1. Did you make resolutions or set goals for the year we’re waving goodbye? How did that work out for you? Will you set any goals for this new year, new season, or new month? Share one or two if you’d like to share. 

I typically do not, on principle. You can change anything at any time. However, one of my goals is to lose some weight, though I’m dealing with the uphill perimenopause battle too. Another goal is to stay on top of things.

2. When did you have the most fun this year? 

So I’ve been thinking about doing a 2025 retrospective on the blog but I am not sure I should take the time, given other things I need to focus on. But as I was thinking about it, I reflected on a few things I have done this year, including small trips to Gainesville, Jax, and the bigger ones: RAGBRAI in Iowa and Germany/Czech Republic. That being said, I guess Germany was the most fun, seeing as how it was so new and interesting. RAGBRAI was pretty fun too, though a lot of work, day in and day out.

3. What’s a song or song lyric you’ll associate with 2025? Tell us why. 

This is tough because most of the music I listened to this year has been awesome but not tangential to my life. So the one I am going with is actually a stray thought from a song we sing in chapel, “Here I am”. (And the amusing part to me is how my daughter goes to another church where they gave out these sweatshirts that say “Here I am” but the song is ‘Here i am to worship…”) But the one I am thinking of goes like this:

Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord?
I have heard you calling in the night
I will go, Lord, if you lead me

And I chose it because in my seemingly endless search for a job, I ended up at a Catholic high school.

4. Best (or a favorite) bite of something delicious you tasted this year? 

OK so most of it was obviously in Europe, but the ice cream they make in Iowa that is churned by an old engine rivals everything else. Sorry for that last pic where I wasn’t paying attention to the double chin. lol.

5. What do you want to do more of in the new year? Less of? 

More time spent talking to my kids. Not that we don’t, but you know, it gets so easy not to talk about anything of value, as you go through your daily routine. Lately, with some issues my son has had and as he transitions out of the house, we have been making a point to just communicate more and it’s been good. It’s been more open and honest, which is usually hard for me but I am getting better.

Less rushing. I think I can do IT ALL and sometimes that makes things stressful and harried. I want to focus on being more organized and deliberate about activities and downtime.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I mentioned Monday some of my goals for the first few days this week, namely: get all the beer vans logged (we collect and I was WAY behind) and to put away decorations. Well, as of Tuesday, I completed those tasks. Xmas isn’t back up in the attic yet but it’s ready. I am excited to have my living room back. And in that, we are getting rid of the nine foot shuffleboard table. It was fun to have, especially during Covid, but I am ready to have more space in here. A friend asked about it for his game room (or more generally, just having one) and I was like, you can take it! So hopefully here soon he’ll be able to come get it.

But anyway, the other thing I need to do – reshoot videos for some online classes – is on the docket today. We don’t have any NYE plans, though we knocked around the ida of reaching out to certain people. We hosted two parties in December, went to various gatherings as well, and maybe this isn’t something we even need to do, tbh. I am meeting Ash later for lunch and then we will see how the rest of the day goes. Tomorrow, we don’t have plans either, other than to get the bikes out and make sure they’re set. I want to take a longish ride with the boys down at the paved trail. Hoping to start early enough so we can get back in time to get one of the Rocky’s biscuits Ash and I lived on when we were Ragbrai training. Anywho, if I can find it in me, I may do a 2025 retrospective post. It would probably be good for me to look back as well!