AK Month-to-month Recap: January 2025

A model new yr and right here we’re. Let’s check out all the things that occurred in January 2025!

Locations Visited

Highlights

A pleasant, quiet month at house with the cats. That is our third yr in a row of not going wherever in January (aside from day journeys) and it was SO good. One of the simplest ways to begin off a productive yr.

A month of Dry January. I do a sober month yearly and extremely advocate it! It’s an excellent reminder to try how a lot alcohol can permeate our lives — and bear in mind the best way to socialize with out defaulting to consuming.

Getting again into power coaching. One in all my objectives has been to get again into power coaching and truly be in step with it. I used to be within the health club six days per week after I lived in New York, however I haven’t been in a position to preserve that stage of consistency in Prague.

Actually, there have been plenty of matches and begins in resuming lifting weights over the previous few years. This time, I believe it’s working as a result of I began slowly and am including to it little by little.

I’ve a Peloton subscription (simply $12.99 per 30 days) and some units of weights. First, 10-minute power exercises 3 times per week. Now, 15-minute power exercises 4 occasions per week. I do know I’ll continue to grow from there.

Past that? Not so much occurred this January!

Challenges

A scary near-accident on the tram. I used to be sitting in a seat on the tram and instantly the motive force hit the breaks HARD to keep away from hitting a automobile that pulled out. It was so abrupt, I flew onto my toes and smacked arduous into the plastic divider on the facet of the doorways.

I used to be tremendous, however in ache the remainder of the day — and thought to myself, “If this occurred in America, somebody could be suing town.” That mentioned, we truly get healthcare lined right here, and I’m grateful that the motive force was in a position to cease so shortly and keep away from an precise accident.

Heaps and plenty of vet visits. After Murray’s many medical problems with December, this month was all about Lewis. He damage himself within the eye in some way, and whereas the primary spherical of meds helped initially, his eye bought a lot worse after we completed them.

Lewis is now on totally different meds, prescribed by a special vet, and I actually hope that they work this time. I would like my candy little bear to be again to his ordinary self.

And giving a cat two units of eye drops — 10 minutes aside, 5 occasions a day — is a ache, particularly when he was at his sickest and wished to cover below the mattress. At one level I needed to lay on a blanket and drag myself below the mattress, seize Lewis, and have Charlie pull me out by my toes. Enjoyable occasions.

Weblog Posts of the Month

Most In style Reel on Instagram

My high reel of the month is which metropolis NOT to go to in 2025. I don’t do a lot of this anti-influencing, however right here it’s warranted.

The town is Rome. 2025 is a Jubilee yr for the Catholic religion, which can preserve town further crowded and further costly all yr lengthy. For those who’re trying to go, I’d counsel ready till 2026.

You may watch the reel right here and observe me on Instagram at @adventurouskate.

What I Listened To This Month

I’m listening to all 500 of Rolling Stone‘s 500 Biggest Albums of All Time, which I’m having fun with immensely. I’m loving discovering new artists and listening to albums I’ve in some way missed my complete life till now!

This month, I listened to albums 479-436. Listed here are the highlights:

Favourite discovery: Eli and the Thirteenth Confession by Laura Nyro. WHAT A STAR. I had by no means heard of Laura Nyro — she was a WILD singer and songwriter, insanely proficient, with a beautiful soprano voice, and songs that change tempos and melodies wildly, that might be at house on Broadway.

In reality, Laura Nyro impressed a LOT of main songwriters, together with Elton John and Stephen Sondheim, and she or he wrote songs for artists like Barbra Streisand, Three Canine Night time, and Fifth Dimension.

She died younger of ovarian most cancers, as did her mom. It hurts realizing that if she have been born a number of a long time later, she might have taken motion to forestall that. I’m grateful that extra choices, together with genetic testing, exist as we speak. And now I would like EVERYONE to know her.

Different favourite discoveries: #1 Report by Massive Star, 3+3 by The Isley Brothers, Near the Edge by Sure.

