good things to share.



First and foremost, after nearly 3 weeks of waiting, my mammogram results came back clear. Woot woot!

Second, this break has been exactly what I needed: time to rest, recover, see a bunch of doctors, and all around focus on my health. I'm back in regular therapy, I've had some extra cronchy chiropractic adjustments, I saw a new hormone specialist, and I'm currently adjusting to a bunch of new pills and potions.

It's been a little rocky, but despite this week-long migraine and some continuing night-time panic, I'm feeling more like myself every day. John and I even went to MetroCon the weekend before last to do some filming, which was a blast, so I hope to have that video up for y'all soon. Thank you for being patient and sending all the good thoughts while I've been away. I'm still not 100%, so I can't guarantee regular posts again just yet, but please do watch this space. John and I've been working on some nifty projects and crafty builds that I can't wait to share with you, once I get back to writing-fit.

In fact I'd hoped to have something more exciting to share with this first post back, but since I've been struggling for nearly a week with these medication adjustments (sweet Stay Puft, migraines are exhausting), I hope this quick assurance that all is well is enough for now. I'm still here, I'm doing mostly OK, the cats and John are all good, and I'm looking forward to hanging with y'all again real soon.

Now, you go take care of yourselves, too, k? Meet ya back here later.

::MWAH::


P.S. Here's a video of me trying to ignore social media so I can get my mental health chill on:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Sam Angermann (@sam_angermann)

:D

Intimidation Crab & Other Survival Strategies

Content Warning: panic attacks

****

I know a lot of you left Facebook to ditch the drama - which I get, believe me - but posts like this from Daya over in FoE are often my little lifelines of sanity:

:D

The comments, of course, did not disappoint:

... and some days you just need this kind of silliness to combat, you know... ::gestures weakly at everything::

I don't have any news yet from my mammogram the other week, and as with most scary things, the waiting is the hardest part. Or at least, I hope the waiting is the hardest.

 I did the unhealthy thing, though: I tried to bottle up my anxiety, pretend everything was fine. Then the more I pretended, the more scared I got. Within a few days I was stuck in a panic loop, unable to think about anything but my own looming death, pain, and regrets. It was irrational, but also as real as my constantly sweating palms.

Anything mentionable is manageable. I love that lesson from Mr. Rogers and try to live by it, but I forgot it this time, beloved. Instead of mentioning it, instead of dragging my nasty little fear gremlin into the light, I hid it from John and my friends. I built walls around it. I guarded it. And so it grew.

It was only a few days before I fell apart. Blind panic, full body shakes, and finally, mercifully, a loud and messy confessional sobbed into John's shoulder. It was the scariest 24 hours I've had in years; I still feel the dread rippling forward from it now.

And yet, within an hour of pouring out my secret, I felt so much better. Talking about how scared I was made the fear gremlin shrink. Suddenly I remembered how treatable all these things we're testing for are, how it's good to check things early, and how unlikely it is that we'll find something doomsday-level in the first place. After so much certain despair, I felt a shaky ray of hope.

The next day, all heck broke loose again online.

As the internet exploded in a fresh wave of conflict, I had to go into survival mode. I know some of you are up for the fight, and others are like me: already panicked and broken even before this latest tipping point. So I thought I'd share 5 things I've been doing this week for my mental health. Maybe something here will help some of you who are barely hanging on, too.

Mammo-Mia! I Got My First Mammogram!

NOTE: There be bewbs ahead! Maybe save this one for after work.


*****

I don't know about you, fellow anxiety warriors, but for me any new body pain sends my brain sprinting towards Worse Case Scenario Valley. So of course when my left armpit and arm gave the slightest of aches the other week, it was RED ALERT ALL HANDS ON PANIC.

You might recall I have Thoracic Outlet Syndrome: a pinched nerve in the clavicle area that causes arm and hand numbness and pain. You might also remember my left arm is worse than my right. After months of treatment the numbness is mostly gone, but I still get occasional aches. So, logically, that is the likely culprit.

Does my panicky lizard brain appreciate logic, though?

Ooooof course not.

Adding to the freshly whipped panic smoothie was that we recently adjusted some of my hormone meds, so for the first time in ages, my tracts of land kinda hurt. I am not used to this. I do not like it.

