New Year, New Goals

I love the New Year

This is a time of planning and goal making which are things I LOVE to do and it’s so much better when everyone else around me is also on that wavelength.  While it is easy to jump forward and start planning I first start looking back over the last year to see what I have accomplished and what I could have done better.  In 2018, I made a lot of progress toward my goals..  I am proud of what I have done and how much I have overcome.

I really wish I had been able to make blogging a bigger priority in my life in 2018 because I miss it so much, however, I don’t think I was in the right place in my life yet where I could focus on that the way I needed to.  Everything in my own life was so crazy that I needed to spend a lot of energy on improving myself and on my credential classes.  Now, I start 2019 with a ton of exciting new opportunities which hopefully will create more time and energy to focus on helping and inspiring all the people who find their way to my site.

But, before I get into all that, I want to list some of the things I accomplished in 2018.

• I finished my teaching credential classes
• I passed 4 major tests for teaching
• I got a new car that I love
• Successfully automated my finances and didn’t get a single late fee
• Raised my credit rating to the highest its ever been
• Sent my daughter to New York and Boston
• Started an investment account for each of my children
• Significantly increased my savings
• Began and stuck to a fitness practice
• Streamlined my newborn photography business
• Made a concentrated effort to spend more time with those people in my life who add joy to my day
• Didn’t have a major celiac relapse the entire year, in fact, I feel healthier than ever before
• Got my anxiety mostly under control

I am so excited to get started on my goals for this year because I can see just how successful I was in 2018.  Being able to go back and see how you have done is so important to keep you motivated.  If you are constantly focused on looking ahead you will start to stress about all you HAVE NOT done, instead of celebrating all you HAVE done.

2019 Goals

Looking forward to 2019 I have three really important goals.

1. Nurture the positive relationships I already have
2. Add another stream of income doing what I enjoy
3. Consume less and create more

I have realized that I spend more time wishing I could meet some new cool people than I do actually with the really cool people I already know!  How silly is that!  I have co-workers who I have so much in common with but I don’t take the time to get to know them better.  This is something I am dead set on changing in 2019.  I want to deepen my friendships and connections with those who I feel a true connection with.

Adding another stream of income is a goal that has crossed over from 2018.  I have a passion for teaching, writing, and photography and I want to make additional money from these passions.  I have always wanted a website that helped people create happier healthier lives for themselves and their families.  I hope all these things can somehow come together in 2019.

This last one comes from this feeling that I am not progressing in my creative life.  I feel like my photography skill has stagnated, that my writing skill has stagnated, that my creativity has stagnated.  I think this is happening because I have spent the last year watching, learning and absorbing instead of doing and creating.

2019 is going to be the year of action.  I want to learn by doing, not reading or listening.

I want to participate.  I am going to take tons of great and terrible pictures, write a bunch of junk and a few great gems I love, and just try out some new stuff I’ve never done.  I want to get inspired by doing, experiencing and sharing with others.

Looking Forward

This year my little family has a lot of things to look forward to!  First, we are moving!  I can’t wait to show you our new home and to start cooking in my new kitchen!  My current apartment has zero light in the kitchen making it extremely difficult to photograph my food.  The new kitchen has a large south facing the window that lets in a ton of light and there is space to grow plants.  Our move in date is set for the end of January.  As we continue making repairs Ill be posting to my Instagram stories, so if you are interested in following me there you can see what’s happening.  You can find a link in the sidebar of this page.

We will also be traveling a bit this year.  We haven’t solidified anything yet, but it looks like we will be traveling to Las Vegas in Nevada, Sequoia NP here in California and to visit my sister and her family in Charlotte, North Carolina as well as the beach as often as possible!  I definitely plan to document and share our adventures.

Thats it for today everyone!  I would love to know what you accomplished in 2018 and what your goals are for 2019!  Please share in the comments below!