25 in 2025

This marks my 8th year making one of these lists.  I do not know how I struggled to come up with 18 or 19 items in the beginning because now I can easily get over 20 (not really going great on last year's list certainly helped fill this one) but there are usually 1-2 at the end I get stuck filling.  But

18 in 2018 | How I Did (25%)

19 in 2019 | How I Did (72%)
20 in 2020 | How I Did (85.75%)
21 in 2021 | How I Did (89.5%)
22 in 2022 | How I Did (86.4%)
23 in 2023 | How I Did (79.5%)

24 in 2024 | How I Did (68.33%)

Home Things
1) Make a step on home addition
This has been the plan for some time but we were waiting for Matt to get through school; we could not have handled an addition on top of the school stress last year.  So now we need to at least figure out if what we have in mind is even feasible.

2) Get rid of 500 things
I did a "get rid of 1000 things" challenge with two of my sisters in 2023 and I made it with just hours to spare on New Years Eve.  It cleared out so much extra stuff from our house!  I kinda tracked last year but fell off about April even though we'd occasionally get rid of things through the rest of the year.  Already in 2025 Matt & I have been a bit ruthless going through boxes, especially in the basement (is this the year the basement finally stops being a problem?!?!?).  500 feels like a good number to aim for.

3) Hang boys' jr ranger badges in their room
This is a much cheaper option than #1 and yet crossing off either gets me the same number of "points".  The boys have accumulated 4-5 junior ranger badges each and I'd like to hang them up in their room instead of leaving them to languish in a box.  Basically I need to go to a craft store to buy ribbon but it's something I've been meaning to do for months.

4) Homeschool for at least a semester
You know what, this is a new thing this year but it is taking up a significant amount of my time and even more brain space so I am giving myself an easy one to cross off...since I've already been doing it for 3 weeks, not a full semester yet!  I'm sure I'll write more about it in May or June, when we've survived it, but already it's going much better than the beginning.  I haven't cried in over a week so BIG PROGRESS.  (This, for obvious reasons, counts as a "home thing".)

Food Things
5) Host 6 Cookouts
We hit 7 last year which was an all time best for us but I do not know if we are ambitious enough to get to 8.  Six as a minimum feels good.

6) Eat local once a month
This might be one of the few items that is on the list every year but I also think I've hit it every year?!?!?  Mostly on our dates but we have a local pizza place and a local Chinese place we pick-up from with the boys as well as many ice cream places and a sno-cone one. 

7) Make something from Mel Kitchen Cafe cookbook once a month
I've been following the Mel's Kitchen Cafe blog for many years and not a single one of her recipes has ever steered me wrong (my kids might not like them all but I've been pleased with them).  She released a cookbook in early 2024 I believe and I just got it for Christmas.  I haven't gone through the whole thing but have flipped through it quite a bit.  It's been a LONG time since I bought a cookbook that wasn't ice cream specific (those might be the only ones I've specifically gotten) and thought would be a good challenge to cook at least one thing a month from it.  I've done a "once a month" for a different food project for a few years now, this one might be the easiest since it's so specific? We'll see (January has already been a success!). 

8) Make a standard fall/winter and spring/summer menu plan with grocery list
As I said a few days ago, I'm very close on this one, would really like to have it finally done and then start using it!  Menu planning is a stressor for me, even though I very much see it's usefulness.

9) Make a treatza-pizza
Does anyone remember these from Dairy Queen around 30 years ago??  I was recently reminded of them and decided I need to make one.  So I will try.  I really don't think I can go wrong (from what I remember, it was like an crushed oreo crust, ice cream, and toppings...but more pizza form than ice cream cake).

Fun(ish) Things
10) Go on 10 dates
Years ago we struggled to hit 4 in a year but as the boys have grown, and especially aided by Matt's 4 years of working 4-10s, we've gotten much better at getting these in.  It really helps that they boys are ages where we can leave them alone, at least long enough to go out to eat. 

11) Try 4 new date ideas
Shamelessly stealing this from Kelsey at Rising*Shining.  Our dates are fairly typical going out to eat so I want to try at least 4 new things, even a new restaurant might count, maybe we'll find some new favorites! 

12) Finish 5 photobooks (OBX, 2024, Luke, Sam, summer 2025 vacation)
Three of those I do every year, OBX it last year's trip, and then ideally we'll go somewhere this summer but since my husband is imminently switching jobs, he doesn't have any time off planned for the summer and so nothing planned.  I'm hoping we can get in at least two trips this year but all depends on that job...

13) Buy 3 books I'm excited about
Two of these are from two of my very favorite internet follows, the first being Ordinary Time: Lessons Learned While Staying Put by Annie B. Jones.  She is the owner of The Bookshelf, an independent bookstore in beautiful Thomasville, Georgia.  She also is the host of From the Front Porch, a podcast about books, small business, and life in the south, that I've been listening to for 8+ years.  And I've convinced Matt to make a detour to Thomasville TWICE when driving to/from Florida (the second time I got to meet Annie which truly was a delight).  So very excited to read her debut book (I have already preordered it from her bookstore).  Next is I've Never Been Here Before: Our Family's Year of Budget Travel, Wandering the World, and Finding the Sacred by Ashley Campbell.  I've been following Ashley on Instagram for over a decade, I started when Luke was pretty little (I wrote about it here, 11 years ago, almost exactly!).  She homeschools, adopted her youngest, and has beautiful photography.  From June 2022-June 2023 she and her husband took their 5 kids on a trip around the world and her IG content was one of the best things on the internet those whole 12 months.  I LOVED following along and am so glad she wrote a book on it. Very excited to read this.  And, finally, How to Be Busy: Unhurried Living Even When Your Calendar is Chaotic by Rachelle Crawford.  Her Messy Minimalism was one of my favorite reads of 2022 and she has been a delightful Instagram follower since.  Just a very relatable writing style but also practical advice.  I was very excited to hear she was writing another one.  Affiliate links to Amazon on the last two but I'm going to try to buy them from The Bookshelf, even if I have to ask them to special order (which I have done many times!). 

