January Goal Check!

My word of the year for 2026 is "Focus." I want to keep my goals front and center and be better at recognizing when distractions are pulling me away from making progress. We all need some mindless activities to deal with the stress of life, but I do not want to lose too many hours doom scrolling or binging TV when I could be learning something, spending time with my family, or learning something together with my family.

With that in mind, I actually increased my reading goal this year, including a smaller goal of reading 10 nonfiction books. I also want to find a new way to serve my community, and Aaron and I are talking about volunteering somewhere together, which I think could be really fun.

I lowered my mileage goal a little so I can also focus on walking and doing group fitness classes. It still keeps me moving but takes a little pressure off the running goal.

I also set a savings goal that includes one big house project (a new fence) and another family trip. It is good for me to set these goals early in the year before I accidentally spend all my money on shoes. So… fence, family vacation, and THEN shoes. Everything in moderation. Need to also do a one in, one out for the closet.....

Thank you for being part of my accountability as I work toward my goals all year. These monthly posts really help keep me on track. I would love to hear about your 2026 goals too!

Read 30 Books (up 6 from last year) 1/30

I finished one book in January. I was close to finishing another, so hopefully February will have a few more check marks. I read The God of the Woods by Liz Moore, which Jeff gave me for Christmas, and I really enjoyed it. It is set around a summer camp and follows several families whose stories connect in interesting and sometimes surprising ways. It definitely kept me turning the pages. I would recommend it!

Run 620 miles (down 30 from last year) 50/620

I ran 50 miles in January, which was exactly the goal. After my last run of the month, I ended up at 50.2 miles, which I am counting as a win. My goal for February is also 50 miles, and thankfully the weather is starting to cooperate a little more. Treadmill miles are just… not my favorite.

Grow my savings by 60%

I made a solid deposit into my savings account in January and am already 19% of the way to my yearly goal. January is one of the two months each year where I get three pay periods, so I am really glad I used that to get off to a strong start.

UFO (unfished objects) to be completed in no particular order 

I didn't work on any UFOs in January. Oops 

    Alpaca Quilt

    T-Shirt Quilt

    2 photo books for Daryl and Alex

    1 knit project from stash

    1 stitched project from stash 

On Friday, we went to our first Scarecrows hockey game. 

They lost but it was still a lot of fun!

Lola got new shoes for my new February focus. Walk Lola every day! 

Basketball , Wrestling, Band and Burrrrr

I should have posted a week ago, but the crew has been busy! Alex has started his basketball season. The JV has had one win and one loss after two games. Daryl ended JV wrestling at Topeka West. At that meet, he had two wins and one loss. Last Friday, Alex had honor band at Washburn University. Whew! All while it has been super cold outside.

It is Feb. 1st, and while this isn’t my goals post, I do have to show off my 2026 planner. As someone who really has to plan my month so I don’t waste it, the Commit 30 planner keeps my goals in front of me. In January, I finished my first sticker page, and I didn’t do too bad. I’ll update the rest of my goals in my next post.

January felt like 100 days long. Excited to see what February brings!

Scottsdale!

It was a total coincidence that when it got super cold in Kansas, I left for Arizona. I’m not complaining, although I might be tomorrow when I get home. Mom says it’s going to be super cold this weekend. Yuck.

Jeff had a work conference, but we came a day and a half early to explore a bit. We went to the Sonoran Nature Preserve and Frank Lloyd Wright’s winter camp, Taliesin West. They were both awesome. The scenery here is just unreal.

On Sunday I went for a five mile run, and it was 65 to 70 degrees! The running streak sees another week. I’m up to 28 weeks.

Okay, back to reality tomorrow. Until next time, 70 degrees. We will meet again.

Cacti!

We saw a Drunk Shakespeare version of Romeo and Juliette. It was pretty funny!

Learned a lot about Frank Lloyd Wright. Now I need to visit the original Taliesin in Wisconsin. 

Doing work e-mail isn't so bad with that view. 

A nice paved path, don't mind if I do! 

Bye Scottsdale! 

2026 Goals and Mexico, Segunda Parte

The second excursion we did in Mexico was touring the ruins at Chichen Itza, eating some Mayan food, swimming in a cenote, and doing a little shopping. At the resort, Alex and Daryl’s favorite activity was ping-pong. They were at the ping-pong tables every day. Alex met kids from England, Guatemala, Mexico, and Canada, all by playing ping-pong.

We were also able to reserve time once on the pickleball court and once on the tennis court. The resort also had pools, waterslides, and a great stretch of beach. The unlimited Coca-Colas only caught up with Joseph, who had one rough night three days in. We switched him over to water.

I was a fan of the pina coladas and had one every day until the 1st. I’m doing Dry January because I never have before, and I want to see what the hype is about.

I have finally settled on my 2026 goals. I make personal goals because I want to be the best version of myself. For example, the reading goal is so I don’t just let my brain rot on Netflix and HBO Max. I still watch plenty of TV, but the reading goal makes me feel better about it.

I like goals because they give me something to focus on from month to month that is good for me. With a busy job and five kids, I like to make sure I am prioritizing some of my hobbies and things that are good for my health. I post here monthly for accountability, so you all get to come on the ride with me. I encourage you to set a goal too, and you can tell me how you did.

Here’s to lots of progress in 2026! We’ve got this!

Read 30 Books (up 6 from last year) 

Run 620 miles (down 30 from last year) 

Grow my savings by a number I know (I did hit my savings goal last year!) 

