My goals and projects for 2026

For me, the New Year begins today, on the day that the children go back to school. I need to wait until we get back into a routine, all the Christmas food has been eaten, and I can give the house a bit of a reset.

I have a few projects that I want to work on this year, some of which are quite long term, so I need to make plans to tackle them a bit at a time. My first goals for January are fairly typical - mainly getting back into healthy eating and exercise routines!

January goals

Pick up my exercise routine again. I was doing really well before Christmas, but I've not exercised properly in weeks! I do different types of exercise throughout the week, and I plan my week to fit in around the other things that I'm doing. So I know exactly what I want to do and when to do it, it's just a case of getting on with it!

Improve my eating habits after the Christmas lapses. It's not just about losing some weight, although that would be nice, it's about cutting back on the chocolate and making an effort to increase fruit and vegetables.

Work on decluttering the house. I enjoy a decluttering challenge so I'm aiming to find five items a day to get rid of, and I've been stocking up on sturdy bags for charity shop donations. This will involve sorting through our filing cabinet which has become too full for new paperwork, and going through the food cupboards to look for expired food and things which need to be used up.

Finally, our home project for this year is refurbishing our bathrooms. Apart from some minor repairs we've not done anything to them, and as they are original to the house they are over 25 years old! Things are starting to fall apart, and they are all looking rather sad and limescale clogged. So we need to make a start on the planning, go through some brochures and work out what we want.

Longer term projects

Then there are the things that I want to work on over the rest of the year.

Over the next few months I'll be planning my garden. I'll be deciding what seeds to plant and what larger plants I'd like, to fill in the gaps in our borders. The front of our house is quite bare, and so I'd like to put some kind of trellis on it to soften it a bit. We are also planning some kind of living wall or vertical planter for the wall along one side of our patio. I'm not really sure where to start with this, so some research is required!

In the summer we have a big holiday to Japan coming up, and although we've booked the flights and worked out a rough itinerary there is plenty of planning and research to be done before we can book hotels, trains and attractions.

I have several large boxes of family history files which need to be sorted through with the rest of the family and then stored. This has prompted me to think about all my photographs, both printed and digital, and how best to enjoy them. I'm wondering about putting together some photo books, maybe one for each year containing my favourite photos. I have a couple of photograph albums which I enjoy looking through, and I think if I had some physical books I would appreciate the photos more.

Hobbies and interests

Then I have my personal projects for the year. I have a few cross stitch kits which I would like to complete, starting with this Be A Light cross stitch from Dimensions which I picked up on holiday a couple of years ago. It's quite simple, not too big and without much backstitching, so I'm hoping that it won't take too long. The only tricky thing is that the dark background is easier to work on during daylight.

In terms of reading I'm doing very well with my To Be Read piles, both physical and digital. I have an interest which I want to explore this year which is reading about climbing Everest, something which has fascinated me for a while now. So I've put together a list of books which I want to read and I'll be doing a sizeable World of Books order at some point! 

And then maybe this will also be the year that I finally tackle War and Peace...!

What things do you want to work on this year?

What I've been up to lately - September 2025

It's time for another catch up! Here are some of the things that I've been up to lately:

Reading

I've read some great books recently! You can see all of my reading over on Goodreads, where I track what I've read and give it a star rating. Some of my recent five star reads - Four Seasons in Japan by Nick Bradley, Abroad in Japan by Chris Broad and One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid.

Planning

Two of these books have been very helpful, because I've been busy planning a holiday which we have booked for next summer. We are going to Japan which is very exciting, it's somewhere that I've always wanted to visit and I like to think that I'm reasonably knowledgeable about the country thanks to the fact that I've read a lot of books set in Japan and by Japanese authors. 

I'm using ChatGPT a lot in my planning and I'm finding it really helpful, in fact I'm intending to write up a blog post with some tips for using ChatGPT to plan a holiday. It's great for a quick but more obscure question that might take a long time to Google the answer, for example opening times for a less popular attraction or one that doesn't have much information available about it in English. ChatGPT will tell me the answer, but also give me a link to an official website where I can check the information. 

