I spent a little time today going through my original blog posts. I was mostly looking for missing images and trying to fix up some formatting. However, when I started reading through them I came to a surprising realization. My first posts are surprisingly short. Like 2-3 paragraphs tops! Now I tend to be a bit on the wordy side including citations where I can and really doing some research to tie it all together. I like that I’ve progressed to this, but it also means that I blog even less than before. I also don’t spend a lot of time researching anymore and I miss it.

So how am I spending my time nowadays?

• Over the past year I have spent most of my free time building with Lego. It can get a bit expensive at times, but I find it very soothing and stress relieving as an activity. I get in a zone where I easily spend hours focused on creating the set or making my own design. I joined an adult Lego User Group (OhioLUG) that has spurred me on.
• With 4 dogs I spend a lot of time with them. We have time in the yard where I observe them digging holes and eating weeds. Of course there is a fair amount of barking which I do my best to curtail when they get annoying. Watching my two youngest take turns chasing each other around the yard never fails to make me laugh.
• TV/Streaming services take a big chunk of my evenings. My husband and I sit there and stroll through our many streaming channels trying to find something new to watch. Occasionally resorting to something that we’ve watched before. Rewatching “Harry Potter” movies, “The Office”, “The Good Place”, “Schitt’s Creek”, and others make me laugh and have those feel-good moments just like the first time I saw it.
• Listening to podcasts and audiobooks are how I stimulate my brain nowadays. I have a long list of books I read each year and track on Goodreads.com each year. My goal is 80 audiobooks this year. Maybe I’ll squeeze in one hard copy book. I listen to the books & podcasts as I commute, do chores, and build Lego. Some of my favorite podcasts are: “all there is” with Anderson Cooper, “Happier in Hollywood”, “Happier” with Gretchen Rubin (I’ve also read all her books), “Happier Ladies”, “Office Ladies”, “mobituaries”, “Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!”, “Wiser Than Me” with Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

So you’ll see that genealogy is no longer a part of my regular activities. It makes me sad, but I do get a TON of enjoyment from the other things on this list. I think a big part of why that time has reduced is that I no longer sit with a laptop on the couch while watching TV with my husband. Instead I take the time to unwind, pet whichever dog is in my lap, and catch up on Social Media and text with my family. It’s pretty wonderful.