As we face the arrival of a New Year (and continue to indulge, imbibe and be merry), we also inherently reflect back on the many milestones we enjoyed and disappointments we faced in 2018. Life is not always a styled shoot with a chartreuse velvet settee or turquoise vintage truck in the woods. Sometimes life is life: messy, sad, amazing and mediocre. In the spirit of reflection and hope, I’m sharing with you my year in review and my intentions (I like the word intention much better than resolution – see here cuz I haven’t changed) for the New Year.

2018 Year in Review

10 Years of Marriage

That’s right, ladies and gentlemen. My husband and I celebrated our 10th Wedding Anniversary. It’s so surreal to think back at our wedding and realize it was that long ago! And today we have 2 beautiful boys, a lovely home and enough immaturity and sarcasm for a full season of SNL. Key to a happy marriage y’all. Ha! We celebrated with a family dinner at one of my favorite local restaurants, La Hacienda Ranch. It was low-key and lovely and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Here’s a recap of how we met and just general info about the happy couple (us).

The Retreats

Early in the year I felt called to use my time as a stay at home mom for something more. I wanted to somehow be of service to others and use my particular set of skills (thank you for that line, Liam Neeson) to help women find their voice, time, niche and place in this world and in their own lives. I planned 2 retreats with this in mind. One was a local mini retreat in the Spring and the other, a longer, more substantial weekend in Austin. Planning them was a labor of love and extremely time consuming but unequivocally fulfilling.

So, it hurt my heart when I didn’t get any attendance for the Mini Retreat and had to cancel. And it almost broke my heart completely when I didn’t get any bookings for the Women’s Retreat in the Fall. I went through a lot of self-doubt, blame, shame and a general sense that I was not enough and that people don’t like me or the kind of motivation I have to offer.

Why am I telling you this? Because I overcame all that negativity. Although that was truly disappointing and frustrating, I haven’t given up on it. I will be of service to women in a way that God chooses me to be. Through lots of prayer, I assure you, I will host an amazing women’s retreat that will truly inspire and celebrate women who need it!

I had a serious Milestone Birthday

I turned 40 years old this year. Wow. Funny how sometimes I feel it and sometimes I legit feel 21 (well, not when I drink, ha)!! My husband really made my birthday special and we got a chance to reconnect (although we weren’t disconnected but you know) on a vacation sans kiddos. I wrote all about it here.

My Oldest Son Started 1st Grade

My son starting 1st grade was a bigger deal to me than Kindergarten because 1) it’s an actual grade and 2) he was in pre-school/daycare since he was 7 weeks old so school was NBD by Kindergarten. But yes, 1st grade was and is a Big Deal. It’s hard to believe this little chunk of pure love is a 1st grader. My prayer for him is that he continues to be a good student, a good friend and a great person in the coming years!

I joined Zyia Active

I took a huge leap of faith and joined Zyia Active as and Independent Rep. You can find out more information about Zyia here and here and also follow my Zyia journey on Instagram. I’m so happy I made that decision and it has truly blessed me in so many ways: Extra income (money is tighter now that I’m at home), community building (I’m finding my tribe and new people who get me), and being a part of something new and growing is really exciting stuff!

My family suffered a sad and unexpected loss

My younger cousin passed away suddenly in November and our family was left brokenhearted. Being raised in the church, I know that death is part of life and that my faith says our spirits will reunite one day (1 Corinthians 15:12-57 NIV). However, as I still live and breath the air here on earth, I miss my cousin. I am sad about his death. It was so untimely and the grief I feel for his loss of life and for his mother and children is still raw.

He was such a sweet guy and was one of those rare people with no motives or agendas in life. He just wanted to be a good father and friend and love his family. I truly miss him. If you have loved ones that mean something to you, let them know it.

