Mid-January 2025 Roundup

The Winter Wonderland Edition

via Kristin Vogt

Though I would love to tell you that I dove into 2025 with both feet - because that’s what sounds like a woman on top of her goals - instead I report that I’ve begun the year more like a cautious swimmer who has barely dipped my toes into the waters of 2025 to see if the water is warm.

Of course as you probably know, it never really is warm enough when you try to ease into the water…and when swimming it’s best when you just take the leap.

Our goals and more importantly our lives, can benefit with both approaches.

The downside of easing in, or course, is that we can lose momentum. Never really gain any traction which leads to unmet goals. Or, worse, decide that it’s too late to bother starting so we tell ourselves we’ll set that goal…next year.

The upside of easing into the year is honoring a slower pace to living your life. To honor the way your mind, body, and soul are more in-tune with the seasons. And, to recognize that your goals have just as much value in June as they do in January.

Yet, I am wired to be an “all-in” kind of gal. I have been more successful at goal completion when I just jump in. I’ve always needed to take action in the pursuit of my goals as soon as I make the decision to pursue it. And, since I have a deep love of calendars and plans, I’ve always vibed with goals in the new year.

Despite this, my “new year” officially began this week: midway through January.

The Osthoff Resort: New Year’s Day 2025 (photo by me)

My Mother-in-law’s birthday is on New Year’s Eve. So we said hello to 2025 with the bulk of JB’s family at a resort in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. On waking New Year’s morning, we were greeted with this beautiful scene and snow flurries.

With eight hours of driving, we arrived just ahead of the first snow in Ohio on the evening of January 3rd. Fortunately, the snow that evening didn’t stick which gave me enough time to head out to the grocery store and stock up the fridge and pantry. The big snow came a short few days later.

By the afternoon of January 6th, we had ten inches of snow. The heaviest snow we’ve had in many years. And I am ever grateful for the magic of our snow blower. Followed by another three inches of snow by January 11th.

As I write this little note to you on the 16th, the skies have become grey with more snow flurries in the air. The weatherman tells us that we have a polar vortex coming in the days ahead with three more snow days before the arrival of February.

January is cold and grey. And it’s also a Winter Wonderland.

It’s all about your perspective.

In addition to time with his family, JB had several use or lose days and headed back to work on the 11th with his first in-office day this past week on the 14th. As it so happens, I had my first meeting of the year on the 14th as well.

We slept in a lot. And didn’t take the Christmas decorations down until this past Saturday. We thoroughly enjoyed our decorations and the twinkle lights on the trees added to the pleasure of a slow beginning. Putting the decorations away coincided with one of my favorite ways to start fresh: a deep clean of the bedroom while JB did another round of snow blowing.

As I get older, I am valuing easing into the year. To put quality time with my husband ahead of the push to leap into the year. All my goals will still be there. I don’t have to give into the nonsense that I’m failing because I didn’t start yet.

Because that’s a lie that our brains tell us in hopes that we just let life stay as it is.

On Monday - my first “real” workday of 2025 - I did a deep clean of my office.

via Pressmaster for Dreamstime

Here’s some other things I’ve done so far this month in the pursuit of my 2025 goals.

My Fitness Life.

I did my first gym workout of the year.

I haven’t belonged to a gym since 2005. I am happy with our home gym with a Peloton bike, a treadmill, and ten pair of dumbells ranging from 5 to 35 pounds. But deep down I know that I am missing out in some areas of my training.

With the changes we made in November, I am now eligible to use all the facilities at The Base. I toured two of the three gyms at the base back in December to get the lay of the land and got my electronic keycard which means I can go into the facility without needing to show my Military ID each time.

One of my fitness goals for 2025 is to get a solid leg strength workout in once a week.

Frankly this requires equipment that we don’t own nor is it practical for us. I need a leg press, squat rack, and machines meant to isolate other leg muscles.

Access to the gym also allows me access to a rowing machine. A piece of equipment I would love to have in our home gym but the necessary footprint (again) isn’t practical.

So my plan of doing 5-10 minutes of rowing as a warm-up and a solid leg routine was a vision that came into my reality this week.

As with anything new in a routine, there are still some kinks to work out - mainly what needs to be in my gym bag (such as a clean pair of socks to wear home). Overall, it was a success. I enjoyed my time there. And my sore muscles can attest to the fact that I did indeed work some muscles that haven’t been worked in awhile.

I can’t wait to go back next week!

My Writing Life

I started a new journal back in late October to ensure I captured everything I was feeling when we made the decision to marry in November. I’ve continued to write regularly though not daily.

I am pulling a weekly tarot card to inspire my journal writing. And I got a new oracle deck for a weekly card pull as well. Cards are always a good jumping off point aka prompt to explore.

And we are also HERE. My goal with this Substack is at least two posts a month with this being my first post of 2025. I’m still not going to box myself in a specific topic or format for this space so entries will vary. I spent way too many years compartmentalizing my writing life and I hope you stick around for my wanderings.

I have yet to do writing for any of my “deliverables” for the year aka my quarterly newsletter. I also do a clutter focused monthly newsletter which I will get to sometime tomorrow. As I always hope to “work ahead” I’m not pressuring myself to do that until next month.

My Domestic Life

After hiring a couple of cleaning companies the past few years, I made the decision last month to discontinue their services. I was doing a lot of work to make it easy for them - and yet I was still cleaning. I want to do a deep clean of all our main spaces before spring arrives. So far, I have done that in three of nine spaces in the house: our bedroom, my office, and our downstairs den.

I continue to cook almost daily. We still have the occasional “girl dinner” about once a fortnight. Overall, though, we subsist on sautéed chicken, a weekly meatloaf, or pork dish served with baked potatoes, baked sweet potatoes, or some sort of cauliflower mash/rice.

I’ve also baked two cakes so far this year. I could wax on about my baking routine but I shall save that for another day.

With the move into regular routines, I’ll begin to focus on the best basics to fuel my body: more protein, lots of fiber, and quality fats and carbs. I’ve focused my macros on and off and my 2025 goal is to get back to counting them by February. Especially as adequate protein is critical to dovetail with my 2025 fitness goals.

Consumption of Media

I have no set goals for what I consume when it comes to media / social media this year. But it’s ever-present and a consideration worth mentioning.

I’ve listened to four (or five) books so far this year. And have read another four. The standout of my reading life has been The Stolen Queen by Fiona Davis.

Curating my social feeds is always important. And since I’ve sent multiple messages to my daughter with comments like “look at this sweet face” I want to share a couple of Instagram Accounts I’m loving right now:

• Navarre Marshall (wildlife photographer based in Kentucky - he often includes sound so volume up!)

• Jocelyn Anderson (another bird photographer - she especially loves hawks and cardinals)

• Pease Porridge Press (Vintage Children’s Book Lover with regular posts to help book lovers find book titles from their childhood)

We’re re-watching the Magnum PI series form the 80’s (on RokuTV) as well as the Longmire Series (on Paramount). We fit an occasional movie in here or there - Top Gun Maverick, Regan, My Man Godfrey, Swing Time, and more. I’m also caught up on the CBS series “Tracker” (just today).

And that, my dear, is a recap of 2025 so far.

I hope 2025 is treating you well. I’d love to hear about how you’ve entered 2025, what you’re reading, and how other areas of life are helping you make 2025 a wonderful year.

Tell me all about it….