A New Start in 2022 – New Contributors!

Here it is, 2022 already, and all the commitments I make every year to do this blog flew out the window again last year. In 2021 I did nothing but focus on my home remodel, so you’ll see lots of posts about that. I’m newly divorced (well, kind of), and decided to give this blog a new start with two of my besties.

We are all in our 50s in South Florida, and we are all trying to get healthier together (but not in person), so many posts will be about that, but anything is up for grabs: From simple recipes (none of us are fancy cooks at all), to discussion about our kids going to college or even having babies (there is no way we are old enough to have grandkids, are we?), to frank discussions about sex, to posts about home remodeling, divorced dating (maybe), social media, mental health and TV and books we love. Nothing is off the table, and guest posts are still welcome.

Meet Ana:

That’s me, and I have run Ana’s Attic Book Blog for 10 years. I started this as an offshoot so authors can guest post about things that aren’t bookish, and a place for me to post about my inability to stick to a diet. But honestly, Starting on Monday is the perfect name for it, because I have said that every week for 8 years about posting on this blog.

I’m a mom to 2 boys, one is an adult musician living in Nashville, and one is in 11th grade. I was divorced after 29 years right before the pandemic started, but my ex and I still hang out together all the time. Right after the divorce I decided to fully remodel the home I lived in for 25 years. I designed it all myself, and home design and decorating has become my passion. So you’ll see posts about menopause, dieting and the college hunt, my remodel, and lots of posts about great fashionable home accessories and deals for the average person.

Meet Lori:

Hi, I’m Lori. I’m the Grandma of the group. Yes, I started young and so did my daughter! I’m 51, married 21 of those years, have a Navy daughter and a college son. My grandson is 5 already!

A lot of you will know me as Ana’s HBIC at Wicked Book Weekends. I’m the most extroverted introvert you’ll ever meet. I volunteered for Wicked because that’s the way I meet people, with a purpose. Otherwise I’m pretty awkward in social gatherings where I don’t know anyone.

I was coming off of a very long and extraordinarily social “situation” (a topic for another post) when Covid started and tbh, I’ve really enjoyed 2 years of quiet solitude. Between that and some joblessness I gained a LOT of weight. There were other reasons but again… another post or maybe a therapist’s couch would serve me better to go into all that!

I do condo and HOA management for a living. It’s a tight rope to walk between good manager and most hated person in the ‘hood. But I’ve done it for 16 years and love it.

I live in Boynton Beach with my awesome husband and our old, stinky dog Zeus (moose, moo, moomoo, stinky or dumbass for short).

I’ve never blogged before so please be kind. 🙃

Meet Robin:

Hi all – my name is Robin and I have been friends with Ana & Lori for 6 years. We all met through our mutual love of books although I became a lot closer with them when I volunteered for Ana’s most recent Wicked Book Weekend. Ana invited Lori & I to join her on this blog as we initially decided to be each other’s accountability buddies on our path to a healthier lifestyle in 2022 (which includes nutrition and fitness) but felt parts of our journeys will not only benefit us in sharing with each other but with the readers of this blog.

My “day job” is a full time paralegal and then I come home to my husband, my very cute dog and currently, my 19 year old daughter who is a college sophomore (she will be heading back to school next at the end of next week as her spring semester starts on January 10). Still getting used to being an empty nester.

A procrastinator by nature, and even more recently, Starting on Monday has become part of my mantra, although I made a promise to myself (some may call it a resolution but I don’t plan on breaking it) that this year will finally be the year I commit to ME! I have gone through several surgeries (2 wrists and 1 knee the year before Covid hit) which made me not only have to reevaluate my exercise program, but also due to the lack of not working out, put on the weight I had worked so hard to get off. It is getting harder as I get older too – I’m the old lady of our group at 56.

I also have renovated my house (not to the extent that Ana did but more of an update!) and am still working on details (pillows, decorations) to complete the job. Getting used to only cooking (when I actually cook!) for 2 and having more free time than I sometimes know what to do with!

Like Lori, I’ve never blogged before and I’m used to writing in legal language, so please bear with me (us!!)