2026 Goals - May Update

This has been a busy month.  The husband had cataract surgery on both eyes this month.  The surgeries were a week apart.  He is seeing so much better now.  Even better, for the first time since he was 10 years old, he is able to see long distance without his glasses. He wasn't able to drive for a while during the recovery.  And he hadn't been able to drive at night for a while.  All in all - I'm really glad that everything is over, and he is on the road to recovery.  

At the end of the month, I went to a crop in Delaware where I found myself catching up on the many photos that I had converted from Dad's slides at the Preservation Station in Baltimore County.  I feel like I have accomplished many of my goals! 

1) Lose 25 pounds.

Weight Lost This Month:  1 pounds

Total Weight Lost to Date: 4 pounds.

Slowly making progress! They say that slow weight loss is sustainable weight loss. I sure hope so.

2) Visit 1 new to me state.

Hawaii

I'd love to visit another new to me state this fall!

3)  3 repairs/improvements to the house.

Project #1: Add surge protectors to the heat pumps and the house.  It's not a sexy fix, but it will definitely keep the heat pumps around for a longer period of time!  We've noticed an increase in the number of power surges we've had lateley. The newer HVAC systems are very sensitive to power surges and they can damage the equipment. Honestly, who wants to spend to replace an HVAC system?  They are not cheap.

4) 40 Bags in 40 Days Challenge

It's been a while since I've done this.  You get 40 bags or boxes of stuff out of your house over the 40 days of Lent.  I did NOT get 40 boxes out over the course of Lent.  I got rid of 6 boxes.

I'm beginning to realize that I did this a little backwards.  My goal is to empty out the storage unit - and I'm making excellent progress on this particular project.  Once I get everything out of the storage unit and really begin purging things, then I will get the 40 boxes (and then some) out of the house!

Boxes out of the house during March: 6

Boxes out of the house during April: 4

Total to date: 10 boxes

5) Organize old correspondence/letters

I found a treasure trove of old letters and notes from high school.  I have them in a box to sort through next month.  The bigger question is - what gets kept and what gets thrown out?  Do I really want to save any evidence of high school me?  Most likely, NO.

On the other hand... I was given a box of old papers from a historical organization that I volunteer with to organize.  I was in my happy place, organizing that mess!  Many of the documents were of historical value, and there were a lot of photographs.  The photographs have been placed into acid free albums and labeled to the best of my ability.  The documents were sorted and organized into binders in acid free pages.  The next step - for someone else - is to digitize those documents so that back up copies exist somewhere.

6) Big backyard garden project.

I want to put in some sort of shelter for the local pollinators.  I've been searching through the garden catalogs for something.  I saw something when we were in England a couple of years ago that really tickled my fancy!  I have thoughts.  I just need to make some things happen!

7) Finish the cross stitch project I've been working on for 3+ years.

This is finished! Well over 3 years after I started, the project is finally finished!  I need to block this out and get it professionally framed later this year.  

From the end of February.

End of March

Finished!

8) Transfer Dad's slides to digital.

See my post here about transferring the slides!

9) Put those images into an album.

See my post here about the album.

10) Fill my America 250 Passport with lots of stamps!

I made it into Washington DC earlier this month and walked around the National Mall.  I added several stamps to my passport!

11) Clear out the storage unit.

Almost.  Husband can't haul out the last of the trash until his doctor gives the go-ahead after his cataract surgery.  We are literally 2 dump runs away from being finished.

 

12)  Do one totally irresponsible and fun thing each month! 

When I went scrapbooking with my friend - I count that entire weekend as irresponsible!  On the way down, I stopped at several places that were of personal interest to me.  Barnes and Noble.  A new to me library branch.  The outlet malls at Rehoboth.  The beach, the boardwalk.

Oh, let's not forget the food!  Crabby Dicks. Panera.  Agave.  Fishers Popcorn.  We ate well!

13) Go see Falling Water. (Frank Lloyd Wright) 

This is a Bucket List item. 

14) Visit 12 new to me bakeries.

        1) Eli Mochi Donut

        2) The Reister's Daughter

        3) Leonard's Bakery (Honolulu)

        4) Tour les Jours

Dad's Slides

 This has been a journey, ya'll.

To recap: 

I hadn't seen Dad's slides in years.  (Like 40).   Dad passed away 20 years ago.  

I also hadn't heard from my step-mother since Dad passed away in spite of numerous attempts to contact her.

During the pandemic, I received a phone call from my step mother to come and get his "stuff".  As soon as the travel restrictions were lifted, I drove up and picked them up.  Among the many things in the stash that she gave me was a treasure trove of slides.

I converted the slides to digital at the public library.

And then, finally!  I went to a scrapbooking retreat this past weekend in Delaware.  It took 4 days, but the pictures are finally ensconce in an album.  Everything is labeled, events are journaled, and I added funny family anecdotes as I went along.  It's a work of art. I am so happy to have this invaluable memory of my growing up years!

The mess at my table.  I am not a "clean" crafter.  I make a huge mess.  That's why I pay for a table at a retreat.  I have a dedicated table for several days and I can make as much of a mess as I want.

