2025 Year in Review

Posted on by Sarah

Happy New Year, friends! 

Welcome back to another year of reflecting and remembering the past year with me. While 2025 was a year of chaos for the world, it felt like a year of slow, steady normal life and growth for me. And that normalcy, filled with lots of ordinary days, was an incredible gift. 

As I was going through the questions I noticed quite a few—particularly the ones about things I would like to see happen—where my answers hadn’t changed from last year. Wouldn’t it be amazing if one of those big hopes and dreams was fulfilled in 2026? That’s the energy I want to take into the new year. Radical optimism! It doesn’t come naturally to me but I’ll do my best.

What did you do in 2025 that you’d never done before?

  • Booked my own Uber!
  • Researched my family history
  • Had a professional headshot taken 
  • Took a flight on Flair airlines  
  • Started a Substack (wrote one post, then immediately regretted starting a new thing to keep up with online) 
  • Rode in a Tesla 
  • Made a peach crisp
  • Learned how to play chess (from my six year old nephew)

Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

Last year I made a way-too-ambitious goal to not buy any new clothes in 2025 and did a massive face-plant. I don’t think I even lasted through January. This year I’m aiming for a few more moderate goals and/or principles that I can aim towards throughout the year. I’m going for grace with myself and progress rather than perfection and all-or-nothing. 

The only goal I seem to be able to hit consistently is my reading goal, so I’m keeping it at a nice, cool 52 books again. This seems to be doable for me and I like that it’s a book-a-week pace. 

Now that I’ve gotten into the rhythm of exercising consistently, I have a few very unimpressive fitness goals for the year. They seem small but they’re a big deal to my non-athletic self, ok? 

  • I want to be able to do 10 full push ups by the end of the year. I can do some from my knees now but even attempting one on my toes feels impossible. 
  • I want to be able to plank for at least one full minute. Right now I can do 30 seconds, so this seems achievable. My stretch goal will be 90 seconds. 
  • Speaking of stretching, I want to stretch every day, even if it’s only for one or two minutes, although longer would be better obviously.

I’m also making some financial commitments to myself, which I hope will help me meet my savings goal. 

  • Making my lunch – I started a new job this year (more on that later) and I’m going to have to be in the office more. Up to now, I’ve been incredibly lazy about packing a lunch, but financially I could get away with it since I was only in-office two days. No more! 
  • No more buying back-ups – I have a bad habit of stockpiling the beauty and hair products that I use regularly. I’ll buy them when they’re on sale but it takes forever to use them up so the result is that I have multiples of everything in my bathroom. This year I’m committing to using up what I already have before buying another one, no matter how good the sale is. 
  • No more same-day buying – I’m not going to try to restrict shopping completely, because I learned my lesson last year. Instead, I’m committing to making good use of a wish list and thoughtfully considering purchases over a couple of days before pulling the trigger. I hope this removes some of the impulse and sense of urgency you get from online ads.

Did anyone close to you give birth?

Two of my besties had baby girls! Steph had Eden in May and Tiff had Tessa at the end of August. Here they are pictured with my Mom and Grace.

Did anyone close to you die?

While I was away in November, we lost a dear family friend. She was part of my Mom’s close friend group that began as a neighbourhood babysitting co-op in the 80s and evolved into a monthly mom hangout long after all the kids reached adulthood. She was the mom of my youngest brother’s best friend and a fixture in our lives growing up. 

Then in mid-December we got the sad news that a friend from work had passed away. She had been diagnosed with cancer in the summer of 2024, and even though we knew it was coming her death felt like a shock. She was always so vibrant and full of life—a lovely, joyful person. I got to work closely with her on a few events over the years and she was wonderful to work with, a great teammate and quick to laugh. We’ll miss her and I’m deeply sad for her husband and two teenage daughters, who I’m praying for often.

What places did you visit?

For the first six months of the year I didn’t travel anywhere or take any vacation time and I learned that backloading all my time off in the second half of the year is a recipe for burn out. In 2026 I’m going to do a better job of planning my time off so that I take breaks throughout the year. 

In July, I made the annual summer trip to Alberta for camping with Douze and Lynn and the teacher crew. This year I was able to tack on a visit to Calgary to spend time with my brother and his family, along with a few days in Edmonton on the way home.