I'd had a breast ultrasound last year, but never an actual mammogram. Like a lot of you with upper acreage, the idea of a mammogram scared the crap out of me. I'd heard the horror stories, and even watched my mom get the squeeze when I was a teenager. Mom has an insanely high pain tolerance, so she barely flinched, but seeing her boobs smashed that flat was traumatizing, ok?

Noooo, second-hand flashbacks...

That said, pain and panic are powerful motivators, and lucky for me a routine mammogram is one of the few medical things here in Orlando that doesn't have a months-long wait. Our imaging clinic had a spot for me in two days, and not only that, they had me in, scanned, and out in under 20 minutes.

Better still, I am relieved and delighted to report IT DIDN'T HURT, y'all. It really didn't! I was still waiting for the "real" pressure to start when the tech said we were done with the first scan. We did three compressions on each side (I assume because it was my first mammo) and each felt like a firm hug between plastic plates, no more, even on my already-tender poofs. I have a low pain tolerance, but I only felt a single uncomfortable pinch during one pass, which I think was more the top plate snagging too much chest skin than the actual squeeze.

Since then I've discovered the reason for my less painful experience may have been the machine. My clinic uses a 3D mammography machine, something not every lab has yet. Our moms had the older 2D machines, and if you remember a super smashy mammogram, it's possible that's what you had, too.

Both 2D and 3D machines look similar, but the 3D ones move in a half circle over you during the scan:

According to everything I'm seeing online these are superior to the 2D scans, with more angles and better imaging, less compressions, and fewer false-positives. They're also better for dense tissue, a plus since that runs in my family.

The older 2D machines are static, and do NOT move during the scan. So if you don't remember the machine moving on its own, then you had a 2D mammogram.

The Needs Of The One

Hiya! Happy Friday.

I bring you a photo of Vincent Price in his most iconic role:

Grumpy Cat Carrier.

:D

I also have a little encouragement for you.

Last week I was deep in my feels about the state of the world: that sad, helpless feeling you get when you watch the news and itch to DO SOMETHING, but what can one person do when so much is wrong?

Then I saw these Stories from one of my favorite internet peeps, Sharon McMahon.

I immediately screen-shotted those so I could read and re-read them. The main cause grieving my heart was the war, so I'd been donating, but now I asked myself, "If a Ukrainian refugee was here with me right now, what tangible thing would I do for them?"

"I'd paint their house," I thought. It's what I love to do, and it's what I'm skilled at.

"So who IS here right now, in need?"

STORY TIME: How My Brilliant April Fool's Joke Went Horribly, Hilarious Wrong

I post here on Tuesdays and Fridays, so when I mentioned to John that this Friday was April Fool's day, his eyes lit up.

"You should tell the Cake Wrecks story," he said.

"What?" I asked, horrified. "Why?"

"It's funny!"

"It absolutely is not."

"Sure it is! Tell them how it was so good, we fooled everyone."

"Yeah, and they hated us for it."

"Well, yes, but you can say it's how an April Fool's joke goes hilariously, horribly wrong."

"It's 'horribly, hilariously wrong' and you've been running this website for almost 15 years. I feel like you should know the tagline."

"TELL THE STORY."

"MEH."

:: 2 hours later::

Me, in front of the computer:

We've spent six years pretending this didn't happen, but sure.

We'd never attempted a real April Fool's joke before on Cake Wrecks, because people had a hard enough time believing most of the wrecks weren't pranks. Instead I usually featured illusion food for April 1st, like grilled cheese sandwiches that were really toasted pound cake:

(Vaughns Kimballs)

Or "cakes" made of meatloaf and mashed potatoes.

(Food.com)

Those were fine, but a bit boring after a few years. I wanted to try something new.

If you're a looooong time reader of Cake Wrecks, then you know I have an occasionally wicked sense of humor. So for some reason back in 2016 - probably spurred on by ThinkGeek's always amazing fake product debuts, RIP -  I decided to rock the metaphorical boat. I wanted to legitimately fool people, in a funny, "gotcha!" sort of way.

Then I got an idea. An awful idea. I got a wonderful, awful idea.

Hey! Read This If Your Hands Go Numb When You Look At Your Phone

We're a tech-heavy crowd here - by which I mean we're on our phones and computers a lot - so I bet some of you have your hands go numb while you're typing or looking down. Am I right?

