I just realized that my recent posts have been very “topic” focused (and fairly few and far between, too). Lots of goals, Ireland, and the most recent “what’s been working this year so far” post.
I just dropped Charlie off at a (twice rescheduled by the groomer…) grooming appointment, so I stopped for a tea nearby while I wait. I think I’ll share some random updates! My brain is a bit scrambled today- in some ways the world is falling apart; in other ways, things are good and happy in my life… it’s an odd and unsettling dichotomy.
Therefore, I will stay true to my blog theme and focus on what I can directly control in this moment, which is putting out some love and positivity into the world.
Goals progress!
First up, progress. I dove into my goals headfirst after I mostly recuperated from being sick, possibly with a level of unsustainable frenzy. I may crash and burn at any moment here, just FYI. 😅
I realize I never officially posted my January Goals here, I guess because my Annual goals were dominating the scene. I selected some from that Master List to focus on in January, and things are really coming along! I’m pleased.
(I should probably be waiting to post about this for a few more days until the month is fully over, but oh well.)
Some updates in no particular order:
✅ Last March, we booked a trip to the Virgin Islands for spring break 2026 (St. Thomas and St. John). I cannot wait. The weather is terrible here now and it’s been a few years since we’ve done a WARM spring break. The kids are very into tropical trips right now. However, we hadn’t yet bought the flights or reserved the rental car. I’m happy to report these are both officially DONE!! Booked both this past week. And bonus, we got flights out of Madison, which is amazing.
✅ Last weekend (over the long MLK Jr. Day holiday), we bought a new chair for the sunroom…. AND we ordered new kitchen bar stools! These were both lingering on the list for, oh, most of 2025. I was so tired of looking at these items and thinking, ” We need to replace these”.
These are not the best pictures, but I’m not home right now so they’ll have to do. We ended up going with a La-z-Boy recliner, not the chair I’d originally picked out, but this one is super comfy and was on a hard to pass up sale. Goodbye, stained old glider with the ripped ottoman!
✅ I not only scheduled my Core class at the gym, I’ve officially attended one! Yay. Turns out there is an 8:05-8:35 a.m. class on Fridays that I think I could even regularly squeeze in, if I want to. I have a standing 9:15 meeting on Fridays, but assuming I shower and am all ready before the class, I can be to my desk by ~8:45 and still have time to get settled for the day. (We live a block from the gym.)
✅ Still hoping to plan a slightly “bigger” family outing for Q1, but we did all go and see Anaconda in the theater over New Year’s weekend. Last Monday, we all watched the new Karate Kid Legends on Netflix (with an aging but still great Jackie Chan!). We all really liked it! Super fun, plenty of action, and cute. Recommend!
Later that night, once the boys retreated to their rooms, Ivan and I also watched People We Meet on Vacation. I haven’t read the book, but I loved the movie!! Also highly recommend!! Two great movies back to back, score!!
*I had thought we might all go see our local theatre production of Wizard of Oz, hence it’s on my January goals list, but when I went to buy tickets, it turned out the times/ dates didn’t really work with our schedules, so I crossed it off. Bummer.
✅ I have completed at least 3 declutter sessions of my laundry room/ office, though I have not quite hit my “26 minutes 2x/ week” goal. In fairness though, at least one of those sessions stretched longer than 26 minutes, so we can count it as a double? I am optimistic I can still ‘finish’ that room by next weekend, though.
✅ Ivan and I successfully went out to a new-to-us restaurant! Last Saturday night we went to Osteria Papavero in downtown Madison and had a super fun date night! It’s a cozy and chic place and has a great vibe.
✅ Boring but necessary – we got Ethan signed up for the ACT exam.
✅I’ve done my Bible reading 5 times so far this month. Not 3x/ week, but also, not 0? I’ve been to church once. I guess I’m out of Sundays now, but the Lutheran church I attend has a Monday night service, so perhaps I can still make this happen (tomorrow?). (It was on the calendar for today but it is negative 1 million degrees out and I was so tired and just….did not go.)
✅ Asher needs a new tech suit (special racing suit) before the end of the swim season (which is coming up very quickly all of a sudden!). You have to make a private appointment at the swimming store and get fitted for these, and the store is at least ~35 minutes from our house. So this is a “production”, especially factoring in Asher has practice or meets basically every single day right now. Fortunately, thanks to my seasonal planning ;), I scheduled an appointment for tomorrow (Monday), since Asher has a no school day for the end of his semester. I will have to take an extra long lunch, but I blocked my calendar and it should work.