We had our annual Golden Ears campout over the August long weekend, which is always a highlight of the year. Swimming in the lake every day, eating campfire pizzas and playing cards in the woods, does it get any better?

Chars and I spent a couple of nights on the Sunshine Coast for a girls getaway in October and it was so fun and restful. The timing of it was perfect—right after the craziest September I’d had at work on record.

In November, I spent a week in Portugal with OP. We had been talking about doing this trip for a couple of years and the timing never worked out until this fall. We spent three days in Lisbon, where we stayed in a luxurious VRBO and each had our own room and bathroom. Highlights included a day trip to Sintra, eating at Time Out Market and sharing a table with a very chatty, tipsy Brazilian couple, the Jeronimo monastery and eating lots of Pasteles de Nata. 

Then we rented a car and drove to Porto, with stops in Obidos and Nazare along the way. Nazare is where all the big wave surfers go, and it’s the main location in the 100 foot wave documentary. We spent a good amount of time there watching the surf and got to see a couple of the pros (we assume) catch a few waves.

Porto was great, and I think I liked it a bit better than Lisbon. We went to the famous bookstore, walked along the water, saw the most beautiful train station in the world and I had a really good steak sandwich there. For my final day we did a small group wine tour in the Duoro Valley,  where we got to visit some extremely old family run casitas and taste port. All in all a wonderful trip and Olga and I had a great time – she’s a wonderful travel buddy. 10/10 would recommend.

After Portugal I flew to London to attend the Renaissance Conference again. Then I had 10 happy, full days in my favourite city. I wandered, shopped, read books in pubs, visited museum exhibitions, looked at Christmas lights and went to the theatre every night. It was magical and I already want to go back. Someone give me a reason to visit (or move there???)!

For the first time since I’ve been doing this, the U.S. isn’t on this list and honestly that makes me sad. I haven’t been able to bring myself to travel there or spend any of my money there with everything going on.

What would you like to have in 2026 that you lacked in 2025?

An Oiler Stanley Cup win, a partner, a Chelsea Premier League title, a Canadian English spell check, and world peace. Once again, this is the same list as last year but they’re still some of my greatest hopes and dreams.

What dates and events from 2025 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

  • The Four Nations cup tournament 
  • The Blue Jays playoff run. I only get into baseball during playoffs, and it ended in tears but it was so fun while it lasted.
  • October 1 – The day the Executive I’d been supporting as Communications Advisor for years retired 
  • December 1 – Starting a new role as a Strategic Business Advisor

Did you suffer illness or injury?

I had one minor fall when I went hiking with Douze and I came away with an impressive scar on my right knee. It took longer than I would have liked to heal and I wasn’t able to do much weight bearing exercise for a few weeks. Overall my health has been good this year and consistent strength training has me feeling pretty…strong. I even got my flu and covid shots this year which has helped me avoid any serious bouts of illness. Touch wood, flu season is not done yet.

What were your greatest accomplishments?

At the beginning of December, I started a new temporary role as a Senior Strategic Business Advisor. It came as a surprise because I wasn’t expecting to change jobs this year, but I was directly asked by the SVP join her team. It’s a wonderful opportunity and I’m incredibly honoured to take it on. It feels like an acknowledgement of all the good work I’ve done over the years and the trust I’ve built with senior leaders in the group I support. I’m equal parts excited and nervous to be taking on my first job outside of communications, with more accountability and responsibility. But I’m confident I can do it and I’m looking forward to learning lots! 

Here are some other accomplishments I was proud of from the year:

  • Launching the flexible workplace program at work. 
  • Spending 2.5 weeks in Europe (in planes, trains and theatres) without getting sick. 
  • Exercising consistently. 

What was your biggest failure or struggle?

In March I made a difficult decision to leave the church I had been a part of for years. It wasn’t due to any personal conflict or drama, but rather a slow moving in a different direction, and a longing for a different expression of church that had been growing in my heart for awhile. I truly believe that the Lord led me to move on, and I’m trying to follow him and walk in obedience. There are many people that I love dearly who are still attending that church and growing in faith as part of the community there. 

