Intrepid possibilities and what’s been on my calendar in March…and unveiling my new Spring Possibilities List
“Every new day begins with possibilities.”
~Ronald Reagan
As you may recall, I chose INTREPID and POSSIBILITIES as my 2025 Words of the Year. These two words together describe my intention for the year.
One way of putting that intention into action…and sharing what’s been on my calendar (#WBOYC)…are my Possibilities Lists. With that in mind, I’d like to offer a quick final recap on my Winter Possibilities, followed by the unveiling of my Spring Possibilities list (both of which are linked up with my friends, the Quarterly Bucket List Bloggers).
Winter Possibilities wrap-up
1. Complete the Orangetheory Transformation Challenge. Mission accomplished! I gave a full update here, if you are interested.
2. Complete the CVG Movement Challenge. Mission accomplished last month!
3. Go to Los Angeles and attend a taping of Jimmy Kimmel Live! We postponed this event due to the Los Angeles fires, and this is now a Spring Possibility. We have made our reservations, so all systems are go!
4. Sign up at least one new coaching client. Mission accomplished last month!
5. Get a monthly massage. Mission accomplished! I’m three for three on this one.
6. Plan an activity centered around each of my senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch). Mission accomplished! The Senses Possibility Lists were created in January. Since then, I have completed eight sight activities, five hearing activities, eight smell activities, six taste activities, and eight touch activities.
7. Learn more about Medium and Substack. Mission accomplished…sort of. I have started a Medium account and republished some of my older blog posts there. I have also started a Substack account and am partway through a BlogAid video about Substack. I’m still not clear on how Substack would work in conjunction with my blog. I know some of you have both and would love to hear how you manage both.
8. Donate blood. Mission accomplished last month.
9. Complete the mindbodygreen Functional Nutrition course. In progress. I have completed 14 of 33 modules. I am learning quite a lot, some of which I will share in future blog posts. This item will carry over to spring.
10. Take a golf lesson with my husband. Not yet started. It looks like this will be a Spring Possibility.
11. Explore my community by visiting someplace or attending an event that is new to me. Mission accomplished! I actually visited three new places all within less than 10 miles of my house. I tried the local StretchLab studio last month, which I described here.
My husband and I, along with our neighbors, took the Stairs at Tech Ridge…all 333 of them up…
and then down.
What is Tech Ridge, and where does this giant staircase lead you may ask. Tech Ridge is a 180-acre mixed-use development on the former St. George Airport site, designed to attract innovative tech companies. The developer needed to solve how to keep drainage channels from becoming an eyesore, and they decided the answer was stairs. The 333 concrete stairs go up just over 170 feet from the floor of the basin to the top of the mesa known as Tech Ridge. The site has quickly drawn locals and out-of-towners of all ages…even dogs (on leash). Tech Ridge managers say there are between 25 to 120 people going up and down at any time of the day…and even into the night, since the center rail lights up. Some of these people are going for time records racing up and down as fast as they can. Others are all about endurance. How many times can they go up and down without stopping? And others, like us, just took the 333 stairs up at a comfortable pace and then headed back down again, one and done…for that day at least.
My husband and I also finally visited the Washington City Historical Museum.
The Washington City website gives this description:
The City was settled in 1857 by Mormon converts from the southern United States who were called on a “Cotton Mission” by Brigham Young to go to southern Utah and grow cotton. They named their city in honor of the first president of the United States, George Washington.
In 1863 the citizens built the first permanent school house. It was built of adobe and located in the southwest corner of the public square. In 1877 a handsome two story sandstone building replaced the original school. In 1922 a gymnasium was added to the rear of the building and in the 1930s central heating was installed. The building is now the home of the Washington City Museum.
We enjoyed a casual stroll through the building, looking at old photos, furniture, sewing machines, tools, cameras, and much more. Here’s a small sampling of what we saw.
