While there may be three more weeks of summer (or possibly more in Colorado if this heat never lets up), my personal calendar has summer ending on September 1st. The CU semester started on Thursday, August 20th, and we are now well into the Fall 2026 semester.
You may recall that my theme for this summer was Summer of Tsundoku: 2026 edition. Tsundoku is a Japanese term for books that pile up on your bookshelf to read later, and it was my goal to clear my shelf and read those books!
My Summer of Tsundoku 2025 was not as successful as I hoped, so I went into this summer with more focus and motivation to get through my pile of books. I had identified 36 books in total, and a few surprised me later on because I had requested them through inter-library loan and they finally came through (Famesick and Yesteryear, I’m looking at you).
Drumroll, please ….
I did it!
Sort of.
This summer, I read 41 books! And I’m on track to finish another one by the end of the week. The “sort of” part comes in because several of those books were NOT in the original pile, and thus, the original pile still has a handful of books left. No, I’m not going to tell you which ones because I don’t want to hurt those books’ feelings, and it’s not personal at all.
Have no fear, I will be reading those books next!
How did I read 41 books this summer? It helped that I stayed off all social media in May and June, and then in August I did a social media and news fast as my yearly birthday gift to myself! Traveling to Alaska also gave me ample time to read. One of my happiest times on the trip was having my family around me as I stared out the window of a bus driving from Anchorage to Seward (I think that’s where we got on the cruise ship) and listening to an audiobook as the Alaskan coast flew by.
Another way I read 41 books was to always have a book available, which meant I had an e-book and audiobook on my phone and a paperback or hardback in my backpack or on the couch.
The books I read were all so different from each other, so it’s hard to say which was my absolute favorite. But if I had to choose or I would die (dramatic, I know, but it forces me to make the choice), I would go with Bad Badger: A Family Story by Maryrose Wood. I know a friendship story between a badger and a seagull isn’t going to be for everyone, but among books I like best, this one had it all: talking animals, silliness, poignancy, and heart.
Other books I read this summer that were not on my original list include: The Willpower Instinct by Kelly McGonigal, PhD (no relationship to Minerva McGonigal, sadly); 1984 by George Orwell (read by request because Heath also read it this summer and he wanted someone to talk to about it); Three Blue Hearts by Lynne Kelly (a lovely MG story about a boy who befriends an octopus that I read because I needed an e-book at this one was available via the Libby app), Fatal Glitch: Camp Zero by Erin Entrada Kelly (see previous reason); Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (which should have been on my original list because it was on my bookshelf waiting to be read and I overlooked it); Thank You for Listening by Julia Whelan (read by my Romancing the Tropes book club in July and the best audiobook romance I have ever listened to); How You Get the Girl by Anita Kelly (my book club’s June pick); Maxi’s Secret by Lynn Poudre (same reason as Inheritance Games); Famesick by Lena Dunhan (I was 85 on the waitlist and my time finally came), and Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke (see previous reason).
It was a wonderful way to spend the summer! I’m looking forward to an autumn of prioritizing writing over reading, but you better believe my Summer of Tsundoku momentum is going to keep me going until I finish all the books on my original list.
And, of course, there will be new acquisitions to the bookshelf to keep me reading through the fall, winter, and spring, and then I expect it will be time for Summer of Tsundoku: 2027 edition.
If you have a book recommendation, I would love to hear it!
Is it too early to be planning my summer? Perhaps if I lived seasonally, then yes, it is.
However, I live academically, and the semester officially ended last week. WOHOO!
So I consider May-August my own personal summer.
To be clear, I don’t stop working during May-August; and I am teaching in the second summer session from June 30-July 31. However, I certainly have more free time during these next few months, even with the summer session.
This summer, I also expect to have more free time because I am now on day 40 of a social media fast and a news diet (where I only read the news delivered to my inbox every Friday in a roundup of the most important stories). It’s amazing how much time opens up when you kill two activities that can accidentally turn into hours wasted.
What am I going to do with all my time? The same thing I did last summer! My friends, welcome to the Summer of Tsundoku, 2026 edition!
Tsundoku is a Japanese word for accumulating books and not reading them. For years, while we were nomads, I hardly ever kept books because they were so heavy to move from place to place. Now that we’ve been in Colorado for nearly two years, my minimalist ways have lapsed a bit when it comes to books.
The cognitive dissonance of being a minimalist while having a stuffed bookcase is quite uncomfortable, and since I am not going to shed my minimalist identity, my only choice is to read more books.
How did I get so many books?
I blame myself, of course, as I am the commander of my own behavior, as well as my desire to be a good literary citizen by supporting authors I know and/or like when they have new books come out. There’s also reading for the sake of my writing, in terms of improving craft and finding comp titles to share with my agent. Oh, and let’s not forget my writing accountability/critique partner is a more prolific reader than I am, and generously shares her books with me. Throw in the free little library by our house (as well as any free little library I come across) and my love of the Lafayette Library, which, in addition to offering a wealth of books to check out at my leisure, also offers a perpetual book sale to raise money to support itself, and it’s a perfect storm for Tsundoku.
