On the First Quarter of 2026
Be careful what you wish for. You just might get it.
I’m not going to mince words here. This year sucks. I don’t know how many people read this or who cares about what I have to write, but it seems like 2026 should quit while it still has a chance. The first three months, while not entirely over (I’m writing this a touch early. Maybe we’ll win the lottery and the pendulum will swing), have been a real nightmare. My goals for the new year were really straightforward:
Read 30 books - I’ve barely read
Visit a new state or NHP - Very funny. No time so far.
Spend more time with family - Even funnier. I’m just going to preemptively cross this off now. DONE
Catalog all the board games - and see how close we are to 100 - Maybe over spring break.
Finish the D&D campaign I started - That’s on hiatus for the moment.
Bake more often - I did bake 2 cakes in under 24 hours.
Do something for Dad - Not yet.
So. Let’s recap. In January, Brian’s mom Kathy passed incredibly suddenly. It was totally out of the blue. She was “feeling a little funny” for so long (maybe a few hours, maybe a weekend) that she asked Bill to take her to the hospital. She woke Dan up before they left to let him know they were going, but nothing seemed serious. They even stopped at Wawa for a coffee and some snacks on the way. And by the end of the morning, she was gone. Cardiac tamponade. So sudden that nothing could be done. But they tried. All of the siblings rushed out to Jefferson Torresdale. Dropped everything at work. Got there as fast as they could. Brian and Dan and Meg thankfully got there all at the same time. More of us, myself included, trickled in as fast as possible. And there we were. Left with shock and confusion and anger. No idea what to do or how to do it. We scrounged up enough money and held a funeral. Family connections worked in our favor and even though we didn’t have life plans and for the most part were too stunned to process it all, we planned a funeral anyway. For those of you who were there for mass, for the most part Brian and I were not hysterically crying up front. But we were trying to contain raucous laughter as thee priest was chewing the host (*cronch*cronch*cronch*) or when Brian was complaining about their microphone’s audio quality.
So yeah. Since the end of January, life’s been busy. Trying to figure out finances and passcodes and paperwork when you’re left no clues is hard. Dan’s been cleaning and packing and searching. Meg’s been helping too when she could. Brian’s taken a trip to city hall for paperwork and their Aunt Patti and Uncle Mike have been helping with trips to doctors and banks. We recently coordinated enough of an effort to move Bill and Dan out near us, where they’re all on one floor and can start over, but also be closer by to have more help from Brian and Will. So much of February, once the funeral was over, centered around putting the pieces together and setting Dad and Dan up as much as possible in the new place. Now that they’re here, I can confirm I’ll be seeing family a lot more often. It’s nice, but I worry for how it’ll impact Brian’s free time in the future. Since we’ve been so busy, both of our D&D campaigns are paused. We barely have game nights with Chris and Matt. We did, especially during the two massive snowstorms immediately after Kathy passed, start playing more video games. We started a guild in BCC Classic and have over 130 characters to hang out with. We’ve both gotten Nintendo Switch 2s in the past month, because when your credit card is already really high because you’re helping out other people, making it a little higher to reward yourself is sometimes justified, so we’ve been playing Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen, Pokopia, and some GameCube classics. I haven’t been reading as much, but I’ve taken it upon myself to try to read a chapter or two a night when I can. This year I’ve finished the following:
The Grimmoire Grammar School Parent Teacher Association (Caitlin Rozakis); 12/15/25 - 1/1/26 (Rating: 5/15)
The God of the Woods (Liz Moore); 1/1/26-2/3/26 (Rating: 15/15)
Twelve Months (Jim Butcher); 2/3/26-2/15/26 (Rating: 15/15)
The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys (Gerard Way); 2/16/26 (Rating: 8/15)
The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys: National Anthem (Gerard Way); 2/17/26-2/19/26 (Rating 6/15)
All Bones Considered: 52 Laurel Hill Women (Joe Lex); 2/20/26-CURRENT
So realistically I’ve only finished 5 books this year. Not exactly on pace for my 30. But we’ll see. Two series I quite enjoy, Komi Can’t Communicate andLore Olympus, finish this year and I’ve been purposely holding the last few editions to read when they’re all published. We had a birthday party for Kathy at the start of March, and I baked both a delicious pineapple upside down cake and her infamous kitty litter cake, so I guess that’s helped me bake more often. I’d still like to try to bake once a month if I can.
