Year to Look Forward To
Goodness, that was a cold of all colds, perhaps flu. Thank you all for the well and healing wishes. I had gotten this years flu vaccine back in October but still managed to get a bad case of something. Hopefully I'm done with illness and can get on with the month and the new year. Getting through March to hopefully the real beginning of spring in April, takes a lot of my resiliency. I'm tired already of shoveling and driving on icy roads from the merry-go-round of snow, melt, freeze, repeat. If I could hibernate for three months, I wouldn't complain. But I'm not a bear heading to my cave though my ever expanding waistline might be confusing. Instead, I'm trying to figure out my calendar ahead, and build in some things to look forward to, even if it means venturing out in the cold. Part of my remedy to cabin fever is to also look ahead and beyond winter. Here's a preview of my evolving 2026 calendar.
January: Youngest daughter's birthday and dinner, hosting family book club
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| If I wasn't on a low spend plan, I'd buy this. No chance for a Vikings SB this year. |
February: Superbowl gatherings and the Winter Olympic viewing. Attend one of my great nieces show choir competitions.
March: My trip to Athens, Greece
April: State Park day trip- will research best options for rain or shine hiking. I'll also be helping my son find a house. There's a lot to work out on this but figure April we'll be full on the hunt.
May: Mothers Day and I'm going to request my daughter hosts something simple at her house so we can just relax. I also am setting a target for building an outdoor fire spot this month. I'm not sure if it will be a simple ring or more structural with bricks (I love what a neighbor did with little money but a lot of sweat).
June: My girls are running Grandma's Marathon in Duluth. I may be their driver or just a cheering section. It's Father's Day weekend so a distraction is needed. I might also be hosting a friend possibly in June and perhaps into July.
July: I'm going to start planning and reserving early, a state park/ waterfall camping trip with my sister for the end of the month. I'm researching bedding options for my Equinox to use as a camper, though I have a basic tent. I'm also going to start looking now for camping cots, second hand or that I could borrow since I'd use so infrequently.
August: Always a tough month now and this year would have been my husband's 65th birthday. I'm going to have to think very hard for something to look forward to.
September: A trip of some sort either September or October. Depending on airfare and accomodations, this could be Scotland, but multiple things need to work out in my favor financially to commit to a second international trip in the year ( I'll aim for spring 2027 if need be). Football season starts and yes, it is a season I look forward to.
October: See September. If no Scotland or other international destination, I'm leaning towards an October trip to New York City, Savannah or maybe San Antonio. Another fall trip with my mom friends to Panama City Beach has been raised as well. Older daughters birthday and dinner.
November: My birthday (and a month to get through), Thanksgiving. We usually have a sister's day early in the month starting with breakfast out, shopping, happy hour then cards at someone's home.
December: Sons birthday and dinner, Christmas festivities, New Years Eve. This month sort of takes care of itself with things to add to the calendar.
There'll be events on a small scale sprinkled in but starting to think to have at least something either new or that I genuinely look forward to on the calendar keeps me from being too insular. As I really need 2026 to be a budget friendly year due to a couple big investments and needs, I think I'll purchase a state park pass. This might be my splurge for entertainment but as bought once, it gives me a catalyst to schedule day trips on the cheap. Do you have much scheduled yet? Are you like me, just in the stage of planning to get things scheduled?
I have some things scheduled through May. But after that, the schedule is wide open. My hubby would have been 65 at the end of this month. I am taking myself to a concert and will enjoy sleeping in the next day. (: Maybe plan something fun for yourself that he would have also enjoyed. I can imagine Mark smiling down on me on his birthday - I will celebrate it for him! Your trip to Greece sounds very exciting!!
ReplyDeleteMine is pretty open as you see but with ideas to lock into. I just need the momentum to carry me day to day so I don't slip into mindless tv, laziness. These are treats and rewards hopefully and keep my going on progress in sorting out my life a bit.
DeleteWe have a major trip planned which will take up all of February and March. Planning it has taken up so much bandwidth in my mind that I have not planned anything else yet. We are invited to a wedding in Texas in June-groom is my godson, but DH needs a hip replacement after we get back from the big trip, so I am not sure we can attend. College bestie is already asking me about dates for our annual summer visit (we alternate every year). In the fall, we have 2 weeks at our timeshare on the west coast of Florida. All of those things together should be enough if they take place, but I suspect we will sprinkle in a few long weekends. I get free hotel nights from various credit cards, so I will want to use those in a cost effective way. The author Laura Vanderkam talks about planning both big and little adventures during the year, so I will need to work on that as well. This month, I have a milestone birthday. My daughter and her boyfriend are coming in from the West Coast so we will be celebrate with the family. We’re in NYC right now doing an early celebration for my birthday and my sister’s (we live 90 minutes away). A friend is taking me out for tea later in the month, we have dinner out with good friends next week, and I decided to make my book club hosting a bit of a celebration since 2 of us are hitting the milestone. So this month is definitely full of fun little adventures!
