Happy Monday! We had a good long weekend around here — I am reminded of how much more relaxing long weekends (or any weekends) are when one’s youngest child is over age 5. I finished my puzzle, finished my book, and even did some Legos last night…
On Friday we got our Christmas tree at the local fire station and decorated it. We then went as a family (all 7 of us) to Dutch Wonderland. People rode a few rides, and we saw Santa (picture over at Instagram) and the holiday lights but it was COLD. I don’t know why — the temperature was about 34 degrees, so not that icy — but something with the humidity made it feel ridiculous. We were planning to go home after getting pretzels at the park (we had taped both the Eagles game and the Texas A&M football game) but then decided, thanks to one child’s urging, to stop at Olive Garden. They didn’t have a wait and this turned out to be a nice, cozy family dinner. Eating at restaurants is also more doable when one’s youngest child is over age 5. So that was a win (alas, neither the Eagles nor A&M won though…)
On Saturday I braved the KOP mall with my daughter, who wanted to go to Hollister (she had a gift card from her birthday) and Bath & Body Works. The latter was a bit overwhelming for me…so many scents…but we did eventually leave. Phew! Then that evening we went to Longwood Gardens, this time in 2 cars (so the 16-year-old could get some more driving hours). It was slightly less cold, or at least we were indoors more often. I thought it was pretty though we almost had a meltdown with the 5-year-old with walking. But then we stopped at the beer garden and got him pizza and hot chocolate and all was forgiven. The lights and flowers were gorgeous as always, and I was in the car with the 16-year-old on the way home and he drove well.
Sunday was the usual mix of church and kids activities though we said goodbye to the oldest, who took the train back to Boston. Fortunately, the semester is done in like 2 weeks, so he’ll be back soon.
Today’s Beethoven listening selection is his 9th symphony, so that is pretty exciting!
Now, onward to the Best of Both Worlds Patreon curriculum. About three years ago, Sarah and I started a paid Patreon community in order to provide a discussion forum for women interested in the intersection of work and life. We support each other as we experience similar joys and challenges. We meet once a month by Zoom for in-real-time discussions.
This year, our monthly meet-ups will generally be the culmination of a series of “challenges” — steps we can take to make day-to-day life more satisfying. We’ll discuss what we did, and share strategies, with the goal of making these fun sessions even more interactive.
Here are the monthly topics for the year, with examples of challenges leading up to the first two meet-ups.
January: Best Laid Plans book club
Weekly Challenges related to planning
– Decide where you will keep your 2026 list and the next time you will refer to it
– List 5 FUN things you have on your 2026 goals list
– Audit your TBR and share 1-2 things you are excited to read this season
– Reflect on your current Communication Plan style – what works, anything to change?
February: Time tracking challenge
Weekly Challenges related to time tracking
– Track your time for a week! (or at least a few days)
– Share what you like most about your schedule
– Share what you would like to spend one more hour doing, and maybe one less hour doing
– Picture a realistic ideal week
March: Weekly planning rituals (SHU will work with 1-2 community members on upgrading their systems)
April: Summer planning workshop — Summer fun lists, camp spreadsheets, etc.
May: Big Time book club — we discuss LV’s new book
June: Travel hacks
July: Exclusive episode/video (in lieu of a meet-up — these episodes are for community member eyes only, so we can discuss more personal topics than we do on the podcast.)
August: Back to school planning + meal planning workshop
September: Take one night for you + Power of Fun book club
October: Superficial things + self care rituals/routines
November: Holiday planning workshop — holiday fun lists, gift ideas, etc.
December: Plan your 2027 – Join us for Sarah’s annual goal-setting workshop
We have this year’s annual goal setting workshop coming up on December 10th.
Membership is $9/month. Here’s to another great year!