2024 Year-end Wrap-up!

notebook with New Years resolutions

Photo by Polina Kovaleva

Only ten days left in 2024. Another year that just seemed to fly by. Time for my annual 2024 recap before I set my 2025 Goals and Resolutions. 

The Good 

Fortunately, this year had more good things than bad in the Sanford household.

The big news this year is that Michael bought his first home. It’s only 20 minutes from his momma, basically turn-key condition, two bedrooms, one and a half baths, and a garage (the brat!). Kitchen is fabulous and it has a dedicated laundry room (again…brat!). So proud of both my boys for their hard work and dedication in tackling this achievement in the last two years!

Both boys are still working hard at their jobs. I’m still working for the City of Douglass Hills. 

My book club girls and I are wrapping up our 16th year together. Love this group of ladies and love that because of them, I’ve read books that I never would have picked up otherwise.

I took a cruise in January 2024 and have another scheduled for February 2025. I love cruising but I’ll have to take at least a year off after February’s to work on some other financial goals-unless the Powerball comes through. Continue reading →

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Shorter Days, Cold Weather, and Hygge

Cozy outdoor setting with string lights

Photo by Taryn Elliott

Fall has always been my very favorite season. Gorgeous fall colors on the trees. Jeans and sweater weather. Bonfires and roasted marshmallows. Unfortunately for me, it seems like we have less and less true Fall weather each year where I live. 

Winter is not my favorite season. Although a nice snowfall can provide some pretty scenery, my job and my boys jobs generally still require us to report to work and I don’t like treacherous roads for any of us. The cold days and nights and the early darkness is a great excuse to embrace Hygge living though.

What is Hygge? It’s a Danish term that is loosely translated to Cozy Living. It’s all about creating a simpler, calming lifestyle. I love the idea behind this way of life. And by the way, it’s pronounced hyoo-guh, which is fun to say too. Continue reading →

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Christmas on a Budget

Christmas lights on the water

Photo by Artem Saranin

Christmas tends to sneak up on me every year. It’s a shame that it can’t be on the same day every year so I could plan for it….oh wait….lol. This is the first year in a long time that I actually feel ahead of the game though. I was super diligent in socking money away each month into my Ally savings account so I wouldn’t have to go into year-end debt paying for the gifts I need to purchase. I’ve even got a few gifts purchased already…something else that’s rarely accomplished at this stage of the season. Continue reading →

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Holly’s Favorites-Fall 2024

Lady lying in bed with book covering her face

Photo by Lina Kivaka

 

Struggling with some writer’s block lately and saw that I hadn’t written one of my “Favorites” posts since January. Believe it or not, I struggled a bit to come up with even these couple items today. I had to go back and see what I’d written about in the past. You can look at some of my previous favorites here and here. So what’s on my list now? Read on! Continue reading →

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Life Insurance-Do You Need It?

woman leaving flowers on headstone

Photo by Ivan Samkov

I’m running behind but I can’t let September slip away without reminding everyone that it’s Life Insurance Awareness Month. If you’re reading this little blog of mine then you’re probably aware of my back story but if you’re not then you can read it here.  It’s been 25 years since I lost Rick but I still preach every chance I get on the importance of life insurance. 

Do you need life insurance?

The answer to this question for the majority of people, in my opinion, is YES!

Are you a parent? Get life insurance. Figure out how much you think you need and then double it. Do it as quickly as you can too. Life insurance is super cheap when you’re young and healthy. 

Does someone else depend on you financially? Do you have a spouse? Maybe you’re helping with a parent or another relative’s finances. Are you in a partnership with someone else that you share expenses with (maybe a house, car, etc.)? Who will continue to help this other individual with their expenses and obligations if something happens to you? Get life insurance and make sure you designate them as the beneficiary. Continue reading →

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The Next Chapter

reading nook area

Photo by Michaela S.

Life Updates

Michael moved into his new townhome two weeks ago. It’s quiet at my place now…lol. The funny thing is that his place is probably 90% put together already. My place looks a little more of a wreck since there’s odds and ends of his stuff still lurking in each room. I’m compiling little boxes of those odds and ends though and handing them off each time I see him, lol. 

So far, it’s been fine for me though. I had a brief period where it kind of hit me that  they most likely wouldn’t be living at home again now that they’re homeowners. It’s all good though. I’ve been helping Michael still with moving some stuff and shopping for a few things he would need. Work has been busy, as usual. We had extra activities going on around the city that took up some of my weekend time. I’m also headed out of town for a conference for a few days next week. And I’ve been sick. Basically, lots of distractions to keep me busy and not overwhelmed with the quiet. I’m officially calling this stage The Next Chapter. I’m excited about this too, not sad like I thought I would be. Continue reading →

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Empty Nest Again-Time For A Makeover

lady reading beside a picture window

Photo by Letícia Alvares

I’m about to have an empty nest…again. I’ve been blessed to have my kids boomerang back and forth since they left for college years ago. Both my kids have been back and forth between going to college, graduating college, moving into apartments, and saving for their own places. Nick bought his own place about a year and a half ago and in less than two weeks Michael will be moving into his own place. Now that they’ll both be in their own homes, I’m guessing it means I’m permanently facing an empty nest. 