This step is crucial as you do need to check everything. It can make things up, and also does things like skip a day if you are asking it to plan an itinerary, but it's a really good starting point and definitely speeds up the searching. It is especially helpful for grouping together close by attractions that can be visited in the same day, and for suggesting day trips that I might not have thought of. I'm getting a really good plan together!

Puzzling

A few months ago I became a little obsessed with jigsaw puzzles. Working on a puzzle was very helpful to me at a time when lots of things were out of my control. I slowed down a bit over the summer but I've taken it up again recently, I'm back to touring the charity shops looking for bargains and I've been redoing a few of my favourites. 

Recently I've worked on some older puzzles including a vintage wooden puzzle that my Mum had been given. The box didn't come with a picture so I had to work it out as I went along, maybe not the kind of image that I would have chosen for myself but I enjoyed the challenge and loved the different shaped pieces. It's called 'A Tiresome Sitter' from Victory.

Watching

I've not been watching a lot lately, but my husband and I have been enjoying re-watching Extras on iPlayer, I've watched it a few times now but it's still very funny! I also watch content on YouTube. Even though I don't have TikTok I love videos by creators that discuss trends on TikTok, like #teachertok or #coloringtok and include the viral clips which are really over the top and just filmed in order to generate interaction and promote their products (these videos also make me glad that I'm not on TikTok, I couldn't keep up!)

Sorting

I've been having a good sort out in the house recently. We had new carpets in a lot of rooms, which meant we had to empty them completely, and that was a really good way to have a think about what would go back. We have also reorganised our rooms a bit, moving Mia's bedroom upstairs and creating a communal room for exercising, playing games and watching television. That room had been a bit of a dumping ground before, and it's really nice that now each room in the house has a purpose and all the random things have either been put away properly or passed on. 

Crafting

I've been doing a lot of miniature crafting recently. I've shared my reviews of two miniature kits - the Cutebee Mrs Hunt Bakery and the Rolife Silent Corner Study which I loved assembling. I have another kit from Rolife to work on which I'm looking forward to getting started with, I know that it's quite a long and complicated set so I'm a little daunted, but once I get it out of the box I'll be fine!

Looking forward to

I've loved working on our garden this year, and I'm still enjoying the masses of flowers which I've managed to grow and keep alive. I'm looking forward to having a good tidy up this autumn and thinking about what worked well and what I want to try for next year. I've already been buying bulbs and making lists of the seeds I want to buy for the spring!

We also have a holiday coming up in October which I'm very much looking forward to, it will be an opportunity for a last bit of summer sun before we head into winter.

What have you been up to lately?

Things that I want to do by the end of the year

It has been a long time since I was at school, but September always feels like the chance for a reset. Even though it has still been really warm today I can sense the approach of Autumn, and a few months to countdown before a fresh start in January.

Here are some of the things on my current to do list:

Sort out our digital photos

I try to keep up with our digital photos, but sometimes I get a bit behind. Last week I finally finished off the 2024 photos - removing the blurry ones, random screenshots and duplicates - making sure that I keep only the very best photos. Now I need to work through the 2025 photos, and I'll aim to keep on top of them as we go along.

Make a plan for displaying my favourite photos

Whenever I sort through photos it makes me realise that I want to see them more often. We haven't printed out any photos out for years, and I'd love to put some more recent ones on display. We have a photo frame in my study which holds 15 photos that were printed around the time that Harry started school in 2013 - that definitely needs updating!

A longer term project is to think about putting together some photo books. I'd love to make one for each year, with the best photos in chronological order along with some text and other memories. Actually making the books will be a job for next year, but I'd like to make a plan for what I want to do and maybe start setting aside some photographs.

