Goals for 2020

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I know by now we are well into the new year and I really should have gotten my act together and put this post out a few weeks ago. But here we are! Talking about my goals for 2020- better late than never, right?! I don’t know about you, but the last couple of months every year are always suuuuuper busy. Life in general is crazy and there are too many fun holiday activities to be done around the city. All of which I thoroughly want to enjoy! And Kurt and I are always super busy at work too. So, life just gets a little crazy and hectic for us. I guess what I’m trying to say is I really needed these last couple of weeks to unwind and really hone in on how I want 2020 to look for me. After all, it is a new decade!

Looking back on 2019…

I realize that I never even wrote about my goals for 2019! But you can look back at 2018 and a lot of how I want 2020 to look is similar to even two years ago. 2019 was not one of my best years to be honest. And I’ve realized that not every year can be everyone’s best and top years. Every now and then we are going to have good ones and bad. And 2019 was just another off year for me. I don’t mean to sound negative, it’s just the truth. I found this quote recently- ‘If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you.’ And let’s just say 2019 was a challenging year.

We had so many high hopes for 2019 on growing our family (you can read about my last update here). We sort of ended 2018 in a slump and I was so ready for a fresh start and a new outlook. I haven’t written about what’s been going on with IVF because there really is no good news, not yet at least. Maybe someday I will go back and hash it all out, but for now it’s too much heartache and we are concentrating on the future and a new outlook.

I’m taking the approach right now of- ‘Talk about your blessings more than you talk about your problems.’ I say this all the time, but I couldn’t be more blessed that our insurance covers IVF and that we don’t have the financial burden, on top of the stress and fear of the process. That we can afford the the co-pays because wow, do those add up! And that thru this process Kurt and I have gotten so much closer. For some reason, as shitty as it sounds, we were meant to go thru this to strengthen our relationship.

We started up again with IVF last January and were unsuccessful all of 2019. It’s truly a heartbreaking process and one that does not come easy. To sum it up, I’ve had four surgeries this year, countless doctor’s appointments, lots of hormones pumped through my body and oh my, lots and lots of tears shed. I don’t think I’ve ever cried so much, had so much anger, confusion, wtf did we do to deserve this attitude. This process can be so hard and so incredibly difficult.

The last few months, we have paused, did some more testing and took a break for the holidays. We will start back up again when we feel ready, but PTSD is a real thing. And it’s scary not knowing what will happen next. You finally get yourself back in a good mental state only to be brought back to rock bottom. And its a scary thing to sign back up for all of those roller coaster of emotions. If you know someone going thru IVF, seriously give them a big hug and go easy on them. It’s so incredibly draining on all levels.

Ok, enough with that! 2019 still had some very high, highs too! We did a lot of traveling- San Diego, Savannah and a few trips back to Michigan! Moved into our new apartment (read about that here). Although, I wouldn’t really say moving was a high because moving is a huge pain! We love our new home and having more space is a huge win! And I think my favorite part was being able to upgrade to a king size bed (see our master bed reveal here). Literally life changing!

Addie settled into her new life and absolutely loves going to daycare three days a week now. And we love it too because we aren’t constantly trying to keep her busy or active. It’s been a huge stress reliever for us too. And our daycare always does THE cutest things like back to school night (she even got a school picture), secret Santa gifts at Christmas time, etc. They have put a huge smile on our faces!

Ok, enough with looking back into the past. I’m ready for a new year and a new decade! I keep telling Kurt this is our year of being frugal. So that’s the theme this year. Our goal for 2021 is to buy a condo in Chicago. Although, that makes me very nervous, mainly because it’s so permeant! So a lot of my goals this year revolve around that and getting to that big end goal!

Do yoga at least once a week, but shoot for twice a week- My work offers a 45 minute yoga class twice a week during our lunch break and I plan on taking full advantage of it this year. It’s so nice to just get a good workout in during the day and to be done with it. I use to do yoga every week and kind of got away from it and I really miss it! It relaxes your body, eases stress and is a great workout. And its a really good, low impact workout for me. I will say, there will be certain times when I can’t workout (doctor’s orders!), but when I am can, I plan to stick to it at least once a week!

Pick one day a week and not spend anything- I’ve done this in the past, but I’ve gotten more lax with it. I usually like to pick Monday’s were I don’t spend anything. I don’t eat out, don’t order anything online, don’t fill up my gas tank, etc.- nothing! It’s just a good way to sort of pause and re-evaluate your spending.

Make all purchases good ones, especially in skincare- I have a really bad habit of reading a blog post where they are recommending a new product to try, ordering said product and only using it once or twice because it makes me breakout. Everything makes me break out, I swear! So I need to do a better job at pausing, doing a little more research, thinking about this new product and how it will impact my skin and going from there. I end up with a ton of products that are half used and are awful for my skin. And not to mention, I’m wasting a ton of money! Another way I can stick to my year of frugal haha!

Aggressively work to meet our financial goals- I told you this was the theme! We work with a financial advisor and have set goals for our six month checkin. And I intend to hit them!

Continue with our family walks- Every night after dinner, we take Addie for a walk. Now that the weather is a bit chillier and it gets dark so fast, those walks might be a bit quicker. But either way, I love them! It gets us all moving after a long day and it gives Kurt and I time to talk about our day and connect. We chat the whole time, Addie gets in some exercise and most importantly, we spend time as a family! The fresh air also helps me sleep so much better.

Have a baby- Ok, I’m putting this out into the universe, so in 2020 in can manifest! Fingers (and toes) crossed that this can be the year.

Thanks for reading and following along! What are your goals for 2020?