2024 ✅, 2025❓
While I am the last person to say New Year, New You, I do feel that injecting something new into the New Year can be galvanizing.
Making more home-cooked meals has been on my “goals” list for several years and I finally did it this past year! Below I break down how I was able to cook more in 2024 and how I am going to use a similar framework to help me swim more (a new goal) in 2025. Perhaps you can use this framework if you want to do something new in 2025 as well.
Cooking More in 2024
Why?
I really love to feed people. It makes me so happy. I cannot think of a better compliment than someone saying they love something I cook or bake. I love when the house smells of spices, onions, cookies and cakes. It immediately puts me in a good mood and makes the house feel like home.
Why now?
I am now an empty-nester and have more time and space to cook. I am not schlepping my kids to practice or working around their schedules. Now that it is just the two of us, cooking has added something new to share. Gideon LOVES that I am cooking more and I love that he loves what I make (I feel like Ina and Jeffrey as I write this). But let’s face it, having an appreciative audience does not hurt. He also likes to cook and sometimes we cook together. But even when it’s just me, cooking a nice meal and sharing it feels good.
How?
I acknowledged that one thing that held me back from cooking was a lack of confidence. I needed to be taught how to cook. I discovered
, a chef who writes cookbooks and teaches cooking classes virtually. These classes were perfect for me.
After taking a bunch of her classes (read my blog about this here), I graduated to finding recipes on my own and trying them out myself. If the recipe was accompanied by a video, all the better!
I created a binder of my recipes and took notes. I went to the library and took out cookbooks to thumb through. I joined the NYT cooking section. By keeping delicious recipes at my finger tips, I remain excited to try out my new skill.
I am keeping it playful and low-stakes. I am not hosting fancy dinners or cooking for anyone I need to impress. For now I am just trying out new skills and feeding anyone who lets me!
Going forward:
I really don’t need to do much to keep this going. It is already fully integrated into my routine and I love love love it so much that I don’t need any guardrails or reminders. It’s smooth sailing from here which tells me it was meant to be!
Swim More in 2025
Why?
I LOVE to Swim. This summer my family rented a beach house with a pool for three weeks and I swam everyday. I realized how essential being in water is for me and that I need to do it more often.
Why now?
Over the past decade I have worked hard to realign my relationship with exercise in a way that focuses on moving in ways that supports my overall health rather than trying to look a certain way. I have been working with a trainer twice week for 3.5 years and I feel stronger than ever. Swimming feels like a great new addition of movement—one that is gentle on my body and is good for my soul.
How?
Every year I think about trying to add swimming into my schedule and I never make it happen. Swimming comes with a lot of baggage: the effort it takes to put on a bathing suit, to get wet in the middle of the day in the middle of winter, swim caps, knowing how to swim "for real”—not just my version of doing the breast stroke. So here are a few things I have done to get myself moving in the right direction:
I just joined the JCC pool and I am taking a tour next week.
I will put aside time in my calendar. I am going to start slow. One day every two weeks so I can ease into it
Take some lessons to improve my stroke
Bring a big warm towel and warm and cozy clothes to change into
What will success look like?
Success will look like me loving and appreciating my time in the pool. If I love swimming, it will make all the other annoying aspects of swimming seem worth it.
I will report back in a couple months!
Now it’s your turn
What is a priority you want to achieve for 2025?