As of May 1st, there were 36 books on my Summer of Tsundoku TBR list. You can see most of the books here:
Missing from this stack are Bad Badger: A Family Story by Maryrose Wood and illustrator Giulia Ghigini, a sequel to a book I adored so much in 2025 that I pre-ordered it weeks ago (publication date was May 5, 2026, and it’s currently on its way!),
and You’ve Been Pooping All Wrong: How to Make Your Bowel Movements a Joy by Trisha Pasricha, MD, MPH, a book that I am WILDLY EMBARRASSED to tell you about, but a book that is hands-down (or cheeks up*) one of the most entertaining, interesting, and informative non-fiction books I have EVER listened to, to the point that I am willing to overlook my embarrassment and share this book with anyone who wants to listen.
Seriously, get yourself a copy, or better yet, get the audio version because it’s narrated by the author, and she did a stellar job. I enjoyed the book so much that I will be buying a copy to keep (and read again), as well as getting one for my niece when I see her next week.
Anyway, as that book was an audiobook on my list, I couldn’t stack it on my crates.
For anyone wondering, yes, I believe 36 is a ridiculously high number, and, yes, I fully expect to fall short of the goal. My current reading pace in 2026 is an average of 6 books a month. Realistically, that would put me at 24 books by September 1. However, I like to aim high because you never know!
Also, as this is Mother’s Day, a special shout-out to my mom, who instilled this love of reading and books in me. I wouldn’t be able to consider 36 books this summer without her commitment to literacy in my life.
Let the Summer of Tsundoku begin!
*Credit for this joke goes to Charlaine Harris in Dead to the World, my favorite of the Sookie Stackhouse books (which I will likely listen to again this summer, but aren’t on my list because I use them as bedtime audio stories to help me fall asleep, and don’t give them my full attention).
The irony of the grammatical discordance between the theme and logo is not lost on me. Let’s hope my reflection and direction are a bit more mindful in 2026.
Here are my goals for 2026:
A lot of my 26 in 26 goals are repeats. Although it’s a little boring, I suppose it means that I’m figuring out what works best for me and sticking with it.
Because I ended last year with the flu and started this year still coughing, some of my new monthly goals won’t begin until February. I made this decision because I was already feeling stressed with the spring 2026 semester fast approaching two weeks ago, and I am sincere that this is the year I want to reduce my work stress (see goal #1 under Professional Development).
Also, given that I was so sick at the end of December, all my 25 in 25 goal stats are based on data collected from January 1, 2025, to December 20, 2026 (the day I first felt symptoms of the flu).
Speaking of which, let’s see how I did with my 25 in 25 goals!
Intentionally move for at least 25 minutes per day.
Gold star! I only missed 18 days this year, and I likely walked on some of those days for transportation (like getting to and from the bus stop), which I don’t count for this goal.
Train to do a pull-up 2-5 times per week.
Bronze star! Training to do a pull-up was frustrating and fun. I managed to do a few pull-ups with a foot-push assist, and I did a few chin-ups, and I hit my target every week when I wasn’t resting. Every so often, though, my rotator cuff would YELL at me to stop. As hard as it was, I did. I ended up needing to rest my shoulder for 6 weeks total between January 1 and October 1, and then I gave up training to do a pull-up altogether after October 1 because the pain kept coming back.
In November and December, I went back to plain old strength-training two times a week. It was still much less intense than my original goal, but it kept me active while at the same time protecting my shoulder.
I’m hoping that by using very light weights for the first few months of the year, I can bring back pull-up training in the summertime.
Make 2-5 home-cooked meals per week for me and Heath.
Needs improvement! While I significantly increased the number of home-cooked meals I made last year, I did not hit my 2-5 goal. In looking at the data, everything fell apart in May and December, which, not coincidentally, is the end of the spring and fall semesters. This year I’ll make sure to plan for those busier-than-usual times and see if that makes a difference.
Drink 2-5 smoothies per week.
Bronze star! I didn’t meet my goal during 8 weeks this year. One of the changes I made that helped a lot was buying Suja Supergreens from Costco. While I hate purchasing single-use plastics, I also hate throwing out food that’s gone bad. I kept having to freeze spinach because I wouldn’t use it in time and that spinach didn’t always taste the best. Drinking the Suja Supergreens also means I don’t have to use the blender in the morning when Heath is still sleeping.
Do yoga 2-5 times per month.
Platinum star! I did yoga 60 times in 2025. YAY!
Attend 25 or more cold plunges.
Gold star! I attended 25 cold plunges. This year, I cut my total in half. The cold plunge group I attend only meets Saturday mornings, and I started having to work for the university a few Saturdays throughout the semester. With that new commitment, travel, and writing events that often happen on Saturday, I have to make tough choices. I tried cold plunging on my own, but without the group for support and camaraderie, my anxiety overwhelmed me as I worried about an emergency and no one being around to help me.
Buy a pair of ice skates and ice skate 25 times or more.
Black and white star! Black and white because I replaced this goal with getting a piano (haha) and playing it 2-5 times per week.
Although I really, really want to get back into ice skating, I have this fear that the vertigo I experience every time I’m on an amusement park ride will transfer over to the ice. I don’t want to invest in a good pair of skates just for me not to be able to use them, and I’m too good a skater just to buy a pair of cheap skates.
