Welcome to 2026!

 

 I've had a bit of a dry spell over the holidays - tons of stuff happening at home - but I'm back! I have a whole slew of post ideas sitting in my drafts and a new Bible study starting up next week, Praying God's Wisdom Over Your Life. I even wrote a couple of posts, one which will likely never see the light of day because it contains sensitive things about a family member and another that was just too... unenthusiastic to be my first post of the year. I'll put it up later this week, promise. 
 
 2025 was a crazy year! Tons of travel. Tons of family stuff, health stuff, life stuff. We went seven months as a family with my husband out of work, but I'm so excited to share with you here that HE GOT A JOB!!!! He starts up next week and we couldn't be more thrilled. It looks to be the best of all the hopes we had with much of it being remote, just one day a week in the office, the ability to work 4/10s so he has 3 days off every week, and he'll be making a difference for sensitive and at-risk populations in our area. His first project with have to do with homelessness and housing - an ideal fit! 

 So what's in store for 2026? Only God knows, for real. I have absolutely no travel planned! Well, that's not entirely true. I have one night in a tent near the Grand Canyon booked in October, but that's part of a stretch goal that may or may not be realized. Does that mean I won't be travelling this year? I doubt it. It would be awfully difficult to keep me home that long, and I'd probably go a little loopy! But with my husband starting a new job it's too soon to make plans. We don't know what his work requirements will be (can he work from a cruise ship?) or what his PTO will look like (can he actually take time off?). And, if I'm being entirely honest, I'm needing a bit of a break myself. As much as I typically enjoy solo travel, I'm feeling a bit worn. I super, super hope that this is a season, one that will pass and I will get back to regular travelling soon, but truly only God knows what is in store for me. In the meantime, I'm really hoping to get down to our beach house on the coast every month that I don't travel otherwise this year. If I can do that, I think I'll be really happy.

 If travel isn't on the immediate agenda, what is? Well, as I'm sure you're aware, Bible study is a top priority for me. I'm looking forward to our next session starting Monday and I'll be putting up my Intro post in the next few days. I have several posts in the "Making It Work" series formulating in my mind and I'm looking forward to sharing my tricks and hacks with you. I'm still up to my elbows in the points and miles game, and I tried out banking bonuses last year as well which I'll be sharing about with you soon. Between my husband and I we currently hold more than 15 credit cards, but as I've preached over and over again we pay them off every month and never carry a balance or incur interest. What I have incurred is over ONE MILLION points and miles!!! I've made some incredible redemptions and I've got more in the works I'll be sure to share with you. I've also tried out several different earning platforms that I'll be writing about, helping you to know what's worth it and what isn't as well as how to make the system work for you. I still enjoy several hobbies like soap making and fiber arts, and I've developed a new enjoyment for adult coloring books (you never would have convinced 30-year-old me that sentence would have left my mouth!) and I hope to share some info about those with you this year.

Here's the Thing: I don't know what this year has in store. Most years at this point I at least have an idea, but this year is a blank page, and I'm excited to color on it!

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