back to the routine, home organization, and domestic terrorism

 we survived our first week back to school and first (full) work week since before the holidays. it was an adjustment, especially when everyone was just starting to sleep in more consistently ;) ah well. it's been soooo rainy in seattle lately (nearly every day). it certainly limits our ability to get out of the house during the pandemic, but we are surviving and taking advantage of the dry days when we can.

i think we all hoped that 2021 would be a new chapter for american politics, but on january 6th the u.s. capitol was invaded by domestic terrorists (aka trump supporting extremists) during the official count for the presidential election. it was horrifying and mind-boggling to watch. everything from the way the police treated the protesters like allies (wayyyy differently than if it had been a black lives matter protest like we saw all summer) to the complete disregard for the u.s. democratic system. it's disgusting and embarrassing to share a country with these people and i hope they are held accountable for their actions. it will be a relief when biden takes office, but i know these groups will continue to spew their hateful rhetoric even when trump is out of office.

on a much lighter note, i'm trying to be healthier and more organized to start off the year (i know, so cliche). i'm trying to limit sweets/alcohol after indulging all last month, do my 10 minute exercises every day (i miss the gym!), and de-clutter various areas around the house. last week i had a teeth cleaning and today i have my annual physical. i've gotten rid of some holiday decorations that have remained in the bins for a couple years now. i have 6 bags of stuff from around the house to bring to goodwill. i also moved our shoe rack from the coat closet to the entry way so we no longer have a giant pile of shoes in the way every time we try to open the doors - why did i wait so long?! 

 

i think i mentioned we ordered new ikea nightstands for our room. formerly we had two brown wood tables from target that are close to 15 years old and they were in rough shape. the new ones match our dresser, are taller and brighter, and look so much better. i'm thrilled with them!  

i made this tumeric ginger soup for the second time. it's so good! here is the recipe if you are interested. i do it in the crockpot and add chicken and rice as well.

azalea and i went to goodwill one evening to look for some new books (since the library is still closed). we ended up getting 8 books for $14, which was pretty exciting. i'm reading this book right now. i've seen all of the seasons of the show, but had never read the memoir that the show is based on. it's similar to the show, but different enough to keep things interesting. i'm really enjoying it. 

we had a pretty quiet weekend here. we cleaned, ran errands, watched a couple movies, and the kids played outside with the neighbors.