Winter 2026 Bucket List Update and More

Thank goodness, it's Friday make that Saturday um, Sunday? It has been a week, girls.  Whew.  So far, 2026 is not impressing me much at all.  Hope things have been brighter for you.

I shared my winter 2026 bucket list and goals in my first post back at this blogging gig.  Haven't given either list much thought since I published that post.  But figured I needed to fess up publicly that I haven't accomplished much.  And maybe doing so will set a fire under me to get busy.

So, let's have a look, shall we?

Winter 2026 Bucket List

I have always used the key below to identify my progress - or lack there of!! 

Completed  ✅
In progress ⌛
Not started or not completed  🛑

• Attend one public library activity (plant swapping, Spanish, crochet): pretty self explanatory, our library branch has some wonderful, free classes and I would like to try one:  this is one of the offerings that I missed out on in February.  Hope to join up for something in March.  They offer crochet classes on Friday afternoons.  Been wanting to learn to crochet after seeing the beautiful things my friend Deb at Deb's World has created. 🛑

• Brainstorm and implement ideas for my online book club for 2026:  for this new year, I would like to shake things up a bit for Come Read with Me.  Interested in a no-pressure online book club?  Give me a ring!!:  haven't had a single bright idea for this.  One year we sent bookmarks to one another.  Maybe we could do that again.  Can't think of something clever...but there's still time for a great idea to come to me. 🛑

• Buy googly eyes and put them on products in stores:  is this illegal?  PC and I saw it somewhere for a quirky date night idea and thought it could be fun.  But hopefully not land us in the pokey:  I think I will remind PC of this idea and maybe we can make this happen in the next week.  Stay tuned!! 🛑

• Complete scrapbooking our Alaskan Cruise, use CVS mini-photos:  I have begun Day 3 of our 7-day adventure.  Need to finish:  finally something that is in progress.  I have completed Day 3 and started Day 4.  Thank goodness, there are only 7 days to scrapbook.  There is still hope I might get this done.  This is the last page I've completed.  ⌛

• Durango New Year’s trip with the Buendias:  we will be spending a week in this beautiful winter wonderland...except their temps have been almost as unseasonably warm as ours:  my first green checkmark. Oh, we had such a good time.  And we were even blessed with fresh snow everyday.  Not a blizzard by any means but a dusting.  Thinking I should do a little post about this trip.  Here's just a sampling of the fun we had.  ✅

• Eagles tribute band at the Plaza 02.16.26, 7:30 PM for PC’s birthday:  this activity will be a few weeks shy of the official birth-day but this will be a fun way to celebrate my Prince Charming:  wound up making this a Valentines activity.  We enjoyed dinner at Great American Steakhouse beforehand.  The concert was really, really good.  If Take it to the Limit tribute band is ever in your area, please go see them!  ✅

• Enjoy game night with the Buendias: we have done this once before and the girls loved it.  Hope to make it an annual event:  we had several game nights while we were in Durango.  Played a game where we tried to pick up Christmas bows with a pancake turner, and another game where we tried to knock marshmallows off Solo cups with feathered party noisemakers.  Another night, we played Lotteria and Chutes and Ladders.  ✅

• Hike: somewhere!!:  we did take 2 hikes in Durango, along the Purgatory Trail.  The path is heavily forested and winds beside a creek that was almost completely frozen while we were there.  Going to give us the green checkmark for this but we need to do a local hike in the near future, too.  ✅

• Paint mini-nativity “Love Came Down” workshop: with Tricia Robinson:  didn't get to this before Christmas but want to make this happen before I pack away my holiday decorations:  well, decided to postpone this until next fall.  Instead, I painted "Bold Watercolor Wildflowers" with Tracy Weinzapfel.  My sister Valerie and I did this together over 5 evenings.  It was very relaxing, no pressure for perfection.  Just fun.  Giving myself the green checkmark for this even though I kind of switched things up.  ✅

• Put together new Christmas garland:  girls, I think I am losing it!!  A few years ago, I made a lighted rag garland for our banister.  This season when I got all of our decorations out, I couldn't find the garland or a very old stocking my great aunt made for me or a Santa my sister gave me.  Have looked all over but they are nowhere to be found.  Want to make a new garland while I mourn the loss of my stocking and Santa:  I bought the fabric and garland to complete this project but didn't get it made.  By the time I went shopping for Christmas fabric, there wasn't much of a selection.  So I might wind up buying different or more fabric next year.  But I will get this done along with my nativity painting. Going to give myself 'in progress' for this one.  ⌛

