Goals for 2025
Face my fears of heights. Mickey wheel, skyliner, Roosevelt Island tram. Do something out of my comfort zone.
I had 2 chances to go on the Mickey wheel and chickened out both times. But a few weeks ago I did ride the skyliner successfully from Epcot to the Riveria to the Caribbean resorts and back. It was still absolutely terrifying but I did not suffer a panic attack like I did the first time I rode it. I braved it out and stayed on it for the entirety of a round trip. Earlier in the year, I rode a chairlift in Japan, which is kind of like a baby step of a skyliner. It’s not as high off the ground but it was still terrifying because it’s not enclosed. It was like a baby step so it helped ease the fear of the Disney skyliner. I didn’t have a chance to ride the Roosevelt Island tram but I do want to make it a goal this year to visit Roosevelt Island to see their cherry blossom trees.
Sell my car.
We did try to sell it to a prospective buyer but it didn’t work out. I’m not really good at this part so I’ve delegated the husband to this task since cars are more his forte than mine.
Make it to Japan.
This trip was the most major and successful thing I planned this year. While expensive, I spoiled myself in booking my dream shoots while there and came away with it fully satisfied. I did so many kimono rentals. I ate so many cute things. This trip was amazing and I was able to get most of everything I wanted done. I’m so glad I finally got to go back. Hopefully if I get the opportunity to go back again, I can visit a few new regions as well. I also need to start working on my long overdue Japan blog already.
Focus. Get more things done, less procrastinating.
Honestly I still procrastinated but I did intentionally make more to do lists and honed in on getting shit done when I needed to. It felt like an entire year of making to do lists on my google notes app to be honest.
Fitness goals: continue being consistent. 10k steps, splits, pullups.
I did do this! Even when I took breaks from running, I still made sure I got my steps in with daily walks. I worked on my stretching constantly but not as consistently as I would like. I was getting really good at assisted pull-up weight being less and less until mid November when I accidentally injured myself at the gym. I set myself back a bit as I had to take 6 weeks off. I only started going back this week so I’m trying to take it slow as I work myself back into it. Hopefully this is the year I can really lean into my splits and slide into them gracefully, as well as finally do at least one non-assisted pull-up.
Do a fresh face no makeup shoot.
To be honest, I forgot about doing this. I still do want to this. I want to work on finding a simple makeup routine with quick bb cream, simple eye makeup and gloss.
Cut down even more on shopping. hLimit purchases to things I know I'll use/wear often. Sell more of my closet.
I didn’t buy a lot this year. I did buy some dresses but less than I usually do and I tried to buy more quality dresses from House of CB. I mean, Forever 21 going out of business and closing their stores did help. I did sell a decent amount of my closet and I want to continue selling more in this new year and free up more room in my closet.
Take more local/budget friendly trips and explore newer places.
I did say with Japan being a big trip, I most likely would not be able to travel much else for the year and I was partially right. I went to California twice and also to Orlando for my sister’s cons, so it took a good chunk out of my vacation days from work for the year so I just did not have the time to take off to do much else. On my regular weekends off, I spent them staying local to my usual NY spots but I did explore the Vanderbilt property and go to the Renaissance faire this summer so that counts, right?
Learn to cook more new things.
I still want to learn to make pasta and more Viet food but it didn’t happen this year. I did learn to make rice cooker curry, does that count? I also learned that I can cook an entire Thanksgiving dinner myself with all the sides, being able to time it right for everything to come out around the same time. I did cook more at home overall rather than eating out this year so I’ll take that as a win.
Figure out how to stay informed but not compromise my mental health and state of being for it.
This is a tricky one and honestly I'm still figuring it out. 2025 was a bad year for it too given the political climate. The last month though, I wasn’t very up to date with the news though because I was too preocuppied with other things which I guess was a silver lining for this goal. My mental health still suffered but it wasn’t because I was riddled with anxiety from staying informed from the constantly breaking news. So the sad part is, in order to not compromise my mental health due to doom scrolling the news, I just have to be distracted with other things that affect my mental health. Honestly I just need to start practicing less doom scrolling, cutting down my screen time and do other things that bring me joy. But I hate not knowing things. But at the same time, as depressing as the past 6 weeks have been spent in my depression, it felt better not concerning myself with the news.
Year in Review
So much happened this year.
