Goodbye 2025, Hello 2026

I definitely saw some big ups and downs in 2025. Mentally, it was a tough year for me mentally. I struggled with a lot of what was on the news. At times, it felt like it couldn't get worse. Then, something else happened. I also struggled with my cousin's death more than I thought I would. I didn't even know him and couldn't even remember the last time I saw him in person. Eventually, I realized it brought back memories of when my mom would lay in my bed crying telling me it would be easier if she would just run her car into a tree and end it all. (It was one of these interactions in which I learned that her telling this to professionals was the cause of her being admitted to mental hospitals multiple times.) Trying to work through my feelings of my suicidal mom and her eventual death in a different way than ever before has been a whole new experience. 

It wasn't completely a horrible year, though. I had may good experiences as well. I went on my first cruise with one of best friends. This trip included many first such as my first time in Florida, first time really seeing the ocean, first time in the Bahamas, and my first time snorkeling over the coral reef. I hope to be able to experience something like this again. I also finally graduated from BYU Idaho after 10 years of taking online classes. It was a long journey, but I am glad I kept with it. (I am so thankful to be married to a man that supports me in my efforts to improve myself.) Chad and I also took a trip to Colorado Springs for our anniversary and another one to Grand Junction in which we hiked Rifle Falls and went to the Grand Junction Temple open house. 

I am determined to make 2026 a good year. I can't do anything about newsworthy events. I don't see the awfulness calming down anytime soon. I can control what I do, though (hopefully). Chad and I are going to visit our friends in Florida for our anniversary this year, and we will go camping over the summer. We are also going to make a better effort to do our Come, Follow Me studies regularly. Personally, I will be working on relearning French, learning to play the ukelele, cleaning and organizing the house, and get back to running. 

September 2025 Bullet Journal

I am going to try to do a monthly bullet journal spread. A lot of people who do bullet journals do this, but I haven't tried it yet. I think it could be fun to have a theme for the month and just keep that theme going if I decide to add to it. For now, I have my main September page that I modified from an idea I found on Pinterest. I had fun making a fall theme because I am excited to be going to see the fall colors later this month. I took a picture of the main page before I filled in the boxes because I don't want to broadcast my weight or family birthdays. 

I really want to get back into doing regular exercise. For the last few weeks, I had a goal of 30 or 45 minutes a day, but I wasn't keeping up with it very well. I am hoping having a dedicated tracker will help keep me focused.

With the goal of reading 15 books this year and still needing to finish 6 books to make this happen, I made a page to track the book I just started. I am quite proud of how this one turned out. I didn't copy it from any specific idea that I had seen online, but I may have seen something like it in the past. Either way, I like how it turned out.

The last one I did was inspired by the potty-training charts I used to make for the boys many years ago. I just labeled the page and will put stickers on it anytime I eat a fruit or vegetable. 

I will likely add to this as the month goes on depending on my goals. I'm sure there will be at least one more book to track before the month is over. There could also be one to track my progress in finding a job that I can do with my degree because I don't know how much longer I can stand working in billing. 

One Month Left

I only have one month left of my internship. In some ways, it will be nice to be done. However, I will also be sad to be done. I love helping other people and feel that I am doing it in a small way in this internship. I like the people I have been working with and the many things I have learned about this population. Working with them gives me a greater sense of purpose, and I know I will find a way into this field again. The only thing I won't be sad about is the time commitment. Doing this on top of my regular job and everything else going on in my life has been hard. 

I am considering trying to find something part-time similar to what I have been doing when I am done with everything this summer. I would love to find my way into working more permanently with people experiencing homelessness, and I think that dipping my toe into it more would be beneficial. I have looked online at job openings and know that I would not be paid what I need to leave my current job. However, it I were to find my way into this field and work my way up to better pay and benefits, I would quit my current job and jump into this type of work full-time. I have said many times that my job just kind of fell into my lap as a way out of the call center, and I mainly stay because I have a wonderful boss who does what he can to keep our team together. It just doesn't fill the purpose I know my life needs to have.  

2025 Reading Goal

 At the beginning of 2024, I set a goal to read 6 books through the year. Little did I know, I would  end up in a self-help deep dive. Between nonfiction and fiction reading, I achieved my goal by the middle of the year and upped my goal to 10. As I spent at least 10 minutes a day on self-help, read my fiction series when I went to bed, and found other moments to read here and there, I finished the year having read 14 books. I know this isn't a lot to some people, but it's significant to me. 

This year, my goal is to finish at least 15 books. I think I can go over that goal, but I will be happy to have read more than last year. Right now, I am working on three books: Fast Like a Girl, Garters and Gargoyles, and Standing for Something. My bag of books has 7 more books in it that I will finish by the end of the year. I also have books here and there around the house that I read a few chapters from for classes but didn't finish that I will pick up and books in my Kindle that I will start when I finish my fiction book to get me to and past my goal. 

I have the goal of not buying any new books this year unless I have read everything I have that I haven't read. I don't think I will be buying any new books. Although, there is a possibility that I will get a library card...