The Second Trimester

In my last update we were still waiting to see our Midwife after going to our first (and probably only) ultrasound. We have been to see her twice since then and everything is looking great.

The ultrasound came back looking really good, no abnormalities, everything is developing well and my size is pretty much right on. The tech gave a due date that is 5 days earlier than what we originally said, but since due dates don’t mean much to me, I’m still just saying mid-June to mid-July. 

We also got back blood test results from ages ago when we tested my thyroid and iron. Both were not doing great pre-pregnancy but I am very pleased to see that they are near perfect now. I was originally told that pregnancy would likely make my thyroid worse, so I’m extra pleased to see that isn’t currently the case.

My belly has measured perfectly at all appointments so far and baby has continued to have a “female” heart rate, always in the high 140’s to 150’s.

A lot of people ask me if I have a “feeling” whether it is a boy or girl and I can honestly say I have no idea at all. I just assume that anyone who thinks they KNOW what they’re having is just projecting what they want to have or basing off of wives tales and/or previous pregnancies. I am fairly certain that I am having a human baby, but that’s all I know.

As of March 5^th, 22 weeks + 5 days, I am able to feel movement even when I am standing or moving, that gives me a good sense of baby’s growth and increasing strength.

Speaking of size and strength, I had wanted to be more active all along and finally joined a pre/post-natal gym that I found not far from where we live. I’ve been going 3 days per week ever since I joined and I really love it. The first class absolutely killed me, I was so sore the next day that I could barely walk and it actually made me nauseous, but I’ve been slightly less red and sweaty each class since then (hoping that means I’m getting stronger and more fit!) The aim of the classes, I do aerobics and yoga, are not to lose weight or change my physique, but to remain as strong as possible throughout my pregnancy. Any time an exercise feels particularly difficult or long the instructors always remind us that we can do anything for 1 minute and that includes eventual contractions. Little encouragements like that really go a long way to remind me of what I really can do, mentally and physically.

Despite my activity level I am certainly starting to feel bigger and heavier, as I should be. My belly gets in the way of more and more small tasks like tying my shoes, getting in and out of the car, picking things up off the floor and washing dishes ( I can’t stand as close to the counter/sink as I would prefer.) By the end of the second trimester I’m up 10 pounds but still able to wear most of my normal clothes. 10 pounds gained puts me right on track for what I hope to gain overall, about 25 pounds. Some people seem concerned that I am working to stay within a certain weight gain, but when you consider that I was technically overweight to begin with and that there are potential health risks for babies if Mom gains too much, my midwife and I are both happy with how I’m gaining. That being said, if anything changes and I’m told I need to gain more, I will obviously do that. I can honestly say though, I did have a small fit of sobbing around 26 weeks when I decided that I didn’t like the scale anymore. Ryan promptly reminded me that I’m pregnant, I told him that doesn’t mean I have to like it and then I got on with life and all has been fine since. What can I say; sometimes the hormones get the better of me.

The only new symptoms that have come up in the second trimester are occasional acid burning my throat (fingers crossed for a full head of red hair!!) I am feeling much warmer overall and having a harder time cooling down and I have a rather sore tailbone on some days. Unfortunately, because I sit in an office all day my tailbone is harder to deal with, but my boss let me order a ball chair so hopefully that helps.

My other comfort purchase was a Boppy pillow and I can confidently say, it has been the best thing, ever. I was literally dreaming about this pillow in my first trimester, before I knew it was real and having it has been amazing. The little wedge fits just perfectly under my belly when I lay on my side, almost completely removing the weight and keeping me from feeling pulled or stretched. I also use it under my hip so I can lay on my back without feeling guilty (apparently pregnant women shouldn’t sleep on their backs,) this was actually the reason I wanted it. And its final beautiful perk is that if I get it wedged just right under my boob/rib/armpit, I can sleep in my pre-pregnancy side/belly positon! Highly recommend to all.

My final thought of the second trimester is this: I thought pregnancy would be different.

In almost every way, I thought it would be different than it has been. Media really makes pregnancy and childbirth look so different than they are. I expected to be much bigger, thought I would have been much sicker and always sore, thought I would forget what pre-pregnant life felt like, I thought I would have a deeper connection with baby and I expected myself to be perfect. Don’t get me wrong, I’m really not complaining, I have absolutely loved being pregnant, it just isn’t what I thought.

