You've (un)Made Your Bed
I’ve gotten a lot better over the years, I really have.
Back to Reality
My screentime was down, wayyyyy down. The it was back to staring at the medium screens with intermittent breaks to stare at the small screen.
One of the hardest things about coming home with trips from friends is… living alone. It can be jarring to go from being in a gaggle of friends 24/7 to being by yourself. Having a get-together with some of my library friends a couple days later made the transition much easier.
Snow Day!
Okay, so it was only about an inch of snow. But that still qualifies as a snow day! I stayed at my friend Taylor’s house rather than driving all the way home after my trip. This turned into a treat for me because I got bonus time with Taylor and her daughter, Avery.
When kids are intersted in my art, that is the biggest compliment to me! I want to show them that you don’t have to stop being creative and having fun when you grow up.
Mexico Day 6: Out of the Jungle and into the Cold
On the way to Mexico, I finished Ina Garten’s memoir, which I really loved. But it was The Lost City of Z that I could not stop talking about! There were so many parallels to things we learned about on the trip, including how the “explorers” aka colonizers fundamentally misunderstood the native people and their way of life. Percy Fawcett was interesting because I do think he had more curiosity and understanding of the indigenous Amazonians. But he was obsessed with discovering this storied “lost city,” which, much like the Maya, never really disappeared and was surrounding him the whole time.
I could not stop thinking about how, just over 100 years ago, there was so much of the world that wasn’t mapped yet. Now, we can travel from Mexico back to North Carolina over the course of several hours and I can zoom in on the world map and navigate through the snow with a computer in my pocket. Percy Fawcett’s head would explode.
Mexico Day 5: Ruins and Rumination
Parque del Jaguar is a huge nature preserve encompassing beach and jungle along the coast of Tulum. We, once again, set out very early in the morning to meet our tour guide who explained the significance and history of this Mayan site. I think one of the most important ideas that was reiterated throughout our trip is that the Mayan people did not disappear! They are the indigenous people of Mexico and they still exist today. Our guide, Joel, shared that his son’s school teaches the Mayan language, which was a huge change from just a generation ago when people were ostracized for having Mayan facial features or names.
Since it was also the day of the presidential inaguration… it was hard to ignore the news. However, our tour guide’s stories about Mexico’s new appreciation and respect for Mayan culture made me think about how quickly things can change. Yes, that means negative change can happen quickly, but so can positive change. Societal norms that were seen as unchangeable CAN shift and I have to have hope that we will continue to move forward.
I have to also mention our beautiful dinner at Arca, Tulum. We had the most amazing cocktails and share plates of traditional Mexican foods and flavors. Some of my favorites included a trout tostada, a whole squash with a salad of squash leaves and toasted squash seeds, and grilled mushroom tlayuda— a little crispy and savory chicharron. This special night was a tradition that my friend Alex started, the “Nana Dinner,” in honor of her grandmother. Nana was always so generous and loving to Alex’s friends and she loved taking us out for some fine dining. It’s a beautiful tradition to share and I think it tickles us all to know how pleased Nana would be by our travels and adventures together.
Mexico Day 4: Land of Chocolate and Honey
Around 600-900 AD, there were thriving Mayan cities including settlements at Coba, Tulum, and Chichen Itza. In 2025, we traveled to Coba to learn more about life there.
Pok-a-Tok is the game that was played by the Mayans in the arenas we saw. Seeing the angle of the walls and the height of the hoops really drove home the strength and technical ability needed to play the game, which sometimes resulted in the death of the losing team.
Finding Beesencial was kind of a happy accident, and getting this behind-the-scenes look at the hives was an immense treat. If you visit Tulum, you can book a whole experience with Janely that includes a meal and sampling the many different types of honey. Her passion for what she does was so evident and we were so grateful that she shared her knowledge with us.
Mexico Day 3: Swimming with Sea Turtles
Our Airbnb was within walking distance of a national park with beach access for snorkeling. Akumal is known for its sea turtles. You can rent snorkel gear and go solo, but we chose to book a tour through Airbnb experiences, which I think was a smart choice. We set out early before it got too crowded. Our guide was very kind and extremely helpful when our goggles got foggy or we had other technical difficulties.
I think my favorite part was seeing these fish swirling around one of the turtles, nibbling on it and cleaning its shell.
I thought, “My nose piercing is so healed! It’s fine without a ring in it for a few days.” But let me tell you— it was painful replacing it when I got home. Hope the turtle enjoyed it.
Mexico Day 2: Tacos and Cenotes
When we were planning this trip, I knew that I wanted to do a tour of some of the amazing cenotes that are everywhere in the Yucatan.
Sarah noted that if you’re going to fall off your bike, it’s best to do it before you go swimming so that the cool cenote water can heal your wounds.
We swam in four cenotes total. At the end of our tour, we rode our bikes back to Gilmer’s house and ate tacos made with the delicious pork we prepared! It was the perfect end to a day of swimming and sun. We ate and chatted for the rest of the afternoon. There were two women on the tour in addition to our group, and they told us that we really needed to visit Merida, which promptly was added to our travel wishlist.
Mexico, Day 1: Travel
On January 16th, I set off from RDU veryyyyy early in the morning where I met my friend, Sarah. It was very cold and dark.
