/now

Updated: January 7 2026

Check in

I used to come into the New Year fully armed with a full binder of plans. Literally. A binder. Anth and I would elaborate reflection and planning sessions that lasted days, and we’d often take a trip to do it. We’d emerge with audacious goals, carefully-thought annual theme words, and detailed action plans. I’m not opposed to that kind of approach when it feels right. But this year it didn’t.
Instead, over cocktails in late December, we stumbled into a spontaneous “how was this year for you?” conversation (short version: 2025 was easily one of the best years of my life). Anth had a great year as well, but that’s more his story to tell.
But although Anth has already kicked off the year with momentum, a few wins, and all sorts of productive energy, my year has started more quietly. I feel both really mellow and really motivated, which is a strange sort of combination, and I’m trying to sort out what that means. I have this sense that a lot of the ground work I (unintentionally) laid last year is going to finally bear fruit soon. I’m just not sure exactly when. Or what kind of fruit.

I haven’t been in so much in music mood lately. If I do put it on, it’s usually quiet piano, or the Bridgerton soundtrack. More so, I’ve been enjoying watching “winter ambiance” videos on YouTube as I work or journal, which is basically just snowfall and fireplace noises.

New website project just around the corner! It’ll be a Squaresapce site for an author, and new client.
Anth and I hit pause on our novel for the holidays; we knew we wanted to course-correct a few plot points before continuing with the first draft, otherwise revisions would be messier than they need to be. We kick it off again next week and I’m both excited and dreading it. I forget how easy it is to write novels when you have momentum … and how quickly that momentum skids to a halt.
YouTube! Kind of. In late 2024 I threw up a few video tutorials of the Milanote app. Kind of forgot all about it, but rediscovered that I even had a channel just a month ago, and saw that there were a few thousands views, and a handful of comments requesting more. Not exactly going viral, but it’s been a fun side project. I’m also enjoying creating the kind of videos I wish I could find more often: nobody talking to the camera.

We’ve been making this kale salad on repeat. It’s deceptively delicious for having so few ingredients and coming together so quickly. It’s perfect as is, though it’s also nice with some nuts sprinkled on top for crunch, and just today, we added some chopped turkey on top for lunch.

Instagram and Threads. I got sucked back in for about a month there, only to wake up one morning in late December and find increasingly I was mindlessly opening one or both of the apps any time I picked up my phone. And never walking away feeling enriched or that it was “time well spent.” I closed both accounts, and have felt instantly about a thousand times healthier, happier, and just … better.