Two years. It's been almost two years since I last blogged. Do people still do this? I want to blog again .. for me. I want to be able to say all those things I want to say, even if there is no one to hear them.
Things have certainly changed in our family. Rick and I have been separated for about two and half years now. Although we are not together, we remain married. We work together to provide for the kids. He is always welcome in our home, comes for weekend visits and celebrates holidays with us. We even go on vacation together. We have found a way to make it work for everyone involved.
Kyndal and Collin added another sweet boy to our family this year. Bowen Trey was born last March. He is 9 months old and big brother Bennett is now 3. Time sure does go by fast. They are so much fun! Collin is a foreman iron worker, and Kyndal is a stay-at-home mama. They moved back to Concordia about a year and half ago.
Dawson joined the Air Force in 2018 and married Heather this past March. They live in Charleston, South Carolina, with their four dogs and have just put a contract on their first home. Dawson is an armorer with security forces and Heather is a supervisor at a prestigious vet clinic in Charleston.
Eli is a sophomore in high school and just turned 16 years old. He is still homeschooling and attends a classical private schooling group one day per week for some of his classes. He works at our local bowling alley and still spends much of his free time playing video games. As of right now, he plans to take an extra year to finish school to graduate in 2023 and then wants to move to Colorado to go to college to major in anthropology.
Brynne is a freshman in high school and is 14 years old. She went back to public school in 7th grade and is doing really well. She plays basketball and runs track. She is also very active in the FFA and theatre. She caught the musical theatre bug this past year, so plans to go to theatre school at the College of Charleston and live with Dawson when she graduates, if he is still living in Charleston.
Last year, I started working remotely for a company out of New York called Brooklyn Letters. We provide at-home speech language therapy and literacy tutoring to children and adolescents. I am now the Director. I get to work from home with great people. I love what I do for a living! In my spare time I still read and hang out with my kids and grandkids. I do not have much time for anything else.
This has really been kind of a year of ups and downs for me, and I find myself dealing emotionally with a lot of stuff. I have a pile of resentment and anger that needs to be properly dealt with, and it is possible I may do some of that on this blog in the upcoming months. For now, I sit and reflect on those things I would like to change and consider the direction I would like to move in the future. I am trying to stay as much in the moment as I can, whether it be a positive or negative moment. We will see where it takes me. But, I do want to get back to documenting more of my daily life as a journal to look back on. I can't say I am sorry to see this decade come to an end. I feel the need for a fresh start, and I am hopeful for all that the '20s will bring.
Friday, December 27, 2019
Wednesday, January 3, 2018
Wednesday Hodgepodge
It's that time of year again ... time for Lake Superior University to present a list of words (or phrases) they'd like to see banished (for over-use, mis-use, or general uselessness) in 2018. This year's vote getters are -- unpack, dish (as in 'dish out the latest rumor'), pre-owned, onboarding/offboarding, nothingsburger, let that sink in, let me as you this, impactful, cofefe, drill down, fake news, hot water heater (hot water doesn't need to be heated), and gig economy. Which one of these words/phrases would you most like to see banished from everyday speech and why? Is there a word not on the list you'd like to add?
Shut the Front Door. I cannot stand it when someone says that. It makes them sound so stupid.What's something you need to get rid of in the new year?
Lack of GratitudeWhere do you feel stuck?
It's a new year! I don't feel stuck. Now, ask me again in a couple of months and I might have a different answer. But today? Anything is possible.January is National Soup Month. When did you last have a bowl of soup? Was it made from scratch or from a can? Your favorite canned soup? Your favorite soup to make from scratch on a cold winter's day?
I made homemade chicken and noodles two nights ago, but I didn't eat any. The last soup I had would have probably been broccoli cheddar from Panera. Yum! I love that soup! My favorite canned soup is good ol' Campbell's bean with bacon. And I like to make my deceased mother-in-law's "homemade" American Stew if I am going to make something from "scratch" (it's many cans of things, so I am not sure how much it qualifies as from scratch).Tell us one thing you're looking forward to in 2018.
I am looking forward to doing little bits of traveling in the states. I will be going to San Antonio (which is always fun) a couple of times when Dawson graduates from USAF Basic Training and AIT. Then I will definitely go visit him wherever he gets stationed. We also have a trip planned to Chicago over 4th of July for National Stuttering Conference. I have been to both of these cities, but am looking forward to experiencing them with Eli and Brynne.Insert your own random thought here.
This weekend I get to go car shopping! I have had my 2003 Chevy Suburban (The "Burb") since two months after Brynne was born. I have owned it as long as I have owned her! It has taken us on 200,000+ miles of family trips and everyday errands. And I am going to miss her. We aren't getting rid of her, though, because she really still is such a solid car (and when washed, is still pretty good looking!) But it is time. It is time for something smaller, more economical, and shinier! I am looking at Subaru Outbacks for dependability, gas mileage, and overall best value in a small SUV. Obviously, I am not someone who needs a new car very often since I have had my current one for 12 years, but I am so excited to get a new one!!Tuesday, January 2, 2018
Books Read in 2017
I wouldn't say that 2017 was my best reading year. I was 2 books shy of my 50 book goal, which is actually pretty good considering the chaos that ensued in my life this past year. I am, actually, kind of surprised I read as many books as I did.
In addition to not reading my numbers goal, I read a lot of bad books this year. I think I have learned that I just like different things than the general population and if a book is highly recommended, chances are I am not going to like it.
I have reset my 2018 reading goal to 50 books. I am hoping for a great year of reading!
(The following graphic shows all the books I read in 2017. It's formatting is weird, but it's better than adding photos of all of these books one-by-one and listing them all out by hand.)
Nicole Taulman

2017

2017
This is my journey in books for 2017!
TOTALS
I read 15,142 pages across 48 books

SHORTEST BOOK
130 pages
Gift from the Sea
by Anne Morrow Lindbergh
LONGEST BOOK
587 pages
Echo
by Pam Muñoz Ryan
AVERAGE LENGTH
315 pages
MOST POPULAR
2,214,180
people also read
The Alchemist
by Paulo Coelho

LEAST POPULAR
58
people also read
Survivor's Guide to Home Schooling
by Luanne Shackelford
MY AVERAGE RATING FOR 2017
3.6
MISSING BOOKS?
You can easily add books to this list by setting the Date Read for each book to any time in 2017.
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