Cultivating our individual interests should be a core part of the cozy life. If creating a cozy life is the coming together of purposeful living, simple living, and faithful living, then it should follow that we focus on the things that mean the most to us not only as a family but also as individuals. 

There are different seasons of life and I’ve written my way through many of mine here. I’ve been continuing to republish older posts in which I discussed openly how much I struggled the first few years of motherhood. As I move into a different season of life, I’m now able to spend a bit more time cultivating my own interests. 

I made the deliberate choice during June to take the time to step back from doing too much here. June is notoriously slow online and I decided to take advantage of that slowness and do a reset of my own interests. I made some changes to my schedule and how I was doing things. I took the time to really think about what brings me joy in various parts of my life. I thought about what I value and rarely take the time for. 

Here’s a list of some of my interests I’ve been cultivating this summer. I will probably write more about some of them in the future. But in the meantime I hope my little list inspires you to create your own list. 

Read a Book Each Morning

While my computer is booting up and I open all the programs and apps, I grab my highlighter and current book. Even if it is only 10 minutes, it starts my day well in that I took the time to read something that matters to me. (This is also a part of my attempt to move more and more analog, but that’s a different post.)

Research Membership in the DAR

I spent one evening last winter tracing my family roots on a free website. I discovered in the process that I (and, therefore, Caroline) probably qualify for membership in the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution). I was stunned how far some of my family lines apparently go back in America (1600ish in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, etc.). I looked up the DAR and saw that the only chapter nearby is in the Big City. I really don’t like driving into the city so I admit it subdued my enthusiasm just a bit. But I didn’t have time to look into the details more because homeschooling was taking my time and focus.

A few weeks ago I decided to look into the DAR again and discovered that another chapter had just launched in November. It’s already thriving and guess where it is based? Cute Little Town. The meetings are about a mile and a half from our home. So Caroline and I visited the June meeting to learn more. I’ve started working with a chapter member and it seems fairly certain Caroline and I have at least a couple of qualifying ancestors, if not more.

Hopefully it works out. I thought about not even mentioning it until we were officially approved, but I still want to write about the family history I’m learning so I’m spilling the (potential) beans early. So I’m spending time doing something I love (history and genealogy) which is feeding many parts of me all at once this summer. 

Update: We’re Officially Daughters of the American Revolution!

Practice Latin 

Caroline and I finished Visual Latin 1 and I am determined to not lose my momentum before we start Visual Latin 2 in the fall. I purchased a Latin New Testament a few months ago with English and Latin parallel texts. Every night at bedtime I read for about five to ten minutes in order to keep moving forward with the Latin.

New Testament English/Latin Rheims Version

Because they are right next to each other, I figure out what I can from the Latin and then constantly check myself with the English. This English translation is very different from anything I’ve used before so I’ve had to adapt to that as well. But it’s an excellent exercise each night. I’m not only maintaining what I’ve learned, but continuing to move forward. 

Canceled My X Account

I thought about this for some time and finally did it. The platform is just too toxic for me. I have Telegram, Truth Social, and Gab. That’s enough for me.

I have been mulling the thought of going back on Facebook to try to connect with more homeschooling moms, but haven’t done that yet. Really zeroing in on the Relaxed Homeschooling and related topics has made me consider doing it since that’s the best place to connect with homeschool moms (that I would consider). 

My Website Design

I mentioned in my post My 20th Blogging Anniversary – A Visual Retrospective that a part of me had always wanted to go back to a design from May 2016. I wrote in that post:

This is one of my favorite designs. Ever. I still think about going back to it at times. I don’t know why. I just love it. 

It was a three column layout, the only time I had that. I only kept it a short time because the experts said you couldn’t continue with this layout. To this day, this is what I would like. But because it is not mobile friendly, it’s pretty much a no-no. 

Well, I decided going back to that design would make me happy. David and I started digging into how to make it happen since our WordPress theme (which we really like) did not have an option for two sidebars. But by working extensively with ChatGPT, David was able to figure out the coding he needed to do it with the Mai Theme.  

The two sidebar design is now mobile friendly.

And I love it. 

It makes me happy to work here and that matters a lot to me. 

Using AI Online

Speaking of AI, I spent a ridiculous amount of time over the past month trying to work out my thoughts and convictions about using AI as a writer and blogger. If you keep up with comments here, you’ve probably already seen the conversation. If you don’t, then I would direct you to the comments on my post ChatGPT Makes Things Up About Me | How AI Works. A big thank you to the women who participated in the conversation. It was truly helpful as I tried to work out my path forward.

In the end, I found what works for me and fits with my commitment to cultivate my interests this summer. I wrote a section about how I use AI and added it to my Disclaimers, Disclosures & Affiliate Policy. I prefer to be up-front and honest so no one is ever surprised to discover something I do or don’t do.  

Summer So Far

So those are some of the things I’ve been doing to cultivate my interests this summer. What would you like to do in your own life? I hope you’ll leave a comment and share your ideas. 

In The Shop