I was hesitant to write about this because it’s deeply personal, but in the end I decided to mark it here because making the decision, and then walking through it was a significant part of 2025 for me. There has been sadness and grief attached to it. I’ve had to navigate changing relationships–I haven’t lost any good friends, but the expression of love and friendship looks different than it used to. Not all of it has been bad, in fact I think I’m in a healthier place both emotionally and spiritually than I was at the start of the year. But I want to be honest that it’s been very hard, and even though I’m attending a new church that I like, it doesn’t feel like home yet.

What was the best thing you bought?

Ariana and I bought season tickets to the Arts Club theatre. It’s been a joy for a few reasons: it feels good supporting the arts, we get to see all the shows, and we have an excuse to see each other every other month. Our friendship is quasi long distance because even though we talk every day, we don’t tend to see each other in person that much. It’s nice to have a regular date in the calendar to spend time together IRL. 

*Not at a play, but here we are.

I also bought a purple wireless keyboard with round keys that makes the perfect clacking sound for my at-home work set up. It’s silly but it made me excited to type type type and it made writing tasks more fun. I loved it so much that I bought one for my desk at the office. 

Honourable mention to my new air conditioner, veggie chopper and the card game Flip 7 which was a hit with all the kids on our camping trip. Note to self: there are no clothes on this list.

Where did most of your money go?

Travelling, clothes and theatre tickets. Once again, this is the same list as last year. But what else is a girl to do when she’s perfectly happy with her 15 year old car and has no hope or desire for a mortgage?

What did you get really, really, really excited about?

  • Researching my family history.
  • Seeing Kaia Gerber at Flourist with Steph 
  • The casting announcement for the Beatles movies 
  • The Oilers making it to the Stanley Cup finals 
  • Chelsea Winning the Club World Cup
  • Harris Dickinson wearing an Oilers shirt at Telluride
  • Connor McDavid signing a contract for the mother of all hometown discounts
  • All the plays I went to in London:
    • Paddington the Musical 
    • Punch
    • All My Sons 
    • The Weir
    • Stereophonic
  • Managing to score World Cup tickets. I asked everyone I knew to enter the FIFA lottery for me and Grace was the only one who got a code—but we got tickets!

What songs will always remind you of 2025?

Favourite albums?

Favourite podcasts?

Compared to this time last year are you:

  • Happier or sadder? About the same, maybe a bit happier. 
  • Thinner or fatter? I’m actually not sure, possibly very slightly thinner.
  • Richer or poorer? About the same – honestly coming out even feels like a win.

What do you wish you’d done more of?

Putting my phone down/away, creative writing, doing a puzzle, eating vegetables, playing the piano just for the joy of it.

What do you wish you’d done less of?

Online shopping, scrolling, eating chips, talking or thinking about the United States.

How did you spend Christmas?

Freezing my butt off in Edmonton with my family! Our family time was especially lovely this year. We were able to be all together for two full days in a row because my youngest brother and his wife had both Christmas and Boxing Day off, which hasn’t happened in years. 

My niece and nephews are at the perfect age where they are still young enough that Christmas is magical and exciting, but old enough to be their own little people with personalities, thoughts and opinions. William is very into the Oilers these days, and I got him and my brother matching Draisaitl t-shirts, which he was over the moon about. We took Selah for her first pedicure one morning, and she was a bit unsure of putting her feet into the water but other than that seemed to enjoy it. 

On Boxing Day my Mom turned 70 and we took her out for brunch and a trip to the new(ish) Royal Alberta Museum all together. Despite the extreme cold and icy roads, it was a wonderful visit to my hometown and my heart is full from spending so much time with my family.

Did you fall in love in 2025?

No. At least not romantically. I try not to feel sad or defeated when I come back to this question each year and the answer is still no. There is a lot of love in my life, even if it’s not the romantic kind. But I leave the question here because I’m trying to keep my heart soft and open to possibilities. And I hope one day I can answer an emphatic yes.

What was your favourite TV program?

What were the best books you read?

My grand total number of books read this year was 56 (full list here). But I have a beef with Goodreads because it doesn’t count pages and I read a few monster long books this year (looking at you, Charles Dickens). I’m quite sure I read more pages this year than last year, but my book count is less. I’m happy I was able to maintain my book-a-week pace.