The First Trimester

In my mind, I was going to tell Ryan that I was pregnant in some cute way, but in reality, I told him via hysterical sobs and shaking a recently peed on stick at him within moments of getting the solid second line. The line was so faint he could barely see it, but when you have been waiting for as long as I have to see that double line, you take what you can get. I’m pretty sure he wasn’t actually convinced on day 1, but the gradually darkening line from day-to-day couldn’t be denied.

After I managed to stop sobbing/laughing/stomping my feet and “got over” the urge to shout it from the rooftops, I looked up my due date and then confirmed it on 72 different apps/websites. To be clear, I don’t actually believe in due dates, but it is nice to have a date to countdown to. That being said, I’ve chosen not to share that date with most people and instead say I am due mid-June to mid-July.

Because there were almost no symptoms that early on and nothing to be felt physically, it didn’t feel real at all. Honestly, even now in my second trimester, it’s only just starting to feel a bit more real.

The most significant symptoms I had all started around 5-6 weeks. I was sick for about 2 weeks, finally realized it was my vitamin making me sick, quit the vitamin and haven’t been sick since. I had (very few) random days that I felt nauseous but mostly I just felt unsettled. Always tired. I sneeze a lot? No particular food aversions, but no desire at all to eat. I’ve developed a horrible gag reflux when brushing/flossing; really hoping that goes away soon! And the thing I had heard about so many times but apparently no one that I know has ever actually experienced, the disgusting mouth taste. I’ve mostly heard it described as being metallic, but for me it tasted like my mouth was unclean (despite brushing 3-times daily!) and my tongue needed to be scrubbed to remove the taste – scrubbed with a tooth brush, causing me to gag.

Looking back now, I’d say I had a fairly easy first trimester. Ryan might disagree, being that he had to listen to me whine constantly, did all the cooking and cleaning, all the driving and had to put up with my ridiculous demands. Most notably, the only craving I had was for ice water, but I wanted it in a specific glass, with 3 ice cubes and my reusable metal straw because it made it taste colder. The only other part of that time that I would say was quite difficult was the first week that I was getting sick. I couldn’t drink water, couldn’t eat much besides soda crackers and I spent my work days running for the bathroom (while trying to look casual and hoping no one else was in there.) The few things that did make me feel better were orange Fanta, deep inhales outside in the cold winter air and being asleep.

In mid-November, around the 8-week mark we decided it was time to tell our parents. The original plan was to wait until Christmas and tell everyone at once, but even managing to keep it to ourselves for that long was challenging. Since I had never shared our desire to start trying this year, they were understandably shocked. Once that wears off everyone has been excited. A few weeks later, we finally told our friends and siblings, receiving some interesting reactions from some.

I’ve been emailing myself throughout with thoughts or ideas and I’m going to share those too.

-I really wish someone would have explained to me how much the sickness was as much a mental struggle as it was physical. Pregnancy aside, when I am sick I don’t want to eat, period. During my pregnancy sickness if I didn’t eat, it made everything worse. However, the idea of eating and most likely not keeping it down made it extremely difficult to convince myself to eat. I fought a vicious cycle with myself about it every day. I never thought I could struggle so hard to just chew and swallow a cracker.

-Another interesting realization about pregnancy is that it basically turned me into a toddler with a driver’s license and a job. I need naps, I only wanted food that is plain and usually devoid of nutrition, I need to be paid attention to a lot, I may have a tantrum or start crying for no good reason and there will be no calming me down. And I became pretty useless around the house, not cooking or cleaning.

-That mind-blowing moment where I realized that I have created human life. This one gets me every time I think about it and it doesn’t get any less mind blowing.

-And finally, I am not the person I thought I would be. I expected to be super strict with myself about eating, drinking water, being active, getting enough sleep, etc. I also thought I would be super connected/obsessed/excited as soon as I found out, but I honestly have days where I hardly think about it at all, not to say I am not excited, because I am, but it feels very different than I thought. In a way I’m disappointed in myself, but also this is my first pregnancy and it’s a very new experience; I’m doing the best I can and making an effort to improve myself all the time. I’m fine and baby seems to be fine so really, that is all that matters.

