How I did on my 2023 vision board

Hello Train Girlies! It’s the end of 2023. We watched a submarine implode. We watched a brawl on a dock. We flipped some school boards. There were some big touring acts, some better than others. And now, it’s mostly over. And I have a long post for you about it. 

Firstly, in some train related news, Senators Casey and Fetterman recently announced some big investments in Pennsylvania railways! Word on the street (as reported in the news) is that we are FINALLY getting a second train between Pittsburgh and Harrisburg. We are also getting reports that there could ACTUALLY be railroads connecting Reading and Scranton! This is a big deal. Railroads to these cities will fundamentally change these communities for the better, and I for one am delighted to be celebrating investments in trains. 

But back to me, the star of this substack. Back in January, I harnessed the power of Canva Pro to make a 2023 vision board, which I printed and hung in strategic locations throughout my life. There’s a copy at my work desk, one at my home desk, and one in the front pocket of my journal. 

As you can see, I had big dreams for the year, from working on the house to investing in hobbies to traveling to caring for the body that lugs my brain around all day. It was a fun exercise in thinking big and setting intentions about what I wanted.

If each item is worth one single point, I think I did a C- job. However, we are using Whose Line Is it Anyway rules, which is that they are made up and they don’t matter. And to that end, I give myself a cool A- or so. A very earnest 90%. 

I suppose I’ll start with the most embarrassing category for me, which was upgrade the house.  

I cannot sugar coat this one: I straight up did next to nothing on the house. AC? Too expensive. Wallpaper or floors? Would have been a months-long activity to do within our price range. Replacing the light fixtures? Baby we went like, months at a time with dead lightbulbs in functional fixtures, let alone replacing entire fixtures. 

But some meaningful wins nonetheless! We got a couch! It was Memorial Day weekend that we made the big purchase. I wrote a speech for my boss while we were in the car on the way home from the furniture store, where we had financed an obscenely expensive but PERFECT cream sectional couch, which arrived in our home in early July. 

We also got a bird bath! Jordan and I joined my parents and his mom for Sav’s Free Birthday Breakfast at the Shady Maple, and on our way home, Jordan pulled into a shop and let me pick out a bird bath as a part of my gift. I also got a bike seat, since mine was stolen. But owing to a birthday miracle, the idiot who stole my bike seat put it on his bike and locked his bike in front of the train station, where the cops found it and promptly called me. Heh. 

I did also quasi-successfully garden this year! I grew pumpkins that my friends carved during our annual Pumpkin Carving Party for Our Friends With Kids! And that felt especially cool. 

Okay, onto the next-worst category: Explore Interests

Off the bat, I failed at a bunch of these. Jordan’s mom gave me her old sewing machine so I could learn how to make or mend clothes, and I never even took it out of the box for fear of biting off more than I could chew.

I am still very terrified of Tik Tok, but I did send out a few posts on substack! I failed to get a cool cowboy hat and a pair of boots (though they are on the wedding registry,,,,,just sayin). I didn’t do much by way of record collecting, but I did enjoy putting on a few while I was farting around the house. 

I picked up my old trumpet for a cool 4 weeks or so, but scheduling with the person I wanted to teach/tutor me didn’t line up, and I fell off the wagon pretty quickly. Maybe I’ll revisit this in 2024. 

I journaled a little, but to be frank, I fell off journaling pretty badly. But I did read a good handful of books, and listened to a few more! I’m going to say that counts. 

And I did in fact get a wedding dress! I put this one particular dress on the vision board because I love pinterest, and I loved the breakdown of this couple’s wedding. Casual but elevated, intimate but aesthetic, affordable but tasteful. And wouldn’t you know it we MANIFESTED THAT SHIT!! Jordan and I decided to get married in March on our way to a John Mayer solo show, and I got a dress for our wedding for a cool $300 on poshmark. Here is a sneak peak. Heh.

Next: Going Place. I did generally pretty okay in this category! 

I saw a ton of amazing shows this year and traveled a little bit here and there! We did indeed see Big Thief and Weyes Blood, as pictured on the vision board. We saw a bunch of other great shows, too. Dead and Co, Steve Martin and Martin Short, Corinne Bailey Rae, John Mayer (twice!) Brittany Anne Tranbaugh, The Head and the Heart, Bill Callahan, all kinds of fun stuff all over the board. Man we love going to shows. 

We took our annual trip to Wildwood, too, accompanied in part by Jordan’s cousin, his wife, and their baby. We love the beach. 

I did indeed get a disco ball tattoo at the Philadelphia Tattoo Convention with my college friends Frankie and Aimee! 

And I did indeed go to Cancun for Preston and Madrid's wedding! I made some friends! I drank with the mayor! I think this was my first ever fully solo vacation, doing all the transit and paperwork and ticket buying myself. I probably won’t go to an all-inclusive resort again, but it was a fun break in the energy of being-in-Pennsylvania. 

We didn’t make it to Mackinac Island. Maybe I’ll pitch it as a potential honeymoon destination. 

And right under the wire, we are going to make it to New York City as a Christmas/60th birthday surprise for my mom, who has long dreamed of seeing the Rockettes Christmas show. Wish us luck this weekend :)

As I type this, it’s occurring to me that maybe traveling was the best category! But this next one is my favorite, though: Honoring the Bod. 

Bodies are hard. Having one is a burden and a curse. But I really wanted to make it a fun, functional, well-groomed-and-decorated curse as long as I was going to have one. And I think on the whole I did a pretty good job! One success that didn’t really make it onto the board is that I WENT TO THE DOCTOR! The normal one and the OBGYN! That was kind of a deal for me! 

I stuck to a great skincare routine all year. Here I must credit fellow comms girlie Brit, who turned me onto Hyaluronic Acid, which I understand is a tip she got from Sheryl Lee Ralph. I must also credit Comrade Sophie for making sure I wear sunscreen every day. 

I also got an IPSY subscription, so I am less terrified of makeup on the whole. I still don’t have a foundation or concealer because apparently I cannot tell whether the makeup color and my face color are indeed the same color, but I did kinda get into some makeup stuff this year! I started exploring a signature scent, but found it tedious and expensive. Maybe I’ll try again another time. 

I stepped up my haircare game in a couple big ways! I’m a bonnet girlie now, which just automatically improved the hair situation immensely. I also have to give a big ol shoutout to my childhood best friend Ariel who gave me Tracee Ellis Ross’ signature hair diffuser as a wedding gift! She really is that girl. Tracee Ellis Ross if you’re reading this I will sign ANYTHING for a sponsorship deal. 

I didn’t move around quite as much as I wanted, but I did it for a while, fell off, and then TRIED AGAIN!! I took a pole dancing class! I worked out at my job in the Senate basement gym! 

I cooked and ate a whole lot of vegetables. The original vision of the soup entry was simply to cook more filling, hearty meals. But Vox has done a really in-depth series about the cruelties of factory animal farming, and it’s made me too sad about the realities of where our meat comes from to feel good about cooking with meat very much. Our household subsisted heavily on Brussel Sprouts and Gnocchi and Roasted Carrots with Barley and Arugula from NYT Cooking.

I did my nails with my state representative kind of regularly, and that felt great. I did my own nails a time or two, as well, but doing nails and shooting the shit at the nail salon was a very holy and girly experience that I wish for everyone. 

And that’s it! That’s how I did! All in all, 2023 treated me just fine. Here’s to 2024, y’all. Happy holidays to you and yours, from me and mine. Tell your friends about this substack, please :)