Hey guys, I hope you had a fantastic Christmas! This post was actually supposed to go live last week but life got in the way. It has a way of doing that, doesn’t it?
Our Christmas ended up being a lot quieter than we initially planned and I’m so happy we made those changes. I’m not sure if you feel this way or not, but the holidays are just a lot. A lot of parties, a lot of people, a lot to deal with, a lot of stress. Plus the whole holiday season starts in November for me as far as this blog and work are concerned so by the time the 23rd rolled around, I kinda had had it. I was in tears and stressing out about food to take to both our Christmas and Christmas Eve dinners (we transitioned to a completely plant-based diet this year but more on that later) and after a phone call with Andrew, we decided that if we just backed out of the festivities and spent the holiday as a family of three, the world wouldn’t stop spinning. So we saw the family on the 24th, then spent the 25th together going to church to remember the true reason we celebrate this time of year, eating Chinese food, and watching movies (Quentin Tarantino. Not seasonally appropriate but whatevs). And it was perfect.
But now we’re past Christmas and looking down the barrel of a brand new year and it has me thinking about 2019 and everything that happened throughout this past year. This year more than any before it has me feeling like I blinked and the year was gone.
Last year I posted that I wasn’t making any New Year resolutions for 2019. I was eight months+ pregnant and knew that the coming year would be so full of changes that I didn’t need any self-imposed goals or resolutions hanging over my head. If I had one goal, it would have been to give birth to a healthy baby boy and embrace all the changes that come with motherhood.
Well, 2019 has come and almost gone and I’m happy to say that was my entire focus for the year. Trying to take all the changes in stride and rolling with the punches. Overall it was good, parts were stressful, but I can honestly say that I’ve been happier this year than I ever have before in my life. Becoming a mother, choosing to leave my job and stay home to take care of my family was the right path for me and I would do it all over again.
Other highlights of things that happened in 2019:
- had a baby (covered that one)
- took approx 1 million pictures of said baby
- collaborated with J.Crew twice!
- went to a peony farm for the most magical day
- traveled to Long Beach, Houston, College Station, Victoria BC, Portland, New York, & Montana
- went vegan
- learned how to make sushi
- went to several weddings, bridal showers, and bachelorettes
- tried High Fitness for the first time and fell in love
- celebrated three years married and six years together with Andrew
- learned that I can function on 3-4 hours of sleep but would rather not do that if I don’t have to
2020 will brings its own changes and challenges when it comes to motherhood and my baby transitioning into toddlerhood but it won’t be my entire focus. I mapped out my personal five for 2020 and can’t wait to get to work. Some of them involve this blog so I hope you look forward to seeing some changes and plenty of new content. The rest of the five include health and fitness goals, personal development goals, and family goals.
And now after all that, I’d like to extend a special thank you to all of you. Thank you for being here, reading and following along this year and all the ones before it. This blog really wouldn’t be anything without all you who come back to read it time after time and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I started this when I was a college student and have since graduated from college, gotten married, joined the corporate world, left the corporate world, been pregnant, and become a mother. Thank you for following along and growing with me. I’ve met some of you in person, some online, and others I’ve yet to meet but I thank you all for being here and I hope to see you back here again in 2020.
Happy Holidays and have a fun and safe New Years!
xo – Ana Luiza