My fingers started going numb probably 4-5 years ago, usually while I slept. I'd wake up and shake my hands around wildly to get the feeling back, not realizing the problem wasn't in my wrists, but my neck. Eventually I learned that a few neck twists looking over my shoulders would bring the feeling back, but even then I blamed it on tight shoulder muscles, and didn't think much of it.

Over the years the numbness got worse, though, so I finally did some Googling and found a name: Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. Even better, I found a diagram showing exactly where the problem is:

via Johns Hopkins

The culprits are the scalene muscles, which connect the neck to the clavicle. Things like "tech neck" and poor posture cause the muscles to tighten over time, pulling in the clavicle and constricting the nerves underneath against the top rib. The result is hand and arm numbness, tinging, pain, etc. (I'm not a doctor, of course, so hit that link to Johns Hopkins to learn more.)

The diagram was a revelation. Now when parts of my hand went numb I stopped simply twisting my neck - which was working less and less - and instead banged on my neck with my knuckles, all over the scalene area. This worked like a charm, but never lasted long. As soon as I lifted my arms or looked down at my phone again, the numbness would come back. It shifted around, too; sometimes my thumb and forefinger were out, other times the entire pinky side of my hand. My fingers would also ache from time to time, deep down.

I mentioned the numbness to our chiropractor many times, but nothing he did ever helped. So save your dollars if you're considering chiropractic; TOS is a muscle issue.

Over the years the numbness went from an occasional nuisance in the morning to an almost constant impediment. I was stopping over a dozen times a day to bang on my neck, and when we volunteered as painters a few months back my hands were so numb I couldn't hold the brush without stopping every few feet, for fear of dropping it. I knew that TOS doesn't cause permanent damage, so I wasn't worried, but it was so. dang. frustrating.

Now here's where we turn to the good news. Yayyyy.

If you've researched Thoracic Outlet Syndrome then you know the recommended treatment option of "physical therapy" is annoyingly vague. I couldn't find any recommended stretches or exercises, just repeated recommendations of "physical therapy." Harrumph. I'd been doing yoga almost every night since before Christmas, but that wasn't helping, no matter how many neck and shoulder stretches I did. So with the only other options being surgery or nerve blocks, I finally caved and asked John to find a physical therapist.

We were directed to an osteopath, which is a doctor who uses "physical manipulation" in addition to conventional medicine. Osteopaths aren't as common here in the U.S. as they are in Europe, but I'd heard good things. (It was an osteopath in the Netherlands who helped my mom recover full range of motion in her arm decades after a car accident, something no other doctor or chiropractor had been able to do.)

As soon as I sat on the table the osteopath and his assistant raised my arm, tilted my head back and to the side, and took my pulse. How's this for fascinating, y'all: because TOS constricts blood flow as well as nerves, they can diagnose TOS by a diminished pulse. They could even tell that my left arm was worse than my right, just by my pulse! So within two minutes I had an official diagnosis of "severe" TOS. Not the worst he'd ever seen, but definitely bad.

This is getting kinda long, so as the TikTokkers say, let me skip to the good part.

I've had one 15-minute treatment a week for 6 weeks, and while I'm not fixed yet, I'm happy to report my hands only go numb a few times a day now. Considering it took most of my adult life to develop TOS, this much improvement in a month and half is incredible, and honestly more than I hoped for.  It's actually more frustrating now when my fingers go numb, because I'm not used to them being numb all the time anymore - and that's a wonderful feeling.

I also won't keep you in suspense; I'm going to tell you what the treatment is. Mostly because it is absolutely fascinating, and something I couldn't find online. Hopefully this will help if you're considering physical therapy yourself.

It's, uh, also quite painful. The description may bother you a bit if you're squeamish.

As the doc explained it to me, the scalene muscles are too tight and need to be stretched, but there's no way we can stretch them ourselves. Instead we need a doctor to stretch the muscles for us.

To do this, the doc pulls my arm out at a right angle, applying constant pressure, and uses his other hand to dig his fingers in above my collar bone. He gets a grip around the collar bone with hooked fingers, and yanks. He uses all his strength, bracing his foot on the table below me and leaning back with his body weight. Then he stays like that, for several, excruciating minutes.

It hurts, y'all. And apparently it looks like this:

Stepping Out: Spooky Cookies, An Epic Thrift Score, & Criminal Cats

Happy Tuesday, 'bots! I bring you the mug shot of an unrepentant criminal:

Last night while I was trying to read in bed this little gremlin yowled at the door until I let her in, then scrambled over my book and rubbed poop on my arm, and finally - while I was scrubbing myself clean in the bathroom - gnawed off the ribbon bookmark attached to my book. I came back just in time to see her slurp it down, looking extremely satisfied with herself.

