Our 2019 In Review

I knew at the end of 2018 that 2019 was going to be quite a year for us.  We began the year with a lot of changes in store and a ton of things we needed to accomplish in order to make it all happen.  Along the way we had a few unexpected challenges but in looking back over the past year I think we handled it all quite well.  Overall 2019 was a success.

Things We Accomplished 

My Daughter Got A Job, Saved Up & Bought A Car

A Good Sized Fence Repair

A "New"Bicycle For My Daughter

A "New" BBQ

"New" Patio Furniture

We Built A Grilling Station

Graduation & A Party!

Our Big Trip To Disneyland!!

Fixed Our Refrigerator & Defrosted Our Chest Freezer

Gave our Firepot A Facelift & Fixed Up Our Hose Area

My Bike Cargo Trailer

Car Detailing & Car Repairs

A Pillow Project

My Daughter Donated Her Hair

My Master Bedroom Renovation

I Fixed Up An Antique Table

Our Garage Renovation

I Sent My Daughter Off To College

Upstairs Bathroom Renovation

I Made Some Pumpkins

Our Upstairs Hallway Makeover & Doors

The Downstairs Bedroom Renovation

Our "New" Crafting Center

My 2020 Day Planner

Snuggling up in my lap while I tried to write my blog
was their favorite place to be

Sadly we said goodbye to our kitty Henry in March and unexpectedly to our big ol' boy Leonard in June.  It was heartbreaking, we cried a lot and we miss them even more, but in September we added Jack to the mix and he has been really something around here.  He is quite the character and I just love him to pieces.  Stella still isn't impressed.

My youngest made the cheer and dance team at the high school and also got her braces off last summer.  The dance team and orthodontics has proven to be a solid commitment of both time and money.  Holy cow!

Throughout the year I worked a full time job plus a lot of overtime, I did a ton of grocery shopping, meal planning and preparing, washed a bunch of dishes and a mountain of laundry, kept my house clean and my vehicles, maintained my vehicles, we mowed the lawn and raked up a gob of leaves, trimmed hedges, shoveled snow, pulled weeds and planted flowers.  I decorated our home for the seasons, inside and out.  We entertained friends and family, enjoyed a few movie nights, played games, listened to music and even worked a puzzle which we hadn't done in eons.

I spent a lot of time in front of this thing

I made cards and graduation announcements, I wrote letters and sent cards to my friends and my family.  I mended clothing, made some cleaning rags and fixed things that broke or wore out.  I took care of my children, my kitties and my chickens as well as myself, even a bunny.  I made several trips to the feed store for hay, feed and supplies.  I gave haircuts, hugs and advice to my girls.  I filed my taxes, managed my finances, saved some money, paid my bills and helped fill out gobs of financial aid and scholarship forms.  We went to the doctor and the dentist and took the kitties to the veterinary clinic.  I checked our mail and collected the mail for our next door neighbors who like to travel and we kept an eye on their place for them.

We recycled and reused, even gleaned some FREE WOOD for several of our projects.  We purged and we donated, we cleaned up and hauled off trash as well as made a trip to the dump and another one to hazardous waste drop off site always trying to be mindful of what we were contributing to the landfill and how we dispose of things.

When I first sat down to write this post I had just looked over my "To Do" list and moved a bunch of things left on it over to my 2020 list.  At that moment I was focused on all the things that didn't get accomplished and was disappointed that I hadn't been able to complete as much as I had planned.  However, in looking back at 2019 I am now focused on all that I did do and I have to say it feels pretty darn good.  I'm not disappointed in our progress at all.  We did alright!

2019 was a bit of a bumpy year for us.  We had so much going on and a lot of things happened along the way.  We've had to make a lot of changes and adjustments as our lives have been taking on some very different roles.  But no matter what happened we stayed the course and kept on.  Not even a pesky realtor could derail us.  We navigated that obstacle and made it through as well.  Looking back on 2019 I'm rather proud of us and can honestly say we had a spectacular year.

We have so much!  So much we are grateful for

My girls are growing up and I'm just steps away from a very different life myself and I'm excited about it too.  But, for now I'm ready to just enjoy 2020 one day at a time and do the very best I can each day to make improvements in our lives.  We have plans and new goals to accomplish and much more to look forward to.  We are determined to make it another great year and it definitely will be.  I'm quite positive about that!