2017 - What a year.
I feel like I’ve gotten to know myself in a lot of different ways this past year. When I’ve looked back over the previous year in years past, the difficult times are what seem to stick out first in my mind. But as I’ve been reminiscing over 2017, the good, joyful times definitely outweigh the bad. We have truly been blessed this year by the Lord, and our friends and family.
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In January, after living with my parents for five months, we officially moved downstairs to “our part” of the house. We had new carpet installed, all of the walls painted (good riddance, ugly powder blue and green walls!), and the house professionally deep cleaned. For those that don’t know about our living arrangement: my parents have a pretty large house, and the bottom portion is a remodeled basement. It was originally purchased with my grandparents so that my mom and dad could help them, as they were both getting elderly and needed assistance; this is where Adam, Seth & I live now. It’s been so great to have our own space- our “own” home. It’s also really handy to have my parents just up the stairs to watch Seth, too!
When the cold weather finally thaws and the sun starts to shine again, we get to do a lot more fun things as a family. We played outside a lot, and we celebrated mine and my Grandma’s birthdays during the first part of May, and then Mother’s Day a few days later.
One of the highlights of this past Spring and Summer was taking Seth to different local parks with water splash pads to play at! We made lots of memories while swinging and running around in the water. We also had picnics and took lots of walks around our neighborhood as well. These are all things that I’m really looking forward to doing again this coming Summer.
At the end of June, we took a family vacation to Leavenworth, Seth’s first road trip! Poor kid was so thrown off from his normal routine between traveling long distances in the car, and all of the different locations. We all tried to have as much fun as we could, despite the hot weather and a grumpy toddler. Everyone was really great at pitching in to help with Seth (which was a relief for me!). It really was a fun, and memorable, vacation!
In mid-July, I pulled the craziest stunt that I’ve probably ever done, which was to volunteer myself to go back to Starbucks for nearly a week to help out with the annual street festival that called Cornucopia Days. Historically, this is the busiest weekend of the year for my (former) Starbucks location, and any and all help from baristas is greatly appreciated. It was definitely fun to go back for 4 days and do what I absolutely love doing, which is making coffee and deep cleaning espresso machines! (Truly, though). I even made friends with some of the newer girls who now work at the store. As much as I love The Bucks, I’m so glad I don’t have to hold a job like that anymore!
At the beginning of August, Adam & I were gifted a 3-night stay at a timeshare condo on the Washington coast, so we used this as our anniversary getaway. It was such a peaceful and much needed time of rest. We enjoyed watching the sunsets on the beach, and exploring the local attractions of downtown Long Beach, WA.
At the end of the Summer, I decided to take a huge leap of faith and dive head first into selling LipSense & SeneGence products! I figured Why not sell a product that I love and tell everyone about anyway?! I landed up being in the most supportive and encouraging team that I could imagine, I count myself very blessed! So far, things have gone really well. Starting my own business has already stretched me out of my comfort zone in a lot of different (good!) ways, and this is just the beginning. I'm excited for what is ahead for me and my business this year.
One thing that I’ve really found enjoyment in this year is becoming more organized, especially in my home. I’ve learned how crucial organization is to my being at peace. There were a few years where being in my own home brought me more anxiety than it did peace, but since I’ve learned how to organize, condense items, and not collect (read: hoard) more items than what I actually need, I quite enjoy being at home now.
I’m also learning that being a mom, and especially a stay-at-home-mom, is so much different and harder than I had even imagined, but it’s also the most rewarding thing that I’ve ever done. I’ve very thankful for the opportunity to stay home with Seth and be with him and teach him new things every day. He is such a hilarious kid, and makes the most animated facial expressions! He has me laughing on a daily basis.
As for this year, 2018, I’m really excited about all of the possibilities that lay before me! I want to keep on going with developing my organizing skills (organizing seems like a job that never ends!); I’m going to start taking better care of myself and my health - starting with my gut health. From the research that I’ve done on this subject, it seems like most of the areas of our bodies and health that are lacking or are just not right stem from an unhealthy gut. So why not start with the root issue, right? I’m also wanting to read more books this year that I did last year. Less screen time, more page time. I’ve realized that I have a lot of books sitting on my shelves right now that I haven’t even read yet! So I’d like to tackle those first before I read anything else. I’m aiming for a good mixture of self-help books, a couple of business-building books, marriage books, biographies, as well as (historical) fiction.
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How about you? What are your goals and aspirations for this new year? I’d love to hear them!