New Years Resolutions, 2026

Spoiler alert: blogging more is not on my list, because what am I trying to prove? (I’ll keep the custom URL though!)

Debería Tirar Más Fotos

I never loved taking pictures or having my picture taken. I had always chalked this up to negative body image and an overwhelming desire to be (or appear?) in the moment at all times, but I also never had any reason to change this behavior… until, suddenly, I did. As I scrolled through my many, many baby pictures, I realized that there’s a chance that she would be interested in what her parents looked like around the same time. Imagine that!

While I still don’t have the same urge to capture the moment that (it feels like) other people have, I want to make it a priority over the next year, and carry it in through the rest of my life. I want to preserve as much as this time as possible for my daughter when she gets older, and would hate for my insecurities to prevent that.

Side note: I have become a big old softy since becoming a mother, and I’m not ashamed to admit that this song makes me tear up! I will make sure to give her more kisses and hugs while I can!

Debería Salir Más Con Mis Amigos

It is so easy to stay home all day when you have a small child. So, so easy.

One of the biggest things that I learned from the newborn trenches was the importance of adult human interaction. I realized that I wanted my daughter to have a loving community of family friends around her, but did not realize that I still had to put in the work to cultivate those relationships in order to keep them strong and consistent. Duh!

Another side note: I also wanted an excuse to eat out at nice restaurants and have a cocktail once in a while – is that too much to ask??

Debería Hacer un Triatlón

I spent half of 2025 in swimming lessons. In the short term, I wanted to be comfortable enough to swim laps in the pool; in the long term, I would like to be comfortable enough to swim in open water so that I can do a triathlon.

The triathlon has felt like a natural progression for my fitness journey. Road running has become tough on my feet, but I still crave the structure of a training plan, as well as the accomplishment (and muscle fatigue) of endurance sport. Several of my friends did triathlons in 2025, and I was, frankly, jealous!

I will be doing a “starter” triathlon – completely in a gym and time-bound – this weekend, and am excited to see how it makes me feel. If that goes well, I’d love to progress to something longer and outdoors!

Side note part 3: Comfort in open water is also a prerequisite for being a contestant on Survivor – just saying!

Debería Manejar Más

Though I have had a driver’s license for half of my life, I have never had to drive anywhere on a regular basis, and therefore am still very uncomfortable with driving. I made some progress in the last few months, including driving to meetups and my swimming lessons, and would like to continue into the new year.

While I enjoy taking public transportation, I do recognize that my daughter will inevitably want to go to places and participate in activities that require driving, and I want to be comfortable enough to do that with her when the time comes.

One last side note: my next big hurdle is taking the highway – wish me luck!

The Unlimited Sip Club

In August, I got an email telling me about a promotion from Panera Bread – join the Unlimited Sip Club for two months free! Though I love coffee and drink it every morning, I hesitated because I had never tried Panera’s coffee, and never really went there even though there was a branch across the street from my apartment. I figured I had nothing to lose on a free membership, so I decided to sign up!

Two months later, I’ve shelled out $100 for a year long membership (via a promo, I’m still cheap after all).

The rest of this article isn’t going to be about how Panera Bread saved my life or gave my days meaning or anything like that – I’m not sponsored! – but I have noticed a bunch of little, unexpected improvements that my Panera Bread habit has helped me discover.

I love my little morning walks! I have become a creature of habit, and having a “starting the day ritual” to replace my morning commute, especially after the start of pandemic isolation and fully working from home. It’s been nice to have an excuse to get outside for some fresh air and sunlight, even for the few minutes it takes to walk across the street and back.

I love taking my little morning walks with my daughter! I can tell when she starts to feel cooped up and bored at home, so I’m happy to give her some time out in the fresh air and sun as well.

I love the unexpected community! On a few of our visits, a sweet older man has greeted us near the entrance, smiling and waving at my daughter, and holding the door open for us. The people working at the register have started to recognize me. Is this what it’s like to have a place where everyone knows your name? (Caveat: nobody there knows my name. They’re learning our faces though!)

The biggest unexpected community are the hoards of older people who I see gathering at the Panera every day! This has been the biggest unexpected perk for me – knowing that they have people that they can meet with on a regular basis in person, and can sit with at the cafe for hours at a time, nursing one small coffee as they chat.

Every time I visit, I hope that I can have a big group of other people to meet with at the Panera (or whatever coffee shop it is) every morning and chat. Since having a child, I’ve thought a lot about what I want my life to look like when I grow older – will I have lots of friends? will I be independent? will I still be active? I don’t know – but little moments like this give me hope!

Thoughts on Alcohol, at 32 Years Old

Around this time last year, my husband and I had already decided that we would start trying for a child at the end of the year (surprise! it worked!). Knowing that our friends would notice if I stopped drinking suddenly, I decided to drastically cut down my consumption instead – no more shots, maybe a drink or two while out, maybe no drinks at all.

I was relieved to have a reason to do this, because I had been hoping to cut down on drinking for a long time. This was for many reasons, many of them private*, but they can be summarized broadly as health-related. They can also summarized broadly as my own choice for my own body, ok!

Before this point, it felt really difficult for me to not drink because I didn’t want to. I was worried that people would think that I was pregnant, that people would think I was rude for refusing drinks, that people would think that I wasn’t enjoying myself, that people would think that I had changed for the worse, that people would interpret my abstaining as a judgement on their drinking habits… the list goes on. The list includes a lot of projection of my own insecurities, and includes a lot of overthinking overall. In retrospect, who cares?

All that said, quitting drinking while I was pregnant was (mostly) easy (save for a few nights in Seoul filled with fomo at pochas), and staying mostly sober while breastfeeding has been pretty easy as well (save for a crazy party or two). I am hoping that keeping my current habits will be easy after breastfeeding – with the option to let loose every once in a while, if the feeling strikes!

(* Related to parenthood – I have long resented the idea of a “wine mom,” or the idea of using alcohol as a stress reliever in the absence of any other coping mechanisms. I put a lot of effort into alternate stress relief methods, which sometimes do and sometimes don’t work – but putting the work in at all is important to be the parent that I want to be in the long term!)