12. Start scanning physical photos for digital storage. I added this item after I shared my original Winter Possibilities list, and then I didn’t do anything about it. We’ll see if this item makes it to the Spring Possibilities. I’m no longer feeling motivated on this one.
By my count, that’s seven possibilities made reality, three in progress, and two not started. Not bad.
Spring Possibilities list
Speaking of Spring Possibilities, it is now officially spring in the Northern Hemisphere, so without further ado…here is my Spring Possibilities list (in no particular order).
- Go to Los Angeles and attend a taping of the Jimmy Kimmel Live! show and visit a friend in San Juan Capistrano.
- Continue with monthly massages and twice monthly stretches.
- Donate blood. This one is already accomplished, as I went today!
- Complete the mindbodygreen Functional Nutrition course. This is a winter carry-over and already in progress.
- Take a golf lesson with my husband.
- Plant new lavender.
- Pull out dead Century plant and treat others for grub prevention.
- Enjoy a spring-break visit from one of our daughters and her family.
- Complete the CVG Miles in March. My goal is to walk 100 miles during March. This is a fundraiser for Girls on the Run, a great organization for which I used to volunteer. This possibility is in progress, since the challenge began March 1.
- Visit one of the local butcher shops in the area.
- Hike the Lion’s Mouth Cave Trail near Cedar City, Utah.
- Visit the Gypsy Emporium in Hurricane, Utah.
- Hike the Elephant Arch trail.
- Visit the St. George Dinosaur Discovery Site.
- Finalize plans for summer girls’ trip.
Your turn
- What is one thing you did this past season of which you are proud or especially enjoyed?
- If you have a blog website and a Substack account, how do you use them in conjunction?
- What are your plans for the new season? If you have a Bucket List or Possibilities List, please link up with us below.
A great list. So many things for you to choose from to do. Where will you start?
We used to have the exact model of that old sewing machine. Z-D and I bought it at an antique mall and used it as a table in the foyer of various houses. Eventually we tired of it, sold it to someone who really wanted it. I hadn’t thought about it in years.
That’s a good question, Ally…where will I start? With a visit from family this weekend and then a trip to LA. Not a bad start to spring.
I love that you recognized the sewing machine model. We had such a good time looking at all the old furniture and tools. They had a dial phone which I had to photograph to send to my grandchildren. They’ve never seen one. Imagine that.
It looks like you did a fabulous job with your winter list/possibilities and I wish you all the best with your spring intentions.
Thank you Joanne. Fun stuff.
Hi Christie – it sounds like you managed to tick a lot of boxes over the last few months, and you have Spring all set and ready to go – well done. In regard to Substack, I have mine linked to my blog. I didn’t want to start a second blog up and was trying to figure out what to do, Susanne had hers set up with an intro and hyperlink to her blog, and that inspired me to do the same. A lot less work and fuss. I was quite excited about Substack when I joined, but now I’m thinking it’s more for people who want to write really long articles – but I’m perservering for now… (my Substack if you’re interested: https://leannecrestingthehill.substack.com/ )
Thanks for the info on how you use Substack, Leanne. I did take a look at your account. I may do something similar as a starting point. Have you made new connections through Substack or is it mostly people you know from the blogging world that have moved to Substack?
Congrats on completing so many items! Those stairs look so intimidating. I often get this sense of falling when going down stairs…does that make sense? I don’t really fall, but I feel like I’m skipping a step and am going to fall. I hope you know what I mean. Luckily, I never have! As for Substack, I’m scared that’s going to be where all the bloggers go. i honestly don’t know anything at all about it. I can barely keep up with my blog and Instagram. I thought spring had sprung, but she seems to be napping right now! That’s OK. All the signs are here!
https://marshainthemiddle.com/
The stairs look more intimidating than they actually were, Marsha. However, it does not sound like they would be much fun for you with your sense of falling. When I first switched from contacts to glasses, I had a real problem going down stairs, because I could see under my glasses. I had to look straight down at my feet or straight ahead and not look at the stairs at all.