My sister in law’s jaw dropped when I told her how many books I had read this year. So, if 56 books sounds impressive or impossible to you, let me remind you that I’m incredibly time privileged. And if it makes you feel better, I have many friends who read more than I do and I look at their book lists and feel the same, “How did you find the time? I wish I could read that much…” etc.

What was your greatest musical discovery?

Not sure if this counts as a “discovery” but I listened to a lot of music in Spanish this year, which is new for me. 

What did you want and get?

  • Mark Carney elected as Prime Minister 
  • A trip to Portugal with OP 
  • World Cup tickets

What did you want and not get?

  • The Oilers to win a Stanley Cup
  • The Blue Jays to win the world series  
  • A trip to Spain with Dave & Judy (postponed to 2026)

What were your favourite films of this year?

  • Superman – I wasn’t even going to see this because I’m suffering from serious superhero movie fatigue, but the press tour won me over and then the movie was surprisingly great. Lois saves Superman! Nathan Fillion wears a ridiculous wig! 
  • Hamnet – one of the best books I read last year, and a rare occasion where the movie lived up to the book. I hope it wins all the awards.

What did you do on your birthday?

I had three birthday dinners in a row! First I went out for dinner with a small group of my nearest and dearest at Nook. The next night my work besties took me for dinner at Vij’s, which I had never been to before. We had a lovely table on the patio and the man himself served our appetizers. 

My actual birthday was a regular ol’ Tuesday this year so I was working in the office and afterwards Jacqueline took me for a special birthday edition of Happy Hour at the Magnet. The Magnet is like our Cheers, everyone knows us and some of the staff have become our real friends. For dessert Holly brought us an amazing rhubarb citrus cheesecake, which I loved. Controversial opinion: I don’t normally like cheesecake. But this was “basque-style” cheesecake which I guess means lighter and fluffier and less cheesy than normal cheesecake. People go to the Magnet for the beers but the desserts are 11/10.

How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2025?

Compulsive overconsumption.

What kept you sane?

  • Counselling
  • Prayer
  • Deep breaths 
  • Exercising
  • Tuesday night Happy Hour at the Magnet 
  • Voice memos and group texts

Which celebrity or public figure did you fancy the most?

Bad Bunny, Leon Draisaitl, Danny Ramirez, Cole Palmer’s left foot, Callum Turner & Dua Lipa (fav celebrity couple, duh), Anthony Boyle, Ernie Clement, James Acaster… “I have a crush on every boy!” 

What issue stirred you the most?

There were so many things to care about and pay attention to this year. The ongoing genocide in Gaza, the never-ending war in Ukraine, A.I., Trump (take your pick), Christian Nationalism, there’s lots of news and it’s all bad. I was filled with angst for a few weeks leading up to the federal election, and then so much relief when Mark Carney was elected that I cried. 

While it’s impossible to single out one issue as the most important, I will say that I got incredibly fired up about the Alberta teacher’s strike, and the Province invoking the notwithstanding clause to force them back to work. So many of my friends in Edmonton are hardworking teachers who care passionately about their students and it made me sick to see the government misuse legislation to take their charter rights away. 

Who did you miss?

Trader Joe. My whole family, Douze, Ava, Gramma Miller.

Who was the best new person you met?

I’m racking my brain trying to think of new people I met this year, other than my friends’ new babies. I’m not sure if this is because I’m getting older, or if it’s a sign of my black belt introvert status. What about you guys, do you meet new people often? Maybe this should be a goal for next year.

Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2025?

Over and over this year, God showed me that he sees me and loves me. There were so many times that I heard a word from Him and he fulfilled it, so many little prayers that were answered, so many examples of him showing his love to me in small, specific ways. Through all the hard things I’ve walked through this year, and especially in the waiting, he’s shown me he’s with me and that he’s gentle, kind and compassionate towards me. I’ve come back to these verses from Psalm 130 a lot this year: 

As a father has compassion on his children,

    so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;

for he knows how we are formed,

    he remembers that we are dust.

The knowledge that God knows and understands my humanity has brought so much freedom and grace into my life this year. I pray it would do the same for you.

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