14) Run outside every month of the year
I was a bit shocked that I managed to hit this last year, the first year I had ever run outside every single month of the year (even though January, February, and December were each a single 2 mile run).  I have been watching the forecast carefully to see if January looked possible before I committed, I wasn't going to be running when our windchill was -16° a few days ago!  But January looks doable and it's one of the two worst months (with December).  February has a better chance of being decent by the end that I often have run at least once in February even before this challenge.  

15) Visit 10 local parks 
Matt actually helped me come up with this one!  We have a decent local park system and there are 5 we visit with some regularity but many I've never been to.  So we decided that we'd visit 10 and do at least SOME activity at each one.  If they have a playground, that counts.  If they do not, we'll have to come up with something else.  These will probably mostly happen between April and October but I'm excited to try some new to us places.

16) Take boys to a movie at the theater
I think Luke has been twice and Sam just once, as a baby which is partially the reason I haven't tried again (it was one of those summer kid movie afternoons where there were many babies and MANY little kids).  But it would just be fun to do this with them.  I don't even remember the last time Matt & I were at a theater (maybe 3 years ago??).  The biggest problem might be finding something decent for the kids to see...

17) Go to the drive-in twice
There was a year when we went 11 times.  That was before kids.  The last many years we've gone one single time, for our wedding anniversary.  And we love it but it'd really be nice to go more than once.  We haven't taken the kids in a few years so that's a big possibility.  Before COVID we'd take them at least once a summer.

18) Watch Little Women
The newest one, from 2019.  I've heard good things about it and I've even owned the DVD for over a year (it was $1 at the school Christmas market).  I should actually watch it.

19) Go to the Farmers Market 6 times
Six feels like a good number.  We maybe only went once before I started putting it on our list and now we are people who go to the Farmers Market!  It's fun but I also have to be in the mood to spend money.  That's not always true but we can usually at least find some food to get.

Just Get These Things DONE or Take Them Off the List
20) Finish our will
Yes, this needs done.  Done. Done. Done.  It needs to be finish.  Stop putting this off, SELF.

21) Art books
SAME.  We're getting to poop or get off the pot territory here.  Commit or give up.  COMMIT.

22) Sell a Lego Millennium Falcon
We've been meaning to sell this for 2 years but, I'll admit, I am very nervous about selling it online and then someone having a problem with the quality (the box is in excellent quality) but adult Lego people are SERIOUS.  But we need one less one in the house. 

23) Figure out how to use Gmail better (clear-up inboxes)
Should I have done this 20 years ago when I set-up the account???  Maybe.  But also, I need a better system.  I want to hold on to some e-mails but I haven't had inbox zero since I first set it up...like I said last year...I have e-mails from around the time we got married in there and that was nearly 19 years ago....

24) Fix tags
I did this partially last year but need to commit to finishing.  This isn't as terrible as some other long lingering items on the list but it's still one I'd like to wrap up.

25) Do a special collection at school
I have two in mind, really two that I've done in the past, but I wasn't able to do either last year and it would be nice to try again this year.  Ideally I'd like to do more with this project BUT homeschool is really cramping my time for many things (this blog among them).  

The first goal is to do better than last year (68.33%).  The second goal is to get an A (90%).  I need to come up with some sort of reward/incentive if I do hit an A...now I need to think about that...

How Did I Do on 24 in 2024

Last year was not the most productive year of my life...some things got done...some things did not.  But with Matt in school ALL YEAR, it feels like an accomplishment that anything really got done at all...

Original 24 in 2024 list
1st quarter update
2nd quarter update
3rd quarter update

Inside Home Things
1) Paint kitchen cabinets (0%)
I have test colors on 2 doors...which have been there nearly 18 months at this point...

2) Replace kitchen cabinet hardware (0%)
No, all connected to the above...and this is the first step that never got going.

3) Make a gallery wall over the couch (100%)
Yes!  100% done and have gotten a lot of compliments on it.  This is one I thought about for many years and I'm glad I finally did it.  (This is how it looked for Christmas, there are 5 more frames behind the tree.)

4) Hang pictures of MIL (100%)
This was a fairly easy one but it is done.

Outside Things
5) Plant Dahlias (100%)
Did this, they grew decently.  Better than my attempt the year before!

6) Run outside every month of the year (100%)
January, February, and December were colder than I normally would have run but I still did it!  And I didn't hate it as much as I expected to.  Just slightly stressful getting them in.

Nagging Tasks
7) Finish our will (5%)
This really needs to happen. 

8) Buy cemetery plots (100%)
We did this, as morbid as it sounds.  But it's done!

9) Get a dumb phone for home (100%)
As our kids are growing older we are leaving them home alone (usually together) more so we got a flip phone so they can call us when they are home without us.  Sometimes, even when we are home, they use it to text me...things like "Hi Mom" or "butt". 

10) Sell a Lego Millennium Falcon (0%)
I've been intending to do this for 2 years...

Food
11) Try a new chicken recipe every month (100%)
Yes!  This was a great project to take on as I aimed to fill out my dinner queues below.  We found MANY chicken recipes that are now in rotation and that Sam actually admits to liking!  Which is super rare. (When I make something new he likes he very enthusiastically tells me "put this on the list of things I like!")