Sort out our family history archives

My Dad died earlier this year and left behind his life's work on researching our family history. Many large boxes have been piled up in my Mum's dining room for months, and it's finally time to go through it all. I've volunteered to be the custodian and store the majority of it, but having gone through it with him a little bit last year I know that there is quite a lot there that I feel we don't need to keep. I want to curate everything so that the most interesting and important things are easily accessible to myself and my siblings. It's a big job and also an emotional one that the family will be working on together, but I'm now ready to make a start on sorting it all out.

My Nutcracker cross stitch

This has been a work in progress for far too long! It's not a particularly difficult piece as there aren't very many colours, but it can be tricky working on the dark fabric if the lighting isn't good. It's stitched in two layers, a basic cross stitch layer underneath and then a top layer containing some more elaborate embroidery stitches. I've completed over half of the first cross stitch layer, so I'd really like to finish the rest of the cross stitch base before Christmas as a minimum.

Pick up my journalling again

My journalling has sadly fallen by the wayside. It's been a busy year with lots going on, and some of that would definitely have benefitted from being worked through in my journal. I need to get in the habit of writing again, even if it's just a small paragraph every day.

Finish my current decluttering round

I've been having a major declutter this year, and I'm loving how the house is looking clearer and tidier. Decluttering is a job that is never really finished as more things are always appearing, but I'm determined to just get a few last things out of the way and the remaining spaces sorted out ready to go into the new year.

What would you like to achieve by the end of the year?

What I've been up to lately...

...or, what I've been doing instead of blogging!

Reading

I was side tracked over Christmas by a couple of trips to the library, meaning that the looming to be read pile by my bed had become neglected. So I've been making a concerted effort to read through it, including re-reads of Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens, Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead which I borrowed from the library during lockdown, loved, and picked up my own copies from Wob.

I have also read Old Babes in the Wood by Margaret Atwood which was a birthday present and really enjoyed it although it's a poignant read, it's a collection of short stories which are amusing and also sad, dealing with love and loss.

I also bought a couple of non-fiction books with my Christmas money which have been giving me a lot to think about - Ultra-Processed People by Chris van Tulleken and I've just started Food for Life by Tim Spector. I've long been thinking that I need to make some changes to my diet and Ultra-Processed People has given me the push to do that over the last few weeks. I'd really recommend it, although it's a scary read at first!

Watching

As a family we enjoyed Percy Jackson and the Olympians on Disney+. Harry is obsessed with Percy Jackson and has read the books multiple times, so this series was very much eagerly awaited. I really enjoyed it, I've read the book since watching it and can see that there have been quite a few changes from the novel but I thought that it worked really well as a television series and was a really enjoyable family show to watch. I thought that the child actors were really good.

My husband and I have begun watching Masters of the Air on Apple TV which is shaping up to be another good series. I'm not very good with faces so I do struggle sometimes to keep the characters straight, especially when they are wearing masks while flying! I've read a little bit about the topic but more from the British point of view so it's interesting, and also terrifying.

Listening to

I spend a fair amount of time every day in the car on the school run, and I've been spending the last couple of weeks working through some podcasts. I've discovered the ZOE Science and Nutrition Podcast, in particular the shorter episodes. In January they did a week of short podcasts, each one talking about the pros and cons of different diets (mainly the cons to be honest) which was really informative. It's not all about diet, they also talk about exercise and keeping fit as you get older which I find useful.

Crafting

I'm not sure if it counts as crafting exactly, but I recently shared how I had completed my first 3000 piece jigsaw which was quite a challenge for me. 

In December and January I made a big effort with my cross stitch, The Christmas Nutcracker by Bothy Threads, challenging myself to do at least a few stitches every day. My dedication paid off and I'm getting on really well with it. It's completed in two parts, the basic cross stitch first and then additional decorative stitches on top. I'm about halfway through the first cross stitch layer. I have it set up nearby on a tray and I try to always keep the needle threaded and ready to go, so if I have a few minutes I can do a couple of stitches. I always seem to find myself doing more!

