1. I got my taxes done this year through AARP at the senior center, now I see what my grandpa loves about that place.
2. My health insurance went up $80/month but with it came a free gym membership of my choice. I joined the YMCA and am totally hooked.
3. Lobo basketball was still a favorite this year, until they lost in the first round of the tournament, again. I really do not have the stomach to follow sports or politics.
4. I quit my job…sort of. I told my boss that I was only staying until the end of June. I mean then I’ll be out of vacation time so there is no motivation to stay on. This does mean it’s everyone’s favorite time – tell Joy what to do with her life.
5. I’m thinking the job quitting will lead to moving from Albuquerque, I’m probably ready for that but I do know why it’s called the Land of Entrapment. Empanadas and non-related friends.
6. Before I move from the state I’ll be moving from my house. I told my roommate that if she found someone who wanted to move in before July I could move out earlier. She found someone so now I need to figure out who gets the privilege of hosting me for a few interim months. The cool thing is I regularly want to move out of my house because it is hard to live there without harboring negative, sin-ridden thoughts. But God has finally brought me to a place where I can move without that being the motivation.
7. I switched to drinking raw milk. Why? Because milk goes in tea and oatmeal and the pasteurized stuff spoils before I can finish off even a half gallon. Raw milk doesn’t do this so really I’m saving money. Plus, it’s really cool to get milk out of the back of a windowless van in the Kmart parking lot.
8. I got season tickets to UNM’s theater PopeJoy Hall. They have travelling Broadway shows for super cheap. So far this year I’ve seen Beauty and the Beast and Hello Dolly. Also, at a local community theater I saw CATS, it was weird when I saw it in 7th grade and it hasn’t changed.
9. I’m going to England and Wales next week; isn’t that exciting!
10. I went to the dentist this month; I have very strong teeth (thanks?). I have flossed more since that appointment than I have in my whole life combined.
11. I don’t ride the bus much, but I did recently and it really reminded me of my love for making small talk with strangers. Hanging out at the senior center did the same thing. So if you were wondering if working from a home office is a good fit for me, it isn’t.
12. I don’t like to waste things, I got a free bottle of shampoo that I hate and I keep using it. I bought a bottle of hippie shampoo to use as a celebration once I finish this one. Yes, I realize this is completely ridiculous but I can’t help it.
13. I’ve had some conversations recently surrounding the topic of favorite household chores. I think mine is dishes. That said, I wouldn’t be opposed to one of my roommates emptying the dishwasher…ever.
14. I am becoming known as the one to ask for advice about what to do with out of town visitors. If you read the summary of when Julie and Cristina came to visit here you’ll see that my abilities as a tour guide really are spectacular. Although, when businessmen at airports ask me for advice I really don’t feel like I have a lot to offer. But then I realize, hey! I’m a business women so probably they too want to know about the Goodwill clearance center.
15. Soon after I moved here I started the Anthony Norris Groves biography, I finished it this month. That’s 2.5 years well spent.
16. Recently some men from church reattached my car to my bumper. I paid them in cakes. I paid the AARP men in cookies for doing my taxes. I think society would be much better if I could always pay with baked goods and not mess with this money stuff. Too bad my MBA didn’t require a thesis.
17. One day, in the mentoring program I run, we had a local artist, Amy Stein, do a workshop with our kids and she had all of us participate. I was pretty proud of the charcoal portrait I was working on until she said, “Joy, don’t quit your day job.” I stared at her blankly until she said, “you know I tell everyone that because making a living as an artist is really hard.” Um, OK lady, FYI that is not how anyone would interpret that statement.
18. The other day I had to make this potato dish to bring to a dinner, I Googled how to boil potatoes, and was quite embarrassed. But really, willingness to work with potatoes is a new thing for me.
19. One day my friend Carrie in NY was like, “oh, hey, you should come visit.” And I was like, “well, I guess there’s no reason I can’t.” One week later I was there. Here is an extremely NY picture of the two of us.
20. You know that joke, “so a girl walked into a bar…ouch!” While in New York I was that girl, and some scaffolding provided the bar and yes, ouch was the appropriate sentiment. I hope my nose eventually goes back to its natural shape.
21. In January a grant request I had written was accepted contingent on everyone in our organization passing background checks. No problem, right? Wrong. Fortunately I was able to sweet talk the agency out of holding a 45 year-old drug trafficking charge against the woman who writes my paychecks. She did offer to quit, but I really like getting paid.
22. My roommate and a co-worker both think it’s ok to have full conversations with me while I am in the bathroom. It’s not. But how should I respond in those situations? I mean I think Paul would let it happen.
23. I have a new nephew, I’m really looking forward to meeting him in a few months when he grows past the awkward newborn phase.
24. One of the unexpected pitfalls of turning 30 is having to think of 30 things to say. I’ve been losing my wit.
25. But wait, my last update was in November so I can go back to Christmas. Christmas was an exciting time; I was elected as children’s activity leader. That’s right, a new generation of untalented family members is on the rise but at least they’re still adorable.
26. Fun January fact. Julie, Stella and I went to Oregon to visit our grandpa for a few nights. That’s all I really have to say about that.
27. The other night I went to a party. I brought San Pellegrino and left at 10:15, I am really becoming quite the partier.
28. I used to question my father’s choice of buying oatmeal for breakfast, instead of the much better choice of say…a waffle with whipped cream. But, alas, I too have made the switch; now going to breakfast is kind of a let down.
29. I don’t see myself as a particularly violent person but I kill houseplants.
30. I decided to end with a verse that has been particularly convicting in my recent life. “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.” Romans 13:14. When I read this I was super frustrated by the whole “no provision for the flesh part,” which for me often means, “don’t say what you want to say right now or think what you’re thinking right now.” These things are nearly impossible and really not fair. But if I put 1st things 1st and don’t worry about my actions and rights but focus on Christ then He can take care of the rest.
