Happy New Year!!

As we enter into 2019, I can’t help but reflect on this past year. For one, it feels like the year just flew by! I had so much going on, I feel like I blinked and it’s a new year.

2018 was quite the year for me. I had some EXTREME highs, and some devastating lows. One thing my husband always tries to remind me is not to focus on the negatives, but to look at all the positives. As I look back on the year, the positives definitely stand out… however I think it is important to remember the bad- not to get upset or discouraged, but to learn from and grow.

**Warning: TONS of photos ahead!

First, I want to talk about the highlights of my year 😊:

~ Attended the Chic-fil-A bowl game in Atlanta, GA and watched our UCF Knights finish a perfect season and dominate Auburn 

                                   

~ Finally took a chance and started a new job! This was FAR outside of my comfort zone, but I was excited

~ Had the most amazing bridal shower- thrown for me by my lovely bridesmaids and my mother

  

~ Went on an awesome bachelorette trip to Austin, TX. Although there were a few hiccups (people having to cancel, illnesses, etc.) my bestie made sure I had the time of my life! 

 

~ Got our Marriage License!

 

~ Had a final “bridal” themed workout before having to take about a month off 

~ Threw a wonderful rehearsal dinner filled with family and friends

   

~ Had the most PERFECT wedding that anyone could ask for (of course I may be slightly biased)! The weather was gorgeous, the ceremony was better than I could have dreamed, the food was amazing, and our wedding planner made sure we had zero stress! It truly was the most amazing day of my life

~ Headed off to the most EPIC honeymoon ever! First stop… California, final stop… NEW ZEALAND! Still pinching myself about this one. We had the BEST time, met some amazing people, explored, ate, did things we never thought we would… dreaming of the day we get to go back. New Zealand definitely stole our hearts

~ Attended a good friend’s wedding- which was absolutely beautiful! 

~ Had a few little staycations with just the two of us

~ Saw JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE ♥!!- I have the best friends EVER! 

~ Changed my name 😊

~ Watched my sister get married!

 

~ Attended and assisted with our good friends’ new restaurant grand opening- Iron Oak BBQ (YUM!) 

~ Hubby joined the gym with me! 

~ Turned 29, got a new Apple Watch and a giant donut 😊, and spent the day being children at Disney 

~ Took a road trip to Atlanta to visit friends and watch some soccer 

~ Good friend had a baby girl! And another had a baby boy!

~ My brother had a baby girl! Although I do not speak to him, I am still extremely excited for him and this adventure

~ Rudy turned 11 

~ Went to NY to help celebrate my bestie turning 30!! 

~ Started my job with Rover walking dogs

~ Learned how to wake board! 

~ Took Shevy on her first Swan Boat ride 

~ Switched up my hair! Ditched the blonde for a while to become a red head 

~ Celebrated 6 years with my love 

~ Started this blog!

~ Had a lot of quality friends time- lots of “big kid” sleepovers that I wouldn’t trade for anything

 

~ Really focused on my fitness- completed my 2018 goal of running at least a race a month. I also joined a running program 

~ Ending the year with the announcement that my sister is pregnant! I am officially going to be an aunt! (Yes, I technically already am… but my sister and I are actually close)

 

We had lots of other additional adventures, and great times thrown in    between… but these all stood out quite a bit 🙂 

With all those highlights you can see why 2018 was such an incredible year for me! I truly love looking back on all the good times I had throughout the year. All the adventures, the love, the friends… this year was top-notch, and quite possibly one of my best years yet! But as I stated earlier, I do feel it is important to also reflect on the not so great times of the year. Not to feel bad for myself, but to see what I overcame, where I grew, where I could use some work, and see how much more good the year truly held for me than bad.

Some of the not so great times of 2018 included:

~ Mid-January my 93-year-old grandmother had to go to the hospital for a procedure. Between starting a new job, already requesting lots of time off for the wedding, being her only family nearby, and being about an hour and a half away from her… this was quite stressful. Thank goodness I have an amazing mother in law that offered to help us out! When I could not be there, she offered to stay with my grandmother in the hospital and make sure she was taken care of- this was such a blessing! Unfortunately, they could not complete the planned procedure due to my grandmothers overall age and health, but fortunately my grandmother is a trooper and is doing great!

~ My 8-pound yorkie was bit by a 60+ pound lab and was not taken to the vet for treatment. The day after our amazing honeymoon we picked my dog up from my moms to find out he had been bitten by her other dog. He was not taken to the vet and all seemed ok, but to be safe when we returned home, we took him in to see someone. Turns out that the bite was a lot more serious than we thought and we were VERY lucky he was ok 

~ My car was rear ended 

~ I twisted/sprained my ankle during a run (5 runs in out of my goal of at least one a month) 

~ Rudy (my pup) had to have four teeth pulled- more needed, but the doctor didn’t want to pull more at one time

 

~ By far one of the most devastating, I was let go from my job

~ I had a wisdom tooth pulled- really not that big of deal, but hey… it happened!

~ Rudy had to start going on daily medication due to a bad back (likely because of his old age)

~ I re-twisted my ankle

~ My overall self-esteem/confidence took a big hit

Its so easy to get caught up in the social media bubble… but it is important to remember that the majority of people only share the good in their life. We all have the bad or not so pretty, we just choose not to share that part. Just always remember nobody has a perfect life, and we are all going through something. 

As you can see, I had quite the year… but I am choosing to grow. These low points of the year only make me stronger and will help me to set even bigger goals for the year to come.

2019 has some pretty big shoes to fill and I am ready to see what it has in store! Hope everyone has a happy and healthy New Year!

Lets all set some goals and start crushing them!