And that’s about it. Life has me tired. Work is hectic as always and refuses to settle down, though taking so much time off doesn’t help. I’m having a hard time finding the happy and the calm in life. Bad and sad things keep popping up everywhere; both in my personal life and in the world news. My anxiety, which I always knew I had but has never been an issue, has been crippling in the past two months. I blame this on the constant feed of “what if something bad happens and I can’t do anything” that’s now running through my head and the inability to turn it off. Sleep alludes me. Both chores and fun are hard to pursue. But I’m pushing through as best as I can for now. It’ll get better. Life finds a way.
-G
On Goals for 2026
Read 30 books
Visit a new state or NHP
Spend more time with family
Catalog all the board games - and see how close we are to 100
Finish the D&D campaign I started
Bake more often
Do something for Dad
-G
On the Fourth Quarter of 2025
Read 25 books (DONE)- I’ve slowed down since hitting this mark, but here are the additions to this year’s “read” list (see previous posts for the rest):
26. A Witch’s Guide to Fake Dating a Demon [Sarah Hawley; 2023] (9/20/25 - 9/28/25)
27. A Demon’s Guide to Wooing a Witch [Sarah Hawley; 2023] (9/29/25 - 10/20/25)
28. A Werewolf’s Guide to Seducing a Vampire [Sarah Hawley; 2024] (10/21/25 - 11/15/25)
29. The Strange Case of Harleen and Harley [Jenn St-Onge; 2024] (11/16/25 - 11/17/25)
30. A Study in Drowning [Ava Reid; 2023] (11/18/25 - 12/14/25)
31. The Grimmoire Grammar School Parent Teacher Association [Caitlin Rozakis; 2025] (12/15/25 - Current)
Visit one new NHP (bonus points if it’s in a new state) - This didn’t happen, mostly because life got busy. We started 2 new D&D campaigns, work picked up, and it was hard to find a long weekend. Maybe we’ll get to it in the new year.
Re-start learning a language, preferably Spanish (DONE) - I’m on level 23 of French on Duolingo and I still try to get at least one in every night.
Finish a Legacy game (DONE) - We’re still working through Betrayal at House on the Hill. This has been a bit of a slog since Chris and Matt and Brian and I only play once every few weeks and only manage a round a night. We definitely won’t finish this one any time soon, not even before the new year like I hoped, since we still have 7 rounds to play. But we bought them a new legacy game for Christmas... It’s tradition!
Get the website to 1000 views (DONE) - No idea how high this got, but we crushed that 1000 view mark. Thank you all for supporting us.
Do something for Dad - This is my big regret of the year. I wanted to do something for Dad but never could find something that felt right. Every idea I had was either not possible or not good enough. Hopefully next year.
Travel to a new state - Didn’t happen, largely because we’ve been so busy. Hopefully in 2026.
Write more (DONE) - Thanks to D&D I’ve been writing a lot. We’ve had 11 sessions, with the 12th coming right after the new year. I don’t have any more written after that. I should really get on that…
Take the ATP exam (DONE) - This is the big update of the quarter! I took the test! And I passed! I’ve officially been certified as an ATP for about two months now, but the ATP website only just got updated in the past few weeks, so you can even look me up now! I’m incredibly proud of myself for getting this certification without taking any additional classes and admittedly not really studying like I should’ve.
