As I sit here trying to figure out what exactly this post should be about – because there is SO much I could write about – I’m getting overwhelmed by the choices and making a decision. So maybe I’ll just bullet point all the things, and come back to do posts on each thing as I consume enough caffeine to do so.

First Eight Months of 2025

• My father in laws surgery in December went well, but he faces complications and ends up staying in the hospital and then rehab for much longer than expected
• January 9th I call an ambulance for my father after showing up at his house to find it utterly destroyed (pictures below) and him barely functional. He is admitted and goes downhill quickly
• February 1st my father dies
• My father in law continues to struggle with his recovery with another hospital stay, and many more visits to the ER
• March 13th I start having some unknown health issue that sends my on my first ever ambulance ride
• Some where in here my child came to me in major mental distress and we made the choice to stop dancing
• Had to get crisis management in to help my kiddo
• April 10th sees me with another ambulance ride for the same unknown health issue
• April 12th is my MRI of my brain in an attempt to figure out what is going on with me – Good news, nothing wrong with my brain
• April 16th the youngest is in the ER with a sprained ankle
• Beginning in May I start having hot flashes that knock me on my ass and make me sick
• May 30th we but a new car that we absolutely cannot afford because our car finally just couldn’t keep being fixed
• June 20th my brother in law, Justin, drops dead at work in Japan, just three days before his 44th birthday
• July 1st the air conditioning in the new car goes out, while Colorado is experiencing multiple days at or above 100
• We have to fight through the embassy and language barriers to get Justin’s ashes home
• Finally get Justin home and have to pick him up at the airport, which takes several stops. It’s over 100, we don’t have ac, and my father in law gets heat sickness and pukes all over my car
• Somewhere in here, my husband ends up in the ER. Almost ended up in surgery, but a gunshot victim came in and the surgeons were busy after that. Instead, he staying the night for observation and was released once they were able to get his potassium levels up.
• Bury him August 1st
• Have memorial service on August 2nd
• Travel to the town he was living an working in before moving to Japan with many scheduling and health issues
• Day of memorial 2.0 and my father in law face plants into the concrete – ends up with severe concussion, major lesions on both hands and a knee that swells to the size of a grapefruit. He, the neighbors, and my sister in law miss the entire memorial getting him checked out at the hospital
• August 13th we are STILL fighting with the company my brother in law worked with to get his belongings home.
• Just as I’m preparing to publish this, my office chair breaks under me sending me to the floor

Honestly, I know I missed some things, and simplified many others. And I didn’t even touch the craptastic state of our country.

In all of this I have worked to find ways to make more money to pay all the bills that keep accumulating. One of those was becoming an Amazon Affiliate. It is not something I thought I would ever do, but I do shop there a lot, and a girl has got to do what a girl has got to do.

I’ve been working to find ways to battle these hot flashes so that I can keep moving with my day. Having ice packs with me most of the day has really helped, but is a pain to handle. So, affiliate link here, I’ve decided to give this vest a try, heads up that I will earn a small commission if you decide to give it a try yourself. It will surround me so that I don’t have to constantly move my ice packs to cool off different parts. Having reusable ice packs also makes it ideal for me because I am constantly on the go, and I will be able to switch them out if needed.

It has definitely been a year, and not a great one. Let me know if there is anything you want to hear more about. I just couldn’t decide which one deserved the more time.

Here are the photos of what my father’s house looked like when I got there on the 9th