• Register for the Goodreads book challenge:  I have done this for several years.   Along about October 2025, when I tried to delete one title from my list of books 'currently reading,' I wound up deleting everything I had read all of 2025.  Grrrr.  After fuming for a few weeks, I went back through my Audible and Kindle libraries, and my orders on Amazon and reentered all of the titles I could.  Everything is always an adventure with me!!:  YES!!  Finally something I can say an unqualified YES to doing.  Are you participating, too?  Please friend me here.  ✅

• Treat high school kids to a breakfast bar or cocoa on first day back:  we have over a dozen high school kids who wait for the bus on the corner of our yard.  They are so sweet and polite and friendly.  Would like to make their first day back to school in January a little brighter:  so this didn't happen the first day back to school after the winter break.  Now thinking maybe I could do this on the first day back after spring break, which would make it more of a spring bucket list activity.  Or maybe the Friday before the kids get out for spring break??  Not nixing it, yet.  🛑

• Try at least 2 new restaurants:  maybe in Durango!!:  if I had an extra million dollars or two, I would open a good, homestyle family restaurant in Durango.  I tell you, the city is limited in what they have to offer.  At least near the Purgatory Ski Resort.  We did eat out several times but none of them were much to write home about.  ✅

We have exactly a month left in the winter season.  Can I turn all of the red stop signs above into green checkmarks by 03.21.2026?  We'll see!!

Moving on, let's see how I have progressed on my winter goals.

Winter 2026 Goals

• Clean out photos through March 2019-March 2024: this has been an ongoing project.  I am deleting them from Google photos:  doing well on this project.  Have decided I need to go back to the first Google photos which are dated 2007.  I am up to 2012 as of last night.  Yay me!!  ⌛

• Clean, organize and purge all closets:  somehow they are all stuffed to the gills.  Time to get a grip!!:  have cleaned 3 closets so far - linen, upstairs guest bedroom, downstairs guest bedroom.  Not sure I can get PC to agree to cleaning the one in his office but going to try.  And need to get serious about cleaning out our closet, too.  There are still some random things in each one but we don't have an attic or a basement so this is the best I can do. ⌛

• Complete 100% of my memoir course on Daily Om:  started this last January.  I am 65% finished with the course.  Need to wind it up this winter:  only up 5% since I set this goal.  If I don't get this finished in the next month, I will bump it to spring.  Can surely get it done before summer, right?  ⌛

• Complete first draft of “Dots and Crinkles”:  this is my latest story or children's book idea (that will never be published).  I have the outline down on paper and the story started.  Now to finish:  Ha!!  I had forgotten about this all together.  Might have written on this once since setting these goals.  Next week clearly needs to be a writing week!!  ⌛

• Donate blood:  need to do this every season:  how sad that I haven't done this simple act yet.  ⌛

• Finish scanning all our family pictures to Photomyne, begin work on anything Paul wants scanned, Mom’s recipes:  Caramba, this has been a big undertaking.  Need to just get everything scanned, then worry about labeling and dating each photo.  Wish me luck:  oh, this has been such an undertaking.  I am making progress but just discovered more albums full of photos to be scanned in cleaning the closets.  Ugh!  ⌛

• Hang bathroom hand mirrors:  I have several hand mirrors in different sizes that I would like to hang in our little WC - toilet room:  I bought the hangers I thought would work best but have decided I bought the wrong thing.  Back to the drawing board.  ⌛

• Implement Japanese Walking Wednesdays at the gym or on treadmill at home:  read about this today and it sounds like an alternative to running for this grandma.  Hope to do it once a week starting in January:  I have been doing this.  Alternating between the Japanese Walking workout and the 12-3-30 workout.  For 12-3-30 you set a treadmill to a 12-percent incline and 3.0 speed and walk for 30 minutes.  Both of these have been giving my heartrate a boost.  ✅

• Lose weight to 138 pounds, track Weight Watchers:  always ongoing.  Need to get more serious about tracking my points.  Haven't weighed in weeks.  Will get on this next year!! Ha!! First thing in 2026:  have been much more faithfully track my WW points.  Hovering around the same weight - which is not 138 lbs!!  But my clothes feel good and I feel good.  Happy for now at 140.  ✅

• Pay off Amazon to $500:  one step forward, three steps back.  Christmas.  Birthdays.  Christmas.  Got to get this paid off once and for all:  have made this solid commitment and going to get it done!!  Anticipating a good paycheck from substitute teaching this week.  Marking this as 'in progress.'  ⌛