12) Make a standard fall/winter and spring/summer menu plan with grocery list (75%)
Spring/Summer was done but I was only 1/3 done with fall/winter by end of year.  Hoping to wrap this up in the next month.  It will be helpful because I HATE menu planning but I also really see the benefit in it.

13) Host 6 Cookouts (100%)
Hosted 7 if we're getting picky.  This is one we've slowly been working on doing more and this year it felt the most manageable!

Fun Things
14) Go on 10 dates (100%)
Fit this in with a few weeks to spare, especially feels like a big accomplishment with the frequently mentioned "Matt in school all year".

15) Eat local once a month (100%)
Yes!  Often on dates but the boys joined in many times as well.  And frequently more than once a month.

16) Finish 4 photobooks (2023, Luke, Sam, summer 2024 vacation) (75%)
If I had to pick one thing off this list I would have guaranteed I would get done, it probably would have been this one.  AND YET...I didn't make it.  I had our OBX book at about 85% at the end of the year, December just got too crazy to get it done (it's still not completely done but much closer, it will be soon.)

17) Go to the Farmers Market 6 times (100%)
6 times feels like a good number of times for us.  That meant twice to the inside market in the winter/spring, twice to outside market in the summer, and twice back inside in the fall/winter.  

18) Get really good at family games we own but rarely play (1/month) (100%)
I don't know that I would say that we got "really good" at all 12 games but we did introduce 12 games to at least one of the boys (Sam, Luke maybe participated in 9 of them?) and have some good ones to keep in rotation.

Helpful items
19) Buy a grey sweater (to keep) (100%)
This took many tries but I finally found one late in the year.  This was like an 18 month search.

20) Dye a dress (100%)
Very happy with how this turned out and I dyed a sweatshirt then too!

21) Figure out how to use Gmail better (clear-up inboxes) (0%)
This one will probably reapppear on this year's list.  I've been using Gmail for 20 years and I still don't feel like I use it well.

22) Fix tags (25%)
I fixed some but not all, the key is that I need to keep writing down messy ones when I catch them and then bulk fixing them.  But I did fix a good number of the ones I had noted at some point in the year.

23) Art books (10%)
We're getting close to "work on this or take it off the list" status on this one.  I don't even know how many years it's been here.  The more I procrastinate the bigger this project becomes!

24) Make a step on green project at school (50%)
Not as much of a step as I'd like but maybe baby steps.  I don't know.  Many things have lead to my enthusiasm and energy for this depleting.  I started stronger but then...things slowed.

A passing grade but not a great one: 68.33%.  Actually, better than I expected when I did a 3rd quarter check-in.  I've been on a downward trend since 2021 (my best year at 89.5%)...maybe I've been taking this into consideration when making my 2025 list.  That's coming soon!  It would be nice to finally get an A on this!

24 in 2024 - 3rd quarter update

I wish I had a good reason why my list is slow moving this year.  Maybe it's because I've knocked off the lower hanging fruit, per se, of projects and now it's more nitty gritty??  Also, being home all day without kids, during the school year, doesn't quite free me up as much as I thought it might??  Also balancing 2 part-time jobs and various commitments and helping out at school.  Or maybe in 2025 I'll just give myself an easier list!

Original 24 in 2024 list
1st quarter update
2nd quarter update

Inside Home Things
1) Paint kitchen cabinets (0%)
Nothing is happening here.

2) Replace kitchen cabinet hardware (0%)
DITTO

3) Make a gallery wall over the couch (100%)
Did this in the 1st quarter!  And finally reprinted some pictures that I printed the wrong orientation the first time!

4) Hang pictures of MIL (100%)
Finished this is 2nd quarter.

Outside Things
5) Plant Dahlias (100%)
Did this and some came up this year!  It's very exciting.  Now I need to figure out how to winter them. (Is it already too late to do something about that??)

6) Run outside every month of the year (75%)
I am 100% on this through September (and have been running in October).  December is the only remaining month that should be hard.  I nearly always run outside in November anyways. (This was running at the Outer Banks...a post about that trip will be up at some point...)

Nagging Tasks
7) Finish our will (5%)
We need to finish this, so badly.

8) Buy cemetery plots (100%)
We did this in the spring. 

9) Get a dumb phone for home (100%)
Did this in early summer.  It's proven handy more than once already!  And glad it's a cell phone because there are times we can let Luke wander a bit more (like at our high school football game where there are middle school kids all over the place) and just text him when it's time to come back!

10) Sell a Lego Millennium Falcon (0%)
I have wanted one of these out of the house for nearly 2 years.  I need to get that done.

Food
11) Try a new chicken recipe every month (75%)
Have been successful on this every month through September and we have found some new favorites to work into our rotation!  I already have one planned for October too.

12) Make a standard fall/winter and spring/summer menu plan with grocery list (65%)
The spring/summer one is done and I even made a standard grocery list to go with it.  Now that we are back to fall/winter meals I need to finish up that one. 

13) Host 6 Cookouts (83%)
At end of September we had done 5 (we've since done TWO more to exceed this goal!).  We didn't make this one last year so were much more intentional in getting it done this year!  It's one of those things we've longed meant to do but takes some intention to get done.

Fun Things
14) Go on 10 dates (80%)
We had done 8 by end of September (and another since).  Matt has A LOT of days off between now and the end of the year in order to finish school strong but it's not too hard to fit in a breakfast or lunch out too.  Although maybe we should do a few more extensive dates than just a meal out. 

 

15) Eat local once a month (75%)
Had done at least once a month through September.  These are often our dates but sometimes something with the boys too.  There's a local pizza place nearby that we all like.

