A few of this year’s highlights

This was a big year for me.  There were a lot of firsts and changes and growth and realizations.

I look forward to writing this end-of-year blog post yearly.  Every year by mid-June, I’m already thinking about this blog post, drafting in my head about things I want to include, thinking of the goals that I made in the post the year prior (even though I know it’s too early and I still have the rest of the year’s happenings to go).  This year, you, my readers, are getting only a brief glimpse into my summary of the year as opposed to a full version like in years past.

This year, I:

• obtained my Ontario CSR certification
• we renovated our basement
• got my first wisdom tooth removed
• dyed my hair for the first time
• did yoga almost daily or twice a day for four months (to relieve stress and drama from wedding planning), inadvertently losing at least ten pounds of water weight and toxins — allowed me to fall at least two sizes down and I was able to wear all of my old clothes again :O
• planned and celebrated our wedding with family and friends
• started using sheet masks regularly

Travel:

• HK x3
• Port Hope, Ontario x2
• Athens, Greece; Santorini, Greece; Amalfi Coast, Italy; Pompeii, Italy; Montenegro; Barcelona, Spain
• Quebec City, Quebec

This year, I have been reminded of my own mortality for the first time.  It’s not like I haven’t encountered death around me before but when thinking back about events in my own life and just how fast they have gone by and my life has moved on makes me realize that I am getting old.  When thinking about old hobbies, I used to watch the Gosselins on TV and realizing now how those kids are now in high school and college or how old crushes of years gone by and how different our lives are now.  When thinking of the old toys that I have sitting in boxes in storage and how close it may be for me soon to have my own kids, those same items can actually be passed onto them to use.  The items haven’t changed but our situations sure have.  It’s very cliché but never have I been so aware of how fast life is moving than in this year.

I read a quote this year from Anna Akana:  “We are more hurt by our own expectations of other people than by their actions.”  This hit home for me this year due to a lot of self-inflicted and personal grievances toward certain individuals.  I need to remember that no one owes me anything and I need to step up and temper my own expectations instead.  I also need to have more forgiveness again.  People are trees and the reason why we are all different is because of our roots, literally.  At the end of the day, we are all here to be happy and carefree.  And like I already realize, life is already too short and there’s no space to harbour ill feelings.  I want to move on in the new year and have peace in my heart again.

The best part about being married and living with your partner is getting to see each other every day after work, being comforted in the fact that there is always someone there with you and who you can rely on for life, and knowing that you are compiling your resources together to build a future together.  It’s also nice to have a man in the house do the heavy lifting and more labour-intensive work chores.

Next year, we’re hoping to grow our family.  Hopefully there will be two healthy rats instead of one.  ☺

This year, I’ve appreciated revisiting restaurants as well re-watching old movies or shows.  I never used to want to watch something for the second time because I felt like it was a “waste” of my precious time that I’d rather use the time to experience something new.  However, when enough time has lapsed, you grow as a person enough that the experience is still a new one.  These days, I appreciate re-watching movies a second time to see what the difference is.

I started to dine out solo this year.  I loveee it.

Despite taking time off for several weeks at a time to go away this year, I still managed to make a good chunk of coin.  I didn’t reach the big goal I set for 2019 in terms of numbers but it was still a very good reporting year and I got to report out of new offices and venues.  My steno writing is cleaner but I’m taking more time to scope my transcripts than before.  The balance of work and social life (and everything else) still remains an ongoing work in progress.

I spent less time going on outings and spending time with friends this year due to all of the wedding planning (if I wasn’t planning, it was all about the transcripts) and then after the wedding was over, the need to recuperate and instill some me time.  I’m looking forward to spending time with my friends again in the new year, and knowing that it is a two-way street for friendship.

I hope everybody had a nice 2019 and is excited for the new year and new decade.  Thank you for tuning in and I hope we all have a peaceful, greener, happier 2020 than we’ve ever had.  🙂