Eating

The book Ultra-Processed People made quite an impression on me and I've really been thinking about how I can improve my diet. In particular I want to cut down on ultra processed foods which are problematic for a huge number of reasons. I'm trying not to get obsessive about it, but I've been gradually adding some healthier alternatives to our shop each week. I'm trying to spread the cost a bit, because at first it can be more expensive to stock up the cupboards. 

I've been eating more fruit and vegetables, extra beans and lentils, and adding some extras like healthy seeds and nuts. I've also not been drinking Diet Coke, or eating crisps and biscuits, just enjoying the occasional baked treat that I've made myself. I'm hoping that I can stick with it all as a lifestyle change rather than just seeing it as a new year diet, I wouldn't mind losing a few pounds but I'm approaching it as a marathon rather than a sprint.

Working on

I've been spending some time researching some different meal options, for both lunches and dinners. It's difficult at first because some meals need lots of things which I don't have so it's something that I need to approach gradually while I stock up on the different ingredients and learn how to use them. 

I'm also once again working on trying to keep away from the scrolling on my phone. I've had a few distractions over the last few weeks which have led me to comfort scroll, but I'm trying to replace that with some good books and also by watching videos on YouTube, especially recipe and healthy lifestyle videos which I've lined up to watch in advance rather than by scrolling through my feed. 

Looking forward to

I'm desperately looking forward to some more sunshine and warmth as spring approaches. I can't wait to get back out in the garden again, do some tidying up and get some seeds planted. I'm also looking forward to going out for my runs without having to battle freezing temperatures!

How my recent shopping habits have been influenced by my teen years

This post contains Amazon affiliate links

Recently I was looking through my niece's birthday wish list to choose a gift. She will be 13, and I was struck by how all of the things on her list were things that I also liked very much, and in some cases already owned myself! It made me realise how many of my recent purchases have been inspired by things that I liked when I was a teenager!

Stationery

A while back I treated myself to a new pencil case to store my bullet journal supplies, and I chose this large capacity pencil case (affiliate link). Then Mia told me that almost everyone in her class had the same pencil case, and there it was again on the wish list. I've always liked a nice pencil case, and of course all the stationery that goes inside, and there is so much more choice available now!

Stickers

Another item on the list was a pack of boho themed stickers. I've always collected stickers, and back when I was in Year 8 sticker collecting was a big obsession. I still have my old sticker album and I love looking back through it and remembering where my favourite stickers came from!

About a year ago I discovered all the amazing sticker packs that you can now buy on Amazon. The first pack that I bought was a set of 100 Boho Stickers (affiliate link) and there are so many similar packs available. I've used these stickers to decorate my water bottle, notebooks and also to stick in my journal. I also own another pack of smaller stickers with space, nature, travel and ocean themes which I use for my bullet journal.

Toiletries

When I was a young teenager I used to love visiting Boots for my toiletries. I'm sure that I'm not imagining it, Boots used to have a pick and mix style counter where you could fill a bag with little shaped bath pearls and tiny soaps. I had a ceramic pot in the bathroom filled with them. I hadn't seen them in shops for ages but last Christmas I discovered that they were still available so they went on my wish list and I'm now the proud owner of a pack, they are like these retro bath pearls (affiliate link) which come in all the different ocean themed shapes.

Writing

I recently went back to writing in my journal with a fountain pen, or a cartridge pen as I used to call it, which we had to use for writing at secondary school. I bought the Helix Oxford Fountain Pen (affiliate link) which is a little fancier than the ones that I used to use, although the cartridges are the same. I love writing with it, sometimes it gets a bit smudgy but I have to write more slowly and carefully so my thoughts feel more important. When I was at school most of my homework time seemed to be spent copying out my draft essays into a final version, thank goodness for computers and easy editing these days!

Shoes

My favourite outfit as an older teenager was a black skirt, black tights, a band t-shirt and my Doc Martens. I loved my Doc Martens, they were expensive but I wore them for years until they fell apart. Last year I was treated to a new pair as an anniversary present and I love them again, I can't wear them for long periods yet as they are still quite stiff and I don't want them to get too creased so I save them for special occasions when I don't need to walk too far!