16) Finish 4 photobooks (2023, Luke, Sam, summer 2024 vacation) (75%)
All are done and here besides our OBX vacation that I haven't even started but trying to get all our other current photobooks updated first.

17) Go to the Farmers Market 6 times (66%)
Have gone 4 times, twice indoors, twice when it was outdoors.  Matt & I walked through the outdoor one a 5th time but didn't buy anything so I'm not counting it. 

18) Get really good at family games we own but rarely play (1/month) (58%)
We are two months behind on this right now although in late September we taught the boys SPOONS and they really liked that one.  I need to plan out our last 5 so it's easier to do one when we have time on the weekend.

Helpful items
19) Buy a grey sweater (to keep) (10%)
I have bought many, none quite right yet.

20) Dye a dress (100%)
I did this the day before school started so I could wear it to the rehearsal dinner for our niece's wedding a few days later.  I was kinda nervous about it but it turned out really well and I got compliments on the color from people who didn't even know I dyed it!  I've worn it many times since, definitely was worthwhile.  (The color recipe I followed was Rooftop Restaurant from RitDye and those are the dyes I used.)

21) Figure out how to use Gmail better (clear-up inboxes) (0%)
I still have many more e-mails in there than I know I need.  This needs help.

22) Fix tags (25%)
I have started writing down the wrong ones when I come across them but need to actually work on fixing them.  A windows update a few years ago but this much harder to sort than it used to be.  I'm still a bit grouchy about it.

23) Art books (10%)
Are these going to be like the end table project that I have on here for years (it's already been on here for years) before it eventually gets done?  Or will it just never get done?  I'm still not sure.  But it's on my list to get to this month.  

24) Make a step on green project at school (50%)
We are working on a BIG step that needs some more time given to it...but it's something I have wanted for years, just need to finish the project!

56% Well, progress since June but not as far along as I'd like!  Maybe some motivation to just get some of these things done in the next few weeks before the Christmas crazy kicks in!

24 in 2024 - 2nd quarter update

We're halfway through Summer break AND halfway through the year!  Really, summer break hasn't flown by but I think we've been packing in memories as we can which helps it seem longer.  And the year as a whole probably feels extra long because of Matt's school.  Rather mixed feelings with that being over (yay!) but mixed with how much time will have passed (boo!).  But the boys and I have been making the most of the summer and Matt's been able to do some big trips with us.  I haven't been the most productive with my list though I believe, although I have knocked out a few!

Original 24 in 2024 list
1st quarter update

Inside Home Things
1) Paint kitchen cabinets (0%)
No new progress...I maintain that I need Matt to figure out the hinges before I can really move forward so I know if I'm covering the visible holes from those...but he has no time...maybe over his semester break we can get to this.

2) Replace kitchen cabinet hardware (0%)
Ditto to above.

3) Make a gallery wall over the couch (100%)
Finished in the 1st quarter although I still should use the museum wax stuff (borrowed from my sister) to keep them straight.

4) Hang pictures of MIL (100%)
Just had a fill the second frame to finish this and I pulled one from Matt's childhood album.

Outside Things
5) Plant Dahlias (100%)
Will they grow???  Who knows.  But I did plant them for the second year!

6) Run outside every month of the year (50%)
The iffy months on this were January and February.  Now I'm running often but still feels good to check this off with my first run of the month!

Nagging Tasks
7) Finish our will (5%)
I have thought about finishing reading it...

8) Buy cemetery plots (100%)
We did this in April I think.  Makes for a super cheery date.  But it's done!

9) Get a dumb phone for home (100%)
Got this in the last week of June.  The boys have a very dumb phone that is just supposed to be for getting a hold of us (or another responsible adult) when they are home alone.  However...they can't seem to stop messing with it.  They like texting me "hi".  So a lot of conversations about that already...

10) Sell a Lego Millennium Falcon (0%)
I think this will be a "after school starts" project in the burst of "I have a lot of free time" energy.

Food
11) Try a new chicken recipe every month (50%)
Have done this every month AND found a few we've really liked, enough to add to our usual rotation!

12) Make a standard fall/winter and spring/summer menu plan with grocery list (25%)
I've been working on our spring/summer one and I need ONE MORE chicken recipe to finish it out.  So maybe July's new recipe will be the keeper???  That would be helpful.

13) Host 6 Cookouts (33%)
Between Matt's school load and the weather...not as far along with this as I would have liked.  Hope to get these done!  We still have time!

Fun Things
14) Go on 10 dates (50%)
Were very consistent on once a month until June.  Matt hasn't been able to get much time off in the summer and with his school load, it's hard to fit in after work.  But he has a lot of days off once school starts so we'll get caught back up then. 

15) Eat local once a month (50%)
Yes, have hit this every month!  

16) Finish 4 photobooks (2023, Luke, Sam, summer 2024 vacation) (75%)
All of them finished and in our possession other than for our vacation we have yet to even take.  I even have our annual book and Sam's current book caught up to early June!

17) Go to the Farmers Market 6 times (50%)
We've gone three times!  We being Sam & I.  Luke may have gone once.  Feeling good about this.  

18) Get really good at family games we own but rarely play (1/month) (42%)
We missed in May and still need to make that one up but it's been fun to play some new ones with the boys even though they are VERY resistant in the beginning. 

Helpful items
19) Buy a grey sweater (to keep) (0%)
Fall thing.

20) Dye a dress (15%)
I finally picked a color and bought all the dye.  Now I just need to do it.  And figure out how to do it first.  Hopefully this month.

21) Figure out how to use Gmail better (clear-up inboxes) (0%)
This is also falling in the "when I have a lot of new free time energy" after school starts.

22) Fix tags (0%)
And this one too.