Favourite revisited album: BLACKsummers’evening by Maxwell. That is one in all my all-time favourite albums — it helped me get by means of 2010. I hated my job then and took a protracted stroll throughout my lunch daily whereas listening to it.

My favourite factor about this jazz-influenced R&B album is how intimate it sounds — you’ll be able to inform it’s a small band, everybody enjoying off one another completely, and you may hear all of the individuality of the musicians. Extremely advocate giving it a pay attention.

Favourite songs: “Donde Quiera Que Estés” by Selena and Barrio Boyzz, “Ghetto Kids” by Juvenile, “Lu” by Laura Nyro, “You Should Be with Me” by Al Inexperienced, “Why Ought to I Be Unhappy” by Britney Spears, “Bother within the Message Centre” by Blur.

Get the playlist: I’m making a playlist of my favourite songs from the five hundred albums — most one per album — on Spotify. You may take heed to it right here.

Lowlight of the month: Ege Bamyasi by CAN. This German band apparently pioneered Krautrock — that’s a factor! A lot of the album was fairly listenable, however within the center they made this AWFUL cacophony filled with noises like nails on a chalkboard, however turned as much as 11 — why put that on an album?!

Random thought: The proper size of an album is 35-45 minutes or so. When you transcend an hour, it begins dragging. A LOT of artists wanted to be edited down — notably hip-hop artists from the 90s (and I say this as a HUGE 90s hip-hop fan). Some albums begin out SO nice and find yourself turning right into a drag as a result of they’ve to incorporate all the things.

What I Watched This Month

It’s formally Oscar season! The completionist in me tries to see all of the Finest Image nominees and all the things nominated for the foremost awards.

The spotlight of the month was positively Conclave — a superbly plotted, twisty, tense political thriller concerning the cardinals selecting the following pope. And maybe probably the most completely solid film I’ve seen in fairly a while. I hope Ralph Fiennes wins the Oscar.

I additionally loved A Full Unknown, which made me wish to dive into Bob Dylan’s and Joan Baez’s music (there’s a LOT of that approaching the Rolling Stone checklist!). Anora was a enjoyable nail-biter of a film, with an unbelievable efficiency by Mikey Madison — although I want the movie have been a bit much less male gaze-y.

This month we additionally watched the second season of The Diplomat. A GREAT drama on Netflix, starring Keri Russell because the US ambassador to the UK, appointed after an act of terrorism, who uncovers a whole lot of Actually Dangerous Stuff and has a husband who is an excellent former ambassador himself, however the type of man who makes me yell, “HER HUSBAND IS A DING-DONG!” on the display screen as soon as per episode.

They actually need to do extra episodes, although! The primary season has eight episodes and the second season has six. It has been renewed for season.

Coming Up in February 2025

Again to Mexico, child! I really like Mexico SO a lot and it’s now been three years since I’ve been there — it’s time for a return.

Charlie and I, together with our buddy Nick, will likely be visiting 4 locations: Mérida, Bacalar, Mexico Metropolis, and Oaxaca. 4 of my 5 favourite locations in Mexico! (Sorry, Guanajuato, we’ll miss you.)

Our agenda? Having fun with all our favourite Mexican issues, from a day at Los Rapidos in Bacalar to an evening out at Lucha Libre in Mexico Metropolis. And dealing on my Mexico content material, in fact.

(I took a break from writing about Mexico after COVID hit and 1,000,000 journey bloggers moved to Mexico and began area of interest Mexico blogs, making it arduous for my content material to rank — however now that just about all of these blogs have been hit arduous by Google updates, I really feel like I’m prepared to leap again in, particularly when including high quality movies on Instagram and TikTok.)

And as ordinary, our expensive buddy and cat-sitter, John, will likely be transferring in to deal with Lewis and Murray in our absence. They could love him greater than they love us.

Any plans for February? Share away!