Welcome to 2020, everyone! I hope you had an awesome holiday yesterday and that your year is off to a positive start. Yes, I will be writing Thursday Rundowns in 2020. See below for proof.

Life’s Little Instructions – I am bringing back more than Thursday Rundowns in 2020. Those who follow me on Twitter and/or Instagram know that I share advice from a page-a-day calendar called Life’s Little Instructions. Heck, if you even read this blog you know my admiration for Life’s Little Instructions because I write about them often. Well, this is the 14th year I have had Life’s Little Instructions, the 12th year I have shared them on Twitter, and the 8th year I have shared them on Instagram. Hope you enjoy this year’s advice!

Life’s Little Instructions have returned in 2020.

Sloan Got a Bike! – I had an incredible holiday break with Sloan as we did so much together! I will write more in depth about the whole nine days in the near future but I did want to share one memory from the break tonight. Her big Santa gift was a bicycle! From Christmas Day through New Year’s Day, we would go out in front of our house and practice riding it. The strides she made in that short time were incredible. She is now a pro at using her little legs to peddle up and down our street.

Sloan is a quick learner. She sure loves her new bike.

Christmas Gift for Sid – My wife and I have a simple Christmas Eve tradition. Late in the evening we drink hot chocolate, listen to Christmas carols, and exchange presents. We always set a low limit for how much we spend on each other but it is nonetheless fun and special. The “big” gift I got for Sid this past Christmas was a pair of blue light omitting glasses. These bifocals block the exposure of blue light from televisions and smart devices, lessening strain on the eyes. Sid has complained lately of headaches and hazy vision after looking at her classroom’s smart board and personal iPhone for extended periods of time. She suggested I “surprise” her with the blue light omitting glasses and that is what I did! Who cares if she had to exchange the pair I got her (pictured below) for a more stylish version, right? So far Sid is pleased with the extra eye protecting.

A look at the blue light omitting glasses I got Sid from Dillard’s.

Our Winter Break Netflix Series – When I wrote about our plans for the holiday break, I mentioned that Sidney would probably select a Netflix series for us to binge. My prediction proved correct as we watched the entire second season of “You” over the span of a couple days. In my opinion, this newest season was much better than the first. Biggest reason why? The characters! I enjoyed getting to know Forty and Will (the real Will, not Joe) and several other supporting characters were engaging as well. The constant commentary and dark humor from the narration of Joe was even more spot on and hilarious this time around. As with the first season, you were kept guessing about the twists and turns up until the very point that they actually happened. If you watched the initial season and was lukewarm about it (like I was) give it another chance with the second season.

Season 2 of “You” is pretty good!

Staying Up Until Midnight – On New Year’s Eve, I tweeted about the probability that we would stay up to see the ball drop. After two straight years of falling asleep prior to 12 a.m., I didn’t know if we would break the streak this year. We did! I contribute it to the fact that we weren’t exhausted or jet lagged from holiday travel. Our NYE evening consisted of eating appetizers, drinking soda, watching Netflix movies, and then tuning into Ryan Seacrest’s “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” coverage from about 11:50 p.m. to midnight. What an accomplishment!

I questioned whether we would make it until midnight.

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Not going to lie, it was a little tough going to work today. However, the silver lining is that tomorrow is Friday! Have a great night, everyone. Don’t Blink.