What I Learned Last Month - January

Another monthly feature that I'd like to start implementing is a post entitled, What I Learned Last Month. Some of my ramblings may be wistful and reflective and others...well, not so much.  I apologize in advance for the latter. 

So with that, here are five things I learned last month:

1.  Facebook memories are great in theory, except for those times when the memory of sitting poolside in Arizona pops up on your news feed, while sitting in the midst of a frigid, midwest winter.  I'd call that torture in it's finest form. 
Well played, Facebook.

2.  My 95 year old grandma is a total rockstar.  Two years ago she fell and shattered her shoulder and in January, she fell and broke her hip.  I know this won't always be the case given her age, but up to this point, she's comes back from the brink every.single.time.  She has the blood of a warrior coursing through her veins and I adore her.

3.  I received the book, The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo for Christmas, and it's really changed my perspective on the things I tend to keep and hold on to.  Two of the biggest pieces of wisdom I walked away with were:

- Books.  I have TONS of books that I've kept over the years; certain that I'm going to go back and re-read them or look over everything I highlighted or notes I might have placed in the margins. Yet there are only a handful of times I can recall this actually happening.  Going forward, I'm really going to focus on giving these books away so that someone else has the opportunity to enjoy them.  Or, simply purchase them on my Kindle so that they take up less space.

- Secondly, clothes.  Oh-my-lanta, do I have a lot of clothes! Well, I decided to do a massive overhaul and everything that was in question, I eliminated by selling or giving to charity. Gone are the clothes with my own, personal tags on them that read, I'll wear this someday when I lose weight, or I can't get rid of this, it's brand new!  Purging is cathartic in ways I never imagined.  Check out the link below to purchase the book for yourself!

The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up

4.  It's okay to change your mind.  

Last May, I decided to give up meat, for my love and concern over the welfare and treatment of animals.  About a month into my decision, I also decided that I was just as concerned over the welfare of our aquatic life, so I became a full-fledged member of vegetarianism.  I proudly, yet humbly, wore that badge until just last month, when I carefully, albeit with some hesitation, added seafood back into my diet.  Does that mean I no longer care?  At first, I thought...well, maybe?  But no, that's not it.  I learned that I am allowed to make adjustments, if necessary, and not every way of life is right for everyone. And yep, that's more than okay.

5.  I plan my weekdays around coffee, my weekends around naps, and every day around my four-legged companion, Jovie. Enough said.

So tell me, what did you learn in January?