2023 is over, so its time to peel back the curtain and reflect on what the analytics say about the blog:

• 77 posts have been published.
• The first post was in March of 2021

According to Google Analytics:

• There were 1873 page views in 2023, up from 555 page views in 2022 (237%!)
• 968 users were from the United States; followed by China (27), Ireland (15) and Sweden.
• Average time spent on the blog: 41 seconds.

The top pages from 2023:

1. The home page (205)
2. Possible diagnosis, home again, and fall . This title was bit misleading.
3. Sisters
4. Costa Rica part 1

All of the numbers above mean this: not many people read this blog, and I am 100% ok with that.

But what is the goal of the blog? Why spend the time and energy?

There are some stressful things going on in life. Since starting the blog, some of those things have changed. However, through all of the negative things that happen at work or among extended family (and there have been a few heavy issues), my family is a source of joy, and this blog is a way to remind myself of that. It is good for my mental health to be thankful, and it still is a source of joy for me every Monday morning 🙂

Favorite Things

YouTube TV.

If you are looking for an alternative to Spectrum… this might be it. After years of “borrowing” the cable login information from some benevolent in-laws, we had to get our own. We got it to watch through the ACC basketball season, and all I had to do was select my team, and it automatically finds all games and records them, so I don’t have to find the various channels.

For kids, it can record every episode of any show your kid is into. Daniel Tiger? Check. Bluey? Check. Peppa Pig? Check.

Nespresso Coffee Maker.

We got this three years ago, and still love it. A great cup of coffee every day. It has been consistent, and something I look forward to each day. A bit of money, yes. But, it is a quality machine that just keeps working for us.

Garmin Vivoactive 4 watch

This is my second Garmin watch. I would have kept the first one, but after 3 years, the battery just couldn’t last a day, so I was forced to upgrade. If you don’t want all the bells and whistles (and cost) of an Apple Watch, check this one out. It does all the fitness tracking I need, and alerts of text messages, and a lot more features too.

Nintendo Switch

I got this for myself for father’s day, partly as a goal to play games with Rosie. In a few years, she will be old and not interested in hanging out with me, so I thought if we could play Mario Kart (or something else) it would be fun. That didn’t really pan out like I wanted. We do play Mario Kart on occasion. She does like the dancing game she got for Christmas. And I LOVE playing Zelda, Breath of the Wild on there. Pro tip: Get it on eBay. It doesn’t matter if it is used. I think I payed $140, and it retails for $299. The Zelda game? $18 on eBay. highly recommend.

Season Tickets to the Tanger Center.

Ok, I stole this from Taylor, but it is a favorite thing for both of us. My list is mostly things that can be bought from Amazon (the rest of the blog is a list of my other favorite things). There is a new performing arts center in town that opened up right after Covid, and has some broadway performances that come through. We bought season tickets this year, and they have been fun dates to look forward to. Aladdin, Chicago, Cats, and a few others have come through town.

high-speed phone charger.

We got these from Costco. They are $29 and come in a pack of 4. They charge phones WAY quicker- I think around 4x the speed? Anyways, it is quick, for when you are about to leave the house, and your phone doesn’t have juice.

Resolutions

Two years ago I saw my general practitioner and he said my blood pressure was a bit high. I got myself a cuff and measured my blood pressure over the course of a few weeks, and found it was mostly low in the mornings, so I haven’t thought much about it. And many people in my family have had high blood pressure, but no recorded strokes or heart attacks to my knowledge. Let me know if I am wrong though…

The numbers seemed good last year, but it is still something to keep an eye on. So my resolutions for this year are to:

• Get 7 hours of sleep each night. Sometimes I sleep too little, then make up for it the next day.
• 30 minutes of exercise each day, no matter what. It is easy to let that slide.
• Little to no alcohol. There are a few times in January when a drink is important.
• Drink enough water. Sometimes I look at the clock at 3pm, and realize the only thing I drank all day is coffee, and I feel a bit weird.
• Measure my blood pressure each morning. Hopefully the steps above help.

After 7 days, the blood pressure dropped a bit, and I feel great. If I can’t get it to a number I am happy with, I may have to tighten the screws a bit and change my diet too, but I am trying to avoid that. A doctors appointment was scheduled for next month.

Getting old is great, right?