23) Art books (5%)
I have worked on sorting some already photographed pictures!  It's something!

24) Make a step on green project at school (10%)
Nope.  I tried in the spring but nothing came of it.  Need to make some plans for the new school year.  

40%! Still behind for the year...but same amount behind as at end of 1st quarter! Need to figure out a few of these I can work on over the summer still!

24 in 2024 - 1st quarter update

We're 25% of the way through 2024 and time for me to check-in on my progress on my 24 in 2024 list!  I have a feeling this isn't going to be a great check-in.  Some things just aren't moving like I had hoped.

Original 24 in 2024 List

Inside Home Things
1) Paint kitchen cabinets (0%)
Have made no movements on this.  Picked out and bought the paint for the lowers last fall but a large part of this is waiting to figure out if we can move the hinges inside and I need Matt's help determining that and he just hasn't had time with school.  On the list for his upcoming semester break but that list is also getting very long.

2) Replace kitchen cabinet hardware (0%)
I bought new pulls last year but we haven't done anything on replacing them yet (painting is holding it up).

3) Make a gallery wall over the couch (100%)
This is one I was excited to get done! I mocked it up early in the year on my computer, bought frames in February, and then spent quite a bit of time in March measuring it all out.  I may do a post about this??  I was motivated to get these up before our boys' joint birthday party in late March and we finished hanging them between our niece's wedding and reception the day before our birthday party...

4) Hang pictures of MIL (95%)
It's all hung but we need one more picture to fill a frame.  We framed the last picture we have of the 4 of us (Matt, myself, our boys) with Matt's parents and I wanted a childhood-ish picture of Matt with his Mom for the other.  But I haven't pulled one from his album yet.

Outside Things
5) Plant Dahlias (0%)
A spring thing. 

6) Run outside every month of the year (25%)
I ran outside in January!  On a day it had snowed earlier!  Then once in February and twice in March.  So on target for now.  January, February, and December were going to be the hardest months for this and I have two of them done!

Nagging Tasks
7) Finish our will (0%)
No new progress since 2022...

8) Buy cemetery plots (0%)
At the end of March we had no progress on this but we do have an appointment for later this month. 

9) Get a dumb phone for home (0%)
Maybe adding this to Matt's very long semester break list (when he'll still be working his regular job and doing clinicials although he did take a couple days completely off both).

10) Sell a Lego Millennium Falcon (0%)
I really would like this out of the house and the money from it...

Food
11) Try a new chicken recipe every month (25%)
Yes!  We've done this and 2 of them (one in April) have been keepers.  SAM even liked one and I had to take a video of him saying that because he has previously declared that he likes nothing I make.

12) Make a standard fall/winter and spring/summer menu plan with grocery list (0%)
Haven't made any new progress on this but more chicken recipes will help!

13) Host 6 Cookouts (0%)
Haven't had the weather for it yet but hope to get some on the calendar soon!

Fun Things
14) Go on 10 dates (20%)
We missed one in March with me being sick in the beginning of the month and then Matt having various dental procedures on his other days off late in the month.  But have two tentatively planned for May.

15) Eat local once a month (25%)
We've done this at least once a month so far! (Just don't always remember the picture.)

16) Finish 4 photobooks (2023, Luke, Sam, summer 2024 vacation) (25%)
2023 is finished and ordered.  Luke's and Sam's would have been close at the end of March and between when I am writing this and it posts, I should have them done (I have one page left in each).  I'll wait for a sale to order though.

17) Go to the Farmers Market 6 times (17%)
Sam & I went once while Luke was serving a funeral and Matt had school!  

18) Get really good at family games we own but rarely play (1/month) (25%)
We have added three to our rotation, not always with the whole family because I can't always get everyone interested in the same games but we added Clue, Snap, and Trionimos!

Helpful items
19) Buy a grey sweater (to keep) (0%)
I have not been successful with this yet.

20) Dye a dress (0%)
This is a warm weather one, maybe in May?  I also need to pick a color for sure.  Really, convince myself that it's worth a little extra money to dye it my favorite blue (which would take 2-3 bottles of different colors mixed) instead of just one bottle of the cheapest blue.

21) Figure out how to use Gmail better (clear-up inboxes) (0%)
I have made no progress on this BUT I did find a setting on my phone that archives all the e-mails I delete on there instead of deleting deleting them.  So that's why I have THOUSANDS of old e-mails in my archives.

22) Fix tags (0%)
Noooo...just a baby step of writing down wrong tags I find would be a start...

23) Art books (0%)
Am I ever going to get going on this one??  That's great question.  I am reassured by how long the sand box and end table sat on this list before they eventually got done!

24) Make a step on green project at school (10%)
I've had some meetings, phone calls, e-mails but haven't actually accomplished any changes yet.

15.3%!!  I was correct in thinking I wasn't getting very far in most of these!  Hopeful for some good 2nd quarter progress, especially on the outside ones.  Yikes!  Good reminder of what I need to keep working on!

Word of the Year: CONTENT

2023 was, unexpectedly, a hard year for our family.  The second half of the year, in particular, held a multitude of changes that just kept feeling like they were coming on after the other.  The loss of my mother-in-law; Sam starting school ending my stay-at-home mom years; Matt going back to school; I picked up another part-time job; Luke picked up trumpet, serving at Mass, and is now in sports almost half the year.  It was just a lot and some changes I feel like I am STILL adjusting too (it might be easier to adjust if the kids would have normal days of school in a row...we haven't had 2 solid full days in a row yet, 3 weeks in).  But it's been a lot to take in.

