Sunday Scratches is where I share the little stuff that has happened throughout the week. In hockey, “scratches” are people who are on the roster but do not play in the game. On the blog, “scratches” are the things that have happened to me throughout the week that aren’t necessarily big enough to be an entire post.
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Happy Sunday! It’s been a long time since I’ve written a blog post, and I’m so excited to be back. We had a lot going on from October through the holidays (literally something every single weekend… this introvert was not thrilled about my lack of alone time), so I decided it was best to step away from the blog until the new year.
But now I’m back and feeling refreshed! I’ve got some awesome content in the works for this month, and I’m genuinely excited about all of it.
In the meantime, it’s time for some scratches! Normally these posts are just for things that happened in the previous week, but I’m going to hit on things that have happened in the past month or so.
The Week Last Few Months in Review
As I mentioned, we’ve had a lot happening in the past few months, and to be honest a lot of it has felt like a blur, so I don’t remember a lot of it!
My cousin got married back in October (that feels like so long ago!), and my brother and sister-in-law came back to Michigan to attend. It was really nice seeing a bunch of my extended family, even if it was just for a day or two!
At the end of October, the camp team at work asked me to build an entirely new website for our outdoor programming, preferably in time for camp registration to open at the end of January. By some miracle, I was able to finish it in time for it to launch tomorrow! And amazingly, all of that happened while we were prepping for the Cookie Program and we were transitioning to a new Marketing Director, and I pulled it all off.
Speaking of work, two of my coworkers came up from Cincinnati at the beginning of November to visit! I showed them all of our new favorite places, including Kalamazoo Candle Company, Bell’s, and Crow’s Nest.
For Thanksgiving, Sean and I traveled up to Grand Rapids to spend the day with my parents, my grandma, and my aunts. It was low-key and absolutely perfect for how crazy our lives had been.
I traveled down to Dayton for work at the beginning of December, which was a long drive, but it was nice to see my coworkers in person again. My boss just moved to Texas at the end of December, and my new boss started the day before I drove down, so it was nice to meet her in person and say goodbye to my boss one last time.
For Christmas, Sean and I traveled to Florida to spend a week with his parents in their new house! It was our second warm Christmas in a row, and I must say, I don’t hate it. Sean’s brother and sister and his sister’s partner were in town, too, so it was great getting to hang out with everyone.
On Christmas Day, we went to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter! It’s been on my bucket list since it opened, and it did not disappoint. It was packed (apparently the week between Christmas and New Year’s is their busiest time of the year) but we had such a blast.
Oh, and yes I got a wand, and when I got back to Michigan I realized it was the same one Pottermore told me I should get. I didn’t even remember taking the quiz, so that was a fun coincidence!
For New Year’s Eve, we had a small group of college friends over to the house, which I loved! It was the first time we had a group of people over, so it was like a pseudo housewarming party. We played a bunch of music and discovered that Alexa can call Bingo. But you’ve been warned: she calls the numbers really fast!
This week we went back to work (my office actually closes the week between Christmas and New Year’s), and it reminded me how #blessed I am to work from home. The first day back was rough, but I didn’t have to see anyone so the transition was a lot smoother.
This weekend is our first weekend literally since the beginning of October that we don’t have any plans, and we’re really savoring it. We took Stanley for a walk yesterday (hello, 50 degrees in January!), read a bunch, and we’re slowly packing up our Christmas decor.
Around the Web
I’ve never really had a word or theme for the year before, and I wasn’t planning on having one… until one hit me that I love. So for 2019, my word of the year is Sustainable. Not just being sustainable for the environment (though that’s definitely a huge part of it), but also with my energy (so I’m burnt out less often) and with other projects I’m working on. I want to make big-picture decisions, instead of rushing to do or buy things that fulfill an immediate need but aren’t sustainable in the long run. And of course I came up with this two hours before reading this blog post where the author talks about the exact same thing as her theme for 2018.
This article from Career Contessa about the Sunday Scaries was so relevant.
Working on New Year’s Resolutions? Here’s how to hack your goals.
I love a lot of Gretchen Rubin’s advice, and these ideas for how to be happier are no different.
The Photos
On a nature walk near my in-laws new house in Florida 
Gringotts! 
Tara, Jessi, Eric, Sean, and myself in Hogsmeade 
Is it just me, or is that t-rex smiling for our selfie? 
Stanley was so glad to be home! 
How embarrassing 
Follow along on Goodreads or Instagram at @caitlinhonard to hear about these things during the week! xo
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