A Review of 2017
Happy new year! Before we move onto 2018, I thought it'd be fun to put together a year in review of 2017. This was a really big year for me in terms of personal growth. I went into 2017 with anxiety, terrible headaches, vertigo, and was 10 pounds away from obesity. I really feel like I changed my entire life around this year. I let go of some pain and guilt from the past through therapy, I learned so much about myself, changed my relationship with food and exercise, and after a terrible existential crisis in July (felt like I basically hit rock bottom), I somehow just changed everything around in the last six months. I'm still not quite sure how I did it, but I'm so grateful. This year really really changed me. Let's look back, shall we?
JANUARY
2017 NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS RECAP
- Get a handle on my anxiety. Done, thanks to therapy and exercise. I haven't had a panic attack since I started working out. Weird, right?
- Eliminate my new chronic tension headaches. Done, but not perfect. I've figured out my headaches are mostly due to stress. After my MRI results came back normal, my headaches almost went away (aka; I was so stressed about them). I still deal with them, but can handle them now.
- Lose 25 pounds. Done! My clothes fit again! I feel happier and more confident than ever, and I'm in the best shape of my life.
- Save three months worth of living expenses for an emergency fund. Almost there! At the end of this month, we'll have it all put away.
- Pay off all credit card debt. Done... at one point. We totally paid off our credit card debt last spring, and now we're just working to pay off a couple of balances (again). I really need to follow Dave's advice, and just cut those guys up. We'll be there again soon!
FEBRUARY
MARCH
Winter was pretty uneventful for us. We decided to take a little break from traveling to focus on paying off debt and building our emergency fund. I really focused on my personal style during this period, eliminating almost half my wardrobe, and working through The Curated Closet. I also worked hard at our photography these few months, and building an aesthetic for the blog. I worked a lot on the apartment... cleaning and organizing, getting rid of a ton of stuff. We enjoyed some very strange 60º days, and kept it pretty low-key!
APRIL
THE CORNER BOUTIQUE
In spring, I started working on a new project with my mom, and that consumed a lot of the season. I opened a small boutique in her gift shop in Muskegon, Michigan called The Corner Boutique. It was so fun... everything from designing the space, to ordering inventory, designing the logo and materials, to seeing it all come together. (See above photo on right.)
MAY
May's highlights:
Visiting the tulip fields and spending
the weekend in Ann Arbor.
JUNE
Summer brought a new bike, lots of moscato and Astro Jackson shows
(my husband's country band).
JULY
July was the big turning point for me. I hit my highest weight (ever), had endured months of terrible daily chronic headaches, was having panic attacks, and I had a total existential crisis during our trip to Beaver Island. I decided to change my life... and I started on a headache elimination diet, rejoined Weight Watchers, and started at FLEXcity Fitness on July 12. I had no idea what felt like the smallest steps ever would be such a big turning point in my life. I'm so grateful I decided to make a change.
STARTED ON
WEIGHT WATCHERS:
LOST 5.2 POUNDS
STARTED AT
FLEXCITY FITNESS:
9 CLASSES
AUGUST
12.4
POUNDS LOST
19
FLEX CLASSES
SEPTEMBER
15.6
POUNDS LOST
19
FLEX CLASSES
August and September were spent HUSTLING. No joke! I was getting into a routine of going to FLEX 4x a week. I was tracking and getting my blue dot everyday on Weight Watchers (meaning you hit your points with a little wiggle room) and I was very intense head down, working hard these few months. They honestly flew by too. I also went to a fun fashion show in collaboration with Lee & Birch, and redecorated my home office.
OCTOBER
October was probably one of the best months of my life so far. I felt happy, confident, in control. We took the most amazing trip to Tahquamenon Falls. If I could, I'd relive that trip over and over again. Eric and I celebrated our second wedding anniversary. Between pumpkin picking, cider doughnuts, losing 20 pounds, and celebrating Halloween, I was pretty much the happiest girl alive. I keep referring to this girl as "Tahquamenon Tieka". She's the ideal, that's for sure.
21.6
POUNDS LOST
19
FLEX CLASSES
NOVEMBER
Best part of November:
Our trips to Nashville and Traverse City
24.2
POUNDS LOST
19
FLEX CLASSES
DECEMBER
CELEBRATING THE HOLIDAYS
Cutting down our Christmas tree
Decorating the apartment
Teddy coats
Work Christmas party
Velvet jumpsuit
Walking in my first fashion show
Brunchmas with friends
Trip to Frankenmuth
My new Sperry boots
Baking Christmas cookies
Christmas with our families
All the cheesy movies on Netflix
Discovering socks AND slippers together
Hours of The Sims 4
Ringing in the new year with friends
Looking back on the year
26.8
POUNDS LOST
16
FLEX CLASSES
2018 NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS
- Hit 35 pounds lost total. I have a little less than 10 pounds to go on this journey, and then I go into maintenance! I'll always use Weight Watchers, even when maintaining and I still plan on going to FLEX 4x a week (it has helped with so much more than weight loss).
- Begin student loan repayment plan. I got Total Money Makeover for Christmas, read through it twice, and decided I wanted to start paying off my student loans this year. My loans were always something I thought I'd have "forever", but once I did the math, I realized that's really dumb to think that way. As soon as our emergency fund is done and our credit cards are completely gone, here we come student loans!
- Get ready for another big step... aka; need to start taking some very special vitamins this summer! ;)