Gold star! I only missed 19 days of meditation this year (most of which are when I’m visiting friends/family).
Practice 2-5 minutes of breathwork 2-5 times per week.
Still needs improvement! This goal was a carry-over from 20224. I missed my target seven weeks in 2025. For 2026, I decided to revise this goal to “bus breathwork,” meaning that when I get to the bus stop (which I ride the bus four days a week), I’ll do my breathing exercises there. This should work out well because I worry about missing the bus, and I always get there super early.
Despite having ALL YEAR to complete this goal, I waited until the last minute. This was the “last thing” I did before I succumbed to my flu symptoms. At first, I thought I wouldn’t make it. All kinds of anxious thoughts swirled through my mind. Then, when I checked my watch, 45 minutes had passed, and suddenly my thinking went from there’s no way I can do this to of course I can do this!.
My art choice!
Walk around Waneka Lake 2-5 times per week.
DIAMOND STAR! I walked around Waneka Lake 185 times last year. WOOHOO!
Volunteer 2-5 times per month at the Boulder Valley Humane Society.
This goal was one of the hardest. When I made it, I didn’t realize that the BVHS has MANY volunteers and volunteer shifts get snatched up quickly. I volunteered 25 times last year (2-hour shifts each time), though in May I only volunteered once. It wasn’t for lack of trying! I kept checking the volunteer portal every day to see if someone cancelled. I suppose I can’t be too mad that I didn’t meet my goal because they have so many volunteers.
Hike 2-5 times with Heath on a new trail in Colorado.
Gold star! We hiked at Garden of the Gods in May, Boulder Valley Ranch Open Space in June, Rallins Pass in July, Long Canyon Trail in September, and Loch Vale in Rocky Mountain National Park in October.
Watch 25 sunrises outside.
Diamond star! I watched 86 sunrises while walking around Waneka Lake.
Visit Pennsylvania, Connecticut, North Carolina, Tennessee, Nebraska, and Oklahoma.
Gold star! Our trip to Oklahoma was also our 4-day “weekend” getaway.
Attend 2-5 webinars/classes/workshops on teaching.
Gold star! I attended workshops on resilience in college students, motivational interviewing, mental health first aid, large lecture classes, and multiple sessions on teaching general psychology over the course of a weekend at the PSYCH ONE Conference at Duke University.
Attend 2-5 webinars/classes/workshops on starting and maintaining a Substack.
Silver Star! I attended two webinars, and what I learned is that I DON’T want a Substack. The company is not yet profitable, and because they’re still figuring things out, I’m not confident that they’re not going to turn into one more social media platform that goes against more moral values.
Revise 2-5 manuscripts I’ve already written.
Silver star! I revised one YA romcom based on feedback from my agent and one adult grounded romantasy based on feedback from my amazing beta readers (you know who you are).
Write 2-5 first drafts or outlines of new manuscripts.
Gold star! Not only did I write outlines for three new manuscripts, but I also wrote almost 70,000 words for a dual POV adult romcom during National Novel Writing Month.
Dedicate 2-5 hours per week to the Novel Academy during their six-month program (starts January 15).
BOO! NO! It’s time to accept that I don’t do well with multi-week classes where I have to show up at a certain time/day every week. It’s too stressful to fit into my schedule and sucks the joy from it.
Write and post 25 new blog posts.
BOO! NO! I only wrote 16. This year, I’m setting the bar low at 18. Maybe I’ll pleasantly surprise myself.
Give 2-5 psychology presentations to lay audiences (ie., not students).
Diamond star! Over the summer, I volunteered with Eco-Cycle to offer an 8-week Summer of Sustainable Change program using the book Atomic Habits as our “textbook.” I also partnered with another Eco-Leader in December for a program on the psychology of gift-giving. I gave the lecture and my partner led everyone in making zero-waste homemade Christmas tags.
So that was my 2025! I did good 😊
And for anyone keeping track at home, I also met 108 new dogs in 2025.
Lucy Honeybee, whom I met in March and stole my heart.
The New Year is often a time of reflection and meditation for me. For the last 10 years, I’ve spent time in December and January thinking about where I am and where I want to be. I imagine what it would be like if I knew that the new year was my last on Earth. What would I want to do differently, and what would I keep the same?
Wolf Supermoon, January 2026
This year, however, I felt resistant to such self-reflection. Maybe I was tired of thinking about myself. Maybe I was bored with the practice. Maybe it’s because I had the worst flu I’ve ever had, which started on December 20th, and I’m still coughing.
Regardless, I didn’t want to do it.
And, yet. I did it anyway. Is this discipline? Tradition? Insanity? Who knows.
All I can say is that the one thing I really want in 2026 (that is under my control) is not to feel so stressed during the school year. The contributing factors to this stress are: 1) fatigue; 2) lack of focus; 3) procrastination; and 4) disorganization.
I’m hoping that the fatigue and lack of focus will improve as the iron infusion I received on December 18th continues to build in my body. It turns out that a lot of the symptoms I had that I associated with narcolepsy, such as fatigue, brain fog, and lack of focus, are more likely associated with an iron deficiency that I have had for several years that doctors didn’t fully address, than my chronic sleep disorder. Once my PCP here had me get tested and retested, and I also began to pay attention, I realized that there is a BIG difference between sleepiness (narcolepsy) and fatigue (iron deficiency).
