we've settled into our new apartment quite nicely and are back into the regular routine of things. my parents are also moving into their new home soon, and we'll be much closer to them than before, so we'll be getting some of their old furniture. VERY happy about this -- especially about the dining set and oven just being able to relax around the holidays and getting used to the new place has been a joy.

we're almost ready to get really hands-on and busy with the family business. there's no time or space for me to be a nervous nelly, i just have to put my big girl pants on and perform the best i can and really show up for everyone. i am looking forward to learning new skills, improving existing ones, and helping my family reach goals. i anticipate the crunch will happen sometime around beginning of february, just in time for treestump to hopefully begin his new job. starting new things at the same time is exciting, but at the same time a tiny little bit sad; hopefully adjusting to seeing each other less throughout the day won't be too rough on us </3 we're such a sickeningly nauseating married couple. i love it. but this is all just the reality of Adulting. we're so grateful for all the time we enjoy with one another.

i've been practicing some recipes for the business, and i'm excited to adopt my dad's old oven in our new kitchen. for the past 3 years or so, i've been using one of these little ovens, which certainly gets the job done, and i do like it, but i won't pass up a regular big oven which works very well and can handle the type of cooking i need to do. the main struggle of using a little oven is the space; it's a double edged sword. it heats up much quicker than a regular oven, but you really can't fit too much. i've been struggling to bake a single batch of cookies.

the family business coming at this point in my life feels so right. i haven't felt satiated (or rather, i haven't felt anything at all) toward teaching for a good while now. teaching is quite taxing for me. it is mentally exhausting to deal with coworkers, parents and admins. the kids themselves are fine. but very quickly, i drain. i have no interest in being a martyr, less so for a job i have almost no drive to perform for, and certainly not for a job that doesn't exactly pay well on top of that. i am very aware that teaching has never been a passion of mine; the sentiment of "i have no dream job, i do not dream of labor" has inherently guided my life since i was a child, when i could not think of a sensible answer to the question "what do you want to be when you grow up?". but the family business isn't even a matter of yes or no, it's a matter of unequivocally involving myself in a role where i work because i love the people around me, rather than to only perform labour for profit/status under capitalism and capitalistic expectations. maybe i'll turn to teaching again in the distant future, but for now, my sights are set elsewhere.

my sister's new years wish was to start a monthly book club with herself, my husband and myself; so that's exactly what we did! the first entry is the hobbit by J.R.R. tolkien, due the 14th of february. yes it's a book for babies, but none of us have consistently engaged in leisurely reading for a very long time... baby steps! this projects to about 12 books a year, but it would still be 12 books more than some recent years, so i'm happy with that. hopefully i'll sprinkle some individual entries in there too. also, i just immortalised the book club by writing about it on my very public website, so it would be highly embarrassing to not follow through. nothing like shame for motivation!