On the note of baby doing fine, I guess I should also mention that we were fortunate enough to be taken into midwifery care within 2 weeks of finding out about baby. We haven’t had an ultrasound yet (we will at 20 weeks) but we have had a few appointments with our midwife and baby had a strong heartbeat. I also got to hear kicking which was very exciting since I cannot yet feel it.

A few things that people like to ask so I will leave them here. We will not be finding out the gender. We are planning for a home birth. We have agreed on a girl name but no luck with a boy name yet. No, I will not tell you the names.

Our Engagement Story

As I’m sure most of you are already aware, Ryan and I got engaged! I feel like I had been waiting for this moment, with this man for my whole life, even before I knew him.

On one of our last vacation days, October 15^th, we decided to go take our Christmas card photos. We always do it ourselves with a tripod and self-timer so it was nothing out of the ordinary for us to drive off into nowhere, find a pretty spot and start shooting. We went to a couple different spots and tried a few different angles before we found the perfect one. Near the river, perfect lighting and beautiful fall leaves. We shot many photos here before I was fully satisfied that we had at least a couple where my face cooperated.

Throughout our time here, I noticed Ryan put his hand in his pocket a few times and in the back of my mind, I hoped so hard that he was feeling for a ring, but ultimately decided he was probably making sure he hadn’t lost the keys to our rental car.

It turns out, when you know, you know. He really did have a ring in there!

Anyway, before we got there I had actually suggested that we be done because we would have plenty of photos to choose from. Ryan disagreed and said we needed a few more. I did my part, standing in frame while he gets the camera focused and sets the timer. From there I think I had the ring on my finger before I realized what was even happening, I just kept asking, “Is this real?” “Are you serious?” “What?!” until it finally sank in. He caught the moment on camera and it is so special for me to have that.

We had a sweet moment together before he went to turn the camera off and that’s when it really hit me. This man, the most perfect man, wants to marry me! I proceeded to sob/laugh with joy. It turns out he had the ring for months and was just waiting for the right moment and also, my best friends had known about it!!

Honestly, I’m surprised I made it back to the car without walking into something, I couldn’t (and months later, still can’t) stop staring at the ring. It’s just what I would have chosen and I love it so much!

When we got back to the house we called or texted our parents, grandparents, siblings and close friends to share the excitement, because lets face it, even an hour of keeping it to myself would have been too long.

I’ve been wedding planning in my head for years so it was only a matter of hours before we decided on the size, guest list and date; and within a few weeks we had a venue, catering and bar booked, bridesmaid dresses bought, wedding dresses tried and suit tentatively chosen.

The wedding will be October 12^th, 2019 and I cannot wait!

How I Saved $35,000 in Under 3 Years While Still Having a Life

I remember a time, not so long ago, when paying monthly bills felt like a burden and I was excited to put $50 in my savings. I have come a long way since then and learned so much.


Working in restaurants and hair salons meant I always had cash, the biggest chunk of my income was from tips, and my minimum-wage pay cheque was pretty small. The issue wasn’t that I didn’t make enough, because I did, it was that always having cash meant it was easier to spend without thinking and the bulk of my money never made it to my bank account, never mind my savings. Since then I have moved to a well-paying salary job where I never see cash and it has been so much easier to save.


I don’t remember now why I started tracking my spending or following a budget, but it has been one of the best financial decisions I’ve made. I created a spreadsheet where I tracked every dollar going in and out of my accounts, tallied my savings and started reading my trends. Having to see, plain as day, how much money I was spending on “miscellaneous” is quite a slap in the face. Just to drive the point home I looked back on my monthly spending sheet, chose a random month and came back with $1062.80 in miscellaneous spending! That doesn’t include bills, groceries, gas, etc. and to be clear, this wasn’t a special month, it was very like many other months.


Now, I’m not going to act like I don’t waste money or shop unnecessarily anymore, I do, but I am much more aware of it and try to make better choices. One of the best ways to do that is moving money from the account attached to my debit card into my savings as soon as possible. Once it goes into savings it’s off limits.

Now that you know the back story, let me tell you how I got to where I am.


