2018 Recap & Highlights (+ Goals for 2019)

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The new year is finally here and I can officially say “goodbye!” to 2018 . . . and, if I’m being honest, I couldn’t be more thrilled.

Don’t get me wrong, some great things happened in 2018, but there have been plenty of challenges too. Between financially-draining emergencies and trying to juggle working full-time, being a mom, and trying to grow and develop my little corner of the internet . . . it’s be kinda rough. Basically, I’m ready for the fresh start a new year brings.

But before I say “farewell,” I thought it would be fun to do a little look back on all that’s happened this year (as well as share my hopes and goals going into 2019).

Bloggy Stuff

42. That’s how many blog posts I wrote in 2018. That’s not bad, if I do say so myself. That’s almost one a week! Way better than I thought I was doing.

Of those 42 posts, my most popular were:

No-Bake Peanut Butter & Chocolate Lactation Energy Balls // Exclusively Pumping: What to Know and How to Survive // 30 Non-Candy Piñata Filler Ideas // 40 Non-Candy Easter Basket Ideas // How I Taught My Babies to Drink From a Miracle 360 Cup // Gift Guide for Mom // A Shimmer & Shine Birthday Party // Dear Abby: A Love Letter to My Nanny // My Journey as an Exclusively Pumping Mama

I also landed my first sponsored blog posts, which was huge accomplishment for me! In addition to that little success, I had the extreme pleasure of having myself and my little blog featured on other sites around the internet. Here’s a few of the places where I could be found in 2018:

Life

A lot has happened this year. Some of it was good, some bad.

I finally finished the large backyard clubhouse I’d been working on for the girls. We celebrated the girls’ birthdays with a joint Shimmer & Shine birthday party. We spent lots of time at the Children’s Museum and took Emma to her first movie. We also got to experience Disneyland at Halloween!

Unfortunately, this year also brought a leaky skylight (that ultimately needed to be replaced) and an unexpected new car purchase (when my old car stopped working). We also spent several thousand dollars to replace our A/C unit and discovered that the shower project we’d been putting off can’t wait any longer.

Goals for 2019

I feel like 2018 was a year of adjustment. I was still adjusting to being a mom of two and trying to figure out how to juggle the blog, my job, and my family. Now that I feel a little more like I have at least an idea of how to make things work OK, I have big plans for this next year!

Blog-wise, I’m hoping to bring more home and DIY content to the blog. Anyone who knows me in real life knows that I usually always have a home project on my mind, if not in the works. Not so much in 2018 since I was figuring things out as well as using our time and money to repair or replace things that needed it. Not exactly blog-worthy, but a necessary part of home maintenance.

The projects I’m hoping to tackle in 2019 are:

• Master bathroom remodel
• Guest bathroom refresh
• Master bedroom makeover
• DIY built-ins in the living room
• Kitchen refresh

I’m also hoping to finally getting around to photographing and blogging about the clubhouse I built the girls in the backyard.

Personally, I’m hoping to:

• Swear less
• Play more
• Eat better
• Take more pictures
• Take care of myself!
• Finish my outstanding quilt projects
• Make time to regularly date my hubby and my girls

We’ll also be making another trip to Disneyland in 2019 and I’m hoping to manage to sneak away with the Hubby for a few days since we literally haven’t been on vacation alone since our honeymoon . . . 7 1/2 years ago!

I’ve enjoyed watching this space grow in 2018 and am looking forward to seeing what comes in 2019.

Happy New Year, everyone!