This information is important for helping me manage all my symptoms, and I’m glad to finally understand why nothing was working with the narcolepsy treatments I was trying, but come on! I’ve been struggling for years. This is one of the reasons I hate healthcare and the insurance industry in the United States.
Another reason is that it took me from July to December to see the right doctor for iron deficiency and then get insurance to approve for the infusion. Now that I’ve been infused, I should start to see more improvement over the next several weeks.
If that happens, then I’ll re-focus on improving my sleep again. But as I told my sleep doctor, there’s no point trying to sort out the sleepiness while my ferritin levels make daily living nearly impossible.
In the meantime, I have some strategies to work on the procrastination and disorganization issues that created stress at my job over the last three semesters. Most importantly, because I often regularly forget what I have to do and when I have to do it, I will spend 15 to 30 minutes at the end of every teaching day writing and updating a to-do list of what needs to be done and when. I’ll also write some notes on how each class went and what, if anything, I could do differently and/or improve for the next class or the next semester.
I’ve used to-do lists in the past to some success, but I’ve never kept one consistently. So I’m hoping by having a to-do list and reflection as a daily task that I can track, I’ll keep on top of my tasks better.
I’ve also identified how this strategy could go wrong, and I suspect the biggest impediment will be that I get very hungry by the end of my teaching day (which will end at 4:45pm, Monday-Thursday this semester), and I take the bus home, so there’s often a significant delay between finishing teaching and getting home to decent food. I often want to get home ASAP so I can start making dinner.
These issues mean that I’ll need to bring something substantial and high quality for me to eat Monday-Thursday, so I’m not thinking about dinner after class and when I can get home, but instead I’ll have the time I want to reflect on my classes and organize myself with the to-do list.
I can’t say I enjoy eating dinner at work; at the same time, I also don’t enjoy the stress of not feeling prepared and feeling like I’m falling behind, either. And, because I’m not willing to change my teaching schedule, dinner at work is the option I’m willing to work with this semester.
However, going back a step further, what this really means is I’ll have to prepare dinner in advance of leaving for school in the morning or early afternoon, so I can bring it with me.
What will be most important is to mindfully evaluate my progress in real time because I really don’t want all that stress this year. Reducing this stress is my number one priority because it’s taking away a lot of the joy I have in my return to teaching
I think I can do it! Time will tell, and, of course, I’ll share my progress here. In fact, I am so committed to reducing my work stress this year, that I made “reflection and direction” my 2026 theme.
Since moving to Lafayette, Colorado, one of my favorite activities is walking around Waneka Lake. This lake has everything – the Rocky Mountains in the backdrop, pelicans, egrets, herons, raptors, ducks, red-winged black birds, and more, bunnies galore, and plenty of humans walking their dogs, so I can say hi to all of them and even be welcomed to pet some of them. I could not ask for a better way to start my day.
Which is why I walked around the lake every morning this summer for seven weeks straight! Now, I do a lot of mental and physical health care in my mornings. I meditate, move, write, and, most importantly, stay off my phone, with the occasional exception of playing Wordle, Connections, and Strands when my brain needs a quicker dopamine hit.
Speaking of Wordle, I guessed it on my first try yesterday!
Anyway, all these morning behaviors take up quite a bit of time. It’s a luxury over the summer to have the time to be so leisurely. Such is the privilege of being a college professor.
Alas, once the start of the fall semester crept closer in August, my morning walks went back to my originally scheduled goal of “walk around Waneka Lakes two to five times per week.” Two is the bare minimum that would still make me feel like I’m connecting with my local community, landscape, and nature.
I still remember the disappointment I felt on August 11th when I had to make the difficult choice of prioritizing what morning activities to do. That was the first time since June 4th that I didn’t walk around the lake that morning.
So it begins, I thought.
I knew the first day of not walking around was coming. That didn’t make it any easier.
Since then, I’ve kept up with my original goal. I walk around the lake a minimum of two times per week, and sometimes I’m still able to get in three to four walks. Some mornings it’s a tough call – do I walk around the lake, lift weights, spend the time with Heath before he heads to his job, work on writing, etc.
Without fail, every time I choose to prioritize walking around the lake, I have the same thought: this is never the wrong decision.
Today was the first day in a long time when I’ve felt breathing room in my upcoming week, and so I didn’t have to worry about prioritizing one of my morning rituals when deciding how to spend my time. Even though it’s the first truly cold day of the fall (a brisk 25 degrees Fahrenheit), I relished the crispness of the air and the bite of the cold against my nose.
Within minutes of being on the lake path, I said hello to a woman with her dog in a dapper red sweater, waved at a jogger, and marveled at how clear the Rockies looked in the distance. As I rounded the top of the lake, words started flowing for the manuscript I’m working on for Novel November to the point that I had to stop at a bench, take off my mittens, and type away on my phone, lest I forget the ideas by the time I got back home to my computer.
Yep. Never the wrong decision.
