Click here to listen to this post.
I am aware that this post is overdue but when you read what has been going on, you’ll forgive my tardiness.
Early in December, while searching high and low for hot rollers for my daughter, we discovered mold in our downstairs closet which was caused by a leak in our 2nd-story bathroom. I have a new appreciation for changing hair trends. Additionally, we’ve blamed poor home design on our (decades-long) battle with mold in that bathroom. It turned out that the bathroom fan made it to the attic but wasn’t venting to the outside; it was venting into a wall.
Entry area closet-Removal of drywall and drying wet wood. 
In entry closet looking up at bathroom 
Looking into the attic. Did not know there was an antenna there. 
2020 has me taking salt baths. The leaky overflow, was the cause of the mold in the closet. 
Removal of old cultured marble. 
New cultured marble, new shower fixtures, a larger bathroom fan, and the entire bathroom got a fresh coat of paint.
Let me preface with, I shampoo, sweep and swifter my kitchen floor, but as a single mother of four, I’ve avoided the grout issue in my kitchen for 16 years. And I’m not even ashamed. The idea of leaving baking powder in the cracks and letting it soak for hours, then scrubbing for more hours sounded…like lots of curse words. But then the guy who came to diagnose the closet mold commented on my grout, “I got something to clean that.” Now so do I. It’s the Rejuvenate Deep Cleaner and Grout Brush System.
BEFORE-Don’t judge 
AFTER-iI’s quite therapeutic. This is 16 years of build-up. It took me like 10 min to get it here.
I finally broke down and bought that rug I’d been wanting.
W/O rug 
With Rug-Its from Walmart.
We ordered bulky garbage service earlier this year, and by mid-December, we needed to order another. There seemed to be a lot of letting go of crap this year. I think that was the point, though.
We celebrated my youngest’s birthday with cake, presents, and a video call to grandma who helped us sing, “Happy Birthday”
Christmas Eve
My back being what it was and still is, it was pizza for dinner. I haven’t made Christmas cookies in years; It’s been over a decade, but 2020 and my youngest had me at it again.
Christmas Eve dinner 
peanut butter blossoms 
chocolate chip cookies and heath chip cookies 
Looks good but tasted like popcorn 
We threw them out.
Christmas morning, my youngest wanted pancakes; regular, blueberry, and chocolate chip. I had all my babies with me, and after eating, opening gifts, and making our video calls, we thought of nothing better to do than getting in our cars and find out which one was the fastest. Dinner was light, and the dessert was cheesecake.
chocolate chip and blueberry pancakes 
Very old holiday decor 
Made by my now 24 and 18 y/o when they were in elementary school. 
Vibes 
Charlie and Chubbs kicked Lulu out of her window bed.
My eldest daughter was in a car accident. The car rolled three or four times. She came out with a cracked rib.
New Year’s Eve
Like most people, I stayed in and made final revisions on **The Beautiful One**. The story takes place on New Year’s Eve, so I felt like I got to celebrate. I published it around midnight.
Year-End Reflection
For me, 2020 was about navigating the constant unpredictable change that came up in my life with as much “go with the flow” energy as I could. Most days were good because I continually sought goodness, even in the smallest way. But there were those days that were like eating a mini pretzel while it’s hooked in my tongue-ring; an effing challenge. If you’re reading this, you survived. One of the first things I did in 2021 was list all that I received, tangible and intangible, in 2020. That list made me feel grateful for 2020.
Link to letting go of 2020 and brining in 2021 video https://youtu.be/QY2hw_FLckE
And with this post I’m officially done with the 2020 blog posts.
Happy New Year!
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