My 2025
A year of building foundations
It’s the morning of January 1. Dawn is just breaking, the fire is crackling behind me, and I’m finally sitting down to take a look back at the last twelve months. I’m a huge believer in looking back before looking forward, to take stock of everything that happened in the year that ended before starting fresh with a new one.
2025 was a big year for me, bigger than most. I feel like I’m in danger of becoming a broken record because I’ve talked about it so much already, but moving to our wild 40 acres has been an all-consuming, draining, truly unbelievable amount of work—but also the BEST thing we’ve ever done. It marked the end of a painful chapter and the beginning of the rest of our lives in a place that has felt like home from the moment I stepped foot on it. We bought this piece of land in March of 2022 and decided a couple of months later that we’d love to live here if we could make it habitable. The journey from getting from a wild piece of land with no water, no power, no road, no house, no shelter for the animals to today—a veritable compound with half a dozen outbuildings, a barn, a brandnew house, a cabin, high speed internet, our own well, power, our personal snow removal team—has been such a long, incredible adventure that I will share it in detail one day—but not today.
Today is for looking back at the last dozen chapters before starting the book of 2026.
Chapter 1: January—The house arrives!
The big event of January was the arrival of our modular home in the middle of a snow storm in the middle of the night. Due to the size of the load, the two pieces had to be transported at night, and due to the snow storm they had to then wait for our road to be cleared before they could safely maneuver it up and down our winding, steep driveway. The day before we’d spent several hours clearing the snow off the home foundation pad with our ATV. Would I recommend getting your home delivered in the middle of the winter? Hmm, what do you think? ;-)
January was also the month we celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary with a couple’s pedicure (Rich’s first!), and where our daughter’s cancer treatment began. Joy and worry, determined optimism and secret sorrow were close together that month.
Chapter 2: February—Wintering
February was one of those chapters where nothing exciting happens, but lots of necessary groundwork is being done. Our daughter started chemo, the crew started putting the house together, we continued filling out the endless paperwork required to get power to our new house, our dog Teddy had minor surgery, and I worked, yoga-ed, puzzled, and kept the dogs close by to hold on to my sanity.
Chapter 3: March—I shave my head
You know why I shaved my head (I wrote about it here), but what’s interesting is that the only concern I had was “what are people going to say”? I thought I was past that, but I wasn’t. I was so nervous to go to work the day after the chop that I wore a massive headband that disguised it when you looked at me from the front—but it was still glaringly obvious that my hair was gone. What’s also interesting is that people wanted to know the why—as if there had to be a specific reason to get rid of one’s “crowning glory”. In my case there was, but I also have a friend who shaves her head because she feels like it, and several women told me that they’d shaved their head before, simply for the reason that they wanted to. Let women do what they want with their bodies!
March was also the month where I finally started on my sourdough-journey! I’d been dreaming for years to become someone who bakes her own bread, and I’m finally that woman today. I bake on average two loaves per week, most often sourdough but sometimes rye bread, and I love feeling like a pioneer woman, barefoot and wearing a long skirt—albeit with all the amenities of the 21st century.
Chapter 4: April—I’m back in Costa Rica
In 2024 I went on my first ever yoga retreat in Costa Rica, and it was life-changing. It healed something in me that had been broken since I was a little girl: my distrust in women. Ever since that retreat I have found my trust in women again, I’ve joined the sisterhood, and I’m deeply in touch with the feminine. It was a no-brainer for me to go again this year, unite with some of the friends I’d made the year before, revel in the heat, the ocean, doing yoga twice a day, talking and laughing for hours and hours, and try something new: surfing! Looking at my face you might think it was a painful experience—and you would be correct. It was thrilling, but way too much saltwater entered my body, my eyes were burning, and I came to the conclusion that, while it was amazing to try it out, surfing isn’t for me. I’ll stick to kayaking my Canadian lakes.
I also started working on a book that I would abandon a few months later—40,000 words in. It just wasn’t right.
Chapter 5: May—I’m starting my 200-hour yoga teacher training
In May I started my online yoga teacher training. I had never seriously considered becoming a yoga teacher, but when I was asked in December of 2024 if I’d be interested, my entire being responded right away with yes, please.
For six months, we met twice a week online, learning about the history, anatomy, the science of yoga, breathing, meditation, koshas, yamas, niyamas, cueing, sequencing, holding space, being of service, regulating ourselves and others—it was intense. As is life’s way, the training came at a particularly inconvenient time, as I was in one of the busiest seasons of my life. But in fact, it came at the perfect time, because I was so busy. It was a constant reminder to slow down, take a breath, and sink into the wisdom of my body. I have some exciting plans for what I want to do with my brand new certification, stay tuned! Also, if you’re interested in a nurturing, inclusive, heart-centered YTT-program, check out Intentional Vibrations Yoga School (IVY). I highly recommend it! Megan and Samantha are the best.
