Ultimate Blog Challenge January 2026 - Happy New Year! 🥂🍾🎇

Hello UBC friends, nice to see you back!
So today is the first day of a blank page, so to speak.

I was just texting with a friend, and we agreed that in 2026 we wish for one thing above all: a good night’s sleep. How’s that for a resolution? Other than that, I don’t need any new ones. Last year’s are practically untouched 😉

That doesn’t mean I didn’t achieve anything in 2025. I’d say I became a little more focused on my priorities, and I want to continue on that path.

What am I going to write about this month? And by the way: how can it already be time for another Ultimate Blog Challenge? Didn’t we just wrap up the October one?

I don’t have an overall theme, so it’ll probably be a potpourri of different posts.

Today, let me tell you about our New Year’s Eve. We usually take turns inviting and visiting the same friends, but this year they were hit by the flu. Surprisingly, Colin didn’t have plans to attend a party either, so we were lucky enough to score tickets, at short notice, for the “stay home, do nothing, and go to bed early” event.

And it was great.

We watched the U20 World Juniors hockey game between Switzerland and Slovakia. Our team won 3–2, advanced to the quarterfinals, and will face the Czech Republic tomorrow.

We played a game and drank Rimuss (alcohol-free Prosecco) at 11 p.m.

I argued it was midnight somewhere. No muss, no fuss. 

We went to bed around 11:30, and I was quite pleased with myself.

In my late teens and early twenties, I used to have these high expectations of New Year’s Eve. I wanted fancy, glitter, and magic, and I never really found it back then. Spending a laid-back evening with my husband and son is all the fancy I require these days, and I’m truly grateful for it.

How about you: did you go out? Any plans, hopes, or dreams for 2026? Let me know!