This blog post is a recap of 2024. It includes my end of year reflection, 2024 in numbers, my favorite photos by month, what I’m looking forward to in 2025, and my 2025 goals. Feel free to read through the entire blog post or use the Table of Contents to check out what piques your interest. Thank you for being here. ❤
Reflection
2024 was meant to be The Year of Kate.
And while it was in many ways, it was also the year that challenged me and taught me more lessons than I thought I deserved to learn.
I watched as the scale continued to go down and the inches melted from my body;
as my confidence grew more and more each day;
as the body dysmorphia tried its hardest to get in my head;
and as the scale fluctuated the same 5 fucking pounds for months.
I said “yes” to an Avril Lavigne concert;
to being the President of my Toastmasters club;
to both my cousin & best friend asking me to be their Maid of Honor;
and cried watching them say “yes!” to their dresses.
I held his cold hands, stroked his cheek, and asked God why;
stood at the lectern and read Wisdom 4:7-15 while avoiding eye contact with his casket;
stood behind my dad as he watched his little brother join their parents in the soft earth that wet August morning;
stood between my mom and sister with tears silently rolling down all of our cheeks.
I cried every time I talked about my Uncle Stephen;
every time I saw his picture, a Harley, or heard a song that reminded me of him;
alone in my apartment, driving in the car, or out for a walk;
and when I realized I needed to dry my tears, pick myself up off the floor, and keep going.
I jumped for joy at the gym when Bri & I won the Halloween Throwdown;
when I found out I won Club Officer of the Quarter;
each time my Twin Sister kicked ass in the Toastmasters International Speech contest;
when Dalton messaged me to let me know he was proposing to Becca in 2 months;
and when Ali texted me at 10 PM to say she got engaged to the love of her life.
(If you’re keeping up, yes, that’s THREE of my people getting married!)
I realized I had been wrong about group fitness classes;
wrong about how many people I have in my corner;
wrong about my abilities in all aspects of my life;
and about the impact my health journey has on others.
I made new friends this year and reconnected with old ones;
made time for those who made time for me;
made memories with those who mean the most to me;
and made the difficult decision to prioritize me.
I became a Certified Group Fitness Instructor;
licensed to carry firearms in the state of Massachusetts;
completed my Presentation Mastery pathway for Toastmasters;
and even started on the Dynamic Leadership pathway.
I took myself to the Bahamas for my 30th birthday in February;
visited Rhode Island for the first time in August;
decompressed at my happy place and visited old haunts;
and even took back that pesky scale from Steff in November.
I learned that grief can coexist with a happy life;
that life is short and time stops for no one;
if you want something, you must go get it;
and even the darkest days break for light.
Your journey in this life is your own —
no one can want more for you than you want for yourself.
2024 Statistics
Sometimes seeing the year in numbers is cool, too:
- 1 solo international birthday trip
- 2 birthday cards from my uncle for my 30th (still missing 1 of them though)
- 6 hours of basketball played
- 14 blog posts written and published to Taking Back Kate
- 14.5 books read (long story about the .5…)
- 20 speeches completed at Toastmasters
- 65 personal training sessions (January through May)
- 163 group classes (January through December)
- 336 hours wearing a Zio patch to make sure my heart is OK
- Findings: It is — It turns out early heartbeats called PAC (premature atrial complexes) and PVCs (premature ventricular complexes) were seen. These heart beats are commonly seen in normal hearts and aren’t usually an issue, but since I’m having some dizzy spells (hence the reason for the Zio patch), we were able to see that my dizzy spells do correspond to the heartbeats. I could go on a daily medication that would help; however, the medication would lower my heart rate and my resting heart rate is already pretty low at 38. I’ll just deal with it. 🙂
- 365 day Duolingo streak (technically it’s 628 days now…)
- 1,987 minutes spent listening to Sleep Token (my favorite band in 2024)
- 18,357 minutes spent listening to music on Spotify
- Dozens of selfies
- Hundreds of miles ran/walked/hiked
- Countless memories and pictures with loved ones
- Endless snuggling with my boys
- Many days spent crying
- Too many hours spent grocery shopping, meal prepping, cleaning out the fridge, and organizing the pantry
Top photos of 2024
Some of these photos you’ve seen before and some of them you haven’t. These are just photos that made me feel some type of way in 2024. I wanted a space on the blog to reflect on all the memories I made this year. ❤
If you really know me, you know I take photos of almost everything. Memories fade but pictures last a lifetime. I learned this year that it’s especially important to take photos, even overdo the number of photos, because you never know when a picture becomes the final memory you have with someone.
(The best way to see the pictures is to view the blog post in your internet browser and tap/click each picture to open it full screen. Once you open the photo full screen, you should be able to use the left/right arrows to go through the gallery. If you don’t open it full screen, you’ll only see a cutoff version of the original picture (and where’s the fun in that?).)
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
(I am seriously annoyed that I forgot to take a picture of my September 2024 calendar before I erased it!)
October
November
December
Looking ahead to 2025
I have so much to look forward to in 2025. Just to name a few —
- February: 31st birthday (and maybe a trip to Canada?)
- April: Gabbi & Marcus’ wedding
- May: Aruba with Pa, Momma D, and Bekah
- June: My first half marathon (!!!!) in Missoula, MT in honor of Uncle Stephen with the Domenichella/O’Halloran girls ❤
- August: Ali & Adam’s wedding celebration
Honorable mention: Becca & Dalton’s wedding in January 2026!
2025 Goals
I have a smorgasbord of goals for 2025. I’m an equal opportunist when it comes to the types of goals I set. I also set goals during the year, too. And it’s completely OK to change your goals at any time.
For the big ticket items — ideally, I’d love to get my physique to a place where I only have to maintain and I never have to go into another deficit (unless something big is happening in my life and I want to lean out a little more). I’d like to continue prioritizing self care (gym, reading, writing, therapy). I’d also like to grow Taking Back Kate and @kdomenichella_fit more.
- Re-enter a deficit on January 1 and lean out a little more before all of those fun things begin in April
- Read at least 20 books
- And maybe prioritize reading over watching TV after work
- Train for my first half marathon (and maybe enjoy it so much I do another one in 2025?)
- Continue to hit the gym as much as possible (4-5 class per week — It’s so important that I make sure I have ample rest with the half marathon training, too — that might prove challenging for me)
- Prioritize eating lean protein, fruit, and veggies and reduce the amount of takeout and processed foods I eat
- Maybe not say “Yes!” to as much
- Find a better balance
- Write and publish at least 6 blog posts
- Utilize my fitness instagram account more (maybe get to 100 followers by the end of 2025?)
- Find a therapist
- Spend as much time as possible with those I love
- Take even more photos than I did in 2024 😉
I can’t wait to bring you all along for the ride in 2025.
May this next year bring you everything you could ever hope for (and more!). ❤
Xo,
Kate
Taking Back Kate 