2018 in Review

So how did your year go? Was 2018 the year that you accomplish what you wanted to? Did life take you by surprise and nothing went according to plans?

Hubby and I began 2018 with a moniker/theme for the year. For us, 2018 was going to be the year of Completion. And we did live up to that! At the end of 2017, I set specific goals that I wanted to complete in different aspects of my life during 2018. Check out ny 2018 goals here. So here is what I have Completed in 2018.

The Financial

Pay off 3 of my small Student Loans

Well, I paid off one loan. Finances got really tight around April and September and we had to spend the extra payments that we were going to make. 

The Self Improvement

Drop 30 lbs!

I am so proud of myself. I lost 24 pounds in 2018. I was determined not to gain weight during the last two festive months. I kept stretching and moving. For a recap, I did not do Whole 30 nor did join a group or program. I simply cut my meat consumption down to 3 meals a week.  I also started doing yoga. I am not great at yoga, wont catch me taping my stretches. The benefits helped with more than weight loss, but helped with back pain, posture and even tightening my core. Winner winner, vegetarian chicken dinner!

The Intellectual

Read at least one Book a Month

Manage Investments better

Reading one book a month went so-so. I was surprised of the challenge of actually reading with a baby by my side. I kept a record of some of my favorite books from 2018.

Managing investments is something that everyone should do every year. If you have a 401K or other investments, review it often and ask questions. Hubby and I took a moment to review what our “fun” stocks have done throughout the year. It has been fun watching $30 transform into hundreds of dollars throughout the year. Using some gift money, we purchased a share for Baby E. In the future, we hope to teach him about investments.

The Family

Monthly Dates with Hubs

Explore with the baby

Spend time with aging grandparents

We completed our son’s adoption. We finished the paperwork on time and waited the expected long timeframe to go to court. We were more than elated. We also completed our first year as parents. I can not believe that after 7 years of wanting to be parents, we finally became parents and made it through one solid year. 

We were head strong in the beginning of the year with monthly dates. We fell off the band wagon by March due to work. We were able to grab a date each month throughout the summer and one in October. We now have a babysitter for the day time and one for the evening. 

Exploring with the baby was the theme of the summer it seems. We visited 4 states and was gone for a month. Part of our month long travels was spending time with my elderly grandparents. My grandparents are in their 80’s and I wanted to make sure that they got to enjoy their new great-grandson.

The Career

Grow readership/followers by 500

Find the perfect part time position

I did not find the perfect part time position. I landed a contractual full time position at a global company. I began working at this wonderful company at the end of November. Working has truly shocked my system as everything is totally different now. I am a working mother. I’m not sure that I have grown use to this concept or not. I hate leaving my son at day care as many mother do. I just have to get use to it right? *Lump in throat*

Grow readership or followers was another goal of my mine, but I didn’t attack it aggressively. I want people to follow me organically. Perhaps I need to be clearer in my messages. People may love what I have to say but I may be covering too many topics and ideas. Stay turned for 2019’s FromMaruki changes.

All-in-all, that was my 2018 year in a nutshell. The prior year was much more difficult. Every year is different and brings it's own challenges. This year, we focused on starting and completing tasks. We just needed to get to the point where tasks weren't looming over us. 

As we look forward to 2019, Hubby and I are thinking of what the theme of our year will be. We are thinking of what are striving for this year. 

I think we figured it...stay tuned.