Goodbye 2021

I haven’t written many personal blog posts this year and I kind of regret that. It is what always connected me to everyone else on the other side of the screen. I don’t even know if others care about hearing my personal thoughts but I do know that my daughter gets super embarrassed now if I get into too many details about our personal life. I do respect that and it’s a big reason why I mostly wrote about my little projects in 2021.

As I was reflecting on 2021 tonight, one of my first thoughts was that it wasn’t as bad as I had feared it could be. After 2020, many thoughts kept me up at night and still do. My mind is always running and I’ve mentioned before that my crafts and projects are the best way for my mind to be occupied with something productive besides my many fears and concerns.

My main reason to keep me up at night is…

Our son attending Temple

Seeing him head off to college this year was a huge adjustment for my husband and me. He’s always been the one that I could talk to the easiest and I miss him terribly.

2022 is here and I did somewhat get used to him not being here. What I didn’t get used to and what keeps me up at night is the crazy violence in Philadelphia which is worse than ever. As of yesterday, there have been 557 homicides. An 18-year-old student was murdered at 1:30 pm outside of his apartment right where my son lives while he was unpacking his things after Thanksgiving break. It is heartbreaking.

I’ve tried many times to convince him to transfer to a different college with no luck. (see his dorm room HERE)

I don’t want to just talk about all the things that keep me up at night. It’s too depressing!

Let’s talk about some other things…

3 Favorite Projects

I’ve posted fewer projects than ever in 2021 because I started to work a bit more on the technical side of my blog and trying to keep it up to modern standards. There is always so much to learn and to adjust to.

Blog posts take longer to write than they ever have with all the research and stuff I have to keep in mind. That also includes making videos for most of my projects which you can see on my YouTube channel as well. I never thought that I’d actually see some type of benefits from YouTube but it’s been happening. I’m so happy to see my channel grow a bit finally. If you didn’t know that I am on YouTube, then you can check it out HERE.

So here are 3 favorite projects of 2021…

My hanging macrame cat bed has been without a doubt the big favorite and I mean not only Willy’s. I keep thinking of what else I could make for my kitties! Any suggestions?

One of the biggest impact projects on our home has been my kitchen appliance makeovers (HERE and HERE). It’s been a bit of a headache with our stupid stove whose door is mostly made of glass but it was so worth figuring out in the end and I truly hope it will help others.

The combed macrame wall hanging I made in early summer is my favorite addition to our living room. My love for macrame yarn is still going strong heading into 2022. It’s just such an affordable and versatile.

I got to see my family again

I haven’t really posted much about my recent trip home to Germany but before Thanksgiving I spent 10 days in my hometown catching up with my mom, dad and brother, and his family. It was so emotional and nice to see them all again finally. It was also extra special to be home during the holiday season and be able to visit my favorite “Christkindlmarkt” again while drinking some “Glühwein”. I haven’t done that in 22 years, can you believe it?

I had to realize that it’s now more difficult to go on an annual summer family trip to Germany with the entire family. Those days might have come to an end because our kids are so involved with other things. I never thought I’d actually say “it’s easier to travel with little kids”. LOL! It was stressful with little kids but back then we were the boss and made the plans. Now there are all kinds of other factors to take into account and planning has become increasingly difficult.

Covid is still a big issue in Europe too and it was definitely an odd experience traveling alone and seeing how the world has changed.

I’m always thankful for every family photo we get even if it annoys the kids and the below one is my 2021 favorite.

It still doesn’t sink in that I am now the mother of a 19 and 15-year-old. I started this little blog 10 years ago and it’s been an amazing journey where I’ve learned and have grown so much.

I’m so thankful for my life and all of you who have followed along. Goodbye 2021 and cheers 2022.