It's time again to review the year.  2025.  It went so incredibly fast!  We lead a relatively mundane life, but it's good, we're good.

Let's start out with boring old me...

My left shoulder did chill back out this year and I regained range of motion without needing to go to physical therapy or under anesthesia for a procedure to release the adhesive capsulitis.

My weight remains a tremendous disappointment and I find my attempts to reduce consumption and/or fast don't effect any change.  I've had a few aches and pains, like a periodic feeling in my foot that I attribute to my weight too.  I had a little bout with acid reflux causing GERD.  This too is probably tightly related to my weight.  I'm honest with myself, why can't I shift this into action?  It's so much to take off just 5 lbs multiply that by a number larger than I want to confess and it feels impossible.

Work remains busy.  I appreciate the stability.  One first here was, give my age, I was able to put more away for retirement thanks to catch up contributions.

The Fuzzy Beasts are next...:

Zero has his moments.  Of course the second I try to trust him he shows me why I shouldn't.  I'd really like to get the large metal crate out of my dining room and not need to scrub down that wall and baseboard as I do.  He just turned 6 the day after Christmas, the magical age at which siberian huskies chill... right?  Right?

Barney and Church continue to find their spot in my bed.  They've both become food-hounds who periodically rip open bags of buns or get a bit too pushy to get my food.  And people say begging dogs are annoying.  Hrmph.

We didn't have fosters early in the year but eventually had three tiny littles join us:  Saturn, Mercury, and Venus.  Mercury has to be the most gentle foster cat we've had. Saturn left as the year closed out, but Mercury and Venus remain with us at this time.

I would be remiss to not also note that it's been over a year since Saffy passed.  I still wish for more time and remain so grateful for what she did for and meant to me.

The girl...

She finished first grade strong with great grades and continued the trend into second grade. She did return to CCA for 2nd grade and is still loving it.  She excels in most things with just minor challenges on a few things -- exacerbated only by the fact that she gets frustrated when she doesn't get something right away.  She loves math and has started to enjoy reading books.  Most of all she loves playing her Nintendo Switch or a game on her school chrome book and clamors to take the remote to watch Avatar, Miraculous, or other people playing Minecraft.

Voice lessons didn't last long.  More an issue with the instructor being intolerably inconsistent and eventually giving our time slot to someone else - that whole situation was my final straw.  We have time to get back into music, which typically spins up in public school in 4th grade.

We have found our summer routines.  There is a bit of sleeping in, there is a bit of vacationing, there is some at home "school work" imposed upon her, there is a couple of weeks at vacation bible school type events and a couple of weeks at Camp Splash, and there is time playing with neighbor friends outside.

She also started swimming as part of a team for the first time this spring and got her first ribbons. As fall took up we did a round of developmental swim team (no meets).  I'd say she loves it, and she does, but she doesn't like to have to leave the house.  She doesn't enjoy jiu jitsu/muay thai as much but we did just get past the 1 year mark training and signed up for a second.  She has learned some skills that are wise to have especially as a young lady.

There was one visit to Kennywood this year - and it was a big one since the girl was big enough to ride everything; and she did as she discovered a love of roller coasters and she fearlessly rode them all.

For our cruises, we did two trips on the same ship/itinerary.  The first round we got to enjoy some time with one of our neighbor families who were on the same sailing.  The second round we got to enjoy with one of my sisters and her SO, and one of my very best friends and her family.  Both were 7-nighters to the Bahamas/Cococay.

Halloween this year was a ninja.

This year we're doing catechism at home after here too things got hosed and my willingness to help as an aide was ignored.  I'm kind of looking forward to shopping for her first communion dress.

The plantars warts I bemoaned last year did go away earlier this year.  Over the summer we visited the eye doctor and sure enough the girl needed glasses.  We also had our initial consultation with the orthodontist.

Around the House...

While my shoulder works again I never did fix the light over the basement sink this year.  Didn't put the pulls on the cabinets either.  I did a lot of looking into flooring and recently got another estimate after finding some that I really liked - I need to ask a few questions and then I can look forward to reporting that work being completed in 2026..

I did get some issues addressed outside with the trim/siding popping loose.  I also survived my first full year of making my payments on what would normally be escrowed directly.

A few things were cleared and given away or donated, more to come for sure.  My basement is complete chaos.

I skipped starting seeds before summer.  I didn't have a great garden, I'm kind of ready to give up on a lot of it.  My asparagus continues to survive - that's two years of growth!  Third year you can supposedly get "finger sized spears", so that's exciting.

Looking ahead to 2026...

We have two cruises booked - one being a trip to Alaska!  This is definitely something to look forward to and relish.  This will be with both family and friends.  The other will also be with family.

I expect to look back at the end of next year where I consider the new flooring to be something that I wished I did sooner.

The big change will be the shift to public school.  I pray this is the right choice, I pray this is the right time (3rd grade).

Avery will receive the sacraments of reconciliation and communion for the first time.

I'm sure we'll see fosters leave and maybe more come.

I don't have other "big plans" for next year. Time goes so fast, I honestly haven't really given it a lot of thought.  As I said when I started, I feel like we're pretty boring, but I'm very okay with that.  I'm grateful that there isn't some huge (which often translates to traumatic or negative) thing to reflect upon this year and I pray for that same peace and calm in 2026.  Happy new year all.