How in the world is it already 2026!?!?!?! I guess time really does fly when you’re having fun…or just winging it. Which is pretty much what I did in 2025. This was the first year I didn’t set true goals or a vision for the year and that felt pretty, darn clear. I felt uneasy, off kilter, and a little bizarre. This isn’t to say good things didn’t happen because they did. It was a huge year for us with lots of new beginnings…but it just felt chaotic.
Because I can’t have that again, I decided to brain dump everything that happened, went well and even didn’t go well in 2025. Our family experienced new jobs, promotions, new schools, more chickens, and we saw lots of projects started…but not a single one finished! We tried some new routines and while some worked, some didn’t. I outsourced a few house tasks and that was a huge relief. And, I went on quite the health journey! With all of that in mind, I thought about what I wanted to bring with me into 2026. I brain dumped some goals, found similarities, and culled it down to a word and vision for this new year…which is:
I know what you are thinking...influence…what a weird, narcissistic word. But hear me out…
We all have a circle of influence, whether big or small, size is irrelevant. As I was looking at all of my goals for 2026, I noticed a thread of commonality that revolved around the desire to be a better example for my kids and to have a more positive impact on those around me. To be a bearer of sunshine instead of rain clouds. To be a conduit of energy instead of draining the fun out of the room. So with everything, considering the influence my actions, words, and thoughts will have on myself and my small circle.
To get a little more specific, I broke my goals into four categories: Family, Home, Work, and Just Me.
Family
Something that really eats at me is the amount of time we all spend disconnected from reality as we stare at various screens. I know I’m not alone on this but it is something that weighs on me and gives me a lot of worry, stress, and guilt. Going screen free isn’t really an attainable goal, but spending less time on them is something we can work on by having more game nights, outdoor adventures, etc.
In that same realm, we opted for convenience over healthy choices in 2025 quite a bit. So many nights dinner time would approach and I would be too exhausted to cook so I would call Chris and say “pick up Whataburger on the way home!” Though delicious, not a great choice…especially since I had planned a meal and bought all of the ingredients for that meal already. So it was unhealthy and ultimately wasteful as well.
When I think about this upcoming year, I hope for us to spend more quality time together through some analog adventures! With Lily entering high school, it’s dawning on us that our time together is limited and she’ll be off in the real world before we know it…with Harrison right behind her. So we need to really embrace this family time NOW and try to regroup on the foundation we are helping them build before they set sail. So, for 2026…
- Less Screens & More Adventures
- Healthier, More Intentional Choices
Home
It was a very rude wake up call when I realized that last year I started quite a few home projects and finished zero. I didn’t realize I lacked so much focus! So the first goal of this new year is clear…finish what you started! Unfortunately for me, that list is quite long and my new project dreams are quite exciting. But I’m being firm with myself, I can’t start the exciting stuff until I finish last year’s exciting stuff! 😉
One of the dreams I have is to extend our faux “homestead”. Life with chickens has been a dream. I never thought I would be a chicken lady…but here we are! But when you give a lady chickens, she’s then going to want a garden, and then bees, etc. Again, I can’t start this dream until I finish a few others…but I would absolutely love bees!
So, for 2026…
- Finish projects before starting new projects!
- Extend our “faux” homestead!
Work
This past year at work was a big one for me. I stepped into a new role and was exposed to more of the inner workings of the company. And with that responsibility, I noticed that I started to emotionally take on more weight that I should have…which led me to encroach on burnout. I don’t talk about it often, but I love my job and I don’t love burnout. I want to continue to contribute positively and continue to do a good job…but not at the expense of my mental well-being. So my one work goal is simple…
- Care less, Talk less, Stay in my Lane
In this same category, I’m placing my “Lady Chenry” side hustle because I want to treat it more like a job in 2026. I want to thrift with intention, participate in more vintage reselling booths, bump up my online sales, and post more about it all on social media. I want to embrace the “repair vs. replace, slow vs. fast, and quality vs. quantity” home decor, fashion, and lifestyle trends. So…
2. Treat Lady Chenry like a business!
Finally…Just Me
Again, last year was a very big year for me. I went on an unexpected health journey when I discovered I was actually prediabetic. I got a little help from a GLP1 that, of course, helped me lose some of the weight I couldn’t shed. But with that came motivation to work out consistently, eat less sugar, drink less alcohol, and overall just take better care of myself. I balanced my hormones and have honestly never felt better! So keeping that all up is a top priority!
For this upcoming year, I just want to be a better example for my kids. I want to demonstrate healthy choices, curse less, slow down, and just be a positive influence for them to *hopefully* want to emulate.
So essentially, my top goal for 2026 is…just be a better example. Not perfect, just positive!
So with that, let’s see how the year goes!
Side note, one fun thing we did on NYE was create 2026 Bingo Cards with funny predictions and measurable goals. Here is our template if you wanted to play along!