At the beginning of the year, I picked 23 projects that I wanted to tackle in 2023. It’s been awhile since I checked in, so let’s see my progress!

1. Attend fifty hot yoga classes: As of today, I’ve attended 40 classes – woot woot! I am frustrated because I was not able to attend as many classes as I would have liked in August, because I had Julian home with a sprained ankle, Pippa home with allergies, and both kids home for Hurricane Hillary. Now Pippa is home on a Tuesday because she had to have a crown put on a tooth with a cavity. Motherhood is demanding. Incredibly rewarding and the best part of my life, but also ass-kickingly demanding.
2. Track what I eat for 30 days in a row: I completed this in January.
3. Drink at least 64 oz of water/day for 30 days in a row: Ditto.
4. Publish my second novel: I’m currently writing working on language revisions and then I’ll take a break before I take a fresh look at the book, finalize the title, design a cover, and boom. Publish! I’d love to finish this by the end of 2023, but as noted above, my kids have been home a lot. It is really effing hard to find the time and mental space to revise a novel while mothering young kids, and they are my priority. I’m aiming to publish my second novel in 2023, but I won’t publish an unfinished book just to tick a mark on my 23 in 23′ checklist.
5. Read 100 books for myself: I’ve slowed down on the reading front but have finished 68 books so far this year. According to Goodreads, I’m 1 book ahead of schedule. It might be time to unleash my secret weapon: the graphic novel!
6. Try 23 new recipes: I tried six new recipes at the beginning of the year and lost all momentum over the summer. I tried a seventh recipe recently that was very meh – not great for rebuilding momentum.
7. Cook with mushrooms 23 times: I’ve still cooked with mushrooms only four times.
8. Bake 23 loaves of bread: Still not a loaf yet. Though I do intend to revive my sourdough starter this week.
9. Make 23 different buttons with my buttonmaker: I’ve used my button maker on three occasions. Once for myself; once for fifth grade fundraising during welcome back fair; and once at my niece Olivia’s birthday party. So in all, I’ve made at least 23 buttons, probably more. When I made this goal, I thought that I would design and make buttons for myself. But hey, I’m just glad that I got comfortable with the button maker!
10. Finish 23 craft projects (not including buttons): Seven down. I most recently finished a baby blanket for my cousin Molly, who is expecting her first next month, and a cross-stitch project for Julian.
11. Watch 12 different Creativebug classes: Still only watched one. If I don’t get around to watching some this fall, I’m cancelling my subscription.
12. Draw 12 times: I’ve drawn six times. It’s relaxing, but it’s not where my creative juices are flowing these days. I have, however, also played around with AI, and that is very fun.
13. Play 23 different board/card games: Still stalled at twelve.
14. Watch 23 movies with my kids: I’m up to eleven! I took the kids to see Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem in the theater and we all loved it. Pippa and I have watched the first two Hunger Games movies together during her absences.
15. Write 23 blog posts: I wrote my twenty-third post on August tenth. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.
16. Visit 23 new places: I completed this goal several months ago and have recorded 32 new places this year. My favorite new place in August was Seaside Lagoon in Redondo Beach. My cousin and I met there with our kids on the last Friday of summer and it was such an easy and safe beach day. The kids activated some serious core memories while building sand castle villages.
17. Go on 12 hikes: I’ve done the same hike, Eaton Canyon, twice now. Once with Pippa, and once with Pippa, Nathan and Julian. Both times were so good for my soul.
18. Do 23 things I have never done before: I’m at 16 new things.
19. Finish decluttering the house! I think I’m going to finish this by year’s end. Nathan and I tackled our California basement yesterday and cleared out vast quantities of crap. The basement was the most daunting task on my decluttering list. And it’s like 85% done – and the remaining 15% will be easy.
20. Indulge my inner child 23 times: I’ve indulged my inner child at least 19 times. Most recently, I started taking tennis lessons.
21. Publish 12 podcast episodes: I’ve recorded two podcast episodes for my show Adventures With my Forties. After a long hiatus, it feels good and very right to return to this creative outlet. Yay!
22. Attend 12 live performances: I’ve been to seven live performances this year, most recently Peter Pan Goes Wrong with Nathan and the kids. It was HILARIOUS. The entire family loved it.
23. Spend 20 hours gardening: I’m not so good at remembering to log my gardening sessions, but I’ve officially logged 17.5 gardening hours. And the projects on my gardening radar will easily consume another 2.5 hours and more.

It’s early September and I’ve finished four out of twenty-three projects. I am reasonably confident that I’ll complete eight more, and there are a few more that miiiiiight get completed (depending on how my muse).

This is my process! It’s not so much about checking items off a list but about keeping projects on my radar so if I’m in a slump, I have some ideas for rebuilding my momentum. And after burning myself out during the prior school year, my 23 in ’23 Project has been really helpful in figuring out the best ways for me to heal.