Welcome 2025!

One of my previous yoga teachers gave all of her students a blank journal with a note that the year is like the journal, blank and ready to be written, so write it well. I hope to do so in 2025. As many may know, while there were joys in 2024 there was a lot more heartache for my family. Hoping that this year is devoid of anything like last year brought.

Many Americans create New Year resolutions, generally, things that they want to change about their life – lose weight, save money, exercise more. According to some data, about 80% of New Year resolutions fail. As such, I have decided that this year I am going to lay out some goals rather than resolutions. In the LEAN world, goals are great because they can be adjusted as you work through them. Throughout the year, I’ll be checking in to log how I am doing. Because I, unlike vast numbers of young Americans, don’t love sharing deep personal details, my goals here will be fairly broad. The goals are primarily health and finance related.

First goal: Eat out less (this will support both my second and third goals) Second goal: Reduce total spending by 20% Third goal: Eat fewer ultra high processed foods, eat more fruits and vegetables Fourth goal: Run Colfax Half marathon, Slacker half marathon and Hawaii marathon Fifth goal: Cardio exercise 75 (running) – 150 (walking) minutes per week, weight training 2 x week Sixth goal: Reduce alcohol intake

That may sound like a lot but the goals work in tandem and are completely doable, at least in my mind.

In support of my eat out less and eat healthier goals, the sourdough starter kit was a wonderful Christmas gift that I’ll be starting today, January 1st. I already make homemade no knead Dutch oven bread pretty often so I’m really looking forward to giving this a try. I know everyone in the world got into sourdough starters during the pandemic but I was working long hours and didn’t have time. So I’m a late starter!

The other gift we gave ourselves was a make at home sushi kit. I like sushi but don’t love dining out sushi prices and sometimes a simple California roll, or a tuna mayo onigiri, will do me quite well without all of the cost of a restaurant.

Since the year dawned quite frigid here in Colorado, French onion soup sounds like the perfect dinner – eat at home, something healthy and use up food in the fridge. Ah, one more goal to add – minimize food waste.

Wishing everyone a year of health, happiness, prosperity and joy.