LA: I went to LA twice and both times in the middle of a crisis. In January, there was the LA fires and in the summer, there were the ICE protests. Both times were to help my sister with cons. We got to experience two new cons and one of them being a major one to add to her resume: Anime Expo. AX is considered the big leagues and she did really well at this one, despite the hectic chaos of the weekend. I got to try a lot of new things during both trips as well as squeeze in a Disneyland trip. I got to try Erewhon and can say, no the Hailey Bieber smoothie is not worth it, but the coconut soft serve is. I tried a L’Agree workout which was a new experience for me. I still am unsure if I like group workouts though or if I just haven’t found one I liked. I was able to explore a new lookout spot over the city and I finally made it out to the California Dreaming wall. I am still very much in love with LA.
Pistol license: I applied last year and my husband thought it would take a whole year but it was pretty much done by February after initially applying in October. My husband wanted me to get it so he could take me to the range and learn how to use his firearms in the case of emergencies. I’m not crazy about it, to be honest, but I do see that it’s important to know how to handle one in a worst case scenario. Maybe this year, we’ll work on that. He did promise to get me a pink sparkly pew pew.
New car: I finally got a new, more responsible, winter friendly for work car and I’ve had to drive it in the snow a few times this past month and it’s honestly made a huge difference. I’m so glad I made the decision when I did, despite it being an expensive investment, being a big painful chunk of my monthly bills now. It’s worth my safety during the winter and I feel much more confident in bad weather now compared to my Camaro. I haven’t done much to customize it to my liking but I’m taking my time.
Running: I didn’t have any races this year but I did explore a new trail near my house. I also took a few breaks from running this year, going back and forth between lifting and running, but always making sure I keep my steps count up. I’m hoping to get back into it next year. I do miss it but it’s hard to do everything with limited PTO.
Banh Mi turned 3 this year! We got the cutest cakes from Carvel made for him and for my birthday and it was everything. His and my birthday shoots was one of my favorite things this year.
Japan: Basically did everything I wanted to do but didn’t get to on my first trip back in 2017 and it turned out so amazing. It was such a fun and good sister trip. It made me miss international traveling.
Disney: I didn’t expect to but I got to visit 4 times this year! Disneyland/DCA 2x, Tokyo Disneyland, and WDW Magic Kingdom!
Universal Studios: Got to go back to Universal Orlando and experience the new Epic Universe which was everything! Hopefully we can go back again this year and experience it with the hubby. I want to try and watch the How To Train Your Dragon movie to understand and appreciate that part of the new park better.
Weight loss: I’ve been struggling with my up and down pre-diabetes and high cholesterol health for the past 3-4 years, despite doing everything right. My weight and fat percentage was really getting me down because it felt so discouraging doing all the right things. This summer my doctor suggested I try phentermine and at first I was hesitant but finally decided to give it a shot. I started it mid summer and stayed consistent with my high protein nutrition and workouts for 4 months to maximize the benefits and successfully lost 15 lbs! Depression towards the end of the year helped when the medication started plateauing out. I finally lost the fat that was plaguing me the past 4 years and everything fits beautifully again. Dresses that I tried on and embarrassingly couldn’t zip up this spring were finally easy to zip up this past month. I haven’t felt this good about my body in a while. It feels like the phentermine was the push I needed to help me battle the fat loss as well fight the depression that came with my weight gain the past few years. Now I’m fighting to keep the results from it, but my doctor did offer to put me back on it if I needed it again in the spring.
Saw Sabrina in concert for Halloween!!! It was so amazing because we got 3 new outfits that were super cute and fun Halloween costumes. She also dropped a new album unexpectedly this year so yay for new music!
Reflection
This is probably not the best time for me to write this, being not exactly in the best state of mind. Honestly it was not a bad year. A lot of things happened that were manifesting for some time that I didn’t expect would finally/actually happen like Holiday Matsuri which I’ve been selfishly hoping my sister would get accepted to for years because then I’d be able to squeeze a Disney trip out of it and I did. I did have a lot of fun in 2025 and got to re-visit old experiences and do them better, as well as experience completely new things as well. I got to travel more than I anticipated! I got to see my California friends more than I ever expected to.
I wish I had spent more time making memories with my closest friends this year but alas it wasn’t in the cards this year and the stars just wouldn’t align with their availability, not for lack of my trying. So instead I poured into other cups for friendships that yearned for my presence and it did make a big difference in the end.
