Tang-les #1

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 This is a portmanteau of TANGents and rambLES that I am trying out for 2024!

 

Ramble 1

I had started another post called no goals, just vibes to kick off this year… but, I had a tangent (look at me go!) in my thinking the other day and am trying something different. In recent years, I’ve wildly vacillated between:

  • making these huge lists of hopes and dreams and watching everything crash down around me because life has been SO MUCH and the name of the game was surviving 

and…

 

  • struggling with even basic habits that I would miss one day of (aka break the streak) and then just give up on because that was easier

 

This year, I’m trying something different. No big lists, no streaks – rather, a few areas of focus to help guide me back to myself and some cumulative habits I’d like to see add up (you’ll see those wrapped up on Fridays!). 

 

I’m hoping by trying to break my perfectionist quitting and right-sizing what I’m working on, I might actually feel good about these this year vs. feeling like I’ve failed. Trying is the win this year!

 

Tangent: I’m also going to attempt the Pop Sugar Reading Challenge. It’s 45 prompts (plus 5 advanced ones), so I figured I can dedicate one read a week or so to it and get some new books in front of my face vs. the 2 series I’ve been alternating between. I am in no way as organized as Engie is, so I’ll be guiding the order of the prompts and the picks by vibes, Google, and the great recs I see from the amazing book-friendly blogs I read!

 

 

Ramble 2

We introduced Lil Momma to the game Clue over the New Year’s weekend. This was one of my favorite childhood games (and movies!!) and we had the best time explaining it to LM and playing a few rounds here and there, with some additional rules as the ones in the new game I bought seem way too easy and the Mr. and I needed more stakes. Strangely, the Mr. has never seen the movie (I used to have a viewing party once a month in college), so we are going to watch it this weekend.



Tangent: I renamed my guy on the blog. I was calling him Luke, but it was getting confusing for me, so he is “the Mr.” going forward. 

 

Tangent to the tangent: Strangely, we had another name mix-up recently. I have been doing Duolingo for 400 days (Italian until the other day when I switched) and both the Mr. and LM wanted in so I expanded my membership. I didn’t want LM to be there under her legit name, so I called her “Molly” when I set it up. She was so excited when we set her up and started “celebrating” and high-fiving both me and the Mr. whenever we did something good. Days later, the poor Mr. asked me if people from my league ever chat with me and when we were talking about it, it turns out he didn’t realize LM WAS Molly and thought it was some go-getter Duolingo-er trying to be friendly, haha! Oops…

 

 

Today is the day I pack up my workstation, so I should get to work (literally)! Are you more of a goals person or a vibes person? Have you ever played Clue?

Comments

  1. NicoleJanuary 2, 2024 at 11:17 AM

    Clue is a fun game! My boys used to love it. Cheers to a New Year and I like the concept of areas of focus/ cumulative habits.

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    Replies
    1. Lindsay42January 3, 2024 at 12:57 PM

      Cheers to the new year, indeed, Nicole! Hope you and yours had a lovely entry into it!

      Delete
  2. Birchwood PieJanuary 2, 2024 at 3:12 PM

    I'm always down for some tang-les! I agree with having areas of focus instead of a "24 in '24 list" or "change every single thing about my life on Jan 1 and then go back on Jan 2".

    I had never seen Clue either before I met the Hubs, so he took care of that and since then we've seen it with the kids. And yes it's too hard to keep "blog names" and "real names" straight.

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    1. Lindsay42January 3, 2024 at 1:00 PM

      I want to be the person who can accomplish a '24 in 24' list, but I don't think I'm quite there in life, sigh (unless the list was 1. go to work when I'm supposed to 2. stress eat a Reese's after that monthly meeting 3. hug your kid HAHA!)

      Delete
  3. ElisabethJanuary 2, 2024 at 7:34 PM

    Ugh. My daughter adores playing Clue and sadly it drives me crazy. It takes SO LONG. Gah. Thankfully she has some friends that enjoy playing it so I am mostly spared the agony. Sorry to yuck your yum, I just dread playing Clue like no other game - ha.

    And I've never seen the Clue movie. Heck, I didn't even know there WAS a Clue movie.

    Love your areas of focus and I am all about tangents in life and blogging.