With that in mind, I've been thinking about what my word of the year should be and then it hit me.  Content.  As in, being satisfied with life, not "blog content".  Going into it, I expect this year to be a hard one, just with the simple fact that Matt will be in school all. dang. year.  Plus, instead of having 2 days off to work on homework (and go on dates with me, help with school pick-up/drop-off AND be here to help with the boys' homework), he's now doing clinicals on those days meaning he has to fit in almost as much classwork as last fall but with less hours to do it.  The last quarter of the year was A LOT of solo parenting on my part and I expect the same for almost the whole year this year.  He's doing an intensive program that it taking a lot out of the whole family.

Then there is the whole turning 40 of it all (which also happened last year) and just the general life stage we are at with the boys' schedules and sports and on top of all of that...IT'S WINTER.  (I hate being cold.)  I knew, especially heading into January and February which would contain the bulk of the wrestling season, be cold, and the daylight so short (and so cloudy when the sun is up)...I needed to focus being content with life, even with all of it's challenges right now.  Plus, I didn't realize how much Christmas was keeping my spirits up (the anticipation of it, planning for it, decorating, baking, shopping, wrapping, those 2+ weeks everyone was off) until I had to pack it all away about the same time everyone was headed back to school (maybe, sort of, when there isn't elearning).  And now next Christmas is a really long time away.

It's so easy to dwell on the negative and what is going "wrong" in life.  Does anyone get exactly what they expect?  I am guessing not.  I thought we'd have more kids, that I could handle all the schedules better, that homework wouldn't be the battle that it often turns out to be.  I guess I just thought life would be easy? Hahaha.  That's not the case for anyone.  And there are things I can do to change my life circumstance but the biggest thing I can change is my own attitude.  I can be content with where things are right now.  Our boys are both still at home, at the same school together (I watch them walk up the stairs together every single day.).  We are only dealing with ONE sports schedule (I was just telling Matt earlier today that the time will come when they might be doing the same sport but they will never overlap to be doing the same sport at the same school!). 

It can still knock me over to realize what a miracle it even is that we are a family at all.  How easily either of them could have been placed with other families or kept by their birth mothers.  It feels like it beats all the odds that they are brothers at all and the thought of that makes me weepy and so glad with how life has turned out. (Even if one or both of them have shouted in the last week "I wish you weren't my brother!" Do all kids do that?  I don't remember ever telling a sister that but maybe I did.)

When I think about it like that, it's a lot easier to be content with how my life is right now, even with all of it's challenges.  I don't want to wish away the next 11 months until Matt is out of school.  We've talked many times about how old the boys will be then, even though it's just a year away.  Nearly 7 and 12.  What the actual what.  (I am NOT coping well with the idea of my baby being 6 soon.)  The boys will still snuggle up with me for books (the snuggling doesn't happen every night but I make dang sure the books do!).  Sam will still hold my hand to cross roads.  They still need us, very much, in their day to day life (although, as an adult, I am constantly surprised at how much I need my own parents still).  

There is a lot of goodness in spite of all the challenges right now, for this year.  Matt's year of schooling will be worth it, eventually, when he has a better work situation, comes home less stressed and exhausted (he's gotten a taste of that life with his clinicals so far...his new job will give him time to go to the bathroom at work!).  The boys won't be home forever, a fact I think of constantly.  Maybe it's a stretch to be excited about this year but I can be content and just contentment is a great feeling.  Being content might be the bare minimum I can reach this year but that will be enough.   

2023: Adventure
2022: Fun
2021: Small
2020: Early
2019: Discipline
2018: Simplifying
2017: Grace
2016: Intentionally
2015: Curating

24 in 2024

Christmas decorations are finally down (finished on the 15th...I would say that's the latest every but I know one of the first years we were married that I still had some things up in March...) so it's time to really start thinking about this year.  Matt will be in school nearly the entire year (he'll finish right before Christmas 2024 and gets a few weeks off during the year) which just means this year will be a lot different than other years.  Boys & I spend more time together and Matt's off (mostly in his office) doing his schoolwork.  So this year just feels different but it's still going to be a good year!  I am determined!

This is my 7th year of publishing one of these lists on the blog and I've mostly gotten a passing grade although never even hitting an A.  May this year be the year!

18 in 2018 | How I Did (25%)

19 in 2019 | How I Did (72%)
20 in 2020 | How I Did (85.75%)
21 in 2021 | How I Did (89.5%)
22 in 2022 | How I Did (86.4%)
23 in 2023 | How I Did (79.5%)

 Inside Home Things
1) Paint kitchen cabinets
Always good to start with where you failed the year before...I have a possible time blocked out for this though AND already have the paint for the lowers so I am slightly more optimistic this will happen this year!

2) Replace kitchen cabinet hardware
This one might be a little harder because I am still holding out hope that I can get the hinges moved inside the cabinets instead of mounted on the outside like they currently are.  We'll see, either way I want to replace the pulls.  It's still the ones that came with the house 18 years ago!

3) Make a gallery wall over the couch
This is one I've been considering doing for awhile and I think will finally do this year.  I have frames kinda picked but need to do the math of how many I can fit.  I've even had some pictures pulled for this in a folder on my computer for YEARS.  (Although I did delete about half of those that I pulled all those years ago.)  It might mean more frames to wrap at Christmas but would be exciting to finally do the gallery after I've kinda been thinking about it for years.  (This is the wall the couch is on most of the year, we move it for the Christmas tree and then don't move it back until we're getting ready for the boys' birthday party in March.)

4) Hang pictures of MIL
When my mother-in-law died last summer, my parents and sisters gave us a garden stone with a quote on it.  I don't think I want to put it in the backyard but hang it on a wall in the stairs (it does have a hanger on it) and then hang two pictures with my MIL in them with it. (I've already printed one of them!  The last picture we took of our family of 4 with Matt's parents.) Matt has approved this plan but we were waiting until after Christmas since there was something else hanging there then.   