My mental health was a roller coaster this year. It was up and down and then mid summer I felt like it was finally on the mend for a good minute before it took a deep nose dive last month. I really hope in 2026 I can stabilize myself whether it be through medical intervention or finally investing in therapy. I feel like I’ve been battling depression for a while now and I’m so mad because I felt like I was finally winning until this major “character development” season hit. I got my heart broken in November and it was devastating. Being hurt by someone you loved deeply is never easy to cope with. If I’m being honest, I’m still working on getting over it. Thankfully I discovered in this season of my life that I had inadvertently built a beautiful community of support that I was able to rely upon to catch me this past month when I hit a low point in my life. I severely needed the extra support to lift me out of my darkness. Sometimes I feel like not everyone sees me. But then when I fell, it was moving to see who watches silently but then comes through for you when they see you need help. I mean, I see who watches and does nothing because lurkers. But that’s not who I’m talking about. You learn who’s rooting for you and wants to see you win. You learn who sees your pain and is affected enough to want to come help put you back together. People who I didn’t think cared. People who I didn’t know cared. It means a lot to see how many people are truly in your corner. It’s comforting to know people who see you hurting and they want to make it stop because it hurts them to see it. You know why this is so important? Because this society is so performative in saying all the time
“I wish I saw the signs”
“I wish I had done something”
“I wish I had known”
“Mental health is so important”
“They should have said something.”
But when it comes down to it, a lot of people are just words. Sometimes the signs have always been there. They don’t actually want to help or do anything, they just say these things every time something tragic happens but they ignore the real people in their lives who are struggling. And when someone does try to show signs of needing help, they shame people for it, saying “it’s a cry for attention.” Well, yeah. Yeah it is. Here we are trying. Are you going to try too or are you going to wait till its too late and then offer “thoughts and prayers” and repost a performative thing about how we should be more attentive to the signs? Instead of just saying words, how about we just do that RIGHT NOW. But I digress.
At the end of the day, what kind of person you choose to be says a lot about your character and this Humpty Dumpty is forever grateful for each and every person that reached out and offered love in any form they could provide, from encouraging me out to go do my favorite activities to cheer me up, asking if I’m ok, sending me care packages in the mail, even if it was a simple comforting text message. It means a lot to feel seen. Thank you for your patience with me, and thank you for making space for my vulnerability and not making me feel like I am too much. I appreciate the friendships that are comfortable with talking about the uncomfortable things and not wanting to see me cry. The silver lining from this showed me how much deeper my relationships truly are and helped develop them further. I hope that a year from now when I read this year’s goals and reflection, I’m in a better spot and can wonder how and why did this affect me so deeply? Maybe it needed to happen. Maybe it’s teaching me things I didn’t want to face. I started journaling to try and heal from this and it’s been helping along with being able to finally get back to the gym last week after 6 weeks off due to a back injury that so unluckily had to occur around the same time I had to learn this major lesson in my life. I was told that the red flags were there but I just didn’t see them blinded by my love for people and the level of friendship I offer people in giving other people the benefit of the doubt and loving too deeply. But it’s not in me to not love people intensely and I don’t want to change that about myself. It wouldn’t be fair to everyone else around me that do love me for it.
At the end of the day/year, in reflection I didn’t have a bad year. I had a really good year. I just had an unfortunate ending to it. It wasn’t on my bingo card. It’s just sad that one thing can overshadow all the good that happened because that’s how deeply I feel things unfortunately. It’s like how a million people can compliment you but that one negative comment sticks out. Why? Why are we like this? Hopefully in a few months, I can write a different blog post in a different, much better state of mind. The Year of the Horse is about energy and moving forward. And I want to start stepping back into my energy.
Goals for 2026
Get back into blogging.
I got lazy about this in 2025. I guess because I’m usually sitting on the floor now after work because I want to sit with Banh Mi, it gets me lazy about sitting at my computer to blog more intently. I asked Dario about finding an affordable laptop for me so I can do it while sitting on the floor with baby boy. My one requirement is I want a pink one. Unfortunately Sony doesn’t make pink Vaios anymore and the ones left that I can find are unreliable weird brands from China. Dario said Razer came out with a pink one for Valentine’s a few years ago that sold really well but since has sold out. Here’s to manifesting they re-release another pink version this year, lol.
