It’s been an annual tradition to reflect on my goals from the previous year and set the bar for the following season. I love reading through other friends’ goals and resolutions. If you have them posted, please share in the comments! I’d love to read and cheer you on!
In memory, I can’t remember a year with so many peaks and valleys. We lost my grandfather in March, and that was not an easy burden to bear. He was one of my favorite people on earth. When we have visited our families in Michigan since then, it always feels like a piece is missing.
A couple weeks after his death, we found out we were pregnant. It was one of those surreal moments when your life flashes before your eyes, and you know nothing will ever be the same. After a month of mourning, we had this polar opposite time of absolute joy (and the panic that comes with becoming a parent ;)). It’s been fun to be pregnant alongside some close friends and share in this wild journey together. I wrote more about our pregnancy here, here and here.
Other joyful memories this year were spent exploring and enjoying our new home in Asheville. We’ve made some fabulous new friends, and it’s been wonderful to have so many old friends visit us in the mountains. I loved our babymoon/five year anniversary trip to Portland. It was a much needed getaway before the fall season started (and all the food…yum). My little brother married the love of his life in August, and it was loads of fun being a bridesmaid and celebrating with them. I had the honor of photographing 28 weddings this year. Each one was memorable in its own special way.
With so many momentous happenings this year, it’s encouraged me to be more present and grounded. I’ve tried to savor the days with the people we love and appreciate the minutes that are quickly changing. I can’t believe we’ll have another addition to our family in a few short weeks (or earlier!). My traveling bug is certainly itching, but I’m trying to be patient and enjoy this season that we’re in.
Here were my goals and what was accomplished from 2016:
1. Simplify
Say no to more. Don’t take on draining projects that aren’t fulfilling. Organize house. Declutter our spending habits.
Yes, yes, and yes. I think this was a natural process of nesting and preparing for the baby.
2. Community
Find a church. Get involved locally. Stay connected to CLT friends. Take part in local events and nature.
We’ve loved being a part of the Asheville Folk community. I also joined a book club that meets monthly, which is a wonderful way to reconnect with friends and explore new genres of literature. We hosted (and visited) many of our CLT friends this year, which was such a special treat! I also enjoyed our girls trip in Asheville with some of my favorite people from Charlotte. Brendan and I (and Poa!) have explored many new trails this year. We tried our best to make it to as many local events that we could when we were in town. Finding a church community, however, has been quite the challenge. This is something we’ll need to be intentional about in 2017.
3. Balance
No phone in bed. No emails outside of work hours. 365 devotional. More reading. Schedule exercise and date nights. Create time for creativity.
I would give myself a “C” on this goal. For about four months, I didn’t check my phone in bed. Once I found out I was pregnant, I enjoyed slower mornings (and morning sickness), and I found myself checking my phone in the morning. However, I have stuck by not being on my phone at night, and it has been an incredible experience! I fall asleep so much faster. I’ve read at least 30 books this year because I had so much extra time at night. I highly recommend swapping books for phone before sleep.
I was better about sticking to a morning devotional for most of the year. I do need to be much more intentional about carving out time in the upcoming season.
I was proud of myself for exercising early in pregnancy and mostly being conscious of my diet. I have definitely partaken in cravings but nothing to the extreme. I do miss highly caffeinated coffee, alcohol, and sushi. But, I’ve been way better about drinking water. Around 5-6 months, I couldn’t comfortably jog anymore. However, that was replaced with lots of hiking and walking around our neighborhood. When we had the fires, I became a hermit, not wanting to contract a respiratory infection from the smoke (especially being 8 months pregnant!), so I feel like exercise has kind of fallen off the map in the past two months.
I made these goals before we found out we were pregnant. Pregnancy takes a lot of sleep and energy away from you, so with the energy I did have, I wanted it to be spent making great work for my couples. But, I enjoyed lots of naps and resting this season, which is what I think my body needed. I did, however, work on some creative projects for the baby. I made the mobile and am planning to start knitting a blanket in these last couple of weeks. Hopefully I can carve out some time to finish projects that were in motion pre-pregnancy…at some point in 2017.
4. Adventure
Cross off a place on our bucket list…SCANDINAVIA!
I remember writing out this goal last year and thinking to myself that if we didn’t get the chance to go to Scandinavia, we would have the adventure of our lives becoming parents instead. Well, the latter happened. Scandinavia will have to wait for another year or so. We did, however, check off Hawaii from our bucket list (both of us visiting all 50 states), so I feel like this goal was quasi-accomplished.
PERSONAL GOALS FOR 2017
1. Enjoy maternity leave
I am caught up on editing and shipments. Hooray! However, I usually spend January and February updating my website, ordering packaging for 2017, updating guides, and overall preparing for the upcoming season. It’s my goal over the next two weeks (I know, technically still in 2016) to get as much caught up with those things so that answering emails is the only work that will need to be done over maternity leave.
2. Creativity/Personal projects
I know spare time will be drastically minimized with a baby, but I would love to finish a couple of personal projects that I started in 2015-2016. I also want to make sure I’m documenting this new life that is entering our world.
3. Health
Get back to pre-pregnancy weight. Tone the places that have been stretched by carrying a baby for nine months. Make time for yoga, hiking, and other activities. Keep up with clean eating and drinking enough water, even with limited time.
4. Balance
Whew. This will be a challenge in 2017. There are so many unknowns with figuring out how to be a parent, nursing, cloth diapering, working from home, and traveling for work. I know it will take time to find this balance, but I want it to be an intentional practice in this new season. I want Brendan and I to have date nights at least once a month and to feel like I can fully give my attention to our child and my business.
5. Adventure
I’m keeping it simple this year. Go on a trip! We still have some states and National Parks to check off our bucket list (Wyoming? Yellowstone? Montana?), and I think that will be more achievable than an international trip in our baby’s first year.
