Hello after a two week hiatus! The break from all things serious was good for my soul. I hope you had a good break too, and have had a great 2025 so far.

The break means that I also feel mushy in lot of my working muscles. And this includes my writing muscle. I was just asking myself this as I was getting ready to write: What do I write about? What DID I write about before the holiday break?

So yes, a break is great. But getting back to normal everyday things is HARD!

For example, waking up early on Monday morning, when this blog post goes live (I am writing this on Sunday), is going to be EXTRA HARD.

To not only get up early when my body is in denial and craving for another hour of sleep, but then to be on top of breakfast and school lunches and hitting the gym, and getting to work…all of that seems like a big mountain to climb at this point, and failure seems inevitable.

Even though, failure is not really an option, and this mountain was an easy everyday walk in the park before the holidays came around.

Winter and morning darkness do not make matters easier.

So here I am with my first written words of 2025 wondering why the holidays had to end so soon, and how am I supposed to function anymore!

It’s the new year…time for new beginnings. Which means the excitement to do things right, and start new endeavors is high- for everyone, right?! Using this excitement here are some of my new endeavors. And the hope is they will stick? We shall see…

Bread Baking

After baking a lot of bread before and during COVID, I have not baked much for the past two years. This break made me realize that I love baking bread and want to have it around in my life. Maybe not every loaf we eat and all the time, but often enough. So if I can bake once a month this year, I will call it a bread baking success of a year! I already made one for January. This one flavored with Kefir- not pretty looking, but it was YUM!

Shakespeare Sonnets

My husband bought me this beautiful little book of Shakespeare’s Sonnet collection from Livraria Lello claimed to be the world’s most beautiful bookshop in Porto, Portugal when we visited last summer. I have decided to read all the sonnets this year. Having read four of them already, I am well on my way!

Yoga Class

I do yoga everyday. I do it using the app Alo Moves at home. It has been 5 years since I did an in-person class, which was a weekly affair in my life pre-COVID. I realized I want to get deeper with my practice, and my body strength and flexibility. I attended my first class this weekend, and it felt great! I did not get as tired as I used to- I am definitely stronger than five years ago! I am also definitely more flexible. So the daily dipping my toes into yoga, even via an app, has definitely helped! And I think regular in-person classes will only help more. If I can make it twice a month, I will be happy.

Drawing Everyday

This is my on-again, off-again bandwagon! I have periods of very enjoyable and regular drawing practice months followed by months of almost nothing! And again, I love drawing. Also, I see tremendous progress during my on-again phase that I hate to let go off in my off-again season. So the hope is to be very very regular with drawing all of 2025. So far, so good. Wish me luck!

25 in ‘25 List

I heard of this on Gretchen Rubin’s podcast Happier. What 25 things do I think I want to do this year of 2025? Of course I started making my list the moment I finished listening! I don’t have 25 things on my list yet, but I have 14, and I am taking my time to think of what I want to do…And having set it like a bingo box style, it will be fun to cross them off one-by-one as I go though my year. This Bingo Box of plans and ideas will go on the front page of my 2025 Planner, so I remember what I want to do this year 🙂 I may or may not finish them all. But the fun is in the imagining, and trying, right? And striving…

Those are the things that are high on my mind right now and it’s making me excited for this year. Do you have new things planned that are motivating for the new year?