25 for 2025!

Can you believe that October is almost over? And as the month draws to an end, it means we are that much closer to the holidays... and the end of the year.

Look, I'm not trying to wish away this year. Although, after the mess that October tried to make, I won't be all that sad to see it go. From middle school bullies coming for my daughter and having reign in that mama bear rage (I did good, though) to my son getting pneumonia leading Babe and I to function on maybe three hours of sleep a night... tops. Oh and my shifts at work were full-flexed- meaning we stayed the extra hour they can keep up--multiple times in a single week...

Yeah. October has been one for the books and I'm done with this particular chapter.

But that also... with the coming and soon-to-be going of Halloween, we've officially entered "holiday season." Whatever your gift-giving holiday may be, I know we're all starting to feel the crunch of what to get, how to afford it, and do you wrap or gift-bag that shit?

Personally, I love a good gift bag. Babe is a "presents must be wrapped" kinda guy.

Sorry.

ADD moment.

Back to topic.

Anyways, yeah. End of October means that the New Year will be here before you know it. And I'm really big on planning for things, so I've gone ahead and prepped a few things that I think will help me in 2025.

The first is my Goals List, also known as my "25 for 2025 List." This list contains goals I'll set for myself to accomplish before the clock strikes midnight on 1/1/2026. These goals range from super simple- knock them out immediately items to long-term items. There are even a few things that can only be done on a certain day. I'll explain as I go.

But first: why don't we review my 24 for 2024.

I broke these up into four groups, using the acronym P.I.N.K. to keep them organized. P.I.N.K. stood for Pride, Intelligence, Novelty, and Kindness.

24 for 2024

• P(ride)

  • Complete 4 BODi programs with 1 week delay, MAX

  • Run 2 5Ks

  • Walk 240 minutes per week

  • Publish 4 books

  • Newsletter subscribers reach 480

  • Monthly income to support 1 project start to finish

• I(ntelligence)

  • Attend 4 seminars

  • Read 6 Self-Awareness or Memoirs

  • Read 1 Finance book

  • Save $600 this year

  • Find 1 online course to take

  • 30 days of Culture

• N(ovelty)

  • Find Perfect "Daily Wear" jewelry

  • Attend Romance Author/Reader Meet Up

  • 4 Cross Stitch Projects

  • Celebrate Son/Daughter Days

  • Have Blankets made with kids' baby clothes

  • New Lamp

• K(indness)

  • Send 6 notes of encouragement

  • Donate 4-6 items per month

  • Promote 1 new project per month

  • Donate Plasma twice a month when possible

  • Do 4 random acts of kindness

Word of the Year: PINK

Question of the Year: Who does this help?

Did I accomplish any of them, as of right now?

Well, yes. A few but not nearly as many as I would like to say I had. I'll probably do a full review towards the end of the year when I can say with better confidence what I completed and what I didn't

Moving on to 2025.

I've been thinking about this list for a while. Usually around June or July, I start jotting down ideas of things I think would be good to put on the list. And them, around this time each year, I go through all the items and figure out which ones I want to focus on. Some years it's easier than others. This year wasn't all that bad, to be honest. Part of it is because I know I'll be turning 40 in 2025, so I can always make a "To do in my 40s" List for things that pop up and seem interesting.

So, I have 24 items on my list plus a Free Spot that I can add in when/if something pops up that I really want to do, without having to remove anything from my list.

25 for 2025 List

• Treadmill 4x a week

• Online shop open by 3/1/2025

• All published books on Audible by Dec. 31st

• Get Driveway resealed

• Join or Create a Writers Group

• Have 1 book showcased

• Start Editor Certification Process

• New Tattoo

• Complete 1 book Challenge

• 15 ARC Reviews per book by Dec.

• Save $2,025

• Read 25 (physical TBR) books from my bookshelves

• Have Book Art Commissioned

• Paint Shed doors OR Front Doors

• 1 Family Trip

• 3 Girls' Nights

• 1 "Bigger Date" with each kid

• Hire PA for Reels

• Blankets made with Kids' clothes

• Attend WWITC

• Complete 5 creative projects

• Attend 5 workshops

• Complete 5 publishing projects

• Get hormones checked

• FREE SPACE!

WOTY: MAGIC

What Does this all mean? Why do you think you'll do better in 2025?

Those are great questions! And honestly, there's not a straight forward answer. Instead of trying to condense it down, I'm going to walk you through my entire thought process.

COLOR OF THE YEAR

I knew early on that I wanted my Color of the year to be Blue, but not just any shade of blue. I wanted all the blues.

It stemmed from something Gretchen Rubin mentioned when she talked about the time her WOTY was "WAVE." She said her symbol was that Japanese artwork with the wave; it's recognizable by nearly everyone--especially if your kiddo was big on Little Einsteins like my oldest was!