This year was big. It was chaotic, confusing, exciting, and more. This felt like another year with a lot of ups and downs. We had such a great (but bittersweet) time at our wedding redo at the end of last year, only to follow it up with losing Clyde a few months later. We had some fun (building a Lego train platform in our living room, playing more board games, playing more D&D, playing more video games) but also had a lot of work (Brian’s job had some insane 80+ hour work weeks and Grace’s job went through no fewer than three solid rounds of crazy). We took time off by going to Atlantic City and Lancaster, visiting Fort Mifflin and the Pennsylvania Railroad Museum’s Rails and Ales event, and taking time to see family. Thanks to our ever-changing schedules, it didn’t feel like enough. There’s friends and family I feel that we didn’t see enough this past year. There’s games I wish I played, books I wish I’d read, and places I wish we’d seen. Alex and I managed no fewer than 4 New York trips (Twenty Sided Tavern… twice!, &Juliet, and the Great Gatsby… am I forgetting one?) but we’re already planning the next trip and we didn’t get to any of our bucket list shows. I’ve been doing more for self care in the form of getting my nails done consistently for a year and getting regular massages for my tension, but I should probably get back to the gym and have a better diet. Brian just set up an incredible new surround system for me to pair with a high-end turntable that my mom bought for me in 2024, so I’d really like to listen to more music. I’ve loved painting more often thanks to D&D and all of the miniatures I’ve managed, but I’d like to catalog my work somehow and maybe go back and touch up some of the things I had painted early on and could improve upon. We’ve taken the last week of the year to clean out the apartment, entirely because several of our Christmas presents involved updating, rearranging, and purging things we don’t need or use. That being said, we’ve long passed the point that we’ve outgrown our first home together, and I’m hoping in the next however many (I won’t put a date here - I know if anyone happens to read this they’ll hold me to it, stress me out, and make me mad) that maybe we can start looking for a house. I’m nervous about the state of the economy, student loans, the stability offer jobs… But I’m learning to be okay with the unknown. How to accept what you can change and let go of the things outside of your circle of control. Maybe 2026 will be about making myself better, my environment better, or even bettering some other things. We’ll just have to wait and see.
-G
On the Third Quarter of 2025
Read 25 books (DONE)- I’ve just started book 26 for the year! Getting through the Eragon series was tough, especially since Murtagh was both new and less than exciting. Blog post on that eventually. I haven’t had the momentum to do it yet. In case anyone was curious, the additions to this year’s “read” list are as follows:
21. Murtagh [Christopher Paolini; 2023] (8/11/25 - 9/16/25)
22. Komi Can’t Communicate 33 [Tomohito Oda; 2025] (9/16/25)
23. Komi Can’t Communicate 34 [Tomohito Oda; 2025] (9/17/25 - 9/18/25)
24. Komi Can’t Communicate 35 [Tomohito Oda; 2025] (9/18/25)
25. Let’s Play: After Dark [Riley Noble; 2024] (9/18/25 - 9/19/25)
Visit one new NHP (bonus points if it’s in a new state) - Not yet. We did go to a new place together though! We visited Jim Thorpe for the first time together and had a lot of “firsts” while we were there: Brian got in a boat for the first time, I drove a truck for the first time, and we went to my Uncle’s in the Poconos for the first time together.
Re-start learning a language, preferably Spanish (DONE)- I’m on level 20 of French on Duolingo and even though I’ve been taking breaks to study for the ATP exam, I’ve been keeping up with the lessons daily. I try to get at least one in every night.
Finish a Legacy game (DONE) - We’re still working through Betrayal at House on the Hill. We haven’t played this one in a bit during our game nights, but Chris and Matt and Brian and I will likely get back to it in the next few weeks. We won’t finish this one any time soon, but I’m still hoping it’ll be before the new year.
Get the website to 1000 views (DONE) - I’m too lazy to keep track or check, but these Wedding Photo Wednesday posts are still driving a ton of traffic. To everyone who sees them, especially if you take time to read these posts, thank you.
Do something for Dad - Dad’s birthday is in a month and I have no ideas. None. Maybe a tree somewhere. That’s been the continuous thought this whole time.
Travel to a new state - Probably not happening this year, but who knows!
Write more (DONE)- I’ve definitely been writing… A lot. I’m marking this one “done” simply because I’ve written 10 sessions of our D&D campaign and have a realistically fleshed-out story, so it’s good enough to count.
Take the ATP exam.- Not done yet, but scheduled! I have my appointment to take the exam in November. Wish me luck! I’ll need it,
-G
On Brisingr and Inheritance
My journey to read more brings us to the latest two books I’ve read: the final two books in the Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini. These two books update the reading list of the year to include:
19. Brisingr [Christopher Paolini; 2008] (7/5/25 - 7/24/25)
20. Inheritance [Christopher Paolini; 2011] (7/24/25 - 8/10/25)
Considering both of these books are each over 800 pages. I’m pretty proud of the progress. I aimed to read about 50 pages a day if possible, which is pretty close since it took me about 18 and a half days to read each. Since the next book, Murtagh, is just barely over 700 pages, I’m really hoping I can finish it by the time the school year starts. It’s a little daunting but we’ll see how I manage! Just like I did with the previous two, I’d love to give a lightly-spoiling retrospective on each.
