New Year's Resolutions 2026: How am I Doing Thus Far?!

*Editor's Note*  My blog was flagged (incorrectly) and removed from the internet for about 36 hours.  It seems that blog rolls aren't capturing my posts anymore.  This is a reposting of an entry I wrote that didn't seem to show up on anyone's blog roll; hopefully it will show up this time!

Most years, I like to post New Year's Resolutions that have to do with the blog and/or blogging-related things.  In January of 2026, I decided to work on four resolutions.  Now that it's nearly August (ugh), I figured it was time to do a quick check-in and see how I'm progressing on the things I promised myself I would do!

1.  The Want List

The goal was to whittle my want list down to 25 (or fewer) sets by the end of 2026.  Right now, my want list has a total of only 20 sets on it.  That might sound like a resounding success (and it is, for now); however, whenever Allen & Ginter is released, I'm likely to add back on a bunch of sets (I count each insert set as a separate set).  Even so, for now I'm pleased with the fact that I've only added a single set to my want list in 2026 and that I've completed 11 sets thus far this year!

2.  The Great Reorganization

I really need to design proper labels for the Barry Larkin binders!

This resolution contained four subgoals:

1. Update my Barry Larkin Collection binder (and TCDB) through 2024.
2. Clean off the cards on my TV stand.
3. Get all of my trade bait to fit back into four of my "cubes" on my shelf.
4. Clean off all the cards on the table that is behind my desk.

How have I done on the four subgoals, you ask?  As of last week, I've completely finished updating my Barry Larkin Collection binder through 2024.  Topps (in particular) seems to love putting out more 2025 sets in the calendar year 2026, so I have to wait a full year (thus, my collection is as up-to-date as possible at the moment)!  I've also nearly completed subgoal #4.  I do still have a couple of stacks of 2025 Allen & Ginter on my table, but otherwise, the cards are off the table.  Unfortunately, the other two subgoals are still dreams in the sky.  I've made virtually no progress on either of them.

3.  Reading

I wanted to get back into reading on a more regular basis.  My goal for 2026 is a modest 5 books read.  To date, I've read four books.  Thus, I'm 80% of the way to my goal, and I feel fairly good about my chances of being successful by the end of the year!

4.  My LEGO Blog

My goal for my LEGO blog was to write at least 36 posts for the year.  Thus far, I've completed 13 posts, which isn't too shabby.  I've also switched that blog to being about building bricks, not just the LEGO brand, as I've become enamored with the much more affordable (and higher-quality Lumibricks)!  I've posted a lot more content that I consider of higher quality on the blog this year (lots of set reviews, for instance).  I'm happy with where I'm at on that one!

And that's it.  Four resolutions made, and thus far I'm at least 50% complete on all four of them.  No complaints from me as of now...but we'll see how I feel come the end of December!