Look at the quality of these pictures!  These are from Ft. Sumter.  We traveled there on vacation in 1975. I will say - Dad was pretty consistent about the quality of the film he used.  He was a Kodak man.  Most of the photos were on Kodak film, and they are well preserved.  Across the board, I did not find myself adjusting the colors.  I thought the colors had held up well over time.  There were several sets of slides on other rolls of film.  Some of them had deteriorated so much, they were just blank slides.  There were a handful I was able to save with extensive digital editing.

I got home yesterday and didn't really know what to do with myself.  This has been an all-consuming project for the last 6 years. I'm glad it's finished.  But I feel slightly adrift now... 

2026 Goals

I feel like I've hit my stride in accomplishing goals!  I don't think I'm going to get 40 boxes out of the house before Easter.  I will get them all out sometime after Easter.  How long after Easter is the big question.

1) Lose 25 pounds.

Weight Lost This Month:  2 pounds

Total Weight Lost to Date: 3 pounds.

Slowly making progress!

2) Visit 1 new to me state.

Hawaii

I'd love to visit another new to me state this fall!

3)  3 repairs/improvements to the house.

Project #1: Add surge protectors to the heat pumps.  It's not a sexy fix, but it will definitely keep the heat pumps around for a longer period of time!  Honestly, who wants to spend to replace an HVAC system?  They are not cheap.

4) 40 Bags in 40 Days Challenge

It's been a while since I've done this.  You get 40 bags or boxes of stuff out of your house over the 40 days of Lent.

Progress as of today: 6 boxes

Easter is in a few days.  I honestly don't think I'm going to get all of this finished before Easter.  I'll still be plugging away on this for a while.

5) Organize old correspondence/letters

I found a treasure trove of old letters and notes from high school.  I have them in a box to sort through next month.  The bigger question is - what gets kept and what gets thrown out?  Do I really want to save any evidence of high school me?  Most likely, NO.

On the other hand... I was given a box of old papers from a historical organization that I volunteer with to organize.  I was in my happy place, organizing that mess!  Many of the documents were of historical value, and there were a lot of photographs.  The photographs have been placed into acid free albums and labeled to the best of my ability.  The documents were sorted and organized into binders in acid free pages.  The next step - for someone else - is to digitize those documents so that back up copies exist somewhere.

6) Big backyard garden project.

I want to put in some sort of shelter for the local pollinators.  I've been searching through the garden catalogs for something.  I saw something when we were in England a couple of years ago that really tickled my fancy!

7) Finish the cross stitch project I've been working on for 3+ years.

Slowly but surely, progress is being made!

From the end of February.

End of March

8) Transfer Dad's slides to digital.

See my post here about transferring the slides!

9) Put those images into an album.

These have been printed out and are awaiting a home.  I am going to a crop later this month.  Getting this finished is my goal for this crop!  I need to buy an album to put them in.  Add that to the list of things I need to do....

10) Fill my America 250 Passport with lots of stamps!

My National Parks Passport got many new stamps while we were in Hawaii.  Sadly, my America 250 pass needs stamps.  

11) Clear out the storage unit.

The things I have found in that storage unit.  The invitations to my high school graduation.  Extra copies of our wedding invitations, the RSVP's.  My Brownie Friendship Book from the 1970's!!!  So much junk.  Why did we hold onto it all?  

I sorted it all once before I added it to the storage unit.  I've been sorting it again before it comes back into the house. And I know I'll eventually sort it again when we go to refinish the basement.

12)  Do one totally irresponsible and fun thing each month! 

I had a dentist appointment earlier this month.  The appointment was at 2.  I took the rest of the afternoon off.  What did I do?

Went to the dentist.  No cavities!

Got a haircut! 

Called a friend to see if she was free and we had an early dinner together.

ALSO - on the first day of spring, I went to Rita's to get my free Italian Ice.  Happy Spring!

13) Go see Falling Water. (Frank Lloyd Wright) 

This is a Bucket List item. 

14) Visit 12 new to me bakeries.

        1) Eli Mochi Donut

        2) The Reister's Daughter

        3) Leonard's Bakery (Honolulu)

Leonard's Bakery

 Malasadas.  They should be called a gift from the Hawaiian Gods to humanity.  These wonderful Portuguese doughnut without a hole are filled with a delightful creme. I know that they sound like Boston Creme donuts, but let me assure you that a Boston Creme can't hold a candle to the light fluffiness of a Malasada. 

Malasadas were on my must try list for Hawaii.  We went to Leonard's Bakery.  Leonard's is the Original Malasada Bakery.  They began making Malasadas on Shrove Tuesday in 1953, and now they make them every single day.  

And the fillings?  Absolutely amazing. I tried several different fillings - Dobash, Haupia, and Pineapple.  Trust me when I tell you that they were absolutely amazing.

Leonard's offers so many other pastries.  I never got around to trying anything else because Malasadas were so high on my list.   

5/5, would recommend Leonard's Bakery to anyone who is passing through O'ahu!

Malasadas, fresh out of the fryer!

The famous pink box!

