2018 vision journalling - revisited

At the beginning of the year, I wrote a post about 2018 -- not as though it was going to happen this year, but as if it already had happened. It was a cool exercise, and I was pretty excited about it when I did it. However, I really let myself forget about it too much. I did still think about it somewhat often, but I kind of gave up on many of the goals I set -- after all, they are all mostly things I struggle with! I didn't put in the work that I'd told myself I would. But I said I'd come back with the original post, edited to add or delete information to make it accurate, so here I am to do just that.

*****

2018 was the best year ever [a year just like any other, with a lot of good, a lot of not-so-good; a lot of trial and a lot of growth].

Some of the big things I had to do to make it such an awesome year were to STOP spending so much time on social media, START concretely planning my time and activities, and [I was mostly able to] CONTINUE being kind to my imperfect, human self.

I got healthier than I've ever been. I found a way to enjoy my exercise and even look forward to it, so I was much more consistent with it! I exercised at least three times each week. I also decided it was finally time to eat healthier foods, so I ate mostly fruits and veggies and other whole foods, and I severely limited my sugar intake because I wanted to be really kind to my body. I still ate grains and treats occasionally, but wayyyyyyy less often than in 2017. I even had better a1C's because I tested my blood more often and paid more acute attention. [At times I ate healthier, and at times I still ate crappy. I did have one really great a1C when I ate low carb for a few weeks prior to the appointment.

Being healthier enabled me to have a fit pregnancy! I didn't gain as much weight as I did with Ada, and I didn't have as heavy of a baby, either! I also didn't have to leave my baby in the NICU for 16 days because my healthier pregnancy helped my baby be ready to go after arrival! [Although we originally planned to start trying to get pregnant in February, our plans changed, and we started trying in August instead. So far, no pregnancy.]

I'm also incredibly proud of the way my business is growing! I figured out how to do the marketing end of things, I got a great website and Facebook business page up and running, and I did the work to bring in clients. Now the clients come in pretty steadily, and I work with four new clients each week! [I started doing a live Q&A in March, and have done one nearly every week since then! It's fun to think about how nervous I was for every single video in the beginning, but how now it doesn't phase me at all. At one point I had 8 clients simultaneously, which I realized was way too many, so I started thinking about other ways I could help lots of people at once. I still take on individual clients, but my goal moving forward is to create comprehensive sleep guides based on age so that I can mass-produce and help more families with less individual work from me.] I absolutely love the work I do. I also love that I can do my work in only 15-20 [spend about 2-3] hours/week [working at this point].

I also got real good with money. Russ and I have always been pretty good with money, but there's one area that we've always struggled with: food! I could never get a good meal plan going, so we ate out a ton and always went over our food budget for the month. However, this year I really buckled down, made plans, and stuck to them, and it felt good! :)

Of course one of the most valuable things I did this year was to spend quality time with Russ and Ada (and baby #2)! I really cut down on the time I spend on social media to open up more hours in my days. I used the time to [I] play[ed] with my ever-growing girl; I got on the ground with her, and we laughed and pretended together. I also started teaching her about animals, shapes, colors, and bodies. I treasure all the time I got to spend one-on-one with her. I also used that time to have good conversations and work on projects with Russ. We [went to an amazing marriage conference, and we] also made dating a real priority, even while doing our very best to have cheap or free dates. Our relationship has such an added level of sweetness after this year :)

I also spent time with extended family members. We got together with members of my family and members of Russ's family at least once each month [pretty consistently]. I continued my weekly scrapbooking dates with my mom, and added in monthly lunches with my dad. We Skyped/FaceTimed/called a faraway family most Sundays of the year.

Having girlfriends is super important to me, so I made time for girlfriends, too. I continued to have two different monthly movie nights, [combined my two monthly movie nights into one monthly girls' night,] I tried to get together for playdates with someone weekly [frequently], and I made an effort to attend anything I was invited to. I also went on a girls getaway for a long weekend! We left our babies with our husbands and had a grand old time living the free life for a few days!

Most of my recreational time is reserved for people I love, but I also made time for activities I love. I read books, watched some TV, listened to tons of podcasts, crafted, and completed many photo books. I even started to dive into the world of gardening.

It was also important to me to spend time on my mental hygiene. Rather than just consuming [I continued to consume] all of the amazing information I hear on my favorite podcasts, I started doing more actual work: thought downloads, CTFAR models, and really just paying attention to my emotions. I'm obviously not perfect, but I do feel like I have definitely become the next version of myself and up-leveled my life! [At various points I did more thought work, but this is definitely an area I want to prioritize in the upcoming year.]

The most important relationship I have strengthened this year is my relationship with God. I made more concerted efforts to pray daily and really talk with the Lord [but I still have a lot of improvement I'd like to make in this area]. I also studied His words a lot more this year -- whether that meant reading scriptures for 30 quiet minutes before the house woke up, or fitting in 5 minutes of audio scriptures or conference talks during drives or other tasks. I wasn't perfect, but my effort levels were exponentially greater than in years past. [which was made easier by the fact that President Nelson issued a challenge to read the Book of Mormon in about a 12-week timeframe. I loved reading at such a rapid rate, and this really helped me to prioritize scripture study -- when you miss a day of reading 7 pages, it adds up quickly, so I tried not to miss many days!]

[Despite the fact that I didn't do all I set out to do,] It's not hard to see why 2018 was such [still] a [pretty] stellar year.

*****

Here's hoping (but really more like PLANNING) that when I do my 2019 vision journalling, I stay more committed to the goals I set out for myself!