My desires and the motivation created by them have likely been the biggest contributor to my ability to save. I am planning for a big move sometime in the future and I’d like it to be as simple as possible. I don’t want to arrive with nothing in savings and struggle to get my life up and running again because I can’t afford it. Likewise, I want to travel as much and as often as I can. I hear about people flying across the world and all they could afford was that plane ticket and hope to figure the rest out when they arrive, that will never be me. And lastly for my significant plans, I very simply want to live the life I want. When I have children I don’t want to worry about whether I can afford them, if I decide to go back to school I want to be able to, if a last minute opportunity comes about I want to take it. Having a money cushion allows me to live the life I want, not just the life I can afford.


As I’m sure many people do, I make an effort to keep my monthly bills as low as possible and live below what I can afford. When I realized how much it was costing me to drive and park at work every day I started taking the train. When the city started charging to park at the train station I took the bus to the train. When I looked at how much I was paying just to have/park/maintain a vehicle that I only drove 1-2 times a week, I sold it. I do miss my van and the freedom it afforded me but it was no longer worth the price I was paying. Similarly, I paid off my phone in full to be able to take advantage of a deal that would lower my monthly phone bill from $100 to $60.


My monthly bills, fixed and variable, total about 49% of my income (on average) allowing me to spend save the remaining 51%. Sure, I could use that to pay for a vehicle I never use, or more clothes that I’ll wear once or go out for lunch everyday but I would much rather squirrel it away for future possibilities.


Here’s where that 49% is going:


38% - Rent takes up the biggest chunk but is also my favorite part to spend on. That probably sounds weird but living in an apartment that I genuinely love and really enjoy spending time in is well worth the cost. I also include home insurance and my parking stall with rent. I can’t really say if I’m paying a lot, very little or somewhere in between for rent because it is so variable depending on where you live, but I think it is pretty average for my location.

30% - Groceries, that thing we all need but would probably rather spend on eating out, or maybe a private chef.. This is the only chunk of my bills that really change from month-to-month. I try really hard to keep within the limits I’ve created for myself but it doesn’t always happen.

21% - Transportation includes my city transit pass and half of the insurance and gas for the car I share with my boyfriend. This total was significantly higher not long ago but selling my vehicle and paying off our shared car has done wonders!

5% - My cell phone is not only my connection to friends and family but also my entertainment, camera, GPS and note pad, among other things. For me it is worth every penny I pay into it.

3% - Electricity. I would say utilities, but everything else is included in my rent.

3% - Miscellaneous payments, bank fees, etc. Things I would rather not pay for but am anyways.


Spending bans are my next big contributor. I have done seven 1-month long spending bans over the past 2 years and they have contributed nearly half of my total savings! I usual choose my ban-months for particular reasons. Typically I’ll do one for the month before a vacation to help bulk up my account but I also try to do one in the month I’ll be getting a tax refund (if I do) as well as triple-pay months. One of these months also coincidentally lined up with when I sold my van so that was a great bonus!


On the very opposite side of the spectrum I try to keep contributions to my savings account as low-pressure as possible. Some months I only manage to save $50 because I have that set as an automatic contribution and others, like when I sold my van, I save several thousand. Any savings is better than no savings so I don’t beat myself.

In the process of living life I’m constantly learning and money is no exception. For example, I’m still trying to figure out how to stay on my monthly grocery budget, which shouldn’t be hard but it is. Sometimes I casually try to figure out how to buy a home, not because I want to, but because the process sounds scary and confusing. I’m trying to convince myself to be more minimal, an ongoing journey, and hoping that having less also means buying less and living more freely. Everything I’ve done to get to the savings point I’m at has been trial and error assisted by many internet searches and several YouTube channels.


I figured something else out very recently and I feel a bit silly having not thought of it before this year. In two and half years of budgeting I never once included spending money or savings into the equation. The thought did not ever enter my mind. I made sure to cover all my bills, groceries, gas and my automatic contributions but nothing else, the rest of my money was free to be spent or saved without a particular goal in mind. True, I was usually pretty good about shuffling some money over to savings, but for a long time it was just the excess after shopping, eating and entertainment. Having realized how much I allowed myself to spend in the past I have finally added a spending category to my budget as well as an amount I know I should be able to save. Sticking to the spending allotment is a work in progress, but that’s ok!


