My Year In Review: 5 Things I Either Did or Did Not Do.

Something happened this year that I’m pretty disappointed about. I usually sit down with Sydney and create how our year is going to look. It’s our goals written down on paper vs just living in our heads as “nice thoughts”. Well, for the first time in about 8 years, we didn’t do it. Thea was born in December and we kept saying we would do it but never did. Now it’s the end of the year and I have no idea if I accomplished what I wanted to or not. Did I achieve some awesome goals? Yeah. Sure. Did I leave anything on the table? Maybe! I have no idea how to track it. That’s a breakdown. So in order to not dwell on what I can’t control anymore, I’m just gonna apologize to myself (and Sydney) and move forward. 

Even though we didn’t write anything down, we were still taking things on and building our future.

Flying from Los ANGELES to Boston

1. We were aggressive with our savings and were able to save over $80,000 (between cash, 401k, Roth IRA and Brokerage) while still enjoying life. I’m not sure what others save, but this was a huge accomplishment for us. I started listening to the ChooseFI podcast and was literally taking action by Episode 4. I’d highly recommend it to anyone who has debt to pay off or saving goals to reach. 

2. We traveled ... a lot! We went to Portland, Boston, San Francisco, Rhode Island, Kansas City, Arizona, Las Vegas (twice!), Utah, and New York City (twice!). We are definitely cutting back on travel this next year as Thea has become much more mobile and curious making us even more exhausted, and with a second baby on the way, it’s time for us to just relax at home. Well, except for the few road trips we already have planned and our trip to Toronto we have already booked, which we did through travel hacking. If you’ve never heard of travel hacking before, listen to Episode 9 of the ChooseFI podcast. It explains everything, but, to summarize what it taught us, we booked 2 first class, round trip tickets on Air Canada for $180 (including travel insurance) and we plan to travel hack our hotel stay once we figure out all the details. 

2018 vs 2019 at 4th of July, Exact same weight but with weight lifting and macro counting.

3. I wanted to lose weight and get strong. This is kinda funny because I switched my training from a mostly cardio based routine to zero cardio and instead went to 100% weight lifting and something strange happened. My scale didn’t move. But my clothes started to get really big on me, my muscles started to have definition, and my face looked skinner in pictures (cause that’s what is really important 😆🤷🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️). What I learned was when you lift weights (and eat right—I tracked my macros), you will burn fat but the scale might not move if you’re putting muscle weight on. I’ve always known that. I’ve seen the 5 pounds of fat vs 5 pounds of muscle display a million times but to see it in real life, was eye opening. The holidays have thrown me a bit — a lot — off my track but I plan on hitting the new year running ... or well, lifting. 

4. I wanted to make more YouTube videos. I have SOOOO many video ideas in the notes app of my phone and we just have not done it. It goes back to not putting it existence — aka writing it down and making a plan. I feel like that’s something I need to schedule into my week because if it’s not there, it’s not going to be managed. Moving into 2020, I want to be more active on our Sharon Moms channel. 

5. And in November we bought a house — cue the panic attack and pop the bubbly 😂! It basically means we’re real adults now. It’s nerve-racking and exciting and we’ll have more to share about it in the future. But basically this is one of the goals we created and set out back in 2018 when we chose to rent out our amazing condo and move in with Sydney’s parents.

In May of 2018, Sydney and I were having lunch in Brentwood and I randomly thought “What if we just move in with her parents and save as much money as possible?” I remember immediately thinking, “Do I want to say this out loud? What if she likes this idea and it actually happens happens?”. Then I said it. And Sydney liked it. That night she had dinner plans with her parents and I had an event to go to. When I got home she excitedly told me “my parents love the idea!” and my response was “what idea?”. So apparently Sydney hadn’t stopped thinking about what I said and by June we were packing up 10 years worth of stuff into boxes. 

Originally my biggest concern was we were going to move and have nothing to show for it at the end. If we spent the $1,200 to move (yes, we used a moving company), spent 2 years living with other people in their house and weren’t able to save any money, I’d be really disappointed. This was a generous opportunity and I didn’t want to blow it. Well, in October the interest rates dropped and we made our move (10 months ahead of our 2 year schedule!) and we are now proud first time homebuyers! 

2020 is going to be a huge year. I can’t wait to see what’s to come. I plan to create my year with Sydney (maybe post it here just to share how we do it). What are some of your 2020 goals? Do you have a goal creating structure you use? I’d love to hear about it!

Otteroo: A Total Must Have!

​Okay, so if you follow us on social, you probably know we introduced the Otteroo to Thea at 8 weeks. And we may or may not have bought it before she was even born. All I have to say, WE ARE OBSESSED.

A looooong time ago, I think even before Sydney and I were married, I had seen their Facebook Ads video and thought, “That’s cool, but is it legit?” and just kept scrolling through my newsfeed. Then, once I started to see it again when we were pregnant, I thought, “This is going to be a waste of money — but what the hell, if it sucks, it’s only $35.” I’ve wasted more money on lesser things so I clicked the ad and purchased it.

When Thea was born, I was itching to put her in it but it says you need to wait until they are 8 weeks old. So when she was exactly 8 weeks, we warmed the hot tub up and tested it out with her ... and oh my gosh ... she was so happy. At first she seemed confused. She had never experienced the hot tub before so she was taking everything in. Once she became adjusted, the most amazing part was watching her discover that she was free to move as she pleased. She was moving her arms and legs as if she was becoming reacquainted to her body again outside the womb as Sydney said her movements looked like what it felt like when she was inside. It was so exciting to watch.

Sometimes she relaxed and floated, just enjoying the warmth of the hot tub and at other times she was looking around and curious about the world around her.

At the bottom of this post is a video of her experience that really captures the essence of Thea’s time in the Otteroo. As a new mom and someone who loves the water, I was blown away.

If anyone has any questions about the Otteroo, feel free to leave them in the comments and I’ll respond as best as possible.

*Otteroo and The Sharon Moms have no personal or business relationship. This is just an honest review of a product.