2026 Goals
2026: Describe what you want in 3 words: Balance, More, Less
2026: Describe yourself in 3 words: Busy, Behind, Creative
Theme for 2026: Balance
2025’s vision board reflection goes like this…
I went on my first work trip on the first full week of January and then went on a short work trip to our distributor in Georgia the following week!
I lost my English Wordle streak at the very beginning of the year 1/9 and again in July, but I am currently on day 160 (with my max streak at 173). January was a big month for us. We took a quick trip to Dallas the second week of the year because Jon wanted to go to Microcenter and also planned a date at the Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament! It was very much Disney for jousting, but it was different and fun and played up. We took that time in Dallas to go to a fun Canadian restaurant called the Maple Leaf Diner for a Maple Latte, Chicken & Waffles, and Poutine (see my review on Yelp here), among other fun stops.
We saw snow just before my birthday in Austin! We ended the month seeing Kumail Nanjiani live at the Paramount in Austin on 1/30 (Yes, he is still buff) and Hans Zimmer live at the Moody Center in Austin for the second time.
In February, I performed for the first time on my mini-lyra, and it was amazing! I was Snorlax, and the stage was set up in the middle of the audience so I could orbit to my heart’s content. It was super fun putting together the choreo and figuring out the costume. Everyone at the Jungle Movement Academy is so supportive, and I was very happy with how the piece turned out and how the performance went.
Jon and I traveled to Seattle for a quick trip so he and my dad could watch UFC live. I was able to go to my old dance studio, Ascendance in Renton, and take a class with one of my previous teachers. We did a Tomb Raider-themed escape room with family and friends, and we had a nice dinner with our ex-roomie and her mom. I was able to visit my grandparents. Jon and I went into Seattle for fun treats like Pie Bar and our favorite artisan pizza place, Delancey (we inadvertently played chicken on an uphill single-lane road in my dad’s van with some other idiot in a newer car who wouldn’t pull over). We also were able to hit up our anniversary dinner place in downtown Bellevue (Din Tai Fung).
One of the coolest surprises this year was going to see an “Early” screening for Novocaine at the Alamo and ending up at an actual premiere – we saw Jack Quaid! I spend a lot of time and mental space planning many different aspects of my life, so these happy surprises don’t have as many opportunities to come along. I don’t remember too much about the movie, but the flip in my brain from wow, it’s crowded, and they have some fun marketing stuff outside the theatre to OMG, this is a real event is something I’ll remember for a long time.
Jon and I spent the second weekend in March playing through the video game Split Fiction together.
This was the year for quick trips! Jon was invited to visit Apple HQ in California, and we made a meal out of this snack! We arrived in San Francisco on a Monday and spent 3 days there. I was able to visit one of my company’s customers to assist in a software update. I found my new favorite viral treat: The Cube Croissant. And we went into San Francisco via public transit to visit the city for an evening. We even took a trip in one of the driverless Waymos there.
We then took our rental car down to Anaheim to visit Disneyland and Disney California Adventure that weekend. I love how plannable a Disney trip is, and we made the most of our trip. We went to most of our favorites: beignets at the Mint Julep Bar, Oga’s Cantina, Space Mountain, Rise of the Resistance, Jungle Cruise, Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, Galaxy’s Edge, Big Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain, Incredicoaster, Guardians of the Galaxy, and more. We tried some new fun things: Pym’s Test Kitchen, a Cuban at Earl of Sandwich, Tiana’s Bayou (seated in the back, we didn’t get wet). It was great seeing the Avengers Campus (opened since the last time we went), seeing the new cast members, and seeing some of the shows.
Back home for a week, we went to a Mexico QC soccer game in Austin, and then I went back to Littleton, CO, for a work trip. I colored my hair in anticipation of our big Japan trip. My intention was to create a ‘walking’ cosplay (what I would call cosbounding) of Sabine from Star Wars, and instead of wearing a wig, I attempted to dye my hair to match one of Sabine’s many colorful styles. You can see my outfit in our Disney day trip pictures. You can read all about our epic Japan trip with Star Wars Celebration weekend on my blog here or my shorter summary here.
When we got back from Japan in early May, we started looking for good sushi in Austin in earnest. I’ve eaten so much sushi in the past 8 months! We tried out Endo Sushi, Miyo Yakitori & Sushi (5 stars), Aburi Oshi Sushi at a street festival (just okay), Tatsumi Sushi (4 stars), Uroko (wouldn’t recommend 3 stars), Craft Omakase (5 stars), Tsuke Edomae (best ever 5 stars), Bleu Bear Sushi (Dallas 4 stars), Sushi Warriors (5 stars for AYCE), Ichi Umi (4 stars), Umi Hotpot Sushi & Seafood Buffet (some of the worst sushi I’ve ever had), Fukumoto Sushi & Yakitori (5 stars).
I’ve been posting my reviews on Yelp and Google Maps and have gotten quite a few responses! I’m now in my 3rd year as a Yelp Elite. Some of my hits include:
- 11 Photos from my reviews were featured on 3/16/2025 for Selenite Studio in Littleton, 5/10/2025 for Hawaiian Bros Island Grill in Austin, 5/31/2025 for Bangkok Grill in Georgia, 6/11/2025 for Myōryūji Ninjadera in Japan, 6/21/2025 for DonutNV in Austin, 7/19/2025 for Mile Hig Mo’s in Austin, 8/6/2025 for Marion Crepes in Japan, 8/18/2025 for Lache Movement in Austin, 8/30/2025 for Sankalpa Pole Fitness in Colorado, 9/16/2025 for Austin Kolache & Koffee Shoppe and on 11/26/2025 for Apex Denver
- I received 22 comments from various establishments on Yelp and 33 comments from various establishments on Google Maps
- I posted 155 reviews on Yelp (427 lifetime) and 141 reviews on Google Maps this year
- I reached over 2 million views on my photos on Google Maps!
- I reached Yelp Elite All-Star status in October and November!
Jon and I went to see Moulin Rouge at Bass Concert Hall in Austin at the end of May, and we participated in Marvel trivia at Spare Time again (43/50 answered correctly to put us in 6th place). We checked out Foodieland at the Circuit of the Americas and had some very delicious foods (our favorite was the Dubai Chocolate cup, which was insanely delicious). I went to a grand opening for the new Salty Donut in the Domain and wanted to be their very first customer when they opened at 7AM. I arrived at 4:28AM (an hour before any of the employees and any other people showed up for the line). I was first!
In other miscellaneous accomplishments, I was able to snag Spanish Wordle-in-one and a record Mini Crossword solve in 25 seconds. I also participated in a Guinness World Record with local Texas YouTuber Ryan Trahan and his #joyridehour for “most photos of people holding candy posted to Instagram in 1 hour.”
I’ve now been taking pole and aerial classes for over 11 years! I wrote a reflection post on social media that was markedly different from my 2023 post.
I finished my second custom Baby Grogu art project. My first was “Darth Grogu,” and this second one is “Baby Ahsoka.” I have several more ideas for custom Grogu dolls. I can’t wait to put them together. Supplies I used are bottom left, and the original variation doll is on the right. I also finished a Longhorns Grogu and started paracord art, as well as a custom Van’s painted project. I’ve also continued to work on friendship bracelets that I gave away at Celebration in Japan, during a dance showcase, and plan to give out at D23 this upcoming year.
I added 70.5 more hours to my lifetime of volunteering this past year. As mentioned in the previous blog post, I trained for and helped out with Uprise Circus Outreaches. I was tasked with assisting with the Lyra, chatting with kids on the bleachers, assisting with the ladder to get up to the flying trapeze board, and setting up and tearing down during Outreach. I helped out with 2 Lache showcases, doing setup, teardown, and lights. I volunteered for the second year at the Greater Austin Comic Con, my second year with POP Cats, and my third year with the Austin Coffee Festival. The new festival I volunteered at was with the Shiba Pawrade! I’m now around ~864 lifetime volunteer hours.
Jon brought me to the MLS All-Star Skills Challenge and All-Star Game at the Q2 Stadium in Austin near the end of July. ishowspeed was there (we didn’t know who he was beforehand). It was so hot!
In August, Jon and I took a road trip up to Dallas to pick up his mom from the airport. We went to another top-ranked BBQ called Dayne’s Craft BBQ. Jon made us his own take on BBQ ribs. We went to the Barton Springs Pool for the first time. It was cold, and the water was dense – hard to swim. I didn’t spend much time in the water.
I took another quick 4-day trip to Colorado for work in August – assisting with an in-person supplier audit. While I was there, I checked out two new-to-me studios (Gravity Aerial Arts and Sankalpa).
My dad and his wife, Nancy, flew to San Antonio from Seattle, while Jon, Jon’s mom, and I drove down from Austin to go to UFC Noche together. We met up the day before in Seguin for Texas Monthly’s #1 BBQ spot as of July 2025: Burnt Bean Co! We also took advantage of a meet and greet with Paulo Costa and got pictures with him. UFC the next day was fun. My favorite was Bruce Buffer. On Sunday, we split up. Dad, Nancy, and I went to the Natural Bridge Caverns, the Witte Museum, and the Mission San Jose Catholic Church while Jon drove his mom back up to Austin. He flew back to pick me up in a private plane from the local Stinson Airport in San Antonio later that afternoon. It was the bumpiest ride from all the wind!
We checked out the pumpkin lights on the first day of October. It was pretty nifty.
Talking about a bunch of quick trips… Jon got tickets to go see Hugh Jackman (in New York!), So we planned ~48 hours of travel to NYC. I did a whole write-up on my blog about it here.
In December, I decided to commit to reviewing 10 books, performing for the second time that year, baking a cake, traveling to FL to see family, and finishing my custom Van’s shoe coloring project. Whew! I performed my Snorlax routine again, albeit a little bit differently this time. I used my modified music (Sexy and I Know It by LMFAO), added animal slippers, and modified the pillow I was putting inside my costume, as well as changing up the routine to suit the different space. I won a book contest and got some author swag from Marissa Meyer!
In total, I went on 5 work trips out of state and 7 personal trips this year (5 of which involved flying in a plane out of state with 1 international):
- 1/6 – 1/9 Littleton, CO for work
- 1/10-1/11 road trip to Dallas (for Microcenter and funsies)
- 1/12 – 1/13 Covington, GA for work
- 2/21 – 3/1 Seattle, WA for family (and Jon to see UFC with my dad)
- 3/10 – 3/16 San Francisco/Anaheim work for Jon and fun for me (and a little work for me)
- 3/23 – 3/28 Littleton, CO for work
- 4/16 – 5/4 Japan for international trip with Star Wars Celebration 2025
- 8/11 – 8/14 Littleton, CO for work
- 9/12 -9/14 roadtrip to San Antonio for UFC Noche (and private plane flying)
- 10/3 -10/5 NYC for Hugh Jackman show
- 11/10 – 11/14 Littleton, CO for work
- 12/20 – 12/22 Port Charlotte, FL for family Holiday
2025 specific goals:
- Review every new restaurant/business that I go to on Yelp
- I’m probably at 90% on this goal!
- Practice cake baking and decorating – learn one new related skill
- I didn’t jump on this until the end of the year, when I found a secondhand KitchenAid in my price range and made my first two-tier cake with French buttercream. It turned out really well with Amy’s family recipe and all my gathered baking tips and knowledge.
- Maximize the use of my 2025 health benefits
- I started strong with this one. I did a bunch of things in January, then got busy and didn’t bother for most of the year before picking back up and going to PT for various old injuries, figuring out how to use the mental health portion of my insurance in the fall, and getting a pair of frames/glasses that I love to use in ‘sports’ mode (they tilt to hug the ears so they don’t fall off when upside down).
- Go to at least 5 classes/month at Orange Theory Fitness while I have the membership
- We went to 43 classes from January to August for an average of 5 classes/month!
- Have an epic Japan trip, and do not panic while using public transit or when trying to find things in the train stations
- We got on the wrong train one time, but it wasn’t a big deal. Our biggest panic moment was on the way back from the theme park on our last full day, and it was absolutely chaotic; it would have been tough not to panic. I had an amazing time, and we did an excellent job preparing so we could be mentally more present while on our trip (though still attached to our phones for directions and translations and taking pretty pictures).
- Get to level 49 in Pokémon Go
- Not only did I get to level 49 on 2/6/25, but I fast-tracked to level 50 on 9/21/25 right before the new leveling system was put in place… And then from level 70 to level 71 on 12/14/25.
2026 specific goals:
- Review almost every new restaurant/business that I go to on Yelp and Google Maps
- Practice cake baking and decorating – make one cake/month to practice a new related skill
- Get back to ~2023 body composition results with my yearly fall DEXA scan
- Maximize the use of my 2025 health benefits as much as possible
- Plan and have an epic Hawaii, Japan, D23 trip in the summer/fall
- Create a super cool Sabine cosbound to wear to D23 and Star Wars Celebration 2026
- Try to make a Sabine Grogu with armor
- Find and eat another Cube Croissant
- Try something new
- Get to level 73 in Pokémon Go
For previous years’ posts:
- 2025 Describe yourself in 3 words: Fatigued, Thankful, Driven
- 2025 Describe what you want more of in 3 words: Calm, Centered, Wise
- Theme for 2025: Body
- 2024 Describe yourself in 3 words: Maximal, Goal-Oriented, Partner
- 2024 Describe what you want more of in 3 words: Growth, Decluttering, Minimize
- Theme for 2024: Organization
- Goals list of 2024
- 2023 Describe yourself in 3 words: Impatient, Forgetful, Loving
- 2023 Describe what you want more of in 3 words: Saving, Friendship, Experiences
- Theme for 2023: Settling in
- Goals list of 2023
- 2022 Describe yourself in 3 words: Self, Partner, New
- 2022 Describe what you want more of in 3 words: Success, Happy Moments, Learning
- Theme for 2022: Realize
- Goals list of 2022
- 2021 Describe yourself in 3 words: Driven, Busy, Challenged
- 2021 Describe what you want more of in 3 words: Vacation, Attentive, Patience
- Theme for 2021: Plan
- Goals list of 2021
- 2020 Describe yourself in 3 words: Anxious, Quick, Analytic
- 2020 Describe what you want more of in 3 words: Patience, Deliberate, Calm
- Theme for 202: Hygge
- Goals list of 2020
- 2019 Describe yourself in 3 words: Driven, Efficient, Restless
- 2019 Describe what you want more of in 3 words: Calm, Accomplished, Considerate
- Theme for 2019: Minimize
- Goals list of 2019
- Goals list of 2018
- Goals list of 2017
- Goals list of 2016
- Goals list of 2015
Rachel Author Barnard 