Throughout all of this I have still been able to live my life. I’ve made travel a priority and been on many trips, 9 I believe, near, far, budget and expensive. Ryan and I have paid off the car. I’ve shopped for myself, bought gifts, eaten out and enjoyed concerts and movies. I don’t feel at all like I’ve been held back by saving. I’m very happy with the apartment we live in. I’m not yet tired of the fact that I’ve worn the same clothes for ages. I’m not upset about sharing a vehicle.

I’m actively creating the life I want to live by living in a way I’m comfortable with, and for me that has huge value.

Twenty Eighteen Goals, Mid Year Review

I made quite a few goals for myself this year, some easier than others, but I have every intention of crushing as many of them as I can. Here’s how I’m doing so far.

Improve my health – I had to make a few changes here and there, add iron supplements to my daily regime, and just generally be a bit more conscious of what is going on. I’ve been eating a bit better, and by that I mean I’ve shrunken my portion sizes and am making a strong effort to resist the donuts and cookies that seem to end up in my office every week. I’m more active, spending more time outside and doing more things that make me happy, just because.


Get in shape – I’ve made this goal a part of my everyday life in hopes of it being a bit more sustainable and so far it seems to be working. I walk every day at work, run the stairs in my office building (17 stories,) run at home with Ryan and ride our bikes for leisure, exercise and occasionally instead of driving places we need to go anyway.

Run 10km – I managed to convince Ryan that he should run with me and we were doing really well. The first run we did was 2.4km and by week 2 we were up to 3.4km. We took a little break because it go so hot here, but hoping to pick it back up and continue working towards my 10km!

Sort everything I own, again – To be honest, I haven't felt the need to do this again, but I am making an effort to get rid of things as I notice they are un-used or unloved. I’m still working on the mental block that has me keeping some things though, so any ideas how to do that would be great!


Reading – As of the end of June I have read 10 books! I can only think of one other time in my life that I read this much and I’m realizing how much I actually do enjoy it if the story is right. I’m not sure what I will read next, but I will continue to read!

Travel – Continuing to travel is always going to be a goal, whether I write it down or not. I have an ever growing list of places I want to go, extended trips to take and experiences to have. So far this year I have been to my third Hawaiian island and it was an absolute dream! I finally booked a trip for Ryan and I as well but that isn't until October.

Do more outside – I’ve been doing really well on this front so far, fingers crossed I can keep it up! I have been going for walks outside nearly every day at work, walking, running and biking with Ryan at home, spending some time at the nearby National Parks and we’ve been for our first camping trip of the season! We’ve also been going for picnics with friends at one of the city parks and I’m loving that.

Take a road trip – Ryan and I took a spontaneous road trip to Jasper National Park in May and it was a perfect day. Even though we came and went in a single day, it is always worthwhile to get out! I have high hopes for several more road trips throughout the summer including 2 trips to Saskatchewan and maybe a few more to the mountains!

Take a course or 2 – I was registered for my first course, Birth Doula, in May but it got cancelled at the last moment when the instructor was hospitalized. I have since re-booked for the end of July and cannot wait to get started! The second course I would like to take, scuba diving, is an ongoing potential. It doesn’t take a huge time commitment but it does require me to spend several days in another city. One of these years I’m sure it’ll happen for me.

6 Reasons to Start a Spending Ban

I know that excess and deprivation can both be bad and sometimes is much more ideal, but going for a full month without spending any money feels amazing. I started this practice back in August 2016 and have done 7 month-long bans since then totalling $16,000 in savings. That total isn't necessarily going to be very realistic for everyone but for me it worked on the basis of selling my vehicle for cash and lining up ban-months with tax refunds and months that I get 3 pay cheques instead of 2.


Here’s the idea. Every few months, or more/less, take one full month and commit to spending no money outside of necessary bills and groceries. For me, that also means making a stronger effort to stay within my grocery budget (which I am not great at!) If I can help it, I also try to pre-purchase items before the ban if I know I’m going to run out within that month. I also follow a strict rule about buying food, in and out of the spending ban. If I need to buy breakfast because I didn't have time for something before leaving home it must be bought in cash. Cash that I already have, not that I've taken out for the purpose of spending. Cash is my "free" money.


