2024 Favorites: 24 Things that Worked for Me This Year
Think of this as my Top 24 List of 2024
Since 2018, I've been listing my favorite things, experiences, and items that have impacted me that year. If you haven't read any of them, check them out:
Below are the experiences, products, and applications that affected me in 2024. I've done my best not to include anything from previous years, but needless to say, the things on those lists (for the most part) carry over for this year as well.
Remember, what may work for me may not work well for you. The wonderful thing about this article is that it gives you new things to try and incorporate into your life.
2024 Experiences / Communities
1. EPIC the Musical—My husband and I “joined” this community in August 2024. I say ‘join’ in quotations because we haven’t contributed anything to the community, but we have actively listened to their music over and over again. I also attended the live streams when the Vengence Saga and Ithaca Saga were released. In fact, those releases were the highlights of my Halloween and Christmas, respectively.
2. Fantasy Bay Community- I may be a bit biased, but my best friend’s growing community in Bayonne NJ is awesome. While I am in North Carolina, I do interact with them often enough thanks to their online Discord community where we chat, post pet pictures, and even do online (or hybrid) roleplaying events. My husband has been a part of their Vampire the Masquerade games on Monday evenings (that I’ve been treating like my weekly soap opera) and I joined in on a Halloween-themed one-shot Dungeons and Dragon campaign. Feel free to check out and join their Discord here.
3. Westchester Angels- This is an Angel Investor group that is based in Westchester, New York. I had been doing administrative work for them since 2019. I wanted to include them on my list this year since I flew up to New Jersey to go to several of their in-person events this year and as of December 2024, I’m no longer going to go. However this group is a delight and if you have the capital, you should definitely consider joining, the startups they bring in are quite good (my personal favs being Busie, Nutr, and Wave). And most importantly the community is great.
4. Dog Training at PetCo- So, I have a 10-year-old Tamaskan dog that I adopted last year. She already came to us being an amazing dog but taking the 6-week course has indeed helped her be a bit more sociable around people and has exposed her to being inside of buildings. It was also a great bonding experience for the two of us since my dog, Freya, is definitely “daddy’s little girl”.
5. SGM Summit- The MSP Planning Summits or known as, the Start Grow Manage Summits technically started in 2021 and I mentioned them last year… But it’s still a big part of my 2024. We host it three times a year (April, August, and December), and it’s all about planning for the next 365 days. It’s tailored specifically for owners of MSPs (Managed Service Providers or IT Companies).
Books and Movies
6. Fanfiction- This year, I decided to try to save money on books and instead I binged on a lot of fanfiction. And a lot of it was Harry Potter fanfiction that paired up Draco and Hermoine. Now because I’m a voracious reader and probably read (or began to read) all of the completed fics for this pairing, I’ll just highlight a couple here: “Just be Cool” by Zeebee3 (or anything by this author), “The Troublesome Thing About Time” by LadyKenz347, and “For Your Protection” by VeataVesa
7. WebToons- I read a LOT of WebToons; I’ve even written about it on my blog before. However to prevent from repeating myself, I’ll list a few WebToons that I haven’t listed before that I’ve liked, “The Mafia Nanny”, “Love 4 a Walk” (does communication so well for a romance webtoon!), and “The Tyrant Wants to be Good”.
8. Sonic the Hedgehog 3- Similar to last year where I was baffled to see movies based off things I grew up with… I got to say that the Sonic 3 movie was made for me. It’s not the best plot-wise, but goodness it was packed to the brim for easter eggs for a fangirl of the Sonic Adventure series.
9. Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf- My husband was a huge fan of the original series and tried showing to me a while ago. So this year we watched the remake on Crunchyrol and goodness, it was a pretty outstanding series. It’s not often I see a small-framed female protagonist that is witty and not super fan-servicey. Lawrence also was written so well for a male protagonist. I usually always ship secondary characters of shows because usually the main pair doesn’t appeal to me, but this show was the exception.
10. In/Spectre- Another series my husband introduced me to because he knows I like a short-girl lead. The female protagonist in this is a hoot, I love her so much, and she has a cat on her cane. While there are moments that this show is more ‘mystery’ than ‘romance’ for my liking (and gorey), I do like it.
Applications and Games
11. Descript- I am going to put Descript on my list again this year. However with the caveat, that maybe I won’t renew my annual subscription when March 2025 comes around. Not that I don’t love it, but there are moments I wonder if I should go back to the Adobe Suite (even if they are scammy) or one of the many alternatives out there. After all the transcriptions can be hit or miss and doing other functions (like cutting clips) can be a pain in the butt.
12. MyChart- Okay, so this is a health application used by many hospitals and institutions. And since I’ve been taking care of my grandma, this app (and website) has been used so many times by me that I need to give it a shoutout. I can view ALL of my appointments, get refills on medications, and reach out to her doctors all in one place. Is it perfect? No, but I wish I was using this in 2023.