• Purge 26 things from my closet:  a few weeks ago, I rid my closet of 47 items.  Check me out!!  But there are still plenty of things to examine and reconsider.  Want to get this done before spring:  been cleaning closets and have purged a number of odd things from closets around the house - pack-n-play, baby sheets, baby monitor, white noise machine.  Have them in the garage for a spring garage sale.  This week or next, I will get serious in my closet.  Have pulled out 2 things to purge but need 24 items more!!  And less clothes buying!!  Except check out these cute Old Navy jeans.  If I purge several pairs of jeans, I am ordering those!!  ⌛

Hmm, I certainly have more work to do but there's still a month to do it in!!  And I am already thinking about my spring bucket list and goals.  Will be sharing that on 03.21.2026.  Want to join me with lists of your own?

The Math

Let's do the math to see what percentages of my bucket list and goals I have tackled so far.  

There are 13 (why 13?) items on my bucket list.  I have completed 7 of them, so over 50%.  Fifteen percent of my items are underway.  And I haven't done anything toward tacking 30% of my goals.  And that math doesn't add up.  So round up!!

Yikes!!  Out of 11 (and why 11?) winter goals, I have completed a pathetic 18%, or 2 items.  So, 81% of my goals are in the works.  And again, round up!! 

Looks like I am going to be busy in the next few weeks.

HodgePodge

 

The HodgePodge lands on Ash Wednesday, which is the first day of Lent.  Do you mark this season in some way?  Will you be giving something up or adding something to your life in this Lenten season?  Fat Tuesday and Ash Wednesday snuck up on me this year.  Didn't realize it was Fat Tuesday at all until I saw the news the following day showing parishioners receiving ashes on Ash Wednesday.  So, no, I didn't give up anything of add anything to my life for this Lenten season.  Just trying to be more consistent with my devotional time.  Looking at it as putting on armor for the day.

Pancakes...are you a fan?  Syrup or no syrup?  Plain, blueberries, chocolate chips, bananas, or some other add-in?  Are pancakes on your menu this week? I absolutely love pancakes.  Pancakes with just a little syrup, not soggy with the stuff.  I like blueberries and chocolate chips in my pancakes, but no together.  Pancakes were on my menu this week.  At iHop, where they have a $6.00 'breakfast faves' breakfast deal - 2 pancakes, 2 eggs, 2 strips of bacon (turkey bacon, please) or sausage. 

Tell us about a time recently when you felt 'spread too thin'.  The past 2 weeks, I have felt spread too thin emotionally which has kept me from sleeping well.  The lack of sleep has made me jittery and anxious and very drained.  Last night, I finally slept all night.  What a relief.

What's your favorite jewel or gemstone?  In terms of your wardrobe, would we find more gem tones, pastels, black and white, or primary colors?  Seeing as green is my favorite color, I am a bit partial to emeralds.  And PC has been so thoughtful to treat me to a number of pieces of emerald jewelry...usually heart-shaped pieces because he is romantic like that!!  Pearls are the official jewel for my college sorority, Delta Delta Delta.  So I like pearls a lot, too.  And, of course, I love my diamond engagement ring from PC.  It is a very sweet collection of different sized diamonds rather a than a solitaire.  

My closet is full of colorful clothing.  I tend to gravitate toward earth tones - green, of course, but also a lot of peachy shades.  However, I probably wear gem tones best and have my fair share of blue, purple and red clothing.  With all of the beautiful colors and prints available in women's clothing, I cannot understand limiting myself to black or white clothing.

What responsibility do you think is hardest about being in charge?  Probably discipline.  Having to correct/redirect the behaviors of those 'under' my charge.  I was never a big disciplinarian in my library but was a somewhat strict mama.  

Insert your own random thought here.  We are looking forward to spring weather this week as we approach the end of February.  Our trees are budding, grass is beginning to green up and we are thinking about the vegetables we want to lant in our raised garden bed this year.  I really love all the seasons in El Paso but look forward to having more daylight that comes with spring.

Your Turn

Did you set some resolutions or goals for this season or maybe the entire year?  If so, how are you coming on your plans?  Do you have a list of seasonal activities you hope to enjoy?  Have you been able to check some of them off your list?  What plans are you making for spring?  Please share.  And if you create a spring bucket list or set of goals, consider joining me to post them on the first day of spring, 03.21.2026.

I have been working on this post for a few days but finally have 'er done.  We are looking forward to a quiet week at home then heading to Phoenix for spring training (go, Reds) for PC's birthday weekend.

Have some fun this week.  Do something for YOU!!  Thank you for stopping by to visit.

Hugs and kisses,