Today is one of my most favorite days of the year. That’s right, baby: January 2nd. Sure, I love the holidays. Who doesn’t? But like with anything sweet, you can have too much of a good thing. You know it. I know it. And my fat jeans know it. Who am I kidding? Right about now my fat jeans are dangerously close to becoming my skinny jeans. Yowzah! It’s time to put on our leggings and settle in for a long winter’s nap. After all the food, fun and festivities, it’s nice to get back to a routine. I love a routine! Some might call it a rut, sure, but not me. A routine is …

Got together with the Women Who Run With the Moose last week for our usual girls night. Dottie was hosting. The menu consisted of a big salad, mac and cheese, and Pumpkin Spice Martinis. Yowza! For dessert, we had leftover Halloween candy. I had to buy my contribution, of course, because someone (not Charlie) ate all ours. We talked about how kids just don’t trick or treat like they used to? “Too be fair,” I says, “it’s probably hard to wear a mask with a helmet on.” That got the girls going. Shirley made one of them kitty litter cakes for her Halloween party at work. What a hoot! You ever seen one? Well, check …

I was looking through old photos, and I found this one of me getting ready to celebrate my fourth birthday. Looks like quite a party, huh? There are little cartoon characters on the tablecloth and the ever popular pointy hats. And I’m dressed to the nines, of course. Some things never change. I still like dressing up, but I’ve become more of a tiara and boa kind a gal. And I like celebrating my birthday the entire month of May. One day’s just not enough! Besides, I gotta pace myself. Now me and my friends Celeste, Rita, Betty, Dot and Shirley (aka, the Women Who Run With the Moose) get together once a week for …

•Now that it’s spring, I walk with my friend Betty a few mornings a week. Gets us out of the house and moving and makes me feel a little less guilty about my frequent visits to the Dairy Queen. Last week, we were walking and talking a mile a minute, when I say, “Man, did I ever have a crap night’s sleep last night! Awake from about midnight to 3:00am, tossing and turning.” “Me, too! 12:00 to 3:00, wide awake. Slept fine the night before.” “Same here. Remember growing up, when our periods tended to sync up with each other?” “Oh, yeah. Getting together was a real cranky-fest.” “Bad! Well, here’s what I’m wondering. Post-menopause, …

So last Wednesday, I’m having Celeste, Rita, Betty, Dot and Shirley over to the house for a little birthday celebration for Celeste, right? Got the place all spiffed up. I wish I could be more relaxed when entertaining, but I just can’t. It’s important to me that everything’s looking good, clean and tidy. Set the table the day before, so I don’t get jammed up last minute. Splurged on some fresh flowers. Everything’s looking pretty, darn near perfect when I leave for the A&P that morning. See, I get out of work at 5:00, and the girls were coming over around 6:00, so wanted to be able to hit the ground running. Had an uneventful …

My birthday was last week, though to be honest I celebrate all month. I always take the day off from work and do what I want to do. That includes bacon for breakfast and going out of supper (which we could actually do this year) with popcorn, candy, and binge watching something in between. Throw in a sunshine-y walk with Scamp and a little cuddling with my guys, and it’s a perfect day. As if that wasn’t enough, the best thing happened on Saturday. I got together with the Women Who Run With the Moose: inside with hugs. Yes! We’re all fully vaccinated! So we had a birthday party, not just for me, but for …

Breaking news: Charlie and me got our first Moderna vaccine shot a week ago Friday. Wahoo! Next one’s scheduled for April 9th. That means that by the end of April, we’ll be able to get together inside with small groups of friends and family who’ve also been vaccinated. Hallelujah! What a relief to be finally in the pipeline! On Charlie’s birthday we got the call that our names had come up, and I scheduled our appointment for the next day. I says to Charlie, “What a great birthday present, huh?” “Yup.” “I’m not referring the fact that we got an appointment. I mean, that you won’t have to listen to me go on and on …

Well, I just had my last performance of 2020, and what a year it’s been. Thanks for sticking with my on this journey! I had a big day yesterday, and am too pooped to write much, so I thought I’d share some video clips from “A Very Ida Christmas!” We filmed ’em a few years back. Enjoy! Ho, ho, ho, and all that jazz! That’s it for now. Catch you on the flip side!  

Despite everything, me and the Women Who Run With the Moose are still doing our girls night once a week. Hey, ya gotta do what ya gotta do, right? We used to call it “Girls Night Out.” Now we refer to it as our “Girls Night Outside.” We get together on assorted decks, patios, screened in porches and the like. Truth be told, our social distancing has become a little lax, but there’s still sanitizer on the potluck table, and we mask up when we’re serving ourselves. You can find ways to have fun and still be careful, right? Like last Thursday, we got together over to Shirley’s place. She has this nice, big deck, …

I know, things are starting to open up again. But some of the pictures from Memorial Day weekend were just crazy. You saw them: groups of people at a lake, shoulder to shoulder, carrying on like everything was back to normal. Nope, ‘fraid not. We gotta be smart about this, people, or we’re going to end up in a big mess. Again! My niece Caitlin is my insider for all things New Age-y, and she’s always talking about “doing things with intention.” That sounds kind of woo-woo, sure, but it’s not. It just means doing things on purpose. You know, thinking about what’s important to you and following through sensibly. Yeah, we’re all going a …