As I was walking around the lake this morning, I wondered what it would be like if I set myself the goal of walking around the lake every morning. That would likely mean I would have to let go of something else in my mornings. I wasn’t opposed to it, but I also wasn’t sure how that would play out in real life. It’s something I’m going to think about as my 2025 comes to a close and I consider how I want to spend the next calendar year of my life.
In the meantime, I’m going to enjoy the lake as much as I can.
Fall is quickly approaching, and that means summer is on its way out. Which means there’s no time like the present to reflect on how I spent my summer vacation.
While this summer included trips to North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Oklahoma, visiting with family and friends, and teaching in the second summer session, where, yes, I did allow dogs to come to class (see photos at the top of this blog post for a hodgpodge look at my summer), my main goal was to read lots of books. I decided this would be my summer of Tsundoku, a Japanese term related to having a lot of books but not reading them.
For me, this meant that I would ONLY read books I already had on my bookshelf (physical and virtual via the Libby library app). I would not buy anything new, I would not make any new requests from the library (again, physical and virtual), nor would I check out any new library book, and I wouldn’t peruse the Free Little Libraries in my neighborhood for free book gems.
I would, however, read any library book that I had previously requested and came in during the summer months. Most of those books were delivered via Libby, and some of them I had requested months ago and then kept letting the next person in line read them while I waited for a “better time.” If summer’s not a better time, then I don’t know when it will be!
I also made an exception for my Romance Trope Book Club, which selects a different book each month for discussion. I could cheerfully request those books from the library.
And let me tell you – it was SO HARD to walk into my library to pick up each book club book and not check out any other book. As a form of torture, I allowed myself to look at all the new books on display.
Lastly, I had a few required reading books, as I led two different summer-long workshop series that used Atomic Habits as our “textbook,” and I co-hosted a Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators workshop that featured NY-Times Best-selling author Megan E. Freeman, so, of course, I had to read her latest.
You may think that with all my exceptions, I wouldn’t have time to read anything I set out to. Well, I did read a lot from my shelves.
I really thought I would end up reading more. There are still at least 10 more books on my bookshelf just waiting for their turn.
Unfortunately, they might end up waiting a while because I officially ended my Summer of Tsundoku on September 1st, which was the plan all along, given the start of the fall semester. This past Friday, when I went to the library, I checked out three books I’m really excited about, and there were so many more just waiting for me! I will never get over the idea that libraries are free books for anyone who wants to read them.
I also didn’t fully keep my word about not acquiring any new books this summer. I’m not too concerned because the first book I acquired was by a debut YA author whom I met at an indie bookstore in Denver for one of her book release events. The second book was a Hank the Cowdog book that I bought at the Cimarron Heritage Center in Boise City, OK, as a way to support their museum efforts.
I’m hoping that even with the start of the semester, I’ll be reading more this fall. As is my usual tradition, I gave myself the gift of a month-long break from social media for my birthday in August. Since then, I’ve only dipped my toe in once this month, and it reminded me of why I take breaks in the first place. So, theoretically, I should have more free time. Not enough for an Autumn of Tsundoku, with all the other books I want/need to read, but enough that I should get through at least two or three more books on my shelves.
I have lived in some beautiful places in my life – Harrisburg, PA, with its full four seasons that offer variety and changing colors, Chapel Hill, NC, with its bounty of azaleas that take us into a long spring, Naperville, IL with its perfect blend of wild and whimsical with its downtown Riverwalk on the DuPage River, and Norfolk, CT, with its lush forest canopies that offer peace and solitude for anyone who shows up.
Annie enjoying a walk through the Borden Woods in Norfolk, CT
This is my first full summer as a Lafayette, Colorado, resident. Lafayette has a suburban feel to it, much like Naperville. Where we live, it’s also wild, thanks to the City of Lafayette Parks and Rec and their investment in Waneka Lake Park, which is a three-minute walk from the house we rent.
While everything feels open and exposed at Waneka (there’s no true canopy like in Norfolk), I can’t complain because every morning I get to see views like this:
Waneka Lake, June 2025
Wildflowers are also abundant around the lake, and the sunflowers are blooming everywhere. I sent this photo to my niece earlier this week, and I’m still laughing at her response.
Of course, with so many flowers and an expansive invitation of fresh water, the wildlife is abundant, too.
Just recently, I’ve seen cormorants pretending to be Batman, a goose pretending to be a flamingo, a black-crowned heron perched in a tree, bunnies galore, a northern flicker looking for tasty bugs, and a baby toad being the cutest little nubbins of an amphibian.
I also like the community aspect of the lake. I’m usually out there walking early in the morning, often around 6:30 am, and there are plenty of people and dogs to say hello to. Just this morning, I met a schnauzer mix named Ruby, who loved me immediately, and her buddy Leelee, who deigned to let me let her. It was Ruby’s human who pointed out the baby toads hopping around, and I don’t think I would have noticed them otherwise.
I made it a goal in 2025 to walk around Waneka Lake 2 to 5 times per week. Now I find myself wanting to walk there every morning because I never know what I’m going to see or who I’m going to meet. There’s a sense of FOMO (fear of missing out) in the best possible way. Since June 4, I’ve walked around the lake 36 / 40 days, and the only reason I missed 4 days is because I was in NC!
