New Year, New Me?

I’m not sure why I continue to title my first blog post of each year as “New Year, New Me”. I guess it is because I believe that New Years is overrated. I know I voice this opinion each year...I guess that part of me hasn’t changed. I think that people should consistently work to improve themselves instead of waiting for that single date to “change their lives” only to eventually disappoint themselves if they aren’t able to maintain a particular resolution to the degree that they had hoped. I guess the phrase “New Year, New Me” is, essentially, me rolling my eyes at the idea. Does that make me less of a better person? I mean, I’m all for self-improvement and high-fives all around if you’re actually able to enrich your life each year, but I just don’t believe in putting the anticlimactic countdown that occurs each New Years Eve on such a pedestal each year. I’m not sure where I’m going with this rant, but the rant was had and now it is time to move forward … or I guess backwards, as I review and reminisce on 2019!

2019 was quite a year as Blake and I took major steps forward in our relationship and our future together.

Engagement: The year started off great when, on our weekend getaway for our 7 year anniversary, Blake decided to propose! It wasn’t perfect, in the sense that we are both awkward people and the words that we shared were not like what you see in the movies, but everything else about it was perfection. The location was beautiful and perfect; as was sharing the moment (obviously) with Blake. I also love my engagement ring. It’s different and personally designed by Blake, so it feels incredibly special that he chose me to wear it. We are getting married at the end of this year and, although it has been a very stressful year of planning and it will continue to be stressful throughout this year, I’m excited to marry Blake!

First Home: This year also marked the purchase of mine and Blake’s first home together. It officially became ours in May and we have been slowly working to make it ours. We spent the first month doing renovations on the main living room/dining room; as well as painted two of our 3 bedrooms. It still needs a lot of work, but it is mostly cosmetic, so it has been sitting on the back burner for quite some time. After we lost momentum from the initial excitement of moving in, our enthusiasm to complete the cosmetic jobs dwindled, but we are hopeful to get a couple more tasks done this year.

New Job: At the end of 2019, Blake was offered a full-time permanent job at the hospital that I work at. It was some of the best news that we had gotten all year! Not only would I get to see Blake more often, but his commute to work was cut 95%. Our home is within walking distance to the hospital, so we both walk to work daily. He is currently still in training, but once he is finished training, he will be put back onto shift work. He doesn’t mind the shift work nor do I, but at least the shifts are more practical than previously, so we will get to actually be in bed together each night.

Family Vacation: This year, my whole family got to go on vacation together to Mexico. Blake and I have been multiple times previously with my parents, but this was the first year that my brother (Logan) and his girlfriend (Rebecca) were able to join us. It was great to spend time together with the whole family. The resort was one that we had been to previously and, unfortunately, was not as good as we had remembered. I wrote a whole blog about our trip, so you can check it out if you want to hear more about that trip.

Medical: I had said in the previous “New Year, New Me” post for 2019 that I had lost weight. Well, I lost more than just a few pounds. By the end of this year, I was down from 156lbs to 130lbs. The problem with this was that I wasn’t really trying all that hard to lose the weight. No exercise, no dieting. I wasn't all that concerned, but my parents were another story. So, to appease them, I went to see the doctor. She too was concerned and sent me for a bunch of tests including sending me to a specialist. I had an endoscopy, a ton of blood work, and 2 CTs… which I'm still struggling to cope with having done. Anyways, all of my tests have come back normal, so I guess this is the new me. I’m not mad about being slimmer, but I never really thought I was heavy until I looked back at some pictures. So, I struggled with my identity a lot in 2019 while I got used to the new person that I saw in the mirror every day.

Well, I think that’s it for 2019. Sorry this took so long for me to write. With Blake being home more and spending time with him and our housemate; as well as working, going to the gym, and hanging out with friends more, I’m running out of personal time. I’m definitely not complaining, it’s great to have a busy life and I’ll be doing my best to keep everyone in the loop this year while Blake and I make some final decisions with regards to our wedding. So far, as of Family Day 2020, we have the venue, photographer, DJ, officiant, flowers, and all of the dresses; so I think we are making good progress. However, last year was definitely a stressful one with regards to wedding planning, but Blake was amazingly supportive through it all and I’m so lucky to have him. I can’t wait for what’s to come in 2020, I think it’s going to be a great year and will definitely end with an amazing celebration when I marry Blake this November!

2020 Here we come!