2023 Joy Bucket List Recap

Chatter on social media is that 2023 was a crap year for many people. For me, the first 9 months were alright, even overworked and stressed out. Never did I imagine the year ending with me out of work, but here I am. I don’t want to dwell too much on the past, however I did want to share how I did on my 2023 Joy Bucket List. Last year I decided to do a list of things to bring more joy into my life instead of resolutions that I knew I wouldn’t keep. How did I do? Let’s recap.

1. Watch fireworks
2. Do a one room challenge (on my own)
3. Learn how to play tennis
4. Spend a day at the spa
5. Swim in crystal clear water
   The water in Croatia was clear, but it wasn’t the white sand, crystal clear water experience I’m searching for.
6. Purge and organize the pantry so I no longer have to move 5 things to get out what I need
   I’ll give myself a sort of. I did clean out the pantry, tossing old food, paper bags, small toys, art supplies and more. But now the pantry is the messiest it’s ever been. Time for another purge…
7. Go skiing, maybe even take the family
   We went skiing twice. February at Butternut Mountain and Mt. Peter in December. There wasn’t a lot of snow either place, just enough for the family to get acquainted with skiing and love it.
   
8. Find the perfect LBD that makes me feel 100%
9. Complete a race at least 5k distance
   I stopped hemming and hawing on this and ran a 5k Jingle Bell run on December 2. A month of physical therapy really helped me find my stride again.
10. Make a will
11. Be a more intentional friend. Chat more.
12. Fill the house with art.
    I didn’t buy much this year. I’m running out of wall space, and storage pace. I did buy a small painting at Art Studio GROTTA, a small gallery located in a cave on the way up to Fort Lovrijenac in Dubrovnik, Croatia.
13. Take an art class (pottery, watercolor, painting)
14. Volunteer, by myself and with the kids
15. Have NYC adventure days where we pick a subway stop and go explore our city
16. Go to a Broadway show
    I received tickets to see Six for my birthday!
17. Learn how to make an Old Fashioned
18. Enjoy lunch at my favorite food truck (Ethiopian food)
    My favorite reason to go to Governor’s Island—the Makina food truck. There are so many great things to do—and eat!—on the island. If you have kids, be sure to make time for the play:groundNYC. It’s a kids-only junkyard playground.
19. Teach my kids how to make themselves (and me) breakfast
20. Take the family to Alabama to spread my dad’s ashes
    Before he passed away, my dad talked about going back to visit his hometown and his last remaining family one last time. The pandemic put that trip on hold. While in Alabama, we went to lunch with our cousin, drove through Auburn University (dad’s alma mater), visited our grandparent’s gravesite, and were invited into their old house and explored their crumbling barn. Then we relaxed at Gulf Shores, where my family went every summer. I love that I was able to share this memory with my kids. This was a highlight of 2023.
21. Visit a lavender field
22. Have more beach days! We have so many to choose from in our area.
    I planned our summer itinerary to include many beach cities and loved every moment.
23. Go hiking and explore nature
    My favorite hike by far was at Plitvice Lakes National Park in Croatia, a park filled with lakes and waterfalls. It’s absolutely stunning. We also hiked much closer to home, including a hike on Mother’s Day, which I hope becomes a new tradition.
    
24. Camp with friends (cabin please)
25. Relax in a hot tub while it’s snowing
26. Embrace being a #silversister
    This is a work in progress. I like how the gray is growing in, but oh man, my previously dyed hair turns red and makes me want to hide. I caved and darkened the ends. Fingers crossed for a smooth transition as it grows out.
27. Create a new Spotify playlist. Mine is so 2016.
28. Read more books. Without my daily commute, reading is one thing I never seem to make time for anymore.
    I read 3 books this year, which is 3 more than last year, so I’m marking this DONE. The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires was one of the weirdest books I’ve read.
29. Make art with my kids
    I didn’t do great on this. We has some fun with watercolor and clay, that’s it.
30. Buy fresh flowers
    Lots and lots of flowers in the apartment!
31. Go sailing. I haven’t been since I was a kid.
    We had an epic day sailing around Cabo. I didn’t enjoy it as much as I should have because I was terrified the kids would fall overboard. They didn’t.
32. Spend the day at an amusement park, riding rollercoasters and eating junk food
33. Create a bucket list of travel destinations
    Almost finished…..
34. Refresh my undies drawer
35. Paint something in our apartment pink
36. Check things off my to-do list
37. Perfect making iced coffee from home
38. Stroll through Storm King
39. Create a vision board
40. Get our finances in order for accountability
41. Declutter 15 minutes a day
42. Buy fresh flowers
    How did this make the list twice?
43. Go thrifting for treasures
    I LOVE thrifting and found some great items this year. Although I am still haunted by the brass elephant I didn’t buy.
44. Find a second stream of income
    I’m working on this. It’s not as easy as social media makes it seem.
45. Play bingo
46. Host game nights
47. Finish making videos from our 2022 summer adventure
48. Begin a meditation practice
49. Replace the kitchen backsplash
50. Plan an epic birthday celebration for 2024

Well, 17 out of 50 isn’t terrible. Not great, but not horrible terrible. It’s a solid 34%. That leaves lots of room for improvement in 2024…