I feel much like you about adding another social media outlet to my routine. I’m at that point where I just want things to slow down and maybe not change quite so fast.
Hi Christie, I wasn’t familiar with the ‘quarterly bucket list bloggers’ until now but it sure looks a lot of fun. That list is amazing! There’s some on there I would have on mine. Some wouldn’t be possible (or would be a bit too much of a stretch) because of my geographical location! Good for you for working your way through them. Substack is something I’m going to have to look at, as you’ll see if you read my post today. That Tech Ridge has a lot of stairs but what an awesome thing to do. I hope the rest of your week is fabulous and thank you for linking up with #WWWhimsy ! xo
The thing I love about this bucket list link-up, Min, is how many fun ideas I get from other bloggers. Since I look at mine as a “possibilities” list and not a “to-do” list, I feel free to add as many things as I’d like without pressure to do them all. I’ll definitely check out your blog post, as I am interested in how other bloggers are viewing/using Substack.
Hi Christie, there’s so many great ideas here for spring and you did well on the winter list too. I love that most of them are free things you can do so don’t revolve around lots of money or payments.
I am on substack but like you I don’t really know what I’m doing and can’t fathom up the energy needed to investigate it more to make it work for me. So at the moment it’s there and I usually just visit other blogger’s substack sites but do nothing much with mine.
#Teamwwwhimsy
I hadn’t thought about that, Debbie, but you’re right, many of the possibilities on my list are free or inexpensive. I guess it’s true what they say…the best things in life really are free!
I’m getting the sense that many of us long-time bloggers are weary when it comes to learning a new platform like Substack, especially if the current methods are working for what we do. That said, I’m hearing so much about Substack…and so many people are moving there…I wonder if I need to pay more attention.
Christie, I post different stuff on my Substack to that which appears on my blog. Whether that will continue, or not, I’m not sure for I just decided to start writing and see where it takes me. I suspect, in time, it will be a replacement for the blog posts I used to write on my old professional (counselling/coaching) websites. For some reason, it seems natural to keep writing me and psychology in separate compartments, leaving me to write about all the other stuff of daily life on Despatches. I suspect that says something about me as a person, but I’m too old to worry about that now 🙂
I can see the sense in separating your personal and professional writing, Debs. If I get serious about coaching…and I’m not sure I will…I could see myself doing something similar. Do you find you have different audiences for your website and your Substack articles, or is there a lot of cross-over?
Currently, there is only one person who reads my personal blog who also follows me on Substack. I’ve not linked to my Substack from my personal blog, and I don’t know if it’s something I want to do – I quite like having the different zones, although that may change, in time.
That makes sense, Debs. Thanks for sharing your methods.
Hi, Christie – Congratulations on all of your Missions Accomplished. You’ve done a fabulous job. Your Spring Possibility List looks great. I look forward to that update.
Thank you Donna. Happy spring to you!
You did very well on your winter list and I am glad to see that a couple of the items that didn’t happen last season are heading up your spring possibilities list. The Jimmy Kimmel taping for one!! I know you will have a good time. And looking forward to learning more about what you plan to do on your girls’ trip.
I almost put a massage or facial on my list. Really could use both!! But they are so expensive. Maybe this summer.
Sounds like you have lots of hikes and exploring in store. I know your photos will be beautiful. We visited Slot Canyon in New Mexico early last spring and I am hopeful my foot will allow me to try it again this spring. But didn’t put that on my list either, just in case.
Would like to be able to grow lavender but we have had zero luck with it. Maybe I will try one more time!! Surely does look pretty and smell good.
Will be cheering you on this season!!
Thanks Leslie. I am really looking forward to both the LA trip and the girls trip this summer. I hope you are able to get some nice hikes im this spring and that your foot cooperates with you.
We’ve had mixed luck with lavender as well. We started with four plants. We currently have two that are doing well. Two died off. I’m trying to decide whether to replant lavender or try something a little more hardy.