Winter 2022 Bucket List

It’s crazy we are already a month into 2022! While there’s always something exciting about the fresh slate the start of a new year brings, the transition from December to January is always a bit rough for me. This is partially because I really love the Christmas season, so it’s always a bit sad when that comes to a close. However, I also really struggle because January kicks off the most blah stretch of the year where there’s honestly not a ton to look forward to.

Other seasonal transitions are much more pleasant even when bittersweet. For instance, summer is my favorite season, and the end of Labor Day weekend is a little sad because it means time to put away the seersucker as well as weekends filled with pool and beach days coming to a close. But on the other hand, there’s lots of things I love about fall, such as college football, pumpkin spice everything, and Halloween. So this makes the end of summer less sad. Then when fall ends, we go straight into the holiday season.

In contrast, when December ends, there’s simply not many things I really love about January and February. Not only are sweet festivities of the holiday season over, but it’s cold and drab! I find myself wishing that I was a bear and could hibernate until March. However, that’s not exactly an option. And while it’s tempting to keep my Christmas decorations up all January, I go ahead and take them down at the end of the first week of January. I then seek to make the most of my least favorite season. So today, I’m sharing my Winter 2022 bucket list in case you need some inspiration on how to beat the winter blues!

Things I Want to Do in Winter 2022

A few years ago, I did a similar blog post with some general ideas on how to beat the winter blues. Some of the things on my Winter 2022 bucket list are similar to those. Others are more specific things I want to do this particular January/February. Also, I know it’s the penultimate day of January, so I’m a bit later than anticipated with getting this published. Although one of my goals for 2022 is to be more consistent with blogging, I’ve definitely struggled to get back into a routine with multiple aspects of life this month.

In addition, there’s still several weeks remaining of my two least favorite months of the year. Hence, there’s still plenty of time for me to do these things on my bucket list. I’ve actually already done some of these things, and others are in progress, which I will note. And if you are in the same boat with not loving January and February, there’s still time for you to make and get started on your own bucket list. Without further ado, here’s my Winter 2022 bucket list!

Finish Watching Gilmore Girls

Prior to 2021, I had only seen Season 1 of Gilmore Girls. Throughout several months of last year, I watched Season 2-5, and the first several episodes of Season 6. But due to watching football and Christmas movies, I didn’t watch any Gilmore Girls during the final quarter of 2021. There are seven total seasons of Gilmore Girls, so my goal is to complete it by the end of February. I binge-watched quite a few episodes during recent weekends, so I’m now a little over halfway through Season 6.

Watch On Pointe on Disney+

Disney+ released a docuseries called On Pointe in December 2020, and back then I watched maybe one episode in the background while doing other things. This series is all about dancers in the School of American Ballet in New York City. I never did ballet growing up, but love watching it. So this sounds really fascinating, and I want to watch the entire series while paying full attention.

Watch Friday Night Heights College Gymnastics

I’m definitely not a fan of the SEC in football, but I love how SEC schools have very talented and celebrated gymnastics teams. Every Friday night in January and February, the SEC Network televises college gymnastics meets and calls the broadcast Friday Night Heights. I love spending chilly winter Friday nights cozying up at home to watch college gymnastics. And with Tokyo 2020 Olympic All-Around Champion Suni Lee competing at Auburn, Friday Night Heights will be extra fun this winter!

Go to a College Gymnastics Meet

I know I mentioned in my beating the winter blues blog post a few years ago that I like to go to college gymnastics meets in person as well. Since UNC has a gymnastics team, it’s really easy for me to do this. In fact, I already checked this off my January/February 2022 bucket list the first Friday night in January. Auburn was actually one of the teams competing in a tri-meet at UNC, so I got to see Suni Lee make her college gymnastics debut in person!

Watch Cheer on Netflix

Ever since I heard about Cheer when the first season released on Netflix a couple years ago, I was intrigued by it. However, I hadn’t gotten around to watching it yet. Since Season 2 debuted on Netflix this month, I figured this was winter was a good time to watch the series. I finished Season 1 and am a couple episodes into Season 2. I’m super intrigued so far.

Watch Hallmark Valentines Movies

Nothing compares to the Hallmark Christmas movies, but I also enjoy their Valentine’s themed movies. A new one premieres every Saturday night in February, and I’m looking forward to watching.

Watch the Winter Olympics

The 2022 Winter Olympics add something special to do this February. Although I don’t get nearly as excited for the Winter Olympics as I do the Summer Olympics, I’m still looking forward to watching them. I especially enjoy watching the figure skating, particularly women’s and pairs. I watched some of the US Figure Skating Championships earlier in January, which made me excited for the Olympic competition in February. Figure skating was actually the first sport I really got into watching. I still vividly remember all of the drama surrounding the Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding scandal leading up to the 1994 Winter Olympics. In fact, I used to pretend that my Barbies were Nancy Kerrigan, Tonya Harding, and Michelle Kwan.

Eat Valentine’s Candy

I love all the heart-shaped and pink wrapped candy for Valentine’s Day, especially Dove Chocolate hearts and Reese’s peanut butter hearts. I also have fun reading the sayings on conversation hearts. Although I already bought some Valentine’s candy at Target, I’m waiting until February 1 to put it in my candy dishes since I still have leftover Christmas candy I’m eating. Enjoying Valentine’s candy is one way I make the most of Valentine’s Day even though I’m single. (Check out this post for more ideas.)

Attend the Heart of Dating Conference

Heart of Dating is a podcast all about navigating dating and relationships from a Christian perspective. There’s also an accompanying Facebook community. I discovered Heart of Dating back in Summer 2020. The wisdom I’ve received via Heart of Dating over the past 18 months has greatly helped me have a healthier and more positive outlook on singleness and dating.

I’m excited to attend the next Heart of Dating conference coming up February 12-13. The conference is in Orlando, but there’s also a virtual option. As much as I would love to head to Orlando, it doesn’t work out for me to head down there this February. But I know the virtual option will still be amazing. The conference will include live sessions with speakers tackling various topics on singleness, relationships, and dating. There will also be virtual mingling events available to all in-person and online attendees, including speed dating. Finally, everyone gets access to additional pre-recorded talks. If you’re single and wanting some encouragement on dating and relationships from a Christian perspective, I highly encourage you to sign up!

Tackle Organization Projects

This one isn’t quite as fun, but I really need to go through some stacks of papers and old receipts that I have shoved to the side.

Finish Books I’ve Started and Start More Books

I read a lot in the summer since I spend almost every weekend at the beach or by the pool. However, one of my goals for 2022 is to read more books throughout the entire year. I have a handful of books I started during the fall that I haven’t finished. It’s not because they’re bad, but rather I haven’t prioritized reading. So for the remainder of Winter 2022, I want to finally finish the books I’ve started. I also want to read some additional books on my “to be read” list. Books I plan to finish include Forgiving Paris, Karen Kingsbury’s latest novel, and Are You Drowning, a memoir by Jenna Shotmeyer, who also happens to be the sister-in-law of one of my friends. My “want to read” list includes Out of the Pocket, a memoir by College GameDay analyst Kirt Herbstreit, and Made for This Moment, a memoir by previous Bachelor contestant Madison Prewett.

Journaling

I’ve wanted to be more intentional about regular journaling for awhile. In fact, it was one of my goals for both 2020 and 2021, but I came up short. This is something I’m really hoping to be consistent with in 2022. Therefore, I figured cold days cozied up inside during Winter 2022 would be a great time to get started!’