Progress Report: 25 in 2025
In which I realize I'm horrible at coming up with lists of things I'll actually do...
Way back in January, I made a list of 25 things I wanted to accomplish this year and now the year is coming to a close and I haven’t crossed many of those things off the list. Yes, my life had some twists and turns this year - my mother-in-law moving in with us in late April, switching jobs in August, Lizzy roaring into tween-dom - but I have to a admit I’m a bit disappointed in myself. Not that I didn’t get things done, per say, but that I deluded myself into thinking this was all possible.
Want to know my rationale for including a given item? Check out my earlier post that has that. While it’ll show up as new here in October, it was actually written back in the summer.
Make a colorwork scarf or larger
Progress: Well, I did manage to take a colorwork class and, as I showed the other week, made some decent progress towards making a two-color cowl. I do want to re-start with an easier pattern but that’ll be in the new year as I have two larger knitting projects plus some stitching ones I need to focus on.
2026 plan: Keep this goal
Work through four online art/craft classes
Progress: None and unlikely to go through more than one more end of the year. I have picked out a bunch of new classes using my Domestika Plus subscription (that ends in a few weeks) to work on.
2026 plan: Keep this goal
Write 20 blog posts
Progress: DONE - totally surpassed this one, especially with adding NaBloPoMo to the list
2026 plan: 40 blog posts
Average 3x monthly Diva Dance classes
Progress: I’ve taken 16 classes this calendar year and may take one or two more in December. While I love, love, love the classes, I’ve found it’s hard to get to them given most start at 7 or 8 pm, leaving me with an awkward amount of time between class and work. Saturday classes were great but made it hard to have family time on those days. I may continue to drop into a class here and there in 2026 but don’t plan to continue my unlimited class membership.
2026 plan: Identify a different goal related to movement
Take Lizzy on a girls’ trip
Progress: Never could get this scheduled between everything else.
2026 plan: Keep this goal
Read books by Black authors in February
Progress: February is over and I think I did OK with this, having read books from 4 different Black authors. I will admit two things: 1) I avoided books that focused on difficult topics as I needed my books to serve as an escape from the insanity of the United States Inauguration and 2) I chose to read a very long book from a white author rather than choosing to read books from Black authors. I must do better.
2026 plan: Read at 3 books related to White Supremacy, 3 fiction books by Black authors
Read books by Indigenous authors in October
Progress: None. I completely forgot about this and I can’t honestly say I happened to choose books that fit in the category by accident.
2026 plan: Read 12 books by Indigenous authors
Take a road trip with LP
Progress: None *sigh*
2026 plan: Keep this goal
Wear or give away all pairs of earrings (and don’t buy more!)
Progress: I purchased 3 or so pairs this year and wore maybe 10 pairs. I’ll make a point to give away 15 pairs AND fix my favorite peanut butter and jelly ones before the end of 2025.
2026 plan: Cull jewelry at least once
Put up storage hooks for CPAP masks
Progress: Done!
2026 plan: This was a one-and-done goal but will add a goal related to keeping my CPAP equipment clean and replaced often.
Clean out bedroom closet twice
Progress: Did once
2026 plan: Keep this goal
Clean out coat closet twice
Progress: None - really need to do soon as it’s a major disaster
2026 plan: Keep this goal
Read books on theology during Lent
Progress: It’s complicated but this didn’t happen. Maybe a topic for a future post.
2026 plan: Something related to religion/spirituality
Make decision about [redacted]
Progress: Made my decision in April. Again, difficult to talk about but may at some point.
2026 plan: Not sure
Start monthly crafty circle online
Progress: Didn’t happen
2026 plan: Use every other Final Friday gathering as a chance to craft together, maybe?
Make 15 small cross stitch/embroidery projects
Progress: Think I’ve done this or at least close enough I’m going to give myself credit
2026 plan: Make 12 small cross stitch/embroidery projects
Continue to meet with RD and continue to work on food/exercise goals
Progress: I wrote about this in detail earlier this week.
2026 plan: Keep goal
Cook dinner 50 times
Progress: If I’m generous, I made dinner maybe 8 times this year.
2026 plan: Cook dinner 20 times
Organize 25: use the 25th of each month to organize something
Progress: Total failure
2026 plan: Have more specific goals for organizing/decluttering/cleaning
Send notes/letters to 25 different people
Progress: I’ve been sending more letters but it’s probably only been to 10 or so different people.
2026 plan: Continue writing to CK and SF and SL (pen pals), responding within a month each time. Maybe a goal for sending notes quarterly to 5 family/friends?
Re-read old journals/blog posts as inspiration for future writing
Progress: Done!
2026 plan: No need to repeat this
Take a photo walk of the neighborhood each season
Progress: Never really did this
2026 plan: Keep this goal for the combo of movement + creativity
Take a day off for no reason but it’s possible
Progress: I didn’t take a day off for no reason, but I did choose to take off a whole day after pulling an all-nighter to take my MIL to the hospital. Normally, I would have slept a few hours then pulled myself into work.
2026 plan: Keep this goal
Go in the pool half of the days we go to it
Progress: Because Lizzy can take herself, we probably only went a handful of times over the summer and I didn’t get in once.
2026 plan: Re-write goal to something temperature-dependent like “go in pool if outside temps >90”
Fill up all of the pages of a journal
Progress: I got about 75% of one journal used which is pretty good for me
2026 plan: I’m never gonna do 100% so I need to think about how I want to couch a goal around not switching journals constantly that I can actually meet
Road trip 🚗 road trip 🚗 road trip 🚗 let’s make it happen!