The holidays were relatively relaxed this year, which was a nice change! I have some fairly lengthy thoughts below, so let’s jump right in.

Money

I bought a few online workshops, a salt cellar on eBay, some sheet music, some candles, and an app to export my Kindle library data.

I spent $71.87 on my regular sewing subscription and some fabric with a Twin Peaks print. I couldn’t resist that! I bought some fancy boots on eBay, thrifted a piece of nice costume jewelry, and took some jeans to the tailor. I also broke down and bought a set of layering tanks from Old Navy, as no one else had basic tanks I liked in a petite size range. I hadn’t bought any fast fashion in over a year, so I’m not going to allow myself to feel too guilty. My two black layering tanks are over five years old at this point, and starting to come apart at the seams. It was time to replace them, for sure. I spent a total of $162.60 on clothing (and about half of that was the pair of boots).

I spent insanely on books and audiobooks in December — surpassing my usual spending by a wide margin. I spent $133.95 of my own money… and an additional $75.00 from a gift card I received. In fact, I spent so much that I’m going to try a new approach to my book-buying in 2026, at least for a while.

Our grocery spending was a little under our budget target, but nothing to write home about.

Writing

I wrote my monthly short story, but didn’t send my newsletter.

Goals

I listed six goals for December. (Some of my 2025 goals will change from month to month, and some will remain the same.)

+ Write short story
+ Participate in one writing workshop

I wrote my monthly story, and I did two workshops. One was even free!

Household
+ Send holiday cards
+ Try one new recipe

I sent our cards, and I was all set to try a new recipe last weekend, but I forgot to take something out to thaw. Whoops!

Money
+ Take some needed time off

I did take a few days off, but probably not as many as I really needed.

Personal
+ Review 2025 goals and decide on new goals for next year

I did this, and more on the what I decided below.

Wrapping Up 2025: What Went Well

• I set out to try twelve new recipes in 2025, and I succeeded! I meant to try one each month, but I cooked multiple new recipes some months, and finished in October. I tend to eat the same things again and again, so it was nice to stretch myself and try some new dishes. Several of these recipes were keepers, and have made their way into our regular dinner rotation. (And one microwave mug cake has been a real dessert-in-a-pinch hero, which sounds crazy until you realize I can’t eat regular cake or most store-bought treats.) This went so well that I intend to try twelve more recipes in 2026!
• I finally compiled spreadsheets cataloging my eBooks and audiobooks. Using multiple platforms for non-physical reading can be complicated, especially when you have a book series spread out in two or more places! This had been on my “someday” list for a long time, but it seemed overwhelming. Thanks to a couple of very handy apps (Libation and the Amazon/Kindle Download Chrome Extension), I was finally able to create spreadsheet catalogs for all of my non-physical books. I will need to spend a little time each month entering my new purchases, but I don’t mind that (and I’ve already put a monthly reminder in my calendar). This may seem like overkill, but it makes me feel better.
• Lennox and I went to a lot of shows in 2025. I realized this when I was writing my end-of-year letter to send with my holiday cards. We don’t usually go to so many! That was nice (if expensive), and I’m glad we got to share so many fun outings.
• My low-buy year was a success. I followed the rules I set (with only a few reasonable exceptions), and even saved a good bit of money. I reduced my impulse spending, and only bought brand new clothing five times! I bought a cardigan, some replacement underwear, a concert tee, a fundraising tee, and a three-pack of layering tanks. (I only wanted two tanks, but they were sold out of my size in singles, so I opted to order an extra one rather than go without.)
• I joined a choir! I’ve been looking for a choir for a long time, and had given up on finding one. But my best friend and I started attending a Unitarian Universalist* church with a small but surprisingly good choir, so the next thing I knew, I was up on stage with them. It has been a lot of fun, and a lot less work than doing a fully memorized show. I really won’t keep my voice in shape if I don’t have a reason to sing regularly, and this is working out nicely. (*Unitarian Universalist churches accept people of all faiths, or no faith, as they build community based on shared values rather than shared beliefs.)

Wrapping Up 2025: What Went Less Well

• I gave myself too many goals. I’m not great at estimating how long it will take to do tasks, and often overburdened my schedule last year. Which brings me to…
• I didn’t rest enough. I used to be much better at this, but I fell into the bad habit of pushing myself too close to my energetic limits in 2025. I’m not exactly burning the candle at both ends, but I have real energetic limitations, and I need to better respect these boundaries and prioritize rest.
• My sewing expectations were unrealistic. I simply didn’t have the time or energy to sew everything I wanted in 2025. I had hoped to sew one garment a month, and that was completely delulu! I only sewed four projects over the entire year. I want to approach my sewing with a sense of play in 2026. I also want to learn some new techniques – just in a low-pressure way – but learning is fun for me, so I think that counts.
• I paid for training in a field I won’t be working in full-time. Weirdly, I don’t regret this. I learned a lot, and still plan to finished the certification, but I had to admit I’m not suited to some aspects of the job. It will probably never be my primary source of income. However, I could easily afford the training, and this was only a small misstep.
• We didn’t finish many household projects. We have a remodeling project looming, and I had hoped to get a series of smaller repairs/improvements done first. The main problem is that we need to fix a structural issue around our A/C unit, and literally nothing else can be started until that repair is finished. We’ve been at a standstill for over a year now, and it has been very frustrating.
• I didn’t send my newsletter consistently. Although I had a great time sending all those posts in October, and I enjoyed writing the series on choosing secondhand first, I didn’t approach the newsletter very methodically last year.

Taking a New Approach in 2026

I plan to give myself fewer goals, do my best to schedule extra rest, and try a few new challenges next year. I’m going to aim for twelve new recipes and twelve short stories again in 2026, and mix up my other monthly goals. I’m going to continue with my low buy rules, too. In January, I plan to:

• Write a short story
• Try a new recipe
• Finish all client W2s by the 23rd
• Visit the MFAH
• Go 31 days without buying any books

January is often a very difficult work month, so I didn’t want to focus on too many goals. I think going a whole month without buying any books will be challenge enough! (My Libro.FM audiobook subscription is my only exception.)

Everything Else

• My choir had a big holiday music service with a small orchestra! That was kind of exciting, and I really enjoyed it.
• I read (or listened to) a grand total of 197 books in 2025. I know that’s a crazy number compared to most people, but it’s fairly low for me. I feel like I listened to more podcasts this year, and that cut into my reading time. But I’m not worried about it. I don’t mind whether I read 50 or 500 books; I just like to keep track.
• I’m so glad “Supernatural” is streaming on Prime now, since we no longer have Netflix and I had been missing it. I’ve never made it all the way to the ending, but maybe I will finally finish the series in 2026. I did binge through season one again in December.

And that was 2025.