2025: Year in Review!

As always... the Year in Review: 2025

What did you do in 2025 that you'd never done before?

Had an eyelash lift and tint. Traveled to Norway. Went to Noah's first formal piano recital. Had a friend tattoo me.  Had an amazing trip to Sundara with Jordan. Took a gymnastics class. Did a handstand. Visited lots of new restaurants in the Madison area. Went camping with both kiddos. Hiked in St. John's woods as a family. Tried a pistachio beer. Hosted a book exchange at my house. Joined a weightlifting gym and starting lifting regularly. Made a lot of ceramic flower frogs. Went to a Cake concert. Participated in a community Art fair. Tried Brunost in Norway. Used ChatGPT. Drew realistic portraits of my kids. Went to a varsity basketball game as a family. Sent my last baby off to kindergarten. Had a date night with Jordan at the local Makerspace doing crafts together. Adopted a cat with Jordan and surprised the kids! Made ceramic urns for a pet's ashes. Went to the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam. Ordered an Uber. Drank lemon drop martinis with my mom. Gifted stained glass projects that I made. Visited a baby in the NICU that wasn't mine. Took my kids to Urban Air. Walked from Picnic Point to the Union. Did a family trip to Port Washington and showed Lake Michigan to our kids. Saw Hadestown. Visited Jordan's Jujitsu studio. Got a roof estimate on our house. Went to Burger King for the first time in probably 20 years (just did this one today!)

Did you keep your New Year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year? 

Last year I said I wanted keep going to yoga regularly and I did pretty well with it. I set a goal for myself to attend 100 classes and I did 119! I also went to 62 weightlifting classes - almost all of them at 5:30am! I know, I know, who am I?! Regular exercise has never been much of a priority and getting up before the sun to exercise was something I NEVER thought I'd do... but here we are. 

I also said I hoped to maintain my peace this year while Trump is in office. Well, I have buried my head deeply in the sand. I'm embarrassed by the news headlines I read and when I think too much about what the future holds I get too anxious to function. I'm still just trying to keep spreading positivity and progress in my little corner of the world. It often feels like all I can do.

I decided that my word for this year is going to be Consistency. I'm pretty good at making good choices. I'm pretty bad at making good choices consistently. So that's my very-broad goal.

Did anyone close to you give birth?

My best friend had a beautiful baby girl and being a part of her support system during the transition into motherhood has been such a privilege!

Did anyone close to you die?

Our last rats died in March and September which was sad. The silver lining was this transition allowed us to be able to adopt our new cat, Harvey, this month.

What countries did you visit?

The Netherlands and Norway! And we have some loose plans in place for more international travel in 2026!

What would you like to have in 2026 that you lacked in 2025?

This is what I wrote last year: "Consistency. I'm a person that likes change quite a lot so I feel like I sometimes don't stick with my projects and and habits as long as I should."

I think I'll use that answer again. :) Hopefully I have a different answer at the end of 2026!

What date(s) from 2025 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

December 20th: the day we adopted Harvey!

What was your biggest achievement of the year?

I feel like I did a really good job of staying authentic to my priorities and values this year. I made new friends and tried a lot of things for the first time. I was vulnerable and laughed at myself a lot and felt scared but did it anyway. I didn't make the safe and easy choice. I only took on projects that I (mostly!) wanted to do. 

What was your biggest failure?

I don't feel great about the level of self-care I engaged in during the past few months. I'm hoping to turn that around.

Did you suffer illness or injury?

Luckily this was a generally illness/injury-free year! There were definitely some weeks of family cold/flu but nothing out of the ordinary. Keith messed up his knee a few weeks ago which was scary but he'll be okay.

What was the best thing you bought?

My tattoo in Norway. I love it. And my gym membership. Today I heard someone say, "I'd rather be the oldest lady at the gym than the youngest lady in the nursing home." Truth.

Whose behavior merited celebration?