ReplyDeleteTwo months of a trip does take a lot of planning. I know leading up to my November trip, I felt like I couldn't think about anything else, hence why Christmas snuck up on me (though I claim I was ready.) Your next few months sound incredible (and your current trip). Best wishes that your husband has a positive and strong recovery.
DeleteA few tips for New York if you go: (1) avoid the UN General Assembly week and men’s and women’s Fashion Weeks-hotel rates (including those using points ) are sky high. Those events take place in late Sept. or October, but don’t run all month. (2) if you want to see shows, see if you can qualify to join the NYC Theatre Development Fund (TDF). You can get tickets to Broadway shows for $59 each.There is an annual fee of about $45, but regular ticket rates are high so you still come out ahead.
ReplyDeleteOh that is a great hint. I'll share with my daughter as she is looking at this for the same time I am gone to Greece and will definitely want to see a show.
DeleteI've mapped a bunch of stuff out, but also need to get my work travel schedule aligned. Ick. We also have a lot of travel around Nick's college (spring break, move in/move out, etc) which requires planning & working around. The first part half of the year is going to be busy:
ReplyDelete-London in a week or so :-(
-New Zealand hiking trip with M in February!
-Likely a long weekend in Las Vegas/Zion with a couple of friends for hiking in March
-Flying to Boulder (would love to tag on a few days for hiking) to move Nick out in May
-Girls trip to Greece in June
The rest of the year is still largely TBD, but with a lot of work travel, and hoping to rent a house at the Oregon coast in July. - Hawaii Planner
Your milestone birthday trips are incredible. Yes, with your parents being out of state and your son in another, I imagine that fill sin the travel calendar quite a bit.
DeleteI'm glad to hear that you're feeling better! Your year's shaping up to be quite exciting already. I'm currently scouring the internet for a sunny-ish destination for Tony's 60th birthday in February. My brain's already frazzled! xxx
ReplyDeleteExciting might be a stretch, but a low key adventures for me, who has been a home body most of my life with a few sprinkles of travel here and there. I forget Jon would be in the same year as me school wise, back in the day.
DeleteI am still working on a week to week basis. I have an appointment with my accountant/tax preparer this Friday. I wanted to get it out of the way as early in the year as possible. Daughter heads back to Philadelphia on Sunday. Her departure is always memorable, and they aren’t always good memories…it’s a high stress time for her. I did spring for first class seats this round to make it a bit easier. That’s as far as I have gotten. It will have to do.
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My taxes will be complex with salary, 401 K withdrawal, contract work, and SS (just one month). Then, I need ot consult and find out the best way to leverage some of my funds with my son's house hunt that is most strategic for he and I, but also for the girls. I feel like since I had no dependents, I want to leverage resources to improve quality of my children's lives now, not once I am dead too.
DeleteSo glad you are feeling better. This cold/flu was a doozy for me. Still trying to plan my year but am making headway, will reveal soon.
ReplyDeleteIt has been a slow start for many. I've heard this years strain is particularly mean.
DeleteLike you I have been planning my year, as I found the last 2 years (since retirement) have been full of things but it so easy to drift along. I have one overseas holiday booked in March and I am looking at a domestic trip in August, and I will need more money if I extend it as I would like to. So budgeting to reduce ongoing costs, but balancing that with not wanting to sit at home all the time.
ReplyDeleteThat's the trick isn't it? The big adventures aren't cheap, but being a recluse to afford isn't very much fun. I really plan to lean into things that are made available but don't cost a lot, and try and build my socialization in there.
DeleteI love Savannah and if you go there I also love Tybee Island. Now the water is not pretty bc it is too close to the river mouth but it has a low key vibe I like. I love Panama City also, but have not been to it in years bc I go on a free trip to Gulf Shores or Orange Beach every year. Panama City was always fun though!!!! When I fully retire it is on my list to go again, multiple times!!!Cindy in the South
ReplyDeleteI loved the beach itself, but the traffic in PCB was crazy and I was there late season! But it'd be a girl's trip so worth it. I've priced some incredible rates on air and hotel in both Savannah and San Antonio so both might really be affordable.
DeleteI went into town yesterday to reserve my trips with our local travel agent, only to find out Sardinia was fully booked the day after the catalogue came out!!! There are also three dates for a Swiss train trip and they are all also fully booked. Crikey! At least I got booked on the Lake Garda trip and the Châteaux de la Loire but you have to be pretty fast round here. Oh well, if they get a cancellation for Sardinia I'll take it, if not well I guess I'll just save the money!
ReplyDeleteMaybe you can add a few more day trips with friends to off set the booked ones? So far, I'm not doing any tour groups so don't need to beat a deadline ( other than rates change.)
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