My big little guy turned 2

My Briggsy Boo aka Little Brother aka Brigadier turned 2 years old mid-December. When I look at him I just think about how glad I am that we decided to have another child. He adores older brother Dax and thank goodness, Dax adores him. Briggs is a little ham and a complete wild man. He runs and runs and runs!!! He is quite different than Dax and is way more physical.

Our little guy has some challenges in the speech area but we are very prayerful and proactive. We have an Early Childhood Intervention evaluation in a week and are hopeful that we can come up with some tools to help our big little guy communicate better and flourish! Otherwise, he’s thriving. And he’s big. 38 inches tall and 37.5 pounds! Like brother, like brother!!

New Year Intentions for 2019

Sleep more

I am an undeniable night owl. How unfortunate for me that the world was not made for “us”. It is hard when my natural rhythms are to sleep in and stay up late and also, I do my best work at night (as in I’m writing this post at almost 10 pm…). But of course what ends up happening is that I stay up late getting things done and trying to have me time (so important for my sanity) but still have to wake up early to get my 1st grader to school. And school starts so early (early to me). So I need to get more sleep and go to bed earlier. I know I will physically feel so much better if I make sleep a priority.

Up the fitness & maintain Yoga practice

My health & wellness intentions for the new year are to eat much better, move a lot more, and really dive deep into yoga. I want to try to do it everyday. While I do have a weight loss goal, I honestly just want to just feel better and not be so tired and run down. I know losing weight will help with that but mainly, it’s the healthy lifestyle that will change me for the better.

Rock my Zyia business like Elvis on The Ed Sullivan Show

I am so committed to really taking my Zyia business to the next level. I want to get every women and man I know in Zyia gear! Rank Advancement is a big priority for me and I want to finally make it to Junior Rep (slow and steady wins the race, right?). Also, we have a mini summit in March and I aim to soak up all the knowledge and goodness I can from the amazing people I will meet and connect with.

Organize and Declutter

My house is always a mess. I did not get blessed with the gene of being a lean, mean, clean domestic goddess. But, I do realize that decluttering your home and getting rid of unnecessary stuff can really help life be more calm and stable. Perhaps finally purging all this junk will give our home a sense of stillness and I can have people over more without being embarrassed!

Go out more

I don’t get out much. In fact, that was one of the reason’s the “old” blog was named The Cocooners. We are always at home! But I need to make an effort to go out to eat a bit more (not too much as I don’t want to strain the pocket book) and just get out of the house.

I also just finished binge watching Hart of Dixie on Netflix (don’t ask me why…) and I really liked it. It was like a cheesier, vampireless version of True Blood. My point is that I loved the way the female characters dressed and it inspired me to dress better when I do actually get out of the house! Here is a great slide show of some cute fashion hits from the show.

Try harder to not take things personally

This intention is so important to me for the coming new year (and years). I really tend to take so many things personally and part of me thinks I need to stop focusing so much on myself when I feel that way but I also want to make sure that I don’t give others too much power over my feelings. And logically, I know that a lot of decisions people make and the ways they behave really doesn’t have anything to do with me. It just feels bad sometimes when you are the receiver of those actions or inaction.

This is a great article that helped me gain a bit more clarity on why I tend to take things personally and how to try and overcome that reaction. Historically, I tend to remove myself from situations or being around people that make me feel uncomfortable or put me in a negative space. While, this is not necessarily a bad response, I also want to try and not be so reactive in the first place.

Read a lot more

I want to read 12 books in 2019 which is 12 more than I read in 2018! Gotta read more! Click here for my Goodreads list of books I aim to read including:

• Spirit Junkie – Gabrielle Bernstein
• The Wife Between Us – Greer Hendricks
• Something in the Water – Catherine Steadman

This was a lot to share but I had a lot to share! I hope you can look upon the past year with clarity and fondness and perhaps as a lesson. I also hope that your intentions for the New Year are meaningful and positive and bring you much love and light!

Happy New Year and thank you all so much for being a part of my little community. Cheers!!