As we begin 2016, it’s fun to remember some of the good things that happened in 2015. Some of the things I accomplished are worth writing down, others, like washing countless loads of laundry and cooking many dinners are home, aren’t as interesting to note. Maybe I should, however, since laundry and cooking are accomplishments, as mundane as they are. Here are some other things I did in 2015.

1. I went to the gym at least 12 times every month. I’d like to say that I’ve lost weight, but I really haven’t. I have toned up, however, and I feel stronger than I did a year ago. I also found out that I enjoy working out! Even though I’ve taken exercise classes through park districts and have always been a walker, I’ve never been a member of a gym before, and it’s fun to take the time for myself.
2. I read 26 books and met my Goodreads challenge. Some of my favorite books were in the Walt Longmire series by Craig Johnson. I also had fun helping my friend A.J. Cattapan promote her book Angelhood! If you haven’t read it yet, I highly recommend it. If you’d like to see some of the other books I read in 2015, go to Goodreads!
3. My family and I took a vacation to Disney World. This was also something brand new for me! I had never been to Disney World before, and it was great fun to take my daughters there so we could all experience it for the first time together.
4. Bike riding was one of my favorite things to do when I was a kid. I would ride and ride around the small town I grew up in. When we moved to the suburbs, we lived on a busy street that went into the city, and it was challenging to find safe streets to ride on, but the neighborhood across the street from our house was pretty quiet. Ed also loved bike riding so it was very strange that we never went biking riding together! Then we had kids, and I don’t think I rode my bike for over 10 years.  This year, my Mother’s Day present was a new bike, and I started riding again, this time with the whole family!

It’s impossible to know what’s in store for me in 2016, but I definitely have made some plans! Here’s what I hope to accomplish.

1. To celebrate being cancer-free for 20 years, Ed and I are walking the Avon 39 Walk to End Breast Cancer in June. Stay tuned for more details!
2. Shortly before Ed and I got married, we drove to Yellowstone Nation Park. As we drove hundreds of miles together and saw so many wonderful things, we knew we would some day take the same trip with our children. Well, for better or for worse, we decided that we are going to take that road trip this summer. Wish us luck!
3. This goal may not be able to be accomplished, but I really want to declutter my whole house. I guess if I can at least declutter the bedrooms, I’ll be happy. It’s a start, anyway!
4. Read 25 more books. This will be easy and enjoyable! I’m almost done reading my first one; Corduroy Mansions by Alexander McCall Smith.

What are some of your new goals for 2016?

Read some of the other Spins about the writing prompt NEW by clicking these links!

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Ed and I have been snow shovelers for years. Every time it snowed, we would pull on our snowpants and boots, grab the shovels, and head out with the girls to shovel our driveway. We already had a significant snowfall earlier in November, although it didn’t last long and melted away fast. Last year, we wanted to buy a snowblower, but never actually got to the store to buy one. This past summer, Ed turned 50 and decided that yes, we needed to actually buy a snowblower this winter. So we bought one during a Black Friday sale. Our first snowblower ever!

Emmy helping us shovel the driveway after our heavy November snow with her little red shovel.

We had such a mild December, however, that Ed and I have joked around, saying it’s our fault that the weather had been so mild. When you have a brand new snowblower and want to try it out, of course there will be 60 degree weather in December!

Well, our day came and we had one and a half inches of sleet fall last week. Ed did use the snowblower, but the weather was atrocious and it was raining as he snowblowed the sleet off of the driveway. At least he didn’t have to shovel that heavy sleet off of the driveway.

Our brand new snowblower

Last year in January, I was already heartily sick of cold weather. We had subzero temperatures and it was so cold that four days of school were cancelled. This year, we are hovering around 30 degrees every day, and I’m hoping it stays that way. Our winter has been mild so far, and I think we deserve it. Even if it means we won’t need our new snowblower!

There’s one thing we know we can count on; if we don’t use our snowblower very much this year, we will have plenty of use for it in the coming winters!

This week’s writing prompt continues to be NEW.

Did you start a new tradition? Did you get something new over the holidays? Do you have a new resolution/goal/word for 2016? Maybe you need something new in the New Year!

Write your Spin about something NEW to end this year and start the next! The Spin Cycle linky will be open until Sunday, January 10th!

(The first link is a post from last January about my word for the year, and how I was sick of the cold temperatures.)

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