One aspect of my mental health that I’ve worked on with my therapist over the years is “sphere of control.” Essentially, one needs to ask what is in their control and what is not in their control, and then live their life accordingly.
This concept is how I was able to still feel motivated to cross off one of my 25 in 25 goals last weekend despite the chaos and turmoil in the United states as of late, including higher education (you may recall I returned to college teaching this past year).
Because I’m already doing everything I can, which includes calling my senators and representatives multiple times per week (my latest phone call was about library and museum funding being cut), and donating money to people who are fighting the good fight, the only thing left for me is to continue living my life in the best way possible because now is not the time to give in to despair. So I will keep doing the things that bring me joy on a regular basis, and that includes 1) achieving goals (or working towards my goals); 2) going on adventures with Heath; and 3) adventures that are specifically road trips.
So last weekend, Heath and I drove approximately three hours northeast to visit Nebraska. Prior to last weekend, Nebraska was one of three states I had yet to visit and now that we live close enough for a weekend trip, it seemed like the right time to visit.
Originally, I thought we would drive to the state line, have a look around, go out for lunch, and then head back. But, an internet search of national parks in Nebraska showed that there was a National Monument called Scott’s Bluff close enough that it could be a part of our road trip.
We left after a rather leisurely Saturday morning and arrived in Scott’s Bluff with enough time to hike the Saddle Rock Trail before the park closed at sunset.
Because of everything that’s been going on in our lives, Heath and I were so tired by the time we got to the hotel that we fell asleep around 7:30 p.m. Consequently, we woke up really early. Heath, in fact, got up much earlier than I did and went to hang out in the hotel lounge area. When I woke up, it was still quite dark outside, but I checked the sunrise time on my weather app and sent Heath a quick text message asking if he would be up for taking a sunrise hike on one of the Scotts Bluff trails.
It was beautiful and brisk (maybe too brisk for Heath) and filled with bunnies! Seriously. These aren’t the best photos because of how the bunnies blend in, but I’m going to share them anyway.
Up until recently, Nebraska had a state slogan that was, “Nebraska, honestly it’s not for everyone!” This slogan sells Nebraska short, particularly for Scott’s Bluff, because Nebraska is definitely for bunnies and it’s definitely a place worth visiting.
We also found this little cafe called The Mixing Bowl that served up a breakfast so scrumptious (I got salmon eggs Benedict and a specialty drink called the Nebraska Sunrise that included OJ and pomegranate juice) that we returned for lunch before heading back to Colorado.
What was especially great about the cafe is we got to chat with the wait staff and the owner’s mom who shared with us that she and her husband weren’t sure that their daughter could make it as a chef/restauranteur because the business is so tough. The daughter, who had been trained at a culinary institute in Denver, didn’t let that stop her and her parents finally came around. Not only is the cafe doing well, but it’s thriving enough that they want to take over the building next door.
If you ever find yourself in Gering, NE, I highly recommend eating at The Mixing Bowl. You won’t regret it.
Our weekend away ended up being a wonderful time and I can’t wait for the next one. It probably won’t be until May because the week after next I’m heading to Norfolk for a few days to meet Annie Jr. and then Heath is off Valley Forge, PA, for Super Billiards Expo in April.
In case you need a reminder of who Annie is
There’s lots to look forward to and that’s what I need right now. It’s also one of the few things I can control.
Happy travels, everyone! Especially within your sphere of control.
I don’t know when I embraced goal setting as fun, but it’s been at least a few years. What’s great about this facet of my life is that it lines up with Martin Seligman’s 5-factor model of well-being: Positive Emotions, Engagement, Positive Relationships, Meaning, and Achievement. If I’m not working towards something, then I often feel lost in the time and space that is my life.
One way of approaching goal setting that I stumbled upon last year thanks to the (mostly) weekly podcast discussion group that I still host, even though I no longer work at the library, is to set a specific number of goals based on the calendar year. This idea is the brainchild of writer/happiness journalist Gretchen Rubin and her sister, Elizabeth Craft who co-host the Happier Podcast. So last year was 24 in 24 and this year is 25 in 25.
When I shared my 25 in 25 list with some friends who are not familiar with the concept, one was surprised by how many goals I set for the year. I assured them that many of the goals I set are ones I already have established habits for and now I’m just cranking up the number of times I do them by one minute, one time, or one day.
I also realized that overlapping some of the goals is more efficient for my life. As you can see in my list above, I have both intentionally move my body for 25 minutes a day and do yoga 2 to 5 times per month, which means that I can choose to do a 25-minute yoga video on YouTube and BAM! It counts as both my intentional movement for the day and towards my monthly yoga goal.
Gretchen Rubin and Elizabeth Craft also structure their years around a one-word theme, which I have also embraced in my own life. This year my theme is strengthen, as in I want to strengthen my body, mind, and spirit. Much like I don’t remember when I embraced goal setting as fun, I also can’t pinpoint when I started feeling weaker in this great big world of ours. I suspect the timing may have something to do with the last presidential election, but even before that, it just feels like there are so many things out of my control. Working towards feeling stronger is something that I can do something about.
