My first craft goal of the year was to complete the "Covid Crochet Project". It is done! Many hours of Zoom meetings put to productive use practicing my new skill. We go back to the office tomorrow and I will have to revert back to doodling during meetings!

Week 2 feedback. My daily walk is going well - 16 consecutive days. It is becoming a habit to get up, put on exercise clothing and walk out the door. Healthy eating - We are still on an 8 hours on - 8 hours off electricity schedule due to the storm damage to the transformer at our local substation 10 days ago. When it is on, we're getting lower than required voltage, which affects appliances. Temporary repairs are only going to be done by 25 Jan. I am using this as an excuse to postpone menu planning and serious dieting till February. Drinking 2l of water per day is going well. My granny square blanket is still on track for finishing by month-end. I had scheduled a 45 minute Zoom chat with a friend who has moved to another province and another with my sister, so maintaining relationships is going well.

This is what I do too. We move in circles where Christian religion is assumed. I basically 'smile and wave' at the God stuff and respond to the rest. My children have ridden for years at a yard that pre-covid did a quarterly barbeque. The custom is to pray before every meal. The host will 'nominate' someone to pray. When it was my turn I said "Lets take a moment to close our eyes and be thankful for the food we're about to eat". Counted 5 seconds off in my head and said "Thank you" to end the ritual. I honored the custom and really didn't want to make waves with personal statements about religion.

I inherited my mother's engagement/wedding ring when she passed on when I was 18. The nurse in the hospital just gave it to me saying, "this should go to the oldest daughter" and my father did not object. He gave my sisters special gifts of similar value when they turned 18. It has only just occurred to me that Dd might not want it! The stone and gold have value, so she can have it altered should she want to.

No issues with groceries in South Africa at the moment - the curve for this wave has turned here already. There are problems with imported items though due to global shipping delays and these affect industry, including electricity production. We were unfortunate that the transformer in the local substation was damaged in heavy storms and repairs are lagging due to availability of spares in the country. For a week now we have had electricity on an 8 hours on, 8 hours off schedule - 8am to 4pm, 4pm to midnight and midnight to 8am. The voltage is also lower than it should be. There is only one state-owned electricity company in the country.

Week 1 Report Walking - Success Walked every day this week, just under 3 hours total Goal for the year: Daily walk of at least 20min. Get up and walk before even thinking about it. (rain and cold is no excuse!!) Weekly: 3 hours minimum per week Eating/Cooking - Fail We have not had electricity for 5 days and facing a few more until the transformer at the local substation is fixed. Our generator runs lights, computers and fridge, but not the stove, so meal planning and healthy eating has gone out the window and we've had fast food. Goal for the year: Lose 20kg by eating Keto Drink 2l of water per day Weekly: Menu planning completed by Sunday night. Try out one new recipe each week. Handwork/Craft - Success Granny square blanket is on track to be completed by month end. Goal for the year: Create stuff! January: Finish the granny square project I’ve been doing on and off for the last 18 months. Relationships - Success Phoned a friend I've not spoken to in a very long time for her birthday. Set up time to chat to a long-distance friend or family member at least twice per month.

DD22 is at university. We pay her fees, rent, cellphone contract and car insurance and she gets a fixed amount each month for all other expenses. DD17 gets an allowance for clothes, gifts, cosmetics, entertainment, etc. She packs her own food for school from the pantry, but if she chooses to pay for lunch at school that's also on her account. She uses the basic toiletries available in the house. Dollar amounts are much less than in the US, but so is cost of living.

Well done! A very interesting article!

DD22 has just come off it after 9 months and her skin is clear for the first time in years - she tried every other remedy before Accutane. Her side effects were nose bleeds for which she had to use nasal spray and very dry lips. No depression or other mental health issues. She does horse riding and made sure to wear UV protective clothing and a special sun visor around her riding helmet.

2022 GOALS I’m setting a low bar, but my biggest goal is consistency – I want to establish healthy habits. Walking Goal for the year: Daily walk of at least 20min. Get up and walk before even thinking about it. (rain and cold is no excuse!!) Weekly: 3 hours minimum per week Eating/Cooking Goal for the year: Lose 20kg by eating Keto Drink 2l of water per day Weekly: Menu planning completed by Sunday night. Try out one new recipe each week. Handwork/Craft Goal for the year: Create stuff! January: Finish the granny square project I’ve been doing on and off for the last 18 months. Relationships Set up time to chat to a long-distance friend or family member at least twice per month.

