Final desert trip of the year

2025 is over in just a couple of days. Tomorrow morning we leave for a week in Florida with my extended family, then return to about five more days at home before school starts up again. I also have a price increase / contest opening on Feb 1 that I have to start advertising. That moment - when usually people pile in to get the last of the early bird prices - should give me some indication of how my year is going to go financially. I’ve been putting off booking anything for our proposed Colorado road trip this summer until I get a better picture of what’s going to happen. As of right now, I’m behind last year, although not by much. Still, my prediction, with all the uncertainty and instability and hostility towards tourists, is that I will lose another 100 people this year. I already built in a price hike in anticipation of this. But that’s what I’m preparing for. There’s no way this gets better. 

The H bought me a crocheted 2025 dumpster fire for Christmas which I will hang on the tree next year alongside the felt 2020 dumpster fire I made. It’s hard to say this year was worse than 2020; I think it was just so different, it’s impossible to compare. In 2020 we faced a random, massive global biological threat, but one that would in fact end, leaving the vast majority of us unscathed albeit at least somewhat forever changed. This year we faced an equal global threat all in the form of one smelly orange-faced failed real estate developer from Queens (and those who use/enable him). This, too, will end, leaving us mostly unscathed but forever changed. I doubt he will be alive this time next year; or, if alive, so far down the dementia hole that he’s no longer presentable and will either be largely hidden while Steven Miller enacts his Nazi fantasies and JD Vance feels up Erika Kirk. Oh, that’s one thing that could happen next year that would make me happy - Usha Vance leaving his lame failed drag queen ass. But, I digress.

None of us has the slightest idea what will happen next year; things have never been more uncertain. For us, as a family, here’s what I hope for/predict: I hope the H’s efforts to expand his business and make more money are successful. I hope his new health insurance starting on Jan 1 helps him stay healthy. I hope Bobby transitions well to high school and starts to get a glimmer of a career path. I expect Theo to change dramatically this year the way Bobby did at twelve - it’s funny to think that by next December Theo could have facial hair and big shoulders and a big boy voice. Right now he’s still all of our baby; he’s still little. But that will soon end. I have feelings about this. 

I hope my event goes smoothly and makes enough money for us to survive another year. It would be great if I didn’t lose more people, but I know I need to be realistic. For me, personally, after several months of not weighing myself (unheard of) and eating whatever I want, I’m sure I’ve gained about 10 lbs, and I was overweight to begin with. So I’ve set the usual goal of starting calorie restriction in January in an attempt at losing it all again. I am dreading it. But it has to happen - once again I’m down to 10% of my wardrobe fitting, and I hate the way I look in just about everything. So, here we are again.

Also? My period is now nearly three weeks late (also…unheard of). I keep thinking this is it - I’m finally in menopause - but the amount of bloating and cramping I’ve had for weeks tells me I will eventually get this period, that maybe after years of periods sometimes every three weeks that I may be entering a phase where I start skipping months. I mean, shit, I’m turning 54 this summer, this has to be wrapping up soon. But it may still be a while.

We had a pretty damned magical weekend in the desert right after Christmas. We bought the boys a basketball hoop and it kept them occupied, which is all we want out there - healthy outdoor activities, as opposed to lying around in stinky robes watching idiotic YouTube shorts all day like they do at home. Next visit we’ll go to the sand dunes and try out their (free) snowboard for sand boarding. Hopefully that will be a hit. I’m planning an epic inexpensive spring break visit out there for end of March. I’m glad we have a free place to get away.