The only item I changed from my original version of the list to the one I’m presenting here was hiking on 2 to 5 new trails with Heath. Initially, I set the goal of 2 to 5 new trails per month, but that clearly was the work of optimism bias, especially because Heath is not partial to being outside in the cold and snow like I am. So, when I thought about how last year I set the goal of hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park 2 to 4 times, I recognized 2 to 5 new trails over 12 months is a much more realistic goal.
And speaking of last year, here’s how my 24 in 24 wrapped up:
Order a passport to replace my stolen one.
I did NOT order a new passport, but I did report my stolen one as being stolen to the government. I didn’t realize it would cost $160 to replace my passport and that just seemed like a waste of money as I have no plans for international travel in the next year and I might as well stretch out the expiration date for my next passport as long as I can.
2. Move for at least 24 minutes a day.
GOLD STAR! I only missed 17 days of intentional movement last year, which is less than 5% of the year. I also did not count walking as transportation and my missed days would be a lot lower if I considered that “intentional” movement. I was also sick for three of those days, so I get a pass on those days.
3. Meditate for at least 24 minutes a day.
GOLD STAR! I only missed 12 days of meditation last year, which is less than 5% of the year.
4. 2-4 minutes of breathwork, 2-4 times per week.
BRONZE STAR! I missed my weekly goal for 14 out of 52 weeks last year. Considering it’s only 2-4 minutes per breathing session, there’s no reason I shouldn’t be meeting this goal. So, I’m giving myself another chance to establish this habit and we’ll see how it goes in 2025.
5. 24-hour social media breaks every week.
GOLD STAR! I only missed two weeks last year and so that’s why I feel confident of increasing my goal in 2025 to 2 to 5 days of social media breaks per week.
6. 24-hour game breaks every week.
GOLD STAR! Not only did I meet this goal, but I did what I really wanted which was to never again play Royal Match! This game sucks me in like no other and in the thick of my job search last spring I wasted 2 to 3 hours per day on this game to help with my anxiety. So I set the small goal of taking breaks from it once a week, and once I was hired by CU Boulder in May, I stopped playing the game entirely. YAY FOR ME!
7. 2-4 months of news fasting.
GOLD STAR! I news fasted in January, May, and August.
8. Review 24 dog books for a new Instagram account.
FAIL! And I’m okay with that. When I set this goal, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to get out of the new Instagram account other than a means to increase sales for the picture book I self-published at the end of 2023. But that seemed like the WRONG reason to start a new account, and I couldn’t figure out what the RIGHT reason was. I know there’s something to the adage anything worth doing is worth doing poorly, meaning, just get started. But the thing is if I don’t know what my purpose is with this account, then I didn’t think I could even do a poor job of it.
9. Create 24 dog posts for a new Instagram account (same new account mentioned in #8).
ANOTHER FAIL! Again, I’m okay with it. This goal was also a fail because of the same reasons I failed at #8.
10. Eat 24 baby spinach leaves 2-4 times per week.
SILVER STAR! This was a hard goal for me because I experienced a lot more stress than I expected last year with moving, starting a new job, and unforeseen health challenges with my sleep. Stress exacerbates my gut health issues (ie., IBS) and my first line of defense when things get irritable is to cut out insoluble fiber. I will say that when my gut health was good, I had no problem meeting this goal.
11. Revise 2-4 manuscripts I’ve already written.
GOLD STAR! I revised a speculative middle-grade manuscript and a YA romcom. I’m querying both of them to agents because not every agent is interested in middle grade at the moment and some aren’t interested in YA romcoms. I’ve already gotten some full requests, so maybe this will be my year!
12. Watch 24 sunrises outside.
PLATINUM STAR! I watched 65 sunrises outside, mostly in the winter and early spring.
13. Do yoga 2-4 times per month.
PLATINUM STAR! Not only did I do yoga 2-4 times per month, I did it 87 times last year.
14. Visit 2-4 friends out of state.
GOLD STAR! I visited friends in Connecticut in February and July last year.
15. Go rucking 2-4 times per week.
ABANDONED! I reinjured my Achilles tendons in both feet last February and it took almost nine months for them to heal. I replaced this goal with hula hooping 2-4 times per week, and I’m delighted to report that I met this goal in 12 out of the 18 weeks I worked on it. So, there’s room for improvement next year, but I decided to not make hula hooping a priority because I instead wanted to keep my momentum with training for a pullup which I started in the fall.
16. Meet 24 new dogs.
DIAMOND STAR!
DUH. Of course, I met this goal. In 2024, I met 102 dogs in total. I decided that this is too easy a goal (I’ve already met 14 new dogs in 2025), so I replaced it with volunteering at the Boulder Valley Humane Society 2-5 times per month in 2025.
17. Write and post 24 new blog posts.
BRONZE STAR! I wrote 16 new blog posts last year. I’m hoping for more consistency this year.
18. Listen to 2-4 Great Courses.
BRONZE STAR. I started listening to more podcasts last year and Kanopy and Hoopla changed the way that Great Courses could be accessed through their library streaming platforms making it a bit more inconvenient to consume them. So, while I listened to one and thought I would crank out another one the last week of December, I realized there was no point in forcing myself to do something I wouldn’t truly enjoy. So, this year, I have modified this goal to reflect my new interest in podcasts.
