actual goals af (revisited)

time for an update to my 25 for '25

After my whirlwind hiatus (read: beach trip + Beyoncé concert), I figured this would be a good time to revisit this list and land on something more concrete than to recap all my musings that I’ve had over the last 2+ weeks.

The only thing I’d really like to add here is that, if you recall from the post back in February, I got this idea from author and podcaster Gretchen Rubin. If you haven’t heard of her, definitely check out her work!

Anyway, the reason I’m referencing her again is because she has an additional way to look at how we spend our time and how to make seasons more memorable, but especially for summer. Basically the premise is to “Design Your Summer” - whether that is a mindset you’d like to have for the season, something you’d like to do, something you’d like to read, whatever. It’s a way to mark this time and determine what you want it to be for you.

From her podcast - people have done a summer of restaurants, summer of Proust (author), summer of yacht rock, literally it can be whatever you want!

In an effort to work on my list, and since all my major summer plans are now completed, I am dubbing the rest of my summer a “summer of hobbies.” There are so many small crafts and things I’d like to try, and what better way to fill a quiet summer than with these small (but filling!) experiences. So, when I reference my summer of hobbies, this is where that idea is coming from.

Let’s get into my 25 for ‘25 list.

This Week in the Erin-verse

1. get a dog ⚠️

The needle is moving closer to this happening, but I think my timeline is looking more like October - December for this one due to a last minute house-sitting gig I scored. In the meantime, I should probably put my head down and get to researching. Can I have a puppy shower instead of a baby shower?

2. try kintsugi ⚠️

This one is going on my “summer of crafting” agenda.

an example of kintsugi

3. stop cussing (cursing?) ✅

I don’t have any hard data for this one, but I think in general having this goal has been effective. I find myself being more cognizant of when I use cuss words, especially when talking to myself or in the morning. Currently I’m trying not to cuss until at least after lunch, (lol). I’m gonna mark this one as “completed” with the intent to revisit it again and compare myself to where I’m at now with this one.

4. go to therapy ✅

Done, but considering going back. I was definitely in a solid place a few months ago to be able to stop going, but I also wasn’t 100% in sync with my therapist and felt it was better to cut ties than go for the sake of going. Finding a therapist to connect with is so hard! Ugh. Done/TBD?

5. try a side hustle ✅

Dipping my toe into the house-sitting game (so fun!) as well as creating some plans to solidify my blog for potential monetization going into 2026. Realizing that the side hustle thing can be a little more casual for me instead of the whole 2010 girl boss mindset, so it’s nice to take a little bit of pressure off of myself. However, I am really going to push myself to consistently post here for the rest of the year.

6. get new glasses ⚠️

One of my friends (who shall remain nameless) suggested that we do an ATL day and visit the Warby Parker store downtown - an excellent idea and a fun way to make a girls’ day out of an otherwise mundane task.

However……she has then proceeded to (rudely) have other plans every time I follow-up with her about it. Babes I love you but stop having a social life!!! /jk

Still, this one is TBD.

7. go to the dentist ✅

Done! Feeling like Chip Skylark.

my shiny teeth and me, fr fr

8. get a new phone ⚠️

Although I did not get a new phone in time for either of my concerts, I was planning to bite the bullet this week and purchase one now just to stop postponing it. One of my friends mentioned that the new iPhone 17 is going to come out in October, so now I’m debating if I should wait a few more months or go ahead and do it now. Thoughts, anyone??

9. get an eye exam ✅

Done! I have my new prescription and updated contacts order ready to go when I need it, and it’s such a good feeling.

10. read 2025 pages ⚠️

I’m not exactly sure how to update this one given that, up to this point, I have only listened to Audiobooks. If I take the page numbers from the books that I’ve listened to, my total as of today is 1550/2025 pages, which is not bad! Only 475 more to go, and there’s plenty for me to choose from on my TBR list, as well as what I’m already reading right now.

11. start a newsletter ✅

Done! If you’re still reading it or are new to the scene - thank you either way!!

12. get a record player ⚠️

This one is on my “summer of hobbies” list.

13. go to a convention ❌

Pushed to 2026.

14. get a mammogram ⚠️

I made some headway on this a couple months ago, but the doctors were kind of giving me a side-eye and acting like I was crazy for wanting a mammogram at 31. I also think the cost was like, $300+ or something because it’s likely not covered by my insurance? Anyway, I was supposed to call my insurance and plead my case to see if it could be covered.

Instead, I got involved in a hit-and-run and got to talk to my car insurance folks for 3+ months. So, I’m giving myself some grace on this one. But I still wanna do it! TBD.

15. go to a pride parade ❌

The Ath Half Marathon is the exact same weekend as ATL’s Pride fest :/ There’s not really a way I can do both, and the other cities I’d like to go to have either already had theirs or are too close in time for me to plan for. This one is getting moved to 2026.

16. ride a mechanical bull ✅

Okay, I’m counting this one even though I’m pretty sure it was the tamest bull ride known to man - I rode the mechanical bull at the Museum of Sex in NYC. Thank you Iswarya for getting us to go!