Brisingr
Named after the word for ‘fire’ in the Ancient Language, Brisingr details Eragon and Saphira’s continued fight against the king Galbatorix.The book picks up immediately after the last book, Eldest, left off with Eragon and his cousin Roran targeting the Ra’zac. This kicks off a series of continued progressions on the part of the Varden: battles waged, lives lost, a wedding, a coronation, a sword… The ending is incredibly climactic, flashing back and forth between multiple characters in a very high-stakes bittersweet upset, but ends abruptly afterward.
So my thoughts? The book is well-written and packed with action, but in addition to the usual complaints of Paolini’s writing, it ends far too abruptly. The author shared that this book was initially the last book in the trilogy, but it became so massive that he split it in two, meaning it needed a new ending. I don’t hate the ending at all. It’s incredibly meaningful and proves the book isn’t afraid to have real consequences. But it doesn’t feel like the true final event for the book. The series continues to be wordy in a somewhat frustrating way. I’m continuing to look up SAT and GRE words that are peppered through. It’s a great opportunity for the age bracket to learn some new vocabulary, but it’s a hurdle for anyone else. Despite that, I like watching Eragon grow into his own in this book. He really starts to act like a leader and is even more cohesive with Saphira. On the note of dragons, Saphira gets some chapters to herself this time from her POV and it helps her feel like an incredibly relatable and dynamic character as the book progresses and not just an ally to Eragon. The book balances somber and hopeful notes, makes the war against Galbatorix have real gravitas, and pushes the reader on to the next book without feeling overly like filler. Highlights for me included Eragon’s quest to find a sword and continued entanglement and wrapping up of plot treads that were laid in the first book. This book continues the 4/5 rating for the series. It could tone down the wordy writing, but hits hard with how dynamic the characters continue to be. If you’ve read the first two books, I continue to recommend this at the very least so you can see Eragon grow up a bit and continue toward his goal.
Inheritance
The final book in the cycle takes big hits at Eragon and his allies, some final actions against Galbatorix are put in motion so help Eragon and the Varden win the war. The last remaining line of the prophecy from the first book gets some resolution, granting Eragon knowledge and power that he desperately needed. He still isn’t strong enough to fight the Empire alone, but with the help of the dwarves, elves, werecats, urgals, humans and pretty much whoever else will join, Eragon and the Varden move toward Galbatorix and his allies. The whole of this book feels like rising action, leading up to the ultimate decision Eragon has to face: will he be able to challenge the king and save the land, or will his power prove to be insufficient?
It’s hard to give a review on the final book in a series without any major spoilers. I really liked this book though, more than the rest. I remembered the least from this book. Since it’s been about fifteen years since I wrote it, huge chunks of memory was missing and believe it or not, I didn’t remember how it ended. I also think had skipped entire sections when I was younger, so it explains a lot that I didn’t remember much. This book served as a really satisfying culmination of four books, thousands of pages, and years of writing. Eragon comes into his own in a new role, the Varden faces hardship and triumph alike, and we’re left wanting more. Unfortunately, we had to wait about ten years until we got more. I reread this series to prepare for reading Murtagh, a book recently released taking place in the same universe after the events of the original series. I can’t recommend this enough if you’re interested in reading Murtagh, or anything else in this world, since there’s a lot of plot development and changes in the dynamics between characters. This book heavily spoils everything that happened between Eragon and Inheritance, so getting to read through the series is very warranted. Anyway, Inheritance is probably the best in the series, solely based on the resolution. Also, you can tell that Paolini was older, possibly even a young adult, when writing this book. The themes feel more mature, the resolutions more grounded, and even though there’s the dangling carrot of potential future books, the book and series don’t feel incomplete or lacking. There’s even a good bit of time committed to the resolution following the climactic events that take place in the last 150 pages of the book. It’s nice to see so much energy and information committed to bringing the reader down and settling them off of the crazy ride they’ve been on for so long. This book still gets a 4/5, simply because I felt that as Paolini grows into his own, he’ll get better and better as a writer. This book is really great, and the best so far, but it could absolutely be better. The pacing could be a bit more measured, and the story could manage its switching between perspectives with a bit more choice.
I’m onto the next book, Murtagh, so we'll see how the writing changes as the author ages. I have high hopes. I’m over 100 pages into this one and it’s a bit convoluted so far: more like a strange James Bond-style caper, but I’m liking it enough.