When we came down the escalator on the way out of the Cancun airport, a huge line awaited us at immigration. I think that every plane that was going to Cancun landed at the same time. It was chaotic because people kept trying to make new lines and then little skirmishes would break out as other people tried to enforce the “rules,” which were not being enforced by staff. The whole thing was kind of funny. I just kept thinking “Well, if this is our only travel friction, it’s really not so bad.”
This meager comic cannot describe the feeling of walking out onto our terrace after what turned out to be a 15 hour day of travel. The ocean, the salt air! I went to bed thinking about how I couldn’t wait to wake up and see the sunrise over the water.
Trip Anticipation
The NYT word games are my little escape from the world.
Felix always knows what the suitcase means… Charlie is not quite as quick on the uptake.
This was subtle foreshadowing for what’s to come… luckily it did not hinder my enjoyment of my travels.
Too Spontaneous and Whimsical
I know this should be a no-brainer, but making food that I like to eat, in small batches, but enough to be prepared for the week… has made my life more enjoyable and less stressful. I resisted for so long, but now it’s the way I have to live. This was also kicked into motion by switching to a gluten-free diet. My doctor thought I might have celiac, which thankfully I do not! But going gluten-free has made me feel immensely better. Here’s the link to the gluten-free biscuits I have been making and enjoying for breakfast!
"Snow" Diaries
Snow days in the south rarely involve snow, and this was no exception. I really wanted to wake up and see a beautiful blanket of soft, white snow! But it wasn’t meant to be this time. The ice was pretty in its own way and we didn’t lose power, which was the most beautiful thing of all.
Winter Worries
The older I get, the more I struggle in the winter. I think part of it is that we have to live so out of rhythm with the world— we’re supposed to be hibernating, right? I also get really tired of having to walk the dogs in the morning and the evening in the dark. I’ve been trying to make a point to get a lunchtime walk in so that I can at least glimpse the sunlight. The light is coming back!
They're Back!
I don’t get a ton of natural light in my little house. I’m shrouded under tall trees, which is very nice and cozy. In the winter, when the leaves are gone from the huge oak that’s in the middle of my little corner, I get great light for about an hour the morning. I loved seeing the projections of the robins as they zipped back and forth. Of course, they pooped all over my already-disgustingly dirty car. But it was worth it.
It's Centrifugal Motion
Wine Night Karaoke has become a staple in my house in the last couple years of living alone. I’m not saying that living alone is always a treat— sometimes, it would be great to have someone else take out the trash or unload the dishwasher. Someone to tell the story of your day to over dinner. However… most of the time it’s awesome. And I think celebrating the solitude is really important.
Yay, Charlie!
I think the layout of this comic accurately reflects the utter chaos of this moment. Charlie’s leash had gotten wrapped around his belly because he’d been hopping around like a maniac. Then, I bent down to untangle him and he took the opportunity to get the zoomies. Luckily it was a quiet Sunday morning and my friend Kristen was there to help call him back so that I was able to STOMP on his leash. And Felix’s plans to once again be an only child were foiled.
Trend Alert
This was inspired by conversations at work about Temu. I’ve never felt compelled to order anything from Temu because I generally like to take garbage OUT of my home, not pay to have more delivered. It boggles my mind how we, as a society, are so addicted to consuming that we will pay for things that will break immediately or are downright fraudulent, just for the hit of shopping endorphins. I can’t fathom it. I think that many of us feel so out of control in our lives that buying things is the only escape.
My other “out” is AI— for OBVIOUS REASONS! I hate that its existence is predicated on stealing the intellectual work of others. I hate that it is eroding our already tenuous grip on what is “real” and what is “fake” on the internet. I hate that people are developing parasocial relationships with chatgpt and acting like it’s some all-knowing oracle! It’s not! It’s feeding you aggregated slop, brought to you by exploited labor all while it burns water to cool massive data centers. There’s no reason to use it and I hate that it’s being normalized as an inevitable future. We have brains for a reason. For now.
As for my “ins” for 2025— the underlying theme is that I like things that connect us to others and to our own humanity. I like to hold cups that someone else molded with their hands! I like wearing things that I stitched, maybe even with a few errant pieces of dog hair woven into the fabric. I like seeing the paths that people carve with their footsteps, outside of the bounds of practical right angles. I love texting my friends, “Did you see the moon tonight? Go look!” and I love my friends who also get excited about the moon.
So there you have it. My hope for 2025 is that we continue to honor our humanity by connecting with others. And that we STOP sharing AI generated content and look at real art instead.
Protective Spell
I know the DMV sucks regardless, but when I tell you how bad this picture is… it rocked my world. My self-perception. It sent me into an existential crisis. So, making this comic helped.
Getting Inspired
One of the primary goals of this project is to spend less time staring into the abyss of my phone screen, so I think I’m already benefiting from being more observant. I’m looking for little treasures for my sketchbook like a magpie.
Happy New Year
I made a commitment to myself to create more this year and decided my first step would be to draw in my sketchbook every day. So far, this has led to daily diary comics! This is my first entry, kind of my manifesto for 2025.
Here are my “rules” for creating every day:
It doesn’t have to be precious or perfect.
Act > Vessel— I’m not making an art book, so these entries can be on anything. Scrap paper, whatever.
Butt in seat, pen to paper
Every day of 2025, 1 minute, 1 hour, I owe it to myself.
I’m not going to be too hard on myself if I’m sick or just have an overwhelming day. I’ll catch up when I can— the goal is to just keep going.