Well, hey there folks!
And a very happy 2024 to all of you!
Crazy to think that another year has come and gone already…the clock just doesn’t stop ticking or slowing down.
I hope all of your celebrations to say goodbye to 2023 and hello to 2024 were beautiful and wonderful!
This year, my NYE consisted of an evening in solitude at The Sunshine Studio with candles lit, comfy clothes, a blanket, watching Hairspray, and capping off the night with my favorite movie, The Wizard of Oz.
It was glorious. And for how busy and on the go, go, go I was during the month of December, it was the perfect way to end the year.
I hope each and every one of you (who I’m so thankful for coming back week after week to read these words) are able to look back on 2023 and find moments of JOY.
As I write this week’s words for you, I am extremely grateful for the fact that I have had so many JOY moments in 2023. This week, I get to reminisce and share some of the highlights from the past year that brought me energy of that very word above written in all caps.
January 2023:
-Celebrated my 200th blog post with some delicious cakes! One made by Cake and Cup in Lititz and the other by my amazing coworker, Sarah Katz.
-Took control of some moles that had been bothering me and made my first ever dermatologist appointment as an adult. (The moles came back benign! Yay!)
February 2023:
-Traveled to Florida for the NAFEM show with some great coworkers from Webstaurantstore.
-Got to experience Carrie Underwood and checkout my old college stomping grounds in the Happy Valley with Marissa.
March 2023:
-Kicked off a second year of house managing and bartending at the Ephrata Performing Arts Center with my partner-in-crime, Jamie.
April 2023:
-Got to experience an official Zoom audition for my favorite game show, Wheel of Fortune. Even though becoming an actual contestant didn’t come to fruition, it was still a super surreal and fun experience to have!
May 2023:
-Got to be a “celebrity scooper” at Greco’s in Lititz during the holiday weekend!
June 2023:
-Got to experience North Wildwood in the hot summer sun with Marissa and Missy.
-Officially put Sunshine Cottage on the market and sold it in 3 days!
July 2023:
-Traveled to Costa Rica with some handsome men (Paul, Adam, Jed, Jason, and Devin) to celebrate Jed’s 40th birthday! Got to see sloths in person and it was glorious!
-Officially moved into Sunshine Studio at The Apartments at Lititz Springs.
August 2023:
-Closed on Sunshine Cottage and signed it over to its new owner.
-Traveled to Chicago and experienced some fun times in The Windy City.
-Turned 36 and celebrated with a family picnic.
September 2023:
-Hit up the North Wildwoods for the second time of the year, but this time enjoying it with my parents and Devin.
-Enjoyed the first show of being an official subscriber at The Fulton and saw Something Rotten.
October 2023:
-Enjoyed my first time at Terrain Cafe with Sam, Abby, and Ally to celebrate Abby’s birthday.
-Enjoyed a Halloween themed Clark Party with Devin at Spooky Nook.
November 2023:
-Enjoyed Derek Hough and his dancing troupe command a stage in Hershey.
-Had my second holiday blog shoot at Historic Shady Lane with my incredibly talented coworker, Jessica.
-Enjoyed the second musical of The Fulton’s season and saw Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
December 2023:
-Witnessed sold out crowds for Ephrata Performing Arts Center’s young performers production of The Phantom of the Opera.
-Got to see Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat for a second time with my fitness coach, Ryan.
-Got to plan, execute, and be a part of a beautiful Christmas Eve service at St. Paul Penryn.
-Experienced Christmas with family while opening gifts and enjoying time together.
-Watched Hairspray and Wizard of Oz during NYE in cozy solitude at The Sunshine Studio.
Of course, these are just highlights.
There are SO many other moments of JOY that took place this year including countless hours worked at all 4 of my jobs, episodes of The Golden Girls playing in the background as I wind down in the evenings, weights lifted at the gym that also included multiple selfies to hold myself accountable, and cups of Dunkin’ coffee that my body got to consume.
Here’s to 2024 and all the moments of JOY that await.
Sprinkle sunshine always,
JP!
Mr. Sunshine Smiles 