May was also the month where I used the white walls of our new home as canvas for trying my hand at painting wallpaper. I love the look of wallpaper, but don’t like the price tag, and I’m also not great at hanging it. Painting is the obvious solution! I started painting in May, and I still haven’t stopped yet. It’s a new obsession!
Chapter 6: June—my nieces are here!
Having my beloved nieces come for two weeks was one of the highlights of the year. We hiked, kayaked, roadtripped, hung out with family, swam, danced at the beach at sunset, secondhand-shopped, and they helped us choose a couch, install light fixtures, and clean. I loved having them here.
Chapter 7: July—it’s all about the house (and an experiment gone wrong)
In June I started to wean myself off my antidepressants. I did it very slowly, halving the dose for two weeks, halving it again for two weeks, then skipping every other day, until I was SSRI-free for the first time in thirteen years.
It didn’t go well.
I had some unexpected stressors at work, we had a ton of work at home, I was yoga teacher-training, and I also had significant pelvic pain (I’d later learn that I have several large fibroids in my uterus). I lasted just over two weeks before I started taking my antidepressants again. I’m on a lower dose now than before and I feel much better. Going without isn’t in the cards for me, at least not while I’m in perimenopause.
Chapter 8: August—more visitors!
In August we hosted Rich’s niece and her husband for three weeks. We had flown them in to help us train the horses, and while they did that we also had plenty of fun going canoeing and swimming, doing some sightseeing, and continuing the never-ending move. Which included—moving our little cabin!
Chapter 9: September—more painting, yogaing, and granddaughter visit
September started with a heart stopper: a fire broke out the night before very close to our home, caused by lightning. Luckily, there was no wind and it was under control very quickly, but it was nevertheless a reminder of how fragile life and our possessions are. It all can be gone in a moment, which is why I try to practice non-attachment to wordly possessions. Easier said than done, though.
Our (cancer-free!!) daughter came for a visit with our granddaughter for a girl’s trip, and the first signs of fall made my heart soar. I also painted outside: we built half a dozen chicken coops and bird aviaries, and I stained them all over several long painting sessions.
Chapter 10: October—is it hibernation season yet?
By October we were both exhausted. I backed my car into our backhoe and smashed the back window, damaging the backdoor so much that it needed to be replaced. We still weren’t done doing work at our new place (we had to get water lines put in to the horse paddocks), bills still kept coming, and I was still YTT-ing. Long walks through a gorgeous fall landscape with the dogs kept me sane(ish), as did lots of baking and decorating.
Chapter 11: November—we’re getting our stove!
My most-anticipated item of the year arrived: our wood stove! I’m a sucker for a fire, and having a wood-burning fire place has been one of the things I’ve been most excited about. It’s even better than I thought! I love everything about it: chopping wood, starting the fire, feeding it, staring at it dreamily—it’s the best meditation in the world.
I also decided to abandon the book I’d started in April. It was a memoir, and I stopped it while I was about halfway through. Writing it was incredibly therapeutic, but the further I got, the less I wanted to publish it. I’m pretty sure I have one more memoir in me, but the time isn’t right. Maybe in another decade or so.
Chapter 12: December—a sparkly one!
Historically, December has often been one of the worst months for me. The pressure of the holiday-season, old demons resurfacing, and having unmet expectations have made the end of the year hard for me. Not so this year, though! I’m becoming more clear about what I do and don’t want for the Christmas-season, and I’m getting better at finding joy and disregarding the rest. We also got a ton of snow for a white Christmas, and the dogs and I had the best time frolicking around in a winter wonderland.
I also started working on my next book, my second novel! I’ve been writing every morning, and it’s so nice to get back into this beloved routine. I feel more grounded and balanced when I have a regular writing practice.
My word for 2025 was expand, and boy, did the year live up to it. 2025 challenged me, brought me to my limits, and made me grow in countless ways. It was a year for building the foundation for the rest of my life: by physically settling down into our forever home, adding more tools for my mental and spiritual health, deepening my friendships and relationships, and doubling down on my exercise routine to keep my physical body as strong and flexible as possible. I’m preparing my body for my old-lady self, and my goal is simple: to not break a hip!
Thanks for following along this year. I can’t wait to see what 2026 has in store for us!
2026 will be a wonderful year. Your warm heart will glow bright. 😁
What a monumental year! Even more so when you lay it all out. Can’t wait to test read your next novel! And have many more coffee dates and visits together. Happy 2026!