Outside Things
5) Plant Dahlias
MAYBE this year they will take!

6) Run outside every month of the year
I have run every month, January - December, but never all in the same calendar year.  I'd really like to do this and I WAS checking the 10 day forecast to see the possibility of it happening in January (I will not run in the bitter cold we've been having or on ice.)  December is really the only other iffy month, I nearly always run, at least once, March - November and often in February.  We'll see if I can make it happen.

Nagging Tasks
7) Finish our will
We met with an attorney over a year ago, in late 2022, to start the process...but we've never finished it.  We need to finish it.  

8) Buy cemetery plots
Equally cheery...we've been talking about doing this ever since MIL died.  Our parents will all be buried at the same cemetery so it makes sense for us to go there too...and I know it would, eventually, in DECADES hopefully, take a little bit of the burden off the boys if we got this taken care of.

9) Get a dumb phone for home
As we occasionally start leaving the boys home alone, we need a phone for them so they can get a hold of us.  I want a dumb phone that can only text and call that we only give the number to a very select number of people, Matt & I, family members who live especially close, etc.  

10) Sell a Lego Millennium Falcon
We bought a few a few years ago that have been sitting in our closet or under our bed every since.  The Christmas we were engaged, I gave Matt one of these (neither version we have to sell) and it remains maybe the best gift surprise I've ever gotten him (this was when the internet was MUCH LESS HELPFUL for shopping than it is now!).  We've been planning on selling one for months, we just need to actually do it.  The price is 2-3x's what we paid for it!  I even have a box it could ship in! (That was a holdup for a long time.)

Food
11) Try a new chicken recipe every month
I try to do a beef, chicken, vegetarian (mostly meatless pasta) meal rotation and we are severely lacking in the chicken recipes right now.  And chicken is even easier to cook in the Instant Pot than beef! I need to find some more idea to round out our standards. Making myself try a different one each month is a start.

12) Make a standard fall/winter and spring/summer menu plan with grocery list
I started this a few years ago, after reading The Lazy Genius Kitchen, but haven't completely fine tuned it yet.  (More chicken recipes would help.)  I never got to the grocery list part of this and that would be very helpful.  My current (not finished plan) is 3 sets of 2 week menu that we'd just rotate through.  But I need to finish this up because menu planning is one of my least favorite tasks, even though I'm always glad to have done it. 

13) Host 6 Cookouts
So close last year.  This will be the year! Maybe!

Fun Things
14) Go on 10 dates
We hit at least that last year.  This might be harder this year since Matt should no longer have his day off every week (after 4 years!) since he has to do clinicals on those days but he has taken an extra day off (paid) work about every 3 weeks to catch up on schoolwork so we could still do some of these then.  And there is also the times our kids are home too.  I think we can get in 10.

15) Eat local once a month
This has gotten pretty ingrained into our routine ever since we started doing it years ago.  We rarely eat from non-local restaurants besides the occasional fast food and have found many local favorites.  

16) Finish 4 photobooks (2023, Luke, Sam, summer 2024 vacation)
Only one vacation this year with Matt's school schedule and I have the other 3 books nearly completely up to date!  Maybe I'll spend less time on this this year.

17) Go to the Farmers Market 6 times
Last year we made it 4 times!  I think we can up that a little this year, especially now that I know where both indoor markets are!  

18) Get really good at family games we own but rarely play (1/month)
We got Monopoly Deal last year and played it constantly, almost immediately, to the point where we all got good at it very fast.  That makes it easy to work into our game rotation.  We have many other games we've never all developed that comfort with and I'd like it if we did.   I don't know that there are 12 we don't play regularly but once we get through the unplayed ones we can circle back to ones we play but not super often.  Plus, at nearly 6 and 11 (WHAT!?!?!?) the boys are good ages for this.

Helpful items
19) Buy a grey sweater (to keep)
I have had the HARDEST time finding a grey sweater that I like enough to keep.  The fit is always off, either too long or too short.  I've bought and returned many because nothing has worked.  It would feel like an accomplishment to find one I like enough to keep.  And wear.

20) Dye a dress
There is a dress that I own that I like the fit and cut of but it is in a color that doesn't work with my skin tone.  Too pastel and I need darker colors since my skin is so pale.  I have the dress.  I even bought the dye!  I just need to do it (probably when the weather is a little warmer at least, for outside dying).

21) Figure out how to use Gmail better (clear-up inboxes)
Towards the end of college, I set-up a gmail address and that is what I have used for nearly 20 years.  However, I have NEVER put the time in to figuring out how to best use it.  One of the inboxes has 130 e-mails, some going back years (I still have one from a friend saying she can't make our wedding).  I know there has to be a better organization system for this...I just don't know what it is.  Also, there are places where I find TONS of realllllly old e-mails, like library notifications from years ago, that I thought I had deleted.  WHY are those there????

22) Fix tags
I've been tagging my pictures on my computer for many years.  Windows changed how I can sort by those now so it's gotten harder to see where I've mistyped or accidentally combined some tags.  Occasionally the wrong one pops up when I am tagging something and I've been intending to go back and fix these...for years.  Probably need to start with writing down the wrong ones that I find. 

23) Art books
This is a multi-year project with little forward progress.  I have one kid who keeps asking to look at his...which has never gotten close to the printing stage.  I'd really like to get these done.  

24) Make a step on green project at school
What is that step?  I don't know.  But I am writing this after having done lunch duty at school and the waste is disgusting (who knew most kids won't eat oranges???  At least at school.).  I actually have another meeting set-up with the principal next week (in the past by the time this publishes) so we'll see what we can get going. 

