Epic Shit. 2019 Edition.
Is it just me or weren’t we just here? January. Reflecting on the previous year and coming up with new ways to make the new year more badass? Yes. The answer is, yes, we were here like 17 minutes ago!
Epic Shit
A few years ago I stopped doing resolutions and started writing goals instead. My minimal expertise with Excel got me to a workable document where I separated 12 goals into 4 categories: Personal, Couple, Home and Business. Some were intended to be met each month - like blog posts and date night - others were a “this shit needs to happen” kind of goal - like a week-long PTO vacay to the beach. Some goals I crushed. Some I literally didn’t have one damn thing to write down for the year. That’s how life goes, right!
Two years ago I assessed how many books I had purchased over the years (and looked lovely on my bookshelf btw) but never sat down to read so I started downloading audio books. In 2019 I got through thousands of miles commuting and 18 books! The last time I read 18 books in 12 months was…never. Ever.
My go-to section of the book store has always been personal development but found those were hard in an audio version because some concepts or quotes I just needed to see on paper, underline, highlight, write notes in the margin, etc. True crime, drama, mysteries and memoirs became the new go-to during my drive time - to the point that I actually looked forward to getting in the car to get back to the story! A few of my favorites included Educated, Catch and Kill and Small Great Things. If you have a long drive it really does help pass the time. Any recommendations for me to "read" in 2020?
As a Couple, Blaze and I got in a lot of great dates. If you haven’t been to a cooking class at The Cookery you need to put that on your list to-do ASAP. I learned how to make pasta and creme brûlée, which is basically the perfect meal if you ask me. We got to see a few good shows, oh, and we got married. Now that was an epic date-night.
Fun fact about Caramel Popcorn Day 2019 (aka: Wedding Day).
A few days before the wedding, Blaze was cleaning out a flower bed and got himself into poison ivy. He’d been on oral antibiotics and topical treatment but truth be told I know he was miserable. Also, super romantic way to spend your wedding night, said no one ever. Our first act as husband and wife was to get him to an ER the morning after the wedding for better meds. The poor nurse was probably a little frustrated when she asked how many days he’d had the rashes and we couldn’t really compute time. I shook my head and said “I’m so sorry, we got married last night and our days are all kind of running together this week.” The look on her face was priceless and no more than 30 seconds later we were moved to the “honeymoon bay” getting Blaze a strong dose of steroids and out the door quickly. A few hours later in typical Texas weather fashion, a black cloud rolled in, the ocean fell out of the sky sideways and we lost power. So after sitting in the dark conserving our cell phone battery, we did what any normal person would do and went to eat BBQ. That’s the kind of shit that could cause short tempers, frustration or a fight. For us, we took every opportunity to giggle about the ridiculousness!
I had three pretty reasonable goals for our Home last year. I accomplished next to none of them. Somebody needs to come to my house and just make the magic happen. I’m far too indecisive and void of any semblance of decorating skills to get the end result I’m hoping for! I’m pulling a few of them forward to focus on in 2020
In contrast to goals about my Home, I did make some strong moves in my Business. I promised myself I would write a minimum of one blog post each month. Nailed it! Better yet, I shared my battle with Depression which scared the shit out of me and also connected me to countless people who felt the same and needed to hear the words. I learned an important lesson - it’s okay to be vulnerable, in fact, it’s actually the strongest thing you can do. Thank you for your support, encouragement, understanding and your willingness to be vulnerable with me. This also created a small shift in my business to do more work related to mental health awareness. If you battle depression, anxiety or PTSD, do you have any areas you want me to dig into during 2020. Nothing is off limits. Let’s get some shit squared away.
More Epic Shit in 2019
When I became Mrs. Blaze, I also gained a bonus daughter and granddaughter. Epic! Am I the only one who falls in love with your husband all over again watching him be a Grandpa?
I checked a dream vacation off my bucket list while celebrating our honeymoon. An over-the-water bungalow had been on my Vision Board for 5 years and it did not disappoint! If you have not completed a Vision Board comment or DM me to get upcoming dates.
We also grew our family by four paws welcoming Lola to our home a few weeks before the wedding. Lola came to us from an incredible rescue called The Love Pit. Fun Fact: We named her Lola May because we got her in May and, even better, we got her on International Firefighters Day. Many thanks to TLP and her foster mommy took great care of her and helped us to complete our family. She is light, and love and a bundle of amazing energy we adore (and spoil)!
Looking forward to 2020, I’ve got 12 goals in the same four categories but more specific and far more audacious. If you’ve got some shit that needs to change in your life, lets talk. We all need resources and accountability partners!
xo