Well, it’s that time of year, folks. Let’s reflect on the highlights of 2018 and set some intentions for 2019. Here’s what I’ve got for you:
Writing:
The year started off with a bang with my feature on Design Mom. I might have accidentally agreed to do the project well before my house was ready for it, but luckily my sister Julia was up for the task and helped to style, shoot, and edit the piece.
In my birth-related life, this year was a bit of a whirlwind. I stepped into the role of Director of Childbirth & Breastfeeding Education, earned a Lactation Counselor credential, and have now partnered with Sarah Longacre to form the Blooma Doulas. I’m currently on call for my first birth of 2019 and I couldn’t be more excited! I feel so fortunate to work at a place that encourages so much autonomy and creativity.
Home:
In addition to getting the house ready for the Design Mom shoot, we also tackled a really special project, the Treehouse. Growing up, I played in my best friend’s treehouse that was just like this, and begged my husband to build me an “exact replica.” No pressure, honey. It is very close to being done but we’ve taken a break from it over the winter. It still needs windows, doors, and (eventually) a turret. So far the kids like to pretend it’s a food truck, so I have placed many orders through its windows.
The Intention-Based Planner:
This year I also came out with my very first product, the Intention-Based Planner. Again, this was a collaboration with my sister Julia. We needed a better tool to organize all the various facets of our lives into one intentional place, and (many months later), voila! Here it is. It has been so fun to see people buy and start to use something that we made ourselves!
Travel:
We took it easy this year, since traveling with a 3-year old and a 1-year old is complete and utter chaos. We visited Denver in April for the first time since moving back to Minnesota, which was very bittersweet. We feel good about our move home to the Midwest but Colorado will always hold a very special place in our hearts. We also went up north to Lake Superior with the entire Connors gang in tow.
And now, a few intentions for 2019:
First: Energy is everything. I will continue to work, as I have been doing for years, on doing more of what energizes me and less of what drains me. I am very protective of my “yeses” right now and have to say no to a lot of things, even if they sound fun or interesting. Having young kids while working and running a household is exhausting and there is only so much of me to go around.
Self-Portraits: I am in a weekly self-portrait group led by my friend Shea of True Mama Photography. I know very little about photography but we’re two weeks in, and it’s a really interesting group to be a part of so far.
Bike, bike, bike. As soon as the weather is nice again (which is, unfortunately, in about 3-4 months), I will be biking as much as possible. We live in the most bike-friendly city in the nation and have lots of awesome places to explore right outside our doorstep. I’m hoping to get a little European cargo bike with an electric assist to lug with kids around more easily. Any suggestions on which kind to get?
Plant a vegetable garden. I knew that last summer things were still too crazy to attempt anything in the garden, and I’m going to start slow, but I will be planting at least one raised bed’s worth of veggies and eating whatever survives! We have a raspberry bush in the yard that the kids were completely obsessed with. They would sneak over all the time to pick and eat the berries, and I think they will have so much fun harvesting and eating from our own garden.
Home and design projects: Well, the list is super long here, but I find that when I focus first on how to make our lives more efficient and less cluttered, that’s the design where we get the biggest bang for our buck. Yes, there are walls I want to repaint and even bedrooms that we might trade around, but when I focus on donating stuff we don’t need and building out more storage to contain what we use and have, it really does affect us positively on a daily basis.
That’s the short list, but it seems like the most important for now. I like to create space for other opportunities that come my way as the year unfolds, which is why most of the intention-setting in my planner is based on seasons.
That’s enough of me. How about you? What are you most proud of in 2018 and what’s next?
