Happy New Year! Even though we're five days into January, today is a day of
firsts. It's the first day back at in-person school for my kids, who have been
home e-learning (and then on winter break) for the past six weeks. It's the
first day I am back full time working here at Bubby and Bean after only
working part time hours (and even taking several glorious days off) for the
past almost two weeks. And it's our first official blog post of 2021.
For this annual recap post, I usually reflect on the past year not just in
terms of Bubby and Bean content, but also some aspects of my personal life.
Honestly, I don't know what I can say about 2020 that hasn't been said, but
I'll try.
It was the strangest year of my life, and likely most of your lives too. The hardest part of it for me was my stepmom passing away from cancer in July, and how difficult her final days were due to visitor restrictions because of Covid. The rest of it, while very challenging, was not what I consider to be a true struggle. My husband, who has worked in the live music industry his entire career, was furloughed in late March, which has obviously been quite challenging. Our trip to Iceland was canceled, as was our trip to Florida in July and the rest of our travel plans. My kids missed out on activities and school. And the year went out with a bang on Christmas, which was not only the first Christmas in my life I haven't spent with my sister, but also the night my dad fell down his stairs and was to have emergency surgery on a broken femur. (He spent a week in the hospital and is now in a rehab facility.)
It was the strangest year of my life, and likely most of your lives too. The hardest part of it for me was my stepmom passing away from cancer in July, and how difficult her final days were due to visitor restrictions because of Covid. The rest of it, while very challenging, was not what I consider to be a true struggle. My husband, who has worked in the live music industry his entire career, was furloughed in late March, which has obviously been quite challenging. Our trip to Iceland was canceled, as was our trip to Florida in July and the rest of our travel plans. My kids missed out on activities and school. And the year went out with a bang on Christmas, which was not only the first Christmas in my life I haven't spent with my sister, but also the night my dad fell down his stairs and was to have emergency surgery on a broken femur. (He spent a week in the hospital and is now in a rehab facility.)
There was a lot of good in 2020 too. For the first time in the almost 15 years
my husband and I have been together, he was home most of the year. Over time,
I got used to him being on tour with the band most of the time, but it was
never easy. It has been the biggest silver lining to have him here for every
holiday and birthday, and to get to spend true quality time with our kids for
the first time in their lives. We also all learned how to be flexible humans
who make the best out of every situation. We have all spent more time together
than we will probably ever get to again. And while it hasn't been without
difficulty, I have been incredibly lucky to get more work campaigns than ever
before, which has enabled me to support my family while my husband is out of
work. I also usually stray from getting political here, but I was incredibly
relieved with the election results. I learned so much in 2020 that I could
probably devote and entire blog series to it, so I'll stop now. This was
a year full of unfair, horrific loss to millions of people, but I also
appreciate all of the positive things that came out of it.
As far as plans for 2021, you already know that I don't do resolutions. For me
personally, the pressure of them isn't healthy for my anxiety, nor is the
disappointment when they don't work out. I have lots of small, attainable
goals, and if they work out, great. If they don't, that's cool too. I
personally think that being present and being grateful are all you need. I
don't need to climb an invisible ladder to nowhere that's based on more! more!
more! (And honestly, I feel like always expecting to do more and do better and
get bigger comes from a place of privilege, and privilege is something I want
to be more aware of this year, both in myself and in others.) This year, I
just want to go with the flow, and I think 2020 prepared me for that. I want
to be ready for and open to whatever comes my way, and I want to do my best
with it in a way that allows me to be content and not overwhelmed This applies
to my personal life, and it applies to Bubby and Bean as well. I want to
continue to create meaningful content, share my favorite products and services
with you, and give glimpses into my life (we're all friends here, after all).
I want to try out new things in order to do that (I promise I'll do more
Instagram Reels, and maybe I'll finally give TikTok a chance... or not), but
not in a way that will sacrifice what is already working. I have little
interest in gaining more followers, but I do want to continue to create
meaningful engagement with all of you. And I want to continue to love what I
do while also getting more comfortable with realizing when I have to turn
things down because I'm overworked. I plan to give myself grace in 2021, and
to continue to do what I can to help others as well.
Okay, that's enough of that! Let's get on to the point of this annual post (and probably my favorite post each year): the highlights of 2020 here on the blog. You can click on any of the images or the links below them to see the posts in full. Thank you for taking this look back with me!
In January, I shared 6 easy ways to refresh school lunches in the New Year.
Quarantine meant lots of organizing in my kitchen, and in April I shared tips for organizing both your pantry and fridge.
In June, I shared an important post in response to the BLM movement about listening, learning, and taking action.
In July, I said goodbye to my stepmom.
Also in July, I told you all about our amazing Gardyn system and how we are able to grow organic food in our own home, as can be seen in the top image of this post. (P.S. If you want to purchase a Gardyn of your own, use this link and code BubbyAndBean for $100 off!)
I shared the most delicious tofu caprese salad recipe in August.
In September, I shared 6 tips for better snacking.
These Halloween-themed mini veggies pizzas were a hit in October.
In November, I shared 5 tips for disinfecting your home without harsh chemicals.
Gift ideas for encouraging learning and creativity was one of my favorite December posts.
And finally, I shared this peppermint bark chow mix recipe that was a staple for us this holiday season.
If you made it this far, thank you! I appreciate all of you so much, but I
hold a special place in my heart for those of you who still read this blog,
and blogs in general - they're no longer the queen of social media, but I
still feel they're the most important. If you still read, please comment
below! I'm always grateful for the traffic coming here in my analytics, but I
want to have the opportunity to actually engage with you as well. I'd say
happy 2020, but I don't want to jinx it! Thank you for being here.
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