United Half 2027 - work on 4 out of 6 qualifiers
I stayed active but I didn’t participate in any races in 2025. After seeing this race in 2024 serendipitously, I want to run this race for the very vain reason of filming a clip to the Hey There Delilah song so I can caption it “Hey there, Delilah, what's it like in New York City? I'm 13.1 miles away, but girl, tonight, you look so pretty. Yes, you do. Times Square can't shine as bright as you” since it runs literally right through Times Square. I just have to make sure I run 4 out of the following 6 races so I have to keep on top of these race registrations when it opens. Unfortunately I missed the Manhattan 10k so there’s no room for error; I have to make sure I have to get into the remaining races left. So this year we’re going to work on qualifying for 2027.
NYRR Manhattan 10K (February 1, 2026)
Virtual United Airlines NYC Half Medal (March 1–15, 2026)
United Airlines NYC Half (March 15, 2026)
Virtual RBC Brooklyn Half Medal (Dates TBD)
RBC Brooklyn Half (May 16)
Citizens Queens 10K (June 13)
New Balance Bronx 10 Mile (September 20)
NYRR Staten Island Half (October 11)
Work up the courage to finally get a tattoo.
Either a bunny, hearts/bows, Pokemon or Sailormoon. Definitely something kawaii.
Heal and stop crying.
I want to be able to say 6 months to a year from now I’ll be in a better place and not be affected by this anymore. I’ve started journaling to work out my pain and unfiltered thoughts on this.
Pour into relationships that pour into my cup.
Spend more time with my loved ones that are also wanting to spend time with me.
Be there for my friends working through their grief of a parent, spouse, sibling.
More girl dates, sister dates, friend dates, hubby dates.
Look into therapy/medication.
I’ve been wanting to go to therapy since Rocco passed away over 10 years ago now but it’s never been covered by my insurance and I got discouraged. But last month I reached out to friends and followers on IG and they were able to provide me with some resources and a few different options to explore. It’s an investment that’s worth it even if it is a little pricey. I want to seek help and I want to be transparent about it to destigmatize it.
My doctor suggested Lexapro to me last year when I spoke to her about my anxiety. I was hesitant because I’m wary of the side effects of weight gain, but this past experience nearly broke me. An influencer friend revealed they are on medication and it really helped destigmatize it for me. I thought being on medication meant you were weak. But seeing someone as strong and confident and happy as they are have a good experience with it and that it helped them, made me feel like asking for help is okay.
Compliment people more.
Be kinder. I want to work on this because I'm bad at taking compliments. But I don’t mean/want to be! I read that giving others compliments in turn makes you feel better. I can’t tell you how many times I made a simple comment to one of my best friends, not thinking much of it and her comment back is most often “you really made my day! I needed to hear that!” It makes me so happy if I can add to their day with something so easy and what I think is small but makes such a huge impact. Also if I admire something about someone, I want to give them their flowers while they're still here. Never admire quietly. You can make someone's day with your genuine heart. You become like who you surround yourself with and I want to start surrounding myself with people who love loudly.
Manifest a Paris/London trip.
A friend asked me for recommendations a few days ago but I realized I couldn’t really provide what she was asking for because I missed/rushed some things on my Paris trip back in 2018. She suggested I make a return trip in October for my birthday. At first I was hesitant but then I let it marinate and realized it’s not a bad idea. I’m apprehensive about this coming October birthday month so it might be a good idea to spend it abroad for once. It would definitely be a new experience and I do love Paris. And what a more glamorous place to spend your birthday. Blair Waldorf once said, “If you’re going to be sad, you might as well be sad in Paris!”
Run into/meet Sabrina Carpenter.
Listen, it may seem delulu but I also never thought I’d meet Adriana Lima in person, let alone have her hold my hands. So here’s to my delulu becoming trululu. I don’t complete all 10 goals every year anyway so I might as well make one of them ridiculously out of reach. Watch this one be more achievable than me going to therapy. -____-
Go on vacation with the husband.
I haven’t been on a vacation with him in a few years. 2025 was trips with my sister, 2024 was cancelled due to a hurricane. It’s a little more difficult now that we have Banh Mi because I refuse to leave him behind with a sitter so one of us always has to be home with him. I know majority of society view him as a pet but he’s our baby and he deserves more than a sitter coming to the house to visit for just a few hours a day. I do miss vacationing with my husband though so hopefully we can figure out a solution to this.
