I don't post anymore; we can start there.
...Just kidding. I'm here and I didn't get to put a recap on 2023 before the stroke of midnight on 12/32/31. Oh well. Last year was QUITE the year and then some!
What. A. Year! I feel like the entire year itself passed in a flash. I have a calendar on my desk at work and I feel like the months were being torn off faster than I could make notes and cross days off one by one. I'm starting to see in my old age that the phrase 'time is a thief' is all too true. I was a fast year, a hectic year, but one of the very best I've had so far. There were big challenges and some tears but I'm grateful for the lessons and trial by fire as they get me ready for 2024.
Read on for all of my weekend word vomit...
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Every year I make a -Goals- list and I had a pretty lengthy one at the start of 2023. Things like furthering my academics, getting some run PRs and getting more traction in my little side business online. Nothing crazy. Tangible goals are the trick to sticking to something I think, so I didn't set the bar way above reach of where I knew I wanted to find myself at the end of the year.
Where do I start? I do post quite a bit to Instagram which consequently has become a bit of just a running page especially in this past year. My monthly highlights are captured there which saves my fingers here on my blog page lol Not sure how sorry I feel about that, running is obviously an enormous part of my life. However, when it comes to myself, I have to admit I'm very much an open book. I have no secrets and I'll tell you anything you want to know about me.
I had hoped to land a few age group awards, maybe win first place overall in a race or two and I ended up doing that several times. I still can't believe how crazy it is that at the climb into middle age, I'm somehow faster and stronger than I was 10 years ago. I'm so happy with the mile times and things I accomplished in my fitness last year and am only all the more excited for what I'll be able to do in 2024.
Current records to reflect on from 2023:
Fastest 5K: 21:54
Fastest Half Marathon: 1:50:20
Fastest Marathon: 3:50:08
Heaviest Free Weight Squat: 110 x5
-Books
Sometimes I love going on airplane mode and binge reading #sorrynotsorry
I've become just a bit obsessed with Shari Lapena's work and highly recommend anything written by her. "Someone We Know" and "The Couple Next Door" were two books that I read each, within a day. Honestly, the first chapter of TCND I was already engrossed in what would happen next. Highly recommend it! The length is just right may I add for a cozy weekend inside or for reading on flights or during layovers.
Also, I have to give a shoutout to Rachel Hawkins and The Wife Upstairs....Hole Lee Crap, so good! Jaw dropping plot twists and I could not put this hard cover down.
I'm currently working on The Haunting of Adeline and it's picking up very slowly but I'm too far into it to not finish it now lol After I finish this one I may need to pick up a Court of Rose and Thorns. My sis in law loves it and I think I need to give it a chance.
-Etsy Shop
I'm officially out of business...my decision. I learned a valuable lesson after 2023 showed me that you get about as much back as you put into a side business and I absolutely do not have the time to put into it. I made a profit of a few hundred over what I invested so I only gained experience, learned some lessons and had fun. However, being a full time Etsy owner will not be my destiny and I'm ok with that.
-Traveling
If traveling were free, we would never be in Fleming Island. We traveled to California twice this past year, saw Yosemite National park and it's greatly inspired our adventures for 2024. We have a few places we want to revisit and then hit up the rest of the US National Parks in 2024 before finally making our first trek to Europe in 2025.
Biggest goal in 2024, finish seeing all the National Parks that the US has to offer and then we'll set our sights on something touristy in either Italy or Greece the following year. Europe treks will eventually include Germany and London which are a part of the Abbott six so they're a given for us. It's still my bucket list destination to see the tombs in Egypt one day but convincing Matt Stevens to go inside a pyramid may not happen lol
-Life
Matt and I will be married 7 years next month. What. The. Heck. It is incredible how fast the years have flown, and this past September we've been together for 10 years. I'm still the luckiest girl in the world to be married to him, I know now more than I did 10 years ago how lucky I am to be his and how much I hit the jackpot with him. He's a provider, always working long hours and taking on extra just because he wants to always give us more than what we need. He's such a freaking cheerleader for me while I navigate the hospital admin life and is so patient with me if I'm sad, upset or just don't feel like being in a good mood. He's supportive, (literally lets me call him just to panic before walking on stage to give a pitch to enterprise leadership on project showcasing lol) loving, and my absolute favorite best good person and dog dad. He has no temper which is still so odd to me lol most men I knew growing up had tempers and I think I can count on one hand the number of times I've heard Matt raise his voice in anger and I think maybe only once was it at me? Nobody is perfect, we all grow and make mistakes but he is absolutely amazing and treats me like a queen, supports and loves me when I don't feel like loving myself. In his words "Life is Good" and "We are Hot" lol
Still no plans for kiddos, we love our freedom, and it might be a DINK life for us forever. He respects the fact that I'm not a kid person and spent my whole growing up life taking care of someone else's kids and didn't want to do that when I grew up.
But speaking of kids...Mavs will be 7 next month :( he was born the week of our honeymoon so while each wedding anniversary is exciting to commemorate another year together, it's another year that my fur nugget gets a little bit older. I didn't have a pet growing up, I had a farm full of animals that weren't exactly pets with the exclusion of my horses. Having a dog was something I always wanted especially in the young adult years that I was single. I was so choosy over who I dated but still hated the loneliness of single life and remember begging my parents for a dog. Couldn't happen though since my brother has horrible animal allergies and suffered enough with the livestock. Getting Mavs wasn't just a finishing piece to a newlywed life, he was the companion I would need as a police wife. He's been my little shadow and best good buddy on countless nights alone when Matt was doing evening/overnight/off duty, anything police related. It's hard to truly feel alone with 12 pounds of white fuzz following you all over the house. He's a brat, I've worked hard to make him that way and I love him to pieces.
It's mid January now, and already things have been in motion for a lot of what's to take place this year. Onward and up!
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