UFO (unfished objects) to be completed in no particular order

    Alpaca Quilt

    T-Shirt Quilt

    2 photo books for Daryl and Alex

    1 knit project from stash

    1 stitched project from stash 

We need to always have matching shirts! 

In spots it was a little rocky and there were cool tide pools, there was also a big section of beach with no rocks. 

Alex and I woke up early to see a sunrise, there was a dumb cloud in our way. It was still nice though. 

I think every January 1st there should be a mariachi band at breakfast! It made for a perfect send off from our resort.

2025 Goal Review, Matching Shirts and Christmas Vacation!

There has been so much fun the last week, this will probably be two posts. The quick version is, instead of gifts this year, Jeff and I took the kids to Cancun, Mexico for vacation. We stayed where the weather was in the 70s and 80s everyday and got off the resort twice to snorkel and to see the ruins at Chichen Itza. 

On our day to the island to snorkel, the family wore matching T-Shirts. They were a hit! The tour guide loved them and the other passengers said it helped them stay with the right group. Even the transport driver got a laugh out of them. The teenagers didn't like the extra attention but it is a small price to pay for a Mexican Vacation. LOL (If you are local, the business that did them for us was Shirts and Such in Overbrook; I highly recommend Kim for your custom gear!) 

I will write more later about some of the other activities we did, but the wildlife kept the kids entertained the entire time. There were what I will call "Mexican Racoons" all over the resort trying to get some trash or just the food off of your plate. There was a petting zoo were Daryl became good buddies with the resident donkey. And in the hotel lobby, a family of monkeys lived in the trees. It kept things interesting! 

Ok, 2025 Goal Recap! 

Read 24 Books 24/24 DONE

Finished three books in December-ish! Instead of missing pickleball with the boys on the resort, I saved the last hundred pages for the airport, and boy was that the right call. We got to the Cancun airport in plenty of time but going through customs and security in Dallas was so long, we missed our connecting flight. I was so thankful I had the best part of my book to get through. :-)   

Let Them, by Mel Robbins is such a great nonfiction book to help reframe where you spend your energy. I understand all the "Let Them" tattoos now, and I might need one. ;-) If you are trying to please everyone at the sake of your own peace. Read this book. 

The Death of Bees by Lisa O'Donnell was one of the books I snagged from the Lawrence Library book sale. So far that haul is two for two, as this was a good book. Sisters growing up in Ireland projects (15 and 14?) find themselves without parents on page two, and how they take care of themselves with the help of a neighbor keeps you reading. I left it in Mexico with a note for the next person to enjoy! 

Book and Dagger by Elyse Graham was my Christmas present from Jeff. It is a non fiction telling of the first intelligence staff during WWII. America was new to the spy game, so they decided to do it their own way with Ivy League professors, librarians and book buyers. There was so much background in the first 100 pages, I was a little worried. But the last 200 pages were amazing things I never knew about warfare. Even if you aren't a WWII person or military person, this book was very interesting and will teach you more about real spies than Hollywood will. The Ghost war chapter was the best! 

Run 650 Miles 652/650 DONE

I ran 42 miles in December and made my yearly goal! Finishing strong this year is only because I joined two friends to run the Salina half, and we did our long runs together. We kept meeting on the weekends and it has helped me not slack off. My weekly run steak is up to 25! I took advantage of the Mexico weather this week and did two miles in 75 degree weather. It was nice! This goal was brought to me by Aron and Laura, thanks! 

Money Goals

Fund 3-6 month ER Fund - Done April 2025! Yay for selling my house! 

Pay off Car - Done April 2025! Yay for selling my house! 

UFOs (unfinished objects) that need Finished 

T-Shirt Quilt (have the shirts)

Alpaca Quilt I got all of the lantern rows sewed on my Girl weekend this month. I am currently cutting out Alpaca pieces! 

Placemats - Done April 2025 

Alex and Daryl Photo Books 2021-2023 Just missing 2023 at this point. 

Will still have some quilts and photo books to make for 2026. Oh well! The 2026 Goal post will be next! 

Our best family picture! 

Showing off our shirts! "Christmas hits different when it's warm!"

My favorite place to read my real life spy novel. 

Monkey!

Everyone had to say goodbye to our Donkey when we left yesterday.

They were cute but I don't think any of us are going to miss these guys! 

Merry Christmas from the Bergles!

Today has been the easiest Christmas that I can remember. It’s probably because we weren’t really celebrating today, but we did have three of the kids home and took it easy, and that was nice. Speaking of nice, the 50-degree weather was perfect for a run and an hour of reading on the sun porch!

I reached my running goal for the year today, and I finished one more book. That makes 22, and my goal was 24. I’ve started 23, and we shall see what happens.

I should have taken time to sew on my alpaca quilt, but instead I worked on making Jeff and me matching T-shirts. He got a Sasquatch shirt for Christmas, but it was the wrong size. He really liked the shirt, so he found his size and was going to exchange it. I talked him into getting the shirt in his size, and I made the wrong-size shirt my size! We are going to wear our matching shirts on Saturday. Aren’t we exciting?! LOL

We did have our Potwin Christmas on Saturday, that is always so fun. We even got to see Santa this year! I hope everyone had a restful day, and I hope those in my neck of the woods got outside.

Here’s to a happy New Year and more matching outfits!

Grandma Rosie brought us presents on Saturday!

Santa was just hanging out in Potwin, so we snagged a pic after our horse drawn carriage ride!

The before shirt

A few pins and an hour later

A shirt that fits!