I'm obviously using nostalgia shopping to try and recreate some of those happy childhood times!

My life lately - May 2022

I thought I'd do a little life update with some of the things that I've been doing and enjoying lately!

Reading

I wrote recently about the books that I read on holiday, and now I'm working through the rest of the free books that I downloaded and didn't get to. Then I have a haul of second hand paperbacks waiting by my bedside table. 

A book that I really enjoyed recently was one of my Amazon First Read selections - The Candid Life of Meena Dave by Namrata Patel. It falls under one of my favourite genres - a woman inherits a house full of secrets - and this book is about a woman who is Indian but was adopted and raised in a white Catholic family and has no knowledge about her heritage. She discovers that an unknown woman has left her an apartment in a block that was purchased by Indian students who moved to the US to study engineering so that they could take their skills back to India. It's now inhabited by their descendants, who introduce her to their culture despite not knowing exactly why she has been left the apartment. I enjoyed reading a new take on a favourite genre.

Watching

We are so behind with our television watching! There are lots of series that I have lined up to watch - Bridgerton, Life After Life, The Time Traveller's Wife, The Essex Serpent...I just need to find the time!

We've just started the new and final season of Better Call Saul which is looking good. I've also discovered a little programme on Netflix called Old Enough which we are enjoying watching, each episode is only about ten minutes long and it follows a small child in Japan who is sent out to run errands and filmed to see how they get on. It's very sweet! Finally we enjoyed watching Moon Knight as a family, the latest Marvel series on Disney+ and definitely one of the better ones.

Listening

Lately on the school run I've been enjoying listening to piano music. I have a playlist on Spotify called 'Relaxing Piano' and I do find that it helps me feel calm when driving. I'm enjoying playing the piano too myself and so I like to hear fancier versions of the pieces that I play. In particular I'm enjoying listening to Ludovico Einaudi.

Playing

I'm still enjoying Pikmin Bloom on my phone, although I accept that I'm probably one of the only people in the country playing it! It's a simple mobile game that is a little bit like Pokemon Go in that it uses a map and your walking data to play. You collect seedlings which take a certain amount of steps to grow, and when you pluck them they become a Pikmin which is a little character that follows you around and plants flowers. If you collect seeds from certain places then when you have fed them enough nectar they put on a decoration related to where you picked them up, and so you can collect lots of different décor which is where I'm at now in the game. I have lots of beach, café, park and forest Pikmin but I'm still working on lots of the others, like the different shops which include sweet, sushi and clothing. I have it on when I'm out running, and it encourages me to run to different places to try and pick up the ones I'm missing.

Creating

I've been working on a cross stitch snowflake piece for Christmas which I'm quite proud of. I've worked up my own pattern for an embroidery hoop design, and I'll be publishing it on the blog as winter approaches.

I'm also working on some bits for the garden - I'm planning to make some fresh bunting and paint some plant pots.

Travelling to

Over the Easter holiday we had a wonderful holiday to Mauritius with lots of sunshine, time to relax and sightseeing. Then we managed another trip to Monkey World to see Mia's adopted gibbon and other primate friends.

I've also been up to London twice, having not visited for over two years. The first was a lovely surprise trip for our wedding anniversary. We went to watch Les Misérables, which is my favourite musical, and also went Swingers for some tipsy mini golf! Then last week we went to the Young Voices concert at the O2 to watch Mia perform. It was so strange seeing all the crowds and everyone out and about, it really did feel as though things are now back to normal.

Coming up

I can't believe that the summer term is so short, with the half term holiday in just a couple of weeks! We have booked an Airbnb in Bournemouth for the week which is on the beach and looks lovely. It's Mia's birthday that week, and so there will be at least one trip to Monkey World while we are there.

Then it will just be the countdown to the end of term, and the end of Mia's time at primary school which will be emotional I'm sure. Fingers crossed the weather this summer will be better than last year, I want to enjoy some garden time!