So now we're on poop patrol for the next 48 hours, and why do we put up with this?

Oh, right, that's why.

Still. HARRUMPH.

(Y'all send good poop vibes our way, yeah?)

Meanwhile I'm writing this post with my keyboard in my lap:



... because Suki has decided I can't work without her RIGHT HERE. She bullies her way up, stepping on the keyboard if I don't snatch it away, kicks it off into my lap, and then closes her eyes like she can't hear me yelling at her, purring loudly enough to rattle the monitor stand.

CATS.

In happier news, we've had a run of "bonus winter" down here in Florida, with temperatures dropping all the way to the mid-60s.

[I'll pause here for you northerners to sputter indignantly and tell me how cold it is there, ha]

While everyone else was breaking out the boots and sweaters, I was bopping around in my latest and greatest thrift score:

It's Raining Shingles & Tiny Arms

Helloooo, my gingersnappy dressers and tea-riffic T-rexes! 

(I'm drinking ginger tea, can you tell?)

How's your week going?

Mine started off with a bang, since John and I just made the Least Fun Adulting Purchase Ever: a new roof.


Gee, we shouldn't have.

Seriously, is there a less satisfying major expense than a new roof? Our old roof was fine, even; it was just old. So because insurance and blah blah boring stuff we have a herd of step-dancing buffalo body slamming our ceilings for the next few days. 

I hoped to sleep through some of it, but at 7:05AM the house began to shake, rattle, & roll, and I had two VERY concerned felines trying to crawl inside my pajama top. (Apparently armageddon makes cats snuggly.) So we packed up the group, got a grip, came equipped, grabbed the proton packs scaredy cats off our backs, and we SPLIT.

Yes that was the rap from Ghostbusters 2. I'm a little punchy. What.

Anyhoozle, I'm currently camping out at a friend's apartment with the cats, who really are MUCH happier, no matter what Eva tells you. I swear this cat turns into a dying bassoon the second we put her in a carrier. The drama! The over-acting! The sheer vocal range.

I can't gripe about Eva without showing you some funny/cute pictures, though, so here are some from last week:

Aww. Ok, I guess she's worth the yowling during car rides.

And don't worry, Suki fans, I've got pics for you, too:

Goals.

Suki is the perfect silent angel in the carrier, btw, and is currently chilling on the floor in my friend's guest room giving exasperated, superior looks at Eva - who has zero chill - hiding under the bed. Looks like this:

::to Eva:: "You are a sad, strange little cat."

Huh. You know, this post was supposed to be something completely different, but my brain is mush and apparently I just wanted to talk about my cats, so... here we are. ::sleepy grin::

Before I keel over let me end with something super fun and silly, something I've wanted to show you for a while now. Remember the Firefly-inspired dinosaur mirrors John made last August? (If not, go see!) Well John made another variation on the T-Rex mirror, this time inspired by one of my favorite .gifs of all time:

The Three Best Things I've Done For My Mental Health In The Last Year

You know what I love? The concept of "leveling up" versus "getting older." Instead of focusing on the things we lose as we age - smooth skin, energy, the metabolism of a coked-up weasel - leveling up focuses on the things we gain. Things like skills, experience, and better armor for your body type.

When I was 20 the thought of making a healthy breakfast for myself every day was laughable, I had no idea why everything hurt all the time, and I believed everyone everywhere had to like me at all times or I might actually die. 

Now at level 43 I'm more comfortable with myself and others, I've had most of my broken parts diagnosed and treated, I feel a million times better, and I've learned hundreds of skills and coping techniques and routines that just make life better. Like how to make a healthy breakfast every day. It's awesome. Leveling up is awesome.

So in that spirit, I want to share three ways I've leveled up my mental health game this past year. I haven't mastered anything yet - and never expect to - but these are ways I can look back and see definite improvements.

1) Lean In To The Routine

This is obvious for most of my fellow mental health warriors, but it's gotta be said. Routine is our friend. Make lists. Set alarms. Schedule your week, your meals, maybe even your outfits if that helps. The less mental energy you spend making decisions, the more you'll have to tackle your day, your work, and the unexpected gremlins life chucks your way. So spend your precious, finite cache of mental energy wisely.