✅ I did a full photo clean out of December 2025 (which was a LOT, since it included all my Ireland photos). No, I haven’t made any progress on the backlog yet, but… baby steps. 😉 At least I did last month’s pics, which is my BASIC/ most minimal goal.
✅I did a full 2025 Monarch audit and financial “stuff” clean up! This was quite the endeavor, as we got really behind from about mid-December on (through mid-January). I had approximately one million holiday charges to categorize, not to mention a bunch of returns, travel expenses, things needing reimbursement…When I get behind and this happens, I can end up with a lot of messy questions. Sometimes I don’t know exactly what a charge was for, or we’ll have a Zelle in from his brother to pay us back for something and I don’t know what it was for, the boys’ charges need sorting out and money transferred from them, etc.
Ivan and I actually went out to breakfast at Perkins on Monday (MLK Jr Day) and I brought my laptop and we powered through the “questions list” over hot tea and breakfast. It was a lot more fun to do it that way!
✅ Workouts + protein: Going strong! I did miss a couple workouts when I was still sick and had the rib pain (which by the way is still there, but it’s MUCH better). I did have to miss my volleyball game last Wednesday, but I think I’ll be able to play this week.
The protein game has stayed mostly very strong, though I just don’t think I’m ever going to be one of those people who eats a perfect diet. 🤷♀️ We just enjoy eating out way too much and restaurant meals are not always compatible with high protein/ high produce/high fiber consumption. (At least, not the way I prefer to eat in restaurants… hahaha. 😅) Overall though, I’m doing pretty well here. B+. Maybe round up to an A-?
Not done yet:
- I wanted to take Charlie to a nearby trail on a “snow walk” before his grooming appointment, but then the temperature plummeted and this hasn’t happened. Oh well.
- I wanted to play a game with the boys (or at least one of them) over their holiday break… but it didn’t happen. Again, oh well. Maybe before 1/31 we can still do this!
- I’ve not yet used my Lululemon gift card, but I DID browse the website on Friday… I just need to sit down and place an order!
- I still need to figure out those computer cables to get my other monitor up and running. I AM DOING THIS THIS WEEK. Mark my word.
Other Misc.:
🔷 We have been at a bunch of swim meets. Last week we went out for pizza after one with all the parents. This week, school was closed Friday due to the cold, so they moved the Friday meet to Thursday. I love swim season! It’s so fun.
🔷 Last night we celebrated a belated Christmas with Ivan’s brother and his girlfriend, and her son. We kept it super chill and just ordered take out steak tacos (with onion, cilantro and salsa, as they come in Mexico) and sides of rice and beans to go. We hung out around our bar and exchanged gifts and it was fun! They didn’t leave until ~midnight though, and then I woke up naturally at 6 a.m., so I’m sleepy today.
🔷Random, but important: Ivan and I got new electric toothbrushes for Christmas (Ethan asked for a nice new one, which my sister got for him, but it made us realize we could use some, too!). I had actually not had a good electric toothbrush before and WOW it makes my mouth feel so much cleaner!! Coupled with my new and consistent daily flossing habit, I am crushing the oral hygiene department. 😁
🔷 I am finally taking Christmas down this afternoon. OMG I know. It’s January 25th!! But I wanted to keep it up until after we had family over last night. IT IS TIME, though. Looking forward to “resetting” the house and having the extra Christmas clutter gone now. (But also, I will miss it.)
Well, I think that’s enough updates for now, and Charlie’s got to be done any time now.
I warned you that January/ February are my “on” months when I have a bit more headspace to get stuff done, so please don’t feel bad if January has NOT been that for you! We all have our distinct seasons. (I will also probably burn out and then accomplish nothing from February- December. Hahaha.)
Bonus January memes:
A few favorite saves from this month:
Not a funny one, and there’s a typo so who knows where this came from, but I love the sentiment. 💕
Daily Gratitude:
I am grateful for Charlie’s groomer. It took us a while to find someone who really worked for us, but Bri is great and she loves Charlie and he loves her!
GRATEFUL KAE 