Highlights & Favorites: A Sentence a Day January 2026

All in all we had a pretty nice January. Alec headed back to school on the 4th for classes on the 5th and by Wednesday the 7th my brother had moved into Alec room; it's only temporary as Alec will need his room back when he moves home in April but it's been nice having my brother around and talking with/seeing him more. We also had some mild winter days that were conducive to hiking and I sure made the most of that. Of course it is Ct in winter so we had plenty of snowy days too and one or two really big storms and ended the month with a very long arctic freeze. 

1. So thankful everyone made it safely home with the roads being so awful most of the day. We woke to lots of snow so Ian headed out plowing while my husband and I headed to BJ's (by the time we got home the other 2 boys had left for their jobs as well) then it was a quiet afternoon reading, blogging and watching TV, ended the night with a delicious dinner and cards with my mother in law.  5,105 steps. 

 

I snapped a quick photo of Ian clearing snow with his "new" skid steer

2. Thankful for a lazy day in my sweats! I spent a quiet day at home reading my latest novel and squeezing in a stair stepper and yoga workout. 3,198 steps. 

 

3. Thankful for a fun Saturday afternoon of games. Grocery run, reading, playing Triominoes with Alec, Ian, and my mother in law. 3,567 steps. 

4. Thankful I didn't sit out the movie and went with my guys like they asked. Woke to more snow flurries, helped Alec pack up and said goodbye, spent the morning cleaning his room and the boys' bathroom before the rest of us headed to the movies to see Avatar: Fire & Ash. 5,655 steps. 

5.  So thankful to get back into a normal routine. Gym, school with Evan, then spent the day washing bedding, doing laundry, cleaning, and cooking.. not much fun but definitely needed. 9,498 steps.  

 6. So thankful for the beautiful hike Evan and I went on today. Yoga, school with Evan, our first hike of the new year, an afternoon around the house getting chores done. 10,527 steps.

7. So thankful the sun came out in the afternoon. I tried going to the gym but it was closed (probably due to the ice storm that was forecasted but mostly turned to rain), so I did a quick mid-week grocery shop for more fruits and veggies and then spent the day cleaning house and preparing food before my brother moved in after dinner. 7,822 steps.  

 8. So thankful it warmed up so much by mid-day. Doctor's appointment with Evan then we went for an hour long hike in the sunshine before his friend came over. 11,584 steps. 

 

9. So thankful for a quick visit from Alec. Gym, Alec stopped by with 2 friends from college to pick up the rest of his stuff and his roommates car, I finished my latest book, and worked on blogging. 8,550 steps.

10. So thankful for a wonderful family meal out. Grocery shopping, then Evan and I headed out to check out a local bakery, the comic book store, the library, etc. and then all 5 of us went to dinner at Eighty Ates.  8,887 steps. 

Leona's bakery

another adorable store we peeked in to see (most stores were closed for a week for a post-holiday break)

11. Thankful it was warm enough to pressure wash and clean the whole car inside and out. Spent a quiet day at home working on cards, doing laundry, reading, and cooking. 6,657 steps.

12. I'm thankful for all I learned wearing a CGM (continuous glucose monitor) the last two weeks but I can't wait to take it off tomorrow. Haircut, school with Evan, cleaned out/shredded files, went for a walk and cleaned house- it was a busy but productive day. 7,505 steps. 

13. So thankful for so much movement today! Yoga, hike with Evan to the tri-state marker, a quiet afternoon of reading and blogging then ended the night with another yoga session. 6,700 steps

14. Thankful that out of the 5 of us only one was impacted by the huge Verizon outage on cell phones. Gym, then spent my morning in the kitchen making all sorts of food/meals, spent my afternoon reading and looking up flights for a few fun trips. 7,874 steps. 

15. Thankful to have gotten a few trip details nailed down today. A quiet day at home while everyone else was at work. 6,681 steps. 

16. So thankful for warm blankets and heat on freezing cold winter days. Gym, school with Evan, and then spent the very, very cold day at home huddled under the electric blanket. 4,751 steps. 

17. Thankful for a fun night playing cards with the family. Groceries, then spent the morning cooking and baking (granola, granola bars, homemade dressing, rolls) before enjoying a lovely family dinner with my mother in law too. 4,538 steps.

 

18. So thankful to get so many scrapbook pages done in just one morning. A snowy day spent at home in my craftroom where I made 9 scrapbook pages! 3,045 steps. 

19. Wow! Thankful for such spectacular scenery while hiking! Woke to more snow, Evan and I decided to head out hiking and take photos, then I spent my afternoon in the basement by the wood stove. 8,408 steps.

 

 

 

20. Thankful for a wonderful yoga class that challenged me and stretched out all my sore muscles. Yoga, cleaned house & ran a few errands then settled in the basement to read, blog, and work on puzzles by the wood stove.  5,030 steps.  

21. So thankful for a nice warm house and sunshine! Gym then home to clean house; it was zero out when I returned home with a -11 windchill so I planned to snuggle up indoors watching TV, reading, and blogging.  5,481 steps.

22. Thankful for a fabulous afternoon out with Evan. Exercised, shoveled the snow we got overnight (while my plow guy plowed), cleaned the downstairs then Evan and I head to lunch at Renee's Bistro and to Wonderland Comics. 6,385 steps.

 

It was so cute inside!

23.Thankful for uneventful checkups for the both of us. I skipped the gym to go grocery shopping then the dentist called and asked Evan and I to come in since our appointments on Monday would most likely be canceled from the impending blizzard. 6,724 steps.  

I wore gym clothes with the hope of getting there later but never did. 

 

24. Thankful for a really fabulous date night! A day spent reading and puttering around the house before heading out to a date night at Foxwood's Cedars Steak & Oysters restaurant. 10,388 steps.  

25. Thankful we only lost power for an hour before it was restored. We slept in and waited for the snow to arrive; it started around 9 or so in the morning and kept right on going all through the day and night. 4,072 steps. 

Snow just started in the morning (keep an eye on the fire pit)

Mid way through the day

evening-- snowing so hard we can't really see the houses & trees across the lake anymore.. 

26. So thankful my husband could step in and take care of the house while I was down. I spent my day diving my time between lying in bed and lying on the basement couch fighting off a head cold.  (no step count this day)

27. Thankful the roads were mostly clear so I could run errands. Feeling better so I headed out to get gas, drop off mail, pick up groceries, etc. but did take a nap in the afternoon so not 100% better. Just 3,360 steps this day.

we got a bit more snow overnight; our piles are getting huge!

28. Thankful to finally have some ambition to get a few things done around the house. Still fighting off a cold so I spent the cold day inside baking cookies and a quiche and doing lots and lots of reading. 3,111 steps. 

 

29. So thankful my painting turned out so good this time! Skipped the gym again in favor of trying to rest and knock this cold out of my system though I did run to the store to get some stuff for my husband who I manged to share my cold with.  A pathetic 2,495 steps.  

adding the tree branches went so well I kept going

and added all the snow too!

30. So thankful that we didn't have to be outside very long with our negative temps today. Evan and I were up and out of the house early to meet his new allergist at the hospital; it ended up being a very quick appointment with them feeling like they can't help him, then we stopped for some groceries and headed home for the afternoon. 7,686 steps.  

31. Thankful for great books to listen to while crafting. Spent the day making cards then went grocery shopping in the afternoon. 5,809 steps. 

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