I’m not sure how I came up with this idea, possibly from an article I read about a woman who didn’t spend for a year (including occasionally dumpster diving for food..) I’m very attracted to the idea but I also have no desire to deprive myself even half as much as she did, I like my food from the store, thank you very much!


There are so many great reasons to take up the occasional spending ban, here are a few:


ONE:
You get more time to consider the things you want to buy.


Impulse buying, seasonal shops, social media.. these are all big purchasing influencers and sometimes convince us to buy things we don't really need. Do you really need that top? Is it worth it to eat out again? Don’t you already have that in 2 other colors? Will you wear that for more than one season? If you see something you really love this gives you the chance to really consider it, evaluate if you truly need/want it and if you can afford it – all before making the purchase. If it turns out you don't really want it, you've saved some money, if you do need it then you get something that will feel more valuable to you.


TWO:
If I don’t buy ____, that’s $___ that I can put towards _____.


I think this is my favorite reason. Realizing that the fewer things I buy and therefore the more I put in savings, the more I have to put towards my next trip! Not buying a $2.50 bagel for breakfast before work might not seem like a big deal, but that is over $50/month if you’re buying every day. $50 can then become a nice dinner out, a room upgrade on your next trip, a new piece of clothing or simply 50 extra dollars in your emergency fund.


I’ve been asked many times how I afford to travel as much as I do (which isn’t even that much!) and this is a big contributor. The other thing to remember is that saving feels more worthwhile if you have a goal and something you truly value to potential spend on later. Travelling is important to me so I make it a priority.

THREE:
Watching my savings grow is way more satisfying than buy stuff.


I have a spreadsheet where I track my budget, spending and savings and watching the savings number grow month-by-month, even though I don’t really know what I’m saving for, is so thrilling! Once you get over the need to spend money to feel good, you’ll realize it feels even better not to.


FOUR:
The big pay-off.


In the end of the month, or quarter or year when I look at everything I’ve saved and realize everything I can now do, it really can buy happiness. Financial comfort and safety allow me to point my life in the direction that pleases me and I can reach for more. Not buying lunch every day, shopping on the weekends or missing an event can feel shitty at the time, but when it allows you to take a spontaneous trip later, or buy something special or go on a fancy date it will feel worthwhile. Your choices shouldn’t be save money OR have fun. The more you save the more freedom you have for spontaneity!


FIVE:
Remember that it isn’t the end of the world if you spend a bit.


I have flexible rules for myself while living on my ban and I keep them flexible because it isn’t the end of the world either way. I love months were I spend nothing at all, but if my phone dies I’m going to get a new one. If I run out of a product that I use every day, I’ll replace it. If something I have decided 100% to buy in the near future anyway goes on for 40% off, I’m probably going to buy it. It really isn’t a big deal.


SIX:
A new appreciation for not spending.


Since starting this journey I have spent more time outside, had more game nights, re-learned to ride a bike and ended up in a wardrobe I love to wear. I now have an arsenal of free thing that I love to do and a lot of the time I do them even when I could be spending money.


Writing all of this out to share has me feeling like I might be ready for a new challenge and I've never done ban months back-to-back, maybe I should try for 3 months?

New Goals 2018 and a Recap of my 2017 Goals

2017:
Recapping the past year and setting goals for the year to come has become one of my favorite blog traditions. As far back as 2014 I’ve been taking the time to think back on what life has been like and set out a list of plans and goals I’d like to achieve going forward, not necessarily within the next year.


I set a lot of goals for myself in 2017, some larger than others, and though I didn’t get to all of them I accomplished what I could throughout my very busy year. Here’s how I did.


Minimize my belongings – I did get rid of a lot but it still doesn’t feel like enough.


Take more mini trips – In my head this meant I shouldn’t be so fussed about how long trips are, but more so that I take the time available to me and enjoy myself. Why not take a weekend trip away if the seat sale is good enough to support it? Throughout the year I spent 2 days in Jasper, 3 days in Canmore and Banff and a few days in Regina. Those trips aren’t really what I had in mind for “mini trips” but I set this goal not expecting to spend 5 weeks travelling and I certainly didn’t expect to get back to Europe and see 6 countries.


