Hi Fan Friends,

It’s been a few months since I’ve blogged (my sincerest apologies for the radio silence!). I’ve been trying to navigate life through these uncertain times. As many of you know, I’m very vocal on here about my battles with anxiety. This is utterly exhausting both mentally and physically. Being isolated from family and friends for months at a time (I haven’t seen my cousin Lisa in months) it certainly derailed many of Tom and I’s best laid plans. Writing and being more of an more frequent presence on here was definitely a consequence of this pandemic. It’s hard to feel motivated when you’re basically going to work and coming straight home all while bombarded by talk of the virus. Honestly, I’ve stopped watching television all together because even the commercials ads regarding COVID are so frequent that they’ve triggered severe panic attacks in me. I currently record anything I want to watch so I can fast forward through the media triggers.

Tom and I currently gearing up for Christmas but we’ve had quite a bit happen since my last update, so buckle up! Here we go!

1. The Aloe Plant Is Thriving

Success friends! I replanted my aloe plant and took care to follow all the directions given by gardening gurus on YouTube and blogs. The aloe plant has really grown in leaps and bounds. There was a time I was really worried that it wouldn’t make it, there were leaves which were so soft and almost mushy that I was nervous that something I actually managed to keep alive for 3 1/2 years was on death’s door. I’m here to testify that miracles can happen because my aloe plant is now getting plenty of sunlight and water once every two weeks. There’s this really great spot in my living room, next to the window, which gets really great sunlight and I think my little plant buddy likes it there.

2. Our Godson Henry Joseph Got Baptized

While this pandemic certainly kept us isolated from one another, we did have a bright spot in that we were chosen to be our youngest nephew’s Godparents! The church service was small and socially distanced but it was so great to watch our littlest nephew get sealed with the love of God and enter into the faith. I totally expected him to cry when Father Jim put the holy water over his head but he didn’t. Ya’ll he was looking up at us like we were all nuts. This was the first real time we got to spend with our nieces and nephews since the pandemic hit and it was such a breath of fresh air. Theres something really magical about being able to share your faith with your family and friends during these dark and uncertain times.

3. Our Eldest Niece, Elsie, Turned 11!

They tell you when you’re a parent “enjoy it while it lasts because they grow up so fast”. Well, this Childfree Auntie CAN attest this is true. The girl who made us “The Cool Aunt and Uncle” turned 11 during the month of November. Once again, it was a small family party which we got celebrate something fun and exciting during these scary times. I don’t know what blew my mind more; that fact that she’s almost as tall as me or that she asked for makeup (we got her a glitter eyeshadow palette). I am not ready for how quickly she’s heading towards becoming a preteen. Sometimes I wish time could slow down just a little BUT I can’t even begin to tell you just how proud Tom and I are of this beautiful, smart, funny, kind and creative young lady! She’s truly a beautiful soul and we are so blessed to call her our niece.

4. We’ve Been Staying Home & Staying Safe (Thanks Be To God!)

While the pandemic has certainly reeked havoc on my mental health, I am trying to stay positive by focusing on my little family and counting my blessings. After being laid off during the first wave of the pandemic, I was very fortunate to find full time work back in July and since Tom was able to work all throughout the pandemic as well, financially we are in much better shape than others‘. My heart goes out truly to those who are still struggling to pay their bills and feed their families. Also, while some families have found that quarantining together has put a strain on their relationship, I find that Tom and I have really loved being able to be alone together. I know I’ve gushed about my husband plenty of times on here, but I’m truly married to my best friend and there’s no one on this earth I’d rather walk through life with than him. During this whole quarantine Tom and I have whipped up many of our restaurant favorites here at home and done “at home date nights”.

To Wrap It Up…🎁

With Christmas on the horizon and new year on the way, I hope to be inspired and find more and more things to update you on as we go through this journey called life. For the new year I am optimistic that I will be able to post weekly videos on this blog as well. It is something I’ve wanted to implement for a really long time but with everything going on in the world I decided it was best to delay that step until there were things that I could actually vlog about! I’m hoping once things go back to normal I will be able to post about more exciting things and adventures.

I do want to take this time to thank you for staying with me during this unprecedented year and during these uncertain times. I promise you even when I seen silent I’m not going away. And I thank you for following me, for caring about me, and for your comments which have motivated me thus far to keep writing even and especially when I feel like I have nothing to write about. Sometimes, the amount of love I receive from all of you is so amazing I have to pinch myself to realize people out there care about what I have to say.

So thank you, THANK YOU, from the bottom of my heart for giving me an audience, and platform to speak on. I hope that you will stick around for many, many years to come!