If this is a new strategy for you, let me recommend my post Routine Maintenance: 4 Ways I've Reduced My Daily Anxiety By Limiting My Choices.

And here are two tools from that post that help me stick to a routine:

- A pre-printed daily list:

(I erased all my strike-throughs so you can see my examples from yesterday.)

Note how the 2nd thing on my list is to make another list, ha. The things I do every day are printed, then I add day-specific tasks on the right. I've been using a dry-erase list like this most days for the last several years. I keep it next to me while I'm working, so every time I realize I'm mindlessly scrolling social media (which still happens a lot), I can check my list to get back on track.

Tuck your printed list into a page protector, and voila, instant dry-erase list! I also have an alternate list for Sundays on the back, so it's double-sided.

- My magnetic menu board

Magnetic Dry-Erase Menu Board w/ Neon Markers

I've raved about this thing enough before, so let me just say again that it is a massive sanity saver. If you do the "I don't know, what do you want to eat?" dance every night, try this. Since I last mentioned this menu board I've leveled up to making the menus myself each week, instead of making John decide. See? Still baby-stepping my way up!

2) Volunteer and/or Donate To Charities

John and I've always loved working on projects for friends, but this past year we've started volunteering at an actual charity, The Sharing Center. We started small, just a few hours a weekend sorting clothes for their thrift store. That was so fun we decided to go bigger, and over the last few months we've replaced ceiling tiles, painted entire offices, laid over 1,200 square feet of laminate flooring, replaced sinks, and more. It's harder work than we've ever done for friends, but also vastly more rewarding.

If you watch my Stories you might remember some of these updates.

How is busting our butts for free rewarding? Let me give you an example. Two week ago as John and I were painting the Client Services building - where they distribute food, rent money, and more - I watched an older woman knock on the door and beg for a loaf of bread. "Please," she said, "Just anything." The office was closed at the time, but the workers still opened the door and handed over a bag of groceries. I was across the room painting out of sight, but that moment struck me to my core, gang. I felt incredibly humbled and grateful and sad and joyful, all at the same time. At that moment, you couldn't have dragged me away from the work I was doing.

OWL BE BACK: That Time I Stalked My Friend With Gift-Wrapping

A few weeks ago, Karen asked Arielle to switch places at our dining room table.

"K, but why?"

"Because that OWL won't stop staring at me."

We all laughed, the two switched seats, and Karen said in exasperation, "Now these ones are staring."

Then Arielle pointed out the owl next to the apothecary:

And the one on the radio cabinet:

And right after I insisted the room did *not* have an owl theme, I realized there were 2 more in the wreath beside me.

Huh.

And those are just the ones in my dining room.

"Can I sit anywhere in your house without an owl staring at me?"

****

Fast forward to the next week when I had a spare 45 minutes before a friend's holiday party, and I got an idea. An awful idea. I got a wonderful, awful idea.

My 2021 Christmas Decorations & A Tree-Side Chat

It's here, y'all. We made it. Christmas is tomorrow, and tomorrow night we finally get to relax. At least a little. At least in comparison to the last few weeks.

No more stressing over gifts or parties, no more crowded grocery stores and post offices. After this we get a few moments to soak in the quiet after a long hectic sprint to the finish line.

Ahhhh.

John and I didn't host a party again this year; instead we focused on going more places and doing more things with friends. We also took on a last-minute construction project for charity, which pushed us to our physical limits. Despite the exhaustion and stress, though, those late nights of work beside their free medical clinic helped me find my "Christmas spirit" more than anything else this season.

All that said we decorated late this year, but I thought I'd take a minute to show you some of the pretties!

We brought our phoenix topper out of storage, and only hung the gradient ornaments, for a simpler look.

We put Fawkes in the back room for the first time, where he just clears the ceiling. This room is where John and I hang out the most at night, so I get to look at this one the most. The twinkle lights are forever magical to me:




Our front room is the cheeriest part of the house, though:


Love those pops of red!

John added garland to the top of the wardrobe:

And my two witch hats both have poinsettia spriggies:

The table top tree has been a work in progress:

A reader named Martha Jane made me a whole set of embroidered Stay Puft ornaments - to go with my double-sided DIY ones - so I decided to take the Stay Puft theme and run with it.