We have lived in this house for nearly 20 years - its in a nature conservancy and very woody, so we see 100's of birds. Yesterday, for the first time we say a Woodland Kingfisher - about 150 miles South of where it should be.

Thank you so much for doing the reflections and look-ahead @Granny_Weatherwax. It is not something I've done before and found it very meaningful and insightful!

Both DD's have academic goals to get into competitive uni courses - Elder Dd to do well at honours this year and earn a masters place and Younger Dd to finish school and get into a bachelors. Our academic year starts January, so this year's goal is to do well enough to earn the place. Dd's also both have competitive sporting goals. My help is mostly in the form of encouragement and emotional support. I'll be helping people at work as they need me. I'm at the professional stage where I act as a mentor to quite a few younger colleagues.

I'll feel successful if.. I have lost 20kg of weight - I have a day left to get into the right frame of mind to start the habits required on 1 Jan!! I hope that it will not take too long until they are established. Travel to my sisters in the UK becomes possible again and goes ahead (moved to Easter at this stage). I get to the end of each day and be able to reflect on the meaningful moments. And for my family... My older daughter does well in her Psychology honours and gets into a Psychology masters programme (its extremely competitive) My younger daughter does well in her final year at school and applies successfully to a bachelors degree programme. and then I'm also hoping that Dh's chronic health issues remain stable.

I like the way https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/ explains things.

Agreed, there is a big difference between driving two hours on a multi-lane, well maintained freeway vs two hours on a narrow windy country road, or a poorly maintained pothole riddled road as we have here (where in some cases its actually more sane to drive on the shoulder of the road).

I'm so sorry that you even have to ask that question @Baseballandhockey.

@mom31257. It might be worth exploring what type of jobs Liberty Mutual offers and the flexibility of hours? My cousin works from 5am to 1pm. She says she gets the most work done in the 1st three hours of the day. If an arrangement like that is possible it would give you the time in the afternoon and evening with your family. Would a combination of online tutoring and tech college teaching be possible? What does really meaningful work look like for you? Only jobs in the helping or teaching professions? One in which you can use your skills and are stimulated?

I've been in my current job since April and it will most probably be the one from which I retire. There can be changes of course, but I will not actively be looking for anything else. I've been with the company in a variety of positions for 27 years already, 12 of which were part-time. I've no ambition to move up the corporate ladder any further in the next few years.

Thank you so much @Laura Corin for the introduction to Caitlin Moran. I've enjoyed you tubes of her interviews, articles and have ordered her book.

And so you should! By middle age we've absolutely earned the privilege to be as eccentric as we wish Eta: I'm so looking forward to my hag years! Younger dd is in her last year of school next year, and will be taking her driver's test in June. I'm looking forward to the freedom of not having to drive her places!

Professionally I am still learning on the job in an area of the business which is new to me and to which I was appointed at the beginning of the year. I'll be assisting my daughter at uni by proofreading her papers, but I don't have any desire for formal academics for myself. I'm committed to spending time each week crafting, so will learn new skills during the year.

Never have I ever worn a sleeveless or open shoulder ball gown.

The university my dd attends does formal dinner-dance events for the residences and academic societies and she has been invited to a few. We actually bought two formal dresses on sale in January 2020 that she has not worn yet due to Covid. One is floor length and the other mid-calf.

I've been reading the boards on and off for close on 15 years. Its the one online place I do keep returning and I do think it is a way of connecting. I have learned so much from all of the different discussions, viewpoints and (mostly) respectful differences of opinions over the years. In the beginning of our homeschool journey I was on the education boards and it totally shaped the way we homeschooled. I was a lurker for the longest time because I didn't think that I wrote well enough to post (English is my 2nd language) and didn't really trust that I could contribute meaningfully to discussions, but when I did finally take the plunge it was a great learning opportunity. Of course, as with most things, too much of a good thing is not healthy either!