New Year Goals For 2026

 New Year Goals For 2026

I have been giving thought to how few goals I have for 2026, compared to previous years. The reason is that I worked diligently this year to make a few changes, and for once they actually stuck.

The goals I managed to achieve and continue throughout 2025 are:

• Drink more water
• Practice Spanish regularly
• Break my processed sugar addiction
• Lose 20 pounds (I actually lost 25)
• Read more
• Add more organized social groups and clubs to my/our lives

I am so very happy with the results of the above goal achievements, and that they have now become regular practices.

A book that I read this year, and found extremely helpful was 'Atomic Habits' by James Clear. I had more 'aha' moments as I read through the book than I have in a very long time. 

The most compelling idea that I read in Mr. Clear's book was: 

Success rarely occurs overnight, but through the power of incremental changes

I interpreted, and implemented this, to mean that consistency was much more important than perfection. I didn't need to be perfect, I just had to keep trying. And eventually, I did become consistent, which was the ultimate goal. Not perfection.

So with that in mind, my list for 2026 is fairly modest by comparison:

2026 Goals

• Practice daily meditation
• Strength train 5 of 7 days at home (push ups, planking, and squats) and 2 of 7 days at our gym
• Lose 3 pounds
• Run a 5k and a 10k

-The daily meditation is in an effort to slow my increasingly frenetic brain.

-The strength training is to help offset the effects of the natural physical decline of aging.

-The additional 3 pound weight loss is to reach the very lowest healthy BMI threshold for my age and height. I feel really good at 108, but I am interested in seeing what if any difference getting to the absolutely lowest 'healthy' BMI weight feels and looks like.

-The 5k and 10k are an effort to overcome (I.e., ignore) the painful bunion I have in one foot. Longer distances, of which I did oodles in my 30's and 40's, are probably no longer feasible per the afterward pain from my bunion, but the shorter distances should be doable and not create too much residual pain. (I did see a podiatrist already about the bunion, and he said to go ahead and run as long as I care to, as it will not negatively effect the bunion in any way. Though it may hurt! 😂)

Wishing the Happiest of 2026 New Years to you all!

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Today's Healthy Focus Plan -  Six mile walk to and along beach, do laundry, book hotel and activities for pre-Panama Canal cruise stay in Fort Lauderdale, send list of excursion choices for Alaska cruise to younger daughter, book post-Alaska cruise land tour, read, nap, depart for sunset viewing and small bites dinner at our social boat club.

Our 2026 Spending Plans

 Our 2026 Spending Plans

After 15 retirement years of living on a pretty conservative withdrawal rate of 2% for the first ten years, then 2.5% for the next five years, we are going full bore and pushing it, LOL, all the way to 2.75% beginning next year.

I wrote about this withdrawal rate increase a few weeks ago, but even then I still had reservations. However, after sitting with it for a bit, I'm now fully on board.

To be fair, this is precisely how I felt when we bumped from 2% to 2.5% in 2020. I was uncomfortable initially, however I did finally get on board.  

So here are our some of our more significant spending plans for 2026, which I am pretty happy and excited about. It's going to be a good year!

2026 Spending Plans

• Replace our home's 40 year old tile roof. We have had no issues since moving in, but we are aware the clock is ticking, so we'll get it done this coming spring. This is the last home project, after which we pretty much have a brand new house.

• Replace living room sofas. The ones in there currently are in excellent condition, however I have a budget line item for ongoing home refreshes, and this is the next-up refresh on the list. I'm looking for cleaner, more coastal lines than the current rolled arm and grommet-studded set.

• Remove two completely out of control Giant Birds of Paradise in the HOA area adjacent to our home, but which are under our control for decision making purposes. Once removed, our sight lines of the surrounding hills and ridgetops will open up nicely.

• Replace my husband's aging Toyota Prius hybrid with a Toyota Camry hybrid. The Prius, our first ever hybrid auto, has served it's purpose - we are now fully onboard with hybrid technology - but he/we are ready for a car with just a bit more interior room and comfort. Once purchased, we'll still be a nicely high mpg household, with my Rav4 averaging 41 mpg, and the new Camry estimated to average 51 mpg.

• Enjoy four cruises and two guided land tours -
• Early 2026 cruise through the Panama Canal, traveling east to west. In this direction we'll gain time as we move through each time zone, rather than losing it, a lesson we learned the hard way in 2015. We traveled west to east on our first Panama Canal cruise, and kept having to 'leap forward' as we traveled through the three time zones that stand between California and Florida.  
• Mid-summer cruise to Alaska with our younger daughter and her family, plus my father and aunt. This will be our third cruise to Alaska, but everyone else's first, which will allow us to act as their tour guides. Once finished with the cruise, my husband and I will hop a short flight over to Edmonton to embark on a 9 day guided land tour of some of Canada's majestic Alberta province interior, including Jasper, Banff, and Lake Louise.
• Late-summer cruise around the British Isles, which will include England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland and N. Ireland. We'll end the cruise via London, where we will then pick up a guided land tour of the interior of the same countries.
• Early fall cruise up the Pacific Coast with my mother and sister-in-law. This will be our third time doing so, but the first time and first cruise for my mother and sister-in-law, so we will again act as tour guides while simultaneously enjoying their excitement.

