2024 Recap, 2025 Focus Words, and More/Less for 2025
Consider this our holiday card.
2024 Recap
I knew that a lot happened in 2024, but drafting this post made me realize just how much went down this year.
I kicked off the year by taking another one of Bri McKoy’s wine and food pairing masterclasses called French Fries and Barolo. I made a lot of fun recipes paired with delicious wine. Full disclosure, there’s still a couple I haven’t made yet, so that’s officially one of my goals for 2025.
We hosted our first Super Bowl party in February, and it was a smashing success! Our Christmas tree was still standing proudly in the living room. It’s fine.
In April, I decided to try something new to move my body and went to my first barre class. I went all in and signed up for a membership, only to injure my shoulder during my second class. It was supposed to be a more restorative format with stretching, mobility, and resistance training, but I should have known better when they added, “But you’ll still get a good workout!” at the end. As if the only “good” exercise is something that kicks your ass. But I digress. I learned a lot about humility, rest, knowing my limits, and asking for help. Thankfully after some drugs and a round of physical therapy, I’m 99% better. Any occasional flare-ups can be managed with stretching and PT exercises. Since my mobility was fairly limited for a while, we took a lot of family walks as the weather got nicer, which Della really loves. She met lots of people around the neighborhood this year, and by extension, so did we.
My shoulder injury happened right before our belated 10th anniversary trip to Napa, so Bryan carried a lot of luggage and did a lot of driving. He’s the best. <3 Despite my persistent pain, we had an amazing time. The weather was perfect for walking around and exploring, it wasn’t too crowded, and of course the food and wine was fabulous. Our hotel room number was 2013, the year we got married, which was incredibly special and magical.
In May, we attended the wedding of our dear friends, Esha and Aashish. Bryan ate and enjoyed Indian vegetarian food. If you know him, you know that’s a big deal. :)
Atika and I had been talking about recording a podcast together for a while, but weren’t sure which subject we should talk about first. Since I wore traditional attire to our friends’ wedding, this inspired the topic of our first episode about cultural appropriation vs. appreciation. This got the ball rolling, and we recorded a total of 4 episodes throughout the spring and summer.
The summer was filled with even more travel. I took a trip to Colorado for a 15-year reunion with my Penn State friends. We picked right up where we left off and had an awesome weekend walking through the Garden of the Gods, visiting a local brewery, and spending lots of time catching up. Shortly after, I went to PA to see family and caught COVID for the first time ever. Thankfully it was pretty mild. In our last trip of the summer, Bryan and I took our annual beach trip to the Outer Banks with Bryan’s family, which is always a fun, relaxing time.
In the fall, we went to PA for the fall festival and elk watching. On a whim, I booked a last-minute trip with my friend Mandi to visit Boston and Salem in October during the month-long Haunted Happenings celebration. We lived our best witchy life with an evening ghost tour, metaphysical shops, witch history, a ouija board museum, incredible fall foliage, candy apples, and the best seafood chowder I’ve ever eaten at the Hawthorne Hotel Tavern. We then did a whirlwind walking tour of Boston before I caught my flight back to DC. It was a super quick trip, and I’ll definitely be back.
Right after I got back from Salem, I sold my Buick Regal due to repair costs. We decided to stick with one car for a little while, since Bryan works remotely and I had a fairly consistent in-office schedule. Well…plot twist. The next day, I found out that my project needed to let people go due to budget cuts, and I was one of them. Thankfully, I was able to land on another project relatively quickly. It was a wild month, but I’m grateful for all the people that looked out for me. I’m currently getting acclimated to my new role, which will hopefully result in a promotion soon. Even though it wasn’t what I expected, I’m looking forward to a new challenge.
In November, Atika and I finally launched our Open Minds Unleashed podcast! We really wanted to release Ep. 2: How to Talk Politics Without Losing Friends before the election. Given the results and how I felt about it, you know I had to heed my own words. :-P We’re still navigating the learning curve of editing and releasing episodes, but I’m sure we’ll get the hang of it soon.
We also demonstrated our ability to be open-minded by attending the Steelers vs. Commanders football game together. Since Atika doesn’t follow American football as much (She’s more into soccer), I made a good faith effort to convert her into a Steelers fan. It didn’t work, but obviously we’re still friends.
Wishing you and yours a happy holiday season and all the best for 2025!
2025 Focus Word: Intention
My focus words for 2024 were Connection, Health, Love, and Purpose. After reflecting on the last year, I think that focus was fulfilled.
I was reading through my 2024 recap post to get inspiration for this year, and the word “intentional” jumped off the page. So, Intention is my focus word for the new year. Instead of going through the motions on autopilot, I’ll be looking to cultivate more everyday magic through presence, gratitude, and enjoyable routines.
More/Less for 2025
I’ve done in/out lists before, but I’m trying something new this year. This feels a little more flexible and less dogmatic. All of these things are related to my focus word for the year, which will hopefully help me put it into practice.
More: Gamifying Savings / Less: Overspending
I know I’m probably the last person on the face of the planet to open a high-yield savings account (HYSA). Yes, I know interest rates are lower now, and I should have gotten in like, years ago. It was on my list and it just didn’t happen until this year. This is adulting. Better late than never, right? Right.
Maybe it’s the novelty, or perhaps it’s the clear goal I have to get a new car in the next few months, but the HYSA has me making a game out of my savings. It’s proving to be the boost I never knew I needed. Every month I’m challenging myself to see how much I can save and how fast I can make it grow, so I’m not spending as much. The prospect of a bigger, nicer thing is motivating me and making buying smaller things less appealing. More on that next.
More: Buying Quality / Less: Buying Cheap
Continuing with the new car example, I was looking into different car models and found myself thinking cheap. Like, “Oh, I could probably get a smaller sedan or a lower model without the extra features for a cheaper price.” Then I realized that this purchase is something I’ll hopefully use for many years. I’m willing to save for a few extra months to be able to get what I really want: a hybrid Toyota Camry (or similar) with all the safety features and other bells and whistles like ventilated seats and a sunroof. That’s part of my rich life.
That’s not to say that I don’t look for opportunities to save money, or that I’m always going to get the most expensive thing. But when it’s reasonable, I’m going to get the high-quality thing that I really like and hopefully enjoy it for a long time.
More: Creating / Less: Consuming
When I say consume, I mean both with my mind and my money. Less time mindlessly scrolling social media and wondering where the time went. Less spending money on things I don’t need, often as a result of the social media scrolling. More time devouring novels or diving into my latest interest. More time writing, podcasting, creating magical moments with loved ones, or finding creative solutions for something that doesn’t always involve a new purchase. Which leads to my next point…
More: Using What I Have / Less: Trying/Buying New Things
While I love my research rabbit holes and trying new things, it sometimes results in accumulating more than I need in the name of experimentation. This year, I’m prioritizing using what I have before trying something new. It’s easier said than done, but I know it’s possible. Apparently this is known in the beauty community as a Project Pan challenge, where people try to use up their makeup and “hit the pan” before buying more. I’ve also seen an increasing amount of influencers on social media showcasing their empties and sharing what they would or would not repurchase. I love rotating between different options, but I also know that this approach means it takes longer to go through my current supply. My goal is to find my version of balance that prevents overwhelm while not feeling overly restrictive.
Thanks for being here. As always, I want to hear about your year, whether you have resolutions or focus words, or what you’re trying to do more or less of in 2025.