DISCLOSURE: This is a sponsored post in conjunction with USFamilyGuide.com. I received free admission to the Harlem Globetrotters for me and my family in exchange for promoting the 2025 World Tour. No further compensation was provided. All opinions are my own.

The last two times we had seen the Harlem Globetrotters, we saw them in Virginia. Even though it was a little farther away, parking was free and easier. This third time, I chose to see them in DC. It was definitely a different experience! Since my kids are older now, I was only able to convince three out of four of my kids to come.

We made it to 2025. Every year, around this time, I like to reflect on the year before and write about my goals for the new year. 

Last year, I had four goals. I wanted to start my curly hair journey, make time for friends, travel somewhere new and love myself more. I managed to accomplish maybe three of those things.

I've been blow drying and flat ironing my hair straight for over 20 years and fighting my natural texture. I wanted to embrace the natural waves and learn how to style it. This past year I've been experimenting with different products and brushes and techniques. I still haven't found the perfect combination, but it's a work in process. Here's a picture of one of the good wavy days.

I did more activities this year with my group chat friends and met up for random lunches and dinners with other friends. I even went to a concert and got to see Green Day, a band I used to love so much in high school. 

I did travel somewhere new -- kind of. A friend from high school and I were meeting another friend from high school in Las Vegas for the Lovers and Friends Festival. We hadn't seen each other in a really long time. And while it wasn't my first time in Vegas, it was my first time as an adult. Even though the concert was eventually canceled the night before, we still had a great time.

Loving myself is still a work in progress. I've started seeing a therapist and she's been helping me. We have only met a few times, so still working on getting more comfortable and letting down my guard.

So now, that brings us to my goals for this year. My goals have always been kind of broad and once I wrote them down, I never really actively worked at accomplishing those goals. I wouldn't even remember what my goals were until the New Year when I look at the previous year's post. Here are some things I would want to accomplish this year:

1.    Learn more about dry eye.  I have so many patients with dry eyes and I would love to be able to offer them more solutions, other than just telling them to pick up artificial tears. I hope to attend some CE classes and conferences, centered around dry eye this year and have our office at work become a Dry Eye Center of Excellence. 

2.    Declutter. I have a tendency to hold on to things, because I may need them in the future. And yes, sometimes that does happen. And something I've held on to for years, becomes useful. But, I do have a lot of stuff. And our tiny home doesn't have a lot of room for all my stuff. I need to learn to let some things go.

3.    Cook more. I'm such a bad cook. I want to get into the habit of making more food. Even if it's just for me, since my husband and kids don't always like the same food I do. I need to go and buy my own groceries and actually use what I buy.

4.    Read books. I haven't read a book in years. I've bought books. I've tried to read books, but I never finish reading a book. I need to start reading more books and make time to read more books.

I think that's a good start for my goals. What are you working towards accomplishing this year?

I've always wanted to own a robotic vacuum. I thought it would be so cool to have one to clean the house for me. So, I jumped at the chance to host this party from Ecovacs and Tryazon. Ecovacs sent me the DEEBOT T30S vacuum and mop system.

WHO IS ECOVACS?

ECOVACS is a designer of smart home robotics to help improve homeowners' lives. Their products are now being used in over 145 countries and regions around the world.

DEEBOT T30S

The DEEBOT T30S is a robot vacuum and mop system. It features:

• Powerful 11,000Pa of suction power
• TruEdge Adaptive Edge Mopping - eliminates the need to move furniture and helps in hard-to-reach areas
• ZeroTangle Anti Tangle Technology - avoids entanglement of human and pet hair
• All-In-One OMNI Station - hot water mop washing, self-emptying, auto water-refilling and hot-air drying
• TrueDetect 3D and TrueMapping - quickly maps out your home and detects obstacles. It also has cliff sensors to prevent it from falling down the stairs
• Multiple controls - can be controlled with an app, voice commands or foot control
• MSRP $999.99

We visit the beach every summer and usually the house we rent has a hot tub. My family enjoys spending time in them. But, that's usually the only time we get to use one. So, we were super excited to be chosen to receive a free inflatable hot tub. I had actually thought about buying one of these when everything was shut down during COVID, but we never got around to doing it. We were sent the Coleman SaluSpa Bahamas AirJet Inflatable Hot Tub.