Well 2022 is done and I’m still trying to figure out what I did all last year and then figure out what I plan to do this year. I feel the stirrings of wanting to DO something, and then I end up talking myself out of it. But I’m optimistic that I will eventually figure it out and find the right direction. My plan in the meantime is to just keep doing what I’ve been doing since it seems to be working pretty well.

The Holiday Cruise Re-cap

We went on a 10 day cruise over the holidays, and I’m still trying to get my photos organized and do a little blog post all about it. I enjoy having the posts on the blog so I can go back and read about the vacation and remember little stuff I’d forgotten. It felt like we were on that boat for forever this time! I think I may stick to 7 day cruises from now on. More details on all that, and why I was ready to get off the boat will be in the full post.

Most Popular Posts of the Year

My two most popular blog posts for the year are the ones about Instagram scams, both the one about using photos for a mural and the one where you get offered a fake influencer contract with SHEIN. They finally managed to knock the random post about what a great shower I had out of the number one spot. The shower post had someone how gotten a bit viral on Pinterest, but the traffic seemed to all come from soon-to-be disappointed towel fetish people. I deduced this from the comments section. It’s still a top ten post and has been for a couple years now. So weird.

I don’t have any big blog plans for the new year. No big changes. I like the set-up and post when I want, and that seems to work pretty well. So I’ll keep writing my little stories interspersed with random sponsored guest posts about mostly boring things. It’s very rare that any of the submitted posts comes close to fitting into any kind of “geek” theme, but they pay well and give me the freedom to keep the blog going while writing about whatever the heck I want.

Body Positive Resolutions

I didn’t make any big resolutions, but I did quietly commit to exercising more and halting my expanding squishiness. That jumped to the front of my plans after my tanning foam video experience. I wrote the post about trying to stay body positive over 40, and I’m still trying. I just feel I’ll be a lot more body positive after I put in some effort and see some results. I did survive filming the tanning foam video in a bikini, and they said I looked great. That made me feel a bit better. I let them know I was a bit (ok a lot) self-conscious about filming it. It’s way easier to be body positive when you aren’t bending around in bright light and a bikini trying to apply tanning foam to all your parts.

I got a recumbent bike for Christmas and I plan to use it regularly. I figure it’s a good way to workout while also editing photos and checking Instagram. See how seriously I take my fitness? lol

Moving More in the Makeup Direction

One of the shifts that started last year was the move to doing more makeup, beauty and fashion related posts on my @SewGeekMama Instagram. It’s all still costumey of course, but now I feature what goes into the makeup and hair a bit more. And I finally started doing Reels and little videos after resisting for the longest time. I found my niche with transition videos and mini-tutorials.

I think that’s it for what’s on my mind right now. I’m off to try and organize these vacation photos and maybe get started on our cruise wrap-up. Wishing you all a very happy 2023!