Happy New Year, a small resolution, Starburst flavors, and more (7 Quick Takes)

~1~

New Year’s Eve is never a big bash around here, so celebrating in a small way was easy enough. I created a 2021 veggie tray, made some of the beer dip my parents used to make when I was growing up, cooked pigs in blankets, cut up some cheese and salami, and made a banana pudding for dessert.

I’m not really a banana pudding person, but John has mentioned it a few times—including this week. His sister Robin, who passed away two years ago, used to make delicious banana pudding, so enjoying some gave us another reason to remember her during the holidays.

Welcome, 2021. We’re happy to turn the page and begin this new year.

~2~

I haven’t picked any grand, life-changing resolutions for the New Year, but I am planning to learn to make my mother’s pumpkin pie.

That seems like a manageable goal for me to accomplish in 365 days.

I think, though, that I do better with a shorter deadline.

So, instead of telling myself that I have until Jan. 1, 2022, I’ll try to master baking the pie by Pi Day on March 14.

~3~

I bought a bag of Starburst as part of a Christmas gift for a friend, but I forgot to hide it or label it or wrap it or announce to the world that it was not for household consumption. I took what I thought was a brief phone call, turned around, and the bag had been opened. ‘Tis the season, I suppose.

Then I noticed that the Starburst were being eaten in a specific order. All the pink ones were eaten first. When I asked about the color choices, I find out that everyone likes pink, yellow, and orange, but we have varying views on the different red ones. If we ever go back to real school and someone needs to do a science fair project, I may suggest a project researching people’s opinions on Starburst flavors. How many bags of Starburst would I need to buy to make that happen?

~4~

I’ve been off for two weeks for Christmas Break, and having downtime has been absolutely glorious. I love my job, find the work extremely fulfilling, and really enjoy my fantastic, supportive colleagues. But this time off has been incredible. I think I had forgotten what time off could be like.

I could have spent my time off in many ways. I decided I was going to do something truly decadent. I would finish watching the rest of The Crown. I watched a few episodes way back right before the pandemic began, and since then, the past eight months have been so busy that I had watched only one episode during that whole time. Christmas Break seemed like the perfect time to fit in a few more episodes.

Now I can say that I have actually binge-watched a show on Netflix. I’m not sure when I’ll ever do that again, but it was fun.

~5~

I always love Christmas cards, but in a year when we have seen so few of our family members and friends, receiving cards has been a bright spot. It makes me think maybe we should send Chinese New Year cards, but realistically we won’t pull that off.

This week we received a New Year’s card from our friend Annie. She had written us a poem—just for us. It reminded me how wonderful poetry can be.

My ode to sauerkraut was one of The Catholic Review’s top posts of 2020, and it makes me think that maybe we all need a little more poetry in our lives.

~6~

It’s still Christmas, and we continue to celebrate. The tree is up, and I am still playing Christmas music. Still, I am finding it a little harder to celebrate with the same enthusiasm during a year when we aren’t able to be with extended family. Our 12 days of Christmas are usually packed with family visits and gatherings. Zoom and FaceTime and masked socially distant visits outside as your glasses fog up are all well and good, but they’re not the same.

It has been a restful time, though, and I am thankful for that.

~7~

We had a family conversation about the best aspects of 2020, and we came up with three things:

1. Getting our finches
2. Time together
3. Spending less on childcare

That may not sound very impressive, and I’m sure we could come up with more, but the time together has been special. And the finches are pretty fantastic. Their cuteness has been over the top over the holidays. The female birds and the male birds are building such sweet little friendships in their separate cages.

So, if you’re wondering how to make 2021 a success from the start, just go ahead and get some finches.

Find more quick takes and take a spin to figure out your Beast for 2021 at Kelly’s blog, This Ain’t the Lyceum! Mine is a unicorn, which made my day. What will yours be?

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