Y’all know me, I have to have a plan to keep me busy with this change. Change is not in my comfort zone. First order of business is to figure out how to best utilize the extra space I’m finally going to have. In the past, I’ve still had some of their “stuff” at my place while they were in their dorms or apartments. Now though, since both of them have places larger than mine (how did that happen??), I’m going to make sure they take all their “stuff”. In fact, now that I’m thinking about it, maybe I can pawn off some of my stuff…hmmm…. Continue reading →

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Tightening the Budget

Guy checking his wallet

Photo by Karolina Kaboompics

Been a rough couple of months and there’s some busy weeks coming up. I had a friend reach out to me last week because he’d seen me out and was worried about how stressed I was. This is a good friend who has known me since I was 17 and seen me go through some of the worst moments in my life (losing my husband and Michael’s diabetes diagnosis among other things). I appreciated his reaching out to me and it was a bit of a wake-up call. It has been an unusually stressful period for various reasons but it’s just a season in life and I realize that. And we’ve got a good thing coming up in our family that I can’t talk about yet but even good things can be stressful so I’m making a conscious decision to quiet the noise of the world and get back to my Zen. And writing is my zen so let’s get back to basics.

Crap, Where’s the Money?

Who hasn’t gone through a period where they need to really buckle down and tighten up their budget?? If you’re raising your hand right now and that’s never been a concern for you, good for you, and call me…I can use a loan. But I think most people can relate to this. Maybe someone totaled your car when you’re in debt payoff mode and trying to pay off a cruise you have booked (yeah, that’s me). Maybe you found out there’s a baby coming in 9 months, maybe you’re buying a house, or maybe you lost your job. There’s a variety of reasons you might realize that, hey, money is suddenly tighter than I like and something’s got to change. Continue reading →

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Two Steps Forward, Three Steps Back

wrecked car

Photo by Oscar Portan

My last post was all about looking for the good in life rather than concentrating on the people that seem determined to make life difficult or miserable. I vowed to really concentrate the rest of the month on the seeking out the good things going on rather than the negative. I was excited about our little annual camping/theme park vacation that I take annually and extra excited because both of my sons were going to be able to come this year for at least a few days. 

Best Laid Plans?

Well…things didn’t go quite as planned. We were headed to a funeral before going on to vacation and I was in a car accident. Ironically, I just happened to be passing through my hometown in Indiana when the accident occurred. In trying to keep with the theme of looking at the positive, I will share that neither I, nor the kid that hit me or his passenger, was seriously hurt. Response time in my small hometown was fantastic. Volunteers from the fire department, and an ambulance and a fire truck appeared as I was calling 911.

Thankfully, Michael had decided at the last minute that morning to go to the funeral home with me. He’d driven separately but was close by and able to come back to help me after the accident. We were still able to make the funeral viewing and made it to our rented cabin for vacation that evening. The fact that it happened in my hometown also made it possible for my cousin and aunt to help us by allowing my wrecked car to sit in front of my aunt’s house when the tow truck fell through that Sunday evening. So many little blessings with this stressful situation.

Two and a half weeks later and I’m still negotiating on my payout amount since the car did end up being totaled. I only had the car 15 months and the idea of having to scramble to get a new one is beyond frustrating but I’m well aware the situation could have been much worse so I’m reminding myself to be thankful.  

Two Steps Forward…3 Steps Back

So 2 steps forward and 3 steps back…seems like the story of my life sometimes. In the end, you have no choice but to keep jumping back up and trudging forward. Patience is not one of my virtues and dealing with insurance companies is definitely testing my limited patience. In the end though, this doesn’t even make the top 10 list on worst things happening. I will remember my sermon on my last blog post and talk nicely to my insurance adjuster tomorrow when I harass him about extending my rental car time…lol.

This experience will be my excuse though when someone tells me again I need to take my vacation time and relax a little….lol. 

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Looking For The Good

frustrated lady

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio

Are you a glass half-full or half-empty person? In general, I’m very much a glass half-full person. Lately though, I’m struggling with that. I’m letting the little things become big things.

I’ve always enjoyed my job. I work for a small city and it’s full of wonderful people…for the most part. To say I had hesitation in accepting this job, is an understatement, lol. I am the most un-political person there is and more than a few people pointed this out to me when I was debating on the position. I was reassured though that this was a small city that didn’t participate in the “big city politics” and they weren’t lying I found out. There’s no negativity with our elected officials, they work well together, even if they don’t agree on certain things.

Five years in and I was certain this would be my last job.  I’m not a job hopper, it’s close to home, it’s a government job with great benefits, etc. The last few 4 or 5 months though, I’ve found myself wondering if this is it for me. Continue reading →

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