Anyways, it got me thinking about waves. I thought I wanted my WOTY for 2025 to be something to do with waves or water and I just kept thinking about the time Babe took the kids and me out on a boat when the water was super choppy. The waves were shades of blue from super dark to their white caps. Every shade of blue was there in each crest of water. I didn't end up with a word or symbol that directly relates to waves or water, but the ombre blue color scheme is sticking.

WORD OF THE YEAR

My WOTY is going to be MAGIC. Why magic? Well because I want a word that conveys multiple meanings and images. Magic does that.

See, people used to think the tides and water were magical, mythical. They didn't understand then the connection the moon had to the rising and falling of the water level. At least not to the degree we do now. Water is holy is so many religions and cultures. It's associated with purification and cleansing. Even in ancient times, the revered water as places of rebirth. So many ancient Greek and Roman and even Egyptian myths take place around or include aspects of water.

I want to remind myself of the good things all the time. That even when I'm stock piling things that suck or moments that I wish would just end already... I can reframe that. I can think of the fact that people used to see magic in everything. From the star inside an apple to using dead/rotting animals in potions; Old Wives Tales still exist and they revolve around simple magic in some form or fashion.

That's what I want to think about. I want to consider the magic in the gross, in the problems, in the stress and mess around me. I want to remember to make memories with my kids and Babe together and individually because I know all too well the powerful magic memories can hold; they bring back our loved ones if even just for a moment.

Also--on a sillier note: MAGIC is five letters. Five times Five is Twenty-five, which is what next year will end in.

SYMBOL OF THE YEAR

This is going to be the simple depiction of the phases of the moon. It's the physical manisfestation of the moon which is connected to the tides and water. The simple version is also very easy to bring the blue-ombre color scheme to life.

Why do you think 2025 will be different?

You know, I've been struggling a lot this year. It seems like every time I started to get things under control, I'd flip the chair on its head and WHAM! I'm back to fighting for some sort of new normal.

I want to do better next year. Which is why...

I'm making it into a game!

Yep. A game!

I'm going to be playing a long-term version of BINGO.

I made out my list and kept it pretty random. Just, as I thought of something, I'd add it. If I didn't want it to be on the list, I'd just delete it. This led to a pretty mixed bag of items on my 25 for 2025 list.

I am using those numbers (the order the items present on the list) to correspond to the BINGO Card.

I went onto BINGO Creator and had them generate a random positioning for the items on my list. In Canva, I created my own BINGO Card, but--instead of writing each item out individually--I simple wrote the corresponding number.

Now, when I do an item on my list, I'll take a dobber or marker of some kind and boink! Mark that one as done!

Here is a visual of what my "game board" looks like. It encapsulates every aspect in a single image. My WOTY, COTY, SOTY, and 25 for 2025 List... all neatly and creatively illustrated. Each of the numbers corresponds to the list I posted above.

What's the incentive for completing each item?

I'm a sucker for prizes. It's sad, but true. I can get highly competitive when I know there's a prize at the end of the tunnel.

So, I'm leaning into that next year.

You can get a total of 12 BINGOS on any given 5x5 card. 5 Vertical, 5 Horizontal, 2 Diagonal. I made a list of 12+ things I would like to get or do or make when I get a BINGO. (This was another reason I had the computer randomize the numbers: I didn't want to set myself up in any way. It feels more fair this way, even if I'm just doing this for myself.)'ll print those out and cut them into strips with one prize on each slip of paper.

Here are a few of the prize options:

• Order Favorite Pens

• Barnes & Noble English Breakfast tea (my all time favorite! but they're a bit $$)

• Mani/Pedi

• Take Spa Bath

• Order Tacos for Lunch

• Take Ace for a walk

• Have a 15-minute dance party

• Get new workout outfit

• Get new socks

• Self-Care Date Day (eyebrows threaded+ Tinted, mani/pedi, haircut, etc)

• Color in one of my bookish-coloring books

• Restock Spa Bath Items

• Go see a movie --alone!

• Stroll through a bookstore

As the year goes on, I might add to this list. We'll see.

The Game!

Say, for example, I complete 21, 7, 2, and 24 from my list. Including the Free Space, that's a BINGO. When I get that, I will go to the bowl or whatever I'm using to hold the strips of paper and pull one. Depending on what the "prize" is, the goal is to do, use, or get it within a week. So, like I might be able to order my favorite pens right away, but if I got "go see a movie alone" --I'd want to wait until one I really want to see comes out.

And that's it. I think that having a mix of important items jumbled among the fun ones will help. I think keeping it very random might help me stick to it more than sorting into specific groups. (That was a good idea that just didn't work for me this year.) I think making it a game will help because games are always fun! And I'm not competing against anyone besides myself. No one else's list will be like mine so--even if they were doing a BINGO option, their selection and order would be drastically different from mine.

Your Turn!

What's on your list for next year? What steps are you taking to make sure you're more likely to complete them?