Approaching the new year

2022 is the year is I started a new job that is closer to home and revived a lot of my interests in travel, writing, home decor, and reading. I came across an open casting opportunity to act in a play. I believe I fit the description for the character, but it requires me to sing. I know I am not a good singer, but I should submit my I-did-it-myself headshot to see how far I’ll go.

2022 also did come with its challenges which made it less great. They weren’t “fun” challenges like auditioning for a play, they were more like challenges that tested my moral compass and my resilience. I feel because of that, I became more cynical. It almost feels like a villain origin story.

Even though I am a firm believer in changing your life at any time of the year, New Year’s Eve is my favorite holiday. I like the feeling of newness and hope all around that one day. Also, I like how it’s the most laid-back holiday of the season — you could dress up because you’re dining out or watching a show, you could dress down and stay at home, or you could dress up and enjoy pizza at home. I don’t see a wrong way of celebrating except getting pulled over for a DUI.

Christmas Weekend

The Christmas weekend was meh…I would like to say feeling under the weather attributed to this unexciting Christmas. We spent that Friday and Christmas Eve cooped up in my in-law’s house and left on Christmas night. What made Christmas I decided to shelve dysfunctional family bingo for another time. Maybe because I wasn’t feeling 100%, but I also everyone, for the most part, was on their best behavior. The last time I’ve seen everyone on their best behavior was when my husband and I got married and that was eight years ago. Even my husband’s oldest brother — who I will call BIL #4 — gifted us money. For at least a decade, my husband has covered BIL 4’s phone bill and much more totaling tens of thousands of dollars supporting his lifestyle. Two years ago, my husband cut him off from everything. He did say the gift wasn’t much — it didn’t even cover a phone bill — but I want to believe he was coming from a position of sincereness.

My husband may argue that his family was on their best behavior because it was Christmas. He believes people are holding back on the fighting and screaming because it’s not good for the kids. It was quite a 180 from Christmas five years ago SIL and BIL #4 were screaming at each other about paying bills. SIL yelled at her mom that she wanted BIL #4 to live out in the streets. My MIL was crying because she didn’t understand why no one was getting along. At the breakfast table, I announced to everyone that we were going to cut our trip short and head home. It was an awkward exit because it was in the middle of all this family tension; we washed our dishes, packed our bags, and took ourselves and the dogs home. I refused to take part of the fight and offer solutions, so the easiest and hardest thing was to walk away.

I’ll take it as a sign

On Christmas night, we left SIL’s house to go home. When we exited the freeway, on the main road, there was a man on the side of the road looking panicked. We see his dog running in the middle of the street. My husband and I decided to go after the dog. I ran out of the car to go after it while my husband followed me. Then my husband and I switched so he can go after the dog. We were not successful in getting the dog for the owner so we decided to go home. We just hope someone gets the dog and call the owner to come get him. When my husband goes into the car, the owner pulled up in his car next to us and asked if we were able to get his dog. We told him that we were unable to catch up with his dog and that we were sorry. The owner shrugged off and said “oh well…” and drove off.

The owner’s reply was so off-putting; he followed us around the neighborhood and didn’t even thank us for helping him get his dog. Why didn’t he stop his car and chase his dog with us? Is this dog even his? I guess this “owner” does not care what happens to this dog after all. I mean who acts this indifferent about their pets?

This moment represents a cycle my husband and I always find ourselves in: we go out of our way to do a “good” thing only to be punished in some way. When we were running after the dog, we were still fighting a bad cough so we were not in optimal health to run but we did so anyways to only find out this “owner” didn’t care about his dog in the first place. That man did not deserve to get his dog back and I hope the dog finds a better, more caring owner. It made me so bitter and it further confirmed my belief that it’s okay care enough.

Bouts of Books 2023

I am participating in the first Bouts of Book challenge of 2023! Here are some details about it below. It’s a great way to kick off your reading life for the year.

The Bout of Books readathon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly Rubidoux Apple. It’s a weeklong readathon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 2nd and runs through Sunday, January 8th in YOUR time zone. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are reading sprints, Twitter chats, and exclusive Instagram challenges, but they’re all completely optional. For all Bout of Books 36 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

Lightscape Los Angeles

I wanted to cap off the year (and the last post of the year) with one of my favorite activities which are seeing some elaborate light displays. This is the third year in a row I’ve done Lightscape. I didn’t plan on doing Lightscape three years in a row, but they have different displays every year which makes the drive there worth it. Check out my photo slideshow below!