And as an aside - our just completed weekend was wonderful and full - so full I'm literally too tired this morning to attempt to compile it into a standalone post. In a nutshell, we enjoyed a holiday boat parade, a holiday concert, a holiday play, several dine outs, and lots of lovely time with friends and family.

Looking forward to a good (but somewhat quieter!) day and week, and hope yours is same wherever you are.

A Few Fun Things - I Bought A Record Player!

I Bought A Record Player

My older granddaughter has become infatuated with The Beach Boys, the result of my having a CD of the album Endless Summer that I play in the car when she visits. And her first surfing lesson was at Doheny Beach, which is mentioned in multiple songs such as Surfin' USA and Surfin' Safari. So, when she got a record player as a gift for her recent birthday, in addition to sending her her own copy of Endless Summer, I was also inspired to do same for myself. So I did! 

And locating some of the other albums of my youth has been so much fun.

 

2025 Holiday Ornaments Completed

I finished and mailed off this year's family Christmas ornaments. My older daughter already phoned to say they received theirs and love them. Which makes me so happy.

A Decent Couples Photo

We recently attended a holiday party that was so. much. fun. Food, wine, couples and group dancing. And a lovely black and white photo that I would actually consider placing in our home - I have not liked any photo of myself since the wrinkles started up in my late 50's. 😵

Looking forward to a good day, and hope yours is same, wherever you are.

Currently - Please Let The Website Function Correctly!

Currently - Please Let The Website Function!

I'm currently dressed to go for a walk followed by a lunch with a neighbor - my gift to her following a recent 80th birthday celebration where 'no gifts, please' were requested - so I'm giving her an experience instead.

However, I'm chained to the house until the website to purchase tickets for an upcoming film festival we'll be attending goes live at 9:00 AM. If, big caveat, If all goes according to plan, I should be done by 9:15 AM and onto my walk. However, in years past all kinds of website glitches have occurred on the first day of sales, so I'm trying to be mentally prepared if things get really wonky.

I suspect that either way it goes, I'll really need that walk - either to celebrate that, yeah, all went well and tickets for the 15 films we hope to see have been purchased for the precise date and times we want, or aaaargh, that was awful, the website was horrible, and I need to walk off some negative energy! 😄

Otherwise, my plans for the day include finally, really, booking our upcoming holiday hotel reservations in Nashville, and booking the air for an upcoming Panama Canal cruise in February - one way only, yeah, as we return back into Los Angeles for disembarkation, meaning a simple and quick Uber ride back home.

This cruise, the first of four we have booked for 2026, will be our first time in a mini suite, which should be fun. Because we booked it fairly late, the mini suites were discounted to the same price as for a balcony to ensure a full ship sell out, and we happily booked one. The upgrade means we'll have a full size sofa in the main area, a bathtub in the bathroom, and a deeper balcony for lounging.

Here is the route we'll be taking:

Looking forward to a good day, and hope yours is same, wherever you are.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hit the easy button this year. A smoked turkey breast, gravy, and stuffing from Gelson's, pumpkin pie courtesy of a realtor, homemade cranberry sauce made yesterday, and a saute of green beans and mushrooms - the only item I'll need to cook up today.

Otherwise, I'm volunteering at a race this morning in that the proceeds benefit one of my volunteer organizations, taking a walk at the harbor with visiting family, having Thanksgiving meal at the house followed by sunset viewing at the beach and dessert back at the house.

May your day be serene and peaceful, wherever you are.

PS- I don't know why Comment box has been disabled, but am trying to fix it. 

PSS- Fixed it! 🙂

Weekend Wrap Up - A Day Late!

Weekend Wrap Up - A Day Late!

I had to head out early yesterday, Monday, to meet my girlfriend for kayaking, and thus did not get this written and posted. A good excuse I think!

Also, to follow up on the small disclaimer I included here recently - that I am aware that my life may seem a bit too busy at times - this is what someone designed for my dad recently, highlighting just a few of his ongoing pursuits at close to 90 years of age -

So clearly I come by it honestly!

Friday - Left early to attend and show support for a community event highlighting one of my volunteer organizations. We met by the ocean, the sky was blue, the breezes pleasant, and I gave a small thanks once again that we had made the decision to relocate to the coast some years back.

Afterward, I headed to Target to pick up a slew of random items we needed - Halloween candy, various kitchen, bath, and office restocking supplies, and two boxes of protein bars, my go-to on busy days. Once that was in the car, headed to my mom's to drop off some paperwork pertaining to my sister-in-laws upcoming residency at her 55+ community, then we headed to lunch to celebrate my birthday. Which, for the record was some weeks ago, but we'd been unable to schedule a birthday lunch until now that worked into both of our schedules because my mom is quite busy as well, lol.