Let's see how this goes!  If you make a similar list, I'd love to read it!

How Did I Do on 23 in 2023

Well, the moment of truth.  I do not feel like this was my best year on this.  When I wrote this list last January I didn't know my husband would be going back to school in the fall which realllllllllly reduced the amount of time he had to help me with projects (putting it at basically zero).  So I can blame part of this on that!  But some of it was me too and how behind I got on so many things over the summer that took me basically a lot of fall to catch up on!  I don't know my grade yet, let's see how it went!

Inside Home Things
1) Reorganize bottom of basement stairs (100%)
This was one big project Matt finished before school started.  It's such an improvement over the decade+ mess that was there before.

2) Paint kitchen cabinets (5%)
I picked out a color for the lower and did test swatches.  So I got that far.  Matt has 2 weeks off between semesters in the spring and I am really pushing this to get done then (and maybe hiring a nephew to help me prep them so Matt just has to help with the painting and.....)

3) Replace kitchen hardware (0%)
And help with this too.  See, I have really been pushing for hidden hinges, on the inside.  Which has taken A LOT to work to source and we still don't have it all figured out.  We have an old house and the cabinets may be original, around 90 years old.  It's not an easy thing to find the right interior hinges for those!

4) Simplify fridge & back door (100%)
That was a early one I knocked off and have mostly maintained it! (This was largely helped my relocating where we display kid art.)

5) Replace bathroom light (0%)
This has turned into just re-wiring the current one but it's another one that didn't happen (I blame school).

6) Make flamingo pillow covers (100%)
Did this and they are delightful although currently packed away for winter. 

7) Do a thorough clean-out of a significant area once a month (100%)
I did do a lot of simplifying and even more decluttering in 2023, finishing the "declutter 1000 things" challenge I was doing with two of my sisters (finished that on New Years Eve) so I'm calling it a win. 

Outside Home Things
8) Replace string light timer (100%)
Yep, did this over the summer.

9) Make another raised garden bed (100%)
One that lingered on the list for 2 years but did happen!  I am bit surprised by that!  We worked on this the first two days the boys were off school for the summer and then planted pumpkins which were a delight to watch grow!

10) Plant a vegetable that we will eat (100%)
We planted green beans which we ate some of and carrots which we ate zero of.  And tomatoes which Matt ate some of but I mostly gave to my sister for her to use in her canning.

11) Plant dahlias (100%)
I PLANTED them.  They never grew (just like all our sunflowers) but I did plant them. I will try again.

12) Host 6 cookouts (83.33%)
I should amend that to "have people over 6 times" and then I could count the boys' birthday party but...that's not what I wrote.  5 times is still more than many other years!

Food
13) Bake with boys once a month (100%)
I intended this to be more "teach the boys to bake something once a month" but really was just what I wrote...baking with them once a month, mostly Sam because Luke had little interest.  But Sam & I baked every month!

14) Eat local once a month (100%)
Easily at least once a month.  I love an excuse to eat out (or, mostly, pick-up food and eat at home).

15) Farmers market 4 times (100%)
Yes!  Only once to the outdoors market but Sam & I hit the indoor ones 3 times, once with Luke too!

Fun
16) Go on 10 dates (100%)
At least 10, counting got weird once boys were in school and Matt still had his day off every week.  We'd usually go out for lunch or breakfast every other week or so on those days.

17) Finish 5 photobooks (San Antonio, 2022, Sam, Luke, 2023 vacation) (100%)
I finished SEVEN!  San Antonio (went in fall 2022), 2022 Sam, Luke, 2023 vacation to Cocoa Beach, 2023 trip to Chicago, and 2023 trip to Cuyahoga.  Catching up on photobooks was a BIG project once the boys were in school.  I have one page left in our 2023 book right now and am working on December for both boys.  I'm MUCH more on top of them now.

18) Read Rose Code by Kate Quinn (100%)
Did this in the fall, it was a fantastic read and I'm glad I didn't kick it off my TBR for being long.

Useful
19) Make packing lists (100%)
Yep, did that and use them.  Have one for hotels, one for our KOA deluxe cabins, one for Jellystone rustic cabins, and one for Air BnBs (largely similar but each place needs slightly different things!)

20) Systemize keeping quotes from the boys (50%)
I still never copied quote off Twitter which is where I documented a lot of the funny things Luke said when he was 2-3ish.  I should do that.

21) Art books (40%)
I haven't touched these in months.  2024 will be the year!

22) Recycle sneakers (100%)
YES!  I intended to try it first for just us and some family but then I started a green club at school and the principal suggested we bump this one up so we did and got 104 pairs!  That was A LOT of shoes but felt so good to have it done!

23) Project at Luke's School (50%)
Actually, there is quite a bit of momentum going on this right now, things picked up right after Thanksgiving.  I really want to reduce waste and make things more sustainable and green there...it's just been slow progress.  BUT there IS progress.  Baby steps are still steps.

Final score...79.49%.  Those cabinets were a bit of a grade killer.  My worst grade since pre-pandemic!  But...still got some things done and, with Matt in school ALL YEAR, maybe I'll make a list for 2024 that needs his help less!  Hah.  Still feel good about what I got done and will try to do better (or make an easier list...) next year!

1st quarter update
2nd quarter update
3rd quarter update

18 in 2018 | How I Did (25%)

19 in 2019 | How I Did (72%)
20 in 2020 | How I Did (85.75%)
21 in 2021 | How I Did (89.5%)
22 in 2022 | How I Did (86.4%)
23 in 2023 | How I Did (79.49%)