Additionally, I got to see Beyonce ride a mechanical bull this past Friday, so we can combine my tame ride with her breathtaking one. I’d still like to ride a “real” one in the future though!

(sorry this vid is so shaky lol, there was a lot going on)

17. attend a symphony concert ⚠️

Adding this to the “summer of hobbies” agenda, but this one might get pushed to the fall or even winter. I need to start paying attention to what orchestras are playing and when.

18. journal more - 5 year journal ✅ ⚠️

Done/In progress - I started out so strong on this one, but fell off somewhere around May. I’m trying to backfill the dates, but I’m never quite 100% caught back up! So thins only get marked as half-completed until I’m back on track again.

19. get a new apartment (again) ❌

I re-signed my lease through next summer. Pushed to 2026!

20. decorate for Christmas...at all ⚠️

It ain’t time yet! I’ll start thinking about this perhaps after my birthday.

21. stop talking about playing softball ✅

Done! I feel like I’ve only brought up this factoid from my past when its made sense to do so, instead of ham-fisting it randomly into conversation. Well done, me!

22. stop talking about being a teacher ✅

Similar to above - I was at a happy hour with some coworkers and it casually came up, but I don’t see myself as a teacher (or really even a former teacher) anymore. There are other ways I can tap into that part of myself without connecting it to my old job. Yay!

23. get control of my finances/retirement/investing ⚠️

Still largely clueless on this one, but I did sign up for a financial webinar that my work offered (“Tackle Debt and Understand Your Credit Score”). I’m going to include this one in my “summer of hobbies,” but really I’m planning to treat it like a summer class. I loved school, so I’m trying to re-frame this task in ways that will make it enjoyable and motivating for me rather than automatically feeling behind and defeated. TBD.

24. stop talking about being single/wanting to get married ❌

If I’m not talking about this to one of my friends, I’m thinking about it, and if I’m not thinking about it, I’m avoiding things that will make think about it - which is like, everything, at this point. Happy couples, engagement announcements, dating success stories, baby announcements, house purchases, anniversary posts, holidays, birthday parties, and literally any social media in general. It feels like there’s no escape and it’s just slowly eating me up inside. I honestly can’t even write about it because it makes me so upset, and then I’m cringing at myself because this whole thing is stupid to begin with. But it also seems dumb to go back to therapy about this and pay someone to listen to me bitch and moan about it. Sigh. Time for me to move to a remote island and throw my phone off a bridge.

25. closet clean out: simplify wardrobe, simplify makeup

Adding this to summer of hobbies? This one doesn’t feel like a true “hobby” per se, but summer seems like a great time to work on this since my plans have chilled out and I’m not actively decorating for a holiday or anything. TBD.

So, at a little bit over the halfway point, I have completed 9/25 - not bad!! Excited to see what my summer of hobbies will bump me up to. I’ll revisit this list in Sept/Oct.

What I’m Consuming

The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives

I started watching this show because a Substack I follow (Matriarchal Blessing) wrote an essay about it. I love her work and had been meaning to watch the show anyway, plus I needed a little trash reality tv in my life to distract me from…*gestures vaguely at everything*

God this show has delivered and then some. I literally cannot stop watching, and since these girls are as chronically online as I am, it almost seems like there is endless content or development in drama. I’m seated and sat! Currently halfway through season 2.

me to everyone I talk to

Sex and the City

Was pleasantly surprised when I realized that season 5 is actually NOT the end of the series, and so I have started watching the actual final season (season 6) - which contains a whopping 20-some episodes!! Literally obsessed with Charlotte and Harry. No other notes at the moment.

Food

• It’s summertime, which means it’s BLT time (featuring home-grown tomatoes from my dad’s garden) 🍅

• It’s also currently Athens Restaurant Week! Going to try and hit up a few spots that I haven’t tried yet + support some local businesses.

• Bear-y Cute Toast 🐻

  

  Reading + Listening

• Audiobook: Know My Name, Chanel Miller

• Physical book (!): Red Rising, Pierce Brown

  

• Music: These 3 songs are on perpetual repeat right now:

Crash Out, Locked In, and Holding Space

Issue: I swear to god that all packaging for food or otherwise is getting impossibly harder to open. Wtf is going on??? There’s no way that I am getting weaker. It definitely has to be the packaging. Can we chill with the industrial-level thickness plastic that I have to use a machete to cut through? I’m just trying to open a package of headbands. Thanks!

Non-Issue: Between the beach and the pool, I officially have my summer tan and it feels sooooooo good. Highlights next?

What/huh?: Currently in a love/hate relationship with my office - someone keeps bringing cookies and sweet treats DAILY and leaving them in our kitchen for all of us to have…how am I supposed to resist!!? I think this is sabotage in the form of sweetness (I’m writing this as I’m eating a cookie tho)

If you made it all the way to the end of this, thank you 🩷 See you next Tuesday.

Nothing like a good shitpost after a bit of reading. I’ll leave you with this -