Realized that my mom and the mom of a friend met recently much to our mutual delight and exclamations of “damn it’s a small town” vibes.

Asked a loved one to mend my jeans leading to ample clarifying questions since there were many holes in said pants as they were “distressed” jeans. A lesson on the various levels of distressed jeans resulted in a well deserved eye roll from the loved one.

Shopped for bird food at a locally owned and operated hardware store. Saw bird memes posted in the bird feed aisle. Learned our check out clerk built a sofa that rotates so her grandma may see her feeders whenever she wanted. Annnnnd that’s why you shop local. I pay extra for jokes and anecdotes.

Discovered the marvel that is Winco. Decided to leave when our hands were full of snacks and deli sandwiches, and before a cart was actually needed.

After taking over a very “Brittany” centric task of hole punching the season’s holiday cards to save them for next year’s display, implying he could do a better job, and then doing it wrong, I received a much appreciated and deserved, “I didn’t learn my Barbie lesson, did I? You were right; I was wrong,” from Brian. Ahem, thank you!

Appreciated Brian’s daily updates as to which Taylor Swift song he had stuck in his head. The Man and Lover both made the list. I think I know which album he was listening to. Probably because it plays on repeat in my car thanks to having the CD. YEP, I said CD.

Navigated the frigid, record breaking temps of late with a lot of whining, layers, one cracked window, a houseplant covered in frost (it did not survive), acknowledged privilege, fans to melt the inside nooks and crannies of the house that iced over, wool socks, a grounded diesel truck making me the reigning Carpool Queen, and the forced adaptation of the car buying process for our newly arrived vehicle in order to cope with the -20 conditions. Was told by the chipper salesperson it was ACTUALLY the perfect time to buy a Subaru. Indeed.

Wore my glasses (instead of my usual contacts) to get my hair cut. Promptly was asked to remove them rendering me essentially blind, resulting in my person occasionally calling out, “Muah ah ah!” cartoon villain style as he worked, delighting him and terrifying me. Ended up with the best cut of my life, and probably a few gray hairs.

Made travel plans to go to the midwest in honor of a dear friend’s milestone birthday next month. Never has there been a person more excited to spend time in a woodsy cabin doing perfectly cozy things. Oh yeah, there was actually. And she wrote an entire album about it. IYKYK.

Told my beloved and longtime networking group that I would not be renewing my membership in 2024. Cried ugly tears during my goodbye announcement. Gave the group credit for teaching me how to not only do my job, but how to do life. Many hugs, words of affirmations, and tissues were given. Having just been voted to have increased responsibilities on the Friends of the Bozeman Public Library board the night prior, it was a hard, but necessary decision.

Visited my CAP mentee in a local school on a frantically busy and hard day. Played with a Lite Brite while chatting, filling my cup a thousand times over. Had a loved one point out that it was a literal bright spot in my day. And it was. ❤️✨

Enjoyed increased backyard visitors thanks to the area’s cold snap including: Northern Flickers, Downy Woodpeckers, Dark-Eyed Juncos, and one very frosty looking bunny.