Photo by Polina Kovaleva
Only ten days left in 2024. Another year that just seemed to fly by. Time for my annual 2024 recap before I set my 2025 Goals and Resolutions.
The Good
Fortunately, this year had more good things than bad in the Sanford household.
The big news this year is that Michael bought his first home. It’s only 20 minutes from his momma, basically turn-key condition, two bedrooms, one and a half baths, and a garage (the brat!). Kitchen is fabulous and it has a dedicated laundry room (again…brat!). So proud of both my boys for their hard work and dedication in tackling this achievement in the last two years!
Both boys are still working hard at their jobs. I’m still working for the City of Douglass Hills.
My book club girls and I are wrapping up our 16th year together. Love this group of ladies and love that because of them, I’ve read books that I never would have picked up otherwise.
I took a cruise in January 2024 and have another scheduled for February 2025. I love cruising but I’ll have to take at least a year off after February’s to work on some other financial goals-unless the Powerball comes through.
And the Bad…
Totaled my (new-ish) car in July. Loved that car and I’d only had it about 15 months but fortunately no one was seriously hurt and I wasn’t at fault so the other guy’s insurance paid. Now I’m driving around in an SUV and still trying to figure out how to park it, lol.
No surgeries this year but physical therapy on my knee and rotator cuff and a three+ month cough. Getting older is not for sissies.
2024 Resolution/Goal Recap
Healthy Living
I’ve pretty much kicked my diet coke habit. I know, I know, it’s shocking! Still struggling to drink as much water as I should but I’m working on it.
Doing a little better with sleep but this is definitely baby-step progress. I make every effort to get in bed before midnight on work nights and most nights I’m successful. I’m aiming at getting 8 hours of sleep nightly.
Exercising 3 times weekly definitely did not happen much this year. Between knee issues, a horrible cough that wouldn’t go away, and then some muscle issues resulting from the cough and some rotator cuff issues, it’s been a rough year to safely get to the gym. I’m aiming to get back to the gym (or another workout) at least twice a week for the first quarter of 2025 and then work my way up to three times a week.
Financial Goals
I slowly chipped away at my debt this year. Didn’t get to knock it down as much as I wanted but made some progress. The car wreck cost me a bit, because let’s be honest, even if it’s not your fault, the insurance company doesn’t make you completely whole. Still have a car loan but at least my car payment didn’t change from what I was paying already.
One good thing for 2025 is that my personal student loans will finally be paid off. I didn’t complete my college degree until I was 30 but still…20 years of paying and I’ll finally have mine paid off.
Personal Goals
Pretty sure I didn’t try one new recipe a month but I did grab several off Pinterest, so maybe 50% success rate on this.
Killed my reading goal. I wanted to read 48 books, with 10 of them being non-fiction. To date, I’ve read 66 books and I’m partway through 2 more. Only 9 have been non-fiction though but don’t you worry, I’ll squeeze in another non-fiction book before New Year’s Day!
I took at least 3 mini-vacations. We had our annual Holiday World trip, I spent a couple days with my aunt in Indiana, and I tagged along on a few camping trips with friends.
We won’t even talk about my work-life balance goal. Let’s just say that was a total fail. I’ll try again this year. Sigh.
Didn’t get any quotes on home improvement projects either. I’ve decided not to schedule another cruise this next year so I can spend some money on home projects. I found an old notebook this morning and it had a list of 2019 Priorities that included getting a new washer and dryer, new windows, and new flooring for the bedrooms. Guess how many of those things have been done? Yep…NONE!! Still haven’t decided if I’m going to stay put in my current condo or move. Really probably need a ground floor place but any improvements I make will either help to sell it or make life more enjoyable for me.
Writing Goals
36 posts-Didn’t happen, I think this is post 23. I’ll probably squeeze one more out. Probably not going to renew this goal next year. I think I’ll probably focus on different writing and blog when something inspires me. Hopefully my 29 faithful readers will forgive me.
I think I had 2 writing submissions. Definitely want to up that next year, hence the possibility blog posts might go down.
Didn’t complete (or even attempt) NANOWRIMO this year.
So there you go. Seems like I didn’t accomplish as much as I had hoped to. Not going to feel bad about it though. I tried to be very present with doing things with friends this year. I’ve also tried to do a little more to focus on myself and the things I like to do.
Stay tuned for 2025 goals!! I’ve got 9 days to figure them out, lol.
