Happy New Year!

Hi friends,

Happy New Year! I hope you and your family had a wonderful holiday, and a great start to this new decade.

It’s been a lifetime since I posted last – I really fell off the wagon there, didn’t I? Anywho, new year, new decade, new blog post! Let’s do this!

I feel like the best place to start is with a wrap of 2019, and end with where I want to be in 2020. Sound good?

2019 was an interesting year for me. It was a bit of a rocky start, and we saw a few bumps along the way, but 2019 made me stronger so for that I’m grateful. Compared to past years, 2019 was mild in terms of adventures and trips, but it was F U L L of growth. I feel like I grew so much last year, in my personal life. I spent a lot of time reflecting on who I had become, and began focusing on where I want to be. I cleaned house in a sense. I had so many cobwebs in my head – you know the kind that create doubt, fear, resentment, unforgiveness, and overall impact your inner peace. I’m still working through some things, but where I am now is lightyears ahead of where I was this same time last year. *Hip Hip Hooray for personal progress!*

A couple of things I learned about myself, or already knew but was able to better understand:

My love language is quality time. // I’ve known this for years, but I have since learned how to let quality time happen organically. I used to force it, by planning time with my husband, friends or family. I would try to plan out blocks of time and label them as quality, rather than enjoying little moments of pure quality. Now I try to let life happen, live in the moment, and recognize those times when my love tank is full, or even overflowing.
I am a 7w6 Enneagram. // Last year I took the Enneagram assessment and discovered I am an Enneagram 7, wing 6. Type 7s are The Enthusiasts. The busy, variety-seeking type: Spontaneous, Versatile, Acquisitive, and Scattered. Since learning my type, and the types of others close to me, I am obsessed with the Enneagram. I follow so many Enneagram accounts on Instagram, read countless blogs and articles. My favorites are the funny memes or “infographics” that describe your type, like the “Taylor Swift song for type 7s” or “Going to Target for each type.” I also just picked up a book about Enneagram types and marriage – can’t wait to jump into that bad boy. My husband is a Type 5; the Investigator. So fitting for him it’s unreal. We both come from the “Thinking Center” but act out our approach in different manners. It’s honestly so fascinating to me. If you’ve never heard of the Enneagram system, or you want more information on how the system works, I would encourage you to read the following article from the Enneagram Institute. For grins, I added this little slideshare about my type; 7w6 – The Pathfinder/Eager Loyalist.
My Personality Temperament is a Popular Sanguine (Influencer) // This particular assessment is something I just learned about in one of our counseling sessions, so I’m still trying to out what it means for me. I do know the animal associated with Popular Sanguines is the Otter – how cute is that? I plan on digging more into this in the following weeks to see how it relates to my Enneagram, and love language. In the meantime, check out this image I found online that outlines the strengths and weaknesses of a Popular Sanguine with an adorable little Otter 🙂

Like I said, 2019 was an interesting year. I learned a lot about what makes me, ME! I also processed a lot of things that took place in my past that I had previously run from… “Hi, my name is Courtney, I’m an Enneagram 7. Please don’t make me process feelings unless they are fun!” Hahaha

Along the way, I formed deeper, more meaningful bonds with the people in my life, rekindled an old childhood friendship – Hey Britley! My husband and I grew so much in our marriage, I can’t freaking wait to see where we go next! I wish I could even begin to describe the level we are on now, compared to where we were. We still have more growth opportunity, but gosh darn it I’m just so proud of us! I swear we even have the stars back in our eyes ❤

The saddest part of 2019 was losing our sweet puppy, Kelly. Our loving girl crossed over the Rainbow Bridge in June. In a lot of ways, we’re still working through the grief and sadness of losing her. My husband is ready to get another puppy, whereas I’m not quite ready to move on. She was our first born baby! We don’t have human children; our dogs are our kids, and losing her hit us both so, so hard.

Life as a family of 3 saw quite a few changes for us. My husband and I definitely take nothing for granted with our other puppy, Maggie. We realize now just how limited our time is with our furry friends here on earth. I just wish dogs lived forever, don’t you?

One of the highs from 2019 was me buying my first car! Obviously I have had cars in the past, but they were purchased by my parents. Signing the papers on a massive piece of metal debt all on my own was mildly terrifying but also quite exciting! I ended a 10 year run with my Ford Fusion, affectionately named Fusey Baby. Gosh I loved that car! My new car is a Jeep Cherokee. I named her Genevieve. My grandpa says if you name your cars, they last longer. In case you were reading this, thinking I’m crazy for naming my cars. Haha!

That’s a wrap on 2019! Now onward! So look out 2020, I’m coming for you!

My hope for 2020 is that I can apply everything I learned in 2019 towards professional growth. This year I want to focus on my career. I’m still trying to figure out exactly what that means, but I know I’ll get there. I’ve been complacent in my current role for a while now, just sort of riding the wave. Probably because I had so much going on outside of work, the thought of growing my career seemed daunting and exhausting. But with a clear head, and a growth mindset, I’m ready! I want to be a go-getter, not a wait-and-see-er. My girlfriend encouraged me to build out a vision board for this year to keep myself focused and keep my goals at the forefront of my mind. Any vision board peeps out there? Did it help you? Was your a digital vision board, or a physical poster of some sort? Let a girl know! Orrrr, maybe I could make a digital vision board and post it here! That way I can see it when I need to, and you all can see it if you need a reference point.

Until next time, here are some of my favorite photos from last year!