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    Replies
    1. Lindsay42January 3, 2024 at 1:01 PM

      What is hilarious about your dislike of Clue is that LM received a NEW Clue game (not mine from the 1980s) and the rules in the box made the game move so incredibly fast - each round only lasted 10 minutes. I personally dread Monopoly and any game that requires a good visual memory....

      Delete
  4. NGSJanuary 3, 2024 at 6:52 AM

    I feel like my blog readers think I am organized and I do not know how to disabuse them of this notion. I am mostly hanging on the edge of a cliff and hoping that if I fall there's a ledge underneath me, but I love to research, read, and talk about books, so it comes off like I know what I'm doing. I think your method for the PSRC will be amazing and I can't wait to hear about your progress.

    I've never seen the movie Clue, either. My sister cheats at board games, so I've always been nervous about the game. Maybe I should give it a try now that I have most trustworthy opponents.

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    Replies
    1. Lindsay42January 3, 2024 at 1:04 PM

      You had the whole PSRC planned out!! I was just so impressed. I started with a random prompt because I had accidentally double pre-ordered a gift and had an extra copy, haha!

      The movie Clue was such a piece of my cultural identity - but I haven't seen it in decades (oof). The Mr and I are going to pre-watch it before LM sees it to make sure it isn't too racy (after a whole month of desperately muting Taskmaster moments during our series rewatch HAHA!)....

      Delete
  5. Mom of ChildrenJanuary 4, 2024 at 6:25 AM

    Goals or vibes. Usually, goals. But this year I am going for more of a values/vibes. I know how I want to feel, I know what I want to do, to read, and to eat. I know I want more time with people I love and I know I want to serve my students. I know I want to be healthy. I know I want to be and feel peaceful. So then I just have to get my butt in gear with small things that can help me feel/be/do the above.

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    1. Lindsay42January 5, 2024 at 11:00 AM

      Wise words, Daria! I really do hope I can get my butt in gear on some of my focus areas this year - which are so similar to your value approach

      Delete
  6. JennyJanuary 5, 2024 at 10:26 AM

    I definitely played Clue as a kid but have never seen the movie. Maybe I should? I like mysteries!
    I'm setting MONTHLY goals this year. (Well, at least for January, ha ha. I can picture forgetting all about it after that. ) Yearly goals are too hard, and end in disappointment too often- you just can't predict what's going to happen seven months from now.

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    1. Lindsay42January 5, 2024 at 11:03 AM

      Clue the movie is a bit sassy, but has such a fun energy to it and a stellar cast (Tim Curry, Madeline Khan, Lesley Ann Warren, Martin Mull, Christopher Lloyd - I could go on and on)! But, I have not seen it for so long so it may not have aged well. I'll have to see on rewatch and report back haha!

      Delete
  7. StephanyJanuary 7, 2024 at 7:16 PM

    I love Clue! And I'm so curious to how you made it more difficult. I find it SUCH an easy game to figure out - like if someone suddenly moves on from one room to another, they probably got a card that "clued" them in that they were in the wrong room! I need a challenge, lol.

    I just watched Clue this year (err... last year). It was SO FREAKING GOOD! Totally campy and silly, but I adored it.

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    1. Lindsay42January 9, 2024 at 10:11 AM

      On the instructions in the box, it did not say you had to be IN the room you were suggesting / accusing from; so, for my literal family (in that they take everything literally), that meant that all you had to do was get in a room and you could just sit there and suggest combinations. IT TOOK ALL THE FUN OUT OF IT! So, I have a feeling we are no playing by my childhood rules which made it last a little bit longer, at least. To your point above, it isn't the hardest game, haha! - but, it is a good one to teach my 10 year old some observation skills (and still give her a chance to win as her dad has no mercy)...

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  8. AnneJanuary 13, 2024 at 7:30 AM

    I did love Clue as a kid, although I am flabbergasted at the amount of thought/strategy that Stephany puts into interpreting her opponents' moves! Wow!
    I hate Monopoly with a passion, and most other games, though. Card games are the worst. (I'm a lot of fun on game night, LOL...)
    And, ha, that is hilarious about the Mr. not knowing who Molly was and why she was high-fiving him.

    ReplyDelete

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