 

Visit One New to Me State

Let's hop into the Way Back Machine.  When I was in Fourth Grade, my teacher held a six-week unit on Hawaii.  We ended the unit with a "traditional" luau.  I put "traditional" in parenthesis because when you've got a bunch of hyperactive 9 year olds in the middle of Ohio dancing the hula in cut-up trash bags, there's only so much "tradition" that you can claim.  We learned about the Hawaiian Royal Family.  Polynesian Culture.  The volcanoes.  The Black Sand Beaches.  Pearl Harbor.  Riding the Waves.  What it means when someone says "surf's up".  I really wanted to go!  

Time has a way of marching ever steadily onward.  Life happens.  And now, it is many, many years later. And I finally got to go!  Two weeks of bliss in Hawaii!  I have a few pictures and other things to share with you over the next few days.  

I'll start with a few of my favorites. We were on both O'ahu and Ha'waii.  We spent a week on each island and explored everything.  It was magical!

Another beautiful stream.

Akaka Falls.

So peaceful! 

Love these flowers.

A chick and her mama!  They are everywhere and they are beautiful!

 

My Goals and Resolutions for 2026

Three months in, and progress is being made!  It feels like no progress has been made until I look back at this list and realize that somethings have actually been accomplished.  This is why I like to keep track of my goals publicly.  I do a better job of meeting my goals if I actually put them out into the wild.  It's also really nice to be able to look back and realize that I've made progress!

One last note - I'm proofreading this on Sunday night, setting this to publish on Monday morning.  The cat is sitting next to me, gently nudging me out of her space on the sofa.  She's switching her tail at me, hitting my elbow every couple of minutes, reminding me that I need to go to bed.  10:30 is her bedtime, too.  I know Hermie, I know.  I shall publish and give you your sofa back.  I want to make some formatting changes on this post, but I do have to get up and go to work in the morning.  I will change the formatting for the April post.

1) Lose 25 pounds.

Weight Lost This Month: None. Hey, I was on vacation.  I ate a lot of new to me food. I gained no weight!  But now, it's time to get serious about this. 24 pounds to go. By the end of this year.  

Total Weight Lost to Date: 1 pound.

2) Visit 1 new to me state.

Hawaii!  I'll share photos next week!

3)  3 repairs/improvements to the house.

Where do I start?  There are many choices.

4) 40 Bags in 40 Days Challenge

It's been a while since I've done this.  You get 40 bags or boxes of stuff out of your house over the 40 days of Lent.

Progress as of today: 4 boxes out of the house.  FOUR!!!

36 more boxes to go.  Sigh....

5) Organize old correspondence/letters

I found a treasure trove of old letters and notes from high school.  I have them in a box to sort through next month.  The bigger question is - what gets kept and what gets thrown out?  Do I really want to save any evidence of high school me?  Most likely, NO.

6) Big backyard garden project.

No progress on this.  

7) Finish the cross stitch project I've been working on for 3+ years.

Slowly but surely, progress is being made!

8) Transfer Dad's slides to digital.

See my post here about transferring the slides!

9) Put those images into an album.

These have been printed out and are awaiting a home.  I am going to a crop next month.  Getting this finished is my goal for this crop!  Oh.... I need to buy an album to put them in.  Add that to the list of things I need to do.

10) Fill my America 250 Passport with lots of stamps!

11) Clear out the storage unit.

We are working on it.  I have emptied many boxes this winter.  At this point, we are thinking we will just bring everything home and stack it up on the carport and sort through it all as the weather warms up.

12)  Do one totally irresponsible and fun thing each month! 

I didn't actually do anything irresponsible in February.  It was just so cold for the Mid-Atlantic, and the snow had frozen into that nasty, hard icy mess that we've been calling "snowcrete".  There's been nowhere to go that wasn't a frozen wasteland.  We went on vacation with the family.  Does that count?

13) Go see Falling Water. (Frank Lloyd Wright) 

This is a Bucket List item. 

14) Visit 12 new to me bakeries.

        1) Eli Mochi Donut

        2) The Reister's Daughter

The Reister's Daughter

 It's been cold.  Very cold.  So very cold in Maryland.  One cold Friday when I was off work, I stopped by The Reister's Daughter for a cup of coffee and a sandwich.  Located on Main Street in Reisterstown, this little coffee shop has become a community hub.  The building itself is considered to be a Historic Building, The Beckley House.  This building was built in 1779.  It is one of the oldest surviving buildings in Reisterstown.  Walking into the cafe, located on the first floor of the building, is walking into a juxtaposition of time and place.  

I had the best Egg Salad Sandwich I've had in a very long time.  And a Biscoff Latte.  I ran into a friend who lives in the area, and we sat and caught up for a while. We watched the kids leaving school and laughed a lot!

Drink Specials:

When I left, I stopped and picked up some Banana Pudding and a Vegan Red Velvet Bundt cake.  They were so very, very good. 

Red Velvet (vegan) Bundt Cake

Banana Pudding!

It was a perfect way to spend a very cold day!

Website for the Reister's Daughter: https://thereistersdaughter.com/