January 2023 Family Update

January was a blast and an incredible start to 2023. Harper Bluff Inc officially launched January 1st and I’m now officially a CEO. The best part of creating my own corporation was choosing the name. I purposefully chose something that was vaguebut also had special meaning to me. After months of legal paperwork, it was fun to officially launch this business and brand.

Dad and Mimi came up to visit and brought my Christmas gift. I’m so excited to have this heater for my back porch sitting sessions. I absolutely love it out there.

Around the 2nd week of January, my friend brought me some Coconut flavored almonds from Buc-ees but I couldn’t smell or taste the coconut. Turns out I finally got the vid but that was my only symptom. My senses came back 2 days later and I was negative 3 days later. I went 3 years without getting it and I’m thankful that my symptoms were so mild as I know that hasn’t been the case for everyone. I take my immune health pretty seriously (regular supplements and IV nutrients) so I’d like to think that had something to do with it. Skylar never had any symptoms so I’m glad for that too.

We celebrated Skylar’s sweet 16th golden birthday by spending the weekend downtown with a few of her friends. Thanks to my hotel perks, I was able to snag a FREE suite ($430/night) at the Hilton Nashville which was the perfect location for our adventures – and access to the Member’s Executive Lounge was so worth it! We visited the Frist to see the Garden in the Flood exhibit and the girls enjoyed the art area. My girl had a specific request for gnocchi which landed us at Giovanni’s for dinner. They also had fun exploring Broadway and Assembly Food Hall.

While the girls slept in I took a stroll around downtown. It was early on a Monday morning and that’s the best time to see Nashville if you ask me. I don’t particularly care for the neon of Broadway but I do love all of the beautiful architecture the city has to offer. It really is a gorgeous place! Next up was our interactive tour of Hatch Show Print. I’ve lived here for 20 years and this was, by far, one of the most iconic and fascinating things I’ve ever done. I highly recommend it. Space is very limited so reserve your tickets early! Before finishing up our weekend, we stopped by Centennial Park and had a big ole rainbow that greeted us. The whole weekend was such a blast. I’d take these 3 anywhere. They were a breeze and so much fun to be with.

January is when hockey and lacrosse start to majorly overlap so there was a lot of windshield time with my girl. She’s not quite ready to take her driving test yet. I’m in this weird in-between of tired of being the chauffer yet savoring every last moment with her, knowing it will change all too soon.

We headed to St. Louis at the end of the month with the Nashville Wolverines Travel Team. Skylar and I flew in a day early so we could do some touristy things like City Museum and the Arch, but I think our favorite moment was our first IKEA experience. It definitely lived up to the hype, including our meal. We also found a huge puzzle store and a Goodwill outlet – thrift shopping is a must-see when traveling with Skylar.

The girls didn’t have the best weekend as far as games go but they had a blast playing together and I’ve always said that’s what matters most to me. Although, Skylar and Abi did score a pretty sweet goal together.