It’s My 14th Blogaversary

14 years ago, I started this blog as a way to record my running adventures, kind of like a journal. It isn’t lost on me that i started back up after a hiatus to record my adventures after beating endometrial cancer!

This week’s adventure was a workshop with Christine D’Ercole. I laughed a little, I cried a lot, and I fangirled  when Christine read my words out loud during the zoom. (She read everyone’s, but it still felt special!)

It was exactly what I needed to start the year, and I’m definitely looking forward to the vision board class I have coming up at a local romance bookshop.

I am embracing my one word for 2026, Phoenix, every chance I get. 

I am already making updates to my achievement board, at a nice steady pace. It helps that I reset my PRs on December 31, as I do every year. 

I am doing things that make me happy, like leaving garland on my headboard, and my Christmas trees will stay up a little longer. 

I’m ready for an adventurous 2026!

Stay tuned to see what I have coming  up this week. I’ll be traveling to Columbia for this adventure, and stopping to hopefully tour the townhouse I’m dreaming about. I’m looking forward to some new adventures in my new town later this year. 

Do you have any adventures planned for 2026?

 

2026 Achievement Board

 Every year, I pick one word to focus on, and this year, my word was Mulligan, because 2024 was such a train wreck, and I just knew that 2025 was going to be better! At the end of 2024, I realized that something wasn’t quite right with my periods, and after a lot of tests, I found out that I had endometrial cancer. (I was diagnosed in February of 2025) so what should have been a Mulligan year became a shit show of doctor's visits, meds that made me lethargic and bloaty, and a total hysterectomy. 

Some other stuff went down, and 2025 was a total bust. 2026 will be the year I rise from the ashes of 2025 and take back my life!

I started making these boards in 2013, after realizing that making one big goal does not always work. Making lots of little goals that can be expanded on works way better for me. 

These goals have changed over the years, from running goals to yoga goals to reading goals. 

These boards have evolved over time, and maybe devolved a time or two, but they are still the same at the core. Mini goals to keep me motivated throughout the year. 

I started my 2026 board, although I may add some travel related goals as well. 

These are the ones that started it all! 

Here is my 2026 board. I’m really excited to start 2026 off! I will be resetting my peloton PRs, like I do every year. This year is added distance goals because my 2025 distances were so low. As someone in menopause, I am supposed to lower my cardio and increase my strength, but I feel like my mileage could still go up. 

Do you make one big goal, lots of little goals, or just wing it?

Holiday Lights Spectacular

This is going to be more of a photo dump, I went a little overboard! Tonight I went VIP at the Ballantyne Backyard Holiday Lights Spectacular, just outside of Charlotte. I’ve gone every year for a few years now, and VIP is the way to go. You get a cocoa mug, with free cocoa all night. There’s also a VIP area with swankier bathrooms, a cocoa bar, and fire pits. I definitely took advantage of the fire pits, and read for a little while, with the lights in the background, and the sound of happy families. Oh. And one dad lighting his food wrapper on fire. That was fun! 

Did you attend any light shows this year?