From there I headed to Staples to pick up some needed supplies for another of my volunteer organizations, then home to meet my spouse for Happy Hour at our membership winery, after which we headed to our new boating and social club to catch the sunset, listen to some live music, and enjoy a light meal of fish tacos. While there, we chatted with some people we already knew, plus had a fun conversation with a new-to-us couple at the next table. Which is how these things go and become an integral part of our social lives - we work hard to engage and be uber-pleasant upon meeting people for the first time, and from there roots of acquaintance-ship begin, which then eventually become roots of friendship as get togethers progress. At which point we can take our feet off the pedal, and simply enjoy an easy camaraderie going forward. 

Saturday -  Six mile walk from house to and along beach, stopping at gym on the return to do weights. Light yardwork upon return, then lunch and some reading before getting ready to attend a dinner and service auction at our spiritual community. I had two items being auctioned off - this rustic carrot cake (so good, and always an award winner when I make and bring it to any of our social wine club dining events), and a hike for 12 people along the beach, followed by fresh bagels, fruit, and mimosas back at our home afterward. 

Well, both sold/sold out - the cake went for $70, and the 12 hiking spots for a total of $240. So I feel good about that!

Sunday - Spiritual services in the AM, then we left for an afternoon symphony that also involved the introduction of a new conductor, after the prior long time and much beloved conductor retired.

The Sunday afternoon symphonies include a long intro by the conductor to explain the symphony in detail to the audience before it is played. I personally love this aspect as it enhances significantly my enjoyment of the performance that follows.

We had wonderful front row seats*, the new conductor was engaging and charming, and the performance was tremendous - Scheherazade's 1001 and One Nights. Which we then followed up with by going to dinner with friends from our prior community that also attend these matinee symphonies. 

* Our front row seats are a bargain at just $30 each, due to the first few rows being considered inferior for overall symphonic sound. However, we love sitting directly up front where we can experience both the sound and the energy of the music as it is being played by the skilled musicians.

So, yes, another great weekend of activities is now in the books. 

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Today's Healthy Focus Plan - Run to gym, three more fast walk miles on treadmill upon arrival, plus weights, walk home, clean up and depart for a ladies lunch with my spiritual community, head to ukulele practice afterward, home briefly to prepare leftovers for spouse (pork Chile Verde over rice, yellow squash, cornbread), then to gym again to attend Boot Camp session #2 of 6 in total (I've been diligent about doing the daily planking/squats/push ups exercises the Boot Camp trainer assigned, and I can see progress already, which I'm so happy about.), then a pop-in with my Women's Club to, hopefully, celebrate a positive decision pertaining to our club that the city board was voting on.

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Inquiring minds want to know - how was your weekend???

Retirement Withdrawal Rates, Ours At Least!

 Retirement Withdrawal Rates, Ours At Least!

It's been a great week - lots of get togethers with other folk to hike, walk, workout, visit cultural centers, and enjoy meals. 

Views from a portion of yesterday's walk - so gorgeous out there after a recent rainstorm passed through.

Plus, we met with one of our financial advisors this week and found them to be unusually positive about the long term prospects of pretty much everything we discussed - inflation, Social Security, tariffs, company earnings, and the financial markets in general.

And, they very directly told me that I was being overly conservative with our portfolio withdrawal rate of 2.5% at this point in our lives (early-60's and 70's). So, OK, I can fix that! Starting in 2026 we will raise it to 2.75%. Woohoo!

Actually, I do know we've been extremely conservative in our portfolio withdrawal rate since retiring, because that is the exact behavior that got us to early retirement in the first place - under spending relative to our income. But, interestingly, we chatted about what is considered the safe withdrawal rate since economists began dropping the Depression of the 1920's from the historic calculations most retirement calculators use. The reason being that the Depression can now be considered an outlier that will never re-occur due to changes since made in governmental regulations and oversite of banking and financial institutions.

The old number, which always seemed frighteningly optimistic to me, was 4%. The new number is 3.2%, which feels a lot more realistic. Thus, even at a new and higher withdrawal rate of 2.75% we will still be well under and conservative - the space where I feel the most comfortable.

In addition, a very large portion of our budget is completely discretionary. Thus, should we ever find need due to a large scale financial calamity of some sort, we can get by on just our pensions and Social Security. Perhaps not in luxury, but the bills would be paid and food purchased.

As a result of feeling optimistic enough to raise our withdrawal rate a bit in 2026, I spent yesterday finishing out our 2026 travel plans. Primarily, I've planned out two four-week just-us trips, two shorter trips/cruises with family, and a nice stay at our annual visit to the international film festival event in Palm Springs.

And we'll go ahead and schedule out a roof replacement, the last remaining update on our list for the house. Once that occurs, the house is pretty much brand new, and should remain trouble free for years and years to come.

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Today's Healthy Focus Plan - Meet girlfriend at art museum followed by lunch, stop at Aldi's on the return trip home for 'usual' items, plus one supermarket for a few of their advertised Loss Leaders, do my Boot Camp 'homework' of planking, squats, push ups and pull ups, read 10 pages of Book Club book, 15 pages of October non fiction book, and then my current pleasure reading book - The Lion Women of Tehran.