I have a pretty great circle of friends and family around me that I'm always grateful for. Also, democrats did a decent job of showing up this year. Let's keep that going.

Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

I work with a few people that I struggle with their priorities sometimes. And I will never understand anyone that still supports Donald Trump. There is no bottom to the well.

Where did most of your money go?

Mortgage. Bills. Food. Doing stuff. We need a new roof this year... but we don't pay for full-time daycare now which is exciting! Thank you public education.

What did you get really, really, really excited about?

I was really excited to go to Norway with my mom! It was a lovely trip and awesome to see so many new places. And I was really excited to visit Sundara with Jordan in February. It was such a luxurious experience and now I just want to go back every month.

What song will always remind you of 2025?

Ordinary by Alex Warren

Compared to this time last year, are you:

i. happier or sadder?

It depends on the moment.

ii. thinner or fatter?

About the same, maybe a little fatter.

iii. richer or poorer?

It's always hard to say.

What do you wish you'd done more of?

I am always looking for more experiences to give our kids and I'm hoping to do more new things with them in 2026. The Great American Family Roadtrip, perhaps?!

What do you wish you'd done less of?

I spent a lot of money on experiences for myself this year which I don't regret but maybe I could have reined it in a bit. Living is expensive.

Did you fall in love in 2025?

I'm still grateful for my Parker boys everyday.

What was your favorite TV program?

Jordan and I have been watching Pluribus which has been excellent. I still love the Great British Baking show and my trashy reality dating shows. 

What was the best book you read?

I actually kept track this year - I read 40 books! I'm shooting for 50 next year. A bunch of them were thrillers which are always fun and forgettable. Noah got really into Neal Shusterman this year so I read the Unwind series with him. And I read the whole Fourth Wing series. I don't know if I have a favorite from the year but a few honorable mentions are: Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, the Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer, the Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins, Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty, and Dark Maestro by Brendan Slocumb

What was your greatest musical (re)discovery?

I fell into the K-Pop Demon Hunters trend with every other tween parent in the country and I don't hate it. I think I'm going to have a Britney Spears resurgence soon.

What did you want and get?

I'm getting a little witchy. We have some oracle decks, crystals, and sage. I'm into it. Jordan is perplexed. :) Also, we got a cat!

What did you want and not get?

I have wanted to paint our living room and kitchen since we moved into our house over six years ago. Maybe I need to move this up on the priority list for 2026.

What was your favorite film of this year?

I'm pretty sure the only movies I saw in the theatre this year were Dog Man and the Minecraft movie. I should try to see some grown-up movies in the theatre this year.

What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I turned 43 and lifted weights at the gym in the morning, then had a lovely day at school (my classes have been great this fall!) including a fun lunch with my colleagues. Then, a feast of Indian food in the evening! 

What one thing would have made the year immeasurably more satisfying?

A sane person in the White House. 

How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2025?

I am always going to wear jeans, t-shirts, and cardigans.

What political issue stirred you the most?

If I could never hear anything about Charlie Kirk again, that would be awesome. And the Epstein files.

Who did you miss?

I got to connect more with some friends from high school this year which felt really special. I have a lot of people in my heart that are spread around and it seems I never get enough time to see them all.

Who was the best new person you met?

Julia, Emily, and Amy! We all met this summer (I call them my summer friends!) and it's been nice to meet people organically outside of my work or home life. I also met so many lovely people through my stained glass classes, gymnastics, the gym, and yoga. There are so many great people in this world.

Tell us a valuable lesson you learned in 2025:

I heard somewhere a long time ago, "The most important work you'll ever do is figuring out who you are" and I feel like this year I really tried to identify the things in my life that I need to hold onto to, what I can or should let go of, and what I want to put more energy into. This will be a forever-project but I'm happy with the progress I made this year. I have more clarity and peace and pride in myself. 

I sprinkled some images and text throughout this post - these are some of the screenshots I saved on my phone this year. This last one is my favorite: