Hi friends. I wanted to pop in to say hello, share a quick recap of the year, and wish everyone a wonderful Christmas.
Before I do, I need to acknowledge how incredibly sad and shaken we all are after the senseless shooting at Bondi Beach yesterday. I have no words. I know so many of us turned on the TV and watched the breaking news unfold, feeling shocked and heartbroken.
My phone started pinging over and over yesterday while I was folding the laundry. When I opened our family group chat, I couldn’t believe what I was reading. A shooting. Here. No way. This doesn’t happen in Australia. We have gun control.
We all started checking in to say we were safe, and then my heart dropped when I remembered Sam had left earlier, saying he was heading to the beach. As I tried to text him, my fingers wouldn’t work, and I fumbled around.
But he must have seen the messages coming through, too, because his reply popped up almost instantly. He was safe; he’d gone to another beach. Thank God. You know that instant calming relief you feel after panic? That’s what I felt.
And then, straight away, I thought about those who weren’t so lucky. Those victims who will never get to send their families that message, I’m safe. So sad. My thoughts are with the victims, their families, and everyone affected by this terror attack. I just hope there isn’t any retaliation and that everyone stays safe.
It’s hard to switch from something so awful, but as this will be my last post for the year, I wanted to recap 2025 and share some of the highs as well as the not-so-highs of the year. Thanks so much for being here today. I really appreciate you stopping by.
My 2025 Recap of the Year
Well, I have to say that 2025 has been my favourite year since 1984. That’s a long time between favourite years, isn’t it? I don’t want to make it sound like nothing good happened in between all of those years. Of course, amazing things did. But 2025 just feels extra special and will always be for me the year I started doing things outside my comfort zone and let myself experience the most amazing adventures. I liked it!
So instead of going into every little detail and putting you to sleep, here’s a quick recap of the highlights.
The Highs
Travel in 2025
- I survived a long-haul flight all the way to our epic holiday in North America. Yeah, I don’t love flying, so this was huge!
- On this trip, all my dreams came true when we visited Disneyland and Universal Studios.
- We spent a week on a road trip through Arizona, Nevada, and Utah
- We hiked the freezing cold Narrows in winter.
- I snorkelled in Hawaii
- Back home, I braved another plane ride in June and spent a couple of nights in Melbourne with my lovely cousin.
Family Highlights
- Cousin Connect gatherings throughout the year are always the highlight of every month.
- We had some small birthday celebrations for me, my husband, and both of our sons. I’m a low-key party person when it comes to our family birthdays, but invite me to yours and Party Ruth will pop out, I promise.
Home Wins
- I totally reorganised my office space and made it all cozy.
Friends
- I’m so thankful for the wonderful friends in my life and the fun adventures we got to have during holiday breaks in 2025. Over many years of friendship, they’ve been there through the good, the bad, and the ugly, and I couldn’t ask for better people by my side.
The Not-So-Highs
Work
We can’t have everything, right? Even though 2025 has been my favourite year in almost every way, work has been incredibly challenging. In my 28 years as an educator, I’ve never faced a year like this, and it really tested me.
As much as I wish I could share more, I can’t. But if any educators are reading this, I would really like to know. Was it just me, or did you feel the same about this year? I was so tempted to walk away, and I have never even thought that before. Not ever. Sigh.
My Blog
This year, I stopped posting as frequently as I had in previous years. My husband’s work schedule changed, which meant we could spend more time together in the evenings. He’s always been so supportive of my blog. Haha, he never reads it, but he likes that I have a creative outlet.
So I still blogged, but dinners at home or occasionally out, along with time on the couch binge-watching all the shows, became too tempting. I decided to scale back and post three times a week.
But as the year went on and work really started to wear me down, my energy disappeared. Writing stopped feeling easy and started feeling hard. I began questioning everything and telling myself my blog was awful. Why was I even writing about my everyday life? Who would want to read this? Where did my energy for sharing about fashion, recipes and home organisation go?
That negative thinking took over, and after long days, I was simply too tired to think, let alone write. So I started to disappear from here a little. But it’s the last week of preschool, and from this Friday, I’ll be off work for five glorious weeks. I’m going to take a short break, pull my socks up, and find my mojo again.
Before I sign off, I wanted to end on a good note and share this photo. Here I am with a few of the lovely ladies I work with, and I’ve blocked out some of the faces because I didn’t ask permission to post. Not all of my work buddies are in this picture, but if it wasn’t for them, I don’t know how I would have got through this year. I love that even on the hardest days, we can still manage to share a good laugh.
So that’s it from me for this year. I hope you have a Merry Christmas, and may 2026 be good to us all. Sending warm hugs and much love.