13. Spotify- I use Spotify all the time! I have been for several years now and I just realized I never put it on my list! Time to remedy that. Some of the playlists that I use while working are “Work Vibes” (a mixed bag of lo-fi, techno, video game tracks,etc), “100 Covers of Careless Whisper”, and “LoreFi”. Additionally, I just created a playlist for driving, because I just realized that it’ll make driving feel a lot more fun, and of course I got the EPIC soundtrack. I have a lot of other playlists, but they are definitely a mixed bag of things.
14. Wyze- Another highlight that I mentioned last year that made a huge impact this year. I’m mentioning it again because I’ve started to use another Wyze product, the Wyze Lock Bolt and the Wyze Doorbel Pro. And honestly… Just stick to the cameras guys, the cameras work mostly flawlessly and have given me such peace of mind, the other stuff has had mixed results for me.
15. Baldur’s Gate 3- I used to have board game nights all the time with my friends back in Jersey. So Baldur’s Gate 3 has been a godsend when it comes to spending time with my friends up north. We’ll all jump on Discord and get on the game together. I have so many different adventures going on depending on whose online, there’s one with me and my husband, one with me and our friends from Jersey, and even one where my husband and I play with my nephew. Personally, Act 1 and 2 are superior to Act 3 (at least when you play with friends, can’t speak much for single-player campaigns).
Elderly Care / Healthcare Products
16. Car Door Handle- I forgot where and how I heard about this in March, but I bought it and now recommend it to EVERYONE I know who ever mentions having an older person in their car. This car door handle is cheap ($10), small, and easy to use. My grandma also loves it because she feels a lot more independent being about to get out of the car on her own without waiting for one of us to help.
17. Lift Assist Device—In 2024, my husband and I constantly found my grandma on the floor, so we needed this lift aid. And by we, I mean my husband because I could not lift my grandma even with this. His back is a lot better thanks to using this and for something that’s less than $20, this is a no-brainer.
18. EZY Dose Pill Cutter- When I found out that I needed to give half-doses of pills to my grandma, I immediately purchased this bad boy in May 2024. It’s cheap, super easy to use, and makes such a satisfying sound when it chops pills up. My pro-tip, prep all the other pills first and then leave the ones that need to be diced for last.
19. Bed Pads- Let me first disclose that my grandma has THANKFULLY never had any accidents. However, she has had close calls. So I’m on team “better safe than sorry” and I got a pack of these heavy absorbency bed pads. I put them where my grandma sleeps, I put them on her chair when she watches tv, and I also use them on her car seat for whenever we do our long drives (2+ hour drives). So do I know how good they are IF someone actually uses them and if they are easy to clean any messes? No. But the peace of mind they give me is what made me put it on this list.
Cooking / Food Products
20. Ganiza Immersion Blender—I bought this blender because I was sick and tired of chopping onions and stirring things. As an Immersion Blender, it’s the best. It does it’s thing and stuff just gets mixed and blended together no problem. The GANIZA Food Chopper function isn’t great. It cuts my onions and other produce so unevenly that I might as well just do it myself. I’d also say it’s a good milk frother, but this thing needs to be plugged in (like to a wall outlet) to work and that’s just too much of a hassle to do. I have a rechargeable milk frother that is quicker to use. BUT as an immersion blender and as a blender to make shakes for my grandma, this is great. For everything else, you are going to need alternatives.
21. Water Dispenser Pump- Need to drink more water? I do. This relatively cheap ($15) water dispenser pump has made drinking water in 2024 so much easier. I have a 5-gallon jug that is near my desk, and all I need to do is press a button and ‘huzzah’ water. There’s no need to make multiple trips to the fridge for water, and it’s always in sight, so I remember to drink water. My husband even asked for his own because he liked my idea so much. (And uses less plastic. Goodbye multiple water bottles, hello 1 large 5-gallon refillable jug).
22. Gatorade Thirst Quencher Powder- I’ve seen these powders in the supermarket, but apparently only the Zero-Sugar ones. So on Amazon, I’ve started to buy the Glacier Freeze Gatorade Powder and it’s been a hit in the household. This lasted me about a month, though I have a feeling it’ll be closer to 2-3 weeks now that my husband got a taste. Which not only is cost savings since my husband used to buy Gatorade bottles from Dunkin’, but once again it’s been less bottles in landfills.
Lifestyle - Miscellaneous Products
23. UNbrush- This was recommended to us (my significant other and I), by my husband’s younger sister. This brush doesn’t have any special bells and whistles, it just detangles hair. And I love it. It’s easy to clean, it’s not that pricy, and since my hair has been getting longer, this has been a godsend. Oh and did I mention that there are SOOO many colors to choose from? I have the Cherry Blossom.
24. Key Holder for Wall- Not anything groundbreaking, but having this mounted key rack has been awesome. I installed it on my own and it allows me to put my purse, wallet, keys, and Freya’s leash right by the door. It also acts like a great spot to put mail when we get it as well as sunscreen and bug spray (because otherwise I forget to put them on when I go out in the summer!)
What would be on your Top 5 List of 2024?
I'd love to hear what experiences, products, or media affected your 2024 experience. Perhaps it was something small, such as a new pair of socks (like grippy socks) or an incredible traveling experience of a lifetime. Regardless of how grand or small your list may seem, I'd love to read about it! After all, maybe it'll show up on my Top 2025 list!
