Well we've made it to the (near) end of 2025. We're in the void week - that liminal space between 2025 and 2026 where you're not sure what day it is, where and what to eat, what matters, whether you're bored or anxious or some weird combination of both. I just wrote a whole newsletter about it for one of my communities, R Generation (a global community of remote designers and professionals, loosely organized around collaboration in Miro). Confusion and cheese. That's how I describe this week.

As for me? It's been a busy week but not because of the holidays. My hubby and I have intentionally stopped celebrating Christmas in the traditional ways we both were raised. We still show up when and where we're asked (dinner with my adopted family last Tuesday is covered in this recent LinkedIn post) but don't bother with gifts or any of the other things that keep other people busy.

I used to love Christmas as a child. Mainly because all of the foods that were taboo most of the year were plentiful and no one commented (usually) on how many cookies I consumed or how much gravy I put on my mashed potatoes. As I got older and was able to make my own decisions on where and when and how to celebrate, I reveled in buying my first tree and all the ornaments, baking hundreds of cookies and bringing them to gatherings, finding and wrapping the perfect gift for that friend or family member, participating in a sing-along Messiah or a Christmas Eve feast (not the lutefisk and lefse I grew up with!)

In my late 40's and now 50's, though, I've found most of those traditional 'musts' have turned into opportunities for guilt or disappointment because of unmet expectations, either mine or other peoples'. And after 18 months of unemployment, learning how to be satisfied with fewer things and extras that seemed necessary as a corporate employee, I find myself unwilling to go back into that whirlwind. I still love Christmas, the music, the food, the decorations - but now I can experience others' creative efforts without having to do my own.

What I want for future holidays? Experiences like a Viking cruise to European Christmas Markets... A friends excursion to New Orleans... New Years in the UK with internet friends. Being with others and experiencing how they celebrate has become what I want for the holidays.

My opinion? We don't celebrate life enough. That's what the holidays are here in the States - an approved and accepted form of celebrating the things that we don't the rest of the year because of working, competing, striving for more, better, faster... I want to celebrate more frequently, and celebrate others' achievements and wins. I want to highlight the extraordinary humans I've been privileged to meet and befriend the last couple of years.

So this week, instead of the usual holiday chaos, I've been busy with something that actually lights me up: I finally opened Joy Prompt Club to Beta testers. (If you want in on that, here's the link to join.) And I've been thinking a lot about how we mark moments - the ones that matter, the transitions, the thresholds. Not with performance or pressure, but with intention. With something that's actually ours.

Which brings me to this week's newsletter. It's lighter than usual - no heavy ROCO prompt requiring deep thought. Just some tools to help you mark this weird in-between week in whatever way feels right to you.

What did you love about the holidays before they became obligations?

Before the gift receipts and family politics and performing "having it all together"?

Maybe it was the anticipation. The lights. Permission to eat cookies for breakfast. The belief that something magical could happen.

You don't need to recreate it. But you get to remember what joy felt like before the shoulds took over.

And you get to decide what celebration looks like now. Not what it's supposed to look like. What it actually feels like.

Maybe it's quiet this year. Maybe it's saying no. Maybe it's marking the moment with something small and yours.

You're allowed to let go of what doesn't serve you.

You're allowed to create what does.

I had curated some lovely videos for y’all but Beehiiv is giving me size warnings (?!) so I’m only going to include one tiny one…

Someone’s been filming me again

I regret nothing.

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I made you something.

Ten different "Happy New Year 2026" phone wallpapers – cozy, bold, minimal, nature, whatever vibe you need right now.

Pick one (or all of them), save it to your phone, and let it be a little visual reminder that you get to decide what 2026 feels like.

No pressure. No performance. Just a thing that's yours.

If you want to create your own custom New Year wallpaper or image instead of using the ones I made, here's how.

This prompt works in ChatGPT, Gemini, Ideogram, or any AI image generator you've got access to.

Copy the below prompt, paste it into a chatbot that generates images, select the options you want in the bits between brackets [ ] and then hit enter.

✨ Try it in ChatGPT (free version works great)

Feeling behind on AI? You're not. You just haven't had a chance to practice.

In this 60-minute live session, we'll turn "too much" into "I've got this." No jargon. No overwhelm. Just calm, practical confidence - and prompts you can actually use the same day.

You'll learn:

Includes replay access + 25-Prompt Pack + ROCO Quick-Reference PDF.

💜 Know someone drowning in tech overwhelm?

Send them this link. It’s a $30 transformation from panic to confidence - and yes, they’ll thank you later.

I finally did the thing.

After months of "thinking about it" and "planning it" and "researching platforms," I opened Joy Prompt Club to Beta testers.

It's a learning-without-the-tech-bro-energy space for women who want to explore AI without the overwhelm, the jargon, or the pressure to perform competence they don't feel yet.

We learn together through curiosity, creativity, and tried-this-let-me-show-you prompts. No prerequisites. No pretending.

The Beta is running now through January 26th – and it's intentionally bare bones because I'm building it WITH the Beta testers, not FOR them. I want to make sure it actually meets your needs, not what I think you need.

If you join as a Beta tester, you can convert to the full community at $22/month (normal rate is $27/month after January 26th).

If you've been waiting for an AI space that actually feels like it's for you? This is it.

You made it to the end of 2025. That counts for something.

Whether you're celebrating, recovering, or just trying to remember what day it is – you're allowed to mark this transition however feels right. Or not mark it at all.

This weird in-between week? It doesn't need your productivity. Your resolutions can wait. And you definitely don't need to have 2026 figured out yet.

You just need to be here.

💜

Take care of yourself, take care of each other,

Deb

P.S. Forward this to someone who needs permission to do absolutely nothing this week. The rails were always optional.

P.P.S. My inbox is open. Hit reply and tell me what weird holiday image you made, what you're letting go of from 2025, or what's feeling murky. I may tackle it in a future issue.