Linking up with Holly and Sarah
Aw, what an awful feeling! We had a shooting at a college just a few blocks away from Alec’s college this weekend and with the shooter at large for a whole day I had family checking in to make sure Alec and his friends were okay too (luckily his college was already on winter break and I knew he was at home in his room!). I too immediately thought of those families who wouldn’t be seeing their college kids for Christmas.
How wonderful that 2025 is going down as one of your favorite years! I think when life gets busy and work gets hard it’s only natural for your blogging to slack off more. I think particularly stress tends to eat away at our creativity. It’s too bad too because I often think those are the times we need a creative outlet more but it’s just so draining that our bodies tend to shut down all those “unnecessary” drives. I hope work turns around for you in the new year.
I am so sorry about the tragedy that occurred.
I think all educators are so run down. My sisters are both elementary teachers in the US and they say the kids are just horrible. What is it? The demands placed on teachers are greater than ever before. I retired after the end of last year because I didn’t think I could do it another year (31 years).
I have loved following along and yes, family time always comes first. I am so happy you did hard things this year!
Merry Christmas!
Thinking of you and your country. It has been a tragic weekend all around the world. All we can do is pray.
I was so, so sad to read about the tragedy this weekend. I was just able to see my Australian friends last weekend when they were passing through the USA. What a heartbreak for the Jewish community and the locals there. I am so glad you have a work team of friends who have helped you this year. Wishing you a happy holiday season!
This shooting was tough to read about as it was on the first night of Hanukkah there, and targeted the Jewish community. I’m sorry that it touched you too. I’m glad you had a good year overall.
Hi Ruth! I thought of you immediately when I heard about the shooting, agreed, that’s not supposed to happen in Australia!! Glad you were all safe.
I noticed you dropped off on posting and I did miss hearing what you were up to and more importantly, what you were eating! I can totally appreciate that your energy was zapped and you needed a break. But I’ll be here whenever you are back 🙂
Have a lovely summer holiday, I hope you feel rejuvenated when you are back.
Stopping by from #MMBC, with your recap it was easy to get to know you better. I like everyone else is so saddened by what took place in your country. And while it happened there, it was and will affect us all forever more. See you next year, take care.
I have seen some of the news about Bondi Beach, it is shocking! Thank goodness Sam when to a different beach, what a worry though!
I am glad you have had a good year! Good on you for doing things outside of your comfort zone, especially the plane ride to have the most amazing trip!
So sorry your year at work hasn’t been great. I hope things improve next year.
Ahh! You have to put family first and time with your husband before your blog. I hope your break from works helps you get your blogging mojo back. I love reading about you and your life!
I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and wishing you all the best for 2026. xx
Hi! You did have some fabulous adventures in 2025! I am glad you were able to get more time with your husband, but I am sorry to hear that your work year was so tough. I’m a teacher too, and last year was really hard for me. I am hoping this year will be better. And I hope the same for you in 5 long weeks! Have a wonderful Christmas!!
I am so glad your Sam was safe, but the news from Bondi beach was absolutely horrible. Happy New Year!
I am so sorry about the tragedy. A feeling of helplessness takes over. Best we can do is shine some light anyway we can.
I am so glad you stopped by my website. Thank you for that. You had an amazing holiday, and I am really very happy for you. I hope work becomes less stressful for you when you go back after your break. It is easy to overthink and hard to be creative when you are so stressed. Have a most wonderful break time and I am sure your energy and mojo with be back. That is a lovely photo of the group!!
-Soma
Hi Ruth
As a fellow educator-I want to agree-this has been such a hard year…I don’t know why-usually it’s the last term that drains me but I always expect that…this year,every term has been like that-so so so exhausting -and not just me,our entire team.
Lucky there is always a hilarious moment or comment that reminds me why I love this job,but am thinking…can I continue doing this full time???
Hopefully we can all recharge and rediscover our mojo.
I hope you’re enjoying your break as much as I am, Alex! I really am hoping for a better 2026—I don’t think I could do a repeat of last year. I hope you and your lovely family are doing well. Miss you xx
I’ve just emailed you! 🙂
I can’t even imagine that moment of waiting to hear that Sam was safe. I’m so glad you are all OK.
I loved reading about all the highs, especially how 2025 pushed you outside your comfort zone (those travel wins are huge!). Work sounds incredibly tough, but it’s so clear how much you care, and I’m really glad you’ve got that break ahead to rest and find your mojo again. Wishing you the loveliest Christmas. xx💛
I hurt for Australia that you had a terrible event like a shooting. Unfortunately, the USA has way too many of them. I wish we had gun control like you. Senseless violence is so sinister and disheartening. I pray you never experience again.
Your year review reminded me of why I love to visit you and see what’s up with you and your family. I pray 2026 is filled with happiness and love. #MMBC