19. Attend 24 cold-water plunges (assuming we stay in CO).
GOLD STAR! I didn’t keep track of this goal as diligently as the others but based on my RSVPs to the cold plunge meetup group and the number of times I participated in breathwork on Saturdays (a precursor to the cold plunge), I met this goal with flying colors.
20. Buy 2-4 outfits I genuinely like and that feel comfortable.
BOO. NO. I only had the wherewithal to buy one new outfit last year and while I now wear it every day when I teach, I don’t think I genuinely like it. The jacket looks too much like a waiter jacket. Part of my problem in completing this goal is that I refuse to buy fast fashion or non-sustainable clothes and that requires a bigger time commitment to find clothes that meet my standards and, usually, more money. I did, however, buy 7 pairs of new socks because the socks I had been wearing all had holes in the heels, and let me tell you – if you go without new socks for years, then buying high-quality, sustainable socks makes your feet feel like you are walking in the lap of luxury.
21. Hike 2-4 times at Rocky Mountain National Park (assuming we stay in CO.)
GOLD STAR! I hiked at RMNP in January, August, and November.
22. Sell my book, D Is for Doggo, at 2-4 events.
NOT REALISTIC GIVEN MY CIRCUMSTANCES. This kind of activity requires a big financial investment upfront to get the books printed in bulk. And, having not had an income from May 2023 to September 2024, I just didn’t have the kind of resources I needed to pursue this goal. I also didn’t put this goal on my 25 in 25 list because for the next year or so because I’m working on building my financial resources for other life goals.
23. Give 2-4 psychology presentations.
GOLD STAR! I presented the Psychology of Stuff: Why We Have So Much and What We Can Do About It for both Eco-Cycle in Boulder and Urban Villages in Denver. Although, one could argue that I gave dozens of psychology presentations as a teaching assistant professor at CU Boulder!
24. Color 2-4 times per week.
BRONZE STAR! With so much moving around in 2024, it was hard to know where to keep my coloring book and colored pencils. I also learned that if I have to go into a different room to get them, then I just won’t do it. I missed 27 weeks of meeting this goal, and while I do still plan to color in 2025, there won’t be any goals attached to my efforts.
If anyone is interested, I’d be happy to be an accountability partner for anyone else’s 25 in 25 list. You just have to ask me!
And on that note, I leave you with this spectacular photo from one of my sunrise morning walks last week.
As is my tradition this time of year, I think about death. Specifically, what if I knew this would be my last year on Earth? What, if anything, would I want to do differently?
Pro tip: It helps to have a dog sit on top of you while thinking about death.
Before you think this is a morbid way to spend my time, there are many psychological benefits to mindfully thinking about death, including increased gratitude and closer relationships.
I’ve been practicing death meditations for almost a decade now, and the clarity they provide has inspired me to do things such as go on an epic road trip with Heath where we visited six national parks, quit my tenured position at a university, and spend seven weeks volunteering in a science center in Manitoba during polar bear tourism season
This year, however, I am thinking about death more than usual because a dear friend of mine died on December 23rd.
She was a top-tier friend. We spoke regularly about real stuff, not just the superficial niceties of acquaintanceship. We also shared dreams of being traditionally published authors. She was in my writing critique group and had such a keen eye for developmental and line edits. Her loss spills into multiple areas of my life and I don’t know if I will ever stop missing her.
What kills me (metaphorically of course) is knowing that even though she had many writing successes, she’ll never realize that particular dream of being a traditionally published author. And because I have this same dream, I can’t help but draw comparisons to my own life in that egocentric, selfish way that is being human.
I’m not happy that this was one of the responses to my friend’s death, but I accept that it showed up and is a part of me.
This thought was forefront of my mind on New Year’s Eve when I asked myself: if I could have any wish come true for myself in the New Year, what would it be? I immediately thought, a multi-book deal with a mid-sized publisher for five figures.
An emphatic and disdainful voice shouted at me in response: No! That’s not what you want. What you want is to be content.
I knew immediately that voice was right.
A multi-book deal with a large advance would have me screaming from the rooftops in celebration, but it wouldn’t give me the sense of peace I’m currently craving. Will I still spend part of my time writing and querying this year? Of course! I’m seeking contentment, not complacency and I still have goals and ambitions.
But those goals and ambitions cannot be a driving force in my life right now.
This last year has been a struggle with finding a job and a place to live and feeling secure. The unexpected worsening of my sleep health caused me so much additional stress that some days I didn’t know how I was going to make it to the next. But I did, and I kept going. And now that I am here in 2025, what I want more than anything is not to struggle. To work on strengthening who I am and the practices that give me small and big moments of joy. Because those choices are the ones that I can control, and those choices will be the ones that help me achieve what I really want.
Because if this is the year I die (which I really, really hope it is not), then I do not want to spend one second thinking, if only. I want to think of Heath, my family and friends, and all the many, many dogs I have loved along the way.
Happy New Year, my friends! May this be the year you find whatever it is you’re looking for.
