Let me start off by saying I can’t believe I didn’t do an One Little Word + Goals post for 2025. I mean, I know why I didn’t do one because the last year and a half has been INSANE for our whole family but I still can’t believe I never did one. I kept putting it off thinking I’d get back to it later but never actually got back to it. Boo on me. I think this is the first time since 2013-ish that I haven’t picked a word so it’s a big deal for me!!

We’re finishing up our home renovation – and by finishing I mean it’s still going and not finished yet. But there’s lots of progress and we’re in the putting-it-back-together stage so I’d like to think we’re closer to finishing than starting! Our contractor said we’d be done and ready to move back in early 2026 but early could be January and I’d still consider April early so who knows. So a lot of 2026 will be settling into the newly renovated house and finishing the purge once we have a space to put things back into. And as much as I don’t really want to, I’m expecting to live out of more than a few boxes until we really figure out how things flow in the new spaces and what things we really need.

We’re also taking this as an opportunity to kind of start over with business in the sense that we cleared out over half of our inventory in 2025 to cut down on the amount of stuff we had to put into storage. The craft room will be the last room to finish since it’s currently being used as storage for the large items in the house. So it won’t be an immediate thing but that’s ok! We want to make sure we’re taking the time to get organized from the get-go to make everything easier down the line. It’s gonna be great!

So with that being said, there were a lot of words that came to mind. I thought about BUILD and PLACE and CONNECT and BALANCE and HABIT and INTENTION and CONSISTENCY. But none of them felt completely right. So I sat on it for a couple weeks.. yes it really took me that long and I revisited it every other day or so until I figured it out. And the word for 2026 is PATIENCE/BE PATIENT.

There are so many things going on before we can move back home and so many things to do once we actually do move back that I need to remember to be patient with goal setting and self-imposed deadlines and timelines.

I need to remind myself that everything house-wise will settle itself when it’s ready to settle itself and as much as I want things to be done and put away and be fully moved back in, we really won’t be able to do it immediately. And it makes the most sense to take our time and feel it out so we don’t continue to live with more crap than we need and old systems that no longer work for us.

And especially with business stuff… I’m overflowing with ideas and plans but since the craft room will be the last room finished I won’t be able to fully realize those ideas and implement those plans until probably fall. But we’ll get there. I just have to be patient with everything including myself.

Reminding myself to be patient and take my time to build the life I really want to live. We’ve taken the first major step in (re)building the house we want to grow old in with space for the kids to stay for as long as they want and need to. We’ll also be working on building the business into something that we can realistically scale up and continue long-term. And working on changing our mindsets and lifestyles to get to a healthier us mentally and physically and spiritually. But all of this requires time and so I’m working on my patience. We’ll get there and it’ll be amazing!!

And now onto some goals:

Home: (none of this will really start until we’re back in the house and unpacked enough to actually be able to cook/clean)

• Menu plan weekly
• Cook more regularly, goal 5x a week
• Bake 1-2x a week, including bread 1x a week
• Monthly purge – keep going til there’s more space than stuff
• Keep up with the monthly deep-clean list

Me:

• Groom weekly
• Color hair every 3 weeks
• Complete Reiki course
• Morning ritual + meditate + journal daily
• Intention ritual weekly
• Esbat ritual monthly
• Celebrate Sabbats
• Drop 90lbs

Crafts (Personal): (this is another thing that won’t be able to fully ramp up until we’re moved in and unpacked enough to have time to dedicate to all of this)

• Weekly “make stuff” goal:
  • Color 4-6 images – try to color 2-3x a week
  • Make 3-4 cards a week – try to put together cards 2x a week
  • Planner post weekly
• Monthly “make stuff” goal:
  • Monthly PLife spread x4 (family album + kids album x3)
  • Memory Planner (monthly spread + weekly spreads)
  • Be ahead of DT work by at least a month to avoid missing deadlines
• General “make stuff” goal:
  • Work backwards with Memory Planners for previous years
  • Work through all the classes I signed up for and never did anything with

Blog Challenges: (this one too!)

• 2×5 Collection Kit Challenge (2×5) – Each month-ish I pick a collection kit + whatever coordinating embellishments I can find + coordinating cardstock and try to make 2 each of 5 different projects: 2-page layouts, 1-page layouts, cards, tags, and pocket cards
• Christmas Card Challenge – Post at least 2 Christmas cards every month outside of DT cards
• Slimline Saturday – Post a slimline card (any theme) every-other Saturday
• Half-Month Halloween – Post a Halloween card in the middle of every month, on or around the 15th

For the stuff I can’t really fully do until we’re moved back into our house, I’m hoping to be able to do a little bit of it when I can just to get it started. Giving myself grace to do what I can with what I have and remembering to be patient with myself, my plans, and with everyone around me!

Thanks for stopping by, and let me know what your One Little Word is for this year! It’s always so interesting to hear everyone’s word and the story behind why they picked it.

lovies, =o) kel