Scuba –Again, I had no idea my summer would be as crazy as it was and I quite simply didn’t have time to fit the course in,  there’s always this year though.


Pay attention to me and take more notice of the little things – I did start to do this, mostly towards the end of the year as my health took a hit. I will be working a lot more on this in 2018


Save and figure out what I am saving for – I was able to save a lot in 2017 and have considered what kind of life I want. That tells me what to put my money towards


Specific savings for specific things – I made a very detailed budget for my 5 weeks of summer travel and was able to save specifically for that. Knowing I have what I need (+ a buffer) without having to rely on a credit card is a great feeling while travelling.


Learn more about my camera – I can’t say I learned anything new however I did use my camera a ton and took some really beautiful photos


Work on my fitness – I did the stairs at work quite a bit at the beginning of the year and ran a few times in the spring, but did very little else in the way of fitness in 2017.  Especially at the end of the year when I was feeling my worst, I could barely walk 1 flight of stairs without being exhausted, never mind run 17 floors like I used to.
 

-Eat more fruit and veggies daily -> mostly
-Get my nose pierced –> done
-Re-learn proper cursive writing –> Can’t say it is super neat, but I can do it!
-Organize, and when necessary, discard digital photos. –> I emptied 1000+ old photos off my phone, sorted them on my external hard drive and deleted some.
-Print my favourite photos and put them in scrapbooks or albums. –> No. But I would still like to.
-Create blog income –> No, it might help if I actually posted sometimes..
-Sort through everything I own –> Done and loved every minute of it!


2018:

Improve my health – We sometimes forget to keep our health in check because we are so consumed with making sure we get “fit” and health and fitness don’t necessarily go hand in hand. I’ve recently found out about some health issues and I’m going to do what I can to improve them as much as possible and do what I can to feel my best despite the issues that can’t be fixed. Possibly I should cut back on my donut consumption.


Get in shape – it’s hard to ignore this one when the doctor says “you have some work to do” after writing down your weight… beyond that though, I don’t feel great anymore and would really like to put more time and energy into being consistently active and making good choices for my health. I don’t need to weigh any amount or wear a particular dress size; I just want to be comfortable in my own skin. Ideally my health and fitness level can be worked on together to make a generally better me.


Run 10km – Because I like a challenge and having something to work towards might help to keep my motivated on my journey.


Sort everything I own, again – 1 year is a long time, and though I don’t feel like I’ve accumulated too much this year, I definitely still have things to sort through and get rid of. Also, and more specifically I’d like to sort all of my clothes. Get rid of anything unrealistic, unworn or uncomfortable and build up an intentional wardrobe that I actually enjoy wearing.


Books and Camera – Ryan bought me a camera/photography book for Christmas last year and honestly, I’ve read less than half of it. I feel guilty about that since the book is something I really wanted and learning about my camera is something I’ve been planning since I got it. Reading at least 1 book per month is another goal. And as it turns out I happen to have 12 books set aside in a desperate little ‘read me” pile.


Travel – When has this not been a goal of mine? By no means do I expect to make it to all of these places this year, but I would like to plan some of the bigger trips for future. *I booked myself a trip to Hawaii just before New Years Eve and am so excited!*


- Hawaii, Big Island
- BC
- Iceland
- The Maritimes, as usual
- Plan for... Costa Rica, Peru, Chile, Easter Island, Galapagos, Australia and New Zealand


Do more outside – 2015 and 2016 were both great years for spending time outside and I did a lot. 2017 wasn’t as good. With the exception of my time spent travelling I feel like I was barely outside at all and I don’t want another year like that. I’m going to make an effort to get outside at least a few times a week.


Take a road trip – I’ve been wanting to do (2 specific) road trips for a while now; one across Canada and 1 through British Columbia and possibly into Washington and Oregon. Both would need a good chunk of time to enjoy them the way I’d like to, but I’ll take what I can get. Fingers crossed for BC this year.


Take a course, or 2 – And here it is, for the 3^rd year in a row, get my Scuba Diving certification! I really hope this can happen this year especially considering my new found love of snorkelling, I imagine I’d love diving even more.

The second course I have my sights set on is Doula training. I’ve had this in the back of my mind for many years now (along with nursing and midwifery) and I think this might be the year to make it happen.